"Don't take this the wrong way but…why the hell are you still in my office?" Harvey asked with an annoyed tone. Mike had paced back and forth for the first half hour and then proceeded to sigh loudly, once every ten minutes, for the last half hour. An hour worth of this was more than Harvey could take. He put his pen down, clasped his hands together and looked at his protégé with as much patience as he could muster up.

Harvey couldn't quite place his finger on what was bugging Mike and he was in no mood to continue having to listen to Mike's not-so-silent declarations of sadness.

With another sigh, Mike collapsed down onto the leather sofa, Kobe Bryant-signed basketball in his hands. "You know, you never did tell me what case won you this basketball. Was Kobe your client? Or was it someone in his entourage?"

"You did not just pace back and forth like an expectant father outside the OR for the past hour just to ask me about the basketball. And, by the way, who gave you permission to pick that up? Put the damned ball back. Now."

Mike obliged, plopping the orange ball back on its stand, but not before sighing once more.

"Ok, if you sigh one more goddamned time, I'm going to call security and have them escort you out of this building."

"How do you do it, Harvey?"

Harvey furrowed his eyebrows. Mike was still standing by the window where the basketballs were lined up. He was faced towards the outside, making it impossible for Harvey to read him. "I'm sure I'll regret this but…how do I do what, Mike?"

"Pretend like you don't care. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you're a softie at heart." Mike turned briefly to look at his mentor pointedly before turning back to the window and continuing, "Doesn't it ever get hard for you to walk around here like you don't give a shit when, deep down, you really, really do?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you've been moping around here all night just to give me another one of your, 'Stop being such a robot, Harvey' lectures."

"I don't think you're a robot, Harvey. An asshole, maybe, but not a robot." Mike grinned. "When you told me I had to choose between Rachel and this job, I really wanted to tell you to go to hell. Actually, I wanted to punch you in the face but…ya know, you being my boss and all…"

"Is there a point to this?" Harvey asked impatiently.

"You know who it was that finally convinced me that maybe you were really looking out for me?" When Harvey provided no guess, Mike offered, "It was Donna."

Harvey nodded. "There's a reason I keep her around."

"Right, right…Donna runs a tight ship around here. She keeps your schedule tidy, she fends off unwanted visitors, she…"

"Again, is there a point to this?"

"You know how she convinced me that I should take your advice?"

"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me."

"She said that it was still possible to work together even after…" Mike trailed off though they both understood what was unsaid. "She said that the feelings eventually go away…you know, she was so convincing." He shook his head, "It was almost like she had gone through the same thing herself." He stopped and looked at Harvey.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harvey shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know what you're waiting for but if you're done your little story, I'd appreciate it if you would close the door on your way out."

"That woman was willing to give up her job, even risk getting sued to protect you, and you're just gonna sit there and pretend like you don't give a shit?"

"Not that it's any of your business but I never said I didn't give a shit. If I didn't give a shit, I wouldn't have gotten her back."

"Did you do to her what you asked me to do to Rachel?" Mike knew he was crossing a line but he couldn't stop now. He backed up a few steps as Harvey got up from his chair and started towards him. "Did you choose your job over Donna?"

Harvey's jaw tightened and his hands clenched into fists but he stopped a few steps short of being right in Mike's face. When he spoke, his voice was a low but not angry, like Mike had expected. No, his voice was filled with something else. "I didn't choose."

It took a minute for Mike to find his footing. He had expected a punch or, at the very least, a verbal lashing but this? This was different, then it hit him, what he heard in Harvey's voice was nothing more than sadness. He decided that since he had pushed so much already, it would be pointless to turn around so he forged ahead. "What do you mean?"

Harvey was silent for a few minutes. He stumbled tiredly over to the couch and sat down, sighing loudly, before looking back up at Mike. "Do you really think a woman like Donna would stick around for so long if I had made her a second choice?"

"I…think you mean enough to her that she would understand you making a choice like that." Mike frowned, still confused about what Harvey meant.

"You're right, it was a choice but it wasn't my choice."

Mike opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. This side of Harvey he had never seen before struck him speechless. He had always believed this side existed but, now that he had seen it, he wondered if he had ever really wanted to see it in the first place.

It was too late to turn back. Harvey was so within his own thoughts that he had completely missed the dumbstruck look on Mike's face. "When we left the D.A.'s office, Jessica immediately offered me a place here at the firm. It was every associate's dream to get a job here at Pearson-Hardman but I wasn't happy. Grateful, but not happy. I had been at the D.A.'s office for a short period of time but I had done more than anyone could've ever done. All the hard work I had put in, the reputation I had built up? That was all gone. I was leaving all that behind to, essentially, start over. I knew I would have to work ten times as hard to regain what I had lost…and more. I wanted more."

"Which is when you chose…"

"Don't you get it? I didn't have to choose." Harvey looked up at Mike, too tired to hide the mess of disappointment and hurt in his eyes. "She chose for me."

For a moment, Mike thought he had meant Jessica, just like how Harvey had chosen for him. Then he finally realized the source of Harvey's helplessness. "Donna chose."

This time, Harvey had no response. He stared blankly ahead, allowing the exhaustion to overcome him. As much as he had buried that night in the depths of his memory, he could never escape it. Even now, it felt just like yesterday…

"So, dinner tonight?" He grinned ear-to-ear. "With my new paycheck, we can finally try that new French restaurant you can't stop talking about." He leaned back in his brand-new leather chair, at his brand-new desk, in his brand-new office. It bothered him to know he would have to start over but there was no place better to start over than at Pearson-Hardman. He was proudly surveying his new surroundings when her voice brought him out of his reverie.

"I can't. I mean…we can't."

He looked up at her and was suddenly acutely aware of how sad she looked. "What are you talking about, Donna? What's wrong?"

"At the D.A.'s office, you were the only Assistant D.A. Here? You're one of, about, 25 associates. Not to mention, there's 3 junior partners and 6 senior partners above you. Sure, Jessica Pearson personally hired you but, you and I both know that means nothing at a firm like this. You're going to need put 100% of your time and effort into achieving what I know you're capable of. Whatever we thought this," She gestured at the empty space between them, "could be…just can't work."

"But that time at your apartment, you said you…"

"I know what I said, Harvey." She could barely get the last few words out before her voice cracked, "But I was wrong."

Immediately, his body stiffened and the smile dropped from his face. When he spoke, his voice was cold. "So that's it? Just as I'm going to start a new chapter in my life, just when I need you the most, you're just going to leave?"

"No," She shook her head, "Harvey, I'm not leaving you. God knows you'll never find a secretary who can do what I do for you." She offered a painful smile before continuing, "But we need to do this right. It's for the best."

"Harvey? Harvey!"

Harvey snapped back to reality and found Mike looking at him with an uncomfortable amount of worry. He quickly broke eye contact and got up abruptly from the couch. "Moral of this story is you don't get to stand there and tell me what I asked you to do is impossible. It's not impossible."

As quickly as he came, vulnerable Harvey disappeared back into the shell that Mike knew best. Mike chuckled and shook his head. "No, it's not impossible but I'm not you, Harvey. I can't work with a girl I love and pretend like I don't."

"Is this you telling me you're quitting?"

"No, this is me telling you that it doesn't have to be a choice. You maybe the best closer in town and you maybe able to talk your way out of any case but you can't lie to yourself. Donna said that feelings eventually go away but the real moral of this story is that that's not true." With that, Mike turned and left.

Harvey sunk into the leather chair at his desk, allowing his head to drop against the back of the chair. He hated to admit it but Mike was right. After all these years, his feelings for Donna had never gone away. He had just gotten better at hiding them. Was it the same for her?

There was only one way to find out…