Tears

(Set at the end of 9x08)

"Harvey, I have to tell you something."

"What is it Donna, what's wrong?"

"Your mother had a heart attack. She's gone"

Donna had never seen him cry before, at least not in the true sobbing, tear stained definition of the word way.

There had been moments in the past when she had seen the emotion of a situation well in Harvey's eyes, seen dampness glistening in the dim office lighting.

But this was different. This was heartbreaking, soul destroying grief and it was smothering him. She held him in her arms as tightly as she could, holding pressure against his fractured and wounded heart, lest it shatter entirely.

Donna gave him everything of herself, allowing him to take what he needed. She gave him every ounce of her strength and comfort and love, standing strong as best she could so that Harvey could safely fall apart in the knowledge she was there to catch him.

When she felt his body give out under the weight of his grief, she guided him to the bed, tucking him into the warmth and comfort of the blankets and her embrace. She held him tight, melding his body to hers, his face pressed into the curve of her neck, as she felt the heated trickle of tears slip onto her skin.

Years earlier donna had watched Harvey shoulder the hurt and pain and grief of her father's death, alone and solitary. She had ached for him, and for circumstance preventing her from being able to help soothe him in any way, unable to even provide him with a grounding touch.

But now they, and circumstance, were different. Donna poured herself on him, cradling him tight in her arms, her hand stroking his hair, as she softly whispered to him words of comfort and love, tethering him to her as the grief consumed him.

She held him while he cried, until the sobbing eventually subsided, until sleep gratefully claimed him. She held him in her arms all night so that when morning seeped itself through the windows, Harvey may have still been hurting and fracture, but her arms held tight around him also meant that he was still whole, rather than entirely shattered.