Hazel eyes watched the large dog prance around, white cotton towel hanging from its mouth. It was almost like he enjoyed annoying her… And it wasn’t funny anymore.
“Look, you adorable little pile of fur, we need to get you clean.” Said pile of fur stopped prancing only to look up at her, large brown eyes bright and almost seeming to laugh at her. The sight made her smile. “Pess, you know I love you. Now can we get back to the bathroom before Miles comes home?” Now he obeyed; Pess’s large paws trotted to the bathroom door, his owner’s new charge following.
She could only take one quick glance at the paper sitting atop her neatly folded sweatshirt before she quickly closed the bathroom door, cutting off the shiba inu’s escape route. Naturally, the title of the front page article had mentioned the Edgeworth male’s last court case, but there was no doubt in her mind her name would show up in there somewhere. After all... It wasn’t every day the Demon Prosecutor took in a sick woman.
Pess’s bark and a quick nudge were the only warning she had before she found herself sitting in a full tub of water, the splash from her fall hitting most of the shower door and quite a bit of the nearby sink and floor. “This is...” She raised an arm, watching the water drip off her soaked shirt sleeve, “Ridiculous, Pess…” The dog merely barked again before joining her, happily sitting in the empty end of the tub.
“…You shouldn’t take a bath like that.”
It hadn’t been more than two minutes of her staring at the dog when Miles’ voice dragged her gaze to the door. He looked rather unhappy, arms crossed over his chest and a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth, but she couldn’t blame him. “Er... You see… I... I wanted to give Pess a bath before you got home from the office, as a surprise…”
“And washed yourself?”
She twitched at that, pulling herself from the water. He had every right to be angry with her. “Honestly, I hadn’t planned it that way. Pess had other ideas.” Pess barked behind her, drawing the tiniest of smiles to the man’s lips. While he’d admit he was angry – his once spotless bathroom currently looked like someone had dumped water on several bottles of dog shampoo while his charge stood in the middle of it all, soaked – he didn’t much feel like reprimanding her. Especially not while his dog seemed so happy with what he’d done.
“Clean up the extra water, Naomi.” He ordered, retreating back towards the living room. With a small sigh, Naomi turned to do as he’d said, shooting a glare towards the dog. “This is your fault.” His tail merely wagged, ears perked to give him a happy look. Picking up the towel Pess had dropped, she set herself to soaking up the mess on the sink first.
It couldn’t have been more than three months… As much as she hated thinking about it, the newspaper had put the memories back in her mind. Three months since she’d dealt with the trial, since she’d been declared not only a witness, but also a suspect. If Miles hadn’t had been the prosecutor that day, she wasn’t sure where she’d be…
Speaking of Miles... The man held a hand out to her, offering three small, yet colorful, pills. Glancing up, she found the look of anger had returned to his face, his sleeves rolled up and jacket shed. “You haven’t taken them.” He was right; she’d purposely forgotten in hopes he’d forget to check today. And yet, he hadn’t.
“Must I?” She asked, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“Now.”
Well, there was her answer. Taking the pills from his hand, she tossed them in her mouth, gulping them down with a sip from the glass of milk in his other hand. Once she was sure the nasty taste left behind from them had passed, she turned away from him, if only to avoid seeing any further anger from her next comment.
“I’ve... Been thinking about the case lately…” He said nothing, passing her to pet Pess’ head. She took that as a sign to continue. “I wanted to know… Why did you take me in?”
“Hold his head. He’ll sit for me.”
So much for a decent answer. Kneeling beside him, she held Pess’s head up, surprised when Miles grabbed the closest bottle of pet shampoo.
While he worked on covering the dog’s light colored fur with soap and water, she let herself drift back into her memories.
--------à Chapter two?ß--------
Glancing up at Gumshoe, Naomi let a sigh escape her lips. Miles was always a completely different story, an enigma on his own, but the detective… She had to wonder about him. “Um… Mr. Gumshoe, was it? You don’t have to watch me…” She already had a headache as it was, probably from lack of medication over the past few days.
Gumshoe could only blink in surprise. “What? I’m supposed to be watching you, pal!” Pal? Since when was she anybody’s... pal? “Mr. Edgeworth’s on his way here now.”
That had to be the best news she’d heard all day. After spending a night in one of the coldest rooms anybody could provide for her, she was desperate to see the prosecutor and get this case done with. Turning her eyes back down to her boots, she let out another sigh.
“This way, ma’am.”
Raising her head, she found herself in the presence of Miles Edgeworth. Gumshoe had been right; she did think he was a little too… frilly looking, what with the decorative-seeming jacket and the cravat. Even if she thought it was far too early to be in a courthouse – the nearby clock read eight-thirty three – he seemed to be ready to step into the courtroom and win. And it was that thought that drove her to stand and follow him into a nearby room.
“Have a seat.” He seemed nice enough, she noted, dropping down into the closest chair she could find. How little she knew. “Your name… Is…” He paused to take out and flip through an overly stuffed manila folder. “Naomi Jackson.”
She shook her head. “I don’t… Is that really my name?” Miles seemed confused at that, showing her her name on the papers he’d opened up to. Even so, it didn’t strike her as actually being her name, even with it being down in ink. “You don’t know it?” He asked only to be answered with another shake of her head.
“To be honest with you, Mr. Edgeworth… I don’t remember too much right now…” She replied meekly.
“Then let’s begin with what you do remember.” Could they do that in only half an hour? The case began at nine… “We have time.” He sounded so sure of himself. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to think back, past the large holes in her memory.
“I... remember going out that day for snack foods. Mom and Dad had company in one of my cousins, so I was treating…” Tears started to form, blurring her vision. “I remember that man held my wrists together and threatened me, and then he stole the money… I saw my parents... And then the car ride to that really cold room I had to stay in.” Her memory was spotty, at best. But she knew rather well who’d broken in that day.
Lightly touching the bandaged wound across the right side of her neck, Naomi barely noticed the tears beginning to fall. “I can’t remember my own last name for the life of me… Or the names of my parents, or my cousin. But I know it was that man!” She couldn’t let this one man get away with everything he’d done. There was no way!
“You’ve given me enough information on that subject… For now.” Miles held a box of tissues out; she took one with a soft mutter of thanks.
“I’m sorry for this, really…”
“There’s no need to be apologetic. You have every right to be upset.”
Wiping the tears away, she forced a smile. “Yeah, but I’m more angry than anything else. Angry that someone could take advantage of others… My parents were the nicest people you’d ever meet. They didn’t deserve this.”
“As I’m very sure of.”
Sliding his sleeve a little ways up his arm, Miles eyed the watch he tended to hide. Eight-fifty five. His witness seemed to be composing herself rather well, and he was sure there was enough evidence to win the case already. Even if there wasn’t… He was out of time. “Miss Jackson.” She didn’t look up, and he inwardly groaned. It’d been noted in the file she’d been declared to have a case of selective amnesia due to the trauma, but she had to at least re-learn her name. “Miss Naomi.” Now she looked up, her interest in the tissue she held gone. “Will you be willing to testify?” Her nod was answer enough, he decided, calling in for Gumshoe to watch her while he made his way for the courtroom.
-------àChapter three?ß--------
Seated beside Gumshoe, Naomi forced herself to look at the defense’s bench. The attorney that stood there was short, chubby, and balding; she briefly wondered how old he was, and if there was a reason for his pinstripe black jacket. Nearby, in the defendant’s chair, sat the one man she’d never forget. She hadn’t seen him since the day she’d picked him out of a police lineup, and she didn’t know his name… But his face was unmistakable.
It was a sight that made her worry about Miles. He was cocky and sure of himself, she was sure, but standing alone on the prosecution’s side… She couldn’t help but worry. He’d assure her time and time again during their first meeting two days ago that he’d put the defendant behind bars, but how could she be sure? At this point, anything could go wrong.
“Is the prosecution ready?”
Forcing herself to look up, she stared at the judge for a moment. He was about as bald as the defense attorney… Perhaps they were related? The thought brought the tiniest of smiles to her lips while Miles answered, the judge moving to the defense. Gumshoe shifted in his seat beside her, mumbling something about a softer seat than what he had at home; she merely smiled more.
The smile faded within a moment, however, the defense making a comment about how there was no way his client had done anything. The words made her blood boil. How could anybody defend a criminal? Especially one willing to kill three people for a few hundred dollars?
“Would you like to call your first witness, Mr. Edgeworth?”
Miles nodded, appearing calm for but a moment before a determined smile tugged at his lips. “The only witness we’ll need, your honor. I’d like to call the daughter, Naomi Jackson.” At least, he hoped she’d be the only one he’d need.
Naomi nodded at the bailiff sent to retrieve her, forcing herself to stand and follow after him. Her headache was getting worse, and now she felt weaker than ever. This wasn’t good. Maybe it was just the fear of actually standing before so many people and the man who’d threatened to kill her as well, or it could’ve been the three days she’d gone without her medication. Either way, she had to find a way to control it before it got too out of control.
Stepping up to the witness’ stand, she glanced between the balding man and Miles. This wasn’t so hard… Yet…
“Witness. State your name and occupation.” He was so different in court, she noted, gulping before answering the prosecutor.
“My… My name’s Naomi. I guess… I’m unemployed?”
A loud bang was heard; the attorney had hit his desk with a fist. “You guess? Don’t you have a last name, girl?!”
Great… This would be harder than she’d hoped. “I don’t remember it.”
Thankfully, Miles decided to come to her rescue a second later, a paper in hand. “Miss Jackson has been under the care of a doctor since the incident. She is diagnosed with selective amnesia, and one of the things she has forgotten is her name and that of her family.”
The judge looked confused at that. “Selective?”
“Yes, your honor. Instead of forgetting everything, she was traumatized to the point where she remembers little about the events in question and a few other things.” Now he nodded, head dipping low enough that Naomi wondered if he was able to sniff his beard like that.
“I see. Witness, please testify about the day of the crime.”
Shifting her weight from her left to her right foot, she had to remind herself to look ahead and not at the defendant. There was a reason she’d mostly ignored the defense up until now, after all. “My memory of the day is a little spotty… I’d come back from the store, and I got held up. I know he asked about the money we’d raised, and he forced me to find it for him. His thanks was this cut on my neck, leaving me with my parents, and running off.”
She knew she wasn’t the only witness he had, but why in the world had Miles called her first? Her memory was just what she’d said it was: Spotty. At least the judge seemed to be nice enough, allowing for a cross examination while she shifted again, a knot forming in her stomach. When had it gotten so hot in that one room?
“You claim it was a he. Did you ever see him?”
Already the questions had begun. “I heard his voice. No woman or child could have a voice that deep, or a grip that tight. I only saw him when he was trying to run away after letting me go.” She’d worked her way through that one. He seemed satisfied with that, it seemed, and moved on.
“This money you raised. What was it for?”
Miles cut in now. “What they were to use the money for is of no concern.” Truthfully, however, he was interested. The police had only heard from neighbors that it was being raised for a sick neighbor, but they’d never actually gotten a name, nor an illness. “All that matters is that they were raising it.”
In that case… The smaller man found another question. “How much was stolen?”
This much she could say. “There had to be at least four hundred there… I’m not sure if he took it all, though.” She couldn’t remember if Gumshoe had found out about that or not.
“And if you gave him the money, why would he cut you? And with what?”
His voice was rising… She was starting to become fearful of this man as well. “He had a knife… or something sharp. I didn’t look, but he did cut me.” He didn’t accept her response, shown by a shake of his head.
“I don’t believe you for a minute.”
“We found the knife.” Admitting the knife as evidence, Miles made sure to point out that the blood staining it belonged to multiple people, all belonging to the family. On the other hand, Naomi couldn’t care less. The room was starting to spin, all energy she had disappearing, and quickly. His lips were still moving; was he yelling? She couldn’t quite tell.
Turning his attention back to Naomi, he found himself surprised to see her holding onto the sides of the stand tightly. “Miss Jackson?” She shook her head, eyes closing. What in the world was she doing?
Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth… She couldn’t keep herself up anymore, dropping to the floor as darkness proceeded to take over.
--------àChapter four?ß-------
By the time she’d awoken again, Naomi wasn’t surprised to find herself in a hospital room, hooked up to several beeping machines. Then again, she figured, it wasn’t her first time there, anyway. It’d always be something she’d recognize.
The nearby door flew open to admit a doctor; she was curious as to why she hadn’t woken up sooner if he’d always done that. “Ah, you’re awake, Miss Jackson. How do you feel?” Not that she had a chance to respond before he shone a light in her eyes, making her jump.
“I’m… Feeling a lot better… Can you wait a moment before you do that?” He instantly pulled the penlight away, apologizing softly.
“We would have called in your usual doctor, but he’s away on vacation. I’ll be here until he returns.” So they knew who he was… Was she still on record? Again, it wasn’t surprising if she was. Listening closely, she could barely hear him as he mumbled for his nurse to alert her friends, the white-clad woman running off a second later.
“Um... Excuse me… Friends?” Now she was confused, watching him take her pulse.
“The men who followed you here… Is one of them your father?” He seemed just as confused as she, and she shrugged. She couldn’t possibly explain it. So, if that was the case…
“How long was I out for?”
“About ten hours. You were brought in at ten-thirty, and it is now...” He glanced at his watch, “Eight-thirty seven.” Was it really that late already?
Again the door flung itself open, this time hitting the wall much harder than it had when her doctor had entered. Surprisingly enough, it admitted Gumshoe, seeming to be out of breath. “Mr. Gumshoe? Did you run here or something?” He went to laugh, moving to the chair beside her bed, and failed.
“You hit the floor pretty hard, pal!”
Oh, how she wished he wouldn’t call her pal.
“I’m sure it left a bruise of two.” She joked, raising a hand to touch her neck bandage. It felt clean… Probably a fresh one. The sound of his laughter hit her ears; he must have caught his breath.
“Probably! You fell like a brick!” Did he have to keep reminding her of how she fell? She could feel it, still sore from hitting the floor the way she did.
The doctor offered a kind smile. “Is this your father, Miss Jackson?” Naomi resisted the urge to laugh. With how kind Gumshoe had been since they’d met, he probably could have been.
“Unfortunately, no… My… My parents passed away. I’m on my own now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll leave you be for now. If you need anything, just press the call button.” And with a nod he was gone, leaving her alone with Gumshoe.
“You know, you are like a father figure…” She said slowly, catching the scruffy man’s attention.
“M-Me?!”
“Yes, sir… You have that kind of air about you.” Not that she really knew.
His response was interrupted by the door opening for a third time, this time Naomi’s expression brightening by the sight of Miles. “Mr. Edgeworth!” He nodded, relief held in his eyes.
“You’ve finally awoken.”
“Yes… I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…”
Gumshoe vacated the chair, allowing Miles to sit in it. Instead of staying nearby, the detective ran off with promises of coffee, making her shake her head.
“You were the reason they raised the money.” Miles spoke, quickly dampening the light-hearted mood that Gumshoe had brought in with him.
She paled. She couldn’t blame him if he’d figured it out on his own. “…Yes. Nobody knows what illness this is, what it’s doing to me… We tried raising money for better healthcare, but he stole it.”
She had hated hiding it from him. Hated keeping anything secret, especially something that probably would’ve helped him in the long run.
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Because I hate the people who think I’m just a pity case. As long as I can stand up and walk, I’ll never be a worthless pity case.” The looks of surprise, the people who’d visited just to see if she’d taken a turn for the worst… She couldn’t count how many times it’d happened. And she hadn’t wanted to have it happen with Miles and Gumshoe.
“You take medication for this?”
“Multiple different kinds. I haven’t had any for a few days… Probably why what happened did.” There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that her illness was the reason. And, judging by his expression, he felt the same.
On a somewhat different note… “What happened with the trial?”
“The second witness had picture proof of Black’s escape, knife and money in hand.” She nodded; no doubt their neighbor, the only one with a security system in the neighborhood. “He confessed to the crime.”
She turned her hazel gaze down to the sheets. Hearing those words… It’d felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth… I owe you so much for this.” That was something he had no doubt she believed. Now, if only she could find a way to repay him.
--------àChapter five?ß--------
Present day…
“Turn his head.”
Naomi obeyed, the man’s voice dragging her out her thoughts. Pess was by now covered in a white, soapy lather, his tail wagging and head moving to try and lick her hands. She smiled, reaching for a rather large blob of the soap to scrub around his ears while Miles continued to rub it into the furry creature’s neck.
This was something she’d never thought would ever happen. After being released from the hospital, she’d stayed with Detective Gumshoe for a total of two weeks before his bad living conditions, lack of food, and her lack of medicine once again put her in the hospital. After that... She’d had no idea how it’d worked out, but the detective had managed to get Miles to take her in.
“Careful for his eyes.” Miles muttered, moving her hands away from the sides of Pess’s face. Naomi nodded, scratching his ear instead through the soap. Miles was a strict housemate; she’d give him that. He had multiple rules, most of which involved caring for Pess and avoiding messes, and usually required that she do as her doctors had ordered. But, she’d noticed over the few months they’d been together, he was still willing to care for her, even going so far as to legally change her last name to his only a few weeks ago.
Moving her hand away from the dog’s ear, she reached for the showerhead.
“I can rinse him off.” She had to at least be able to do something... Turning the water on, she quickly rinsed the white lather off Pess’s head before moving down his neck, taking care not to soak his owner as well.
By the time Pess had been cleaned and dried, the sun had set outside the bathroom window, twilight taking over. “Miles?” When had that name become so… useful? Furthermore... Why in the world did she insist on using it? Replacing the bottles of dog shampoo in the bathroom cabinet, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Yes?” He needed a shower now, too… Or at least a hairbrush. Naomi seemed to be half covered by his hair.
“I’ll make dinner. Any requests?” He had none, and said as much.
Retreating to the kitchen, Naomi couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. Perhaps... Someday, somewhere… She’d be able to repay this man for everything he’d done.