I'm sorry that this took so long. This was a tough one for me to write! Thank you so much for all of your supportive comments. It warms my heart to know that other people are on board for this AU! The P word is only mentioned in this chapter. Not shown. You're welcome. ;)


Harvey and Donna were close to making it out of the building when Louis ambushed them in the lobby.

"Get out of my way, Louis," came Harvey's dangerous tone. The morning sun was shining through the glass doors. He was so close to escape that he could feel the chilly breeze blow across his face.

"I just passed Mike. He said that Lizzie's missing. What's going on?"

Harvey didn't stop. He couldn't. His mind was focused. He had to take things one step at a time to keep his panic at bay. Get outside. Get a cab. Get to the school. That's what he had to do. "She is, and I don't have time to stand here talking about it."

"Well what's the plan? I can help you. Did you check the location on her phone, I mean, I'm assuming you did, because any idiot would know to do that. So did you?"

Any shred of patience that Harvey had fled his body all at once. He rounded on the shorter man in two strides and shoved him in the chest. "Shut the hell up!" Rage flowed through his body. Louis wasn't even the cause, but he would take it out on him anyway.

"Harvey!"

A warm hand wrapped around his bicep. He glanced at Donna in surprise. Somehow he had forgotten that she was there.

"Let it go." Her tone was soft, but it left no doubt that it was a command. Her touch burned through his shirt. She squeezed tighter until his heart rate slowed.

Donna kept her fingers tightly around his arm as she addressed Louis. "Louis, please…I know that you wanna help, but just let us figure things out. We checked the location, but all it showed was the school."

Louis blew out a frustrated puff of air. He glanced between the pair before throwing up his hands. "Fine. I'll wait here just in case."

"Thank you, Louis," came her grateful reply.

Harvey's body was on autopilot as he let Donna usher him out of the building. Her touch was a comfort. Donna had always been good at deescalating tense situations, that talent hadn't changed. Any other time it would have amazed him, but not today. Today he had to focus.


As the cab weaved in and out of morning traffic, Harvey found it hard to believe that he was once again riding in a car with Donna. A week before, they had rode together on the way to Del Pesto. Now, the awkward atmosphere was the same, but the circumstances were much different.

In the back seat, her body was so close to his that one wide turn would have sent her careening into his lap. Unable to sit still, his leg that was touching hers, bounced up and down until she shot him a glare.

"That's not helping," came her monotone explanation.

His initial reaction was to lash out, but when he noticed her hands twisting around each other in her lap, he managed to calm himself down. Her shoulders were hunched in defeat. Suddenly, he felt like a jerk for not even thinking of her feelings.

"You okay?" It was a stupid question. Obviously she wasn't okay, but he felt it was important to ask. In the past, she had always been his rock, putting his feelings about her own. Selfishly, he had fallen back into that role.

Donna shook her head as she stared straight ahead. After a few minutes of silence, she took a shaky breath. "Harvey, do you think that the girls could have switched places on us?"

His answer was immediate. "What? No. That's not possible."

"I know it sounds crazy." She turned slightly towards him so that she could plead her case. "But something's been off. I can feel it. Anna's been acting weird. It's been driving me crazy and I just couldn't figure out what it was. Until now."

Harvey furrowed his brows. "What do you mean weird?"

"I mean, that she's been a completely different kid lately."

Harvey's anxiety ramped up again as he thought over the last few days. He couldn't deny that things had been weird. "Lizzie's been acting weird too." He bit his lip as he continued, "I just thought she was mad at me for working too much."

"They must have met, figured out what happened, and then switched."

No. It couldn't be true. He wanted to live in denial, but when Donna's determined gaze met his, reality crashed down around him. "Oh my god, Donna. So this means that I've had Anna…this whole time?"

Donna let out a somber sigh. "And I've had Lizzie. Since Thursday, at least."

Harvey's leg went back to bouncing and this time, she didn't try to stop it. He couldn't even begin to process the weight of that information. Luckily, he didn't have to, because traffic let up quickly and soon they were at the school.

They were led into a small conference room where they were debriefed on the situation first by the principal and then by two city police officers. They were asked dozens and dozens of questions until finally, a laptop containing security footage was pushed in front of them.

The younger of the two male police officers reached between the pair and pressed play on the video feed. "We were able to spot the girls leaving the building around 8:45. The camera on the school gate picked them up at 8:47 and that's the last time they were spotted on school grounds."

Harvey's stomach dropped as he watched his daughter, no, daughters, intentionally flee the school. It was the first time that he had seen them together in 9 years and the site took his breath away. He glanced at Donna, only to find that her watery eyes were already staring at him. He only looked away when the officer spoke again.

"We've had police cruisers searching the surrounding area since the call came in. Since they left on their own, we're no longer considering it a potential kidnapping, but we can't rule out the idea that they were lured out of school by someone."

Donna's eyes moved up to the officer. "What do you mean lured?" There was a note of panic in her tone that hadn't been there before. "Who could lure them?"

"It could be anyone," the second, older officer cut in. He had sharp beady eyes that looked her up and down with an air of indifference. "Are they active on social media? A lot of times these instances begin with catfishing. Young girls get lured to a location by someone they met online."

"No, Anna doesn't have social media," insisted Donna.

"Neither does Lizzie," added Harvey.

The officer was not deterred. "That you know of."

His condescending tone had Harvey clenching his jaw, but Donna beat him to a response.

"I know my daughter."

"Ms. Paulsen, you just told us that you believe your daughter may have switched places with her twin sister without your knowledge for several days, so we can't really go off what you think is true."

The words were barely out of the officer's mouth before Harvey shot up from his seat. "Just what are you trying to insinuate?" Rage flooded his senses once again. "How about you tell us what you're doing to find our daughters?" Adversary situations like this were familiar. Almost a comfort. He didn't feel nervous, he felt empowered.

Half expecting Donna to tell him to stop, he glanced towards her, only to find nothing but pride reflected in her hazel eyes. With her silent permission, Harvey turned his attention towards the principal who was seated across the table. "This school brags about security in every newsletter, but you let our daughters walk right out of the goddamn building?"

"I assure you, nothing like this has ever happened before," Mrs. Folsom insisted.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Mr. Specter, we suggest that you and Ms. Paulsen go home in case the girls return there. We will keep you apprised of the situation on our end," the first officer said.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Harvey scoffed.

"In most cases like this, the child returns on their own, but we will do everything we can to find them in the meantime."

Donna stood up quickly, her chair scraping against the tile floor as she went. "We're done here anyway." She didn't wait for Harvey as she stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. He shot the occupants of the room a glare before following her out.


Hours later, Harvey was surprised to find Donna in Lizzie's bedroom. "Are you hungry? I could order us something." Donna was on the bed, with Lizzie's favorite stuffed animal in her lap. She didn't respond. Instead, she looked up at him with a blank expression and held up the well loved stuffed cat.

"I can't believe Lizzie still has this," came her soft tone.

Harvey swallowed hard. The stuffed animal had been a baby shower gift from Jessica. "She still sleeps with it from time to time, but she won't ever admit to it."

Donna's gaze left his to focus once again on the cat. She held onto it like a lifeline. "Anna lost hers at a sleepover about two years ago. She cried for weeks. I tried to find a replacement, but I never could."

"Knowing Jessica, they were one of a kind from some fancy boutique." The bed dipped as Harvey sat down beside her.

After leaving the school, Harvey and Donna had spent hours searching for the girls. After checking every place they could possibly think of, they ended up back at Harvey's apartment. As the hours went by, with no sign of the girls, they each were dealing with it in different ways. Harvey was antsy, unable to sit still while Donna was almost catatonic.

"I know food is the last thing on your mind, but eating some dinner might help." He was worried about the twins, but also worried about Donna. Helplessness wasn't a feeling that he was used to.

Donna shook her head. "I'm not hungry." She pointed towards the window where rain pelted against the glass. "It's dark. Now it's raining. What if they're lost and now they're cold and wet, too?" Her body shuddered before turning towards him. Her voice broke as she said, "Harvey, it's all my fault. I should have seen this coming."

Harvey's chest ached as he looked at her big eyes swimming with tears. "This is not your fault," he insisted. Then, in a softer tone, he added, "and I never wanna hear you say that again."

Donna bit the inside of her cheek as tears slipped down her cheeks. She gave him an ever so slight nod. "I can't just sit here while they're out there. Harvey, we have to do something."

He desperately wanted to comfort her, to take her hand or wrap his arms around her, but nothing felt right. Nothing felt adequate enough. "Let's go back to my office."

Donna wiped her cheeks. "The firm? Why? We know they aren't there."

Feeling a rush of sudden confidence, Harvey stood up and held his hand out. "I think better there."

"Harvey…"

He wouldn't be deterred. "Come on. It's better than sitting here losing our minds." Her eyes scanned his, intent on searching for something. What it was she was searching for, he didn't know, but she must have found it, because she stood up seconds later and took his hand.

"Okay, let's go."


This time, in the back of the cab, their hands remained joined. The connection calmed them both down. Rain pounded against the windshield and a blustery wind swept the cab back and forth, but their touch kept them grounded.

In his lap, Harvey's phone lit up, ringing only once before he sent it to voicemail for the third time in a row. "Sorry, I know it gets your hopes up every time it rings."

"Someone sure is eager to reach you."

Harvey couldn't help but sigh. "It's Paula, it can wait."

For the first time all day, Donna lips curled into a mocking smirk. "Hot date?"

Her teasing tone made him feel better. Even during the worst day of their lives, she was still there. Still Donna. It made him hopeful. "Our one year anniversary dinner, actually." Her hand moved to slip from his, but he squeezed, refusing to let her go. "She'll understand."

"You really have changed, haven't you? I don't think you even knew our anniversary."

"I knew them all," he admitted. Then, in an almost whisper he added, "I still do."

Surprise was etched across her features as she stared at him. After an awkward beat of silence, she turned her head towards the car window. They were stopped at a red light. The rain had let up just enough to be able to see the buildings underneath the streetlights. Donna gasped as the car lurched forward when the light turned green.

"Stop the car!" she yelled, but the driver didn't listen. She yanked her hand away from Harvey and opened the door. "It's Parker's." The car had barely stopped before she jumped out.

"Donna, what are you doing?" he demanded, as she fled the car. He didn't have time to wait for an answer. He told the driver to wait as he stumbled out of the car to chase after her. "Donna!" He caught up to her in three strides. The cold rain had picked up again, making him regret leaving without a jacket. "Coffee? That's what you're jumping out of a moving vehicle for?"

"They're at Parker's," she insisted. She stopped walking long enough to point a finger in his direction. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

Harvey held up his hands in surrender. In that moment, he would have believed anything she said. They walked a full city block before the faded blue and white sign of the coffee shop came into view. The lights weren't on, the shop was closed. He was about to tell her as much, but he didn't have the chance to. Donna let out a sob as their two shaking daughters stepped out from beneath the store awning.

"Mom!"

"Dad!"

Harvey didn't know what happened next. His legs worked on their own accord to get him to the girl closest to him until she was wrapped in his arms, a sobbing mess. He glanced up to find that Donna was doing the same. He didn't know which twin he was hugging, but he didn't care. They were safe and that's all that mattered.