The train ride into the city is generally quiet. This time Maya insists on taking the window seat, and spends most of the ride with her head against the glass, watching the scenery rush by. They do manage to hold a conversation for a while, mostly about normal things, and Phoenix wonders if Maya is just as scared as he is, if she's talking to him about the upcoming movies she wants to see and about the mundane things she still needs to work on in Kurain simply to keep her mind off of everything else.

He doesn't mind, since it helps him keep his mind off of things, too. At least until the train starts to fill up and the noise of the people around them begins to make it difficult to converse. Maya goes back to staring out the window, and Phoenix can only sit and wait for the train to reach the station.

He's slept too much already to nod off at all, so he busies himself with people watching until the train finally pulls into the station. He and Maya wait for most of their car to depart before grabbing their bags and following the crowd onto the platform.

Maya stops him before he starts to walk through the station. "Wait, Nick," she says. "I need to give this back to you."

He looks down at her hands and sees the glint of gold in them. She lifts her fingers to his lapel where she pins his attorney's badge, then runs her hands over his chest to smooth his lapels down again. "There. I'm part of you the way this badge is, right? So keep it here over your heart where it belongs."

He smiles at her and leans down to kiss her forehead. "Thank you, Maya."

"Mhm. Now we're ready. Let's go."

He nods and leads her through the station and to the road outside, where he hails the two of them a cab. The ride to the office is only a few minutes by car, and when they get to their building, Phoenix grabs their bags from the trunk while Maya pays the driver.

He can't help feeling a little bit wary of the Gatewater Hotel that looms across the street. He's almost positive that was how Molly knew about the office being empty, and while he doesn't really think she would have gone back to her room there after her little foray into his office, it still creeps him out to know that she could be up there right now, still watching for his return.

When Maya comes to the back of the car to grab her bag, she finds him squinting up at the hotel. She puts her hand on his arm, grabbing his attention back. "Nick, you okay?"

He looks down at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. As fine as I can be right now, at least."

"Okay. I guess we should head upstairs now."

He bends to pick up his bag. "Yep. Let's go."

They make their way into the building and get into the elevator to head to the second floor with their bags. Stepping out of the elevator and into the hallway, Phoenix spots someone down the hall, leaning against the wall beside the office door. The figure looks up when he hears them coming, and Phoenix realizes who it is.

"Larry? You're still here?"

Larry pushes himself off the wall as they approach. "Of course, dude! Edgey and that detective guy are both inside, they wouldn't let me stay, but I wanted to see you before I left to make sure everything was okay."

"Oh, thanks. We're both fine and so is Trucy, but we haven't been inside yet, so I'm not sure how bad it really is."

Larry nods absentmindedly, and Phoenix notices his eyes drift to the side, where Maya happens to be standing behind him. They snap back to Phoenix before he speaks. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute, Nick?"

"Uh, sure." Phoenix takes a step forward, but Larry looks at Maya again.

"Alone. Sorry, Maya. Guy talk, you know?"

Phoenix rolls his eyes and turns to Maya, who's lips are turned down in a pout. "It's fine, Maya. It's just Larry, you know how he is. Go inside and tell Edgeworth we're here. I'll be in in a minute."

Maya grabs his arm, pinching him through his sleeve as she leans up to whisper to him. "If you tell him anything about our private affairs I will be very mad at you, Nick."

"Ow, don't pinch me! I won't tell him anything like that."

"Good." She lets him go, and turns to open the office door, stepping inside with her bag.

Larry raises his eyebrows as Phoenix turns back around to face him. "Wow. She's already got you whipped. But who am I kidding? You were whipped before you two officially got together."

Phoenix ignores him. "What do you want to talk about?"

Larry gestures for him to follow as he walks a bit further down the hall away from the office door. He grins at Phoenix once they're away from the door where Maya might have heard them, and reaches forward to clap a hand onto Phoenix's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, Nick. Finally. You finally managed to get with Maya. She's such a cutie and she's been your assistant for years. That's kind of hot. You and your secretary."

Phoenix frowns. "She's not my secretary, Larry, and you know it. You just watch too much porn. It's not like that with me and Maya, okay? I mean, I do think she's beautiful and everything, but it's not just a physical thing. I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Larry raises his eyebrows. "Dude, it's been like, a week. I know you two have always been close but just because you were friends doesn't mean this is going to work out romantically. I hope it does, seriously I do, but don't get ahead of yourself."

"No offense, Larry, but you're not exactly the best guy to take relationship advice from. I don't plan on leaving Maya after two weeks when I think I've found something better."

Larry squints at him. "I don't do that."

"Yes, you do. And don't worry, it's not like I'm going to propose to her tomorrow or anything, but I already know it's what I want."

"Whatever," Larry says, waving his hand. "I get you're all into that mushy lovey-dovey stuff but be honest. You're actually just happy you're finally getting some, right? You never were the type to come out to bars with me to pick up chicks. How long has it been, man?"

Phoenix turns his face away. What happened to the Larry who was sniffling over how romantic he thought it all was on the phone? Of course he shouldn't have expected Larry to keep that up, he's back on his womanizer act now that they're actually face to face. "None of your business," he says.

"Dude! Don't tell me you and Maya haven't done anything yet? It's been a whole week!"

Phoenix rolls his eyes, deciding not to say anything. Larry shrugs. "Well, I have something for you anyway." He digs a hand into his pocket and pulls it out, holding it out. Phoenix reaches out hesitantly, opening his hand.

Larry drops a small silver packet into his hand, and Phoenix almost drops it when he realizes what it is. Instead he closes his fist around it. "Larry!" he hisses. "I don't need you of all people handing me condoms! I'm not a teenager."

Larry grins. "Well, it's not like I expect you to have any. I'm just looking out for you, man, so you don't regret not buying any when the time comes."

"Ugh, you're terrible," Phoenix says, pushing the wrapper back into Larry's hands. "Do you really want to know how long it's been? About two hours, okay? Are you happy? And by the way, we did use protection. I don't need you to remind me about that." He doesn't mention how last night was only their first time. Larry doesn't need to know that.

Larry pockets the condom again and then reaches forward, placing both hands on Phoenix's shoulders this time. "Damn! Even after finding out about your office you still managed to make time for it this morning? Nice! So how is she in bed? She's pretty inexperienced, right? That could be pretty nice though, if you got to be her first—"

"I am not discussing that with you," Phoenix interrupts.

"Aw, come on, Nick!"

"No way. That's mine and Maya's business, besides I don't want you thinking about her that way."

Larry frowns. "Fine then."

"Now if you'll excuse me I have some important stuff to take care of, okay? You can go home," Phoenix says, turning to walk back towards the office door.

"Alright, man. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. And Larry," he says, softening his tone, "thanks for checking out the office for Trucy."

Larry salutes him. "No problem. Let me know how things go. Oh and, congrats," he says, with a exaggerated wink.

Phoenix rolls his eyes as Larry turns to head down the hall, then picks up his bag again. He turns to open the office door, bracing himself for the mess. What he walks into actually isn't as bad as he expected. Yes, the office is a mess. There's paper all over the place and soil from Charley's pot has been strewn throughout the office and ground into the carpeting, and there's a pile of broken glass on his desk, but he thinks it could have been worse.

There are police working in different sections of the office, and Phoenix makes his way over to Maya, who's standing behind his desk, staring down at the desktop with a frown.

He wraps an arm around her shoulders. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be," he tells her.

Maya looks up at him, and it's then he notices she has something in her hands. It's the picture Trucy had given to him, the one of he and Maya, torn clean in half. "It was on the floor," Maya says. "She broke the picture frame just to tear this picture in half." She holds the two pieces closer together. "Is this the picture you were talking about before?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"It is a really nice picture, like you said," Maya says. "We'll have to ask Trucy to print another one for us."

Phoenix smiles, squeezing her shoulder. "Definitely."

Maya sighs and steps past him, over towards Charley. "Help me, Nick. Those policemen said they already checked over here so we can start cleaning up if we want, and poor Charley doesn't deserve this."

Phoenix steps over the papers on the floor to help Maya lift Charley's pot back into a standing position. Some of his leaves have fallen off and he's lost quite a bit of soil. He watches sadly as Maya scoops as much of the soil off of the carpet as she can and puts it back in the pot, patting it down gently around the stem

"We'll go to the garden centre later to get some more soil, and maybe even a new pot," Phoenix tells her, trying to lighten the mood. "He's been growing lately so he could probably use some fresh soil and a bigger pot."

Maya nods silently as she stands, brushing at Charley's dusty leaves with a hand. She's so gentle, it makes him angry that Molly treated him in such a bad way. To most people Charley is just some unimportant decorative plant for the office, but for he and Maya, Charley is a not just a plant. He was Mia's, and he's one of the only living things in the office that reminds them both of her, even all these years after her death. In a way he wonders if Mia's spirit is somehow helping with Charley's longevity. He doesn't know a lot about plants, but he's willing to bet most plants of this type don't live so long.

Maya turns to him. "We should head upstairs. That's where Mr. Edgeworth and Detective Gumshoe are."

Phoenix nods and holds out a hand. Maya places hers in his. "Let's go see how bad it is up there."

The upstairs isn't as messy as the downstairs, but it's still somehow worse when Phoenix realizes that half of the picture frames from the walls have been taken down and the pictures inside torn from them or ripped up. He can tell Maya is hurt by it too, as every picture that's torn up was a picture she was in, and she keeps her eyes down as they pick their way down the hall, trying not to step on any broken glass.

"Don't take it to heart, Maya," he murmurs to her. "She's crazy and jealous of you, and I have digital copies of all of these photos. I'll have them replaced in no time."

Maya smiles at him gratefully. "I know, Nick. I just wish you didn't have to go through this all because of me."

He takes her hands in his, squeezing comfortingly. "It's not because of you, Maya. Do not blame yourself for the actions of someone else. Molly clearly needs mental help."

Maya nods at him, but looks up again when they hear a voice down the hallway, loud and demanding.

Phoenix turns back to her. "That's Edgeworth. Sounds like he's yelling at the Detective. Shall we?"

Maya takes a deep breath. "I'm almost scared to find out what she did in your bedroom…"

Phoenix swallows. "Yeah, you're telling me. I almost don't want to know, but I guess I have to find out."

They make their way down the hall to the bedroom, and Phoenix pushes open the door. Detective Gumshoe is kneeling beside the bed, while Edgeworth stands over him, watching whatever he's doing.

"Oh, Wright," Edgeworth says, looking over at him. "I thought you would have called before coming in."

Phoenix shrugs. "It's my home, so I didn't think I needed to call you first."

"Yes, but… it's a crime scene."

"And I was invited into it beforehand."

Maya walks into the room as they stand arguing back and forth, stepping carefully over the clothing strewn about the room, and looks down at Gumshoe. "Um, Detective, what are you doing?"

Gumshoe looks up at Edgeworth, who has gone silent at the question, then turns to Maya. "It's good to see you, Pal," he says.

Maya furrows her eyebrows. "It's good to see you too, but you didn't answer my question."

Phoenix thinks he knows, given Gumshoe is wearing rubber gloves and has a cotton swab in his hand. He feels sick to his stomach just thinking about it. Edgeworth takes a step towards Maya and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Fey, I have to ask you to stand back from the bed. We can't risk contaminating it. The Detective here is taking a sample…"

"A sample?" Maya asks, clearly still not understanding.

Edgeworth actually looks embarrassed, his semblance of professionalism starting to fail him. "Er, yes… You see… We believe the culprit, well, pleasured themselves in Wright's bed. They left behind bodily fluids, so we're going to take some samples for DNA testing."

Now Phoenix really feels sick to his stomach, and Maya has gone completely pale. She steps away from the bed and walks back over to Phoenix, where she wraps her arms around his waist and presses her forehead into his chest, and groans. He strokes her back comfortingly, looking at Edgeworth over her head.

"I'm sorry, Wright," Edgeworth says. "I know it's unpleasant to hear, but whoever did this didn't break in for information on your clients or for valuables. It seems they were here for you."

"It was Molly," Phoenix says. "We already told you about her, you know it was her."

Edgeworth purses his lips. "We have no solid evidence yet, but if it was her she was very careless. There's fingerprints and DNA evidence everywhere. We'll have evidence soon enough but until then, we can't accuse her."

"You have mine and Maya's statements that she's been trying to convince me to date her since I met her, and you also know about her forcing a kiss on me now that Maya's explained everything to you, which could be considered assault if I wanted to press charges. Isn't that enough to at least have her arrested until the results from the prints and DNA come back?"

Edgeworth shakes his head. "No. If you try to charge her with assault now it will only look like you're trying to find a reason to arrest her for this, before we have the right evidence to accuse her. Unfortunately she never physically harmed you or threatened you aside from that kiss, correct? She most definitely overstepped her boundaries, but that's not enough. We have to make sure to do this right if we want to put her away. I wouldn't worry about her skipping town though. Stalkers don't normally leave the area their target is in."

Phoenix feels a chill go through him as Edgeworth says that word. Stalker. He then remembers Maya's idea from earlier, and glances over to the window. He notices the blinds aren't closed properly. One of them is bent slightly, creating a gap between it and the one above it. It's a perfect little viewpoint to see straight into his bedroom. Knowing that Molly was most likely watching him all those nights makes him feel absolutely violated.

"Edgeworth," he says, turning back to him, "have someone go to the Gatewater Hotel and check the room across from here, the same one April May used in Mia's murder case all those years ago. I have a feeling Molly used it the same way April May did. She was watching me, that's how she knew no one was here when she broke in, I just know it."

Edgeworth nods. "I'll be sure to have the Detective head over there once we're done in here."

Maya finally lifts her face from Phoenix's chest, and when he looks down he can see the look of utter disgust still on her face. He's never really seen her look so grossed out, as it takes quite a bit to make Maya find something gross. She looks around the room.

"She went through your dresser and your closet, touched herself in your bed… I guess we should be grateful Trucy is always on top of the laundry. Imagine if you had dirty underwear in your laundry hamper? They'd probably all be stolen."

"Maya!" Phoenix says. "Don't even say that, it's disgusting enough knowing she was touching herself in my bed. I'm going to have to burn that mattress and buy a new one."

"Buy a whole new bed. Change your entire bedroom around so it looks different, too, or it's going to be tainted forever. And definitely get better blinds, Nick!"

He grimaces. "Yeah, that's the first thing on my shopping list. New blinds that actually cover the window properly. Then a new mattress."

Gumshoe finally stands, the cotton swab now sealed in a plastic tube in his hands. He slips it into a paper envelope before removing his gloves. "I'll get this sent straight to the lab," he tells Edgeworth, before turning to Phoenix and Maya. "It seems the only times we ever see each other are at crime scenes."

Phoenix smiles. "Yeah, but at least this time I'm not bugging you for information about a case."

Gumshoe grins at him, then taps his head with a finger. "I'd never give up confidential information to some defense attorney anyway, pal. It's all safe up here."

Phoenix smiles. "Right, of course."

"Anyway," Gumshoe says. "Was there anything else you two noticed that we'd need to check out? Anything else out of place?"

They both look around, and Maya pulls away when she notices something on the floor on the other side of the bed. She goes to pick it up. "Well, it's nothing that'll help," she says sadly. "Just the poor teddy bear I bought you when you were in the hospital, Nick," she says, holding it up. "She ripped the heart out of its hands, poor little guy."

Phoenix grimaces. "She ripped his heart out. I hope that's not some sort of omen."

Gumshoe slaps Phoenix on the back. "Don't worry, pal! We'll get this stuff to the lab and have it analyzed in no time. Once we have DNA evidence, arresting and charging her will be a piece of cake. Mr. Edgeworth caught me up on everything, so I know about what's been going on."

"And the Detective here knows that his salary depends on him keeping his mouth shut if Miss Hott happens to ask him anything about the break in at the Wright Anything Agency, doesn't he?" Edgeworth says.

Gumshoe rubs the back of his neck. "Sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth, sir. My lips are sealed." He turns back to Phoenix as Maya stands across the room, the bear still held in her hands. "By the way, it's nice to see you two finally together, even if all this other stuff is happening," he says.

Phoenix smiles at him. Gumshoe is yet another person he can add to the list of people who knew he and Maya belonged together before they did. "Thanks, Gumshoe. It was nice seeing you again, too. We need to make plans to have dinner or something sometime," he says. "You know, so we can catch up without a crime happening."

"Sure thing, pal," Gumshoe says. "Give me a call whenever you'd like! For now, I'm going to head out. Our investigation is pretty much done, but a few officers will probably hang around for a bit longer just to be sure they've combed through everything. Once they're gone, we'll send a cleaning team over."

"A cleaning team? But there's no blood."

Gumshoe makes a face. "Yeah but… there are other bodily fluids. It's considered a biohazard, so we have to. Besides, I'm sure you'd prefer someone else clean up in here than having to do it yourself, right?"

"Er, yeah, I guess you're right. Though I'm pretty sure I'll just tell them to throw out my entire mattress."

Gumshoe shrugs. "That's up to you, but I can't say I wouldn't do the same."

With that he leaves, his baggy of evidence in hand. Edgeworth turns to Phoenix. "Wright, I'm going to leave as well. We pretty much know for a fact that the DNA will be Miss Hott's, so I want to get a head start on things at the Prosecutor's Office."

Phoenix nods. "Right. Okay."

"Call me if anything happens. Stalkers are well known for leaving letters or calling their targets on the phone. If you hear anything from Molly, tell me. And don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," Phoenix replies.

Edgeworth stares at him, squinting slightly behind his glasses. "I mean it, Wright. Don't go trying to play the hero like usual. Let law enforcement handle this."

"I know, I know. Maya and I will be here if you need us, helping clean up."

"Good." Edgeworth turns back to where Maya is standing across the room, looking down at the floor as she searches for the teddy bear's missing heart. He grabs Phoenix by the arm and leads him out of the room while Maya is busy. In the hallway, he leans in slightly, and lowers his voice. "By the way, Wright, it's about time."

Phoenix rubs the back of his neck. "I know. Maya already told me you said that."

Edgeworth actually graces him with a smile. "After everything she's been through, Miss Fey deserves someone who won't hurt her. I know what happened before was a misunderstanding, so I think you'll do fine from here on, Wright."

"Since when were you so concerned with Maya's wellbeing?"

"She's my friend. I might not be that good at showing it, but I've always cared."

"I'm glad you do." Phoenix glances down at the floor. "Hey, Edgeworth? If anything ever happens to me, promise me you'll take care of her?"

"Nothing is going to happen to you." Phoenix looks back up, only to find Edgeworth glaring at him. "So don't talk like that."

"I know… but if it does…"

Edgeworth softens his glare. "Yes, I promise, Wright. Her, and Trucy, and the younger Miss Fey as well. I'll do my best, at least."

"Thank you, that's all I ask. Sorry, I guess this whole Molly thing just has me worried, you know?"

"I understand. Be assured the police have scoured your apartment and office for anything dangerous. You'll be safe here so long as you keep your doors locked. And your blinds closed," he says, almost as an afterthought.

Phoenix nods. "Right. Thanks."

Maya emerges from the bedroom behind them. "Hey, what are you guys doing out here? You left me in there all alone."

"Ah, sorry, Maya," Phoenix says. "We were just talking."

"Oh. Well, look what I found!" She holds up her hands, in one is the teddy bear, in the other is the missing heart Molly had torn from its grip. "I'm going to sew it back together. It was on the floor so I doubt Molly tainted it with her grossness."

Phoenix chuckles as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to his body. "Thanks, Maya," he says, leaning down to place a kiss on her temple.

Edgeworth watches their embrace, then clears his throat. "I'll be heading out now. Make sure you lock the doors once the cleaning crew has left, and call me if anything happens."

Maya nods seriously. "You got it, Mr. Edgeworth."

He walks past them and together they watch him head down the hall to the stairs. Maya turns to look up at Phoenix. "Should we head downstairs, too, Nick?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I definitely don't want to be anywhere near my bedroom anymore. We can start sorting through the files Molly took out of the cabinet while we wait for the cleaning people to come."

"Those files needed to be reorganized anyway," Maya says. "She practically did us a favour."

He smiles down at her. Maya's optimism is something he's always been grateful for. She always knows how to make things seem just a little less awful than they are.

"Yeah, you're right," he says, taking her hand. "Let's go."