Meningitis

Thanks for all the awesome reviews so far, however I need more prompts! But on another note, here's the next installment! I changed it around a tiny bit, but I hope you like it.

Chapter Info: For penguino3782: I would like to see Mike come down with something like meningitis, where he has to get a spinal tap. Mike is out of his mind with a high fever and won't let anyone near him to do the procedure. Harvey is brought in to try and calm him down and once he does he watches from a far as he sees the doctor putting that large needle into Mike's back. He feels sick to his stomach, not just because of what he's seeing but because he didn't realize how sick Mike before. I know it's very detailed. It's just wishful thinking. But, any of the above would be great. Thanks!

He knew the minute that he was struggling to open his eyes and the exhaustion he felt even if he got six hours of sleep, something was wrong. And everything hurt; his back, his head, his neck just everything and every move made him sick. Groaning hoarsely, Mike peeled his eyes open…which was a really bad idea. The slightest light had hit him like a truck and as he tried to turn away, pain shot through his back. But he couldn't let it stop him; getting lectured by Harvey was so much worse. Inhaling sharply and holding his breath, he pushed himself into a sitting position, stifling the whimper that threatened to escape his mouth. Why was he aching so badly? However, he had to admit he'd been feeling pretty shitty these last couple of days, but nothing this bad. Suck it up, Ross or your ass will be kicked out Pearson Hardman's door. Grunting, Mike pushed himself off the bed and got ready for work; but all the moving around made him dizzy and nauseous and before he knew it, he was on his knees, hunched over the toilet, heaving his guts out. The smell was disgusting and it only made him puke up more…though he didn't know the hell was in his stomach since he hadn't felt very hungry the past few days. After the watery bile finished making an appearance, it didn't stop there; for five straight minutes, his body continued to dry heave. By the time Mike was done, all the energy had drained out of him; he was a lot more tired than he had been earlier and his eyelids felt like they were being weighed down by rocks. Knowing that he was gonna have a foot up his ass, surprisingly he didn't really care; he felt like shit. He pulled at his tie, loosening the death grip it had around his neck and leaned back against the wall, letting himself fall into a feverish sleep.

~+SUITS+~

Harvey rapped his fingers on his desk, really pissed off and annoyed. Glancing at his watch for the thirtieth time, he growled and resumed his gaze out his door. Mike was late. Not ten minutes late, not thirty minutes…no, this was a new record; the kid was over an hour late and they had things to do.

"Donna, get Mike on the phone," he said into the intercom.

"On it," she buzzed back.

Harvey sat back in his chair and listened as the phone rang…and rang…and rang. The kid wasn't answering. Typical. Wiping a hand down his face, Harvey stood up and paced the room; there had to be a reason as to why the kid hadn't showed and wasn't answering his phone. Though he had to admit, he was a little worried. He wouldn't be shocked if Mike had gotten into a bike accident on his way. Sighing heavily, he walked out of his office; he had work to do and he was sure Mike was fine.

"Keep calling him; I'm gonna be at the meeting, but let me know if he finally answers."

"Okay…do you think he's alright?" Donna asked worriedly.

Harvey smirked. "It's Mike, he probably just overslept." Boy, if only he knew how wrong he was.

~+SUITS+~

Kathrine Dobbs absolutely hated this apartment; it was gross, old and the walls were thin. She was surprised it hadn't been condemned yet. However, it was the only affordable place she could find close to the hospital. She was just starting out as an ER nurse and until she got more money, this is where she was gonna have to live. But back to the problems; the walls were so thin that she could hear her neighbor's cellphone ringing constantly. Mike Ross was a cute kid, but she already had a boyfriend of four years. Why can't he just pick up his fucking phone? These were reasons she hated the nightshift; the bright lights, people shuffling in their rooms getting ready for their day jobs and endless honking of horns in the New York traffic. Groaning in frustration, she sat up and jumped out of her bed; she knew it was probably irrational for her to go knocking on her neighbor's door and ask them to answer their phone, but she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"Mike? Mike, its Kathy!" She shouted, slamming her fist on the door.

No answer.

At first, she thought the man was probably sleeping, but he had told her he worked at the Pearson Hardman law firm and light sleeping was a part of his routine. Surely he could hear the phone ringing or her shouts?

"Mike!" But now she was getting worried. What if something bad happened? What if he slipped in the shower and hit his head? What if he cut himself accidently and was now bleeding to death? All the scenarios running through her head was scaring her and she decided to invite herself in just to be sure. Shockingly, the door was unlocked and she stepped into the quiet apartment…but it smelled gross. The all too familiar scent of puke entered her nose and Kathy knew exactly where to go. Once she reached the bathroom, her heart stopped.

"Oh no." Mike was slumped against the wall, breathing labored and heat was practically radiating off of him like the sun. Rushing over to him and falling to her knees, she frantically felt for a pulse. And thankfully, there was one except it was abnormally fast. At first Kathy thought it might just be the flu, but then she noticed it…the rash climbing up the side of Mike's neck and immediately she knew this was nothing "at home treatable."

"Shit Mike." The guy looked horrible and she could tell that he'd ignored the signs of meningitis for at least a few days. Idiot. Kathy sat there, cupping Mike's face and debating whether she should call an ambulance or just bring him herself. But she had to think fast…fast; that's what she needed and it'd take too much time to call, explain, and wait when she could just get him into her car- somehow- and drive over. So it was settled, she was bringing Mike to the hospital. After a couple minutes, she finally managed to wake Mike up- even though he was really out of it- and maneuver him to her car. Once she made it to the hospital, she ran in and yelled for help. In a matter of seconds, Mike was wheeled out of sight, leaving Kathy to explain to the other nurses what had happened.

"By the way, is there anyone we can contact?" Kathy asked, going to the computers and searching for Mike Ross in the system.

"Not sure," her best-friend and co-worker said, looking over Kathy's shoulder.

"I remember he said something about his parents being gone and his grandmother passing away a month ago."

"Oh, that poor kid."

"Yeah…oh, here's the next person on the emergency contact is a Harvey Specter. It's his boss."

"Harvey Specter? I've heard of him…he's hot and mysterious. My friend used to have this "thing" with him, but he can be a real dick sometimes."

Kathy chuckled and picked up the phone, dialing Harvey's number. "Then this should be fun."

~+SUITS+~

Donna sighed in exasperation as she hung up the phone for the hundredth time. Mike had not answered his phone in the past thirty minutes and it was really starting to scare her. Something had to be wrong for him to not answer a single one of her phone calls. Looking up, she saw Harvey walking down the hallway, finally back from his meeting.

"Shit." What was she supposed to tell him? He was gonna be so pissed.

"Get ahold of the kid yet?" Harvey smirked, leaning against her desk.

Donna winced, causing the smile to disappear from Harvey's face.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Still nothing?"

"Maybe you should-" but she was interrupted by Harvey's phone ringing loudly in his pocket. They both shared a look before he dug a hand into his pocket and answered it.

"Specter."

"Harvey Specter?"

The man frowned at the unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line. Sure he's slept with a lot of women, but he'd recognize them in an instant. This one, he did not. "Yes, who is this?"

Donna stood up from her chair, looking at him anxiously. Something was wrong; she knew something was wrong.

"This is Kathy Dobbs; I'm a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital. I um…I live next door to Mike and his phone was ringing non-stop for about ten minutes. I went over and I found him nearly unconscious on the floor."

Harvey's blood ran cold; Mike was hurt. That was probably a good reason as to why Mike hadn't answered the phone or shown up to work. Donna noticed how pale Harvey got and she shook her head. She was right. Something bad happened to their pup.

"What? What happened?"

"He has meningitis and it's gotten to the point where it's really bad. I need you to come down here so you and his doctor can discuss some things."

"Okay…but is he alright?"

"I can't tell you much on the phone, Mr. Specter. Please…just come down." With that, the dial-tone rang in Harvey's ear, leaving him shocked and almost lost for words.

"What was that? Is Mike okay?"

"No…he's at the hospital for meningitis."

"Son of a bitch."

Harvey ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the week and then meet me at the hospital."

"Consider it done," Donna sat back down and took a deep breath as Harvey dialed Ray's number, walkig briskly towards the elevator. Hang on, kid, just hang on.

~+SUITS+~

Mike had this weird sensation of sinking, but while he was sinking, his whole body hurt like hell. He didn't remember falling asleep, but as he started to regain consciousness, he could smell antiseptic; he was no longer in his house. Groaning, he turned his head and suddenly realized he was laying on his stomach. He could hear garbled voices all around him and when he went to turn over, he felt himself strapped to the table. Now he was more alert; his heart was racing and he couldn't breathe. Mike struggled against the restraints, whimpering in fear as he felt hands on his body.

"Mr. Ross! Mr. Ross, I need you to calm down," a deep voice said. And as that person came into view, Mike's eyes widened. It was an alien; he had been abducted my fucking aliens! Oh god! Get me out of here. He struggled even harder, not caring how much the straps rubbed on his skin.

"Mr. Ross we need you to be still and take it like a man." The last few words seemed to slow down and get deeper and as soon as Mike heard this, tears formed in his eyes. He wasn't giving up; he was gonna get out of here if it was the last thing he did.

Meanwhile Harvey strode into the waiting room, expecting to be sitting there for hours. But as soon as he reached the desk, the nurse stood up and came around the front.

"Harvey Specter?"

"Ye-"

"Follow me."

A bit confused, the lawyer followed the nurse through double doors and down another hallway. "What's going on?" He walked a little faster to keep up with the quick woman.

"It seems that the extremely high fever is taking a toll on Mike's mental state; were trying to do a spinal tap but we can't get him to calm down. We can't even get him sedated because he's thrashing around too much. In order to see what kind of meningitis this is, we absolutely need that spinal tap. Do you think you could get him relax?"

"Umm, sure." And Harvey could tell they were nearing Mike's room when he heard shouting and someone trying to calm the kid down…obviously they weren't succeeding. When they got in, it was chaos. Mike was being held down by a bunch of doctors but the kid was giving it his all and trying to get away. God Mike. Without hesitation, he pushed past the doctors and went to Mike's side, bending down to get into the kid's line of vision.

"Get your hands off of him!" He growled at the doctors and they immediately complied. "Mike!" The kid's eyes were as wide as saucers and flicking all over the place. He was gasping erratically and Harvey knew he needed to be quick. "Mike!" But he wasn't getting anything. "Michael, calm down! It's Harvey! Just look. At. Me."

Mike big blue eyes slid to meet Harvey's, his body still heaving immensely. The older man placed a hand on Mike's sweaty arm, squeezing it gently to show him that he was real.

"Mike, snap the fuck out of it and look at me."

Mike shivered and frowned. "H-Harvey?"

"That's it kid, it's me. Now, I need you to calm down."

But Mike ignored him. "Har-Harvey…I'm sorry…late for…work…s'rry."

"It's alright, kid; but you know what I need you to do?"

"Hmm." Mike closed his eyes, trying to get his breathing under control.

"Are you listening?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I need you to look me in the eyes and take a deep breath. You need to calm down so the doctors can make you feel better."

"M'at the hospital?"

"Yeah, so I need you to open your eyes…"

Mike did so.

"…And just keep looking at me, alright? I'm gonna be here the entire time; just relax."

Mike took a deep breath and nodded, locking his eyes with the big brown ones. "O-okay."

"Alright…just keep your eyes on me and it'll all be over in a minute."

The doctors let out a sigh of relief before getting ready to do the spinal tap. As the pricked Mike in the back and let the needle slide into his body, he moaned, his breathing getting labored again. Harvey's hand went to Mike's and squeezed it gently before the kid could get worked up again.

"Easy Mike." But as they did the procedure, he couldn't help but notice the large needle sticking out of his associate's back. It made him sick actually.

"God."

"W-What? What is-is it?"

Harvey cursed inwardly and returned his gaze back to Mike. "It's nothing, kid. Don't worry about it."

And after five minutes, Mike seemed to be getting a little tired; probably exhausted from all that struggling adding the fever as well.

"Go to sleep, kid."

"Harvey-"

"You'll be okay."

"You gonna stay here?"

"Not going anywhere."

"'Kay." Mike's eyes closed, his body relaxing.

"I'll be right here when you wake up."

~+SUITS+~

He never realized how sick Mike had been; it was his fault he let it escalate to this. He should've known something was up when the kid looked like he was gonna keel over or when he suddenly had trouble concentrating on something as easy as proofing briefs. He was supposed to read people and he had failed to see that Mike was really sick; now look where waiting got them.

"I'm so sorry kid."

Mike was now in a deep state of sleep while morphine was being pumped into his system and cooling blankets wrapped around his body. And because it was only viral meningitis, all the kid needed was fluids, plenty of bed rest and some over the counter medications. It had been a close call and if that nurse hadn't found Mike that morning on the floor, who knows what would've happened. Harvey shook his head, not wanting to think about it; he stared at his associate tiredly, yawning briefly. He wanted to rest, but he promised Mike he'd be here when he woke up and he didn't want to be sleeping when that happened.

"Hey."

The man looked up to see Donna standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. The corner of his mouth flicked upwards before his eyes moved back to Mike's sleeping form.

"How is he?" Donna asked as she took a seat on the opposite side of the kid.

"Better now."

"Was it bad?"

Harvey scoffed. "That's an understatement."

"I'll take that as a yes." Donna looked at Mike before running her fingers through his tousled, damp blonde hair and then stroking his cheek. "Harvey why don't you go get some-"

"I can't."

Donna frowned. "Why not? You have two legs."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "I can't, because I promised him I wouldn't leave."

Donna looked at her boss sadly before smirking. "Sounds like somebody cares."

"Whatever."

"He'll be okay Harvey," Donna said before getting up to go get the drinks.

"I know."

With that, Donna left and the two boys were alone once again.

"Anytime now, Sundance, when you want to wake up." But he got no reaction. He sighed heavily and tried to get comfortable on the chair…which was a bad thing, because now that just made him sleepy. And just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard a soft groan come from the bed. Wide awake, Harvey sat up and saw Mike's forehead creased in confusion; he looked up at the monitors and saw the heart-rate was, thankfully, at a normal speed. The kid's temperature, however, was still unnerving. Mike groaned weakly and shifted on the bed before his eyes sluggishly blinked open. He looked around the room, adjusting to his surroundings and when his eyes finally landed on Harvey, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Jesus Harvey, why not warn a guy. You almost gave me a heart attack."

Harvey smirked. "Sorry, I didn't know you weren't smart enough to feel another presence in the room."

"Hello, I just woke up; not exactly feeling at my best here."

"Excuses, excuses."

Mike chuckled, getting comfy against the pillows once he sat up.

"How're you feeling, kid?"

"Like shit."

"You look it, too."

"I highly doubt that; I always look handsome even when I'm at my worst."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that."

"So what even happened anyway? All I remember waking up this morning…what time is it anyways?"

Harvey glanced at his watch. "Almost ten. I was starting to think you'd never wake up and then I'd have to hire a new associate…maybe one that actually knows something about the law."

"Ha, ha very funny," Mike rolled his eyes. "So really, what happened?"

"You got meningitis you idiot. I don't know how, but…actually maybe living in that crappy apartment had something to do with it."

"I'll have you know my apartment is very livable, Butch."

"Whatever you say, Sundance. But the doctor wants you staying with someone until you get better."

"And I'm guessing that someone is gonna be you."

"Unfortunately yes," Harvey said, faking a disgusted look.

Mike yawned. "So you do care about me."

"No, I just don't want you dying. Do you know how much paperwork I'll have to do?"

"You totally care, Harvey."

"Shut up and go to sleep, kid."

"Whatever you say Captain Kirk."

Harvey scoffed a laugh. This kid…definitely going to be the death of me.

FIN!

Hope you liked it! REVIEWS+PROMPTS!

A/N: Next chapter is for: bluejay96343

Iheartlife: thank you sooo much! :)

Sig Saeur: Thank you and you get a prompt idea, I'm so excited to see what it is!

Phoenix on Cloud Nine: I'm glad that you like these so much! I love hurting Mike lol (is that a bad thing? ha-ha) When you come up with a prompt, I can't wait to read it! I loved your other ideas for the last one!

Littlegirlm: thank you!

Stroma: thanks!

Labrine: O.M.G that's so creepy and mysterious but I LOVE it! I already have ideas forming in my head! I can't wait to write it!

Guest: Thanks for the compliments! It made my day :) As for the prompt, it sounds awesome! And I can't wait to write Harvey caring about Mike again after the whole fiasco in the season finale!