12. "Do you know why I bring you coffee every morning?"
Pre-canon. Based on the Beckett & Castle scene.
"How?" she stares back at him wide-eyed.
"Because of everything we've been through together!"
She paces the length of his desk and stops just shy of the windowsill, her breathing unsteady, hands flying over her head in exasperation.
He stares at her, blinks, but says nothing.
"Twelve years! Twelve years just waiting for you to just open our eyes and see that I'm right here. I'm more than just your secretary!"
She quickly turns on her heel so that she's face to face with him. Her cheeks are burning red, her nostrils flared.
"Donna," he manages to whimper. It was too much. He wasn't expecting this. Someday maybe, but not today. Not when he wasn't ready.
"What?! I thought that we were partners... I thought that maybe..." Her voice trails off and her hands fall limp at her sides in resignation.
"Do you know why I bring you coffee every morning?" she asks suddenly. Her voice is soft and her anger is suddenly gone.
He shakes his head.
"Just so I can see a smile on your face. How pathetic is that?"
"Donna," he says again, this time louder. He takes a small step towards her but stays behind his desk, the barrier his sudden safety net.
"I think you're the most remarkable, challenging, maddening women I have ever met. And I-"
He breath catches and his voice dies.
"Can't say it?" she states. "Yeah well, that's not a surprise."
She turns and marches towards his office door, but rather than wear a look of anger, she looked defeated.
"Donna, wait. I just... it's ... complicated."
"I have to go," she says. She pauses in the doorway. "I love you, Harvey."