They had just finished dinner, walking out of the restaurant holding hands and laughing about something or other, when they run into her. Literally. Harvey reaches out a hand to steady the woman, as she almost ricochets off his chest, before he even realises who it is. 'I'm so sorry, we weren't watching where...Scottie.' He says, surprise in his voice. The aforementioned woman smirks up at him. 'Harvey. Nice to run into you' She says teasingly. Donna looks from her boyfriend to the woman who has been in his life for as long as she's known him, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She tries to subtly remove her hand from his, not wanting to make this situation more awkward than it already is, and is surprised when Harvey tightens his grip, shaking his head slightly. Scottie, notices, of course. She looks over at Donna. 'Donna. It's nice to see you. I guess he finally saw, huh?' She says, referring to the conversation they'd had only weeks ago. Donna smiles, a tight, uncomfortable thing. 'I guess he did' She says, shrugging slightly. Harvey looks between the two women. One, whom he'd thought might be the one he'd end up with, and the other the only one he could EVER have ended up with, and frowns. 'Am I missing something here?' He says.
Scottie smirks again. 'Just a conversation we had, woman to woman. Nothing you need to worry about.' She says lightly. Harvey frowns again. 'Right...' he says sarcastically. Donna clears her throat, wanting desperately to change the subject. Or leave. Leaving would be her preference, but Scottie looks far to amused, she knows they aren't getting away that easily. 'So. Scottie, what brings you here? Date?' She says, smiling, feeling like she needs to turn it back around on the other woman. Scottie laughs lightly. 'Nothing that exciting I'm afraid, I had dinner with a client last night, and left my scarf behind, was just coming to grab it. So, how long has this..' She waves a hand between Donna and Harvey '...been a thing?' She asks, looking between them, curiosity and something Donna can't quite place, on her face. Donna sighs and goes to open her mouth to reply when Harvey cuts in. 'Long enough, Scottie, and to be honest, that's not really any of your business.' He says shortly. Donna looks at him sharply 'Harvey..' she starts to admonish him. Scottie holds up her hand. 'No, he's right, it's not really, at least not anymore.' She says softly, her gaze cutting off to the side.
Donna looked at the woman closely. As much as they may have had their differences in the past, what they both had in common and the one thing they agreed upon, is that they cared about Harvey. Donna knew that Scottie had loved Harvey, probably still did, in one way or another. She hoped for her sake, that she wasn't still IN love with him. She knows from experience how hard it is to love someone who can never love you back. At least not the way you need them to. Lucky for her, her someone ended up feeling the same way. It wasn't to be the case for Scottie, if that was indeed the way it still was for her. Either way, one thing was clear. The woman needed closure, once and for all. Seeing them together might have done just that, but Donna knew the two former lovers needed to have a conversation, one she couldn't be a part of.
Giving Scottie a quick smile, she squeezed Harvey's hand lightly, before letting go. He looked sharply at her, reaching out toward her again, but she smiled at him reassuringly, laying her hand on his arm lightly. 'I'm going to go get a cab. I promised I'd give Rachel a call tonight, so that's going to take some time, you know how we are' she smiles teasingly at him, trying to soothe the look of worry that has come over his face. 'It'll give the two of you a chance to talk for a bit.' Not giving him a chance to reply, she kisses him quickly on the cheek. 'I'll see you back at your apartment, okay?' He looks slightly shocked and a little annoyed, but he nods his agreement wordlessly. Donna turns back to Scottie, not missing the look of appreciation in her eyes. 'It was nice seeing you, Scottie. Hope you find what your looking for in there.' She says, knowing her words are a double entendre. Scottie smiles at her. 'Thank you, Donna.' Her words light, but her face shows her gratefulness. Donna just nods, giving Harvey one last reassuring smile, before turning to leave. His hand on her wrist stops her momentarily. He looks at her, eyes intense, as if trying to tell her something. 'I won't be long. Get the fireplace going, okay? It's cold out.' He murmurs to her. She looks at him, affection in her voice when she answers. 'I will. And Harvey, it's okay. Take your time.' With one last squeeze of his hand, she turns and hails a cab, sliding in without looking back.
Using her newly returned key, she lets herself into Harvey's apartment, closing the door behind her. He was right, it is cold out, and the apartment is chilly after not being inhabited all day. She goes and flicks on the fireplace, before picking up her phone and hitting speed dial 2. She settles onto the sofa, her phone pressed to her ear. Rachel picks up almost straight away. 'Hey Harriet.' She says, her voice sweet and teasing. Donna smiles 'Hey Michelle. How's my favourite sidekick?' She says laughingly. Rachel scoffs 'Please, I'm the best partner in crime you ever had, and you know it.' Donna laughs. 'Damn right you are!' She looks out the window, taking in the impressive view of the New York City skyline from Harvey's apartment. 'I miss my sidekick. How are you, Rach?' She says softly. She hears Rachel's smile in her voice when she replies. 'I miss you too, Donna. We're great! Busier than ever, but the work we are doing is so fulfilling, you know? It makes the long hours and crazy days all worth it.' She says softly. Donna smiles. 'That's so great Rachel, I'm so happy you guys are doing well over there, even though I kind of wish you weren't, so you'd have to come back home.' She says teasingly. Rachel laughs. 'Yeah, yeah. You and my dad both! Enough about me though, how are you doing? How's Harvey?' She says, anticipation in her voice. Donna smiles softly. Rachel has always been her biggest cheerleader when it came to herself and Harvey. She doesn't think there was anyone happier to hear about them finally getting their shit together, as Mike so aptly put it, than her-with the exception of Mike himself, of course.
Donna smiles at the remembrance of the conversation her and Rachel had finally had, when she called her back. The honest to god squeal she let out, still hurting her ear. 'I'm great. Harvey's great. Something interesting happened tonight though, we ran into Scottie after we finished dinner. Like literally, ran into her' she says, hearing Rachel take in a surprised breath. 'Wow. Scottie, huh? I kind of thought we'd seen the last of her' she says tentatively. Donna sighs. 'Yeah, me too. Especially after our last conversation-which she bought up tonight, by the way. I thought Harvey's head was going to explode from curiosity.' She says with a laugh. Rachel chuckles. 'I can imagine. So... what happened? I'm guessing he's not with you now, because we wouldn't be talking about this if he were' she says. Donna hums softly in response. 'Nope. I left the two of them behind to talk.' There is a beat of silence across the line before Rachel responds. 'Okay, wow. Um... why?' She says, curiosity in her voice. Donna sighs again. 'Because I've been in her shoes. She needs closure, Rach. With everything that's gone on between them all these years, the stops and the starts, I don't think they've ever really had that. It's important that they do. For her, but also for Harvey. I know he feels guilty about the way things went down with them. Hopefully this gives them a chance to put it all to bed, once and for all.' She finishes softly. Rachel lets out a breath. 'Wow, yeah. That's.. your right. Closure is important. You don't.. you don't still think she's in love with him, do you?' She says tentatively.
Donna closes her eyes for a second. 'I don't know, Rach. It really doesn't matter, and it's none of my business anyway.' She says softly. Rachel scoffs. 'Um...no, it really kind of is.' She says incredulously. Donna shakes her head, even though Rachel can't see it. 'No, it's not. I hope, for her sake she's not, because I of all people, know what it's like to be in love with a man who doesn't love you back, and I wouldn't wish that upon her. It sucks. It's hard and painful and awful' she says, something pained in her voice, remembering how it had felt. 'But like I said, it doesn't matter. If she is, this is what it might take for her to move on. They owe it to each other.' She finishes, letting the silence settle for a beat. When Rachel responds, it's soft. 'And.. you really aren't worried? At all?' Donna let's out a soft sigh. 'No Rach, I'm not. I trust Harvey, implicitly. I always have and I always will. There's nothing there for him anymore, at least not romantically. When he..' she stops, wondering at sharing this next part with her friend. She hadn't yet, it seemed too personal, too intimate. She thought now was okay though, to make her understand. '...when he came to my door that night, he didn't say a word. We didn't have to talk...I saw it on his face. He was in this, with me, finally ready to take this chance. I always knew, that if we ever did this, it'd be for keeps. He's it for me. That night, I knew it was the same for him. So no, I'm not worried.' She finishes, her voice soft. Rachel sighs. 'Okay. God, I can't believe it took you two so long to do this. You are so good together. I wish I was there to see it.' She says wistfully. Donna smiles. 'Come back for a visit soon... or maybe we could come to you.' She says brightly. Rachel laughs. 'Yes! Either of those.. we'll work something out soon. Now tell me... is Harvey really the best closer in New York, in every way?' She says saucily. Donna laughs, loud and surprised. 'Well, he does do this one thing...'
Donna hears the door open and close, and leans her head back on the sofa, watching him walk toward her. She got off the phone with Rachel about 15 minutes ago, after a long chat. She really did miss her friend, but their mandatory weekly check ins kept them feeling close. 'Hey. Mike and Rachel say hi' She says in greeting, watching as he goes straight to the scotch decanter. He pours two glasses and walks over to where she's sitting, placing the drinks on the coffee table, and leaning over and kissing her, all without saying a word. She kisses him back readily, all to ready to accept his affectionate gesture. He pulls back after a beat, sinking down beside her, pulling her to his side. 'Hey' He says softly. She looks at him closely. 'You okay? How'd it go with Scottie?' She says. He sighs, and picks up her hand, playing with her fingers. 'It was good... a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but good. I guess I didn't.. I didn't realise how much I'd hurt her back then...or I did, but...well I guess at the time, there seemed to be more important issues at hand. I got a chance to apologise to her for that. I think she needed it. Hell, I think I did too.' He murmurs. Donna smiles knowingly, wrapping her arm around his middle and resting her chin on his chest. 'I know you did, Harvey. I know you've felt guilty for how things went down with Scottie, for a long time. You needed this as much as she did. I'm just glad you got the chance. That you both did.' She says softly. He looks down at her, affection and appreciation on his face. 'Thank you. For forcing us to do it, you know we wouldn't have if left to our own devices.' He says, amusement in his voice. Donna chuckles. 'Oh I know. Sometimes you just need a little push. Lucky you've got me, huh?' She says teasingly, but he looks at her, something intense and focused in his gaze. 'I really, really am. I love you, Donna. I know I don't say it much, but I feel it. Every day' He says, his voice low and intimate. She blinks up at him, her throat thick when she answers. 'I love you too, Harvey. Always' she whispers, leaning up to kiss him soundly. She thinks of Dana Scott then, and hopes that she finds happiness. Who knows, maybe she already has. She silently thanks her, for being part of the journey that got him here, to her. It's where they were always meant to be. Together.
