Before you start reading, I just want to thank each and every one of you guys who have been not only reading but leaving behind sweet and flattering comments. The amount I got for the last chapter almost made me cry and I'm not even kidding. I didn't expect to get this much love around this fic because it does deal with more pressing issues (addiction, alcoholism, depression, etc.) than just Darvey angst. I am so grateful. I will do my best to make this fic worth your time.
Note: I also started adding dates so you guys can follow the timeline. Let's all just pretend that this happened in 2020, it's an AU anyway hahaha :)
Sunday, October 18, 2020.
Black umbrellas. Black tuxedos. Black dresses.
About forty people are gathered on the field. A casket is being lowered onto the ground. The sounds of a mother wailing in pain are heard from a distance, the sky is weeping with her. Somehow, every pitter-patter of rain sounds louder than it should be.
Donna is surrounded by immediate family, distant relatives, and former colleagues. Faces plastered with shock, grief, and sadness. She looks to her left and sees a tombstone that is yet to be set in its place. It read:
In loving memory of Harvey Reginald Specter.
Her heart stops beating, she looks around her and starts recognizing everybody who was there. She stood there for a long time, not ever moving a muscle, she clutches her purse tighter every time a person steps forward to drop a rose into the hole. She also witnessed the crowd dispersing, slowly getting smaller as time went by. From forty to thirty, to twenty, to ten.
The people who remained were Marcus, Katie, their two children, Lily, Bobby, Mike, Louis, Jessica, and herself. She can feel their resentment, not one person could stand looking her in the eye or speak one word to her.
Mike is the last person to drop his rose. His eyes are burning red, he lost not only his mentor but his best friend. It doesn't take long for everyone to walk past her and leave the field, leaving her there by herself.
She finally walks up to the vase of roses and takes one. She closes her eyes and says a little prayer hoping someone would listen. "I love you, Harvey." She whispers. She kisses the rose then drops it on his casket that is six feet underground.
She watches two men start tossing in soil. She sees the casket slowly disappearing from visibility, only then do her tears start falling down her cheeks. She never got to say goodbye, she feels as if a piece of her died when he did.
A tap on her shoulder interrupted her. She turns around and brings her handkerchief to her cheeks, patting every tear dry as she sniffles. She doesn't know who she expected to see but it's definitely not her.
The woman was Donna, maybe another version of herself. She is also dressed in black but she looks angry, not mournful. "You did this to him, Donna." She says.
"What?" She mouths.
"This is all your fault. You killed him."
Donna's mind screams and she jolts awake from her dream. Somehow, she was able to discover that the couch had a retractable footrest and it was reclinable so she was able to get into a more comfortable position from her nap yesterday afternoon.
"Had a bad dream too?" Harvey's voice brings her back to reality. She doesn't answer right away, still processing that dream which felt too real. She studies his face and her palpitating heart starts to calm down. It wasn't real, she tells herself in relief.
"Yeah", Donna sits up then brings a hand to her forehead as she sighs. "H-how long have you been up?"
"Not long."
She checks the time on her watch, it's a couple of minutes past 8 am. "Have you taken your pain medication?"
Harvey nods, Linda came in earlier to make sure that he did. "What about breakfast?" She asks, her blanket drops to her waist, revealing her still dressed in the same clothes she wore when she came in. She refuses to shower in the bathroom, she has her mind set on taking a shower after Harvey is back in his apartment.
"Those clothes don't look comfortable."
Donna sighs, "They aren't. But that's fine, you're getting discharged later so let's focus on feeding you first." Donna walks up to the untouched tray of hospital food. She hands him the pack of tuna sandwiches. "In the mood for some tuna or do you prefer the omelet?"
"I'll take the omelet. You can have the sandwich."
Donna turns her head slightly then lightly bites her lip. She thought there would be tension between them especially after the heated conversation they had the night before, guess they're past that now.
"Thanks." She says. She sets his tray table up then places the plate and a cup of water on it. "You sure you can feed yourself this time?" She asks
"Yeah. My good arm has gained strength since yesterday."
"Alright, just let me adjust your bed so you don't have to lean forward," Donna says. She then proceeds to play with the buttons, trying to figure out which button will increase the current inclination of his bed. She presses one button but it accidentally does the opposite of what she wanted to happen. She presses another button to undo what she just did but the bed jerks up. Donna raises her hand then steps away from the bed. She and Harvey erupt in laughter.
"What the hell was that?"
"I'm not good with hospital equipment okay?"
"Never thought I'd ever witness you say something like that."
"Hey, in my defense, I haven't spent much time in hospitals."
"I know that, it's just refreshing to see you struggle with something for once."
Donna smiles shyly, this is nice, their banter is something she could never get tired of. She steals a glance from him and sees that he's smiling too, a sudden rush of warmth fills her chest, something that she hasn't experienced in a while. It feels like nothing has changed, but their dynamic definitely has, and they are both to blame for that.
She decides to give the hospital bed one last try so she goes with her gut and presses the right-most button and it does the trick, Harvey's now sitting straighter and the tray isn't too far from him.
"Hey, you figured it out."
She places one hand on the railing and leans on it. "Well, I am Donna." She smirks. Harvey shakes his head then starts eating his omelet. Donna just watches him, she doesn't know how things will go from here. She doesn't want to leave Harvey alone in his apartment, he's down a limb for Christ's sake. But just as she was trying to brainstorm for ideas, Nurse Linda came in.
"Ms. Paulsen, There's a man who claims to be a colleague of Mr. Specter's outside. I can't let him in unless I have your permission."
She raises a brow. "Did you get his name?"
"Unfortunately, no. But he does demand to see the patient."
This comment raises her suspicions. "Is he hostile?"
"Very."
"Son of a bitch." Donna knows immediately who it is and rolls her eyes. She and Harvey exchange a look then she turns her attention back to Linda. "Is he out in the hallway?"
"Yes, right down the hall."
"I'm coming out to meet him. Thank you, Linda." The nurse leaves the room.
"Don't," Harvey says.
"He's probably throwing a fit out there." Donna sighs, "I'll be right back."
She heads out the door, looks to her left, and sees an unhappy Louis Litt yapping some poor nurse's ear off. She jogs toward him. "Louis." She says as soon as she halts.
Louis' eyes widen, he looks like an antelope in headlights. Instead of being mad at him for causing a scene, she tilts her head to the side then gives him a small smile. He doesn't say anything, he just takes a few steps towards her then gives her the tightest hug.
"Hi, Louis." She hugs back, chuckling slightly.
"You never said goodbye."
"I'm sorry about that."
Louis pulls away, he brings both his hands down to hold hers. "I can't believe this. You're his emergency contact?"
"I'm just as stunned as you are."
"How have you been, Donna?"
"I've been doing great, LA has been really good to me." She smiles.
"That's good to hear." Then Louis' smile fades, a flush of concern taking over. "How is he?"
"He's fine. His injuries weren't that bad. He's getting discharged as soon as his doctor clears him." Her voice sounds hopeful.
"Oh thank God." Louis sighs, "Can I see him?"
Donna takes a quick breath, "Louis, he really isn't in the mood to see people right now."
"But I'm not just some random person, I'm his friend."
"I know that but he's…" She gets interrupted by him walking right past her and in the direction of his room.
"Louis!" She tries to call after him, he ignores her which causes her to run after him but Louis enters the room.
"Oh my god, Harvey!" Louis gasps as he sees his friend in this unfortunate state.
"Donna," Harvey groans, "I told you not to…"
"I tried to stop him."
"She did, she tried but as soon as I got the call, I rushed straight here because you are my friend and you need me," Louis says as he sits on the edge of the hospital bed.
"Louis, there's a stool right there if you…"
Louis puts a hand up and shushes Donna. "How are you feeling, Harvey?"
"Why does everybody keep asking me that? I'm fine." Harvey says, his tone is frustrated.
"Because you fucking drove into an electrical post, dumbass. And a part of your car smashed through a bakery's glass window. I was scared to death."
Harvey's brows furrowed, no one ever mentioned the bakery. He looks at Donna and sees the expression on her face, she doesn't look like she knew this too.
"D-did I hurt anyone?"
"Not to my knowledge," Louis reassures him. "Please, if there's anything you need, I'm right here."
Harvey's face softens, "Thanks, Louis."
Louis presses his lips together then spends the next couple of hours talking to both Donna and Harvey about the firm and Sheila. That seemed to lighten everybody's mood for the moment.
.
Donna went out to have lunch in the cafe as soon as Louis had to leave for work. She comes back into the room with a black overnight bag in her hands. "What's that?" Harvey asks her.
"I had Ray pick up a new change of clothes for when they discharge you later. I told him to bring a pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and clean underwear."
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me, thank Ray." She says, smiling. She opens the bag and places the clothes on the table nearest to her. Her back is turned against him so he thinks this is the perfect time to tell her something he has been wanting to tell her but just couldn't stand the thought of seeing her reaction.
"I never got around to changing it." He says.
"Changing what?" She asks, her back still turned from him.
"I've been too busy, it kept slipping my mind that's why I never got around to changing my emergency contact to Marcus."
Donna stops folding his clothes, swallows then nods. "Oh… Okay." Her heart sinks, she knew it was a long shot but a part of her felt like he kept her as his emergency contact on purpose. She wanted to believe that even after all this time, she would still be his first call in any situation.
"Speaking of Marcus, do you want me to give him a call?" She asks him a minute later, hoping the switch in the conversation would help her mask the pain.
"No. Don't give them a reason to worry."
She turns around and leans on the table. "Harvey, I really think you should…"
"Donna, I said no."
"Okay." She says softly, not seeing a reason to argue with him about his own family. "Do you need help getting into your clothes? I can call nurse Linda for you."
Discomfort is seen on his face, he doesn't want anyone to help him, his ego can't handle it. But he also can't shake away the fact that he knows he can't put any of those clothes on with just one arm. "Fine." He concedes.
Donna presses the button that alerts the nurse station, Linda comes in a few minutes later. Donna asks her to help Harvey change and she nods. But before Donna could leave the room, she could notice Harvey sweating despite the room being at a cool temperature. She also notices how his lips are pale and his right hand is twitching badly. She furrows her brows.
"Linda, he's twitching. Is something happening?"
Nurse Linda takes Harvey's hand then looks at his monitor to check his vitals. "Vitals look good. Are you feeling any dizziness or nausea, Mr. Specter?"
"A little bit."
Linda sighs, "The IV is probably flushing out the remaining traces of alcohol and other substances in his system. These are withdrawal symptoms."
Weight is lifted off of Donna's chest but that doesn't stop her worries. "He's going to be fine, right?"
"The symptoms may last a couple of hours, days at most. But they're nothing to worry about, Ms. Paulsen."
"Okay," Donna breathes, "I'll step out and come back in when you're decent." She tells Harvey.
As soon as Donna walks out the door, she is greeted by another nurse. "Ms. Paulsen?"
"Yes?"
"Dr. Smith already cleared Mr. Specter to be discharged. Would you like me to lead you to the billing department?"
"That's great news. Yes, please." She follows the nurse and spends the next half hour settling Harvey's hospital bill.
.
Keys jingle outside of Harvey's apartment, Donna turns the key then opens the door. A sudden wave of emotion washes over her, she doesn't know what it is but it does something to her stomach, it's an uneasy feeling but she brushes it off almost immediately. She walks in and places her luggage near the door. Harvey is right behind her, carrying his overnight bag which he drops to the floor.
He's home.
"Why don't you head on to your bedroom and get settled in?"
"Settled in? It's my apartment."
She scoffs, "You know what I mean." She closes the door behind him.
He obeys, makes his way towards his bedroom, and slowly gets onto his favorite side of the bed. He sighs as soon as his body makes contact with his mattress, he missed it, his hospital bed has to be one of the most uncomfortable beds he has ever slept on.
Donna stretches her neck to see if Harvey's in then smiles when she sees him lying on his bed. She looks around his condo, she doesn't want to admit she missed this place but she does. She places her purse onto one of his couches then walks a perimeter around, fingers touching the surfaces of his furniture and walls.
She shakes her head when she sees that dust has collected on many of the surfaces she has touched, he probably hasn't had his housekeeper come over for weeks. She looks in the direction of his bedroom and sees a broken beer bottle on the floor near his bed, her chest starts to ache again, she can't imagine how horrible these past months have been for him. She walks over to his utility closet and picks up a broom and dustpan and cleans the mess for him.
Once she threw the remains of the broken bottle away and put his cleaning materials back in their place, she opens his fridge hoping to find something that could refresh her but to her dismay, his fridge is almost empty. Just a couple of fuzzy lemons and fruits, bottles of water, and some leftover Chinese food that has probably gone bad now.
She opens his freezer and it's also empty. No cold cuts, no sausages, nothing. What the hell has this man been eating and living on? She closes the doors then decides to pick up his stuff from the hospital and put them away, it's the least she could do.
She takes the overnight bag that Ray brought to the hospital earlier this morning then takes out the contents inside it, it's the suit he wore the night of the accident. She takes out his suit pants and dress shirt, her eyes immediately dart towards the bloodstains that have dried out. Her eyes tear up as she runs her fingers over them, everything is just now sinking in.
She allows a few tears to slide down, he won't be able to see them anyway. She places both on the kitchen counter then pulls out his suit jacket which also has a couple of bloodstains. She brings it to her nose and smells not only his scent but she immediately recognizes the scent of scotch. She checks the suit pockets to make sure he didn't leave anything important.
Donna's hands reach into his inner pocket and pull out a tube. It's the half-empty tube of cocaine. She places a hand over her mouth and stares at it. If she didn't believe the toxicology report before, she believes it now. Not letting another second pass, she heads over to the sink, empties the tube, and flushes it down the drain with water. She wipes the tears off of her cheeks as she sees the drug slowly disappearing from her sight.
She takes all the pieces from his suit and throws them into the trash bin. No way is she letting that suit remind him of what he had just gone through, and besides, Harvey has hundreds of designer suits, he wouldn't notice if one mysteriously went missing.
Loud knocks on the door startled her, she lets out a quick yelp. "Harvey?" She raises her voice so it could reach the bedroom. "Are you expecting anybody?"
"No."
Who could it be? She asks herself. "Alright. I'll see who it is."
She walks over to the door and opens it, only to be surprised by who is standing on the other side.
"Alex."
"Donna?"
"Hey!" She exclaims as they share a hug. "What are you doing here?" Alex asks.
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
Alex sighs, "I'm here to bring Harvey some bad news."
Concerned, Donna's brows furrow. "How bad?"
"Lawsuit bad."
Donna takes in a sharp breath. She looks down, contemplating whether or not this is the best time to tell Harvey that. "Okay." She whispers. She leads him to Harvey's bedroom.
"Harvey? Alex is here to see you."
"Hey, Harvey."
"Alex," He sits up and leans against his headboard. "What brings you here?" Harvey asks, his lips forming into a small smile.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing. You got all of us at the firm worried sick about you."
"You can tell everybody I'm fine. The cast will get removed in a couple of weeks."
"That's good to hear," Alex says. He looks to Donna on his right, silently seeking her permission before breaking the news to him. She nods, slowly, giving him the go signal. "Harvey, we need to talk."
"Is something wrong?"
Alex takes a couple of steps closer to his bed. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Well? What is it?"
"Harvey, you're being sued."
"By who? For what?"
"The state of New York. They're pressing charges for a DUI and Destruction of Property." Alex says with a heavy heart.
Harvey sucks on his upper teeth, he knew something like this was gonna happen, he just didn't expect it to happen so soon. "When is the arraignment?"
"Two days from now. Robert sent me here because we've already tried to negotiate with the DA's office. I tried to get them to pull the charges down so you can plead guilty to Reckless Driving but your toxicology report has already been submitted as evidence."
Harvey stays quiet for a long time, just staring at him. Donna panics, she thinks it might be another symptom of his concussion. "Harvey?" Donna calls him, trying to get him to say something, anything.
"Are you representing me?"
"If you let me."
"Donna, can you give us the room, please?" Harvey asks without looking at her. She lets out a soft "Okay" then heads out to the living room.
As soon as Harvey sees that Donna is far enough, he starts asking the real questions. "Alright, Alex. Tell me what I could get." His voice is low.
Alex walks a bit closer to him, checking behind him to make sure Donna doesn't hear. "Since this is your first DUI, the worst-case scenario is you get 6 months. If we're lucky, just fines and revocation of your driver's license."
Harvey nods. "What about the bakery?"
Alex sighs, "You have to settle."
"Okay, Alex. You're my attorney, what should I do?"
"I want you to plead not guilty."
Harvey shakes his head slightly. "Really?"
Alex tilts his head, trying his best to convince his colleague. "We can fight this, Harvey. Just give me time to come up with a solid defense."
"I don't know."
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course, I do. You know that." Harvey says. He knows how good Alex is, but something about this strategy just doesn't feel right to him.
"Then do as I say and plead not guilty. I'm gonna get you out of this."
Harvey presses his lips together then finally yields. "Okay." He says.
Alex smiles, he looks behind him and sees Donna sitting on Harvey's couch, hair now up in a high ponytail. "When did she come back?" He asks.
"The hospital called her, I forgot I still had her listed as my emergency contact."
"And she flew all the way here, huh."
"She did."
Alex points to a space on the bed, "May I?"
"Sure."
Alex sits then unbuttons his suit jacket. "How are things between the two of you?"
Harvey takes a second to answer. This is gonna be the first time he gets to talk about his relationship with Donna to anyone since she left. He knows everyone in the firm tries to steer clear of that conversation but now that Donna is here, he doesn't blame Alex for bringing up the elephant in the room. "We're fine, I guess."
"Have you two talked about it yet?"
Harvey shakes his head. "It's not that simple."
"I know it isn't, but I'm guessing it's gotta happen soon. Do you know when she's flying back to LA?"
Harvey freezes. LA. That's right, her life isn't here anymore, and now that he's out of the hospital she's free to go back to her coast. His mind got so caught up in everything else, he forgot about the one thing that has haunted him for the last 8 months. She left him and now she's going to leave him again.
"I don't know."
Donna's scrolling through her phone, catching up with some work and personal emails that she might have missed this morning. She comes across an email from Stu, asking her how her weekend in Seattle was and saying that he hopes she can come back soon to help them get brave through the storm that is about to devastate their firm.
She thinks for a long time about what to say to Stu. She types a couple of sentences but ends up deleting them, how does she explain the difficult situation she is in? Should she tell him over an email? A text? A phone call?
She hears footsteps behind her so she locks her phone, Stu is going to have to wait. She turns her head and is surprised to see Alex. "Leaving so soon?" She asks him.
"Yeah. Harvey and I were on the same page for once."
"That's a miracle." Donna chuckles.
"Right?" He smiles back. "Anyway, I have to get back to work. It was nice seeing you, Donna."
"It was nice seeing you too, Alex," Donna replies. Alex sees himself out, carefully closing the door behind him.
Donna stares at the door for another minute, not buying the look on Alex's face and how he mentioned he and Harvey were on the same page. Knowing Harvey, there had to be some resistance involved, but she also didn't hear any raised voices so that does raise her suspicions.
She gets up and walks over to the doorway of his bedroom. She leans against it and he looks up at her, eyebrows raised. "What?" He asks.
"Mind filling me in on your conversation?"
He can't. He knows the stakes and how the odds are stacked against him in this case, he can't let her know he's facing possible jail time. The thought of that would crush her and make her worry too much, he can't do that to her.
"We came up with a plan." He shrugs.
"That easily?"
"I'm tired and I didn't feel like putting up a fight with my attorney."
She crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Really? 'Cause, it seems to me like you're just taking every opportunity there is to dodge a conversation with me."
He clenches his jaw then rolls his eyes, "I'm not."
She licks her lips then backs off. It's a sensitive topic, she gets it. Harvey has defended innumerable corporate douchebags but he has never been a defendant himself. She stands straighter and then fixes her sweater.
"Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" She changes the subject, using her thumb to point to his bathroom.
Harvey shrugs, "Go ahead."
Not a second later, Donna goes back into the living room to grab a couple of items from her suitcase, including shampoo and conditioner that she managed to grab from her hotel room in Seattle. She walks towards the bathroom and shuts the door behind her.
Harvey shifts from a sitting position to lying fully down. Because of his arm and cast, he doesn't have that many options when it comes to sleeping positions. He tries to close his eyes and drown everything out, the car accident, the lawsuit, the fact that Donna's naked right now in his shower, everything.
But then he hears the shower go on.
And he stiffens.
Literally.
He opens his eyes and curses himself. He can't act on it, he doesn't want to, he convinces himself he shouldn't think of her that way anymore, not after what she did to him. But he is human, a human who has wanted and depended on her for so long, she became the air he breathed. The moment she left, she took a part of him with her and he started drowning. He knows she eventually has to go back to the new life she just built on the other side of the country, he just doesn't know how he is ever going to survive it again.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes one more time, ignoring the ache that's growing in his nether regions. and drifts away into a dreamless slumber.
.
Harvey…
Her voice is calling out to him again, but everything is pitch black, he can't see a thing. Then he sees her, standing in the same white dress he saw her in the night before the accident. She has her suitcase in hand and starts walking away from him and into the darkness. He tries to move but it's like he's paralyzed, he tries to scream, to say something to get her to stay, but no sound comes out of his mouth.
It's hell. This is hell.
He can feel his heart quicken, sweat starts dripping from his body and his chest starts to tighten. He can't breathe all of a sudden, it's like she took the air with her as she walked away from him. He falls to his knees, gasping for oxygen.
Then he feels a cold hand gently shake his good arm.
"Harvey…"
Harvey opens his eyes and starts heaving for air. Donna panics, helping him sit up and lean against his headboard. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She says.
Harvey pants, he places a hand on his face then starts rubbing his jaw. It's the same bad dream he had before waking up earlier today at the hospital. He closes his eyes for a second. "It's fine, it wasn't you. I just…" He trails, he doesn't want to tell her he just dreamt of her leaving him again. He turns to face her but the first thing he sees is the dark sky. "It's dark out? How long was I asleep?" He asks her.
"You were asleep when I finished my shower so I decided to go to the supermarket and buy you groceries. I even made us dinner."
"Why did you only wake me now?"
"I let you sleep as long as possible," She pauses, " Do you want me to bring you food in a tray or can you manage to have dinner on the dining table?"
He starts to move the blanket out of his way, "I'll join you outside."
"Alright," Donna replies, "I made a chicken salad, I'll go prepare our plates."
"Thanks." He says. She's on her feet, tiptoeing her way from his bedroom to the kitchen, he stands up and slowly walks over to the dining table and pulls a chair out. Once he's settled in, he looks in her direction, watching her fix their dinner plates.
She walks toward the table, both hands occupied. Harvey tries his best to act cool and relaxed. She places his plate of food down in front of him then sits on the seat opposite him so they're facing each other.
Harvey is impressed, the presentation is impressive. She took the time and effort to make the plate look absolutely beautiful, it looks like something that came out of the catalog. She starts digging into her food then she notices he's just moving the food around and not actually eating. She realizes it's because the chicken cuts are too large and he probably doesn't want to ask her for help.
"Do you want me to chop them up into smaller bits for you?" She asks.
He hesitates then puts his fork down, he nods subtly. She gets up and moves to the chair closest to him. She grabs his fork and knife and starts dicing the chicken up. She can feel him watching her, not her hands but her side profile. It takes everything in her to not turn her head in his direction, the possibility of having a moment with him could set her back.
But being this close to him, his heavy staring, it's making time go by slower, and silence isn't helping lighten up the mood or the atmosphere in the room either. She finally finishes and her head involuntarily turns to face him, Harvey quickly clears his throat then looks down, pretending he wasn't just staring at her for the past two or three minutes.
She takes in a breath and goes back to her spot. They eat in silence which felt like the longest fifteen minutes ever.
"What do you do?" He asks, breaking the silence.
"Hmm?"
"In LA, what do you do?"
"I'm the Director for Issues Management at Stu's startup PR firm."
"Wow." Harvey pauses, "Communications. That's, um, that's...great."
"Huh," Donna pouts, sensing his ingenuity. "You don't mean that."
"It's just that it's a, uh, quite a step down from COO."
"Well it pays well and I'm good in a crisis." She says as she plays with the little food that's left on her plate, pushing them around. "And Stu didn't think I was qualified for COO." She adds, quietly this time.
"I thought you were qualified." He says softly. Her eyes dart up to meet his, a small smile forms on the corners of her lips. "Dinner was good." He says shortly after. He grabs a table napkin and wipes his mouth.
"Thanks." She replies awkwardly. Still trying to absorb what he just told her earlier.
He sucks on his upper teeth, he wonders when they could ever have a conversation that doesn't amp up his anxiety. "Got a place to stay tonight?" He asks, hoping that question is a good start.
She looks up at him, "Yeah. I still have my old apartment."
"I thought you turned that place into an Airbnb."
"No one's renting it out at the moment." She takes both their plates then heads to the kitchen counter. She throws the remaining food into the trash bin and rinses the plates. She opens his dishwasher then places the plates inside.
Harvey walks over to the counter. Donna is surprised to see him standing opposite her, she closes the dishwasher door then presses a button for it to do its work. She starts washing her hands on the sink.
"I know you're flying back soon so I just want to thank you for being here. I appreciate it, I do." He says in a soft voice, he means it. Then his chest rises as he takes in a deep breath through his nose. "You have a safe flight, Donna."
Donna pauses for a moment. She suddenly remembers the nightmare she had before waking up this morning. She knows it wasn't but it felt so real, and she doesn't trust Harvey to fend for himself just yet. She turns the water off. "No."
"What do you mean 'No'?"
"I'm staying until you get better." She says as she dries her hands with the kitchen towel.
"Donna, you don't have to."
"I want to."
"If you're doing this because you feel sorry for me…"
"Harvey, you're down an arm. You need help around your place, you need someone to get you groceries, you need someone to make sure that you attend your physical therapy appointments and clean your wounds, and we both know you aren't going to call Marcus for all that." She says. "Plus you have an arraignment coming up, I don't want to miss that." She adds.
"Donna." He tries to argue.
"No." She throws the towel to the side in frustration. "You can continue to hate me. We don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to. Do whatever you need to do to avoid every possible conversation we might have because God forbid you suddenly become emotionally available right? Or maybe you just don't want to admit you need me because deep down you know you do." She searches for his eyes. "I'm staying, Harvey, and I'm not leaving until you get better or until you tell me to my face that you want me to leave."
He doesn't know if she said that last bit to challenge his ability to or if it's because she knows he could never tell her to leave. In the past, he used Stu as a pawn to offer her a job because he couldn't fire her.
"I'm staying." She asserts. "I don't care what you think about me now but this is me proving that I do still care about you."
Hello, reader! Thanks for tuning in to chapter 5 of this fic. To be completely honest, I'm not sure how long I'm going to drag this out, I just have so many ideas and plotlines that I want to include in this story so I hope I don't lose your interest and I hope you guys don't mind waiting. I've already drafted a lot of chapters but I'm also adjusting certain aspects and details based on your suggestions because your opinions matter to me. Again, I'm so grateful for your reviews. See you, next week!