A/N: hey everyone! Welcome to the final chapter of Feverish Memories! I enjoyed writing this story and I am

having another one coming up soon! Thanks to everyone who has followed the story!

Protivey69420: thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Funny enough I was finishing up the story when you reviewed. I've just been focusing on both AA stories I was working on! I hope you enjoy the conclusion!

Anyway enjoy! I own nothing of Ace Attorney!

It wasn't too long after the earthquake ended and 8 year old Franziska had to comfort her younger brother. This, of course, was after her father scolded Miles for being so petrified of a small earthquake. This wasn't a major earthquake in the slightest, but it still made Miles absolutely terrified.

"Being terrified of a minor earthquake is pathetic!" Von Karma had said to him.

Of course this didn't help Miles's panic attack in the slightest. So after her father left, Franziska comforted her brother for nearly half an hour before deciding to give him space once he was calm enough. She decided to go confront her father about it. She found him in the living room, having a cup of tea. She took a breath as she approached him.

"Papa?"

Von Karma looked up at Franziska and put his cup on the coffee table.

"What is it my dear?"

"Um…don't you think you were a little too harsh on Miles? He was scared after that earthquake and…uh…"

Von Karma sighed. "It was only a minor earthquake, Franziska. In order to be perfect, one shouldn't have to have a phobia of something so minor."

"B-but…I remember you saying how Miles lost his father because an earthquake struck. I-I think that gives him a good reason to be so scared of them. You…you could've at least helped him."

"He needs to understand that he must get over his silly little fear. Besides, you were comforting him were you not?"

Franziska stared at him in surprise. She was sure she was being careful.

"H-how did you-?"

"I'm not a fool my dear. I simply saw and figured I would leave you to my own devices. But I want you to understand that comforting a scared person won't help them get over it. So do what you want, but know that you're hindering his chances of being over his fear."

"But papa-."

"Enough!" Von Karma slammed his cane down and Franziska flinched. "I will not repeat myself!"

Little did Von Karma and Franziska know, Miles had been listening to their conversation. He also flinched at the sound of the cane and his Karma. He didn't want to see his sister getting scolded because of him, so Miles took a deep breath and stepped out.

"Sir?"

Von Karma and Franziska turned around to see Miles stepping in the room.

"M-Miles!" Franziska exclaimed. "H-how are you feeling?"

"I'm ok," Miles lied before looking at Von Karma and bowing slightly. "I apologize sir for my behavior early. You won't see me doing it again."

Von Karma stared at him before looking at his daughter.

"Franziska, you may go. I'd like to talk with Edgeworth alone."

"B-but-."

"Franziska," Miles looked at the young girl with a smile. "Go ahead. I'll be back to your room shortly."

Franziska looked between Miles and Von Karma, not liking where this conversation was going, but still nodded anyway.

"O-ok."

And then Franziska left the room. Miles hesitantly looked back up at Von Karma, who was scowling down at him.

"S-sir-."

"Pathetic!"

Miles flinched. "S-sir…I've been working on getting over my fear for a while now a-and-."

"Well, boy, you're not doing it fast enough! I find it utterly pathetic that someone who is 7 years younger than you has to comfort you through your…phobia. What will other people in the law think of you if you can't even handle a simple trial because an earthquake struck?! They will never take you seriously! In fact, they'll take advantage of that!"

Miles clenched his eyes shut as he suddenly felt dizzy and warm…like he suddenly was running a fever.

"What's the matter boy?!"

Miles's eyes widened at the sudden disoriented voice and he looked up. Von Karma was still standing in front of him, but he looked…different. He looked almost…demonic.

"S-sir?"

"You will suffer like your father suffered all those years ago!"

"N-no…!" Miles began backing up. "P-please sir…!"

He turns around to find him once again in that elevator. He saw Yanni Yogi and his father fighting. Miles's breath was more labored now as if it was that day and the oxygen was so thin. The sounds of their arguing was slowly increasing. He was hyperventilating trying to get air in as he saw the gun. The yelling was getting louder and louder and it felt like it was never ending.

"L-let him go!" Miles exclaimed weakly. "D-don't hurt my father…!"

He threw the gun, heard the gunshot, and then a scream. Miles gasps as he falls unconscious.

"See what you've done to me?! You've given me this wound! I'll make sure you'll suffer the consequences! YOU WILL FALL!"

"NO!" Edgeworth yelled out as he suddenly sat up quickly.

He started breathing heavily as he looked around to see he was back in his apartment.

("H-how did I get back here…?")

Dizziness struck and he quickly clenched his eyes shut and put a hand on his face. He couldn't recall too much of what was going on. His whole body felt like it was on fire and his head hurt like crazy. But he couldn't for the life of him remember how he managed to get back to his apartment. The whole day after he fainted in his office is a blur.

Without really thinking, and still feeling dazed, Edgeworth began to get up to go wash his face in the bathroom. He barely even realized the wet cloth that was on his head. He walked several steps before his dizziness became too much and he found his legs buckling and he fell to his knees with a thud.

He groaned as he clenched his eyes shut to try and bypass the dizziness. He simply felt awful. If he was home, then that means Pess would probably come running. She can usually sense when something's wrong.

"Edgeworth!"

Edgeworth looked up, squinting his eyes to see a Mr. Phoenix Wright in the door frame with Pess by his side.

("Wright…? What's he…doing here…?")

Phoenix quickly ran over and kneeled next to Edgeworth.

"Are you ok? What were you trying to do?!"

Edgeworth, still feeling dazed, looked up at his rival to see concern and firmness on his face.

"W-Wright…?" Edgeworth asked weakly.

Part of Phoenix was relieved that Edgeworth was back to calling him by his last name and didn't look terrified as he did before. He still looked dazed and out of it though.

"Yes it's me," Phoenix nodded. "What were you doing just now?"

"I'm feeling pretty warm so…I w-was going to wash my f-face…"

Phoenix stared at Edgeworth with a frown. Does he not remember…?

"Well…you have a pretty high fever. It luckily went down a little but it's still high. How…how are you feeling?"

"I-I'm ok," Edgeworth groaned.

Phoenix gave him a deadpan stare.

"Seriously Edgeworth? We both know that isn't true. You're still hot and you were sitting in the middle of the floor looking pretty dazed."

"Wright-," Edgeworth was cut off by a coughing fit.

Phoenix only sighed as Edgeworth's coughing died down.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

He grabbed Edgeworth's arm and put it over his shoulder before he slowly brought both of them to their feet.

"Wright-!"

"Don't argue with me, Edgeworth!" Phoenix shot him a look, knowing he was about to say he can walk on his own.

Edgeworth only sighed, not having the energy to really argue with him. Phoenix only frowned at the lack of protest and helped Edgeworth to his bed. As soon as Edgeworth was sitting on the bed, he leaned himself back against the bedrest. He wasn't as dizzy as before.

"What are you doing here, Wright?" Edgeworth asked, slightly annoyed after getting situated.

Phoenix felt a weird sense of relief seeing Edgeworth acting a bit like his usual self again.

"Well…I couldn't just leave you alone while you're sick like this. Someone had to take care of you because you won't do it yourself."

Edgeworth looked at him confused.

"So...you were the one who brought me home?"

Phoenix frowned at him this time.

"You…don't remember? Maya and I took you home."

Edgeworth looked at Phoenix before everything came flooding back. Or at least…the main parts. Phoenix and Maya finding him in his office…being on Phoenix's back…putting on different clothes…

"O-oh…I guess a little. I-it's pretty vague though."

Phoenix nodded in understanding.

"I should've expected that. You were pretty out of it and exhausted."

Edgeworth sighed as he glanced down at the dog staring up at him with her tail wagging before she jumped on the bed. Pess snuggled next to her owner, and he couldn't help but give a small smile and pet her.

Phoenix also gave a small smile as he saw his usually stoic friend having his guard down especially around his pet. Being around Pess was probably the only time he felt he could completely let his guard down.

After about 15 seconds or so, Phoenix looked over at the thermometer that was sitting on a side table. He looked at Edgeworth, who promptly looked back at him. Neither of them said a word as Phoenix swiped the thermometer across Edgeworth's forehead. Phoenix let out a small sigh of relief as he read the numbers.

"Your fever has gone down a bit. You're at 102.7 (around 39.3 Celsius)."

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "How high was it before?"

"Well uh…it was in the 103s (between 39.4 and 39.9 Celsius)."

Edgeworth's eyes went wide slightly. "Was I really that sick?!"

"Well…you still are sick. Pretty sure it's the flu. For a while, Maya and I thought we would have to take you to the hospital. You were…pretty delirious. You seem a little more lucid now, but still look pretty exhausted. Have you been overworking yourself?"

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes at Phoenix as he continued to unconsciously stroke Pess.

"You seriously think I got sick because of overworking myself? Don't be ridic-."

"Objection!" Phoenix exclaimed pointing his finger at Edgeworth. "I know you put work above everything else! You need to rest, especially when you're sick!"

Edgeworth crosses his arms. "Says the one who left the hospital early after stupidly falling through a burning bridge and still having a fever himself!"

Phoenix wanted to continue arguing, but he can already tell the argument was zapping at Edgeworth's energy and he didn't want to press this matter further…for now anyway. There was something else that was bothering him anyway. Right when he was about to start speaking again, Edgeworth beat him to it.

"You said Maya was here with you right?"

Phoenix nodded. "She was yea…but she left a bit ago after walking Pess. She said she had something she needed to do. She didn't really tell me so I don't know what it was."

Just then, Edgeworth remembered something.

"Detective Gumshoe!"

Phoenix was taken aback and then sighed.

(Here we go again…")

"Edgeworth, I told you already. Detective Gumshoe has everything handled."

"Just give me the phone," Edgeworth groaned. "Knowing him, he's probably thinking I died or something."

Phoenix couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"Alright," Phoenix grabbed Edgeworth's phone on the side table and gave it to Edgeworth.

Edgeworth pulled up Gumshoe's number and called him. After the third ring, Gumshoe's booming voice came in through the phone.

"MR. EDGEWORTH!"

Gumshoe was screaming so loud that Edgeworth had to pull the phone away from his ear. Hell, even Phoenix heard the scream and winced.

"Don't scream so loud, detective. My head's already killing me as it is…"

"O-oh sorry, sir! But are you ok? I heard you collapsed in your office!"

"I'm fine," Edgeworth said and as if bad timing couldn't be worse, he went into a coughing fit.

"Y-you don't sound fine sir. You sound pretty awful. Besides, it's been a few hours since I got that call from your defense pal about you collapsing. Couldn't help but worry, sir."

Edgeworth rolled his eyes. "Well, I apologize for the trouble Detective Gumshoe. How's the investigation going?"

Phoenix only frowned, knowing Edgeworth would worry about the investigation. It didn't help that Edgeworth was beginning to look sleepy again with his eyes drooping slightly.

"Going alright, sir! But I wouldn't worry about it right now! Your job is to rest! Based on what I was told, you have a high fever too! You're in no condition to work, sir!"

"...the trial's in two days from now, correct?"

"Er…w-well yes sir, but-."

"Then that'll give me time to rest."

"Edgeworth!" Phoenix exclaims but Edgeworth ignores him.

"But sir, I don't think that's a good idea! W-we can always postpone the trial to next week or get someone else in your stead, but-!"

"Detective," Edgeworth interrupted, clearing his throat. "There's no need to do all that."

"But-!"

"If being in the courtroom isn't possible for me, then I'll simply do it over the computer. That shouldn't be a problem, right detective?"

"..."

Edgeworth only waited for Gumshoe to answer and he could hear him sigh from the other line.

"I-I'll have to talk with the judge and the defense attorney…but you really should worry about getting rest, sir. You shouldn't push yourself."

Edgeworth only sighed. "We'll talk more once I'm a bit better."

"Alright sir. Don't worry about the case. We got it handled!"

"Ok, goodbye detective."

And then Edgeworth hung up and leaned back sighing. Talking with Gumshoe in general was a tiring task, but being sick made him 10x more exhausted. He looked over to see Phoenix giving him a shocked but annoyed look.

"What is it, Wright?"

"Are you serious right now, Edgeworth?"

"Huh?"

"You'll still do the trial despite your condition?! Your fever is still high and you're not in the condition to do any work!"

"The trial is in 2 days. I'm sure at that point I'll be feeling better."

"But we don't know that!" Phoenix snaps. "Even if your fever went down at that time, you still have that nasty cough! The flu isn't something you can just easily shake off!"

Phoenix glared at Edgeworth for a few moments before taking a breath, knowing that yelling at a sick person will accomplish nothing. Plus he didn't need to add more stress onto him especially…

"Look…I'm just worried about you. You shouldn't push yourself so much when you're this feverish. Especially earlier when you had that panic attack and-."

"W-wait hold it!" Edgeworth said, sounding off guard. "Panic attack? What are you talking about?"

Phoenix looked taken aback with his eyes widening.

("Shit! I shouldn't have said that…especially now when he's still pretty feverish and a little out of it.")

"Wright…" Edgeworth said slowly, narrowing his eyes. "What's this about a panic attack?"

Phoenix only looked at Edgeworth. Part of him can't believe he doesn't remember, but the other part believes Edgeworth was very delirious and incoherent during it. To try and tell him now of his attack, he didn't want to risk him going into another one.

"Wright!"

Phoenix flinched before looking up at Edgeworth who looked tiredly annoyed.

"W-well…you went on saying how you had to run a perfect trial or…he would punish you. It…was pretty bad. At one point you wouldn't respond to either me or Maya. It was like you were trapped in your own head."

Edgeworth only stared at Phoenix as the memory slowly came back…well part of it anyway. He vaguely remembered hearing von Karma's voice telling him to keep aiming for perfection or face the consequences, but he thought that was either in his head or just one of the fever dreams he was having while he was unconscious. How bad had he freaked out in front of Phoenix and Maya?

"W-well I apologize for worrying you two, but I'm fine. It must've been the fever that made me freak out like that."

Phoenix frowned, knowing Edgeworth would simply just blame his fever.

"Edgeworth…Maya was the one who snapped you out of whatever you were seeing or hearing. When you did snap out of it, you brought Maya into a hug. You clung onto her pretty tightly too. It was pretty bad."

Edgeworth could only stare at Phoenix. He…clung onto Maya like his life depended on it? Now that he thought about it, he hasn't seen her since he's woken up.

"Where is Maya? I would like to apologize to her for my behavior. It must have been stressful for her for me to act that way. It's unacceptable."

"Well…she had something to take care of. She left a little while ago but she said she'll stop by later. She's pretty worried about you. I think she was more worried about your mental state than you hugging her."

Edgeworth only sighed. "Well…that still doesn't excuse my behavior. I potentially put you two in harm's way."

("Edgeworth…")

"There is one thing that I do want to know. What…happened back there? You seemed pretty freaked out. Was it…about von Karma?"

Edgeworth flinched at Phoenix quickly figuring out why he was freaked out.

"D-don't be assured! Why would I worry about the man who's in prison for murdering my father?"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "If you're not worried, why did you flinch just now?"

"I didn't flinch. I'm simply getting cold again. Damn fever."

Phoenix crossed his arms obviously not buying Edgeworth's obvious lie.

"W-well you told me earlier that my fever was pretty high. Obviously I was incoherent and my panic was fever induced."

"Edgeworth…I don't believe what we saw was fever induced. I want to believe it was, but the pure fear and panic Maya and I saw…it looked like you were reliving some sort of memory."

Edgeworth only rolled his eyes.

"Well it simply was fever induced," Edgeworth said, sounding a little annoyed. "Stop trying to push things that simply aren't true."

Phoenix could tell what Edgeworth was trying to do. He was trying to push him away. He was trying to save face now that he was a little more lucid. Unfortunately for Edgeworth, he wasn't going to shake Phoenix off that easily…not after what he saw earlier.

"Edgeworth…"

Now Edgeworth was annoyed.

"WRIGHT!" He immediately coughed but quickly composed himself. "You keep trying to push me to tell you a bad memory that simply doesn't exist!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix exclaims. "You literally just flinched when I mentioned von Karma!"

"You have no evidence that was why I flinched!" Edgeworth crossed his arms. "I have a fever and I feel pretty cold."

"I'm sorry, but there's a glaring contradiction!"

"What?!"

"When you were cold, you were physically shaking! Now you're not!"

"Have you never heard of getting a chill?!"

Phoenix sighed. Why was his friend being so damn stubborn?! Besides, if he keeps arguing with the prosecutor, his fever can go back up. It's still dangerously close to being in the 103s again.

"Look, Edgeworth, I don't want to argue with you while you're like this but…I do want you to be honest with me. We know how you lived with Von Karma for 15 years and how he…well…"

Edgeworth avoided eye contact, starting to feel exhausted again. He does want to tell Wright to get it off his chest, but he's wondering if it is because of his fever and exhaustion. He struggled to even tell Phoenix about his nightmares when he believed he killed his own father

"Edgeworth…d-did von Karma…?"

The word hung in the air and Edgeworth sighed, knowing Phoenix won't drop the topic.

"He didn't hit me if…that's what you're concerned about."

Phoenix looked at Edgeworth wide eyed not expecting him to just open up quickly like that.

"The most…physical thing he's done to me is grab me tightly by the wrist, sometimes tight enough to leave a bruise and shove me in my room. It would…sometimes be hard enough to make me fall…"

Edgeworth only avoided looking at Phoenix.

"So…that means…?"

"Yea. He's mainly put me down mentally. His constant insults were calling me a disgrace, pathetic, useless, and a fool."

"So…earlier when you said you had to be perfect or he would punish you, what did that…mean? You say he's never hit you per se, but what did he…"

"Well…it depends. It could be he gives me a several hour lecture on how I need to be perfect in every way. It could be him dragging me and shoving me in my room and making me write something for hours on end…and usually not about law either. The worst he would do is…"

Edgeworth suddenly found his throat closing up not being able to talk. He didn't want to bring that up. Especially since he already had a panic attack in front of him and Maya earlier…even if it is vague to him. He didn't want to have a flashback either to those times as well.

"Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth looked up to see Phoenix looking at him with concern. By the way Edgeworth just tensed up, Phoenix realized this is something the most painful to bring up that von Karma's done. Just as Phoenix went to tell him he didn't have to continue, Edgeworth spoke up.

"…h-he would…disrespect and talk poorly of my father's name…and if it was really bad…DL6…"

Phoenix's eyes widened as he shot up.

"W-what?!"

Edgeworth stayed silent as Phoenix could only stare in horror.

"H-he…?!"

Edgeworth only clutched at this comforter and his hands trembled slightly. Phoenix knew he basically grew up with Von Karma and shaped him into another him…but he didn't know how much he's broken Edgeworth. It was no wonder Edgeworth always acts like nothing is wrong and why he freaked out earlier. Von Karma has done this to him!

"E-Edgeworth…"

Edgeworth took a deep breath…well as best he could given his throat's irritation.

"But it isn't like he completely neglected me either. He did care for me on the rare occasion I was unable to work because of an illness. He of course didn't take the day off, but made sure I had everything I needed before heading out."

("So…this man just had Edgeworth basically take care of himself while he was sick?! God if he wasn't already in prison, I would probably be the next person with murder charges.")

"Of course Franziska would be there to take care of me if I was feeling pretty bad."

"Franziska Von Karma?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Yea…I remember as she got older she would threaten to whip me if I so much as thought of getting out of bed…of course it was all empty threats. She would call me a fool for making her deal with me though heh."

Phoenix blinked. "Did…was she always there if you were sick or even…"

Phoenix remembered Edgeworth telling him about his nightmare of DL6 of which he had every night for 15 years. Surely Franziska must have…

"She would be there at times when I had that nightmare…and she would refuse to leave when I told her I was ok. As for earthquakes…"

Edgeworth suddenly stopped as he remembered the nightmare he just had before waking up. It seemed to be a nightmare of a memory mixed with the weird aspects courtesy of his fever. He also realized that he's been saying too much. This conversation was draining him as it was and all he wanted was to just go back to sleep,

"…never mind. It isn't important. I've been talking too much anyway."

Unfortunately for Edgeworth, Phoenix never backs down from an argument so easily.

"Edgeworth.. please," Phoenix says gently. "I…I know this may be hard on you, but you can tell me anything. I won't judge, I promise."

Edgeworth looked at Phoenix before averting his gaze. Was he really considering telling him about his nightmare he just had? He would probably think he's an idiot. It must be the fever that's making him even consider telling him.

"R-right…before you walked in, I had a nightmare. It…it was mainly a memory if you will. I…was 15. I of course reacted horribly to an earthquake that happened. Mr. von Karma lectured me about being so scared of a tiny earthquake and called me a useless pathetic fool who can't even handle a small earthquake…a-and it was but…well you know."

Phoenix only frowned at this but internally felt horrified for Edgeworth and livid at von Karma. It was no wonder Edgeworth always pushed people away when he was having an episode! Von Karma…von Karma!

"Anyway…" Edgeworth took a breath. "Franziska would be the one who helped me through it. The…the nightmare starts when Franziska is talking with her father. She was wondering if he went too harsh on me. All he told her was how helping me was hindering my progress. When he yelled at her…I interfered. He once again belittled me about my fear and then…" he put his hand on his head not knowing how to explain the next part.

Phoenix could only stare, trying to process everything. This is what von Karma has done all this time?! Ridicule him while he was having a panic attack?!

("He's really lucky he's in jail!")

"And then…what?" Phoenix gently pushed.

Edgeworth put a shaky hand to his burning head.

"...I think that's when the fever decided to play games with me. Von Karma was…some sort of demon and then…an even more messed up version of DL6. Except instead of silence after the scream, I think von Karma was speaking to me in such a demonic voice. I think…I think that's when I woke up."

Phoenix only stared at Edgeworth trying to just take it all in. He cannot believe that not only did Von Karma neglect his basic needs, but his own daughter had to take care of someone 7 years older than him. He knew Franziska saw him as a "little brother", but he didn't know that meant having to take care of him because her father was too much of an asshole to do it himself. She was there for him but…

("Not only did this man kill his father, but made Edgeworth's life much harder by verbally abusing and not taking his health or phobia seriously?! He should be happy I'm not anywhere near him right now!"

Phoenix looked up at Edgeworth to see him avoiding eye contact. By now, Phoenix can see just how exhausted Edgeworth looked. He was swaying slightly and his eyes were becoming droopy. The argument and confession must've zapped the energy right out of him. Still…Phoenix wanted to comfort him in some way before letting him get some more rest. It was obvious that Edgeworth wasn't going to be able to stay awake much longer.

"Edgeworth…" Phoenix started, which got the sick prosecutor's attention. "I…I don't know what to say. I'm…I'm so sorry you had to go through all that! You shouldn't have had to!"

Edgeworth stared at him before letting out a sigh.

"I don't know why you're apologizing. It's not like you're the one who did all those things."

"I-I know but…it's wrong that any of that had to happen! What von Karma's done is so horrible, I would have words with him if he wasn't already in prison! He…he…!"

"Wright," Edgeworth said. "It's honestly thanks to you that he's in prison. I never would have thought that he was the one who killed my father. It…it's just…"

Edgeworth yawned as his eyelids were starting to grow heavier. Phoenix frowned seeing how Edgeworth was at his limit and should get some more rest. After all, Edgeworth still had a high fever.

"H-hey…you should get some more rest. You look like you're on the verge of passing out again."

Edgeworth only stared at Phoenix. Usually he would argue and say he's fine, but he really was feeling completely exhausted and could tell his body was basically trying to force him back to sleep.

"Y-yea…I guess…" Edgeworth's voice was slurred, but not as much as before.

"We can talk more later if you want," Phoenix sat next to his bed, but he knew that the prosecutor would once again blame delusion and fever for his opening up. "I'll stay here tonight to make sure your fever doesn't go up. Don't worry about a thing, alright?"

"Mm…." Edgeworth laid back on his pillow, with Pess curling up next to him.

Phoenix figured he could let Pess stay with him for a while. After all, she's most likely done this before when he's scared or panicked.

"W-Wright…" Edgeworth's voice was almost a whisper.

Phoenix looked at Edgeworth. "Yea?"

Edgeworth closed his eyes. "T-thanks…for b-being…a stubborn…moron…"

Edgeworth let out a sigh to indicate he was once again fast asleep. However, unlike the last few times he was asleep with a fever, he actually looked…really relaxed and peaceful. Phoenix only smiled at this as he stood up and headed towards the door.

"Anytime…Miles."

1 week later

"I declare the defendant, Amy Stake, guilty!"

Amy hung her head and nodded, having just confessed to killing her friend. Of course it was in self defense, but she would still face a bit of jail time. Luckily it wouldn't be the death sentence since it was an accidental murder.

Edgeworth gathered his things and sighed. He couldn't help but feel for the poor woman. It was a bit unfair when self defense still included jail time. Nonetheless, he was a bit glad it was over. After all…it took Phoenix, Maya, Gumshoe, and hell even the judge a lot of convincing to postpone the trial for a few days. Edgeworth didn't like it, but he still felt like he was at death's door after two days. It still took a lot of convincing though to postpone.

It took about 4 days for Edgeworth to fully recover, but he was glad the flu is done and over with and hopefully he won't ever get it again.

Edgeworth gathered his things and put them in his suitcase before walking through the courthouse. As he walked into the main hallway, to his surprise, he saw Phoenix and Maya standing there looking to be arguing about something. Phoenix looked over mid sentence to see Edgeworth standing there.

"Edgeworth! I see you haven't lost your touch!"

Edgeworth only raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here, Wright?"

"Awww come on don't be like that! After the hassle for the week, we wanted to see how the case turned out," he sighed. "Too bad she was found guilty."

"Too bad? She confessed to killing that man."

"N-no that's not what I mean! I mean…it kind of sucks that her friend tried killing her first and would've been killed if she hadn't. It was out of self defense but…still."

Edgeworth sighed. "Unfortunately that's how things are."

Phoenix sighed and looked towards Maya.

"I see you're doing pretty well! Glad to see you back on your feet!"

Edgeworth nods. "Thanks Maya. And again, I'm sorry for causing trouble for the both of you."

"Nah don't worry about it!" Maya smiled. "I'm just glad to see you're feeling better. Gotta admit it was weird seeing you so…well vulnerable."

Edgeworth could feel his face turn red with embarrassment but tried not to show it.

"W-well being sick will do that I suppose. My fever was pretty high so of course I would talk nonsense."

"I don't think all of it was nonsense," Phoenix smirks.

Edgeworth only glared at Phoenix before sighing, remembering something.

"What were you two talking about before I walked in?"

"Well, Nick found this ladder see-."

"It's a step ladder Maya! I told you!"

"It really isn't, Nick!"

They glared at each other as Edgeworth smirked slightly.

"Pretty sure it's a ladder."

Phoenix and Maya looked at each other with Maya having a giant smirk on her face.

"Ha! Even Mr. Edgeworth says it's a ladder!"

Phoenix only blinked at Edgeworth as he walked up to him. Then, before anyone knew it, Phoenix had laid the back of his hand on Edgeworth's forehead. Edgeworth stiffened for a moment, not expecting Phoenix to do something like that. After that moment, Edgeworth quickly smacked the hand that was laying on his forehead.

"W-what do you think you're doing, Wright?!"

"You were talking nonsense so I was making sure you didn't have a fever again."

"Pray tell how I was talking nonsense!"

"Well it's obviously a step ladder! Maybe this is a side effect from the flu!"

"I think he's perfectly healthy!" Maya smirks. "Maybe you're catching his sickness, Nick!"

"I am not! You both are out there! It is obviously a step ladder!"

Maya only laughs as she begins walking away.

"Let's go ask some other people!"

"Maya!" Phoenix groaned before chasing after her.

Edgeworth watched as the two of them continued their argument as they disappeared from view. He shook his head in amusement at their childish bickering. They really do act like siblings. He couldn't believe that just a week ago, the two of them were taking care of him while he was pretty sick and completely out of it. They were both so serious and caring, making sure he was taken care of during his time of complete vulnerability. Something he only experienced with Franziska after his father's death.

He did feel grateful towards them although he would have a hard time admitting it to them. Maybe, occasionally, it wouldn't hurt to admit when he needed help or say he's not feeling well…but that's something he needed to learn in due time. There was no need to rush.

As Edgeworth continued to look in the distance to where Phoenix and Maya disappeared to, a genuine smile went across his face. A smile he would usually only show to Pess.

"Thanks for everything you two," he said to himself. "Especially you…Phoenix."

A/N: Annnnnd that's it! I wanted to end the story on a lighthearted and wholesome ending. I also wanted to show the trial against Amy Stake was not just mentioned heavily on chapter 1. Soooo yea uh...ladder or step ladder? I'm team ladder lol! Anyway thanks to all who took the time to read and support this story! A new story will be out soon so keep an eye out if you're interested! Bye!:)