Author's Note: I'm sorry for the absence, I've just been really low lately and it's been hard to find the motivation to write, but I finally managed to get a chapter together and I hope you will like it :)

CHAPTER 3

Mike could hear the footsteps coming into the living room but he didn't dare to lift his head and look at the man.
This whole situation still felt so unreal and he discretely pinched his arm just to be totally sure that this wasn't a dream.
Unfortunately, this was all real and his parents were really dead and he was really about to meet his father for the first time.
His grandmother disappeared into the kitchen and he could feel the dip of the couch as the man sat down.

"You must be Michael"

Mike slowly lifted his head and looked at the man.
It was without a doubt the man from the photo, except he looked a decade older and he was wearing a fancy suit that looked like it was worth a fortune.

"It's Mike"

He corrected before adverting his gaze from Harvey.
His grandmother returned with the coffee and the folder containing all the paperwork needed for Harvey to become Mike's legal guardian.
Harvey opened the folder and looked at the papers and Mike glanced at the lawyer, trying to see his reaction but the man didn't show anything.

"You need some time to think about it?"

Harvey nodded and Mike couldn't help feeling disappointed, despite knowing better.
The man didn't want him eleven years ago so why would he want him now?
Sure Harvey hadn't said no yet but he expected him to and the look in his grandmother's eyes told him that she was thinking it too.
After Harvey had received the folder, the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife and as soon as Harvey had finished his coffee he fled the house claiming he had a meeting.
He said goodbye to Mike but it wasn't returned.
As soon as the door was closed he looked up at his grandmother.

"What happens if he says no?"

He had expected his grandmother to smile and say that it was all going to be okay, just like she always did, but this time she didn't smile.
"I don't know, Michael. I don't know"

That night he was unable to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about the future and all the uncertainty surrounding it.
Mike didn't want to go to a foster home and he didn't want to leave his grandmother.
There had to be some way to fix this, perhaps he could live at Trevor's house or he could run away and return to his grandmother as soon as people stopped looking for him.
He knew that his ideas were stupid but if there was even a chance that they would work then he needed to come up with plans.
He needed to be prepared for Harvey rejecting him, just like he had done eleven years earlier.

When he walked down the stairs the next morning he heard a man's voice from the living room and he was sure that it didn't belong to Harvey.
He carefully avoided the step he knew used to creak as he made his way down, trying to hear what was being said.
The man mentioned his parents' names and he got a sinking feeling in his stomach.
What if the man was here regarding the custody situation, what if he was already being separated from his grandmother.
Mike was thinking about running out the door and follow through on his previous ideas when he heard the man mentioning money.

"If you pursue this in court, there's no guarantee you'll receive anything"

He realized that the man was a lawyer and he sat down on one of the steps, listening to the conversation that were taking place in the living room.
The amount of money being offered was just a year's rent, give or take, and that gave him a sickening feeling.
It was bad enough that the man was putting a value on his parents' lives, but the fact that his grandmother couldn't get more than that was horrible.
His grandmother ended up accepting the money and the lawyer walked towards the door with a smile on his face. Just as he was about to leave he turned around and smiled at Mike.
Mike got up from the step and walked into the living room where his grandmother was sitting.

"Grammy, are you okay?"

He asked and his grandmother immediately wiped away a tear from her cheek before she smiled at him and nodded.

"Everything's okay"
"How do you know?"

His grandmother's smile widened and he realized that it was a genuine smile and not a fake smile used to give him security.

"Harvey called earlier and he said yes"

Mike sat down on the couch while he tried to process her words.
Harvey had decided to take custody of him. It meant that he wouldn't have to go to a foster home, it meant that he could still visit his grandmother but at the same time it meant that he would have to move and the scariest part was that it meant that his biological father, that he just had found out about, was going to become a part of his life.

It turns out that Harvey being a hot shot lawyer was a big advantage and the process that normally could take months or even years were scaled down to two weeks thanks to Harvey's many contacts.
It was a big advantage considering the fact that just a week after his parents passed away, his grandmother collapsed and had to go to the hospital.
Luckily she could go home the very same day but with the order of bedrest which meant it was hard for her to take care of Mike.
So in that way the short process time was good because even though Mike was reluctant to be separated from his grandmother he knew that she was too sick to take care of him at the moment and without him around she could focus on getting better instead of focusing on him.

Mike hugged his grandmother tightly as he said goodbye to her, trying not to cry. He wanted to appear strong so that his grandmother wouldn't feel bad about sending him away.
He knew his grandmother was holding back her tears as well in order to not make him feel bad about leaving her.
When he finally released her she smiled lovingly at him.

"Promise me that you'll visit as often as you can"
"I promise grammy"

She then turned to Harvey, who had patiently been waiting while they said their goodbyes, and she gave him a stern look.

"You better take care of him, Mr. Specter"
"I promise"

Harvey then shook her hand before lifting Mike's heavy bag.

"Ready, kid?"

Mike wasn't ready at all, he wasn't ready to leave his old home and old life behind but he had to be strong for his grammy, therefore he nodded.
Harvey smiled at him before saying goodbye to grammy and walking out the door, Mike followed him and got in to the car that would take him to his new home.