Back from the Dead

Trauma Doesn't Just Magically Disappear

A few weeks later after moving in the Edgeworth-Wright household, Gregory found himself walking towards the prosecutor's office. It was surprisingly sunny for late october, no clouds in the sky as a small breeze blew his light brown trench coat. He had long since abandoned his old hat, leaving it in Ray's possession, his son having bought him a nearly identical dark brown with a light gray strap replacement. His cane clicked on the sidewalk as he walked, it was currently donning 7 stickers, courtesy of Maya and Pearl Fey, the younger of the two having meet 2 weeks ago and a Steel Samurai one from Miles. His son had shyly applied it a few days ago before refusing to make eye contact with his father for the rest of the day. The action warmed's Gregory heart and made him smile for the rest of the day. 

Once he reached the prosecutor's office he walked to the front desk to explain his reason for visiting, however the receptionist merely waved him along. Since his release from the hospital he had been going back and forth between here, Edgeworth Law Offices and Wright & Co. Law Offices. He always liked working with Ray, even if right now it was only paperwork and Maya and Phoenix brought a new interesting perspective to cases. 

However the place he adored the most was his son's office. He loved coming here to talk to him and watch him work. Since their reunion he has been watching his son closely, observing his quirks and behaviors. Like how, despite never liking sweets that much, Miles only drank sweet tea. Or how he smiled warmly at Kay, Phoenix or Sebastian when he thought nobody was looking. Or his love for Steel Samurai. How he was taller than Gregory by a few cm. Every single thing he discovered made him feel that much closer to Miles.

 He made his way towards the stairs when he saw a familiar figure. He turned around and looked at the gray bullet hole-filled trenchcoat.

"Detective Badd?" asked the defense attorney.

The detective turned around to look at his caller and froze. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, and given the circumstance he couldn't really blame him. Badd looked at him for a good 3 minutes before he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great! Now I've gone crazy and I'm seeing ghosts."

Gregory chuckled awkwardly. "I assure you, you haven't gone crazy, nor are you seeing ghosts."

"Really? Because last I checked you were dead."

"Yes well... I've been in a coma..."

"For 17 years? The autopsy report-"

"Was falsified and the doctors paid to keep quiet."

"....von Karma."

"Was the one responsible, yes."

"I see...well I'm glad to hear you didn't actually die, Edgeworth."

"I'm glad to see you as well, detective. Are you here because of a case?"

"Nah, I'm retired." he took a pause as took out the lollipop from his mouth. "I just came here to drop my written testimony report as a witness in a trial. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm only visiting my son right now."

"I see...you plan on returning to the courtrooms anytime soon?"

"Yes, actually...I have been thinking about it for a while and I plan to take the bar exam this february."

"Well good luck with that. I'll get out of your hair now, goodbye."

"Of course detective Badd, sorry for keeping you....and maybe when you're free we can go out for some coffee?"

"....Sure." After this the two old men parted ways and Gregory started walking up the stairs. On his way he also meet with Sebastian, the two having become acquainted during one of his visits. He greeted the young man before knocking on door 1202 and entered once he received an answer. His son was standing at his office table, drinking a cup of tea. He smiled slightly once he realized it was his father and got up from his seat to pour Gregory some tea. The veteran defense attorney took a seat on his son's red velvet couch and thanked him once he was handed a cup of ceylon tea.

Miles smiled at his father, before returning to his paperwork. He was called to return to Germany for while, and he was planning on taking his father with him. His father was preparing on retaking the bar exam, so he believed seeing the legal courts of Germany would be beneficial. And if it was also because he secretly wanted to go investigating with his father, well nobody needed to know that.

The day passed mostly uneventfully, the father and son duo mostly talked about the newest case Miles was taking. It was about a young man that killed his abusive father. While murder was murder, the circumstances which led to the death of the older man were much more complicated. Which was why Miles asked the opinion of his father, a man who dealt with similar cases before, even if it was from the defense's perspective. 

At 5pm the building started shaking, some of the records on the shelves started falling and in his panic, Gregory accidentally spilled his cup of tea on the couch. The earthquake hadn't lasted more than a minute, once it was over, the older defense attorney calmly stood up to check on his son but stopped once he saw the state he was in. Miles was completely frozen in his office chair, he was looking down without actually looking at something. He slowly started hyperventilating and his hands were trembling.

Gregory snapped out of his daze and immediately ran to his son. He put his hand on his arm before embracing the prosecutor and holding him tightly. He ran his hands in his son's hair as he whispered comforting words. At some point Miles started clutching his father's arm as tears started tracking down his cheeks. It was clear to Gregory that he still wasn't completely lucid. 

The two of them stayed like that for a while before Miles' breathing started slowing down. Little by little he was calming down as his father held him and continued whispering comforting words. Eventually the prosecutor regained himself as he broke from the embrace. Gregory smiled at his son as he handed him handkerchief. Miles took it gratefully and wiped his tears as he sniffed.

"Miles? Are you ok son?"

"Father! I uh...yes yes, I am fine...I'm sorry I-"

"Is this because of what happened 17 years ago?"

Miles sighed. "Yes, after the events from 17 years ago I was left with a fear of earthquakes and elevators. When the building shook I- It was like I was suddenly there again, in that elevator and I couldn't breathe and there was so much blood and-" He cut himself off be before he could dive into another panic attack. "I knew you are alive and well, I could somewhat see you, but for a few minutes I-"

Gregory shushed his boy carefully. "Shh, its ok son. You went through a traumatic experience, its natural to react like this." He wrapped his arms around his son again and hugged him tightly. "Just know that no matter what I love you and will always be here for you."

"...Thank you father."

In the following minutes, Miles received a frantic call from his fiancé, asking if he was alright as well as a text from Franziska. Kay and Sebastian burst into the office 15 minutes later to check on him, as well as Gumshoe, who had driven straight from the precinct, after abandoning an investigation for Prosecutor Payne. Gregory was very happy to find out his son had so many people that cared for him.