Harvey ran through the dark alley as fast as his feet would carry him. He knew Mike was in here somewhere…he heard the kid scream. The alley seemed to stretch for kilometers. Why was it so goddamn dark? He finally found Mike lying on the ground, unconscious. A dark figure was looming above him, with a fist in the air. But Harvey couldn't move. It was like he had been glued to the ground, five meters away from his associate. He couldn't even reach into his pocket to grab his phone and call for help. Then Mike opened his eyes and said, "Harvey! What are you doing? Come help me! Why did you make me leave the office early tonight? You could have prevented this from happening to me if you had just let me stay…This is all your fault!" Then the man punched him again and Harvey was being dragged out of the alley, against his will. "Noooo!" He yelled, finally finding his voice. And it echoed as he moved further and further away from Mike….

Harvey jolted awake so violently that he nearly tipped the chair he had been sleeping on over. He stabled himself and then scoffed at his stupid, over-dramatic, slow-motion dream. Embarrassed to even be thinking about something so ridiculous (albeit, in his sleep), he rubbed his hands tiredly over his face and looked up.

What he saw made his heart drop, just a tiny bit.

So it wasn't entirely just a dream. Mike Ross lay in the hospital bed looking much like he'd partaken in and lost a rumble with the Greasers against the Socs.

He had a swollen eye and cut lip but Harvey was more concerned about the internal injuries. And the emotional ones…but he'd donate all his suits to charity before admitting that to his associate. Harvey stood up and put his hands in his pockets, tilting his head and taking in how much younger Mike looked tucked into the bed. He then remembered his dream, and thought deeply. The whole thing was just an accident. It could have happened to anyone. Just an unfortunate mugging and Mike would get over it quickly. Any senior partner would tell his sick associate to take the night off, right? It wasn't Harvey or Mike's fault, so why was there a tugging at Harvey's heart and the weight of guilt in his stomach every time he glanced at this broken kid?

He looked away and shook his head, trying to rid his mind of these - what were they called again? Oh yeah, emotions.

Harvey wanted to know what sort of state the younger man was in (only to know when he'd be able to start working again, of course) so he stepped out of the room to find a doctor.


Mike woke up before he opened his eyes. He knew where he was because of the smell. Hospitals had the most distinct smell and he had spent more than enough time with Grammy in them in the past. He didn't want to open his eyes in case someone was in the room with him. Talking about his current situation was not exactly what he felt like doing at the moment. Cursed with that eidetic memory of his, and for a lack of anything much better to do, he replayed the attack over and over in his head.

Something was strange about that night, he thought. -stranger than having two guys mug you in an alley, I mean. This was something that he couldn't place his finger on…and it absolutely tortured him. He was supposed to be able to remember everything! He went through the events again - guy stole briefcase, guy #2 held him against the wall and punched him, the same guy then punched his face and tossed him to the ground-

Just as Mike was about to recall the exact physical appearance of both attackers, Harvey Specter walked into the room.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes at last."

Mike gave a little 'humph'. "How long was I out for?"

"It's gotta be about…a month, now."

"What?!" Mike frantically searched for an indicator of the date. When he found the digital clock on the bedside table, he slammed it down and glared at Harvey. "It's been two days."

Harvey grinned nonchalantly and then frowned. "Well it feels like a month. The coffee here tastes like shit and the sleeping arrangements are…non-existent." He motioned to the metal chair he had dozed off in earlier.

"Wait…did you spend the night here?" Mike asked with amusement and disbelief in his eyes.

Harvey didn't skip a beat before avoiding the question with, "I just talked to your doctor. He says you have a broken rib and a concussion. You'd better tell me what the hell happened last night."

Mike looked down and shook his head. "It was nothing. Just two random guys who mugged me in the alley. It was kind of funny actually, they wanted money but all I had on me were pencils and an apple. Well, they took my watch too, but it could've been worse."

It could've been a lot better, too. Harvey thought, as he took a seat. "How many guys?"

"Two."

"Were they big?"

"Bigger than me. But isn't everyone?" He laughed dryly.

Harvey half-smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." He lied. The aches were even worse now than they had been when he woke up in the alley. The back of his head was absolutely throbbing among other aches and stings. And for being asleep so long, he was surprisingly tired.

"No you aren't. How could someone who looks like you right now feel fine?" Harvey gave one of those stares where it felt like he was piercing your soul and reading your mind at the same time.

"I'm tougher than you think, Harvey. It's not like I didn't hold my own, you know. I left some marks on them too."

"Nah, I bet you ran like a girl." The older man smirked slightly, trying to lighten the conversation. He hoped with all his might that Mike didn't sustain those injuries by trying to box with the guys…

Mike rolled his eyes but hoped that Harvey didn't see the faint blush that touched his cheeks. "I bet you would've ran…" he muttered, rather childishly.

Harvey pretended not to hear him. "So you don't know who did it?"

Mike shook his head. "But there's something weird about that night that I can't place…" He closed his eyes again. He saw the two men and mentally recited their features. Something clicked so he kept repeating the information. 30, 170 lbs., brown hair, clean cut, 30, 170 lbs., brown hair, clean cut, 30-

He watched the second guy over and over in his mind. It was something about him that was bugging Mike so much. What was it?!

"Well I'm glad you're not dead." Thank God you're alive. "Donna would've been be a wreck." Harvey said, trying to bring the kid back from whatever he was remembering. His scrunched up face and fisted hands were concerning the senior partner.

And then it hit Mike like a ton of bricks.

"It's Oliver Reid, from my elementary school! He's the guy who took my briefcase and ran into the alley…" Mike actually laughed in relief that he had finally figured it out.

Harvey made a mental note of the name. He would deal with that later.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You followed this guy into a dark alley at night, because he took your briefcase? Which contained an apple and some pencils?! Jesus, kid…" Harvey ran a hand through his perfectly gelled hair in bewilderment. How was Mike so incredibly smart, yet unbelievably stupid at the same time?!

"Well, yeah. I had forgotten, in the moment, that my briefcase had nothing valuable in it. It's the principle of the matter - you chase a guy if he steals from you." Mike shrugged, trying to make his decision to follow Oliver sound less irrational.

Harvey shook his head but continued. "So you know this Oliver guy?"

"Yeah, he was three years above me in elementary school. We, uh, had little to no interaction."
Harvey arched an eyebrow. "What interaction did you have?"

Mike sighed and slumped back into his bed. "C'mon, Harvey. I was a skinny, glasses-wearing, genius throughout school. I had my fair share of bullies."

As Harvey was about to demand to know everything this Oliver guy had ever done to Mike, the doctor entered the room.

"Hi Mr. Ross, glad to see you're awake." The tall man smiled warmly and then looked at Harvey. "And you must be his brother."

Mike looked wildly at Harvey and almost burst out laughing.

"Would you mind giving Michael and I a few minutes? I am just doing a check-up to make sure things are healing as they should."

Harvey nodded. "Of course." Before he turned to leave he looked at Mike with warning eyes and drew his hand across his throat. Not a word, or you're dead.

Mike bit his lip, but his eyes were laughing, as the doctor moved the sheet halfway down and revealed Mike's abdomen. Harvey saw an enormous purple and black bruise covering half of the kid's skinny stomach, and he flinched before closing the door. Clenching his fists, Harvey decided right then and there that he would get revenge. Oliver wouldn't know what hit him.