Author's Note: Sorry about the slight delay! Enjoy the chapter :)

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Harvey. He had spent it in Mike's room reading the file. After spending all day in the hospital, he was utterly exhausted. Occasionally, Mike would wake up in a panic and the alarms would beep uncontrollably until Harvey was able to calm him down. At 6:00 in the evening, he was half asleep in the chair when he was startled back into full awareness by the high-heeled shoes of Rachel Zane entering the room.

"Mr. Specter?" She seemed surprised to see him there.

"Rachel. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, Jessica told me what happened to Mike so I just wanted to stop by and see how he was doing."

Harvey smirked ever so slightly, but didn't say anything.

She stepped closer to the hospital bed. "Oh God…Mike."

"They say he's critical but stable, except for the fever. And he can't talk because of the ventilator."

Rachel was still silent, taking this in. Finally, she spoke.

"Mr. Specter, don't take this personally, but you look like hell. Go home and I'll stay with him for awhile."

"Thank you, Rachel. Oh, the doctor wanted to see him the next time he woke up, so hit the call button when he does." With a quiet groan, he rose from the chair and stretched slightly, knowing his muscles wouldn't be thanking him in the morning. As he made his way to the door, Rachel took a seat, taking in Mike's pale features, as well as the equipment. Harvey paused in the doorway for a minute, watching her tentatively smooth back his mussed hair, while Mike turned his head ever so slightly. Deciding to give them some privacy, Harvey quietly left the room.

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He's kinda cute when he sleeps. Rachel had been sitting with Mike for some time now, and idle thoughts floated through her mind. She looked at his still form, so different from his usually energetic and talkative self. Right now, Mike was pale and fragile looking, like the machines were the only things keeping him alive.

Well, they probably were.

Mike started to shift in his sleep, slowly coming to full consciousness. His eyes darted around fearfully, but he slowly relaxed as he recognized his surroundings. Then he realized that Rachel Zane was right next to him.

"Hey," she spoke softly. Mike tried to lift up a hand in a wave, but barely succeeded in raising a finger. Remembering Harvey's words, she found the nurse-call button on the hospital bed and pressed it.

Trying to protest against it, Mike attempted to sit up and resist, but Rachel stopped him. "Mike, relax, it's okay. The doctor just wanted to check on you when you woke up."

Slowly, he eased himself back down into the bed, as Ben entered the room with another nurse, whose nametag identified him as Tom. "Hello, Mr. Ross. If everything looks good, we're going to remove your ventilator." The doctor carefully noted each monitor, making notes on a chart.

"Alright Mr. Ross, we are going to remove the ventilator. Tom is going to help you sit up and then you'll have to cough as hard as you can while we take it out. Can you blink twice if you understand me?"

Slowly, Mike blinked twice. The nurse assisted Mike in sitting up, supporting his weak frame. Rachel moved away to give them space, Mike glancing at her to make sure she hadn't left.

"Now, please start coughing, Mr. Ross." As Mike did so, Ben extracted the ventilator. The young lawyer collapsed back against the bed as Tom readjusted the wires.

For the first time in days, Mike could talk. "W-water?" His voice was tired and raspy, but it was there and it was Mike. "I'm afraid you can't have water yet, but I'll bring you some ice chips."

"Thanks," he murmured exhaustedly.

"You feeling alright?" asked Rachel concernedly.

"Been better." He sighed. "Tired…" Mike's voice drifted off as his eyes started to slip shut again.

"Sweet dreams, Ross," whispered Rachel with a smile. She quietly exited the room as her phone rang.

"Rachel Zane."

"Rachel, it's Harvey. How's my associate doing?" Rachel suppressed a smile. For someone who didn't care about anyone, Harvey was sure acting concerned about Mike.

"He's doing better. They took out his ventilator so he can talk, but he just fell asleep."

"Alright, I'll be there soon. Thanks for staying with him, Rachel; you can get back to Pearson Hardman."

Hanging up, Rachel took one more glance at the sleeping man in the bed before leaving the hospital.

Author's Note: Please continue with the reviews! I appreciate them all :)