Hello! Sorry for the delay in this chapter. School has been busy and will continue to be busy until after next week when I get a week off! Im excited for that. Hopefully I can churn out a couple stories on the break. In the meantime though, here's a story requested by Ofloveandlife on my AO3 who wanted to see Mike have cancer and collapse in Harvey's office (there's no character death, I could never kill poor Mike). If you don't like that kind of story, feel free to skip this one.

Hope I did this prompt justice! Enjoy!

Mike coughed and loosened his tie around his neck. It felt like he was being choked by it, its tightness making his chest tighten as he fought for air. With his tie looser around his neck, he felt a bit of relief, but the feeling that there was something stuck in his throat, this lump that wouldn't go away no matter how much he cleared his throat or drank water, remained.

He had been feeling this way for over a month now. At first, it was just a distant tickle that he dismissed as allergies. But each day, the feeling worsened along with adding a new discomfort. Now, his throat was almost constantly sore, his ties always feeling too tight, and he had even noticed that his voice had shifted, merging into something hoarser that had Harvey giving him looks every now and then.

"What's wrong with you?" Harvey had asked that morning as Mike brought him the files for their latest case. When the associate had gone to explain something to Harvey, his voice had been rough, and he had to clear his throat a few times before he could give a hoarse explanation.

Mike had waved Harvey off, saying he was probably coming down with a cold. Harvey had eyed him closely and Mike could see his boss trying to decide whether to believe him or push the matter further. After a moment, he ultimately dropped it, but told Mike to go home early, once he was finished with his paperwork for the day, as to "not infect the whole office". But Mike had seen the concern on Harvey's face. It made him push himself to do a better job at hiding whatever was going on with him. He didn't need to bother Harvey with this, and he certainly couldn't afford to take any time off of work. So, he decided that he would go home early, take some cold medicine, and then be ready to start fresh the next morning.

He finally finished the stack of paperwork at his desk and gathered his things to leave. He saw some of the other associates eye him, with it only being 1pm, but he brushed off the stares and made his way outside to bike back to his apartment.

He found that he was actually pretty tired when he got home, and figured the cold was trying to take place, so he popped some cold medicine he had left in his cabinet and collapsed into bed.

Mike woke abruptly, brain foggy as he tried to figure out where he was. He pushed up and saw that he was laying on his bed, in the same spot he had passed out in last night, and that what had woken him was his alarm clock he had set to go off at 6 every morning so he could get ready for work.

How was it already 6am? He had crashed sometime around 2pm. That meant he had slept for sixteen hours. But then why did he feel so tired still? His body ached for sleep, his mind heavy, and Mike found that his throat was the most painful it had been since his symptoms had started. The lump in his throat felt huge and swallowing sent the sensation of broken glass sliding down his throat.

The smart thing to do would be to take a couple days off, let himself rest, but Mike needed to get his work done. He couldn't afford the time off and Harvey would never let him anyway. So, instead, he got out of bed, almost collapsing as his legs wavered beneath him, and popped two painkillers in his mouth. He could do this. All he had to do was push through the pain.

Already regretting his decision, Mike slogged into the office, practically dragging his feet on the carpet. His head was spinning, his throat pulsing in agony, and his whole body felt weak. Whatever sickness he had was currently kicking his ass.

He managed to make it to his cubicle, collapsing in his chair. He moved to loosen his tie, his throat constricting painfully, but found that there wasn't one around his neck. Right, he hadn't put one on that morning. It had felt like torture the second it squeezed his neck, so he had put it in his bag and planned to keep it off as long as possible.

There were more stacks of paper piled on his desk, most likely a gift from Louis and Harvey, and Mike was about to try and sort through them, although his eyes were blurry making it hard to focus, when his desk phone rang.

"Hello?" He croaked as he answered the phone, his voice rough and gravelly.

"Jesus, you sound even worse than yesterday. I thought I told you to go home and get better?" Harvey asked and Mike could practically see the grimace on the man's face.

Mike went to respond, but his voice didn't want to cooperate, and he had to clear his throat multiple times.

He heard Harvey sigh. "Just come to my office Mike." And then he hung up the phone.

Mike sat there, blinking, before he registered that Harvey had hung up. With stiff movements, he hung up the phone and dragged himself up from his desk.

The trek to Harvey's office felt like it went on forever and it didn't help that the hallway appeared to be moving under his feet, causing Mike to stumble multiple times.

He tripped over some uneven carpet as he entered Harvey's office and his boss frowned at him.

"You look terrible," he said bluntly, walking around from where he had been standing behind his desk to get closer to Mike.

"I think you should take the day off. And tomorrow too. You're barely on your feet."

Mike shook his head and the world spun. The only thing that kept him upright was Harvey's hand now firmly grasping his right arm.

"Mike? You okay?"

Mike wanted to respond, to tell Harvey that he was fine and could keep working, but his vision began to tunnel, blackness approaching from the corner of each eye and his ears were filled with a loud buzzing.

He only managed a choked, "Harvey," before his eyes rolled up into his head and he knew nothing more.

- - - - - - POV: HARVEY - - - - - - - -

Harvey barely managed to catch Mike as he collapsed, cushioning the blonde's fall so he didn't smack his head on the ground.

Donna rushed in, seeing what happened from her desk. "Harvey, what's going on? What's wrong with Mike?"

"I don't know. But call 911."

She nodded and raced back to her desk.

Harvey, panic rising in him, was at a loss for what to do. Mike was breathing, although fast and raspy, and his face was devoid of all colour. He placed his finger on Mike's neck, trying to see how fast his heart was beating, when he found something that made him pause. His fingers had brushed over the middle of Mike's neck and what he felt was a mass, about the size of a ping pong ball and hard. He probed it, trying to see if that would get Mike to stir, but the kid remained motionless on the floor.

What the hell was going on? Mike had said he had a cold, but his voice had been so hoarse lately and Harvey had noticed his tendency to loosen his tie when he thought no one was looking. So, what was wrong with the kid's neck?

Harvey didn't have time to think on it further as two paramedics rushed in, one of them pushing a stretcher.

"What happened here?" The female asked as her partner lowered the stretcher.

"I'm not sure," Harvey said, brushing his hand through his hair, "he said he had a cold, but then he passed out while he was talking to me and there's a mass on his neck."

She felt his neck and Harvey saw her frown. "Alright, let's load him up. We're taking him to Presbyterian. Will you be coming with us in the ambulance?"

"Yes." Harvey didn't waste any time. He grabbed his cell phone off his desk and rushed to catch up with the paramedics, already wheeling Mike down the hall. Harvey only had to glance at Donna for her to read his mind.

"I'll let Jessica know what's going on and then I'll meet you at the hospital. Mike's going to be okay, Harvey."

He nodded, for once at a loss for words, and followed the Paramedics to the elevators. He damn well better be.

Harvey dipped his head into his hands and breathed out a long sigh. It had been 4 hours since Mike had been brought to the hospital and they hadn't heard any news.

He felt Donna shift next to him and a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Mike's going to be okay," she said softly, but Harvey could hear the slight doubt that lined the words.

Harvey turned to look at her and gave her a small smile. Regardless of whether either of them believed the words, it was still nice to hear them.

"Family of Mike Ross?" A voice called and Harvey sprang out of the hard plastic chair, immediately walking over to where the doctor stood.

"Harvey Specter. I'm his boss. He doesn't have any family. How is he?"

She had a slight frown on her face, but remained professional, not giving any hint as to what Mike's fate was.

"Please, follow me."

Harvey felt his heart sink and followed, glancing once at Donna who was standing now, her face set in worry. He shot her with what he hoped was a reassuring look before he followed the doctor down the hall. She led him down the sterile hall to a small room that had a couch, a few chairs, and a table adorned with some magazines and a box of tissues.

She shut the door and motioned for Harvey to take a seat in one of the chairs. When he did, she did the same.

"Sorry for the silence, but I thought this conversation would be better in private. My name is Doctor Brooks and I've been overseeing Mr. Ross' case."

Harvey swallowed past the lump in his throat, his mouth dry. "How is he?"

"We ran some tests on the lump found in Mr. Ross' neck and unfortunately it came back cancer positive."

Harvey blinked and stared at the Doctor. Cancer? That couldn't be right. Mike was too young!

She must have seen the panic on his face because she hurried to add, "Mr. Ross has thyroid cancer, but the tumor is in early stages, and we are very optimistic that he will make a full recovery. The recovery rate for the type of thyroid cancer he has, papillary thyroid cancer, is about 95%. He is being prepped for surgery as we speak and once we remove his thyroid, he will also be given something called radioactive iodine therapy where he will take a pill that gets absorbed by any leftover thyroid cells and will kill them and any leftover cancer cells that we may have missed. After this, he will have a follow up in 6 weeks and as long as there is no new growth, he'll be well on his way to recovery."

Harvey took a moment to let all of that information sink it. It was hard to get past the cancer diagnosis, the work striking his chest sharply, but it sounded like Mike was in good hands and his prognosis was good.

"Are there any long-term effects?"

"Nothing too serious. As long as the cancer remains gone, all Mr. Ross will have to take a thyroid medication for the rest of his life since he will no longer have one. I know that can sound daunting, but there are many medications out there and I've had wonderful results from other patients who thrive and live their life just as they had before."

Harvey nodded, still feeling a bit disconnected from everything.

"When can I see him?"

Dr. Brooks gave him a soft smile. "As soon as he's out of surgery and stable, I'll make sure that you're allowed in. I know how hard it can be to wait while a loved one is in our care."

Harvey gave a soft smile in return. "Thank you."

When Harvey got back to the waiting room, he wasted little time in telling Donna what was going on. She was shocked at the news, fear flooding her face, but Harvey made sure to emphasize all that the doctor has said about Mike's recovery and the good odds. It helped calm her down and Harvey felt himself calming at the words too. It seemed like this was the best possible outcome for Mike in regard to having cancer. Harvey finally let himself feel that Mike would actually be okay.

It was another three hours before a nurse came out and called for Harvey. He felt Donna give his hand a squeeze as he rose on stiff legs and followed the nurse down the hall. She led him to a corridor filled with patient rooms and stopped at one on the left. She opened the door and motioned for him to go inside.

"He's awake but still groggy from surgery. He's allowed to talk, but just make sure that he's not straining his neck too much. The surgery went well, but we don't want him aggravating his stitches."

Harvey thanked her and made his way into the room. Mike was laying in the bed, hooked up to multiple machines, and was sporting a large bandage around his neck.

Harvey pulled up a chair beside the bed and eased down into it. He could tell Mike was awake, but the kid had a dazed look in his eyes.

"Hey Mike," he said softly, like he was speaking to a scared child.

Mike froze and then turned his head slightly to face Harvey. For a moment, the blondes' eyes roamed over Harvey, confusion in his eyes. But then, his face lit up and a grin stretched across his face.

"Harvey," he said softly, voice still hoarse.

Harvey reached forward and gripped Mike's left hand in his own. He needed to touch him, feel his warm skin, and assure himself that Mike was alive and was going to be okay.

"How do you feel?"

Mike considered this for a moment before he said, "better, but also sore. My throat feels weird. What happened?"

Harvey didn't know how to break the news. He knew that it sounded bad, and he didn't want Mike to panic, but he also knew the kid needed to know the truth.

Harvey sucked in a breath. "First, I just want to tell you that the doctors are really hopeful about you making a full recovery."

Mike frowned. "What's going on Harvey?"

"You have papillary thyroid cancer. You had a mass in your neck and had surgery to remove it."

Mike's face blanched and Harvey could hear his heartbeat pick up speed as the monitor began to beep more wildly.

"Mike. Mike, look at me."

Mike found Harvey's face and the panic in his eyes made Harvey's chest ache.

"It was in its early stages. The doctor is hopeful that removing your thyroid and giving you a follow up treatment will get rid of the cancer. She told me it has a 95% success rate."

The panic remained on Mike's face, but the frantic beeping of his heart monitor began to slow.

"So, I'm going to be okay?" he asked and he looked so young laying there in the bed that Harvey cursed the universe that this even happened.

"You're going to be okay. If all goes to plan, you'll be cancer free and just have to take a thyroid medication for the rest of your life."

Mike relaxed against the pillows and Harvey could see how tired the kid was.

"Go to sleep Mike. I'll be here when you wake up."

Mike nodded and Harvey saw the heart monitor slow as he drifted off to sleep.

As he had promised, Harvey was there when he woke up and through the radioactive iodine treatment. After a few days in the hospital, Mike's incision was healing nicely, and the doctor was happy to report that there was no evidence of any remaining cancer cells. Mike was scheduled for a follow up in 6 weeks and when that time came, they were again told that Mike was still in the clear. His next appointment was in a year and if that went well, he would only have to get checked every 5 years as long as no new symptoms arose.

As for Mike, the kid was back to how he was before. His thyroid medication was working, and he was in back full steam working cases with Harvey. Back to where he belonged, and Harvey wouldn't have it any other way.

All medical information was received via google so I apologize if there's any mistakes. I didn't want this to be too long, so I sped up the healing process and treatment.

If you have any ideas you want to see come to life, let me know!