Farewell, my turnabout

Edgeworth was on his way back to America after an absence of a whole year. He would certainly be glad to return, although he was not very confident at the welcome that he would get.

The newspaper in his hand reported of how Franziska went to America and began to participate in various cases against Wright. Franziska was a good prosecutor and she, at the very least, would think before she speaks. However, it was Wright that was winning.

Which merely showed that his new understanding was right.

His flight would arrive in the evening and he would first go to the prosecutor's office in order to inform them of his return. He would then pay a visit to the police station the next day. After all, he was quite curious about the cases and the department of criminal affair contained a variety of resources.

However, there was another place that he had to go today. He managed to obtain Gabrielle's new address from his phone call to Detective Gumshoe and that would be his second destination. Even though she did not need to move out of their apartment, he suspected that she would do something like that.

There was still a few hours before the flight arrive its destination, but he did not wish to read the rest of the newspaper. Nor did he felt like watching any of the in-flight videos.

His appointment diary was open as he had written down the new address there. Turning to the very first page, he carefully took out the two photos that he had kept tucked beneath the cover. One was a photo from very long ago as it was that of he and his father. He could not remember who had took it, but it was one of the few photos that he had when both he and his father was in it. The other photo was much newer as it only dated to a year ago. It was one of Gabrielle when they were in France.

He did not think that he would get a warm welcome from her.

As he looked at the photo, his mind travelled to the past. To that period of life before that tragedy which changed his life.

It was never easy at a new school, although he always acted as if he did not care. However, it turned out that his neighbour was also his classmates and she seemed to have taken quite a strong liking towards him. She had seated herself beside him and declared out that she wanted to eat lunch with him.

Of course, this had a negative effect as well. The pretty chestnut haired Gabrielle was quite popular with many of the boys in her class, and they did not like seeing all of her attentions being given to the new boy.

If Edgeworth was honest, then he had to admit that he was quite flattered by Gabrielle declaring that he was special. After all, he was only a boy.

However, this was not unusual. In addition to her idolising him due to him having helped her with her homework as well as being constantly together after school, Gabrielle also told him that he differed from other boys who she did not like due to their teasing. At eight years old, many boys would use this as a way to show their liking.

Which naturally backfired.

Back then, life was not complicated at all. His dream was to be a defence attorney and there seemed to be nothing that would have prevented this from coming true.

However, that did not matter as he was finally happy with the path that he has chosen.

During the last year, he had travelled extensively but it was a whole year since he was at this very airport. The last time that he was arriving instead of leaving it had been from his holiday in France with Gabrielle. He could remember that time quite well as they had a lot of luggage. It was true that Gabrielle did not force him to carry any of it, but for the sake of pride…

Edgeworth would not deny that his taste was probably a bit high class. After all, Gabrielle had pointed out that no one would spend that much on tea if they were not. However, he was sure that he would not be the only one who would regard this restaurant as being rather tacky. The problem with this restaurant, he decided, was that the owner was trying too hard, as some of the items would have been alright by itself.

Entering a restaurant, he assured himself, was nothing when he compared it to all the cases that he had faced, especially the one when he was accused of murder.

A waitress should appear to welcome him and it might very well be Gabrielle. However…

"Ah welcome Monsieur!"

It was not just the man's appearance but also the way that the man talked and acted. Edgeworth was sure that he had not felt this horrified since he had to talk to Oldbag. If it wasn't for the fact that he was looking for Gabrielle, then he would have immediately turned around n and leave.

"I am looking for Gabrielle Revien." He began.

"Yes, she is a waitress here." The chef and owner of the restaurant said as he takes a step forward. At this, Edgeworth found himself taking a step backward. Even though he was capable of facing numerous criminals and get them to back down, people like these tended to have an effect on him.

"You are certainly a handsome man, monsieur. I will give you a special discount – "

"Gabrielle Revien, where is she?" at this, he decided to glare and speak as he would when he talked to the most difficult witnesses. "I want to see her now!"

"You would be the second visitor that she had. Are you actually related to that whip-bearing she-demon?"

That was probably a fair enough description of Franziska given that this man had been a victim of her whip.

"That is so." Edgeworth said as he hardened his gaze. "Where is Gabrielle?"

The fear of being whipped along with his glare was enough to make the other cooperate.

The day started normally for Gabrielle. She did the very basic preparations and tried to convince her boss to make the food a bit cheaper, since he was not willing to make any changes to the food itself. Even though she was only an average cook, her time in her last job did make her have some experience.

Today was actually a very amazing day as they actually had a few customers. She was beginning to think that she should start to search for another job because she was not sure whether this job would last that much longer. She was already amazed at how the restaurant managed to last this long.

The reason that the restaurant offered the waitress lodging was because it was only closed for a few hours. However, this did not really matter as there were still very few customers at that time, if any.

Therefore, she was free most evenings- which was not always good as it often made her think too much.

She could go back to work in that restaurant again. The wages were good and the people there were her friends. In addition, some of them did offer to let her stay with them until she find a new place to live.

She did not prepare to go down when she heard her boss welcome a customer. After all, there were times when the customers choose to go away due to the way that her manager behaved.

When the voice downstairs quietened down, she naturally thought that this was what had happened.

Footsteps soon appeared and she immediately went to check if her door was locked. Even if her boss would not be 'borrowing' anything, his complaints were irritating.

He was knocking at her door, this was not unusual.

"I am too tired to talk now." she yelled out and he would protest that he only wanted to talk for a short amount of time. However, he would then give up.

The knocking continued, yet he did not say anything.

"It is pretty late now and I am going to sleep. Trust me, no one else is going to be coming to the restaurant."

However, the knocking continued.

"What is it?" she demanded as she opened the door. "What do you- "

Her words broke off as the person standing in front was not her boss, but the last person that she expected to see, even though he has constantly been in her mind throughout the last year. Cliché as it was, she could say that there was not a single day when she did not think of him.

"Miles."

It was him.

"Gabby…I am back."

"Miles." Once again, she repeated his name in disbelieve.

"I promised that I would be back."

"…yes, your promises..." This was clearly the wrong thing to say because a frown appeared and she was clearly very angry.

He thought that she was going to scream at him, and he could not blame her. However, he seemed to have underestimated her anger.

She slapped him, and then slammed the door in his face.

"Gabrielle!"

"You left me without saying anything! You left me when you promised me that you would not do something like this without first telling me about it! You left without giving me any contact during this whole year! And now you expect me to welcome you with open arms?"

"I apologise for that but at that time…I felt that it was necessary. Gabby, wouldn't you open the door and talk to me?" he said as he continued to knock on the door.

"I don't want to talk to you!" she yelled back.

"But Gabby – "

"What kind of boyfriend…fiancé does this kind of thing? At the very least, you should have talked to me before you leave! Instead, you just disappeared from my life without any explanation!"

"I did explain. I told you that I needed to be alone for a while in order to understand myself. Gabby, I know what I shouldn't have left you like that but at that time, I was in a really confused state, so I needed sometime alone in order to think – " he began once more.

The door was sudden thrown open and he was to face his very angry fiancée again.

"Miles, despite you being a genius, you can actually be really dense and even stupid at times." She snapped. "I wasn't angry at the fact that you felt that you needed some time to think. I wouldn't mind at all…I wouldn't mind even if you took ten years instead of a year. What upsets me is the fact that you left without telling me anything. That you just left and removed yourself from my life for a whole year."

Her hand rested on the door and Edgeworth then saw a very important thing that he did not notice before. Or rather, he noticed the lack of the thing.

"Gabby…your ring."

"I flushed it down the toilet." She said with a rather blank expression.

"I do not think so." Edgeworth said slowly. "If you really want to get rid of it then you would probably sell it."

"So you know me well enough in this matter, but fails to realise that you should have told me that you would leave?" she said before she slammed the door in his face again. "If you continue pestering me then I will call the police! This can be described as intruding on other people's property and it would even apply to you!"

That was true to a certain extent, and although he knew how to get around that, there was an easier way.

At the next day, the restaurant actually had a customer who was willing buy a proper meal instead of just one or two items. Gabrielle was told by her boss that no matter what personal issue she might have with this customer, she was to do whatever he wanted as the amount that this one customer was spending would equal to the sum of many of the average sales in the restaurant

"…what do you want?" Gabrielle demanded beneath a frozen smile. "Why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed to have breakfast here?" Edgeworth asked.

"You came all this way to eat breakfast?" Gabrielle said dryly. "Miles, maybe I need time as well. Therefore, why don't you allow me to have sometime alone by staying away?"

"Gabby…what do I have to do to make you stop being angry at me?"

"All you needed to do was to tell me about your decision. But you didn't!"

Once again, it came down to the same problem.

"But Gabby, is this what you want? Some time alone? If this is what you truly want then I will give it to you. However…" at this he peered at the place where her ring should be. "What is it that you want?"

"I don't know. Because what I know became what I don't know." She muttered as she actually sat down, suddenly feeling very exhausted. "You know…the only other time that I felt like this was when daddy told me about how he was guilty. When he was arrested and convicted…it was hard for me but it was not the same. At that time, I believed in daddy so I thought that what happened was just a severe misfortune. I suppose it was exactly like the time when you were accused. However…when he admitted that he was guilty…I felt as if nothing that I knew makes sense because someone I trusted could no longer be trusted."

She was so distraught that she allowed him to hold onto her hand.

"It was difficult, but it wasn't as bad as it was because you actually helped me. However, you then left me all alone and I felt that you choose to walk out of my life."

"It wasn't like that." He immediately protested.

"All you needed to do, Miles, was to tell me about your decision, but you didn't. Therefore, how would I be able to know what you wouldn't just walk out from my life again?" upon this, she stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.

In court, it was easy to come out with a logic, but it was not so in his personal life. However, he realised that this was his own fault. Therefore, he could not blame what happened on anyone else. When he saw Franziska later on that day, he realised that she had been too much like him.

Edgeworth was there again the next day, although he only ordered a drink.

"I have money but I don't like to waste it." he said.

When he first ate the food, he almost wonder whether his fiancée was so angry with him that she tampered with it. However, he did not think that she would have done so for each piece of food.

"I talked to both Franziska and Wright." He began. "I was actually a bit surprised at Franziska as I thought that she was going to use that whip."

"That was what she said." Gabrielle said before she added: "A pity that she didn't. It would have made me feel a bit better."

"Gabby…I want you to have this back." Edgeworth said as he took out her engagement ring, although it was also placed in a case. After all, if he just handed it to her then the implication of his wish of her wearing it would be too strong, and she might really just throw it out of the window due to her current mood. "No matter what, this ring is yours."

Luckily, Gabrielle was saved from answering as Edgeworth's phone suddenly rang. He was clearly irritated and Gabrielle felt a deep sympathy for the person at the other end- he might very well be getting his salary docked.

However, Edgeworth's expression then changed.

"…I will be there." he said briskly as he hung up. After he actually shoved his phone and the case into his suitcase, he used one hand to grab his coat, and the other hand grabbed Gabrielle. "Gabby, come with me, there is an emergency."

"I am at work!" she protested.

"Franziska got shot and I might need you to help me."

Gabrielle did not think that she was of much help, although Edgeworth told her that he felt calmer when she was beside him. Perhaps taking her here had been him panicking.

"…I know that I shouldn't say this but I don't think we need to worry about her at all." Gabrielle said dryly. "For goodness sake, she was yelling 'Don't you dare steal my case away from me, Miles Edgeworth' and that whip almost hit you."

They just left the hospital and were on their way to the court.

"So you will be prosecuting the case?" Gabrielle muttered. She was looking at the scenery outside as a way to avoid looking at the driver.

"…I am sorry that I can't drop you off but you don't have to stay for the case." Edgeworth assured her.

"What sort of boss would let their worker just run away without even having the decency to inform him? Although," Gabrielle said with a slight chuckle, "Given the state of the restaurant, I won't be surprised if he pretends that nothing happened."

"Gabrielle, do you really need to work in that place?"

"No, I can go back to my old job but I am not ready yet. It reminds me of the past too much. I think you did a similar thing when you were trying to ask me out. In order to visit me, you went to dine at that restaurant for two weeks at the very least. I don't think your methods would work this time…not that I think you can last that long due to what the food are like there."

"What do you plan to do then?"

"…you are going to prosecute again." At this, her voice was suddenly very quiet. "You said that you need to find the answer to what it means to be a prosecutor and you had said that you no longer feel that you are fit to prosecute. Did you find an answer then?"

"I have."

"And what is it then, Mr Genius Prosecutor? What is this answer that you found by abandoning your fiancée without a word when you said that this is what you would never do to her?"

"The reason that prosecutors and defence attorneys exists is for the single purpose of finding out the truth. A trial should never be about a personal victory. Instead, it should be about the discovery of the truth. It doesn't matter what the prosecutor or the defense attorney might do. In the end, the truth would be known. It…it might not be immediate, but it would be known."

"Then I will come and see your trial. Perhaps you can show me whether this new realisation is enough for my forgiveness."

What truly made Gabrielle changed her mind was the end of the case, when he told Wright about the answer that he has discovered. At that moment, she realised that he has found the answer that he had probably been searching for since his life was altered fifteen years ago.

He was proud to be a prosecutor as he realised that what he could do as a prosecutor was the same as what had made him want to be a defence attorney when he had still been an idealistic child.

Another change was that Adrian Andrews actually came to thank him for the help that he and Wright gave her. This was something that she has never seen before. After all, his concern would be the preservation of his perfect record.

"I am really proud of you." Gabrielle said to him truthfully. "Really."

The two of them promised the others that they would join them as soon as they could, but they needed to have a conversation first. At this, many of the others had exchanged secret glances and it seemed that Maya was actually a bit reluctant to leave. This seemed to be a sign of how she has completely recovered from her ordeal.

"But have you forgiven me for my decision?" Edgeworth pointed out.

"…I had a talk with Mr Wright about why he was angry." She answered instead. "He told me that it was because he felt as if you betrayed him. One of the reasons that he wanted to be a lawyer was because of the way that you defended him in the class trial, and he told me that he had felt being betrayed for the first time when you became a prosecutor and not only did you ignore him, you even tried to convict him for his teacher's murder. However, he said that he felt that you were starting to change because you actually helped him to discover the truth, which showed that you were not only concerned about your victory. However, when you left again…"

"But that was not because I lost. It was due to all that has happened." Edgeworth quickly pointed out. "Discovering that I had sought a revenge that was completely foolish and hollow, and then realising that I had not been true to my principals. I admit, I should have told you about what I decided but I was in such a state that I was afraid that if I did not act immediately, then I would have lose the resolution."

"As I have said before, I understand why you have to leave." Gabrielle assured him. "And I am not like Mr Wright. I don't feel as if you have betrayed me like that. The truth is…I am just upset because of my pride being hurt.

"I have been thinking a lot during the last two days." She continued and she actually stretched out her hand to him. "And I think you have apologised, in your way, enough times. Most of all, I can tell that you still love me. Therefore, I am willing to believe you again, that you wouldn't do this again. I think this finger has been bare long enough…I think it is time for the ring to be returned."

"You will come back to our house?" Edgeworth asked, and she was rather amused as well as touched, at hearing a slight nervousness in his voice. "I have missed you a lot."

Edgeworth has remained awkward at showing his emotions, but upon her nod, he actually embraced as well as kissed her.

"Gabby, I have made a resolution about our life as well." he continued. "I…I am going to leave America again as I want to go and study international law in Europe. However, I want you to come with me this time."

The answer, was obvious.

"Then I want to get married first." Gabrielle said merrily as she looped her arm through his. "Even though it is many girls' dream to get married in a castle in Europe, I think I will have the wedding here. After all, I don't think many of our guests could afford to go to Europe. However, I haven't brought my wedding dress yet and you – "

"Gabby." Edgeworth suddenly softly, interrupting her flow of words.

"Thank you."

For believing in him and for remaining with him.

For coming back to him.

Author's Note: Be warned that this is a very long author's note

For now, the story is completed, because I do not think I have a way to fit the third story in. In addition, even if I do, I do not feel that I would be able to do justice to the third story, which is really amazing. However, I thought that this is a nice place to leave off. Edgeworth and Gabrielle would be marrying very soon and she will be going to Europe with him as his wife.

To be honest I am quite surprised at how this story ended up developing. As I am an OC writer, I tend to just to just (very often) think about how I would be able to explore a favourite character by the creation of an OC. In this case, my first thought was that I want this OC to be someone that he knew from childhood, as I feel that the grown up Edgeworth lived in a rather detached way that prevented people from being close to him.

As I have said before, I actually believe that there is a sense of EdgeworthxFranziska in the game, just as I believe that there is also a sense of WrightxMaya.

However, I had a thought for this idea but didn't pick it up until I saw this competition on an Ace Attorney site. One of the really interesting thing about this competition is that the OC must 'fit into the context of a court of law.' Therefore, the OC would have to be: defense attorney, prosecutor, judge, witness. Upon seeing this, I wasn't motivated because I have always like OC who are separated from the characters' profession. However, I then realised that I can actually take part with the idea that I have due to Gabrielle's past. Initially, I was going to write a story about how she and Edgeworth met up again when he was being the prosecutor of her father's trial, and she was one of the witnesses. Obviously, I didn't end up doing it but it did help me to develop story and character ideas. One day in 2009 I just suddenly wanted to type a scene and that ended up being the first two chapters. However, I then ended up discontinuing due to difficulty at the fourth chapter. Somehow, the ideas then just flowed.

As I have said, for now, this story is complete, even though I am not sure whether it is likely that I will be writing more ace attorney fan fictions, perhaps one day I might just do so. However, even if I don't, I am glad that I managed to finish this story.

One final thing: I chose Gabrielle because I thought that this is a nice name. However, her last name is picked as it is the French word for return.