A/N So... as I'm writing this it's midnight and I've had too many shots so I'm waiting for a while before sleeping... So I thought I'd start a new chapter ;D Thanks again for reviewing all you lovely, lovely people :D Also, apologies for any mistakes - I went through to check but I'm tired so if I missed any I sincerely apologise.
Warning: if cuddles were offensive then this fic would be 'M' rated. Beware those of you who have teeth; they may fall out due to sugaryness.
Harvey felt better that morning. He was so relieved, as it meant he wouldn't have an anxious Mike looking at him, offering his teddy to hug (which he wouldn't admit but which was just too adorable) or offering to read to him. He sighed as he remembered that Mike had yet to sleep in the bed he had bought specifically for the toddler. Well; how could he tell Mike to sleep on his own after he saw how terrified the kid was when he was convinced that there were monsters under his bed?
Harvey smirked. Monsters. He would tease the kid so much after this.
Or would he?
Would he tease him but then feel instant remorse as Mike gazed up at him with round eyes, a look of betrayal evident over his features?
Harvey sighed. He was definitely going soft.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by a small elbow making contact with his stomach. He made a small choking sound and looked down to see that Mike was whimpering and moving around, squirming to try and get out of Harvey's safe hold. Harvey moved, letting the kid sprawl out more on his bed.
He quirked an eyebrow, before realising that there were tears clinging to Mike's eyelashes.
Holy Hell, was he having a nightmare?
Harvey didn't know what to do. It had been fine when the kid was ill - illness was something he could confront. Although he had felt completely helpess in the face of it, at the end of the day it was just a bug. This, however...
"No," the little boy pleaded in his sleep. "Don't, I..." Harvey watched, wondering what he should do. He carefully pulled Mike up into a sitting position and pulled him onto his lap, regardless of the wet pull-up that Mike had the foresight to put on as he got ready for bed the night before. Harvey started to run his fingers through Mike's hair softly.
The kid was calming, but he was still drawing hitching breaths. "Harvey!" He suddenly cried out, whimpering.
"Right here, kid," Harvey said softly. "Right here - I'm not going anywhere..." he started muttering to Mike, whispering words that held no meaning, but were still soothing him. Harvey still felt drained from his illness, but he managed to keep the comforting up, and realised that Mike had slipped back into sleep. He was still snuffling, which was why Harvey continued rubbing his back. Of course that was why he would be doing it - why else?
He looked at the clock. Donna would murder him if he turned up at work today. She would say he was still ill. But he realised he suffered from the same affliction as Mike in that he couldn't leave work at the office. If he stayed at home all day, he would end up doing work. But at the same time, he really didn't want to go into the office today. He heard some more mumbling from the small bundle in his arms and smirked, hearing random words such as 'monster' 'teddy' and finally 'daddy'.
Harvey's smirk was soon replaced by a frown. With all that had happened, he had completely forgotten that Mike had called him that when he had been ill. When it had happened he had been willing to question Mike about it afterwards, but now...
He pushed his hands through his bed-hair. Now, it didn't seem that bad. He was just a little kid who missed his own dad and latched onto the only person who was acting like one. Not that he thought he was acting like a dad, Harvey scoffed, carefully laying Mike back down on the bed and covering him up with the duvet cover. He was just - he was being a good boss. Looking after his employee until he could look after himself again.
It was odd how he had a good poker face but couldn't even convince himself of something.
Like how he still couldn't convince himself that he didn't care about Mike.
Speaking of, Mike seemed quiet now, still mumbling the odd few words - Harvey was sure he even heard 'dada' but he quickly shook it from his mind. He got up and decided to have a shower - air the cobwebs out, so to speak.
Mike slowly woke up. He couldn't remember the dreams he had been having, but he remembered being scared. He gave a small huff to himself - he hadn't had nightmares for years. There were the occasional few that were caused by fevers, and every so often he dreamt about his parents' deaths, but he'd definitely had one now. He hadn't woken from it though; something had stopped it. He remembered a soothing sound, being hugged and gently sent back into a calmer sleep. Looking around, he didn't see Harvey anywhere, so maybe he had imagined it.
He slid off the bed, going towards the bathroom to take the pull-up off, before hearing the shower going. He grinned - maybe Harvey had been there to stop the nightmares. He was resigned to sitting on the bed and waiting until the bathroom was free. He couldn't reach the door handle to leave the bedroom, so that meant he couldn't use the other bathroom either. He started to fidget, realising now that he really needed to pee.
He scooted off the bed and started banging on the door. "Harvey!" He called out, wondering if he could be heard over the gushing of the water. "Harvey, hurry up!" He wriggled and changed tactic - it would no doubt be embarrassing but anything was better than wetting himself.
Hopefully Harvey won't get mad, Mike thought, as he crawled back onto the bed, opened his mouth and gave a large scream.
Harvey was feeling much calmer as the hot water rushed over him, and felt better than he had when he had first woken up. He was just rinsing the conditioner out of his hair when a piercing scream echoed through the flat. Hitting his own head off the shower head, he jumped out of the shower, pausing to quickly run a towel over his legs so that his pyjamas bottoms wouldn't stick when he yanked them up. He burst into his room, breath heaving, to be faced with Mike bouncing on his backside whilst sat on his bed, bawling.
The kid was turning red with exertion and was so loud Harvey wanted to clap his hands over his ears. He instead put them on Mike's shoulders. "Mike - what's wrong?" He asked urgently, wondering how far away his phone was. Mike jumped at the sudden physical contact. He was finding it hard to stop crying once he got going, but took one look at Harvey and leapt off the bed, running into the toilet and slamming the door.
Harvey, followed - completely at a loss. "Mike!" He thumped on the door, realising the kid had locked it. "Mike, open the door!"
After a few minutes he heard the toilet flush, the sink being run and then finally the door unlocked. Knowing that the kid couldn't reach the handle, Harvey opened it. He stared down at the still-red little boy. "What were you doing?" Harvey demanded, grabbing a towel to rub over his own hair now he knew that Mike wasn't dying.
"I needed the toilet," Mike told him simply, going back to sit on the bed. "And you wouldn't open the door."
"So you thought making me think you were hurt was the best way to go?" Harvey growled. Mike wilted slightly, knowing that the anger was justified.
"I - " he faltered, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just really needed to pee - I thought it would be better than wetting the bed!" He added.
Harvey glared down at him. "You realise that if you ever have to do that for a real reason, I won't bother coming?" He asked. "I'll think you're doing it to get your own way."
"No, Harvey, it wasn't - "
"You know you've earned this one, kid," Harvey told him grimly. "Time out - ten minutes," he turned away under the pretence of finding clothes so that he wouldn't have to look into Mike's now tearful eyes.
"No, please, Harvey!" He tried to beg, even as Harvey turned back and picked him up, taking him to a foot-stool set up in the corner of his main living room. "I'm sorry, I swear I didn't realise - "
"Mike; you know what you did was stupid," Harvey told him, putting a shirt on himself as Mike fidgeted on the stool. "You can't kid me."
Mike pouted and looked down at his lap. He didn't like time-outs. At least he'd been allowed to go to the toilet before this. It seemed harder to hold it now his bladder was so small. It was a small mercy however - he was sat on his own in the corner of this large room, as Harvey had gone to get dressed in his bedroom. He supposed it was part of the punishment, but he really hated it. After being near the same person for days and having to depend on them - not to mention his stupid emotions now getting the better of him - he hated that he now felt quite worried being away from Harvey.
He snivelled miserably on the stool, looking down at his knees and rubbing at his eyes. What a stupid way to begin the day.
He heard Harvey finally come back in the room and looked up hopefully, only to have the older man walk away to the kitchen to make some toast. Mike snuffled and looked back down.
Time-outs sucked.
He continued to stare down at his lap until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking over at it, he saw Harvey crouching next to him, a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry," Mike burbled, burying his face in Harvey's chest, reaching to grab Harvey's arms as he was pulled into the older man's lap. Harvey moved so that he himself was sat on the stool and rubbed Mike's back. "I won't cry wolf again, promise," Mike whimpered, going to suck his thumb before pulling it away, pulling a face at the offending digit.
Harvey noticed this and smirked. He ran his fingers through Mike's hair and rocked slightly until the toddler was completely at ease again. "Are we going to work?" Mike asked softly, noticing that whilst Harvey was wearing a shirt, it wasn't buttoned all the way up, and he wasn't wearing a tie.
"I got a text from Donna threatening me," Harvey told him; the first time he'd spoken since issuing Mike with the time-out. "We aren't going anywhere."
"Oh," Mike seemed to droop at this news.
"What?" Harvey asked, leaning back so that he could look at Mike's face as the small boy twisted to look back at him.
"It's nothing - I mean, your apartment is awesome," Mike enthused. "And I like staying here, but - it's not that I always enjoy coming to work; well, that's not true, I do like my work, but when I don't have any work it's more fun to - "
"Mike, will you get on with it?" Harvey sighed.
"Can we go somewhere?" Mike asked. "It doesn't have to be anywhere special. Just like, out? Please?"
"It looks cold outside," Harvey said to him, eyeing the dark clouds approaching the skyline and watching the autumn breeze make the orange and brown leaves that had fallen from their trees dance around Harvey's balcony.
"We have coats," Mike said, as if Harvey was stupid. "Please?"
Harvey sighed, but knew that whatever he did, he wouldn't be able to say no. He hoped this feeling would fade when Mike was back to normal.
"Where did you have in mind?" Harvey asked, standing up from where he had admittedly been comfortable so he could place Mike on a chair and pour him some cereal.
"The park?" Mike offered.
Harvey raised an eyebrow as he poured the cereal. "After last time we went? No - if Donna ever heard that we went to another one - "
"It doesn't have to be a play-park," Mike informed him. "Just a park. We can just walk in the sun, have ice cream, you can... pick up chicks?"
Harvey snorted. "Right. Because every self-respecting man goes to a park to 'pick up chicks'."
"Surely it's better than a bar?" Mike reasoned, shoving the sugary cereal in his mouth. "I mean; a self-respecting man wouldn't want to pick up a drunk chick, right?" He had a twinkle in his eye as he remembered plenty of times he had picked someone up in a bar when they had both been drunk.
Harvey shook his head. "You seriously want to go the park?" Harvey asked, his eyebrow raised.
Mike shrugged. "It's better than wanting to go to the zoo, isn't it?" He asked, before his eyes became wider. "Harvey, can we - "
"No."
"You didn't - "
"I'm not going to the zoo. Not now, not when you're normal. Never."
As Harvey was paying for the tickets into the zoo, he realised he had no idea how he got there. How had he, Harvey Specter, suddenly been conned into buying a ticket into the zoo for his small associate, who was at that moment pulling at his trouser leg and pointing over towards a sign that read: 'Sea Lion Show - 12 o clock'.
Harvey looked down at Mike after he collected the tickets and was met with a pouting face. "What?"
"Can we go see it?" Mike begged. "I've never even been in a zoo before!"
Well that explained the actual child-like excitement. At first Harvey was just afraid that Mike was slipping more and more into his childish state of mind, but he still seemed to be toeing the line between the two - if only just.
"What does a sea lion show consist of?" Harvey asked him as they slowly walked over to the sign.
"Sea lions," Mike answered obviously. "Doing... sea lion-y stuff... I don't know - didn't I just say I've never been to one before? How come you don't know?"
"Don't assume you're the only person in the world who has never been to a zoo," Harvey said to him, grabbing hold of his hand to stop him running excitedly to join the queue of waiting people, chatting about the upcoming show.
"You've never been either?" Mike asked in awe, trying to pull away from Harvey's firm grip. "This is going to be so fun!"
Harvey sighed, wishing he'd faked illness in order to stay in his apartment. "Okay, kid - we'll go sit in the seats for the sea lion show; but I'm going over ground rules with you - got it?" Mike nodded, yanking Harvey over to the sea lion arena, as the older man patted himself on the back on bringing the child harness Donna had bought on the first day. He would no doubt need it at some point.
When they were seated on the stone benches, Mike crawled onto Harvey's lap to try and steal as much of his heat as possible on the cold day. "Right; rules," Harvey began, instinctively pulling Mike's small hands into his own in an effort to warm them. "You stay where I can see you, got it?" Mike nodded furiously. "You stay in my eyeline, you don't run off, don't go off with anyone else - you do any of this and you'll wish a time-out was on the cards. Got it?"
Mike nodded again, yanking at Harvey's hands. "I'm not stupid, Harvey!" He said sullenly. "I know what to do."
Harvey simply hummed in response. However, he then realised he had a kind of bartering chip. "If you break any of these rules then I'm strapping you in a harness and walking you around on a leash all day," he said, smirking at Mike's furious face.
"Harvey that's not fair!"
"Yes it is - you disobey me you pay the consequences," Harvey thought it was quite obvious and fair. Mike fell back on him, pouting - he refused to be tied up like a dog and paraded around. Sure, the obvious solution would be to not disobey Harvey, but he was now thinking of ways to get out of the punishment.
He forgot about sulking as a woman in a wetsuit walked out in front of them. Tugging at Harvey excitedly, Mike leant forward, eager to watch. Harvey rolled his eyes and watched as well. To his surprise it was quite interesting, but he still thought that there would be better ways to spend his afternoon. He sighed and felt his blackberry vibrate in his pocket. He gently moved Mike, who was engrossed in the show and looked at the text he had just received.
Harvey, I'm glad you decided not to come in today - you can't feel worse, because I'd have gotten a call by now off Mike. So I'm assuming you two are doing something fun together :3 I'm coming round tonight - I've been working on Mike's costume for Halloween so I need to measure him now and make sure it'll fit for tomorrow - he'll love it!
Harvey smirked. Donna knew him well. Actually, Donna knew full stop. The woman was clearly some sort of goddess. He got a nudge in his ribs. "Harvey, that sea lion's called Harvey as well!" Mike told him excitedly, as the announcer 'introduced' them to the sea lions.
"His mother clearly had taste," Harvey muttered, quickly typing a reply back to Donna. He had forgotten about Halloween. Thank God Donna texted him when she did. The party at the firm was tomorrow - if he remembered correctly from previous years, it started in the afternoon; usually around 4 o clock, and the clients and their children, as well as employees and their children all arrived - dressed up and ready to have fun.
Harvey rolled his eyes. The idea of adults dressing up to eat candy was just alien to him. He wondered what Louis' costume would be...
Last year it had been... odd. None of the associates had the courage to ask him who he was supposed to be. Harvey had come right out and asked; finding it hard to believe that the man in front of him was Nikola Tesla. If Mike had been there that year he would have probably known, Harvey thought. It seemed like the kind of thing Mike's freakish brain would understand.
Harvey wasn't sure why Louis had come as Tesla... Some sort of power trip? He'd probably dress up as God tomorrow.
"Harvey," he shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts and looked down at Mike's disapproving face. "You weren't watching! It's finished!"
"Thank God," Harvey muttered, slowly standing as he balanced Mike on his hip. He now deemed himself an expert at carrying children, as no matter how much Mike struggled as he insisted that he wanted to pet the sea lions because everyone else was, Harvey kept a firm grasp, even as he took his phone back out to text Donna again.
"Harvey, they were letting people touch the sea lions!" Mike was pouting. "Haven't you ever wanted to pet one?"
"No," Harvey replied, once more putting his blackberry back in his pocket.
Mike started to wriggle again, causing Harvey to just put him on the floor but still keep a tight grip of the hood of Mike's jacket as the crowd surged forward to get away from the show. "Harveeey," he whined petulantly, struggling with all his might. "There'll be crowds! We need to go now!"
Harvey kept an eye on his associate's wriggling and decided that their first stop would be the toilets.
"Harvey, what are we looking at now?" Mike asked, tugging Harvey's hand.
"Zebras," Harvey replied, craning his neck to see them properly. The fence was too tall for Mike to see over, and even if it wasn't, the crowds that Mike had been worried about were out in full force and even Harvey was having trouble seeing over other people's heads.
"I can't see," Mike whimpered, before finding himself being lifted up - higher than he had been before and found his legs on either side of Harvey's neck, as he sat straddling his shoulders. He quickly grabbed hold of Harvey's hair.
"Careful," Harvey growled, wincing as his hair was pulled tightly. "You can relax - believe it or not I've given a few piggy-back rides before; you'll be safe."
Mike started to relax, slowly unwinding his fingers from Harvey's hair but still keeping his hands atop the older man's head. He knew that Harvey wouldn't let him fall.
"Can you see now?" Harvey asked.
"Yeah - they don't look very happy," Mike observed.
"I can't imagine why they should look happy," Harvey said. "It's cold, and this doesn't exactly look like their natural habitat. And everyone's staring. I don't think you'd like it."
Mike decided he wouldn't. But it didn't stop him tapping Harvey (sometimes quite firmly) on the top of his head imperiously, demanding to see the next animal or get closer.
Harvey had never been out for a meal with a toddler before. It didn't seem to matter that Mike was still in there - he could still drop food, pout, sulk, talk too loudly and complain and then come close to having a tantrum.
After Harvey had managed to avert each and every one of these disasters using various techniques of blackmail, threats, bribery and near-pleading he was happily paying the bill so they could leave quickly, and turned as he was putting the receipt in his pocket.
Mike wasn't there.
He had been right there.
Shit.
"Have you seen that kid who was with me?" Harvey asked the waiter, who blinked in surprise.
"Uh, no, Sir, I haven't - maybe he went into the gift shop next door?" He offered. "It draws lots of kids in; very colourful and loud. Would you like me to call security?" He asked.
Harvey shook his head. "He won't have gotten far. And he's probably in the gift shop," without even giving his thanks, Harvey walked through some doors and into the loud, bright shop next door. There were puzzles, postcards, sweets, books - every gift under the sun; what would have grabbed Mike's attention?
Soft toys. He turned around to find a long wall full of different animal toys. Harvey just knew that Mike would want one.
Not that he'd get one, Harvey thought grimly, as he surveyed the shop - he'd be lucky to get dinner after running off.
He finally spotted a small blonde head near the toys and relief flooded through him as the kid saw him and ran up to him - even if he was clutching a toy in his hands. "Harvey! Look at how much stuff is in here! Can I - "
"Mike, what were you thinking?" Harvey asked, kneeling and taking Mike's shoulders in his hands. "What was my number one rule?"
"Don't wander off - but I saw this, and I - "
Harvey silenced him by holding up a finger. "And what did you do?"
"I wandered off, but, Harvey, the - "
"No," he silenced the boy again. "What did I say would happen if you did that?"
"You'd put me..." Mike tailed off as he realised what the consequence would be. "No, please - Harvey, I don't want to be put in a harness!"
"And I don't want a kid who walks off, even though I told him not to," Harvey said firmly, rubbing Mike's arm slightly.
"But, I... But..." Shit, the kid was turning the waterworks on. "I'm sorry - please don't put me in one - I'll do anything!"
Harvey quirked an eyebrow. "You'd rather have a time-out at home?" Had he just referred to his own apartment as 'home'? Hell even before all this he never referred to it as he own home, let alone as a shared one.
Mike didn't seem to notice Harvey's wording dilemma and seemed torn between his own. "I don't want a time-out or a harness."
"One or the other," Harvey told him firmly. "It's up to you."
It was a testament to just how much Mike hated time-outs that he shook his head. "Harness, I guess... But I'm tired now!" He said quickly. "You'll have to carry me anyway!"
Harvey saw right through this lie and smirked. "Sure, kid, whatever. Now," he stood up, "what are you holding?"
"It's a sea lion!" Mike held it out for inspection. It looked incredibly fluffy and squashy, and Harvey was fairly sure that along with Mike's large eyes and the tight clutch he had on the toy; it would be a staple in his condo for the next few days.
God.
Days...
"So, can I?"
Harvey looked down. "Can you what?"
Mike seemed to misunderstand. "Can I - please?"
Harvey gave up. "Sure, kid - but this means longer in the harness."
Mike pouted but agreed, and was soon walking out of the shop clutching his new toy. "It looks like Harvey!"
"What?" Harvey was struggling with Mike who seemed to be fighting the harness regardless of his consent to wearing it.
"The sea lion in the show! I'm calling this Harvey!"
"Right," Harvey nodded and straightened, tugging the harness slightly to make sure the straps didn't rub or unfasten. He suddenly felt the pulling in his own hands.
"Come on, Harvey - the penguins!"
Harvey was thoroughly worn out - he had been the one to be dragged around by a leash as Mike seemed to be a never-ending whirlwind of energy. They saw what Harvey thought was every animal imaginable and then saw various other water shows - including the penguins that Mike had been desperate to see. He had then pulled a cranky Mike back to the car and unclipped him, only to clip him back up in the carseat.
Thankfully, he had fallen asleep on the way home, so all Harvey had to do was pick him up and then place him on the couch. Mike snuggled up to his new sea lion contentedly and Harvey went to pour himself a drink.
Mike had just under a week left before he was normal again - as long as that scientist was telling the truth. An odd feeling passed through Harvey's gut. What if she hadn't been? How concerned would he be? He quickly shook his head to get rid of these thoughts - he wanted his associate back.
He wanted to laugh at himself - what was attractive about having a 3 year old forever? Well, obviously he would grow - but it would be expensive, he would need plenty of time off work; if it was the sudden affection he wanted then he might as well just buy a dog.
His door knocked, and he thankfully opened it, wanting to stop thinking about these things. Donna was stood there, her cheeks pink from the cold but her eyes sparkling. "How was your day?" She asked, walking into the apartment, clutching something in a large bag.
"It was fine - I was forced into going to the zoo," Harvey told her, forcing nonchalance to ooze from his statement.
As he expected, she gave a happy shriek. "You did? Why wasn't I invited? Was it fun? Did Mike had fun? Did you take any pictures?" He let her ask him more questions, keeping one in the corner of his mind. Towards the early afternoon a professional photographer for the zoo had snapped a picture of both of them at the lion enclosure - Mike was still on Harvey's shoulders and resting his chin on top of the older man's head as he pointed to something, whilst Harvey had his hands wrapped safely around Mike's legs, smiling in response to something Mike had said. The man had asked if they wanted a copy, and Mike nodded before Harvey could say anything.
That picture was now hidden somewhere in Harvey' apartment. He wouldn't admit to keeping it.
"Harvey?" Mike wandered over, rubbing at his eyes with one bunched up fist and dragging Harvey the sea lion over with his other hand whilst yawning. He saw Donna and smiled. "Hi, Donna!"
"Hi, sweetie," she said back, beaming at him. "I heard you went to the zoo - was it fun?"
"Yeah, we saw loads of shows, and I couldn't see some animals, but Harvey put me on his shoulders, and then he even bought me Harvey!" He showed her the sea lion.
"You called that 'Harvey' as well?" She asked, fighting to stifle her giggles.
"One of the sea lions was called Harvey, apparently," the real Harvey said to her, rolling his eyes.
"So what's the excuse with the teddy?" She asked mischievously. Harvey looked overat her curiously as Mike reddened.
"Why are you here?" He quickly asked, trying to deflect.
Donna held up her bag in reply. "I finished making your Halloween costume!" She said happily, pulling it out. All Mike saw was a bundle of white.
"What is it?" He asked curiously, prodding at it. It felt thick and warm, and Donna quickly unzipped the back and put him in it, zipping it up before sticking his arms through the holes and putting his fingers into the attatched gloves. As a finishing touch, she pulled the hood up.
"Tadaa!" She trilled, turning him to show Harvey, whose mouth twitched. "Well?" She asked him. Mike looked at him too.
"Looks good, kid," he said, trying to keep the smile off his face. Donna had somehow made a replica of the costume worn in one of Mike's now favourite books 'Where The Wild Things Are' by the central character, Max. A wolf costume, if Harvey remembered rightly.
"He's so cute!" Donna gushed, causing Mike to blush and find a mirror, giggling as he saw his reflection. He batted the pipe cleaner whiskers in delight and bared his teeth at his mirror-self.
"Donna it's awesome! Thank you!" He gave her a hug, and she lifted him in the air slightly.
"You're welcome, sweetie!" She beamed at him. He smiled back and yawned slightly. "Harvey, put this boy to bed," Donna said to him, relinquishing her hold and going to make herself a drink in the kitchen.
Harvey rolled his eyes but looked down at Mike. "Come on, wild thing," he quipped, holding out his hand to be taken. Mike giggling and pretended to swipe his 'paw' at it, making mock growls and scampering away into - what Harvey was happy to see - his office. Mike leapt on the bed, his sudden burst of energy now gone as he sat there. Harvey went over to him and pulled the hood down softly, unzipping the back while he was at it. He quickly took the costume off and laid it on the chair at his desk.
He went back to his own bedroom and grabbed a pull-up and Mike's pyjamas; freshly washed. When he got back to the office, Mike was pretty much asleep. "Give me a bit of help here, kid," Harvey said softly, undressing the small boy and - realising Mike would be no help - pulled the pull-up on the toddler and then bundled him into his pyjamas.
"Thanks for today, Harvey," Mike yawned, too tired to care as he started to suck his thumb. He crawled onto Harvey's lap rather than into bed, and Harvey let him, resting against the wall as he sat on the bed and stroked Mike's hair, fingers caressing and carding through each soft strand.
"No problem, kid," Harvey told him.
"'was fun," the toddler mumbled, turning to cuddle into Harvey's chest. Harvey started to rub Mike's back as though it were simply second nature to him.
"I'm glad."
"Never got to do things like this before..."
"Well you've done it now."
"I like h'vin' a good Dad..." Mike fell asleep, his last words mumbled so Harvey could pretend to ignore them.
But he couldn't.
"Come on," he said quietly, moving to put Mike in the bed, tucking him in. "Time for bed, Mikey," he ran his fingers through Mike's hair one last time before putting the light out and leaving - propping the door open slightly so that some light shone in.
"I'd say you're well and truly up Caring Creek, my friend" Donna quipped to him, filing her nails from her position on the couch.
He couldn't agree more.
A/N Harvey has got this parenting thing down ;) Soooo - hopefully you all enjoyed; and hopefully you aren't disappointed with the costume I chose - here's a link to a picture of what he looks like :P
http:/ daisyjanie . typepad . com / daisyjanie / 2009 / 10 / max-costume-circa-1999 . html
Obviously, as always, get rid of the spaces :P So, yeah I hope you all liked it, please review, because I swear nothing cheers me up more than seeing you lovely lot responding :3
