Deadly Choices

Prompt for: Dani:Could you write another Jessica/Mike story - instead displaying the loyalty that Mike has to Jessica. Although he has utmost respect and loyalty to Harvey, you could show how Mike can extend this sense of respect and loyalty to Jessica as well.

Here is one scenario: It is late at night at the firm with only Harvey, Mike and Jessica there. Mike and Jessica are in a middle of an argument in her office when a disgruntled client or former employee (whichever you prefer) storms in with a gun pointed at Jessica. Mike knows that the intended target is Jessica, so in the last minute, he steps in front of Jessica and gets shot. Harvey is beside himself with worry about Mike, and he blames Jessica. Jessica, on the other hand, feels guilty and starts questioning Mike's action. The ending of this story is up to you.

Sorry for the long wait again, work has been keeping me busy and exhausted but now being stuck at home most days is giving me a chance to write more. Enjoy and stay safe out there!

Mike pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked to Harvey's office, trying to get rid of the pounding headache that was keeping him from thinking straight. It had been a shit day at court because Jessica had somehow gone over his head and completely blindsided him and therefore embarrassed him in front of the judge, Harvey, the jury and the entire room. To be honest it was probably his own fault; he had a plan to win that Harvey said he had to ask Jessica about. She said no, since it would make their firm look corrupt and "they already were because of him" and said to back down. Fuming, he did so anyways, she found out and stopped the hearing, ratting him out. Harvey thought she had given the okay and was mad at Mike for lying to him and making him, as his boss, look stupid. He got that Jessica hated him; he knew that she wasn't happy he was staying but doing that to both him and Harvey…he just wanted to go home already.

When he stepped into the office, Harvey looked up before back down at his paperwork.

"Jessica wants to see you…now."

Mike paled. "Did she say why?"

Harvey just shrugged and Mike groaned inwardly. Great…Harvey didn't seem to care that he was probably walking to his death. He turned on his heels to head back that way. When he entered Jessica's office, the woman was standing by the window, back to the door. He could see the tension in her shoulders.

Mike cleared his throat. "You wanted to see me?"

Jessica inhaled slowly before turning around. Anger was swimming in her dark brown eyes and her lips were pressed tightly together. "You have some nerve crossing me like that. You embarrassed yourself, me, Harvey and most of all, the firm."

"Jessica-"

"Shut up! I should be firing you right now. I should've fired you the second I found out that you were nothing but a fraud. Just because you have Harvey in your corner, doesn't mean you're invincible and neither is he. You think you can get away with things just because you managed to fool everyone else here including me for a year. In fact, when this whole thing with Hardman blows over, I might just fire you after all…including Harvey. You'll be lucky if I don't send you to jail."

"You can't do that!"

Jessica stormed up to him. "I can and I will. I'm your boss, you are my employee. You mean nothing to me or this firm. You've been nothing but a thorn in my side for weeks and I've just been waiting for a reason to get rid of you."

Mike swallowed the lump in his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but someone else interrupted.

"Jessica Pearson?"

Still in Mike's face, she raised her head and snapped. "What!?"

~+S+~

Bang!

Harvey flinched violently and raised his head with a gasp, his blood running cold. Was that just…no that couldn't be a gunshot. It was just one, maybe something dropped. He held his breath for a moment, listening for any other noise. He had to be hearing-

Bang!

That was definitely a gunshot. Harvey jumped to his feet and ran towards the source. The shots had come from down the hall and no one else was here besides…oh shit! He quickened his pace until he burst into Jessica's office. The second he got through the door, Harvey almost tripped over a body. It was a man he didn't recognize with a gunshot wound in his head. Okay, that accounted for the first shot he heard.

"Harvey!"

He raised his head and let his eyes trail over to see Jessica on the ground, hovering over another body…Mike.

"Oh my god." His stomach dropped before he stumbled over and fell to his knees. "What the hell happened? What did you do?"

Jessica's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before she found her voice. "I didn't…that guy…he came in and…it happened so fast. Shit."

"What did?" He grabbed the blonde's shoulder and shook it before turning him onto his back. Why wasn't the kid moving? He leaned back and turned on the lamp and the sight before him was horrifying…it made him want to vomit. Blood. So much blood. All over his associate's shirt, the floor and splattered on Jessica's blouse. "Jesus Christ." The man's face was sheet white and his eyes were closed. He almost looked dead. Thankfully there was a pulse, though it was weak.

"He got in front of me. That guy was going to kill me and Mike…why would he do that?"

"Son of a bitch." Of course Mike would do that; the kid never thought before he acted. "Call 911." Where was the blood coming from? There was too much to see, where the hell was it coming from! He glanced up and when he saw that Jessica hadn't moved, he grew angry. "Now!" He unbuttoned Mike's shirt and removed his tie to wipe the blood away and find the wound. He could hear Jessica in the background on the phone, but when he cleared some of the blood away, his heart skipped a beat. His chest…of all the places, he had to get shot in the chest. Which mean he didn't have a lot of time. "Fuck!"

"The ambulance is on its way," Jessica choked, coming back over. "Is he…"

"I don't know." He pressed both hands down on the wound and almost immediately, Mike's body jerked, and he inhaled before coughing wetly, blood spraying onto his face. His left arm shot up and his fingers latched tightly onto Harvey's arm, gripping the fabric.

"Mike? Mike!"

The younger man's eyelids flicked open; his normally bright blue eyes were glazed over and dark. He pressed harder and the blonde wheezed, choking a sob.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I have to stop the bleeding."

"H-Har…v-ve..vey," Mike gasped, blood dribbling down the side of his mouth.

"Hey, don't talk, save your breath. You're gonna be okay, just hang on for me."

"H-Hurts…g-god." Mike coughed again, letting a pained whimper escape his throat and squeezing his eyes shut while tightening his grip on Harvey's arm

The older man was panicking. The blood wouldn't stop; no matter how hard he pressed, it just squelched through his fingers. "Dammit Mike!" Why did the kid always have to be so selfless? He quickly took his hands off so he could remove his suit jacket, balling it up and pressing it down on Mike's bleeding chest.

"Ah!" The blonde cried.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?"

"S-Sor-ry." Mike grimaced, blood staining his teeth pink. "Harv…m'cold."

"You're gonna be fine, just please keep your eyes open."

"P-Please? Who…are you…n'what'd you do with…H-Harvey S-Specter?"

Harvey scoffed. "Shut up." Fuck, he was losing too much blood; there was no color in his face at all. It made Harvey worry about what the bullet ended up hitting. "Where are the damn medics!" He shouted frantically. It had felt like hours since Jessica called them.

"I don't…I don't know," she said hoarsely, shell-shocked about the whole situation.

"Well, don't just stand there, go downstairs and find them! You're not being any use up here."

Jessica must've obliged, because when he looked up, she was gone. "God, kid why do you have to be so self-sacrificing?" He glanced down and froze. Mike's eyes were fluttering close, his grip loosening.

"Hey, no!" He shouted, slapping Mike's cold cheek. "Don't do that, eyes open, come on Mike."

"C-Can't."

"Yes, you can, just a little bit longer." But each time Mike blinked, it seemed like a struggle for him to open his eyes again. "I swear to god, Mike, you better stay with me."

The younger man just stared at him listlessly before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he let out one last shuddering breath.

Harvey frowned. "No. Mike? Come on, kid." He leaned forward over the blonde's mouth and he gasped. He wasn't breathing. Mike wasn't fucking breathing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" This couldn't be happening. "Mike!" Oh god, what the hell was he supposed to do? The damn medics weren't here yet and if Mike wasn't breathing, that meant pretty soon his heart would stop. But what would happen if he did CPR, pressing down on a wound that was actively bleeding? Would it cause it to bleed more? Because the kid couldn't afford that. There was already so much of it soaking the floor, his pants and pretty much his entire shirt. "Shit!"

Harvey suddenly heard running footsteps and he raised his head to see Jessica rushing in, three paramedics right on her heels. Thank god.

"What do we have?" The first medic, who seemed in charge, said, getting onto the ground.

"He was shot in the chest," Harvey replied, keeping pressure on the wound. "I can't stop the bleeding, why won't he stop bleeding?"

"Must've hit a vessel. Rich, I need a tube," he said to his coworker, before turning back to Harvey. "How long ago did he stop breathing?"

"Um, I don't know, maybe two minutes before you got here."

"Okay, when I count to three, I want you to remove your hands so we can put a pressure bandage down. We're gonna deal with things all at once and it seems that he's lost a dangerous amount of blood already."

Harvey nodded quietly. Just do it already, the kid is dying.

The medics got into position; Rich readying the breathing tube, another with a bandage and the third close by, getting the stretcher prepped.

"On three: One, two, three!"

The rest happened in a blur; minutes later, the medics got Mike on the gurney, told him where they were going and then disappeared out the door. And then it was quiet once again, like nothing had ever happened…except he and the floor were covered in blood. Harvey felt sick as he remained on the floor, trying to take it all in. And then Jessica spoke, and it pissed him off. He should've told the woman off when she wanted to see Mike. The kid did nothing wrong in court; he would've done the same exact thing. But instead he was amused…instead he basically sent the kid to his death. Mike shouldn't have been here and right now, as bad as it sounded, he honestly wished it had been Jessica. Sure, the woman was his mentor and close friend, but Mike was like a brother and losing a brother would kill him.

"What the fuck happened," he answered in a low growl, still looking at the floor. "Who is he?"

Jessica hesitated and then sighed, telling him what happened.

Fifteen minutes earlier

"Jessica Pearson?"

"What!"

A gun was suddenly raised, and Jessica gasped. Mike turned and froze.

"What the hell?"

Jessica squinted and realized she recognized the guy. "Thom Richter?"

"Wow, I'm surprised you remember my name. I would've thought after you royally screwed me, you'd toss all your memories of me in the trash," the man hissed.

"What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? 3 ½ years ago, when you fired me, you ruined my life. My family left me, my friends, I went bankrupt-all because of you…and now you're gonna pay." He raised the gun higher.

"Woah, woah, woah," Mike said, raising his arms. "Why don't we just relax and think about this for a moment. There's no going back after this."

Thom laughed humorlessly, the gun shaking in his grip. "I know there isn't! You think I planned on leaving here alive?"

Mike swallowed thickly. That wasn't good.

"I have nothing and no one to lose and it's all because of this bitch right here! If I'm going down, I'm taking her with me!"

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Richter pulled the trigger and in that split second, Mike had a decision to make. Fuck, Harvey was gonna kill him for this.

"No!" He stepped in front of Jessica just as the shot rang out. He felt nothing at first and then white-hot pain before he faded into darkness.

~+S+~

Harvey was fuming. Now on his feet, jaw clenched, he tried to get himself together.

"Harvey-"

"Call the police and call Donna. Tell her to meet me at the hospital. I need to clean up." He stiffly made his way towards the door, breathing through his mouth so he wouldn't smell the blood. He knew he should ask the woman if she was okay, but he didn't care. This was her fault.

"Harvey, I'm sorry."

"Don't," he snapped, turning back towards her. "If he dies, not only will I blame myself and him for being so idiotic, but most of all, I will blame you. In fact, you basically wanted Mike dead, so you can stop blowing that apology out your ass."

The woman scoffed. "That's not true."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You didn't care what happened to Mike as long as he was gone. You just wanted to protect your own ass…you probably let Mike take the bullet. Well, he may not ever be family to you, but he is to me and I will never forgive you for this!" With that, Harvey stormed out, leaving Jessica alone in the quiet room, shocked and sad. Burying her face in her hands, the name partner collapsed on the couch and cried. What has she done?

Three Hours Later

70%. There was a 70% chance that Mike would die and all because the bullet that hit him, nicked his thoracic aorta. He lost a lot of blood…so much that the doctors were baffled that he was even alive at this point…well barely. He flatlined twice on the table and even now his blood pressure was extremely low. There was extensive internal bleeding, his organs began to fail, and he was in a coma, on life support. The doctor told them to be prepared for the worst. Donna was distraught and Harvey hid it well, but he was too. He didn't tell anyone, but when he got home and saw himself covered in blood, he vomited and in the shower he cried. It had been bad, so fucking bad and now the kid had more of a chance of dying than surviving.

"You're a fucking idiot, Mike. I'm so pissed off at you right now. I don't know if I'll ever be able forgive you for making such a reckless decision." The kid looked like death…made sense because he was dying. His face was transparent, his lips were white, and eyelids tinted purple. Tubes were running out of his mouth, arms, and chest which only rose when air was pushed into lungs by the ventilator. Harvey grabbed the blonde's hand and swore; it was ice cold.

"I'm sorry, kid. Just please don't give up. We can't lose you…I can't lose you."

Jessica showed an hour later and though Harvey wanted to protest and shout at her, Donna held him back. Jessica stepped into the room, willing her heart to stop beating so hard against her chest. After giving her statement to the police and Thom's body was taken away, she went home, took a shower and cried. She was a terrible person; she let another human being take a bullet for her and now Mike may die. Stepping closer to the bed, she stared at the broken man laying before her.

"Jesus Christ, kid. I can't believe you…why would you do that for me? Why would you sacrifice yourself for a person that hated your guts? Harvey told me you always wore your heart on your sleeve, but I didn't think you'd ever go this far." She placed her hand on his and shuddered. "I'm so sorry, Mike. I just want you to know that and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you…you just have to pull through, okay? If not for me, then for Harvey. He needs you more than he cares to admit." Biting the inside of her cheek, Jessica took a deep breath before leaving the hospital. She had no right to be there.

~+SUITS+~

Days went by…weeks and Mike was showing no signs of waking up. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still even hanging on, if only by a thread. Harvey was still livid at Jessica but was grateful she was taking time away from the firm, because he didn't think he'd be able to see her face without ripping it off. He knew he should probably use some time off as well, because his emotions were out of check. His patience was low, which meant his temper was easily set off by the smallest thing. One day, one of Mike's enemies, Kyle, had the nerve to bad mouth the kid- even though he had no idea what happened- and all Harvey saw was red before being held back by Louis and seeing the associate on the ground with a bloody nose. Of course, he didn't regret it one bit, but that was when Donna said he needed to leave for a while.

And now he had the time off, but he didn't know what else to do. Every time he went to see Mike, he was disappointed and heartbroken. If he was at home, he'd either drink too much or go crazy from boredom. Most times he would end up at the gym, beating the shit out of a punching bag until his knuckles were bloody and raw. That night, while changing the dressings on his hands, there was a knock on his door, and he was half expecting it to be Mike since he had a dream about it happening. Of course, it wasn't him; the kid was in a coma. But he more or less expected Donna, not Jessica Pearson to be standing on the other side of the door. It barely looked like her, though. The woman that was usually so put together, hair perfect, high end designer clothes, makeup flawless. But the person in front of him right now was a mess; hair in an unkempt bun with no makeup and sweats that appeared baggy on her.

"Jessica," he said flatly. He was still slightly mad at her, but he was beginning to calm down. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…do you have a moment to talk?"

Harvey stood there in hesitation, nostrils flaring.

"Please," Jessica's voice cracked.

Harvey sighed and then moved out of the way so that she could come in. Once they were in the kitchen, Harvey grabbed two glasses and a bottle of Scotch, pouring half for each of them and then sliding one over to the woman.

"Thanks," Jessica said and took a sip. "How…how's Mike?"

Mike flinched lightly when he heard the name. Mike, the kid who was in a coma, slowly wasting away in a hospital five miles from here. "You haven't seen him?" He grunted.

Jessica looked down. "I didn't think you wanted me anywhere near him."

Harvey shrugged. True. "He's still in a coma. Doctors aren't sure he'll ever wake up. The damage to his aorta and the fact that he lost enough blood to start shutting down his organs…it's just hard to see him like that."

"I'm sure. I know how much he means to you. Look, Harvey…I'm sorry. You were right; I shouldn't have let Mike get in front of me. I think part of me just wanted to let him do it as horrible as it sounds. I didn't even think the guy would pull the trigger, but I swear I never would want this to happen. Not even to my worst enemy. I'm devastated and sick to my stomach about all this and just like you, I won't ever forgive myself, so I just wanted you to know that Mike's secret is safe with me. We should be a family and that kid is one of a kind…special, smart and a lot like you. If either of you need anything at all, let me know."

Harvey pursed his lips and bobbed his head. "Thanks." They stood in silence for a moment and then Harvey was about to say something when his phone buzzed on the counter. The second he saw Donna's name, his stomach dropped. Donna was with Mike and the only reason she could be calling was…oh fuck. He glanced at Jessica before clearing his throat, answering quietly.

"Donna…what is it? Is Mike…" And what he heard on the other end of the line made his heart skip a beat. "I'll be there in ten." After hanging up, he bowed his head and let out a shuddering breath.

"Harvey, what's wrong. Is the kid okay?"

He let out a short laugh. "He's better than okay, he's awake." After nearly a month, Mike was finally awake.

One Day Later

"You scared the hell out of me, kid," Harvey said.

Mike had come out of his coma last night, but after a few tests, he was back asleep until the following evening.

"M'sorry," Mike croaked tiredly, unable to lift his head from the pillow. He was pale with dark shadows underneath his sunken eyes, skinny and had stubble on his chin. It probably would've been a full beard had Donna not taken it upon herself to shave it once in a while.

"You sure as hell should be. Once you get out of here, I'm kicking your ass for the stupid stunt you pulled." And it would be a while before Mike got better or even looked somewhat healthy again. He probably lost at least fifteen pounds. The doctor explained the lengthy recovery which included rehab and regular checkups. He was going to have to be extremely careful with activities and not to stress himself out. His chest would be sore for over a month and he would be on medications for a while. It was gonna be rough, but Harvey wasn't going to let him go through it alone.

Mike rolled his eyes. "I know…I know. It was stupid, I got the full lecture from Donna earlier."

"Good," Harvey smirked, squeezing Mike's shoulder.

They talked a bit more until Mike fell asleep. When he woke up a few hours later, Harvey was no longer there…but Jessica was. The blonde tried to sit up, but the second he moved, white hot pain exploded in his chest.

"Hey, take it easy kid. Don't be moving so much right now. You're still recovering."

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, trying to breathe through the pain. After a few minutes, it finally began to fade away.

"Better?"

"L-Little…that sucked."

No one spoke for a bit until Mike relaxed into the pillows. "You're not here to fire me, are you?"

Jessica frowned. "After all that happened, you think I would be that cruel?"

Mike shrugged, looking down at his hands and Jessica sighed. "Well, I'm sorry you think that, though I didn't exactly make it clear for you to assume otherwise."

The younger man pressed his lips together and remained silent.

"I'm here because I want to say that what you did for me was unbelievably stupid and irresponsible…but also I'm grateful. You risked your own life to save mine, so thank you. I've treated you like shit since I found out that…"

"That I'm a fraud," Mike sighed.

Jessica smiled sadly. "Yeah, but…I shouldn't have treated you so unfairly. Harvey knew the secret and I wasn't as bad towards him. I just want to apologize."

"Jessica…you don't have to do that. You were right, I'm risking you and Harvey's career, maybe even your lives by being at the firm. You had every right to be pissed and I understand if you still want to get rid of me."

"I'm not going to; you're a pretty good asset not to mention you keep Harvey in line. Besides, all of it is in the past and I want you to know that we're a family and should be acting like one…having each other's back. Harvey trusts you this much to put his own life on the line, then I do to. I've never seen him care about another person as much as he does you. Maybe even more than Donna."

Mike raised a brow. "Really?"

"You're like a brother to him. He may say he doesn't care, but he threatened to quit when I found out and wanted to fire you."

Mike was shocked. He didn't know that. He always wondered how Harvey got Jessica off his back, but never wanted to ask. He was just happy to still have a job and not be in jail.

"Anyways, I should get going, but Harvey will be back soon." The woman stood up before squeezing the blonde's shoulder. "I'm really glad you're okay."

Mike smiled back. "I'm glad you're okay, too."

When Harvey returned half an hour later, he was in tow with some extra clothes, Mike's iPod, and some books he had picked up at the kid's apartment earlier. The blonde had been tiredly flipping through television channels, unable to find something that was interesting, so he was finally glad he had company again.

"Hey kid," Harvey smirked, setting the things down on the table. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, bored, sore."

Harvey snorted. "Well, I come bearing gifts. These books and your music should keep you busy for a few more days. Maybe I'll grab some pro-bonos for you to go over once you're a little better. Did Jessica come by?"

Mike perked up when he heard the woman's name, remembering the thing she said about Harvey before she left. "Yeah, she did. I think we're good now." He grinned, staring at his boss.

The older man was taking things out of the bag he brought before realizing Mike was looking at him. "What?"

Mike shook his head. "Nothing."

"No, seriously, why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm not looking at you like anything."

"You're smiling at me and it's creepy so stop."

Mike snickered and looked away. Maybe he wouldn't say anything yet…he'll wait for another time to bring it up.

Harvey rolled his eyes. "You're annoying…by the way, you ruined my clothes with your blood, so you're buying me a new pair once you get back on your feet."

"I hope you're giving me a raise then since I've been out of work for a month and still will be for a while."

The brunette pressed his lips together. "We'll talk about it."

"And maybe order some pizza once in a while? Because I'm assuming that I'm being forced to stay with you while I recover."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harvey scoffed. "I'm a joy to be around."

"Ha, you really think so? Maybe we should ask Donna."

"Donna loves me, what are you talking about?"

"You wish." Mike snorted.

FIN

Short ending, but I wanted to get this out to you guys asap! Don't forget to leave reviews!

Next Chapter for: Magenta: Mike has the worst possible day ever and contemplates killing himself

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