Hello! I'm sorry for the delay. I have no excuse... but I'm hoping this chapter will make up for the wait!

I just want to say, I have ZERO car knowledge and even less medical knowledge, so I apologize if some things don't make sense. For the sake of this fic, we're going to say they do XD

This one is a longer chapter so I hope you guys enjoy :)

It was only 10:30 on a Wednesday morning but Mike knew it was going to be a great day. He and Harvey had driven an hour out of the city that morning to meet with one of their wealthy clients who had decided to open up another factory. John Richards manufactured different parts for life-saving machines in hospitals all across the country as well as expanding internationally more recently. Due to demand, he wanted to set up a new plant in Europe to help with the international demand and requested that Harvey facilitate this deal. Harvey had been quick to agree and thus he and Mike had made the trek bright and early to John's countryside farmhouse, a massive structure that sat on 50 acres of land, where they closed the deal.

Mike was happy since he had done the grunt work for the new plant which had led John to agreeing with their plan and writing a hefty check to the firm. Not only was Harvey happy about it, but Jessica would be too and being in her good graces was something Mike strived for. An unhappy Jessica made an unhappy firm.

As the lawyers shook hands with John and left, Mike was still riding this high. He had been on a streak recently with clients, so much so that Harvey might even let him go home early for once. He turned toward the lawyer to ask him when Harvey beat him to it.

"Ray's waiting outside," Harvey started as they walked down the stone steps and onto the large gravel driveway that led to the dirt road. "I have another client that I need to meet not too far from here."

Mike stopped in his tracks and stared at Harvey in confusion. They had driven here on their own in one of Harvey's cars. Why would Harvey make Ray drive all the way out here?

"Harvey, wait!" Mike called since the older lawyer had kept walking when Mike stopped. "What about your car? You're just going to leave it here?"

Harvey stopped and turned to face him. "That's right. I'm going to leave my brand-new car out in the middle of the country. Might as well give John the keys, call it a gift of good will."

At Mike's blank expression Harvey rolled his eyes and dug his keys out of his pocket before throwing them over to Mike. The associate was just able to fumble to catch the keys before they landed on the dusty gravel below.

"You're going to drive my car back to the city while I meet this client," Harvey explained, already turning around, and walking toward where Ray had parked near the end of the drive. "I didn't plan to meet with them, but apparently, they're having some sort of a crisis so now I have to make a trip over there. In the meantime, I need you to oversee the rest of the paperwork for John's deal. If this thing falls through at the last minute, I will personally bury you so deep in paperwork you'll never see the sun again." Harvey turned and shot Mike a look that said he wasn't kidding.

Mike stopped and stared at the older man in shock, absorbing the information and threat, before he looked down at the keys in his hand and panic bloomed in his chest.

"No, Harvey, wait!"

Harvey, already in the car, rolled the window down.

"What now?"

"I can't drive your car."

Harvey grinned. "Never driven a big boy car before? Don't worry, it's easy. And if you're worried about damage, don't. If I find one scratch on my new paint job, you'll be dead before you even know what happened."

The window started to roll up again and Mike lunged, placing his hand between the window and the frame so that it was pinched between. While it stopped the window from closing, it also hurt like a bitch.

"What the hell?" Harvey demanded as he quickly rolled down the window and stepped out of the car. "What is wrong with you?"

Mike cradled his left hand to his chest, flexing his fingers.

"Harvey, I can't drive your car."

Harvey frowned. "You need to take the car back. I have to-"

"I can't drive!" Mike burst out, cutting Harvey off.

There was silence for a moment, the only sounds coming from the wind rusting the leaves above them and the purr of Ray's idling engine. Harvey looked him over and his face softened when he saw that Mike wasn't kidding.

"You never learned how to drive?" There was no accusatory tone in Harvey's words, unlike how most people asked that question after he told them. No, Harvey was genuinely curious.

Mike dropped his gaze and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"After what happened to my parents, I could never get the courage to sit behind the wheel."

He cleared his throat as the usual emotion this conversation brought up formed a lump that made it hard to swallow. "I tried; I really did. Grammy always told me it would be good, but once I sat in the driver's seat all I could see was the picture of my parent's car after the accident flashing in my mind and I would start freaking out."

In the silence that followed his confession Mike worked up the courage to look at Harvey's face. His boss' expression was blank. Mike wasn't sure what he was thinking and when he was about to ask, Harvey turned, without a word, and walked back to where Ray was waiting.

Mike turned and faced toward the sky, cheeks blazing. He shouldn't have told Harvey something so personal. His boss didn't do personal. Now he had just made things awkward.

The sound of crunching gravel interrupted his thoughts and Mike's shoulders slumped. Harvey had left with Ray and now he was stuck an hour outside of the country with a car that he couldn't drive.

He was wracking his brain for towing companies that would come out this far to get him when a hand on his shoulder caused him to jump and spin around.

Harvey shot him a concerned look. "You didn't think I left, did you?"

Mike gave an embarrassed laugh. "I might have thought you had gone with Ray."

Harvey's frown deepened. "I sent Ray back to the city and I canceled on the client. They have a crisis every other week. If it's truly important they'll come into the office."

Mike nodded, not knowing what to say. It took him a moment to realize he still had the keys in his hand.

"Oh, here," he said as he thrust them at Harvey. Harvey pushed them back at him with a small smile.

"Nope. Those are for you. You're going to drive us back to the city."

Mike's heart dropped into his stomach. He was going to do what?

Harvey must have seen the panic in Mike's face as he gave Mike a reassuring smile and said, "Relax kid, you'll be fine. We'll take it slow and make sure you're comfortable before we start."

The thought of getting behind the wheel terrified him, but Harvey looked so genuine, and Mike really did want to be able to get his license one day, so he nodded and found himself following Harvey down the driveway to where the older lawyer had parked the car.

Hesitating a moment, Mike took a deep breath and slid behind the wheel. He took his time adjusting the seat and mirrors before buckling his belt and gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. No matter how hard he tried to push the bad thoughts from his mind, the image of his parent's car, the one he shouldn't have seen but had one night when he crept downstairs and rifled through the file the lawyer had left with his Grammy, was seemingly glued to the forefront of his mind. He didn't realize it at that moment, but his breathing had begun to pick up, his heart pounding relentlessly against his ribs. It was here that he would usually stumble from the car leaving the confused driving instructor behind.

Hand reaching without his knowledge, Mike was poised to open the car door and run when Harvey placed a hand over his right arm, drawing Mike's gaze.

"Deep breaths," Harvey said calmly, his eyes focused on Mike's, most likely ensuring that he didn't bolt. "Slow your breathing. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Follow my lead," Harvey instructed before he took an over exaggerated breath.

The associate followed suit and after a minute his heart began to slow and that panicked feeling that made his skin scrawl and his body break out into a cold sweat faded.

"Thank you," Mike breathed, rubbing a hand over his sweaty face not only to wipe the stinging drops from his eyes, but to hide from the embarrassment that was taking over.

To Harvey's credit, the older lawyer pushed the moment away, not making it a big deal since he could see how Mike was feeling.

"Anyone in your shoes would feel the same way, Mike. There's nothing to be ashamed about. Now, when you're ready, put the car in reverse and back out onto the road. There's barely any traffic so you don't need to worry about that. Plus, I'll keep an eye out. I won't let anything happen to you."

Mike's chest warmed with emotion. He had never been so grateful for Harvey's presence.

It took a few more minutes, but when Mike felt ready enough, he put the car in reverse and started the vehicle down the driveway. He went at a snail's pace, but Harvey stayed silent, nodding occasionally in encouragement. When they were finally on the road it took Mike a good twenty minutes before he loosened his white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel and loosened his legs which had been in a tight locked position ever since he had put the car in drive. His knees ached from how tight he had held them, but with his new relaxed disposition a smile spread across his face. He was driving.

Mike spared a quick glance at Harvey and saw that the older man was smiling as well.

"You're doing really well," Harvey said as he caught Mike's gaze. "The backroads can take us all the way to the highway, about another half an hour of driving, where I'll take over. But you're doing a great job kid. Keep this up and you'll be driving like a pro in no time."

They continued down the road like that. Mike becoming more relaxed with each minute and Harvey giving encouragement while giving pointers here and there. They had driven for another ten minutes, still deep in the country with tall trees lining the road on both sides, when the car began making a deep clunking sound. Mike looked at the dash and saw it light up like a Christmas tree. Just as he opened his mouth to tell Harvey he was going to pull over, the car sounded the loudest clunk yet and the world exploded. A deafening boom shook the car as the hood flew up and smashed the windshield. Mike barely registered the fiery cloud that erupted from behind the hood as he fought for control of the car. The steering had locked completely and there was nothing he could do as the vehicle banked to the left and careened off the road where it rolled down a steep embankment, hitting trees as it went. He vaguely heard Harvey yell something and the sound of crunching metal before Mike's head smashed into something and his world went blissfully dark.

- - - - - - Harvey's POV

Sounds started to return slowly to Harvey. It was disorientating; he wasn't sure where he was or what had happened, but somehow, he knew that it was bad.

He shifted and groaned at the stiffness in his body, the throbbing in his head. He could hear the wind blowing, feel the breeze on his cheek, as well as a metallic creaking sound that followed the wind's rhythm.

Harvey pried his eyelids open, blinking at the harsh onslaught of sun that seared his eyes, but after a moment they focused, and the lawyer recalled what had all happened in a terrifying rush.

Mike. The car. Rolling down the hill. Then nothing.

Craning around in his seat, Harvey took in the car. Well, what was left of it at least. Every window was shattered, the windshield a gyroscope of spiderweb fractures, the hood now missing completely, and noted that the car was sitting on its passenger side so that Harvey was pressed against his door. Thankfully, Harvey didn't think he was seriously injured. An inspection of his head allowed him to feel a small bump that was coated in blood, but a peak in the silver reflection of the broken side mirror showed that it was nothing two or three stitches couldn't fix. He took in his body after that and moving each arm and leg showed no broken bones. With everything that had happened, Harvey had come out relatively unscathed. What about Mike?

Realizing there had been no sounds from his associate since Harvey had woken up, the lawyer jerked his head to the left and saw that Mike was unconscious, body strapped to the seat with his still-intact seatbelt, but limbs dangling limply as he hung there like a human puppet. Harvey couldn't see much from his vantage point, only that Mike's chest was rising and falling with each breath the kid took and that the kid was covered in blood- lots of it.

"Mike," Harvey rasped. He cleared his throat when Mike didn't move, calling louder this time.

"Mike!"

The associate still didn't move, and panic blossomed sharply in Harvey's chest. He would have to take matters into his own hands. Mike's life was on the line.

Wincing, Harvey shifted in his seat so that he could access the buckle. It took a few tries, his fingers jamming the button while he tugged with his other hand, but the strap finally broke free, a loud crack echoing through the car as the metal buckle hit what was left of the passenger window.

Free, Harvey wiggled until his legs came free from the debris littering the car and he moved into a hunched standing position. He checked on Mike and hissed in a breath at the state the kid was in. There was a cut steadily oozing blood from where his head had collided with the A pillar. The blood flowed rivers down his face and into the collar of his shirt. Harvey's eyes roamed the rest of Mike's body and while his torso looked fine from the outside, the kid's legs were an entirely different manner. His right leg looked unscathed, but his left… it looked bad. The driver's door was completely crushed inward, pinning Mike's leg to the dash. Harvey couldn't make out much from his vantage point, but the leg was bent oddly and there was a pool of blood soaking his pant leg causing blood to drip steadily onto Harvey's side of the car.

The sight of Mike's mangled body made Harvey's stomach lurch, but he reeled himself in, taking deep breaths to calm himself, as he racked his brain for a way to get Mike free and to the help he desperately needed.

The car has crumpled in on itself like a can, but Harvey figured he could use the damage to his advantage. The windshield was completely shattered, but still in place. If he could angle himself correctly, he could kick it out and maneuver Mike out that way.

Taking one last glance at Mike, Harvey lowered himself back to the passenger side of the car. It was tricky since the car was on its side, but once he was in a good position it only took a few kicks before the windshield crumpled, leaving behind an exit big enough for Harvey to drag Mike out.

Harvey paused as the car teetered dangerously from the movement, but after a moment it settled, and he set to work. He stood back up and with precise movements unbuckled Mike's seatbelt. It took a few tries, but as soon as the belt broke free, Mike's full wait fell into Harvey causing the lawyer to stumble. He was ready for this, however, and caught the kid before they could both fall. He didn't waste any time in helping Mike through the car. It was teetering even worse than before, and he had a feeling that it could roll over any moment. The last thing Mike needed was to be spun like rocks in a tumbler after all the injuries he already sustained.

With Mike pushed through the opening, Harvey hoisted himself up being careful of the glass shards. As soon as he was in the open, Harvey scooped down and grabbed Mike, making sure they were a safe distance from the rocking car before he set him down again.

Just as he laid Mike on the leaf strewn ground, a metallic screech filled the air as the car leaned to the left and fell, shaking the ground with a thunderous boom. In the next second, the car groaned again and began to roll, this time more freely, before it disappeared down a steep embankment that was only now Visible to Harvey. They had landed in a cusp of trees at a flattened-out portion of the forest, a daunting hill on the right, the one they had originally rolled down, and the steep embankment to their left that dropped the rest of the way until it leveled out at a stream far below. If it weren't for the thickening of the trees in this section of the forest, their car would have rolled the rest of the way down and Harvey wasn't sure if they would have survived that fall. They were lucky to be alive.

Harvey took in a shaky breath and looked toward the top of the tall trees. The sun filtered in at an angle, swarming him in warm light, but it was only temporary. Soon the sun would begin to set and with the condition Mike was in, the kid probably wouldn't make it through the night.

He turned toward Mike and winced. Mike's injuries looking even worse now that he was outside the car.

Stripping his jacket, he removed his dress shirt so that he was left only in his undershirt. Without a second thought, Harvey began to rip the shirt at the seams to make different sized strips of cloth that he could use to patch Mike up until he could get real help. The older lawyer started on Mike's head, pressing the cloth against the laceration on his temple. While it was still bleeding, the flow had slowed, and Harvey was relieved to see that the cut wasn't as bad as it first seemed. It would need stitches, but it would be okay. Mike's leg on the other hand was an entirely different story.

Using a sharp rock Harvey found on the ground, he carefully cut through the pants' material up to Mike's hip so he could expose all of the leg. As soon as it was free, Harvey dropped the rock and pressed the back of his hand against his mouth as he bit back a gag. The reason Mike's leg had looked crooked was clear. There was bone sticking out of the side of Mike's lower leg. This was also the source of the bleeding. Blood was pouring out of the wound at an alarming rate, leading Harvey to fear that an artery may have been nicked. Grabbing Mike's tie, Harvey tied it tightly above Mike's knee. He knew the danger of tourniquets and lack of blood flow into an appendage, but if he didn't slow the bleeding Mike would die.

Next, he grabbed a long strip of cloth and tied it around the wound, careful of the bone sticking out but also snug enough that the bone wouldn't shift. Just as he finished tying the knot, Mike groaned, and Harvey's head snapped toward the sound.

The associate groaned again, eyes scrunching tight as he wiggled slightly.

"Mike?" Harvey asked, watching the kid's reaction carefully.

Mike groaned again, but this time his eyes blinked open, and Harvey almost sagged in relief.

"Mike, can you hear me?"

Mike coughed and looked around, but then his eyes found Harvey and his gaze fixed on him.

"Harvey?"

"Yeah Mike, I'm here. Everything's okay."

In reality everything was not okay, far from it, but the last thing Harvey needed was for Mike to panic.

The kid's face scrunched in confusion. "What happened? Why does my head hurt? And why-" He yelped in pain as he moved his left leg.

"Easy, easy," Harvey said as he placed a gentle hand on Mike's chest.

"Don't move. We were in a car accident. Do you remember?"

Mike looked confused for a moment before his face paled and realization crashed in.

"Oh my god, I crashed the car. Harvey, I am so sorry. I never should have been driving it. I'm sorry, I'll find a way to repay you."

"Mike," Harvey said firmly, making sure to look the kid in the eyes. "I couldn't care less about the car right now. What I do care about is making sure that you're okay. You took quite the beating."

Mike lifted his head, presumably to look at his leg, but Harvey shifted to block his view. He didn't need to see that.

"Just relax. Everything's going to be okay, kid. The car has OnStar. As soon as we crashed it would have alerted the authorities. We just need to wait until they find us."

Or at least Harvey hoped that was true. He did have OnStar, but the car was completely destroyed. He wasn't sure if it had been able to alert authorities in time. And if it did, he wasn't sure how they were going to find them this far down and so deep in the forest, but Mike didn't need to know any of that. His priority was staying alive.

To Harvey's horror, Mike's eyes welled with tears.

"M'sorry. M'so sorry," he said, tears rolling down the side of his face. Harvey's heart clenched at the sight. Mike was most likely concussed and confused and all he was worried about was the car.

"Shh, it's okay Mike," he soothed softly, resting a hand on Mike's head. "Everything's okay."

Harvey wasn't sure how long he had been sitting next to Mike, but the sun had stretched farther across the sky. While it was still light, dusk was threatening to settle, and the temperature had begun to drop.

He still felt fine, if a bit chilly, but Mike had started to shiver since he was laying on the rapidly cooling ground. Harvey had wrapped his suit jacket around him, but it would only provide a bit of warmth, not nearly enough when the sun fully set.

Along with that, Mike's condition was only getting worse. The kid was in and out of consciousness and each time he came to, he would start his mantra of apologizing all over again. Harvey's heart had long since broken at the repetitive hell Mike was going through. Harvey didn't mourn the loss of the car in the slightest. He had plenty of other ones, none of which would matter if Mike didn't come out of this alive. Harvey wasn't sure he could ever look at a car again if that happened.

So, the older lawyer did what he could. Each time Mike woke, he comforted him, telling him it was okay, that he wasn't mad, and that would satisfy his associate before the next round began.

After what seemed like forever, Harvey saw lights cut through the trees in rapidly descending dark. Then came the voices. A group of people soon broke through the trees, large backpacks across their backs and bright jackets stocked with a myriad of tools. The rescue team had found them.

The next moments were a blur, bodies jumping into a flurry of action as they jumped to stabilize Mike. One of the men, Ian Harvey believed his name, had approached him but Harvey had insisted that he was fine, and that Mike needed all the help he could get. Ian had pushed, but Harvey was adamant that they treat Mike. The man hesitated, but seeing Harvey's determined expression, he had moved to join the others in helping Mike.

In ten minutes, Mike had been stabilized and strapped to a stokes basket. In no time, a helicopter hovered high above them, whipping dust and leaves around them, and Mike was harnessed in so he could be hoisted up. Harvey watched as he and a rescuer were slowly pulled up, the reducer making sure Mike remained secure before they disappeared above the trees. Before he knew what was happening, another stoke basket appeared and the men were pushing him into it. Harvey protested, but they didn't take no for an answer. Just as quick as Mike, Harvey too was harnessed before he found himself being pulled toward the helicopter like he was being abducted by a UFO.

In a fluid motion, Harvey's basket was pulled in next to Mike's and the helicopter was off, Harvey's thoughts focused on Mike. Please let him be okay.

"Come on, we should know something by now!" Harvey protested, voicing his opinion for the fifteenth time in the hour, much to Donna's annoyance.

"Harvey," she said softly, looking at him with tired eyes from where she sat in a plastic chair next to his bed.

Harvey had been admitted as Mike was rushed into surgery. They had checked him out and found that he only had a mild concussion and bruising from the seatbelt and impact, but they were holding him overnight as a precaution. Just as Harvey's doctor had left, Donna had rushed in, panic written all over her face. After she had berated him for a solid ten minutes about how worried she had been, she had sat quietly as Harvey told her everything that had happened. That had been hours ago, and they still hadn't heard anything about Mike.

"Yeah, I know," Harvey said, not needing to hear the rest of her words. They had to wait for Mike to get out of surgery. There was nothing else they could do until then.

Donna eyes him sadly. "I know you're worried. I'm worried too, but you need to get some rest. You were hurt too. It won't help Mike if you hurt yourself further."

Harvey sighed. He knew she was right and as much as he didn't want to, his body was exhausted. He leaned back, trying to fight the urge to sleep, but his body ultimately won.

The next time he opened his eyes, there were faint rays of sunshine streaming through the window. He turned his head and saw that Donna was still there, curled up in a much more comfortable looking armchair. Despite the situation, Harvey smiled. Only Donna could talk the staff into getting her a more comfortable chair.

As he watched her sleep, feeling his chest calm as he counted her soft, even breaths, a nurse came in and Donna sat up with a start.

"So sorry to bother you guys," she said as she walked to the foot of the bed, checking a few things before she turned to Harvey, "but I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Ross is stable and out of surgery. You can even visit him if you'd like."

Harvey didn't waste any time. With a quick visit from the doctor, he was cleared to leave, and with a quick change of clothes he and Donna were making their way down the hall to where Mike was recovering.

He heard Donna gasp as they entered. Mike looked so frail, his skin pale, dark smudges under his eyes, as the hospital bed seemed to swallow his small frame. There was a small bandage on his head where it had been cut, an IV snaking its way into his arm, and of course, a large bandage wrapped around his left leg. Mike's doctor had met them as Harvey checked out of his room, letting them know that they were able to save the kid's leg. They had placed a metal plate and screws to secure the bone and Mike would need a few months of recovery followed by months of physical therapy, but he should make a full recovery. For the first time since the accident, Harvey felt hope warm his chest. Mike would be okay.

Harvey headed straight for a chair set up next to Mike's bed, placing his hand on Mike's arm. The kid blinked open his eyes, confusion crossing his face as he took in his surroundings.

"You're okay," Harvey said, rushing to explain before Mike panicked, "you're in the hospital. You were in a car accident, but everything's going to be okay. I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you."

Mike met Harvey's gaze and his chest tightened as the same expression the kid had held in the forest marred his features.

"The car," he rasped, voice hoarse from surgery.

Harvey grabbed a glass of water next to the bed and brought it over to Mike. The kid greedily drank from the straw, sucking in large gulps of water. When it was empty, Harvey placed the glass back on the table.

"Harvey," Mike started, voice stronger but watery as tears filled his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I crashed your car. It's all my fault. I never should have been driving."

"Mike, no," he said as he moved forward and collapsed Mike's hand in his. "It wasn't your fault at all. The car had a faulty engine and that caused the steering to fail. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. It would have crashed even if I was driving."

One of the things Harvey had asked Donna to do before he fell asleep the previous night was to get someone to figure out what the hell had happened with the car. He had witnessed everything and something had exploded in the hood. The crash had had nothing to do with Mike's driving.

While it was only preliminary, Donna's guy had collected the car that night and gotten back to her this morning. It seemed that the cooling system had been faulty from the manufacturer causing the engine to overheat and fail. The rising temperature had caused the engine to explode, and this had taken out the rack and pinion at the bottom of the car, the mechanism that allowed steering to happen, and the crash had been inevitable from there.

While he didn't have all the facts yet, Harvey knew one thing for sure. Someone was about to get sued to hell and back.

Mike looked up from where his gaze had dropped to the hand in his lap, but his somber expression hadn't changed. The kid was traumatized, intent on blaming himself for the accident, but Harvey knew that with time, and support from him and Donna, Mike would be okay.

- - - - -One Month Later- - - - -

"Harvey," Mike groaned, the clicking of his crutches echoing across Harvey's building's parking garage. "I told you I'm not in the mood for whatever this is."

"And I told you I didn't care," Harvey replied, not even turning to look at Mike as he led him through the garage.

Mike huffed but continued following. Harvey smiled. This was progress. For the first few weeks after the accident Mike had been holed up at home, barely talking to him or Donna as they visited him but after a lot of convincing, and threatening, Harvey had gotten Mike to come with him to his building. When he parked, Mike had expected them to go to his apartment and as soon as Harvey had turned the other way the complaints had started. Harvey had ignored them though. He had to show Mike something, something important, no matter how much the kid complained.

When they reached their destination, Mike shot Harvey a cold look.

"A car?"

Harvey chuckled. "This isn't only any car. It's my favourite. I had it custom made overseas. Took months to finish."

Mike's eyes narrowed. "Great. You love your car. Can I go home now?"

Harvey ignored him and pulled the fob out of his pocket. Pressing the button for the hood, it popped open. He set to work, pulling the lid up and setting it in place before he turned to look at an unamused Mike.

"What the hell are you-"

Harvey raised a hand and cut Mike off, much to Mike's annoyance. "You're going to stand there and listen to me while I talk, no interruptions, got it?"

Mike opened his mouth to respond, but Harvey shot him a look and the kid sighed, nodding at Harvey to continue.

"This right here is the engine. See this tube? It leads to the cooling system below. Through the tube, the coolant is able to cycle through and make sure that the engine stays at a consistent temperature. There are a lot of working parts under here, different flammable fluids cycling through the machines and doing their job to keep the car running. If one thing fails, it can cause a domino effect and cause a lot of problems."

Mike's face paled and Harvey knew that the kid had clued into what was going on.

"Harvey-" he protested, but the lawyer continued as if he hadn't heard him.

"In our case, the cooling system was improperly manufactured, essentially a ticking time bomb able to go off at any minute. In our case, the coolant stopped cycling and the engine heated. It got so hot that not only did the engine fail, but it caused it to combust. This was the explosion that we both saw. This explosion took out our steering, making it impossible to do anything with the car. There was nothing you could have done, Mike. The crash was not your fault."

Mike stared into the hood of the car; eyes fixed on the engine. He was quiet for several moments, but when he looked up there were tears in his eyes. This time, however, they were different. Harvey could see the change in Mike's face. It was as if a ten-ton weight had been lifted from the kid's shoulders.

"It really wasn't my fault," Mike whispered, tears running down his pale cheeks.

"No, Mike. It wasn't."

Mike's face crumpled, a month's worth of pain being released, and Harvey moved toward him, wrapping the kid in a tight hug. They stayed like that for a bit, Mike crying softly as Harvey held him tight, and when Mike pulled back, Harvey could see that all the pain and trauma, while still there, was lessened.

"Thank you," Mike said, a small, but genuine, smile on his face.

"You're welcome, Mike," Harvey replied before he turned back to the car.

"Did you want to learn more about how a car works?"

Mike wiped at his cheeks and nodded enthusiastically. Harvey grinned and started explaining the different parts and what they did. As Mike listened intently, Harvey knew the kid was memorizing everything he said. Mike would be back on the road. It would take some time and some more healing, but Harvey would be there every step of the way.

I've only had one car with OnStar and it was broken so it would randomly shout ONSTAR READY and then after a moment GOODBYE XD So I'm not too sure how the system works but we're still going to pretend I do lmao

Thanks for reading!