Last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! :)

2013

Jessica found him at his usual spot on the U-shaped balcony that provided a sweeping view of the ballroom below. Every year, at their annual gala, this was where she would find Harvey, standing, watching. For someone who had to do a lot of talking on the job, he liked to do very little of it when he wasn't working.

"You look beautiful, Jessica." He smiled, taking a swig of his scotch.

"You clean up pretty well yourself, Harvey." She stood beside him and looked down at the crowd below. "It's been a long year. You should go down there, try to have some fun."

"You mean I should try to mingle and get on the partners' good side so if Daniel ever came back to try exact revenge, we wouldn't have to worry about not having enough support."

"No," She said firmly, "I mean…it's been a long year and you should go down there to try to have some fun. No hidden agenda."

Harvey chuckled, taking another swig of his drink. He looked back down at the ballroom and, for a moment, the smile on his face grew and he gave a quick wave to someone.

Jessica followed his gaze to find Donna looking curiously up at them. She nodded her own acknowledgement. "I'm glad she's settled back in quite nicely."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from Donna."

"You were a real mess without her around."

"Hey, I'm not the one who fired her." He turned to look at his boss.

"And I was wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't push it, Harvey."

"No, I heard what you said. I just didn't realize Jessica Pearson made mistakes."

"Like I said, don't push it."

He smiled. "Well, don't be too hard on yourself. We all fell for Hardman's ploy. What matters is we found out the memo was a fake."

"I'm not just talking about what happened with the memo." She sighed. "I always thought Donna would be bad for you. That she would be a distraction. I just didn't realize she would be a bigger distraction when she wasn't around."

"She means a lot to me."

"And clearly you mean a lot to her." She paused. "Harvey, I know our relationship has always tipped more towards the professional side of things but I want you to know that…whatever I said when you first started working at the firm, it no longer applies."

"Are you giving me permission to date Donna?"

Jessica grinned but said nothing.

"What?" Harvey asked suspiciously, suddenly unsure of what was happening.

"Nothing, I just find it revealing that you said 'date' and not something less committal." When he said nothing, she continued, "Whatever you think this is…permission, approval…you and I both know that you never needed any of that from me to do what you wanted. But for what it's worth," She nodded down at the crowd again. "I approve."

"Hey."

Donna smiled at the familiar voice in her ear. "Hi. You get bored up on your perch or did you run out of scotch?"

"Actually, I came down to find you."

Something in Harvey's voice made her turn to him. "What's going on? I saw Jessica go up there to speak to you. Is everything ok?"

His lips curled up into a smile. It always warmed him when she would get protective. "Everything's great." He gestured at their surroundings, "Except for this party. I never thought anything would make me miss the backyard barbecue at my brother's. I'd rather deal with screaming 3-year olds than small talk with managing partners."

"Well, you could always ditch the party and go home with one of the waitresses. I saw a few fighting to bring you your drink earlier."

"You know what, Donna? That's a great idea. Except, switch out the waitress with you."

"Come again?"

"C'mon, you and me. Let's just ditch this place and go."

"Go where?"

"Home?" She gave him a, 'stop joking' look and he shrugged innocently, "What? It was your idea."

"Ok, you've obviously had one too many of these…" She took the tumbler of scotch out of his hand and placed it on the tray of a nearby waiter. "Do you want me to get you a ride home?"

"Sure, if you come with me." He grabbed her hand again.

This time, she let him pull her out of the ballroom and into the sparsely populated corridor. "Ok, that's enough. What is going on with you?"

"Nothing! Can't a man just want to ditch a party and go home with his secretary? And yes, that is exactly as inappropriate as I wanted it to sound."

Donna crossed her arms and looked at him with mild disdain. She was obviously not amused.

He sighed, allowing his shoulders to sag. "Donna, it's been a really long year and in," He checked his watch, "about an hour, this year's finally going to be over and a new one will begin. I just want to go somewhere with the right person and start the year off right. Please?"

Without another word, she nodded.

She had questions –

Did this have anything to do with his talk with Jessica up on the balcony earlier?

Maybe this had to do with something that happened at his niece's birthday party a few months back? Something had obviously happened because his demeanor had completely changed when they left the party. He never explained and she never asked but judging by the way Teddy and Colleen had eyed them as they were leaving, she figured it had something to do with her…

Yes, she had questions but they could wait another night.

"Promise me you'll watch over him, keep him outta trouble." His father's words, from those many years ago, rang in her ears tonight, just like how they always rang in her ears now and then. As he led her out the door, she watched as he silently flagged down what must have been the only taxi left on New Year's Eve in New York City. He opened the car door for her and followed her inside before giving quick instructions to the taxi driver. It was only then that she looked down and noticed that, somehow, through it all, her hand had never left his.

The End.