I am glad that you all are enjoying this fic. I hope to keep this going for a while, at least until we get through Mike's first christmas with Harvey, Jessica and Donna. Reviews are appreciated, please tell me what you think and also if you could help me come up with some ideas as to what to get Mike as a costume that would be great thanks. I was debating on puppy but I just couldn't see that actually happening, it really is too childish and poor Mike would be completely embarrassed.

Chapter 2

Mike groaned and rolled over and looked at the clock, it read seven am. He shot out of bed swearing as he realized that he had slept in and would be late on his first day back at work, even if it was only part time. He hurried out of the bedroom and ran right into Jessica.

"I was just coming to check on you" she said startled.

"Shit" Mike exclaimed, "sorry"

"Language" Jessica snapped immediately.

Mike ignored her and brushed past hurrying to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Ever since Mike had been forced to stay here Jessica had taken over his wardrobe. According to Harvey, Donna and Jessica Mike's clothes weren't suitable so they had gone out and bought him some (from the kids section no less) and then they had taken away his old clothes and Jessica had been leaving him clothes in the bathroom each morning and his night clothes every night.

Mike got showered quickly but as he went to get his clothes he was a bit confused when he saw some jeans and a shirt. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and then cracked the door, "Jessica" he called, Mike still couldn't get used to calling her that but she had insisted that he do so (when not working) because she wasn't his boss when they weren't working just someone who cared.

Jessica had been expecting some sort of reaction to the clothing but it had taken longer than she'd thought. She and Harvey had agreed last night that since Mike was only going to work until lunch each day that he wouldn't wear a suit. He wasn't going to be leaving the office or meeting with clients and he would be more comfortable later if he was just wearing some basic clothes. "Yes Mike" she said as she walked over to the bathroom door.

"Where's my suit?" he asked through the crack.

"You don't need a suit" Jessica answered.

"Of course I need a suit. I'm going back to work today" he exclaimed.

"I know you're working today Mike but it's only going to be until lunch and then…" Jessica tried to pacify but she was cut off.

"What!" Mike yelled, "shit, I'm going to be so late, I'll never get everything done" he slammed the door shut (either ignoring or missing Jessica's admonishment for cursing) and hurried to get dressed as quickly as possible despite that it wasn't a suit.

Jessica was almost plowed over by Mike as he came running out the door. "Let's go" he called from the front door.

"You haven't had breakfast yet" Jessica said.

"Screw breakfast. I don't have time! I've been off work for days now, there's going to be mounds of paperwork on my desk. I'll never get it finished" Mike said hurriedly. He didn't know why he had so much energy this early in the morning, typically his non-stop talking occurred after a mass amount of caffeine or an adrenaline rush, but right now he felt as though he could run a marathon.

"You're not leaving the house until you've eaten" Jessica said putting her hands on her hips and staring Mike down.

Mike glanced between the door and Jessica then back before huffing and stomping off to the kitchen where there was a plate of eggs, bacon, orange slices, and toast. Mike sighed as he looked at the amount of food placed out for him. He turned to look at Jessica, who had followed him into the kitchen, "This is too much" he complained.

"It's the proper amount. Dr. Richardson said that you needed to eat larger portions" she said.

"But it's too much" Mike whined.

"If you want to go to work then you should start eating" Jessica told him as she poured herself a cup of coffee, pulled out a chair and sat down.

Mike glared at her, he knew that she would eventually have to get to the office and then he could go as well. She had told him he could get to work for a half day, which, for Mike's typical hours, was approximately six hours a day. He was more than willing to wait her out, he wasn't tired and had plenty of energy, he could wait for as long as she could. He crossed his arms and sat back in the chair, "I'm not eating" he stated.

Jessica raised one eyebrow at him. She didn't believe that Mike would out last her, he hadn't so far, so she just sat back and waited. They sat there for thirty minutes before Jessica realized that Mike might actually be willing to go for a while. It appears that Donna had been right, they had all been dealing with a hungry, tired and ill Mike before but now Mike had been getting enough to eat and enough sleep and his infection was clearing up nicely. Now Mike had the energy to fight and they were all in for a whole new experience.

She sighed internally and studied the stubborn boy in front of her. She knew that she needed to get to the office soon but the question was how to get Mike to eat so that they could leave. She looked down at her watch and then back up at Mike, it was surprising her that after the fuss he had made about needing to get his work done and yet here he was using up his time being stubborn. "I'm willing to sit here as long as you like but you do realize that you're just eating up your time don't you?" she asked slyly.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

"The longer we sit here the less time you have to work" Jessica answered. She knew that this would work, the kid wanted to go to work.

"You said I work for half a day" Mike said.

"And you do, you work from seven thirty am until noon" Jessica said simply.

Mike balked at this, "That's only four and a half hours" he said indignantly.

"Yes it's a half hour longer than half a day" Jessica said.

Mike laughed at that, "No it's an hour and a half less than half a day and that's on a good day" he said.

Jessica studied him for a minute, he seemed to be telling the truth, "What's the shortest day that you've ever had?" she asked. While she knew that most associates tended to work long hours, as did a lot of partners, she also knew that few had worked over a fourteen-hour shift during their entire career.

Mike thought for a second before saying, "eleven hours and thirty seven minutes, it was during my first week, that Thursday" he said.

Jessica looked at him, "How can you be that specific?" she asked in a disbelieving voice.

Mike stared at her, "I did it" he said simply as though he were explaining to her that it was a bad idea to stick her finger in a socket.

"Is your memory that good?" she asked shocked.

Mike shrugged, "I remember everything from the time I was three up" he said.

Jessica stared at him for a few minutes. If Mike really remembered all that then he remembered every time he was abused or starved, every cold night out on the streets with nothing to eat and nobody to talk to, to comfort him. If Mike really remembered everything then he remembered all of the bad things perfectly and that couldn't be pleasant, no wonder he had nightmares. "I'm so sorry" Jessica said.

Mike looked confused, "For what?" he asked.

"No one should have to remember all that you've been through, going through it once was more than should have happened to you" she said reaching her hand over and cupping Mike's cheek.

Mike leaned into the touch unconsciously but he still didn't understand. "My mind is the only thing that I've always had, while yes it sucks to remember some things my entire childhood wasn't bad" he said.

"Well that's good she said." She started to move her hand away but stopped when she noticed the lost look in Mike's eyes when she did so. She moved over to sit next to him and put her arm around his shoulders, this discussion was probably brining up some bad memories for Mike and she felt bad for starting it. Deciding to get back to their original topic she asked, "So, what's the longest you've ever put in at the office in a row?"

Mike thought for a moment, doing the math in his head. "Um.. Eighty-seven hours and forty nine minutes" he said.

Jessica was silent for a minute doing the math, it totaled to three days, fifteen hours and forty-nine minutes. It was longer than anyone that he'd ever heard of before. "That's not healthy Mike" she said gently. While it was gentle it was still an admonishment.

Mike just shrugged, "I've stayed up longer just not at the firm, it's no big deal" he said.

Jessica sighed internally and then took note of the time, "Well you will have stricter hours from now on. I want you to eat the eggs and then we'll head out" she said standing up to put her cup in the sink.

Mike sighed but ate the eggs. It was going on eight and he wanted to get going, she had reduced the amount that he was supposed to eat so he thought he should give a little too.

They were soon at the office and once they got there Mike headed straight for his cubicle where he found a stack of ten briefs from Harvey and, surprisingly, nothing from Louis. He smiled a little to himself as he sat down and got to work. The other associates had already arrived and Mike had noticed that while they had turned their heads when he came in dressed casually no one had said anything. Mike wondered if it was because they just didn't care or if they were afraid of some type of punishment either way Mike was thankful for it.

Jessica started heading to her office but was quickly side tracked when she noticed the construction going on down the hall. It seems that Hardman had decided to build himself an office that was a rather good size. Harvey came up and the two of them had a discussion about Hardman before Donna came over.

"So where's the pup?" Harvey asked changing the topic from Hardman to Mike.

"He had a rough night. Did you know that he remembers everything that had ever happened to him?" Jessica asked. They had moved the conversation into Harvey's office for some privacy.

Harvey sighed and looked over at Donna, the two of them had known about Mike's memory from the beginning and had put the pieces together earlier they were just hoping to spare Jessica the same feelings of worry and sympathy for the kid. "Yeah" he said.

Jessica looked over at Donna who was shaking her head in confirmation. "You both knew," she said a little surprised. After a beat though she realized that "Of course you did, you hired him after all" she said slightly annoyed.

"It has come in handy" Harvey said.

"Do you know what his nightmare was about?" Donna asked. So far none of them had gotten Mike to tell about his nightmares or his past.

"No" Jessica said, "However he did say that he wouldn't tell me because he doesn't want us to hate him"

Harvey and Donna looked at each other then back at Jessica stunned, "We would never hate him" they said simultaneously.

"I know that but Mike is afraid that we will. I tried to reassure him last night but he just started crying it took almost twenty minutes to get him to settle down and go back to sleep" Jessica said.

They all sighed and stood there thinking what this might mean. Clearly they needed to get Mike to tell them about his past otherwise it would always haunt him but it was clear that before they could do that they had to get the kid's trust first. That was going to be difficult given the life that Mike has had.

Eventually Donna decided to break the silence with a change of topic. "So are we all set for Wednesday?" she asked.

Harvey and Jessica looked at her; it took them a moment to remember what she was talking about. The partners and associates were heading out for their annual, weeklong, retreat in a nice mansion with a large yard along some woods right on the edge of a big college town. "Mike will be rooming with Harvey" Jessica said.

"And what about the drive up there?" Harvey asked. The associates were all supposed to be at the back of the bus with the junior partners next and then the senior partners up front. The problem however was that the drive took an entire day and they all got meals on the road and eat them on the bus. It was a fancy bus, the seats were in groups of four with tables in between them like a dining room table. Mike wasn't known to eat when left to his own devices, while the bus did stop every four hours for restroom breaks it wouldn't leave a lot of time for either of them to go back to Mike and make him eat something in that short of a time.

"Where would you suggest he sit?" Jessica asked.

"With the two of you" Donna said evenly.

"If we put him with us then it will look suspicious" Harvey said.

"It won't if you put Louis with you and then group all of the other partners with associates, say that you're trying to get everyone acquainted with those that they may be working with one day" Donna said reasonably.

Harvey and Jessica thought about it for a minute before they both agreed that they could pull it off. "Fine but I don't want Louis with us" Harvey said.

"Louis knows about Mike's age. He won't question things too much" Jessica said, "he stays"

Harvey didn't like it but had to admit that Jessica had a point, it would be rather awkward sitting with a different partner or associate and have them wondering why the managing partner and a senior partner are forcing a first year associate to eat his lunch.

"Good now I have one more concern about the trip and then I'll let you be" Donna said.

Jessica and Harvey looked at Donna patiently, "What is it?" Harvey asked.

"What costume are we getting Mike?" Donna asked.

"What?" Harvey and Jessica asked together.

"There's no costume party" Jessica said.

"I know that" Donna said.

"Then why does he need a costume?" Harvey asked.

Donna looked between Harvey and Jessica as though they had lost their minds. "Today is Monday October 26th and you are leaving on Wednesday to go to a college town filled with people 18-25 years of age and you will be leaving there the following Monday which will the November 2nd. What do you think Mike will need a costume for?" she asked.

"I don't understand" Harvey said. What did the date have to do with Mike needing a costume?

Donna sighed loudly but explained it. "You will be taking Mike to a college town on Halloween. It is entirely common for college and high school students to go trick or treating and Mike can easily pass as either. I'm willing to bet he's never been before and this would be a wonderful experience for him." Donna said.

"Donna I don't thin…" Harvey started but was quickly interrupted by Jessica.

"That's a wonderful idea." Jessica said. "It will be a great thing for Mike. Every kid loves trick-or-treating. He won't stand out either the college towns will be filled with teenagers so he shouldn't feel out of place."

"I agree, you picked the retreat for the perfect time" Donna said getting excited, "The big issue is what costume should we get him?' Donna asked.

"That's a good question" Jessica said.

"Ladies!" Harvey called trying to get their attention. He'd been trying to stop this rant since it began but wasn't having much luck.

"What is it Harvey?" Jessica asked.

"Do you think this is such a good idea?" Harvey asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Donna asked.

"Because you're deciding to take a teenager, who had stated many, many times that he is not a child, trick-or-treating" Harvey explained slowly.

Donna and Jessica looked at each other then back at Harvey, "What kid doesn't like to dress up and then get free candy?" Donna asked.

"You know what have it your way just so long as you keep me out of it" Harvey said as he walked over to his desk to start work.

"Fine" Donna said.

"We'll take him costume shopping this evening after we get off work then" Jessica said as she headed out to go to her own office and actually get some work done. It was already nine and so far she hadn't even checked her messages.