AN: Hello, dear readers! I am so very overwhelmed with the response to this little fic of mine. Thank you to each and everyone of you who left me a review, faved and followed this story. I can't thank the guest reviewers in a PM, so let me say this here: You guys are amazing! It makes all the difference when people give you a little encouragement. This chapter will get a little angsty, but bear with me. Sweetness is more powerful when it was preceded with a hint of bitterness.

Previously... Harvey took care of a sick Donna, but they ended up having fun, watching movies and bantering along the way.

Saturday. Or: You Give Me Fever

Harvey slept in that Saturday. He had a long week behind him, and though he felt the need to rush over to Donna's place and see how she was, have breakfast with her and continue their movie marathon - hopefully with more influence on the movie choice this time around - he also needed some time for himself. Saturdays were usually days where he didn't have to work, and he was lucky that this Saturday was no exception. Everyone who knew that Donna was sick made sure that they helped Harvey in any way that they could, except for Louis who wasn't helpful as per usual. But Rachel, Mike and even Katrina had his back.

After a good night's sleep, he went boxing for a while, had breakfast at home and was now standing in front of his closet, considering packing an overnight bag just in case. With a towel wrapped around his waist and his hands on his hips, he felt like he was a teenage girl getting ready for her first sleepover in a new clique. He was insecure, uncertain and multiple times had the impulse to pack everything. Was it even wise to assume he could spend the night at Donna's? When he left her the night before, she seemed better than in the morning of the same day. She still coughed a lot and looked pale and tired, but in general they had spent the night joking and having a good time. In fact, he couldn't come up with a night in the not too distant past where he'd had as much fun as he's had with Donna. The familiarity gave him ease, while she still challenged him enough to always be exciting.

With a confirming nod he decided to pack a bag, just the essentials. He planned to leave it by her apartment door, so she probably wouldn't even see it. That way he could still quietly take it back to his place in the evening should he not spend the night there.

Over his boxers he wore his favorite jeans, he pulled a white t-shirt over his head, followed by a navy blue henley shirt. Harvey checked his image in the mirror and went through his still wet hair with his hand. He rubbed his hair with a towel again, and decided to leave it like that.

He arrived at Donna's place around 11.30 AM. He dropped the keys on the bureau by the door and put his bag right next to it. He had expected her to be on the couch, watching TV or reading a book, but the living room was empty.

"Donna?" Harvey asked and poked his head around the corner. The kitchen was empty as well. He felt slightly silly saying her name again. He knocked on her bedroom door. No response. Harvey repeated her name. Nothing. There it was again, the feeling of helplessness and terror, hammering in his chest, closing his throat and making his palms sweaty.

He opened her bedroom door, and had to suppress a gasp. Donna was in her bed, a sheen of sweat on her face, her hair clinging to her forehead.

"Oh my god, Donna," he said and rushed to her.

"Harvey," she croaked.

He touched her face. She was burning up. On autopilot he went to the bathroom, checking her medicine cabinet for a thermometer. He quickly returned to her bed and put the thermometer in her mouth. Impatiently, he panned the room. The water on her nightstand seemed untouched. There were quite a few used tissues on the bed and next to it. When he heard the telltale beep of the device, he took it out of her mouth and wasn't surprised when he saw the numbers on the display. 100.3°F

He helped her sit up so she could drink something.

"Can I leave you alone for a moment?" he asked her.

She nodded.

Harvey went back into the living room and clumsily took his phone out of his jeans pocket.

"Hey Harvey, how's it going?" came his brother's voice.

"Good, Marcus. Listen, I need your help," replied Harvey in a no-nonsense cadence.

"Sounds serious. Shoot."

"OK, I don't know what to do. You know Donna. She's got the flu. I came by her place five minutes ago and she's burning up."

"Oh."

"Yeah. What should I do? Get her to the hospital?"

"Not yet. Does she have paracetamol?"

"I don't know. But I can get her some."

"Make sure she takes one. And what really helped when Ella had a fever were cold leg compresses," Marcus explained.

"Thank you, Marcus. I really appreciate it," he said sincerely.

"No problem. Let me know if it worked. Normally paracetamol and the compresses should do the trick. If her temperature hasn't gone down by tonight, get her to a hospital."

"Alright, thanks again."

They hung up and Harvey rushed back into the bathroom to look for the pills. He didn't find any. A quick trip to her bedroom to tell her he'd be right back, and he was out the door. He was back in no time and gave her a pill. Again did he rush into her bathroom to get towels and a washcloth. He found both in the shelf next to the shower. He wet some of the towels and the washcloth. The latter he put on her forehead.

"Donna, I'm gonna push your pants up to your knees and wrap cold towels around your calves," he explained as he lifted the comforter off her body. He wanted to get her consent, and didn't want to surprise her with the rushed action.

She looked apathetic and didn't protest. She flinched at the contact with the cold towels though.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"'S OK," Donna mumbled.

Around the wet towels he wrapped dry ones to keep her bed dry. After he was done, he went into the kitchen to make her a cup of the antipyretic tea he also bought at the drugstore. He brought her the cup and made sure she drank all of it. She fell asleep after a while and he took a deep breath. He tidied up around her bed and took his phone out of his pocket again to look up what else he could do to help her.

Apparently, with the pills, tea and compresses he already did what most people recommended. He wanted to make sure, so he called his doctor. He wasn't surprised when he only got a nurse on the phone. She confirmed that he was doing the right thing, and he released a breath of relief. Still concerned about Donna's health, Harvey knew all he had to do now was what he hated the most. Wait. His GP's nurse said Donna's temperature should go down within the hour, so Harvey busied himself with some more clean-up.

When he was done, he took a look around her living room for the first time. He wasn't sure, but she might have painted the walls since he last saw it. Now he was wondering if that was something she would do herself. Not that she couldn't do it, he was aware that she did most things herself because she was a multi-talented goddess. Without a doubt in his mind did Harvey know that she could easily run a country, even while she was sick. There was a time when he thought she had a small army doing most of her job because the workload she could handle and the things she anticipated were almost uncanny.

Between books, a photo of her grandmother and a delicate glass bowl with a red rim, he spotted a picture of her and him on the shelf. He took it in his hands and smiled. It must have been taken about four or five years ago during the Pearson Hardman retreat. All partners went to a hotel upstate for a weekend. He remembered it well. And he could almost taste the atmosphere of that weekend. It probably was the closest thing to a school trip he's had since he was an adult. They had only worked Friday morning, drove three hours to the hotel, had a conference in the afternoon and after dinner he and Donna ended up in a small group with Louis and Jessica where they told stories about coming of age and compared their best pranks. The next day, Hardman had arranged for Prof. Henry Gerard to lecture on some boring ethics topic. At least Hardman didn't test them afterwards that time. The photo Harvey held in his hands showed him and Donna later that day, when they were sitting next to each other at dinner, toasting with Barolo and enjoying each other's company. The night also would forever remain in Harvey's memory because it had almost happened again. They had almost had sex again, and it was only because they were caught sneaking away by Kevin Yates, one of the senior partners. It had sobered them somewhat, and Donna remembered her rule.

She looked amazing in the picture, Harvey thought. He didn't think it was a coindidence that she had picked that same dress for her grand entrance after he rehired her earlier this year. She had tempted him with that dress at the retreat, and she did it again when she wore it on her first day back at Pearson Hardman. The woman could wear sweats with soup stains on them and look gorgeous. He carefully put the framed photo back in the shelf and walked into her bedroom to check on her. She was still asleep, and he didn't want to wake her up.

He sat on her couch and turned on the TV. He couldn't recall when he had last just flipped through the channels. It had been a busy year. He didn't have time for many things. He also couldn't remember when he took Donna out to dinner and not talk about work. He made the resolution to do it as soon as she was healthy again. It's truly been too long.

When after 40 seconds Harvey had flipped through as many channels, he again went to her bedroom door. He had left it ajar when he last checked on her. For a while he just stood in the door frame and watched her. He cocked his head to see if she was really asleep.

"Harvey," she whispered.

Quickly he moved through the room and sat on her bed. Cautiously he removed the washcloth from her face and touched her forehead. Her eyes were closed, which made him wonder if she was awake or if she had just talked in her sleep. He got up and to go straight to the bathroom to rinse out the cloth and take it back to her.

"Don't leave," she begged, her voice barely above a whisper.

Immediately Harvey turned and sat back down. "I won't, Donna. I promise."

To cool down the washcloth somewhat, he swung it through the air before he gently placed it back on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Let me check your temperature again," he announced and put the thermometer in her mouth.

He wanted to cheer the moment he read the numbers in the tiny display. 99.8°F

"Donna, your temperature's gone down," he grinned and moved her hair out of her face.

"Good," she said and attempted to smile.

Harvey got her some more water and made another cup of antipyretic tea. He made sure she drank both before he slipped out of her room. He took out his phone again and called Marcus for the second time that day.

"And?" came the quick question on the other end of the line.

"Her temperature's going down," Harvey told his brother with a notable relief in his voice.

"That's good to hear," said Marcus, quickly adding, "You sound so much better."

"I'm relieved, you know. This really scared me."

"You sounded terrified earlier."

"I was. Seeing her like this... I don't know. It truly uprooted me for a bit. She's normally so strong and she could rule the world."

"She rules your world."

"That she does," Harvey agreed with a smile.

"I'm serious, dickhead."

"What do you mean?" the older brother asked, his brow furrowed.

"I mean that earlier you sounded so worried."

"You know her, it's tough when someone like Donna is sick. It's as if the world is off its axis."

"Harvey, take the blindfold off. The last time you were this concerned was when Dad died."

"It's not like that, Marcus. Donna's my friend."

"I don't doubt it. But how many friends like that do you have?"

Silence.

"Exactly," said the younger Specter. "Listen, Harvey. Do what you will, but it's not a coincidence that Donna is the person with whom you have the most stable relationship in your life."

"Yeah," Harvey meekly agreed.

They hung up, and he was left deep in thought. His brother was right. He's had a relationship with Donna for an entire decade. He's never had a romantic relationship going for a year, much less ten years. Harvey released a sigh and slowly walked back into her room.

He saw her frame slightly shaking under the blanket.

"Donna," he said as he came closer and saw she was shivering.

"I'm so cold," she said quietly.

Harvey made quick work of getting the cold towels off her legs and covering her with the duvet. From the living room he got an afghan with which he covered her. Without thinking about it twice he lay down next to her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms to warm her up. His fears returned. He felt so safe just a couple minutes ago when her fever seemed to be declining. Now he was terrified that she was freezing. While he was gently running his palms up and down her arms, he still had to smile. If he were in that same situation and Donna was taking care of him, he was sure she would have seen the shivering coming. Just like she always saw everything coming.

"I'm here," he whispered and scooted closer to her. She was turning to lie on her left side, and he pressed the length of his body against hers.

Barely audible, he heard her say "Thank you, Harvey."

Thanks so much for reading this week's chapter. Leave me a review if you will, I only read them religiously.