A few weeks later...
Rachel sighed as she hoisted the stack of papers further up her arms, walking alongside Donna to the copy room, both with a face like thunder "Can you believe Harvey and Jessica left all of this till the last minute?" she asked irritated, throwing the documents on the table before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
Donna scoffed a laugh, rolling her eyes "Please' she started "I do this amount of copying for Harvey on a weekly basis, I swear the man has never seen a photocopier in his life."
Donna shuffled through the papers, absentmindedly scanning through the titles and dates ensuring they were all correct when her eyes widened. "Rachel, what's the date?" she asked casually, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Um" she checked her watch "the 29th, why?"
She turned away her eyes widening as she tried to do the math in her head "Shit" she mouthed, unable to think of a better response before composing herself, straightening her posture. She shook her head, "No reason, I just remembered that I have to pick up Harvey's dry cleaning" she lied.
"I can finish this off for you if you like?" Rachel offered, not really paying attention to Donna who was now fidgeting on the spot like an impatient child.
"Really?!" she exclaimed a little too enthusiastically
Rachel shrugged "Yeah, Mike's got to work late tonight anyway, you can just buy the margarita's next time"
"Deal." she smiled, pushing the pile of papers towards the brunette "you are a complete life saver." Donna didn't wait for a response as she hurriedly made her way down the corridor, grabbing her purse from under her cubicle before barging into Harvey's office.
Harvey looked up at the sudden interruption, his lips pulling into a small smile at the sight of her as he raised an eyebrow, a silent question asking her 'what the hurry was'.
"I need to take the rest of the afternoon off, all your memos, emails and phone calls have all been dealt with, hopefully nothing else should come up, if it does just send me a text and I'll do it from home." she blurted out in one breath, looking a little flustered.
"Last time I checked, I was the one with the name above the door, not you." he rolled his eyes.
"And last time I checked, I was still babysitting your sorry ass, so don't try and pretend that you're the one calling the shots here." Donna looked over to the man sitting in the chair opposite Harvey, as she smiled "Hi Mike, bye Mike"
Mike smiled, watching the exchange in amusement "Hey Donna, you look nice today."
Donna rolled her eyes as Harvey did the same, both of their attention moving to the younger man "Seriously Mike" Donna started.
"Nobody likes a kiss ass" Harvey finished. Mike pursed his lips in a tight line as he sunk back into the chair, staying silent, not wanting to start a game of 'lets verbally abuse Mike', it was bad enough with one of them, but with both of them on the same team, it was sure to get nasty.
"So yeah" Donna looked back at Harvey "I'm going." She shot the lawyer a wink before sauntering off.
Mike snickered to himself as Harvey's gaze slowly moved away from the back view of Donna to him, a stern expression spread across his face "She has you wrapped around her little finger. So cute."
"She knows I'm the boss"
Mike gave him a not so convincing nod "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Harvey."
Donna made her way to the subway, a place she rarely ventured out of choice as she took the train to a random stop, letting her legs lead the way as she searched for a pharmacy far enough away from work and her apartment, that she was confident no one she knew could potentially bump into her. Letting out a shaky breath she looked at the rows of pregnancy tests, her eyes scanning the boxes, judging them solely by their appearance. "How the hell can there be so many tests? All you have to do is pee on a stick" she muttered to herself. "Screw it" She grabbed one of each, throwing them into her basket, grabbing a large bottle of Gatorade on the way to the checkout.
She adverted her gaze as the cashier served her with a knowing smile. "$66.32 please"
Digging through her purse she handed the man a four twenty dollar bills, quickly grabbing her change and bag as she ran out of the pharmacy, feeling somewhat on edge as if she were being judged. She blew out a breath, looking aimlessly around, feeling like a teenager in the midst of a pregnancy scare, she should be excited at the prospect, so why on earth was she so terrified?
She scattered the countless cardboard boxes across her bathroom floor, her arms hugging the oversized bottle of Gatorade close to her chest as she sat on the tiled floor. This wasn't quite how she envisioned her evening, but she had had worse, a lot worse.
At least this night didn't involve her calling up Ray at 3am to collect her from Jersey City, begging him to never tell Harvey. Because that never happened. Never...
Unscrewing the bottle she brought the plastic to her lips, grimacing at its overly sweet taste as she guzzled an embarrassingly large quantity in one go, letting her head fall back against the bath tub as she hummed along to the radio, waiting for nature to run it's course.
A gallon of Gatorade, and 19 pregnancy tests later she stared at the collection of plastic sticks laying on the tiles in a regimented order, all displaying the same message in various forms. She knew the risk of false positives, not wanting to get her hopes up as the first test showed a '+', but eighteen further tests couldn't also be wrong.
"Well I'll be damned" she muttered, still staring "This is sure going to get Harvey's ego going" she said to herself as she collected the tests and threw them in the trash. Even Harvey's swimmers could close a deal.
She pursed her lips, not wanting to overreact, several emotions hitting her in concession, her mind reeling. She placed her phone on the kitchen counter, next to an unopened bottle of merlot, her favorite. Her fingers hovered over the screen of her IPhone, Harvey's contact details illuminated on the screen, her face scrunched up as she deliberated her next move.
Did she really want to break the news to him on the phone?
Well... she wanted to tell someone, anyone but she was Donna Paulsen for crying out loud, everything had to be perfect, and a little dramatic, because what's life without a bit of spice. She pressed the lock button on her phone, pushing to the side, moving her gaze to the bottle of wine, a small frown finding its way to her lips "Oh alcohol" she muttered in fake sadness "we must go our separate ways, but it's not forever" she promised, holding the bottle in her hands "I'll be back. Summer 2015, it's a date."
Harvey looked over his shoulder, rolling his eyes as he turned his attention back to the woman sitting opposite him. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, gave him a smile that would usually make him snap his fingers and demand the check before taking the woman back to his apartment and throwing her against the bed...or the kitchen counter, depending on his level of urgency. But tonight something just wasn't quite right. In fact, Harvey had lost all interest in dating beautiful nameless women, he just wasn't ready to admit why.
It would be so easy for him to just take the woman (who he thinks is called Jennifer) home, have a night of great sex, and make his excuses in the morning, but for the first time in his many years of being a bachelor, the idea of a one night stand felt cheap. He let his gaze move aimlessly across the restaurant, unable to focus on what the brunette was saying, his concentration shot, as his eyes landed on a mane of auburn hair in the distance. He felt his pulse quicken, a shot of excitement and curiosity run through his veins, his legs twitching, eager to get up and run to her. The red head had her back to Harvey, dressed in an elegant blue dress, hair cascading down her back as she talked animatedly to some man. His lips parted, her name on the tip of his tongue when she turned around and his heart sank, it wasn't her. He shook his head, feeling stupid, it was the third time this week he had mistaken a random female for Donna.
"Harvey are you even listening to what I'm saying?" the brunette waved her hand in front of his face, causing the lawyer to snap out his daze, his lips pulling into an apologetic frown.
"Huh? Sorry, what?"
She closed her eyes momentarily before looking at the ceiling, shaking her head in disbelief. The sound of her chair pushing against the wooden floor caused an unpleasant sound as the gently threw her napkin on the table, grabbing her purse "You could at least pretend to not be checking out other women on our date, jeez"
He didn't protest as she walked away, leaving him in the overly expensive restaurant by himself, a near full bottle of wine still sitting in front of him. He finished his meal in silence, letting his mind drift off, shamelessly picturing what Donna might look like if she had been on this date with him. Would she wear her hair in her usual loose curls or would she mix it up, straightening her auburn tresses, throwing it in a ponytail, a style she knew he secretly loved.
Would she cause a scene if he tried to order the wine without consulting her? Would she try and pay her half of the bill? He rubbed his temples before letting his hand slide down his face, covering his mouth as he took a second to come to term with his thoughts and how they recently seemed to solely revolve around a certain executive assistant of his.
It was happening again.
Over the years they had known one another, feelings had now and then, found their way out of the dark hidden confines of the back of his mind, taking control of his every fiber to the point where he was shamelessly consumed by emotions he didn't know how to react to. Most of the time they were merely just fleeting moments, but on occasion they last longer, a slow emotional torture that put everything he was so sure of, on the line.
But this was unlike previous times, this was not just unadulterated lust, an explicit day dream, this was more. This was so beyond a physical need that he was scared, scared that this is what he should have felt towards Scottie or Zoe.
He looked at the now empty bottle of wine, hoping that the alcohol running though his body was to blame for his conclusions. Harvey wasn't stupid, but just for a moment he wanted to sit in an oblivious state, carefree, before the reality of the world hit him once more, like a brick to the face.
To put it bluntly, Donna felt like absolute shit. After spending the entire evening peeing out the colors of the rainbow on an array of pregnancy tests, and then dealing with the life altering news that she was now growing a tiny person inside of her, resulted in approximately 17 minutes sleep.
Give or take 17 minutes.
She had spent the remainder of the evening grieving the loss of her two greatest loves in life; alcohol and caffeine whilst simultaneously googling the shit out of 'creative ways to tell your baby daddy you're expecting'.
Pushing open the door to the Starbucks across the street from the office she rolled her eyes at the queue, knowing that she should have left the house a few minutes earlier, typical 9am coffee rush. Looking at her watch, her foot tapping against the floor impatiently she knew that with every passing second Harvey was no doubt growing more and more agitated, an irrational anger bubbling in the pit of his stomach until either she or Mike showed up in front of him. Harvey wasn't a morning person at the best of times, but being faced with the prospect of having to actually organize his first meeting of the day on his own would no doubt push him over the edge.
Exhaling deeply Donna looked at the barista, a nervous smile playing at her lips "Hi can I please get a triple shot vanilla late with cream please? Oh you better make that a decaf" she frowned, goodbye caffeine she thought, its going to be a long nine months without you "And can I just get a double shot black Americano please?"
"What name can I put on the coffees, Miss?" the barista asked with a smile.
Donna nodded, this was it. "Can you put Donna on the Vanilla latte, and Daddy on the long black?" the young girl smiled, giving her a knowing look as she scribbled the names in sharpie.
"Congratulations!" she exclaimed in a hushed tone "Don't worry about these, they're on me."
Donna gave her a genuine smile, her expression softening, caught off guard at the act of kindness. "Thanks, who knew that the first person I would tell would be a complete stranger!"
Grabbing the coffee's she walked across the street into Pearson Specter, making sure the name on Harvey's cup was covered, not wanting to bump into Louis or Jessica, not quite ready for that awkward conversation. Her heart pounded against her chest, her legs wobbling underneath her as the elevator ride up to the 50th floor seemed to go on forever. The doors pinged open, everybody already busily getting on with their day as she walked down the corridor, nerves worsening with every step. "You can do this, you are Donna" she mumbled, giving herself a much needed pep talk.
"Donna" his voice bellowed, face like thunder as she continued to strut down the corridor, her head held high, her expression firm, hands grasping the two steaming cups of coffee. "Where the hell have you been? You're half an hour late!" She didn't reply as she rolled her eyes, letting out a quiet shaky breath as she overtook him, pushing herself into his office, the lawyer following her not far behind.
She shimmied her hand bag strap further up her shoulder as Harvey sat behind his desk, his expression stern, looking utterly unimpressed as he stared at Donna, waiting for her to say something, because let's face it, she always had something to say. "Well..." he pushed, growing impatient, her face still completely unreadable.
She looked at the takeaway cups of coffee, making sure she had the right one, as she placed the other on his desk, "The queue in Starbucks was ridiculous, apparently the barista didn't know how to make a triple shot vanilla latte with cream."
He rolled his eyes, grabbing the cup without looking as Donna turned away, pursing her lips together in a tight line as she looked out the window, waiting.
"You would have thought that they would have a coffee ready and waiting for you, you practically live there" he shot back casually the anger draining from his voice.
Donna closed her eyes, her hands fidgeting by her side, fighting the urge to lose it, her stomach fluttering.
"Donna..." Harvey said slowly, his tone serious as she turned around slowly giving him a sheepish smile. He stared at the cup, the black scrawl now clear as day to him as his mouth fell open "Is this...are you..." he blinked several times, his lips twitching as he looked up at her "Are you?"
Donna nodded erratically unable to contain her excitement any longer, smiling as her bottom lip began to quiver. The unbreakable force that was Donna Paulsen was getting emotional. She looked around, remembering that they were in a glass office, exposed for anyone to see, but in that moment she really didn't care. "Yes."
Harvey leapt out of his seat, knocking the cup of coffee over his desk as he walked towards Donna, his heart pounding in his chest, a feeling he couldn't quite pinpoint spreading throughout his body as he fought the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her.
A thought he would address silently, later.
Gulping harshly he gave her a curt nod, trying to remain in character, after all he had a reputation to uphold, what if Louis walked past the office seeing him jump up and down in glee? "We're having a baby?" he asked in clarification, just making sure.
"Unless the 19 pregnancy tests I took were wrong, in which case, there's some serious design flaw there ."
It only last a second but he grinned, a sort of smile that Donna had never seen on the man before. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of the words to say, something to justify the way he felt. "That better be decaf" Harvey rolled his eyes at himself smooth, he thought.
"Yes, mom it's decaf"
"You mean dad" he corrected with a raise of an eyebrow.
"God this is weird" she breathed, looking down at her flat stomach "I'm going to get fat."
Harvey's expression remained serious, his eyes flicking to her chest. "Your boobs are going to get massive"
She rolled her eyes, trust Harvey to think of the most important things. "You're going to have to buy me a whole new working wardrobe." she countered with a smirk, her mind drifting off, picturing all the beautiful designer maternity clothes she would be wearing in a matter of months.
"You're going to bankrupt me, woman" he said lightly, shaking his head.
She placed her free hand on her flat stomach, giving it a gentle pat "You think it's bad now?" she asked "just imagine the damage if this one's a girl."
Harvey nodded slowly, an image of a miniature donna running around him with a child's designer bag. "Take the rest of the day off" he announced, clapping his hands together. "Relax, go shopping, enjoy yourself."
Donna narrowed her eyes, looking at the man skeptically "And how the hell are you going to cope without me?"
He straightened his suit jacket "I'm taking the day off too."
"Harvey" queue another eye roll from the feisty red head "Don't you think people will get suspicious if we both just disappear for the day?"
Harvey shrugged, not caring in the slightest "I know we're both amazing individuals and the world undoubtedly revolves around us, but I'm almost certain that Jessica and the rest of the firm can survive one day without the two of us and Mike holding it up."
The man had a point. She watched him walk back to his desk, opening the desk drawer, pulling out a rectangular wooden box "Harvey no." she shook her head. "it's too early for that."
"It's not an engagement ring Donna, don't pick out the table arrangements just yet."
"I know exactly what it is and what it means." She gave him a pointed look. He gripped the box tighter, the wear around the edges evident. It was one of the many things his dad had given him over the years tied with strict instructions for its use. Inside the box was two cigars, originally for Harvey and his dad to smoke on the day he finally got it all.
Gordon Specter knew that Harvey was career driven, therefore allowing a certain level of interpretation into it's appropriate use.
Managing Partner
Getting engaged or married.
Becoming a father.
Harvey frowned at the box, a wave of sadness hitting him, quietly wishing his dad was here to share the moment with him. He wasn't a religious man, but Harvey knew that somewhere Gordon was watching over him with a grin on his face, cashing in on some bet he made on the two of them years before. "Go home Donna" he pushed, his tone soft. "Mike and I are going to the roof."
She should have objected, insisting that they don't tell anyone until she's at least three months along, but she knew it would only be wasted breaths. He would never admit it out loud, but Donna knew that Mike was the nearest thing Harvey had to family in this City, and even though he had a blood related brother somewhere upstate, that the puppy had given the lawyer more in the short time they had known each other than his real brother ever had. She nodded in a silent but content defeat, retracting her steps as she watched the lawyer stare at the paper cup in a quiet fascination.
Harvey let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as Donna walked out of his office and down the hall, feeling nauseous, but in the most wonderful way possible. Wiping the now cold coffee, sprawled across his desk he picked up the paper cup, placing it in the top draw of his desk, wanting to keep it, much like a trophy.
Pressing '3' on his speed dial he tapped his fingers impatiently against his desk, waiting for boy wonder to answer " I know I'm late, but I think I've made a breakthrough with Burlington Enterprise..."
Harvey smirked at Mike's rushed voice coming through the phone, sounding like a kid who was about to be told off by his parents "Meet me on the roof."
"You're not going to throw me off it, are you?"
"Just meet me on the goddamn roof Mike."
*Thumbs up*
Hope you liked it.
If you want to, let me know your thoughts.
Haters gonna hate, but it's still not nice when you do.
I'm out, peace. *drops microphone*
