Here's the next chapter. It's later than I hoped for, but I'm just happy I actually did get it out now. Hope you like it! Featured characters: Edgeworth, OCs, Phoenix and Apollo.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!

Chapter 13 – Turnabout Interruptions

Thank goodness. That investigation didn't actually take as long as I feared it would. The prosecutor was quite relieved that he wouldn't have to see his stalker anymore. He entered the lobby of the emergency room where he saw a familiar face.

"Ms. Sterling?"

She turned around. "Oh! Mr. Edgeworth! What perfect timing! Come on. Let's not waste any time." She motioned for him to follow her through the doors, and follow her he did, until she stopped abruptly.

"Se-re-na! I've been waiting for you!" A loud, sing song voice called out. Serena stiffened a little, and Edgeworth saw a man with brown hair dressed in a white coat approach her. "Where have you been? I missed you!"

She gasped. "I'm not late, am I?" Checking her watch and letting out a relieved sigh, she spoke to the man. "Plus, I'm not working today. I'm just going to be in my office."

"Right, of course. But I still missed you."

And who might this fellow be? And what is he doing with that huge pot of flowers?

Edgeworth watched the interesting interaction between Serena and Dr. Emilio. "Here Serena, darling. I got you some wonderful poinsettias." He shoved the pot into her hands, and she stepped back a little, struggling to make sure she didn't drop it.

"Oh, um…thank you." She carefully set them on the counter. "They're…nice."

Her cheeks turned bright red when he flashed her pearly white smile and winked at her. "I knew you'd like them. They bring out your good looks." He looked at said plant then back at her. "Although, now that I look at them, they definitely pale in comparison to your fine beauty."

Ms. Sterling seems quite flustered. Perhaps he's a romantic interest?

She blinked a couple of times before nodding her head slowly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Right…I…uh…have to go now." Her voice was a little higher pitched. She cleared her throat. "Come on, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who's this guy?" Dr. Emilio pointed at Edgeworth, a disgusted look on his face.

"This is Miles Edgeworth. He's Chief Prosecutor here in Los Angeles. Mr. Edgeworth, this is Dr. Emilio, my coworker."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Emilio." He gave him a brief nod and saw that the doctor just lifted his nose and smirked.

"Yeah, sure."

Hmph. How rude.

Serena sighed a little. "We really should get going, Mr. Edgeworth." Serena began walking quickly down the hall.

Is it just me, or is she walking even faster than she normally does?

"Oh, Serena?" The doctor called out.

She stopped and turned around, a nervous smile on her face. "Yes?"

"Don't take too long now!"

She nodded her head, and began walking once more. Edgeworth could've sworn she was walking even faster now. They quickly reached her office, where they both took a seat.

"I apologize for his rudeness…he…can be like that. I don't think he means to be that way, though. He's new here."

"No worries, Ms. Sterling. Now, here's the autopsy report."

She took the file from him and began reading through it. She had only finished the first page when a knock was heard on her door. "Yes? Come in."

"Serena. I need you to check this EKG for me."

Serena's brows furrowed, but she motioned for the doctor to come over. Taking one brief look at the paper, she looked up at him. "It's completely fine, Dr. Emilio. There's nothing wrong with this."

He smiled, chortling a little. "Of course! I just wanted to consult with you."

She nodded a little as she handed it back. "Right. Well, you don't always need to consult me, you know. You seem to know your stuff pretty well. Just trust yourself."

"Thanks. Sorry."

"No problem." He shut the door behind her, and her eyes went to scan the first page again. "Sorry about that. Now, this man was found dead at the park, right?"

"That's correct."

"And he was stabbe-" Another knock was heard at the door. She looked up. "Yes?"

"Is ultrasound still here, Serena?"

"No. They left an hour ago."

"Oh. So if I need one of the patients to get one done…"

"If it's urgent, call the main ER and send the patient there. If it isn't urgent, then just have them schedule an appointment here."

"Right. I knew that. Thanks." He shut the door, and she went back to the task at hand.

"The victim was stabbed." She turned the page and read on, muttering to herself. "Kidney…stab wound…lungs…" She was about to say something when once again someone knocked on the door. She sighed a little. "The door's open. Yes, Dr. Emilio? What can I do for you? Is there a problem?" She asked patiently.

"Er…not really. See, I remember you said you weren't busy this weekend." She nodded, her eyes narrowing a little in confusion. "How about we go up to the rooftop at the Big Tower? You know, where the observation deck is?"

Serena frowned. "Isn't that for couples to go to?"

"Er…we could go…as friends?"

"As…kind as that offer is, I have to refuse. I don't really like that place, to be honest."

"Why not?! That building is completely awesome! The beautiful lights, the Pegasus, the cotton candy!"

"Do you know what was there before they built that building?"

"Oh, some orphanage, right? They broke the old place down to construct that building."

Her frown only deepened. "Some orphanage, huh? That building is where the Happy Family Home once was."

"So? Wasn't it just some shabby old place?"

She looked down at one of her papers as she casually replied, "I once called that 'shabby old place' my home."

"Oh…oh my god. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"Don't feel bad. You didn't know. But if you don't mind, Dr. Emilio, I'm kind of in the middle of a meeting right now. So unless it's an absolute emergency, as in someone's life or wellbeing depends on it, I'd appreciate it if you could maybe wait until this is over?" She asked kindly.

"Of course. Whatever pleases you, Serena."

"Thanks." She sighed when he shut the door behind him. "I am so sorry. This usually doesn't happen."

"It's fine." It's not exactly fine, but it isn't her fault.

Serena placed the papers down on her desk, crossing her arms as she frowned.

"Is…something wrong, Ms. Sterling?" He asked, noticing that she seemed almost frustrated.

"I don't…think so…" She flipped through it once more. "They don't have this man's medical history in here?"

"According to Detective Skye, since the report was so late, and the cause of death has already been determined, they didn't find it necessary to include it."

"Hm…right. Well, I'm sure that's a good point…but just to make sure, let me see if I can't find this person's records."

She pulled out a laptop from a bag near her desk, turning it on. After about five minutes of waiting for it, she spoke to him. "Oh…uh, would you like something to drink?"

"Er…no. I'm fine, thank you."

She spent another ten minutes on the computer. He couldn't see what exactly she was doing, but he could hear her typing, so he could only guess she was looking up the man's history.

"Tha-" Just then, her phone rang, interrupting her. "Yes?...Really? What do you mean he can't do it?...You're pulling my leg, aren't you? He ran out of the room, screaming?" Serena groaned, holding her head in her hand. "I'll be right up there. Get the cart ready, and make sure you tell him not to go into that room again, alright?" She shook her head as she hung up the phone.

Shutting the computer, she returned her attention to him. "Mr. Edgeworth. I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this meeting a little short. But," she paused, staring down at the file. "I hope you don't mind if I was to…have a copy of this report."

Edgeworth regarded her suspiciously. Had she not been in a rush, he would've asked her why. "Sure." I don't see any reason to distrust her.

"Alright then. Sorry about these constant interruptions," she said as she stood up. "Things have been a little…strange since I got back here. Anyway, see you, and thanks for coming in today." She grabbed her stethoscope and left the room.

An hour later…

"Dr. Emilio. Next time, if you're uncomfortable, please. Don't pick up the patient's chart and sign up to take care of them. You're more than welcome to ask one of us to take care of it," Serena explained as she was finishing up the chart.

"I know. I'm sorry, Serena. I've disappointed you."

"I'm not disappointed. Just…be mindful of what you do." After he had run out of the patient's room, screaming at the site of patient's injury, Serena had to take care of the situation itself, attending to the patient's injury as well as apologizing to the family.

She placed the completed chart in the rack, and stood there near the counter, thinking aloud. "I need to look into that matter for Mr. Edgeworth."

"I don't trust that man, Serena."

She glanced over at Dr. Emilio, who was standing next to her. "And why might that be?"

He crossed his arms. "I don't know. Something about him seems…off. The way he's constantly frowning. Those lines on his forehead. He looks like an old man."

"Now, Dr. Emilio. That's not a nice thing to say!" She scolded lightly. "He does not look like an old man! He looks his age, if not younger I might add."

"Hm…alright then. What about his attire? Who wears magenta-colored clothes?"

"I think his clothes are more on the line of wine red, wouldn't you agree?"

"…Maybe, but for heaven's sake, the man wears a jabot!" He exclaimed.

Serena quirked an eyebrow. "Dr. Emilio. I think you're mistaken. Mr. Edgeworth wears a cravat, not a jabot."

"No. He definitely wears a jabot."

"I'm afraid I must disagree with you there. He does not wear a jabot. It's obviously a cravat."

"Why do you say that?" He asked curiously.

"Allow me to make the distinction between the two. A jabot is an article of clothing women wear now, although men used to wear them a long time ago. A cravat, on the other hand, is what men wear. Now, unless Mr. Edgeworth was a woman, the article of clothing he wears is a cravat."

"But men used to wear jabots, didn't they? So who's to say that it isn't a jabot?"

"Because this is the 21st century. I highly doubt anyone…" Serena stopped for a moment, realizing something. "Wait. Why are we even having this conversation?!" Serena sighed, upset at having gotten distracted by such a useless topic. "I need to get back to my office."

"He should be in shortly," the guard said to the spiky-haired lawyer who was sitting in the visitor's room of the detention center. He had ten minutes before visiting hours were over. He watched Apollo take his seat on the other side of the glass.

"Hello, Mr. Wright."

"Apollo."

They sat in silence for a while, neither saying a word. Clearing his throat, Phoenix began. "Apollo. I need you to tell me what exactly the reason was for you to meet with the victim. Did you know him from before?"

Apollo's eyes shifted away from Phoenix. "…"

"Apollo," Phoenix said a little more forcefully. "Tell me."

He was surprised to see three red locks with chains going through them. Apollo…you're…hiding something from us? From me?

"Mr. Wright. I…I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?!" Phoenix sounded irritated.

He was downright shocked when Apollo glared at him. "Because I'm not the only one who's been keeping secrets."

It was Phoenix's turn to look away. "But at least I'm not in jail."

Apollo snorted. "That's no excuse for hiding things from us."

"Are you or are you not going to tell me what happened?"

"I'll tell you…if and only if you tell me what it is you're hiding."

Phoenix shook his head. "I can't tell you, Apollo." He looked up at the younger defense attorney. "But you'd understand, if you knew."

Apollo stared at him, before responding. "Then all I have to say to you, Mr. Wright, is that I can't tell you either. Because if you knew, you'd understand too."

Phoenix wanted to yell in frustration. He couldn't figure out why Apollo was acting so hostile towards him. He was going to ask him just that when he was interrupted by the guard.

"Mr. Wright. Visiting hours are over."

Phoenix nodded at the guard. He stood up, but said to Apollo, "I'll see you tomorrow, Apollo…And…take care," he added softly.

As he was walking through the doors, Phoenix could've swore he heard Apollo say, "You too."

That night…

Edgeworth was in his home, when he heard someone at the door. It's rather late. Who could this be? Opening the door, he was surprised. "Ms. Sterling? What are you doing here?"

"I came here to talk to you about the report."

"Are you talking about the autopsy report?" She nodded. "Right." He opened the door a little wider. "Why don't you come in?"

She hesitated a little. "Er…thank you." She froze in the middle of the doorway though.

What's wrong? And why is she staring at Pess like that?! "Excuse me, Ms. Sterling. I hate to sound rude, but why are you staring at my dog like that?" Her eyes were glued on Pess, and she looked rather petrified.

"Oh! I'm…sorry. I just…well…" She grimaced. "Like I said, I…I don't get along too well with dogs, is all."

"You…don't?" She shook her head. "Care to explain?"

"Er…well…let's just say, the Bandits loved their dogs. They had three of them."

"What kind of dogs?"

She gulped. "German shepherds," she replied as indifferently as she could, although the fear was all-too evident in her voice.

"Oh." Well, they can be intimidating to some people, I guess. "Did you not get along with them?"

"I guess you could say that. They…they never really liked me all that much. I don't really know why, but they didn't." She shuddered.

There must be some bad experience she had with them. "Well Ms. Sterling. I can assure you that Pess is nothing if not gentle. She wouldn't hurt anything or anyone, unless of course she is provoked."

"That's…good to hear." She still did look very uneasy though.

Pess was very curious as to who this person was that was talking to her master. She took a few steps towards Serena, who took a few steps back.

"Don't worry." He then spoke to Pess. "Go upstairs, Pess."

Serena was shocked at how obedient the Golden Retriever was. She frowned a little. "Sorry for the inconvenience." She stepped inside.

"It's nothing. Please, have a seat." He led her to the living room and motioned for her to sit down on the red sofa, and he sat across from her. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks." She cleared her throat, getting right to business. "So after you left, I spoke with a colleague of mine. She's a medical examiner, and I consulted her about this autopsy report." She placed the copy of the file on the coffee table. "We both ended up reaching the same conclusion." She looked straight at him. "This autopsy report is incorrect."

"What?! How can that be?!"

"It doesn't make any sense. The victim was said to have drowned, and he was stabbed, and yet, when I was looking through the report itself, I realized something was…odd…about it. Something just didn't add up. I actually had this patient a while back, and I vaguely remembered that he had a particular…condition. I went to look up his files on the hospital's database and in the medical records room to confirm my suspicions," she paused for a moment, her brows furrowing as she stared down at the file. "But they were missing."

"Missing?"

She nodded, frowning. "I'm having someone look into that matter, but luckily, I was able to pull up the records from my personal archives, and it turns out there is something very strange about this report. It says there was a stab wound where his left kidney is. A stab wound that punctured this organ."

"That's correct. What's so wrong about that?"

"Oh, nothing really, if you don't consider the fact that this man didn't have a left kidney that could be stabbed in the first place."

"Wh…what do you mean?!"

"According to my records, he had surgery a long time ago and had his kidney removed. His left kidney. But according to this report, his left kidney was punctured."

"Well…maybe it was mistake. Maybe they meant his right kidney." Although that is quite an egregious error to make.

"See, that's what I considered. Which was why I actually paid a visit to the coroner's office and asked to have the body reexamined, but with another medical examiner, my colleague. And just to make sure, I myself stayed there as a witness. The stab wound was indeed where his left kidney would have been."

"I…see. So…this changes things a bit, but…the cause of death is the same, isn't it?" He saw her shake her head. Oh no.

"Now, I'm certainly not qualified enough to offer my own opinion, but from what I witnessed the examination, I suspect that he drowned. Given how deep the stab wound was, it couldn't have caused him to die, unless by excessive, and I mean excessive, blood loss, but still. We also saw that there was a lot of damage in his lungs, damage that can only be associated with the presence of fluid in them."

"In other words, drowning."

"Exactly. I think it's highly unlikely there's another cause of death. He didn't have any other known medical problems that could've caused him to die." She crossed her arms. "But then the question is whether the death was accidental, a suicide, or murder."

"I'm pretty sure it's a murder. We have a witness who turned out to actually be an eyewitness."

"Oh…that's…not good."

"But then that means we won't be able to tell who did it."

They were silent for a moment. Then, she pulled out a file out of her bag. "Here's a second autopsy report I had written up."

He read through it and couldn't help but glare at it. "What is the meaning of all of this?!"

Serena just shook her head. "I wish I knew. But if I may, I'd like to offer a suggestion. Have another medical examiner do a third autopsy report and confirm the results we got from this one."

"This is just wonderful. Who made this mistake?"

"I checked out who it was that did the first autopsy report. He's done a lot of them before, and there didn't seem to be any problems with them. I can't really understand what happened with this one. I'd want to say it's a simple mistake, but…" She shrugged. "It's not exactly simple, and a mistake is a mistake."

Again, they were silent until a little bell dinging was heard. Serena pulled out her phone. "Hm? Oh, it's just Sabrina." She gasped. "Oh my gosh! Look at the time! It's late. I really should get going." She stood up, and he followed her to the door.

"I'm sorry I bothered you at such a late hour Mr. Edgeworth, but…I…I couldn't put this off for tomorrow."

"No, no. Don't be sorry. I appreciate this."

She nodded her head, smiling a little. Before she could say anything more, her phone continued to make a lot of noise. "Alright, alright. I'm coming back, gosh! Goodnight, Mr. Edgeworth."

He watched her disappear into the dark night. He shut the door and went back into the living room, glancing at the second autopsy report she brought.

Just what exactly is going on here?

Ugh. I don't really like this chapter either. I may or may not have the second day of the trial in the next chapter. Quite frankly, I'm just thinking of summarizing what happens in it, and then going into more of the investigation (because I totally fail at writing the trial parts of this, not the investigation is much better, though. But if you guys have some suggestions for me, then by all means, suggest away!). Anyway, please feel free to leave a review or private message me! Thanks!