Thanks for reading, I'm so happy and appreciative that you've stuck with the story through my super long hiatus. I hope you enjoy Chapter 8.

Harvey took in the bruises staining Donna's skin and felt the anger surge in him again. His muscles were tensed and ready to pounce. All he needed was the name. So, he asked again.

"Who did this, Donna."

But Donna simply turned on the spot and walked away, calling back to him. "Okay, tea!"

He followed briskly behind her, shutting her apartment door with a tad more gusto than was needed. The resounding slam it produced did nothing to calm his rage.

"Donna, what happened? Who did this?" He asked as he came to a halt at the entrance to the kitchen. She was fumbling with the kettle and mugs.

"I'm fine, Harvey" She said succinctly. "Now, do you want Earl Grey or Chai?"

Clearly she wasn't going to tell him, so he would just figure it out for himself.

"When did this happen? Sometime this weekend, obviously. What day?"

"Or maybe Chamomile?" Donna asked, completely ignoring his questions.

"Donna…" he began, but she cut him off.

"Harvey! Do you think this situation will be helped in any way by you going off half-cocked and getting arrested on assault charges?"

"I am not going to be arrested for assault." Harvey said, his voice calm. "It will be murder."

Donna threw her good arm up in the air. "Oh, well then that's my mistake! That makes everything much better!" She scowled at him before shaking her finger towards him. "Now, that's enough. You promised to come sit with me for an hour and that's what we're doing. And I'm making us both Chamomile."

She bustled off to fill the kettle, but Harvey wasn't close to being through.

"Did it happen at work?" Her face was blank. "Or at home?" A telltale flush crept up her neck. "Okay, so at home." Harvey concluded.

Donna just continued opening the tea bags and ignoring him.

"Was it a random mugging, or do you know the person? Okay," he said, deducing again, "you do know them."

"Stop it, Harvey!" Donna gave up the pretense of ignoring him. "Stop interrogating me! I told you, I'm fine and I don't...!"

"Was it someone we've had dealings with in the past? An angry ex-client, or maybe…"

"That's enough!" Donna shouted at him. For the first time, Harvey saw the fear and desperation in her expression. "I told you, I do not want to talk about it."

And finally Harvey understood; she wasn't just being stubborn, or simply trying to keep him from running off and pounding the person responsible. She really wasn't ready to talk about it. She was afraid to talk about it.

He watched her trying to open the teabags using her teeth and sighed. He grabbed the bags from her. "Give me those." he said gently.

After getting bags into the cups he gave her a skeptical glance. "What's with the tea? Why no soothing glass of wine?"

She shook her head as she walked over to retrieve the boiling kettle. "Can't. Pain meds."

Harvey saw red again, furious at the reminder of her pain. His voice was gentle however as he stepped up to her side and ran a gentle finger down the slope of her hand in the bandage. "Is it broken?"

"No, it's just a bone bruise"

Harvey's jaw clenched. "Just a bone bruise." He said softly through gritted teeth. "Just someone hurting you badly enough to bruise your bones." He shook his head ruefully, still scowling. "So, nothing to worry about then."

"No, nothing for you to worry about." Donna said seriously as she passed Harvey his cup of tea. She grabbed up her own and moved to sit at the head of her dining room table. "You said you wrote me a letter? When?"

Shit! He absolutely did not want to talk about the letter now. She obviously hadn't read it and it was probably best to keep it that way.

"It wasn't anything important. It was just stupid."

"I don't care," Donna said. "I want to see it. When did you mail it? What was in it?"

But Harvey was shaking his head. "No, really…"

Donna cut him off. "Why would you mail me a letter? Why wouldn't you just give me the letter at work?"

Harvey saw an opportunity in all her questions. "I'll give you answers if you give me answers."

Donna's eyes darkened slightly with fear, but she answered. "I'll make this new deal with you as long as it doesn't negate our first one; you have to stay here with me for an hour."

For the first time since arriving, a hint of a smile came to Harvey's face. "Fine. You have a deal. But only if you go first."

Donna looked like she was going to object, but then fell silent before gesturing for Harvey to proceed with his line of questioning..

Harvey took up the dining chair to her right. Looking into her eyes, he asked his original question for a third time. "Who did this to you, Donna?"

She was quiet for a while, looking into her lap. But Harvey didn't push her, just waited patiently for her answer, now that he was sure it was coming. When it did, it took him a moment to process her response.

"Malik."

Harvey felt every muscle in his body tense, his hand, resting on the table, curled unknowingly into a fist. Donna covered his fist with her good hand. "Please, Harvey, don't."

Harvey took a few deep breaths, understanding that she was asking him not to make this worse for her by losing control. He would keep it together, for her. For now.

"When?" he asked.

"Friday. Around ten o'clock."

Harvey closed his eyes. He'd dropped the letter off around six. If he'd been a few hours later, or if he'd had the balls to stick around and confront her face to face, she wouldn't be bruised and battered now.

"How did it happen?" He asked finally. He needed to try to understand the details. He also suspected she needed to tell the story.

As he listened to her recount the events, he felt the tension building in him. When she described Malik forcing his tongue in her mouth, he couldn't keep a small growl from escaping. When she told him she bit his tongue hard enough to make him bleed, he wanted to cheer.

As the story finished, Harvey remained quiet, trying to digest it all. Tears were quietly falling down Donna's cheeks and he grabbed the box of tissues from her coffee table for her.

"What did the police say?" he asked, as she dabbed at her eyes.

She looked at him like he'd sprouted another head. "I didn't go to the police. Are you crazy? He's the Assistant District Attorney, and we have a known feud, and there were no witnesses. It would just be my word against his."

It was Harvey's turn to look agog. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He asked, jumping to his feet. "He sent you to the fucking hospital! He's going to jail!"

Donna got to her feet as well. "No, Harvey!" Her voice was frantic. "I'm not going to the police with this. I won't"

Harvey tried hard not to yell. "Donna…"

"No, Harvey. Absolutely no!" And she stormed off toward her bedroom.

Harvey stood for a while, in the middle of her dining room, unable to believe the ridiculousness of Donna Paulsen. When, after five minutes of trying, he was unable to calm himself down, he stormed after her, finding her sitting on the side of her bed.

He inhaled deeply ready to tell her just how ridiculous she was being, when her soft, scared voice deflated him like a balloon.

"I know it's ridiculous, Harvey. I know what a coward I'm being. But, I can't. I just can't do it." She tried to cover her face with her good hand, crying in earnest now.

Harvey's heart felt like it was breaking. He moved over to kneel in front of her, taking her hand away from her face and using his own to cup her cheeks and thumb away the tears that fell.

She tried to speak through her sobs. "I just can't go through it all, with police and lawyers and questions. And all the doubts and the disbelieving looks. He has an impeccable reputation, Harvey...I just...can't…" she trailed off.

Harvey looked into her tear-streaked face. "Okay."

She looked at him questioningly.

"Okay," he repeated himself. "Then don't. Don't do it. Don't go through it. It's your choice. If it's too much, then, it's too much, and we'll leave it alone."

Donna shook her head. "But I'm being a coward, I should be coming forward so he doesn't do it again. I can't just do nothing! What are you thinking?"

Harvey dropped his hands from her face and let his head fall onto her lap. "Donna Paulsen, you're going to be the death of me."

She gave a soft, hiccoughing laugh. "I know."

He pulled his head up from her lap, and caught her gaze, suddenly very aware of the intimacy of his position.

"Okay, why don't I take you down to see my friend at the 76th precinct, Captain Sanchez. He'll listen to you and he'll believe you. We'll take everything else from there." He stood up to leave but Donna grabbed his hand to keep him there.

"Um, I think you're forgetting our deal. You still have to tell me why you wrote me a letter and what was in it."

Harvey felt the warmth of her hand clasping his and all his words fled from him again. He needed to tell her. He needed her to know. He needed to...he needed...fuck it! He needed the damn letter.

"Stay here." He said, gently disentangling himself from her grasp.

He went out to her hallway by her door and looked around the open area. He spotted the bench and immediately knew he'd find it there. He stooped to get it and pulled the muddy envelope from its hiding spot.

He walked incredibly slowly back to Donna's bedroom. This letter could change everything, could actually be the start to a whole new life for the two of them. Or. This letter could actually end everything.

The beginning or the end. What was it that he carried? He entered Donna's room and passed her the soiled envelope.

There was only one way to find out.

Sorry for the cliffhanger once again. I'll write again very soon. :)