Chapter 2

It's mid-morning on a Sunday and Donna and Harvey are still in bed, neither having any desire to stray further from the other. Donna's lying on her front, head resting on a pillow, arms folded underneath, while Harvey lays on his side, watching her as he lazily draws circles and words on her exposed back. Something catches his eyes on her nightstand and his hand stills when he sees a book he hasn't seen for quite some time.

"You're reading Shakespeare again?" He asks, looking down at her as she opens an eye to look at him. She just hums in response, perfectly content and sated after a vigorous morning with her husband.

Harvey smiles as he continues to dance his fingers across her back.

"Do you regret it?" Harvey's question elicits a snort from Donna.

"You weren't that bad, I guess your form has been better but we did go all night so…"

Harvey pinches her side as her laugh echoes throughout the room and even though he's pretending to be annoyed, he can't help but laugh with her.

"Very funny…"

Donna giggles to herself as she snuggles deeper into the fluffy pillow.

"I meant Shakespeare…"

Donna pushes herself up, turning on her side as she rests her head on a folded arm and looks over at him.

"Do I regret Shakespeare?" She asks, not entirely following his train of thought.

He huffs, "No, I meant do you regret giving up acting? That life…"

"It wasn't really a life..."

"Well, I mean choosing to follow me and become my secretary, instead of pursuing acting?"

Donna mulls over the question as Harvey tries to search her eyes for the answer. She lazily runs her free hand across his chest and it's quite frankly the only thing grounding him and not letting his mind wander as the sinking feeling in his stomach grows. Because he has always worried that some part of her, no matter how small, could hold it against him.

"Sometimes… maybe I did…" Donna says quietly, thinking back to all the times where they fought, when she was so disconnected from him and had ended up walking away. She can't lie to him and say she hadn't wondered, especially during those times, whether her life would have been better without that heartache. At times, it felt like she'd lost a part of herself, a purpose, when she'd been working for Louis.

"I never thought my life would have been easier if I'd have walked away from you in the diner…"

"You ever think about that? What would have happened if you did walk away… we wouldn't have worked together…"

Donna doesn't need to use her words to tell him that yes, she did think what would have happened if she'd said no, that instead of remaining in his life as his secretary for nearly a decade, they would have been rule-free and able to pursue a relationship.

Harvey nods, signalling he understands that her answer is yes. He too, has thought about it in the past, how they could be ten years into a marriage instead of just one.

"I also think about how neither of us were ready, we might have started something then Harvey, but I don't think it necessarily would've ended like this." Donna says, gesturing to them, their rings and their whole marriage.

"I never thought my life would have been easier if I'd have walked away and not come with you, there would have been a part of me always wondering, what if?"

"I understand…" He runs his hand up and down her arm, assimilating and processing her words.

"I may have regretted giving up acting," She pauses as she brings a hand to the side of his face, thumb gently stroking his cheek, "But I could never regret you and our story…"

"Our story hasn't always been a happy one Donna…" Harvey begins, not really needing to remind her about everything they'd been through together.

"I've realised that in all the great stories, even if there's a happily-ever-after ending, there's something sad…"

"That's not Shakespeare…" Harvey arches an eyebrow as Donna raises her head.

"Nope, Emma Thompson."

Harvey lets out a hearty laugh, "Maybe you should have stuck with acting after all…"

Grinning, Donna pulls a pillow from out under her and lazily lobs it in Harvey's direction. Skilfully dodging her feeble attempts, Harvey climbs on top of her as he begins to tickle her sides. They have much more to talk about, barely scratching the surface of their past, but for now, they're just going to enjoy each other in the present.

Thanks for reading! A rather short one this week but thought I would post it anyway :)