Rachel froze when she saw Donna sipping her drink at the bar.
Donna, who she'd hardly ever seen in anything other than a designer dress and extravagant shoes, was wearing athletic leggings, a pullover, and sneakers. Rachel would have been more hung up on the choice of outfit if it weren't for the fact that she was also holding…a baby?
"Donnaaa…." She started, approaching with the same questioning tone as Mike had earlier. "Who… -"
Before she could get the question out, Donna spun Rosie around on her lap so she was facing Rachel, flashing a toothless smile and her big brown eyes.
"Oh my god," she whispered, slowly taking her seat, "She's –"
"She is."
"Donna…" she continued "Why are we having margaritas with Harvey's baby…?"
Donna sighed, and began telling her friend everything. Another round of drinks later, Rachel's eyes were filled with tears as she stared at the now sleeping girl in Donna's arms.
"Are you okay?" she asked, hesitantly.
Donna looked down into her drink, knowing it wasn't worth trying to deflect the question from the one person who knew more about her and Harvey's relationship than anyone.
"Honestly, Rachel, I don't know," she sighed. "I haven't had a lot of time to process what's happened in the last two days. I tried to clear my head this morning, but Harvey called for help with her, and I just couldn't say no when I know how overwhelmed he is. Then he offered to walk me home and somehow that turned into us having margaritas at 1pm, which I'm certainly not upset about. I just need a minute without this one – she motioned to Rosie – even though the thought of being away from her kills me."
"Well, I can't blame you for getting attached," Rachel said understandingly. "Harvey has had you running around like you're her –" she stopped herself before finishing the thought. "Sorry."
Donna flashed a sad smile. "It's not all his fault. I walked right into it when I showed up uninvited on Friday."
"I just want you to be careful. You always put him first, and now with a baby involved…I just don't want you to get sucked in."
"Thanks, Rachel," she said genuinely. "Now tell me ALL about Seattle."
…
Harvey knew Mike was right about Donna putting him, and now Rosie, first. He'd basically taken over her entire weekend at this point, and was feeling guiltier than ever.
Mike was filling him in on the cases he was working on at the clinic, but he was having a hard time paying attention, his hazy thoughts going back to Donna.
Placing his third empty glass down on the bar, he looked over to Mike, who was going on about some apartment building with asbestos, "I think I need to get back to Rosie."
"Damn, you have one kid and all of a sudden can't hang," Mike shook his head with a smile.
"If I leave her with Donna too long she'll probably forget I even exist, kid already likes her way more than me," he said, putting his jacket on.
"Oh so she really is as smart as you were telling me."
…
Walking into the hotel, Harvey couldn't help but smile when he saw Donna sitting at the bar, holding Rosie in her lap, waving around a tiny drink umbrella.
"Soft," mumbled Mike when he saw the look on his friend's face.
Ignoring the comment, Harvey marched towards the girls. Rosie noticed him first, throwing her tiny arms out and squealing with excitement at the sight of him.
"Hi babygirl!" he exclaimed, scooping her out of Donna's arms, giving her a big kiss on the cheek. "Did you keep Harriet Specter and Michelle Ross out of trouble?"
Donna blushed at his use of their secret nicknames.
Rachel was staring at the scene unfolding in front of her, unable to hide the shock from her face.
"Nice to see you too, Rachel," Harvey teased.
Pulling herself out of the trance she was in watching Harvey Specter throw around a baby like it was the most common thing in the world, Rachel cleared her throat, "You guys are back sooner than we expected."
"Yeah, Harvey got a new kid and I'm feeling very replaced," Mike said, rolling his eyes.
Donna laughed seeing all of them together; it felt so right, even with their newest little addition.
"Mike, we'd better head up and get ready for dinner," Rachel said, wanting to give Donna some space.
"See you guys before you fly back?" Donna questioned, hugging her friends.
"Of course, we're here until Wednesday for the conference, so just let us know when," Rachel said, squeezing her tighter.
"Bye, sis!" Mike put his hand out for Rosie who gave him a very enthusiastic high five. "Okay, she's cool, we can keep her."
Harvey and Donna laughed and shook their heads as their friends turned to leave.
Sensing a different tension between the two of them since their respective visits, Harvey turned to Donna, "I'm sorry I was gone for so long, you shouldn't have had to watch her all afternoon," his voice filled with a familiar guilt.
"Harvey, you don't need to apologize. You needed that time with Mike; you've been though a lot. Plus, we had a fun girls day, didn't we cutie?" she replied, ticking the girl in his arms.
Harvey sighed, still thinking about what Mike said. "Can I at least buy you one more?"
Donna gave him a soft smile, "Another time. I really need to catch up on some things, and I think this one is ready for a nap," she said, motioning to the little girl rubbing her eyes.
Harvey felt his anxiety start to creep in, but he swallowed it down and nodded. "See you Monday?"
"See you Monday."
…
Note: Oops, 2 chapters in one day. Too many thoughts swirling in my brain. Thank you thank you for making it this far. Be back in a few days.
