Chapter 13.

Harvey didn't sleep well for the rest of the night and was still tired when he woke up. He found himself laying in bed trying to figure out how to handle this situation with Mike. The kid was just so vulnerable. He couldn't stop thinking about last night, how Mike had screamed for help and when Harvey had arrived, Mike clung to him almost desperately, to then come to his senses and demanded to be left alone.

It was a while ago now since Mike's attack, but it must still be haunting the kid. Much more than Harvey had thought. It tore in Harvey to think about how Mike had called for help. He wondered if Mike had done the same in that alley. Mike had been laying alone there for hours, he must have been terrified. He had been badly hurt and just dumped somewhere with no means to get himself out of there.

Heated anger rose in him at this point. Anger towards the person who had done this to Mike. To his Mike. Harvey wanted to hurt Joe Henderson. He needed to put more pressure on the damn police to find this guy. He would make that one of his priorities. That guy wasn't going to get away with doing this to his associate.

The most important matter now though was making sure that Mike was somewhat alright. The last two days had really been a setback and Harvey was responsible for a lot of it. He felt guilty when he thought about his part in Mike's breakdown. He had actually thrown Mike out of the door. He didn't understand how he could have lost his temper like that. He had done a lot of damage to the kid by doing it, he was sure of it. He needed to try and make it right again.

He decided to get up and walked over to Mike's room the first he did. He wasn't that surprised to see that Mike was awake. He was laying on his back staring up into the ceiling. With his good arm he was hugging his chest with his hand grasping his own shoulder. His broken arm lay across his stomach. It looked like he was on the verge of tears. He briefly met Harvey's eyes when he stepped inside the room, but then he looked away. He didn't say anything.

"Hi Mike." Harvey said. He waited until Mike looked back at him again.

"Hi." Mike whispered.

Harvey hesitated a little before stepping over and sitting down on Mike's bed. He waited a while, but the younger man didn't say anything else.

"How are you doing?"

Mike took some time before he answered. "I don't know."

Harvey nodded. "Yeah."

There was an awkward silence between them after that. Mike didn't know what to say. Harvey just sat there like he was waiting for something. He just felt humiliated and wished Harvey would leave again. He didn't feel like he was ready to deal with this new day yet. The memories of last night was crystal clear and kept replaying in his head. He had lost control and he had cried. He didn't know for how long he had done it; he didn't remember stopping. He hated the fact that Harvey must have heard him.

It stressed him a lot when Harvey didn't say anything. What did he want? But right now, he didn't trust himself to talk, so he adverted his eyes and just waited.

Harvey didn't know if he should bring up last night or not. Maybe it was better to just pretend that it hadn't happen for now. It didn't look like Mike was up for talking anyway.

"So… Mike. Would you like to have some breakfast?" Harvey said, having decided on a tactic.

"Okay." Mike whispered. "But can I please have half an hour?"

Harvey clenched his jaw as he watched Mike's tensed features.

"Yes, of course." He patted Mike shoulder a bit and stood up. He walked to the door and felt unsure of whether he should close it or not. Then he felt stupid about it and left the door half open.

Mike watched him go and let out a shuttering breath. He didn't know why he felt like crying again. He wished that he could go back to sleep again and preferably sleep the rest of the day, or the rest of the week. Maybe even a month, because by then his arm would be healed again.

He closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeper, tried to will the tight feeling over his chest away. He needed to get ready by the time Harvey got back again. He managed somewhat.

"Alright? You ready?" Harvey said when he stepped back into the room. Mike nodded this time and started to sit up. He sat there with his head bent down.

"Off to the bathroom?" Harvey asked as he removed the cover from Mike's legs and then pushed the wheelchair closer.

"I guess."

Mike noticed that Harvey did things a little different this time. He didn't grab him under his knees and arm like earlier, instead he made sure that Mike's both feet were placed on the floor. Then he leaned forward against him and used his knees to steady Mike's legs, and after that he grabbed Mike below the arms.

"I'm going to move you now, okay." He said and then heaved him over to the chair. It worked well and Mike was a bit surprised.

"Where did you learn that?" He asked as Harvey started to push him towards the bathroom.

"I did some research." Harvey said.

Mike bit his lips and didn't answer. Harvey had read up on how to move him better? It felt both good and bad. It showed him that Harvey was trying to make an effort, but he also hated the fact that he had done it. He didn't want Harvey to research disability stuff.

Mike was so quiet. Harvey let him be though. The kid was going through a lot at the moment it seemed. He was glad that the new lifting technic had worked. He had spent a good part of the last half an hour googling it.

He started the awkward process of helping Mike over to the toilet. He wished he didn't have to do it, because Mike was shaking now. He got the kids pajama pants off him and Mike inhaled deeply. He was staring down at his legs and Harvey followed his gaze.

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed before he thought of stopping himself. The whole front of Mike's legs was covered in bruises. Fist shaped bruises. He hadn't noticed them earlier, maybe they had appeared overnight, or at least darkened in color. It looked terrible.

"You really did a number on yourself." Harvey said.

"Yeah. I guess." Mike said and then leaned forward over his legs to hide them from view.

"Maybe we should do something about it Mike?"

"What do you mean? Like what?"

"I don't know. Some cream maybe."

"Do you have any cream?"

"Well, no. But I can have Donna get some."

"Don't bother. I can't feel it anyway."

Harvey nodded and finished helping him in silence.

Later at the breakfast table Harvey watched how Mike just sat there looking out the window without touching the food. He debated with himself whether he should say something or not. It was Mike's business whether he ate or not, but Harvey really thought it would benefit him if he did. Eventually he couldn't hold it.

"Are you eating that?"

Mike jerked a bit and looked at Harvey and then down at his plate. He swallowed before he nodded a little.

"Yeah, sure." He said, but still didn't touch it. He had no apatite at all. He was still planning on eating it. Not yet, but soon. This morning already felt like it was ruined. He had already been embarrassed and humiliated. Harvey had seen what he had done to himself. Harvey knew that he was a freak. Who would do something like that to themselves?

The bruises on his legs had looked terrible and he had caused it himself this time. They were there as a reminder now about one of the worst nights of his life. Or maybe that night was just the beginning of how the rest of his life was going to be from now on. Was this going to be his new normal? Was he going to feel like this always?

Another thing that he couldn't get out of his mind was the start of all of this, not the attack, but of Harvey throwing him out. The conversation that led up to it was edged into his mind and was there like a heavy stone that kept pressing him down. Harvey had suggested that things needed to change, that he wasn't making any progress like this. And now what had happened? The only thing Mike had done now was to prolong everything. He had four more weeks of being unable to use his arm, meaning that he couldn't do stuff himself. He wasn't going to make any progress in four weeks time.

Harvey had implied that he thought Mike should seek help, or had he even wanted him to reconsider going to the center. Did Harvey want him gone? He had said that he didn't after all that happened after, but maybe he just did that out of guilt. Was it so that Harvey didn't want him here? Was that the truth? Or did Harvey mean it when he said that they were family. If he really meant that, he wouldn't throw him out or make him go to the center.

It just weighed to heavy on him that Harvey maybe wanted him out of here. That it was a possibility that he didn't want to deal with Mike. Harvey had said before that he didn't care about him, he had said that. It was before though, when they barely knew each other. Things had changed since then. But that conversation though, he wasn't making progress.

He didn't know how to make progress. He felt so down, scared and drained. All he wanted to do was to go back to bed and cry. It felt like the tears was constantly just in the corner of his eyes now.

He took a bite of the sandwich in front of him. It felt like it was made out of dirt. He still chewed and swallowed. He had no appetite at all. If he hadn't been at Harvey's place, he would have left the table, but now he didn't dare to do it. He didn't want Harvey to be upset with him again. It felt like he couldn't take that.

"So, Mike. How are you feeling? Not that hungry huh?" Harvey said suddenly and Mike felt himself jerk. He looked up at Harvey and tried to look normal. What should he answer though? It was true that he wasn't hungry, but what if Harvey would be pissed if he said that, or think him ungrateful?

"I'm…I'm okay." He said, just to answer something.

Harvey raised his eyebrows a little. "You don't look okay."

Mike swallowed. "I'm just…ehm…" He didn't know! He felt all panicky now, he didn't know what to do. The tears got closer and he had to really focus so that his eyes didn't well over. He refused to look at Harvey. Instead he jerkily took another bite of the sandwich.

Harvey studied the kid closely. Mike looked like he was on the verge of tears and that really got to him. He felt so sorry for him and wished that he knew what to do to help. But it was hard when Mike refused to admit that he wasn't feeling well. He didn't know if he should call him out on it or respect his wishes of pretending that he was fine.

"It's okay if you are not feeling okay Mike. I get it."

Mike looked up at him then. He looked surprised. "You get it?" He whispered.

"I get if you are not feeling okay."

Mike looked down again and nodded. He hesitated so Harvey waited.

"Will you be pissed if I don't eat?" He asked then. Harvey just stared at him for a bit. Mike was asking if he would be mad at him, if he didn't eat. It was so unlike him from how he was before all of this. Mike from then would never have asked something like that. He needed to do something to ease up the tension.

"Of course not. If you don't want to eat, don't eat."

Mike stared at his sandwich and nodded slowly. He took another bite and then put it away.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Harvey surprised him by asking. He stared at him.

"What do you mean? Do."

"Well, I don't know. I thought we could do something."

"Like what?"

Harvey shrugged and looked kind of uncomfortable. "I don't know. That was why I asked you."

"There isn't that much I can do like this." Mike muttered. "We could go for a walk though, if you want to push me."

"A walk? Okay. Let's go for a walk. We can do that. Go where?"

Mike couldn't help but smile then.

They went for a walk for almost an hour. It felt good for Mike to be outside some. Harvey also stopped and bought them both hot dogs. Mike had all of it and Harvey even offered him to buy him a second one. Mike felt grateful and during that hour things felt kind of okay again. Sure, he could feel people staring at him, but Harvey was there, and Mike suspected that he stared back at them, making them uncomfortable.

Harvey felt pretty good about himself as he was pushing Mike back towards the condo. He thought Mike seemed a little happier right now, which had been the aim.

He could see what Mike had talked about, as they were walking, he noticed that people looked at Mike. Some stared openly while some refused to even look at Mike's way. At the people how stared Harvey did his best at staring back angerly at them. They had no right to look at Mike like they did.

Mike seemed to be in a slightly better mood when they got back to the condo. At least for a while. Harvey asked if they should sit down on the couch for a bit and Mike agreed. Harvey placed the man on the couch and handed him a blanket. Harvey went to the kitchen and brought out something to eat. He didn't have that much but found some snacks for them. When he got back to the couch Mike was sitting there staring straight ahead. He looked lost in thought, and sad.

"What's on your mind Mike?" Harvey gently asked as he sat down in front of the kid.

Mike didn't look at him, instead he directed his gaze downward. He paused for a while.

"Do you think that they will ever catch him?"

Harvey drew a deep breath and clenched his teeth. Damn it. "I don't know Mike. But I want you to know that I will do everything I can do make sure he pays for what he did to you."

Mike nodded slowly. "Okay." He whispered and bent his head down even lower. He then placed his good hand over his face.

"Mike…" Harvey said after a pause.

The younger man looked at him then, and Harvey saw that his eyes were wet.

"I'm sorry kid." Harvey got up from the chair and sat down next to him instead. He placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, but he didn't react much at all, he just sat there.

Harvey's hand on his shoulder was comforting Mike slightly. He didn't know why he felt so damn down all of a sudden. He just felt like such a mess. He didn't know what Harvey was thinking about him either. Harvey promised to make Joe Henderson pay, but Mike didn't know how Harvey would do that if he wasn't even found.

He wondered how long Harvey would stand having him here from now on. Today had been pretty good. Harvey had said that he could stay, but Harvey had also said that he wasn't making any progress. He couldn't get it out of his mind. He wanted this thought process to stop. He wished that there was some way of shutting down his brain. He knew one way that he had used in the past when he felt overwhelmed, but that wasn't possible now, because he couldn't walk. Also, he didn't think that Harvey would help him to get high. But it had been a good way to numb his mind, to calm himself down. All he could do now was to just sit there and wait for something to change. He didn't know how to change it himself.

Harvey removed his hand and leaned away from him. The moment was gone, and Mike was alone again. Harvey's hand wasn't there to ground him anymore. Sure, the older man remained sitting next to him, but that wasn't the same thing as to Harvey actually holding on to him. He felt so stupid when he wished that Harvey would do it again. He didn't dare to move.

Harvey told him that it would be alright, and Mike nodded. He tried to act normal, he did try that, but didn't know if it was convincing or not.

The day passed slowly. Mike slept some. They ate and watched a movie, but when it was over Mike barely knew what it had been about. At times he just felt close to tears without knowing why. He didn't want to leave the couch, because he didn't want Harvey to help him. At the couch he felt more normal, not as helpless. He wished he could just stay there, and at times he just couldn't help but to wish that he could just go to sleep and not wake up again. What did he have to look forward to now? He couldn't come up with anything.

He knew that was a serious thought. He shouldn't have it; he knew that too. But he couldn't do anything about that. Sometimes it just came and at times it was hard to push it away.

Harvey tried to talk to him once in a while, Mike guessed that he was trying to make him feel better or something, but he just wished that Harvey would shut up. He didn't want to answer questions about how he was feeling or if he needed help with something. He wanted to scream at Harvey to shut up, but he didn't have the guts to do it. He couldn't risk that Harvey got mad at him again.

Eventually he needed to use the bathroom and he hated it. After that humiliation he asked Harvey to help him into bed.

"But it's not even six a clock Mike. Don't you want some dinner?" Harvey asked him.

"No, I want to lay down." Mike clenched his teeth hard together. It felt like he was close to breaking down and all he wished for right now was to be left alone. He felt so humiliated. He was breathing hard.

Harvey helped him and then he left the room. "I'll let you get some rest then." He said before he walked out the door. "Just call out if you need anything."

Mike told him to close the door. Then he cried.

Again, he thought about the conversation they had had before Harvey had pushed him out. Mike wasn't making any progress. Harvey had suggested that he go to the center. Not in those words but Mike knew what he had meant. Harvey needed to get his life back. He needed to focus on work again and not leave there all the time to come and help Mike out.

Maybe he should go to the center. He couldn't help but cry harder at the thought of that. He would be so damn alone. Strangers would help him with everything. He would have no one to talk to, nobody would care about him at all there. He would be all alone. He just couldn't handle it going there. If he just stayed quiet and out of Harvey's way as much as he could, maybe he would get to stay then.

He felt so cold now, it didn't help that he pulled the cover tighter around himself. He wanted to switch position but couldn't. He needed some paper too, to wipe his face. Eventually he was able to calm down some. He had a headache and just wanted to pass out, to sleep. Harvey hadn't been by to check on him. Mike wished that he would come. He thought about when Harvey had put a hand on his shoulder earlier. That had felt so nice. He wished Harvey would do it again.

It felt like hours passed. He just laid there and waited. Nothing happened and eventually he fell asleep. It was dark when he woke up again. He checked his phone and saw that it was close to five thirty in the morning. Harvey had never come to check on him. It hurt.

-SUITS-

Harvey had stayed up for a long time that night. At first after he had helped Mike to bed, he opened his laptop and started to work. It was around eight that he figured that they probably should have dinner. He prepared something and then went to get Mike, but when he carefully opened the door to Mike's room, he found Mike fast asleep. He hesitated a little but then decided against waking the kid. It would probably be good for Mike to get a good night's sleep, so he had closed the door again and went to eat by himself.

The next morning, he went to Mike's bedroom around eight in the morning. Mike looked up at him as soon as he opened the door.

"Good morning." Harvey greeted him.

Mike adverted his eyes and mumbled something that Harvey guessed was a good morning.

"Do you want to get up then?" Harvey asked.

"Okay." Mike breathed so Harvey walked into the room to help him. Mike refused to look at him and shivered a bit when Harvey removed the cover from him. He stayed still and didn't make any attempt of sitting up, and Harvey hesitated a bit.

"You want to sit up?" He asked.

Mike slowly got up on his elbow then. Harvey lifted his legs to the side and supported him at sitting up. He turned around to get Mike some fresh clothes and when he turned back around, he caught a glimpse of Mike wiping his eyes. Shit. Was he crying?

"Are you okay?" He asked, but Mike just nodded. Harvey helped him to get dressed and lifted him over to the wheelchair. He couldn't help but noticed that Mike was shaking slightly.

"Are you cold?" He asked then, but Mike shook his head. Harvey squeezed his shoulder a little before walking them to the kitchen.

"You must be hungry. I made some dinner last night, but you were asleep. Maybe you can heat it up for lunch." He told Mike. Then he went to get a blanket because he saw that Mike was still shivering. The younger man didn't say anything when Harvey draped it over him.

They had a stiff breakfast together. Mike didn't look good at all and ate slowly while he kept his eyes down. In fact Mike hadn't looked in him in the eyes at all this morning.

Mike knew that Harvey must think that he was acting weird, but he just couldn't get himself to act normal. He didn't have it in him to fake it right now. Harvey asked him if he had slept well and he just nodded. When they were done Harvey helped him to sit down on the couch.

"Look Mike, I'm going to head over to work for a few hours. I'll be back at lunch. Is that okay with you?"

Harvey looked at the kid where he sat stiffly on the couch. If Mike said no, he was going to stay at home. But Mike didn't say no, instead he nodded and said that it was okay. So, Harvey went to get himself ready. Maybe he could go to the office and see if he could move up the meeting, he had this afternoon. Then he could stay at home with the kid after lunch.

Mike wanted to ask Harvey to stay. He didn't want him to go to work. He wasn't fine with it at all. He didn't want to be alone. He sat quietly on the couch as Harvey made himself ready. He even made a thing about asking Mike which tie to wear. Mike did what his old self would have done and complained about the ties Harvey offered up as choices were too wide.

"We have already had the discussion about your skinny ties, Mike." Harvey said and went with the opposite of what Mike had suggested. He felt stupid when it actually felt hurtful. Then Harvey called Ray, asked if Mike needed anything and then he was out the door.

"See you soon!" He called from the hallway and Mike heard the door close. He was alone. Soon, in this case meant four hours according to Harvey. Four hours wasn't soon. Four hours was damn long if you asked Mike. Not that anyone did.

Harvey had placed all sort of things on the table next to him. Two glasses of water, a sandwich, an apple, pain killers, the remote and even a book. He had also arranged so that he was able to charge his phone by the table. It was probably hard for Harvey, because he had used an extension cord that ran across the floor. Not very stylish.

He turned the TV on and tried to find something that could help with distracting him for a couple of hours. Nothing caught his interest, but he found some movie he had seen once and liked. He had to concentrate on the dialogue. He tried to keep that in his focus and not let his mind wander off.

When the movie was over, he turned off the TV and checked the time. He found that it was still close to three hours left until Harvey would get back. It was so long. He wondered if Harvey would mind if he called him. But he didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that he just wanted to talk, but that was the truth. He wished that he could call someone. That he just had someone to talk to. He briefly allowed himself to think about Rachel. He hadn't heard a word from her since she had left after telling him she wanted a break, since she left him.

Thoughts of Rachel led to thoughts of their apartment that he never would see again, and then to thoughts about his grandmother. He had bought that place for her. She had never seen it either. She never knew that it would be his gift to her. He missed her terribly. She had been the one he had turned to when he was feeling down. The loss of her felt like a wound inside of him. it felt much deeper at this moment.

He checked the time again and saw that only eleven minutes had passed. Two hours and forty-nine minutes left. Maybe he could sleep for a bit. He was sitting up though and he didn't know if he would be able to lay down comfortably by himself. He considered trying but then decided against it. It felt like he would break down if he failed. He bit his lip hard. It wasn't that comfortable to sleep sitting up, he tried a little but soon abandoned that idea.

He checked his phone a bit but didn't know what to do on it. He picked up the book Harvey had left him but couldn't get into it. He ate the sandwich that Harvey had left, and then the apple as well. Maybe eating would make him feel a little better, but he didn't notice any difference.

Again, he picked up his phone and opened his contacts. It was only two hours left now. Maybe he could call. Just to check in. But what if Harvey thought he was annoying. Maybe he could call Donna. But he wasn't sure if he would be able to come up with something to say. And what if he started to actually cry when he heard her voice? At the moment that was what it felt like he would do. She would probably tell Harvey then, maybe make him go home to Mike. Harvey would be annoyed then for sure, if he was forced to leave work earlier than he had said.

Mike put his phone back on the table.

He felt so pathetic. But he just wanted to talk to someone. He wanted someone to tell him that it would be okay. That things would get better. He wiped his eyes. He then looked around for something that would help. The only thing within his reach was a blanket that he now pulled against himself. With his unbroken arm he pressed it against his chest and leaned his face into it. He shut out the world for a bit and allowed himself to be upset.

He didn't feel that much better when he was able to calm down a bit again. He hated himself for letting go like that. What if Harvey had decided to head home earlier and had walked in on him behaving like that. Like a child having a meltdown. But he couldn't help to wish for Harvey to come home earlier. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He started to cry again. He swore to himself and tried to stop. He was an idiot. A pathetic, useless idiot.

When it was only fifteen minutes left for Harvey to come back, he had been able to regain control. He had opened the clock app on his phone and was just sitting there watching the time. It helped him to stay in control to watch how the numbers switched.

When the time showed exactly four hours after Harvey had left, he looked up from the phone towards the door. Where was he? Why wasn't he here?

He wanted to call out for Harvey. He wanted to scream until he came. He pressed the bundled-up blanket hard against himself. He couldn't lose it again. Harvey would come at any minute. He had said so. He had said four hours.

Four hours and five minutes had passed. It was okay to be a little late. Maybe Harvey hadn't really checked the time when he had left. But he had to be on his way. He would be here any minute and Mike wouldn't be alone anymore.

Mike had started to shake when it had been four hours and sixteen minutes. He didn't seem to be able to stop it. He was about to lose control again. He knew that he was. Harvey had lied.

He bit his lower lip hard. It hurt, but he didn't stop. Not even when it tasted blood.

Without him being able to stop it his eyes flooded over when he heard the door open. Relief so strong that it overwhelmed him rushed around inside him. He wasn't able to answer when Harvey called a greeting.

He barely had time to wipe his eyes before Harvey stepped into the room. Mike couldn't look at him.

"Hi kid, what's up?" Harvey asked, like nothing had happened.

"You are late." Mike got out.

"What?" Harvey said.

"You said four hours."

"Okay. Yes, maybe I did." Harvey was standing in front of him, but Mike hadn't been able to look at him. It was a bit hard to breathe normally. At least he thought that he had stopped shaking.

"Well, I just came for lunch." Harvey said next. "I have to head back again later."

Mike remained exactly as he was at those words. He felt numb and empty. He didn't answer Harvey and the other man soon headed towards the kitchen. Mike could hear him opening the fridge.

-SUITS-

Harvey glanced over towards Mike as he took out the plates. The kid was still in the same stiff position. Mike just sat there; arms hugged close to his chest without moving. He hadn't even looked up when Harvey came. Mike didn't look well at all. Something was clearly wrong here. He just wished that Mike would talk to him, tell him what was wrong.

"Do you want to eat here or at the table?" Harvey asked when the food was ready.

"Here?" Mike said.

"Sure."

Harvey brought over the plates and gave one to Mike and received a quiet thanks. Mike ate without a word. Harvey asked him how he was doing, and Mike just shrugged.

Harvey told Mike about the case he was working on. A client had contacted him about a reoccurring problem they had been having. Mike found it hard to listen. The food and that fact that he wasn't alone had a calming effect on him. He was starting to feel a little bit better again. It was a relief.

"So, what have you been doing?" Harvey asked and Mike looked at him.

"Nothing, really." He said.

"Yeah…" Harvey said. "Well, do you need help with anything before I leave?"

"Do you have to leave?" Mike asked tiredly. He felt that empty feeling return.

"Yeah, just for a bit. I still have a few things I need to take care of. I thought I would be able to postpone it, but it didn't work out."

Mike looked down as he felt his eyes burn.

"I need to use the bathroom." He said.

"Okay."

Harvey started to push the table to the side and pulled the wheelchair up to him. Harvey lifted him over to it and Mike could hear him groan a little. He asked for the blanket before Harvey started to push him towards the bathroom.

Mike asked if he could lay down on his bed after they had been to the bathroom. Harvey agreed of course, Mike must be tired then. As gently as he could he laid Mike down on the bed. The younger man still had the blanket in a tight grip, and it seemed like he didn't want to let go of it. Harvey decided not to say anything about it. He helped Mike to lay down on his side and arranged the cover over him.

"You feeling tired?" He asked.

"Yeah, I want to sleep." Mike said. He stared straight ahead, and Harvey felt guilty about leaving.

"Look Mike, I'll try and be back as soon as I can." He said.

"Okay." Mike whispered.

Harvey leaned down and squeezed his shoulder a little and then left the room. He hurried back to the office and intended to keep his promise towards Mike. He could imagine how boring it must be for Mike to just lay in bed like that during the whole day. He had forgotten to put out pain killers for Mike before he left. He hoped that Mike wasn't in any pain. Now when he thought back of the moment, he had stepped into the apartment Mike had looked like he had been in pain. That was serious.

The more he thought about it now, he became more convinced that something had been wrong with Mike. He picked up his phone and dialed Mike's number. He hoped that he had at least left the kid's phone close enough so that he could reach it.

Mike answered after three signals. At first, he didn't say anything, but then he spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Hi Mike, it's me. I'm just checking in. How are you doing?"

He waited for Mike's response and had to do so for a while. He started to wonder if Mike really was there or did he hung up? No, he could hear him breathing on the other end.

"Mike? Are you there?" He asked.

"I'm here." Mike answered then.

"Were you sleeping?"

"No."

"Well, how are you doing then? You are not in pain or something?"

"No."

Harvey felt a bit frustrated. Mike didn't sound normal; his voice was a bit muffled. And it seemed like he just ignored Harvey's question about how he was doing. Harvey clenched his teeth and decided to wait a little to see if Mike would say anything, but he didn't. Harvey could hear him breath on the other line though. He let out a sigh.

"Okay Mike, I should get back to…"

"No." Mike interrupted.

"What?"

"I just… Don't hang up."

"Ehm… I have to work though, kid."

"We don't have to talk, just…"

"Mike?"

"Don't hang up."

Something was wrong. It was clear that Mike wasn't doing good. His voice sounded strained, almost hoarse.

"Okay." Harvey agreed. "You know what? I'll just put you on speaker. It's okay."

"Okay."

-SUITS-

Mike could hear that Harvey was typing on his computer. He could hear the small noises that Harvey was making on the other line. He was starting to feel a little better. It was comforting to listen to it and to know that Harvey was there and that he wasn't totally alone. He could focus on the sounds instead of thinking about the things that had been on his mind before Harvey had called. He had managed to stop crying as well. At the start of the conversation he had been afraid to talk in case Harvey would be able to hear it on his voice. He had fought to collect his breathing. Harvey's call had surprised him.

They didn't speak. Mike heard the tapping of the keys, he heard how Harvey moved a little. After about twenty minutes he could hear a faint knock and then Donna's voice telling Harvey about some client who had called. He listened to their conversation with closed eyes. It was almost like he was there too.

He didn't notice when he fell asleep and didn't wake up when Harvey called his name.

"Mike are you there?"

The kid didn't answer, not even when Harvey said his name a couple of times more.

"You are sleeping, aren't you?" He asked and was met with silence. He smiled a little and then ended the phone call. He sent Mike a text saying that he had to go to meeting but that he would head home after it was finished.

When he got home, he was going to try and cheer Mike up a bit. The kid could need that. Maybe he should bring Donna with him, she would be able to help with that. He did ask her just before he was about to leave, and she promised to come over with dinner for all of them.

-SUITS-