Because of her broken wrist, Emilie was reduced to front till duty at the cafe. She had called in sick on Friday, even though she hated to disappoint Jackie. But the pain radiating in her wrist was too much to handle. By Sunday, she knew she could at least take orders and pack up pastries.

Having only one functioning hand was proving to be annoying. She managed to pull her dark blonde hair into a messy bun that morning but something as easy as tying her apron at work was challenging.

"I can't watch you struggle anymore," Ethan jumped in from across the back room, stopping in front of her to do up the strings.

"Well, thanks," Emilie replied to him, sighing. It was early Sunday morning and just the two of them, and their coworker Lora, opening up the cafe. Jackie was usually there instead but Ethan was covering for her.

"So, Em, If you wanted to hang out after work-

"Oh Emilie, I wanted to tell you," Lora cut Ethan off as she swung the door to the back room open. "Some guy was here looking for you yesterday. I told him you usually don't work Saturdays but you're almost always here Sundays and Tuesdays."

Emilie turned her head, curious about who that could have been. "What did he look like?"

"I don't know, black and grey hair, some beard, baseball cap, sunglasses. Come to think of it, I could hardly see his face."

Emilie blinked a few times and did her best to bite her tongue. Lora was pretty young and usually only worked weekend shifts. She couldn't fault her for that ignorance but she had to realize giving out Emilie's work schedules to strangers was not a good idea.

Emilie didn't want to jump to conclusions but that man's description was vague and concerning. Her first thought was it could have been her landlord but she knew she was just being paranoid. How would he even know where she worked?

She let out an annoyed sigh, "Lora, in the future, please don't tell anyone my schedule."

Lora just shrugged in reply, rolling her eyes and returning to the front of the cafe.

Emilie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then shook her head. She reminded herself not to panic. Sure, people didn't usually visit her at work. Well, except sometimes Leah. And Donna, who they had determined had bought over 20 chai lattes in the last few months so she could spy for Harvey. But that was it.

"You okay?" Ethan put his hand on her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to remember what it was like to be an absent minded teenager like Lora."

"So, as I was saying before," Ethan paused to look around, then lowered his voice, "if you want to hang out after work, we've gotta use your place this time. Chris' brother is in town or something so they're hanging at the apartment."

Emilie thought for a moment before answering. In all honesty, she hadn't been thinking much about Ethan the last few days. Sure, she was grateful for his eager attitude to get her in bed again but she had other things on her mind. Mainly Finn.

"I'm still not back at my apartment yet so I guess we'll call this a draw," she smirked at him, shrugging. Truthfully, she was grateful to never have to invite Ethan back to her old apartment ever again. She considered briefly the logistics of inviting someone to Harvey's. That idea was quickly dismissed when she pictured her brother walking in on her and freaking out.

Her shift crawled by slowly. She managed to get into a good rhythm writing on cups and boxing up desserts for customers. The only thing helping pass the time was Ethan's music choice for the day - The Beatles.

As her shift was coming to an end around two, Harvey walked through the doors. Emilie couldn't help but smile although it was still strange to see him visiting the cafe. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she could hardly keep a civil conversation with him. At least now they both had their emotions mainly in check.

"How was your run, old man?"

Harvey rolled his eyes as he got to the till. "How come you can call me old man but I can't call you kid?"

"Old man is funny. Kid sounds like you're speaking down to me."

Harvey bobbed his head around then nodded, "Fair. This old man ran an 8 minute mile so you should be falling me younger, fit man instead."

She just let out a breath and shook her head, "Cappuccino?" He nodded again. "I'm off in fifteen."

"Sounds good, I'll wait."

As Emilie's shift ended, she headed into the back and untied her apron. Ethan was taking some baking out of the oven and smiled over at her. "Chris said he's out taking his brother to the Empire State Building so my place is suddenly available."

Emilie returned his smile but shook her head, "Yeah, my brother is out there waiting for me so I can't just send him away for your afternoon delight." Truthfully, she had some schoolwork she had to do and her wrist was killing her. She just wasn't in the mood to fool around anyway.

"Just tell him you have to work late!"

"Ethan," she shook her head as she responded. Before he could continue protesting, Lora poked her head in the back room again.

"Emilie, that guy is back."

She just sighed as she looked away from Ethan, then headed back into the cafe. Lora pointed him out as she walked up, indicating to the man standing near the pick up counter, hands tucked into the pockets of his dark jacket.

She approached him slowly and before she realized who was standing there, it was too late. Her landlord Jason Moore. She hadn't seen him in weeks, since well before this mess started. Luckily she didn't have to be in court or at the DA's office at the same time as him so far. But here he was, standing in front of her. Waiting for her. At her place of work. She never told him where she worked.

He had a hat and sunglasses on, which considering the fall weather was not out of character but she felt most uncomfortable not being able to see his eyes. His entire presence made her feel violated and gross all over again.

As she took a step closer, her eyes scanned around the room until she found Harvey, who was sipping his drink and staring at his phone. She opened her eyes wide and stared over at him, hoping her intensity would stir his interest. If he ever looked up from his goddamn phone.

The man standing at the counter was her landlord. She knew she shouldn't talk to him but at this point, she was more concerned about him making a scene or of her coworkers asking questions if she suddenly hurried away.

"Emilie, hi," he said quietly as she approached. She tried to cross her arms over her chest but it wasn't easy with the left wrist in a cast.

"You're not supposed to be taking to me."

He scoffed, "I can talk to whomever I please. I just wanted to see if you'd be willing to discuss this mess outside of court and drop the whole thing."

She blinked a few times and looked over at her brother again. This time she caught his eyes and did her best to communicate her discomfort. Harvey stood up from his seat when he saw the panic on her face and glanced from her to the guy standing in front of her.

She just shook her head at Jason. "You're not supposed to be talking to me."

He let out a breath and moved his hands out of his pocket, placing them on the counter and leaning forward, "Listen, I just want to clear the air." She took a step back as he leaned in.

If there was one thing that Harvey had become an expert in during his years in law, it was body language. Some people used it as an intimidation tool for their advantage - hell, Harvey himself was known to puff out his chest and hover over testifying defendants. This was all the more reason to quickly determine the person talking to his sister was not someone she wanted to talk to anymore.

He took a few short strides over to where they were standing and placed his hand on the man's shoulder, alerting him of his presence and causing him to stand up. "So sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you could heat up my drink before I left."

"Sure, of course, sir," Emilie grabbed his near empty cup and walked away from the counter.

Harvey left his hand on the man's shoulder for a few more moments before he shrugged him off and walked away. Harvey stayed standing where he was, watching his sister pour him a cup of coffee, as she glanced over her shoulder.

Seeing his sister visibly bothered by this guy irritated the shit out of Harvey. He pursed his lips together, teeth clenched as he turned to see the guy standing at the doorway watching her. If he stood there one minute longer, Harvey knew his feet would meet him at the door and his hands may form fists.

When he saw Harvey's stare, he finally turned and walked out the door.

Emilie turned to Harvey and motioned for him to come meet her in the back.

Harvey walked through the Staff Only door down the hall and found his sister sitting on a stool in the back room, sipping from her water bottle.

"Here," she handed him the cup of coffee she had poured.

He nodded in response as he took it from her.

"Sorry I didn't have the chance to introduce you to my landlord," she hissed out, letting out an irritated sigh.

"That's who that was? Damnit." Harvey was really regretting not confronting him now.

"I think he tried to come visit me here yesterday." She stopped to look around the room. "My pea-brained coworker told a complete stranger my work schedule so that's great."

Harvey gave her a look that said you're kidding me. He started to pace around the room, pausing at a tray of oatmeal raisin cookies. He gave her a small glance and she nodded, watching him take one from the tray.

"So," he continued, swallowing his bite of the cookie, "what are you going to do if he comes back?"

Emilie felt like this question was to test her. Leave it to Harvey to get right to the hypotheticals instead of asking if she was okay.

She sighed. "Well, first and foremost, is he even allowed to be talking to me?"

"No but he has free will. I'm sure his lawyer told him not to and clearly that didn't stop him."

"Then what makes you think he'll come back?"

"He might not but if he does-

"If he does I'll throw a hot cup of coffee at him." Emilie gave her brother a smug smile but he didn't react.

"Maybe you should take a break from the cafe until this thing is over," he suggested.

"I hope that's a joke because I'm not treating that as a logical solution." She stood up from her stool and started to gather her things.

Before Harvey could continue, Ethan swung through the door from the cafe with a tray. "Em, since your brother left, how does a hot shower with me sound?" He turned around as he entered to see Emilie standing with Harvey. "Oh shit."

Emilie just sighed, her face flushed red, "Ethan, this is my brother Harvey. Harvey this is…"

Ethan put his tray down and wiped off his floured hands, extending his hand out to Harvey, "Ethan. Ethan Jones."

Harvey just looked at him, taking the opportunity to pop the rest of the cookie into his mouth.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you, please just ignore that shower comment and..." Ethan continued.

Emilie nudged her brother, motioning to Ethan's outstretched hand.

Harvey sighed, then shook his hand, holding it still for a moment to pause. "Ethan, here's some free advice: always read the room before you open your mouth."

"Harvey, you have to stop telling me what to do."

Emilie did not wake up Tuesday morning anticipating fighting with her brother.

"Listen, I don't want to hear your I'm an adult speech again."

"The cafe is my only source of income!"

"And I already told you I can cover whatever wages you'll miss for a few weeks."

Emilie just let out a frustrated yell and rolled her eyes as she headed back into her room. Her lecture started at 8:30 and she did not want to be late. Harvey was insisting she take a break from her job until the situation with her landlord was covered. After realizing the guy had figured out information about her, Harvey was worried. He did not want to admit that to his sister. But he wanted to help alleviate the concern.

"I don't want to hear your I'm a rich lawyer, let me help you speech again!"

"Emilie," Harvey followed her towards her room. He continued to button up his shirt and cuffs as he talked to her. Argued with her. "If that conversation with his lawyer last night was any indication, they clearly don't care that he tried to contact you and he's going to try again. He wants to intimidate you."

"Oh, were you listening last night? Because to me it sounded like you were just there to yell at Greg."

"Greg is doing his job poorly."

"Harvey."

"What kind of lawyer doesn't make it clear that talking to you in person is off limits? Good lord. What an amateur mistake. The defendant must not message with his former tenant. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm going to sue him when this is all over."

She swept past him, grabbing a banana off the counter as she headed towards the door. "I'm going to class. Then I'm going to work."

"Emilie, please."

She stopped and turned to him before she left. She wanted to scream at him but she knew it wasn't worth it. She decided to try something else - speak his language.

"Can I just present my case?" She narrowed her eyes and looked towards him across the room. "Harvey, my job at the cafe is not just about money. Do you get that? It's like my second home. Or well, these days it's really just the only home I have in the city. It gives me some extra purpose, some camaraderie. It's familiar. It's not fair that my dumbass landlord gets to take that away from me, too. These past six months have been awful but I always had Stomping Grounds. So please, just let this go."

Harvey swallowed hard as he listened to her defense. He let out a long breath and repositioned his tie.

"Okay. Just be careful."

Emilie gave him a small, grateful smile. She was impressed that he finally let her win an argument.

She watched as he tilted his head and smiled playfully, "Say hi to Ethan for me!"

Emilie finished up her shift at the cafe around five. Her landlord did not make a reappearance, thankfully. She was in a good mood by the time she took off her apron - mainly due to a visit from Finn earlier in the afternoon. In uniform, no less.

She had a crush on Jon Finnegan and she wasn't sure what to do about it. Seeing him in his NYPD blues caused her to stumble over her words and nearly knock over his drink as she chatted with him.

When she walked through the cafe after her shift, she was surprised to see him there again. This time dressed in normal street clothes. He was just wearing dark jeans, a plain white T-shirt and a flannel shirt under a brown leather jacket but the sight of him made Emilie blush.

His reappearance was exciting until she checked her phone, seeing a message from Harvey that he asked Finn to walk her home. She sighed, wondering just when she lost her independence.

"Hey," Finn smiled as she approached.

"I don't need a babysitter or chaperone," she started, trying to cross her arms, although the cast really made the whole thing kind of awkward.

"Believe it or not, I was going to try and catch you at the end of your shift anyway."

She glanced down at her phone, "Did Harvey also ask you to drop by this afternoon?"

Finn gave her an apologetic half smile, "Yes but-

She cut him off, rolling her eyes, "I'm capable of walking myself home."

"Emilie," he continued as he followed her out the door, "Like I said, I was going to come by here anyway. I have my brother's truck if you wanted to go grab the rest of your stuff."

"Another Harvey request?"

"No. Honestly. This is by my own accord." Finn raised his hands up, as if admitting defeat. She thought for a moment then smiled. Maybe he did want to spend time with her.

She raised her cast up and met his eyes. It didn't have to mean anything, but his kindness was making her feel something in her chest.

"Okay. I'll concede. But you have to do all the heavy lifting since I'm broken."

A little while later, Emilie and Finn were getting off the elevator into the basement at Harvey's building. He had a storage room down there but told Emilie he hadn't been in it in years and wasn't sure what was in there. She just wanted to store her canvases somewhere that didn't clutter up Harvey's space.

The brother and sister pair hadn't talked about their current living situation. Emilie didn't want to overstay her welcome but also wasn't sure where else to go for the time being. Leah had mentioned her roommate was moving out in January so she may be able to take over that room. Regardless of that plan, Emilie had to put her stuff somewhere.

"Okay so Harvey thinks it's unit 21 and," she paused outside the door and looked back at her phone, "completely guessed on what the lock code is."

"Well," Finn put down the pile of paintings tucked under his arm and grabbed the small box from under Emilie's casted arm. "Let's hope it works."

She tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and tried the lock, which opened on the first go. She turned and smiled at Finn, pushing up the door and motioning to turn on the light. Harvey's storage room was full of boxes and a few bins, plus a tall wardrobe and a set of golf clubs. They tucked her stuff into a space in the front corner, hearing the door shut behind them.

The moment the door closed, the light in the room went off, too.

"I feel like basement storage rooms are not the ideal place for energy efficient timers on lights," Emilie said quietly. She could hear Finn laugh at her commentary, then she felt his hand grab hers in the darkness. He squeezed it gently as he lead them back to the door.

It was only when they were finally back at the elevator's that Emilie pulled her hand away from his, quickly. She didn't even realize he had still been holding it and guiding her through the hallway. But he hadn't let go either...

"Thanks for your help," Emilie turned to Finn as they waited. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket and flashed her a smile.

She almost fell over at the sight.

"It's no problem, really," he replied.

He continued as they got into the elevator, "So, I like to take Pip to this dog park in Williamsburg - we'll probably go this Saturday, if you would be interested in maybe coming along."

Emilie couldn't stop her face from lighting up at his question. "I'd love that. But.." She stopped. "Shit. Harvey and I are going home this weekend. Like to Boston. Damn. I would love to hang out with you and, I mean, finally meet Pippin."

"Maybe next week?" He countered, although Emilie could tell he was a bit deflated.

"Are you doing anything right now? There is a ton of reality TV on Harvey's PVR. And he won't be home for a few hours so.."

Emilie couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. Was she really inviting Finn upstairs? To Harvey's beautiful, empty condo with soft lighting and a warm fireplace?

Thirty minutes later, Emilie also couldn't believe her mouth was on Detective Jon Finnegan's.

"Full disclosure," she pulled away from his lips, as she sat straddled on his waist on the couch. "I'm off my game. This wrist cast is really screwing up my best moves. Like, twice the hair pulling would be happening."

Finn couldn't help but laugh at her bold honesty, "Good to know. I think you're doing fine." He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer. She moaned quietly as he found a very specific, sensitive spot on her neck.

Finn was an unlikely silver lining to this whole situation. And whatever he was doing with his mouth was a whole other added bonus, too.

"Oh, and you cannot be here when Harvey gets home." He pulled her back in, nibbling on her ear lobe.

"Also, we are not having sex! Well, at least not tonight especially considering -

"Emilie," Finn was the one to pause this time. He brought his hand up and cradled her cheek, giving her a comforting smile. "Just kiss me."

Emilie took Friday off from the cafe. She opted to sleep in and pack up her things, then meet Harvey at the office around noon to leave from there. Earlier in the week he said he wanted to leave around 11 but he was already pushing it back.

The drive home to Boston was only about four hours but they didn't really have to be in town until 7:30 or so, just before Katie was planning the big surprise moment for Marcus.

She stopped by the cafe anyway and grabbed drinks for herself, her brother, Donna and Mike.

"It's like you knew exactly what I needed," Donna expressed her gratitude to Emilie as she handed over the latte. "Harvey pulled the plug on Friday coffees since I don't have to keep an eye on your from afar anymore."

"Wow, that's terrible. I'll vouch for it to be reinstated. All I have to do is entice him with baked goods on Friday or something." Donna nodded with her in agreement as she sipped her latte.

"They're in a conference call," Donna pointed her head into Harvey's office where Harvey and Jessica were sitting.

Emilie just nodded, grabbing the iced coffee for Mike and walking through the office to find him. She finally noticed him standing in another big office down the hall. She read the printed name on the glass and figured out he was talking with someone named Louis Litt. The infamous Louis.

She just lingered there for a moment, hoping to catch him when he left. Just as she changed her mind, deciding to wait with Donna instead, Mike saw her and called her name.

"Emilie, hey," Mike motioned for her to come into the office.

She did just that, walking slowly and smiling over at Louis at his desk. She handed the iced coffee to Mike who smiled gratefully.

"Have you met Louis?" Mike motioned his head towards the desk.

"I haven't." Emilie replied, opening her eyes wide to Mike. He gave her a mischievous smile in return.

"Hi Louis, I'm Emilie," she waved towards Louis, who was giving her a strange glance. Before she could continue, he interrupted her.

"We have a strict dress code here. I'm not sure who you are Emilie but it's incredibly disrespectful to disgrace our halls like that."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You can't be serious." She glanced down at her legs, which were adorned with dark, distressed denim.

"Ripped jeans are for male models and broke college students and hippies," Louis continued. "You should really give your interns a heads up before you interview them, Mike."

"What? I'm not an intern."

"Like Harvey would let me have an intern," Mike laughed. "Emilie is Harvey's sister."

"Half-sister."

"What?" Louis stood up at his desk. "I've known Harvey for years and he's never mentioned a sister."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. We share a mother, he and I."

Louis continued without even listening to her. "I mean, considering his overbearing ego and relentless arrogance and perfect hair, I guess you wouldn't be lying about being related to him."

Emilie gave Mike a confused glance as she listened to Louis ramble. They both watched as Louis stared at her, clearly thinking hard in his mind about his past conversations with Harvey and his secretive personal life. He mumbled something about his own sister, as he sat back down in his chair.

Luckily, Louis was interrupted by his phone ringing. Mike motioned for Emilie to follow him as they turned to leave his office.

"Does he always spiral like that?" Emilie asked Mike, glancing back over her shoulder as they walked away.

Mike just chuckled, taking another sip of his coffee, "Yes. But he'll recover. How's the wrist?"

Emilie just sighed, rotating her cast around, "Heavy." She paused and stopped walking. "Can I ask you a legal question?"

"Sure," Mike shrugged. Emilie glanced around.

"Can we…?" She motioned to the empty conference room. Mike opened the door and followed her in.

"What's up?"

Emilie didn't know where to start. She had a crush on Jon Finnegan, and she was thinking he may have some sort of feelings for her too. If their cuddling and makeout session earlier that week had been indication enough. And their non stop texting communication. But she had a feeling it was crossing some sort of moral line.

"I have a... friend who is going through a weird legal battle right now." Emilie started off slowly, pursing her lips together for a moment. She dropped into a chair at the end of the table and Mike sat across from her.

"Okay…" He motioned for her to continue. It was clear this was not about a friend.

"My...friend has sort of been flirting with someone working on her case."

"A police officer on the case?" Mike asked her, sighing and putting his coffee down on the table.

Emilie nodded. "Yes, now, this friend might have kissed-

Mike's eyes went wide and he held a hand up, cutting her off. "I'm going to stop you there. Mainly because the less I know about what your friend is doing, the better. All I will say is that this has the potential to be a huge conflict of interest in your friend's case. So your friend should likely slow things down, or halt them entirely."

Emilie just sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, that's what I figured. I mean, that's what I assumed my friend should do."

"Also, if your friend's brother finds out about what she's doing, he will likely not react positively." Mike motioned his hands above his head, implying that his head would explode, then made a face like he was screaming with furrowed brows.

"Okay, let's forget this conversation ever happened." Emilie just nodded, standing up and heading out the door. "My friend thanks you for the free advice." The pair walked back towards Harvey's office. She looked in to see he was off the phone but still standing near his desk, chatting with Jessica. He motioned for her to come in.

"Jessica, this is Emilie," Harvey stood up to introduce her. "Emilie, Jessica Pearson."

Emilie extended her hand out to shake Jessica's, smiling. "Hi."

"Nice to meet you, Emilie. Harvey's told me so much about you." Emilie didn't believe that for a second, considering how no one in the office seemed to know she existed until recently. "How are things at NYU?"

Jessica seemed genuine in her question, at least.

"Oh, not bad. But I've only failed one quiz so far this semester, we'll see how it goes." Emilie heard Harvey sigh.

Jessica smiled at her, "Well, there's something to be said about your honesty. I hope you enjoy your weekend at home. Try to make sure your brother actually enjoys himself and ignores his emails." Emilie returned the smile as Jessica left the office.

"I'll be ready to go in about twenty minutes," Harvey said to his sister. Emilie flopped onto his couch, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she waited.

"What did you get Marcus for his birthday?" Emilie knew asking him questions was not going to make them leave any faster but she found a weird pleasure in distracting him from his work.

"Good question. Donna?" Emilie watched as Donna stood up from the desk, grabbing the remaining drink Emilie brought and handing it off to Harvey when she walked in. "What did I get Marcus for his birthday?"

Donna pointed to a small wrapped box sitting on the table in the corner, "Glenlivet 25 Year Single Malt. Bold and spicy notes." Harvey gave his sister a smug look.

Emilie turned her head to Donna, impressed, "Wow. Do you do all of Harvey's gift shopping?"

Donna gave her a coy half smile, "Why? Didn't you like your monogrammed Fossil tote with matching wallet you got for Christmas?"

"Oh, I did. Harvey has always had questionable taste so this explains a lot." Emilie replied, giving her a small smile. She remembered that beautiful bag and wallet. She had loved it. She had sold the set in her apartment crisis months ago, to a lucky classmate with the same initials as hers.

Harvey watched his sister's face fall as Donna left the room. Before he could comment, Emilie continued on.

"All I got Marcus was a vintage copy of Moby Dick I found at the Brooklyn Flea. It's marked as a second edition but I don't believe it. I do need to stop at Target on our way to get a birthday card, though. Also, I know I told you that music was your responsibility, but I created an elaborate Road Trip playlist this morning so as co-pilot, I'll take care of in car ambiance. And I have acquired a variety of snacks ranging from salty to sweet."

Harvey was just trying to get one document finished for a case before they left but his sister's constant chatter was keeping him from looking back at his laptop. He finally glanced down and sighed, seeing an email come in from Jessica telling him to leave.

He just leaned back in his chair, shutting his laptop and taking a sip of his latte. "Tell me you grabbed Twizzlers."

Emilie gave him a smile as she reached into her backpack, revealing a bag of licorice. "A whole bag just for you, old man."

A/N: okay we're not in Boston just yet but that's what's filling up the next chapter. but I thought it was nice to get a little bit of everyone in here this time. now, things are about to get complicated for this family and we're going to learn some more backstory for Emilie and why her and Harvey have had such a hard time coexisting. this story really stemmed from the idea of the big protective older brother Harvey but I think he's having a hard time dealing with his feelings.

Also something about the idea of Harvey going to Target with Emilie just brings me so much joy.

also. Finn! Finn. Finnnnnnn. Jon Finnegan.

Thank you to all who read last chapter. I appreciate each and every one of you. I'm definitely the type to creep on everyone who favourites or adds a story to an alert - I've actually found so many good stories to read this way! So thanks. and thank you to Andelin and cicia724 for your reviews! your thoughts and interest drive me along.