A/N: Hey again and thanks so much for coming back and still reading this!

Although this is one of the shortest chapters, it is one of the ones that I have struggled to write the most; it is full of anguish as always, I mean, I know this is a painful journey, but I hope you enjoy it, anyway.

And in case someone wanna know: after this, there are 3 more chapters and an epilogue. I hope you want to go all the way.

While Donna had lived long enough to have had weird days by now, she's pretty sure this is the rarest she's ever lived.

When she wakes up in the morning and confirms that all that had happened wasn't a dream, she feels truly panicked. It's the fact that Harvey is there for her that helps her to keep at least some calm. After sharing breakfast in bed and about 10 minutes of curling up in each other, they don't have any choice but to get up and start their day. It isn't what either of them wants, but they have to do it. The firm is catching fire, and it's largely their fault, so they couldn't disappear, much less with Faye in charge. As usual in those last weeks, Donna is the first in the shower and while she fixes her hair and makes her makeup (a complex task that morning, her dark circles are a clear sign she had finally managed to cry, and that she hadn't slept enough), Harvey takes his shower and then waits a long time for her on the couch.

Once both are ready, Ray is waiting to take them to the office. They sit in the back seat, with the sides of their bodies glued together, their hands intertwined and Donna's head falls against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Hey..." Harvey mutters against her forehead. "Whatever you need today, you have my office just a few steps away. Okay?" he kisses her forehead, and she nods, closing her eyes tightly to hold back the urge to cry.

"It's good to work so nearby to you."

He smiles. "I can't check on you all the time since now you have your own office, but I promise to do it whenever I can."

"No need."

"It may not… but I want to." She smiles shyly and presses his hand with hers for a few seconds. Donna doesn't know very well how to respond. Ray's there and she's still struggling with her tears, so just raises her head and gives him a delicate kiss on his lips that makes them both smile.

The trip to the firm continues silently, their hands clasped, their thumbs stroking and playing with each other, tiny smiles, and a lot of kisses for her.

Although in the firm almost everyone already knew that they were a couple, they rarely showed themselves as such there, at least not in the corridors, or when those around them weren't their close ones. But that morning, that seems to matter little to Harvey, who, no matter who sees them (even Faye), walks next to his girlfriend, his hand on her lower waist, and accompanies her to her office, where he gives her a cute kiss on her lips and reminds her he would be close if she needs him.

During the early hours of the day, Donna can't concentrate on absolutely anything. Her mind can't keep the focus on any activity. She can't answer emails, review documents, or make a simple calendar for the following week. Much less have coherent conversations with people, and that morning, too many people come to her office in search of her famous advice. But every time someone sits in that chair in front of her, her mind travels directly to that memory: her parents sitting in front of her in her bed and she simply disconnects herself from reality. As if she stops being the 40-year-old Donna and was the teenager Donna again. She hardly responds to those people. Louis asks her more than once if she feels okay, Samantha as well, and she just pretends to be okay, blaming a migraine that had made her sleep badly. At least Faye didn't appear all morning.

The only time Donna smiles that morning in the office is when the one who enters her office is her boyfriend, with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"I thought you might need this." He tells her with a smile, putting in front of her a cup of Starbucks with her favorite drink.

"You're my hero." She says with a sad smile on her lips.

"Hmm…" He sits in front of her. "I'm your Superman?"

"And I'm your Lois Lane?"

The two giggle foolishly and he grabs her hand over the desk while looking for something in his jacket's pocket with his other hand. "I brought this to you, too." He tells her with a grin on his lips and puts her favorite chocolate on her desk.

"I wanna make love to you right now on this desk."

"So... That's what I get if I bring you your favorite chocolate... I promise to do it one night, just to see if my luck improves." Donna can't help but giggle, and Harvey also giggles. "Then… I brought you coffee and chocolate and made you laugh. I think my job here is done."

Donna smiles again and raises their hands together to kiss his knuckles. "Thank you, Harvey."

"Enjoy this, okay?"

She nods. "Don't you need a redheaded secretary for today?" she pouts. Having him close really reassures her as if his eyes anchored her to reality.

"Do you want me to come to work here?" he offers sweetly, quickly reading her intentions.

"Actually yes, but…" she sighs. "We'll have a problem. It was just an expression of desire." She shrugs. "I can't focus or think about anything. I feel I'm on the verge of crying all the time. People come to talk to me, and I don't understand what they say." She pauses. "And I'm very nervous, or anxious… I don't know."

"Coffee wasn't a good idea?"

She shakes her head. "Yes, it was. I need to wake up if I intend to do something productive today."

"Maybe I'll bring you a linden tea next time."

She smirks. "Thank you for this, really." She murmurs and drinks a sip of the coffee. "I don't feel like Donna, but I guess it's normal after everything that happened last night."

"Don't over-pressure yourself with work, okay?"

"I'll try." She offers him a reassuring smile, and he nods, then gets up from the chair and inevitably releases her hand as he walks away.

"Peace of mind, okay?" he says from the door, and she nods, watching him leave after he smiles at her one more time.

The morning remains just as chaotic in her mind, though after that coffee, even if she feels her heart speed up a little inside her chest, her mind focuses on quick tasks and responds to some emails, trying to feel satisfied each time the number of no open emails goes down. Harvey continues to check her with loving text messages, even some memes that make her giggle being alone in the office, and also he gives her a warm smile every time he passes through her office because he's heading elsewhere (even when his way didn't involve passing through her office, he walks what was necessary to do it). And that Harvey is being like that with her helps her keep her pieces together. At least there, in that office, that offers her anything, anything except privacy.

Noon approaches, hoping to go to lunch together, but Harvey gets stuck in a meeting and doesn't succeed, so Donna goes out alone, even if it's not the same. Staying a few minutes away from that building will be good for her, she thinks. She just eats a bagel and buys a bottle of water and has lunch, sitting on the square bench near the firm, watching people go by, thinking about what traumas they hid deep in each of them. She still can't believe everything that has come to the surface, it feels like a trash bag that had been buried for a long time at the sea's bottom and that someone broke it, and now every can, every bottle, every packet, and everything that was inside, float loosely on the surface, generating chaos, and she cannot figure out how to reach them all and putting them again on that bag. She remembers to herself to take a deep breath every time she feels her eyes itch and her heart race, but she doesn't quite know if she is making it.

"Where are you?" Harvey sends her a text message.

"Square."

"Going there."

Donna smiles as she reads his answer and that helps her to relax, knowing that he will soon be there. And sooner than she expects, he puts his hand on her shoulder. "Hey... Are you waiting for someone?" Harvey asks her in a funny tone.

"To the best closer in the city." She responds with a genuine smile on her face, but it disappears in a second.

"That's good because it's me." He says with a tiny smile and Harvey sits next to her. "How are you doing?" he asks, seeing that her facial expression is tenser than the last time he saw her.

"I don't know."

"Sure you don't know?" he asks affectionately, grabbing her hand.

"Nervous, anxious, with a desire to cry all the freaking time." She snorts.

"Okay…" he responds calmly. "You wanna go for a walk before we go back?"

"No, I prefer to be here." She can't even think of the idea of coordinating her feet with the idea of staying calm. It simply sounds impossible.

Harvey nods and turns his torso toward her. "Tell me what you need, please."

"You may stay for a while here with me." She pauses to control her tears. "I can't speak now because I know I'll cry, and having you close reassures me. Just… can you stay a few minutes here with me?"

"All you need." He answers her and after kissing her forehead, he returns to sit facing the front and as they had done in the car, Donna drops her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes, while Harvey wraps her hand between his two, and she clings to that feeling, to the heat of his hands holding hers, to that of his thumb moving in circles on her wrist, just at the point of her pulse, to calm her down, to the slight movement that his shoulder and collarbone have with each breath of him, to the sporadic kisses that he gives her on her forehead, to his nose rubbing between her hair. The noise of the city is chaos, but in a way that she can't explain, that set of background sounds also helps her calm down, because they silence her mind.

And with the running of minutes, it works.

When Donna feels a little calmer, she just lifts her head and, with her free hand, takes him by his cheek and directs his lips to hers, hoping that he will take the initiative because she really needs him to kiss her. And of course, Harvey interprets it, releases her hand, and carries them to her cheeks, gently grasping her and capturing her upper lip among his, giving her one of the sweetest kisses she has ever received. He continues kissing her lips, just separating a few inches to rejoin their lips and stay still for a few seconds, playing with his fingers on her jaw, and doing it over and over again. Their tongues are still, their lips rubbing softly. She hadn't even thought about how she wanted that kiss to be, but now Donna knows that was exactly what she needed. A quiet kiss, without pressure, a reminder that he is here. May it make her feel that she isn't alone anymore. Saying nothing, she hugs him by the neck, bringing her torso closer to his and resting her cheek on his shoulder, her nose against his neck, to let herself be invaded by the smell of his post-shaved cream. Harvey hugs her back and kisses her head.

"Better?" he whispers.

"Much better." She murmurs and separates herself a little from him, but when she wants to talk, he interrupts her.

"Don't say thank you again."

She grins. "Ok, I'll kiss you then." She murmurs and gives him a sweet kiss on his smiling lips. Then, without thinking too much, she stands up, because they cannot continue to delay and he gets up almost at the same time. "Have you eaten something?"

"No, I thought I 'd buy a bagel and come back."

"Same nutritious lunch as me." She giggles and makes him giggle as well.

The first two hours after lunch are the best of the day at the office for Donna. She reviews several documents and writes a report that they're waiting for from Human Resources. There is no doubt that physical contact with Harvey is the best medicine for her soul, and although she doesn't want to be as dependent on him, now that's what she has, she assumes she will learn to manage it better over time (and probably with therapy).

And it all went relatively well until Faye enters the door of her office without even knocking first, nor either greeting her and throwing some files on her desk.

"I don't know where you have been led to believe that you were so good, but you must rewrite all this, Donna! It's a real mess."

And while Faye talks, her brain tortures her, and suddenly, without warning or logical explanation, on Faye's face, she sees her mother's face and feels her throat closing and her muscles trembling under her skin. She checks if it's just her inner feeling and is relieved herself a little by seeing that her hands aren't really trembling this time. However… she can't understand a single word of what that woman has been screaming for the last few seconds. Her mind simply cannot give meaning to the words she hears and, much worse still, she continues to see her mother.

"Donna! Are you listening to me?" Faye raises the tone of voice and Donna startles.

"What's wrong with this?" she asks, trying to stay whole, though she doesn't know if she succeeds.

"I won't repeat everything again, Donna! What do you think? I don't have time to waste! You have the data inside!" Faye replies, annoyed, and before Donna can respond, she leaves her office.

As soon as her hand allows her, she takes her phone and scurries off to the ladies' bathroom. After making sure that she is alone in the place, she locks the door and her trembling fingers look for Harvey's phone number to call him and she curses him loudly for not picking up.

"Not now Harvey, please." She sobs and when she wants to try to call him again, an incoming call from him appears on her screen and answers him immediately.

"Sorry, I was with Alex… I had to get him out of the office—"

"Harvey…" she sobs.

"Hey... What's the matter?" he asks, checking that Alex has closed the door and then spins in his chair to turn his back on the rest of the firm, looking for some privacy.

"Faye has come to my office to tell me in a terrible way that I must rewrite some files… She was yelling and angry, and I swear I couldn't understand what she was saying. I paralyzed myself, Harvey." She says amid tears. "I was only thinking of not crying in front of her, just as I did with my mother… until moments, I imagined her with my mother's face. Oh my God, Harvey, I'm losing my mind…"

"Where are you?"

"Locked in the bathroom."

"Do you want me to go?"

"How will you get into the ladies' bathroom without—?"

"Trust me. I'll be there in a second."

Harvey ends the call and as soon as he can, he's knocking on the door and Donna instantly opens and enters the bathroom. Harvey closes and relocks the door. As soon as they are safe inside there, Harvey wraps her against his body and she simply allows herself to loosen against him.

"I'm going crazy, Harvey?" she asks with fear.

He smiles with tenderness and denies it with his head. "No, I promise not. Just your mind is trying to process things it has repressed for a long time. I think it's normal for you to have unexpected reactions or for your mind to not know how to do it."

"Harvey, I swear I saw my mother's face."

"I tell you a secret? More than once I've seen your face in Paula's face."

Donna breaks away from him at once. Her eyes get bigger and her jaw drops, not quite knowing how to react. "Under what circumstances?"

Harvey giggles. "In sessions…"

"Never when you were a couple?"

"No, I mean, once I told her your name, but never saw your face in hers."

"And you've never seen her disgusting face on mine, right?"

Harvey laughs. "Never."

Donna breathes a sigh of relief. "So... Do you promise me I'm not losing my mind?"

"I promise you."

"I trust you."

He smiles at her. "Come here." He opens his arms again, and she hugs him anew, seeking refuge in him. Harvey's hands travel affectionately on her back as he gently rocks their bodies.

"I feel silly to have this reaction here."

"No, don't feel like that. Better think about the advantages of working in the same place as your boyfriend." She chuckles and clings ever more to him. "We can stay here for a while if you need it. Nothing bad will happen if we do. Okay?"

Harvey stays with her for several minutes, helping her to calm down, but both agree that this isn't the place to talk in-depth about anything, so after Donna feels calmer, she first returns to the office and then Harvey does it as well. By that time of day, she had spent more than half the usual working hours and that gave Donna a little relief, thinking that it was less time to get home, and it was Friday, a little extra incentive. Not because she will enjoy the weekend (probably wouldn't), but because that will give her time to think (and cry).

In the middle of the afternoon, Harvey appears again in her office, this time with a red tea and a chocolate muffin that makes her smile again, and finally receiving a good signal from the universe, Faye doesn't appear in her office again. And while she knows she has worked until much later frequently, at seven in the afternoon she decides that her mind can't take it anymore, so she closes her laptop, keeps her stuff in her purse, puts her coat on, and leaves her office to head to Harvey's office, where she enters without asking for permission and closes the door behind her.

"I can't continue to pretend concentration and productivity for today." She says, standing in front of him.

"Sorry, but I have a meeting in 5 minutes. I'll ask Ray to take you home."

She sighs with a minor frustration. "Can we sleep in my apartment? I really prefer to be there. It's not that your condo–"

"Of course. I'll return to your place as soon as I finish."

"It will take a long time?"

"I hope no more than an hour." He replies, texting Ray, then looks back at her. "Sorry."

She denies it with her head. "It's not your fault."

"I'll be back with Thai shit to compensate."

She chuckles. "Ask for it on the way home. I prefer you to get there before the food. And I really appreciate you having Thai dinner for the second consecutive night."

He smiles at her. "Am I more important than Thai?"

"Definitely." She grins at him, and he grins back at her.

"Okay, I'll do that."

"Okay. I'll leave you for your meeting." He nods and sees her walk away, but before she opens the door, he mentions her name and she turns on her feet to look at him. "What?"

"I love you." He tells her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if those words weren't the words he swallowed for more than a decade each time he was sitting in that chair and Donna was standing at that door.

Donna smiles honestly. "I love you too."

Harvey smiles back. "Send me a message when you're home."

"I will." Donna nods at him again and leaves his office.

If you're reading this story I'd love to hear what you think about this :)