Chapter Twenty-Three: Love Needs a Heart

October 23, 2029

The LA County Memorial Hospital

The next several hours were sheer, unmitigated hell for Phoenix.

Apollo called for an ambulance while Athena did her best to administer CPR to an unconscious, unresponsive Edgeworth. Maya, still conscious but in terrible pain, refused to let the paramedics sedate her, and instead sat in the back of the ambulance with Phoenix, next to Edgeworth's stretcher, clutching her shoulder and forcing back tears.

A second ambulance took Lettie away.

"Good," muttered Maya. "I'm glad she's not going with us. If I could figure out how to move my right arm, I could just strangle her with my bare hands!"

You're barely able to stand, thought Phoenix, watching the tears in the corners of Maya's eyes. But, yeah…I hear you. I feel the same way.

Someone, probably Athena, must have called Trucy, because she was waiting for them as soon as they arrived at the hospital. Trucy hugged her father, then watched in horror as Maya and Edgeworth were both wheeled hurriedly into surgery, nurses clustering around them and muttering unhappily to each other, then disappearing behind the doors of the emergency room.

Phoenix sat down hard on a chair in the waiting room and stared at his own hands. Nothing felt real. The world had been moving so fast since he'd woken up that morning, and everything had been one emergency after another. He couldn't think. He could hardly breathe.

Trucy didn't try to cheer him up or to get him to talk. She just put her head on his shoulder and sat with him quietly. When he looked over at her, she gave him a small, encouraging smile, and squeezed his hand. That was soothing. Phoenix shut his eyes and took deep, calming breaths, trying not to think about the blank, open-mouthed look on Edgeworth's face as he'd lain unmoving on the stretcher, or about Maya's soft, stoic little sobs.

People moved through the waiting room, going in and out of the double-doors, speaking intensely, shuffling papers and charts back and forth. Some of them were crying, others were frantic, or even angry. Phoenix was aware of the murmur and bustle all around him, but he couldn't hear what any of them were saying. Everything felt like a vaguely distressing blur of urgent nonsense.

I really hate hospitals, he realized, shaking his head. I have so many bad memories of places like this. Well…I mean, of course I do. Does anyone actually have good emergency room memories?

"Mr. Wright!" Athena and Apollo came rushing in.

"We just got done reporting to the detective in charge of the case," explained Apollo. "I'm sorry it took so long."

"How's Mr. Edgeworth?" Athena looked worried. "How's Maya?"

At that moment, Maya walked through the emergency room doors with her shoulder heavily bandaged. She looked tired, but perked up as soon as she caught sight of her friends.

"Ta-da!" she declared. "No more bullet! I guess that means I'll never be a ruthless, evil prosecutor, huh? Oh well. You're all still stuck with me!" She smiled up at Phoenix

Phoenix stood up and hugged her tightly without saying a word. Maya squeaked in surprise.

"Whoa, Nick," she said, a little embarrassed. "I'm fine, it's no big deal! I mean, I get kidnapped and shot at and whatever all the time, right? I'm kinda used to it by now."

"Please stop doing that," mumbled Phoenix.

"Aw," countered Maya, "but I'm so good at it!"

"Why is she so cheerful?" Athena looked a little weirded out.

"She's probably on a lot of different drugs," Apollo reminded her. "They did just carve a bullet out of her arm, so maybe it's the painkiller."

"A true entertainer always keeps a smile on her face," whispered Trucy. She locked eyes with Maya, and they exchanged a look that made Phoenix realize just how close the two of them had become in recent months.

"Mr. Wright?" A nurse called out to Phoenix from the front of the room. "Mr. Edgeworth is out of surgery."

Phoenix held his breath. "And?"

"The doctor has successfully introduced a stent," she informed him. "Everything seems to be going well. If you'd like, you can see him, although he's exhausted and still on a great deal of medication. He'll be out of sorts."

Phoenix looked at Maya, who nodded.

"Give him our love!" Athena smiled. "Tell him we'll see him soon!"

"Right." Apollo gave Phoenix a hesitant thumbs-up. "Make sure he knows, he's going to be FINE!"

"Yeah…and so are you, Daddy," added Trucy. "It's going to be okay. We'll wait for you here!"

Phoenix, unsure exactly what to expect and with his heart in his mouth, followed the nurse back to Edgeworth's room.

Edgeworth was lying on his cot, bare-chested and hooked up to a heart monitor. There was an IV attached to his wrist, pumping something, maybe pain medication, through his veins. As Phoenix sat down in the chair beside the cot, the nurse glanced at her watch, then half-closed the door behind her as she bustled off.

Now alone in the room with the patient, Phoenix gratefully drank in the sound of Edgeworth's slow, steady breathing.

He's alive, he reminded himself, letting the relief begin to sink in. He's alive.

"Wright," muttered Edgeworth. "Say something, won't you? Don't just stare."

Startled, Phoenix straightened up. "I…s-sorry, I thought you were asleep. Um. H-how are you feeling?"

"Maya," asked Edgeworth. "Is she…all right?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Phoenix nodded emphatically. "They got the bullet out and everything. She's already on her feet again. Hah, she, uh, actually says she's used to this kind of thing by now." He tried to laugh, but it came out sounding hollow.

Edgeworth slowly shook his head. "I don't know what happened after she jumped," he mumbled. "I don't remember."

"Gumshoe shot Lettie," Phoenix explained. "She's alive, I mean…he got her in the leg. They're going to bring her in for questioning, although I don't think it'll be hard to make a case against her. Apollo and Athena have already made a report, and I know we'll all be willing to testify. I think it's over for real this time."

"And…what is all this?" Edgeworth gestured weakly around at the room. "Did I-?"

"Yeah.," said Phoenix, not sure how else to put it. "You, uh, you had a heart attack."

"Ah." Edgeworth shut his eyes and sighed. "Of course I did."

"Don't worry, though," insisted Phoenix hurriedly. "The nurse said everything went well. They've got you set up with a stent, and I'm sure they'll put you on some medication to help with the clotting. You're going to be fine!"

Edgeworth turned slightly and gave Phoenix an exhausted, wry sort of smile.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Justice," he muttered with quiet sarcasm.

Phoenix started to laugh again, and then felt the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. The laughter came harder, as tears started to roll down his cheeks.

"Wright," began Edgeworth, his face falling.

Phoenix furiously dashed the tears away. His head hurt. He couldn't stop crying.

"Phoenix." Edgeworth's voice was a bit firmer, now. "You're weeping."

"Yeah," admitted Phoenix. "Yeah, I'm…I'm really tired, Miles. I'm really tired, and I'm…I'm just so glad you're okay." His voice broke a little bit, and he cleared his throat to steady it. "That was really, really scary. You and Maya, you're both going to give ME a heart attack someday."

Phoenix smiled at Edgeworth, but found that Edgeworth now looked extremely grim.

"I broke my promise," Edgeworth sighed. I'm…so very sorry."

Phoenix, laughed, truly and sincerely. Now that it was clear that both Edgeworth and Maya were going to make it out of this alive, he found that his misery and terror was giving way to a sort of ridiculous euphoria that felt strange and almost uncontrolled. "Hey, no worries! I forgive you, uh, just…just don't do it again, okay?"

Edgeworth nodded gravely. "I won't let you down a second time." There was something sad and almost defeated in his eyes now that Phoenix couldn't quite understand. Every moment that went by, Phoenix himself felt a little bit lighter.

It really is going to be okay, he realized. Everything's going to be all right.

Impulsively, he grabbed Edgeworth's hand and brought it to his lips. Edgeworth's eyes widened, and he hurriedly jerked his hand away from Phoenix, looking pained.

"Perhaps we had…better not," he said hoarsely.

"No? All right." Phoenix didn't even feel like arguing. There would be plenty of time, once they got Edgeworth home, to shower him with affection. What mattered right now was letting him rest, and riling him up with romantic gestures probably wouldn't help, much as Phoenix wanted to hold him and to kiss him and to revel in the fact that Edgeworth was ALIVE.

Phoenix stood up. "I need to get Maya home," he said. I'll make sure she and Trucy get back into the apartment without incident, and then I'll come back for you."

"You don't have to do that," began Edgeworth. "The doctors aren't likely to release me for 48 hours yet, at the very least."

"Then I'll wait," Phoenix insisted. "Athena and Apollo can handle things at the office while I'm gone, right? I mean, it's already been a few days, what's a few more? I can get anything you want from the store while I'm out. What should I…? Oh, um, maybe you're not allowed to eat yet. I'm not sure. I'll ask the nurse!"

"Phoenix," said Edgeworth warningly.

Phoenix just shook his head. "Hang on, I'll be back before you know it."

He turned around, made for the door and then, flooded with optimism, relief, and the afterglow of panic, he looked back at Edgeworth.

"I love you," he said, and it felt incredible to finally release those words out into the world. "I love you, Miles. Please rest. Get your strength back. I love you."

Edgeworth froze. "Wha…WHAT?" he managed, then went into a coughing fit. Something on one of the various monitors beeped.

Phoenix hurried away before, in his helplessly giddy mood, he did any lasting damage to Edgeworth's already fragile heart.

"What on earth is happening here?" Two nurses rushed into Edgeworth's room moments after Phoenix left. The heart monitors were beeping furiously "Oh lord, he's having a crash, somebody get the doctor."

Edgeworth, aware of the frantic tattoo his heart was beating inside his chest, shook his head hastily. "N-no, it's not…it's nothing. I assure you, I'm perfectly fine."

He did not feel perfectly fine, but it wasn't another heart attack. Instead, his heart was responding passionately and urgently to an assault made against it by one Phoenix Wright.

Edgeworth tried taking slow, focused breaths to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate, tried to imagine something relaxing, but the only thing that appeared behind his eyes were the loudly colorful, shimmering words I LOVE YOU plastered across his brain, pulsing aggressively in time with his heartbeat.

"N-no more visitors please," he mumbled distractedly to the nurses, who were now grumbling to each other about false alarms and faulty equipment as they filed out of the room again. "I…I beg you, just a few hours of merciful quiet…for the love of God."

"Oops." Maya stuck her head around the door, frowning. "Um, too late! Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth. Can I come in for just a second? Please? I just want to see how you're doing!"

"My heart," protested Edgeworth. "I have a weak heart. You may come in, but please don't say anything absurd."

I LOVE YOU screamed Edgeworth's brain in Phoenix's voice.

"Nothing absurd, got it!" Maya grinned at him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alive," muttered Edgeworth. "Thank you. And…your arm?"

Maya glanced thoughtfully at her shoulder bandage. "Uh, well, it feels great! That's probably the drugs, right? Well I'll be home by the time it starts hurting again. Nick and are going to be leaving as soon as he finishes dealing with his 68 missed calls from Detective Gumshoe. Actually, Nick seems to be in a REALLY good mood all of a sudden. I think he's kind of loopy. Poor guy, he's been really worried. I guess it's our fault, huh?"

Edgeworth winced. "Indeed. Perhaps if you ceased throwing yourself in front of assailants…"

"Hey, I'm not the one who tried to hide a heart condition from his friends," countered Maya, glaring at him. "What were you going to do, just pretend that everything was fine forever? How was that going to work?"

"You are harassing an invalid." Edgeworth scowled at her, then sighed in resignation. "However, you're also perfectly correct. It is…our fault. I…I've ever seen Wright cry before." He shivered.

It was like watching someone crumble from the inside out, thought Edgeworth, remembering the way Phoenix's almost frantic laughter had dissolved into tears that he hadn't even seemed to notice until they'd started oozing down his face. It hadn't been all that dramatic an emotional outpouring. It hadn't been particularly pathetic, but it had been the most honestly vulnerable and helpless that Edgeworth could remember ever having seen his oldest friend.

"Yeah it's weird," murmured Maya. "He does complain all the time, but I guess we never do really see him cry. I guess it takes a lot to really break him down. I mean, that's no surprise. Think of everything we've all been through. We're tough!"

We are, thought Edgeworth, laying back on the cot and glowering miserably at the ceiling. And despite it all, I turn out to be have been the one to cause him enough pain that he finally loses control. Perhaps it would have been better if I'd never-

"Hey." Maya raised her voice slightly. "I know what you're thinking. You better not be thinking something stupid, like, 'it'd be better if Nick and I had never started dating,' or whatever. If you're planning on telling him that you can't see each other anymore because it'll be 'too painful' for him, then I'm not sure what to tell you, except that you're being an idiot."

For a moment they stared at each other silence. Edgeworth's brain, still full of medicine and angst, reeled.

"Erm." He coughed. "Wait, how exactly did you-?"

"Look, I've known both of you for years," sighed Maya. "It's written all over your face! Mr. Edgeworth, I like you, I really do, and I know that you're a great person, but…you're really selfish sometimes."

"S-selfish?" mumbled Edgeworth, completely taken aback.

I hardly think, he reflected, slightly wounded, that taking his feelings into consideration should be considered 'selfish.'

"Yeah," repeated Maya. "Selfish. You're thinking of telling Nick that he's better of without you, aren't you? Think of how that'll make him feel! Nick's an adult. I know he doesn't act like it sometimes, but he is one, more or less. He can decide what he wants for himself, and what he's willing to deal with. You don't get to tell him how to live his life. Plus, if you break his heart because you're afraid that everything won't be perfect, I'm going to be MAD."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Edgeworth gaped at her, completely at a loss. He could feel his face beginning to burn.

"You two are meant for each other," she added, relaxing a little. "You're both terrible at feelings. Trust me, it's meant to be. Anyway, get some rest, okay? Nick and I'll come visit tomorrow. Night!"

With that Maya, left. Edgeworth took a long, slow breath.

The surgery had been successful. The case was closed. There would be no further victims, no more tragedy, in this case at least. Phoenix had just told him that he loved him. His head hurt, his chest hurt, and Maya Fey had just given him a lecture about selfish behavior. The world had completely ceased to make sense.

I give up, he thought desperately. I cannot think any more. Whatever happens tomorrow, we shall deal with that hurdle as it arises. For now, I need sleep, somehow. My brain is of no use to me in this condition.

It did, however, take Edgeworth some time before he was finally able to fall asleep to the gentle, steady beeping of the heart monitor.