Family

by lorcheto

Set during season 4 episode 5. What if Mike had a heart condition and he forgot to take his medication before the auction he had set up with Harvey. Mike has a heart attack at the auction , and Harvey rushes to his aid and the two forgive each other in the hospital. Harvey/Mike brother/brother relationship and minor Mike/Rachel.

Hey guys. So this is my second Suits fan fiction. By the way, I love season 4 so far and I cannot wait until the show returns.

Summary: Set during season 4 episode 5. What if Mike had a heart condition and he forgot to take his medication before the auction he had set up with Harvey. Mike has a heart attack at the auction , and Harvey rushes to his aid and the two forgive each other in the hospital. Harvey/Mike brother/brother relationship and minor Mike/Rachel.

Mike hated this. He hated that he had to fight against his own mentor. No, Harvey was more than his mentor. Harvey was like a brother to him. He always had looked up to Harvey, always had listened to Harvey, always had Harvey's back on everything and he thought Harvey had his back. However, the first time he went to him with an idea of his own, Harvey had mocked it and had sent Rachel to deliver the message that he didn't like it. And that was the reason why he was fighting Harvey right now – because he felt like Harvey didn't respect him enough as a lawyer and a client. And he knew that with Harvey respect wasn't demanded and it was earned. And that's why he was going to beat the shit out of Harvey at that auction – so that he would earn his respect, and Harvey would stop treating him like a child. As he stepped in the elevator, he felt dizzy and a tightness in his chest. Shit…did he really forget to take his medication? How could he possibly forget to take it again? It was so god damn simple. One beta blocker every 6 hours! And it was not like he didn't know what it was. It was his god damn heart condition called HCM. He has been struggling with that condition since he was twelve years old, and gave his grandmother a lot of sleepless nights because of it. He had kept his HCM a secret at work at first. However, after he was so overworked that he forgot to take his pills at work, he collapsed, giving Harvey and Donna quite a scare and after that Harvey and Donna made him swear that he would never forget to take them again. However, today, he was so busy planning the auction that he forgot to take them. He just hoped that Harvey wouldn't notice that he was feeling like shit. Sweat began to drip from his forehead and he felt himself struggling to breathe. He pushed through the nausea and the shortness of breath and went out of the elevator. He went into the auction room and suddenly went dizzy. He swayed a little and he felt himself being caught by two strong hands.

"Mike…did you forget to take your medication again?"
"H-harvey, how did you….know?"

"Jesus, I don't know. You can barely stand, you are sweaty and pale, it is not very hard to guess."
"Well, we should go in.'
"We are not going anywhere, but the hospital."
" But the auction…I am well enough to handle it."

"The auction? You are in no condition to participate in an auction. I am postponing it and calling you an ambulance."

"I am…fine." Said Mike, pushing Harvey's hands off of him. The second he did that, however, he found himself leaning against a wall.

"Yeah, you are perfect. Hey, we are just going to postpone the auction until you are better. I am not taking those shares while my opponent is down. I think you know that."

"Somehow…I don't believe that, Harvey." said Mike, as he was trying to conceal a cough.

"Why?"

"Because, you don't want me to win. You don't like my idea, Harvey. You don't respect me enough to do that."
"Don't respect you? What the hell are you talking about?"
"If you did respect me, you wouldn't have mocked my idea, you wouldn't have sent Rachel to say that it sucked. You would have said it to my face." Said Mike, and burst into a coughing fit.

"Okay, can we talk about this later? You know, when you are not coughing up your lungs out."

"No! I am going to earn your respect once and for all." Said Mike and let go of the wall. The moment he did that, he felt dizzy and the tightness in his chest getting heavier. He started coughing again, only this time he didn't seem to stop. He wanted to breathe, but his lungs wouldn't listen to him. He felt the ground calling him and the darkness consuming him into oblivion.

"MIKE!" yelled Harvey and ran towards the younger man. He put one hand under his head and cradled him. He brushed his hair with his hand. Mike's breaths were uneven and rigid and he was burning up. He was mumbling something in gibberish, but Harvey could not understand it. People were starting to crowd around Mike's unconscious form and thankfully one of them called for an ambulance.

"Mike! Mike. Come on wake up!""

"H'vey."

"Yes."

"I don't feel well. I want to take the day off."

"Really? Okay, stay with me. Don't go to sleep. The ambulance will be here soon."

"Harvey, I have a confession to make. I have HCM. I got it from my grandfather, who died from it. And now it looks like, I am going to die from it too."

"Mike! You told me that last year remember? Do you remember what year is it?"

"2013."

"No, Mike it's 2014, okay."

Mike started to nod off again, when Harvey slapped him across the face.

"Mike! I said don't fall asleep. It is an order."

"You don't give me orders anymore. Sidwell does…"

"Who told you I can't give you orders?"

"Harvey, I am tired."

"I know, but if you fall asleep you risk the cause of cardiac arrest."

"Mike, Mike!"

Mike closed his eyes and didn't open them. His breathing stopped completely and Harvey couldn't detect a pulse. "No! Mike, don't do this. Don't die on me."

Thankfully the paramedics arrived just at this second. They hooked Mike up to a monitor.

"What's his name?"

"Michael. Michael Ross."

"How long has he been without oxygen?"

"About a minute.'

"Sir, I am going to need you to stand further. Charge…300….

Mike's body shook once, but it seemed like the shock didn't do anything.

"Charge again."

Mike's body shook again, and this time it worked. He was breathing again, and the monitor started beeping again.

"I got a pulse. Let's go."

Harvey had insisted on riding in the ambulance with Mike. It killed Harvey on the inside seeing his little brother so fragile and so weak.
Mike crashed two more times in the ambulance and was rushed into surgery immediately after arriving in the hospital.

Harvey pulled out his cell phone, texted Donna and Rachel that Mike was in a hospital and in critical condition. Than he slapped himself on the head with the phone, because he had just realized that in all the commotion he had almost forgotten to postpone the auction and put it on hold so that no one else could purchase the stock . He also called Jessica to tell her why he had postponed the auction.

Rachel and Donna came 15 minutes after Harvey had called them.

"Oh my god. Harvey, is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?"

"He forgot to take his pills.'

"Mike forgot to do something? Mike, who never forgets anything?" said Rachel with a surprised expression.

"Well, he has been known to mix up his priorities and to prioritize working over his health. It has happened before. Only this time it was worse." Said Harvey running his hand through his hair.

"What do you mean? He has never mentioned anything about having a health problem to me."

"What? You mean to tell me he told you that he was a fraud, but he didn't tell you that he had potentially fatal condition? Wait a minute…why am I surprised, this is Mike we are talking about." said Donna.

"What are you talking about? What is going on?"

"Last year Mike passed out in the office, because he forgot to take his medication. That's how we found out that he has a heart condition called HCM, it's genetic and it is really dangerous. The doctors told us there, he should avoid stress and he shouldn't work too much. After I found out about this, he asked me not to tell anybody, and I said I would do that if he promised he would take care of himself." said Donna.

"How do I not know about this?"

"Well, he tried to keep it a secret from everyone, and everyone includes you."

"Donna we have been together for nearly two years, why on earth wouldn't he trust me with this?"

"I don't know. You should ask him when he wakes up."

"If he wakes up." said Harvey. "You should have seen him Donna, he looked like death. It is much worse than the last time."

"Harvey, I don't want to hear it. He is going to make it! He is a fighter. I mean he is another you, how can he not be?" said Donna trying to calm Harvey down.

"Donna…I don't know what to think. He flat lined twice in the ambulance, and I heard the paramedics say that he was dead for 2 minutes." Harvey ran his hand through his hair. His almost always calm and relaxed expression was now filled with something, that Rachel had never seen on the man's face – worry .

Donna, on the other hand, knew that look very well. She had seen it twice before. The first time was 8 years ago, when Marcus, Harvey's kid brother, was mugged and stabbed in an alleyway, and she was right by Harvey's side in that same hospital praying that he wouldn't die. The second time, was when Mike collapsed in the office last year, while trying to prove to Harvey that he was still loyal to him after betraying him with Jessica. Harvey had been outraged back then, he never left the pup's side while Mike was unconscious, which was a good 10 hours. Of course, after Mike had woken up, Harvey had murmured something about Donna being worried about him and Donna making him take him back. Donna was the only person who knew Harvey's inner thoughts and expressions. She was the only one who knew just how much Harvey cared for the kid, and just how much it pained Harvey to be feuding with Mike.

"Harvey, don't do this. Of course he will make it. This is Mike we are talking about!"

"You don't understand, Donna! If he dies, it will be my god damn fault. He thinks I don't respect him! The reason he didn't take his medication was because he was busy trying to win the case! Because he thought that if he won that case I would finally respect him." Said Harvey, not caring , who saw his breakdown. For the first time in a while, he had completely lost control over his emotions and he didn't care who saw it. The only thing that he cared about right now was Mike. "I should have listened to you, Donna. You said that this was going to end badly, but I was so worried that Mike was going to make a mistake that I didn't listen to you."

"Harvey, it is as much Mike's fault, as it is yours. He should have set his priorities straight for once. He will recover."

"Family of Michael Ross?" asked the doctor coming out from the operating room.

"That's us." said Harvey and stood up.

"What is your relation to him?"

"Well, technically, we are not blood related, but we are the closest thing he has to a family. I am Harvey Specter and I am one of his emergency contacts."

"Okay, Mr. Specter, I am doctor Nolan Parker and I am Mr. Ross's physician. I am not going to lie to you, Michael's condition is serious. Not only has he forgotten to take his medication, which on its own is very dangerous , his stress levels were off the chart, causing his blood pressure to sky-rocket. High blood pressure does not go well with HCM and the combination of the two caused three consecutive heart attacks. He is also very sleep deprived, which is also not a good combination with HCM. He was clinically dead for 2 minutes. He crashed one more time during surgery, luckily we were able to revive him and stabilize him for now. His blood pressure has normalized and so has his heartbeat. He is expected to get better, but Mr Specter, he got lucky this time. HCM is not a joke and shouldn't be taken lightly. If he continues with this lifestyle, his condition will kill him."

Harvey let out a sigh of relief. Mike was going to get better. However, Harvey would have to put his puppy on his leash and make him relax more often and he didn't know how he was going to do that, now that Mike was working for Jonathan Sidwell. And he knew that the kid wouldn't take it easy on his own, he was stubborn like that.

"Can we see him?"

"Yes, room 1029. But it is going to take a while for him to wake up, so I suggest you go home and get some sleep yourselves. We will call you when he wakes up."

"We are not leaving him alone." Said Harvey.

Harvey, Rachel and Donna all went in room 1029. Donna and Rachel almost immediately rushed to the unconscious form that was lying in the bed.

Harvey pulled up a chair and joined them next to his ex-associate's side. Watching Mike, he remembered the last time that he was in the position of waiting for Mike to wake up. It was a few weeks after Mike had betrayed him with Jessica. Mike had tried so hard to get back on his good side again, that he had overworked himself to the point where he nearly had a heart attack. Only this time he actually had a heart attack! Two of them actually. And it was Harvey's fault again. Mike only sought his approval on everything, his respect and his loyalty. And looking back to the last few weeks, Harvey hadn't shown any of these things to the pup. The very words "You don't respect me." cut deep into Harvey's heart and made him realize that he really messed up.

He took his pale, lifeless hand and whispered:

"You better make it, kid, otherwise, I will kill you myself."

Beep…beep….beeep…God, what was this annoying beeping? Was it his alarm? Was he late for work again? God, Sidwell was going kill him if he was. Mike blinked once. He was definitely not home. His attic was painted brown, while this one was white. He blinked another time and suddenly he realized where he was. Hospital. Why was he in a hospital, however, he could not remember. He tried to sit up, which proved to be a mistake, because the very thought about moving made his chest hurt. Then he felt two arms, pushing him down to lying position, and a familiar voice saying:

"Stop it! Do you want to give yourself another heart attack?"

Now Mike was completely awake. He turned to the figure that was beside him. It was Harvey. Only, it wasn't the elegant, neat, charming Harvey that he used to work with, no, this Harvey's hair was ruffled, his suit was wrinkled and he had dark circles around his eyes.

"Harvey?! What are you doing here? Oh my God! The auction!"

"Take it easy. I have taken care of it."

"Taken care of it? What does that mean?"

"It means, I have taken care of it, okay. Trust me."

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days."

"Three days?! What about Sidwell? He would be so mad at me."

"Yes, I called your boss, he sends his regards and a "Get well soon" basket. Now, Jesus Christ, will you calm down, before your blood pressure spikes again and you give yourself another heart attack?

"A heart attack? When did I have a heart attack?

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"Well, what is the last thing you do remember?"

"Well, I remember going to the auction and then…holly shit. How bad was it?"

"Very bad. You had two cardiac arrests, you moron. How are you feeling?

"I feel like I have been hit by truck. My head hurts and so does my chest."

"Yeah, the doctor said that pain is to be expected. Here, I will up your morphine dosage. Explain this to me – how can a guy who can memorize a whole book in 30 minutes, can't seem to remember, to take his goddamn medication in time?"

"Well, I have been busy."

"Busy?! Busy?! I thought we had an agreement after your last little stunt, that landed you in that same hospital last year. Or did you forget that too? You said that you would set your priorities straight. "

"No, Harvey, I haven't forgotten that, okay! I have been taking them on the regular schedule, it's just that I forgot to take them before I went to the auction. I was so busy preparing for it, trying to do my best, so that you would finally respect me enough to treat me as any other client."

"Mike, let me set one thing straight here. I respect you. Shit, you are one of the few people, who I respect most in the world, okay. And you are not just any other client. You are part of my family. And even though you don't work for me anymore, that doesn't change. I have gotten so used to protecting you from your own bad decisions, and when you worked for me, I could do that, without you throwing a fit. But now you are out on your own, and that scares the shit out of me sometimes. So, when you came to me, with that idea about Gillis industries…I could see it going badly, and I could see you running into a wall, and I instinctively tried to protect you, by trying to make you quit. I admit that my ways of doing that were not very decent, and that I shouldn't have sent Rachel to deliver that news to you. And I shouldn't have taken that case against you. I have been a shitty lawyer to you. This is why lawyers shouldn't represent their family- they become too emotionally involved."

"Wait a second….did you just admit that you cared about me?"

"Well, I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Oh, my God, where are Rachel and Donna? I need this documented."

"They went to home to get some rest. We have sort of been taking turns on whoever gets to stay with you. And if you say a word to them about what I just told you, I will kill you."

"No you wouldn't. You love me too much."

"I hate you. You make me want to commit murder."

"Ohh, really, that's not what you said 3 minutes ago...besides you wouldn't hurt a man with a damaged heart."

"I would…if he gave me reason to. Mike, we really have to stop doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Fighting. It is not good for me, it is definitely not good for you. I mean our fights usually result in you ending up in the hospital."

"Well, what do you suggest we do? I am not going to drop the case. Unless you can convince Logan to back down we really don't have a choice."

"I can't convince Logan to back down…however, I can convince him to change lawyers, and I already did."

"You dropped him?"

"Well, I wasn't going to, after you first got admitted, but after he called me and asked me why I hadn't taken advantage of the fact that my opponent had just suffered a cardiac arrest and bought these shares, I cut him loose and told him to look for a new representation. Afterwards, I scheduled a new auction, that went on yesterday. Congratulations, you are the newest owner of these shares."

"What? How? You technically weren't my attorney."

"Yeah, and technically, I am still your proxy, therefore I take charge of everything, while you are not able to. And I assigned myself as your lawyer, and what do you know, defending you is a lot easier while you are unconscious."

Mike chuckled. He suddenly felt that his eyelids were closing on their own. He blinked once more to stay awake.

"Hey, don't do that. The doctor said you need sleep. If you are tired, don't fight it."

"Okay, H'vey." Said Mike and drifted back to sleep.

Next time he woke up his chest was hurting like hell. He felt someone shushing him and heard them say: "There that's better isn't it."

Mike opened his eyes groggily. He saw Rachel sitting beside him, stroking his hair and her hand was on the button that gave him morphine for the pain.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi. How are you doing?"

"Honestly, a little bit better than the last time I woke up. By the look on your face, I see that you are angry with me."

"Well, can you blame me? You didn't tell me about a heart condition that could possibly kill you! I thought you said that we were going to tell each other the truth from now on."

"Rachel…I am sorry. I just didn't want you to worry unnecessary for me. I was getting better, I really was, I hadn't had a heart attack in years, and I really didn't want to worry you."

"Well, you did one hell of job with that. I have to get a phone call, from my boss to tell me that my boyfriend had a heart attack, and he might not make it. Do you remember, after Louis had his heart attack last year, I told you that you were never allowed to have a heart attack? Well right then and there, you should have told me about your heart condition and the possibility that you might have a heart attack in the foreseeable future."

"You are right. I should have told you. I am sorry."

"And you think I am sorry fixes everything? Mike, you are my life. I can't imagine my life without you. And I almost lost you. I was terrified. I love you."

"Rach, I am sorry. I love you too. I promise, no, I swear to you, I will never keep anything that serious from you again. And, I also promise, I will never forget to take my pills again and take my condition more seriously."

"Ohh, I will hold you to that one." Said Rachel.

"Yeah, you bet your ass you will take it more seriously." Said Donna, who had just entered the room. "After you get out of the hospital, which will be in about a week, you take some time off work, and we will personally make sure you take your pills regularly."

"Oh, yeah. How will you manage that?"

"Well, Harvey is just on the phone with Sidwell discussing this arraignment with him. Also one of us will be working from home with you and keep you company."

"You are talking about keeping me prisoner."

"No, you will still be allowed to go to meetings or to your office, but for no more than half a day. The second half of the day, will be devoted to resting, games, books, anything that is not stressful."

"Donna, I am a grown man. I think I can take care of myself."

"Oh, yeah…we gave you a chance to do that, and you failed miserably."

"Hey, I am not a kid."

"Well stop acting like one."

"Jesus, I forgot to take my pills once, and now you are going to make my life a living hell."

"Correction…you forgot to take your pills twice. The first time, I let it slide. This time however you nearly died, so I won't let it slide."

"Wow, you are actually making me wish that I had died from that heart attack."

"It is done. I just got off the phone with Sidwell. We reached a very reasonable understanding." said Harvey putting away his cellphone in his pocket.

"I am afraid to ask."

"You are taking five months off work to recover, and after that you are going to be in the office for no more than half a day. Also, one of us will always be with you, making sure you are taking your meds properly."

"Oh, guys, I appreciate your concern, but I have been dealing with this condition since I was 12 years old, okay. I really don't need babysitters."

"I have to ask you….when your first got diagnosed who monitored your pills?" asked Harvey.

"My grandmother… she also made sure I took them while she was alive."

"Where is she now?" asked Harvey again.

"Dead…but…just because she made sure I took them, that doesn't mean that I need someone to do that. She only did that because she wanted to make sure I was okay, now that she was no longer living with me."

"And why on earth would she care if you were okay or not?"

"Because, we were family. And family cares about each other. But I don't have any family left."

" And what are we?" asked Harvey. "What did I say you were to me yesterday?"

"Well, you said we were family. But Harvey…"

"Don't you Harvey me. You said yourself – family cares about each other. Now I don't know what you think, but I think you still have a pretty nice little family of your own. You have me, your older brother, that will always protect you from everything, you have Donna, your older sister that will always help you with advice, and you have Rachel, your girlfriend, that will never ever leave you no matter what. Now we may not be connected by blood, but we are family. We may fight sometimes, but that is very typical of brothers and relatives. So when you say that you don't need babysitters, don't think of us as babysitters. Think of us as family members that are worried about your wellbeing."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, but I swear if anyone of this room sais something about what I just said to anyone, I will start shooting people. And I don't care whether they have a heart condition or not."

They all chuckled. Everything was going to be okay. The next few months would probably be hard, but it wouldn't matter, because as long as they had each other they were stronger than any illness.