Hey everyone,
Apologies for the late update. But it's here now, completely angst free (who am i?) and full of Harvey pursuing Donna like should have done years ago!
Thanks for all the kind reviews and etc so far, very much appreciated as it helps keep me motivated!
Warning: lots of baby fluff
Enjoy!
Emeralds for Edith
The next morning finally arrives and Donna makes her way out onto the bright, yet still somewhat quiet street. Just a few pedestrians and early work commuters sweeping by.
The redhead lets the door to her apartment building fall shut behind her, her right hand dropping to join her other which was holding onto her black Marni purse.
She takes him in for a moment as she stands on the concrete steps. Leaning against the Lexus as he waits for her, one leg crossed over the other and hands buried in his pockets. She reckons that it's far too early in the morning for the both of them to be grinning this big but neither can help it, given the day that's in it. And neither want to help it either.
"Donna." he greets deeply with a good-natured nod, pushing himself off the car with ease and smirking as he takes in her approaching form.
A cream Cashmere coat, over probably another Cashmere sweater, and dark jeans with black boots. He feels like it's been too long since he's seen her dressed so casually. Her autumn-leaf hair falling more naturally also, not styled to within an inch of its life. Her make up is lighter too, almost non-existent. But her excited smile is the best thing she's wearing by a mile, he thinks.
"Harvey." she mirrors, inhaling as she does so.
He's dressed down this morning. A dark grey shirt peering out under his black coat. She's always loved the added warmth that seemed to radiate off of him when he wasn't wearing his lawyer costume. He looks like he could just be any guy. But he's not. And he never has been. Not for her.
It has also always knocked her off her Harvey-radar slightly though. Without any ties or hair gel for her keen eye to examine, she was usually a little less wise as to how happy or stressed or nervous he was going to be. Something that probably should have made her feel more apprehensive, less in control. But once they were outside of the firm, she didn't need to be on top of everything or counter his every move and be two steps ahead at all times. She could just be Donna. She could just be his friend.
As she stops up in front of him, he pulls out a modest-sized bouquet of pink tulips and calla lilies from behind his back. Something even she never sees coming whenever he does it, especially not this time.
"For New York's best godmother." he informs with confidence as he hands them to her with a cheesy smirk.
The redhead sends him a questionable glare, raising her left brow as her teeth disobey her and begin to part her lips into a hearty smile.
"The world's.. best godmother." he corrects, lowering his chin at her.
"That's more like it." she teases, finally extending her hand to gratefully accept the flowers, not missing how he remembered they were her favourites, before looking down at them with a light-hearted sigh. "I feel like we're gonna be drowning in pretty pinks for at least the next ten years."
The way she says 'we' catches him slightly. The thought of her lumping them together like that giving him even more hope for their chance at a future together. He opens the car door then and waits for her to take a step forward.
"At least we'll have each other to complain to." he says casually, pressing his lips together as he looks out onto the street.
He pretends not to notice how her smile falters before she slides onto the back seat and he shuts the door, smugly making his way over to the other side, looking like the cat who just got the whipped cream.
…
The ride over to the hospital is easy. They're not full of chat the entire journey, but any silence they do encounter is comfortable. The quietness filling with waves of nostalgia as both reminisce about simpler times. Times where they've shared these car rides before. When he would surprise her with friendly dates or generous shopping excursions.
Donna curiously breaks their silence with the need to verbalise a question rolling around in her brain as she throws her head in his direction, brows knitted in wonder.
"When was the last time you even held a baby?"
He pulls his gaze from the streets and back to her, his eyes meeting a charmingly inquisitive frown before he answers.
"When Marcus' youngest was born."
"Jeesh," she chuckles dryly before looking out the window musingly, shaking her head in surprise, "how have you beaten me at that.."
"Why, when was the last time you held a baby?" His intrigue only rises as he awaits her response.
She hears how he's smirking when he asks his question, making her even more reluctant to want to answer, but she does anyway.
"2007.." she mumbles into the window.
"What?" He blurts out in disbelief, turning his entire torso to face her now, forcing her to look back at him with a defensive eye-roll.
"What..? I don't have many friends with kids..if any,"
She's fiddling with the button of her coat, trying to ignore his baffled reaction before she chances changing the subject somewhat.
"It was my cousin's kid, they were visiting from Ireland."
"Irish," he nods, nostrils flared, biting his lip with mischief before casually looking away as he pretends not to remember her bringing it up years before, just so he can tease her a bit, "that makes sense."
"Did you just glance at my hair before you said that?" she chuckles with a disapproving glare.
"Maybe," he frowns lightly, trying to act serious while glancing ahead as his tongue plays with the inside of his cheek, "but it's not just that.."
"What else, then?" she prods, a smile curling as she twists her body to face him fully, readying herself for one of his awful jokes that he was probably going to end up explaining like he always does.
Harvey turns his head towards her a second later, catching her stare in his. There's an invigoratingly boyish essence about him now as she watches his nares double in size. As they do whenever he's in a joyful mood, much to her own amusement.
"Your freckles." he whispers, leaning in a few inches, his tone low and verging on flirtatious.
She watches his line of vision drop to her cheeks next, knowing he was studying the light few that resided there. A second later his pupils involuntarily lurk down her neck, where just her collar bone was exposed, showcasing a few dispersed flecks of gold where the sun had stamped her snowy skin.
He clears his throat as his eyes flicker back up to her own pair which were still staring at him. He notices her chest rising and falling at a slower, more practiced pace. Deciding that she spotted the affection behind his jesting comment, he clears his throat and morphs his face into another teasing frown.
"And your unnerving ability to hold your liquor."
Donna looks him over, well as much of him as he gives her what with his head facing out the window again, waiting for her to fire back with some witty response. Instead, she bites her tongue, literally and figuratively, as she glances toward her bouquet sat between them. She quickly picks it up and before he knows it, his arm receives a stealthy whack from the pretty pink petals.
"Asshole.." He sees her mutter with a terribly tampered down grin as she shakes her head, staring out her own window now.
He soothes his arm in faux hurt, frowning at her until she looks back at him. Both of them perfectly mirroring those playful, amorous dispositions they have perfected for one another over the years while they engage in yet another stare down. Him quirking his brow back in response to hers, both snickering once more before looking away again as their cheeks begin to ache.
…
The dynamic duo firmly make their way into the maternity unit of the hospital. Side by side in their old, synchronised catwalk style.
Donna sneaks a few glances up at him and his visible discomfort after each heavily pregnant lady they pass, some of them slowly walking the corridors in preparation for labour. She smirks to herself, enjoying his hilariously obvious unease far too much.
"It's the most natural thing in the world, you know?" she says with a calming smirk, side-eyeing him as they continue through the halls on their way to Rachel's room.
"I know.." he murmurs quietly, glancing around as if worried his nervousness might be detected by the nearby patients or nurses, "I've just never been in this," he pauses, looking around as he tries to find a suitable word before glancing back to her, "environment…before is all."
"Environment?" she teases with her left brow quirked as high as her amusement.
"Yes."
"Oh my god an entire ecosystem made up of maternity wards, baby bumps and labouring moms…how frightening!" Donna mocks, popping her eyes with effortless exaggeration as her hand catches her heart.
"Hilarious, Donna."
He gives her a faux unimpressed frown before he stops outside a light-oak door with '28' stamped on a silver metal frame, pausing to turn back to her then.
"I imagine it's only frightening when it's to do with strangers.."
"What do you mean?" she chuckles in bemusement.
"I mean," he starts, dragging out the sound as he speaks, "if I were here because of my kid…I'm sure the environment wouldn't be so daunting."
She hates herself for even letting her thoughts go there. Into baby land..with him. She breaks their knowing eye contact after a moment too long and lightly directs her finger towards the door.
"This is us."
Harvey maintains his gaze awhile longer, letting her know he wasn't going to be fazed by her feigned nonchalance. He pushes open the door then, gesturing for her to enter before him, watching as she strides by him and into their friend's room.
"Heyyy, look who it is," Mike beams, shuffling in his chair beside an exhausted but cheerful looking Rachel, holding a tiny pink-wrapped human in her arms, "The Godparents."
"Please, Mike," Rachel scolds, tiredly but light-heartedly, "no movie jokes…not this early."
"Good morning," Donna whispers in a bubbly tone, edging into the room with an ecstatic grin as Harvey tows behind, placing a gift bag and Rachel's bouquet onto a nearby table as Donna drops her purse there too, "where's my little munchkin?"
"Right here," Rachel replies with excitement and pride as they near the end of her bed, "she's just had her morning feed and is still wide awake!"
"Of course she is," Donna remarks jokingly before throwing her thumb towards Harvey behind her, "she knew we were coming!"
Moving closer, the vivacious redhead joins her friend at the head of the bed while Harvey remains at the foot, smiling cheerfully. At the sight of his goddaughter of course, and his friends. But also at the fresh flames of pure exhilaration sparking from the redhead in that very moment as she locked eyes on the baby.
He watches as Rachel carefully hands Edith over to Donna. And how she takes her into her arms with ease. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, and 2007 was just yesterday.
Mike stands upright then, with Harvey meeting him for a celebratory pat-on-the-back-style hug and words of congratulations and thanks, before they both look back towards the wriggling baby.
"Hello, Edith." Donna whispers, all of her teeth poking out of her broadened, beautiful smile as she gazes down at seven pounds and ten ounces of pure angelic beauty, while gently rocking her in her arms. "I'm Donna." she finishes, before choking back a few tears.
The three others joyfully gaze at her and the newborn, all smiling at how great the two looked together.
Donna senses their stares then, looking up to Harvey who she notices is still at the end of the bed. "She won't bite, you know?"
"Only because she hasn't got any teeth yet." Mike teases as he walks back to his chair.
Harvey sighs warmly, before stepping his way towards the comforting sight of domesticity that unearths a few hazy memories of what he seemed to be dreaming about for awhile now.
"And this is Harvey," the doting redhead adds in her soft, new-found motherly voice, looking up at him again with a cheeky smirk before continuing her first conversation with her goddaughter, "he may seem a little..standoffish at first, but you're gonna melt that iron heart of his, aren't you?"
He just smiles at the woman, inwardly hoping for the day he could tell her that she was the one to do that all these years.
The baby brings her hands to her face next, rubbing her scrunched up eyes as she squirms in Donna's arms before opening her deliciously dark hazel pair, looking up at her godparents for the first time.
"Hey, look at you, beautiful!" Donna whispers softly, before excitedly glancing up at Harvey.
He instinctively raises his left hand, extending his index finger to the child's tiny palm until all of her fingers are wrapped around just one of his.
"Hello, Edie." he gently murmurs, in awe.
"Edie," Mike nods in approval, his palm landing on a beaming Rachel's lap, "I like it."
Donna finds herself mesmerised by the joining of hands in front of her. His firm, masculine digit, softened by the warmth of four fun-sized fingers and a tiny thumb. She leans her head down then, planting a kiss on the baby's forehead, lightly inhaling that newborn scent as she feels his warmth securely shadowing over them both.
They share another gaze then, both smirking softly, like two idiots in love. Now falling in love with a third person.
Things had shifted even more so overnight for them so it seemed. The birth of the baby refocusing both of their attention to the important things in life. The last few months acting as the healing process to what now, with the new arrival felt - maybe even prematurely - like the healed.
Looking into those fresh, innocent eyes together, knowing they both shared their own little stamp on her for the rest of her life and theirs, kind of made all else go out the window. And as much as he was still itching to talk about everything, and she still somewhat scratching to get away from all of the painful memories that was sure to drag up, they now felt like things were undeniably heading in a more positive and progressive direction. Taking their natural course if you will. It no longer felt like they had to push things or to run from things. It was going to come to an end soon, this separation of sorts, one way or another. And now, the birth of one little girl marked the beginning of the end for their tedious tiptoeing around one another and their tumultuous relationship.
"Alright," Mike's voice cuts through their moment, both of them starting to shuffle as their eyes let go of one another, "time for a god-family photo!"
Harvey sends him a knowing glare, as Rachel fails to hide her excitement at the idea.
Before long, Donna feels his arm around her waist, lightly resting on her right side as she moves closer to him then. His left hand is close to hers next, where she was gently resting it against the baby's side. His fingers graze hers as they position themselves for the photograph.
"Perfect," Mike nods, smugly looking at his screen as he relaxes back into his chair.
Donna fills her lungs as his fingers remain hovering over hers even after the photo is taken. He's looking down at the baby, somewhat in disbelief and amusement that the promising young man he met some six or seven years ago has completely turned his life around, and is now a father to a beautiful child. Before him, he thinks too.
There's a deep and undeniable feeling settling between them in that very moment that the pair both seem to share; this was what they wanted. For themselves. Together.
When they baby lets out a small cry, Donna rocks her in her arms, shushing her gently as she removes her hand from near his, placing her finger inside Edith's palm, comforting her back to a state of calm in no time at all.
"You're a natural."
His hands falls back to his sides as he smiles at her. Before shuffling on the spot then, feeling too many pairs of eyes on him at once. Especially hers which were blinking up at him with a rare timidness.
He clears his throat, his eyes drifting to the flowers he brought for Rachel on the small table beside him.
"Uh here, these are for you." he nods, moving toward the brunette, beautifully tinted roses in hand as he gives her a sweet hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Harvey." she smiles during their sweet embrace.
"You do realise St. Patrick's Day was two months ago, right?" Mike toys, knowing full well why they were dark green instead of their natural red.
Harvey gives him a 'fuck you' kind of eye-roll as Rachel steps to his defense, admiring the bouquet in hand.
"Emerald green," she beams, "to match her birthstone."
"That's why we also got you these.." Donna adds as she remains stood there gently swaying with the baby, nodding to the lilac gift bag she brought with her so Harvey would fetch it from the table.
Harvey hands the small bag to the brunette who looks to them both with a bashful grin. "You didn't have to get us more gifts, you guys."
"Just something small this time, promise." Donna reassures as Rachel takes out the the first black jewelry box.
Her smile infects her eyes as she opens up the pretty box, staring down at two silver keychain pendants. Mom ingrained on one, and Dad on the other. Est 2018 under them both. With a real emerald cemented into the silver of each.
"Guys this is so sweet, thank you!" she beams as Mike smiles, taking the box in hand as it hits him that he's officially a dad now.
Rachel opens the second jewelry box then, a gorgeous silver bracelet staring up at her, three stunning emeralds merged into the shiny metal band, 05-12-18 elegantly engraved inside the piece.
"We know she's a bit young for jewelry, but we thought it would be nice for her to have something from the day she was born, for when she's old enough to wear it." Harvey nods thoughtfully.
"It's perfect, you guys," Mike smiles, followed by a gratefully nodding Rachel, "Thank you."
"But wait.." Rachel frowns with intrigue, "how did you know what date to have engraved?"
"I'm Donna." she quips before dropping her hip and explaining anyway, glancing back down at Edith.
"I called my jeweller guy last night and asked him to have two ready. One with yesterday's date and one with today's, just in case she waited til' after midnight to arrive." she smiles warmly, eyes landing on Rachel an Mike.
"The keychains were Harvey's idea."
"Awh, so thoughtful." Mike mocks lightly, before sending him a grateful grin.
"Alright that's enough sentiment for one day." Harvey frowns at him, turning to face Donna and the baby as he inwardly admires them both.
"Ohhh not quite, Mister," Donna interjects with a suggestive tone, "you haven't held her yet."
Of course he wants to hold her, but he sighs anyway because he's Harvey Specter and he can't have anyone, other than Donna, seeing too much of his softer side.
The redhead sends him a tentative glance as she gauges his reaction to her carefully holding Edith toward him. He can't hide his smile any longer as she invites him in, stepping closer to her immediately as their limbs work in sync to exchange the baby from her arms to his. Their tortuously close contact reminding them of their milestone hug some eight hours prior.
She misses the baby's warmth immediately, but soon finds it returning again at the sight before her. The tiny baby wrapped in his arms, making him look super-sized. And incredibly attractive, she thinks to herself as the image of him with a newborn knots her stomach and has her feeling something unfamiliar, not recognising that feeling as broodiness, seeing as she has genuinely never experienced it before.
Donna continues smiling at the pair as Harvey tenderly sways the child just like he saw her doing moments beforehand, carefully ensuring to support her delicate frame.
"She's a lucky kid.." Harvey begins, waiting until Mike takes the bait.
"Let me guess, because you're her godfather?" the younger man scoffs.
"Because she didn't get her dad's looks," he says matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes off the kid as her fingers clasp around his once more, "..and that too."
"Awh, look at Mr. Sentimental over there." the younger man jibes back, feigning awe at the joined hands.
"You're just jealous I never hold your hand."
"Okay lovebirds, give it a rest." Donna sighs, her hand landing over the baby's blanketed feet, her thumb resting on his coated arm. "We don't want this little one picking up on your smart-ass attitudes."
Harvey double-takes her, wondering if her heard her right before furrowing his brows at the hilarity of her comment.
"Uhh, her godmother is the biggest smart-ass I've ever met..?"
Donna drops her lip at his daring comeback, sending him a highly raised brow that almost makes him want to take it back, had he not still found it so funny.
"Well, I'm a classy smart-ass.." she defends with lightly pouted lips, "an acquired trait that I will be passing on to this little one so she can deal with you two idiots when she's old enough to talk back."
Rachel and Mike chuckling off to their side interrupts their friendly tiff before they give up the act and send each other a warm smile as they gush over their godchild some more.
"Like you've been effortlessly doing with me all these years." he mumbles so that only she can hear. Almost shyly glancing down at her when she looks up at him, a sweet knowing smile forming at her lips.
…
As the pair step back outside the hospital entrance an hour later, Ray's Lexus stylishly swoops in from its previous parking spot, stalling in front of them as they shamelessly ogle each other, both gladly taking in the fresh air now.
"So.." Harvey starts, pressing his lips together in a failed attempt to dampen his embarrassingly huge smirk.
"So.."
She mirrors his tone, swaying on the spot as she clutches the straps of her handbag with both hands.
"It's Sunday.. so I guess Ray can just take me home?"
"He could do that.."
Harvey trails off, glancing over her frame and scanning their surroundings while Donna waits for him to continue.
"But I think he wants to take you on a date." he finishes when his eyes find hers again, swallowing back any ounce of fear that had tried to creep up as he locks eyes with her, the ends of her marmalade manes blowing in the soft breeze.
"Ray, huh?" she toys, her heart beating out of her chest, not that her face would show it. "I mean, I always knew he had a thing for me but…wanting to date me? Who knew?" she finishes with a menacing pout.
He grins as she pops her eyes, her playful voice purposefully letting him know that she knew they weren't really referring to his beloved chauffeur at all.
"He has always wanted to," he states, a softer, more somber edge to his voice now, making her straighten up a bit as he spoke, "just didn't fully realise it until lately."
"Oh." she nods as she gathers a reaction, deciding to go with their usual banter and wit instead of showing how much it affected her. "Well I hope he knows he's gonna have to work for me. I'm not an easy catch."
"Oh he knows that, don't worry." Harvey reaffirms, nodding with confidence as he opens her door for her.
She sits into the car, the sound of the door slamming shut waking her up slightly. She was sure this was just going to be one of their friendly dates, in terms of location anyway, like the ones they used to have before. But she also knew that there was a subtle ripple of romance to it that he was eager to test the waters on.
As he slides in on his side beside her, she lets herself relax, deciding to let him take the lead on this one.
…
The pair's impromptu - on her behalf, at least - early morning date turned out to be at their diner. Turns out there weren't many other options at 9 in the morning and quite frankly, he took them there on purpose. Ignoring the skeptical glance she sent him as he stopped outside the familiar door of the place she frequents often. And the one he's only been to twice before, with her.
So far, they haven't shared any heated moments, conversed with hidden meanings or let thick walls hold them back from enjoying each other's company. Just plenty of talking and eating. Sitting in the same booth as the first time but neither feeling any of the pain or disappointment that came from the memories of a younger them, in this very spot, failing to communicate what they both really wanted from the beginning all those years ago.
He playfully swats her hand away as she reaches for some of his pancakes with her fork, but she smacks his own right back. Because apparently hers didn't have enough syrup.
They sit there for an hour after their breakfast is finished, ordering coffees as an excuse to keep them there longer. Simply chatting and laughing and smiling. With the person they've missed doing each of those things with more than anything else in the world.
"I have something for you." he states after a comfortable silence brought on after a round of shared laughter.
The way he says it catches her by surprise. Stirring up some of the ghosted feelings she had tried so desperately to overcome ever since their painful rooftop brawl.
She matches his gaze then, her right index sliding over the rim of her small, white coffee cup as he rummages through his inside coat pocket without taking his eyes off of her.
"Oh yeah?" she replies casually, with an intrigued smirk nonetheless.
"Now it's not a pony…"
He holds up his left palm in mock defense as his right hand pulls out the long, narrow jewelry box, its style matching the ones they gave Mike and Rachel earlier.
"But I think you'll like it."
Her lengthy brows raise with intrigue as she connects the dots. The twinning boxes being her first clue that he purchased the piece without her knowing, while he stopped off to pick up the gifts for their friends that morning.
As he glides it over to her side of the creamy marble table, she lightly shakes her head at his antics. "Harvey-"
"Don't," he cuts her off with an adorably stern pout, "I wanted to get it for you and that's that."
The redhead lets out a defeated huff. Inwardly annoyed at how difficult he was making it for her to play hard to get. Now that she was coming around to the idea of them being friends, for themselves and not just for their goddaughter - and even more insanely, the idea of them dating - she was looking forward to making him sweat, to have to work hard for the pleasure of her company. But he was being too god damn sweet with her. Instead, she felt like the one sweating, albeit for different reasons.
"It's not a bomb.." His deep tone slices through her thoughts, "what are you waiting for?"
She sighs, slides the box over the rest of the way and leans back into her seat, cracking it open without further hesitation as hazel green meets emerald green. Another stunning jewel shimmering up at her. A breathtaking pendant hanging from a silver chain. Simple and understated. A direct contradiction to its new owner. Making it the perfect complement. So he thought anyway.
"It's beautiful," she breaths out in astonishment, her forefinger delicately caressing the jewel, "I love it."
"Thought I'd get you something to mark the occasion too." he nods modestly before biting his lower lip. "And green is your colour so.."
She inhales on his complement, slightly overwhelmed at all the sudden attention she was getting from him. Not that he never payed her any before. Just that this was a different kind of affection. The romantic kind.
"Thank you, Harvey."
Donna slowly closes the box again, studying the relief, and a hint of something else, in his eyes.
That hint of something else increases as he nods, slowly and unknowingly biting his lip, the colour in his umber irises almost completely lost under the expanding pools of black as his pupils engulf their alluring shade of brown.
The look he sends gives rise a different kind of pool inside of her. Deep and low, hot and unignorable as she attempts to subtly cross her legs to ease the growing, aching desire between them. Her booted toes accidentally grazing his shin in the process not helping matters for either of them. The unintended contact making his pants feel a size smaller as the heat in his groin almost threatens to leave a burn.
"You can thank me by wearing it-" he just about refrains from saying tonight, still not wanting to set the pace too fast for her lest he scare her off, "the next time we do this."
She sits up higher then, leaning in as she readies herself to toy with him, her royal blue finger nail landing on the box when her gaze lands on him.
"So you want me to wear this expensive piece of art…to this old joint?" she smirks, acting as if she thought he wanted to take her there again.
"Well, I mean you could…it would definitely spruce the place up a bit." he plays along, leaning in now too, "Or.."
"Or?"
"You could wear it…in a five-star restaurant..with a five-star dress, accompanied by a more than five-star date."
He watches her throat bob when she swallows, letting him know he was getting somewhere.
"Yeah…you're not more than five stars." she chuckles as she widens her eyes at him, somehow having the laugh match his increasingly seductive tone.
"But my date is."
Harvey was finally pursuing her with the energy he had committed to the endless string of women he'd carelessly, and all too easily, reeled in over the years. Except this time it was with the combined determination he'd dedicated to all those women, devoted to just one woman. The one he now knew it should have been directed towards for the last twelve years. So, quite frankly, if he has to spend another twelve years proving to her that she's the only one worth chasing, he will.
It put her right out of her comfort zone though, to say the least. In all the ways she'd subconsciously wanted him to put her out of it before. Without even realising that she did.
"Your date sounds too awesome for some textbook, restaurant meet and eat." she teases, voice low and unapologetically harsh as she glimpses around her beloved diner with a humorous frown. "I mean, you're already not scoring any brownie points with your first choice."
"Ouchh." is all he can say when she has him in a corner, right where she wants him, sweating and fretting, no cool, calm or collection in sight and missing that all-too-cocky confidence that pumped through his veins. Probably since birth, she reckons.
They're back ten years in the past now. Him flirting with her until he thinks he's cracked her before she bites back with a venomous blow, shrinking his uber-arrogant ego like no woman ever could. Only making him want her even more.
The quick-witted redhead lets out a chuckle then, relaxing back into her chair as she shakes her head at the situation. She breaths in as he watches her before deciding to collect her coat and bag, carefully stuffing the jewelry box inside. She twists her legs until her knees are pointed out of the booth and she's turning to eye him, her light-red waves cascading over her contrasting white sweater.
"Let me know when you come up with something better, Specter." Her suggestive brow almost speaks to him too as it jolts upwards with her devilish smile.
He doesn't want her to leave yet but she has thrown him off his game and he doesn't recognise the view. He's never been off it before. Looking in from the outside. Like a bystander watching his skillfully perfected strategies crumble to oblivion under Donna Paulsen's wicked tongue.
Dating her would be a challenge, he soon realises. One he's never been more ready to take. And not because he loves a challenge. But because of how ready she was for him to take it.
As Donna closes the door behind her, she lets out the breath that had been building pressure in her lungs for the last few minutes now. She doesn't know what to think. And decides not to think. If this was how the new chapter of their lives was going to start, then she was sure as hell going to have her fun writing it.
With him.
…
It's now early evening the following Saturday and Donna's buried head deep in all the tedious paperwork that comes with being COO of one of Manhattan's leading law firms. Not that she complained, ever. She had fought tooth and nail for this position and was going to go above and beyond, everyday, to prove to everybody that she earned it.
It was the more she had demanded from him after all. But in hindsight, she couldn't help but wonder if it was the right more she should have asked him for. And if that would have saved them months of grief. Or if it would have just ruined them completely.
Just as her fatigued, and maybe slightly bored eyes are starting to blur the words on the pristine pages in front of her, she hears a light tap on the glass panel of her office. The very panel that made her feel like she was one of the zoo animals now too. Guarded behind glass while passers by could glance in as they pleased.
Her blank expression turns to one of pleasant surprise when she meets Rachel's sweet smile as she wheels a black stroller in front of her.
"What!?" Donna beams in shock, pushing herself out of her seat and dropping her trusty Bic pen onto her desk. "Well this is the best surprise visit I've ever had!"
Rachel extends her arms as Donna approaches, greeting her in a warm hug.
"I've been cooped up in the apartment for four days now since I got home…I needed to get out before cabin fever set in." she informs with a sigh. "Thought I'd swing by and bring Edith to see her godparents before we take her father home for the night."
Donna crouches down to peer in over the sleeping baby, extending her polished finger to gently caress her smooth, sallow-skinned cheeks, admiring her long, jet-black lashes as she sleeps soundly.
"Well you're not gonna see much with those big beautiful eyes of yours shut tight, are you little miss?" the redhead whispers to the baby, slightly annoyed that she wasn't awake so she could pick her up.
"Would it be cruel if I poked her?" she asks humorously, looking back up to Rachel with a mischievous smirk before straightening back up to be eye-level with her.
"Oh I'm sure she won't be asleep for much longer..she never is!" Rachel sighs tiredly, yet lovingly.
"You look exhausted, you sure you're up for a visit?" Donna quizzes in concern before recovering like the amazing girlfriend she is. "I mean you look amazing! But you've gotta be tired?" she asks affectionately, her left arm finding the sleeve of Rachel's light grey cardigan.
"I'm fine, honestly. It'll do me good to get out of the house, and I've missed this place, and the people in it!" Rachel assures her, looking around and feeling at home in the building she hasn't worked at in over two months now.
"And you're not in any post-pregnancy pain or anything?" Donna inquires with concern, shaking her head as she gauges her friend's reaction.
"Pain? No. Discomfort? Yes." Rachel chuckles lightly, bringing her hand to her lower back.
"Here, come sit!" offers Donna as she steers the stroller towards her comfortable couch, facing Edith towards them before they both relax into the cream cushions.
"So," Rachel exhales as she props her elbow over the back of the couch and supports her head with her hand, "what have I missed between your last visit and now?"
The brunette detects the sheepish look in her friends eyes as she looks towards his office with a light smirk that she can't seem to extinguish. Or doesn't even want to.
Rachel glances over her shoulder, eyeing the wall dividing the two offices, furrowing her brows with a small grin as she looks back to her friend, lowering her chin and popping her eyes in question without needing to say a word.
"Okay so technically it wasn't after the last time I visited you in hospital. It was after the first time…that morning actually." she admits, feeling somewhat guilty that she hadn't told Rachel all week, seeing as she had just become a mother and had more than enough on her plate.
Rachel's jaw drops, shocked but delighted over what she thought she was finally hearing.
"You guys didn't!?" she whispers, inching in closer before raising her voice in excitement. "Oh my god it's about time! That morning, huh? You two were eager.." she smirks, wiggling her dark brows at the puzzled redhead.
"What? No, no, noooo." Donna clarifies in a low tone, shutting her eyes and waving her hands between them to shake the thought from Rachel's mind. "Nothing like that.."
"Oh.." Rachel lets out, failing, or just unwilling to hide her disappointment. "Then what has you blushing like a love-struck teenager?" she chances, cheekily angling her head to the right as she awaits a response.
"I'm not bl-" Donna cuts herself off when she feels the warmth in her cheeks for the first time since her mind veered towards Harvey. Remembering she's not a liar, she decides to give up the act. "Okay, whatever.." she shuffles in her seat, peering outside the glass making sure no one was within ear shot before she leans in closer to Rachel who was dying with intrigue by now. She takes an encouraging breath, looking her friend in the eye before a brief pause.
"I think we're dating?" she admits, as if the fact shocked her just as much as it did Rachel.
The stunned brunette tampers down her excitement so she can pry even further. "You 'think'?"
"Yeah," she exhales, "I mean..that morning he asked me on a date, super casually, but we both knew it wasn't just some friendly outing. There wasn't any tension ..not the bad kind anyway, and we just talked. And not about serious things, just all the unimportant things we used to talk about." she grins in remembrance, a sudden bashfulness about her then as she realises how much she was rambling.
"But?" Rachel quizzes, detecting there was one coming.
Donna sighs, relaxing her left shoulder into the couch.
"He asked me on another one. But I turned him down ..kind of."
"Kind of?"
"I may be playing hard to get." she explains with feigned innocence as she briefly glances towards Edith. "And besides, I don't know how friendly he wants to keep this."
"Okay," Rachel begins, "one thing I know for sure..is that nothing between you and Harvey is just friendly."
"That's my point, Rachel." she says firmly. "What if dating is the wrong way to go about all of this?"
"Well you won't know unless you try." Rachel inhales, encouragingly trying to push her friend forward.
"Have you talked much since your last date?" she asks after a short silence, still amazed and thrilled that they were having this conversation.
"In passing.. mostly business though, it's been a crazy busy week here." Donna replies, trying to make an excuse for not biting the bullet and asking him about their current status. "But no, we haven't discussed it. He hasn't asked me out again, even though I left that ball in his court, so I don't know.." she trails off in a defeated whisper, lightly throwing her hands in the air.
"You could ask him out, you know? It's 2018!" Rachel teases.
"Ha!" Donna scoffs. "I can barely ask him for the time these days, you think I'm gonna ask him on a date!?" she exaggerates as she laughs in disbelief.
Rachel just smirks back before her eyes start to wander upwards a moment later. Donna can all but see the light bulb blinking above her head.
"Uhh, I just remembered I have to go see Louis! He wants my advice on some case, says he needs my old 'paral-eagle eye' for something."
"Oh..and you just remembered now?" Donna challenges with a quirk of her brow, inwardly laughing at her friend's adorable yet atrocious acting abilities.
"Yeah," she sighs, coming to a stand as she taps her forehead, feigning annoyance at herself, "you wouldn't mind taking Edith for like fifteen minutes, would you?"
"Of course not." chuckles the redhead, sensing exactly where this was going.
"Great! You can take her to see Harvey, save me some time. It would be a huge help." she smirks all too innocently, well aware Donna would see right through her amateur performance.
"Mmhmm.." Donna hums deeply, watching the brunette scamper out of her office after saying goodbye to her sleeping daughter.
She lets out a deflated sigh, peering into the stroller from where she was seated.
"Looks like it's just me and you, kid."
She stands up next, her fingers gently landing over the baby's blanketed feet as her thumb caresses the soft cotton.
"What do you think I should do?"
The infant replies with an almost inaudible snore, forcing Donna to laugh at herself.
"Wow. I'm actually asking a baby for relationship advice. And a sleeping baby at that.." she mumbles, still directing her words to Edith. "Thanks for nothing, sister. I'll remember this when you're looking for boy advice some day," she heightens her brows then, "or girl advice…who knows."
Before she can scold herself for still talking to the baby, and effectively just talking to herself, his smooth, crisp voice slices through the air in her office like a frisbee, interrupting her thoughts as she lightly jumps with the fright.
"You talking to yourself?"
She looks over her shoulder, quickly recomposing herself as she wonders if he heard any of what she said.
"No.."
"Sure looked like it." he smirks, hands in his pockets, walking over to them both.
"Can't you see there's a third person here, Harvey?" she teases, tossing her head towards the stroller beneath her.
"Yes. A sleeping third person. Who can't even speak yet."
"They make the best listeners." she defends with an unapologetic pout, before looking back to their godchild, smiling at her snoozing form.
He closes the gap then, stopping by her side to peer into the pram, the lines in his chiseled cheeks creasing with a doting grin as the baby's lips twitch into a sleeping smile.
"So, you got lumped with the first babysitting duties then?"
She silently smirks at his joking comment. "Rachel's just gone to see Louis about some work matter that I'm pretty sure was fabricated."
"Fabricated?" he frowns in question.
"Doesn't matter." She waves her hand between them as she shakes her head lightly. "What brings you in here?"
"Besides my god-family, you mean?"
His smile is teasing, but his eyes are soft. When his question is only met with widened eyes and a sharp inhale, he shuffles on the spot, turning from Edith so he was facing Donna, just a foot apart as his left hand rests on the stroller, subconsciously needing the support before he swallows down the nerves, his face remaining calm and confident still.
"I wanted to let you know that I've been thinking about something, someone, all week, and now I know,"
"Know what?" she laughs, eyes darting from his lips to his pupils as her heart involuntarily flutters.
"Where I'm gonna take you on our next date."
Okay, she thinks. This isn't a game anymore. He's deadly serious. Thankfully the inner workings of her brain reflect poorly on her face as she holds onto her calm demeanor.
"And where would that be?"
There's a definite intrigue behind her forced nonchalance that helps boost his confidence.
"And why would I tell you that?" She sends him a bemused frown before he continues. "Last time I told you, you shot it down. Brutally."
Donna presses her lips together then, trying not to laugh at the memory; his smug face crumbling to one of self-doubt under her toyful tongue.
"And besides, it's a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yes." he says firmly, determined not to let her force an answer out of him. "So, are you coming or not?" He makes sure that his expression shows just how much he wanted her answer to be yes, head cocking to the right as he swallows back in wait of her response with a light, adorable smile.
"I'll have to ask my trusted confidante here for advice first," she sighs humorously, nodding down towards the oblivious tiny human beneath them, "but I'm sure she won't object."
"I hope not." he nods solemnly before engaging in a shared grin, lowering his gaze toward Edith. "I mean, I'm pretty sure she likes me. So I think she'll approve."
"And what details would she need to know, you know.. if she were to approve of this ..date."
"Tomorrow. 2 0'clock." he nods. "I'll pick you up."
"Tomorrow?" She isn't sure whether the late notice should annoy or excite her.
"Have you got other plans?"
"No bu-"
"Perfect." Harvey nods at her, nostrils flaring along with his brazen snicker before he gives Edith one last doting glance and swiftly turns to make his way back to his office.
"And what should I wear?" she calls out, demanding his attention again as he twists back around inside the doorway. "Seeing as you won't tell me where you're taking me."
"Whatever you want." he smiles before thinking on it, his fingers tapping against the glass frame. "Maybe dress for the weather, though."
Outdoors, she thinks as he disappears. Where would Harvey Specter be taking her on a date.. in the middle of the afternoon. On a Sunday. Outdoors?
Donna looks to Edith once more, the resting newborn still oblivious to everything other than her dreams.
"What am I getting myself in for?" she sighs down at her before shaking her head, biting her bottom lip as she fails to simmer down the smirk stretching from cheek to cheek.
For once, she didn't know everything.
And for once, she didn't care.
Because she knew enough.
.
.
.
Thanks for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts :) x