Chapter 4

Do not own Suits :(

Five minutes later found Mike fixed up and back in the hospital bed. When he woke up, Donna was going to slap him into next week.

Another hour later, Mike showed signs of waking up. Harvey leaned forward and waited so he could slap Mike atop the head. The associate groaned and his eyes flickered open.

"You're an idiot," Harvey growled once he saw Mike's eyes open fully.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Donna scolded, poking Mike on the arm.

"What?" Mike said in confusion.

"You know 'what' Mike," Harvey said, but in a lighter tone. "Why were you trying to leave?"

Mike looked down at hands. "I already missed a week of work, I need to get back before I get fired. Jessica is already pissed with me," Mike finished with a lower voice. Rachel still didn't know the story.

"You aren't going to work for a while, kid," Harvey said.

"What? Why?"

"Because you were shot, genius; you need to take a break, doctor's orders."

"But-"

"Doctor's. Orders," said Donna forcefully.

Mike sighed in resignation. "Well, then when can I go home?"

"Now, actually," said Dr. Albert as he stepped in. "Despite your little adventure and pulling a stitch, you are all set and ready to go. Your discharge papers are done and I just have to put you on some pain medication now, and some for you to take home; plus a temporary inhaler.

"Inhaler? Why?"

"You were hit in the lung, Mike, stop asking questions," mumbled Harvey.

"Oh."

The doctor smiled as he inserted pain meds into Mike's arm. The effect was almost instant; Mike's eyes drooping and a sleepy smile forming on his face. Harvey chuckled and rolled his eyes. The two women smirked and watched as a nurse and the doctor maneuvered Mike into a wheelchair. Time to go home; too bad he didn't know it'd be Rachel's.

~+SUITS+~

Harvey had drove Rachel and Mike to the associate's apartment so Donna could pick up some clothes for the kid. When they arrived at Rachel's, Mike had fallen asleep and Harvey nearly had to carry him inside. Luckily, he wasn't that heavy; the kid was skinny.

"Where is he gonna sleep," Harvey said, shifting Mike higher onto his hip and gripping tighter onto the limp arm around his neck. Mike was starting to slink to the ground and now Harvey was practically dragging him.

"In the guest room," Rachel pointed out and Harvey went into the room, placing Mike gently on the bed. He put Mike's shirt on, but he wasn't going to do the pants.

"Mike. Mike, hey!" He said, patting the kid's cheek roughly.

"Hmmm?"

"Wake up so you get your pants on, I'm not doing it for you."

Mike's eyes opened and he nodded in agreement; it would awkward for your boss to dress you. Clumsily, he put on the PJ bottoms and then collapsed into bed, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Rolling his eyes, Harvey pulled the covers over Mike's body and sighed.

"You never cease to amaze me, kid."

Once he was sure Mike was comfortable and breathing steadily, he placed the inhaler on the nightstand then left the room.

"He's all set, just call if you need anything alright?"

Rachel nodded and with that Donna and Harvey left, Donna not forgetting to wink at the paralegal. Rachel smiled and shut the door behind them. When they were gone, she took a deep breath. What a week. She decided she would take a shower and sleep herself, because she hadn't gotten much rest lately. Before she went to the bathroom, she peeked into the guest room and smiled at the sleeping form.

"Sleep well, Mike."

~+SUITS+~

Rachel watched in complete shock as the paramedics ripped Mike's soaking wet shirt off and dried his chest. Without hesitation, they started shocking Mike's heart and stood off to the side, shivering violently and tightly gripping Mike's cell in her numb hands.

"Clear!"

"Nothing."

"Clear."

"Nothing."

Mike's heart wasn't beating he was dead. Before she knew it, the paramedics shouted something she never wanted to hear.

"He's gone. Time of…" but Rachel didn't hear the rest of the sentence. She just zoned out, her face void of all color. Mike was dead. Mike Ross was dead. No that can't be right; they saved him, he's not supposed to be dead! Rachel turned around and all of a sudden the man who killed Mike was standing in front of her, the muzzle of the gun pressed on her forehead.

"One more casualty won't hurt I guess," he growled.

Rachel closed her eyes, waiting for the blood, the pain, the darkness. But it didn't come. All she heard was the pop of the gun and then…

Rachel sat up, gasping rapidly and clutching the blanket in her hands. Looking around, she realized it was just a goddamn nightmare…or was it. Heart pounding painfully against her chest, she jumped out of her bed and quickly walked to the guest room, praying Mike was alive.

Holding her breath so she wouldn't make a noise, she tiptoed into the room, eyeing Mike's face. It was peaceful, but it might have been too peaceful. Shit, please don't be dead, Mike, please. Biting her lip, Rachel placed a shaky hand on Mike's chest. Standing there for a moment, she let out a huge puff of air when Mike's chest rose and fell under her hand.

Closing her eyes, she took a couple deep breaths before wiping a hand down her sweaty face. Mike was alive, that was just a nightmare, and they were both safe and sound in her apartment. She didn't feel safe, though, watching Mike die had scared her. What if it happened again? What if he stopped breathing while she was sleeping in the other room? Then what would she do? Well for one, I'd probably kill myself. Mike getting shot was my fault and I'd never be able to forgive myself if he died again.

Slowly, she lifted the covers and slid into the bed next to Mike. When she snuggled closer to his warm body, he shifted and groaned. Rachel froze, fearing that she woke him up. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back to sleep. Finally, Mike settled and Rachel sighed in relief. For the next twenty minutes, Rachel lay awake and listened to Mike's scratchy breathing in the silence of the room. She would just stay with him until she felt better, then she'd go back to her room. Ten minutes later found the paralegal passed out next to the associate after she'd been satisfied Mike was going to be okay.

~+SUITS+~

Mike yawned and shifted on the nice comfy bed he was sleeping on. He felt light and fuzzy, but he didn't think it was possible to feel fuzzy…unless he was on drugs. Crap. He rubbed his eyes, and when he did, he felt his arm brush someone else's. Mike smiled dreamily. Obviously a girl; Trevor probably set him up. He blinked his eyes open and that's when he noticed something was off; he just couldn't put his finger on it. Yawning again, he looked to his left. What he saw nearly made him fall onto the floor.

"Holy shit! Rachel?" He shouted, sitting up on his elbows.

Rachel frowned and wished whoever was yelling would just shut up. Then she remembered where she was and who was next to her. Dammit. She opened her eyes and stared at Mike who was looking at her like she was oozing green slime.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"At my place, Mike, but you need to calm down."

"We…you and I we…we didn't do anything, did we?"

"God, no," Rachel said sitting up.

"Then why…?"

Rachel looked down, feeling embarrassed. She didn't want to sound like a little girl scared of little nightmares. But it wasn't a little nightmare; it scared her to death.

"Rachel?"

"I…this is stupid…I dreamt that you had died; that paramedics couldn't save you and you just died right in front of me."

Mike looked shocked, but felt extremely bad. He remembered some of what happened, and it must have been terrible for Rachel to watch. If only he could tell her.

"God, Rachel, I'm sorry."

Rachel shook her head and sighed. They sat for a moment in silence, wondering what to do next.

"Mike," Rachel said. "Do you remember what you said to me before…you...you know."

Mike frowned, but racked his brain for any information he might have missed. A light bulb went on when he remembered exactly what he said to Rachel…he just wasn't going to tell her. He didn't want to start another huge argument about him still having feelings for her, yet she broke up with her anyways.

"No. What are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

Once again they sat in silence until Mike broke it this time.

"God, Rachel I want to tell you so bad, but…"

"Mike let's not talk about this."

"Harvey."

"What?"

"Harvey and my future are preventing me from telling you."

"Wait, you lost me. Harvey's not letting you tell me?"

"Not just him," Mike lay down and stared at the ceiling while Rachel continued to watch him from her sitting position beside him. "Jessica, too. What I was telling you before everything happened, I do still have feeling for you but if this were ever to get out, I'd be screwed. So would Harvey, Jessica, Donna, and probably you, if I told you, but…"

"You don't trust me," Rachel scoffed.

"No, it's not that I don't trust you it's just that I don't want you to get dragged down with me if something were to happen. Also, if I told you, you'd never look at me the same way again; you'd probably even hate me."

"Mike, I don't care, I just want to know okay, I don't want to be kept on the dark anymore, because apparently three people already know. I love you Mike, you have to know that."

Mike stared at Rachel in surprise. He loved her, too. HE just never knew she felt the same way.

"When you were dying you told me that since the first time you put eyes on me, you loved me. Well, to tell you the truth, the first time I saw you, I think I loved you, too. Mike, you have to believe me when I say this, I want to be with you and no matter what you say nothing is going to change my mind."

Mike took a deep breath and looked into Rachel eyes. Should I tell her? God, I love her so much, but should I tell her? Yes, screw Harvey, I deal with him later. Yeah, he knew Harvey had put everything on the line just for his associate, but they could find a way to work around this.

"Okay, but you have to promise-"

"Mike, I promise," Rachel whispered, placing a hand on his.

So within the next six minutes, Mike told Rachel everything. From when his parents were killed to when he had that talk with Jessica the week before. When he finished, he watched for Rachel's expression, worried that she'd go apeshit on him.

"Wow, that's…now I understand how big that was," Rachel said moving closer to Mike. "But…I'm thrilled that you were honest with me and I promise that I will never tell anyone; I wouldn't want you or any of the others to get fired. I love you Mike."

Mike's heart beat against his chest as he moved closer to Rachel, their noses practically touching. They could feel each other's breath on their cheeks and within seconds they pulled closer, lips locking together. Pulling apart to breathe, they looked at each other and smiled.

"I love you, too, Rachel."

Snapping back together, Mike ran his hand up Rachel's back and through her hair while Rachel ran her fingers through Mike's blonde curls. They knew they shouldn't be doing this, but they couldn't help themselves. They were in love. Two hours later found the two fast asleep, Mike's bare chest exposed and his arm wrapped around Rachel, holding her close. The paralegal's head rested on his chest and her arm lying over his stomach and her hand intertwined with his. Their clothes were strewn across the floor haphazardly, showing how desperate they'd been. Both had ghosts of smiles on their sweaty faces and now the weight on Mike's shoulders was finally gone.

TBC

Well? One more chapter left! :) All mistakes are mine btw.