Chapter 14 - Resolution
Author's Notes: *waves sheepishly* Hi, remember me? And this story? Hopefully, you do. :D
I'm once again so sorry for how long this took. But, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and messaged asking for an update. Hopefully, this makes up for it.
And this is it, guys. ATYWG is coming to an end. This is the penultimate chapter, and there will be one more chapter to tie up loose ends. But, I do plan to write a few more stories within this 'verse, so be on the lookout for those.
HUMUNGOUS thanks go to my betas-extradordinaire, Nathalie and Nanna, who have been incredible in polishing this and for mostly being the best friends a girl could ask for. I love you, girls.
Donna was excited. Tonight was their first official date.
Her day had taken a definite upturn - not that it had been a bad day, but the morning's events had been fraught.
She and Harvey had had their first disagreement, and while it hadn't resulted in a fight like she had feared, it had still left her feeling dispirited. However, as he usually did, Harvey had come around to what he needed to do.
She was curious about what had turned his opinion, since they hadn't really talked about it. She knew that Harvey was still coming to terms with his own decision, and it was understandable that he needed time. The only thing she was worried about was him talking himself out of it.
Donna knew Harvey was still skeptical of his mother's intentions, and that a large part of his decision to talk to Lily had been her own insistence of Lily's change. But there had to be more to it, and she hoped he'd talk to her about it.
If there was anything the last few days had taught her, though, it was that Harvey had turned all her expectations upside down when it came to talking about his feelings about her and his family. They had gone from speaking in subtext to being openly in love with an ease that both surprised and scared her. And it had been Harvey who had taken the lead and shown her more of himself to her in these past three days than he had ever done in twelve years, and he had done it without any expectations on her part.
She realised with a start that she had yet to open her own family and past to him the way he had with her. Her father and sister were going to present two different challenges, in that Harvey's relationship with the former was still sour and he had heard very little about the latter because of Donna's own reticence in talking about her. But that would need to change soon, since it was all but official that they would be spending the rest of their lives together.
She wanted Harvey to be accepted into her own family the way the Specters had taken her in, and she'd make sure they did. She still didn't know what the deal was between Harvey and her father, but she needed to start with them.
Laura Paulsen, on the other hand, could wait. In fact, Donna thought with a sudden fit of petulance, it wouldn't be the worst for Laura to only meet Harvey at their wedding, whenever that happened. But she knew that it wouldn't be fair, especially to Harvey. He was already curious about her relationship with Laura and he was no stranger to strained sibling relationships.
Then again, Laura was nothing like Marcus, especially when it came to admitting she was wrong or even respecting her sister's choices. And Marcus certainly hadn't turned his wife into a submissive doormat. Donna snorted at the mere idea of Katie being anything but a firebrand who loved her husband and family fiercely, but still maintained her own sense of independence. She and Katie were kindred spirits in a way that she had never been with her own sister, and speaking of the devil…
"Well, you look nice," Katie grinned, slipping into the room and eyeing her appreciatively.
Donna looked down at the off-white Roland Mouret dress that she had packed thinking she'd need it if she had to head to the firm straight from the airport. It also seemed fitting that this had been her first purchase she'd made just after Harvey had made Senior Partner.
"Thanks," she said, running a hand down the fabric. "It's just lucky I had this one with me. I wasn't exactly expecting to be going on a date when I came down here."
"No," Katie laughed and plopped herself on the bed behind Donna, who was standing in front of the vanity. "Although, I don't think Harvey would care what you wore. I've seen how he looks at you. Besides, I've seen your wardrobe, Miss Paulsen. Harvey has pictures, you know."
Donna rolled her eyes playfully, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please," Katie stood up, and stepped behind her and placed her hands on Donna's shoulder. "You always look like you've stepped off the ramp. "
Turning pink, Donna shrugged, "I've always loved the world of fashion. Even if I didn't take the path I thought I'd take in becoming an actress, these dresses fulfil a small part of that dream."
Katie turned serious, "Do you regret not pursuing acting?"
Donna stared thoughtfully at her reflection, "There have been a few times, after I came to Pearson Specter, when I have thought, 'what if?', usually when I get the chance to do a play. I do enjoy being on the stage; there's something special about bringing a good story to life in front of a live audience that I absolutely love. And for a long time, I thought that it was what I was meant to do. But then…"
"You met Harvey," Katie nodded.
"I met Harvey," she said softly and then chuckled. "And it took me down a different path that gave me so much more. Which is funny, because when I approached him to hire me, it was a means to an end. I wanted a boss who would understand my love for theater and give me the freedom to pursue it. And he did, albeit a little grudgingly."
Katie snickered, "Knowing him, I think he was just messing with you. He's never talked about you being an actress with anything less than pride, and believe me, he's talked about you. A lot."
"He was," Donna agreed. "But I didn't realize that until recently."
"No?"
Donna shook her head, "Until the closing night of the last play I did when I saw him outside the firm, flowers in hand, waiting to take me to the theater."
Katie's jaw dropped, "He accompanied you to your closing night as your date?"
"Not a date."
"Uh, that's a date," Katie said firmly. "Regardless of what you two lovebirds-in-denial told yourselves, it had to be."
The only thing I got going on tonight is you.
Harvey had been up to his eyeballs in dealing with Mike and Logan, and yet, none of that seemed to matter to him that night. He'd seen her to her dressing room before heading to his seat in the front row - the ticket for which he had to have secured far in advance. That had to mean…
Shit.
He had been planning it; it hadn't been an impromptu decision.
Katie was watching her with a knowing look in her eye, "See?"
Donna's eyes widened slightly but she shook her head again, "The point is that I had no idea he had even been interested, much less aware of what I did outside the firm."
Katie was looking at her in disbelief, "Wow, that is not at all the impression I got on the few occasions I got to see him in New York. I always regretted not being able to meet the Donna Paulsen because you were nearly all he talked about. All his stories involved you and very occasionally Jessica and some guy named Louis who you both took immense pleasure in pranking."
Donna let out a snort, "Oh, yeah."
Katie continued, "Anyway, what I'm saying is, his world revolves around you. Imagine our surprise when he said that you were 'just friends'. None of us bought it, just so you know."
Donna smiled, "A week ago, I would have disagreed with you, you know?"
"But now?" Katie's grin split her face.
"Now you know what I'd say."
"Do I?"
"Katie!"
Katie let out a loud giggle, "I'm sorry. Seriously, just seeing you together these past few days has been a pure joy. I've never seen Harvey look so… free. He always looked so weighed down when he saw us. I know a large part of it was the guilt that he carried because of this family. Marcus' attitude certainly didn't help matters."
Donna nodded and then frowned as a thought occurred to her, "I've been meaning to ask you something, though. First, I can't thank you enough for being in Harvey's corner when Marcus and Bobby turned on him that night."
Katie shrugged, "They were out of line that night."
"They were, that's true. But then you revealed that you were against Marcus keeping his illness from Harvey right from the start. That told me you knew what Harvey had done for him all those years ago. With Forstman. Did you?"
Katie's expression turned uncomfortable, "Donna."
"Katie."
Katie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "Yes. When I saw Marcus receive that check with Harvey's name on it, I got scared. I was worried about what Harvey could have done to get that kind of money. So I confronted him about it and realized the truth was much worse. And ever since, I've been worried about that viper returning to exact his pound of flesh from Harvey."
Donna reached for her hand and squeezed it, "He did."
Katie looked up, shocked, "What? What happened then?"
"He's been dealt with. Harvey turned the tables on him. Forstman's in jail, where he'll rot for the rest of his life."
Katie's voice shook with relief, "You sure?"
"Yes," Donna smiled. "You'll need to get the details from Harvey, though. I was not as involved when he was dealing with it."
"Oh?"
"I was dealing with my own personal crisis by then."
Katie nodded, clearly understanding what Donna meant, "Harvey had told you he loved you."
"He had." Donna's voice quivered a little, the memory of that night now a bittersweet one, as opposed to one of pain.
She had confided in Katie about everything that had gone down over the past weeks, when Harvey and Marcus had been out with the kids the day before. It had been liberating to finally get everything off her chest while being completely sure of how Harvey felt about her, especially with someone who knew Harvey almost as well as she did.
Katie patted her arm, "You should get downstairs. I'm sure Harvey has worn a hole into our carpet waiting for you."
"He nearly did," a voice said from the doorway. "He was beginning to wonder who was keeping his girlfriend from coming downstairs."
Harvey was leaning on the door jamb and shooting a playful glare at his sister-in-law.
"Well, he could learn to be patient," Donna quipped as she rose from the bed to reach him.
"He can't," Harvey returned, slipping his arms around her waist. "He's just eager to take you on our first official date."
Donna wrinkled her nose, "He should probably stop referring to himself in the third person, if he wants this night to go well."
He laughed and leaned down to peck her lips, "Look at you. You look beautiful."
She smiled and looked down, her heart leaping in her chest at his words; words that he'd said before, but she'd been disappointed to see they hadn't been meant for her. But now, as she gazed back into his face, his eyes were steady on her face and his arms tightened around her waist when he caught her gaze.
"You ready to go?" he asked.
Katie stepped past both of them before Donna could reply, "Have fun, kids."
Harvey looked after her retreating figure, "What were you two talking about?"
Donna shook her head, "Nothing important."
"OK. It's official. This is my new favorite restaurant." Donna groaned around a mouthful of chocolate torte. "Nothing in New York comes close."
"Really? Not even Del Posto?" Harvey asked, raising an eyebrow. "And stop stealing my dessert."
She grinned and reached over her mostly untouched dessert to grab another forkful of his.
"We made a deal when I came to work for you," she said, shrugging lightly. "When having a meal with Donna, you will, with no exceptions, share your dessert with Donna. Especially if it's chocolate."
He gave her a look, "I don't recall signing such a deal."
"Oh, it was in the fine print along with the clause about Secretary's Day," she replied, gazing at him coyly through her eyelashes.
Harvey shook his head and leaned forward, taking her left hand in both of his. He slid his thumb over her skin, gazing quietly at it, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
Donna sensed his hesitation and curled her own fingers around his. When he raised his head to look at her, she squeezed his hand.
"Did you make one with Louis, too?" he asked, and Donna felt her heart pang at the emotion clouding his eyes.
"No," she said. "I didn't want to. He's not you. That's not to say he didn't try, though."
"What do you mean?"
"He did suggest starting a pre-trial ritual when he learned about the can-opener. But I couldn't do it."
Harvey sighed, "I'm so sorry I sent it back the way I did. You were right, I wanted him to realize that he would never have what we had. That was petty."
"I thought that message was intended for me, as well" she said, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Maybe it was. I was torn between wanting you back and pushing you away for good, because I couldn't make sense of what I was feeling. And so my mind responded to that with… "
"Panic," she said, tightening her grip on his fingers.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm so sorry I hurt you like that."
"I know you are, Harvey," she said squeezing his hand again, even as the memory of that day sliced through her. "I am sorry, too, for how I treated you. The truth is, after our fight on the day before you left, I regretted the words I'd thrown at you. And I was planning to give the can-opener back to you as a peace-offering."
"You were?"
"Yes. I am still hoping we can continue our routine even if I don't work for you."
At that, he stood up and brought his chair closer to hers.
"I'd love that," Harvey replied softly, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her palm before his tone turned mischievous. "Although, we could just do what the can- opener replaced."
"Oho, nothing replaces the can-opener," she said, her eyes widening.
Harvey's face fell, "Why not?"
"Because it's the can-opener," Donna replied in a shocked tone. "You don't mess with the can-opener. I'm not the bad guy here."
"Hmm, maybe you're right," he said with a pout, sitting back in his chair. "It's too risky."
Donna giggled and patted his leg which was next to hers, before leaning closer to him, "Although, I wouldn't be opposed to adding to our routine."
He leaned back in, "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she replied, moving her hand up his thigh.
Harvey swallowed and she bit her lip to hold back a grin. He placed his own hand over hers to stop her from straying still further up, "So, what do you suggest we do?"
"Oh, I have a few ideas. If you give me more of your dessert, we can try a few of them tonight."
He looked down at the almost empty plate and then back at her, "There's hardly any left here, Donna."
She simply stared at him till he got her drift.
He rolled his eyes playfully before raising his hand to signal the waiter. Donna grinned triumphantly as he ordered a second serving of the torte.
Donna let out a deep breath as she rested fully on top of Harvey's chest, her legs splayed around his hips. These moments, soon after they'd made love, were fast becoming her favorites: where the quiet engulfed them, the air cooling their heated skins and him still inside her, and his fingertips traced mindlessly over her skin while they came down from their highs.
She felt herself shiver slightly as an aftershock pulsed through her, making him tighten his grip across her lower back. Donna smiled and pressed a kiss to his skin, before shifting and allowing him to slip gently out of her, though she didn't leave her spot on his chest. After a few moments, with her body having settled, she propped her chin on his chest to look at him. Even in the scant moonlight coming through the windows, she could discern the shadows and contours of his face.
His eyes were closed but there was a slight crease on his forehead that told her that his mind had drifted to what he had to do the next day.
"It's going to be alright, you know," she said, quietly so as not to disturb his reverie.
Harvey's eyes opened, and his head moved as he turned to look down at her.
"What?"
She smirked, "You know what."
He sighed, "I do."
She waited for a beat, looking expectantly at him. But when nothing was forthcoming, she pressed, "Harvey, please tell me you're not thinking of backing out."
His eyes widened, "No. No, I'm not."
"Then, what is it?"
He lifted a hand to trace her own which was laying flat against his skin, "It's just… I haven't spoken to the woman in nearly 6 years, Donna. At least not without it exploding in our faces. I guess, a part of me just expects it to go as it always does."
"And that's OK, Harvey," Donna said. "But, you don't have to let it limit you. Be willing to give her a chance to make it right, like she says she wants to. Because, this isn't just about you and her, anymore. This is about Marcus, Haley and Josh, and the fact that you want to be a part of their life as much as they want to be a part of yours. And it's up to you to make that a possibility."
"And you," he said, his hand leaving hers to cup her face.
"I… what?"
"It's about you, as well. About us. Isn't it?"
She closed her eyes, breaking their gaze, and she felt her chest fill with emotion - which she thought was surprising, considering the fact that she had been thinking of their wedding just that morning. She looked back at him to find him looking at her knowingly.
"Well," she said, looking back down at his chest, her fingers slipping absently across his skin. "We haven't exactly said it out loud, have we?"
His head tilted in question, "We haven't? You referred to Katie as your sister-in-law."
She pinched him lightly, "Only because you said they'd be my family soon enough."
"Exactly," his grin was visible, as he tickled her side. "Donna, you know we're going to be together forever, right?"
Donna felt her heart soar.
Close enough.
Nevertheless, she glared at him and shook her head, "Not if that's how you're gonna ask me."
"I didn't think it would matter how I asked," he said, his own eyes going comically large. "It wouldn't be how you instructed me to ask, anyway."
She squeezed her legs around him in admonishment, "It absolutely does matter, Harvey, because it's you. These last few days have taught me that you can use your words to express feelings, so I'm not going to pass up a chance to hear you declare your undying love for me."
He groaned, "I knew it. This whole feelings thing was going to land me in trouble."
"Oh, honey," she said, slipping off his chest and pressing herself to his side. "You landed in trouble twelve years ago. You never really got out of it."
He let out a short laugh and turned to press a noisy kiss to her forehead, "And don't I know it."
"Good," she said, moving her lips towards his.
However, instead of meeting her lips, he was looking at her expectantly.
She giggled, and then conceded, "And so did I."
"So did you, what? You have to say it."
"Land in trouble. Twelve years ago. Happy?"
"Very," he agreed and finally closed the distance between them.
It was funny, Harvey thought, as he sat at their reserved table in Marcus' restaurant. How a place that had seemed so warm and intimate last night with Donna now felt too cold and crowded. Although, rationally, Harvey knew that the ambiance was much the same as it was the previous night.
He'd left Donna with Katie and the kids, who were home today because of the weekend. Marcus had driven him to the restaurant.
"I'm glad you're doing this, Harvey," Marcus said, stealing a glance at his brother as he drove.
Harvey didn't reply, but merely nodded, "Donna told me I needed to try."
"Right," Marcus said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm not sure," Harvey said, smiling wanly. "Angry. Nervous. Doubtful. Hopeful. Pick one."
"Well, that's a lot better than before, or at least last time. When you were just… angry."
"I suppose it is."
"Listen," Marcus said, as he pulled into his reserved spot outside the restaurant. "Harvey, no one is expecting more than you're willing to give, alright? If Mom is truly where she says she is, then all you need to do is to agree to start from there and in time, things can go back to normal. But you just need to start somewhere. That's all."
Harvey looked out of the window and then back at Marcus, "And if she isn't where she says she is?"
"Then we try again when she truly is. I'm not willing to let this feud separate us any longer, Harvey. I did enough of that with what I did last year and with... " He sighed and indicated the restaurant. "The way I got you to finance this. I'm done using her against you. We're a family, and we want you with us, regardless. You and Donna."
"I appreciate that, Marcus," Harvey said, reaching over to squeeze his brother's shoulder. "But it wouldn't be fair for me to make you choose between us and her, every time we came down here. So, as you said, I need to start somewhere."
Marcus nodded, his eyes welling with gratitude. Harvey smiled, patted his shoulder and got out of the car.
"I'll be around," Marcus called, as Harvey made his way towards the restaurant door.
Harvey raised his hand in acknowledgment, before stepping inside.
And so here he was, worrying a napkin between his fingers, while he kept a lookout for his mother.
He didn't have long to wait. He spotted her trailing the maître d' and when she reached their table, she gave him a small smile, which he returned - with some effort.
"Hello, Harvey," she said, once she'd sat down and the waiter had left them.
"Lily," he said, unable to keep the curtness from his voice and not meeting her eyes.
"I'm so glad you agreed to this lunch," she said, her voice steady, although Harvey could see her lips had tightened at the corners, the way his own did when he was upset.
Just give her a chance to make it right.
Donna's words rang through his head, which made him straighten up and finally meet his mother's eyes.
"I haven't decided how I feel yet, Lily," he said, gently but firmly. "But you told Donna you wanted another chance."
"I did," Lily said, quickly and eagerly. "You have no idea how much."
"OK," he returned, nodding. "How about we order first?"
"Yes," she agreed.
"So, what else is good here?" he asked, grabbing the menu to peruse it.
"What else?" Lily asked.
"I came here last night with Donna. So what do you recommend?"
"Honestly, I'd recommend everything," Lily said, smiling.
"You come here often?"
"Of course," Lily said. "And Marcus always tries to make our orders on the house, but I don't let him."
Harvey let out a chuckle, "Yeah, he pulled that shit last night, too. Donna wouldn't let him. She made me pay, instead."
"Well, good for her," Lily laughed, as well.
After they'd placed their orders, Harvey turned serious, "So… you wanted to talk."
"I did," she sighed and looked straight at him. "Let me begin by just telling you how sorry I am for everything I put you through when you were just a child. And as if that wasn't enough, I spent so many years resenting you for what happened as a result of my own actions."
Harvey stayed quiet, but he leaned forward in his chair. Taking it as encouragement to continue, Lily went on.
"It pains me now to think just how blind and oblivious I was to your pain, and instead of being the one to soothe you, I only inflicted more of it on you, by asking you to lie to your father and to cover up my own sins. You didn't deserve that."
She looked away, her hand coming up to swipe at a tear that had slid down her cheek. Harvey swallowed, thinking of what he could say, but his mother went on.
"That brings me to… Bobby."
Harvey stiffened at that, and his mother reached reassuringly for his hand. Resisting the urge to pull away again, he kept his hands where they were and allowed his mother to gently grasp one of them.
Baby steps.
"I've tried multiple times and failed at rationalizing just exactly what it is that happened between me and him." Lily started. "But the simple truth is…"
"You fell in love with him," Harvey finished.
"I did," Lily said, swallowing hard. "It wasn't meant to happen. At first, he was just there and…"
"I get it," Harvey interrupted her. "I know this. Or at least, I know now. Dad wasn't around. He was."
"Yes," Lily agreed, squeezing his hand. "But instead of handling it like the adult I was, I chose to make you complicit in my own game against your will, and every time you resisted, I made you feel guilty about it. What kind of mother does that make me?"
"You didn't want to hurt Dad," Harvey offered quietly. "Neither of us did."
"Instead, I allowed my lies to fester and pushed you until you couldn't take any more of it. And it ended up shattering the family in a way that was far worse than it would have been if I had just been upfront with Gordon about Bobby."
"It would have," Harvey agreed. "I didn't realize it myself then, but Dad would have understood."
"He did, eventually, after a while."
"He forgave you. For a long time, I just didn't understand why he did, you know?" Harvey said. "But now…"
He dropped his gaze and let out a deep breath.
His mother looked curiously at him, "Now?"
Harvey met her eyes again, "Listen, I can't ever understand or condone that you cheated on Dad for the better part of your marriage. But I understand why you fell out of love with him."
"Harvey, I…"
"The more I think about it these days, I realize how much he just wasn't… there. The things he missed out on because of it. The point is, I understand why Bobby is… who he is to you."
"Thank you, Harvey. But that doesn't excuse the fact that instead of taking responsibility for my part in it, I laid the blame for the family split squarely at your feet."
"And allowed Marcus to believe that too," Harvey said wryly, although there was no bite in his voice.
Lily closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead, "I'm so sorry, Harvey. I guess, in a way, it felt nice to have him on my side. I just didn't realize how much that selfishness would cost you and him. And with time, I somehow fooled myself into believing that he was right to be on my side. He had Haley and Josh, and I loved being around them. And then when Marcus got sick, I determinedly pushed away the voice that told me that you were being unfairly left out of it."
"It's OK," Harvey said. "We worked it out between us. And to be fair to Marcus, I was as much at fault for not doing my best to be there for him when he needed me the most. After you and Dad split up. I left and I never returned to the house. That was wrong. And I guess Dad was trying to get me to see that, whenever he saw me in the city. But, I was too angry and I daresay, stubborn to see that."
"I know," Lily sighed. "He told me that. He also tried to get me to see my own role in it, but well, you know. I thought that you treating me like I didn't exist was far worse, and it wasn't until I spoke to Bobby a few days back that I realized how twisted my perspective was."
"Because of Donna," Harvey nodded.
"Because of Donna," Lily agreed. "She's something incredibly special, Harvey."
"She is," he smiled slightly. "She's my everything."
"I'm glad," his mother said, her eyes filled with relief. "You don't know how much. I was afraid I'd scared you off relationships for good."
"I was," Harvey replied. "I didn't think I was built for a relationship, especially not with someone like her who deserves so much more. But, the simple truth, like you said…"
"You fell in love with her," Lily said. "And she with you. That much was evident when..."
"You dropped in unannounced again, yesterday?" Harvey said, smirking.
"I didn't know what else to do," Lily said, a note of defensiveness creeping into her voice. "I needed to see you and I wasn't sure how long you were going to be here."
"It's alright," Harvey shrugged. "In fact, I'm glad you did now."
"You are?"
"I am. Donna's always been good at making me do things I need to do, even if I don't want to do it. Like, attending Dad's funeral, for instance."
"She made you go?"
He nodded, "I didn't want to see you, but she made the case that the funeral was about Dad. Not about us. And so I came. Then you gave your speech, and I..."
"Harvey…"
"I need to say this, please," he said. "I realized that I missed you. I hated what you did, but I didn't hate you. And so I came to talk to you and…"
"Bobby interrupted us."
"It was like being 8 years old again and being told that I needed to pretend that everything was normal when everything was decidedly not. Dad was gone and here Bobby was, trying to step in… "
"And I took his side instead of understanding how scarred you were by our treatment of you. I should have protected you, and we lost 6 more years because of it."
"What I'm trying to say is, I don't know that Bobby and I can ever be anything but merely civil to one another. If we're going to even try to make this work, you need to understand that."
"Harvey, I do. I'm so sorry that he spoke to you the way he did, the other day and that I let him. I know his actions left a lot of hurt in their wake that day."
"I wasn't just hurt by his actions," Harvey corrected her. "I was angry. With him. With Marcus. With you. With myself. I'd missed out on so much because of my inability to reconcile my past. And I'm tired of being angry. I just want to go forward and leave this anger behind me."
Lily's face had now crumpled, and Harvey could feel the wetness coating his own cheeks.
"That's what I want, as well," Lily choked, reaching for his hand again. "So, what does that mean for both of us?"
"I'll always hate what you did, but I do want to forgive you," he said, finally taking her hand in his. "I can't promise it's going to be easy for me to trust you, but I want to try."
"I'll take that," Lily rose from her chair and moved to his side, and he stood up as well, in time to catch his mother as she threw her arms around him. "I love you, Harvey."
"I love you, too, Mom," he said quietly and he felt Lily's grip tighten on him.
Mom.
He'd called her Mom for the first time in a long time.
Over his mother's shoulder, he caught sight of Marcus standing near the doors to the kitchen, watching them, happiness blooming across his face.
"He's watching us, isn't he?" Lily's voice was muffled against his shoulder.
Harvey chuckled, "Yes."
Lily turned around and beckoned to Marcus, who rushed to their side, a wide grin splitting his face.
"You two do realize, you're making a spectacle of yourselves in my restaurant, don't you?"
"Shut up and join the spectacle, loser," Harvey said, pulling his brother into the hug.
"And then your Uncle Harvey and I spent the night putting up a lot of posters of Louis' mugshot on his office wall for him to find the next day. It was so much fun." Donna finished regaling Katie, Haley, and Josh about the way she and Harvey had forgiven Louis after his defection with Daniel Hardman.
"You spent the night putting up posters, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it?"
"Katie!"
"What did Louis do then?" Haley asked eagerly, oblivious to her mother's gibe.
Donna giggled, and pulled Haley into her lap, "Oh, he got so excited about being friends with your uncle that he ripped his pants."
"You're not serious," Katie said looking at Donna in disbelief.
"Oh, but I am," Donna said.
"He's quite a… character," Katie said, shaking her head.
"At the end of the day, he just wants Harvey's respect," Donna shrugged. "He just does not realize that Harvey already does respect him as a lawyer and he'd respect him as a friend if he didn't always try to stack himself against him. It almost always backfires for Louis."
"I can't wait to come to New York and meet all these friends of yours. Especially Rachel."
"Oh, you'll adore her. Tell you what, when you do come, we'll ditch the boys and have a night out on the town."
Katie looked excited, "That would be amazing."
"And, we'll introduce you to two special people you'll absolutely love."
"Who?"
"All I'll say for now is that their names are Harriet and Michelle," Donna said, smiling beatifically.
Katie looked suspiciously at her and was about to comment, when they were interrupted by Harvey striding into the room.
He made a beeline for Donna, and gently pulled her to her feet. She barely had time to read his expression when he pressed his lips to hers.
Excitement and curiosity pulsed through her as she responded to his fervor.
When he broke off, he said quietly, "Thank you."
She gripped his waist, "Harvey, I did not do much. I just…"
"Helped put this family back together."
"I agree," came a gentle voice from the doorway.
Donna turned in Harvey's arms to see Lily and Marcus standing in the middle of the room.
Lily stepped forward to hug her, and Marcus followed. And as he did, he whispered. "You better get my idiot brother to marry you before this year is out or we're suing."
Donna laughed and playfully smacked the back of his head, "All he has to do is ask."
She then turned back to face Harvey, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, happiness exploding in her chest at how unburdened and happy he looked now.
She slipped her arms around his neck and said teasingly, "I take it, lunch went well."
He tugged her closer, "I guess you could say that, yeah."
"I'm so happy for and proud of you, Harvey."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
Author's Notes: Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I hope the resolution with Lily was up to your satisfaction. It's going to be tough letting go of this story, but I'm not fully ready to let go of the 'verse.
Reviewers get to either join in on Katie, Donna, and Rachel's night out or join the guys and help Mike and Marcus take the mickey out of Harvey for the entire night. I think this might be an easy choice, but let's see. ;)
Until the next chapter.