A/N: Hey there again!
This second update was delayed a little longer than I would have liked, but I'm here again :) Thank you so, so much for all the comments and the prompts you left in the first chapter, I didn't expect so much at all! I've already saved all the prompts and hope to be able to write them in the future. Thanks again!
I have quite a few chapters almost finished, so I hope to be able to update this fic with some frequency. I'll try my best.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
The night before was one of the most complicated they have had since their little daughter was born a few months ago. Donna hadn't been able to sleep more than 10 minutes, since every time she wanted to leave Avery lying down, she started crying and screaming.
They had to give her a vaccine, and she was too upset. The only way Avery wouldn't cry was if Donna breastfed her or walked with her in her arms. Even Avery was completely tired, so tired that she was becoming hysterical and could not fall asleep, even though her mother walked all over the house holding her affectionately against her chest.
Harvey had also tried, but Avery just wanted to be with her mom, so Donna had told him to go to sleep, as he had to go to court early, and anyway, he couldn't do too much if the little girl didn't want to be with him. He refused at first, but as always, Donna had convinced him.
When he woke up early in the morning, Donna was still cradling her daughter, walking from one end of the house to the other.
"Hey..." Harvey murmurs, approaching them. "Haven't you slept at all?"
"I think I slept a little bit on the couch when I was breastfeeding her." She responds, but she has almost no voice because of the tiredness she accumulates.
"You could have woken me up." He sighs and kisses Avery's head and strokes his wife's arm gently.
"It's okay, Harvey, you have to rest if you have a trial."
"And you have to rest to stay with her." He says, stroking his daughter's back with his hand.
Donna shrugs. "I guess at some point she will fall asleep. For several hours she hasn't cried screaming at least, she just whined from exhaustion."
Harvey sighs and makes a mental note to talk to her later about this, after she has slept something, he knows that if he does it now, they will only fight. "I'll take a quick shower and have breakfast with her, okay? Maybe I'm lucky and I can put her to sleep." Donna sighs and nods. She feels her body crumble and doesn't know very well how her arms are still holding her daughter and how her feet keep moving.
At 10 minutes, Harvey is already dressed in his suit, having a coffee with Avery in his arms, walking around the house, trying to get his daughter to finally close her eyes, without any success. Donna, meanwhile, is lying on the couch, making a great effort so that sleep doesn't overcome her.
"Donna, you need to sleep. I can tell Mike to represent me–"
She interrupts him. "Harvey, you have been working so much on this case. Please go. Now I will go with her to bed."
Harvey sighs and curses, his wife is such stubborn. "Go to bed now. When I have to leave, I will take her with you."
"I'll fall asleep if I go to bed."
Harvey sits next to her and fondly caresses her head, while with the other he continues holding his daughter, who has at least stopped whining. "This is what I want, Donna."
Donna giggles, wryly. "Someone must be awake if she is awake."
"I'll go to bed with you. I still have half an hour left before I leave. Okay?" He tells her, trying to stay calm.
She doesn't respond, just nods and stands up, leaving Harvey behind and heading to their room. Harvey follows her, with Avery against his chest, and when he arrives there, Donna is lying down, coiled in herself and holding the urge to cry, she feels really exhausted and really frustrated by not having managed to get her daughter to sleep for at least a while. Harvey leaves Avery lying in front of her and sits on the mattress behind his wife. "You can go if you want to." She murmurs, but she can't hide her frustration and takes her daughter's little hand.
"No, what I want is to stay," he murmurs, trying to ignore her hostile tone and softly stroking her back. "I'll leave when the two of you are asleep."
"But—"
"No, we won't argue now. Last night, you sent me to sleep. Now it's my turn."
"Harvey—" Her voice is choppy.
He comes over to give her a heartfelt kiss on her cheek and gently squeezes her arm. "Her eyes are already being closed too. Rest Donna, you need it."
"She hasn't slept for more than 5 minutes straight."
"She also has to be tired."
"I know. We both need to sleep." She sobs.
"Rest." He whispers in her ear and gives her a few kisses on the side of her face. "I promise you I will stay until she falls asleep."
"What if she doesn't fall asleep soon?"
"She will, Donna. She can't take it anymore."
"Arrange the pillows."
"I'll do it, don't worry." Donna nods and literally, in the next minute, she is already asleep. Harvey sighs with relief and moves to the other side of the bed, where he can watch his baby closely, gently stroking her belly, which he had learned reassured her.
That morning, he arrives just in time for the court but is completely relieved that he had left them sleeping.
When Harvey leaves court, the first thing he does is call Donna. He knows she has her phone muted, so if they are sleeping, he won't wake them up.
"Hello," Donna says, agitated, walking back and forth. "How did it go?"
"Hey..." Harvey responds, trying to decode his wife. "Everything went well. How are you? Avery?"
"Avery is sleeping." She responds and takes a deep breath.
"And why do you sound agitated?"
"Because I'm tidying up Avery's clothes and cleaning, the house is a disast—"
"Wait, wait." He interrupts her. "You didn't sleep all night and now, instead of sleeping, are you tidying up clothes?"
"Someone has to do it, Harvey." She snorts.
Harvey sighs and stays quiet for a few seconds because again, he doesn't want to fight. "Can you sit down?"
"Harvey, I have to–"
"Please." Donna sighs and sits on the couch. It's not that her body refuses to do it. "Can you turn on the camera?"
"What do you want, Harvey?"
"Talk to you." Donna rolls her eyes. Harvey doesn't see it, but he knows it. "Please." He says, kindly.
"Okay." Donna removes her phone from her ear and turns on the camera. He does the same. She looks much more tired than when he left that morning and feels that a lump is made in his throat when he sees her like this.
"Have you slept something?"
"One hour, I guess."
"I don't want you to get angry, nor do I want to get angry myself. I know this is harder for you. I know you're going through a lot of changes and you're doing everything for Avery. I swear I know."
"But?" she snorts.
"But don't you think the best thing you can do for her now is to rest?"
"She needs her clothes, too."
"She needs more her mother, that she be able to take care of her if she needs it. We can fix the clothes thing."
"How?"
"We can pay someone to help us, Donna. We can pay more hours to the person who comes to clean."
"I don't want anyone else to take care of my daughter as long as I can be with her."
"I know, Donna. I'm not talking about a babysitter. I'm talking about someone who does more at home, now that we are not just the two of us, maybe we need more help. You could be more time with her as well." Donna wants to answer, but tears win her over. "We can afford it, don't you think we should use that privilege we have?"
"I don't know, Harvey. I can't think now." She responds with her choppy voice and drying the tears that fall from her eyes.
"We don't have to decide anything now. I just need you to promise me you will go to sleep, and then we will talk about it calmly."
"And who—?"
"I'll bring dinner today, and you can order something to eat at lunch. The rest can wait. Nothing bad will happen if you have to change Avery and her clothes are in the laundry room and not in her bedroom. Or if there is some dust on the furniture."
She nods and wipes her tears. "Thank you, Harvey." She mutes.
"No, you don't have to thank me anything. We are a team. Remember?" She nods. "And I love you, and I want you to be well. May you both be fine. Nothing matters to me more in the world."
"I know."
"So, can you get up from that couch and go to bed? Now."
She nods and bites her inner cheek. "I used to be me the one who put you in your place." She giggles, frustrated and too tired.
Harvey laughs. "It was time for places to change."
Donna sighs. "Things have changed a lot."
"Luckily."
"Why? Do you like to put me in place?" She chuckles.
Harvey smiles. "You know why I say it."
"I know, and I'm also glad things have changed so much."
"Go to bed, now, Paulsen."
"That sounded hotter before, you know?"
Harvey can't help but laugh loudly. "Take off the camera, put your phone in your ear again, and go to bed. You won't be able to talk much, but you will be able to listen to me."
"Do you need to control me?"
He rolls his eyes. "Can you go to bed now?"
Donna nods and does what he has told her, walks to their room, where her daughter is sleeping, removes the pillows around her, leaves the phone for a few seconds and takes her carefully in her arms, and lies with her on her chest.
"Are you already there?" He asks softly when she already has the phone in her ear again.
"Mhm..." she murmurs and caresses her daughter's head with her nose, while her hand covers her entire little back.
"Well…" He murmurs and she closes her eyes as listens to him. "Enjoy being with her now, being able to have her on your chest, feeling her warmth, smelling her… God knows I would rather be doing that and not here."
"I know." She responds, with a lump in her throat.
"She needs you, Donna. She needs you close to her. I swear we'll fix the rest." He pauses and listens to her calm breathing, which reassures him. "You're doing it excellent, honey. You're the best mum my daughter could have and I love you every day more for that."
"Harvey." She sobs.
"No, don't cry, please."
"You know my hormones are a mess."
He suppresses a laugh because he does know it. "I love both of you, Donna."
"We love you." Donna murmurs and Avery moves slightly over her. "Sh..." Donna whispers near her daughter's ear. "Keep sleeping pretty. Mom is here with you."
"I'll let you sleep... just one more thing." He pauses. "I promise you that sending you to bed will sound hot again one day."
Donna has to suppress a laugh and hears him hang, but before leaving her phone, she sends him a message: "I hope that one day you will be attracted to me again."
"Every day of my life, Donna."
Donna can't help but smile and, after putting some pillows around her, just as a precaution because the girl still doesn't move too much, closes her eyes and falls asleep instantly.
After a little over an hour, Avery begins to move her hand over her mother's chest and she wakes up immediately.
"Hey honey," Donna whispers, without opening her eyes, and kisses the head of her daughter, who awkwardly looks for her mother's breast. "Are you calmer, right?" She mutters with her lips against her head and caresses her back with her fingers. "Come here." Donna gently turns with her daughter to the side and accommodates her lying in front of her. Avery immediately puts her two hands on one of her breasts and she chuckles. "Yes, that's what I assumed." Donna unbuttons the pajamas she still wears and then her bra, helps her daughter suck and Avery begins to feed, her little fingers resting on Donna's breast. Carefully, Donna reaches for her phone and stretches her arm up, to take a picture and send it to her husband.
"You have made me smile like a fool. You're too pretty."
Donna smiles when she reads it and leaves the phone again, letting her daughter continue to feed herself.
For Donna's relief, the day continues with a little more peace of mind. Avery was probably more tired than her and they had managed to sleep several hours together in bed, and then she had been able to do some things, either with Avery in her arms, or sleeping, or even quiet in her stroller.
That night, as he had promised, Harvey arrives at the house with a pizza full of stupid yellow tomatoes and smiles when he hears no one crying in the house. He finds Donna in the kitchen, making an infusion, with a nightdress different from the one she wore in the morning, a silk robe that covered her up to her knees, and a bun in her hair, while Avery sleeps in her stroller very close to her.
"Hey..." Harvey mutters, standing behind her, puts his hands on her hips, and gives her a sweet kiss on the back of her neck.
"Hey…" she responds, and although she has slept enough, she still sounds too tired, without saying more, turns, and after putting her hands on Harvey's chest, she curls against him. He immediately wraps her with his arms and begins to fill her with soft kisses on the side of her face, while she relaxes in his arms.
"How are you feeling?" He murmurs.
"Better." She sobs.
"That doesn't sound like better, you know?"
Donna chuckles against her chest. "I know, but I am." She raises her head a little so she can look at him. Harvey holds her with one of his arms and raises his other hand to dry her tears affectionately and accommodate some strands of her hair. "I spent the day in pajamas. I took a shower a while ago, but I put on a nightdress again. Both of us have managed to sleep a lot during the day. We were out for a while. Then I could tidy up some things with her in my arms." She pauses and moves away from a little from him so that she can straighten her body. Although he doesn't let her go far, his arms still surround her. "I know. I replied to you very badly today. I'm sorry. I was too tired and— "
Harvey interrupts her with a soft kiss on her lips. "Forgiven."
She smiles. "Thank you." And now she's who kisses him. "And I was thinking about what you told me, and you're right."
Harvey smiles with relief and gives her a kiss on her forehead that makes her close her eyes and disarm against him again. "We will fix it. Okay?" She nods. "And we'll be fine, I promise."
"You make me feel very safe." She whispers and gives him a kiss on the side of his neck. "I love you, Harvey."
"And I love you, Donna." He responds and kisses her head. "Can you look at me, please?"
"What?" She asks, looking at him and he says nothing, only raises one of his hands that were on her waist to her nape and without warning, kisses her, but really kisses her, and they had almost forgotten what that was. Donna holds on to him because she feels her legs lose when his tongue gets tangled with hers. "Never doubt that I am attracted to you every day of my life." He whispers against her lips while his thumb caresses her jaw.
"Even like this?"
"Remove the even from the sentence. I don't need you to wear lingerie to be attracted to you." He responds and gives her a brief kiss on her lips, then he separates a little from her and is able to look at her in the eyes again. Now his two hands cradle her face and Donna feels her lips shaking. Damn hormones, she thinks. They will make me cry again? "You're the most beautiful woman in the world for me, and I don't say just about your physicist, which it's true that I love." He pauses and strokes her cheek with his thumb. "I'm talking about you now. I love you and admire you for all that you are, therefore I choose you every day as my wife and now also as my daughter's mother. All the time, I'm drawn to you, for everything you do, for all that you are."
"I don't want to hesitate, it's just that..." She sighs and lets her gaze get lost on the ground and Harvey's hands glide gently into her arms. "I feel too strange in my body." She takes a deep breath. "It's a lot of things to assimilate, a lot of changes, and have a newborn, and my hormones..."
"I don't need you to explain it to me, or apologize." He grabs her from her chin to look at her eyes again. "Things have changed for both… I know for you more, but they have changed for both." She nods. "And we're learning as we make the way. And if you stumble, I'll always be next to you."
She smirks. "That little girl is making you soft."
He grins and shrugs. "I think so."
"I love it." She responds, with her hands on his chest and her fingers moving there. "And thank you for your support." Harvey smiles and his hands are again cradling her head. "Can I ask you for something?"
"Whatever you want."
"Do you kiss me again like recently?" Harvey nods with a huge smile and approaches her, but she slows him down a few inches before reaching her lips. "I mean now, but also the days that follow. I miss you."
Harvey slides one of his arms to her hips and the other becomes entangled in her hair. "I will kiss you all my life, Donna." Both smile against the lips of the other, while Donna's hands wrap around his neck and their lips rejoin, both begging to have 10 minutes for them alone. Well, maybe they can settle for just 5 minutes.
You know I would love to read what you think about it :)