Note: Thank you for being so patient with this one. It flows best as one chapter, so I wanted to wait until I finished it before I got it out to you.

This is your very last Paula warning. You're welcome. ;)


Chapter 13 - Thanksgiving

As holidays often do, Thanksgiving morning came faster than anyone was prepared for, except for Rachel. Rachel was more than ready to spend the day with the cute and intelligent Mike Ross.

Dressed and ready to go, she stepped into her friend's bedroom with a bounce in her step. "Donna? Are you ready? We can't miss appetizers. Louis made anyone that showed up late eat outside last year. That's what Mike said, anyway."

Her good mood deflated as she took in the surroundings. Donna's usual neat and organized bedroom looked like a tornado had blown through. Clothes and shoes were strewn across the bed and floor. She checked the ensuite bathroom, only to find the same trail of destruction and no Donna. "Where are you?"

"In here!" Donna yelled.

Rachel followed the sound to the walk in closet, where the door burst open to reveal a partially dressed Donna. Her red hair was still up in curlers and her make-up was half finished.

"You're not ready," came Rachel's stunned statement. She had never seen her friend look so disheveled.

Donna's hands shook as she pulled each curler out, one by one, and tossed them to the floor. "I can't do this," came her flustered reply. "I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to this."

Rachel's hands moved to Donna's bare shoulders. It was all she could do to keep her in one place. "Don't freak out."

"It's too late for that!" Donna huffed. She threw the last curler across the room. "You take Anna and go without me. Tell them I have the flu or something."

"They'll never believe that." Rachel began smoothing down the fiery curls that were sprung in all directions.

"Then just make something up, because I can't do this!"

Rachel put her hands on Donna's cheeks to ground her. "You're spiraling."

"Of course I'm spiraling! I can't go. Harvey will be there with Paula…and she already hates me. This is a disaster."

Rachel wasn't used to having to give Donna pep talks. It was usually the other way around. She had to try, though. There was no way that she was letting her stay home alone on Thanksgiving. "I'll be there." She knew her friend well enough to know that a regular argument wouldn't work. No. She had to play on her emotions. "Plus it's your first Thanksgiving with the girls together, since they were little."

Donna cocked her head to the side so that she could eye up her friend. "You're good."

Rachel smirked. "I know. We'll have some wine before we go, to take the edge off." Rachel knew that she won when a defeated sigh left Donna's mouth. She couldn't celebrate yet, though. First, they had to get her dressed.

"What are you doing?" Donna asked. She watched in curiosity as Rachel disappeared into the closet.

As her assistant, Rachel knew Donna's closet well. It took her only seconds to find what she was looking for. She unzipped the dress from its garment bag and brought it out carefully, as if it were a fragile piece of art.

"If I were spending Thanksgiving with my ex-husband and his girlfriend, I'd wear this one." Rachel held the black and white Valentino dress up for Donna to inspect. The dress was short, but not too short. The plunging v-neck however would leave little to the imagination.

Donna bit the inside of her cheek. "You don't think it's a bit much?"

"A bit much? You're Donna freaking Paulsen. Since when do you care? Plus, imagine Paula's face when she sees you in this? She'll be wishing you were still dressed in Harvey's work out clothes."

Donna was silent for a few seconds. Finally, she reached for the dress. "You better go get me some wine. I'm gonna need it."

Rachel jumped up and down in excitement. "I'll bring the whole bottle. Now get going!" She shooed Donna away and raced out the door. In the hallway, she nearly bumped into Anna.

"So, she's freaking out?" the girl wondered.

"Oh yeah. But don't worry. It's nothing a little wine won't fix." Rachel was about to continue down the hall when Anna's words stopped her.

"Good, because we need mom there for operation 'Bye, Paula.'"

"I'm sorry?"

Anna looked at her as if she had two heads. "We have a plan. I told you yesterday…"

Rachel scratched her head. "No, I don't think you did."

"I did! You were just too busy sexting Mike."

At the girl's words, Rachel felt her face burn. She took her hand and pulled her down the hall and out of Donna's ear shot. They stopped in the living room. "First of all, I wasn't sexting. Second of all, how do you know what sexting is? And third, promise me that whatever plan you and your sister came up with doesn't involve leaving the premises?"

Anna, always quick on her feet, was ready with a defense. "You were sexting. Everyone knows what sexting is. And duh, we don't need to leave Louis' house for our plan."

Rachel raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Promise me it's not dangerous?"

"It's not!"

"Or illegal?"

Anna bit her lip. "I don't think it is…"

"Anna, I'm not kidding," scolded Rachel. "Do not put your parents through another day like Monday."

"I won't!" Anna rolled her eyes.

"Won't what?"

Rachel and Anna turned to find Donna strolling down the hall. It was hard for Rachel to believe that it was the same woman she had seen only minutes before. Her curly hair fell loosely around her face in perfect waves. Her make-up was soft, but still dramatic, and her dress looked just as amazing as Rachel thought it would.

"Mom, you look beautiful," Anna gushed. "Wait till dad sees."

"Wait till Paula sees," Rachel mumbled, under her breath.

Donna's eyes roamed between the two in suspicion. "What's going on?"

Rachel and Anna answered in unison. "Nothing."

It was obvious that she didn't believe them, but Rachel grabbed her arm before she could ask anymore questions. "Come on, gorgeous. Let's get you some wine."


Donna stood in the marble entrance way of Louis' Upper East Side brownstone and marveled at the tasteful decorating. She was pleasantly surprised by the lack of ostentatiousness.

"I'm the one that did the decorating," Sheila, Louis' wife, told her as she greeted the trio at the door. "I only say that because you seem surprised."

Louis came sprinting up behind his wife. "Don't listen to a thing she says." He pulled Donna's hands into his and kissed them both. "Look at you. God, you're stunning." He turned to Sheila. "Did you tell her how stunning she looks?"

Sheila rolled her eyes, but gave Donna a once over anyway. "I have to say, you do have remarkable bone structure. Just remember, my king already has a queen."

Donna couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. It seemed Louis had finally found his match. She was happy for him. She put her arm around Anna and pulled her closer. "I know it's been a long time since you've seen her, Louis, but this is Anna."

Louis, whose eyes were already filled with tears, bowed down like he was meeting a princess. "Anna Claire Paulsen, it's so nice to meet you again."

Anna frowned up at her mother as Louis stood up. "My middle name's Victoria," she told him.

It was Louis' turn to frown. "Victoria? Who the hell's middle name is Claire then?"

"Mine!" Lizzie answered as she stepped into the foyer and stood beside her sister.

Louis looked between them in shock. "Well, goddammit. Now my place cards are all wrong. Sheila, get Erica to fix them right away or dinner will be ruined," he demanded, as he watched each girl carefully. "I don't remember you looking this alike when you were little." He snapped his fingers to get his wife's attention. "Sheila, can we get a bell for one of them? Or a name tag…or something? Goddammit. It's like The Shining around here."

Unbeknownst to Louis, Harvey had walked in and was standing directly behind him. The foyer was getting smaller by the second. "You're not putting anything on my daughters, Louis."

Louis jumped in fright. "Dammit, Harvey! You're gonna give me another heart attack."

The sudden sight of Harvey made Donna's stomach twist into knots. Luckily, Rachel was ready with a glass of champagne.

"Just keep drinking," she whispered.

Donna didn't have to be told twice. She downed the glass in two big gulps and then sat it back on the tray. She briefly heard Rachel say that she was going to find Mike. Seconds later, Sheila and Louis went to change the place cards. Soon, the Paulsen-Specter family were the only ones left.

Harvey's dark eyes were not shy as they trailed a path from Donna's stiletto heels, up to her cleavage, and then finally, up to her face. Her cheeks flushed as his eyes lingered with unmistakable desire. Donna couldn't take it anymore. She tore her eyes away.

"Happy Thanksgiving," came her awkward greeting.

Harvey cleared his throat. "Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving to you, too."

Anna and Lizzie shared a knowing look, but their parents didn't notice. "We're gonna go find Rachel," Lizzie told them.

Like a moth to flame, Donna's eyes were instantly back on Harvey's. She didn't even look to see which girl said it. "Sure, honey." He was dressed in a nicely tailored two piece suit that brought out every muscle in his body. She couldn't help but be impressed.

Harvey kept his eyes on Donna as he spoke. "Don't get into trouble."

When they were left alone, neither knew what to say, so they stood staring at each other in what should have been an awkward silence, except, it wasn't awkward. It was filled with another kind of tension. The kind of tension that ached in places that Donna hoped to ignore.

The sound of heels clicking against the marble floor shook them out of their joint stupor. Donna saw Paula come up behind Harvey and lace her arm through his. Her presence was like a bucket of cold water. It quickly brought her back to her senses.

Paula's eyes roamed over Donna's body like they had a few nights before, only this time, her stare was nothing but judgmental. "Happy Thanksgiving, Donna."

Still stunned, Donna pursed her lips together and faked nice. She had to put on a good front for Harvey and the twins. "You too, Paula." She needed more to drink if she was going to make it through the night. "I'm gonna go check on the girls." She made her escape before Harvey could protest.


It was only an hour into the party, but Donna had already lost track of the amount of drinks she consumed. Her head was buzzing, but it was a good buzz, the kind that kept her nerves at bay. Louis had pranced her around the party as if she were his prize show pony. He would not stop until she talked to everyone.

Now, socially exhausted, she hid in a corner of the formal dining room. Out of the blue, Scottie appeared beside her and offered her a glass of champagne. "You look like you need this more than I do." Whether it was a peace offering, Donna wasn't sure, but she took the glass anyway.

"Am I that obvious?" She sipped slowly from the glass, attempting not to frown at the bitter taste.

Scottie's brown eyes roamed over her attire, but there was no judgment to be found. "That's such a great dress on you. No wonder Ms. 'I only eat Pop-Tarts for breakfast' doesn't like you."

Donna was sure she heard her wrong. "Pop-tarts?"

With a conspiratorial smirk, Scott glanced across the room to where Paula was standing with Harvey. She wasn't facing them, but Harvey was. "Harvey told me that she only eats Pop-Tarts for breakfast. She's been sending daggers your way since you got here."

Donna followed Scottie's gaze. As if on instinct, Harvey noticed, and his eyes found hers immediately. His face was unreadable, but the way he kept touching his nose told her that he was nervous. She guessed that having all three women in the same room was the cause.

"We started off on the wrong foot," Donna said. "She thinks I'm here to steal Harvey back or something."

Scottie arched a brow in Harvey's direction before turning back to Donna. "Can you blame her? If my husband looked at someone the way he's been looking at you, I'd feel the same way."

Donna broke eye contact with Harvey at the word 'husband.' Without meaning to, she glanced at Scottie's left ring finger where a huge emerald cut diamond rested there. It glittered in the low lighting of the room.

Scottie answered Donna's unasked question. "His name's Andrew. He's in London for business or I'd introduce you."

"That's great." Donna took another sip of her drink. "I'm happy for you." It wasn't a lie, not really, but her statement didn't land with enough sincerity to be believable.

"Listen, Donna, I know that you hate me…and I get it. I really do. "

Donna sighed. "I don't hate you, Dana."

"But you don't like me, either."

The alcohol caught up to her all at once. She went from a nice buzz to drunk within the span of a few seconds. The room spun slightly and her vision grew fuzzy. Suddenly, Donna was unable to control the words that came out of her mouth.

"Harvey wouldn't come home," came her low tone. "He was always at the firm. If he wasn't at the firm, he was with you. I didn't understand it then, but I do now. Why would he want to come home to a frazzled housewife who nagged him about doing the dishes when he could enjoy a few hours of no responsibilities with you?" Donna looked down at her feet to make the room level out. "I never hated you, Dana. Sometimes, I even wished that I was you…maybe then I would have been enough."

When she looked up, Scottie's eyes were wide with shock and something else. Something that looked a whole lot like pity. Donna's throat and chest burned in shame. She didn't mean to say any of that outloud.

To get away from Scottie's pity, she looked across the room only to find that Harvey's eyes were still on her. This time, he shot her a questioning look that she ignored as she focused again on Scottie. "I'm sorry. I think I'm drunk."

Scottie took her by the elbow and led her out of the dining room to the sun room. It was quiet there. Not as many people milled around. "Donna, just so that we clear the air, nothing ever happened with Harvey. Once you guys got together he made it clear that our arrangement was over and we stuck to that. I swear."

Suddenly feeling emotional, Donna cleared her throat. "I know." In a weird way, things may have been simpler if he had cheated. Hating him would have been easier. Moving on would have been easier too. Instead, she had been stuck in limbo for the past 9 years, trying to figure out just where it all went wrong.

"He never let on that things weren't going well…had I known that, I would have kicked his ass. I almost did anyway, when I found out that he agreed to the divorce."

Scottie's words shocked her. "Really?"

"Jessica and Louis even staged an intervention, believe it or not. As you can imagine, that did not go over well."

This was all new information to her. No one had tried to stop her from ending their marriage, not even Harvey. She tried not to focus on that, on what could have happened if someone had tried. How different would their life be? Instead, she focused on the woman in front of her. They may have been friends in another life, a life that didn't include falling in love with Harvey Specter.

Donna was jolted from her thoughts by her daughters racing into the room. "Mom!" Lizzie called, as she crossed the room in two quick strides. At least, Donna thought it was Lizzie. Her fuzzy brain briefly registered that she was in a different outfit than before. Anna was right behind her sister. Or was it Lizzie? The drinks certainly hadn't helped.

Both girls were dressed in the same long sleeve, navy blue dress. Their hair was pulled up into the same style bun. Even their silver flats were the same. They stood in front of Donna with identical smiles. Harvey smiles.

Donna truly had no idea which girl was which. She put her hand on her face and shook her head. "Don't do this to me girls. I'm already seeing double."

The one on the left stepped forward. "It's me, Anna."

Scottie said what Donna couldn't. "These aren't the outfits I saw you in earlier."

Lizzie spoke up this time. "Jessica just gave us these. We wanted to try them on."

Donna glanced around the room in surprise, but Jessica was nowhere to be found. "She did?"

Lizzie shrugged. "She said that she missed buying two of everything. Anyway, dad's looking for you, mom. He needs help down in the wine cellar."

If Donna weren't so drunk, she may have seen through their obvious lie. Scottie sure did. But she didn't notice. "What does he need help with?"

Lizzie didn't respond. Her face went blank. It was Anna that jumped in. "Louis sent him to pick out some wine, but he can't decide."

"I'm sure he'll figure it out," Donna mumbled. Her legs felt heavy. Walking down stairs suddenly seemed like climbing Mount Everest.

"I don't know," Scottie cut in. "He's notoriously bad at picking out a good bottle of wine. You should have seen the crap he tried to give me for my birthday last year. It was undrinkable."

Donna groaned. "Fine, but you tell him he owes me." She pointed an unsteady finger at the girls.

Anna pushed her gently forward. "You can tell him yourself, mom. Go through the kitchen. It's faster."

"Okay…" Donna shot them one last curious glance before she left the room.

Scottie watched the girls high-five with an impressed smile. "Your mom and dad are gonna have to figure it all out on their own. You know that, right?" she advised. "Plus, he has a girlfriend."

"Not for long," Lizzie hinted.

Scottie didn't want to encourage them, but she didn't want to dampen their spirits either. "Whatever you do, just don't make it obvious. Let her dig her own grave."

Lizzie gasped. "We're not gonna kill her."

"I promised Rachel that we wouldn't do anything illegal," Anna added.

As the twins looked up at her in complete seriousness, Scottie let out a chuckle. Donna and Harvey were going to have their hands full with the two of them. She couldn't wait to hear all about it.


In true Louis fashion, the wine cellar was over the top. The high ceiling, dim lighting, and rows and rows of wine bottles gave it a crypt-like appearance. Harvey paced from row to row, trying to tone down his feelings of concern.

The door opened and shut, causing him to jump. The sound of high heels coming down the steps soon followed. "Donna?" He raced towards the sound and stopped when he found her standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Donna furrowed her brows. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Harvey ran his hand over his hair, barely touching the perfectly gelled locks. "The girls said that you were stuck down here and needed help."

"They what?" She blew out a puff of air that moved her hair away from her face. "Harvey, they told me that you needed help down here."

"Donna, why would I need help?"

She fanned her flushed cheeks. "They said you were picking out wine for Louis. I don't know…it's all a bit fuzzy right now."

Harvey couldn't help but flash her an amused smile. "Are you drunk?"

Donna scrunched her nose. "Slightly. Yeah."

"Wow, I've only ever seen you drunk once before." It wasn't something that he could forget, as it was the night the twins were conceived. He almost got lost in the memory, but the thought of his daughters kept him in the present. "Wait a second, why'd they lie?"

"What?" It was clear that Donna wasn't her usual intuitive self.

Harvey glanced around the room with a suspicious gaze. "Anna and Lizzie. Why'd they lie to get us down here?"

Donna blinked at him for several seconds as her brain caught up. As if thinking the same thing at the same time, they both glanced up to the door. "It's locked, isn't it?"

"It better not be," he snapped. Eager to reach the door, his long legs ascended the steps two at a time. Sure enough, the door was locked. "You've gotta be goddamn kidding me." He banged loudly on the door until his palm stung. "Hey! Open up!"

From the bottom of the stairs, Donna asked, "my phone's upstairs. Do you have yours?"

Harvey pulled out his phone and then let out a string of curses as he held it up to show her. "No service."

Donna sat down on the bottom step. "This is just perfect. They are so grounded."

Harvey kicked the door, ignoring the ache in his foot as he did so. "They're already grounded!"

One by one he stomped down each step until he hovered behind her. The vantage point gave him a direct line of sight down her dress. He looked, of course he looked, and then he immediately felt bad about it and kept on walking until he reached the bottom.

"Great," he snapped. "I'm not gonna survive the two of them together." In the span of a week his entire life had turned upside down, taking his mental health with it.

Donna stood up with a frustrated sigh. "At least we have wine."

"I think you've reached your limit." Harvey couldn't keep his judgmental tone at bay. Anger bubbled up to the surface and she was the only one there to take the brunt of it. The party left him feeling raw and exposed. On one side was Donna, his past, and on the other side was Paula, his future. The twins were balanced somewhere in the middle. It was a hard act for him to juggle.

Ignoring him, she moved to the closest row of wine and scanned the labels with interest. "Are you thinking red of white?"

"Unless it's a bottle of scotch, I'm not interested." He checked his phone one more time, hoping that he magically had service. He didn't.

"White it is then." Donna bent over to snatch a bottle off the bottom shelf. If she noticed that her dress had ridden up in the process, she didn't show it. "I know that you're probably eager to get back to your girlfriend, but try to enjoy this peace while you can. Maybe this will get us out of playing one of Louis' party games."

Harvey didn't bother to hide the fact that he was staring at her bare thighs. Normally he was much more respectful of all the women in his life, but tonight was testing the limits of his resolve. She looked beautiful. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Paula's not the one I'm worried about," he ground out. Donna stood up, the dress once again covering her thighs. He could breathe a little better, but just barely.

"So it's me, then?" came her flirty retort. "I don't bite, you know."

Harvey let out a low chuckle. "I beg to differ."

Donna rolled her eyes and moved back towards him with the bottle of wine. "Now I just need a bottle opener."

He watched as she walked around in search of one. Since they were stuck together, curiosity got the best of him and he felt the sudden need to ask a burning question. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So, uh, what were you and Scottie talking about?"

Donna flashed him a mischievous smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She found a metal bottle opener and held it up in triumph.

"Comparing notes then? I get it," he feigned amusement, but the churning in his gut felt anything but amusing.

"Something like that." Her eyes were bright, even in the dim lighting. She read him easily.

Harvey pulled one hand out of his pocket to scratch his cheek. "It seemed like a serious conversation."

Donna stood beside him, the bottle in one hand and the bottle opener in the other. Her eyes stared right through him. "You don't really want to know."

No, he didn't, but he felt like he should anyway. "What did she say to you?"

"What you're really asking is, did I ask her if she fucked you while we were married? The answer is no, I didn't."

Harvey swallowed hard. "Donna, that's not…"

She wouldn't let him finish. "I know you didn't cheat on me, Harvey."

Her angry tone got his defenses up. "Do you? If you know that nothing happened then why do you hate her?"

"Jesus! What's with the both of you?" She threw her hands up into the air, bottle and all. Harvey ducked his head to avoid the swinging motion. "I don't hate her. I never hated her." Her face turned an even darker shade of red as she continued, "I wanted to be her. She got it all, including you, while I sat at home hoping you'd notice me. So no, I don't hate her."

Her words struck him like a hard blow to the chest. The air in his lungs was stuck somewhere between his throat and his mouth. He opened his mouth, but no sound would come out. Eventually he was able to mutter her name.

"Don't!" she insisted. "I don't wanna talk about it. Let's just drop it."

She wanted to leave him back then, so he let her. But, maybe she didn't really want to leave. Maybe…she just wanted to be noticed. The thoughts rolled around his mind for a long time while she struggled to open the bottle of wine on her own. How did he not see what was right in front of his face?

"Dammit! Just open this, please," Donna snapped, in desperation. "I don't want to think anymore."

Her shaky hands handed him the bottle. Afraid that she would drop it, he took it and examined the old label. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. He was so frazzled by the woman beside him that he blew the dust away without thinking. Within seconds, his eyes were filled with piercing particles.

"Ouch! Fuck!" The bottle slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor, splattering white wine and glass everywhere. He didn't care that his shoes were probably ruined. All he cared about was the pain in his eyes.

"Let me see," Donna said. With her heels there wasn't much height difference between them. She pulled his hands away from his eyes and laid her fingers against his cheeks. "They're really red. You'll have to flush them out when we get out of here."

His eyes watered, so he shut them tight to try and clear them. When he opened them again, he realized just how close their faces were. His pulse sped up at the thought that her lips could be on his with very little movement. His eyes were drawn to them. What would it be like to feel them again? To taste her again? To feel the complete and utter feeling of satisfaction that only she could provide?

Donna moved closer. Her hot breath gave him goosebumps. In that moment, nothing else mattered. He had to have her. Her name fell like a whispered prayer from his lips as he bridged the miniscule gap between them. His lips barely grazed hers when the cellar door opened and a giggling pair came stumbling down the stairs.

Donna was drunk on wine and Harvey was drunk on something else. Neither moved apart quick enough.

"Oh shit," a familiar male voice blurted.

Harvey looked up to see Mike on the stairs with Rachel practically wrapped around him. Reality set in quickly and he stumbled away from Donna so fast that he almost slipped on the spilled wine.

Mike's face was a mixture of shock and disgust. "Why do I feel like I just walked in on my parents having sex?"

Donna arched her brow. "Did he say parents?"

"What are you doing here, Mike?" Harvey ground out. His pulse moved at a dangerous speed. He had almost kissed Donna. He had almost kissed Donna…with his girlfriend one floor away.

Feeling hot, Harvey pulled at his shirt collar. "I'd ask you the same thing, but I don't really want to know." He pushed past Mike and Rachel, not caring that Donna was still at the bottom of the steps. He had to get away. He had to get away before he did something stupid.


Harvey didn't bother getting his emotions under control as he stomped up the stairs. He was mad at himself, mostly, but as he charged through the townhouse and spotted the twins, his anger zeroed in on them. They were in the living room talking to Paula. He caught bits of their conversation as he moved towards them.

"I'm Anna. Wait. No, she's Anna."

"No. I'm Lizzie. Or…am I?"

"Plot twist. Maybe we're both Anna."

Harvey's angry tone cut right into their conversation. They were obviously messing with Paula, but that wasn't his biggest concern. "You two. Are grounded. Again." He towered over them, glaring equally at them both.

"Harvey?" demanded Paula, as she took in his red eyes. "Where were you? I was looking for you."

He couldn't look at his girlfriend without feeling guilty, so he kept his attention focused on the girls. "Lizzie? Anna? Why don't you tell Paula where I was."

The twins shared a glance before Lizzie said, "the wine cellar."

"That's right. The wine cellar. And I guess the door just coincidentally locked on its own once your mother came down. Is that right?"

Lizzie bit her lip. "Um. Maybe?"

Harvey felt Paula's angry gaze on him. He eventually had no choice but to look at her. He could only hope that his guilty conscience wasn't on full display.

"You were locked in the wine cellar, with Donna?" came Paula's incredulous question.

She waited until he nodded his head in confirmation before moving her gaze to the twins. They both smirked at her and it was clear that it pushed her over the edge. "This is exactly what I've been talking about, Harvey!"

"Not here, Paula."

"Then when?" Her voice rose, causing the people around them to turn and stare.

Feeling anxious, he took her by the elbow and gently pulled her towards the foyer. "This isn't the place," he ground out when they stopped near the front door.

"Then let's go home so that we can talk about this."

Harvey's brows furrowed in confusion. "Talk about what?"

"Talk about the fact that your children are out of control. They're so desperate for attention that they're walking around in matching outfits and imprisoning their parents!"

"They're not out of control."

"Call it what you want Harvey, but it's true. And you're in denial."

Harvey's hands balled into fists. "I'm not doing this here."

"Then let's leave," she insisted.

"I can't do that," he sighed. His anger simmered to a low boil as he thought over what so far had been a disaster of a holiday. "I can't drag the girls out of here before dinner. It's Thanksgiving."

Paula pursed her lips. "I see." Movement down the hall caught her attention and she lifted her eyes to see Donna coming out of the cellar door. "Luckily, their mother's right over there, so they don't need you to stay with them."

Harvey wanted to turn his head, but Paula's angry eyes kept him from doing so. He wasn't sure what they were even arguing about, but he was tired of it. "It's my night to have them both at my place."

"Oh yes. How could I forget the new custody arrangement that I was left out of, like everything else in your life."

Harvey looked up at the ceiling in defeat. He wasn't even angry anymore, he was just tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of ignoring his feelings for Donna. Tired of trying to make a relationship with Paula work, a relationship…that had been doomed to fail from the start. "It's between me and Donna."

"And here we are again. Back to Donna."

His jaw was clenched so tightly that his mouth was starting to hurt. He couldn't respond, he didn't even know what to say, so he let her continue to lash out.

"Things were fine until she came back. Now, everything revolves around her. You know, I told myself that I would never do this, but I don't think that I have much choice. I don't see how our relationship can survive if you keep putting them first."

Harvey let out a bitter chuckle. "By them, you mean Donna, right?"

"Yes. I do. I'm counting down the days until she goes back to LA."

"And what if she doesn't go back?" he bit out.

"What?"

"She's an actress. She can act anywhere. What if she stays here?"

Paula stuck her chin up in defiance. "Then I guess you'll just have to make some hard decisions, because I'm telling you…I won't keep playing second fiddle to her. It's either her, or me."

Harvey didn't like being backed into corners. He didn't like ultimatums. And suddenly, he didn't like the woman standing in front of him, either. "See, that's where you're wrong. It's not a hard decision at all. It's her. She's their mother. It'll always be her." The choice wasn't really a choice at all.

"Are you kidding me?" she yelled.

"Do I look like I'm kidding? You asked me to choose and I'm choosing her. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Paula threw her hands up into the air and stomped to the door. "You're an asshole."

The insult didn't bother him. He had been called much worse in his life. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out," he lied. He wasn't sorry. In fact, he felt relieved when she walked out and slammed the door behind her.

With a soft groan, he turned around just in time to see Lizzie and Anna dart out of the foyer. "Hey! Get back here," he called.

The seriousness in his tone made them stop in their tracks. As he approached them, their eyes widened, but they remained silent. "Someday I'll probably thank you for what you did, but not today."

Paula making him choose was a blessing in disguise, but he was still disappointed in their behavior. "Today you're gonna eat your dinner, like the polite and respectful people that we raised you to be, and then we're going home, without dessert. That'll be step one of being grounded for life."

Lizzie opened her mouth to argue, but he held up his finger to stop her. "No. That's enough talking." Further down the hall, he spotted Louis sprinting towards them. Suddenly, he regretted staying for dinner.

"Harvey, what the hell happened?"

Harvey let out an exasperated sigh. "Nothing, Louis."

"Donna said that you guys got stuck downstairs. How's that even possible? You know what, it doesn't matter." Louis clapped his hands together proudly. "Dinner's ready." He glanced around the foyer. "Where's your girlfriend? I want everyone in the dining room so that I can make a toast before we eat."

Both twins looked like they were about to answer, but Harvey's stern glare kept them from doing so. "She left."

Louis' looked appalled. "What do you mean she left?"

Harvey rolled his eyes. "What do you think I mean? She's gone. As in, not coming back."

"Jesus Christ, Harvey! Do you know how many days I spent working on the perfect seating arrangement? She was in the center! This throws the whole table off!" Louis narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Obviously you did. Paula's gone and now dinner's ruined." His hand scrubbed over his face and he took a deep breath. "You know what, I should have expected this from you. You didn't even show up last year."

Louis spotted movement to his left. He glanced over to see Donna come towards them. "Donna. Good. You're here." He then pointed to Harvey. "Your idiot ex-husband ruined dinner. Paula's gone and now the table arrangements are uneven. You'll have to sit in the center. Next to Harvey. God dammit, I need to get Sheila." He left quickly, like a fast moving thunderstorm, leaving a confused Donna in his wake.

"Paula's gone?" She blurted out.

Harvey expected awkwardness, after their almost kiss, but he was pleasantly surprised to find none. They had always been good at compartmentalizing.

Anna bravely spoke up. "They broke up." She refused to look at her father. "And we're grounded for life."

Donna's quizzical gaze was on him before he was ready for it. Her unspoken questions burned through him. He didn't have answers for any of them. Instead, he shrugged. "It was a long time coming."

Donna's face fell, but she rallied quickly. "We better get to the dining room before Louis freaks out." She ushered the girls in front of her with her hand and Harvey followed behind her.


For the Paulsen-Specter family, dinner was a silent affair. The twins heeded his advice and did as they were told. Donna kept the wine flowing, which kept her mostly quiet, and Harvey distracted himself with the impressive food. Louis kept pestering them for information about Paula and the wine cellar. It drove him nuts that they weren't telling, which only made Harvey want to keep quiet even more.

After dinner, Harvey kept to his word, excusing himself and the girls from dessert and telling them to wait for him in the foyer. Getting Donna out of the party wasn't as easy. He found her in the sunroom, laughing at something Jessica had said.

"Excuse me ladies," he confidently interrupted. "But Donna, I think it's time that we got out of here."

In the wine cellar, Donna was a little drunk. Now, she was completely drunk. She had her high heels in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. "Ican'tleave." Her words ran together. "NotwithoutRachel."

Wine sloshed out of the glass as she spoke with her hands, so Harvey gently took it and sat it on the table beside him. She didn't even notice.

"Rachel ran off with Mike," he explained. "Something tells me she won't be home tonight."

Jessica arched a brow in his direction. "Your associate and her assistant? What a small world."

"You can't stop true love," he teased.

Jessica pursed her lips. Her response was heavy. "No. You can't."

Feeling uncomfortable under her stare, he looked away from her and towards Donna. "Come on, you can hitch a ride home with me and the girls."

Donna's hooded eyes were glassy and out of focus. "My knight in shining armor."

"Something like that." Drunk Donna was amusing, but also, dangerous. One of them had to take control. "Come on." He took her shoes and then her arm, but she shrugged him off.

"I don't need help," she mumbled.

Harvey couldn't help but chuckle at the standard drunk person response. "Okay. Well, the girls are waiting in the foyer."

Donna wasn't very stable on her feet, but she nodded anyway. "Foyer. Girls. Got it."

Harvey let her get a head start. He was about to join her, when Jessica touched his shoulder.

"You better not let her get away this time," came her low tone. "I swear to god, you fuck this up and you're fired."

He took his eyes off Donna and cocked his head towards Jessica. "I don't plan on it."

Satisfied with his response, she nodded. "Good. Now you better go after her before she finds another drink."

Harvey took her suggestion seriously. He was able to catch up with her in a few strides. Once they were all situated in the cab, he gave the driver his address.

From her seat beside him, Anna furrowed her brows. "Don't forget to drop mom off."

He glanced to the other side of the cab where Donna's head was resting against the window. She was already asleep. "I think it's best if we bring her home with us, don't you think?" He had no intention of leaving her alone.

Anna's eyes lit up, but she kept her cool. "Good idea, dad."

Lizzie wasn't so cool. She let out an excited shriek. "Oh my god. It's happening."

"Nothing's happening," warned Harvey.

"Whatever you say, dad," Lizzie responded.

With a groan, he rested his head back against the seat. Parenting twins was exhausting, but he wouldn't change it for the world.