Hi Folks! I am so glad you are liking this story! I must admit it is becoming one of my favorites to write. I have started writing the next chapter, so I anticipate that one coming along pretty closely after this one. Hope you continue to enjoy and please R&R if moved. Thank you so much - Carebearmaxi
Paula, Donna, and Harvey - Take Two
Chapter 7 - Confrontation and Investigation
Harvey immediately ran after Donna. He had only stood there a moment to allow the narrative she had told him to sink into his brain. While he ran down half the flights of stairs from his apartment rather than waiting for the damned elevator, his brain suddenly went on overload fleeting between anger, shock, love, and finally self loathing for not being the man to whom Donna could have confided her pregnancy before it was too late.
Donna was pregnant! She was going to have our baby? Why did she wait to tell me and then not tell me even after she lost it? Maybe if she hadn't lost it would she have told me? Would I have been a better man then for having to take responsibility for my actions? Would have I asked her to have a DNA test like I did Paula? Would we have been married now for almost fourteen years with a teenager or would we have divorced quickly after never wanting to see each other again and never comimg to the place where we are now indispensable to one another?
After riding the elevator, the remainder of the floors, Harvey finally arrived in the cold outside and saw that Donna was nowhere in sight. He had pulled out his phone from his pants pocket and dialed her number. Come on...pickup, Donna...
"Donna!" Harvey said exasperatingly. "Where are you? Look I'll come get you. Are you ok?"
"Harvey!" Donna said into her phone but coming up right behind him. Instead of hastily taking a cab home she decided to sit on a bench at the back of the building in the small courtyard set up there with fountains. In the summer, these fish fountains were full of life spouting water through their plastered portholed mouths alleviating the intense New York summer heat and humidity. At the moment, their mouths were empty and the fountain basin bereft of water. One icicle hung from one of the fish's mouth as a testament of what its life purpose once was and would be again.
As Donna had sat at the side of the fountain, she reminded herself that she had no cause to be jealous. Harvey and she were just starting their life together and if they wanted and God deemed it they would get their second chance at parenthood together. She had to remember that it was she, Donna, that Harvey had chosen to be his life's companion not Paula. It was a difficult situation but if they continued to be honest with one another no one, not even wily Paula Agard, could come between them.
She slipped her phone back in her coat pocket as Harvey slipped his back into his suit pants. Harvey looked at her and his big chocolate eyes began to water. He reached out to Donna whose eyes were pink and puffy and her face flushed with the February cold. He pulled her back into his embrace and held her.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I am such an asshole." Harvey berated himself and squeezed Donna to his chest. Her head was on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Harvey. You didn't know. I can't help being jealous and now you know why," Donna said quietly softly into Harvey's neck and ear.
Stepping back without letting go completely having one hand on each side of his waist, Donna looked at the sorrrow in his eyes and thumbed a tear away that had fallen down Harvey's left cheek. He nodded and kissed her palm that came to lay against his cheek.
Donna frowned. "No, it's not your fault. It just wasn't meant to be. Maybe, hopefully, in the future," she stated quietly and then taking his face in her hands she stepped forward into his arms and she kissed him sweetly on the lips.
"Let's go inside and talk," Harvey said kissing her back.
They turned around arm in arm and walked back to Harvey's apartment building.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After that outburst there remained a wall between Harvey and Donna. They had talked into the night about what had happened and had agreed that if they had become parents and threw their lot in together at that time they may not have been together at this moment. Harvey admitted to Donna that he was not sure he would have done the right thing by her and married her. Marriage, love, fidelity were the last things on his mind at that time. Although he now realized that he had fallen in love with Donna practically the minute he met her, his own ambition, ego, and emotional unavailability would probably have meant he would be one of those financially supportive fathers but emotionally detached. He felt he knows himself much better now than he did then.
"That's true. You aren't the same person you were all those years ago, but you were always a good decent man. That's why you left the D.A.'s office in the first place because of all of Cameron Dennis' bullshit. You didn't want to become a Dennis Cameron clone prepared to let innocent people go to jail just to put another scalp on your belt" Donna said as she sat on the couch with her head on his shoulder enveloped in his arms.
They had both cleaned up the floor wrapping everything in the white tablecloth and dumping it in one large garbage bag. Donna, then, in her bare feet found Harvey's Wet-Jet Swiffer mop and mopped up any sticky residue which may have remained.
As she pulled out the mop from Harvey's narrow closet next to his refrigerator, Donna looked over at Harvey who's mouth was open with disbelief.
"How did you know I had one of those? I didn't even know I owned one of those!" Harvey said pointing at the purple mechanical mop.
Donna chuckled. "You do need a wife! Who do you think put this here? The cleaning lady was using the total wrong tools for your beautiful hardwood floor. If it wasn't for this baby your floor would have no varnish left on it," Donna said as she hefted the item in her hand.
When she had finished cleaning the remnants of their dinner from the floor, Harvey had invited her to sit in his arms on the couch. There they had talked and each had one more drink.
"Was I good man? Even then, Donna? You made me good and gave me a conscious. Why do you think I wanted you to come work for me at the firm? I told you I didn't want to think what kind of lawyer I would be without you," Harvey said quietly. He kissed the top of her head.
After a minute or two of just listening to the fire crackling, Donna asked, "What are you going to do about Paula and the DNA test?'
"After listening to you say at how the logistics of this pregnancy may be off, I really want her to have that test. I suppose you're right about your kind. They can be manipulative. I just didn't think it was in Paula to be that type of woman."
"Desperate straits, desperate manuevers," Donna said letting the "your kind" statement fly into the night. Then feeling warm, safe, and secure in Harvey's arms, Donna began to doze.
Harvey noticed how quiet she had become and how deliciously heavy she felt against him. He gulped his drink finishing it. He laid the tumbler on the table in front of him. He carefully removed the wineglass from Donna's loosend clasp and placed it on the table as well. Then, trying not to wake her he rose and carried Donna into the bedroom laying her gently on the bed. He quietly and carefully removed her most confining clothing like her skirt and blouse. As much as he wanted to remove her bra and panties, he restrained himself kissing her bared parts sweetly. Then as she started to whimper and moan in her sleep that she just wanted to be left alone brushing his hand away, he smiled, kissed her forehead again, and then helped her climb into the bed gathering the bedclothes around her almost naked body.
"Goodnight my love," Harvey whispered.
"Goodnight..." Donna trailed contentedly returning to her slumber.
When Harvey woke in the morning smiling as he spotted Donna still fast asleep beside him, he turned to lay on his back and stare at the morning sun's designs on his ceiling. Then feeling Donna nuzzle him and moan, she opened her eyes and smiled.
"Have you been watching the ceiling all night?" Donna asked creeping over to Harvey's side and placing an arm around his chest and leaning against his stomach. "You're too far away. Need you."
"I'm here, Donna," he said as he stroked the arm encompassing his chest.
Donna sensing something immediately sat up wide awake as if she had not been sleeping deeply two minutes prior.
"Second thoughts about insisting Paula have that DNA test?"
Harvey turned to look at her with large sheepish eyes.
Donna shook her head. "You're afraid that she won't allow you into this child's life after all. You think she's going just up and leave her practice, her life? Harvey, I know women like Paula. She's just buying time until you forget about it and just accept what comes. She's not going anywhere. Why should she? She knows she has you where she wants you. Harvey, think! You told me you wanted nothing to do with a child that wasn't yours."
"Donna!" Harvey exclaimed stopping Donna's litany. "Let me deal with it. She will have that test. We can do it any time. I'm sure Paula will understand my position if I let it lie for awhile."
Donna put a hand to her head and said, "I don't believe this! I'm taking a shower and going to work. I'll take a cab. I need not to be alone for awhile."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Paula, in the meantime, sat in her rocker looking out the balcony window of her office. Her sister, Penelope, was talking to one of her patients in the other room.
"So, what did Harvey think when he heard the baby's heartbeat, Paula?" Penny said as she came back into the office and sat on the couch.
Paula turned around and watched her sister take a seat on the plush white couch. She rose and took her favorite "therapist" chair and sat down. She put her hand over her barely-there bump and stroked it.
"He was touched. His beautiful brown eyes watered. A stark contrast from the look he gave me when he found me sitting in the backseat of his car," Paula said smiling.
"Of course, the man heard a baby in utero heartbeat and thinks that the alive entity is his creation. He is a good man, Paula. Are you sure you want to deceive him like this? He won't like you any more for it if he finds out," Penny wisely advised.
"It's not Harvey I'm worried about. It's his fiancee. She's a very clever woman and she protects Harvey with her whole heart and soul and always has. She's the egg I have to crack." Paula said looking at the clock above her desk.
"It's almost tea time. How would you like to have a high tea, Penny? There are some lovely tea houses in the area that serve a true English High Tea," Paula suggested. She wanted to get out. She felt like since the suit arose with her practice that the few patients that still wanted to see her were too few and far between. Paula felt trapped. She needed something to coerce the stars to align in her favor. That thought reminded her that she owed a visit to Louis to get a progress report and in great happenstance could surprise Harvey and Donna.
"You mean scones, butter, and cream High Tea?" Penny asked her sister with a smile. Penelope Agard was a true Brit and stopped everything at 4:00 in the afternoon for her tea.
"Yes, Penny, scones, butter, cream..." Paula laughingly said.
"Well, what are we waiting for."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"This is lovely tea house, Paula. Feels like we're sitting in one of those garden tea parties that mum used to host when we were teens. She always thought that was what influenced the benefactors to donate to dad's worthy causes." Penny said taking a sip of her tea in a China cup.
"She also entertained the Deans of Oxford and Cambridge trying to get us a free education," Paula added as she ate a cucumber sandwich. Being pregant she could not consumer her usual cup of Earl Grey but opted for a soothing Camomile. Just what she needed to relax with the stress in her life.
"So, Paula dear, you know you should be starting to show, not badly but there is hardly any bump there. Are you going to wear a prothesis until the real bump comes in? I mean what if Eddie sees your almost flat stomach. He is going to know that that baby is his and not Harvey's."
"Penny, I am not showing. I should have at least a little bigger bump than what I have. I can wear loose clothing for another month at least before I really have to defend why my bump is not as big as it should be. No one is going to see me whom I don't want to see," Paula said surpremely.
"If you're sure," Penny took a bite of a cucumber sandwich. "So has Harvey agreed to keep coming to your doctor's appointments. There should be another ultrasound soon, correct?"
"Harvey hasn't agreed to come and he has not not agreed to come. I will have to keep working on him. It shouldn't be hard. It's Donna like I said who is the real problem. She's the brains between the two of them. I love Harvey but it is amazing at how much influence Donna has on him."
"Let's hope you don't have the same gyno. That could get interesting," Penny stated and then placed her sandwich plate back on the table.
The place where they drank their high English Tea was decorated in floral prints with heavy wooded high arches and miniature Union Jacks holding draperies in place. Paula had taken Harvey to that place to let him get a taste of how she grew up. Needless to say, Harvey did not feel at home there, but like the good boyfriend he had been he had humored her whim. Paula had a harder time trying to picture Eddie in a place like this. Although raised like her with parents that could dine and influence, he himself was a bit more American in his thoughts and ways. Paula remembered she wanted to take Eddie here for a party when they first moved to New York and he wanted nothing to do with it because he was American now not just a traveling misplaced Brit.
"Paula? Paula..." Penny attempted to get her sister's attention.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking of when I brought Harvey here. He had the best time laughing at how un-American this place seemed. He did not have the benefit of being raised in tea parties," Paula said laughing.
Penny, who had been pouring a cup of tea, decided to say to Paula about what had been on her mind lately, "Paula, dear, you're really not on your meds. You've got that wild look in your eye like when the mania starts to set in."
"Well, I haven't been sleeping well and I am fighting an urge to go to Harvey's office and rub this pregnancy in Donna's face and then push her out a window. As a doctor, I know that's mania and I'm sad and happy..."
"Stop it, Paula! I am afraid I will have to go back to England in a month. I do have patients as well and I can't be away from them for long term. I will be back, though, way before the baby's born. Did you want me to bring mother in?" Penny asked expecting a negative answer.
"NO! Absolutely not! You know how mother was when I was home. All she did was hover, and now that I'm not any medication she'll make sure all the sharp objects are some place where I can't reach them! As for Harvey, if mother found out what I was plotting, she confess everything to Harvey and I would be lost..." Paula started to break out in tears and wanted to fire her teacup at her sister's head for even suggesting their overprotective mother show her face in NY but decided to keep her self control and began to pack up to leave.
"We're going? I'm not finished yet," Penny complained. She did not want to antagonize the situation, but she really now believes this whole plot is just a part of Paula without her meds. Paula on her meds was a practical and rational thinker. This woman was not someone Penny was sure she understood.
"Look, all I'm saying is that I know Harvey is a good man and he was probably hot in bed, but do you really want him again especially now that he has admitted that he has always loved another woman. You pushed him to admit it if I'm not mistaken."
Paula, who had risen, sat back down and settled. She sat back and then poured herself another cup of tea.
"Thank God, you're here, Penny, my dear. Although everything you say is true, I still want him and I know I can give Donna Paulsen a comeuppance like she never had before."
"Well, then, let's think a tad more rationally. I am bringing mother over here not just for your mental issue but to be with you in the event anything physical happens and you can't take care of yourself. You don't think Harvey will be running at your beck and call if anything goes wrong, do you?"
"You don't know Harvey," was all that Paula said and took another sip of her tea and smiled.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"No, mom, I'm good," Donna said to her mother over the phone. "Yes, Jimmy and I had a good time together. No. Harvey's good. He tells me he can't wait to see you again. Alan? No he was supposed to contact me if he got the part. I haven't heard. By the way, how do you know about Alan?"
"You don't think your brother talks to me? Besides he came over here the day I got back to see if you were still here. Instead he and Jimmy went to a rugby game together," Roberta Paulsen stated.
"Rugby? Is Jimmy playing? I thought he gave that up when he hurt his back a couple of years ago," Donna asked. Jimmy and she had a good long talk when she was in Cortlandt the previous weekend. However, Donna had made it mostly about her situation. Jimmy had not volunteered too much on his end.
"So Harvey really wants to see his future mother-in-law? Well, he is a charming fellow, but I don't love him enough to see him hurt you for the umpteenth time!"
"Mom, stop it! We're going through a rough patch right now, but don't worry I'm sure we'll be giving you strawberry-blonde grandbabies before you know it."
"Donna, you're not, are you? That may not be a good idea. What's the trouble? Jimmy thought I did not need that information unless you were willing to spill it. I am sorry I missed your visit. We could come down there and spend a few days..."
That's all I need Donna thought. "No, ma, it's ok. You and daddy do not need to traipse down here. Besides I am so busy I would not have time to spend with you," Donna said trying to stave off her mother and father from hopping on the next redeye to Manhattan.
"You're not expecting, right?"
"No, mom, I am not. You will be the second person I tell if it happens again."
"Well, if it does, you had better tell Harvey first this time!"
"Yes, mom, I would definitely do that." Donna's office phone started to light with an incoming call. "Look, I have an important business call coming through. Gotta go. Love you, too." Donna put down her cell phone and picked up her office phone.
"Hey, Donna, this is Vanessa. I thought Harvey did all his own spying now and I hear congratulations are in order."
"Well, just because I'm his fiancee and not his secretary doesn't mean I can't help him out with stuff. Thank you, Vanessa, for your well wishes."
"I always knew you two belonged together. As a matter of fact, I thought you two had always been together in that way."
"Yes, so did a lot of other characters. Many times to our detriment," Donna said. "Listen, I called you for me this time. It will help Harvey in the end but he can't know about it yet. He doesn't have you working on anything else for him at this time, does he?"
"No. Actually it's been pretty quiet in the corporate espionage world over there. You're finally bouncing back from Mike Ross and his fraud. It looks like it anyway. Why do you ask?"
"Because I have a situation and I need to find out something huge. It will help Harvey in the end. I'm not going to lie to you. It will help me in the end as well. Can we meet somewhere so I can go over the details?"
"Sure. Just say when and where. Harvey will never know," Vanessa said confidently.