"Hello?"
"Rachel! I slept with Harvey!" Donna screamed into her phone.
"Whoa whoa whoa, Donna. Hold up. What are you saying?" Rachel answered, confusion in her voice.
"What I'm saying is… that Harvey slept here last night. In my bed. With me in it." Donna said, making overly dramatic pauses between each sentence.
"Let me translate. Mike and I have been in Seattle for two weeks and you sleep with Harvey? After so many years of telling me it would never happen?" now it was Rachel who screamed.
"Did you even listen to what I said?" Donna answered, furrowing her brows although Rachel couldn't see it. "We. didn't. have. sex."
"Yeah I got that. But I need more details Donna."
"Well then grab yourself a drink cause this might take a while." Donna chuckled.
xxx
FLASHBACK TO THE NIGHT BEFORE
Donna had a rough day and all she wanted was to go home, have a glass of wine, run a bath and relax with a good book. She deserved some selfcare after the past 24 hours. The day before she slipped in the shower and cut herself *down there* while shaving and the cut got infected so she had to see her gynecologist. The doctor gave her a cream that she had to apply to the cut a few times throughout the day and it burned like fire in her most sensitive area. She felt like crying all day but made sure to hold it in. She didn't want anyone to see her state of weakness.
She sighed as she closed the door of her apartment behind her, threw her keys in the little bowl in her hallway, set her handbag down next to it and kicked off her heels. Those damn heels that made her feet hurt like no other shoe ever did. The pain in her toes was one of the reasons she wanted to cry. She immediately went to her en-suite bathroom and started the water to fill up the tub. Sadly Donna wasn't allowed to put any scented bubbles in the water, it could just cause more pain.
She peeled off her dress and was ready to step into the hot bathtub when she heard loud knocks on her door. Donna knew who it was. The knocks of Harvey Specter rang in her ears. She let out a long sigh before putting on her fluffy robe to open the door.
"Harvey." she said when she opened the door.
"Hey." he replied, nodding in the direction of her living area, a silent way of asking to enter. Donna stepped aside to let him in.
"Harvey, why are you here? It's late." she said, obviously annoyed he kept her from her well deserved bath.
"You were so distant today and I thought maybe something was wrong. So I figured you could use some company. Plus, I brought dinner." Harvey said and held up the white bag he was holding. Donna didn't even notice the bag at first. But now the smell of her favorite Thai food reached her nose and she smiled softly.
"Thanks." she just said, not really sure what else to say to him now. Donna wasn't used to Harvey comforting her. Heck, Donna wasn't even sure anymore if Harvey even knew how to read other peoples emotions.
Harvey noticed Donnas unusual choice of clothing and pointed at her robe.
"I was about to take a bath when you came knocking on my door." Donna answered his silent question.
"Why don't you take your bath then and I'll wait here? We can heat up this shitty Thai later so it will be even shittier." Harvey said and made Donna chuckle.
"The food is good and I'm not accepting other opinions, Specter." she said before turning to get into her bathroom again. She closed the door behind her and got into the tub. Harvey didn't know what to do with himself so he decided sitting down on the couch and scrolling through his phone was a safe choice.
After twenty minutes of dozing in the bathtub the water started to feel cold and Donna shivered a little. She couldn't really relax, the pain still very prominent, although the warmth of the water helped a little, her mind running at full speed thinking about everything and nothing, suddenly everything came crashing down on her and she felt even sadder than earlier. She was about to get out when she realized she forgot to grab a towel. She was not walking out of her bathroom dripping wet and naked when her boss was in the living room.
She contemplated her choices and decided there was no better option than to ask Harvey to bring her a towel. Donna screamed his name and heard steps coming closer. He didn't come in and just asked through the door if she was okay.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I forgot a towel. Can you bring me one, please? They're in the closet in the hall, top left corner." she answered from inside the bathroom.
Harvey went to grab a bath towel and walked back to the door.
"Can I come in? Are you naked?" he asked.
"Of course I'm naked, Harvey. People don't wear clothes to the bathtub usually."
"So, can I come in?" Harvey asked again, ignoring Donnas remark.
"Yes, but don't look!" Donna exclaimed.
"Donna, it's nothing I haven't seen before." Harvey laughed and then opened the door, dramatically covering his eyes with a hand and holding out the towel with the other.
"Thank you." Donna said with a little pout on her face and grabbed the soft fabric from his hand. He chuckled and closed the door to leave Donna to herself again. She quickly dried off, moisturized her arms and legs and applied the cream again. She hissed when she touched the swollen and red area.
"You okay?" Harvey asked through the door. Apparently he was waiting right outside her bathroom and heard her hissing.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Donna quickly replied, not willing to explain her little problem to her boss and one-time lover. He was right: he had seen it all before but right now it wasn't too nice to look at and if Harvey ever got to see her most intimate parts again it sure as hell wouldn't be like that Donna told herself as she slipped her fuzzy robe back on and opened the door. She guessed correctly, Harvey was right outside holding up sweatpants, a T-Shirt and a pair of fuzzy socks.
"You looked through my clothes?" Donna asked, pretending to be furious but she was just joking.
"I did. You have nice underwear." Harvey joked and winked at Donna.
Donna felt a blush creeping up on her face and quickly turned away from his gaze before he could notice. The whole situation just felt weird so far. She left him standing by the bathroom door and placed the clothes on her bed.
"Don't look!" she said and held up a finger.
"I think you said that before. Is you being naked a new ritual now?" Harvey chuckled but turned his back to her. As much as he wanted to look, he knew it would be very wrong to take advantage of the situation. If he ever got to see his favorite redhead naked again, he wanted it to be under the right circumstances.
"No, that's why I'm trying to get dressed here." Donna said while putting panties and a bra on. She chose the most comfortable pair of undies she could find in her drawer - good thing Harvey didn't pick something lacy with little to no fabric for her. Those would just cause too much friction and hurt. So she went with big ol' granny-panties and although they were a comfy cotton material, she hissed again once they were on her hips. The sound caused Harvey to turn around - his instinct telling him to check if she's okay.
"You wear granny-panties?" he said and didn't know if he was shocked or found it funny.
"You promised to not look!" Donna said, now actually furious.
"Sorry, I just heard you hissing and wanted to see if you're okay." Harvey answered in a calm, for Donna only reserved tone. Donna looked at him and smiled softly. She contemplated telling him what's going on and when she noticed that his eyes didn't move down from hers even though she was clad in just her panties and a purple bra, she decided her worries were safe with him.
"Okay, fine… Actually… I'm not okay." she started and Harvey immediately interjected.
"Yeah, I figured that already." he said and stepped closer, still leaving an ample amount of distance between him and Donna. "What's going on?"
Donna took a deep breath and looked down to her feet.
"I… um… I'm…" she stumbled, still not sure how to explain her girl-problem to a man, let alone Harvey: someone who touched that area before and who is most certainly her boss. Harvey noticed how uncomfortable she seemed and snatched the shirt from her bed. He handed it to Donna and she quickly put it on, immediately feeling a little safer around him. She looked up again and saw the worry in his eyes. The thought of someone, let alone Harvey, worrying about her wellbeing made her tear up.
Harvey came another step closer, crossing her physical boundary and made sure to watch her face as he did so. Donna didn't move so he thought he was safe to place his hands on her arms. He squeezed both her arms lightly.
"It's okay, you don't need to tell me what happened if you don't want to. But I'm not leaving you alone tonight." he said, again with the soft Donna-only-voice.
"It's stupid, really…" Donna started again and looked back at the floor. She felt uncomfortable looking at his face while telling him something so intimate and personal.
"I hurt myself… down there." she said and for the first time Harveys eyes left hers and went down to her crotch. Obviously there was nothing to see but it's probably just a human reaction to look at the thing that's the topic of conversation.
"and it hurts. I got a cream from my doctor that I have to put on every few hours to help the healing process but so far it does nothing but burn like a wildfire." Donna continued and tilted her head back up as she finished her sentence.
"Why didn't you say that earlier? You worked all day in pain and didn't say a word? And the reason you went to the bathroom every, like, five minutes was not cystitis but this? Donna…" Harvey said, obviously worried about her.
"Harvey, I'm fine." she said and wriggled herself free from his grasp to put the sweatpants on. She also slipped on the fuzzy socks and headed towards her living room again, leaving a shocked Harvey behind. He followed suit and grabbed her arm.
"Donna, I just wanna make sure you're okay." he said, once again in this super soft tone and Donna just broke into tears. He quickly pulled her in and held her head against his chest, his strong arms wrapping tightly around her slender frame.
Harvey didn't really know what to do, mainly because he didn't know what Donna was going through. So he just held her close and made shushing sounds. When Donna finally pulled back all her makeup pretty much disappeared from her face and black mascara streaks ran down her cheeks. Her freckles poked through and the realness was something ethereal to Harvey.
She wiped her tears and excused herself. In the bathroom Donna removed the rest of her makeup before heading back to the living area. Meanwhile Harvey heated up the Thai food he brought.
"You need to eat something." he said as Donna entered the kitchen. They opted for the couch instead of the dining table and Donna made herself comfortable under a big blanket. She offered Harvey one side of it but he declined.
As they ate Harvey tried his best to distract Donna with various topics they talked about but everytime Donna shifted on the couch she hissed again as a wave of pain shot straight to her core. Still, they lost themselves in the conversation they had. It felt easy and almost natural, like they always did this - eat together, hang out together. Harvey had taken off shoes, suit jacket and tie, leaving him in his shirt and slacks. The sleeves rolled up a little and a button open, he almost looked at home.
Next time he checked his phone it was already past midnight. He quickly answered a text message from Marcus and Donna yawned.
"We should get you to bed." Harvey said as he looked back up at her.
"No, no, I'm fine here." Donna answered. "Why don't we watch a baseball game? I think there is one on the sports channel right now."
Harvey just smiled at her and grabbed the remote control from the coffee table. He skipped to the sports channel and they fell into a comfortable silence. They adjusted their positions on the couch, so both of them could see the screen properly. They were sitting next to each other, Harvey had his feet propped up on the coffee table and Donna had her legs tucked under herself. She moved the blanket so it covered both her and Harveys lap.
After twenty minutes of watching the game in almost silence (Donna asked some really stupid questions every once in a while but Harvey was happy to answer them) Donna fell asleep against Harveys shoulder. He adjusted his arm to wrap it around her and her head fell against his chest. Harvey decided to let her sleep a bit and watched the rest of the game in silence. Her slow and soft breathing brought an unfamiliar but yet so relaxing feeling for Harvey.
When the game ended he turned off the TV and moved a tiny bit, making sure to not accidentally wake up Donna. He reached for her legs and her waist and picked her up like a baby - or a bride - and carried her limp body into her bedroom. Harvey set Donna down on her bed and pulled up the covers. She looked so peaceful sleeping, he couldn't help but remove a stray strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Just as he was about to leave the room Donna stirred and her eyes fluttered open.
"Harvey." she said and stopped him in his tracks. "Stay."
He didn't move, didn't know what to do or say. After a few seconds Donna added: "Please."
"I'm not leaving, Donna. I'll be right outside, on the couch." he then said.
"No, I meant here… with me." Donna said, almost whispered. Harvey looked at her. Even in the dim lighting of her bedroom she looked vulnerable and fragile. Harvey closed the door to her bedroom, taking even more light away. Just the soft moonlight kept him from hitting his toes on the bed as he made his way to the left side of her bed. He took off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxers and undershirt. After putting his clothes on the chair by the windows, he climbed into her bed.
Harvey wasn't sure what exactly to do, he didn't want to do anything she wasn't comfortable with, so he waited for Donna to make a move. Donna waited til Harvey was settled under her comforter and turned around to face him.
"I have to.." she started and motioned to her center. Harvey understood and nodded. He got up again and grabbed the cream she told him about from the bathroom counter. He handed it to Donna and for some reason this didn't feel weird at all, so she just put some on her finger and reached under the blanket and into her pants. A sound of discomfort escaped her throat as she applied the cream to the cut. The burning increased and she hissed again. Harvey put his hand on her back and rubbed gently in order to soothe her.
She looked at him for a moment and he smiled, then she scooted closer to him. Harvey got the message and placed his right arm over the pillows, inviting Donna to lay her head on it and she did. She nuzzled her face into his side and pulled both her hands close to her heart, not too sure what else to do with them. Her legs were positioned weirdly and after a few minutes she got really uncomfortable in this position so she discreetly moved her right leg over Harveys outstretched one, intertwining them.
"Your feet are cold." Harvey said and Donna chuckled softly.
"I know. That's why you're here."
"Oh, so you just need me as your personal heat blanket?" Harvey joked.
"Yeah, pretty much." Donna joked back and snorted as she laughed. Harvey loved those little snorts, he just didn't dare to say that out loud.
They fell back into silence and Harvey noticed that Donna still wasn't really able to relax. He thought there was a reason she asked him to stay, that his presence allowed her to calm down. After all, she already fell asleep on the couch earlier. He tried to come up with a way to help her relax but he wasn't sure what would help. He knew Donna well, but not THAT well. Was she into back massages? Or would she enjoy a hot tea? Would reading help her? Should he go grab the book that she left in the bathroom? Or maybe massage her feet to help warm them up? Harvey didn't know how to help her so he just moved his left hand to the leg that was resting on his and his right hand to her head.
He held her head as his other hand began a gentle caress, starting at her knee and inching higher with each movement. The soft stroke of his warm hand caused goosebumps on Donnas leg, even through the sweatpants. Lucky for her, Harvey couldn't feel the goosebumps. Her heart beat faster and she felt a tingle in her lower abdomen as his hand moved over her thigh, a tiny bit further up with each stroke. She held her breath trying to control her heartbeat. He kept cradling her leg for a few minutes until Donna abruptly sat up.
"Harvey stop!" she said. He was quick to remove both his hands from her body and inched a slight bit to the left, away from Donna.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worried that he might've hurt her or something.
"If you keep doing that… I'll get turned on… and we both know what that means… and that's not supposed to happen."
It took Harvey a minute to understand what she meant when she said 'we both know what that means'. At first he thought Donna meant that they would end up repeating the other time but then he remembered her injury and that sex probably wasn't a smart idea and then suddenly it hit him, that she meant she would get wet and that would flush away the cream she had just applied a mere ten minutes ago.
"I get it." Harvey nodded and moved back to his original position. "Come here."
Donna laid back down next to him and placed her head on his waiting arm, burying her face once again in his shoulder. Harveys free arm reached for her face, he threaded his long fingers through the hair behind her ear and placed his big thumb on her cheek.
"How's this?" he asked and Donna nodded softly.
"This is nice." she said with her eyes closed, already drifting off to sleep. The warmth of his palm on her cold cheek immediately comforted her. Harvey watched her until she was asleep before allowing himself to fall asleep too and as he succumbed to a deep slumber he thought he would never want to fall asleep without Donna ever again.
When they woke up the next morning, Donna was entirely enveloped by Harveys body: His right arm still under her neck, his left securely wrapped around her slim waist and his legs tangled between hers. His arm was numb and tingly but he couldn't care less. The red strands of hair splayed over the pillow and her freckled face made up for it all. Harvey watched her sleep, mouth slightly agape, chest heaving with each breath. She looked peaceful in his arms and again he thought he would never want to wake up without Donna ever again.
She stirred and moved in his arms a little as she woke up. Harvey loosened his grip on her to make room for Donna to move. She didn't move though, she just smiled at him and wished him a good morning.
"Good morning." he said back. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." Donna said and smiled again. She moved away from Harvey to grab her phone from the nightstand but it wasn't there. Then she remembered it must be in her handbag, she never touched it the night before.
"What time is it?" she asked, her voice groggy and hoarse from sleep.
"Around 8:30." Harvey answered and Donnas eyes widened.
"We need to get to work!" she said and hurriedly got out of bed. Harvey reached over and caught her arm before she could leave the bed.
"Donna! You're not going anywhere today." he said, still with a strong grip on her arm like she could run away any second. "You need to take a break and stop moving so this," he tilted his chin towards her center, "can heal properly."
Donna tilted her head to the side. Was he being serious about this?
"I'll make you breakfast. Don't move." he said and let go of her arm. Donna got back under the covers.
"Can you at least bring me my phone? It's in my bag."
"Sure." Harvey nodded and left the bedroom in just his boxers and a T-Shirt - a view Donna could get used to.
A heartbeat later he was back with her phone and handed it to her.
"French Toast and a Vanilla Coffee." he said, making it sound like a statement and not a question. But he was right anyway, her signature coffee recipe that Harvey picked up after he tried it and her favorite breakfast food.
Harvey headed to the kitchen and closed the door behind himself, giving Donna a little bit more privacy. She smiled to herself and picked up her phone, dialing speed dial #2 - Rachel.
xxx
"So, you're saying it took you to cut yourself IN YOUR VAGINA -"
"Rachel!"
"Sorry, you to cut yourself in the meow meow for Harvey-I-don't-talk-about-my-feelings-Specter to talk about his feelings?"
"Well, we only talked about MY feelings. And we didn't talk about my feelings for him so I don't really know what this means."
"Donna, do you have feelings for Harvey or not?" Rachel asked, suddenly all serious and not so squeaky anymore.
"I mean, I guess… last night was a lot and I did tell him that his touch made me horny -"
"YOU WHAT?" Rachel screamed.
"I told him if he kept touching my leg like that I would get turned on and the doctor told me to try and stay away from arousal because the wetness would flush out the cream."
"And Harvey?" Rachel asked.
"He understood and moved his hand to my face instead. Rachel, I don't know what to think. He was being so considerate with me last night and I wasn't easy. And falling asleep and waking up in his arms felt so good."
"Do you think he felt the same?"
Donna heard footsteps and then knocks on her door.
"Rachel, I gotta go, he's coming back." she said and hung up without waiting for an answer.
Harvey entered the bedroom with a tray. He arranged French Toast, fruit, coffee and orange juice on it. As they ate they picked up the conversation from dinner again until it was time for Harvey to head to the office. He made sure Donna kept her word and rested her body some more and made her promise to apply the cream regularly. He left Donnas apartment and when they came to work the next day they didn't mention the other night. They didn't mention that night until four years later when Donna cut herself again and Harvey reminded his wife of that one night four years ago. He told her that he realized that night how good it felt to have her around and sleep with her in his arms and Donna told him the exact same thing. And now it was their everyday reality instead of wishful thinking.
The End.