Hello all! Okay, so caring!Harvey does make an appearance in this chapter but most of it is angry!guilty!Harvey. There will be a lot more caring!Harvey in the next chapter though, I promise! :D

Mike was standing by Harvey's desk, shifting his weight back and forth nervously. One hand had been thrust into his pocket in a vain attempt to look composed and casual but it was a bluff at best. Harvey eyes him carefully when he walked in the door, taking in the pale, drawn features and the stiff posture. Mike looked like he was ready to bolt from the room at the first chance.

"Sit down," Harvey said, gesturing toward the couch. His voice was soft but, like Donna's earlier, it left no room for argument. Mike hesitated for a split second before walking over to the couch and dropping onto the cushions. The wince upon impact didn't escape Harvey's attention.

"Donna told me you punched one of the other associates."

What little color was left in Mike's face drained and he looked down quickly. "Harvey, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to hit him. It was an accident, you have to believe me."

The older man shook his head slowly. "I'm not worried about that, he probably had it coming anyway." Mike shoulders slumped a bit in relief. "I want to know why. Why did you lash out at him like that? You've been off for a couple days now and I think this was probably the breaking point." He turned, leveling his gaze at his associate. "So tell me what happened."

Mike hesitated, shaking his head slowly. "Nothing happened...I've just been stressed, that's all-"

"Bullshit." Harvey's voice was sharp like a blade. "Stress doesn't have this kind of effect on people; this is a new level even for you. I get that you were working overtime to finish the Erikson files but that was done over a day ago and you haven't slowed down since. You haven't been sleeping, you probably haven't been eating, and I can only think of two reasons for that: 1) you're on drugs-" Mike opened his mouth to protest but Harvey cut him off. "Or 2) Something happened to you. Now I want you to come clean right now and tell me what it is."

Mike shifted nervously on the couch, his blue eyes shooting to the door a couple times like he was ready to make a break for it. "Harvey, nothing happened, okay? I just-"

"How did you lose the Erikson files in the first place?" Harvey interuppted, his voice taking on a cold, practical lawyer's tone. "Where is your messenger bag? I've never seen you go anywhere without it. Donna said you took a bus home yesterday; what happened to your bike? I know it doesn't take that long to change a flat tire."

"Harvey, please...you don't understand-"

"Understand what? That you've been lying to me? That you've been hiding something all week, not very well mind you, and that you haven't bothered to tell anyone? Is Trevor back in town? Did you have to sell your bike to bail him out of trouble again? What about the files? Did he take those too?"

"What? No! Harvey, that's not-"

"Don't lie to me, Mike!" Harvey snapped suddenly, his eyes flaring. "I'm good at reading people, remember kid? Its my thing like the eiditic memory is yours. Now there's something you're not telling me and I'm going to keep throwing guesses out there until I get it right. I figure eventually you'll-"

"I got mugged alright?" Mike cut him off, raising his voice above Harvey's rant.

The older man stopped, blinking at his associate silently. "What?"

"I said I got mugged." Mike looked away, his face flushed with embarassment. "Monday night on the way home from work...two guys jumped me and took my bag and my bike..."

There was a heavy silence that fell over the room and for a moment there was no noise except for Mike's ragged breathing. "Why didn't you tell me?" Harvey asked finally, his voice softening just a bit as he looked more closely at the younger man. "Why didn't you say something?"

Mike laughed bitterly. "What good would that have done? It had already happened, there was nothing to be done for it. They took my shit and left...I didn't even get a good look at their faces..."

"Why didn't you go to the police?"

Mike rolled his eyes in frustration. "Because they wouldn't have done anything either. This shit happens all the time, Harvey! I don't live in a five-star neighborhood like you do; mugging is pretty much a nightly occurence where I'm from!" He shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed for a second. "I was stupid...I've lived in New York all my life and I know better than to take some streets home at night...what happened to me was my fault."

"No, Mike, it wasn't!" Harvey was pacing in front of his desk now, casting a glance between Mike and the window outside. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't deserve for it to happen. Yeah, it was a shitty shortcut to choose but you didn't ask for it to happen."

"I walked right into their trap!" Mike was standing now, a grimace passing his face as he straightened so suddenly. "They were waiting! They knew someone would come by eventually and that someone happened to be me!"

For a minute Harvey didn't say anything, he just continued pacing. Finally, he shook his head and glanced back at his associate. "You should have told me," he said softly, catching Mike's eye.

The younger man let out another soft, bitter laugh, one that Harvey was rapidly getting tired of, and shook his head. "They took my phone and I don't have one in the apartment...and then when I came to work the next day, your brought up the Erikson files and I was too busy with that to do anything else."

There was a sick, cold feeling settling in the bottom of Harvey's stomach. He'd known for days that something was off with Mike but his own arrogance and pride hadn't allowed him to ask about it. He'd been so angry with him about losing the files that he never even bothered to find out the reasoning behind it. He wondered if they would be having this same conversation if he'd asked Mike the day after it happened. "That's not an excuse."

Mike sighed angrily, his head falling back dramatically as he glared up at the ceiling. "Jesus, Harvey! It happened, its over, and I learned a valuable life lesson about always being aware of my surroundings and all that PSA bullshit! Can we please just forget about it now? Its not your job to take care of me!"

"Dammit Mike, its my job to know!" Harvey snapped, rounding on him so suddenly the younger man took a step back. "Its my job to know when you get yourself into trouble and when someone hurts you! Its my God damn job!" He was pacing again, angrily, and a raw, sick feeling was churning in his stomach. He turned back to Mike and the younger man flinched again. "Did you try to fight back?"

There was a heavy pause and Mike shook his head. "No, they were armed so I didn't-"

"Armed?" Harvey turned to him in surprise, eyes widening a bit. Mike looked down at the ground. "Armed how?" When the younger man didn't answer, Harvey raised his voice. "Mike, how were they armed?"

There was another brief silence, apparently all the anger and energy had left Mike by this point, and he sighed. "One of them had a gun, the other had a knife."

Harvey felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He suddenly remembered the cut he'd seen on Mike's neck a few days ago and the memory threatened to make him physically ill. "Did they try to do anything?"

Mike shook his head carefully. "No...they held me up, threatened me a couple times..." There was something else Mike wasn't telling him, something he was leaving out. Probably for the best, Harvey felt like he was about to have an aneurism if he found out any new information at the moment. Mike had been held up...he had been held at gun and knife point and hadn't told anyone...he could have been killed. The last part was what bothered Harvey the most; his associate could have been killed a few days ago and instead of asking if he was alright, he'd gotten pissed at him for losing some stupid files. The files could be replaced, Mike could not.

Suddenly, it was all too much to take; the office, the skyline, the case files...they needed to get out of here. He needed to get Mike somewhere safe, away from work, and talk to him more in depth about this. Lord knew that if he didn't Donna would come after him like a head hunter. Harvey pulled out his cell phone, picking a number from speed dial and calling it. Mike was looking at him curiously.

"I'm taking you home," Harvey told him by way of explanation. Upon Mike's startled look, he elaborated. "My home, my apartment. I'm taking you there because you need to get away from this building and because I need you to tell me everything that happened." The younger man opened his mouth to protest but Harvey cut him off when he started talking into the phone. "Ray, I need you to have the car ready in 15 minutes. Thanks." He hung up and turned to Mike. "Come on, kid. Time to go."

"What? No...Harvey, the case...we're not-"

"The trial is Monday, kid. Today is Thursday, we have time." Harvey wasted no more time and walked over, grabbing Mike by the elbow and hauling him toward the door. The younger man was still sputtered and arguing behind him but Harvey ignored him. They passed by Donna's desk, the redhead looking up curiously, but Harvey didn't turn around. "Cancel my afternoon appointments, Donna," he called over his shoulder, not bothering to turn to see if she'd heard him. He pulled out his phone again, sending a quick text message to her: I'll tell you later.

Ray had the car ready, one door opened, by the time they got down to the lobby. He smiled warmly at Harvey and Mike and stepped to the side when Harvey literally shoved Mike into the backseat. The door closed behind them and within a few seconds, they were pulling away from the curb. Neither man spoke as the car weaved its way along the avenues and streets, heading in the direction of Harvey's apartment. It was just as well; Mike was going to be doing plenty of talking that afternoon even if it killed him in the process. Harvey was going to make sure of that.

Ohhhh he's pissed ^.- More to come soon!