Hi everyone! Thanks for all the kind reviews on the past two chapters. I'm glad that people seem to enjoy this little story arc, and here's the last part of it. Hopefully it's a satisfying conclusion :)

This probably would have taken me a day or two longer to write were it not for the fact that we've gotten about twelve inches of snow in the past 24 hours. As a result, there's been nothing to do all day besides shovel and write, and between you and me, I much prefer writing. So anyway, here's part 3!

Chapter 12: Finding Common Ground (Part 3)

Mike's age: yes, still 21

Calling out father, oh

Prepare as we will

Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside

From "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran

Everything around Harvey was murky; almost as though he'd been submerged in deep water and was trying to eavesdrop on a conversation up above on land.

He could hear voices, some familiar and some unfamiliar. There was also a strange beeping noise that he couldn't quite place, but that he thought had a meaning that he should have understood. He was also having trouble putting names to the voices he did recognize, all except for one.

Mike.

He heard Mike's voice several times, higher-pitched than normal with worry and fear. Harvey wondered what Mike was so anxious about, and it made him scramble to climb back to consciousness. It was hard to lay there and relax into the beckoning darkness when he knew that Mike was pleading with him about something.

Time meant nothing where he was—it could have only been a few moments that he was under, or it could have been months or years. All he knew was that Mike needed him, and that he had to get back.

But when he finally managed to open his eyes to the blinding, sterile white of a hospital room, Mike wasn't there. He blinked slowly, wondering where he was and what had happened and where Mike was, when a flash of red swung into his vision and he was overtaken by Donna.

Donna seemed to be in shock—first she pressed the call button for the nurse and then she punched him in the upper arm. Frankly, he thought this was quite rude, because he was immobile and clearly hospitalized with some sort of relatively serious injury, if the heart monitor and IV were any indication.

"You idiot! You were supposed to talk to him and fix things, not get yourself almost murdered by a car!" She shouted angrily before throwing her arms around him in a brief but tight hug.

"Sorry?" He said, still not sure what exactly had happened and what he was apologizing for. "Where's Mike?" He asked. "Is Mike okay?" He asked, desperately trying to sit up. His body screamed at him in pain, but he ignored it. Donna stared at him.

"Harvey, I don't think you're supposed to be moving right now," she said. "In spite of the fact that I just assaulted you, you are injured and shouldn't be up. But Mike's fine," she said soothingly. "Well…he's a bit of a mess, but physically, he's fine."

"What do you mean, 'a bit of a mess'?" Harvey asked in sharp concern, fighting back a groan as he managed to maneuver himself into a sitting position. His ribs were screaming at him and his head throbbed mercilessly, but he felt more alert now that he was up. "Where is he?"

Donna looked at him approvingly. "There's the paternal-Harvey I know and love," she said. "Maybe getting hit by a car knocked the sense back into your thick head."

"I got hit by a car?" Harvey asked. "Where's Mike?" He repeated, feeling a bit like a parrot. He knew that the nurses and doctors would come in any second and ask him a million pointless questions, and he needed to know where his son was before then.

"Mike's fine," Donna said. "I sent him home to shower and take a nap and get you some things. He'll be back soon, I'm sure. He's been here non-stop since you had your accident. Hasn't slept or spoken to anyone but you for two days."

"It's been two days?!" Harvey yelped in disbelief, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

"Easy there, slugger," Donna said, lightly pushing him back onto the bed. He was so weak that it actually worked, and he collapsed back against his pillows. "Pretty sure that walking on a broken ankle is a bad idea."

"I have a broken ankle?" Harvey asked woozily. He wondered what pain meds they had him on, because everything felt a little fuzzy.

"Yes," a new voice said from the door. Harvey looked up to see a young woman with a white coat standing in the doorway and holding a medical chart. "And a concussion, and some bruised ribs."

"Oh," Harvey said, feeling a bit slow.

"Hi, Mr. Specter," she said with a smile. "Good to see that you're finally awake. I'm Dr. Mathai and I've been treating you since your accident. How are you feeling? What do you remember about the incident?"

"I don't know," Harvey said, shaking his head and straining to remember.

And then it all came crashing back to him—Mike's tearful, hurt face across the street; his rush to get across the road; the car hurtling out of nowhere and striking him down.

"Oh, shit," he said, thinking of Mike. Mike, whose parents had died in a car accident. Mike, who probably felt guilty that he and Harvey had been on such bad terms when Harvey had been in a life-threatening accident. Mike, who had quit his job at Pearson Specter because Harvey was being a shitty father.

"I think he remembers," Donna said with a grim smile.

Dr. Mathai and a team of nurses converged upon him then, but all Harvey could think of was Mike and how he was ever going to make this up to him.

Mike was not falling apart. He wasn't.

He'd kept it together the entire time that he'd sat next to Harvey's bed in the hospital. Sure, his voice might have gone a bit high-pitched and tearful when he'd pleaded with Harvey to just wake up already, but he hadn't cried.

Mostly he just felt sick. His insides were twisted with guilt—Harvey could have died, and they would have never resolved their issues. He knew that their current problems weren't entirely his fault by any means, but there was plenty of blame to go around, and he should have just sat down and talked to Harvey a long time ago before it spiraled this far out of control.

After all, if he hadn't run out that courtroom like an idiot, Harvey would have never been hurrying across the street. Sure, Harvey should have known better than to just sprint across a busy road without looking and Harvey shouldn't have been acting like a dick at work in the first place, but the fact remained that Mike was partially responsible for this mess.

The only thing that was keeping him sane were Dr. Mathai's constant reassurances that Harvey would wake up; that it was just a concussion and that they were trying to keep him sedated so that the tiny bit of swelling on his brain would subside.

But it had been two days already, and Mike felt like he was about to explode. He was currently at the apartment, supposedly showering and sleeping and getting some clothes for Harvey for when he did wake up—and he would wake up soon, Mike knew it—but he had gotten stuck after his shower. He'd stood under the spray until it had gotten cold and then he'd managed to pull on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt that he'd stolen from Harvey, and now he was just sitting on the couch staring blankly at the wall.

What if Harvey never woke up?

Almost as though it were fate, his phone rang. He briefly contemplated not answering it—it was probably Thomson and Sons calling to fire him because he'd run out of court his second day working there and then spent the third and fourth day sitting next to a hospital bed in a state of catatonia, which probably wasn't exactly grounds for earning the title of employee of the month. But when he glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Donna, his phone was at his ear so quickly that he didn't even remember picking it up and tapping the answer button.

"He's awake," Donna said cheerfully into the phone.

Mike dropped the phone.

"Mike? Mike!"

Mike could hear Donna calling his name from the phone, but he was too busy trying to decide how to react to this news to respond, torn between dancing, jumping up and down on the sofa, or bursting into noisy tears.

"Er—I'll be there in ten minutes, Donna," he said breathlessly into the phone after a long moment.

"Bike safely," Donna cautioned.

But Mike was already scrambling around the apartment, throwing random clothes of Harvey's into a backpack.

He didn't remember the bike ride to the hospital—all he knew was that it was freezing cold and that he almost ran down the poor Salvation Army man dressed as Santa who was collecting change in front of the emergency room. He threw his bike haphazardly into the bushes, tossing up a hasty prayer that nobody would steal it, and then he was running through the hospital hallways towards Harvey's room, completely ignoring all the doctors and nurses asking him to slow down and walk.

But when he got to the door of Harvey's room, he found himself hesitating. What if Harvey was angry with him? Donna hadn't said anything besides that he was awake; what if something was seriously wrong with him? His hand was poised to reach out and grab the doorknob when it twisted and suddenly opened, leaving him standing there with his arm outstretched.

"Hi, Mike," Dr. Mathai said, smiling kindly at him. "I'm sure you've heard already, but your father is awake and asking for you. He's being yelled at on the phone right now, though."

"That'll be Paul," Mike said knowingly. Donna had been kind enough to call Paul for him after the accident—he hadn't been able to bring himself to say the necessary words out loud to Harvey's little brother. Paul had been calling Mike and Donna every couple of hours for an update, and he had said that if Harvey was still unconscious tomorrow, he was going to fly out.

Dr. Mathai patted him on the shoulder and disappeared, leaving Mike and an open door. He could hear Harvey's voice inside the room, his tone unusually placating as he spoke to his younger brother, who had been scared witless by the news that his older brother was unconscious and injured in the hospital.

Mike leaned against the wall outside of the hospital room and sank to sit down, suddenly weak-kneed. He just sat there for a few minutes, leaning against the wall and listening to the muted strains of Harvey's voice drifting through the walls; letting it wash over him that Harvey was okay.

Finally, the room was silent and Mike knew that Paul and Harvey must have hung up. Feeling strangely nervous and shy, he stood and slowly pushed the door open all the way, lingering in the door frame uncertainly.

It didn't take Harvey long to notice him. They stared at one another for a long moment—Mike scanning Harvey's wan, tired features and Harvey doing the same to Mike. Half of him wanted to run and leap into Harvey's arms like a child, but something held him back.

"Mike," Harvey said eventually, looking as overwhelmed and uncertain as to where to begin as Mike felt. "Come sit," he invited, patting the side of his bed. He was propped up and looked relatively alert.

Mike obediently drifted forward and perched gingerly on the edge of Harvey's hospital bed, wincing at the sight of the bruising on Harvey's forehead and the bandages on his torso and the cast on his foot.

"You can relax," Harvey said, sounding exasperated in a fond sort of way. "I'm not going to fall apart if you take up more than six inches of space on the bed."

Mike nodded but didn't relax.

"When's the last time you slept or ate?" Harvey asked, scrutinizing Mike's untidy hair and weary, drawn face.

Mike shrugged wordlessly, uncertain as to why there was a lump in his throat. He looked away from Harvey, wishing his emotions weren't deciding to crop up right now.

"When's the last time you ate?" He asked finally, swallowing thickly.

Harvey laughed. "I'm in the hospital, Mike. There are plenty of people around making sure that I eat when I should." When this didn't get a response out of Mike, Harvey frowned. "Are you still that angry with me?" He asked, sounding almost a bit hesitant.

"Angry?" Mike asked, scratching his head. "Why would I be angry?"

"Oh, I don't know…maybe because I bullied you into quitting your dream job and then went and got myself hit by a car," Harvey said. His voice was sarcastic, but the way that he looked away from Mike showed that he felt guilty. Harvey might have thought he was all aloof and superhuman, but Mike could read the older lawyer like an open book. Or a closed book, because he had an eidetic memory.

Mike shrugged. "It's just as much your fault as it is mine," he admitted. "Yeah, I was mad at you, but I should have told you that it was bothering me so much instead of just up and quitting like that. Wasn't very mature, but I was just…hurt. And I wanted things to go back to being normal between us, so I thought if I just removed myself from the situation that we could go back to how it was before."

"Hey," Harvey interjected. "That's not your fault—you did a good job of being a son and an employee. It's my fault that I did a bad job of being a bad boss and father. I thought it would help you get along better with the associates if they saw me being tough on you."

Mike shook his head. "You're not a bad boss or a bad father," he said earnestly. "You just…aren't very good at doing both simultaneously."

He had thought that this would make Harvey angry—Harvey was infamous for not taking criticism very well. But he just nodded. "You're right. It's something I need to work on—but it's not fair that you should have to give up a job that you worked your ass off for just because of me. I understand if you don't want to come back, but…" Harvey hesitated. "I wish you would," he said.

They looked at one another for a long minute. Finally Mike surprised both of them by laughing. "I don't think I have another choice at this point, Harvey," he said. "I'm pretty sure I'm not Karen Walsh's favorite employee right about now. I ran out of court and skipped the past two days of work. I'm only 1 for 4 out of the days I've been employed there."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica and Karen Walsh worked together to set this all up so we'd resolve our issues—the two of them are diabolical together. I doubt Karen will mind if you submit your resignation. Louis, on the other hand, will be insufferable. He's been pitching a fit about losing you all week."

"He's always insufferable," Mike pointed out.

"True," Harvey said before sobering. "Things will be different this time around, Mike," he said, and Mike knew that that was a promise.

"I can't believe you got hit by a car," he said, the lump suddenly returning to his throat. "You can't just do stupid things like that, Dad," he said grimly without realizing that it was one of the first times he'd called Harvey 'Dad' since this whole fiasco had begun a few months prior. "I couldn't—if you'd—"

He couldn't finish the thought, but Harvey nodded. "I'm sorry to put you through that," he said quietly, and Mike cursed the tears that were welling up again in his eyes. It would have been much easier if he'd just cried over Harvey's unconscious body with nobody to bear witness.

He reached up with a shaking hand and swiped at his eyes, hoping that Harvey would somehow not notice.

"Mike," Harvey said gently.

That word alone was Mike's undoing, and he was suddenly throwing his arms around Harvey as carefully as he could amidst all the bruising and the tubes and wires. His fingers clenched briefly in Harvey's hospital gown and he buried his face into Harvey's shoulder, allowing himself to have a brief moment of vulnerability. Then he forced himself to sit back up so he didn't hurt Harvey, wiping at his streaming eyes. Harvey just reached out and squeezed Mike's shoulder lightly, no judgment in his eyes at Mike's tears. And they sat together in silence for a long time, both enjoying the feeling of reconciliation and peace between them that had not been there for some time now.

When Donna returned an hour later, she found Mike sound asleep, somehow looking serene and relaxed in an uncomfortable wooden chair that he'd stolen from the nurse's station while the nurses had helped Harvey change out of his hospital gown and into the clothes Mike had brought. Interestingly, Harvey was wearing a pair of sweatpants with a pressed white shirt and tie and a bright green zip-up hoodie.

Donna cringed at the unusual sight of her boss wearing sweatpants and a tie together. "Did you pick that out yourself? Maybe the concussion is worse than they thought."

Harvey shrugged defensively. "Mike is the one who gathered up all my clothes for me and I think he was a bit overwrought at the time."

Donna shook her head, still amazed even after seven years at the strange little ways Mike had managed to make Harvey mellower. Normal Harvey would have been shouting down the hospital about wearing a bright green hoodie, but this Harvey just smiled affectionately at his sleeping son as though Mike was the most brilliant person to ever live, and all just for bringing Harvey mismatched clothes.

She couldn't help the smile that blossomed across her face at the sight of the two of them back to normal. She'd have to call Jessica and Karen and let them know that their plan had worked and that they'd been right all along—obviously none of them had planned on Harvey getting hit by a car and being injured, but things had worked out for the best in the end in spite of the speed bumps along the way. It was terrible that Harvey had been hurt, but he would make a full recovery, and most importantly of all, he and Mike would be fine from now on.

Donna resolved to treat herself to a new purse with Harvey's credit card the next time she was out shopping—it was hard work keeping Harvey from doing idiotic things, and she had earned it.

But Mike deserved it more, she thought as she looked at his peaceful young face.

"I hope you buy him a goddamn pony for Christmas," Donna found herself saying to Harvey.

The fact that Harvey just laughed cheerfully at this command was only further proof that everything would be okay.

"Aww, it's such a shame that they let you come back to Pearson Specter. But I suppose that when your father is the boss, it's pretty hard to get fired," Chase said tauntingly when Mike walked into the bullpen on his first day back at work.

"That's clever, Chase. How long have you been waiting to use that one?" Mike asked coolly as he put his stuff down at his cubicle. "And I temporarily quit. I wasn't fired."

"Sure, sure," Chase said. "Whatever you need to tell yourself to make it through the day—"

"Are you harassing another associate?" A new voice said coldly. Both Mike and Chase turned in surprise to see Harvey standing in the doorway of the bullpen, leaning heavily on a cane. Harvey was probably the only person Mike knew who could make a cane look both imposing and refined.

"Uh—no, Mr. Specter, I was just joking with Mike. We do it all the time, right, Mike?" Chase said fumblingly, attempting to subtly throw a friendly arm around Mike's shoulders.

"Erm, yeah, sure, whatever," Mike said, shrugging him off and walking over to his father. "What the hell are you doing here? The doctor said that you weren't supposed to come in until next week! Where are your crutches? And what's that?" He asked in a low voice, pointing at the cane.

"I got bored at home," Harvey shrugged. "And it's a cane, obviously. Doesn't it make me look intimidating?"

"No, it makes you look like Dr. House, and nobody ever respects him," Mike said.

"Hey, watch it—I can make Louis cut your Christmas bonus in half," Harvey said warningly. "And just because they don't listen to House doesn't mean that he isn't always right."

Mike rolled his eyes at the empty threat. "Sure, Dad. Whatever."

"Hey, are you going to be okay with Chase over there?" Harvey asked.

"Yes, Dad, I'll be fine," Mike said exasperatedly. "You've asked me that a million times." He paused. "But…thanks for asking. I'll let you know if I need help dealing with him," he said quietly.

Harvey smiled. "Good boy," he said. "Right, well, I'm off to my office. If you see Donna, I'm not here. I'm at home resting."

Mike just laughed as he watched Harvey hobble away. "Yeah, good luck hiding from Donna. She's out buying herself a new handbag with your credit card, by the way," he called, watching his father disappear around the corner with the first genuine smile on his face at work in months. As he took in the familiar walls of Pearson Specter, where he knew almost everyone and was actually appreciated for his intelligence, he decided that maybe working at the same place as his father wasn't so bad after all.

Okay, yes, sappy/cliche ending, I know. But I've been mean to you all with the cliffhangers, so I figured it was the least I could do. Next up I think we'll see some rebellious!teen Mike, because everyone has been patiently asking me about that for ages now. I'm not totally sure when that'll get written, but keep your eyes open. As always, thanks for reading/favoriting/following/liking. You guys are the best! Happy New Year :)