Skyfall
Chapter Thirty-Three
Although Rebecca was getting used to the route from the airport to Lily's house, she still put the address in the GPS of the car the next day just to make sure she didn't accidentally get lost. While she had told Harvey she was coming for the weekend, she purposely neglected to tell him that she was leaving New York City at noon and would be there in the afternoon. She hoped it would be a good surprise.
She finally had a handle on all of her cases, as well as his. Everything that was urgent was taken care of. And while she had brought some work with her to do on the plane, she didn't anticipate having to work this weekend. Everything else could wait until Monday. She thought back to their phone conversation last night.
"And that is where we are financially as a firm." Louis concluded.
"Seems like we are well on our way to having a very lucrative quarter." Jessica chuckled.
"Yeah." Harvey spoke up. "Seems like it."
"If there isn't any other business to discuss, I think we can end this meeting." Jessica said after a forty-five minute partner meeting. "Does anyone have anything else they want to say?"
"Nope." Louis shook his head.
"I'm good." Harvey said, his voice coming from speakerphone.
"I'm good too." Rebecca said.
"Then the meeting is adjourned." Jessica said.
"Goodnight everyone." Rebecca smiled at them before picking up her stuff and heading to the hallway. She took Harvey off of speakerphone. "Hey, you are off speakerphone now."
"Finally." He sighed.
"What's wrong?" She asked. "You sounded weird during the meeting and you were unusually quiet. I know you don't like these meetings, but you usually say more than just one or two word answers."
"It's just been a long day…a long week." He explained. "I'm just exhausted."
"Are you sure that's all?" She pressed, making it into her office and closing the door before going to sit down at her desk. "It sounds like something more than that."
"That's all."
She didn't quite believe him, but knew if he wasn't ready to say what was bothering him yet, she would drop it. Besides, she planned on going up to Boston tomorrow so she would get it out of him then.
"I am excited to see you this weekend though." He told her.
"I'm excited too. I would agree that it has been a long week. I can't wait until I'm back in your arms, even if it is only for a couple of days."
"These two months will go by quickly, right?" He chuckled.
"They better." She laughed.
"I should let you go."
"Yeah. I still have a little bit of work to do and then I have to go home and pack so I can leave straight from the office tomorrow." She explained.
"Do you want me to come pick you up from the airport?" He offered.
"No, it's fine." She assured him. "I'll just rent a car."
"Ok. I'll talk to you in the morning. I love you."
"I love you too Harvey."
She was worried about him because he sounded off somehow. She tried to shrug it off as him being tired or stressed, but it seemed like more than that. So she was determined to find out what was going on. She also wanted to make sure that everyone was adjusting as well as possible to the newest changes in their routine. While she stayed in constant contact with everyone, she wanted to check on them in person.
She pulled up to Lily's house and turned the car off. It didn't take her long to get out and get her bags from the backseat. She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. It only took a moment for Ethan to open the door.
"Hey!" She greeted with a huge smile.
"Aunt Becca!" He immediately threw his arms around her for a hug.
She was surprised by his reaction but hugged him back.
"No one told me you were coming!" He said, pulling away from her. "Nothing is wrong though, right?"
"No. Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to come visit. Uncle Harvey knew, but maybe he wanted it to be a surprise." She shrugged. She hated that Ethan's first reaction to her being there now was that something was wrong but she understood that reaction. "How are you?"
"Ok I guess." He shrugged. "Uncle Harvey is actually talking and smiling at grandma. It's so weird."
"Weird bad or weird good?" She chuckled. From the conversations she had with Lily and Harvey, it seemed like they had gone from avoiding each other completely to being best friends. She could see how that would be jarring for him.
"Weird good, but it is borderline creepy." He laughed.
She grinned. "I understand what you mean. It will probably take some getting used to."
"They made dinner together last night and were laughing the entire time." Ethan told her.
"Really?" She chuckled. "Well it may seem weird, but it is a good thing that they are starting to get along."
"I'm so glad you are here." He sighed. "I like our phone calls, but I'm glad you are actually here to talk to."
"Me too." She assured him, giving him another quick hug before coming into the house. "Where is everyone? The house seems quiet."
"Grandma is upstairs painting." He explained. "Uncle Harvey is picking up Olivia from her after-school dance class."
"She can still participate in that with her broken arm?"
"Yeah. I guess so." He told her with a shrug. "They should be home in a little bit."
"Ok." She nodded. "You want to come with me while I say hi to your grandma?"
"Nah." He shook his head. "I'm going to go watch some TV."
"Ok. Do you want to help me cook dinner tonight? You can tell me all about school and how creepy it is watching Uncle Harvey and grandma get along. We can be the ones making dinner and laughing the entire time tonight."
"Sounds good." He smiled.
"Awesome." She grinned, high-fiving him. She climbed the stairs and went to Lily's art studio. "Knock knock." She announced as she stood in the doorway. "Miss me?"
Lily turned around and smiled. "Of course I did! But what are you doing here?"
"I guess Harvey really didn't tell anyone I was coming up for the weekend." She laughed, hugging Lily.
"No, he didn't say anything to me about it." Lily chuckled, pulling out of the hug.
"I hope it is ok that I'm here."
"You don't ever have to worry about that." Lily smiled. "You are welcome here anytime and this is a wonderful surprise."
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"Eh." She shrugged. "While I'm happy things with Harvey are going better, I'm still worried about Marcus and the kids."
"Ethan seems to be doing fairly well." She pointed out. "Or is that just a front?"
"It depends on what day it is." Lily explained. "Some days he is ok and then others he is more sullen and quiet."
"I'll talk to him while we make dinner tonight." She promised.
"You don't have to make…"
"It's the least I can do." She interrupted. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Alright." Lily smiled. "Thank you."
"How is Olivia doing?"
"She is blissfully unaware of what is happening and I am so thankful for that. She asks for her father a lot but it is usually easy to distract her with something else." Lily explained.
"Good." She nodded. "How is Harvey doing?"
"I'm sure you talk to him more than I do, you should know." Lily laughed.
"I know what he wants me to know." She corrected her. "There is only so much prodding into his feelings I can do over the phone. I want to know how you think he is really doing."
"He is doing very well with this kids and I think that surprises him. As for how he is doing with Marcus, that I have no clue about and you'll have to ask him. He's been skittish about some things."
"Fair enough." She nodded. "Do you have any preference about what I make for dinner?"
"Anything is fine with me."
"Ok. I'll go down and take a look at what is in the refrigerator."
Harvey opened the front door and let Olivia inside. She had been talking nonstop since he picked her up from her dance class. First it was about the class, then about school and then about her friends, Madeline and Aubree. While he loved his niece and loved knowing everything she thought was special, he would have liked a few moments of silence in the car.
"Whose car is it in the driveway?" He asked Ethan when he entered the living room.
"Aunt Becca's." Ethan replied.
"She's here already?" He couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah. I think she is in the kitchen." Ethan nodded.
"I wanna see Aunt Becca!" Olivia practically screamed, running full force into the kitchen.
Harvey followed her in, walking in on Rebecca hugging Olivia.
"Oh, I missed you." Rebecca said to the girl.
"I missed you too." Olivia smiled, pulling out of the hug. "Can you read me a bedtime story tonight?"
"Of course I can!" Rebecca chuckled. "I'll read you whatever book you want."
"Yes! I'm going to go pick it out now!" She ran upstairs to look at her books.
Once Olivia was gone, he walked straight up to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and captured her lips in a kiss. She responded by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing herself up against him so he guided her to the kitchen island counter, effectively trapping her there.
After a few moments he reluctantly pulled away. "Hey."
"Hey." She greeted with a smile that turned into a frown. "So now I finally know the real reason why you have been dodging me on Facetime…what the hell happened to you?"
Her words were soft and he knew from her tone that she wasn't mad at him, just concerned. He thought about telling her everything that had happened, but something stopped him. He didn't want to put that burden on her too. It was bad enough that he knew the things he knew. He didn't see why anyone else should have to know the truth behind Katie's death and Marcus' actions.
"Marcus owed a bookie a little bit of money so I paid him off." He explained. It was a partial truth, one that he could easily tell and not feel too guilty about. After all, he was protecting her. He didn't want her to worry and he didn't want her to know that the guys watching her were from the bookie and could have killed her. So he justified it that way.
"You paid them and they still beat you up?" She tenderly ran her hand over the cuts on his face.
"You should see the other guy." He grinned.
"No, Harvey. Don't joke about it. This is serious." She chastised him. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm fine. I promise." He assured her. "I'm actually perfect now that you are here. I thought you weren't coming in until later."
"I decided to surprise you. I couldn't wait to see you." She explained, giving him a quick kiss.
"I am definitely surprised and thrilled." He started to nuzzle her neck.
She moaned softly. "Don't think that you can do that and I'll forget everything. We aren't done with this conversation."
"Alright." He chuckled, whispering into her ear. "I just have a lot of lost time with you that I need to make up for."
"And you wanted to get a head start on that now?" She whispered back. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I just wanted to give you a taste of what's to come later." He pulled back and grinned. "Do you want help with dinner?"
"No thanks. I already have a helper lined up…Ethan. I thought I could talk to him while we cook."
"Ok, just as long as I get some of your undivided attention later." He smirked.
She grinned. "I think that can be arranged."
"Everything looks great." Lily said, sitting down to dinner with everyone later night.
"Yes, it does." Harvey echoed his mother's statement.
"It's just cheesy bacon ranch chicken casserole." Rebecca replied as she finished getting some on Ethan and Olivia's plates. "It's actually a new recipe so I hope it turns out ok."
"I'm sure it will be as amazing as everything else you cook." Harvey smiled at her. Then he looked over at his mom. "Mom, can you please pass the rolls?"
"Of course, Harvey." She picked up the basket and handed it to him across the table. "Here you go, son."
"Thanks." He smiled at her.
"Everything is good." Lily praised. "I like this recipe."
"Thanks." She smiled. "So Olivia, how is your dance class going?"
Olivia's eyes lit up. "It is so much fun! We learned a new dance routine today and I love it! At first it was really hard to do but then we did it a few times and now it's super easy."
"Can you show me the routine after dinner?" She asked.
"Of course!" Olivia smiled.
"This is really great." Lily complimented her.
"I agree." Harvey nodded.
"Thanks." She smiled, looking at Harvey and then Lily. She then looked at Ethan, who was giving her an 'I told you so' look. She winked at Ethan and then went back to eating.