It was like he was looking in a mirror.

He couldn't breathe. She couldn't be more than a year old.

"Harvey –" Pete started.

"Who… How did… Why is…" he trailed off, still frozen. This couldn't be real. She couldn't be real.

"Harvey, please. Take a seat."

He found the closest chair, not taking his eyes off of the little girl who sat on a blanket a few feet away from him.

Sensing that Harvey was putting the pieces together, Pete went on. "She came to us this morning. We worked through the paperwork as fast as we could; this was the soonest I could bring you in."

Harvey remained silent.

Pete continued, "She's 10 months old. Healthy, but –"

"Why is she here? Why am I -" Harvey asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Pete sighed and dropped his head. "Her mother passed away yesterday. Cancer. From what we can tell it happened quickly, but she clearly had things in place to make sure her daughter was taken care of."

Harvey had only been with a handful of women in the last few years. After Paula, he went through a rough patch, finding himself leaving the bar with a cute girl every now and then. His thoughts were moving too quickly to think about who and when.

"Who is…" he sighed, "was…her mother?" the sentence barely audible.

"Heather Griffin." Pete answered.

Harvey's heart sank. He remembered Heather. They had met at a Harvard alumni event in the winter of last year. She was a few years younger, working as in-house counsel for a company in the Financial District. They had left the event together for a night cap, which turned into a different kind of night cap at Harvey's condo. He felt sick thinking about the rest.

Pete watched as Harvey took in the information and gave him time to process before he continued.

"Heather had a very detailed will. It was clear she loved her daughter and wanted to be sure she was taken care of when she was gone. I can't speak to why she chose to not tell you about her from the beginning, but this might explain it, when you're ready." Pete said as he handed Harvey a brown envelope.

Harvey took it from him, hands shaking.

Pete continued, "It was Heather's wish that she be raised by family. Both of Heather's parents have passed, and her brother is currently serving in the Air Force and has another 3 years on his contract." He paused. "She wanted her to go to you."

Harvey was sure he was going to pass out. His breathing was getting shorter and the clamminess on his palms was worse than on the ride over. He couldn't do this; this couldn't be real, she couldn't be real.

But there she was, studying him intently with two big brown eyes that he felt were burning a hole through him.

His career…the firm…his life. Where would he even begin? How could he jump into this? Daycare, a nanny? How would he know what she needed? What if he wasn't enough? She woke up today and no longer had the one person who had taken care of her, the one person who knew her, and now she just had him. A stranger. He never considered having a child. Not after what his parents put him through. His head was going in a million different directions. He needed to focus, he needed to think.

"What's her name?" he finally managed to ask.

Pete smiled, "Rosie Specter."

Harvey's attention snapped to Pete. "W-what?"

"You're listed on the birth certificate, Harvey. She gave her your last name."

...

He had a daughter.

He didn't know how long it was before he was able to speak. He watched the little girl roll around in her playpen with her toys, babbling and making herself laugh.

His daughter.

He had been in Pete's office for almost an hour but it finally clicked – why his gut told him to come here. Come here for her.

He didn't have a lot of experience with babies. Sure, he was Uncle Harvey to Marcus' kids and loved the time he spent with them, but this…this was different. She was his.

"Can I…?" he motioned towards Rosie, who was entirely amused by what appeared to be a baby set of keys.

"Of course," Pete smiled.

Harvey stood up and made his way over to her, trying to get his breathing in check. Looking down, he was met by a wide, toothless grin, as if she knew that's exactly what he needed.

His heart exploded.

She gave him a happy screech as he scooped her up into his arms and started pacing around. He knew right then that he never wanted to put her down.

"I'll give you two a few minutes," Pete said as he excused himself.

Rosie had made herself comfortable resting her tiny head on his chest. His racing heart entirely calmed by the weight of her little body.

"Hi babygirl," Harvey whispered. "I'm your dad," he choked. "I'm so sorry this is the first time we're meeting, but I promise I'll spend the rest of my life making up for lost time." He placed a kiss on her forehead and she snuggled in closer.

"I don't really know what I'm doing here," he continued, "but we can figure it out together. I promise I will do everything to protect you and take care of you. It's just you and me now, and us Specters gotta stick together."

Pete came back a few minutes later to find Rosie asleep in Harvey's arms.

"I know this all happened quick, but we have the papers ready for you to sign, if you would like to take her home tonight. I meant it when I said Heather had everything in order; this girl is lucky to have two lawyers as parents." Pete stated, looking at Harvey cautiously.

Harvey knew this was the logical next step, but leaving that office was going to catapult him back into reality. Glancing down at the sleeping girl in his arms, he knew it was time. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Pete. "Where do I sign?"

...

He could not have been more grateful for Ray in this moment, who remained outside for the duration of the evening.

When Harvey and Pete walked out of the building carrying a sleeping infant, 3 large bags of baby items, Ray simply smiled, shook his head, and laughed to himself while Harvey struggled to get the car seat buckled in. He didn't need to know, and it wasn't his place to ask, but when Harvey finally slid into the backseat, he looked at Ray with a big smile. "Remind me to give you a raise Ray; from now on you are going to be driving around the most precious cargo in New York City."