II.
Years come and go, and he is now a different man. He became name partner. He dated Scottie but didn't last long. He almost lost Donna. He had panic attacks, went to therapy. Mike went to jail for him, but he got him out. He forgave his mother. He lost and recovered his painting. He dated his therapist; maybe not his wisest choice. He almost lost Donna (again). Jessica left. Mike and Rachel left. Marcus divorced. Louis is now his closest friend. He started therapy again. Robert took the fall for him. He almost lost it all, but when he didn't, he knew there was only one person he wanted to share that with.
That night, he finally got his shit together, showed up at her door and claimed her as his, the way he should've done years ago.
He has never been happier since. Every new step they take on their relationship feels right, and he finally gets the sense he is right where he is supposed to be. They both are.
She makes him happy, she makes him a better man. And even when the firm is under attack, or he gets in a fight with Mike, or he has to put her mom to rest, she never leaves his side and that is enough to make him believe everything would turn out fine.
And it does. Everything's changed, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Today, though, he probably made the biggest change of his life, the moment he unexpectedly decided to marry the love of his life at his friend's wedding.
He feels the way Donna's nose brushes against his shoulder, her body pressing next to his as he envelops her in a warm embrace, and for a moment he finds it hard to believe this is real. As soon as they had finished their visit to Louis at the hospital, they headed straight into his condo; passion and desire making it impossible for both of them to remain a minute longer without the pleasure of having each other just for themselves.
After all it's their wedding night too.
As they lay in bed, their tired bodies recovering from the most wonderful and sublime sex they've ever experienced, he hears Donna make a soft, pleased sound, and her sweet naked body snuggles further in his hold. He starts circling a mindless pattern up and down the length of her arm, their eyes locked up in each other's. They're both elated and reeling with adrenaline. Their wedding had resulted in a completely unplanned – and unexpected – event for both of them, but just like everything else in their relationship, he wouldn't think it was any less perfect.
A light chuckle escapes from his mouth; the sudden realization of how far they've come feeling like a dream-come-true that his mind still can't entirely wrap around.
"What?" she asks, an amused eyebrow lifting in his direction.
"Nothing," he murmurs, "I guess I just never thought I'd be lucky enough to marry you."
"Me neither," she confesses quietly as she presses her face against his chest. "Today was just perfect, even if it was unplanned."
"I'm glad you liked it."
"I did," she confirms, her fingers playfully running around his hairline, "although it is a little crazy that we have to share our wedding date with Louis and Shelia's as well as little Lucy's birthday."
He pales at the thought, the coincidence suddenly seeming unbelievable, "I hadn't thought about that."
"Don't worry about it," she smiles, calming his slight panic as she caresses his cheek, and he eases up under her caring touch. "I'm actually glad, this way we got to be at Louis' wedding and meet little Lucy before moving to Seattle. I swear she's just the sweetest baby I've met."
"She surely is cute, especially considering Louis' genes are involved," he replies, and she lets out a small laugh against his neck. However, he doesn't miss the small spark that lights up her eyes as she recalls the memory of the baby girl.
Back at the hospital, he had paid quite attention to the way Donna practically melted as she held the little girl, cooing and shooshing sounds as she rocked her from side to side. Her caring and empathetic personality have always made her a natural mother, and so a silly idea pops up in his mind.
"What would you think if we made some little ones of our own?"
She stills under his touch, the question taking her by surprise, and for the split of a second, she worries she heard wrong. But the way his chocolate eyes bore into hers, his gaze warm and honest – the same way they did earlier today when he proposed – make her realize she didn't, and quizzical eyebrows knit together.
A sudden worry creeps into her chest, and instead of the excitement he's probably expecting to see reflected on her face, her eyes express concern.
Ever since his mother died, he's been making drastic changes: quitting the firm, moving across the country just to work once again with Mike and Rachel, even his impromptu proposal at Louis' wedding feel like the sort of changes a person does when they realize that life is too short. And although she doesn't have a single doubt about the truthfulness of his decisions; the sudden suggestion of making a family of their own feels too rushed, this is not the kind of decision that can be made overnight, and she can't help but wonder if this is something he really wants or if he just thinks this is a way to fill the void of family that his mother left behind.
"H-Harvey…" she stutters his name, nervous eyes trying to read his, "where is this coming from? Is this because–"
"Wait, no, stop!" he panics when he notices the nervous quality of her tone, and he can begin to imagine the kind of doubts and questions her mind must be fabricating. He reasons her reaction only is natural, especially considering the aversion he's had to the topic in the past, and so he takes a deep breath as he gathers his thoughts, "let me explain first, okay?"
She nods quietly as his index tucks away a red strand from her face and then caresses her cheek.
"Donna, you once told me you think I would make a good father. Back then I didn't believe you, and I'm still not completely sure I'd be one. But if these last months that we have been together have taught me anything, is that when I'm with you, there's nothing impossible. You make me a better man," she smiles, and he continues.
"Since my mom died-" his voice gets heavy with emotion, and he has to stop for a minute to gather himself, but she reassures him with a sheepish smile and a feather light touch to his cheek, which he's grateful and carries on, "well, I've been thinking, and the truth is that I think I'd like to have a family. It's something that I've never been able to access, but I guess it' always been there…What I'm trying to say is that, if this is something that you would also like, if you see a future with kids, if you think I'm the right person, we could maybe give it a try."
Her eyes well up, and her jaw quivers as an astounded smile lifts her cheeks. His touching words, although they feel surreal, immediately erase all her fears. For years all she's ever wished is for a future with him, and here he is now: open, honest, vulnerable, asking her to make a family of their own after having married her only a couple of hours ago. She wouldn't be able to find a more perfect definition of startling happiness even if she tries.
"Harvey," she laughs his name in a choked whisper, her voice unable to contain her emotions, "believe me, there's no one else in this world I would ever dream of having kids with that is not you, and nothing would make me happier than that."
Her broad smile makes him soar, and when she reaches out to kiss him and throws her body on top of his, he surely feels like the luckiest bastard in the world.
His mind wanders back to that night at his office, when Marcus had just become a father, and they lightly broached the subject between a couple scotch glasses and his father's music. He never thought he was the marrying type, let alone the fatherly one; but Donna has proven him he's a more sentimental man than he even realizes and if there's anyone he'd be willing to go in that adventure with, it's her.
"So, just to be clear you're on board with the idea, or do you want to think about it for thirteen years?" he teasingly asks as she untangles herself from his arms.
Her velvety chuckle fills the air, and he feels the light smack against his shoulder.
"I should be the one asking you that, Mister; our baby won't wait that long for you to make up your mind," she points her finger at him, to which he simply laughs, and he buries her face in soft kisses as she giggles under his touch.
"But, Harvey," she begins, once he relents, "you do realize that if we want this, – if we truly want this – it's probably going to be a long road, right?"
He stops, his eyebrows coming together in a questioning line, "w-what exactly do you mean?"
She gives him a knowing look.
"We both know we're not in our prime anymore, and there's no chance I'm getting pregnant without the help of a specialist," she explains. "But we just got married, and we quitted the firm, and we're about to move across the country to start a new life… There's a lot of things we still need to arrange in order to move, and we haven't figured out so much, like what are we going to with our apartments here in New York, where we are going to live in Seattle, when we're going to repeat our wedding for our families…for God's sake, we don't even know where we're going to spend our honeymoon–" she emphasizes throwing an accusatory look and he simply rolls his eyes.
"I already told you it's a surprise, and you're going to love it," he promptly interrupts.
"Yeah, and we both know that's just codeword for 'I haven't planned shit and tomorrow I'll call Rachel to have her organize everything,' but don't you think I'll let you get away with that assignment that easily!"
He opens his mouth to argue back, but immediately closes it in a frustrated exhale, knowing that with her there's no chance he'll win this argument.
"In my defense, it's kind of hard trying to surprise you when you're constantly eavesdropping every one of my moves. Why do you think I proposed at Louis' wedding? That's the only way I could make sure you wouldn't have seen it coming?"
"And who says I didn't see it coming?" she challenges, but he throws her a pointed look that says 'seriously?'.
By the way she almost cried when he proposed, they both know there's no way it didn't catch her by surprise, and she inadvertently lets out a snort that makes them burst out laughing.
"But, seriously Harvey," she clears her throat once they stop, and changes her tone to a more serious one, returning to their previous conversation, "I'm just saying we should probably wait until we've settled down in Seattle to really start trying, don't you think?"
He nods quietly, contemplating her reasoning. Unsurprisingly, she's right. Considering their age, it's unlikely they'll get pregnant on the first try, and maybe it would be wiser to wait until all the hustle of being newlyweds, moving across the country and changing jobs has quieted down.
"You're right," he agrees, "I wouldn't want to put you under the stress of a pregnancy while we're in the midst of it all."
She smiles at his compassionate understanding, and he places a tender kiss on the top of her head. He's already gotten more than what he could have ever imagined with Donna by his side, and the fact that she agreed to the idea of starting a family with him is more than what he knows he deserves.
He doesn't care how long it will take or how much effort they'll have to put in to accomplish this goal; one way or another, they'll make this happen: they'll create a family of their own.
"So, we're agreed: we're not trying yet?" he asks, seeking her confirmation.
"We're not trying yet," she repeats in a hushed tone, sensual lips teasing his, a certain luscious air in her gaze as she whispers against his ear, "but we're also not not trying."
Author's Note: I want to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited and followed this story! Your support means the world to me! :) 3
Hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!