Not long after convincing Harvey to stay in the hospital, Mike gathers his files. "I'm going to head home," he decides with a tired sigh. Harvey raises his eyebrows, "heading home before nine, the day before trial? You're getting lazy," he jokes. Mike shakes his head, "says the guy who just napped for five hours." He fires back. They both grin at that. "I'll see you tomorrow," Harvey promises. Mike nods, "see you then. Take it easy, okay?"
Harvey nods, but as soon as Mike is out the door, he is getting out of his bed. He promised Mike he's stay in this place but he never specified he meant his room, so technically his words could mean the hospital as well, which is exactly how he intended it. He examines the monitors he is hooked up to and deems them all unnecessary. He pulls out his iv, rips the electrodes off of his chest and unclicks a weird clip from his right index finger. Then he gets out of his bed and he heads out of his room, wandering down the hallway trying to figure out where he is and how to get to Donna as quickly as possible. He doesn't care whether she's asleep or not, he needs to see her.
Before Harvey even reaches the end of the hall, he hears someone calling for him, "Mr. Specter!" He is tempted to ignore the voice. He just wants to keep walking, but there was something that makes him stop and turn around slowly. Now he faces a nurse, a middle-aged woman with dark hair and even darker eyes. "And where do you think you're going?" She asks him.
Harvey tries to explain, but she doesn't listen to him. Instead, she ushers him back to his room and she starts sticking the electrodes he just pulled off back on his chest. "No, wait," he protests, "my wife… I need to go see her." He catches her eyes and is surprised when she nods and then smiles at him. "I know," she responds, "and I will let you. But you do have to keep these on," she gestures to his chest, "and take this with you," she adds as she pulls one of the monitors closer, "you gave us quite a scare earlier and we want to keep an eye on your heartrate for now." Harvey huffs, but she just glares at him, "Mr. Specter, it'll be easier if you don't fight me on this." She winks at him.
There is something about the nurse that makes Harvey obey her without second-guessing. She radiates confidence and certainty but she also smiles at him kindly. She reminds him of Donna in a way. And if there's anything he learned over the years, it's that listening to Donna makes his life better. So that's why he is listening to this woman that reminds him of her. And that's why he leaves the electrodes on and takes the monitor with him as he makes his way down the hall again.
Mere minutes later, Harvey walks into Donna's room. He freezes in the doorway, the monitor next to him signaling his heartrate speeding up. It's not like hours ago, this time she is in the room. But she looks terrible. He gets a little weak in the knees and he staggers to the chair next to her bed, sinking down as he takes her in. All color has drained from her face, leaving her skin grayish and her lips pale. He reaches up, brushing his hand over her cheek and softly tucking a fiery strand of red hair behind her ear. In his motion, he carefully avoids the oxygen mask that is strapped over her nose and mouth.
Harvey can't sit still. Even the small distance between the bed and the chair feels too big. He gets up and then perches himself on the edge of the bed. It's closer, although he has to be even more careful not to pull on any tubes now. His eyes trail the iv that's still in her hand, the iv that's now connected to not one, not two, but three bags. He bites down on his bottom lip and diverts his gaze, he doesn't even want to know what she needs all of that for.
Lightly, Harvey runs his fingers over Donna's forearm. Even the skin there is pale, making her freckles stand out more than usual. But when he closes his eyes, her skin is as soft as ever and for just a second he can pretend nothing is wrong. But then he opens his eyes again and he notices another tube that wasn't there before; a feeding tube through her nose that he missed before because it's partly covered by the oxygen mask. His chest tightens a little; recognizing that even though Donna made it through surgery, she isn't out of the woods yet.
During the next hours, Harvey stays rooted in his spot. While he is physically steady, his emotions are all over the place. From intense fear to fury. Then there's desperation and nervousness. Next he gets confused, because honestly he still doesn't get what happened. His eyes keep coming back to her face and he gets a little scared, because she still hasn't woken up.
It's almost ten when Harvey notices Donna's eyelids twitching slightly. She scrunches up her nose and waves of relief wash over him; she's waking up. The relief is immediately followed by a deep, intense love. She is his wife and he's been with her for so many mornings that he knows the telltale signs of waking up and he is so glad to be seeing them again. He leans in and softly presses his lips against her forehead. Her hand fumbles over the blankets – looking for him. He laces his fingers through hers and then waits patiently until she manages to open her eyes.
"Donna…" Her name falls off Harveys lips in a soft sigh. She blinks a few times. Slowly, because it takes a lot of effort to make even those small muscles work. Her vision is blurry, but she is able to recognize Harvey, although that may be more because of his voice and simply his presence. She feels a strange sense of calm now she knows that he's with her. She doesn't think she has ever been so sick – or so scared, for that matter – as she was today, but now Harvey is sitting next to her and somehow that makes her sure it will all be okay.
Donna's vision still swims in and out of focus, but after a while she manages to lock eyes with Harvey. He is uncharacteristically quiet. Softly, she tugs at his hand. She wants him to lie down with her again, like they did every time he came to visit her in the last few days. It gives her comfort to have him so close and God knows she is in quite desperate need of some comfort after the day she had.
Harvey hesitates. He knows what Donna meant with the small tug, but he doesn't know if it's wise to get in the bed with her; considering everything she is hooked up to – and her general condition. He notices her free right hand moving up to her face, fingers curling around the oxygen mask. "Don't," he says, laying his hand over hers and slowly pulling it away. She tries to say something through the mask, but he can't make out the muffled words. He sees the distress in her eyes and softly squeezes her hands. Without any further thoughts, he – very carefully - lowers himself in the small space next to her. His arms gently encircle her body and he feels her relax into him.
Donna turns her head a little to face Harvey. Her right hand settles on his forearm, and she softly brushes her thumb over his skin, in need of every bit of contact she can get. His presence and hold on her make her feel safe, but it's not enough to calm the turmoil in her head. It's a whirlwind of fear, desperation, helplessness, confusion and pain. She wants to untangle everything, get back in touch with herself, but exhaustion is pulling heavily at her.
"Hey," Harvey can almost see the wheels turn in Donna's head. His voice does seem to snap her out of it – though just a little. She looks at him and he can see so much in her hazel eyes. "It's okay," he whispers to her. She nods lightly, her eyelids drooping down. He forces a smile – hoping it seems like a reassuring one, "close your eyes… rest a little," he suggests, "I'll stay here. I promise," he adds, enforcing his words by pressing a kiss into her hair. Instinctively, she leans into him. He lets his chin rest on the top of her head and pulls her just a little closer against him.