A/N: Just a little something that somehow became a fic. You could read it as a different ending to 'cairo' 9x04. I hope you like it x

where the shadow ends

.

Harvey comes barrelling into her hospital room half an hour after she was admitted.

Donna can hear him threatening nurses for a good minute or two before he even enters her line of vision. There's a blind, wild sort of panic in his eyes and he can't seem to stop scanning everything in his line of sight. When he finally sees her, he comes to a halt, expelling a heavy breath he probably didn't realise he was holding before he walks closer.

The sheer worry in his hooded eyes knocks her breathless for a moment. She's seen Harvey be terrified of losing her — when Liberty Rail happened and when she left him to work for Louis — but his eyes have never been flooded with this much open concern for her well-being. He told her once that he isn't the kind of guy that holds your hand when you're terrified, he's the kind of guy that gets you out of trouble when you need it most. But right now his armour is down and he's allowing himself to be worried, to be human, to be her boyfriend first.

"Donna. Hey."

He covers her hand with his palm and kisses her knuckles. His warmth seeps into her icy skin and only then does she notice how cold her body has gotten now that the adrenaline has fully worn off.

Her throat burns at the domesticity of his gesture and she swallows. "Hey."

Harvey sits down on the edge of the bed, unwilling to put any more unnecessary distance between them.

"What happened?" he asks imploringly.

"I just stood up too quickly and fainted right as I was leaving the office. It was nothing, Harvey."

She tries to sell her lie convincingly with a reassuring smile but hurt flashes across Harvey's face at her words.

"You know I can read you just as well as you can read me, and right now you're lying." She looks away and bites her lip. "Donna."

"It wasn't a big deal. You don't need to worry."

"Okay. Then tell me what happened. Because Louis said you stumbled forward and he tried to grab you but you went down like a goddamn sack of onions."

Harvey tilts her chin up, silently begging her to let him in. The worry in his eyes is staggering and she hates it. She hates how his growth and devotion to her highlight her own insecurities of opening up and being vulnerable.

"I guess it's been a tough couple of weeks. And I was so busy today that I forgot to eat and hydrate," she admits reluctantly. His thumb ghosts over her cheek and she turns away again. His love is still so foreign to her, it almost chokes her when she should feel safe and protected.

"Because of Faye and your father?" he asks to encourage her to go on.

"Yes, and dealing with our new relationship in the midst of it all. I don't want anything to come between us," she pleads with him to understand. "but I also shouldn't have to give up things that are important to me just because we're together now."

"Donna, you know I would never ask you to do that."

"I know." She tries to swallow the lump in her throat and forces herself to continue. "But I know I'm going to do it anyway."

She's always been a giving tree. Putting the needs of the people she loves first is such an intricate part of her personality. She's done it ever since she was a child because she had to be strong for her parents when they split up and when her father lost all their money. She put their needs above hers in order not to give them any more reason to worry. It's become somewhat of a default setting over the past few decades and she's only ever managed to put herself first when she felt like she was put between a rock and a hard place.

It's the same thing now and maybe it's self-destructive but she's become good at compartmentalising and hiding her flaws and the thought of Harvey seeing that, seeing the truth behind the act she puts on for show, now that they're together, is still terrifying to her.

"I told you once that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I won't ever." Her left eye twitches at his words and he goes on, "I made things right with your father tonight. I thought about what you said and I told him about it. I thought showing him that I care is enough but I never told him I respect him too."

"You met with him again?" she asks, surprised.

"I did. Jim knows he didn't always make the right decisions when it came to his business but he raised you and he saved his marriage… and if that's not something to respect then I don't know what is."

His hand rubs her arm, comforting her not only with his words but also his actions and gestures. Her chin wobbles and she can only nod. Harvey's become the man she always knew he could be, and it's astonishing to see.

"Your dad loves me," he teases and she chuckles wetly, wiping away the moisture that's gathered around her eyes.

"Thank you, Harvey."

She rubs her thumb over the back of his hand, showing him how grateful she is that he took care of it. He squeezes back and links their fingers, pondering his next words for a moment.

"I also took care of your vote like I said I would. I'm in this, Donna, for better or worse. I thought you knew that. Which is why I want to know why you told Louis not to call me right away."

She shifts uncomfortably, feeling caught.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"No, I think you were scared to be weak in front of me," he says carefully. It hurts. Maybe because he's right.

"I thought I could handle it. It's just a concussion."

Harvey says nothing, her words only proving his point.

"Look, you said I needed to share when I disagree with you, but if we're going to make this work, you also have to come to me when something is going wrong in your life."

He's ready, she realises. She knew it before, of course, when she let him into her apartment. But seeing Harvey work on himself to make their relationship work is beyond anything she could have dreamt of. It makes her feel guilty for holding back and underestimating his love for her. But it also makes her feel warm and safe and she wants to let him into every crook and nanny and never let go again.

"You're right. I think I still haven't fully registered that this is it for us. A part of me is terrified of opening up and letting you in—"

"Donna, I can assure you—"

"Let me explain? I know it's not rational but you held me at arm's length for the past 15 years… or maybe it was me keeping you at a safe distance, but it's an adjustment for me now. Being open and honest with you." She takes in Harvey's furrowed brow and pursed lips. "I want this, more than anything, you know I do. I'm just saying it might take me a minute to adjust to our new normal."

Harvey nods and smiles at her. "We can work with that."

She holds his gaze until her vision gets blurry, feeling stronger and more loved than she thought possible.

"C'mere." She tugs on his arm, scooting to the side to make room for him on the small hospital bed.

Harvey doesn't hesitate and crawls under the blanket. He wraps his right arm around her small frame, careful not to hurt her head and Donna snuggles into him. They both know their love is forever and it's worth fighting for it.

A/N: Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome x