Chapter 10: Sacrifice

"Stand down Specter, or I'll slice her throat." A gruff voice came from behind her, she whimpered as she felt the tip of the knife pierce her skin leaving behind a shallow cut.

"Donna-" the waver in his voice made her heart shatter, she watched as he took a begrudging step back from Nick, raising his arms in surrender, his eyes on Donna at all times.

"Well well well," Nick crooned, wiping the blood from his lip as he rounded Harvey, returning to both Donna's and her captor's side, Donna's stomach lurched as he removed a small hand gun from his pocket,"isn't this an interesting turn of events."

Harvey's breath caught in his throat as his mind caught up with the reality of the situation at hand, flipping into lawyer-mode, the wheels of his brain turning at a mile a minute as he calculated his odds at victory;

His opponents; two men, both of roughly the same height and build, a hand gun, a knife, which was currently holding his kryptonite hostage. Donna was the only apparent leverage in this negotiation, and unfortunately, the opposition held all the cards.

With a cold prickling sensation, he felt icy beads of sweat forming at his hairline, his heart beat accelerating by the second, his muscles stiffening as his chest constricted in a way all to familiar to him. He had to keep the anxiety at bay, for her.

She was his everything, his light in the darkness, the remedy to his pain, the only cure he knew to be true. Without her he is lost, there is no Harvey without Donna, he's dependent on her existence, thrives on her happiness, lives to see her smile, laugh. She is his everything, and he can't lose her, not now, not ever.

He swallows the fear rising in his throat, "let her go," he growls, his head tilted low, eyes now shifted from Donna's trembling form, to those of the man he presumes to be Nick, "please."

Nick considers him, his eyes narrowing into slits as he smirks, "I'm a reasonably man," to Harvey's astonishment, Nick nods at the second man, signalling him to release Donna, her captor looks confused, glancing from Harvey to his boss, "it's alright Damien," He reasons, raising the gun level with Harvey's head, "I trust Harv here won't do anything stupid?"

He directed the remark at Harvey, titling his head, speaking in a mock voice like a parent warning a child. Harvey clenched his jaw, before nodding with a slight upward jerk of his chin.

Finally, Damien relented, but as soon as he released his hold on the redhead, she swayed and crumbled to the ground yet again, her legs numb in her four inch heels, adrenaline and fear ringing sharply in her ears, making her vision swim, she breathed deeply, one hand balled into a fist, clutching at the prickly fibres of the carpet, trying desperately ground her self, the other hand went to her neck, delicately scoping the damaged skin, her breath hitching as she felt the warm trickle of blood wet her finger tips. She chanced a glance upwards, meeting Harvey's alarmed eyes as he lurched forward.

"Don-"

"What'd I tell you?" Nick spat, stepping in front of Donna, obscuring her view of her boyfriend, she was worried for him, she could see the panic growing in him, radiating from his skin, the tell-tale signs of an attack not apparent to anyone else but her.

I'm okay. She mouthed at him, willing him to believe her, to remain calm, though her shallow breathing and shaking arms told another story.

"Just-" Harvey choked, "just let me help her up - she can't –"

"Not to worry Harvey-" Nick feigned sympathy, handing the gun to his partner, who, in turn, trained it on Harvey's chest, "I'll take care of her for you.." he squatted down next to her, reaching a hand to brush the wild curls from Donna's face.

"Don't fucking touch me." She seethed, cringing away from him, and despite the severity of their dilemma, Harvey couldn't help his heart swelling with pride.

Nick scoffed, a dry mocking laugh, "you still haven't learned your lesson have you Red?" He taunted, he gripped her jaw, turning her face towards his, as his other hand fisted around her wrist, pulling an unsteady Donna to her feet, "I blame Harvey for that," he hissed, dragging her agonisingly close to his own face, "he's spoiled you, given you delusions of grandeur by promoting you to COO, you've forgotten how to do what you're told, like a good secretary."

Harvey felt his face burn, anger rolling from his skin, his hands balled so tightly into firsts at his side, that his finger nails drew blood from the palms of his hands. It took every ounce of self control he had not to lunge at Hunter, all too aware of the barrel of the gun that was pointed in his direction. He took a deep breath, preparing to berate Nick, but before he could speak, Donna retaliated yet again.

"I'm in my position because I fucking earned it," she spat, never breaking eye contact with her attacker, "and I won't allow pathetic misogynistic pigs like you tell me other wise, now, get your hands off me." In sync with her words, she sharply brought her knee up, connecting excruciatingly with his groin, and eliciting a groan of pain from Nick, as he doubled over, releasing his painful grip on her.

On instinct, Donna and Harvey lurched for each other, she stumbled towards him, grabbing hold of his fore arms, clinging to them for support, his hands flew over her body, checking for injuries, his worried eyes scanning her tear streaked face, pale and ghostly, in contrast with the little cluster of blue-black that tinted her cheek bone, his gaze traveled to her neck, red marks, slowly morphing to bruises covered the soft skin, along with the trickles of drying blood spreading from the small yet seemingly deep cut In the centre of her throat, that spilled down onto her chest, like a menacing web.

"Step back." Damien ordered, pointing the gun between the pair. They barely heard him, too concerned with one another.

"Donna-" he croaked, his hands shaking as he cupped her face gently, willing himself not to break down in panic and despair, he could feel it creeping in on him, fighting a losing battle with an imminent panic attack.

"Hey, hey," she whispered sympathetically, placing a hand on his chest, his heart beating at an alarmingly fast rate, "I'm here, but I'm only okay if you are," she rested a hand against his cheek, coaxing his eyes back to hers, she mustered a sad smile, "I need you to pull it together Specter, okay?"

He nodded, gulping, "okay-"

"That's enough!" Damien's voice boomed around the room.

Donna's eyes widened as she felt something cold and hard pressed to the back of her skull, her body tensing with fear, she could take a good guess at what it was, "Take a step back Specter, or you know what happens next."

Without breaking eye contact with Donna, Harvey took a slow, measured step backwards, reluctantly letting go of her hand. The loss of contact shook them both, the safety they had felt in each other's arms evaporating, replaced once again by utter terror at the thought of losing one another.

Donna sensed movement behind her, "I think we've had enough messing about," came Nick's voice, the playful, mocking approach he had used earlier was gone, the menacing, dark tone that Donna remembered all too well, now in place. She fisted at the material of her skirt to stop her hands from shaking, "let's move this meeting to somewhere a little more.." She could feel his breath on the side of her face, making her insides squirm, "..comfortable."

XXX

On the rooftop, the party was still in full swing, the absence of the guest of honour seemed to go unnoticed, by all but two. Mike and Rachel had scoured the crowd, searching for their best friends, presuming that Harvey had already proposed and excited to celebrate the engagement with the pair. But the happy couple were no where to be seen.

"Where could they be?" Rachel wondered aloud, sighing as she leaned back against the table.

"Maybe they wanted a bit of privacy to – eh – celebrate?" Mike mused, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"At the office?" Rachel replied, disbelievingly, "doesn't really seem like their style."

Mike laughed, knowingly, "you'd be surprised.."

"You didn't!?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, I did."

"You walked in in them? What! When?"

"In the executive kitchen a couple of weeks ago, it was like walking in on your mom and dad," Mike shook his head, "thankfully, I backed up before they noticed me, managed to avoid them giving me the talk afterwards."

The married couple burst out in fits of giggles, earning a few confused looks from passing guests.

"I guess we should leave them too it then." Rachel chuckled, out of breath from laughing.

"I guess we should," Mike agreed, reaching for Rachel's empty glass, "I'll go get you another drink."

On his way to the bar, Mike ran into a rather flustered looking Benjamin.

"Hey Benjamin, have you seen Harvey or Donna around at all?"

"That's just why I came looking for you," he choked out, "both of them left the party in a hurry a while ago, I thought it seemed strange, but then I got an alert on my phone and – shit-"

"What is it?" Mike asked, confused.

"I have access to the new security cameras that Harvey had installed after the accident in the file room the other week, it alerts me when there's unusual activity after hours –"

"What's going on Benjamin..?"

"Donna and Harvey – they're in trouble."

XXX

Donna grumbled disapprovingly as she was shoved none to gently into one of the

leather chairs facing Harvey's desk in his elaborate office. Her wrists had been restricted behind her back by a sharp plastic cable tie, throwing her balance off as she was forced to sit, her hip bashing painfully into the metal arm rest. She wriggled her hands, hoping to loosen the uncomfortable bonds, but no such luck, her struggling resulted in the wire rubbing her skin raw, the more she moved, the tighter the restraints seemed to feel.

Her eyes darted around the room, landing on a disgruntled Harvey, who had been placed at the far side of the room on the couch by Damien, the Brutish man leaned back against the window sill, his gun once again trained on Harvey, his finger playing with the trigger as he watched Donna squirm with anxiety, the need to protect him overwhelming. She noticed that Harvey's hands had been tied at his front, unlike Donna's behind her back, she couldn't help but envy him for it.

"Now that we're all settled," Nick's low voice came from behind Donna, she disguised a shiver as she felt a callous hand come to rest on her shoulder, she hated the possessive way he touched her, "it's about time we got down to business."

"What the hell do you want Hunter?" Harvey growled, Donna could see he was growing impatient of his pretence, he wasn't the only one, she watched as his brown eyes darted from her to her captor, softening when they met her gaze, only to turn cold and threatening when they returned to the latter.

"All in good time Harv," he mocked, squeezing Donna's skin, the close proximity of his hand to her throat causing her to recoil at the memory of their earlier encounter. He released, rounding the desk and taking a seat in Harvey's chair, his hands folded casually in his lap, a fake smile graced his lips, "but first, I hear there are congratulations in order,"

Donna and Harvey shared a confused frown, baffled as to why Nick would congratulate Harvey on his achievement as managing partner, but his next words caused Donna to bite her lip, as she tensed in realisation.

"I have to say Harvey, when Donna told me, I was surprised, I never imagined you to be the fathering type, but nonetheless, I'm sure you're both very excited-"

"What the hell are you talking about-"

Harvey's eyes widened as he connected the dots, he glanced back to his girlfriend disbelievingly, one look in her eyes was enough to confirm his suspicions, "you're – pregnant?"

She nodded, pressing her lips together in a sad smile, screwing her eyes shut. This was not how she wanted to tell him, a mixture of fury and sadness brewed low down in her chest, as she forced her self to meet his gaze again. Her heart shattered, all she saw written across his face, was hurt.

"Oh dear," Nick smirked, revelling in the pain he'd caused, "I've really put my foot in it haven't I?" His voice dripping with sarcasm, "I guess you two aren't as close as everyone seems to think."

Donna ignored him, she focused only on Harvey, her mind strained with effort, hoping against hope that he would read her thoughts, I was going to tell you, don't let him get to you.

"Enough-" Harvey mumbled, bowing his head, but Donna caught sight of the lone tear tracing down his cheek, "get on with it Hunter, what do you want?"

"Well," Nick began, pouring himself a tumbler of scotch and settling back down into Harvey's desk chair, "despite Red's best efforts," he gestured across the table, earning a deathly glare from Donna, "I managed to graduate and pass the bar, my father had to pull a few strings and get me transferred to Oxford, after a certain rumour got me expelled from Yale."

Donna gave a bitter laugh "You're lucky I didn't press charges – I should have pressed charges-"

Nick scoffed, "please, pressed charges for what exactly? We had a great time, you were just bitter that you were too drunk to remember it-"

Harvey's fists burned to connect with his skull.

"You drugged me, you sick son of a –"

"That's enough!" Nick bellowed, jumping from his seat and slamming his hands down om the desk, so forceful Donna was shocked it didn't shatter. He took a breath, composing himself, before relaxing back into his chair, "as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted.."

"I spent a long time working in Europe, met a lot of interesting people, one of which offered me a job I just couldn't refuse." Donna could feel his eyes on her, singeing her skin, but she kept her gaze trained on the gun pointed at her boyfriend's head.

"The job was quite complicated really, this particular friend of mine owned a large chain of law firms in main land Europe, but, as he put it, he was looking for a change, a challenge, and it just so happened that New York City, was that challenge. He wanted me, to take down the top firm in New York, to make way for his own, and in exchange, I would take over in Europe."

Harvey shifted uncomfortably, he had a fair idea of where this was going, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Like I said, the task seemed almost impossible, and I was almost certain I wouldn't take it, but then low and behold, I return to New York for a visit to my parents and what lands in my lap one morning? Only the latest edition of the New York Times, and beaming up at me on the cover? Donna Paulsen and Harvey Specter, NYC Power Couple, I believe was the headline. I'm a superstitious man, and this just seemed to me as if fate had slapped me across the face with an opportunity, so naturally I took it."

"So it was you all along?" Harvey stated blankly, "the associates jumping ship, the lawsuits, the threats?"

"Well done Sherlock, you've cracked the case." Nick teased, "you really made it so easy for me as well, and don't get me started on your security, it's next to nonexistent."

Harvey had to resist from glancing at the the new CCTV camera just out side his office, one of many he had had installed after Donna's incident in the file room.

"So, I have a riddle for you," Nick stood from his perch in Harvey's chair, strutting across the office in the managing partner's direction, crouching down before him, placing his hands on his knees and eyeing him in a condescending manner, "how do you get a managing partner to dissolve his firm?"

Harvey stared him down, the fire of fury behind his eyes growing steadily to an explosion, he remained silent, trying with all his might to disguise his inner anxiety. He was certain he knew where this was going.

"Well it's easy," Nick crooned, straightening up, he turned, closing in on the other hostage, "the answer," Donna inhaled sharply in an attempt to hide a slight whimper of fear as Nick stalked closer. She exhaled, regaining her composure, sitting up straight, chin raised defiantly, feigning courage, when inside her heart raced and her veins turned to ice. He leaned down, resting the palms of his hands on the arms of the chair, caging her in, daunting green eyes testing her ability to remain calm, "is Ms Donna Paulsen."

At that, she faltered, turning her head to the side, shifting backwards in the chair, allowing her eyes to cast downwards, her long eyelashes protecting her from his intruding gaze, counting the fibres of dust on the carpet, to distract herself from the feeling of his hand, trailing slowly up her thigh, fingernails grazing the soft skin. His face loomed closer, lips barely skimming then contours of her jawline, the touch enough to elicit a shudder from Donna, as she let a stifled sob fall from her lips.

"Get your hands off her." Harvey growled, his voice low, more threatening than if he had yelled. His head seemed to spin with a whirl wind of overwhelming emotions, fear, for his life and more importantly Donna's, panic, that he wouldn't be able to save them, hurt, that she hadn't told him about her pregnancy, but above all, pure rage, that Hunter had harmed her and of course the little life he hadn't known existed.

"These are my terms," Hunter stated, slowly pulling back, but Harvey didn't miss the way his hand lingered on Donna's knee, "you sign this contract," he removed a document from the inner pocket of his suit jacket, and placed it on the coffee table in front of Harvey "which dissolves the existence of Specter Litt."

"I don't have the authority to do that," Harvey bluffed, hoping he would fall for it, "I need the approval of the senior partners and-"

"Nice try Harvey," Hunter smirked, "looks like some one needs to read up on their bi-laws, I know for a fact that the managing partner has the sole responsibility to end the firm's continuity of existence."

Harvey grimaced, his mind raced with possible solutions, none seemed viable. He had always told Mike that when someone holds a gun to your head there's over 100 ways to escape. But this time the gun wasn't just to his head, he couldn't risk getting shot and leaving Donna alone with this psychopath.

He held his bound hands out, waiting for a pen, when suddenly her voice caused his head to snap up.

"Harvey don't!" Donna pleaded, "you can't – don't!"

"Ah yes," Nick smiled, turning slightly to face Donna, "thanks for reminding me Red, I'd almost forgotten your role to play in this deal."

Harvey cursed Donna internally for bringing the focus back to her. Their mutual need to protect one another had always been their most fatal flaw. Both willing to sacrifice themselves for the others safety, at the cost of the latter's peace of mind.

"Let me just warn you what happens if you refuse to sign or try anything funny," Nick smiled smuggly, "Donna and I will take a little trip down to the basement car park, where one of my guys is waiting patiently in our car to take us some place…. nice – and – well, I think you know where I'm going with this.."

Harvey gulped, his throat dry and sore from the stress, this time, Donna was silent, her and Harvey's gaze met for the umpteenth time that night. She looked shaken, noticeably paler, the angry red that had flushed her cheeks only moments ago had drained from her face, her eyes were widened in what Harvey couldn't distinguish between shock and fear, sickening memories seemed to haunt her eyes. His features softened, overwhelmed with empathy. Over his dead body would he allow anything like that to happen to her again.

Donna willed herself to stay in the moment, trying so hard to block out the flashbacks that seemed to dance across her mind's eye, pictures clicking past, like an old film, a harsh reminder that Nick's threats weren't empty, materialised by the few terrible memories she had of that night.

She needed to concentrate, Harvey needed her present. She refocused her vision on him, the look on his face seemed to reassure her, not this time, you're safe, I promise.

"Give me the pen." Harvey croaked, finally admitting defeat.

He manoeuvred his bound wrists, gripping the biro at an awkward angle, the slight tremor in his hand making it more difficult. He hesitated, pressing the tip of the pen into the page, suddenly overwhelmed with the severity of what he was about to do.

There was a time when this firm was his everything. His whole life contained within the confines of its glass panelled walls, being here, working, winning, it made him feel alive, pushed him to keep on fighting, feeling at last as though he had found its purpose. It was only when he began to draw closer to the people around him that his perspective started to change, things became more complicated, his colleagues became friends, and friends became family. And suddenly, he found his mantra "caring makes you weak." Dissolving day after day. He thought about Jessica, Louis, Mike, Rachel, Donna. How they taught I'm to care again, to build relationships, to love. This firm was the heart of their family. But it wasn't that simple anymore, sometimes you have to sacrifice the things that matter, to protect the people that matter.

With a trembling hand, he scrolled his signature on line, barely legible, thanks to his restraints. In an instant, Nick swiped it from the glass table, after scrutinising the signature, he placed the document securely in his chest pocket, seemingly satisfied, "pleasure doing business with you Harvey."

"You got what you wanted, now let us go." Harvey replied, his time cold, holding up his bound wrists.

"Ah, one slight problem," Nick nodded at Damien, who crossed the room quickly, Harvey's eyes darted from Damien, to Donna, to Nick, frantic, as his heart beat began to pick up again, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins, "did I forget to mention? See, Donna here, has another very important role to play in this negotiation…"

"That wasn't the deal!" Harvey bellowed.

"It's my fault really, I should have mentioned it," Nick replied, the insincere apology making Harvey's blood boil, his face flushed with frustration, "Donna, is my… let's say, insurance policy, she comes with us – just for a couple hours – until the deal goes through, if you call the police before then.. well, you're a smart man, I'm sure you can figure it out.."

Harvey's next argument was on the tip of his tongue, when the sound of a distressed Donna caught his attention.

"Get off me!"

Damien had dragged Donna from her perch on the leather chair, his arm wrapped around her torso, her hands were still restricted behind her back making it more difficult for to struggle, but Donna being Donna, that didn't stop her from trying. She twisted and squirmed, her breath hitching, trying hard to keep reality at bay and focus on escaping. She brought her heeled foot down on his, stabbing without mercy. Damien gasped in pain, momentarily releasing Donna. She took her opportunity, one she knew to be futile, lunging for the door. However, she was thrown off balance with her arms restrained, she tripped, falling to the floor with a small thump, grunting as she landed on her side, her shoulder screaming at the impact, her head fuzzy from the sudden fall.

Before she could recover, she heard the echo of Nick's cold laugh, and sensing a figure looming over her she gave a yelp of pain, as Damien's foot connected with her stomach. Donna went silent, her last thought was of their baby, before she succumbed to an unconsciousness that she had been battling since the first encounter in the file room.

To be continued...

XXX

Sorry for the long wait (and for another cliffhanger) I promise to update faster this time!

Thank you so much for sticking with this story, I know it's far fetched, but what can I say? I love drama, and the show doesn't give us enough high stakes plots like this one! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you have any thoughts drop a review, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Xx