Hi guys! I wanted to get this chapter finished quickly seeing as it's a continuation of the last one.
Got to smooth out some of Harvey's abandonment issues and explore what's going on inside both of their heads!
Also Lily is the Darvey shipper we need in the show! ;)
Hope you enjoy the read!
Chapter Eleven: Harvey, Lily and Donna
Harvey couldn't sleep a wink that night. When he shut his heavy eyes all he could see were her dark, yet vibrant ones. And her candle light hair. And of course, her magnetic lips. Each and every one of her features dancing on the inside of his eyelids, teasing him.
He was sitting up on the couch with a lukewarm coffee in hand when his mother woke up at 7 a.m that morning. He had given her his room during her stay.
"You're up early." she stated with a tired smile, "Or did you just get in?" she then asked in a low, teasing tone, stopping in her tracks to look him over.
"Haven't slept." he mumbled, eyes almost hanging out of his head.
Lily sighed, knowing that wasn't a good sign and made her way toward the coffee machine in the kitchen, "How did dessert go last night?" She made sure to sound casual. Or to try, at least.
"Don't start today Mom. I'm too tired for your inquisition this time." he grumbled, shifting on the black leather grumpily, whilst rubbing is left eye.
"You're only tired because she's on your mind.." she whispered in annoyance.
"What was that?" Harvey called out from the living area, unable to hear her dig fully.
"Nothing!" she replied, being overly chirpy, "Want a fresh cup?"
"Sure." He knew he would need all the coffee in the world to stay awake today.
As Lily made a fresh brew, she promised not to leave the City that evening without helping to brew up something else entirely.
…
Donna woke up about an hour later. She immediately felt strange about the previous night. They had once again overstepped the line, verbally speaking, but not enough that work would be overly awkward on Monday. That's the main thing, she thought, as long as we don't suffer at work because of this.
What she wouldn't admit to herself, is that her immense commitment to her job and maintaining a good partnership with Harvey at the firm was her way of not addressing other issues, more important issues. She was more like him than she knew.
As she crawled out of bed, wondering what to do with her day off, she got a call.
"Who.. at this hour.." she grumbled aloud to herself as she reached for her aggressively vibrating phone on the bedside table.
It was an unknown number. She frowned, tempted to ignore it but then she answered anyway, in case it was someone in trouble.
"Hello..?" she called out.
"Donna, hi!"
"Lily?" she replied in bewilderment, before her body became rigid and stiffened, "Oh my god, is Harvey okay?"
"What? Har-"
"Please tell me he's okay!" She cut in, desperate to hear a 'yes'.
"Yes, Donna. He's absolutely fine." Lily said adamantly.
Donna took a deep breath, annoyed at herself for becoming so worked up, over him, to his mother. She let out a relieved sigh, "How did you get my number?"
"Well you work at a major law firm, and I am capable of using the internet." she retorted.
Donna let out a chuckle, "What can I do you for, Lily?" she asked with a small smile, wrapping herself in a silk white robe.
"Well.. I told Harvey I wanted to go shopping for an hour or two today, on my own. Which he gladly accepted because ..well he's a man!" she laughed.
"That's great Lily.. Do you want some store recommendations or something?" she quipped, unsurely.
"I'm not going shopping Donna." Lily revealed.
And the penny dropped, "Ah, you want a fake alibi so you can see me." Donna stated, nodding to herself as she put two and two together. She's not as quick in the mornings, especially without her first coffee.
Lily let out a small giggle, "Bingo."
"Why do you wanna meet with me?" she asked somewhat anxiously, running her hand up and down her thigh as she sat on her bed.
"I just think we have a lot more to talk about, don't you?" she said with charm.
"Lily look, I'm not sure how good an idea that would be.."
"Donna. Just meet me for coffee this morning, please? You can even choose the location!"
The redhead couldn't help but grin. She really liked Lily, it was a pity Harvey kept her at arms length for so long. Kept them both at arms length, for that matter, "Alright, there's this quaint little diner not far from Harvey's building, I'll text you the address." she smiled, "Does 11 o'clock suit you?"
"Perfect. I gotta go, Harvey's out of the shower now." she answered hastily.
"Wait does he not know you-"
"Goodbye Marcus! Tell the kids I miss them and I'll see yous later tonight." Lily called out loudly before hanging up on a bemused Donna, as Harvey walked into the kitchen in fresh clothing and dampened hair.
"How's Mama's boy doing without you?" he smirked as he made his way over to her at the kitchen island.
"Just fine.. for now!" she played along, inwardly patting herself on the back for being such a great actress.
…
As Donna sat in her favourite diner, she didn't even realise that her subconscious had brought her to the exact same seating booth she had sat in with Harvey when he asked her to come to the firm with him. After the other time.
It had just turned 11.01 and she heard the door swing open behind her, triggering the chime hanging above it to erupt into a brief jingle of noise. She felt a nervous energy build up in the pit of her stomach then. It just hit her that she had agreed to meet with Harvey's mother, without his knowledge, after said mother had made it blatantly obvious that she knows how Donna feels about Harvey last night. She was tapping the table with her fingers as Lily walked up to her.
"Donna." she smiled.
Donna turned to her left to face her, before standing up to give her a brief, friendly hug.
"Lily, hey. Good to see you again."
"Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me?" she quipped with a cheeky smile as she sat down opposite Donna.
Donna pressed her lips together, and showed off the whites of her eyes, still quite nervous as to what this secret hang-out was about.
"Thanks for meeting with me on your day off, it means a lot."
"No problem. Now what exactly did you want to meet with me for?" she asked, tilting her head and quirking her brow.
"How about we order something to eat first..?" Lily suggested cautiously, not wanting to dive into the serious talk straight away.
…
Meanwhile the man she wanted to discuss was returning to his apartment after a quick morning run. He made his way in the door panting and dripping with sweat. He would have to shower again now. He hadn't planned on a run but with his mother not there to occupy his brain, he desperately needed to not think. Especially after last night's dinner. And exercise was the best way he knew how to shut his brain off.
But he was back now, to a silent apartment and a ringing mind. The thoughts of his colleague, bestfriend, soulmate, quickly returning.
He zipped down his hoody, feeling the need to cool down and made his way to the kitchen. Coffee; his saviour. He rolled out the cutlery drawer to reach for a spoon to stir around the vanilla that he kept in his cupboard (ever since she introduced him to the idea of putting it in his coffee). He was about to push it shut again when something caught his eye. He pulled out the drawer further and a sad frown unexpectedly hijacked his face. One deep sigh later he picked up the can opener.
Forgetting about his coffee, he made his way over to the first stool he found. He sat down at the island, holding the item with fingers of both hands, a sad smile stretching across his cheeks. All he could think of were the good times they were missing out on for the better part of a year now because he was too unwilling to admit what was really going on between them.
He missed how they made plans to wind up Louis and the laughs they would share afterwards. How they both mentored Mike professionally(him) and emotionally(her), taking him under their wing, helping transform him into the man he was now. How she would sit at his desk as if it were her own, knowing he would never really mind, because it was her. But most of all, he missed the part of his soul she took with her when they became distant.
Like autumn leaves falling from a winter tree, slowly then all at once, the thoughts began floating around in his head until they all crashed, one by one.
Harvey clenched his jaw, his own anger at himself burning up inside. All he had to do was show her that they could be something more, and still maintain a working relationship. She wouldn't have to quit, or change jobs to be with him. She wasn't his secretary any more, he didn't have to give her orders every day, if anything it was the other way around now. Well, if he really admitted it to himself, it was always the other way around anyway. The circumstances that existed when she made that torturous rule had changed. She wasn't his assistant anymore.
And even if she was to leave work out of her own choice, coming home to her everyday seemed much better than only having a working relationship with her for the rest of his life. The thought of having to watch her find someone else and just stay work friends made him feel physically and mentally ill.
Nope. Not anymore. Things will be different soon, he promised himself.
…
At the same time, Donna and Lily were erupting in a fit of laughter inside their little booth, having ordered coffee and cake at the diner.
"You actually recorded him? Secretly? ..While he acted out a scene from a teenage chick-flick?" Lily was struggling to get the words out as she was so near tears.
Donna let out a satisfied chuckle of her own, "Yes! Who knew he was a Clueless fan, huh?"
"Can I see it?" Lily asked eagerly.
"He made me delete it." Donna said curling her lip in annoyance, "But I did get a spa trip to the Berkshires out of it!" she grinned proudly.
"Hmm.. I'm not sure I'd be ready to see it anyway." Lily responded as their laughter faded out.
She gave the younger woman a warm, solemn stare then. Donna knew exactly what was coming.
"You really know him, Donna."
The redhead looked down, smirking to herself as she responded in remembrance of a conversation she had with her friend many years ago, "I really do."
They shared another knowing glance. Not needing to comment on it further. But Lily did anyway, "I think he's ready you know.." she said in a gentle voice.
Donna quipped back sarcastically with a dry smile, "Yeah.. soo ready, that he needs his mother to do all the hard work for him."
"He doesn't know I'm here, Donna. You know that."
"But he needs you here, because he'd never come here to tell me himself."
"Tell you what?" Lily smiled with a slight frown.
"That he's in love with me." she stated firmly.
Lily sat back further in her seat, both hands linked around her cup, "So you do know?"
"I'm Donna, I know everything." she said humorously, almost mocking herself.
"Well then why aren't you with him?"
"Because I didn't need to know it. I needed him to say it." Donna sighed, "And he couldn't. And now I'm not sure if I even want him to."
Lily laughed, "I thought you knew everything?"
"I do." Donna smirked, knowing what Lily was getting at.
"So then.. do you want him to tell you or not?" she quizzed.
"I guess I just want him to want to tell me.. if that makes any sense?" she thought aloud, as she sipped her coffee.
"That makes perfect sense. You want him to tell you because he wants you to know it, not because he feels like he's losing you and it's the only way to get you to stay in his life. Am I getting hot?"
"You're practically burning." Donna nodded.
"Donna." she gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know he has probably hurt you, emotionally, over the years. A lot perhaps. But I don't know if he will ever say it in the right way or at the right time."
Donna trailed her eyes off to meet the wall beside them.
"But what I do know is.. that he feels it. And that's more important than any of the rest, honey." Lily stretched out her arms and took Donna's hands in her own to demand her attention again. "Don't let the void between yous two become so big that yous lose sight of each other." she whispered, encouraging tears to form under the redhead's eyelids, "The son I know today is not the son I knew ten, even twenty years ago. He's ready.. And I'm betting a lot of that is down to you." she finished.
"I.. Thank you, Lily." Donna whispered, completely at a loss for words.
They remained like that for a moment or two, before Lily broke the embrace and her hands retreated back to her side of the table.
"Well, I better go and actually buy something so it looks as if I've been shopping!" Lily smiled as she picked her coat up off the red leather couch.
"Actually.. I have a favour to ask first.." Donna said slowly, as the idea came to her.
"Anything." Lily beamed.
"The picture? Of you and Harvey in his office? Well he used to have the actual painting hanging, for years."
"I'm listening." the older woman responded, looking more somber now.
Donna had a sparkle in her eye as she leaned in to the table toward Lily, "Well I was thinking.."
…
The day had all too quickly turned to late evening and Harvey and Lily were having whiskey and wine in his living area before she left for Boston. They had spent the afternoon wandering about New York City together and dining in one of its most lavish restaurants, all on Harvey of course.
"I'm proud of you, Harvey." Lily smiled warmly, lowering her glass to her lap, "All that you've achieved here, you did it all on your own."
"I don't know about that." He said, immediately thinking of Donna.
"Don't be so modest.." Lily scolded lightly, "There's a lot of your father in you, you know? Hardly any of me ..lucky for you!" she said it as a joke but she believed it, and it even saddened her a little that more of her wasn't in him.
"I don't know about that.. I definitely inherited your stubbornness." he teased, looking up at her from behind a smirk.
She pressed her lips into a forced smile that tugged at his heart, "And your forgiving nature." he murmured, causing her to bare a huge grin, creating wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, "And of course, your good looks." he winked, not wanting to be too sappy.
There was laughter, then silence, then thinking.
"How did you cope, Harvey?"
He gave her a confused look before she continued.
"After your Dad passed away? I should have made more of an effort to be there for you, you shouldn't have been going through that all alone." she said dismally, reflecting on the past.
"I was okay, considering. But that's because I pushed you away. And I wasn't alone, Mom." he smiled at her softly.
Lily bowed her head down, nodding in realisation before looking back up at him, "Donna."
Harvey closed his eyes into a slow nod, "She was the one who told me."
"Oh god, that must have been awful for her. For you." Lily whispered.
"I wouldn't have gotten through any of it without her. She encouraged me to go to his funeral. I almost didn't, can you believe that? She showed me that I wanted to fix things with you too. And I tried. But then I saw Bobby there and I freaked. I panicked. I went back to what I knew best; anger and resentment."
It was relieving for Harvey to be able to talk about his father with his mother and not be taken over by a mountain of pent up rage.
"Harvey.." she said hoarsely, almost near tears.
"What I'm trying to get at is.. I could never see your point of view before. Why you did what you did. To Dad. With Bobby. Not until lately."
Lily cleared her throat, "What do you mean?"
"Donna kissed me recently.. when I was with someone. So I guess now I know what it's like to want to be with the person you're really in love with, when you're tied down with someone else." he finished in a raspy voice, before taking a drink to wet his throat.
Lily was shocked at her son's revelation, that he was actually admitting to understanding why she did what she did. She knew he would never truly forgive her for it, for the lies she made him keep secret as a child, but it was a huge step in the right direction for them. For him.
"You never told us about this other woman, Harvey." she stated.
Now was not the time to delve into the fact that his mid-life crisis was him dating his ex-therapist. He cleared his throat now too, "I know.. part of me was ashamed. I mean, there was nothing wrong with her.. she was great, she just wasn't.."
"Donna." Lily finished, her heart warming at her son's honesty, but breaking at his pain.
"She was the closest thing I could get to her.. and I realise all that now, I do. It's just a pity I didn't sooner." It was becoming much easier for him to express his feelings lately, as he confronted his issues head-on instead of cowering away from them.
"It's not too late Harvey. You and I both know that." She mused, hinting at their own rekindled relationship.
"I know. I just need to give her a bit more time, I think. I don't want to rush her and push her away." he said, almost laughing at his and Donna's emotional role reversal in the last week.
"Careful you don't give her too much, son. Time is the greatest healer of all, you know?" she warned softly, reminding him that Donna wouldn't wait around forever.
He nodded in agreement as he stared into the fire.
"Right, I best get a move on then. My cab is probably almost here by now!" Lily said reluctantly getting up off the couch.
Harvey picked up her bags then and they both made their way to the lobby, then onto the street when they saw the taxi pull up a moment later.
"You're coming to Boston next! And soon!" she demanded.
"Sounds good to me." he beamed, giving her a strong yet gentle hug, bowing down to rest his chin on her shoulder, as she rubbed his back feeling like his mother once again.
She was getting into the cab before she turned back to him, "Oh and that invitation is for two people, not one." she smirked, eyes twinkling against the street lights.
"Alright, Mom. I get it." he mumbled, rolling his eyes in mock irritation whilst failing miserably at hiding a smile.
"Stop worrying about being happy Harvey, and just be happy." She held his cheek for a moment, before getting into the cab.
"Goodbye, Mom." he smiled.
"See you soon, Harvey." she replied.
Harvey shut the door, and tapped on the roof, indicating to the driver to take off.
As he watched the yellow vehicle fade into the distance he felt whole again. Well almost. He had set out to fully fix his issues once and for all, so he could be ready for her. And although he may not be actually completely cured of his demons, he's ready enough to try anyway.
Staring at the disappearing cab he realised that not everyone that is leaving, is abandoning him.
.
.
Hope you enjoyed the second part of Lily's intervention! Feel free to let me know what you think :)