Chapterlogue - Part B

Mike doubled over, his lungs burning as he gasped for oxygen. Due to the chaos that had gathered around the courthouse, Ray hadn't been able to get through the backed-up traffic. Harvey had abandoned the car, and Mike had followed, sprinting nearly five blocks until they hit a wall of horrendous chaos. Some people were staggering around dazed; others were angry, shouting profanities at the SES and police. The area wasn't safe. But before he could catch his breath to call Harvey back, the man was already pushing into the crowd.

Fueled by his determination to find Donna, or at least someone who could give him answers, Harvey's chest pounded as he followed the direction of his feet and little else. But, he was brought to a sudden standstill when his phone's ringtone erupted in his sweaty palm.

Incoming call from: UNKNOWN.

Swiping the screen, he channeled his hope into a desperate outburst as he answered, "Donna?!"

"It's me. I'm okay."

Her voice filled his ears, and he closed his eyes, basking in a wave of relief. She was okay — as much as she'd admit. Except, the positive outcome was shattered by an elbow crashing into the side of his face.

"Ow, shit!" He stumbled, glowering as he lurched to avoid a fight breaking out.

"What happened? Where are you?"

He kept moving back, pushing his way out of the thinning crowd. "Having tea with the Queen," he snapped sarcastically, clutching his nose. "Where are you?"

Mike saw Harvey coming toward him, able to breathe again when the man mouthed that Donna was okay. However, the flow of air was short-lived. Harvey had already started jogging, and he forced his wobbly legs to keep going.

Gripping his phone in his hand, Harvey listened to Donna's instructions and stayed on the line, despite knowing exactly where he was going. The designated rendezvous was in a park he'd frequented during breaks at the courthouse.

When he spotted the green square, the usually busy road was empty except for the flashing lights of ambulances. He skirted between them, heading to the reflection pool, where he finally laid eyes on Donna.

His legs rushed to meet her quivering smile, and he swept her into his arms, breathing so erratically that spots danced in front of his gaze. But holding her was enough to drop his wildly insane heartbeat down to a fast hammering.

Then, without warning, the questions he'd been suppressing broke free. His grip dug into her elbows as he pushed back, firing his worry on all cylinders. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you seen the paramedics?"

His palms swept over her body in a clumsy flurry, but she caught his sweaty hands, squeezing them to steady her rattled nerves. Physically she was fine, but she'd barely had a moment to stop and breathe, her frantic search for a phone exhausting her during all the chaos. "I'm fine. Everyone got out before the explosion. A protester breached security, so the judge temporarily suspended the proceedings." She rambled, overwhelmed with guilt. "Nobody had time to get their bags. I knew you'd be worried, but I couldn't—"

"Stop." He gasped, not caring he'd had to run a marathon to find her. "You're safe. That's all that matters."

She nodded, tears welling up as she bit her lip. But as she glanced up to look at him properly, she realized he wasn't okay. "Your eye." Her fingers flew up to his inflamed cheek. "What happened?"

"About ten thousand pissed-off people." Mike wheezed and coughed as he finally caught up to the pair, his drenched cheeks flaming as he gapped at Harvey. "What the hell… Do you train with Usain Bolt on weekends or something?"

Harvey hid the fact that his muscles were screaming, and he was emotionally drained, finding a last morsel of energy to appear smug. "I treat my body like a temple. Try laying off the weed and pretzels."

Mike choked on a snort, meeting Donna's gaze. She appeared to be fine, and his relief sputtered into a smirk. "Tell your boyfriend he's welcome."

Pulling free from Donna's grasp, Harvey slipped his arm around her waist so he could keep her close and face Mike. As he did, Donna's palm rested over his thumping heart, and he swallowed. He could joke all he liked but Mike hadn't left his side — albeit the man had been a few strides back. Still, he owed his friend for sticking by him. "Thanks, Mike. I mean it."

To most people, the gratitude wouldn't sound like much, but Mike understood the weight behind Harvey's glassy eyes as he clapped his best friend's shoulder. "I'll call Rachel. Let her know we're all okay."

Donna watched Mike's shadow move across the grass, and she sighed as the pounding beneath her palm started to reduce in speed. Then she glanced up, sliding her fingers under Harvey's jaw with another long exhale. "You dragged Mike into the protests, didn't you?"

"Not on purpose." He smirked. "The guy's never stepped foot inside a gym. I didn't think he'd keep up."

"But it was fine for you to run into an angry mob."

He shrugged, and she tensed when he shifted so both his palms could sit at her waist. It was only a couple of months ago that he hadn't been able to lift a coffee cup because of his injured shoulder, and she dropped her gaze, shaking her head."We talked about this, Harvey. You can't just run into a burning building without stopping to think first."

His eyes lifted over her hair to the green city square that had become a refuge for hurt and frightened victims. For every person here who had managed to get in contact with a loved one, there were probably dozens of families still waiting for news. Acting on his need to find Donna hadn't been a choice, he was following his instincts.

"I had a panic attack," he admitted quietly, his voice gruff. In hindsight, he did feel guilty for putting Mike in danger, but nowhere near as stricken as he'd felt being unable to get a hold of his girlfriend.

Moisture blurred his vision, and he sunk his chin down, resting their foreheads together. He wasn't trying to make up excuses; he was simply confessing the facts. "I saw the courthouse on the news, and I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe… I know that's not what you want to hear, but I can't be okay if you're not."

His body shuddered, and Donna stretched her arms around his back, burying her face in his sweaty neck. A lecture on his reckless behavior wouldn't achieve anything, but because he'd been honest, they could sit down later and talk about his strong reaction to feeling out of control.

"I'm okay," she assured him. While she hadn't ever been in real danger, she hadn't truly felt safe until he'd appeared, and she was content to simply let them appreciate the moment.

He stroked the contour of her spine as he reined in his fear, until Mike made his way back to them. There was a time he would have been embarrassed to be caught showing his emotions so freely, but the tears shimmering in her gaze overwhelmed his senses, and he captured her lips. The sweet and salty taste of the gentle kiss gave him the strength to separate had no idea how long Donna would be stuck here adhering to protocols, but there was no way on this godly planet he was leaving her, and he fished inside of his pocket, finding his phone so he take care of Mike. "I'll call Ray. He can take you back to the office."

"Seriously? I don't get the rest of the day off?" He threw up his hands in mock protest, sniffing under his armpit with a wince. "I smell like Louis after he's sweat cleansed five prunie juices."

"It scares me that you know Louis does that," Harvey quipped, the light banter making it easier for him to step away in search of a signal, because he knew the only place the man would want to be right now was with Rachel.

Mike watched Harvey pace around, then his gaze shifted to Donna. She was tougher than she looked on a bad day, but he'd seen Harvey hit his limit earlier, and he wasn't going to take her strong facade for granted. "How are you holding up?"

Her head shook as a reflex. She was completely overwhelmed. By the attack, and then Harvey's visceral reaction to her being in danger, again. But her collision course with a crash was intercepted by Mike's safe smile as a landing pad. He'd taken care of Harvey when she couldn't, so now she could take a moment to breathe and focus on herself. "Thank you for being there for him."

Mike slipped his body in front of Donna, blocking Harvey from her view and cupping her other shoulder. "Hey. I'm asking about you."

"I know." She tugged his wrists down with a soft smile. Mike was family, and he cared about her and Harvey as much as he did himself. But it was time for him to start worrying about his own endeavors. "I also know you can keep being there for us from Seattle."

Mike's face paled, his eyes growing wide and then narrowing with unsurprising suspicion. "Rachel told you?"

Donna nodded, and he let out a fast breath. The opportunity to run a new firm had come about while Donna and Harvey were in protective custody, and he and Rachel had immediately turned the offer down. But yesterday, they'd received a call to say that the position was open again. Obviously, his fiancé had found time during the day to confide in Donna, and he shook his head, not sure how Donna could be grappling with such a huge decision after everything she'd just been through. "Donna. Now isn't the time to —"

"Now is the perfect time." She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. "Life is short. Harvey will understand. Trust me."

As Harvey hung up his phone, the man's eyes glued on Donna without a single distraction, Mike knew Donna was right. So, he ducked his head, giving one last Hail Mary. "Any chance you can pull off the wedding of the century in twenty-four hours?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Donna smiled, leaving the question unanswered as she moved into Harvey's arms.

Mike smiled.

No less than twenty hours later, after tears, laughter, panic, and a bride in his arms, Mike twirled Rachel around a dance floor, swooning over his wife. And when they'd said their final goodbyes to Harvey and Donna, he wasn't worried. His two best friends had found each other, and they were going to be just fine.

...

Standing on Harvey's balcony, Donna wiped a tear from her cheek as she looked out over the city, her muscles bone-tired, but her heart full of love as she waited for Harvey to join her.

Today they'd celebrated Rachel and Mike's impending wedding with their entire extended family. Even Robert and Laura had stopped by, and Harvey's condo had been full of merriment and laughter. But now everyone was gone, Rachel and Mike were on a plane, and she felt the bitter sweetness of quietness settle around her.

Harvey nudged the sliding door open with his elbow, carrying two glasses with the last of the wine. "Hey." He greeted her softly, placing the drinks down on the outdoor bar table. As soon as his hands were free, he stepped up behind Donna, wrapping his arms around her waist with a heavy sigh.

She felt every inch of his inner conflict in the warm breath, and she leaned back, clasping his fingers. "You okay?"

"You feed them, raise them, train them to be loyal… Then this is the thanks you get in return."

His tone was light, but not altogether joking, and she playfully admonished him. "Harvey, Mike's not leaving you."

"No? What would you call it?" He wasn't angry. Maybe six months ago he would have felt differently, but he understood Seattle was where Mike needed to be. He was even damn proud of the kid. Only that didn't change the facts, that his best friend was moving on to seek out new ventures.

"I call it a phone call, a video chat, an email… a five-hour plane ride," she teased. "And Mike's become more precious about his hair than Rachel is. Maybe all that rain will change their minds."

He chuckled, feeling instantly lighter as Donna's smile beamed up at him. He'd find a way to adjust, but there was still something weighing on him, something that had led to the whole Goddhart investigation in the first place.

Donna watched his expression change, his cheeks flexing as his gaze lifted to the horizon, and she felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. The night after Jessica had left, she'd found him wrestling with the same sense of sadness, and she wasn't surprised he was thinking about his former mentor.

Their entire ordeal over the past few months had started with one of Jessica's cases, and now, with Mike leaving, she had a feeling she knew what her boyfriend needed. "You don't need a reason to call Jessica, Harvey. Just like you won't need one when Mike is in Seattle." She smiled at him. "Why don't I go in, give you some privacy."

His eyes opened wide, then softened. "How did you know?"

"Are you seriously asking me that right now?"

He shook his head, chuckling. "No, I'm not. And did I mention, I love it when you do that?" He lifted his hand, tilting her chin up so he could kiss her. Except instead of taking her advice, he decided that calling Jessica could wait another day. "It's late. I can talk to her in the morning. Right now, I'd rather stay like this a little while longer."

She sank back into his arms with zero complaints. Besides, she had a feeling that they'd be seeing Jessica and Mike before they knew it. It was about time they started cashing in on some of their vacation time.

The End.

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AN: Sorry for the long wait! Thank you to Southsidesister (darvey_love) who has been my beta throughout this story (and many many more), and to all the people dropping hints for me to finish. Plus a huge thank you to everyone who has left reviews and been along for the ride. I love this fandom, I really do! I might see you all back here again with another multi-chapter (hit me up with ideas). Never say, never ever! Lots of love xxxxx