Thank you all for your comments on Las Vegas. The fact that so many requested a sequel to it made me think about how it would happen, and the ideas kept flowing in my head so I decided to write one. For those who just landed on this story, I advise you to read the one preceding it, called Las Vegas.
I really should be working on a report due last week, but I kept writing Donna and Harvey instead of the chemical engineering technicalities I should be writing. Anyway, it'll be a couple of chapters long. Enjoy!
Six months later,
Donna had noticed the effort Harvey had done during these six months after their trip to Vegas. He had held his part of the deal, not going out on any date, finding refuge in the huge work load. Shit, six months for Harvey is like a lifetime, she thought to herself. As for her, she had gone on several dates, and she also acknowledges how much he tried to contain his hurt when she told him she had a date and needed to leave early, or how much effort he put in formulating a "Have a goodnight". But her dates decreased little by little, the span between one and another over passing the weeks. Nothing had happened between them since that trip; sure there were lingering touches, higher intimacy banter, but nothing more. She tried to shut down the disappointment feeling she had, reminding herself that she had once again put these rules.
She looks at the man sitting in the office, looking distracted, staring in the void. She stands up and walks into his office, asking him if he needed something. "No thanks Donna" he smiles sadly at her. "Are you sure?" she asks again, not trying to sound pushy. He nods, and she prepares herself to walk out before he calls her: "Actually Donna, can we hang out tonight? You know today is-" he says, his voice disappearing with the end of the sentence. "Yes I know. Sure Harvey, what do you want to do?" she asks softly. "Let's just stay at my place, order some food, talk" he says dismissively. "God, you're starting to like all this talking shit" she teases, more delicately than usual. He smiles at her, the sadness he felt now limited in his eyes. "Thanks Donna" he says, as he tries to get back into work again. "Anything" she responds, leaving him alone.
Today was the anniversary of Gordon's death. Five years, five freaking years, Donna thinks. She remembers that day vividly, when she had to walk into Harvey's office and tell him that the person he loved the most had passed away. Her heart hurts today as she remembers the look on his face, the tears in his eyes, trying to absorb it all. During that time following Gordon's death, she can safely say she saw Harvey at his worst, and she stuck with him through it all, the ceremony, the formalities, everything. This day every year was hard on him, but today seemed to be even harder, now that he's named partner, and had always wished he'd be celebrating it with his father.
Jessica walks towards Donna's cubicle, glancing at Harvey. "Is he ok?" she asks Donna, obviously concerned. "He will be" she said, as Jessica waited for her explanation. "Today is Gordon's..." she started explaining before Jessica cut her: "Oh shit, right. Do you think I should…say something?" she asked her. It was weird for Jessica to ask for advice on what to do, but that was Harvey and no one knew him better than Donna. "No, I think it's best you leave it alone" Donna firmly said. "Okay. But don't leave him alone tonight" Jessica said. "I won't" Donna said, smiling politely at Jessica. She always found those exchanges with Jessica awkward, relieved every time they ended.
Harvey felt better now that he was spending the evening with Donna. He knew no one else with whom he could spend this night; after all she was almost as wrecked as he is by his father's death. But she stayed with him, trying not to break down, as one of them had to be strong. It was her, she was his rock, and although she repeatedly admitted she wished she could've done more, he can't express how much her presence helped him, without even needing to say or do anything. He tries to focus on the work in front of him; he's had so much to do, and for the first time in his whole career, asked several associates for help.
At lunchtime, Donna walked in with Chinese food, setting it on the table in Harvey's office. "I promised lunch to Rachel, but you should be eating too. Do you want me to stay?" she asked, knowing he probably would have skipped lunch had she not brought food. "No, it's okay Donna, you should go. I'll eat while working, I think I just started focusing on this case" he said, encouraging her to go. She holds his gaze a couple of seconds more, making sure he was okay, and left to meet Rachel for lunch.
Time passed quickly, and Donna walked into Harvey's office around 8:30, asking him if he was ready to go. "Yes, just let me wrap up" he said, putting down his pen. "Do you want to pass by your place?" he asked, as she helped him with the papers on his desk. "I don't know. Yeah, maybe I'll change into something more comfortable" she says, as she picked up the last stack of paper. "I can lend you something, unless you really want to pass by your place, then we can do that" he says, turning off the lights as he put his hand on her lower back, leading her out. "No that's fine, let's just go to your place" she says, as she felt his hand on her, noticing how the few people left in the office were looking at them. She knew that it looked bad, them leaving together, his hand on her back, but she couldn't say anything, not tonight, and she had honestly stopped caring what people thought.
As they got into the car, Ray greeted them both, asking for the destination. "My place Ray" Harvey indicated, as Donna proposed: "We can cook if you want, instead of order food. It can be fun" she tried to sound cheerful. He smiled at her, softly whispering: "That's a great idea" before turning his head back towards the window. The busy streets of New York passed through his window, before he felt her hand on his. He relaxed instantaneously, allowing her to caress it back and forth.
That's when he knew, everything will be fine.
Ok so this is the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please review and let me know what you think!
You're going to know all about the letter and how Harvey will give her the necklace.
Stay tuned
-G
