During the 9 seasons of Suits we never saw a birthday, a Christmas celebration or a Thanksgiving dinner, we just had funerals. So, this idea came to my mind and I had a fun time writing it.
I am really thankful with AimeeValle1, Darvey247, _nbluesilk and _cammilu who were the first ones to read this story and gave me feedback and helped me out 3
Hope you like it and please, please leave a review if you can.
Donna's 40th Birthday
Donna's birthday is getting closer, Harvey knows she secretly loves to celebrate another turn around the sun but she never expresses it. He knows she usually celebrates by herself but this year he wants to do something special for her. She will be turning 40 after all, and 40 is an important milestone.
(2 weeks later)
It's Friday morning, Donna had requested the day off. It's her 40th birthday and all she wants to do is take a break from her crazy life and just be thankful and mindful of how proud she is of all the things she had accomplished in her life.
She is lying in bed, checking the birthday messages on her phone, when suddenly her peaceful moment it's interrupted by someone knocking at her door.
It's a delivery guy with a big box in his hands.
"Ms. Donna Paulsen?" he asks.
"Yes." she responds.
"I have a package for you. It's a little heavy, do you want me to put it on the floor for you?"
Donna just nods in surprise. She wasn't expecting any kind of present.
Once he places the box on the floor of her living room, she thanks him and closes the door.
Still wearing her pink silk pajamas, she sits on her couch and stares at the box in awe.
No note. No name. Just a big brown box with a bright red bow.
Donna carefully removes the bow, and opens the box. She is extremely surprised by what it's inside the box. There were many smaller boxes with numbers on top of them and also a white envelope.
She reaches for the envelope and withdrawals a handwritten letter:
"Donna,
It's a well known fact that I am not the best gift giver, but we have been working together for over a decade and it's not every year you turn 40. So instead of you buying your own present (you still can do that), I tried to come up with something special.
You will receive 40 presents throughout the day, one per year. Hope you like them!
Ps. I have always paid attention to you.
HS."
Donna smiles softly. She just stares at the note, trying to catch her breath. Can this really be happening?
Finally, she reaches for present number 1, with the following note on top:
"For you to keep pointing out my written mistakes."
When she opens the box there is a 4 color BIC pen. Her favorite! She laughs quietly and places the pen on the table next to her and starts looking for present number 2.
It's a rectangular box, heavier than the previous one. When she opens it, she finds a bear shaped bottle of honey and a tiny note.
"Now you can have a sneaky bear ("Brody") at home too."
She just smiles at the realization that he knows she named the honey container at the office Brody!
She places "Brody" on the coffee table and starts her search for present number 3.
A beautiful cream colored scarf, then a bottle of red wine, a glass with the initials D.R.P on it, two tickets for the theater, then a first edition copy of Hamlet, a beautiful white vase with black stripes, followed by a bag of decaf coffee (he knows that sometimes at night she loves a cup of coffee just for the flavor, not the caffeine), and then a box of mixed berries tea, Donna's favorite.
She is looking for the 11th present when someone knocks at the door again.
She walks to the door and finds another delivery guy there.
"Miss Paulsen?" he asks.
"Yes" she responds.
"Great, your breakfast from Nougatine is here."
He hands her a brown bag and leaves without any further explanation.
She walks to the kitchen counter, places the bag there, and pulls out the contents.
At the bottom of the bag, she finds another note.
"Enjoy your birthday breakfast" signed with a wink face.
Donna just smiles and holds the note to her chest.
She opens the containers and finds a mushroom omelette, an avocado toast, fruit with yogurt and a cup of orange juice.
He truly knows her.
She eats peacefully before going back to the main box in the living room.
A short while later, she is back at her couch looking for present number 11. After a couple of minutes she realizes there's no present 11, just 12 and 13. Then it occurs to her that Harvey had perfect timing with breakfast being present 11.
Present 12 is a jar of cherries, the ones that Donna loves to eat with vanilla ice cream. Then, a jar of chocolate chip cookies, Katrina surely told him about this, Donna thinks; a bottle of champagne (because her birthday deserves a toast, Harvey wrote on the card), a pair of big brown slippers, a yoga mat, a subscription to her favorite gym, a vinyl record player, she is a little confused with this one because Harvey is the one who owns records. That is until she opens present 18 and finds one of Harvey's father's records. Donna is utterly shocked. Harvey values every one of these so much. She surely feels special.
Present number 19 is a Chanel perfume and present 20 is a beautiful marble frame.
Then of course, present 21, is a lovely picture of her at the play where she acted a couple of years ago and Harvey came to watch. Donna feels so moved by the gesture. She didn't even know about the existence of this picture.
She is still looking at the picture when another person knocks at the door. She opens it, and finds a young lady from Ground Support Cafe, the cafe she always visits when she goes to Bradway, with a coffee cup in her hand.
"Black, two sugars, splash of vanilla for Donna Paulsen?"
Donna just nods and the lady hands her the coffee and then turns and leaves.
She can't believe how Harvey has planned everything so well. And how a man that doesn't even know his own phone number, managed to orchestrate this whole thing, this is completely beyond her!
Coffee in hand she goes back to the box again. There are still some little boxes left inside.
A beautiful planner, a pink sweater embroidered with "the future is female", a set of burgundy nail polish, a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine, he knows it is her guilty pleasure; also scented candles, bubbles and mineral salts for the bathtub and finally the last box is a rectangular one. When Donna opens it she finds a really peculiar mug: white, with two ugly fish painted on the front.
She still doesn't know how Harvey managed to find it. This was the missing part of her collection. Her personal collection of rare Marimekko mugs. She also can't believe how he remembered the talk they had about this a couple of years ago.
Donna is so happy and confused at the same time. Why did Harvey take the time to do all of this? They have been a team for more than a decade but this is the most personal thing he has ever done for her.
With all the little things he has given to her today, he not only demonstrated how much he cares about her, but also how much attention he pays to her.
She is immersed in her thoughts when another knock on the door makes her stand.
Yet another delivery for her. This time, a beautiful bouquet of purple tulips. Her favorite. "Because you are as peculiar as tulips are ;)", the little card says.
She just smirks and then places them in the vase Harvey just gave her.
Around midday, a personal pizza from Giannos arrives. With yellow tomatoes of course.
Then at 2:00PM a package from the creamery containing two containers of Chunky Monkey.
Later, a little red velvet cake.
"It's not a birthday without a cake." Was written in Harvey's writing on top of the box.
Around 4:00PM, a lady from a fancy store that is located on 5th Avenue, delivered 5 bags where she found a beautiful blue dress, a pair of nude stilettos, a Marni handbag to match the outfit, a pair of diamond earrings and a gorgeous red lipstick.
Donna is completely astonished! This just keeps getting harder and harder to wrap her mind around.
While she is trying on the dress, she receives a text from Harvey.
"I'm guessing you've already received 37 of my presents. Hope you like them all! Now for the grand finale, see you at Del Posto at 7:30PM. Ray will pick you up. The last 5 presents you got, are for tonight. See you in a couple of hours."
Donna suddenly feels incredibly nervous. All these presents have made her feel so happy and appreciated, but also more than a little confused. Why has he done all of this? Could he be acknowledging his true feelings? Or just... being a good friend?
She shuts her mind down and just tries to relax.
Like an hour and a half before their date not date, she starts to get ready to meet him.
So far this has been her best birthday ever, and she thinks that a dinner with Harvey, her 12 years partner in crime, is the best way to wrap up the perfect day.
Finally looking gorgeous with the outfit Harvey selected for her, Donna heads out to meet Ray who is waiting outside her building. In just a few short minutes she will be able to thank Harvey for everything he has done for her today, and it makes her stomach flip-flop for the entire ride.
When she arrives at Del Posto, he is already there, at their usual table.
He looks so incredibly good, Donna thinks. A three piece navy suit. A big Cheshire cat smile on his face. He stands up the moment he sees her.
"Happy Birthday" He hugs her, as he whispers into her ear.
She shivers just from the feeling of his breath on her skin.
"I must say, I have great taste." He spins her around and takes in the view. "That is one hell of a dress."
"I will take that as a compliment for me, because I am the one modelling it" Donna reponds smirking.
They sit one in front of the other. Between orders and laughs, the dinner passes so quickly, easy flowing conversation about everything and anything.
When they are just relaxing, finishing their last glass of wine, Donna looks Harvey in the eyes and thanks him.
"Harvey, you made this day a day to remember. You truly know me. Everything you gave me had so much meaning, and I can't believe that you actually pay that close of attention to me." She laughs.
Harvey's expression turns serious and he reaches for Donna's hand.
"Donna, I have paid attention to you since the first day I met you. I remember the blouse and skirt you were wearing that night we met, the hairstyle you had at the DAs office... I noticed all the little details: your favorite coffee, your favorite color, the way you smile when you are about to eat your favorite dessert, how excited you feel when you are on your way to the theater... and so much more.
I usually don't pay attention to such things but with you, it's different. It's been different from the very beginning, but I wasn't able to acknowledge it until a couple of weeks ago when this idea came to my mind and I just couldn't shake it."
Donna doesn't have a clue what to say or how to respond. Then without another word Harvey slowly pulls out a little black box from his suit pocket.
It's a ring... a beautiful ring... not an engagement ring. A subtle one. A smaller one.
'What are you doing, Harvey?" A mix of nervousness, excitement and disbelief in her eyes.
"Donna Roberta Paulsen, will you take this ring as a promise of my commitment to make you happy, not only as my friend but also as my... girlfriend?" He hesitates to say this last word and Donna chuckles.
"What do you say?" His tone is soft and his eyes are moist.
Donna's eyes fill with tears of her own. After all these years, he was finally able to acknowledge his feelings.
"Are you… are you sure about this?" she says with a trembling voice.
"I have never been more sure about something in my life before, Donna. I am a gambler and I want to bet everything for a future with you, for an "us" he adds.
"Yes, Harvey! I say yes." she responds while a tear falls in her cheek.
He places the ring on Donna's left hand and leans in to kiss her gently on the lips, caressing Donna's cheek and wiping her tears.
Is a sweet and tender kiss. A kiss both of them have wanted for so long.
"I am really glad you said yes," he says, "because I ordered dessert to take home, and THAT will be your 40th present" he adds with a mischievous smile.
"Dessert? To take home?" Donna stutters as his meaning sinks in.
"Sir, here's what you requested." The waiter interrupts the intimate exchange.
"What is that?" Donna questions.
"What do you think it is?" Harvey replies. "Strawberries and whipped cream of course." He winks with a wide grin. "And if I recall correctly, we also have some champagne waiting for us," he adds.
"Ooohhh, you better pay that goddam check now and take me home, Specter. This is the present I didn't even know I needed."
Harvey just laughs and signals for the check, because one thing is for sure, this night will be a present for him as much as for her.
THE END