When she'd told Malik that she wouldn't be seeing Harvey that night, she'd had every intention of spending the evening alone. Harvey would be out late visiting Forstman and he had more work to do when he returned, which is why Donna had agreed to stay the night at her apartment.
She was restless, though, in her quiet home. Donna was rarely there without Harvey now and she struggled to remember why they'd decided to spend their time apart. She didn't want to sleep without him and she was worrying; whether he wanted her to worry, or not.
Donna gathered her things and left within ten minutes, making it to Harvey's before he did. She flicked on the lamps and the fireplace, which suffused the space with mellow light. It wasn't long before she heard him at the door.
Harvey paused at the entrance when he saw her bag on the table and he smiled in quiet relief. During his journey home, his regret at her absence had steadily grown and he'd already decided to go over to her place after he'd finished working.
He rounded the kitchen counter to find her.
"I know I'm not supposed to be here." Donna said from the couch, holding her hands up in defence of her actions.
"I'm glad you are." Harvey dropped down beside her with a weary sigh and tugged her towards him.
"It didn't go well," she stated.
"It did not," the words were muffled by the side of her neck.
She held him tightly, hoping that the strength of her hold would lessen the weight of his burdens.
"What can we do?"
"Nothing right now."
Donna nodded; they would fight again tomorrow.
"I do have some things to finish, though," Harvey said, sighing as he pulled back to meet her eyes.
"I know, I won't distract you. I'll be in bed."
Donna was lulled to sleep by the rhythmic tapping on the keyboard from the next room. Harvey crawled in beside her at 1am and she pulled him closer without opening her eyes.
It was early and Donna cradled a mug of strong coffee as she examined his reflection. She considered the shadows under his eyes and wondered if they'd ever catch a break.
She bit her lip as she watched his hands expertly knot his tie.
"Looking good," she hummed.
He smirked as he caught her eyes in the mirror. "I always look good." he informed her.
Donna chuckled; he wasn't wrong.
"Humble too," she said, as he turned to face her. Donna handed Harvey the mug and reached up to straighten his tie. He smiled down at her, his warm eyes settling on her face as she concentrated on her task.
"Thanks." Harvey said softly, as her hands fell away. He leaned down to brush his lips against hers and then smiled. Donna hadn't put her heels on yet and their height difference at home was still delightfully unexpected.
They shrugged on their work personas before leaving and re-entering the world that currently had Harvey in its cross-hairs.
Leaving his building with a brisk and confident walk, they were brought to an abrupt stop by the man waiting for Harvey.
It was Malik and he was angry.
"You think you can go over my head and there won't be any consequences?" Malik asked.
Harvey prepared himself for another argument and sidled up to him.
"I think you wouldn't be here if your boss hadn't put the screws to you for coming after me." Harvey smirked.
Malik looked to Donna, who had remained a couple of paces behind Harvey. "Did you spend the night, Donna? A real life love story! It would be such a shame if something came between the two of you."
Donna's stomach flipped at his thinly veiled threat, although it didn't prevent her from throwing him a withering look. She stepped up to the two men and stopped beside Harvey, reaching to grip his forearm, keeping him close. She didn't like where this was going.
Harvey felt the tension in her body and glanced at her in concern.
"You're right." Malik addressed Harvey again. "He called me at midnight in my home and said that if I had nothing to hide, why the hell didn't I come after you? Well, you wanted it, you got it."
Malik nodded to someone and Harvey looked back to see a police officer approaching. He could do nothing to prevent the handcuffs from being placed roughly around his wrists.
Donna held onto him, refusing to move aside, her fingertips dug painfully into his arm as it was pulled behind his back.
"You are under arrest for conspiring with a Federal Prosecutor." Malik informed Harvey.
Harvey shook his head in exasperation.
"You're making a mistake Malik." Harvey said. "What do you think the judge is gonna say when he finds out you arrested your opposing counsel?
Donna eyed the police car that pulled up behind Malik.
"He's going to say "guilty as charged", because I'm not just gonna disbar you, I'm putting you away." Malik arrogantly proclaimed.
"I want to call my lawyer." Harvey said calmly.
In response, one of the police officers patted down his chest, opened his jacket, pulled out his phone and dropped it to the ground.
"Hey," Donna exclaimed, "you can't do that!" She started forward to retrieve the phone, withdrawing in shock as the police officer stamped his foot down, crushing the screen beneath his heel.
Malik smirked at both of them, enjoying their outrage, relishing the fact that he had the upper hand for a moment.
"Officer Haskins has butter fingers." Malik alleged.
Harvey's temper flared, he'd lost all patience and fixed his scornful gaze on Malik's deeply satisfied demeanor.
"I'll see you down there. We'll try to reach out to your lawyer on the way." Malik informed him contemptuously and then settled his hands into his pockets to watch Harvey's arrest.
The officer began to lead Harvey away and his arm was wrenched from Donna's grasp; her fingers left flailing in the open air.
"It's okay, Donna." Harvey attempted to reassure her.
She felt powerless.
"Call Alex."
Harvey was furious that Donna was bearing witness to this fiasco. She was upset and he was being forcefully dragged away from her, one officer grasping him tightly as another opened the door of the police car.
"Have a nice day, Donna." Malik urged her smugly as he headed to another awaiting car.
Donna concealed her distress until Malik's back was turned. She desperately wanted to return to the warm cocoon of Harvey's apartment, where they'd been innocently flirting only moments before.
She could do nothing to prevent tears from forming as Harvey watched her from his seat in the back of the patrol car. He seemed to be more concerned about leaving her behind than he was about what was facing him.
Donna's heart clenched as she watched him being driven away; their eyes remained locked until he rounded the corner.
He was gone.