You're not alone
It had been a busy morning for Harvey at Pearson Hardman. With a sigh he leant back in his chair. The meeting with his latest client was finally over. It was a difficult case and an even more difficult client. Of course, Harvey dealt with it like the professional he was, but it still took him longer to handle everything than he anticipated.
With a look at his watch, he realized with a groan that he was already half an hour late for lunch with Mike. Since his associate slash boyfriend had his own case at the moment, Harvey rarely saw him and he was looking forward to their date. Even if it was just lunch. So he hoped that Mike had waited for him.
However, before he could even leave his office and look for Mike, Donna entered the room with a stack of folders in her hand.
"Here are the files you wanted to have," she said and put them onto his desk.
"Thanks, Donna! I'll look at them later. Now I need to go and find Mike first," Harvey responded and went to the door.
"Wait, Harvey!" Donna stopped him, so Harvey turned around again at looked at her questioningly.
"Mike was here about an hour ago. He wanted to talk to you, but you were still in the meeting."
"Oh, okay," Harvey said a bit disappointed. "So he went to lunch without me?"
"No, he didn't," Donna said quickly. "He was acting really strange though. He seemed desperate to talk to you. But when I told him your meeting would probably still take an hour, he said he couldn't wait that long. He told me to tell you that he had to leave, but he would call you later. He seemed really upset."
"Why didn't you send him in then?" Harvey asked. He was really worried now. Mike wouldn't just leave work if it wasn't for something important going on.
Donna just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Harvey, you specifically told me to not let anyone into your office until your meeting was over. I just did what you told me to do."
With a sigh, Harvey moved a hand through his hair. The whole thing wasn't Donna's fault, he knew that. He just needed to know what was wrong. "You're right," he said apologetically. "I just…did he say anything else?"
Donna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Not really," she answered. "He just left after that. Oh, but he mentioned something about getting a phone call. Yes, he said he got a call and needed to talk to you…"
Harvey got a sinking feeling. That didn't sound good at all. "Alright, I just try to call him now." Quickly he pulled out his phone a dialled Mike's number while Donna watched him curiously.
"Damn, his phone is off," Harvey mumbled after a few seconds. But somehow he had the feeling he knew where Mike might be. He just hoped with every fibre of his heart that he was wrong. Nervously he searched his contacts for one specific number and hit the call button.
"Hello, this is nurse Rose. How can I help you?"
"Yes, hello, this is Harvey Specter. I would like to speak with Evelyn Ross," he said, holding his breath as he waited for an answer.
"Oh… I'm really sorry to tell this Mr. Specter, but Mrs. Ross… she passed away last night. I'm so sorry!"
Without replying Harvey broke the call and sat down heavily on the couch, putting his face in his hands. Obviously his feeling had been right.
"Harvey," Donna's voice made him look up again. "What happened?" she asked him softly.
"Mike's grandmother passed away last night," he said hoarsely.
"Oh no!" Donna's eyes were sad as she sat down next to Harvey. "Poor Mike! You know, I can take care of all your appointments for today. You should go and be with him now."
"Yes, you're right of course," Harvey said and stood up. "He's probably at the nursing home right now, to take care of things." He already had one hand at the doorhandle when he stopped again.
"What's wrong?" Donna asked quietly.
"It's just…what do I even say to him? You know I'm not good with…with this kind of things," he mumbled, still looking at the door. Behind him he heard Donna standing.
"Mike loves you, Harvey. Just be there for him now. That's enough!"
"Okay, I think I can do that," Harvey said more to himself than to Donna before finally moving out of his office.
When he reached the nursing home, he immediately went to the front desk and asked for Mrs. Ross' grandson. The woman behind the desk told him that he was still in his grandmother's room. Apparently, he had to clear out her room for a new patient.
After he had reached Evelyn's room, he knocked softly on the door before opening it. Mike was sitting on his grandmother's bed in front of the window. He was looking at a picture of him and his grandmother, but as Harvey entered the room he looked up. His eyes were red, he apparently had been crying, and his face was very pale.
"Hey," he croaked. "Sorry, I've meant to call you but…"
"It's okay," Harvey responded as he closed the door behind him. "I'm here now." For a moment he just stood there looking at Mike in silence, waiting for him to say something.
Slowly Mike stood up from the bed and put the picture on the nightstand. "They said she died peacefully. She just fell asleep at night and didn't wake up in the morning," he explained to Harvey.
"Well, that's good, right! At least she wasn't in pain," the older man replied.
"Yes, yes… that's… you're right!" Suddenly he began pacing through the room. "And now I have to pack together all her things. I mean it's not that much. But they told me they needed the room for a new patient tomorrow. So I don't have much time and then I have to take care of the funeral and…"
"Mike," Harvey tried to interrupted Mike's rambling.
"I don't even know where I should put all her things. I don't want to throw anything away just yet and my apartment is too small and…"
"MIKE!" Harvey said loudly. This time he succeeded because Mike stopped in his tracks and looked at him with big eyes.
"Just come here for a second!" Harvey hold out his hand. For a moment Mike just looked at the hand that was outstretched to him. But slowly his hands were beginning to shake and with a sob he let himself be pulled into a tight embrace. Now he wasn't able to hold back anymore and started crying quietly.
"I'm so sorry, Mike," Harvey said soothingly, his arms were softly caressing his back.
They stood like that for quite some time before Mike drew back a little to look at his boyfriend.
"Sorry, your suit is all wet know," he mumbled.
"Don't worry about it," the other man replied and put his forehead against Mike's, wiping away his tears with one hand. Then he leant in and gave him a small, soft kiss.
"And now we're going to pack up your grandmothers things. I'll ask Donna to send us a car. We can bring everything to my condo for now," Harvey decided.
Mike was right, his grandmother really didn't own many things, as she had to leave most of her stuff behind when she had moved into the nursing home. It still took them about two hours to put everything together and move the boxes into the car.
Finally, they were standing in the now empty room. The only thing left was the picture on the nightstand. Mike took it and sat down on his grandmother's bed for one last time. Harvey moved to sit beside him, both of them looking at the picture.
"She was the only family I had," Mike whispered. "And now she's gone."
Sighing Harvey put an arm around him and the younger man immediately put his head on his shoulder.
"I know. But you're not alone, okay? I'm always here for you." And then, as an afterthought, he added "I love you!" because he had the feeling that Mike needed to hear it, now more than ever.
The younger man turned his head to look at him and you could detect a small smile on his lips. "Thank you," he mumbled and pulled him in for a kiss.
After they had broken the kiss, Harvey stood up and pulled Mike up with him. "Come on! Let's go home!"
And with home he meant his condo, where Mike was sleeping most of these days anyway and where, if it was up to Harvey, he would stay permanently from now on. According to the look on the younger man's face, he understood.
"Yes," he said softly. "Let's go home!"