A/N: Hey! It's an early update! Thanks for all the love. I appreciate each and every review/ favorite/ and follow! Ah, these two, I love writing them. I don't know what it is about these characters, they captivate me. But enough gushing from me, hope you enjoy chapter seven!

Harvey watched the floors to the elevator tick up, his mouth set in a grim line. He tried to prepare himself for the sight of Donna's empty desk, but somehow acceptance just wouldn't come. The elevator dinged and he stepped out, his pace slowed with dread. He didn't look up as he walked to his office, a sad attempt to avoid the inevitable.

The laugh was painfully familiar, and a hot knife plunged into his gut even before he met her eyes.

She sat at her desk with the phone propped to her ear and a smile teasing her lips. Donna raised her eyebrows as he stared, stopped in the middle of the hallway like some sort of ridiculous statue. She hung up the phone and walked to him.

"Your messages,"

She looked completely calm, her eyes bright and clear. Harvey stared at her blankly, searching for some sort of emotion.

"Do you want your messages?" Donna repeated. Her tone betrayed nothing; the simple smile was professional and just a little bit distant.

Harvey took the messages numbly and she turned around. He lifted his hand to stop her and let it drop back to his side. He had no right to touch her again.

"Wait" he said, finally getting his feet to move.

Donna turned to face him.

"You're here."

"Its 9am on a Monday morning, where else would I be?"

"I thought-"Harvey trailed off staring at her in confusion.

"Harvey, are you firing me?"

"No,"

"Then I'm not going anywhere." She said and turned back to her desk.

"How the hell can you just act like-"

Donna whipped around so quickly he had to step back. Her eyes burned into his as she grabbed his arm.

"We don't talk about it, I stay, and that's the deal. If you can't handle it just tell me right now and I'll pack my things." Twin spots of angry color bloomed on her cheeks, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"We don't talk about it." Harvey said, watching in fascination as the anger melted from her face and she smiled.

"Okay" she said and sat back down at her desk.

Harvey turned to his office and saw the neatly folded shirt on his desk, a brand new phone sitting on top of it. His thoughts were a jumbled mess and he had to fight to keep his emotions at bay. She was here, she wasn't leaving him. He should have felt relief, not this dull pain in his chest.

Mike sauntered in, a youthful bounce in his step, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Harvey quelled the sudden urge to strangle him and handed him a file instead.

"Derrick Morris" he said simply, allowing Mike to flip through the file on his own.


She hadn't been quite prepared for how much it would hurt to see him. Thank God she was a magnificent actress. Now her hand shook a little as she scribbled down another message, but in the time it would take her to stand and walk the short distance to Harvey's desk, that calm professional demeanor would slip seamlessly back into place. It was easy to get lost in work, that repetitive motion of filing and sorting through paperwork, answering Harvey's e-mails, returning voice-mails and making calls. It all distracted her from the hollow feeling that stuck in her chest and refused to budge.

Donna hadn't planned on coming back to work; in fact she'd already typed up her resignation letter and had deleted all her business contacts from her phone when she came to Harvey's name. She could have deleted it. Not that it would have made a difference, she had it memorized. Something stopped her, those first waves of anger and hurt had passed and she suddenly knew she couldn't leave him. That stubborn loyalty that would probably be her downfall refused to let the man who meant the world to her fall. He was her best friend first and foremost and maybe he couldn't love her, but she knew he needed her. So she would stay, it was as simple as that.


Mike didn't really notice anything different until about midday, and then it was all he could notice. Donna hadn't popped into Harvey's office nearly as often but even that hadn't really set off any alarms, Mondays were notoriously hectic. Those two days between Friday and Monday were usually when clients freaked out and by Monday there were usually a few hysterical voice-mails.

But something was off today, he saw it in the way Harvey stiffened slightly every time Donna walked into his office or how his eyes didn't quite meet hers when they spoke. Their conversations were different too. He was used to the easy conversation they made, born out of years of deep friendship. Now there was only quick words between them, all coldly professional.

The innate curiosity that made him such a good lawyer burned to ask Harvey what was wrong but something, be it the set of Harvey's shoulders or the tired lines around his eyes made him pause. Mike snuck a look over to Donna. She looked completely normal, focused on her work, not a hair out of place. To anyone else, this wouldn't have meant a thing, to Mike it meant everything. In the almost two years he'd been working with Harvey he'd gotten to know the two people he spent most of his time with. Harvey rarely got upset, but when he did it was usually something big and it showed. His temper was quick and brutal, his eyes hardened, and he could usually be found staring out the window with a slight frown on his face. Donna on the other hand was completely different, and unless you had Mike's brain for detail it was almost impossible to tell if she was upset. With the glaring exception of the missing memo, Donna usually acted almost exactly the same. Breezy smile, snappy humor, efficient work, but she too had her tells.

Since Harvey was preoccupied Mike slipped out and walked to Donna's desk sighing heavily as he leaned on the cubicle wall.

"What?"

"What's with Harvey?" Mike asked, watching her carefully.

Her eyes flicked to his, perfectly calm as she shrugged.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"You don't poke a bear when he's feeling mean."

Mike watched as Donna continued sifting through papers.

"Did you guys get in another fight?" Her hand stilled for only a moment but Mike knew he'd hit the mark.

"Does it look like we're fighting?" Donna asked testily.

"No, but you've been dancing around each other all morning. What happened, did you scratch one of his records again?" Mike knew by the way Donna was tapping her pen that he was getting somewhere. He didn't expect the quick intake of breath or the way her eyes filled so quickly. Panic licked at his throat and he glanced wildly at Harvey who was now looking from him to Donna, a murderous expression on his face.

"Shit, Donna, I'm sorry." Mike whispered, looking desperately for the box of Kleenex she kept on her desk. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed. Do you need to talk? Should I go get Rachel? It's okay Donna, don't cry."

"Just go Mike," She said as the tears slipped from her eyes.

"Donna I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"He broke off and walked away as she turned her chair, trying to keep her composure.

Donna watched out of the corner of her eye as Mike panicked and bolted. A laugh bubbled at her throat as she turned back around

"Amateur," she snorted, wiping the fake tear from her cheek. A small movement caught her eye and she turned to face Harvey who stopped short at the amused expression on her face.

"You were faking it," he said tightly.

"He was being nosey."

Harvey nodded curtly and went back into his office.

Donna let out a frustrated breath. He was making it damn hard to go back to normal. Stalking around and glaring at everything, getting all stiff and awkward whenever she talked to him.

"Idiot," she muttered.


The fierce surge of protectiveness he'd felt when he'd seen Donna cry shook him. He was ready to throttle Mike for harassing her until he saw she had been faking it all along. Harvey stared stone-faced at the file in front of him. He didn't know how she did it, just acted like everything was the same. He felt clumsy and awkward, and though he was desperately grateful that she stayed, it was like pouring salt in the wound. He had to look at her and know that he could never touch her again, or wake up beside her and kiss her until her eyes cleared of sleep.

It left a cold hard knot in his gut. Donna got up and walked away, her arms full of colored files. The longing to just touch her one more time, bury his face in her hair and breathe her in was so fierce he had to look away. He felt ragged inside, raw and vulnerable. Usually it was Donna who came to him when he was like this. She always knew, like she had some sort of radar. Be it a kind word or a harsh reality check, each time she was like a balm to his raw emotions.

For the first time in twelve years he felt utterly lost.


3 weeks later…

He'd lost weight, his hair was ruffled and he'd forgotten to shave this morning. Donna watched Harvey pacing around his office. They barely spoke anymore, the way he avoided her was so obvious even the first year associates were gossiping about them. Pearson's golden duo had hit the rocks and everyone was speculating about it.

She worried about him, tried to subtly goad Mike into distracting him, but even that hadn't worked. The stress of his immense workload was weighing heavily on him and for once she hesitated to go to him. They still edged awkwardly around each other, and every day when the clock hit seven Donna was already halfway out the door.

She snuck another look into his office. Harvey was on the phone with someone, but her ear set was no longer broadcasting everything that went on in his office. The link had felt too intimate after they'd ended things, so she'd severed it. She nibbled her lip with worry, if he kept going like this he was going to pass out from exhaustion. A plan already forming in her mind, Donna stood and headed for the Associates cubicles to find Mike.


Jessica watched as Donna walked briskly past her office. She'd known exactly when Donna and Harvey had started sleeping together, and she was immediately aware when things had gone south. She wasn't at all surprised that Donna had stayed on as Harvey's personal assistant. The woman was as tenacious as they came, and she wasn't one to leave when she was needed. Jessica tapped her pen thoughtfully and stood up, heading to Harvey's office. She passed a first year associate and nodded in greeting, smiling in amusement when the associate tripped over his shoes and stammered out a greeting. She wore power as easily as other women wore lipstick and used its influence whenever it suited her. Jessica strode into Harvey's office and crossed her arms.

"You're overworked." Jessica said as Harvey's head snapped up.

"And I'm still closing more cases than the average partner. I know, I'm extraordinary" Harvey said, leaning back in his chair with a cocky grin.

"But you also screwed up the Morris case and if it hadn't been for some quick thinking on Mike's part you would have lost this firm over a million dollars, something I can't take lightly in our current situation."

Harvey's grin faded into a scowl.

"Did you come over here to rub my nose in my own piss?"

"No, I came over here to tell you to make up with Donna."

Jessica watched in amusement as shock crossed Harvey's features.

"Yeah I know you two had some kind of fallout, now fix it."

Harvey shook his head stubbornly.

"There's nothing to fix."
"Oh yes there is, for some foolish reason that woman decided to stay on as your secretary, and I think the least you could do for her is apologize for whatever stupid thing you did."

"Why do you assume I'm the one who screwed things up?" Harvey protested

Jessica gave him a look and walked out, shaking her head. If that idiot knew even for one second what he was passing up with Donna he would be begging at the woman's feet. She'd known a love like that once, a time so long gone now it almost felt like a dream. The love of her career had won out, the drive to become the best had held a brighter allure than the man who'd promised forever. Sometimes a memory would whisper of regret but she never dwelled on that, she had a firm to run after all, and that made her happier than any thoughts of what could have been.


Of course he was sick, Donna thought. The one time she actually needed the kid to do something for her and he was at home fighting the flu.

So she took it upon herself to pick up food from Harvey's favorite restaurant, even though that meant she would have to take the subway. Why he held such fondness for little hole in the wall restaurants would never fail to mystify her. He was all about luxury and owning the best of the best, but when it came to his choice of food, he tended to lean more towards mom and pop's Italian eatery than five star restaurants.

When she returned Harvey was sitting at his desk massaging his temples, a sure sign of stress. Donna huffed out a frustrated breath and dropped the bag of food on his desk.

"Eat," she demanded.

Harvey eyed the food warily.

"I'm not hungry."

Donna suppressed the urge to strangle him with his tie and merely opened the bag, setting the food in front of him.

"You haven't left your desk since you got here at 9 this morning, it's nearly four. You need to eat, you're losing weight," she accused.

Harvey glared mutinously at her

"I'll eat when I'm hungry."

Donna threw her hands up in the air and walked back out of his office. He was impossible. Her temper was making her edgy, she hated feeling edgy. She debated with herself for only a second before getting back up and storming into Harvey's office.

"When the hell is this going to stop?" She yelled, not caring that she drew a few curious stares.

Harvey paused with the sandwich halfway to his mouth.

"Would you care to lower your voice? I don't want half the office listening in.

Oh she wanted to tear his eyes out.

"Fine!" She hissed, moving closer until her thighs were brushing his desk.

"When are you going to stop avoiding me Harvey? Because I'm sick of having to sneak in here to write your meetings on your calendar just so I don't have to watch you try your best to pretend I'm not here."

Harvey stood from his chair, frustration clear on his face.

"I can't just act like nothing happened! Everything's different now and I don't know how to get back to what we were."

"Relationships evolve and change Harvey; it's a natural part of life."

"There is nothing natural about this! Anyone else would have left, you stayed. Why?"
"I'm one of the highest paid secretaries in New York and I'm damn good at my job. I'm not going to quit because of a bruised ego."

Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down heavily.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Okay," Donna said stepping back.

"Not for avoiding you, for what I said when everything went to shit. I was wrong, I was afraid of-"
"Just stop" Donna said, hating the tremble in her voice.

Harvey looked up in surprise.

"I need to say it."

"No," Donna shook her head "You promised we never talk about it."

She could see the frustration beginning to build and was shaky with relief when he let out a resigned breath.

"Fine, but I still need you to know that I was an asshole."

"Oh I was well aware of that," Donna said sarcastically.

A slight grin twitched across his face.

"Are you finished?"

Donna nodded slightly and turned back to her desk. She heard the wrapper crinkle as he picked up his sandwich and for the first time in weeks a genuine smile lit her face. Their foundation was shaky, but with time they could work their way back to friendship


"Stay, no matter how hard it is to be with me, just stay. I need you."

A/N: I found this quote tucked into a book. It immediately made me think of Harvey and Donna, and it's what inspired a lot of this story, especially this chapter and the next chapters to come. It made sense to me that Donna would stay; her loyalty to Harvey is so strong that she sometimes puts his interests before her own. I don't think that makes her weak or pathetic, I think it is a beautiful representation of her love for him and the sacrifices she is willing to make for those she cares deeply about.

Also, I know this chapter is a bit shorter than my others but it needed to be in order for things not to feel so rushed. Chapter eight is already planned in my head and I've gotten a few notes jotted down. It just needs to be fleshed out and polished a little.