I somehow got myself into thinking about the interaction between Edgeworth and Phoenix at the hospital during Bridge to the Turnabout and decided to write a one-shot for it. I hope you like it! (And just a note: this is not meant to be Narumitsu or hint at it either. It's meant to be purely friendship.)

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

Well, he certainly isn't dying like Larry led me to believe. I'll need to have a word with him about that when I get the chance. Miles Edgeworth stood outside a hospital room door, dressed in his burgundy suit and cravat. He knocked on the door, waiting for someone inside to respond.

"Come *cough* in."

Turning the knob, the prosecutor entered the room. It was a simply-furnished room. A wooden bedside table on the left of the stretcher, a couple of chairs on either side of the bed. A glass-sliding window offered a view outside of the buildings surrounding the hospital.

Of course, Edgeworth only briefly noticed the room. He was more concerned about the patient occupying the room. Sitting in the bed, hunched over and nearly glowering at the laptop in front of, was a spiky-haired man.

Edgeworth's brows furrowed. What is that ridiculous thing he's wearing over his head?

Phoenix Wright, dressed in a gray hospital shirt and wearing the demon warding hood, finally removed his gaze from the laptop, his eyes widened when he saw who his visitor was. "Edgeworth." That was all he managed to say before he began coughing.

The prosecutor waited for the coughing to stop before he returned the greeting. "Wright." To think this is the man who fell off a burning bridge and into a river. It seems like the only infliction he has is a cold, but that's typical for Wright. He's quite lucky. Most others would have died from such an accident.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were still traveling in Europe."

"Yes, that was what I was doing; however, I received a phone call late in the night from a certain friend of ours claiming you were on the brink of death." I even chartered a private jet to get here, but I don't need to tell you that. The last thing I need is for you to tease me about it, although…he doesn't appear to be in a good-enough physical condition to make fun of me.

Phoenix's shoulders drooped as he grimaced. "Wild guess. This certain friend is Larry, right?"

"Yes, although he rather vehemently told me he wanted to be addressed as Laurice Deauxnim."

"Heh. Yeah, there's a bit of a story to that one," Phoenix explained, scratching the back of this neck. He then motioned to the chair closest to his bed. "You can sit down."

"No, thank you. I prefer to stand."

"Well, suit yourself."

Taking note of the attorney's green face, the prosecutor asked, "How do you feel?"

"Well, I feel dizzy, my ears are ringing, my throat burns, and my head is on fire. Other than that, I'm alright, thanks."

"Hmph. I spoke with one of your doctors. They told me you'll need to stay here for two days and get bed rest."

"Yeah, they told me that too. I don't want to though. I mean, I'm doing fine now." As soon as he finished that statement, he went into a coughing fit.

"Oh yes. You're doing marvelously."

Once he'd overcome the coughing episode, Phoenix let out a deep breath and leaned back in the bed, shutting his eyes. "I just want to run out of here and head back to Hazakura Temple. There's so much I need to do. I need to find out who murdered Ms. Deauxnim, what happened to Pearls. I need to defend Iris, and I have to make sure Maya's okay."

The bags under Phoenix's eyes were a clear indication that the defense attorney was losing sleep over his current predicament, a predicament the prosecutor didn't know much about. "Wright…I only know a few, little details about this situation you've found yourself in, and Larry is not at all a credible source of information, to say the very least. If you were to tell me about it…I'd be willing to assist you in any manner that I can."

That provoked a reaction from the other man. He opened his eyes to stare at rather skeptically at his childhood friend. "R-really? You mean it? This isn't some kind of a joke, is it?"

Edgeworth crossed his arms, frowning. "Wright. I think you know me well enough to know that I rarely ever joke, especially about important matters. Now you can either tell me what's been going on recently during my absence, or I can leave."

"Don't go! Sheesh. I'll tell you."

Phoenix went into the details of the case, beginning with how he, Pearl, and Maya had gone to visit Hazakura Temple for Maya to attend a special course for her spirit medium training. He went on to explain what had happened at the temple prior to the murder, the dinner, meeting Elise Deauxnim, among the other events.

Edgeworth listened intently, jotting down pertinent information into his organizer. When Phoenix first mentioned Iris though, he stopped writing to glance at the attorney, noticing the hesitation in the other man's voice. Phoenix pulled the hood that was on his head down tighter, and he paused often, as if he was deep in thought, trying to put together the pieces of a complicated puzzle. Something about the way he talks about this woman…I'm interested to find out more about her. Now that I think about it, I do recall Larry mentioning someone named Iris.

Phoenix finished up the recap with him finding Elise Deauxnim's body and his subsequent fall into the river. The prosecutor tucked his pen away in his pocket. "Well, Wright. You've gotten yourself involved in quite the mess. You say Maya is still on the other side of this Dusky Bridge?"

"Yeah, she is, and there's Pearls too, Edgeworth. I didn't see her that night. I just hope she's okay. She'll be inconsolable when she finds out about Maya and what happened to Miss Deauxnim."

I do hope they're both alright also. To think they had to be there when all of this happened… He shut his organizer and stowed it away. "I must say I'm intrigued with this case. I might just go to this Hazakura Temple and see for myself what's happened since you were brought here. I'll also try to find out how Maya and Pearl have been faring. Thank you for the information."

"No problem. Hey. Before you go, take these things with you." The bedridden attorney reached over to grab a couple of items from his bedside table.

The first thing Phoenix handed him was a green, translucent rock that was in the shape of the number nine. It almost appears as if it's glowing…no. It can't be glowing. "What is this object, Wright?" He asked as he held it closer to examine it. "Evidence, perhaps?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Nope. It's called a magatama. It's basically a rock that can help you see inside people's hearts."

Edgeworth raised his eyebrows, his gaze falling on the man in bed. "See inside people's hearts?" He repeated. That can't be possible.

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah. You see, when someone's hiding something from you, when they're keeping a secret in other words, with that stone, you'll see these silver chains appear, and on the chains, red locks. They're called Psyche-locks."

Psycholocks. It's a fitting name. This whole concept of looking into people's hearts that Wright's explaining to me is indeed psycho.

"Depending on how many secrets the person's keeping in their heart, or how well-guarded the secret is, there'll be more locks. The most I've seen is five. Breaking the locks can help get vital information out of people, information you can use in court," Phoenix emphasized. "When you see the locks, you just need to present the magatama, and then question the person. You'll usually have to present some evidence to get the locks to actually break. Make sense?"

After a long moment of silence, Edgeworth nodded. "Yes, I suppose so." Wright must be spouting off nonsense because of his cold. As if one could really see into the hearts of others. What an outrageous thought.

"Good. Now here's the other thing I wanted to give you." Phoenix reached over and dropped something into Edgeworth's hand.

Miles stared down at his palm, which was now holding a small, circular object. It was gold-colored, with a scale engraved on the front of it. It was so well-polished that it shined brightly, even in the relatively dim light of the room. "Wright…what's the meaning of this?"

"You know what that badge means, Edgeworth. The person who wears that badge…he or she swears to believe in people, and to believe until the bitter end." Edgeworth lifted his gaze from the badge to Phoenix, who continued speaking. "It'd look nice on you, you know."

Edgeworth stared incredulously at Phoenix. This has to be a joke. He can't be serious. But he knew better. He saw the earnest look in his friend's eyes. He does appear to be serious…nngh… "If you say so," he mumbled. He slipped the objects into his pocket. "Anything else I should know, Wright?"

"Well…there's one more thing."

"Yes?" Edgeworth held in a groan as he saw Phoenix fidget. "Wright. Please. I don't have time to waste."

"You know why I gave you that attorney's badge? My attorney's badge?"

"…" The prosecuting attorney wasn't sure whether he was supposed to answer. When Phoenix remained silent, though, he figured an answer was expected of him. "You…want me to play defense attorney, yes?"

"Not just play, Edgeworth. I want…no. I need you to defend her."

"Her?" I know who he's talking about.

"Iris."

"Wright. This woman Iris. How do you-"

"Take care of her for me, will you?" Phoenix asked suddenly, facing his courtroom rival. His blue eyes were wide, and desperation was evident in his voice.

"I…" Edgeworth was nearly taken aback at how Phoenix had posed his request.

Suddenly, Phoenix averted his gaze down to the IV in his arm, gently touching it. "Will you do that for me? Take care of her, stand in my place in the courtroom tomorrow, and defend her?"

Edgeworth tried to muster a glare at Phoenix. What he was asking of the prosecutor…it was something that could lead them both into some very serious legal trouble. However, it was hard for the man to deny the request his childhood friend had made. It wasn't just that though. Although the man wasn't one who take pride in picking up on other people's emotions, he could tell that the defense attorney was in some form of pain, and it wasn't really a physical pain.

I feel as if Wright is hiding something important, or knows something important, but refuses to tell me about it. He's suffering in silence, and I'm almost positive it has something to do with that woman, Iris. I'll need to ask her about Wright and learn what the relation is between the two of them.

"Alright" was the simple reply he offered. "Now I must get going, Wright. Take care."

"Thank you, Edgeworth. I…appreciate…it." Phoenix replied sleepily his head going back and his eyes closing.

The prosecutor walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As he walked down the stairs of the hospital, he was thinking to himself.

Did I just almost agree to defend someone? I'm a prosecutor! My job isn't to defend people. My job is to doubt people, to prosecute the defendant…technically speaking. My real job, my creed…is to find the truth. Yes. I'll uncover the truth of this case, or at the very least help to do so, until Wright recovers. That doesn't mean I'll be defending someone in court. Besides, Wright was probably not thinking straight. He does have a high fever, and he barely looked conscious before I left just now. Although…

Edgeworth took the badge out and stared at it intently. It would be interesting…to finally stand on the other side of the courtroom and experience what it's like to be a defense attorney…no. I can't be thinking like this. I'll just go visit Larry, go to Hazakura Temple to do some investigation, and that will be that.

Little did Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth know that the events that were to follow that same day would lead to him standing opposite of his usual place behind the prosecution's bench.

I know this isn't perfect, but this is just my idea of what the conversation must've been like between the two lawyers. I'd love to hear from you guys about what you thought! Thank you for taking the time to read! :)