Chapter 11 - The Stature of Limitations has Ended

The silence that followed, reminded them both instantaneously that four years had passed and it felt like they were right back where they were. Like time didn't even matter, like those four years hadn't even existed. It still felt like yesterday when she walked through those elevator doors.

'Of course it damn well matters who told you Donna, because there were only two people who knew.' He felt a wave of nausea whilst having to admit this to her, 'And that was me and...' he inhaled sharply as he stood up to face her. 'Scottie.' He continued, confirming Scottie's revelation. As he had gained momentum, but also as she hadn't responded yet, he so desperately wanted to fill the silence. 'The fact that I didn't want to tell anyone else was another reason why it didn't last!'

'And what was the other reason?'

'No, you're not getting away from answering my question. Who told you?' Pronouncing the 'Who' with force. His voice was now considerably louder than what it was five minutes before.

'Scottie!' She finally answered, matching his tone and volume of his voice too. 'I ran into her one day in London and we had coffee and it all just came out...'

'What do you mean it 'all' just came out? What did she say?' His face panicked.

'What? Apart from the fact that you asked her to marry you? Which to be fair, shouldn't bother me in the slightest. I mean,' she snorted a defiant laugh, 'It's not like we've ever been anything more than, well, whatever the hell we were!' She gestured between them with her hands. She could feel that the temperature in her apartment had shot up by one hundred degrees. She grabbed her hair and twisted it into a high knot, trying to keep herself cool and carried on, 'The thing is Harvey, what I don't understand and what scares the living shit out of me, is the fact that I DO care that you asked Scottie to marry you!' She spat out her final few words without thinking of the consequences.

This stunned Harvey into submission, as he turned on his heel, walked around the back of the couch, placed his hands spread out across the back and kept his focus down on the cushions.

'Why do you care?' he asked.

'Because of those other reasons Scottie gave me...' She spoke the words he hadn't shared. 'Is it true?'

'Donna!' His exasperation evident. His dark, brown eyes looked defeated as he brought them back up to meet hers. 'I told you I loved you.' He paused, momentarily looking down at that invisible spot on the couch again before flicking his head straight back up, 'Love you,' he corrected himself.

A tear started its long awaited journey down Donna's cheek. No matter how long it had been since she had seen him, he still made her whole body give in to him. She swiped her hand quickly across her cheek to rub away the tear, but it was quickly replaced by another determined droplet. 'Love me how?'

'You know how,' he sighed, tilting his head and giving her that look only reserved for her. She'd missed that look.

'I've been back for literally five minutes, how could you possibly love me?'

'Because,' he moved to the front of the couch again, a new wave of confidence giving him that edge to confront her, to goddamn show her how much he's missed her. 'I never stopped.' His dark eyes fixed on hers and jaw tensed, scanning her for a response.

Donna gently shook her head, the tears had now fully embraced the long fall from her eyes. She didn't bothering controlling them now, she was waiting for his next move.

'I can't just forget everything Harvey, you ignored me and forgot that I existed for four years! Four years!' Her voice loud enough that it echoed through her eerily silent apartment.

'And I could say the same thing,' he replied but his tone softer and calmer. 'I never thought I'd see you again, but how the hell could I have forgotten you?'

'Well, you certainly tried to forget me with Scottie!' She snapped.

He laughed and swiftly brushed his hands frustratedly through his hair, 'Exactly! That's why I got back with Scottie, I tried to get over you!' He shouted, not so calm now; exhaustion creeping over his head as he was trying his best to make this woman see how damn crazy he was over her, how much he wanted to hold her right now. Kiss her. Tell her how much he'd missed her in his life.

'What I find amusing Harvey, is that there are now two woman, who you successfully encouraged to not only leave you, but to run off to an entirely different goddamn country to get away from you!'

'Is that what you did? Go to London to get away from me? You made it clear earlier that it was because you were following your dream!'

'Maybe the dream I had here was never going to come true!'

'Are you talking about the theatre now or something else?'

'What do you think?'

'I think that we had a Goddamn rule. Sorry, YOU made a Goddamn rule that was never to be broken, so what was I supposed to do when I respected that?' He stepped closer towards her, to the point where he could still smell that encapsulating perfume she was wearing earlier. 'God Donna, do you know how many times I wanted to break the hell out of that rule?'

'I'm guessing about as many times as I wanted to too.' She whispered almost inaudibly, as she could now feel his warm breath inching towards her face. The scent of his familiar oaky cologne numbed her senses and swayed her attention away from their conversation.

'Does that rule still count or has the stature of limitations come into effect?' He smirked down at her, the height different more noticeable when she wasn't wearing her heels.

'Always trying to close aren't you Specter?' She matched his smirk, not breaking eye contact.

'You know me well.'

A short exhale of breath left her as he came face to face, his nose resting on the side of hers. It was the closest they'd been since, The Other Time, when they were even closer. She shook that thought from her head but found it near impossible to ignore, as the familiar taste and tantalising smell of him engulfed her senses.

His lips glided, feather-like across hers, sending goosebumps through her body. She felt the hairs tickling on the back of her neck, as her heart rate doubled. She found herself responding, as images of the second time he was ever in her apartment, emblazoned the forefront of her mind - his lips transporting her back in time.

Suddenly, she pulled away, but their foreheads still touched and their eyes were still fixed.

'Harvey,' she breathed heavily, 'Not now. Not here.' She smiled, reassuring him that she still wanted this, but she knew they needed to stop.

'Harvey, we haven't seen each other in four years and I've only been in your company for less than two hours. Before we do something that was fuelled by alcohol, I think we should sleep on it. And, if you still feel the same tomorrow, we'll do this properly.'

He laughed, 'When have we ever done anything properly?' His wide smile hard for her to resist.

'I mean, there's no rule now. I don't work for you. We need to start again.'

He picked up on what she was saying and stepped back, placed his hands in his pockets and treated her to the most delicious Specter smile as he rocked backwards in thought. 'You mean, a date?'

'Well...' Donna raised an eyebrow and looked above, 'I suppose that would be a start.'