Mike stumbled through the hardest story he'd ever had to tell in his life. Tears filled his eyes as he told it, scared to look up to see the reactions of those he loved.
When he finally finished, he had gradually worked up the courage to look at them. Carefully, he lifted his head. Rachel was in tears, and she hugged Mike for a long time, mumbling comforting things in his ear. Donna was teary eyed too, and joined in the hug. There was quiet for a little while. Mike hadn't expected that they would react this way, and was waiting for the other ball to drop.
Both girls pulled away after some time had passed, and Donna went into the bathroom to find tissues for her and Rachel. Mike looked over at Harvey. He was stiff, and extremely angry. This was the reaction Mike had expected, and he braced himself for the harsh words and the speech on betrayal that never came.
"Harvey?" Mike asked tentatively.
Harvey was still processing, and chose his words carefully.
"Matthew Gonzalez is going straight to Hell, and I'm the one that's going to send him there," Harvey said coldly.
Mike felt all the anxiety that had built up rush out of his body, like a balloon that had been let go while someone was still in the process of blowing it up. He had never felt relief like this before.
"Harvey, I'm so sorry that I said all of those things to you, and then about you. I was so angry after Louis said my parents were lucky not to see what a piece of crap I'd become, and I took it out on you, and then I screwed everything up. I got drunk, then kidnapped, and you lost your case because of me. I said some really awful things, and on top of all of that, now Rachel is in danger, I'm so, so sorry. I-."
But Mike's words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say anything else unless he wanted to dissolve into a pile of guilt and sadness. A mental breakdown wouldn't help anyone right now.
"Wait, Louis said what?!" Harvey asked incredulously.
"Mike, it's not your fault you got kidnapped. You shouldn't have said all those things about Harvey, but it's decidedly normal to badmouth your boss from time to time. Especially if your boss is Harvey Specter. You had no way of knowing some psycho was going to take matters into his own hands. Don't blame yourself entirely for this mess, because you're not really the one that caused it," Donna advised, giving Mike a small smile.
"What exactly are you trying to say, Donna? It's almost like you think I'm difficult to work with or something," Harvey joked, "but Mike, Gonzalez is the one that tore everything to crap, and he's the one who's going to pay for it."
"Also," Rachel began, "I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I'm a big girl. I pray to God there isn't a next time, but in the future you need to tell us what's going on. Even if someone threatens you. Especially if someone threatens you."
Mike nodded, still not trusting himself to speak. He hadn't imagined things going this well, and counted himself lucky that it had.
No one could fall back asleep after everything had been said that needed to be said, so instead they turned the TV on to pass the time. Their flight was at 8 am, and soon they found themselves at the airport, waiting to board their plane.
The plane ride was compiled of everyone filling Mike in on all that had happened while he was away. He enjoyed hearing about the various cases, but they seemed to be skipping over the sad parts, or anything that had to do with him being missing at all.
They didn't tell him that Harvey had refused to promote or hire another junior partner, and that when anyone mentioned it at all he immediately shut down, or that most nights, they worked as late as possible to avoid the loneliness of their own unchecked thoughts. They didn't touch on the fact that their work had suffered in his absence, despite the late nights, or that jokes had become rare and unappreciated in the time he was away. Later on, he would come to know all of these things and more, but for now, nothing was said.
After they got off the plane, Mike went into the bathroom immediately. He hated to use the ones on the plane, and avoided doing so if he could manage. When he came back out, something about the others seemed off. This was especially true of Rachel, who was fidgeting an awful lot. He was going to ask what was wrong, but Harvey rushed them out to the car. Mike brushed off the feeling that something was amiss, even though the car ride quickly turned silent and awkward. He figured there must have been an argument in the small time he was away, and decided that he'd just ask Rachel about it later. He was happy to be returning to normal, to be returning home.
At some point in the car ride, he'd lost focus of the road and started to daydream. When he came back to reality, he realized they were going the wrong way.
"Harvey, you made a wrong turn," Mike said, confused as to why no one else had mentioned it.
"No, I didn't," Harvey stated.
"Yes, you did. You should have made a left instead of a right when we first turned onto-."
But Mike stopped mid sentence, as Harvey parked the car in front of a familiar building.
"No," Mike said forcefully, finally realizing what all the silence had been about, "I don't want to do this. We can handle this on our own like we always do."
Harvey just shook his head and got out of the car, leaving Donna and Rachel to do damage control.
"Sometimes even lawyers need a little help when it comes to the law. At least you're on the right side of it this time," Rachel persuaded.
"You didn't even give me a heads up! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted something different? Did you stop to think about what happens if Gonzalez finds out? Did you guys even think this through?!"
"Yes," Donna said, "and this is exactly why we made the decision not to tell you. What Gonzalez did is bigger than a shady deal gone wrong, there's really nothing else for us to do but this, Mike. It's our best shot at making him pay for what he did."
Mike felt trapped as he looked up at the New York Police Department. In hindsight, he should have known they'd end up here, but for some reason it hadn't crossed his mind.