Death Changes a Man
WARNING: Major Character Death. I think you all know what's coming… This is for a guest who wanted Mike to die and see what Harvey's reaction would be…hope you like it!
It started out as any other day at the firm, nothing unusual. Mike walked into Harvey's office just as the man got off the phone with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in irritation.
"Long night?" Mike smirked as he closed the folder he was reading and dropped onto the couch.
"Don't wanna talk about it. Listen, I need you to go pick up the client from the train station."
"What? Why me and not you?"
"Long story, now go."
"Harvey-"
"Do I have to feed you to Louis?"
"No, but-"
"Why are you still here? Leave or I'll kick your ass out of here."
Mike huffed and rolled his eyes before tossing the folder on Harvey's desk and leaving the room just as Donna stepped in.
"That was a little harsh," she said, handing Harvey a coffee and some aspirin.
"He'll get over it," Harvey grinned as he took a small sip from the cup and popped the pills into his mouth.
Donna gave him a look and he sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll make it up to him when he gets back. What's that crappy pizza place that he likes?"
Donna smiled as she wrote down a number. She loved her boys. Harvey shook his head in disbelief; the things he did for Donna…and the annoying kid. Looking at his watch, he figured Mike would be at least an hour; he'd call the pizza place in thirty minutes. After taking another sip from his coffee he opened the file Mike had given him about their new client. He had a lot of work to do before the two got back.
~+SUITS+~
Mike looked down at his watch for the fifth time with a groan. The client was over ten minutes late and if he didn't know better, he'd think Harvey might just be trying to get rid of him. He snorted inwardly with a shake of his head; wouldn't be the first time. He looked up at the train exits when he heard the announcements on the intercom.
"Now arriving: New Haven, Connecticut."
"Finally," Mike whispered. He moved closer to the doors, trying to find Mr. Walters, pushing respectfully past the other passengers. But when he couldn't find him, he figured for sure that Harvey had just wanted him out.
"Mike Ross?" A voice said.
Turning around, a smile broke out on his face. "Mr. Walters." They shook hands before starting to walk towards the exits.
"Sorry for the lateness; I missed the first train, because of an issue at the first station. Now worries, though."
"Not a problem, Mr. Walters." Mike was a bit curious as to what had happened at the first station, but he didn't want to pry. If he upset the client, Harvey would have his ass.
"Please, call me Chris."
"Alright, Mr. Walt- um, I mean Chris, the car is-"
"Everybody on the ground!" Someone shouted before a gunshot went off.
Immediately, people started screaming and hitting the grounds with hands over their heads. A few people tried to run, but didn't get very far when the masked gunman raised his gun and pulled the trigger, victims instantly crumpling the floor.
Mike and Chris, however, were frozen to the spot. On the outside, Mike's face was stoic, but on the inside he was completely freaking out. He couldn't believe this was fucking happening. Man, Harvey was gonna be pissed if the client got killed. And just when it couldn't get worse…
"Where is Chris Walters?!"
Mike rotated his head to the left and looked at Mr. Walters with wide eyes. The man only returned the gaze, more confusion in his eyes than Mike had. Without thinking, Mike slowly pushed Chris back the way they came, hoping the gunman didn't see them.
"Hey!"
Shit.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Mike clenched his jaw as he shielded Mr. Walters. He couldn't believe it; he barely even knew the guy and he was risking his life for him. The gunman was not playing games and he'd kill anyone who was in the way of his target.
"Who's behind you?" The gunman said as he moved closer to the pair.
"No one," Mike said, trying to stay calm. But he guessed he tested the guy's patience a little too much. The next thing he knew, the gun went off and there was a sharp pain in side. He stumbled backwards a bit with a grimace before falling to the floor. He looked up at Chris, the guy looking like he was a deer caught in headlights.
"I'm gonna enjoy killing you, Chris," the man growled. "But first-"
Mike suddenly had a burst of adrenaline as he shot up from the ground and tackled for the gun.
"You little prick!"
Mike almost felt like he was getting the upper hand when all of a sudden the gun went off. At first, he thought it hit the gunman, but when he saw the guy smile wickedly, he knew where the bullet had gone. The man pushed Mike off of him and the associate looked down, seeing blood blooming on his chest…right near his heart. The pain was excruciating and he had a feeling he wasn't making it back to the office today…or ever.
"You disgust me," the gunman scowled down at him before kicking Mike in the stomach. "I'll just leave you here to bleed to death. In the meantime, I have some unfinished business." He turned back to Chris, who was trembling violently against the wall, face as white as a ghost.
"Now, where were we? Oh yeah, I'm gonna gut-"
"NYPD drop your weapon and put your hands on your head!"
"Fuck," the gunman swore as he dropped the gun onto the ground and clasped his hands behind his head. He smiled forcefully at Mr. Walter and sighed. "So close." Immediately after, he was tackled and cuffed.
Once Mr. Walter felt it was safe, he bolted over to Mike and fell to his knees. The kid's eyes were closed tightly and his breathing was wet and shallow. Blood was trickling from his open mouth and Mr. Walter had a really bad feeling Mike wasn't going to make it…and it was his fault. He was tied up in this money problem which is why he sought out Harvey and Pearson Harman in the first place. Now a kid was gonna die, because of him.
"We need an ambulance now!" He shouted towards some policemen. He looked back down to the dying associate and swore. "Mike…Mike can you hear me?"
"Nggh…C-Chris," Mike coughed. "C-Chris, are you…are y-you 'kay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine; it's you we have to worry about."
"N-no…not g-g'nna…make it."
"Stop thinking like that…you…" Chris looked at Mike's injuries nervously. The kid was right; there was a 95% chance that Mike wasn't gonna live. But he didn't want to freak him out.
"You'll make it, don't worry."
A few tears of pain and fear escaped Mike's eyes as he grasped Chris' arm tightly. Blood was pooling beneath the both of them and Mike was getting worse by the second. Where were the damn paramedics?!
"T-Tell Harvey…t-tell him…I'm s-sorry."
Chris swallowed thickly; and just as the paramedics came rushing towards them, Mike exhaled softly and his grip on the client's arm loosened, sliding to the ground.
"Shit." How was he gonna tell Harvey this?
He watched as the paramedics tried to staunch the bleeding, got Mike onto a gurney and rolled him towards the exits. Without thinking, he followed them outside and through the chaos that had formed. He suddenly noticed a man standing near a black town car; one that Harvey described was picking him up along with Mike.
"Excuse me, are you Ray?" He said to the man.
"Y-Yes, who are you?" Ray said, breaking out of his stupor.
"Chris Walters, the one who's supposed to meet with Harvey Specter. Um…Mike Ross was shot…he's probably not gonna make it. I need you to bring me to the hospital."
"Of course," Ray opened the door quickly. "Get in."
In a few seconds, Ray pulled out of the parking space by the sidewalk and began to follow the ambulance that carried the associate who was so close to death.
~+SUITS+~
Donna put the phone back on the receiver shakily. The news she had just gotten was something she never wished would happen. Harvey had gone down to the lobby to get the pizza for Mike, who he was expecting to be here soon. That just made the shock disappear and the tears well up in her eyes. How was she gonna tell Harvey this? It had been bad enough when she broke the news about his dad's heart attack, but this…this was going to destroy him. Including herself and Jessica, Mike was basically the only family the guy had. Mike was a little brother to him and when he found out that…suddenly she noticed Harvey coming down the hallway with a steaming box in his hand, a slight smile on his face. Donna hated that she was gonna have to ruin his mood.
"Mike back yet?" He said, passing her desk and heading into his office.
Taking a deep breath, Donna stood up and stood in his doorway. This was gonna hurt.
"Harvey…"
Harvey frowned and stopped walking to his desk, turning around. The last time Donna's tone was like that, it was about his dad. What could be worse? He saw the tears in the woman's eyes and he knew he wasn't gonna like the news he was about to hear.
"What is it?"
Donna closed her eyes, tears slipping from underneath her lashes. "God, I really don't…I don't know how to tell you this."
Dread was building up in his gut like a volcano…someone had died and he didn't, but did want to know who it was. Obviously it was someone they both knew or else Donna wouldn't be hesitating this bad…or crying.
"Tell me…Donna, what happened?"
"Mike…he was shot and um…he didn't make it."
Harvey's heart thudded to a stop, his hands went cold and he could barely feel the box of pizza as it slipped from his hands and landed on the ground. Tears of his own began to form in his brown eyes making his vision blurry. He wiped a hand down his face and looked away from Donna, staring at the file Mike had given him earlier. The last thing Mike had written. He collapsed onto a nearby chair while Donna just stood there, tears falling onto her cheeks.
"W-What…" Harvey cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "What happened?"
Donna sat down next to his and placed a hand on his knee. "Umm…Mr. Walter was the one who called from the hospital. He said a guy with a gun just came into the station and shot a bunch people. He said Mike saved him; tried to shield him and then he tackled the guy for the gun."
"Dammit, Mike."
"He told me to tell you that…Mike said he was sorry."
Harvey shot up from the chair and swiped everything off his desk in anger, not caring if he broke anything. How could the kid do that; sacrifice his life, make stupid choices? Sure he saved someone, but at what cost. God, if the kid wasn't….wasn't gone Harvey would kill him himself. He leaned forward on the table, heaving and really pissed…then really sick. Mike…the guy who was like a little brother to him…was dead. It was too much to handle.
"Harvey-"
Ignoring Donna, he pushed past her and strode towards the men's bathroom. In a matter of minutes, he was hunching over the toilet, throwing up every single substance in his stomach. When he was finished, he stumbled over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He looked up into the mirror and exhaled shakily; Mike was gone forever and for once, there was nothing he could do about it…and then he realized: Mike was dead because of him.
~+SUITS+~
The Next Day
Harvey stood in Mike's apartment, hands stuffed in his pocket and completely still. He looked around the room at the crap the kid had and thought how Mike would never step foot in this place again; never ride that goddamn contraption he called a bike ever again. He took in a shaky breath and moved further into the room. It was silent besides the muffled sounds of passing cars and horns; he went to Mike's room and clenched his jaw as he looked at it. The damn kid didn't even make his bed. It made him chuckle a bit before his mood sobered quickly. He lowered himself onto the bed and put his face in his hands.
"Oh god, Mike…I'm so sorry." He wanted to cry, but he was fresh out of tears. Jessica had let him leave early to go to the hospital and make sure it was really Mike who was killed. Unfortunately, it was. When he got home, he drank himself to oblivion; when he came to with a pounding headache, realization hit him. Mike Ross was dead. And Harvey did one thing neither he nor anyone else thought he could or would do: cry. He cried for two hours straight which didn't benefit his headache at all. When he was done, he decided to go to Mike's apartment for a reason he did not know. He knew, however, it would make him hurt more. Now here he was, sitting on Mike's bed and rubbing his red, sore eyes. He had no idea what he was gonna do now; the funeral was in a few days, but he didn't know if he could work up the strength to go.
"Harvey?"
The man looked up when he heard a familiar voice in the apartment. In a couple seconds, Donna appeared in front of him, sadness on her pale face.
"Donna…what are you doing here?"
"I'm worried about you…you don't seem like yourself."
"Well, gee Donna I wonder why that is? Hmm, maybe because my associate is dead?"
"Harvey-"
"I'm sorry Donna it's just…"
Donna sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. "I know…it's okay."
"No…it's not okay. Mike's dead; I never thought it could happen, but it did."
"But it's not your fault."
"Yeah, it is; I told him told him to go instead of me. I yelled at him…and you want to know the last thing I said to the kid? I said 'leave or I'll kick your ass out of here.'"
"I'm sure Mike doesn't hate you for that; he looked up to you."
"Yeah well…I'm a poor excuse for a role model." He stood up and wiped his face. "I gotta go; I'll see you later."
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I don't know; somewhere."
Donna followed Harvey to the door and sighed. "Be careful; please don't go do something stupid." She received no response as Harvey disappeared, the footfalls on the stairs fading with distance. Before leaving, she looked around Mike's apartment and sighed sadly.
"I'm so sorry, Mike." With that she shut the door and left the building as well. Being there hurt too much.
~+SUITS+~
It was the day of the funeral. Donna and Harvey along with Rachel, Jessica Jenny, even Trevor sat in the front. Some others from the firm also came for the funeral, surprisingly Louis did, too. But Harvey was happy about one thing; it was good that Mike's grandmother had passed. He didn't think the woman would be able to handle this. The funeral was nice; Donna had done a good job putting it together. He had bought the casket, but she had done everything else; he knew he'd crash and burn without her. He also requested it be closed casket, because he wouldn't be able to handle seeing Mike so pale and lifeless. After he gave the eulogy, something he never thought he'd do, he along with Donna, Rachel and Jenny carried the casket outside and to the plot where Donna picked out…right next to Edith Ross. Mike would've been happy about that. After the priest said a prayer, the casket was lowered into the ground and everybody threw a piece of dirt in before they all watched someone shovel the rest of the dirt until it was filled to the top. Soon after people placed flowers near the tombstone, they started to leave…but not Harvey.
"Harvey," Jessica said, placing a hand on Harvey's shoulder. "Take some time off; I know this is hard for you."
Harvey remained silent, staring at the place where Mike was buried, as Jessica sighed and squeezed his shoulder before leaving.
"Harvey, call me okay?" Donna whispered. "If you want to talk, just call me."
Harvey stayed silent again but finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "Thanks Donna."
"Do you need me to stay?"
"No…I'll be fine."
Donna hesitated before replying. "Okay."
He was finally alone. Harvey leaned forward and dropped the rose with the rest of the flowers before resting a hand on the tombstone. And then he realized he never looked at the inscription. He figured Donna had done something simple and original, but he looked at it anyways.
Mike Ross
1989-2013
Beloved Son, Grandson, Friend, and Brother.
The last part made Harvey choke on his breath and he suddenly didn't want to be here anymore.
"I'm gonna miss you kid."
Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, Harvey turned around and left the cemetery without another word. And disregarding Jessica's offer to take a few days of, he returned to work the next day. It was early, though, so no one besides the janitors and the day guard were there. Slowly, he walked to the bullpen and right to Mike's cubicle. A highlighter was still open with a chewed cap next to it, papers were stacked next to the computer, an empty Red Bull can was laying sideways on the desk, the kid's messenger bag was hanging off the vacant chair and his bike helmet was on the floor underneath his desk. He remembered the first day when he met the kid; they'd come so far…maybe that's why he cared so much about him…maybe that's the reason he cried.
"Why'd it have to be you, kid?"
It should've been him; he should've been the one to go to the train station, not Mike. If he hadn't been so lazy, if he hadn't stayed up all night drinking with his date, Mike would be alive right now. Sure, he'd probably be the one six feet under instead, but Mike had his whole life ahead of him; he was gonna make a great lawyer someday…but now that'd never happen. Scrubbing his stubble covered face, he walked back to his office and scanned it quietly. He loved this office; it made him feel happy…well, it did. Now…he didn't know if he'd ever be the same again. Sighing, he took a few minutes to look out the window at the New York skyline before heading back to his desk. Without another thought, he tossed his Pearson Hardman I.D. on the table as he turned around and left the firm…for good. As he walked out of the elevator and through the lobby, he remembered the conversation he and Mike had a while back that made him smile a bit.
Flashback
"Listen, I'm sorry and-"
"Forget it. When I first started, Jessica rode me so hard, I quit once a month. I just told you what you needed to hear."
"That's just it. I've only had one person who told me what I needed to hear; maybe it's time I started trusting somebody else."
"Did you really quit when you first started?"
"Of course not, I'm not a wuss."
Fin
….Please don't hate me for killing Mike…is it wrong to say that I kinda like writing this though it almost made me cry? Anyways, review like always! Also, NOT ACCEPTING ANYMORE REQUESTS.