Chapter 4
Holy shit did you see last Thursday's SUITS! That was unbelievable, it was so scary! Donna better come back because the show will not be the same without her and even though I kinda watch the show for Mike, I 3 Donna too!
The two Pearson-Hardman workers watched soundlessly as Dr. Kluger and a couple nurses began the process of drawing Mike's blood before inserting two catheters into his bare arm connecting to a giant dialysis machine next to his bed.
Harvey's shoulder's slumped drastically. Mike's dying. Mike was fucking dying. He couldn't believe this was happening. Not a couple nights ago Mike was lippy, annoying, and buoyant as usual. Now he was half- dead in the hospital with a 40 percent chance of surviving. This was his fault; he should have gone to Vegas on his own. He and Mike should be working right now, sharing movie quotes and eating the kid's favorite stuffed crust pizza. That reminded him; when Mike got out of this- and he would, because he wouldn't believe otherwise- he was going to buy the kid stuff crust pizzas for a year. Mike really needed them, too; he was way too skinny and way too pale.
"I'm gonna kill that kid," Donna whispered. She was shocked but then again, she wasn't. She had a feeling that someday Mike's prolonged pot smoking was gonna come back someday and bite him in the ass. And that day happened to be today; what luck.
After about ten minutes, Dr. Kluger stepped out of the room with a sympathetic smile on his face.
"We have the dialysis up and running; hopefully now his organs can filter the drugs properly. From then on it'll be touch and go; hopefully within a month or so, Michael will wake up."
"A month!" Harvey said, dripping from his tone. A whole fucking month of silent, lifeless Mike? He didn't know if Donna or himself could handle that. Mike has become an important part of their lives and to get this new information made them both queasy.
"Yes, well his body has been weakened and I'm surprised he's made it this long." Suddenly Kluger's pager went off and he smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I have to run; you can go back and sit with him if you'd like."
Harvey turned back to look at his ill associate before clearing his throat and walking off.
"Where are you going?" Donna said in a quiet voice.
"I'll be right back; I just…" Harvey trailed off as he passed through some doors and disappeared.
Donna frowned sadly, but knew the man needed space right now. Sighing, she and went back into the pup's room. The dialysis machine was intimidating and she could see Mike's blood flowing through the clear tubes. She shook her head as she sat down and carefully took the kid's hand while smoothing his hair back.
"You better pull through kid; Harvey's not himself and…he's worried about you, Mike. Just keep fighting and we'll be here when you wake up. Just please don't make it a month." She didn't really expect Mike to say anything but she wished he would at least move a finger, cough, groan, anything!
***Suits***
Harvey pushed the door open to the men's bathroom and made sure no one else was occupying it, before smashing his fist into the wall; only then did he realize it was tiled. He snatched his hand back and cradled it against his chest. It was throbbing in agony and no doubt it was broken or at least sprained. But, he could've cared less; Mike was in much more pain than he would ever be. Without hesitation he locked himself in a stall and sank next to the toilet; in a matter of seconds he released everything he's eaten in the past couple of days. When he finished after five minutes, he wiped his mouth and leaned against the stall tiredly. He couldn't lose Mike; not just, because he didn't want to hire another associate, but because Mike mattered. Even if he said he didn't care about anything and anyone but himself, Mike was like a brother to him. He and the kid made a great team and if Mike di…if Mike gave up, nothing would ever be the same. Donna wouldn't be the same, he wouldn't be the same, the whole damn firm wouldn't be the same. The kid had grown on him; he had made him go soft. Unbelievable! He cleared his throat as he stood up shakily, flushed the bile down, and staggered over to the sink. When he looked into the mirror, he realized he hasn't cleaned himself up since Mike was taken in; his face was drawn and a bit sweaty as well. His usually slicked back hair was strewn all over the place and there were dark circles under his tired eyes. He was a complete mess. Swallowing, he turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. He had to get himself together…for the kid. He was no good to Mike if he looked like shit. Once he made sure he looked presentable, he dried his face off with a paper towel and fixed his tie.
When he got back to Mike's room, he half hoped the kid would be awake, but he knew that wouldn't happen. Mike was practically in a coma- a goddamn freakin' coma- and for once, he couldn't do anything about it. He hated the feeling of helplessness and his wanted to do something to help the kid. But he knew there was nothing he could do but wait and stay by Mike every step of the way.
***Suits***
The month went by extremely slow. Each day would be the same and each day Harvey wanted to start pulling his hair out. Mike hadn't done anything, which was to be expected, but there was no difference in his brainwaves, heartbeat or temperature. Harvey had been forced, by Donna and Jessica, to go home and freshen up, get some rest and eat something. It took a lot of threatening to get Harvey out of the hospital seat and then finally Donna said, "You wouldn't want Mike to see you like this when he wakes up, do you?" And she was right, if the kid saw him like he was who knows what he'd say. So, he went home took a shower and ate a salad; he wasn't very hungry. After that, he went to bed, but he didn't get much rest; all he could think about was Mike and that the kid was probably scared and confused. When he decided he wasn't gonna be able to rest until he knew Mike was awake and talking, he changed into some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed a jacket and drove back to the hospital.
A couple weeks later, Mike started showing signs of improvement. His temperature was decreasing, gradually, and the doctor's tests showed that his liver and kidneys were growing stronger so they were able to take him off dialysis. Even though the kid looked a bit yellow in the face and his lungs still weren't healed enough to handle stress on their own, other things were improving and that's all Harvey cared about at the moment. On another note, when all this was over, he was going to force the kid to start running, joining a gym, or anything exercise related, because frankly Mike looked like a friggin' twig…and biking wouldn't be enough.
After a month, Harvey and even the doctors were starting to get worried. There was no reason as to why Mike wasn't waking up. Harvey was also forced to go back to work occasionally, but Jessica was kind enough to give him pro bonos so he wouldn't have to work as hard and it wouldn't take up as much time.
"Come on, kid, you gotta wake up. I know you like keeping me waiting, but I'm gonna kick your ass if you sleep any longer."
"Harvey, be nice," Donna smirked, but the grin disappeared as she looked back to Mike.
"I am being nice," he replied, trying to make it come out in a cheery tone, but instead it was flat. He lost the will to joke around and tease people; Louis especially. The Junior Partner had been stunned when he gloated about winning case and Harvey just replied with a 'congrats' before walking off. Yeah, he really scared the guy. Harvey smirked briefly at the memory before sighing and standing up to go get coffee.
Just as he was beginning to step out the door, he heard a small whimper come from the bed.
"Harvey?" Donna said in an excited, yet petrified tone. "I felt his fingers twitch."
The older man spun around and rushed back to Mike's side, grabbing the small hand gently.
"Mike? Mike can you hear me, kid?"
Absolute silence.
"Maybe it-"
Suddenly, Mike's eyes snapped open and he began panicking, his limbs weakly flailing. His breathing was rapid and choked and his hand was itching to rip whatever was down his throat out.
"Mike! Mike, calm down; come on kid look at me!"
Mike's glassy eyes moved to the direction of the voice and found himself looking into brown orbs. Harvey gently cupped a hand on Mike's face and tried to calm him down.
"Mike, I need you to listen to me, alright? There is a tube down your throat that's helping you breathe. I'll get a doctor to see if we can get it out."
Mike nodded slowly, but at that moment Harvey had a feeling the kid was going to be sick. His assumption was right when Mike started gagging and in an instant, he threw up all over himself, the bed and Harvey's clothes.
Donna stood up frantically and ran to the door to shout for help. In a flurry, they were pushed out, once again, and forced to only watch as the doctor tried calming Mike down and pulled the tube out of the kid's throat. Mike continued to puke, even when most of the time, there was nothing. He heard the doctor shout something, but he couldn't quite make it out; he realized they were going to sedate him, but just as they were, Mike's eyes rolled to the back of his head and passed out. Poor kid. The commotion ended as fast as it started. The nurses cleaned Mike up, changing his gown, the sheets, the pillows, everything. Donna was going to tell Harvey to go home and clean up, but luckily he was smart enough to bring an extra set of clothes, so he would wash up in the hospital showers and change here.
***Suits***
He felt like shit; his whole body was aching, his throat was burning and his mouth tasted nasty. Bad hangover, maybe? No this felt completely different. As he was slowly entering the world of the living, he could hear an annoying beeping sound by his head and something was weighting his hand down. That's when he realized. Hospital. The only problem was he had no idea why he was there. Maybe I fell off my bike and hit my head? Yeah that sounds about right. Satisfied, he forced open his eyes and looked around; to his right was a familiar looking red-head woman who was resting in a chair and to his left was an older man who looked like crap. The guy's hand was stretched out and slightly covering his. Was that…Harvey? He wanted to know what the hell was going on and Harvey would probably be the only one with answers. He tried groaning, but all the came out was a squeak. What the hell? Well, his voice was under construction right now, so what about his fingers? With all his energy, he moved his fingers a short distance and apparently that's all Harvey needed to wake up.
"Mike?" Harvey said in surprise. "Donna, wake up."
"Huh? Oh my god, Mike! Geez, kid, how could you scare me like that?"
Mike smiled tiredly at her and squeezed her hand as a 'sorry.'
"That's alright, kiddo. Just don't let it happen again. I'll go get the doctor." She stood up and left the room, but Harvey knew she wasn't just getting the doctor. She knew Harvey wanted some time with his associate.
Mike returned his gaze to Harvey and the young man received a small grin. "You got puke all over my clothes."
Mike gave Harvey a once over before smiling and opening his mouth. "At least it wasn't a suit…was it?" He whispered in a scratchy voice. He grimaced in pain as he brought a shaky hand to massage his throat.
Harvey snorted and grabbed a cup, filling it with ice chips before passing it to Mike. "No; good thing, though, because then you'd be owing me a lot of money."
Mike sucked on some ice before rolling his eyes and settling back down on the pillow.
"How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? Like I was road kill. Everything hurts," he whispered as he closed his eyes and shifted on the bed to get more comfortable.
Harvey smirked and leaned back in the chair while looking Mike over wearily. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked cautiously.
Mike opened his eyes to a half mast and stared at Harvey drowsily. "Fell off my bike, right? Cause it sure feels like it, only adding a big ass truck into the equation."
Harvey's smile vanished and frown appeared in its wake. It was completely understandable that a normal minded person wouldn't remember what happened, but this was Mike Ross- the kid with the freaky memory for god sake!
"Right Harvey?" Mike said, becoming anxious.
"Uh, no kid; you were poisoned."
Mike's eyes widened as he tried sitting up, but only resulted in him becoming breathless.
"Hey, calm down; take it easy, Mike. You're okay now."
"How the hell did I…who…" Mike began hyperventilating and Harvey was starting to get worried.
"Mike! Calm. Down."
"I…can't…Harvey! Oh god…I…c-can't breathe! Harvey…I can't…b-breathe; s-someone…tried to…kill me?"
"Mi-" but before Harvey could finish, Mike sagged against the pillows, unconscious.
"Mike?" Harvey said nervously as he stood up in his chair and shook the younger man. "Michael!"
Just then, Donna and Dr. Kluger came in. Donna gasped and the doctor ran over to his patient's side to see why the blood pressure was so high.
"Harvey, what the hell happened?" Donna asked.
"I don't know, I think he just panicked."
"I'll need you two to step out for the moment so I can check his vitals."
So, once again, they waited out in the hallway, impatiently awaiting answers.
"What did you say to him?" Donna barked.
"Nothing! All he asked was what happened and I told him; he was going to find out sooner or later and I figured he'd want to hear it from me."
"Ugh! Harvey, you don't tell a sick, weak, easy-to-stress-out person that someone poisoned him. His body isn't ready for that."
Harvey bit his lip as he turned to watch Dr. Kluger check Mike's fever, jot some things down on the clipboard, then check the heart monitor. Finally, the doctor stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"What happened?" Harvey asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Well, like you said, he just panicked and the extra oxygen made him pass out. He should be fine and possibly wake up in the next half hour. But, I must say, other than that everything things to be working perfectly; it's a miracle actually. I had my doubts; I didn't think Mike's organs would heal so quickly. Within the next week or so, he should be able to get discharged- in to someone's care, of course."
"It'll be me," Harvey said without blinking. Mike was not going to stay in the crap-hole of an apartment.
"Great! When the time comes, I'll have a nurse bring you those papers to sign."
"Thanks."
***Suits***
"You scared the shit outta me, kid."
"Huh?" Mike groaned rolling his head on the pillow. "Harvey?"
"In the flesh," the older man smirked. He was, once again, the only one in the room, since Donna had gone home to freshen up and then make sure his apartment was guest worthy.
Mike licked his dry lips before taking a deep breath and propping himself higher onto the pillows. "How long have I been out?"
"Almost two months."
The kid stared at him in disbelief, but when he saw the solemn look on his boss's face, he knew he wasn't lying.
"Whoa."
"Yeah; whoa. But I'm glad you're okay."
"Did I die or something?" Mike joked, but his smiled was wiped off his face when Harvey didn't smile.
"I…I died?"
Harvey nodded. He didn't really want to talk about this, because it would bring up horrid memories of lifeless, pale, dying Mike, but he had to.
"Yeah…about four times. They almost didn't think you'd make it."
"Four ti-" Mike took a deep breath. He couldn't believe he actually died, let alone four fucking times. What would've happened with his Grammy, what about Donna and…god the shit Harvey must've went through when this happened.
"And you want to know why you almost didn't make it?" Harvey said in a more angrier tone.
Mike quirked an eyebrow, but waited for Harvey to speak.
"Because of your goddamn smoking."
"But I don't even-"
"Doesn't matter, kid. Did you know marijuana has lasting effects on the body? Not to mention it damaged your fucking liver and kidneys. You had to be put on a friggin' machine to get the antibiotics to do their job in saving you! Donna wants to kill you, I want to kill you and…we both almost lost you permanently, because of your goddamn smoking."
Mike looked at Harvey in astonishment. Yeah, Harvey went through a lot of shit lately.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, so Mike lay back on the pillows and became lost in his thoughts. Maybe about twenty minutes later, the kid opened his mouth and looked at his boss.
"I'm sorry, Harvey."
Harvey smiled at Mike momentarily before letting all the anger at the kid evaporate.
"It's alright and I'm sorry for yelling at you…just don't let it happen again. And if you're feeling like goddamn dog shit, you come to me and you let me know, got that?"
"Aye, aye captain."
Then there was more silence before it was broken by Mike…again.
"So…you said someone poisoned me?"
"You remember that?"
Mike raised his eyebrows for brief second before rubbing his eyes tiredly. Harvey knew the kid was going to fall back asleep soon, so he had to make this quick.
"Yeah, you were."
"By who, do you know?"
"No, but it wasn't an attack against you. You were just caught in the crossfires; the poison was meant for Hudson."
"The guy we met yester- a few months ago?"
"The very same."
"Is he okay?"
"He's dead."
"Oh…guess I was lucky, then."
"Very."
Mike smiled and coughed a little into his hand. "Thanks, Harvey."
The older man rolled his eyes, but gently patted Mike on the shoulder. "You're welcome, kid." The kid might like him now, but just wait until he found out he was staying at Harvey's.
TBC
Stay tuned for more! Poor Harvey and Mike and sorry if anyone seemed OOC in this chapter or medical info isn't right; Reviews! :)
