A/N: It hit me the other day that had the mock trial gone ahead in 7x10, Louis would've known about The Other Time. Out of that spawned this. I don't know if this has been done before, I haven't read it, but I'm sorry if it has and I'm treading on toes.

Oh, and I'm not a lawyer. I have no experience in law, no education. I'm a drama student, so very far from a lawyer haha. But I tried my best so hopefully you can attribute any legal mistakes to dramatic license and not let it get in the way of you enjoying it! Please let me know what you all think, I hope you like this unbetaed burst of creativity.

"Is it time? I'll be there in five minutes, I just need a second to gather myself," Donna told Louis as he entered her office.

"Donna, are you sure you're okay with me getting personal?" Louis asked hesitantly. He knew she needed it, he knew it was what was best, but that didn't mean he was ready or willing to do it.

"As much as I appreciate you concern, Louis, Andy Malik isn't gonna care about my feelings."

She watched as he nodded and she tried to suppress the rising nausea that came with her anxiety over the mock trial—and the actual trial. How had it come to this? Again?

The last time was bad, really bad, and Donna couldn't decide whether she thought it could get any worse. Part of her knew she'd been through it before, and it had hurt her and she came out mortified, but at least this time she should be more equipped to deal with it. Another part of her knew that more had happened between her and Harvey since then, she left him to go to Louis, the perfect ammunition for the latter to break her apart on the stand.

She was also exhausted. She hadn't been sleeping well anyway, kept awake by what-if's and irrepressible regrets, but she managed not quite 3 hours sleep that night for worry about what lied ahead. She'd woken up groggy and still tired, and wracked with nausea that put her off her breakfast.

She was fuelled by adrenalin and caffeine, and about to face the very fear that had put her in that state.

"What's going on here?" Harvey asked as he entered her office, annoyed. "We've got a library full of people waiting for you two!" He exclaimed, brow furrowed and jaw clenched and she knew he wasn't really mad, he was nervous.

"Come on," Harvey said through gritted teeth before he turned on his heel and marched back to the library. He just wanted to get it over with. He didn't know who would be worse, Louis or Malik, but what he did know was that the sooner the day was over, the better.

"Hi," he heard and he recognised the voice instantly. He looked over his shoulder to see her standing there, clutching her handbag close to her and looking out of place in the office.

"Paula, what are you doing here?" He asked, confused.

"I know you're stressed and I wanted to find a way to support you, only I have patient after patient this afternoon when you're in court so I thought I'd try and support you here instead."

He pursed his lips and forced a smile. He was grateful, he really was. She was well-intentioned and thought she was being supportive but her being there was only going to make things worse. It was going to be messy. Louis knew more about them than anyone else at the firm, he was going to go right for the jugular and Harvey wasn't quite ready for Paula to hear what could end up said—or more likely, implied.

"I'll sit in the back and I won't get in your way," she smiled softly and slipped into the room ahead of him before he could argue.

Mike was taking the place of Judge Ward, which ordinarily would've led to him joking about his newfound power, but knowing what he was going to sit through meant he wasn't really in the mood to make jokes. He'd promised Rachel he'd try not to let Louis go too far but he knew it was unlikely he'd have a reason to stop him. Donna and Harvey's history was relevant. And he knew he was going to have to fill his fiancée in on every horrible detail when she got back from her deposition, knew she'd be devastated for her friend, which made him dread what was about to happen even more.

.

.

"Your honour, the prosecution calls Donna Paulsen to the stand," Louis declared.

She took a deep breath as she stood and paused to exhale. She wrung her hands, filled head to toe with nervous energy that left her feeling out of control and ridiculous, before forwarding to her seat.

As soon as she sat down, she felt exposed. She was an actress; she was used to having a room full of eyes on her but this was different. She wasn't playing a character; she was Donna and she was vulnerable and she was struggling to keep up a façade of confidence.

"Miss Paulsen, how long have you worked for Harvey Specter?" Louis asked first.

"Thirteen years."

"And am I right in thinking you used to be his secretary?"

"Yes, until recently," she replied with a smile.

"You were recently promoted to chief operating officer, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Would you say you earned the average salary for a legal secretary?" Louis asked and he stepped forward. Donna hesitated for a split second, aware of what was coming and grateful she was sitting down because she wasn't sure her legs would remain stable otherwise.

"No, I'd say I earned more."

"Did you once say to one Louis Litt that you earned more than any other secretary at the firm?"

"I did," Donna replied, a slight quiver in her voice.

"And why was that?"

"Because I was great at my job," she asserted confidently, and she was.

"So, it had nothing to do with the fact Mr Specter had been paying your salary since he brought you to the firm?"

Donna shut her eyes momentarily, bracing herself for the onslaught that was beginning before she fluttered her lashes open.

"I don't know how my-"

"You were a great secretary but can't tell us whether Harvey supplementing your salary is the reason you earned more than anyone else?"

"Objection!" Harvey interjected, "calls for speculation."

"Sustained," Mike said, looking towards Louis who clasped his hands together before he continued.

"He was paying you salary though, wasn't he?"

"Yes."

"Miss Paulsen, did you get fired for destroying a document related to the Coastal Motors trial a few years ago?" Louis asked.

"Shit," Harvey mumbled under his breath. He hadn't even considered Malik could know about that, hadn't thought about it in years even, and was suddenly even more grateful Louis had agreed to this.

"Objection. Your honour, that document was fake," Harvey asserted, Donna's eyes flicking towards him then back to Louis.

"Did she know that when she destroyed it? Or did she find out after she got fired?" He shot back and Harvey tried to formulate an effective response only for Mike to overrule him and he was forced to sink back into his seat with the realisation this trial could go even worse than he'd anticipated.

"Were you rehired one week later with a large bonus check given to you by Mr Specter?"

"Yes but-"

"Oh, so, you were rewarded for shredding a file," Louis concluded, voice cold and hollow.

"That's not how it happened!" Donna objected, looking from Louis to Harvey and back to Louis.

"That's sure as hell how it sounds," he shot back.

"Your honour, does the prosecution have a question?" Harvey asked, frustrated.

"Have you ever had a sexual relationship with Harvey Specter?"

A silence ensued. No one knew how to react. Those watching who'd speculated but never known, those who hadn't suspected a thing, Paula who was sitting on tenterhooks.

Donna sat there wide-eyed, mouth agape, looking like a deer in the headlights. He'd completely blindsided her. She knew she'd told him to do whatever it took, to go personal. She knew he was going to rattle her and embarrass her, but the last thing she expected was for him to use that against her.

She told him in confidence. She'd told him to regain his trust. It was a symbol of their friendship, a way in which she'd wiped the slate clean, and now he was forcing her to tell all her colleagues a glimpse of a much more complicated story.

She also knew that the longer she sat there, shocked and speechless, scared to speak because she could feel the bile rising in her throat, the less she needed to answer the question because it was written all over her goddamn face.

She didn't dare look at Harvey. She didn't have to; she knew he was furious.

He sat there completely shafted, he was certain he could feel his veins bulging as his rage pulsed through his body. He was tense and clenched his jaw so tight it almost hurt. He could feel his anger building inside, the pressure in his chest building immensely.

But he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say or how to intervene and that was making him even angrier because Donna needed him to help, to step in, to make Louis stop, and he couldn't.

"Donna," Louis pressed on, struggling to suppress the self-hatred that bubbled inside as he looked at what he was doing to her. He watched her flick her eyes down and sigh.

"Over a decade ago," she finally answered. She was quiet and her voice wavered and she wasn't daring to look at anybody, her eyes instead fixated on a table leg. "It was only one time," she continued in a breathy voice that betrayed any attempt at composure she could muster.

It was an awful sight for everyone in the room.

"Harvey Specter pays your salary; you've had a sexual relationship with him and you have form. I'd say that eliminates reasonable doubt, wouldn't you? I'd say that you destroyed that article," Louis said. "No more questions, your honour."

.

.

"What the fuck was that?!" Harvey yelled after he followed Louis into his office and he swung the door firmly shut behind him.

"Harvey, don't," Louis said in a low voice, wracked with guilt and bottom lip trembling as he fought back his emotions.

"No, I'm not gonna stop because you should've stopped in there and you didn't!"

"Andrew Malik won't stop!"

"Andrew Malik doesn't know we slept together!" Harvey fought back. "She trusted you and you shit all over it! You didn't have to go that far!"

"You don't think the look on her face made me feel sick to my stomach?!" Louis exclaimed desperately.

"It should've Louis! You hurt her, you have to deal with the consequences," Harvey spat and turned away exasperated. He went to leave when he spotted Paula, waiting by Gretchen's desk and, fuck, he'd forgotten she was even there. He took a deep breath before he left the office and headed towards her.

"When were you gonna tell me?" She asked and he could hear the hurt pierce her voice.

"Paula," he started, but he didn't know what to say. He hadn't given her a second's thought. He just wanted to find Donna, who'd hurried out of the library and escaped his view quicker than he could blink.

"Were you? Were you ever gonna tell me?" She pressed and Harvey sighed.

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it," he confessed, and he hadn't. He didn't see why it was relevant. It had been 12 years, 12 long years of trying to move on. "It doesn't have to change anything."

"How can it not?"

"It's not like I have feelings for-"

"We've been through this!" She exclaimed. "Of course, you have feelings for her," Paula near cried and Harvey just stood there speechless. He didn't know what to say and, truthfully, he didn't currently care. All he could think about was Donna.

"I know we need to talk about this, and I want to, but can we do this later?"

She scoffed as tears pricked her eyes and she briefly looked down before returning to his distracted gaze.

"So that you can go after Donna?" It was less of a question and more of an accusation.

"Did you even see what happened in there?" He asked, bewildered and confused because, as far as he was concerned, Donna needed him a hell of a lot more than Paula did.

"All you can see is her," Paula said, suddenly stoic. "The world could be on fire and all you'd care about is Donna."

Harvey stood silently in front of her, going to speak but not knowing what he could say. She was right, he knew she was right, but he couldn't admit it… because if he admitted it, it meant he could risk losing her.

And losing her would mean losing part of himself.

"Harvey, I think we might need to re-evaluate," Paula said quietly. He hated her choice of words, so clinical, as if this relationship was just a procedure. "I can't do this; I can't be the second choice of my own boyfriend."

"Wait, Paula, I-"

"Go after her, Harvey," she told him and his legs almost ran out from under him but his brain told him to wait, to make sure she was okay with it, that this was what she wanted. "It's okay," she said with eyes that glistened.

He felt bad as he walked away, knowing he'd hurt her and he couldn't give her what she needed. However, he felt worst about how much it didn't affect him. He had wanted it to work with Paula, he really had, so he was somewhat surprised at how fine he was with what had just unfolded.

He found Donna in the bathroom and the sight of her made his chest ache. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks shone with damp under the lights and her mascara had smudged beneath her eyes. She was sitting on the bench on the other side of the room. Her hands were in her lap, twisting a ring around one of her fingers, and she looked up at him with big, doe-eyes that made his heart sink.

"You have to forgive him, you know," she said with a sniffle and he expelled a nasal breath. Even though she'd just been eviscerated in front of the entire firm, she was still more worried about him and Louis getting along. "I mean it, he did what he had to do," she continued, her voice unwavering.

"Except Malik won't ask you that," Harvey said softly, mainly as a reassurance to both himself and her.

"Who knows what he'll dare to ask," she scoffed.

He walked over to her and perched down beside her, tempted to place a hand on her back but unwilling to cross over any boundaries.

"I should've expected that," she sighed.

"You couldn't have known he'd go that low, none of us could."

"Couldn't we?" She asked, looking up to him. "I gave him carte blanche, I should've realised he would cross the line. He even came to me this morning to make sure I meant it."

A silence befell them. Harvey watched as she wiped at her cheeks and sniffled again, and he couldn't help himself. He snaked his arm around her back, landed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her against him. She complied happily, seeking comfort in a rare moment. If she didn't, she'd regret it and she was tired of living a life of regrets. Especially when it came to him, and them, and moments like this where she needed him.

"I can't believe you even told him," he said and even though she wasn't looking at his face, she could see his smug smile and a chuckle escaped her lips.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him," he whispered after a moment, his register low and his voice pained.

"Don't be," she whispered back.

And they sat there for a while. Mostly in silence but it didn't matter. They didn't need words—they never had—, just each other. The comfort of knowing the other was there was enough. They headed to court that afternoon and it was no where near as bad as the mock trial. Donna was grateful Louis had been so volatile and Harvey couldn't not forgive him.

They went home alone that evening. Donna to her wine and Harvey to his whiskey, sat in their quiet apartments without anyone to hold or to call their own. However, there was a glimmer of hope. A small flame that they thought had gone out a while ago. It was a welcome feeling, one that both wanted to embrace because maybe, just maybe, it was okay to need each other.

Because both were hit with the realisation that if they didn't lean into it, they'd end up alone.