Thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm not sure about this chapter, but you can all be the judges of that :) Enjoy~

In Which You Can Cry Now

How long Diego had been here he wasn't sure. Wherever 'here' was, there was no concept of time; no sign of it's passing that he could see.

From time to time – relatively speaking – more people would pass through the place he'd been catapulted into as his new home. They came in all ages, babies, toddlers, children, adults, old people… – all of them coming, none of them staying.

He said 'new home', but where he actually was reminded him extraordinarily of his own apartment that he shared with Mia. In fact, it was almost exactly the same, right down to the coffee machine in the corner, with only three main differences – no windows, and no mirrors, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out of either of the two doors.

The doors did open, of course – they had to, to let the crowds in. They would stare at him, inevitably they would stare. Some looked confused, others pitiful, others still taken aback by amazement. Diego had gotten used to it.

They never spoke to him. They never stopped. They came straight through, in one door, out of the other. Diego hardly even noticed them anymore.

There was one more difference between this home and his old one. One main difference that tore away at him every time the door opened and she didn't walk through, shouting at him for spilling coffee on the new rug she'd just bought, or towing her little sister behind her and then getting annoyed when Diego took the opportunity to teach the girl different ways to cheat at card games.

Mia. Mia. She wouldn't leave him, would she? No, it was probably him that had done the leaving. Probably with the aid of Dahlia Hawthorne. What an idiot he'd been! Diego sat with his head in his hands, staring at the there-but-not-quite wood of the coffee table his elbows were resting on. The whole 'apartment' was like that – there, but not quite.

"Well…Mr Armando…I'd like a coffee before we continue, please."

It had seemed so sweet, so innocent…but didn't he know what she was like? Hadn't he been there when she'd hurt Mia so badly? Of course, being a complete and utter fool, he'd bargained with her. Besides, he'd wanted a coffee too.

His seventeenth cup that morning hadn't exactly gone to plan.

Oh, she'd told him everything there was to tell when he got back. Dahlia Hawthorne: Ice Queen. Yes, she killed her sister. Yes, she stole the diamond. No, she wasn't sorry.

It had been stupid, naïve to believe it had been that simple. His Kitten wouldn't have fallen for that one. Not even the little kitten known as Maya would have.

But, like a fool, he thought he'd won. And, being such a genius, he'd taken a drink.

He remembered searing agony. His body had not reacted straight away, but the pain was there in an instant. Dahlia Hawthorne was smiling at him again. "Well, I think we're done for the day, don't you?" she'd asked, then stood up and approached the boy from earlier.

Diego had tried to call out to him – Don't be an idiot! Run away before she gets you too! – but his mouth would not obey him.

He could only watch with wide eyes as she handed the boy her bottle necklace – The poison, Diego's brain had dimly registered - and pronounced her undying love for him then and there. He had watched as the boy laughed, getting all embarrassed. One of the woman at the other table had cooed at the sweetness of it all, and then Dahlia Hawthorne had left the room as though nothing had happened, the boy walking with her, caught in her spell.

Then the pain boiled over and he'd screamed. He couldn't stop himself. He was coughing now, he'd saw blood, he'd spilled the coffee…

Then the door had opened, and the last thing he'd wanted to happen had. Mia walked in. He could barely see through the pain, but he had dimly registered screaming from either side of him, and watched as Mia stared.

His Kitten hadn't screamed. She'd looked ill, she looked terrified, but his brave, beautiful Kitten hadn't screamed. She'd stumbled towards him, face pale, eyes wide. No, this was wrong. He didn't want Mia to be in pain. Not his Mia. He could only watch as she fell to her knees, her face level with the desk where his head had been lying.

It was a struggle, but he had needed to reassure her. "K…Kitten? Is…that you?"

Whatever she'd heard in his voice had scared her even more. Tears sprang to her terrified eyes as she had watched him cough his way through the small number of words he'd said.

"What do you mean?" Mia's voice had been shrill "What did she do? How…what…?"No, that wasn't right. Not at all. She couldn't cry, not Mia. She'd already seen so much pain, she didn't deserve more.

"Hey…Kitten…" It was a great effort, but he'd had to help her. "Don't…cry. You…can't…cry…yet…"

And then…then he'd been here.

"Come on, Kitten." He muttered into the almost-there-coffee table. "You can't cry. A lawyer…"

"Can't cry until it's all over? Oh, believe me, I know." A soft voice behind him said.

No.

No.

That was impossible.

He turned. She was smiling at him, as beautiful as when he'd last seen her, but different somehow. "Mia…? Where…how…why are you here?"

Mia stopped to consider. "Well, you say where, but that's entirely subjective. You see where you want to here. Where…where do you see?"

Diego blinked, desperately trying to regain composure. "Our…our apartment." He croaked in reply.

"Our…ah, of course. I…I don't live there anymore." Something in what Mia just said made her laugh. "Well, what I mean to say is that I moved out. It wasn't healthy."

"What?"

"It…it hurt too much. Being so close to you, when you weren't there." Mia replied.

Diego tried to say something else, something to comfort her, but Mia didn't stop what she was saying.

"Where are you sitting right now?" she demanded.

"At…at our coffee table. There are two seats, one on either side, where I used to teach the little kitten to…"

"To cheat at cards, yes, of course!" Mia's eyes brightened considerably. "I can see it now." Gingerly, she sat down on the seat across from him, and looked relieved when it worked. She smiled at him. "You ask how I got here, but that's not an easy question. See, I'm not supposed to be here. They won't like it…but then, they might never know. After all, time is relative to the people here in this place, not the other way about…I could conceivably sit here for years without a single second of time passing."

"What?" Diego asked again. He found this off-putting, this talk of time and its relativity. Mia seemed to have changed in more ways than one – so calm, so collected…and apparently she knew what she was talking about.

"Well, this place…I shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be here. It exists for only one reason – to let people have one more glimpse of their old life before moving on to-" she cut off rather suddenly.

"Moving on to where?" Diego demanded.

"Well, I can't tell you that." Mia replied, chuckling. "We're not allowed to tell people what happens after death. Kurain Village honour, I'm afraid."

"After…death? So this isn't…"

"The afterlife? Hardly. I don't understand how you've been able to stay here so long. You…you should've died by now." The last bit was said extremely quietly. "This…this isn't normal. People in comas don't come here."

"Kitten." Diego laughed. "When have we ever been normal? And speaking of normal, did you cut your hair? It looks different."

"Cut my…?" Mia began, mystified. Then her face cleared; she understood him. "Ah, yeah. About…a year and a half ago."

Diego felt his insides freeze. A year and a half? How long had he been out?

"As to why I'm here…it's because of you." Mia's voice was soft again. "I spent so long waiting for you, and you never woke up. Then, when I finally had the chance to see you again, you weren't there."

"What are you talking about, Kitten?" Diego demanded. He was finally beginning to understand, and it wasn't something he liked.

"Oh, Diego, I was so stupid. A wiretap. I don't know why I didn't see it. Ironic, isn't it? I was so close. But…I know Phoenix. He'll get him." Another look crossed her face then. It was undeniable pride, fierce pride for whoever she was talking about.

"Phoenix? What are you talking about?" Diego was on his feet now. "A wiretap? What?"

Mia looked at him, a look that quite clearly showed what she was about to say. "Diego, we can't all escape the demons. Although I wish it could've been slightly more dignified. Clunked over the head with a clock! How unoriginal."

All the breath left him then. "Kitten…no…you can't…" She couldn't. Not Mia. She couldn't die. That wasn't right, wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

"I hardly had a choice." Mia's voice was light, but Diego could hear the pain behind it.

"What about Maya? She'll be alone."

"No, she won't." Mia said, thoughtful. "I'm sure of it. Phoenix will look after her…and she'll look after him. I'm sure they'll be great friends, once this whole mess is over."

"Who is this Phoenix, Kitten?"

"I thought as much." Mia's tone was sad now. "You couldn't hear me. Phoenix Wright is my…well, I suppose he's my employee, but he's a friend, too. My closest friend, now, except maybe Maya."

So there was this Phoenix, this man who called himself Mia's friend, but wouldn't protect her, this person that had let her die. A voice in the back of his head was arguing with his thoughts – why should he protect her? That was supposed to be your job – but he ignored it. He couldn't handle knowing that Mia had died because he wasn't there.

Mia was staring at him now, and Diego realised he'd balled his hands into fists. Slowly, he sat back down.

"So…what now?" he asked dryly.

"Well," Mia replied. "I need to go through that door. There's no escaping reality, Diego, not even here. But you…"

"I'm coming with you." He said immediately.

"No, you aren't." Mia replied confidently.

"Yes, I am." Diego argued lamely.

Their eyes met, and they both laughed. Both were remembering the conversation, to Diego it seemed like yesterday, to Mia, who knew how long?

"The thing that hurts the most, Diego, is the fact that we had it right there." Mia whispered. There were tears in her eyes suddenly, spilling over and running down her face. "We were going to get married; we were going to have a family. We had everything. And then…then you left, and I thought that it was all gone. Then the doctors…they told me you'd recover, and I hoped again, and I visited you every day, but you never…" she trailed off, her words choked by a sob.

Diego wasn't surprised to find himself crying too. "The worst part is that we'll never know what it would have been like." He agreed quietly. There was no point trying to comfort her, not now. They both knew that.

Mia's tears were cascading down her face now. "I…I'm sorry." She sobbed.

He reached over the table and took her hand in his. "It's okay, Kitten. You can cry now."

For a moment, they could pretend, pretend Dahlia Hawthorne never existed, pretend Mia was alive; pretend they were happy.

Diego could see it, and he knew Mia could too. Her and him, on their wedding day. Him and her, Mia holding a baby, Diego standing with them. The two of them, watching as their children played in the garden, while they sat and drank coffee inside, together. Mia and Diego, on a garden bench, old but still together, with grandchildren and children, together as it should be.

And then the vision was gone. Mia still had tears streaming down her face, and Diego could still feel his own, but they both smiled.

"I love you," Mia whispered.

"Always." Diego agreed.

They were silent for what seemed like an eternity, but a happy one. Then Mia spoke. "Diego, I have to go." She murmured.

"Don't. Please. Don't leave me here alone, Kitten, not again."

"No, I won't." Mia replied. "You can't stay here. You…you have to wake up, Diego."

"No. Not without you."

"Do it for me! You promised."

Diego stared at her. She was serious. "I…I don't know how." He muttered, his voice cracking again.

"The door. The entrance, you need to go through it. Please, keep your promise. I kept mine, you keep yours."

There was silence again. "I…I can't." Diego replied. He'd never felt like this before. This was more ain than one person could handle.

"Please, Diego. Wake up and smell the coffee, already."

Diego couldn't help but smile. There was the Kitten he knew, cracking jokes at the most inappropriate times. "Help me." He said quietly.

"Stand up." Mia replied. He did so, as did she. She put he hands on his shoulders and stared into his face.

"Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty." Diego quoted softly.

"Romeo and Juliet?" she asked.

"That's us, Kitten. Like something straight out of Shakespeare." Diego replied.

"Close your eyes." Mia said, and Diego obeyed. He felt her lips against his, softly, just for a moment, and then she was speaking again. "Parting is such sweet sorrow." She whispered.

Diego nodded in silent agreement, his eyes still closed.

"Take a deep breath." She went on, her hands moving from his shoulders, one hand taking his, and she was leading him. "What can you smell?"

What an odd question. "I can smell…something."

"What?" he heard a noise, Mia was opening the door.

"The fragrance of dark coffee, Kitten. But what's that to do with anything?"

"Follow it." Mia urged, her hand slipping out of his. "And remember…I love you."

"I love you more." Diego replied childishly, and then hesitantly took a step forward towards the scent.

Suddenly he was falling, falling…

With a jolt, Diego's eyes opened. He was staring up at the ceiling of a room he vaguely recognised as a hospital ward. There was something on his face, but he had no idea what it was.

Slowly, carefully, he sat up.

There was a yell of surprise from beside him, and he looked around to see a doctor looking stunned. Suddenly, the ward was filled with more people than Diego could count.

"You're awake! Can we get you anything?" one woman, dressed like a nurse asked.

"A…a coffee would be nice." He replied, his voice weak from the lack of use.

Despite it not being strictly within hospital rules, they gave him his coffee. They explained everything to him, the mask and how it restricted his vision slightly, the hair…and other things too, like the fact Mia was dead.

They gave him her diaries, most of them seemingly empty and he knew why now.

They told him that he could go back to his old life, now, thanks to the wonders of medicine.

But Diego didn't want his old life, not without Mia. Thus, Godot was born.

His first goal was, of course, to meet the man who had left his Kitten to die alone.

One more chapter to go. Reviews are loved~