Rachel closes the door shut as soon as Thomas has left. Instead she turns around, leans her back at the door, folds her arms and watches Harvey. She tries to link up all the information she got so far but still she can't figure out why her best friends lies in a hospital bed.

"Okay Harvey, I know you've no intention to talk about it but I really need to know what the happened tonight." She asks with a calm voice.

Harvey bites his bottom lip and is obviously searching for the right words – something Rachel

has never seen before. He's still sitting at Donna's bedside and doesn't let her out of his sight,

not even when he gives Rachel the long awaited answer.

"Actually Rachel, I have no idea. I don't know how any of this could happen. I came over tonight

to finally… to talk to her. There is so much to talk about… to explain. But when she opened the

door… Rachel, I've never seen Donna like this." Rachel's waiting for him to continue but he just watches Donna.

"Like what?"

"So… devastated", he swallows hard. "She cried and fell into my arms. I didn't understand at first but then I saw the red stripes in her face, that this asshole had left there." And again, he won't talk further. Rachel's trying again.

„You're really sure that's what had happened? I can't imagine that Thomas would…" she didn't dare to end her sentence.

"Rachel, I know what I saw. The look she gave me when she opened the door… Plus the condition of her apartment and the look this bastard gave me… I don't know him and after all I have no desire to ever change that, but I know her and I know it takes a lot to break her. And she looked broken. I knew right away it was his fault. He hurt her. And then… well… you saw his face." At the last words, he rubs over his bruised ankles.

"Harvey, that's bad. It takes a lot of persuasion for this to pass as self-defense. And even then, you could lose your license."

"You don't say. One could think you had something to do with law." For the first time this night something like a grin appeared at his face.

Rachel has left the hospital to grab Donna some clothes. When she sees the mess at her friends` apartment she gets an idea of what has happened here tonight. It's still something else to see the evidence of the fight for herself. After she has packed Donna's travel bag she tries to clean up the chaos somehow. The shards of glass that used to be a table are stained with blood and she feels like she's part of a horror movie. Only the intuition that this must be Thomas' blood prevents her from throwing up. The hate she feels for him helps her a lot at this moment. At first she couldn't really imagine him as a brutal thug but actually she hadn't had the chance to really get to know him. When Donna had brought him to the wedding it was just to provoke Harvey a little. Rachel was even surprised that Donna had met this guy after that again. But they weren't even officially dating, were they? Besides Rachel had so much going on in her own life she didn't really care for this guy. But maybe she should have. Maybe she could have warned Donna.

Although she has only heard Harvey's side of the story she has no reason to doubt him. Until now it had always been a mystery to her, why Harvey means so much to Mike and Donna. Sure, he's an intelligent, confident, successful and attractive man – but still she couldn't find the character that qualifies him as a friend. In the last weeks she finally got it. In the past, he always seemed so unapproachable and focused on his own advantage. Now she knows it's all just a facade. Yeah, he can be a real asshole, but for the ones he loves, he fights to the bitter end. Once you look behind that wall of arrogance and complacency, you see a person who is so overwhelmed by his own emotions that he tries to hide them behind it. He hasn't tried to save Mike from prison because it could damage his own career – he did it because he cared deeply for him. He hasn't punched Thomas because he was jealous – he did it because he wanted to save Donna, because he loves her.

It's early in morning when Harvey wakes up by a knock at the door. He is still sitting on the chair at Donnas' bedside. He must have fallen asleep around 3 or 4 a.m. after watching her sleep for hours. He stretches his limbs, his neck hurts. A look at his watch tells him it's just 6:00 in the morning when a blonde doctor enters the room.

"My name is Dr. Robbins. I just wanted to check if Miss Paulsen is okay before the nightshift is over. And you are?"

"Harvey Specter. I'm… I am a good friend of her." He has no idea how to introduce himself. He doesn't know who he is to her. There lines aren't clear anymore. "How is she? Why is she still sleeping? What is with the baby?"

Dr. Robbins checks her folders "I'm sorry Mr. Specter but. Miss Paulson named Miss Zane as her emergency contact and as long as you are not married, engaged or related I am not allowed to tell you anything."

That hurts. Shortly after Donna started working for him, he had named her as his emergency contact. After all, she was the person he spent the most time with. A few months later, Donna named him. They'd had that deal for years. When did Donna decide to change that? When had he lost her trust? Why didn't she tell him? Harvey nods in shock. Actually, he knew the answers to all those questions himself.

"I understand. I just… is she alright?" Dr. Robbins sighs. She knows this look.

"Okay, fine with me. I can tell you so much: Mrs. Paulsen got a sedative last night, but she should wake up soon. The two are doing quite well, according to the circumstances. But she really needs to slow down the next months. She should avoid stress and she needs to take care for herself and the baby." Harvey nods: the message was clear. Instead of an answer he just takes Donna's hand in his. He will take care.

After Dr. Robbins is gone it takes Donna another hour to wake up. When she finally opens her eyes, she is at first completely confused. Slowly she remembers what happened last night. When she realizes who is sitting next to her and still holding her hand, she takes it back in fright. That's too much. Far too much. She can't handle this situation and she doesn't even have the strength to think about it right now. Instead, she sets herself up slowly and closes both hands around her belly. Harvey can't blame her. Concerned, he asks: "How are you? And the baby?"

„Suddenly you care?"

„Donna I am so sor..."

"No Harvey. Stop it! I'm so tired of hearing how sorry you are when it's crystal clear you don't mean it."

"Donna I know, I fucked up."

"Yes, you did."

"I came over last night to talk to you. There is so much we need to talk about."

"Yeah, that went great, didn't it? You know what I need, Harvey? I need peace and quite. Distance from you, from Thomas, from everything. I`m exhausted. I need to focus on what's best for me and the baby. I have no energy left for your shit." She knows that's harsh but it feels damn good to finally say those words out loud. He needs to hear it. He nods and gets his jacket. When he reaches the door he stops.

"You are right. I got it, Donna. You and our… the baby are first priority. I just need you to know that I'm there. I know, I wasn't in the past but I am now. Whenever you need me just give me a call."

I know it's been quite a long time (again) but I struggled a bit with this chapter. I hope you'd enjoyed it anyway. I'm very thankful for every one of you that remains loyal to the story.