AN: Added some new material since in hindsight I felt like I missed a couple of opportunities to build up, since I had been eager in my quest to write the save the badge.

October 22nd, 9:00 AM

Monolith Hotel, My room

The next day there had been an unprecedented knock on my door, waking me from my deep slumber. I groaned, wiping my eyes. Being at the hospital had done nothing to make me feel rested. After speaking with Lyn after returning yesterday, I went to bed sooner than later.

I checked the time from the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was only 9 AM. Who could that be at this hour? The hotel staff tended not to enter the room while one was still present, especially with 'do not disturb' hung over the doorknob.

I had half a mind to ignore it and return to sleep, but the knocks were persistent. Whoever it was, had no intention of leaving any time soon.

With care, I pushed myself up and maneuvered to the edge of the bed. I reached my stupid cane I had leaning against the wall. While a necessary evil, it made me feel older than I was. But because I had only just woke up, my balance was off. Whatever I was poisoned with had me somewhat disoriented and weak. Grasping it in my hand, I stood up and walked at a snail's pace to the door, which still was being punished by an aggravating force on the other side.

Undoing the hatch, I pulled the door open. "Just what do you want at this hour-" I began, ready to chew out whoever was present to dare wake me up now. I had expected an irritating neighbor or perhaps a cleaner, but I had not been anticipating Lyn, especially this early.

...It didn't change the fact that it was still quite intolerable.

"Good morning, Mr. Edgeworth! How are you feeling today?" Lyn asked with a pep in her step.

I squinted in an attempt to make sense of this.

It was a queer sight for a number of reasons: 1) being that she was up existing this early in the morning without my wake up calls, 2) her being ...chipper at being up this early, seeing as she loathed mornings perhaps more than I did, and 3) her being fully dressed, since she usually would be half awake and stumble out here in slippers or her robe, forgetting to take them off.

"I was fine before you so rudely stirred me from my sleep," I grumbled.

I caught the corners of her lips curling slightly upward. "And how are you now?" she asked with unmistakable amusement.

If she wanted to torment me with a foolish joke right now, I wouldn't oblige. I gave her my meanest glare, before I retreated back inside my room. As I was making sure to shut the door in her face, she without invitation stepped inside.

The woman stroked her chin with a chuckle. "Wow, I had no idea how grumpy you could be in the mornings! You always seem ready to go."

That was because I woke up early enough to collect myself with a shower and a cup of tea. I was not naturally a morning person. I rose early only out of necessity.

"Do you have an actual reason for barging into my room?" I asked, ready to throw her out at a moment's notice.

"Of course, I do," she said matter of factly. "It's certainly not for your stunning personality at this hour, if that's what you're thinking."

I scowled. I needed tea to deal with the likes of her. Already, she was here disrupting my plan.

I had laid out my week in advance last night: avoid everyone, especially her. I couldn't have her think any less of me due that horrible display, which I couldn't remember. I couldn't tell which was worse, remembering or not remembering when you've done humiliating things that others will always keep in the corner of their mind.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I'm here to make sure you get the proper rest and care you need for the next two weeks," she announced with an overdramatic flourish.

"You've already failed with the first portion, and I do not need your care. I can take care of myself just fine."

"Nope! I think you suck at the second part," she said, shaking her head, tsking me as she shut the door without my permission. "I mean, sacrificing yourself for an assassin isn't really taking care, you know?"

"It was for everyone's benefit-"

The girl shook her head. "I didn't come here to argue with you about it. But you can't convince me it was a very intelligent idea, especially since I had the not so fun experience of surviving that horror show without you being fully present."

I had no response for that. I had scared her and left her to fend for herself after failing to apprehend our murderer. But Lyn wasn't dwelling on it as much as I was, as she hopped farther into the room past me. "Anyway, let's get started!"

"Started with what?" I asked, not wanting to get started with anything.

"Breakfast, obviously. It's the most important meal of the day."

I was not going to deal with this.

"...Lyn, get out."

"No."

"Leave."

"Noooooooooope. Let's get breakfast," she ignored me and reached into the nightstand drawer, pulling out the room service menu.

"I have no desire for breakfast."

"See? That's why I'm here. You can't just skip stuff like that when you're recovering."

Frowning, I grabbed my arm with my free hand. She was getting too involved. I wasn't some child who couldn't fend for himself.

"Did I not tell you last night to not worry about me?"

"Mr. Edgeworth, you should know by now that when you tell me to do something, there's a pretty good chance I'll ignore you and do the opposite," she pointed out wryly, but her expression just as quickly softened as she spoke once more. "And besides, it's really hard not to worry about you."

Again, there it was again. Why had she said that almost...happily? Why would anyone want to worry about someone in this manner? What could the advantage be? I had no desire to saddle her with any of my shortcomings. It just went to confirm that Lyn was a peculiar woman for more than one reason.

"Please leave."

"What would you like? Eggs and toast, maybe?" she asked, totally ignoring me.

"Lyn-"

"Eggs and toast it is," she said reaching for the phone atop the stand. "Tea as well?"

I sighed. She made it clear she had no intentions of leaving. With the phone in hand, she never once took her brown almond shaped eyes off of me as I worked my way towards the desk, not too far away from my bed.

"Yes," I said, giving up. I hadn't felt like eating anything substantial, until lunch. But I was certain that if I couldn't take in any nourishment, Lyn being the glutton she was could handle any leftovers.

The call to room service was relatively brief, as she placed two orders of eggs, toast, and tea. Within ten minutes, a busboy knocked on the door delivering the food on this rolling cart. Lyn gratefully helped moved the trays of food and utensils inside, while the man left the teapot on the desk. He told her when we were done to leave the trays out in the hall on an empty cart, left for clean up.

The girl sat one of the trays in front of me as well as a cup she found milling about my room. "Here you go!"

"Thanks," I grumbled, turning my attention to the food. Before me was a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, some butter, and marmalade flavored jelly. Unenthused, I took the teapot and poured myself a cup first. Thankfully, it was still hot.

"Man, dis chtuff iis belishious," she said smacking her lips together in an annoying and loud manner.

Turning around, I glared at the girl sitting on the edge of my bed. "Do you mind shutting your mouth when you chew, so it is not so obnoxiously loud?"

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I was really hungry."

Somehow- and I didn't know how, she had already completed half of her meal. The only thing left was the toast.

Appalled, I shook my head. "Don't you get crumbs all over my bed or the floor either."

"I'll do my best," Lyn nodded, picking up the toast covered in jam.

Returning to my own food, I took a long sip of tea before I picked up my fork, plunging them into the eggs. The tea was refreshing as accepted. I still didn't want food, but I supposed I should try to eat since it was in front of me. I honestly, couldn't remember the last time I had a real meal. From what I was told in the hospital, I didn't eat much due to the charcoal pump...and my wild hallucinations.

With much gratitude, I was able to mostly eat in silence.

"Mr. Edgeworth?"

"What?" I asked, not bothering to look at her.

"What's your favorite way to make eggs?" she asked with a distinct curiosity in her voice.

"A fine time to ask after you've already ordered," I remarked, rolling my eyes.

"So, I forgot. Tell me, so I know for next time," she persisted.

"There won't be a next time."

But she ignored me. "Mine is sunny side up, since I like the yolk gooey."

I sighed, seeing that she wasn't going to let it go. "Eggs Benedict."

"Woah, super fancy. Should have known," I could practically hear the grin in her tone.

It wasn't so much fancy as leaned on the more challenging side to make. I returned to the food with her nosiness quelled. The eggs were ok, scrambled a little too hard for my taste, but not bad. And toast was toast. One would have to be a terrible cook to ruin that.

"You finished?" she asked, approaching my side with her tray in hand.

"Yes," I said. "Playing waitress now?"

At that she rolled her eyes as she picked up my tray. "I'm only trying to be helpful, Mr. Grump."

"Yes, fantastic. Thank you kindly for forcing me to do things I didn't want to do," I replied dryly. Standing up, I moved towards the bathroom. This would definitely work. She'd have to leave.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to leave because I am going to shower."

"Mr. Edgeworth," she frowned, looking at the cane I left leaning against the desk.

"What now?"

"You'd better take that cane inside."

"I don't need it-"

"If you fall in there, lord help you because I know I won't," she said with disdain.

Lyn stood there, glaring me down. I was certain I didn't need the stupid thing to shower, but if it would make her leave so be it. I snatched it up and moved towards the bathroom door going in. "Happy now?"

She nodded.

"Wonderful. Now go," I said shutting the door. From inside, I heard the outside door opening and closing. I sighed.

Finally, I could get some peace.

October 27, 3:56 PM

Monolith Hotel, My room

I had spoken too soon.

Lyn had come back two more times in that same day to ensure I was eating my meals. And then she proceeded to follow the same pattern for every single day following. She barged in here at 9:00 every morning, pounding on my door, annoying me for breakfast. There was little I could do to stop her, so eventually, I just came to accept her presence in the room.

No matter how many times I told her to leave me to my own devices, since I was not in any need of a babysitter, Lyn persisted in aggravating me. Even going so far as to hide my research documents from me, claiming to not return them until two weeks had passed. I had given up on the matter entirely- I supposed I would catch up on reading for pleasure.

Another day had passed and the routine remained the same.

Now, she was sitting on my bed drawing something in her sketchbook, quietly humming a tune to herself. For myself, I was reading The Jungle novel I had purchased prior to the fiasco at the mansion.

I had just set it down for a moment to reflect.

Normally, she would have been bothering me the second I wasn't engaged with reading at the office, but here she remained focused and unusually quiet. I appreciated the silence, but...

"Aren't you bored?" I asked, turning my chair at an angle to look back at her.

"No," she said eyes still on her sketchpad. "Why?"

"I can't imagine being in here with me all day is very interesting," I replied. After all, I was only reading. She could be out exploring more of the city, a far more interesting pursuit than being stuck with me.

"I dunno. I guess I like being around you," she spoke setting her pad down on the bed beside her.

She liked being around me. Doing next to nothing. I shook my head.

"Has anyone ever told you how peculiar you are?"

"I've heard that a lot," Lyn laughed for the first time in a while. "Are you saying it's weird I wanna be here hanging out with you?"

"I'm sure you have a plethora of ways to amuse yourself as well as others to spend time with," I said. "I know I am often times not the most sociable."

She grinned widely. "Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, has anyone ever told you, you were a silly man?"

I frowned. That was by far one of the worst descriptors of my person I'd ever heard. "I'm anything but."

"You're a silly man to think I would have joined you on this trip if I didn't want to see you in your natural habitat."

What? She had a vivid way of seeing the world, or in this case me. "I'm not some wild animal to be observed."

But she ignored me and continued on in a jovial tone. "And not like I'm a stranger to your attitude."

The heat was rising in my face, I turned away to hide it. I wouldn't deny that I sometimes...was unpleasant. But it was beyond me why she wanted to still be around me this much despite that. I did not even spend this much time with anyone else I considered to be a friend.

"But I can go if you want," she offered. I heard the creaking of the mattress, and turning back, I saw she had stood up, starting to collect her belongings.

"...No, it's quite alright," I said. For all these days minus stealing my research and nagging me for meals, she had been otherwise respectful. "You can stay." Ironic considering for the past few days I wanted her to go away.

"You sure?"

"Didn't I just say you could stay if you wished?" I snapped. "You haven't asked me if it was okay any other time."

This time she laughed her heart out. What exactly was so funny to her in my displeasure, I'd never know. "You're right," she said returning to her spot on the bed. "Sorry, about that."

"You're just as awful as Miss Sarah," I sighed. Of course. It was almost like reliving my childhood before the nightmares began.

"Miss Sarah?" she asked leaning forward towards me. "Who's that?"

"She was an equally persistent woman who was always making feeble attempts at getting me to be more outgoing," I snorted. The lithe figure, pale skin with giant brown eyes and graying black hair came before me in my mind's eye. "When I was child, she would constantly drag me outside to play games with her or try to get me to play with other children in the neighborhood."

Lyn cocked her head. "Was Miss Sarah, like a mother to you?"

"In a way, yes," I said. "My real mother had died from an illness. I can't remember her honestly. And because she had passed while I was barely a toddler, my father hired Miss Sarah to help with me."

"So she was a nanny," Lyn confirmed.

"Oh, no," I shook my head with a smirk, tapping a finger against my temple. "Miss Sarah was more than a nanny, and she would say it to you herself. She was a drill sergeant. An absolute madwoman..."

"I remember one day she had pulled me outside to play tag. I complained that I didn't want to and wanted to do something 'mature'," I chuckled at the thought. "She looked at me, with a harden gaze and told me: 'You'd like to do something more mature, Miles?' I nodded eagerly at the time, not knowing what she had planned. 'Then come on back and follow me, now. There's plenty mature things to do inside,' she said."

Lyn was smiling. "What'd she have you do?"

"Oh, laundry, sewing, cleaning, cooking...Do all the chores I hadn't been taught how to do yet," I said wryly. "In my pursuit of wanting to be, an adult...or more specifically like my father, I learned to read early on. Though, that was the extent of my knowledge of adulthood- reading things, watching the news...my father had done little to show me practical side of life. He was usually busy with work."

"Heh, so the next time you were told to go outside and play?"

"I can't say I ever really turned down any of her offers to go outside and play again after that experience."

"I wouldn't either," she grinned. "Why do you say we're alike?"

I paused, looking for the best words to articulate this. "Miss Sarah found me tolerable even at my worst moods, but when there was something she found absolutely necessary to have me do, there was no convincing her otherwise. No matter how much I said no or tried to ignore her and have my way...as I was used to having, she was very much like an impenetrable wall that I could not bypass." I said meeting her gaze directly. "You have made yourself clear in what you want from me, even if it bothers me to absolutely no end. Standing at my door knocking to force me up to get breakfast or preventing me from doing my work until I rested...somehow I've acquiesced to your will."

"You certainly didn't make it easy," she teased.

"It wasn't easy for her either," I smirked.

"Miss Sarah, huh?" she mused holding up the pencil she was using and tapping the side of her face. "Bet we would have been cool...but what happened to her?"

I cast a glance at the ground for a moment. It was a good question. "I'm not entirely sure," I said. "One day she had been called to return home to her country, as something happened with her family...I suspect someone close to her died. After she left us to return home, she stayed. My father lost contact with her so I'm unaware of her whereabouts now."

"That's too bad."

"It is."

"I bet she was fond of you."

"...What makes you say that?"

"Difficult children are always the ones you adore most," she said wistfully.

"I beg to differ."

She leaned back slightly. "Once I interned at an early elementary school. I had a hard time with it."

"You? You're one of the biggest kids I've ever met," I said in jest.

"Yeah. That was kind of the problem," she admitted almost sheepishly. "I could relate to kids easily, but when time came to discipline...I struggled. It didn't feel like it was really my place to do so...and I got pushed around often. By 6 year olds."

"A riveting experience, it sounds like."

"It gets better," she said wryly. "I love kids. But there was one boy who I absolutely hated. I loathed that kid with a fiery passion. He'd ignore me and never listen to anything I told or asked him to do. He'd steal stuff from other kids, be kind of aggressive...and one day I just snapped. I took his backpack, threw it at his desk and screamed at him to sit down and do his homework."

She laughed to herself. "Do you know that was the first time he listened and immediately obliged? He did everything instantly until he had to go home. After that, we had fewer problems. I tried to talk to him more, give more incentives for doing the right things... You know, he was very smart despite the mean attitude he had. And I saw he wasn't always mean- he demonstrated kindness at times too. But you had to REALLY work him and be patient to see it. He was an absolute pain in my ass, but by the end of the year he was my favorite student."

"And why was that?" I asked arms folded, tapping my finger on one arm.

"Dunno," she shrugged. "I think when you care, you naturally end up fighting with someone. In that role along with the teacher, I had to care about the students-all of them, even the ones I didn't like. I generally had to put feelings aside to help them succeed. Otherwise, I could have just as easily said, 'do whatever you want, I don't care' whenever they did stuff that wasn't good for their grades or friendships."

"It is certainly- a different perspective," I said. It was one I had never considered before. For some time I had only thought of her as just doing her job and nothing more whenever I would sometimes think of those more pleasant days.

"...Or maybe that's just being okay with someone's ugliness, since well pleasant people are easy to like and be pleasant towards. It's almost like unearthing gold when you get to see beyond that."

"Sounds naive to me," I said, despite being a benefactor of such a ridiculous outlook. It had reminded me of the extended amount of effort Wright put in to reconnecting.

"Yeah, you would say that," she snorted. "You're probably not wrong. But that time in that school taught me to try to seek out the best in people when I could. It's not always gonna be the case, obviously, since some people are rotten to the core."

She crinkled her nose and directed a harsh gaze down at the bedspread, as though something or someone was running through her head. But she rebounded with a smile, picking up both the sketchpad and pencil again. "Anyway, enough of my rambling."

I was going to return to my book, after such an abrupt end to the conversation, but she was furiously moving her pencil across the page, attention completely on whatever it was she was drawing. I hadn't seen anything she was working on the past few days actually.

"Lyn?"

"Hm?" she asked erasing.

"May I see what you're working on?"

"It's nothing special," she said pulling the book into her chest. "Just some cartoon things."

I shrugged. "You've never shown me anything you've drawn before. I'm curious."

"Oh," she blinked. "Alright then. Don't make fun of it, alright?"

"Why would I ? I'm afraid I have limited artistic talent."

She climbed off the bed and shuffled over to me, presenting the page she was working on. It was...some people with pumpkins for heads.

"What are these?"

"I dunno...was just channeling my Halloween spirit," she said. "You know, since it's the best holiday of the year."

"Halloween? I had you pegged as a Christmas fan," I said amused.

"Christmas? Christmas is overhyped!" she stomped. "It's overrated. It's not bad, but it's always so stressful and crazy. But Halloween? Halloween, all you do is celebrate spooky stuff, pretend to be someone else for a day, AND get free candy! There's no painful, annoying, awkward family get togethers. Just free treats from strangers."

"...Do you still trick or treat?"

"No!" she flushed. "I mean, I go to parties and stuff. The last time I did was like 15."

I half wondered if that was a lie. She could in theory pass for a teen still by appearance. But I didn't press it, being more interested in the drawings. "Is it okay if I look through more pages?"

"Sure," she said. She hovered over me as I flipped through, pages of sketches of cities, trees, expressions, clothes and people in different poses. They weren't very realistic, but rather cartoony.

"Ah, wait-" the panicked voice said.

"Hm?" I had just landed on a particular page where there was a man sitting head buried in a book...It seemed strangely familiar.

"...Is that me?"

"You?" she blushed, waving a hand. "No, way. Why would I devote pages in here to drawing you?"

"Pages?" I smirked, as I now continued to flip further and further back. "What else is here..."

"Mr. Edgeworth!" she reached for the book, desperately trying to pull it out of my hands. I raised my arm way over my head, to remove her grasp and then slipped the book into my lap. It was enough time to get further back to older pages. And indeed my suspicion was correct. There were 3 other pages devoted to drawings of me...admittedly they were nice. It seemed like more effort was put into these drawings than some of the others.

"It seems I've discovered what you like to do when you're procrastinating at work," I teased, raising the book in the air.

She snatched it back, still red in the face. "Hmph! So what if I do?"

"...These are quite nice. It's certainly far better than I could ever hope to do if I were to draw."

She somehow turned a darker shade of red. "T-thanks," she stammered out.

"I must ask, why so many drawings of me?"

"I...well..." she looked towards the ground. "I feel...you make a good model!"

"A good model?"

"Yeah, real good!" she said. "And...uh speaking of that I gotta go find some other models. See you later!"

With that she hastily bolted out of the room.

(How abrupt. Guess it means I can keep reading.)

Amused, I picked up my book lying on the desk. I'm not sure what made me model material for her, but it was worth teasing her about something that got such a strong reaction. She ruffled my feathers on a regular basis, so it was only fair in my mind to deliver some payback whenever possible.

I smirked to myself.

November 1st, 11:15 AM

Regent Park

"Mr. Edgeworth, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lyn asked, walking beside me down the concrete path. "We've been out for over an hour now. Maybe we should go back."

"Not yet," I shook my head. I could go on, most likely for a bit more. I didn't feel frail so much as I did dizzy at times, which was why I held onto the cane.

Today was a nice day. It was rare to have this kind of weather- with the sun prancing about and blue skies on the horizon. The temperature might have been nippy as usual, but the atmosphere made up for that shortcoming.

In all honesty, I didn't want to waste it. It was ironic. Most times, I would spend submerged in a book inside and yet now, I longed to be out when I couldn't move with the usual ease I had took for granted. Ms. Sarah would probably be picking on me at this instant, in that drawl- telling me, 'I told you so. Nothing good comes from hiding inside all day.'

Beyond that, Lyn had stayed with me all these days cooped in my room. She didn't voice it, but I was certain she'd prefer to be exploring. This morning, I thought it would be nice for her to see the city without an overcast for a change, and perhaps provide her with the opportunity to survey other landmarks she hadn't seen before.

"What did you think of the museum?" We had just recently departed from The Sherlock Holmes Museum on 221 Baker Street. While quite small, in order to replicate the living space the great detective would have lived in, I found the exhibits interesting. The wax figures, however, were a bit too realistic for my taste though...

The expression of mild concern, was soon replaced with a wide grin as she locked her fingers together. "It was amazing! So amazing, I sorta cried a little."

I smirked. I knew it was a good choice. She couldn't contain her excitement at being there, eyes glued to the tour guide like those children getting to see a live stage performance of their favorite show. The furnishings of the room had rendered her chatterbox tendencies to near muteness when we entered the building, almost as if the place had cast a magical enchantment over her.

Once the tour portion had ended, we were allowed to continue examining the rooms. Lyn had flitted from room to room switching between further reading descriptions of particular exhibits that interested her and taking as many pictures as she could, trying to get the perfect lighting, complaining that because of the lack of flash the pictures weren't as nice as she would have wanted.

"Is that so?"

"Don't make fun me," she pouted, lightly slapping my arm. "Sherlock Holmes is my hero! And I got to wander around his house...! Of course, it's not real, but..."

I knew better than to underestimate miss head in the clouds, when it came to matters of fantasy. I had noticed when it came to describing the things she liked, she pulled herself into whatever world or essence of the very thing she was describing, as though she had merged with it. I was unsure of how she did it, nor if she even realized she was doing it herself. Admittedly, it interested me, though I on plenty of occasions have had to drag her back down to earth.

"Why do you idolize him in particular?"

"Huh? Well, he's just a total badass!" she said as she proudly adjusted her glasses. "His power of observations, incredible wealth of knowledge, braving dangerous situations, being strange... For me, intelligence was the most important quality in life. A lot of heroes may be action stars, but I'd choose smarts over brutes any day of the week."

"I feel obliged to agree."

"Ha! Of course you would," she said mockingly.

I raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

"I mean, you could practically be his cousin or something with all your deductions and logic."

I snorted. "Is that all it would take?"

"Unless, you secretly do cocaine in your spare time?"

"...Absolutely not," I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes, I have to wonder if you're taking any mind altering substances."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Anyway, thanks for taking me there. You didn't have to, but I was really happy to see it."

"Of course," I nodded.

I was glad she enjoyed it.

Recalling her like of mystery novels, it didn't seem incorrect to assume she'd have no interest in the museum. While mysteries didn't engage me in the same manner, it was fascinating to see an example of the dwelling people would have most likely been living in. Plus watching her reactions to things never failed to amuse. I was curious to see how she would respond to the things I had already seen as well. Perhaps, it was silly, but it was almost like experiencing things with a fresh pair of eyes, as she could see from a different perspective.

For the next few minutes nothing was said. We continued the walk, slowly because of me, having to take pause every so often. But she never complained and had long since stopped asking me of my condition, probably unsatisfied with my assurances of being alright.

At this particular juncture between two branching paths we paused at, her brown eyes fixed themselves to the assortment flowers protected by a low fence in the middle.

"They're pretty," she muttered. "Whoever maintains them does a good job."

"Do you like gardening?"

"Me? Gardening?" She looked at me and waved a hand dismissively. "God, no. You know me. I'm pretty lazy to do anything like that."

At least she was honest. "Why not?"

"Because I hate getting my hands dirty."

"It seems head in the clouds was the most appropriate assessment of your character after all," I chuckled.

"What?" she folded her arms. "I don't like dirt or bugs... hard manual labor or anything generally gross. I'd rather pay someone to do it for me. I was built for cleaner hobbies, thank you."

...I hadn't expected her to be so prissy. Honestly, I had her pegged as someone who wouldn't mind getting dirty...considering all the messes she regularly got herself in.

"What about you? Do you have a green thumb?" she asked in a feeble attempt to get the attention off of herself.

"Unlike Ms. Prissy, I don't take any issue with maintaining landscapes or gardens," I said, observing some butterflies gliding over the flowers. "I do have a small garden in my backyard."

"Wow! Really?" She muttered something to herself I didn't entirely catch. I was fairly certain it was some kind of cheeky insult, however.

"Yes, I find it relaxing," I said. "Perhaps you should consider giving it a try."

"Naw. Here's a better idea," she grinned pointing her index finger upward. "How about you do the gardening stuff and I talk to the plants and flowers?"

"What?"

"Haven't you heard it helps plant life grow when you talk to them?"

"That hasn't been fully proven," I rolled my eyes. "If anything, it's probably taking in the carbon dioxide when you speak."

"So what?" she shrugged. "Even so, doesn't hurt, right? I'd give them a good pep talk! 'You can do it! Don't give up! Grow to your most powerful form and transcend your regular life as you know it!' "

(...Perhaps she should change careers to plant motivational speaker.)

But I had enough of flowers, opting to move on through the park. She took a final moment to look before following along.

I gripped my cane tighter. The path on which we walked and the grassy fields surrounding it had become lopsided, oddly slanted. Another one of those dizzy spells was trying to come on. I shook it off, unwillingly to stop now.

(Just a little longer...)

Up ahead was a park bench about ten feet away. If I could just make it there, it'd be no problem. I picked up my pace a little bit in an attempt to the close the distance faster, but my toe stubbed something on the path, causing me to hit the ground.

"Ah! A-are you alright?" I heard Lyn nearly shout.

I flushed. That was an overestimation on my part. I should have looked for a bench sooner or better yet, looked for any awkward cracks in the path. "I'm fine," I exhaled.

"Ugh. I kept telling you to sit down," she muttered. "Can you stand?"

"I believe so," I said, slowly pushing myself up from the ground with my hands. I scowled, seeing the cane too far away for me to reach on my own. Lyn grabbed it from the dirt, passing it to me. She also squatted down next me. "If you need to, use my shoulder for support."

I curtly nodded, as I did my best to plant the cane in the ground and push myself up from the knees. While, I didn't want to rely upon her, for a moment, I laid my hand on her shoulder to further bolster myself.

Shortly, I was standing up on my own, still mildly dizzy, but at least no longer on the ground. Lyn stood up, looking at me with a frown. "I knew coming out would be too much."

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "This was supposed to give you something to do other than stay cooped up inside with me all day. It's rare that the weather here is this nice and I didn't want to let it go to waste."

"Mr. Edgeworth..." she was about to say something else, but shook her head in censorship. "Let's get to that bench."

Only after a snail's pace of a walk, did we manage to get to the black bench. It was with relief and embarrassment I found myself glad to be sitting once again, since I hadn't in hours. I hadn't noticed how tired my legs were.

Once a couple of minutes passed, she spoke again. "Please don't push yourself more than necessary. Especially for me."

"Before, I was scared that you were dead," she said softly. Despite the gentle tone, her words held a certain weight to them, as though the gravitational force was dragging them into the earth's center. "So I'm really happy to spend any time with you, regardless of where, since back then I believed there would be no more of it."

"I'm...sorry for worrying you," I wasn't sure of what to say or do yet again. I didn't like upsetting her, and I needed some way of making it all up to her, that was as much as I knew. I must start somewhere. Another silence rolled by between us, though the world remained in motion, with people walking by casually chatting and birds chirping.

"I..." Slowly, I inched closer to her on the bench, taking a deep breath. "...haven't properly thanked you for finishing the case under those circumstances. It was difficult, but I trusted you to finish it and you exceeded my expectations."

Her head shot up, though I hadn't met her eyes directly, looking away.

"Though, I can't remember most of the night after being drugged, I did hear people talking about finding my dead body," I said in mild amusement. "And I heard when you came back, talking to me. I was declared dead, trapped in my own body unable to move, speak, or even open my eyes- and yet there you were talking to me as though I were still present. It was..." I felt enough courage to carefully meet her gaze. "...a very you thing to do. While small, it did give a moment of solace. Thank you for that."

Her lips were trembling.

"I hope that in times of trouble I can help bring you comfort as well, if you ever need it," I said.

"Mr. Edgeworth..." tears streamed down her cheeks.

(D-Did I upset her further? That wasn't my intention...)

But she wrapped her arms around me just like she had done when I saw her after being released from the hospital. She was hanging on tight, but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable. It would be alright to reciprocate...right? It would probably help make her feel better. Slowly, I did the same, wrapping my arms around her upper back.

Like before, I didn't mind this. I couldn't tell if it was from being under the usually hidden sun, from the material of our coats, or generally just being so close but it was warm despite the bursts of cold air. Quite warm.

Not knowing what to do, if I should do anything, we stayed like that for some time. If she didn't withdraw, I wouldn't either.

"...You can stop calling me that," I muttered. It was rather silly, now that I took the moment to think about it. The distance between us...figuratively and literally in this case, had shrunk to a significant degree.

"H-huh?" was the muffled response.

"We're beyond formalities at this point," I said feeling this strange inexplainable tingling in my chest. "So, please call me Miles."

"Okay...Miles," she said as though she were trying it on for size the way one tries on a new pair of shoes. Slowly, she released her hold of me.

"So...Miles?" the girl asked with hesitancy in her voice, her eyes were focused on her feet.

"Yes?"

"We're getting out of here now," she demanded with her arms folded. "And you're going to get a lot of rest!"

(...I've given her too much power.)

I was beginning already to wonder if allowing her to call me by my first name was a mistake. I had a very strong feeling that now, she was going to nag me to death.

"Fair enough." I would have usually protested, but I actually was exhausted. "I believe that's enough mishaps for one day."

"I'll say. I'm starting to wonder if you like worrying me."

She sprung to her feet, watching me closely. With a sigh, I forced myself up with the support of the cane. We'd have a bit of a walk ahead of us. I started, this time with far more balance, while Lyn stayed on my left side walking next to me.

"If the end result of you worrying about me is you constantly watching my every movement like a hawk, I definitely don't take joy in it."

"Thank heavens for that!" she said in mock relief. "Since you know, I got better things to do. Why would I wanna watch out for you when I could just annoy you instead?"

I swear, she was one of the few people on this planet who could cause me to feel guilty and irritated in a matter of seconds.

It was a pity I needed the cane for support, otherwise I would have tapped her over the head with it. I opted to do the next best thing, though. I paused from walking, causing the girl to stop as well. Just as she was about to question me, I flicked her in the forehead. "I believe you are already killing two birds with one stone."

"Ow! Since when do you do such...such kid stuff?" she pouted, rubbing her forehead.

"Since I'm dealing with a child, I have to speak in a language they'll understand," I said, picking up the pace once more feeling satisfied with my retaliation. "Now, hurry up."

"Rude," she said trying to sound offended, but once she returned to my side, it was easy to see the amusement in her eyes.

November 6th, 9:17 AM

Monolith Hotel, My room

How peculiar.

I had waited and waited. It was past 9. And there was no knocking at my door.

(Where was she?)

This had become the new normal for the past 2 weeks. It had been a constant annoyance, yes, but I had grown accustomed to her barging in here daily. Somehow my room felt empty without her around.

I shook it off. I should be rejoicing to have that space back to myself without being treated like a child. But…

I groaned, finding myself trudging out of my room gratefully without the cane, no longer needing it, and down the hall to her room.

(How is it possible to feel as though I miss being annoyed? I'm quite annoyed at not being annoyed...)

I rapt on the door 3 times, now agitated.

In a minute or so, the door swung open. Lyn appeared to be still drowsy, her hair down and wavy, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, shorts, and sandals.

"Good morning," she yawned. "What's going on?"

I tapped the index finger on my now folded arm. " 'What's going on' is what I should be asking you."

"Huh?"

"You're late."

Her eyes widened, but just as fast did she furrow her brows together. "Well, I was just looking out for you those two weeks...and I thought you hated me coming over every morning."

"I did."

"Then...why…?"

Her confusion was bothersome, as it further added to my own confusion. I don't know why I had shown up here after the past two weeks, other than the fact that it felt wrong not to do so.

"I hate disruptions in my routine," I asserted.

She cocked her head. "...So you hate...not doing it now?"

My cheeks felt warm. I hated falling under her scrutiny. Scrutinizing was my job, after all.

"Come," I grabbed her by the arm pulling her out of the doorway. It was the perfect means of distraction.

"H-huh? Mr. Edgeworth-"

"Miles," I corrected.

"Right, Miles...can you please wait for just one sec-" she requested looking back into her room.

"No."

It was her turn to be exasperated. "But-"

"I refuse to wait anymore. You are already late," I said. "We're getting breakfast."