Chapter 10

Harvey cleared his throat to get Mike's attention; the kid jerked his head up looking over at Harvey. "How did you hear me with those ear buds in?" Harvey asked, he hadn't noticed them at first.

Mike shrugged, "I never keep them loud, I always like to know when someone's nearby" he answered.

"Right" Harvey said. He should have known Mike wouldn't let his guard down even with his music. "So the IQ results are in" he said conversationally.

"Who came in second?" Mike asked.

Harvey watched the kid, he wasn't being cocky and he wasn't joking he just knew. "How'd you know?" he asked.

"You told me" Mike answered.

Harvey look confused at that. "I hadn't said anything about the results" he said.

Mike snorted, "I don't mean verbally, I mean that when you talked about the results you showed pride but it wasn't at yourself, the only other people you would take pride in getting the highest score is Jessica, who didn't take the test, and me. I also know that I had to have scored up there since I didn't get a single question wrong" Mike answered.

Harvey was a bit stunned, he had always thought that Mike was rather bad at reading people given that he was so naive but then how had Mike survived the streets for seven years if that was true? Harvey mentally slapped himself as he figured it out, "It's not nice to play your boss" he admonished lightly.

Mike smirked, "You would never have hired me if you'd known the truth" he said.

"Fine, but, don't hide your true abilities again. Your intelligence is known and respected and you don't need to lie anymore. Understood?" he said.

Mike studied Harvey for a minute, "Understood" he said nodding. He didn't know if he would actually show all of himself to anyone but he understood what Harvey was saying.

Harvey sighed, he'd recognized the statement for what it was, an appeasement. For the time that would have to do, he knew that he couldn't change Mike needed to come to understand that they weren't going to judge or leave him just because of his past or his mind but that would take time and consistency. "Callister with 178" he answered Mike's original question.

"Not bad" Mike said.

"Yeah, it was a 25 point gap between yours and his" Harvey said proudly. Mike hadn't asked about his own score and Harvey wanted him to know what it was as well as the fact that it was a good thing.

Mike looked down and nodded, "So… What are we doing now?" he asked.

"Everyone's heading out to the grounds, I do believe that it's time for the baseball game" Harvey answered.

"Baseball game?" Mike asked skeptically.

"Yep, every day is a different sport" Harvey answered as he led the way out to the yard, "You ever play baseball before?" he asked.

"Yeah, Harvey I've played baseball" Mike answered rolling his eyes.

"Well I wasn't certain" Harvey said.

"I've played just about all of the basics. Baseball, basketball, football, and soccer were the most popular at Backden Park" Mike answered.

Harvey stopped, "Backden Park?" he asked.

"Yeah" Mike shrugged, "There 'least three time a week as a kid" he answered.

"Why would you go there that often?" Harvey asked resuming his walk toward the yard.

"To play sports Harvey, keep up" Mike answered in typical teenage fashion, the one where they act as though they know everything and the adults are idiots.

"You play sports Ross?" Duncan, a fellow associate, asked.

"I've played with some friends before as a kid" Mike answered.

"You any good?" Duncan asked.

Mike shrugged, "Just did it for fun and to kill time, never paid much attention to talent" he said.

Duncan shook his head and smirked as he walked away. He didn't want a loser on his team so he took his exit when Harvey had started handing out equipment.

Mike took the bat Harvey handed him; it was similar to the stick that they had used. When Harvey handed him a baseball he couldn't help but be impressed, "We're actually using a real baseball?" he asked.

Harvey stopped what he was doing and stood up the glove he was about to hand Mike dangling in his hand, "I thought you said you'd played before" Harvey said a bit hesitantly.

"I have" Mike said, "We just never had a real baseball to play with, we'd always wound a bunch or sticks and twine up into a ball" he explained and started walking off.

"Uh, Mike, where are you going?" Harvey asked.

"To play baseball" Mike answered in that lovely teenager voice again.

"Forget something?" Harvey asked holding up the glove.

Mike looked confused for a moment before he seemed to understand, "We're using gloves to?" he asked amazed.

Harvey had to work hard to stop himself from showing the pity that he felt for Mike, while he had gotten to play with his 'friends' but he had basically played stick ball in one of the worst parks in New York. What kid was amazed by getting to use a real baseball or a glove? "Yeah kid we're using gloves too" Harvey answered quietly.

Mike took the glove impressed; he quickly tried to put it on only slipping up once before successfully getting all of the right fingers in the correct holes. He gave Harvey a triumphant smile when he was done.

"Everyone ready?" Jessica asked walking to the middle of the field.

Everybody moved to form a semi circle around Jessica. Hardman walked up and joined her (he had driven up separately after Jessica had informed him, in no uncertain terms, that he was to leave Mike Ross alone and since Mike would be on the bus then Hardman could either ride with the associates or make his own arrangements). Mike moved closer to Harvey when he saw Hardman, something that didn't go unnoticed by either Harvey or Jessica. "Let's start by picking teams, now these teams are going to be the ones you are stuck with for the entire time so learn to get along with each other" Jessica said.

Hardman told Jessica "Ladies first" and then stepped over a bit so that they could each have their teams come group behind them without getting intertwined.

Jessica nodded to Hardman and then choose "Harvey" she didn't want Hardman to call him and she knew that he wouldn't call Mike unless he had a death wish. Harvey started walking over to Jessica but was stopped by a hand gripping the back of his shirt tightly. He turned back to Mike and was about to say something when Jessica spoke up. "You know why don't we say that the senior partners take their associates with them to their teams that way we will have the same number of senior partners and we will have groups that have some similarity with each other" Hardman suggested.

Everyone nodded their agreement and Hardman shot her an understanding look to show he got the message.

Jessica smiled, "Very well, then I'll take Harvey and Mike" she said. Harvey once again started walking towards Jessica with Mike in tow but no longer clinging to him. They stood as far away from Hardman as they could to make Mike more comfortable.

It didn't take long before everyone was put into teams and they flipped for who was batting first. Jessica's team won that and so Harvey led Mike to the bench in their dugout and set the kid between himself and Jessica. "Do you know how to use a glove?" Harvey whispered to Mike.

Mike looked over at Harvey and then down at his glove, he opened and closed it a few times before looking back, "I know the basic idea" he answered.

Jessica had been listening to the conversation and could have kicked herself, she should have realized, Mike would have probably had little to no experience with this sort of thing, "Mike, you don't have to play" she said.

Mike shot her a look, he could tell what she was thinking, "I've played stickball loads of times, I've just never gotten to play with a real ball a real bat or a glove before, that's all" he said, "my childhood wasn't all horrible you know" he finished a bit snarkily, he was sick of the two of them acting as though his past had been nothing but pain and suffering.

Harvey thought for a few seconds then leaned over to Mike to talk to Jessica, "Put Mike and I at the bottom of the list" he said. Jessica nodded and then Harvey stood up, grabbed Mike's arm and led him out of the dugout and off to the side.

"What's up?" Mike asked confused.

Harvey pointed a bit away, "Stand over there" he said.

Mike looked confused but stood where Harvey pointed, "OK" he said holding his arms out. He looked over to the dugout and saw that some people were turning to watch them.

Harvey shot the gawkers a withering glare and they soon turned around and focused on the game. He turned back to Mike, "Catch" he said as he threw the ball, lightly, to Mike.

Mike missed the ball with his glove but caught it in his hand. He then threw the ball back to Harvey. "Why are we doing this?" he asked.

Harvey caught the ball with his glove easily, Mike could throw although it was a little off, probably due to the difference in the type of ball than what he was familiar with. "You need to catch the ball with your glove" Harvey instructed. He then threw the ball back to Mike.

Mike almost caught it but missed, "This is stupid, why can't I just catch it with my hands like I always do?" Mike asked a bit annoyed. He threw the ball back to Harvey.

"Catching a real baseball with your hands isn't safe, you could break a few bones doing so. Keep the glove in front of the ball and close it as soon as you feel the tip of the ball on the tip of your glove" Harvey instructed throwing the ball back to Mike.

Mike managed to catch the ball this time but just barely. "I've never broken a bone before" he said as he threw the ball back to Harvey.

"You've never played with a real ball before either" Harvey responded. "Keep the glove in front of the ball" Harvey instructed.

They went on like this until it was time for their team to go out onto the field. Mike had gotten a lot better and had actually been doing really well. When they got out onto the field Harvey placed Mike in the outfield and was pleasantly surprised when Mike showed that he understood the way the game worked and he wasn't half bad.

The game progressed from there. Harvey took Mike out to play catch during the first three innings while they were at bat and the kid learned quickly, bit shock there. Mike had managed to catch numerous balls thrown, and once hit, to him and he had also proven to be really good at batting, and had managed a hit almost every time at bat. By noon the game was wrapped up, Jessica's team won the game 7 to 5 and they all headed in to eat lunch.

"You're pretty good" Harvey complemented Mike as they walked back to the mansion.

Mike shrugged, "It's a lot easier than stick ball" he said.

"And how's that?" Harvey asked a bit confused.

"The ball is bigger than the one we used, the bat is bigger and the glove makes it so that your hand doesn't hurt and you can play longer plus the ball heavier so it will go farther when you throw it" Mike explained.

Harvey had to admit he was impressed, "That's a lot of reasons" he said finally.

Mike shrugged again as they all sat down to lunch. Mike looked at the plate put in front of him and then at everyone else's, he noticed that he had less on his plate than the rest, it made since, Mike wasn't known for eating and he tended to refuse to eat if there was too much on his plate. This time however Mike actually wanted more, he had been feeling this odd pain in his stomach since the last inning of the game. It wasn't a sharp pain or a bad one, it was rather slight but still it was a nuisance. He had been debating about asking Harvey about it after lunch but it had gone away not long after he'd started eating.

Mike looked up from his plate once he was done, he wanted more but he didn't see any more on the table. He started looking around the room to see if there was any food on another table but was having little success. "What's up?" Harvey asked when he noticed Mike's odd behavior.

Mike fidgeted in his seat, he'd never asked for any food before the only conversations being him refusing to eat rather than wanting more. "Um…" he said. A few of the others at the table had turned their attention to Harvey and Mike and Mike couldn't help the tint that came to the tips of his ears.

"What?" Harvey asked confused.

"Is… Is there any way to… to uh… get" Mike said trying to figure out how to ask for more food, he'd never done it before.

"You want more to eat?" Jessica asked a bit surprised.

Mike nodded hesitantly and looked down at his plate. "Kid must have worked up quite an appetite during the game" Nash chuckled. The rest of the partners grinned and then turned their attention back to the previous conversations.

Harvey and Jessica grinned and Jessica flagged down a waiter. Soon Mike was finishing his second serving and lunch was coming to an end. Jessica stood up to address the room, "Alright, there are four different seminars available starting in half an hour, they will be repeated twice so pick which two you would like to attend and then head out. Each one is an hour and a half with an hour break in between" she said, "Dinner will be served directly after and then the rest of the night will be yours"

Everyone started to clear out grabbing a sheet outlining the four seminars as they went. Mike, Harvey and Jessica all filed out as well, Mike stopped to grab a sheet and pick a seminar to start with. As he read the descriptions he couldn't help but bring his fist up to rub his eye, the gesture didn't go unnoticed by either Harvey or Jessica.

Mike finished studying the paper and looked up to face the other two, "So which one do you want to start with?" he asked hiding a yawn.

Jessica grinned, he was such a kid, "Why don't we go up to the room while we decide which to attend" she said. She was going to let Mike go to a seminar but it would be the second one only, both she and Harvey had learned last night that Mike really did need his nap during the day.

Mike nodded and followed up to the room he was sharing with Harvey, they passed others going to their own rooms to shower after getting rather dirty during the game. Once they got in the room Jessica took a good look at Mike, his pants had a dirt stain on them from where he'd slid into home during the second to last inning and he was doing his best to hide the fact that he was tired. Making her decision she walked over to Mike's suitcase and started pulling out some clean clothes, "You need a shower" she said handing the clothes over to Mike.

Mike sighed but couldn't exactly refute what she was saying, he had actually gotten dirtier than any other person out there but he'd had fun. He took the clothes and headed into the restroom, "We need to head out to the seminars soon though, the best ones could be filled before we get there" he said. There had been one about cyber security and he was hoping that they'd let the people there to test them out on the computers; he wanted to see if he could bust any security that they had.

"We're not letting him miss his nap are we?" Harvey asked as soon as the shower started.

"Of course not, he'll take his nap during the first seminar, take a break during the hour between and then he'll attend the second time" Jessica explained.

"You didn't make it sound that way" Harvey said.

"I didn't want to have a fight in the middle of the dining room" Jessica said.

"He wouldn't have thrown a fit in front of everyone" Harvey retorted.

"He's tired Harvey, he isn't thinking as clearly as he does when he's rested and he very well could have thrown a fit in front of everyone. He's going to be more relaxed outside of prying eyes" Jessica reasoned.

Harvey sighed but had to admit that she had a point. "Fine but you're dealing with him" he said.

"Fine" Jessica agreed.

Mike came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and looked at the two of them while rubbing his fist in his eye again. "So which one do you want to start with?" he asked.

"Which one do you want to attend?" Jessica asked.

"I was thinking the cyber security one might be amusing" Mike said shyly. "You guys can pick the other one" he finished.

"We'll go to the cyber one later then" Jessica said.

"OK, then which one are we starting with?" Mike asked. He wasn't naive, he'd known as soon as Jessica mentioned seminars that he'd have to stay with her and Harvey he'd had to so far and he doubted this would change.

"Mike, you're not going to the first seminar, you're going to rest" Jessica said in a tone that commanded obedience.

"But I thought we were going to the seminars" Mike said in a slightly whiny voice.

"There was only one seminar that you wanted to see and you're tired" Jessica tried to reason.

"I wanted to see all of them, there was just one that I really wanted to see" Mike complained.

"Mike, you need to rest" Jessica said.

"I don't need to rest" Mike said stamping his foot for emphasis.

"Mike, I'm not playing this game, you will either stop this fit and get into bed now or you will stand in the corner for ten minutes and then get into bed" Jessica said.

"No!" Mike said, "I'm tired of being treated like a child"

Jessica had hoped that this would well but she had known that Mike would fight her. "You are a child Mike" she said.

"I'm not a child!" Mike exclaimed, "I've never been a child" he said.

And there in lied the problem. Mike had never been allowed a childhood, he'd been forced to grow up way too quickly and everything Jessica had read on the subject (she'd done some research after learning about Mike's past) had said that it wasn't healthy. All of the books said that eventually Mike would have to go through the emotional parts of being a child, everyone went through them for a reason and no matter how badly people wanted to they couldn't skip it without repercussions. It was one of the reasons that Mike so quickly started acting like a child whenever he felt safe or relaxed or he was treated like one. It was also the reason that Mike was now throwing a mini tantrum because he didn't want to take a nap. "Corner" she ordered. She understood why Mike was throwing a mini tantrum but that didn't mean that it was going to be allowed to continue.

"NO!" Mike almost yelled.

Harvey was about to step in but he knew that Jessica needed to get a handle on this or else she'd have no control over Mike so he decided to hold his tongue for a little while longer.

"Mike, I will wait as long as you but know that you will not be allowed in the seminars without my permission nor will you be allowed out of this mansion unless I allow it so if you think you will win here then by all means try me otherwise go stand in the corner" Jessica said calmly but with promise.

Mike studied Jessica for a minute, discerning if she was telling the truth. He didn't want to be singled out from everyone else even though, deep down, he knew that he was different. He was younger and he was smarter and that seemed to warrant special treatment no matter how much he protested. He knew however that Jessica would keep to her word and he would be mortified if he got kicked out of a seminar in front of everyone because he refused to take a na… a rest. He sighed, he was screwed and he knew it so resignedly he headed over to the corner knowing he wasn't going to win this one.

After ten agonizingly long minutes Mike was finally let out and then he was made to go to bed. Harvey pulled out some work and took a seat at the desk in the room; he wasn't going to leave lest Mike have a nightmare. Jessica headed out to the first seminar; she would be staying with Mike tomorrow.