Just as Minerva was beginning to doze off, a knock at the door jolted her awake. She rubbed her tired eyes to see the door opening. The first face she saw was of her darling cousin. Athena grinned and ran straight at her.

“Minnie!” She practically tackled the blonde with a big hug. “It really is you! I almost didn't believe Simon when he told me! That's why I always heard so much joy when Inari helped us! I knew something had to be up!”

“Thena…” Minerva smiled and hugged the girl in return. “Sorry I had to keep it a secret. I couldn't risk my identity getting out.” Looking past her, she saw several others entering the room with smiles on their faces. Minerva pulled away to look at them all. “Wow, you…really brought everyone with you.” She felt a little self conscious in her current state, especially when she spotted Simon at the back of the group.

“Everyone wanted to see how you were,” Athena told her. “And we all wanted to bring you the great news, of course!”

“I saw the whole thing, actually. They broadcasted it, so as soon as I got here, I tuned in.” She smiled brightly at the lawyers. “Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, Mr. Wright, Mr. Justice, I want to thank you all for what you did today. Because of your efforts, both Athena and Simon are here now.”

Phoenix gave a sheepish grin. “Oh, you're welcome, Ms. Cyber. We were just doing our jobs really. Besides, Athena is part of our team. We'd be crazy not to defend her when she needed us.”

“Yeah,” Apollo agreed. “I mean, I didn't do all that much. I feel bad for even suspecting Athena in the first place. But I'm glad it all turned out well in the end.”

Miles adjusted his glasses. “And I couldn't go and let one of my prosecutors take the fall for a crime he didn't commit. He's one of the trustworthy ones.”

Minerva stifled a giggle at his inability to admit that he cared about Simon. “Of course.” She looked at her cousin who was sitting on the edge of the bed. “And Thena, I'm so proud of you. You've become such a great attorney. The fact that you were able to stand up there today and dig up the past to find the truth - you've grown so much.”

Athena blushed. “Aww, I'm not that great yet. I've still got a long way to go to be as great as Mr. Wright.”

Minerva finally met the steely gaze of the monochrome man, though his expression had softened considerably. “Simon, how long are you going to stay silent back there? I'm proud of you too, you know. You finally took down the phantom.”

“It was nothing.” He turned his head away in an almost bashful way that was unlike him.

Her eyes moved down to his wrists. “It's good to see those shackles gone. Proof that you're a free man.”

Athena got up and marched over, practically dragging the man closer. “Come on, Simon! Since when are you so shy? You and Minnie were so close. She's not going to bite you now!”

Simon scowled but allowed her to drag him closer. “Silence! You talk too much, Athena!”

“And you don't talk enough!”

Minerva laughed lightly at the pair. “The two of you squabble like siblings.”

Athena smirked. “Well then maybe you two should hurry up and get married so Simon can officially be part of the family.”

Simon lowered his head, his cheeks growing red while Minerva's face lit up. “Thena! If I could get up right now, I'd…I'd…” Her annoyance quickly gave way to sadness and she looked down at her legs.

To everyone's surprise, it was Simon who went over to take a seat at the edge of the bed and place a hand over Minerva's. “I am here for you if you wish to talk.” He glanced at the others and gave a slight nod toward the door.

Miles smiled in response. “Let’s give them a moment.”

Phoenix nodded in agreement, and Apollo nearly had to drag Athena with him, for she still had so much to catch up on with her cousin. But finally, the door closed and the pair were alone at last. At least, they would've been if a certain hawk hadn't flown in through the open window. Taka chirped and excitedly landed beside Minerva, eager to see her.

Minerva smiled, reaching over to scratch his chin. “There's my pretty boy. I saw you valiantly fly to the rescue in court today, Taka. You did such a good job.”

Simon smiled upon seeing his faithful companion enjoying her attention, just like he used to. “I think he missed you all these years. Funny, I did think he exhibited odd behavior in Inari’s presence. As it turns out, he knew it was you all along.”

“Yeah, but he was a good boy and didn't give me away.” Minerva turned her gaze to the man. “So, tell me what happened. With the phantom, I mean. Is he…?”

“He's alive,” the prosecutor clarified. “He survived the sniper shot. But he's now in custody and under the careful watch of the prosecutor's office. He won't be causing any more trouble for anyone. And I believe he was your hacker as well.”

“Really? I mean, I had a hunch when he was at the witness stand. But how'd you figure that out?”

“Simple deduction. Your hacker wanted information on UR-1. They also didn't want you to testify in the retrial. The phantom had crucial pieces of evidence to his identity that he wanted to find, namely the psych profile I had on him, and that moon rock with his blood on it that the Hope capsule returned from space. Therefore, if your hacker was the phantom, then he did indeed want to find those missing pieces of evidence without them being released in a trial.”

Minerva stared at him in awe. “That does make perfect sense. You really are one brilliant prosecutor.” The man chuckled at that, at least until her gaze shifted down to her legs. “And…what happened with Aura?”

“After the results of the retrial, she released the hostages and turned herself in. She'll do her time in the clink.”

“I'm glad. She did the right thing, but…”

“But she can no longer repair your spine while behind bars,” Simon concluded.

Minerva suddenly gripped the sides of her head, fighting back tears. “She’s the only other person who knows exactly how my spine is built and how it functions. If she's not here to repair the damage then I…”

“You really can't fix it on your own?”

“No. It would have to be removed for me to work on it. Honestly, I don't think it can be removed, it wasn't designed to. It's a part of my body now.” She started gripping her hair in frustration. “Do you know how long it took?” Her breathing picked up and her voice rose in volume. “The healing process alone took three months! And I constantly had to go back because my body tried to reject the foreign material! I was in so much pain for so long! And after all that, it took nearly six months of physical therapy before I could even stand!” She started crying. “After overcoming all of that, I don't want to go back to square one!”

Simon scooted closer and leaned in to wrap her in a hug. “You won't have to. I'll figure out a way to allow Aura to work on your repairs. It may take time, but until then, I will be here for you.”

Sobbing, Minerva held him. “Thank you, Simon. Thank you. Thank you.”

After a moment of letting her calm down, Simon pulled back just enough to lock eyes with her. He wasted no time in wiping away her tears with his fingers. Minerva even slid her glasses off to allow him to do so. Finally, the glint of silver caught his eye, and he looked down at the familiar fox pendant hanging around her neck.

“I can still hardly believe you have that old thing after all these years.”

Minerva followed his gaze, clutching the pendant to her chest. “I wear it every time I leave home. In a way, carrying it feels as though…you're always right here with me.” His eyes visibly widened, and she looked up at him again. “You may think it silly, but it's very precious to me simply because it was a gift from you.”

Simon took her hand while his other came up to lightly grip her chin. He watched her face redden before he closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. Minerva was in shock for a second, at least until she felt his hand squeeze hers, letting her know this was really happening. She reciprocated the kiss, feeling the smile tugging at his lips in response. When he parted from her, he immediately embraced her, holding her in a way that his warm breath hit her ear, making her shudder.

“How I've longed for this day,” he murmured. “I thought it a distant dream to have you like this. I hope that now, nothing will tear us apart again. In fact, if anything or anyone tries to, I'll cut them down. All for you, Minerva.”

Those words in that deep voice of his made her heartbeat quicken. “Simon…” She leaned into him, feeling her stomach aflutter with butterflies. “Promise me you won't ever leave me again. I know you took the fall for Athena, but don't you ever go and do something so crazy again.”

Simon chuckled, pulling back to face her. “And what if you're the next one to be accused? You expect me not to act?”

Minerva frowned and lightly smacked his arm. “I'm serious, Simon. If it hadn't been for this retrial, you would've died tomorrow. Do you realize how painful that would've been for me and Athena?”

Simon’s eyes showed guilt. “You're correct. My deepest apologies. But now you understand why I never got in touch before. I never wanted you to know…or to rekindle these feelings while I'm on death's row.”

Minerva took the sides of his face in her hands, lightly running her thumbs along the dark marks under his eyes. “So that's why you never wrote me back. I thought maybe you didn't care about me anymore.”

A gentle smile stretched across his face. “Quite the opposite. I worried for your well-being every day.” His expression softened, especially when she smiled back at him. When she retracted her hands, she pet Taka again, who had inconspicuously moved between them. “Time you go, Taka,” Simon said, having the bird hop onto his arm. “Animals aren't allowed in here, so go on, before any staff see you.” With a seemingly annoyed screech, Taka took off back out the window he'd come from. “By the way,” the man began, meeting her gaze again, “Wright-dono is treating us to celebratory noodles. Would you care to join us?”

Minerva nodded. “I'd love to. Honestly, I'd do anything to just get out of this place. Hospitals only serve to remind me of my condition, and I don't want to dwell on that right now.”

Simon stood and went to the door, opening it to find the others still outside waiting. “A doctor just came by,” Miles informed him. “Ms. Cyber is free to leave whenever she likes.”

“Excellent.” The monochrome man smirked at the blue-suited attorney. “And I invited Minerva to join us. I think she deserves a hot bowl of noodles after today's events, wouldn't you agree, Wright-dono?”

Phoenix slouched forward, trying to force a smile through the pain at the thought of his emptying wallet. “Y-Yes… Of course.”

Simon gestured for the lone girl to follow him back inside. “Would you help her get dressed, Athena?”

“No problem! Just leave it to me!”

Simon moved the blanket off Minerva, then carefully gathered her legs, hooking his arm under them. With his other arm around her waist, he picked her right up. Minerva instinctively held onto the man, secretly admiring his strength. Athena pulled the nearby wheelchair over, allowing Simon to sit the blonde in it.

“We'll be right back!” Athena told him.

She wheeled Minerva into the bathroom where her clothes had been set aside and closed the door. Simon waited with the others until the ladies emerged. Minerva was in her usual outfit with her broken helmet on her lap. Athena brought her over with a big, cheerful smile.

“Let's get out of here already,” Minerva said with a little grin, her mood lightening. “I don't know about the rest of you, but the hospital smell is starting to get to me.”

“Trucy’s outside with our taxi to Eldoon’s Noodles,” Apollo said.

Miles looked at the blonde. “Prosecutor Blackquill and I prefer to take my car. You may ride with us, if you like.”

Minerva nodded. “I would, thank you.”

Athena moved around to grin at her cousin. “In that case, we'll beat you there, Minnie! I bet our taxi’s faster!”

Minerva rolled her eyes. “It's not a race, Thena.”

“Says the losers!”

Ignoring the playful banter, Simon took to wheeling Minerva down the halls and out of the clinic. The blonde waved to her cousin, who hurried into the waiting taxi with her coworkers. Miles's car was sleek and red, befitting the elegant man. He held a back door open for her, allowing Simon to pick her up and place her in the seat. The two men then folded up her wheelchair and placed it in the trunk. Miles got behind the wheel, but to her surprise, Simon got into the back with her. As soon as they got onto the road, Minerva felt a large hand take hold of her own. She glanced down at Simon’s hand before looking at him, but he was facing the window, as if to hide his embarrassment.

Miles nearly smirked when he saw them in his rearview mirror, but wasn't the type to tease. “Ms. Cyber, may I ask what your plans are going forward?”

“My plans?” she repeated, caught off guard by the question.

“Well, I'm aware that you and Aura Blackquill worked together at the Cosmos Space Center before, but you're also a very capable crime scene investigator.”

Minerva hummed in thought. “Well, I don't know for sure. For the time being…I think I'll just take it easy while I hopefully get the necessary repairs on my spine. After that… I'll have to give it some thought.”

“I'll keep your position open then, in case the great Inari makes her return to the force.”

“I wouldn't mind if you led all of my investigations,” Simon added, smirking at her. “You're quite the cunning fox out in the field, eh, Vixen?”

Minerva laughed lightly. “Only with my helmet, which will also need…a lot of repairs. But I have to admit, we did make a great team.”

“And we still could if you walk the path as Inari once more. But the decision is ultimately yours to make.”

Upon arriving at Eldoon's Noodles, the group sat together to eat. They talked, they laughed, and they celebrated. It gave Minerva the chance to catch up with Athena as well. It was late into the night when they departed. The weariness had caught up to Minerva, so the car ride to the space center was spent dozing with her head on Simon's shoulder. Miles kindly dropped them off. While Athena had offered to stay with her cousin temporarily in case she needed help, Simon didn't hesitate to do the same, so Minerva allowed him to stay with her. Truthfully, she knew he also had nowhere to go, having just been released from prison. She could give him a place to stay while he, in turn, gave her a hand until she could regain her mobility.

Once inside her residence, Simon wheeled the tired blonde to her room. He took the opportunity to glance around at her work desk and her numerous devices and trinkets that were in the works. He stopped by her bed, moving to pick her up. She weakly held onto him, her eyelids threatening to close on their own. He carefully laid her down.

“I still need to change,” she mumbled. Simon was already setting aside her wheelchair and placing her broken helmet on her desk. “And I need to find you a pillow and a blanket.”

“Stop babbling,” he said, his tone surprisingly gentle. “You need not concern yourself with anything. Today was exhausting. You need only rest.” He took the time to slide off her boots before tucking her in. “I assure you, after seven years sleeping in a prison, the sofa will accommodate me just fine.”

Minerva managed a tired smile. “Okay then. Have a good night, Simon.”

“Sleep well.” The man bent down to peck her lips. “If you should need anything, call for me.”

“Thank you.”

Simon turned out the lights and went to leave. He paused in the doorway, looking back at her. A genuine smile spread across his lips. She was beautiful with the light from the hallway illuminating her face just enough for him to see. He could hardly believe how deeply he'd fallen for her.

“I will never leave you again,” he whispered despite knowing she was already drifting to sleep. “I promise.”

He closed the door part way behind him, turning out the rest of the lights before making himself comfortable on the living room sofa. His first evening as a free man, and he savored every last wink of sleep he got that night.