Chapter Two - Questions (Posted 22 December 2011)

"Why are you staring at me?" Mike asked. It had been three days since Harvey had promised to answer Mike's questions, but Mike had yet to ask any. "Did you call me in here for a reason, or can I go back to work?"

"Why haven't you asked me anything yet?"

"Huh?"

"I told you you could any question you wanted about why I don't care about people. You were so intent on finding the answer, but you haven't said a thing about it since then. Which is odd, because you usually find a way to work it in at last once a day."

"I changed my mind." Mike said simply. "I shouldn't pry into your life like that. I told you about mine because I was comfortable doing so. I should have respected you more than to push you into telling me. And I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be. You were right... I should tell you. As my associate, and my... friend," Harvey was surprised at how easy it was to say the word, "You need to know."

Mike beamed. "Really?"

Harvey closed his eyes, unable to handle Mike's pure smile. "Really. Now get on with it."

"Give me some time, I have to think of questions."

"The first question can be a freebie to get the ball rolling. Then figure out what you need to ask as you go along. But my warning still stands, Mike."

"Yeah, yeah. So I can ask any question?"

"That's what I said."

"In that case, what is your middle name?"

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Haven't you seen it written down anywhere?"

"Does that count as your question for me?"

"Alan." Harvey answered Mike's first question. It actually was relevant, despite how he'd played it off three days ago.

Mike furrowed his brow. "That's weird..."

"What?"

"I just got déjà vu for a second."

Harvey lifted an eyebrow. "Déjà vu? Shouldn't you be immune to that?"

Mike shook his head. "Remembering everything doesn't mean I can't get déjà vu, Harvey." He said, sounding like there was more to it. "Okay, another question. Did you get along with your parents when you were young?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'young'," Harvey said softly, looking down at some paperwork on his desk. "When I was a little kid, yes, I got along with them wonderfully."

"What changed?"

Harvey blinked and looked up. "My little brother. Now, I get to ask you two questions. One, why do you insist on wearing those skinny ties? Even if you cant afford a nice suit, you could at least invest in a quality tie."

Mike almost laughed. "These are perfectly good ties." he protested. "Why would I waste money on more when they come with the suits?"

"I'll accept that for now."

"And your other question?"

"After your parents died," he started quietly, trying not to sound insensitive, "did you go to live with your grandmother right away?"

"Why would you ask that? I've already told you everything." Mike asked meekly.

"I just wanted to be sure. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, remember?"

Mike blinked a few times, trying to decide what to say, if anything. "Yeah. She was awarded full custody of me right away, as per my parents' will. Look, if it's okay, I think I'm done with questions for today."

"It's fine."

"Right." Mike started to walk away.

"Hey."

"What?"

"I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable."

"It's okay." Mike said honestly. "It just... took me by surprise, is all."

Harvey nodded, sending him on his way. It was only a few seconds until Donna was in his office, looking stern. "What?" he asked her.

"I still don't see how you can possibly deny that he's-"

"Donna, I have to be sure." Harvey argued.

"His parents died when he was eight, Harvey, that's how old Mikey was when-"

"Stop it." he glared at her.

"No, you stop it. Stop refusing to believe what we both know is true. That Mike is your Mikey. He's your little brother and you've got to tell him before he finds out on his own or you may never get him back."

"It's more complicated than that. Did you hear what he said? He said he went right to live with his grandmother. My brother lived with us for a year before he was taken away from me."

"How many other foster siblings did you have throughout your life?"

"A lot."

"Were you close to them?"

Harvey shook his head. "I got along with them okay, but no, I wasn't close to them."

"Would you recognize any of them now that all of you are all grown up?"

"Probably not."

"But you recognized Mike. The minute I sent him back with you you recognized him and I knew who you recognized him as. You can't fool me. Here." She took a file from under her arm and threw it on his desk.

"What is this?"

"Mike's medical history."

"How did you-"

"Don't ask questions," she instructed, "just skip to page three. He was taken to the hospital right after the crash. No severe injury, but take a look at the diagnosis."

Harvey skimmed the page. "Amnesia."

"Your poor little Mikey couldn't remember who he was, could he?"

"No." Harvey took a deep breath. "But that doesn't prove anything."

"Harvey, they're a perfect match. The sandy, shaggy hair, the bright blue eyes, the unique personality... he even has eidetic memory, for crying out loud. It would have to be one hell of a coincidence for there to be two people fitting that description in this city."

"I know." Harvey murmured.

"He was eight when his parents died. Mikey was eight when he was placed with your family."

"I know." Harvey repeated. "But it still doesn't fit."

"Doesn't it?" Donna asked. "I think it fits perfectly. You know one of the possible affects of amnesia. The patient doesn't remember what happened while they were amnesic."

"That's only in rare cases," Harvey refuted.

"Mike's a rare case in himself. Just think about it. He's taken away from you, put back in his grandmother's care. Suddenly all his memories return, but he forgets all about his time as a Specter. It would explain why he doesn't recognize you, and is utterly loyal to you despite this. You telling him your middle name gave him a sense of déjà vu, didn't it?"

"Yeah," harvey admitted sourly.

"As I recall, you hated your name as a child. So what did everyone call you instead?"

Harvey sent her a piercing glare. "Alan. They called me Alan. But that's where your theory falls through, because Mikey preferred to call me Harvey regardless. So wouldn't my real name have triggered some part of the memories to come back?"

"How sweet," she cooed. "But you're smart enough to know that triggers don't really have a pattern recognizable to anyone other than that person, and even then, it's unconscious."

"And what if it is him?" Harvey asked. "What am I supposed to do? Just go up to him and tell him 'Oh, by the way, you're the long lost foster brother I've been looking for since I was fourteen.' I don't think that would go over too well."

"I think there's more you'd want to say than that."

Harvey shot her another glare. "I need time to think about this." He looked back down at Mike's medical file and spotted a post-it with a phone number on it. "Whose number is this?"

"Mike's grandmother's at the nursing home." she said with a wink. "You can thank me later."