The next day Mike wasn't feeling very well. He was really tired, and felt like he hadn't been sleeping at all. He had woken up in cold sweat a few times from nightmares. He had cried himself back to sleep once. He really had considered going to Harvey, but hadn't in the end.
He was pretty sure that he had a fever, which kind of sucked because he was due for chemo today. It was not like he was looking forward to that, it was just that you couldn't be sick during chemo. Well, sicker. They would probably postpone it now. He didn't bother getting dressed just walked out in his sleep wear.
Harvey was at the table with a paper and a cup of coffee.
"Nice outfit." He commented, of course. Mike just yawned.
"What's for breakfast?" Harvey just pointed behind him, and Mike saw a plate with toast and a glass of juice. He was still amazed that Harvey kept making him breakfast. Or all meals for that matter. He drank the juice and had one toast. He was eating it slowly because it was kind of tasteless. Harvey frowned when he saw that he left the other, but he didn't say anything.
Mike honestly didn't think it was a good idea for him to go to work today. He knew he had a fever, he was pretty sure it had risen a degree since he got out of bed. Or it was colder here. His throat felt scratchy too. Damn it… He really didn't want to be sick again.
"Mike, come on, don't just sit there. Go and get dressed and we will head to the office." Harvey told him then. He hesitated a bit. Should he say something or not? Just before Harvey got up to leave for the bathroom he did.
"I don't feel so good." He blurted out.
"Yeah?" Harvey stopped and studied him. "What's up?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just a fever I think."
"Oh, that's all." Harvey went up to him and felt his forehead. Mike jumped back.
"What are you doing?"
"What do you think I was doing?" Harvey rolled his eyes. "So what do you want to do? You want to stay home?"
"I think I can come to work anyway, I just thought… you know. That you should know."
"Yeah, it's good that you told me. Come on then."
"If you get any worse I'm sending you home." Harvey threatened when they were in the car later. It was clear to Mike that he fully intended on falling through on that threat.
"Yeah, fine." He mumbled. Maybe he should have stayed home after all. He was really tired and had a headache. He leaned back in the car seat and was soon asleep. He was woken by Harvey gently shaking his shoulder, he groggily sat up straighter and saw that they were at the firm.
"Damn it Mike, I should just take you back home." Harvey grumbled as he held the car door open for him. Mike didn't really know why Harvey didn't, as they walked into the building. But he wasn't going to complain. He didn't really feel like lying in bed the whole day.
However he didn't feel better as the day progressed. In fact just an hour after they arrived he felt a lot worse. Donna was fussing over him and insisted that he should drink lots of fluids. He tried to tell her that he was fine, but his headache was just getting worse and soon it was too much effort to hide it. He was coughing as well, not making things easier.
"Harvey," Donna said when he recovered after a coughing fit. "You need to send him home now. He shouldn't be here." She spoke as he wasn't sitting there right next to her which he found pretty annoying.
"Yeah, I know Donna. I told him if he was getting worse that I would send him home."
"You are worse." He added, finally speaking to Mike directly. "I'm having Donna call Ray."
"Fine…I'll go. Don't come complaining to me later though because no one was helping you with work."
"I will try to contain my complaining. Now, leave."
Mike groaned and made to stand up. He had to try twice before he managed and he saw Harvey's concerned look. "I'm good." He said.
"I'll stop by at lunch." Harvey said, and followed him to the door.
"You don't have too, I'm just going to sleep."
"Exactly. That's why I'm bringing you lunch. You need to eat."
Mike fell asleep in the car again. Ray had to wake him up, and kindly offered to follow him upstairs. He hovered next to Mike as he made his way out of the car. He must look like crap if Ray was that worried. Or Harvey had said something.
In the condo he studied himself in the bathroom mirror. He did look sick. His face was flushed and he was sweating. Basically he looked like crap. He felt like crap too. The headache was worse, he was feeling really warm and a bit dizzy and shaky. Hopefully some sleep would make him feel better. He really didn't have to energy to do something else anyway.
He laid there for a while worrying about nightmares, but apparently he was too tired to stay awake. He woke a while later, from just a nightmare. It hadn't been so bad, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. He fumbled a bit with remote to the bed. It was kind of like a hospital bed, he figured just fancier looking, bigger and without the railings. He really didn't feel good, he felt a bit out of it, and now on top of everything he could feel a dull ache starting to build in his chest.
– SUITS –
Harvey stopped in the hallway for a second and listened to see if he needed to be quiet or not. If the TV was on, or if he heard any other signs of Mike being awake he wouldn't have to care. He couldn't hear anything so he carefully made his way into the condo. Mike wasn't in the living room so he went to the office to check. The door was opened and Harvey glanced inside. Mike was lying on his back on top of the covers, with a blanket over him, sleeping. He looked a bit better than he had done in the office.
He went to the kitchen to make some lunch. About twenty minutes later he could hear coughing from Mike's direction. At first it was just a few of them, but then a minute later they got more forceful and lasted longer. He went over to let the kid know he was home.
Mike was awake now, and was staring out the windows. He had risen the back of bed so that he was able to sit up more. Obviously he wasn't aware of that Harvey was home.
"Hey!" Harvey said, causing Mike to jerk and look up at him.
"Oh, hi. I didn't know you were home."
"I came for lunch." Harvey explained. "How are you?"
Mike just shrugged. "About the same. I'm pretty tired. I have been sleeping mostly."
Harvey nodded. "Do feel up for some lunch then?"
"No, not really. I'm fine."
"It wasn't really a question. Come on, it's ready."
He left, expecting Mike to follow him. Which he didn't. He went back.
"Mike. You need to eat. Come to the table."
Mike ignored him, and Harvey was starting to feel annoyed. He had left the office just to come and feed the kid, and he didn't even bother with acknowledging him. He was just listlessly staring out the window as if Harvey wasn't there.
"Are you going to eat or not, because otherwise I'm leaving again." Mike reacted to that, and Harvey felt a bit bad. It wasn't a decent thing to say to the kid, and he regretted it as Mike looked up at him.
"I…I'm not hungry." He said miserably.
"You should eat something anyway Mike."
"Okay. Fine."
Mike seemed to be worse than he had been at the hospital. He just sat there now at the table hunched over staring down to his plate. He was yet to start eating. He was breathing heavily out of his mouth. Harvey was observing him when Mike suddenly started listing forward. "Shit!" Harvey threw himself over the table and managed to grab Mike's shoulder to stop him from face planting into his plate.
"Mike!" he yelled, and the kid seemed to realize what was happening because he straightened up again and slumped back into the chair.
"Oh…" he sighed, looking tiredly up at Harvey. "What happened?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"You almost passed out in your food. You feel okay Mike?"
"No." Mike stated and slowly shook his head. He seemed to notice the food in front of him. "I'm not hungry Harvey." He repeated.
"Yeah, I get that. You don't have to be so dramatic about it." He tried to joke, but Mike just looked at him with a emotionless expression. Mike was apparently not going to do anything else then just sit there. The kid must be feeling really bad now.
"All right, let's just get you back to bed." He rose and went over to Mike, he wasn't sure if Mike could even stand up by himself. Mike didn't react now either, even when Harvey was standing next to him.
He patted the kid's shoulder to get his attention. "Let's go Mike." He said kindly. It took another moment before he reacted. He walked slowly back to the bedroom, with Harvey close behind him, ready to catch the kid should he fall. He didn't though, and sank down on his bed immediately closing his eyes.
Harvey went to get some things taken care of, he made some food for Mike that he put on the nightstand, as well as his meds and a bottle of water.
He felt pretty worried. Mike was deteriorating fast. Hopefully it was just a temporary thing. For now it looked like Mike had a fever. Maybe he had a cold.
"Mike, how are you feeling?" he asked.
"Pretty bad."
"Yeah, I can see that? So what's going on? Fever, something else?"
"I have a headache, and I'm really tired. My chest hurts too. A bit." ¨
"Okay, you have painkillers here. You should take them. I also put some food here for you, for later."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah, there is a lot going on with the case. I have Louis on my ass as well. He insist that we talk things through. I'm going to try to hold him off until tomorrow though."
"Hmm.. Good luck." Mike mumbled, he still had his eyes closed.
"Your phone is here. Call me if you are getting worse, okay? Mike!"
"Yeah…"
"Okay, see you later."
Mike didn't answer, and Harvey felt a bit bad about leaving him like that. But he really did have to go back to the office. Hopefully he would manage to get home pretty early, and hopefully Mike would be sleeping. That would be for the best.
– SUITS –
It was hard to open his eyes. It was like there was a heavly lid ontop of them, or maybe someone had glued them together. When he finally managed to get them open it wasn't really worth it. It was noting to see. He was at Harvey's apartment. He was alone. Harvey wasn't by the desk working, which was a shame. That would have been nice. Then Mike could have helped him out. He was good at that. Now though he wasn't sure that he would be much help. Everything in his brain was moving around really slowly. Like he had jello in there or something.
His chest was hurting, he wanted to hug it, but didn't bother. Painkillers, he needed that. He slowly turned on his side which made him exhausted, he had to lay there for a while until he was able to reach for the pain pills Harvey had arranged on the night stand for him. He was so tired. He reach out for them, they were behind some stuff. Shit, his phone fell on the floor. He heaved himself a bit over the edge of the bed to look at it. There was no way he could reach it. He would fall out of bed for sure. He didn't know if he could get up then. Better leave it there.
He swallowed the painkillers dry, because he didn't have the energy to bother reaching for the water bottle. He felt so hot too, he needed to cool down. He managed to throw the covers of him.
He felt numb. He wanted to go back to sleep. He should go back to sleep. But it felt like it was something he was forgetting, something that he should do. But he couldn't figure out what it was. He wasn't really sure of anything. When was Harvey going to come? Or was he here? He had been there at some point, but he wasn't sure when. He was also pretty sure that Harvey had left earlier. It would be good if he was here, because Harvey always knew what to do. Mike didn't.
– SUITS –
Mike wasn't answering his phone and Harvey was getting worried. It was so unfamiliar too him. Sure he had worried about things before, but this was so different from all of that. He felt responsible for Mike. Hell he was responsible for the kid. He had promised Mike that everything would be okay, and he really did intend to keep that promise even though it meant that he had to change who he was. Not really who he was, but who he wanted people to think he was. It still didn't come naturally to him though, he talked about it with Donna, but so far she was the only other person except from Mike that he had changed in front of. No one else even knew about Mike living with him. Well, the hospital people knew. He had just received a call from them, asking where Mike was. He told them that Mike had a fever and wasn't really fit for chemo today. He got some advice on how to care for Mike, and what to look out for. It amazed him on how normal it was that he was discussing the subject with them now. He never would have thought he would ask the questions concerning someone else's health as he did now.
He was concerned that Mike didn't answer him when he called. He hadn't answered any calls it seemed not from Donna either. It was nearly five in the afternoon now. He had a meeting at six, but decided to skip it. Louis could handle it on his own.
"You want me to come with you?" Donna asked him but he told her that they were fine. He could do this. "I know." Was all Donna said as he left.
The condo was quiet when he got back home. Mike was asleep, the covers in a heap next to him. The food was untouched and his phone was on the floor next to the bed.
"Mike, wake up."
Mike groaned a bit and Harvey shook his shoulder. He could feel the heat radiate through the man's sweat shirt. He was pretty sure that Mike was awake now. At least his eyes were kind of open.
"Are you okay? You didn't answer your phone, but I see why now." He picked the device up from the floor.
"What?" Mike slurred. "Harvey?"
"Yeah, that's me. Are you coherent?"
"What?"
"I guess not." Harvey sighed. "We better get some fluids and medication into you, before you boil up."
"What?" Mike said again.
"You are boiling up."
"I am?" Mike confusedly looked down on his body. "What are you talking about?" he asked when he clearly couldn't see anything.
"I'm saying you have a fever."
"Yeah…I know." Mike said as if Harvey was stupid to state the obvious. Harvey just rolled his eyes and left to get Mike some meds and drinks.
"You need eat. And drink." It was probably the fourth time he repeated it to Mike now. Mike had picked the sandwich up and held it in his hand, but had only stared stupidly at it before he clumsily put it back on the plate.
Harvey was taking a break from work observing Mike, and to nag about eating apparently. Mike had seen pretty out of it, and confused, so Harvey had decided to keep him company and work in his office/Mike's bedroom. Besides, Mike had been alone the whole day and after the last hospital visit staying with the kid for a few hours was certainly the right thing to do. However he wasn't sure if Mike even knew that he was there. It actually seemed like Mike's fever was getting higher. He regretted that he hadn't measured his temperature this morning. Now when he checked Mike had a temperature of 101.5. He had been told to call an ambulance if it rose above 104-105 and if Mike seemed worse than in general. That was hard to tell since the kid was feeling crappy in general. But he would keep an extra eye on him tonight.
He actually manage to get Mike to eat the whole sandwich, he only threatened him a little bit.
"It doesn't taste good." Mike complained. "What did you do with it?"
"I laced it with sleeping pills."
"What? You did? But I took the pills?"
Wow, the kid was out of it if he didn't even get jokes, which he told him.
"I'm not out of it."
"Really? Do you even know what we are talking about?" Harvey waited. Mike frowned and looked around the room. "Yes?" He said and Harvey just laughed a bit and turned back to his work. "Go to sleep." He told the kid, and Mike amazingly obeyed him. At least for an hour or so.
"Harvey…?" Harvey looked up from the files. Mike was calling out miserably for him. He hadn't known he was awake. He walked over to the bed and found Mike struggling to sit up.
"Yeah, kid?" He said and sat down on the bed next to Mike.
"You are here." Mike said, trying to focus his eyes on Harvey's.
"Yep."
"I was just…wondering where you were. If you were here." Mike slurred.
"I was. I was right there, by the desk."
"Oh. Good." He fell back down on the bed pulling weakly at the covers. He was laying on it, so he couldn't get it over himself. Harvey helped him out, and tucked him in without thinking about it.
"You want something to drink?" Harvey offered. Mike nodded and Harvey gave him a water bottle. The kid lifted his hand and tried to grab it, Harvey helped him out. Mike just started at it in his hand.
"You drink it." Harvey said, and guided Mike's hand to his face.
After taking a few sips Mike just let go of the bottle and Harvey managed to grab it before all water ended up over Mike's chest. Harvey stopped himself from saying anything about it, because he honestly thought that Mike didn't know what he was doing. It was a bit scary, and he was concerned.
He felt Mike's forehead again, and thought it was a bit warmer. Mike didn't react much when he checked his temperature again, he just owlishly looked up at him. Harvey kept talking quietly to him, telling him what he was doing, since it looked like Mike had no idea. The thermometer showed 102.3 this time. It was up almost a degree in like an hour. That was bad.
He almost didn't recognize this Mike. He tried to get him to talk to him, but Mike would only nod or just tiredly look at him. Only when he got up intending to go back to work for a bit Mike spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"Over there." Harvey pointed. "I thought I should get some work done now since I probably will be babysitting you tomorrow."
Mike ignore the insult. "So you are going to be here?"
"Yes, Mike. I will be right here. You just relax for a bit okay?"
"Okay Harvey."
Harvey smiled at the kid and went back to his desk.
– SUITS –
Mike tried to relax on the bed. He could hear Harvey rustle a bit with papers. He moved his head a bit on the pillows so that he could see him. He was turning pages in a file, searching through them for something. That was Mike's job. He should be working not lying around here doing nothing. But he was just so tired, and Harvey hadn't said anything so maybe it was okay for him to rest a bit.
He couldn't really think either. The thoughts didn't stick as they usually did, probably because he had a fever. Harvey had said that he had that and it must be true because he felt really warm.
He felt really weak too. He wasn't even sure if he could walk. He probably could, if he just got out of bed. He had nowhere to go, so he was just going to stay anyway.
He had been sleeping a lot today. Not peacefully though, he kept having nightmares. He hated it. It made him exhausted. He never thought that was possible, getting tired from sleeping.
Last time his dream had involved Harvey. He couldn't really remember what it had been about, just that Harvey was in it and it made him feel stressed out and crappy. He felt scared when he woke and wasn't really sure if it had been a dream or not. But Harvey was acting kind, so he was pretty sure it had been. He couldn't stay awake any longer and let himself drift off to the sound of Harvey typing on his laptop.
He woke up with a start the next time. Where was Harvey? He struggled to sit up, his spinning. Harvey was still there. He heard Mike woke up and turned around.
"Hey! Look who is awake. You look even worse." He got up and walked over, while Mike sat there and just watched him. He had been dreaming again. This time he remembered. In the dream he had woken up and he hadn't been able to move. He had called out to Harvey to come and help him, but he never came, and he couldn't move!
"Hey? You with me?" Harvey was standing right in front of him. "Can you talk Mike?" Harvey was probably just joking. Of course he could, he nodded.
"Oh god." Harvey mumbled and rolled his eyes. "His brain is fried." He sat down on the edge of the bed and when he spoke again he did it as if Mike was stupid, or deaf.
"Do you know your name?" He asked.
"What? Are you stupid?" Mike asked then. "I thought I was the one who was sick."
"Well you were just sitting there staring at me, what am I supposed to think?"
"I'm not that sick." He sank back down in a laying position. "I think so at least."
"I was starting to wonder, kid. Seriously though, how are you feeling?"
"Not that great." Mike admitted. "I'm really hot. In more ways then one."
"Funny. Yeah, we should try to get your fever down."
"How?"
"How should I know…?" Harvey said. "I'm never sick." He looked at his watch. "But you can probably take another pill." Harvey got up and left the room.
Mike closed his eyes and waited. He opened them again after a moment and found that he was alone in the room. Was he back in the dream? Was he dreaming? Where was Harvey? He had just been here, right?
"Harvey?" he called out. "Harvey?"
He felt so relieved when Harvey walked in the room again. "What?" he said.
"Where were you?"
Harvey looked at him as if he was stupid. "I…eh I was just getting you the pills Mike. Are you okay?"
"Yeah…I just…eh..." He didn't know what to say. They way Harvey looked at him told him that he screwed up somehow.
"It's okay. I'm here now." Harvey said kindly then, and sat down on the bed next to him. It was making Mike even more confused, Harvey acting so nice all of a sudden. But he nodded and smiled a bit, and Harvey looked happier.
"Here, you need to take this." Harvey told him and held out his hand. Mike frowned, but grabbed his hand, making the pills on Harvey's palm fall down on the bed. Harvey swore a little and pulled his hand away. "No, Mike, not my hand. The pills I had in my hand." He signed and looked around for the other pill, he had only found one.
"Oh…" Mike said.
He took the one pill Harvey gave him. He got it now. Of course Harvey wouldn't want Mike to hold his hand. That was so stupid of him. Harvey was shaking his cover now, looking pretty mad. Mike's heart just sank. Harvey was angry at him now. He decided not say anything else and just do what Harvey told him.
– SUITS –
He couldn't find the damn pill. It disappeared somewhere among pillows, cover and blankets. Mike was just quietly watching him with big eyes.
Harvey would be lying if he said he wasn't concerned. In fact he was very concerned. Mike had called out for him just a minute or so after he left the room, and it didn't seem like he was aware that it was strange. He simply had forgotten why and when Harvey left.
Mike fell asleep about thirty minutes later. Harvey decided that it was a good time for him to take a break from Mike-watching. He was just sleeping anyway, it would be okay. He went to take a shower, ate something and relaxed a bit on the couch and before he knew two hours had passed. He felt a bit bad and hoped that Mike wasn't awake. He hadn't heard anything from his direction. He made his way over to Mike's room. He had turned the light off, so the kid wouldn't be disturbed from the light. He carefully opened the door and peaked inside. Mike was curled up in a ball with the cover beside him, he was gripping a pillow tightly against his chest. He was just about to leave again when he saw that Mike was shaking. Shit.
"Mike? Kid? You okay?" He asked and watched as Mike flinched at his voice. He turned the light on and came into the room. Mike curled up even further as Harvey sat down on the bed.
"Hey, can you look at me?" He grabbed Mike's shoulder and turned him on his back. Mike whimpered a bit and squinted at the light. He looked terrible. He had been crying, tear traces still on his cheeks, his eyes were swollen. Harvey felt at once real bad for the kid as well as guilty for leaving him alone for two hours.
"Oh Mike, buddy…What's wrong?" He asked and patted Mike's shoulder a bit. He still was really warm to touch. Mike just moaned a bit and hid his face with an arm.
"Sorry, Mike. You should have called for me if you were this upset."
"I did…" Mike whispered. "I called and called. No one came…"
"I didn't hear anything. You were…"
"No one came…" Mike repeated. "Where are they?" He stared out into the room trying to look behind Harvey, who had no idea about who Mike was talking about.
"Well, I'm here now. What can I do?" He asked, feeling a little desperate to make it all better.
"Harvey?" Mike asked, if he just now realized that he was there.
"Yep."
Mike bit his lip so hard that Harvey was worried he would make a whole, and he tapped the kid's cheek. "Stop it." He said making Mike flinch again.
"Harvey?" He said again, his hand weakly grasping for Harvey's arm.
"Right here." Mike was so out of it. He was breathing deeply, and his eyes were flickering around the room. "I'm right here." Harvey said again to catch his attention. It worked and Mike met his eyes.
"Cou..could you… Could you…?"
"Could I what?"
"Maybe you could stay here for a while?" Mike whispered, not looking at him.
"I could do that Mike." Of course he would. He had been planning on it anyway.
"Just for a little while?" Mike's breaths hitched and he hid his face again.
"Yeah, of course. Move over a bit." He might as well sit comfortable if he was going to stay with the kid. He waited patiently as Mike shuffled over closer to the wall, he kept looking up at Harvey with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe that Harvey was going to sit next to him. But Harvey just pretended like the whole situation was perfectly normal as he sat down on the bed next to Mike. He was aware of Mike following his every move.
Mike didn't seem to be able to relax, his whole body tense next to Harvey. He tried to calm him, but Mike just looked at him.
"I am going to stay Mike. You can go back to sleep." He tried and Mike shook his head.
"I can't." He whispered.
"Sure you can. You just close your eyes and relax."
"N-n-no."
"Yes."
"I don't want to, I don't…I don't."
"Okay. Okay." Harvey held up his hands in a calming manner. "No sleeping then. What do you want to do instead then? Because you look exhausted."
"No…"
"Yeah, good answer. That clarifies." Harvey smirked a bit as Mike just started dumbfounded at him. It wasn't really fair of him, but he couldn't help but wanting to light up the mood a bit. Though Mike wasn't in a state of following. He just laid there with big puppy eyes looking incredible sad and Harvey felt really bad for him. He really had a hard time understanding why Mike was so upset and scared. He hated the thought of Mike waking up in the dark room to notice that he was alone, and then he had called out for help but Harvey hadn't heard him. He wasn't sure if Mike really had called out for him or not, but the kid had thought that he had and no one had come for him. He had wanted help and comfort and hadn't received it, and it made Harvey feel like shit. He was supposed to be the one that came.
He put a hand on Mike's arm and squeezed a bit, and then left it there. It seemed to work, because after a moment he felt Mike relax a bit, and his eyes flickered close. Harvey didn't remove his arm, and found himself just sitting there.
He stayed like that for about thirty minutes. Mike didn't stir and Harvey was getting bored. He should have brought his phone. It was pretty late in the evening and he was getting a bit tired himself. But Mike was too sick for him to go to bed. He would have to sleep in here tonight. But for sure he could sneak out and just get his phone. He could probably get some work done as well. It worked, and Mike didn't wake while he was gone.
However he woke a while later while Harvey was at his desk. This time he was totally delirious, and wasn't making any sense. He was slurring and his eyes were glazed over. He mumbled things that Harvey couldn't really make out at first. Mike didn't know where he was at first and didn't really listen when Harvey tried to tell him.
"No, where are we?" He asked again. "I don't know." He panted and twisted around on the bed.
"Still at my place, I told you that Mike. It's okay. You are at my place."
"But they aren't here. I can't see them…Where are they?" Mike was asking and Harvey had no idea what he was talking about.
"No one is here but us, buddy. You were dreaming Mike."
"What…No."
"Yes." He insisted. He just wanted Mike to snap out of it. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing. Was it better if he played along? What happened after kind of broke him a bit.
"But I don't want to be here alone." Mike whispered. "I don't want to be here. I want them to come. I asked…"
"You are not alone Mike. I'm here. Harvey."
"Yes…" Mike said and Harvey almost relaxed. "Harvey was supposed to be here." He whispered next. "He was…"
Harvey swallowed. "But I am, Mike. I am here." But it was like Mike didn't hear him or saw him, he was panting and squirming on the bed. His eyes were tearing up.
"I just wanted him to come." Mike said brokenly, and Harvey quelled the urged to grab him and shake him until he got that Harvey was there! He didn't dare to do that however, maybe Mike would be afraid of him then.
"I am here." He said a bit more forcefully and leaned closer to Mike to be in his field of vision.
"No…"Mike sobbed quietly turning his head away. "He is ne-never here."
"I am Mike."
"No… I want him to be here." His breath hitched. "I don't want to be scared…" He whispered next.
"God.." Harvey mumbled. What should he do? Why didn't Mike believe him? He really had to do something, because Mike was crying now. Silently tears were running down his cheeks. The fever was really messing with his head at this point. Harvey wondered how high it was now. Did the kid need a hospital?
He decided to try a physical approach, if he just got Mike to snap out of it all, so that he could actually talk to him. He took Mike's hand in both of his.
"Can you feel this Mike? I am here. Me, Harvey." He said and pressed on the kids hand pretty hard. Mike tried to remove it from his grasp. "No Mike, I'm here." He said again. "Right here. This is me."
He reached out for Mike's face and turned his head so that Mike was facing him.
"No, no, noo…" Mike sobbed not focusing on him, and Harvey almost wanted to pull him up in an embrace but somehow it didn't seem like the right thing to do at the moment. He needed to get Mike to understand that he was there. Maybe he should try yet a different approach. He might regret it but it was worth a try.
"Enough Mike! Snap out of it, right now!" He almost yelled straight in Mike's face.
It worked! Thank god it worked, because Mike's whole body froze and he finally met Harvey's eyes.
"Hey, sorry. Hey Mike." He said in a much softer voice.
"Harvey?" Mike whimpered, breathing too quickly for Harvey's liking.
"Yeah!"
"You're here?"
"Right here."
"Oh…I thought, I thought you… Where were you?" Mike slurred.
"I was right here. You have a pretty high fever kid."
"Okay." Mike seemed to just accept that. He blinked a few times. "What's happening?"
"You are sick, kid. The fever is messing with you head."
Mike sighed and agreed. "Yeah…I feel off."
"You were." Harvey told him. "Are you in pain or something?"
Mike just shook his head and wiped his face. "What's going on?" He mumbled. "Harvey, I don't know what's going on…"
"That's okay kid. You don't have to know everything all the time. Just go back to sleep will you? I'll stay here."
Mike looked at him for a long time before he nodded. "Okay." He whispered. To Harvey's relief he did fall asleep just minutes later and Harvey felt himself relax a bit. It was kind of scary to see Mike so out of it. At least he had managed to have a few lucid moments now. Maybe he was getting a bit better. He really deserved a break. The kid seemed to be so scared and confused. Mike wanted him to be there. He had said that he didn't want to be scared anymore. Harvey didn't want him to be scared either, and if it meant spending the whole night here by the desk in Mike's room, to be there if he was needed, that was what he was going to do.
Mike woke up again almost an hour later. Harvey noticed it right away because he suddenly started panting and moving restlessly. He probably just had a nightmare. He had been sleeping peacefully up until now.
"Hey, Mike? Mike?" He made his way over to the bed and sat down close to Mike and patted the kid a bit to get his attention. His eyes were only slightly open and he was staring unseeingly up into the ceiling. "It's okay. I'm here."
"You're here." Mike half whispered, eyes searching Harvey's and his hands grabbed for him. "You're here. You're here. You are really here." He sounded relieved. He tried to calm down, but wasn't that successful. He was shaking, barely awake.
"Don't go Harvey." He begged, even though Harvey hadn't moved an inch. "Don't."
"I won't." He just said. Clearly Mike was in great need of reassurance. It was like he was desperate and nothing Harvey said got to him, he was too afraid to believe that he wouldn't leave. God, he had no idea it was this bad with the kid. How could he have missed this? They lived under the same roof, and he liked to think that Mike wasn't that good to hide things from him. But this he had hidden. The fact that he was terrified. Terrified at night, with Harvey was just a room away. Was it like this every night Harvey couldn't help but wonder, or was it just the fever.
Harvey could feel him shaking next to him. Mike was touching his arm lightly, as if he tried to make sure he was still there. What Mike whispered next almost made Harvey's heart break again.
"I'll do anything."
He acted on impulse then slid down into a more laying position as he sneaked an arm out and as smoothly as he could wrapped it around the kid. He could feel the bones on his shoulder blades and his shirt stuck to his back from sweat. In spite of that he pulled Mike a bit closer to him. It didn't feel as weird as he had thought it would be, laying like that next to Mike. He strongly believed that this would help, he thought that this was what Mike needed at the moment.
"You don't have to do anything." He said. "I'm here."
Mike drew in a few deep breaths before Harvey felt him relax a bit against him. He was sleeping a minute later, and Harvey didn't dare to move.
– SUITS –
Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not a good time for Mike. In the next one, Louis will find out...