Feels Like Home
Chapter 12
.
.
I can't unfeel your pain
I can't undo what's done
I can't send back the rain
But if I could I would
My love, my arms are open
Arms are open, hmm
.
.
"Slice, slice, slice," Harvey chants as Donna rolls her eyes at him but she does as told, letting the knife slide smoothly through the cake.
Barmbrack is at its best if you cover it with foil and store it for a day or two before you eat it, much to Harvey's chagrin. He had expected a piece straight out of the oven.
But the waiting was finally over so tea had been made, Donna plating up two slices, spreading them generously with butter.
Harvey sits down on one of the armchairs as Donna hops on the sofa, stretching her legs, taking up all the space.
Taking the first bite, Harvey hums appreciatively. "This is good." He chews some more, adding, "The texture is almost more like a bread than a cake. This will fill you up, alright," he laughs.
Donna smiles at him, eating quietly. She is pretty pleased with the outcome of her baking. It tastes exactly as it did when she was little.
They gobble up their slices in companionable silence, sipping the strong Irish tea in between, when the scraping of a tooth on something metal cracks the air.
"Well, would you look at that." Harvey pulls the coin from between his teeth with a big grin.
"Like you needed any more good fortune," Donna states grudgingly.
Harvey's eyes are dancing as he replies, "Jealousy doesn't suit you, Babe."
"It's a shame you didn't crack your tooth on it, really." Her voice mocks him, her expression full of scorn.
Harvey lets out a full-on belly laugh, dodging the pillow that soars through the air right after.
…
A few days later
Samantha is just outlining a difficult case in Conference Room 3 when Harvey's phone starts ringing.
He has the decency to look apologetic but as he glances at the screen he hastily says, "It's Donna, she knows I'm in a meeting, I—"
The name partners all wave it's fine as Harvey swipes his screen to accept her FaceTime call.
"Are you al—?" he starts but she cuts him off.
"What the hell is this?" she demands, thrusting a ring in front of the camera.
It doesn't take Harvey long to figure out what happened as the cake crumbs are still hanging from the setting of the ring.
His cheeks flush a crimson red and he hears Alex stifle a laugh as he fingers his tie to loosen it a bit.
"I'm happy you ate a slice instead of just the usual fruit salad," he tries.
Louis harrumphs at his poor diversion tactic and he sees Samantha fold her arms as she tuts, from the corner of his eye.
"Where does it come from?" Donna's eyes are narrowed.
He sighs. "Look, over Christmas I was at the store with Hailey and Will and they had one of those toy vending machines. You know the ones where you put in a coin and this toy capsule rolls out."
Donna nods agitated.
"They insisted I get one too. It had this small ring in it. It didn't even fit my pink and had the kids roaring with laughter. I kept it as a memory of a really fun day."
"But what is it doing in my barmbrack?"
He can see the story has softened her a bit but she is demanding answers anyway.
"How did you even manage to sneak it in?" she frowns.
He shifts a bit in his chair, bouncing his knee rapidly. "I'm in the middle of a meeting. Can we do this when I get home?"
"Oh don't cut this off on our account dude," Samantha says loud enough for Donna to hear.
It's enough for him to swivel around and get up. He hears his partners protesting as he takes the call into the hallway and he gives them the middle finger, walking past the glass walls to retreat to the privacy of his own office.
"Look," he says as he closes his office door. "As soon as you mentioned a ring when telling me the story behind the cake, I thought of that toy capsule." He sits down in his chair, looking out over Manhattan. "I sneaked it in when you were on the floor mopping up that water that I spilled."
"You did that on purpose," she exclaims. All the pieces coming together in her head.
"Maybe..."
He props up the phone against the window frame as he takes off his suit jacket.
"I just want you to get everything out of life you are looking for. You never know what might be true of those old Irish folk tales."
She chuckles. "All of a sudden you are coming out of this as some sort of urban legend believer?"
"Just put the damn thing under your pillow tonight, woman," he grumbles.
She sticks out her tongue at him. "I definitely won't be dreaming of you though."
He quickly stands to pick up the phone. His face out of view as it goes slack.
"I need to go back to the meeting."
"Harvey?" she asks softly. "Can you just quickly show me the office?"
He flips the camera and circles around.
"I didn't change anything."
"I know, I just need…"
He doesn't pressure her to finish that sentence. Entering the hallway to get back to his meeting, Donna's office is visible around the bend.
"My office!"
Her voice is so perky that he feels a pang of immense guilt, switching the camera back immediately.
"I really gotta go, I'll be home at 6 pm. Eat another slice," he encourages her but she just waves goodbye and ends the call.
He walks back to the conference room with a big frown across his forehead. When is a good time to tell her the office around the corner is occupied with an interim COO?
…
A week later
"It's official, they are subpoenaing every record ever touched by Gary White."
Alex walks into Harvey's office, holding the court order.
"Goddamnit," Harvey barks as Louis shouts "Shit."
"You know what this means, don't you?" Louis looks over to Harvey from his position on the lounge chair in the corner.
Harvey grinds his teeth. "We need to look at every single document before we hand them over."
"We better dig in then." Alex unbuttons his jacket. "I'll call Rosalie to tell her that we're pulling an all-nighter." Before he steps outside, he adds, "I'm in the mood for Chinese, fellows."
"Louis, I'll have Ray stack as many boxes as possible in the car, but I need to go home." Harvey anxiously checks the clock on the wall. It's 5:50 pm. He's already going to break his promise to her. He needs to leave.
"What the fuck, Harvey?"
"I can't leave Donna alone all night. She needs me."
"Well as your managing partner, I'm telling you the firm needs you." Louis cracks his knuckles and his face is reddening.
"I don't give a shit about the firm. I care about Donna." Harvey slams the desk with his hand. He closes his laptop and starts packing up for the day.
"And you think I don't?" Louis walks up to Harvey. He stops right in front of him. "You are the only one that doesn't know how lucky he is to have a woman like that in his life."
"Excuse me?" Harvey bellows. Taking one step closer, he's now mere inches away from Louis' face.
Alex, who has just reentered the room, jumps between them to intervene. "Calm down." He pushes against Harvey's shoulder to get him to back off a bit.
"Well, he can't forbid me to go home to Donna," Harvey says angrily, tilting his head sideways to look around Alex to Louis, his eyes shooting daggers.
Louis retreats back to the sofa to give Harvey some space. "How about, I ask Sheila to pick up some takeout and keep Donna company for a few hours?" he proposes.
"And I," Alex lets go of Harvey, "grabbed the handful of associates that were still in the bullpen and sent them to the file room to get started." He looks at his friend with the calm demeanor he always has. "Call Donna, tell her about Sheila, and see if she is comfortable with that arrangement."
Harvey glares at them both and then begrudgingly grabs his phone. He's still grumbling as he steps outside his office to make the call.
Harvey tosses a file inside the cardboard box. "The man has been here, what, four months? He sure as hell touched a lot of cases." Placing the lid on the box, he stacks it on top of a few others in the done pile.
"I never understood why Jessica brought him aboard," Louis remarks, never looking up from the stack of papers on his lap.
Harvey pulls a new box closer. "She went to law school with him and apparently he stood up for her once. But Donna said from day one he was shady and she is always right about these things."
Alex scowls. "Committing fraud is more than just shady."
Harvey doesn't say anything, he just clears his throat. Louis focuses on the file in his hand.
Alex looks from one to another. "Well there's fraud and there's fraud obviously."
"I've pulled some shit," Harvey admits, popping open the lid of his box. "But I have never embezzled millions of dollars."
…
He checks his watch. It's 1 am in the morning. Sheila left at 11 pm and Donna texted him to say she was going to bed. He pulls out what he hopes is the final stack of files. This is the last box in the room that is untouched.
A cell phone rings somewhere in the office. It takes him a second to realize it is his. He races to his desk, nearly tripping over the box at his feet, sending stacks of papers to the floor as he rummages wildly to find the blaring item.
He feels his chest tighten and his mouth run dry when he sees her name on the screen.
"Donna, are you—, everything okay?" He stumbles on his words in his hurry to get them out.
He is met with a deafening silence and his heart starts racing. He grabs his wallet and keys, his voice urgent. "Donna? Donna, are you there?"
He looks around the room forlorn. "Donna say something please," he pleads. His partners look at him anxiously. And that is when he hears it. Sharp and shallow breaths. His head lifts up in surprise and he nods at the other men. Louis thrusts his suit jacket in his hand and practically shoves him out of the door with a "Go, go, go!"
"I'm on my way," he almost shouts into the phone as he runs to the elevator bank.
During the ride down, hailing a cab and the ride to the Upper East Side, he keeps talking. Calm, soothing words, telling her it'll be okay. The cab driver gives him some odd looks but he doesn't give a damn. Donna never says a thing.
He's about ten blocks away when the line gets disconnected. He thinks he's going insane. His stomach churns, his head starts to spin.
He speed-dials Mike. His relief is immense when his friend answers.
"Donna is in a state, I'm nine blocks away and I feel—" Harvey hollers into his phone.
Mike immediately picks up and starts reciting the Barbri legal handbook. Slowly, calming, steady.
Harvey lets his head fall back and loosens his tie. He is aware of the anxious look the driver keeps giving him in the rearview mirror. He doesn't blame him because he probably looks like he's going to vomit all over his car or maybe even collapse.
Ten minutes later, he says goodbye to Mike on the promise he'll call him back later. He notices his hands are sweaty when he tries to put the key into the lock. He's not sure what he is going to find and he tries to mentally prepare himself whilst also beating himself up for not going home when he was supposed to earlier this evening. But most of all he feels disappointed in himself for not protecting Donna, again.
"Please be okay," he mutters under his breath as he pushes the door open. "Donna? It's me!" His voice bounces through the apartment but no response. It's completely dark. All the lamps have been switched off. He runs inside, flinging his jacket in the direction of one of the bar stools, and switches on a small light in the corner as he scans the room. He marches into the dark bedroom. "Donna! Where are you?" His world starts to spin as he sees the balcony door ajar.