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Chapter 9 – As Friends

Harvey stared at Donna, he had definitely not expected her to show up. Not with a suitcase anyway or at this hour for that matter. But before he could speak, she entered his apartment not speaking to him either. She just marched to his bedroom, dropped her suitcase and grabbed a spare pillow and blanket.

Harvey turned around not really sure what just happened and where she had gone to, when she returned to his living room. She walked up to him and pushed the pillow and blanket in his arms. "There's a couch this time, you can sleep on it," she snapped at him before she turned around and closed his bedroom door behind her.

.

Harvey woke up the next morning by the smell of a vanilla coffee. He got up from the couch, his shoulders and back aching. He stumbled to the kitchen where he found Donna already dressed and ready for the day. "Good morning, Donna," he mumbled. Donna nodded at him and placed a cup of coffee in front of him, "we have to go see dr. Agard today."

.

Dr. Agard looked at the two people in front of her, sitting in the same position she had seen them before. On either ends of the couch. She observed them for a minute, the both of them looked nervous and Donna was staring at the ceiling yet again. Harvey was tapping the armrest of the couch waiting for dr. Agard to start the session. "You're both here, does that mean Donna has agreed to live with you, Harvey?" she asked.

"Yes, she has."

Paula turned towards Donna, "How did he convince you, Donna?" she asked writing something down in her notebook. "He wrote me a letter," Donna answered as she looked at the therapist. "What did he write?" She thought about the letter Harvey had written her and how it had brought her to tears, but she wasn't about to confess that. "Enough to change my mind."

"So how was your first evening living together?"

Harvey looked at Donna and sighed, Donna just rolled her eyes at the words of the other woman. "Okay, I've got the feeling you are not even trying," Paula said to both of them. Harvey felt a bit betrayed by dr. Agard's statement. He had written the letter, he had tried, he really had, but Donna seemed to be ignoring him. Just like she was doing now, she was staring at her dark red nails.

"Donna, could you give me a reason for that?" dr. Agard tried again as neither of them spoke. "It's weird, alright," she replied, looking down. "Why?" dr. Agard continued. "He's my boss," the redhead sighed, "You're asking me to live with my boss."

Harvey took in her words, her boss, yes he was her boss, but he never considered them to be just that. Not back then and not now and apparently Paula didn't think so either. "Is that all you are, boss and employee?" she inquired. Donna sighed, Harvey didn't dare to answer that question and was glad Paula had directed it to Donna.

"Before you found out about the wedding not being annulled, how would you describe your relationship?" dr. Agard tried again. Donna thought about it, their relationship. She didn't really know how to define it, they weren't just colleagues or friends, but she decided to go with the latter. "We're friends," she answered.

"Friends, okay. I'd like both of you to forget about the reason you are here," dr. Agard tried explaining it in another way, "put aside your anger and remember you don't have to look at each other as husband or wife, just try to live together as friends."

"Friends," Harvey mumbled.

Paula sighed, these two were definitely making her work for her money. She had never seen a couple that seemed to be ignoring each other as much as Donna and Harvey were ignoring each other. So she decided to turn that into an assignment for them.

"Yes, friends and friends talk to each other. So your assignment for today is to talk." Harvey and Donna both mumbled yes to the request of dr. Agard. "And I'd like to speak to each of you individually tomorrow," Paula concluded.

.

Once on the streets again Donna started walking away. Just like she had done on Sunday. "Just talk to me, okay?" Harvey asked her, following the assignment of dr. Agard. She turned around, but her expression still hadn't changed. He looked at her, trying his smirk smile. Normally she'd give in if he smiled at her, but she'd never been angry at him for this long. "Let me make you lunch?" he tried.

"You're going to cook, you?!"

"I'll make you pasta," he replied, "I know you loved it." Harvey thought about the other time he had made her pasta. She had just returned from the Bahamas and he was supposed to have a date night with Zoe, but they had fought and she had cancelled after seeing the photo card Donna had send him.

Harvey wanted to hang out with someone, a friend, so he had invited Donna. He taught her how to make pasta from scratch and when he saw her struggling with the pasta machine he had wanted to step behind her and close the distance between them. Wrap his left arm around her waist and carefully put his right hand on hers helping her with the machine.

He had wanted to place kisses in her neck, hell he had wanted to do a hell of a lot more than that, but he knew he couldn't. She had the rule and she had reminded him of it again when he had showed her the tickets to the Bahamas. He had bought the tickets in a whim, as some sort of honeymoon, maybe even hoping something would change between them. But she told him she couldn't and he had given her the tickets. She had taken off with her sister and Harvey had stayed at the firm where he had met Zoe.

Donna thought about it, it was one of the few times he had cooked her dinner and he was right, she had loved it. "Fine," she answered.

.

They went back to his apartment and Harvey entered the kitchen grabbing all the supplies. When he reached for the flour a little bit fell out of the box and onto his hair. Donna looked at the event in front of her and started laughing. Harvey was shocked at first by her reaction, but then realised how he had missed the sound of her laugh.

"You think this is funny?" he said as he turned around and looked at her, she had a sincere smile on her face which he answered with his signature smirk before he turned around again to continue with the cooking. Donna closed her eyes and sighed. She repeated the words of dr. Agard in her head. Put your anger aside and just talk as friends.

She walked up to him and leaned on the counter next to him. "I'm sorry," she said as she let her head hang down. Harvey looked to his right, "I'm sorry too. I really am," he whispered. "Do you need a hand?" she whispered.

.

Donna placed the two plates of pasta on the breakfast bar and seated herself on the barstool. Harvey poured both of them a glass of wine. They enjoyed their meal, chatting about whatever came to mind. They even smiled at each other every now and then. It felt good, comfortable even and both of them realised how much they had missed this in their relationship. Whatever that may be. Donna couldn't even remember the last time they had Thai together at the firm.

After lunch Harvey placed himself on his couch as Donna took care of the dishes. He spotted some files that had fallen out of her bag. He picked them up and noticed it were the files of the IVF clinic. He knew he wasn't supposed to look, but he was curious. It was after all the reason that made her find out they were still married, so he went through them.

Donna looked at him sitting on the couch, laughing at the pieces of paper in his hands. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Just looking," he replied as he looked up from the paper in his hand to her. "Give them to me," she ordered while she reached for the papers, but he pulled them back.

"No," he replied, "this one sounds like a douche," he continued showing her a file. "Sure," she said as she sat herself down on the arm rest of the chair. He handed her another file. "This one reminds me of Louis." She took the file from him and read it again. "Ooh, you're right. Can't have that," she said as she ribbed the paper in half.

He smiled at her reaction, they were certainly behaving as friends if she joined him in making fun of Louis. "Now this one sounds great," he continued as he waved with the paper. Donna just raised her eyebrows ordering him to continue. "Brown hair, brown eyes, 6 feet tall and .." he said to her.

"Really, Specter?"

"What?" he countered, his signature smirk appearing on his lips. "Brown hair, brown eyes, 6 feet tall… you're describing yourself," Donna replied. "You left out the ridiculously good-looking part," he teased her. "Do you ever think there's more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking?" she countered, quoting Zoolander. "So you think I'm really, really …"

"Ooh, stop it."

"Why?" he asked now sounding very serious as he looked at the papers again. "Why what?" she asked, not sure what he meant with his question. "Why are you doing this?" he asked her again his hand tapping against the files in his hand.

Donna sighed and got up from the chair. "Harvey…," she sighed again. "I'm single," she continued raising her shoulders, "and I'm not getting any younger… and I really want to become a mother," she mumbled, knowing it must have sound strange cause they never talked about those things.

"But this?" he asked her again now also getting up from the couch, "It's so un personal."

"I don't see a line of men waiting for me to choose from," she answered. "But you could have asked … a friend," he said directing his eyes at the ground. "We just agreed that Louis is a no go and I don't think Rachel would appreciate it if I asked Mike."

"You could have," he hesitated, "you could have asked me," he heard himself say, looking at her again.