I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
He had him, and he had the case, now it was time to make the smug asshole pay, Harvey thought, a grim smile on his face as he stared at Mike.
"I'm so sorry Harvey,"
She was trembling, barely able to contain the tears from slipping down her face. The rush of victory was gone in an instant, replaced with an empty coldness as he saw the raw pain in her eyes. Something inside of him snapped. A surge of fury pumped into his blood as the implications of what Stephen had done meant for Donna. She looked pale and shaken, still in disbelief over the betrayal. A wave of protective anger fueled him as he grit his jaw, looking first to Mike and then to Jessica, before storming out of the office. Someone called out to him, he wasn't sure who, he was beyond hearing. Nobody hurt Donna, nobody put that look on her face and walked away unscathed.
The asshole was washing his hands when he finally found him in the bathroom. The first punch connected with Stephen's jaw and sang up Harvey's arm. He was vicious in his attack, his mind filled with Donna as he shoved Stephen into a bathroom stall. This wasn't about a case, or Stephen's betrayal. This was about Donna, about hurting her, making her apologize for his actions. Blind anger seized him as he grappled with Stephen, grunting as they bumped into the counter. Stephen managed to land a few blows, but the fight was over almost as soon as it began when Harvey threw Stephen in to a mirror.
He could feel himself shaking with rage, and the urge to pull Stephen up, go another round was strong. He turned before the fraying tether he had on his control snapped and he put the man into a coma. He shoved the roof access door open so hard it left a gouge in the wall, he barely blinked. The night air did nothing to cool his blood as he stalked back and forth on the roof, his mind reeling with the information Mike had given him. The scheming weasel had wound his way into the firm, and into their case, he had had full access to everything. That was going to pose a problem. Harvey thought as he stared out at the blinking city lights.
He felt his pulse begin to pound with anger again as he thought of how Donna had looked when he left her. His breath came in angry puffs as he yanked his suit jacket off and balled it into his fist before throwing it at the wall as hard as he could.
"Son of a bitch!" He yelled into the empty air.
Harvey stared at the jacket on the ground for a moment before snatching it up and heading back to his office. He wanted to fix it, make sure no one could ever hurt Donna again. His lip was starting to throb and when he touched a hand to it, it came away dotted with blood. Her desk was empty as he rounded the corner but it didn't concern him, he'd find her, wherever she was.
As it turned out, he didn't have to look far, she was sitting on his couch when he stepped into his office. Her back turned to him, her bare feet tucked under her, heels kicked under the table. She didn't move as he tossed the jacket over the chair and stood beside it, watching her.
"I couldn't go home" she said finally, her voice quiet, unnaturally dull.
He said nothing, merely moved to sit beside her, knowing that if he waited she would talk, if that's what she wanted.
It was quiet in the office, the ringing of phones and chattering of co-workers had long since faded.
"It makes me sick, to think that I let him-" her voice hitched and she pressed a hand to her mouth and shook her head.
"He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people," Donna whispered as she put her head in her hands.
"You couldn't have known."
"I'm Donna, I should have known." She said angrily, swiping a tear from her cheek.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware you had become a psychic."
She gave him a look before turning back around again.
"I'm sorry,"
"It's not your damn fault," Harvey snapped, holding her gaze as she turned to face him. "You found the copies that lead to Mike's discovery. If it wasn't for you we would never have known."
"I let myself become blinded by my feelings," she said, swiping testily at the tear that leaked from her eye.
"Not so blinded that you missed the copy count," Harvey said gently.
"I trusted him, and I feel so stupid."
Harvey made a fist, clenching and unclenching his hand as he tried to suppress his anger. He was all too familiar with that kind of pain.
"Come here," he said, pulling her into a hug. She let out a trembling breath before resting her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he said, stroking a hand down her hair. Her arms came around him and she curled into him for just a moment before she pulled away again.
Her eyes were rimmed with red but there was anger and not regret that shone in her eyes now.
"Just promise me that you'll make him pay."
"Oh he'll pay,"
"Good," she nodded curtly before her eyes moved over his face.
"Did you beat the shit out of him?"
He tried not to wince as the cocky smile made his lip throb even more.
Her lips curved into a small smile and she shook her head, touching a hand to his knee before getting up. He watched her walk away in the reflection of his office window and he smiled. That's my girl, he thought with a surge of pride, nobody knocks her down for long. His mind drifted back to Stephen and his face hardened as he ran the facts through his head. He didn't think there had ever been a case more important for him to win. This was everything, the future of the firm, his career, and it was revenge, however ill-advised that might be.
Her voice cut into his thoughts as she returned.
"I brought you some ice, I don't want your lip to be swollen when you kick Stephen's ass in court. I mean that figuratively this time, Judge Palermo frowns on physical violence in the courtroom."
"I don't need to prove my point again. He gets it. You hurt someone I love, I'll beat the shit out of you."
He saw her pause and his words dawned on him.
"You know what I mean" he said, swallowing hard as his heart began to beat in an uncomfortable rhythm.
"Of course," she said, pressing the ice pack to his brow and stepping back when he brought up his hand to hold the ice in place.
Harvey stared at the traffic moving slowly on the streets as Donna traced her fingers idly over the records stacked on his shelves.
"Thank you," she said suddenly, and he turned to find her looking at him, her expression soft.
"For what?"
"For always having my back."
"You know I always will."
Donna sniffed slightly and blinked as tears began to form again.
"God, what is wrong with me." She said with a teary laugh, sitting beside him again and pulling a ball of cotton from the first aid kit she'd placed on the table. She doused it in antiseptic and touched it gently to his lip.
He jumped back from the sting.
"Ow! What the hell are you doing with that?"
"I'm cleaning it," she said, reaching for him again.
"It's fine," he growled.
"It's not fine" she said, pressing her fingers to his jaw to tilt his face back towards her before gently resuming her light dabbing.
His gut tightened as she leaned forward, putting a hand on his thigh as she nudged the ice pack aside and pressed a freshly dipped cotton ball to his eyebrow. He barely felt the sting this time.
"This might bruise a little," she said quietly, her face a mask of concentration.
"You should see the other guy," he said dryly,
Her lips curved slightly and he felt his breath go thick. There couldn't have been a worse time, he thought, even as he moved her hand from his brow.
"That's enough,"
"I've almost got it, just let me-"
"Donna," his voice was gravely and her eyes snapped to his. There was an answering look of desire and then understanding as she scooted back.
He breathed out slowly as he willed the knots in his stomach to loosen while she tossed the used cotton balls into the trash and snapped the first aid kit closed.
She stood in front of him for a moment before leaning down and pressing a feather light kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you again" she said, and he swallowed hard as he watched her leave.
Some part of him had wanted to reach out, that same reckless part of him that had gone after Stephen, but this time he quelled it. He always did seem to have the worst timing.
A/N: Did anyone else have to take a cold shower after that fight scene with Stephen? Because wow, and yum.