Chapter Five: No Longer An Attorney, Just A Daddy

Phoenix Wright
Wright & Co. Law Offices
May 3, 2019, 1:08 PM

Trucy Enigmar stood before him, enormous Bambi eyes, partially hidden by her pink silk magician hat, looking up at him with a mixture of anticipation and curiosity.

Phoenix gazed back at her, feeling small beads of apprehensive sweat beginning to form at his brow. Now that he'd summoned the little girl to his office, he had no idea how to go about the things. This conversation was going to be incredibly awkward, and he wasn't sure if what he was about to tell the child was going to be harder to say, or harder to hear.

He nervously cleared his throat.

"Trucy, there's something we need to talk about."

Trucy didn't speak. She just continued to stare at him silently.

"It's been two weeks since your father... disappeared," he floundered. "We need to start thinking about... your future."

More silence.

"I, um, did some calling around…" Phoenix scratched the back of his head. "This is hard to say, but...you have no living relatives."

Still no response.

"So..." Phoenix was officially sweat-dropping now. "I was wondering if you wanted to stay with me for a while. Just until your daddy comes home. It won't be for long…"

… I hope.

The little girl's continual muteness was making him agitated now, and he continued to jabber on anxiously.

"Uh, of course, it's your choice! If you don't like it here, you can go wherever you'd like. I could look up some places you might like to stay at..." This is so weird...I wish she'd say something. Anything!

"Mr. Attorney." Trucy finally spoke, her tiny face serious. "Daddy told me about you. He said I could trust you."

"Huh...? Really?"

He was immediately disgusted with his ineloquent, fumfering response.

Hell's Bells! How was I was ever any sort of renowned Ace Attorney? Has articulation left me entirely?

Trucy nodded, the expression on her doll-like features earnest and hopeful. "So, if I stay here...does that mean you'll be my family?"

"Huh? Uh... Um... I guess so?" Getting weirder...

"Um... Mr. Attorney?"

He winced at the title, harmless though it'd been intended. "Er, actually, why don't you call me... Nick. Or you can call me "Daddy" if you'd like. It doesn't have to be today or anything…"

Trucy beamed.

"OK! Say, Daddy?"

Wowzah! That was quick!

"Yes?"

"If I move here, I have to switch schools, right? And I was thinking, I haven't paid for lunches at my last school... for a year. So thanks, Daddy!" She gave a winsome smile, showing her little white teeth.

"...Ah."

Seriously, Phoenix? That's all you've got to say?

"Oh, and this office? It's a little blah." The formerly tongue-tied child turned chatterbox went on happily. "A little color goes a long way, you know?"

"...Ah."

Once an articulate attorney, always an articulate attorney. Not!

"Oh, and Daddy? You got fired from work, right? Don't you worry one bit! I'll work twice as hard! We'll make it through this!"

Her words officially sunk in, and Phoenix unexpectedly found his heart beating erratically. What the hell was he doing? Five hours earlier he was sitting in his office looking up how to file for unemployment, and now here he was suddenly going to be playing daddy, and sharing his home with a little girl!? Had he completely lost his mind?! He didn't know the first thing about being a parent! Sure, he'd had some experience for a year or so with Pearls, with him and Maya playing unofficial mommy and daddy to the orphaned child, but other than that he had zero parenting knowledge! He was definitely in over his head!

But what else could he do? Trucy had nowhere else to go, and he wasn't about to just throw a little girl out into the streets.

Phoenix finally managed to find himself able to snap out of his flabbergasted state and speak a complete sentence.

"Trucy ... how old are you?"

"Oh, I'm eight." She told him proudly, her cerulean eyes sparkling. "But don't let appearances deceive you! I'm a young professional! Stick with me and you'll do just fine, Daddy!"

"...Ah, thanks." Why does it feel like she's already in charge...?

Trucy reassured the ex-attorney that she would work hard to support both of them, as she was a professional magician, taking after her father. She showed him one of her magic tricks - the Amazing Mr. Hat - to prove her worth. Trucy explained that her mother, Thalassa Gramarye, had been a part of her father's magician's group, Troupe Gramarye, but she had "disappeared" during a trick, and had never come back. Zak had comforted Trucy with a locket containing a photo of her beautiful mother. She got misty-eyed as she spoke of this, and his heart ached for the little girl, whose mother and father had both vanished, the latter right before her very eyes.

With a lump in his throat, Phoenix swore to Trucy that he would not disappear on her as her parents had. He apologized profusely for making her have to talk about so many heavy topics of conversation all at once, as he would have hated to overwhelm the child.

"It's OK!" Another disarming smile from the little girl. "After all, we're family! I just hope you're ready! The Wright Talent Agency opens tomorrow!"

He was completely dumbfounded.

"Wh-What!? B-But are we ... representing anyone?"

"Me and you ... That makes two, Daddy...!"

"I think you need more than that to make an agency," Phoenix explained gently. "Besides...you may be a magician...but I'm no talent!"

Trucy looked disappointed, citing that a boy should always have a trick or two up his sleeve, but surely he was good at something? Phoenix hastily assured her that he would think of something, not wanting to hose down the child's burning enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit! See you bright and early tomorrow, Daddy!"

"Welcome to the team, Daddy-O!" Crowed Mr. Hat, the enormous life-sized wooden puppet of Trucy's that Phoenix had decided was more charming than creepy.

And that how was how the former Wright & Co. Law Offices became The Wright Talent Agency.

Phoenix Wright and Miserable Hag Battle-Axe
Social Services Offices
May 4, 2019

"I must say I'm a little confused, Mr. Wright. Why would a young, single, unemployed, and presumably sane man such as yourself want to take on the responsibility of adopting a child?"

A couple of days later Phoenix had gone down to Social Services to discuss his plans to adopt with Trucy. The social worker in charge was a stern woman with a strict, no-nonsense air to her named Ms. (not Miss, she'd nearly bitten his head off for the error) Bea Verhunt.

She was a towering, wide-framed woman in her sixties, built more like an NBA player than Phoenix could have ever hoped to be – for either the men or woman's team! Her silver hair was scraped back off her face into a tight bun, her beady dark eyes raked him with disapproval, and her thin lips, which were only a slash on her face, were pursed into a frown as she looked over his application.

"Well...I know it sounds crazy but, I sort of feel like I...owe it to her?" Phoenix answered nervously. "What I mean is, I feel like it's my fault her father went missing in the first place. If I had only..." He stopped, not wanting to continue speaking of the events of that unfortunate case aloud, even though he'd been torturing himself with the thought ever since.

If I'd just stuck to my gut instead of stooping to using the first thing that came to me, maybe I could have gotten Zak declared not guilty. Then maybe, Trucy would still have her real father with her.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you, Mr. Wright." The social worker spoke gravely. "You are the last person I would choose to take in this little girl, considering your past and what looks like your future as a low-life ex-lawyer. And I'm not sure culpable obligation is among the better reasons I've heard of anyone wanting to become a parent."

Phoenix felt as if a hundred shards of ice went through his chest. But he struggled to keep his composure. This woman was not going to take Trucy away from him.

"Sometimes when magicians vanish, they leave something behind," he informed the Iron Lady, his thoughtful, quiet voice betraying no evidence to his growing inner panic that his daughter's fate lay in the hands of this cuddly as a cactus She-Thing. "Something unbelievably precious. I need you to understand something. How I feel about this child is beyond any sort of guilty responsibility. Yes, to be honest, I was pretty lost those first few days after I was disbarred. It was a pretty dark time in my life…but Trucy, smiling, happy Trucy... she is my light. The light of my life."

His words were met with dead silence at first, and he realized he was actually holding his breath as he waited for a reaction from the social worker, whose expression was impassive. Finally, after what felt like ages, she spoke, her normally glacial tone visibly thawed by several degrees.

"That was quite the impassioned plea, Mr. Wright. You can take the attorney out of the courtroom…but…anyhow, I digress. Normally I find most lawyers to be the most insufferable sort of liars, but you really do seem like you genuinely care about the girl."

Ms. Verhunt leaned back in her chair and eyed him with begrudging respect. Apparently, his little speech had gotten to her.

"And it would be better than having her go to an orphanage. Ergo…" she let out a resigned sigh. "I'm going to let her stay with you… on a trial basis. I will be checking up on you every week to see how things are going. And as long as her environment is good and she is being well taken care of, then we will go through the steps to adopt."

"R-really?" Phoenix's eyes lit up in excitement. "Thank you, Miss - er, Ms. Verhunt! Thank you so much!"

"Alright don't celebrate just yet. Just remember, this is only a trial. If I don't see that she is being properly taken care of, or if there are any questions of your character that comes up during the background investigation, then I won't hesitate in taking her." She smiled cheerlessly. "Let's hope that your forfeited attorney badge is the sole skeleton in your closet."

"Of course it is! And of course, she will be!"

"Your current unemployment status is also causing concern. You are looking for steady work, are you not?"

"Y-yeah! I am, don't worry everything will work out!"

"Fine then." She gave a dismissive wave of her hand as if shooing away a pesky fly. "Off with you now, before I change my mind."

She didn't need to tell him twice.

Phoenix Wright and Trucy Enigmar
Wright & Co. Law Offices
May 4, 2019

Later that night, belly full of the salty noodles from Mr. Eldoon's stand that had been their dinner, a sleep-deprived Phoenix got into his bed as usual when he heard his bedroom door crack open slightly.

"Umm ... Daddy?" Trucy whispered, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Is everything alright, Trucy?"

"I had a nightmare," she said in a small voice. "I dreamt that you disappeared like my Mommy and Daddy did, and these mean people were telling me you left a note saying that you didn't want me anymore and were going to send me away...and I was all alone again…" her voice shook, and Phoenix felt his heart lurch. "So I was just...c-can I sleep with you tonight?"

He felt his heart breaking upon hearing the words, although he was hesitant at first, considering the potential rules he could break by allowing this; he had enough trouble with the law as it is. However, he was adopting the girl, so it shouldn't have any perturbing undertones. How many times had he fallen asleep cuddled against the then-teenaged Maya on the couch, or with Pearls in his lap?

Besides, for some reason, he was having a hard time saying 'no' to the little magician. She needed all the love and reassurance in the world right now, and he was going to make sure she got it, regardless of what it took to give it to her.

Two days in and she's already got me wrapped around her finger.

He swore he was going to ensure that Trucy Wright never had any doubt in her mind or another nightmare ever again that he was ever going to let go of her, no matter what the circumstances. They would have to pry her from his cold, dead hands.

If you can find a cause that touches your soul, it will make you a better person. It will show you the power of helping others, and ultimately the biggest winner is us. Giving to others helps us to grow, to have a different outlook in life, to appreciate what we have, and to be more positive.

"Alright, come on." He patted the space next to him to which Trucy ran on and got under the covers. Phoenix took the top blanket and tucked her in accordingly until she was as snug as a bug. "Just so you know, kiddo, I'm always going to be your Daddy from now on, alright? I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you," Trucy mumbled drowsily.

"Goodnight, Daddy." She yawned as she turned in place.

"Goodnight, Trucy." Phoenix reached over to the nightstand, shut off the lamp, got under the covers, and closed his eyes.

Just as he was drifting off, he heard the words he never thought he'd hear in his life.

"I love you, Daddy."

Phoenix smiled for the first time in what seemed like ages. Maybe, just maybe, this parenting thing wasn't going to be so bad after all.

September 12, 2021: This story is now being uploaded to be more family-friendly as the previous version was removed for being too steamy and setting off the site smoke alarms, and for having song lyrics. No harm, no foul. Seriously, I'm not worried - who the heck only reads a story for song lyrics and like, TEN chapters of canoodling out of 195? That's grossly underestimating my amazing and loyal readers, wouldn't you agree?

In the meantime, as I go through the painstaking task of ensuring my new version complies with regulations per the admin's advising, in the meantime, the full uncut version of Turnabout Everlasting, and Filling The Void (the other far too sexy for this site previous casualty, which I've started reposting in a less risqué format) can be found on THEJORDANPHOENIX dot com

All 195 chapters are now on my personal site and going forward, I will be posting there first when I write new chapters, so make sure to follow me for the latest updates and direct music video links! (I am still taking reader song requests, BTW) 😄

Mood music from this chapter - full video and lyrics on thejordanphoenix dot com:
Simple Plan - This Song Saved My Life