Disclaimer – Still don't own anything here.

Author's note – It's the turnaround cliché!

It had all happened so quickly; the suspect had been panicking and broke away from Gumshoe with a shove, the cat had appeared from nowhere, suddenly the stairs had appeared and Gumshoe couldn't do anything to stop himself falling. He hung there for an obscenely long moment before gravity yanked his bulky body over. He vaguely remembered the pale, worried face of Carlos, the rookie cop who'd been with him before everything went fuzzy.

A nurse was the first thing Gumshoe saw when he regained consciousness and she smiled soothingly at him as she continued with what she was doing. She was injecting something into his brawny arm. 'It's just a tetanus shot, you got pretty cut up when you landed on that glass, so we're giving you a booster shot just as a precaution.' She explained kindly.

Gumshoe tried to be brave, but he didn't like needles and somehow the nurse picked up on his nervousness. She was five foot on the dot, he was over six foot tall, but she didn't mind that a big guy like him was scared. She explained everything she was doing to him and eventually the procession of hypodermic needles and dressings came to an end. The nurse smiled and told Gumshoe to get some rest.

Then the doctor came to see Gumshoe. He was of Pakistani descent and looked very tired. That fact made Gumshoe worry too. He preferred it when people in charge of keeping him alive and healthy weren't dead on their feet from exhaustion. The doctor talked very fast about medical stuff Gumshoe didn't really understand, but apparently he wasn't going to die any time soon, which was good enough for Gumshoe. He wasn't very happy to hear that his broken ribs and concussion meant he'd be kept in the hospital for a few more days though.

Carlos headed out of the station in a hurry, nearly bowling over a broad pink-suited figure. 'What emergency are you going to that warrants such thoughtless haste, officer?'

Carlos paled when he saw exactly whom he'd ploughed into. He'd only gone and managed to offend the Demon Prosecutor on his first week in the precinct! Internally he wailed in dismay. 'Sorry sir, but Detective Gumshoe had an accident and he asked me to feed his cat while he was in hospital.'

'Don't bother.' The aloof man told him offhandedly. Carlos was outraged. Was this ruffled ponce suggesting he let an innocent pet starve? He was about to retort when the lawyer continued. 'I am going in that direction anyway. I can feed his cat until he is well enough to return.' He then strode off without a backward glance as if that sorted that. Carlos was breathless at the sheer arrogance of the man.

Gumshoe decided to give up on his night's sleep at about seven the next morning. He'd slept badly with the pain in his ribs, the noise of other patients and medical equipment, the fact the place was too light and the way the hospital smell of the place stuck in his throat. Gumshoe was utterly miserable. He tentatively sat up, moving carefully and wincing as even that small movement woke up fresh aches in his battered body. His expression brightened slightly when he noticed the small pile of envelopes on the table next to his bed.

The card from Gant was just creepy. The one from Phoenix Wright and Maya was cheap and cheerful. He could almost hear the pair's voices as he read their encouraging message. The girls at the office had all signed a big card. It had a lot of pink on it and a couple of the messages made him blush. They'd also bought him a plant that looked nice now, but was fated to die rapidly under his care. Even Winston Payne had sent a small, unostentatious card. Gumshoe admired his little paper flock, basking in the knowledge that people cared about him. It was almost enough to alleviate the misery of being in hospital.

The nurses were nice too, although he might have been biased by the fact they gave him pain medication, but they flitted in and out, doing clinical things and making notes on the clipboard at the end of his bed. He'd taken a look at it, but it didn't make any sense. There was only so many times he could re-read his get-well cards and he'd been told he wasn't allowed to get up, so he couldn't even buy a newspaper. Gumshoe was bored and lonely.

Onigiri wound around Edgeworth's legs, getting fur all over his suit trousers. She purred like an outboard motor, interspersing the sound with little chirrups and mews. Evidently Gumshoe's pet was outgoing, that or she was so hungry that she'd make a fuss of anyone who looked like they might give her food. Edgeworth sighed and petted the brazen little feline, wondering out loud, 'Now where would your owner keep the cat food?' Since she didn't answer he went though to the kitchen and began opening the cupboards methodically, starting with the places a person would most likely put pet food in. After hunting high and low he found several cans of cat food in the cupboard under the sink, a place where any sensible person would store pans or cleaning materials. Edgeworth grumbled softly under his breath, and fed Onigiri.

By the end of his first full day in hospital Gumshoe was bored out of his mind. He'd managed to beg a pen and old newspaper off one of the patients being discharged and had done both the crossword and sudoku puzzles. He'd thought something impolite about criminals, drunken six cups of tea given to him by the lady with the drinks trolley, cleaned under his fingernails and gotten bored of the view out of his window. He sighed very carefully.

'Bored, Detective?' A sardonic and perpetually superior voice interrupted his thoughts.

'You bet I am sir!' Gumshoe turned to greet his friend and was surprised to see the man carrying a suitcase. He looked at Edgeworth questioningly.

Edgeworth blushed slightly, putting on a stern face to pretend that he wasn't flustered. 'I wasn't sure what things you needed, so I erred on the side of caution. He plonked the bag in the visitor's chair and Gumshoe watched him unpack it.

In addition to the clean pyjamas, underwear and clothes he'd remembered Gumshoe's wash kit, a couple of battered paperbacks (he'd chosen the two that looked most well-loved), a Steel Samurai manga and an apparently recent photograph of his cat.

'Gee pal, O mean sir… I don't know whatta say.'

'Thank-you would be the conventional thing to say at this juncture, Detective.' Edgeworth replied repressively, but the comparatively mild tone and lack of frown on his face told Gumshoe he didn't mean it. 'Just get better. I've got a replacement detective working for me at the moment and while I cannot complain about his competence or work ethic I do anticipate your return to the department.'

Which was as close as the man got to three cheers and freedom of the town, Gumshoe thought privately. 'Instead he grinned. 'Thanks, Mister Edgeworth.'

The other man didn't stay long and he didn't talk much, just making a few trivial remarks on his latest case, but the visit made Gumshoe smile. Even the nurses noticed his mood had improved.

At last he was free to go. Gumshoe took a cab home, unlocking his front door and skilfully evading Onigiri's loving attempts at tripping him. He went to get a beer from the fridge, but paused when he found a note stuck to the appliance.

'Have tidied and cleaned your kitchen. Call me if you cannot find anything.'

Gumshoe laughed and helped himself to a beer. He made a sandwich from the fresh food in the fridge and smiled when he found a copy of that day's newspaper neatly folded on the sofa in his sitting room. Gumshoe shook his head at the artfully concealed thoughtfulness of his friend.