A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to update. My computer stopped working and then I got super busy with school and work. I've gotten a new computer and my school load has gotten lighter so my updates won't take as long. I hope you guys are still interested in this story.

As always, I only own the characters you don't recognize. Enjoy!

After a long afternoon of shopping that consisted of Donna and Rachel disagreeing with basically everything that she had wanted to buy, Alannah was looking forward to a quite evening with the newest book she had purchased. She was just starting chapter two when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

She opened the door and was surprised to see who was on the other side, "Monica actually let you up here?"

"No," Harvey shook his head and grinned,"but you two still hide the key underneath the bar. I swiped it when she wasn't looking."

"Breaking and entering? Nice." Alannah turned and walked further into the apartment as Harvey closed the door behind him and followed.

"Is it really breaking and entering if I have a key?" he countered.

"Somehow, I don't think that argument would hold up in court," the slightly younger woman shot back as she sat at one of the kitchen bar-stools.

He shrugged, "I'd find a way to make it stick."

"Of course you would," she replied, trying to hide a grin, but failing. When Harvey tossed the contract she had given to Mike in front of her, she asked, "Why am I not surprised that you're the one bringing this back to me?"

Harvey leaned across the kitchen island, "I told you to stay away from him."

"And I have, but I'll tell you what I told him: the associates do good work. I needed great work," she explained unapologetically, "He find me a loophole?"

"Page 285 and a different one on 304." Harvey answered.

She nodded, "I'll go back to pretending he doesn't exist."

"Good," Harvey stated as he straightened and started towards the door.

"Daniel no longer plans to call for a vote." Alannah called after him.

Harvey turned around, "Why?"

The dark haired woman leaned on the island, "Because apparently you've been closing difficult clients for other floors to swing them to Jessica's side."

The older lawyer couldn't help but smirk, "What can I say? I'm a team player."

She shook her head and sighed in frustration, "You could have used a little bit more discretion. You could have made him think he was winning and then have him lose when he called for a vote."

"It would have taken longer. After he lost, he would have just jumped to plan b. This way, he's already on that plan and that's one step closer to getting him out of here." Harvey argued.

"Well, don't you just have it all figured out. You and Jessica don't need me after all." Alannah shot back.

Harvey walked back towards her, "I never said we did. You're the one trying to worm your way back into Jessica's good graces."

"I could understand and accept your anger if it was just about me standing beside a criminal, but you and I both know that's not the case." She pushed back from the counter and walk around to where the lawyer stood, "You're not just punishing me for betraying the firm. I'm not your mother and I'm done atoning for her sins."

"That's not what this is about," Harvey seethed.

Alannah knew she was pushing his buttons. She knew that his mother was a topic that was never addressed, but she was tired of pretending that Harvey's past had no baring on their present, "But it is. The moment you found out about me and Daniel is when our friendship started falling apart. We weren't on good terms when you came to me about his embezzlement. Don't try to pretend otherwise."

"He was married, Alannah," the older man said as if it explained everything.

"Yes, he was and Alicia was as lovely and devoted to him as your father was to your mother." Alannah expanded.

His tone cut Lanna to her core as he stated, "You don't deserve to speak about him."

The younger lawyer took a step back and turned away from him before saying, "I loved him, Harvey."

A bitter laugh passed through Harvey's lips, "So much so that you didn't even bother to come to his funeral."

"You didn't want me there," she defended, "You may not have told me that, but we both know it's true. He was your father. It didn't matter whether I wanted to be there or not. It was about what you wanted and I was trying to respect your wishes."

"Fine. I'll give you that, but we worked in the same office. I know we weren't on good terms, but you could have asked how I was. You could have made some sort of effort."

"You honestly believe that I didn't give a shit about you and how you were dealing?" A moment of silence passed between them and Alannah pushed back tears, "You do. You know what? Why don't you sit down and ask Donna just exactly how much I cared about your well being?"

"Why don't you tell me?" he asked.

"Because you wouldn't believe a word out of my mouth," she paused, waiting on him to try and disagree, "Donna, on the other hand, is someone you always have and probably always will trust more than anyone in this world."

"That's because she's proven that she can be trusted."

"And I haven't. I get it." Alannah walked over to the door and opened it, "Change the record, Harvey. I'm really sick of hearing this damn song."

Harvey headed towards the open door, but leaned in the door frame instead of leaving, "I'm sorry that I can't seem to move past the fact that you had no issue sleeping with a married man. Especially when you had a man who was available right in front of you."

Alannah laughed, "Don't kid yourself, Harvey. You were about as open as Fort Knox."

"I made it clear to you how I felt," he defended.

"How many times during our friendship did you tell me that not having emotions was the best way to win? From the moment Daniel had you helping me at my mock trial, you drilled into me that emotions were something to use against the other guy. Don't play the odds. Play the man, remember?" She scoffed, "Was I supposed to think that suddenly you decided that I was worth being vulnerable? You want to know why I chose Daniel over you? Because he didn't constantly make me feel like a deal to be closed."

Harvey stood up, prepared to argue that point, "I never tr-"

"You did," Alannah interjected, "You may not have meant to, but you did. Look, with age comes wisdom and looking back, I realize that it wasn't on purpose. You have your ways of winning and it works so why deviate from that, right? But it all felt too calculated. It just never felt genuine."

A moment of silence passed between them before Harvey softly said, "It was."

Alannah sighed, "I know that now, but I was too insecure and young back then to see it for what it was. I understand now that it's just how you are. I've got no excuse for helping Daniel break his vows. All I can say is that he made it seem like we'd both fallen for people who were bad for us. It started out as my mentor being able to relate to me on another level and became more. I thought we were an escape from both of lousy situations and, eventually, it became love. At least it did for me. Daniel only loves himself."

"I'm surprised that it took you to long to figure that out."

"He can be a good actor when he wants to be." Alannah placed a hand on Harvey's arm, "Look, you and I want the same thing here, Harvey. Jessica is good for the firm. She deserves to keep running it. I want to help make that happen but it'd be a lot easier if you weren't questioning my motives at every single turn. Can we call a truce?"

"What's his plan b?" Harvey inquired?

"He's looking over your old cases. You have a reputation for operating in the grey. He's hoping somewhere, you've crossed the line and he wants to use that to take you out of the game. He figures if he can get you out of the picture then Jessica has to do her own dirty work." Lanna answered without missing a beat.

"He thinks she's not capable of getting her hands dirty?" Harvey couldn't believe how much this man underestimated Jessica.

Alannah nodded, "He thinks he taught her everything she knows so she's not a real threat. You, on the other hand, are a very real threat."

"What do you think of his plan?"

"I told him it was a great idea because you do whatever it takes to win no matter what." She grinned, "What I actually think is that it's a waste of his time. You operate in the grey, but you've got integrity. You would never knowingly go too far and you try to surround yourself with people who do the same. Jessica has a moral code. Donna does too and I don't know Mike very well, but he has to have a sense of integrity if you've got him working with you. You bend laws and rules, but you don't break them. You're better than that."

Harvey gave her a genuine smile for the first time in years, "You seem to think rather highly of me. Other people don't."

"That's because they don't know you." She spoke softly when she said her next statement, "I've seen who you are behind closed doors."

"And yet you ended up with Daniel." Harvey couldn't resist the urge to throw that statement out there in an effort to put more space between them.

"Is that what it's always going to boil down to with us?" Alannah looked him the eyes, "That I didn't choose you then so I'm undeserving of your friendship now? Don't think I didn't notice you skipping over me asking for a truce."

Harvey reached out to tuck some of the hair that had escaped the younger woman's ponytail behind her hear as he asked, "How do I trust you again after everything that you've done?"

Alannah closed her eyes as she let herself cherish Harvey's small gesture of warmth. After a small moment, she opened her eyes and answered him, "I don't know, but you always manage to find a solution. If it really want to trust me again, you'll find away to do it."

Harvey started to tell her that it wasn't that simple, but she closed the door on him before he had the chance to speak.

Harvey arrived at his office early the next morning. As he walked past Donna's desk, he motioned for her to follow him.

He sat at his desk, but the red head stayed near the door, "I need to ask you a question."

"Whatever it is, Mike did it." Donna immediately replied.

Harvey wasn't in the mood for their normal banter, "Five years ago, when my father died, did Alannah keep tabs on how I was doing through you?"

The smile fell of his secretary's face. She sat down in the chair across from his desk, "My answer to that depends on a question of my own."

"What?"

Donna asked, "Do you want to forgive her or continue hating her?"

Harvey paused for a moment before answering, "Which answer gives me the truth?"

"Both." Donna answered and then explained, "One just gives you more truth than the other."

"I want to know everything."

The red head took a deep breath before she began to tell him the information he wanted to know, "She asked me about you every day and the reason she wasn't at your father's funeral is because she spent the entire day keeping your mother away because she wanted you and your brother to be able to properly say goodbye without your mother trying to make it all about her."

The lawyer took a moment to digest this information, "Is that all?"

"No," she answered.

"What else?"

"For the past four years, she's visited your father's grave every year. You go on the anniversary and she goes about three days afterwards," she supplied.

Harvey couldn't mask the surprise on his face, "How long have you known about that?"

"She called around the first anniversary to find out when you planned to go so she wouldn't run into you. She knows you're going to go the same time every year, but she calls just to make sure." Donna explained.

He slowly nodded, "That'll be all, Donna."

The secretary, however, wasn't finished, "She never stopped caring even when you shut her out after finding out about her affair with Daniel. Even when you completely kicked her out of your life after she sided with Daniel. I know she screwed up and made mistakes. Big mistakes, but I really think she's learned from them. Some people deserve second chances, Harvey."

"And some people just use second chances to screw you over again," he shot back.

"True," Donna conceded, "but I honestly believe she's worth trusting."

"Why?" Harvey asked.

"She seems different in a way I can't quite put my finger on. I've been watching her interactions with Daniel. She used to look at him like he was a super hero. The gratitude and adoration she had for him since he's the one who put her on track to be a lawyer was always present in her interactions with him. Now, there's a wall there that didn't exist before. Daniel doesn't see it because he's too full of himself, but anyone who's looking for it can see it. It might not mean much to you, but it's enough for me to believe that she wants him gone," she answered. When he didn't respond, she got up and started to exit the office. She paused right before she opened the door, "Harvey."

"Yes?" he asked and she turned around.

"She made you happy once upon a time. If you feel she doesn't deserve a second chance, then how about forgiving her and giving yourself one?" Donna inquired before exiting his office without giving him an opportunity to respond.