Donna paced back and forth in front of her desk as she tried calling Harvey for the ninth time. She was forwarded to voicemail again and she struggled to control her breathing as she worried over his whereabouts.
Something was wrong.
She strode out of her office, down the corridor, and through Alex's open door.
"Alex, I need to talk to you. Harvey and Sean were supposed to talk strategy this morning, but they're not in his office."
"You checked the conference room?" Alex asked.
"I did, and after that, reception, and it turns out neither of them showed up, and when I call Harvey, it goes straight to voicemail."
Donna clasped her left hand in her right and squeezed her fingers, desperately trying to reign in her anxiety.
"Donna, they probably had the meeting over coffee and didn't wanna be disturbed."
"Alex, I don't get this feeling very often, and you don't know Andy Malik like I do. I'm telling you something's wrong."
Donna's breath caught in her throat. She needed Alex to understand; she needed him to find Harvey.
Alex picked up his phone and made a couple of calls. He followed Malik's trail and it didn't take him long to track Harvey down.
He looked up at Donna standing across from him. Her wide eyes were watching his every move, as she tried to ascertain what had happened. He stood and walked around his desk to stand opposite her.
"What, Alex? Just tell me."
She was gripping her hands together so tightly that her fingers were aching.
"Donna, Harvey was arrested this morning." Alex told her gently. He watched as she physically recoiled from the news.
He'd been locked up alone for hours.
"Malik's holding him, I'm going down there now." Alex said, as he moved towards the door.
It took Donna a moment to gather herself and catch up to Alex in the hallway.
"Wait, Alex, I'm coming with you."
Alex wasn't sure that that was in anyone's best interest, however, he knew better than to try and argue with her.
Alex pushed open the door to Harvey's holding cell and strode into the room.
"It is over, Malik. My clients are done answering questions," he informed Malik with a nod of his head.
"Yeah, well, I'm done asking." Malik replied.
"Oh, and you don't have clients, Mr. Williams. You just have him." Malik continued, as he rose from his chair and buttoned his jacket.
"What the hell does that mean?" Alex demanded.
"It means Sean Cahill asked for new representation."
"Who?" Harvey asked, his brow furrowed.
"Faye Richardson. She advised her client to take my deal, and he agreed."
Harvey reeled at the news; unable to hide his shock. He struggled to comprehend what had happened and turned his unseeing gaze to the floor.
Malik left after dropping his bombshell, however, he paused just outside the door.
"Donna, we meet again." Malik said.
Harvey jerked his head up sharply and his eyes met Donna's. She read the expression on his face and her stomach dropped.
"Funny, I think he'll find it difficult to kick my ass from a prison cell, don't you?"
Malik seemed to loom over her, despite her height, and Harvey stood quickly. He pushed his chair back forcefully, causing the metal legs to scrape loudly across the floor.
"Back off, Malik." Harvey demanded, his voice hard and uncompromising.
Alex held out a hand in an attempt to placate him and Malik turned around.
"Your girlfriend looks a little concerned, Harvey. You should be the one worrying though; who does she need to sleep with next, to keep her job?"
Harvey's fists clenched and Donna threw him a look, imploring him to reign in his anger; Malik would not hesitate to file assault charges against him.
Donna turned her gaze back to Malik and he appeared to enjoy her withering look.
"Pride comes before a fall, Andy," she said, her voice dripping with disdain.
She stepped around him, focusing instead on getting to Harvey.
Malik smiled behind her, appreciating the fact that Donna was bearing witness to Harvey's arrest.
Harvey rounded the table as Donna came into the room and Alex stepped back into the corridor, closing the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?" Harvey hissed at her; he hated seeing her in this place.
"What do you think, Harvey?"
"You need to leave; you shouldn't be here." Harvey pleaded with her to go; he wanted to keep her as far away from this mess as possible.
"Harvey, I am not leaving without seeing you. I've spent most of the morning worrying about where you were."
They glared unrelentingly at one another.
"If this situation were reversed, you'd have knocked down the door at least an hour ago." Donna continued, while internally berating herself for not having done something sooner.
"This situation will never be reversed." Harvey stated fiercely.
She raised an eyebrow and didn't need to remind him that, at one point, it very nearly had been.
They both flinched away from the memory.
Donna sighed as she examined him; he was deeply shaken and she desperately wanted to hold him.
"Donna."
"Enough, Harvey."
Donna dropped her bag onto the table and the noise reverberated around the small room.
Harvey recognised that he was not going to win their argument.
"Kiss me." Donna said.
"What?"
"Kiss me."
Harvey watched her. Beneath the bravado he caught glimpses of her upset and worry.
He went to her, smoothing his fingers down her sides to grip her hips and pull her close. He rested his forehead against hers and they both took shaky breaths.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "you're right, I'd be losing it right now if you'd been pulled off the street and locked up in here."
She moved so that her lips hovered over his.
"Do I have to ask again?"
"I don't remember you asking earlier."
"Har…"
She was cut off by the crushing of his lips against hers. She pressed back hard and he lost himself in her for a moment, weaving his fingers through her hair and focusing on her body curved against his.
Harvey kissed his way down her neck and buried his face in her shoulder, clinging to her. He had barely let himself think about her while he'd been in there. He hated being out of touch and away from her.
Harvey took a deep breath and moved to rest on the edge of the table. He pulled Donna with him, so that she stood between his legs, and he looked up at her. Her bright blue dress contrasted sharply with the cold grey of his current surroundings and he savoured the warmth of her presence.
Donna moved her hands from his shoulders to run her fingers through the hair at the back of his head.
"I know you don't want me to worry, but I'm worried anyway, and not knowing what's happening isn't helping," she said.
Harvey sighed in resignation.
"Faye got to Cahill, and she's going to use him to get to me," he told her.
Harvey watched Donna's face fall as she realised the potential repercussions of Faye's latest attack.
"What are you going to do?" Donna asked tremulously.
"I don't know yet." Harvey replied honestly, and she nodded her head in understanding. He needed time to think.
"I would have called you," he continued, "they smashed my phone on the side of the road and I haven't been let out of here since."
"That's why I kept being forwarded to voicemail." Donna said, in realisation. Harvey tightened his hold on her hips in consolation. He hated to think how he would have felt if he'd been unable to find her.
Donna was resolved to another fight and she would stand by his side during it.
"I'm not sleeping alone tonight." Donna told him.
"No, you're not." Harvey promised.
Donna nodded and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying; she did not want Andy Malik to see her tears. Harvey stood and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" Harvey said against her ear.
"Okay," she whispered into his neck.
Harvey pulled back and his eyes held Donna's as he tucked her hair back gently. After begging her to leave, he was now desperate for her to stay.
Donna reached for his hands and he pressed his lips against her forehead. She linked their fingers together and squeezed tightly before turning to leave.
Donna hated walking away. The sound of the door closing behind her repeated on a loop inside her head: click, click, click.
Malik was waiting in the corridor and Donna held her head high as she passed him. She kept her gaze on Alex, refusing to acknowledge the other man's presence.
"I'll make sure that Harvey's denied visitation rights." Malik called after her.
Donna's chest ached at the prospect. She attempted to hide her reaction, however, Malik caught the momentary drop in her shoulders and smirked in triumph.
Alex took her arm and led her away.
"That's not happening, Donna," he assured her.
"No, it's not." Donna agreed.
Malik really was fighting all of them and she knew they'd win.
Credit to Ethan Drogin for the lines taken from the episode.