Thanks again for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing. Sorry it took so long to update. I'm planning on posting the next chapter sooner. I hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter 4:

Harvey went to sleep that night with a strange feeling settling in his gut. Despite the confusion and the void in his bed, he managed to get a few hours of sleep. When he woke up the next morning, the feeling was still there and it didn't go away by showering or drinking his coffee. He didn't feel like eating breakfast, so he went to the office early, not knowing what else to do.

As walked over to his office, he decided to swing by Louis first. Donna wasn't there yet. That was maybe for the best. Louis was sitting at his desk, facing the window and speaking into his Dictaphone. Harvey knocked. Louis spun around to see who was visiting him this early.

"Harvey..!" he said surprised. Harvey smiled friendly.

"What can I do for you?" Louis asked then.

Harvey's smile fell from his face. He didn't know why he went over to Louis first thing this morning. And then, as he thought about it, he realized he had wanted to tell him how well he had handled last night's situation and how he had managed to live up to his promise to Louis.

Harvey mentally cringed at his own ridiculousness and swiftly covered it up.

"I came by to check if you had any news on Mike's case…" he said in all seriousness.

Louis being Louis, he took this question as a challenge to prove Harvey how good an attorney and friend he was being. Harvey noticed him getting nervous as he spoke.

"Mike's doing well, considering… I know that you think we should settle but I don't see how that would go and it would give the firm exposure, especially you and Jessica, and me of course…" Louis rambled nervously. Harvey was just relieved that Louis hadn't noticed his ridiculous reason for coming to talk to him, so he let him go on.

"We would be vulnerable to any number of law suits. But I'm not going to throw Mike under the bus, either, if that's what you think. My plan is actually quite clever. I'm going to blindside them with-"

But Harvey had stopped listening, for in the corner of his eye he had spotted something red moving towards them. His heart skipped a beat and the feeling in his stomach changed from nauseous to nervous.

He didn't know why. It was probably because he feared she would be angry at him for turning her down. What should he say to her?

"… So basically, they will get Litt the hell up..!" Louis concluded his speech triumphantly.

Harvey focused his attention back on his fellow attorney and smiled.

"Sounds like a great plan, Louis."

Louis beamed with pride as Harvey slowly made his way out of his office. He walked to Donna's desk and looked at her. More like drank in the sight of her. She was right. He was capable of looking at her like that, but now that he had started, he couldn't stop anymore. As he stopped in front of her cubicle and she directed her attention to him he felt his face turn as red as the stunning dress that was hugging her curves.

"Hey!" she greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey" he said. It sounded lame to his ears.

Feverishly, he searched his brain for something else to say. It took a bit too long for his own liking.

"Do you have time to go over Louis' defense strategy with me today?"

He cringed inwardly, for the second time today, at his ridiculous behavior.

Donna didn't seem to notice.

"Sure" she said.

Harvey thought it best to make his exit now without embarrassing himself any further.

"Thanks" he said and walked away, ignoring his screw-ups with all his might.

Once in the safety of his office, he sat down at his desk and rubbed his face. It had to stop. Whatever had been going on with them; they had worked it out and now he was over it. He was over her, that much he knew. It was time to move on.

.

.

So later that day, when she came walking over with a bunch of files in her hands, he focused on those files instead of the red dress or the brightness in her eyes.

"Hey" he greeted her casually.

"Do you have time now to go over Mike's case?" she asked.

Harvey put his pen down and looked at her.

"Yes, absolutely. That case has been dragging on for far too long if you ask me" he said and walked over to his armchair, motioning for her to take the couch.

Donna sat down and laid the most important files out on the coffee table. Harvey started reading some of the transcripts of Mike's interrogation.

"So Louis is going over today to try to get Mike out on bail. Even if he won't succeed, it'll help with his plan…" Donna said.

"I know it won't succeed" Harvey answered, still reading the files.

"And why is that?" Donna asked skeptically.

Harvey looked at her.

"Because Louis can't keep anything a secret" he said and smiled.

Donna laughed.

"That's true. He is lucky that I'll never tell a soul of the things he records on his dictaphone…"

"Not a soul except me..?" Harvey tried.

Donna threw him a quasi-scolding look.

"No, especially not you..!"

"Smart move."

Donna smiled.

They kept working together for the rest of the afternoon. Harvey got more work done than he had in a long time. Now he had moved on from that thing with Donna, he was able to see everything else more clearly. Before they knew it, it was well past seven.

Harvey leaned back in his chair.

"I'm going to order us some food, anything you want?"

"You know what I want"

Harvey prided himself for not reading anything into her words.

"I'm not ordering Thai."

Donna pursed her lips and looked at him quasi-insulted.

"Then get whatever the hell you want."

Harvey could have sworn he saw her smile naughtily for a second, but since he was over her, it didn't affect him.

Suddenly, the nausea he had been feeling earlier returned. Why did she have to mention Thai food?

He ordered them tapas and only ate a few himself. Donna frowned.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I am eating" he quipped back.

Donna tilted her head.

Harvey avoided her eyes.

"I'm not that hungry."

"Bullshit"

Harvey dropped his pen dramatically.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"You're sad… and worried…" she started and studied him intensely.

Harvey looked her in the eyes, defenseless as always. She continued.

"And you're angry at yourself. You wish you had done something sooner. You wish you could do something now…" she said softly.

Harvey looked down.

"I don't…" he stammered, not knowing what it was he wanted to say.

"Harvey, it's going to be fine. Everything will be alright" she said and Harvey let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"You and me and Louis and Jessica will get Mike out."

Right.

"Thanks" he said. "Maybe it's just the flu" he added jokingly.

Donna smiled as well.

"Let's hope not, 'cause then I'll sure as hell get it too…" she mumbled under her breath but Harvey heard her perfectly and fought the images of them kissing coming to his mind.

They continued to eat in silence.

"In all seriousness, I have been really worried about Mike and this whole situation and it's been taking up most of my attention. I haven't even asked Rachel how she's doing…"

"She understands, Harvey. We all know how hard this is on you…"

"So how is she?" he asked.

"Well, you know, she's trying to keep it together, but it's hard…" Donna answered.

"I can imagine…" Harvey said. "I'm glad she has you as a friend."

Donna smiled.

"And I'm glad I have you as a friend" Harvey added, trying to sound lightly. Donna played with her food.

"So how are you handling all this..?" Harvey asked because it was the first time they talked as friends in a long time and he was genuinely concerned about her.

Donna looked down and smiled.

"I'm just glad you're my friend again" she answered.

It broke his heart that she could be so happy with only these few moments of friendship and he wished he could offer her more. But even if he could, she wouldn't accept it since they had decided that being friends was best for them both.

The feeling in his gut welled up again and he felt his heart rate increase. Definitely the flu.

Harvey's train of thoughts was stopped when he spotted Louis wandering past his office for the umpteenth time that day. Suddenly overwhelmed with annoyance, Harvey put his fork down and got up.

"Excuse me" he mumbled to Donna as he made his way out of his office, closing the door behind him.

"What's up Louis?" he called after the man who had quickly walked further down the hall.

Louis turned around and slowly walked back to him.

"Nothing, I was just seeing if Donna was still here, I wanted to ask her some things…" he clearly lied.

"Cut the crap, Louis. If you want to ask something, you come in. You don't walk past my office every twenty minutes for the last two hours!" Harvey said.

Louis frowned.

"Well, maybe, I would have come in if I hadn't been afraid to walk in on you working through the Kama Sutra..!" Louis spat back.

Harvey raised his eyebrows and tried to calm himself after hearing Louis' accusation.

"Louis, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that, because not only is it the most name partner-unworthy thing I have ever heard you say, it's also a terrible and unwarranted insult to the woman you so desperately want to keep as your assistant. And let me be clear: I might let you get away with a lot of crap you give me, but I will not let you do or say anything like this about Donna again."

Louis nervously looked everywhere but at Harvey, knowing Harvey was right.

"Now I'm going back to work, I suggest you do the same" Harvey practically ordered.

Louis immediately turned around and walked away. Harvey tried to shake the annoyance before he entered his office again.

Donna looked at him suspiciously.

"What was that all about?"

Harvey avoided her scrutinizing stare.

"Nothing" he said as he walked back to his chair.

"I heard my name" Donna said accusingly.

Harvey sighed, not in the mood to get into this.

"It's nothing, can we get back to work, please?"

Donna noticed his change in attitude and knew that there was most definitely something going on between Harvey and Louis. But she also knew that there would be a better time and place to find out exactly what, and what it had to do with her.

So she looked at him for a few seconds longer, before focusing on their work again.

.

.

Some time later, Donna started yawning and Harvey was rubbing his eyes. He closed the case file in front of him.

"Let's go get some sleep" Harvey said and hoped she wouldn't think he meant together. In the same bed. Without sleeping.

Donna nodded. "We'll finish this tomorrow" she said.

Harvey got up and put the files in his desk drawer.

"If Louis will let us…" he mumbled.

"Why wouldn't he?" Donna asked.

Harvey locked his desk.

"Never mind."

Donna pursed her lips. If there was one thing she hated it was not knowing.

She walked back to her cubicle to get her things, greeted Louis and walked over to the elevators. Harvey was waiting for her and somehow, she had known he would. She smiled and they got in the elevator together.

They rode the elevator down in silence. As they got off and walked towards the exit, Harvey had half a mind to invite her over for a drink, but decided against it. So they stood facing each other awkwardly before Donna broke the silence.

"Goodnight, Harvey"

"Goodnight, Donna. See you tomorrow."

She smiled as she walked away and got into a cab.

.

.

When he got home, Harvey found that he had nothing to distract him from the feeling in his gut anymore. It made him feel restless, and constantly wondering whether he felt good or bad. It was a certain craving that no food nor alcohol could satisfy. It exhausted him.

He figured that maybe a good night's sleep would solve the problem, so he went to bed early. He lay down and thought about how much had changed over the past few days. Truthfully, it had been a long time coming, but now it was already in the past. The end of an era.

And frankly, he felt quite good about the outcome. Being friends with Donna was great and now that they had explored other options both rationally and physically, he knew that being friends was enough if it meant being friends forever.

Even if he had started to develop other feelings for her, he was over that now and she clearly was too, which meant that they were finally at the same page. He was really proud of them how well they had handled it all and how easily they had left all that behind and immediately found a new routine as purely friends.

…

But still, his bed felt empty as did his heart. He turned in his sheets. How he wished this would all be over soon. That Mike would be out of prison, trying to outsmart him again. That he was done dragging up the past with Dr. Agard. That Donna and he would truly be happy as friends again and that the last few days would be well into the past. That he could focus on his work and being the best damn closer in the city of New York.

Damnit, this wasn't working. He wasn't getting any sleep and without any distraction, these thoughts would keep occupying his mind.

He jumped out of his bed and got dressed. He felt like going out for a run, but he felt too exhausted – damned flu. But he needed to get out, get some fresh air and find something to distract him. He dressed himself to the nines, put on some cologne and left his apartment.

Only outside did he wonder where he would go. Tonight was the first night without seeing Donna – among other things. But he would see her again tomorrow so there it was neither needed nor desirable to visit her now. These were the times he really, really hated that Mike was in prison. Somehow, he had rather grown accustomed to having him around to distract him when he needed it.

He walked past a club with music blazing inside and decided that this might be just what he needed. As he got in, he made his way through a crowd of dancing, laughing, chatting and flirting people. As he reached the bar, he ordered a Macallan 19 and another one after that.

.

.

One drink too many, he felt worse than before. He just couldn't enjoy the club as he normally would and that annoyed him. It seemed that lately, he had become his own worst enemy. No longer able to control his emotions, making mistake after mistake, haunting himself with thoughts of what-if.

He paid his bill and walked out. He wasn't planning on going home, not yet. He needed a success first, needed to go back to being his own in-control self before he could fall asleep. And he needed Mike out of prison without any further ado.

So he went to the only place that could help him get all that. As he walked past the security officer, he tried his best to seem sober and quickly entered the elevator.

A few minutes later, he was back in his office. He let himself fall down on his couch and closed his eyes for a second. Then, he got up, grabbed the files from his drawer, fired up his laptop and started finding a way to get the charges dismissed.

Some time later, he still hadn't made much progress. It was after midnight and Harvey found it harder and harder to concentrate.

He poured himself a drink and put on some music. He looked out the window and leaned against his desk. He took a big gulp of his scotch. He shouldn't be drinking any more tonight.

All it did was increase the craving and slowly it became clear to him what it was that he craved – or who. In the middle of the night, with the honesty of a sleep-deprived and drunk man, he could no longer deny that he wanted her with everything he had. She was pure perfection and he was a fool for not acknowledging sooner that he wanted her in every possible way. He was a fool to think she wouldn't have the same effect on him as she had on every other man that knew her. He adored her just as much as Louis, or their clients, or all her past boyfriends. God, who was he kidding? He adored her much more than that. He had just made the mistake to think that his feelings were dependent on hers. But her feelings of friendship didn't change the fact that it would never be enough for him.

He wasn't over her at all.

Suddenly, he heard his door open and close and turned around sharply. As if she had sensed his thoughts, Donna stood hesitantly in his doorway.

"Hey" he said surprised as soon as his initial shock had settled.

"Hey" she answered. "Can I come in?"

Harvey nodded and walked over to fix her a drink.

"Thanks" she said as he handed her a glass.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked him after a while.

Harvey tried his best to seem as sober as possible.

"Ehm, actually I was going over Mike's case once more…" he said. And then, to diffuse the attention: "How long have you been back at the office?"

Donna tried to act casually.

"Probably two, maybe three hours…" she said. "Couldn't sleep."

Harvey looked away. "Me neither…"

"So have you found anything?"

Harvey shook his head. Donna nodded in encouragement.

"I'll help. We'll go over every single detail until we fall asleep." She smiled.

Harvey found it rather difficult to keep himself from kissing her with the alcohol buzzing through his veins and his newfound realization with it. Still, he wasn't going to say no to spending the night with her, even if it wasn't quite the way he wanted most.

So they started working again, Harvey being impractical by insisting to sit in his arm chair while there was plenty of room on the couch next to Donna. Donna didn't question him about it, though, and after a little while Harvey was able to focus completely on their mission.

When Donna disappeared to the library, he immediately missed her but he would be damned if he would let any of his feeling show. So he worked and worked until Donna returned, hoping her absence wouldn't be for nothing.

"You find anything?" he asked, looking up from his paperwork.

Donna had a slight frown.

"I don't know, I don't think so… I'm not sure, you should look at these…" she said and dropped a pile of copies on the coffee table. Harvey sighed and leaned back. He locked eyes with her for a second and imagined that he saw the same longing he felt.

He looked away and got up, pouring himself another drink. He walked over to his window again and stared outside. He usually loved the view, but now it was a pale comparison to what he saw if he turned around. He took a step back to lean against his desk. Only yesterday, when he still thought he was okay with being friends, it had been so easy to kiss her. Yesterday, he had stopped because he had made a promise to Louis and hadn't know he was in love with her yet. If she would kiss him now, he wouldn't give a damn about his promise to Louis. But she wouldn't kiss him and he wouldn't kiss her because they had agreed that that wasn't what they wanted.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Donna walked over and leaned against his desk next to him. Together, they stared outside and sighed.

Their quiet commiseration was brutally disrupted when the door was slammed open and Louis's accusing voice echoed through the hallway. Harvey and Donna jumped up and turned around.

"What the hell is this, Harvey? You lying piece of shit!" he shouted as he made his way into Harvey's office.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Harvey shouted back, eager to fight.

"You not once, but twice promised me nothing was going on and you even scold me for thinking it, and now I find this at one thirty in the morning..!" Louis seethed with anger.

Harvey felt his blood rise.

"Louis, I swear to god, get out of my office. Now!"

"What? You're gonna hit me again? Throw me through your window this time maybe? I know you would. You act on all your impulses like a wild animal…"

"Louis, calm down. What is the matter with you?" Donna shouted at him.

Louis directed his attention at her.

"Calm down? I will not calm down. All I wanted was for you to be happy. And I knew, when you came to work for me he must have hurt you so badly that you would consider me at all. But then you got closer again and I decided that if working for him was what made you happy, I wouldn't stand in your way. Just as long as it wouldn't be because he seduced you again. Because I know that he will hurt you again. He will hurt you again, Donna. And I don't want to see you hurt again."

"Louis, nothing has happened" Harvey said calmly in hopes of diffusion the tension.

Louis's anger returned immediately.

"Shut the hell up, Harvey, I know what I see. I've never seen anything more post-coital than what I just witnessed. Hell, I can practically smell the sex in here!"

Harvey and Donna both started to blush. Harvey masked his embarrassment with anger.

"Louis, I have warned you. I will not tolerate you talking about her, or me, like that. So get the hell out of my face before I beat you senseless."

Louis remained unimpressed.

"Louis, I don't know where you would get the impression that anything has happened here… I can assure you, all we did was trying to find a way to get Mike out. Here, take a look at the files."

Louis looked away unimpressed and huffed. "So, Donna, you're going to tell me that you haven't slept with Harvey while we were working on Mike's case?"

Donna's face reddened. She frowned.

"I can't believe you can't see how inappropriate it is to ask someone that. It's none of your business, Louis!" she yelled.

Louis stayed calm and nodded.

"I think I have my answer." He directed his attention back to Harvey. "I will do everything in my power to destroy your career, even if it is the last thing I'll do.

Harvey rubbed his face.

"It was before I made that promise…" he said.

Louis seemed taken aback.

"What?"

"What promise?" Donna asked, anger lacing her words.

Harvey closed his eyes and sighed.

"What promise?" Donna asked again.

"I promised Louis that I wouldn't… let anything happen between us while we were working together…"

Donna looked at him in disbelieve.

"So that's why yesterday you didn't…"

Harvey nodded. "I'm sorry, I…"

But before he could find the right words, Louis interrupted.

"So you're saying that you have slept with her, just not after you made your promise to me?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me then you had already slept together?" Louis prodded, the anger almost gone.

"Because it's really none of your business..!" Harvey answered, still angry at Louis's behavior.

"And you really were working on Mike's case?"

"Yes!" Harvey said, frustrated.

"Okay. I'm sorry. We can all have a drink and forget it happened?" Louis opted.

Donna looked from one man to the other and shook her head. The realization of what had been going on sank in slowly and she felt too angry to even look at either man. She sighed and briskly walked out of the office, leaving the two men embarrassed behind.