He couldn't stop crying. The tears gushed out of him. All the emotion he hid couldn't be concealed anymore. Georgia stroked the back of his hair, comforting him as he cried.
"It's okay." She soothed. "Your okay."
He leant back against the couch and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. He looked absolutely exhausted. His skin was pale, his eyes were red and puffy, his hair was a mess and his entire body trembled like a leaf.
"You need some help Max, I'm calling Sharpe."
"I just...just need to sleep, I'll be fine then."
"Max, I'm calling her."
"Fine." He said standing up. "I'm going for a nap."
"Okay, love you."
"Love you more." He whispered walking to the bedroom.
Georgia reached and got the phone off the coffee table and dialled Helen's number.
"Helen." She said as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Georgia is everything okay?"
"No I need you to come now."
"I'm on my way." She said hanging up the phone.
Georgia got up and walked over to Max sleeping peacefully in the bed, hugging a cushion tightly and a few tears still on his face. She went back out into the kitchen and took a bite of her grilled cheese before going to answer the braying on the door. Sharpe was stood anxiously at the door thinking the worst case scenario.
"Hi."
"Hey, what's happening?"
"He broke down, he's depressed Sharpe."
"I know he is, Iggy is here too but waiting downstairs."
"Okay."
"What happened?"
"I said that I thought he was depressed, he said he was fine but then broke down. I think he was probably crying for 15 minutes."
"15 minutes?"
"Yeah..."
Iggy appeared out of breath in the doorway and smiled.
"Hi Georgia."
"Hey."
The sound of gagging pulled Georgia out of the conversation as she walked to the bathroom. After a few quick steps, she stood in front of the bathroom door and softly knocked.
"Max, are you okay?"
She heard another gag followed by a spitting sound and the toilet flushing. "Max?"
A sigh, then another spitting sound. "I'm okay."
Max's voice sounded weak and Georgia's hand lingered on the door handle. The door was unlocked.
Max was kneeling in front of the toilet, his hands clenching the edge of the toilet seat, his knuckles white. He was visibly shaking and she could hear him wheeze hectically between gags. She felt her eyes turn wet and she swallowed to get rid of the lump in her throat. She knelt down behind him and placed her hand on his back. Max flinched and turned his head to her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Get out." His voice was barely more than a trembling whisper and Mike just shook his head.
She let her hand gently circle over Max's hunched back. "I'm not going anywhere."
Georgia's heart skipped a beat when she saw Max's lips tremble. He was still badly shaking and rapidly heaving air into his lungs, but at least the gagging had stopped.
She kept rubbing his back, fixing her gaze on her husband's eyes that were full of sadness and fear. She noted how his lips where starting to turn blue and felt her own fear grow. Ignoring the tightness in her own chest, she carefully moved a little closer, placing her free hand on Max's shoulders. "Try to take deep breaths, okay?"
Max blinked and let his gaze drop.
"It's okay, I'm here." Georgia softly pressing a kiss on his sweaty forehead. "Try to focus on me. We'll get you out of this together."
Max didn't react and Georgia felt her heart drop.
"Hey!" She softly slapped his cheek. "Look at me!"
Max looked up, meeting her eyes and swallowed.
"I can't breathe."
"I know." She put both of his hands on his shoulders now, asking himself what to do with growing panic. "Do you think you'll need to throw up again?"
Max shook his head.
"Come on, let's get you out of here." She stood up, offering her hand and he grabbed it, struggling back up. She saw how unsteady he was on his feet and rushed to help him.
"It's okay, lean on me. We did this before, right? It's gonna be okay." Mike carefully placed Harvey's arm over his own shoulders, wrapping his other arm around his hip.
"We'll get you back to the couch okay? You can lie down and catch your breath."
She felt him nod beside her and they made their way to the couch where she let go of him and he immediately sunk onto the couch, his chest still moving up and down way to fast. "Try to breathe with me, okay? Or I'll have to make you breathe into a bag."
Max nodded again and Georgia pulled him closer, feeling him shiver.
"In and out, slowly. It's okay, I am here."
They sat there, breathing, and after a couple of minutes, Georgia felt Max relax a bit. His breathing finally slowed down and the shivering got a bit less.
Iggy and Helen watched in shock, silently as Georgia hugged him tightly. His head was on her chest as he breathed.