Direct sequel to Five Times Mike Explains His Situation And The One Time Donna Makes Sure People Listen, because people asked me to, and I am a sucker for things like that.


How Harvey Tried To Fix His Mistake

Chapter 5

After Harvey's personal learning session with Ramen, which he told Donna was Never-To-Be-Spoken-Of, he made it a point to take Mike to lunch as often as possible, which, for Harvey, wasn't often enough. When he wasn't able to make lunch, Rachel stepped in, dragging Mike out to strange restaurants with strange food. Harvey was amused at some of the things Mike would bring Donna from those lunch breaks. Two weeks later, though, and Harvey was no longer amused.

The day had started normally enough, Harvey arrived at his normal time, but Donna was absent from her post. That wasn't too strange, because his messages were on his desk, proving that she was in the building. Mike was late, and while that had become less common, it was also not that strange. Harvey huffed and grumbled, but assumed that Mike would explain when he did finally arrive, and Harvey would listen, then either lecture or accept depending on excuse.

By nine fifteen, Donna had returned but Mike was still missing. Harvey tried calling his phone, but all he got was voice mail. By ten, Harvey was starting to get worried, and by eleven Donna was glaring at him through the glass. Just as Harvey was about to hunt the kid down, his phone rang, Mike's name flashing in the display.

Pushing the button with a but more force than necessary, Harvey growled in the phone. "You better have a good excuse."

"Excuse me?" The voice on the other end wasn't Mike's. When the voice continued, it sounded muffled, like the person was talking to someone else. "Are you sure I did it right? … …. What? … What do you mean it's on.. Oh!" The voice was louder now. "Is this Harvey Specter?"

Now, Harvey was angry and confused. "Yes... Who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is Katherine Ross, Michael's grandmother." The voice continued. "Michael is unable to come to work for a couple of days. Also, I apologize for it taking so long to let you know."

"Mrs. Ross.." Harvey's anger drained some at the name. "There is no need to apologize... Is something wrong with Mike?"

"No. He's in the other room, talking to the doctor." She explained. "You see, I have been having some problems lately, and it made the nurses jumpy. So they called a doctor to look at me and he insists that I have a ridiculous surgery. I don't need it, but they are adamant. Michael refuses to leave until it's over because it is very dangerous, but I didn't want him to get in any trouble..."

"Mike isn't in any trouble." Harvey replied, motioning for Donna. "If I may ask, what type of surgery?"

When she answered, surprise was plain in her voice. "It's some type of heart surgery... I'm not sure exactly what they called it.. they all talk too fast and Michael is so tired that he couldn't explain it to me properly."

"I see..." Harvey murmured.

"I must be going, Michael should be back soon. I'm certain he will remember to call you later, but I felt you needed to know now. Good day." It took a couple of minutes for her to disconnect the call.

When Harvey put the phone away, Donna was waiting impatiently. "Well?"

"Mike's spending a few days with his grandmother. She's having some kind of heart surgery and he won't leave her because it's apparently dangerous."

"That's all Mike said?" Donna looked surprised.

"That wasn't Mike. It was his grandmother. Mike was talking to a doctor." Harvey was frowning. "Well, at least he has a good excuse."

Donna rolled her eyes. "You are still an idiot, Harvey."

"Probably." Harvey agreed, knowing it was true. "Why am I one now?"

Donna smirked and leaned over, whispering something in Harvey's ear that made him blink, and shake his head.

"Donna!"


When Mike finally called Harvey, it was two in the afternoon. By that time, Harvey was again in a bad mood. He was looking through the briefs of his most recent case, a high-profile divorce of a football player and his model wife, Luis had been trying his best to get involved in the case and there was no competent help, as Rachel was out sick.

So, when his phone rang, Harvey answered it without looking at the screen. "Yes?" His tone was almost borderline rude.

There was silence on the other end for a moment then there came a very meek, "Am I fired?"

"It depends." Harvey deadpanned, smiling slightly.

"Oh god..." Mike paused and there was an odd noise on the other end. "God..."

"No, just Harvey." The lawyer shook his head, as he leaned back in his chair. "You aren't fired, Mike. Your grandmother called me earlier."

"Huh? But... she doesn't have your number..." Mike sounded confused for a moment, before rambling. "Harvey, the doctor is an idiot! He wants to do bypass surgery on my gram!" Panic seeped into his voice. "She doesn't need it, I know she doesn't. Her usual doctor said so, but this guy says, if we don't then she'll die.. and..."

"Mike..." Harvey tried to interrupt the babbling, but his associate just kept going. "Mike... Michael!" The associate's voice stopped. "Calm down. You aren't making any sense."

"I know... It's just... No.. never mind." Mike sighed. "I'll try to make it in to work tomorrow, okay?"

"If you hang up then I am firing you." Harvey warned, the threat empty. "Calm down and explain this to me better."

Harvey heard Mike take a deep breath, and shook his head. The kid was definitely rattled, he didn't even comment on Harvey's use of his full name.

"The nursing home called me last night, saying that gram was having trouble with her heart. By the time I got here, they had called a heart specialist. He's a creep." Mike's voice sounded resigned. "He said that she has to have bypass surgery right away, but when I talked to her usual doctor, he said that it was a heart murmur. I don't know which one is right, but, I know that if they go in to do a bypass and it is just a murmur... then my gram probably won't make it."

Harvey pulled the phone away and stared at it, before putting it back. "Mike... when was the last time you slept?"

"Wednesday night." The reply was prompt but distracted. "I had to go those those records for you Thursday, so I didn't get home." There was a long pause. "I have to go.."

"Alright." Harvey wasn't sure what else to say, so he let Mike hang up. He sat there for a moment then stood, moving toward Donna's desk. "Donna."

"Hmm?"

"Cancel my appointments."

"What? Why?" The redhead looked up at her boss. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just going to see exactly what Mike was just trying and failing to explain." Harvey smiled at Donna before heading for the elevator.


Knowing Mike as well as he did, Harvey expected that his grandmother would be in a good nursing home. There was no way the kid would do any less, considering how much he cared about her. But, Harvey was still surprised at the place. It was nice. After two questions, Harvey was on his way to Katherine Ross' room.

When he opened the door, he was immediately shushed by the woman laying on the bed. Not used to such treatment, Harvey none-the-less closed the door softly. On the bed was who he assumed was Mike's grandmother, mostly based on the fact that Mike was leaning his head on the far edge of the bed, passed out.

"Can I help you?" The elderly woman studied him for a moment.

"Hello, I'm Harvey Specter, Mike's boss." Harvey smiled slightly at the prone form of his associate. "He didn't make much sense on the phone."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Katherine." She nodded politely, patting her grandson's head. "I'm sorry that you came down here for nothing, sir."

"Harvey." He insisted, looking uncomfortable. "How are you feeling?" He wasn't used to dealing with sick people, Jessica tended to take most of those type of cases, but he didn't want to offend someone so important to Mike.

"I'm fine, as I keep telling everyone. I'm no sicker than I was before." Katherine sounded slightly annoyed. "I don't need the surgery."

"You certainly seem to be fine." Harvey agreed, keeping his voice low.

"You don't need to be that quiet. Michael's so tired, I doubt he'll wake when the doctor comes back."

The lawyer studied his associate for a moment, then sighed. "Mrs. Ross..."

"Katherine and thank you."

The older woman's words confused Harvey. "For?"

"For giving Michael the opportunity to do what he was meant to." She stated simply, looking up at him steadily. "I don't know what kind of trouble Trevor would have gotten him into if you hadn't."

Harvey was starting to like this woman. "I'm sure it would have been big trouble. But, all I did was give the kid a foot in the door. He opened it himself."

"Harvey, I can tell you now, that Michael would have dragged cars if he had to in order to succeed at this chance. Forgive me but.. I'm actually very surprised that you are here."

"Why is that?" Harvey was genuinely curious.

"Michael said that you don't care yet here you are. I am sure that you are not here about me."

"You would be wrong then." Harvey replied, "I had to see the woman that Mike goes to such great lengths for."

"Hmph." She looked pleased with the comment. "Michael tries too hard for me. He should take care of himself more."

"You think he doesn't?"

Katherine smiled. "Harvey, I know he doesn't. I knew that even before your secretary called me asking about Mike."

Realizing exactly how Donna had gotten her information about Mike's bills, Harvey smirked. "That would be Donna. She told me all about it in no uncertain terms."

"I know. She called me to tell me about it. I told her that I wouldn't tell her what she needed if she didn't."

"I'm impressed, not many get around Donna." Harvey sighed, taking the only unoccupied chair in the room. "If you can bargain with Donna, then I'll be direct. I'm worried about Mike."

"Why? I thought that you didn't care about him." Katherine was studying him again.

"To be honest, I didn't. Not at first. But.."

"He grows on you." Katherine was plainly quoting Donna now.

"I want to apologize to him." Harvey blurted out, looking surprised. "I'm just.. not sure how. Every time I try, Mike avoids the question or just avoids period. "

"All you can do is what you can do. Nothing more or less." Katherine stated gently. "I have worried about Michael for a long time. Worried, but rarely judged. It is not my place to lecture him on his mistakes, but to be there to help him fix them. I have always been on his side. I will always be on his side. But, Michael isn't used to anyone else being there. Trevor has always been on Trevor's side, Jenny also on Trevor's side. My grandson may be a genius but he feels that he has to take care of everyone else first. If he doesn't then he feels like he is letting those he cares about down. Michael knows that he has made bad decisions, and has never run away from that fact. He accepted it, and did what he could to find a way to survive, anyway. Now that he has a chance to do something for himself, he can't. He can't bring himself to go the extra distance just for himself. It's always for someone else. For me, or the client, or for you."

Harvey was silent for a while, thinking. "Mike already proved to me that he can do this job. He listens and works hard."

"But not for himself. Michael will never be able to do that, because he feels that he is a screw-up." She chuckled a bit at Harvey's surprised look. "His words, not mine."

Harvey sighed. "I have never asked this question of anyone other than Donna, but.. What do I do?"

"You will have to prove to him that he isn't one. That it is important for him to work for himself. Either that, or give him something new to work for." Katherine smiled. "If everything I have heard from your Donna is true, then that won't be hard for you."

"Donna is fired."

"Don' wanna be fir'd..." Mike muttered into the bed, before sitting up rubbing his eyes. When he noticed Harvey sitting there, he bolted out of his chair in a panic. "Oh God! What are you doing here?"

"Not God, I'm still Harvey." The older man teased slightly. "But, if you must know, I came to see how things were."

Mike stared at Harvey. "Who are you and where is my boss?" Then almost immediately, "Gram! Did the doctor come yet?"

"Calm down, Michael." Harvey was shocked to see the instant result of the words, Mike sank back into his chair, silently. "No one except for Harvey has visited me." The lawyer took note of the relief in Mike's face.

Mike sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I better go see where he is then..."

"Which doctor are you looking for, the usual one or the one you don't like?" Harvey asked.

"The private one that I called to get a different opinion." Mike replied smothering a yawn. "He charges by the hour so I need to get him here quick." He stood and stretched, blinking blearily.

"Stay here, kid. You'll probably walk into a wall as tired as you are. I'll find the doctor." Harvey stood and reached over pushing Mike back into the chair, before leaving the room. He had a lot to think about.

By the time Harvey found the doctor and brought him back to the room, Mike was again asleep. The examination took only half an hour, which Harvey insisted on paying for. Not that Mike was awake to argue. Only after the doctor had left and Katherine was sleeping, did Harvey start trying to wake his associate up.

"Mike.." Harvey shook him slightly. He continued to call his name and shake the kid but it didn't seem to work. Finally Harvey, frowned and pushed Mike out of the chair. "Michael!"

The minute Mike hit the floor, he was back on his feet, wide awake and looking around frantically. "What... Harvey!" The younger man scowled at his boss. "That wasn't necessary."

"Yes, it was. I called and shook you but you sleep like the dead."

"Yeah well that's what happens when you don't sleep much." Mike grumbled. "What happened to the doctor?"

"Nothing. He came and checked your grandmother over. She's fine, no surgery." Harvey was completely unprepared for the hug that Mike enveloped him with.

"Really! That's good. I was worried." Mike didn't realize half of what he was doing or saying. "I was so scared... I was sure something would go wrong and I couldn't fix it.. and the doctor is so expensive... but I had to know. I couldn't just let her go without knowing... but I didn't know how to pay for it.. and..."

"Mike." Harvey slowly brought his hands up and hugged the younger man back.

"But the price doesn't matter because she's okay, and I'll work extra hours to pay the bill and it's so much cheaper than the surgery..."

"Mike..." Harvey tried again, more forcefully.

"But, it's okay, and everything else will be easy... I don't care about anything as long as she's fine... I owe her so much and I can't ever pay her back... ever, you don't know, …. done so much..."

"Michael!" Harvey was quickly learning that using his full name tended to bring Mike around.

Mike blinked, realized what he was doing and moved away like he had been scalded, promptly babbling apologies.

"Mike.."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, please don't be too mad, I'm so sorry..."

"Michael! Will you just calm down?" Harvey caught the kid by one of his waving arms and dragged him out into the hallway, keeping a tight grip. "It's fine, kid. Just calm down, okay?"

"Um... right... sorry." Mike ducked his head, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Relax, Mike. Everything is fine."

"Really?" Mike glanced up, breathing slightly easier. "Okay..."

"You really have to learn how to keep calm." Harvey half scolded. "And stop apologizing all the time, it's annoying."

"Sor... right." Mike nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Um, Harvey?"

"What?" The lawyer grumbled.

"Thank you." Mike's reply was soft. "For coming by... It was just what I needed."

"Welcome, kid."


I can't believe that I stayed up all night and all day to finish this... Oh well, I hope you all enjoy.