Sorry this one took a little bit longer to post, school has been crazy busy and I wanted to get it just right! I hope you guys are enjoying the story (because there's a lot to come) and would love to hear your thoughts!

(Also note that a lot of the flashback scenes are not my words, they come from the show and the lovely writers and I don't own any of them)

Enjoy Chapter 3 - The Other Time

Ch 3 - The Other Time

He's pacing now, 10 steps towards the wall, followed by 10 steps back. Still starring out at the city lights, he racks his brain. He needs to tell her how he feels. He needs to tell her what she means to him. But how? How can he tell her she means everything to him after all this time? He doesn't want her to think his sudden confession has anything to do with her relationship with Thomas. He realizes the timing is poor, but perhaps her relationship with Thomas was the final push he needed. It opened his eyes to the fact that she had taken what he said to heart, she wasn't going to make a move again, instead she was trying her best to move on.

He would have never asked her to chose between him and Thomas, even he didn't think that was fair; yet for some reason, she still choose him. He almost doesn't believe it, a man like Thomas Kessler had a lot to offer, he was practically perfect. Well, perfect except for one thing, according to Donna he wasn't perfect because he wasn't him; where had that come from? He knew he had to tell her, and he had to tell her now before he missed another opportunity.

He finally stops pacing. What if he'd taken the chance to tell her how he felt before? She'd given him so many opportunities, starting with when they worked together at the DA's office….

She crosses her ankles on her desk, sipping from the drink she poured herself. Why she continued to choose a man who didn't want to be with her, she'll never understand. Thomas was perfect, he was a gentleman, he cared about her and it killed her that she couldn't love him the way she wanted to, the way she knew she should. She'd tried her hardest to make her heart listen to her head, she tried to fall for Thomas, she really did. But in the end, he was no Harvey and she felt she owed it to both Thomas and to herself to be honest. She wasn't sure why, but something was telling her to give Harvey one more shot. He'd grown so much in the past few years, he'd made amends with his mother and was going to therapy regularly, and she hoped that maybe, just maybe he'd become more in touch with his feelings.

And so, she broke things off with Thomas, ready to give Harvey one more chance. Unfortunately, her conversation with Harvey didn't go as planned. She never intended on telling him she broke up with Thomas because he wasn't Harvey. His reaction to her new relationship status wasn't exactly what she hoped for, but then again, she didn't handle to situation very well either. Why did they keep going around in these circles? Why couldn't they ever just be on the same page? Maybe her instinct was wrong, maybe he wasn't ready. After all, she'd given him so many opportunities to tell her how he felt over the years….

"You've had too much coffee"

"What are you talking about?" he raises his eyes to meet hers as he leans over her desk, signing the form in front of him

"After two cups your signature slants, after three scrawls and after four it's chicken scratch. They're not going to accept these" she hums

"You're crazy"

"How many cups have you had today?" she asks forcing an answer out of him with a simple head tilt

"Five. How'd you do that?"

When will he learn that she's Donna and she could do this in her sleep

"It's what I do" she smiles

"I read, I analyze, I fix" as she passes him a new set of forms

"Bullshit" he responses with the typical arrogance he saved specifically for conversations with her

She rolls her eyes and clucks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. They'd been working together for months and sometimes Harvey's cockiness still surprised her. Well, she wasn't about to let him get away with it, at least not today.

"You're wearing a blue shirt, which means you won big in poker last night. You missed a spot shaving which means you had less than five hours of sleep, and your left wrist, which you claim that you sprained playing basketball still hasn't healed because your loud tie is hanging ever so slightly to the left. Loud, because you won big in poker last night" she slaps his arm playfully

"For your information, I didn't just lose sleep because of poker" he tries to protest, her observations still managing to catch him off guard even after months of working together.

"Ya, you did. Melanie's not in the picture anymore"

"You knew about Melanie?" he asks, unable to hide his surprise

"And Charlotte, and Nadia" she adds with mock disgust. At least he hopes it's mocking.

"I don't want you working for me anymore" he jokes when truth be told Donna coming to work for him was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. Not only was she an incredible secretary, but they had become fast friends and talking with her was usually the best part of his day. The fact she was easy on the eyes, well that was just a nice bonus.

He's about to reply with something flirty when Cameron interrupts, telling him to stop playing footsie with his secretary, which he thinks he was not doing.

Cameron walks away and Harvey turns back to her, doing an annoyingly charming movie impression that she can't help but laugh at. He wanders back towards her, stopping a few feet away as she reaches out and adjusts his tie, something that had become a habit.

"So, are you gonna come out and say it?"

"Say what?" she coaxes, still working the tie, letting her left hand linger over his chest a little longer than she needs to. An action she immediately curses herself for, but for some unknown reason, she can't help herself.

"All those observations, you're into me" he whispers above her ear

His words catch her off guard, and she pretends to be fixated on his tie while she thinks of a witty response and wills herself not to blush.

"I'm not into you, I'm Donna"

It's the best she can come up with, but she knows she's said it so confidently he's bought into it and she's managed to avoid an awkward conversation in which she would be forced to admit she really was into her boss.

"What's that supposed to mean"

"It means I can do the same thing with Bertha that I did with you"

"All that means is that you're into Bertha too"

"Oh, what if I am" she teases

"We can have a threesome" he responds all too quickly

"Trust me, if you were ever lucky enough to have me, you wouldn't want to share" she flirts, holding his gaze and watching him gulp as she sashays away. Thank god she had some willpower, because Harvey Specter was the most charming man she'd ever met, and if they didn't work together, she would show him exactly what her words meant.

He fills her glass with scotch and passes it to her, raising his in a toast to their latest success. There was a time when he would have gone out and found a lanky blonde to celebrate with, but lately he considered all his successes as their successes, and he only wanted to celebrate with her, his favourite red head.

"Compliments of Cameron Dennis" he toasts, clinking his glass against hers before bringing it to his lips and draining the amber liquid.

She does the same but places her glass back down, unable to suppress her grin,

"Harvey, this isn't just winning a case, this is head litigator, scotch isn't good enough we need like a ritual or something…"

"What'd you have in mind?"

"I don't know" she laughs, and he can't help but notice how beautiful her smile is when she laughs. Flying high off his newest victory he figures he's got nothing to lose so he shoots his shot.

"I've got an idea"

"I'm listening" she beams, the devilish grin he's wearing telling her that he's up to no good. She knows that she should put a stop to the flirting before they get carried away, but she's too curious to put an end to it.

"It's not something a gentleman should say out loud"

"Oh, well then I'm willing to pretend that you're a gentleman" she smirks, passing him a pen and a pad of paper

She watches as his smile grows towards his ears as he continues to sketch out his proposed ritual. He hands the drawing back to her causing her to laugh while simultaneously becoming aroused.

"Okay, you are definitely not a gentleman" she says, studying the drawing once more

"What would we even do it with?" she wonders out loud, both joking and questioning at the same time; it's not like she hadn't thought about what it would be like.

"Whip cream" he responds instantly. (He'd also thought about it, many times)

She reminds herself that it is her boss seated across from her and playfully rolls her eyes, crumpling up his sketch, eyeing him as he takes a seat on the edge of her desk. She needed to stay focused and remember that as charming a Harvey was, she couldn't let herself fall for him. He was a flirtatious play boy who was on his way to becoming a lawyer, what did he want with a secretary. She imagined he just enjoyed the chase and she'd be damned if she let herself get hurt.

"Enough about this conversation, I want to revisit our earlier one"

"This is our earlier one" she bats her eyelashes up at him

"Common, you know you've thought about it" he states, leaning in closer. God knows he has. Lately it was one of the only things he thought about. He would wake up in the middle of the night having visions of porcelain skin and red locks. But it wasn't only sex he'd thought about. He often found himself longing to spend more time with her. Their office conversations were great, but he would love to take her for dinner and really get to know her. She had become the first person he wanted to tell good news to, and for the first time since his childhood he felt like he had found someone he would be comfortable opening up to.

"Ya I think about a lot of things"

"And, you would" he flirts, eyes refusing to leave hers as her body language is telling him she wants this just as badly as he does

"But I won't"

"You're afraid you'd fall for me" he coos (and boy was he right, she was terrified of falling for him)

"Please. If anyone's falling for anyone it would be you for me" she smiles, finishing the rest of her drink

"Sounds like a challenge" And a challenge he would very much like to take, seeing as he's pretty sure if he let himself, he would fall for her harder than he'd ever fallen for anyone.

"One you are never going to get to take" she remarks, as if hearing his thoughts

"Why not?" he raises an eyebrow

"Because I don't get involved with men that I work with" she sighs

"Because I don't get involved with men that I work with" she sighs, deciding she should share with him the rule she'd created for herself the moment she came to work for him

"Okay then you're fired"

If only it were that simple, she'd pull him in by that loud poker winning tie and only let go when they were desperate for air.

The afternoon she came into his office and laid out her opinion on what Cameron was making her do, he knew she was something special. And he knows now that it was her words that set him on the straightened arrow, she was the reason he had become he lawyer he had.

Back in his office he smiles softly to himself, thinking back to how confident he was that night at the DA's office. If only he'd channeled some of that confidence during the past decade, maybe they wouldn't be in this situation, getting closer just to push each other apart again. Every time he finally felt like they had something, like they were going somewhere, the carpet was ripped out from under their feet. Maybe, if he'd used some of that cocky confidence his younger self had when he first proposed their whip cream ritual, there wouldn't even be a Thomas for her to choose between.

He rings the bell next to the door, keeping his eyes trained on the brass 206. She opens the door in a pink silk nightgown with a white cardigan draped over top. His eyes are immediately drawn to her chest as she leans against the door and he spits out the words he came to say in an attempt to stay focused.

"I decided what kind of attorney I want to be"

"I heard, you quit"

"Did you hear I also turned over the toxicology report?" he adds

"You didn't"

"I thought you were supposed to know everything" he can't help himself from grinning as he runs his tongue along his bottom lip

"How'd you not know this?"

"Well I knew that you were either going to take that promotion or you were going to quit and either way I wasn't sticking around to find out"

"You quit?"

"Well I knew that you were either going to take that promotion or you were going to quit and either way I wasn't sticking around to find out" she says, letting her eyes roam across his torso. He's sporting her favourite look, a navy suit paired with an unbuttoned shirt. The perfect combination of sexy and professional.

"You quit?" he looks confused

"I'm not working at a place headed by a viper" she explains

"Donna I can't get you another job"

"Oh, well that's going to make my decision easier"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm choosing between Brad Gould, Scad Arms and Omelvony Meyers, if I had another one, I don't know what I'd do"

"You know it just occurred to me that you and I don't work together anymore" he flirts, Cheshire cat grin making its appearance once again

"Ya, that didn't just occur to you" she fires back. She knows she's right because the thought had crossed her mind the minute she'd heard he quit. She'd spent months putting her guard up, convincing herself she couldn't fall for Harvey because they worked together, but now that they didn't, she had nothing to lose and she was going for what she wanted. And what she wanted, was Harvey Specter.

"Do you know how I know that?" she grins up at him

"Because you knew I'd show up here the second you heard I quit" he answers, leaning forward on the door frame, letting his eyes follow the dip in her dress

"Why do you think I have this in my hand?" she waves a can of whip cream, watching him bite down on the corner of his lip. She knew the whip cream was a gamble but after watching his face light up at the sight of it, she knows she made the right call.

"What are we waiting for?"

"For you to figure out that it's time to come inside" she steps back, following him back through the door, shutting it behind him as he takes three quick strides towards her. His hands find their place on her waist and he has her pressed against the door, his lips on hers in an instant. He deepens the kiss, tongue slipping past her bottom lip as her hands tug him closer, trapping her between his body and he door. His hands roam across her body greedily, desperate to touch every inch of her. They stop just below her ass as he scoops her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around him as he kisses down her neck, pressing back against the door with a thud as she feels his hardness against her inner thigh. She mumbles between kisses,

"Bedroom. Now"

They tumble down the hall, discarding layers of clothing as they go, hands hardly leaving one another as they stumble into walls while messily kissing. By the time they reach her bedroom all that's left are his boxers and Donna eagerly removes them before he pulls her down beneath him on the bed.

"What about the whip cream?" she smirks

"We'll have time for that too" he winks, kissing down her neck before placing her breast in his mouth.

That night, the other time, was one that never really left his mind. It was hard to forget eating whip cream off an incredibly attractive women, and over the years it was the only memory of Harvey's that didn't fade. Every moment of that night remained vivid. From the way she kissed him feverishly as he held her up against her door, to the way she moaned his name as he brought her over the edge, when he closed his eyes, he could still see it all so clearly. No women had ever come close to making him feel the way she did that night.

He had no regrets when it came to the other time, but the biggest regret in his life was perhaps what followed. He never should have asked her to come work for him. Granted, if she hadn't, he knows things would be different. He knows that them agreeing to put that night out of their minds was a vital step that led them to have such a strong relationship for the past decade. But on nights like tonight, he can't help but wonder. What if he'd never asked her?

She throws her head back in pure ecstasy as Harvey thrusts deeper, digging her nails into his bare shoulder as he takes them both over the edge. He lies next to her on the bed, running his fingers through her hair as the both calm down from their high.

"That was…" she trails off

"It was" he agrees

She props herself on her elbows and grins over at him, "About that whip cream"

That night he'd shown up at her apartment she'd decided to let herself go for it, after all they didn't work together anymore, she had nothing to lose. Here she was, fifteen years later, and she could never regret that night. She'd never felt a connection with anyone like the one she felt with Harvey that night, no matter how hard she tried. It was one of the few memories she could still envision like it was yesterday. A mess of sweaty tangled bodies covered in whip cream, the way he whispered her name just above her ear. She couldn't regret that night if she tried.

What she did regret were the events that followed. She knows he wasn't ready, but she also knows she never should have agreed to come work for him. Sure, things would be different now, but maybe different was what they needed. She was so hopeful that day he called and asked to meet her in the diner, and her world came crashing down when she realized why he'd asked her there. It was that moment she decided to put her guard back up and never let herself fall for Harvey again, ya, right – that worked out well, she thinks to herself.

Somewhere over the past decade she'd allowed herself to fall for him again, and she supposed maybe she'd never really recovered after the other time, she'd just pretended she had.

As much as she hates to think it, what if the other time had never happened? She imagines they would have gone their separate ways and the world would have never heard of 'Pearson Specter Litt'. Donna Paulsen would likely be a struggling actress and once again Mike Ross and Rachel Zane wouldn't know each other.

What if it had happened but she hadn't come to the firm with him? If she'd left him without his girl Friday?

She imagines they'd have dated for a few months before things fizzled out. He became preoccupied with his career and she attempted to pursue an acting career.

She supposes that without the other time, they wouldn't be them. They wouldn't be as close as two people can get, they wouldn't understand each other the way that they do. Perhaps, their friendship was worth the heartache a decade prior.

She knows one thing for sure, if a young Harvey and Donna could see them now, fighting about unsaid words and unresolved feelings, they would laugh, because those crazy kids were at least willing to take the risk.

He's decided he's glad he asked her. He's grateful for their years at the firm. He's also decided that if the years worth of heartache and pain are going to be worth it, he better step up and tell her how he feels. He's been standing at his office door for the better part of 10 minutes, trying to muster up the courage to march into her office and tell her what he should have told her 15 years ago when she sat across from him at that diner. He was in love with her. Always had been. Always would be.

He takes a step in the direction of her office, telling himself it was about time. He was going to make it right. He was going to make all the years of heartache right, he thinks to himself as he makes his way to her office.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for Ch 4 - Love me How?