She heard everything. A name partner she had never met had made his apologetic return to the firm. Jessica and Harvey were going on the defensive. Jessica was looking for departments within the firm who liked Harvey... very few existed. Even Meghan knew which ones didn't like Harvey.

She had included herself in the conversation by talking in her sleep while they waited for Mike to come.

Mike thought Hardman was awesome at first. There was an omelet bar for the associates. Fruit bouquets with pineapples that came from Hawaii the day before. He was raving about it until he saw the look on Jessica's face... if looks could fire.

"Do not trust it," Harvey said.

"Don't trust the pineapple?" Mike asked, confused.

"I'm not going back!" Meghan mumbled in her sleep.

Harvey clarified he was referring to name partner Hardman after saying Jessica was right about Meghan.

"'Not going back'? Do you know what she's talking about?" Harvey asked.

"I don't spend nights with her, if that's what you're asking," Mike replied. One could hear the nervousness in his voice if they were actually listening and not more concerned with getting rid of someone who Harvey didn't think deserved to even be in the firm.

Mike had convinced Harvey to take a bite of the pineapple. "'Come on. I love you, Harvey'. It'll be good for you." Harvey seemed to enjoy the taste he took. "See?"

"It's spectacular. But this doesn't change the fact that this is what he does. He's coming back and people are gonna have to choose sides. That includes Meghan."

"Really?"

"She's part of the firm, now. The partners like her. Some have even offered to pay for her education if she's interested. It's overstepping, no doubt."

"Can I choose Hardman's side?" Mike asked. His mouth was full enough to hide the frustration he was now feeling. Were people really offering to pay for her education? And how did he not know about such offers?

"I wish I came forward," Meghan said.

Neither man knew what that meant. Mike looked confused, and Harvey shook his head. "Sure. Support a man you never met over a partner who knows you never went to Harvard, knows you're not really a lawyer and is keeping you on anyway."

Harvey's point was taken and received. He was siding with Jessica. Meghan's choice would have been Jessica for different reasons.

"I need you and Meghan on Paul Porter once she's awake. Every case he has... read, summarize, find weaknesses. I want to know everything he knows. He's getting lunch."

Every few minutes, Meghan would mumble something in her sleep. Harvey would glance up at her from his work and wonder what she was talking about.

If her brother, who he figured out was Neal, raised her, who was she calling Dad? She referred to Neal by name so it couldn't have been him. Why did she wish she had come forward? What did she know?

Mystery seemed to surround her. No one at the firm knew more than she would let on. Some things were learned through context. One person knew one thing, while another knew something else, all while being told the same story.

He took one last glance. Where was Mike? He should have been there by now and Meghan should have been with him. Awake. And out of Harvey's office.

"He's not like me, you know," she said, slowly coming to.

"No, I don't know."

Meghan stretched her limbs as she spoke. "We come from similar backgrounds. Raised by relatives other than our parents. Spotty school records."

"Where's the difference?"

Now she was sitting up, allowing the blood to circulate before standing. "Mike's best friend was Trevor. My brother was Neal Caffrey. I learned what Mike didn't."

"And what was that? How to steal?"

"I did learn that, but it wasn't my answer. What I was going to say is that I learned how to be a ghost. I can gather information that you would have a hard time getting from rival firms, and you'd still be able to use it in court because they would hand their files over to you without a court order. One of Neal's nicknames for me was Silver Tongue."

"And how did you manage to earn that one?"

"I pulled off a con, not gonna say which one that would be too much information... I haven't told anyone about the con until today, and don't bother trying to find it because everyone thinks Neal did it. The last con I did was a few years ago. As much as I'd like to, I haven't worked one since then... Yes, what Mike's doing is wrong, but what I did was a touch worse. An innocent man went to prison... and I let him. But that wasn't the con."

It wasn't the ultimate act of betrayal in Harvey's mind, but it was high on his list.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to unload. I should probably get going. Mike was supposed to come and get me when he was done putting the file together."

"Tell me something about that," Harvey said, saving his questions concerning Meghan mini monologue for another time. "How exactly does that work with the two of you?"

"How does what work?"

"When I have Mike bring you in to help with research... does he? Or does he wait until the case is compiled, and then bring you in?"

"All of it. The files he makes for you are complete. The ones he makes for me are variations and don't include client information unless they're pro-bono. It's his way of keeping me on my toes. I mean, you can't expect the opposition to give you everything just because it was court ordered, right?"

He started to think that maybe having a child con artist on his team would be beneficial. She did see things Mike would have, and did, miss on his first case.

"Well, it looks like his teaching methods are working for you."

"Maybe, but the repetition gets boring." She froze. "I—I... I'm gonna go find Mike before I get him and myself into more trouble."

She stood up and left two still very confused people behind as she went to find Mike, hopefully at his desk or the library.

Mike had just finished talking with Rachel. They had been interrupted by Lewis, so it wasn't by choice. Based on their blushes, Meghan figured Mike wasn't as smooth as he had tried to be. She was the only one who knew his voice rose when he was trying to hide a relationship.

He had just informed Rachel that his relationship with Jenny was over.

"It turns out I kind of have feelings for this other girl," Mike said.

"So...it's over? Well, um, in that case, then, yes, it was a good kiss. But just so we're clear, I rocked your world."

"You did," he whispered. "Now tell me what you would say... to helping me with my work in a professional capacity?!"

"Smooth." It wasn't.

"I could use some help summarizing some cases in bankruptcy if you don't mind," Mike asked without actually asking.

"That's funny, because I have to summarize all of the cases at the firm. For Hardman... Isn't that what your little protégé is for?"

Mike shook his head. "Can't. The terms of her contract state she is not to be on a case unless it's pro-bono. Partners don't acknowledge it though... And why do people keep calling her that?"

Mike noted that Rachel was not a fan of Daniel Hardman's. It was genuine interest in her, but he also wanted to find out why Rachel didn't like the returning name partner and decided to ask her out on a date. Though the date was never going to involve Hardman in any way shape or form.

Meghan chose to walk in after watching the spectacle of her brother and his crush awkwardly set up a date without setting a day.

"If there's anything I know about Mister Ross, here, it's that he is not smooth... And that contract turned into a work-release program after certain family history was uncovered... not something we need to talk about, again. Ever," she said while taking a seat across from her brother and boss.

"Sorry I didn't save you from Harvey's office. You survived it, though," Mike said.

"What's to survive?" Rachel asked. "Harvey's nicer than anyone else here."

"Not when you say something that can be used against you later on," Meghan noted. "Can we just get to the files? I'd like to get home at a reasonable hour and get some sleep."

Rachel agreed. The kid did look tired. "How much have you been getting?"

"Not much. Every time I close my eyes, a plague of nightmares comes flooding in..." She buried her head, realizing what sleep deprivation was doing to her filter.

Meghan wrote notes about what she found in the files, refusing to let Mike read them. He had to examine her work to make sure she was on the same track. More often than not, she seemed to have better insight than he did.

Some of the things she wrote even had people wondering if she were psychic or a spy. More than half of had been written was utter nonsense to her because in the Firm and the world of Law, anything could happen. She embraced Jurassic Park's Chaos Theory and Marvel's Doctor Strange. Any and all possible outcomes were listed in her composition notebooks like a lab journal. One for each theory.

Meghan's notes about Paul Porter read as such: Knocked down three floors in the last five years... Traditionalist who doesn't seem to realize that this client and even his job could be taken away due to forgetting that any client who signs with the firm is not exclusive to the lawyer who signed them. The job part is an ethical issue since he's lying to the client. Convincing the client to declare bankruptcy when the bank has unethical interest in the site and Mister Porter could lose his license if reported. He wants respect but is unwilling to give it in return, or even in general. The bank is fabricating ways to bleed the client, also known as balloon payments, without regard for the future tenants.

Sleep did not elude Meghan this time. She slept so deeply she never heard Mike walk through the door of their apartment. She never heard the keys jingling. Or feel the Journal of her most recent theories being lifted from her chest.

Mike had read her words. He may have been good, but somehow, Meghan was better. He never would have considered the bank's conflict of interest until after visiting the agent who authorized the client's loan. All of the unnecessary interest charges they could expose if the case ever went to trial would raise their client's ceiling.

He then spent the next several hours researching Meghan's theories and building a detailed, yet colorless diorama presentation of the site, along with the neighboring buildings owned by the bank.

Mike brought it to the office before Meghan had to wake up for school. He asked Donna to let him know when Harvey had come in so he could do a show and tell.

He and Harvey had met with the bank before, but he really wished Meghan hadn't kept this theory from him. He could have checked it out prior to their first meeting.

"You find anything?" Harvey asked as he walked into the conference room Mike had occupied for his presentation.

"Oh, I'm gonna make Paul love you."

"That's doubtful. He got wind of our little maneuver."

Like a child, Mike thought that was funny. "You said 'got wind'." It was an awkward moment, so he cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, I have another maneuver. A better one."

"Paul says we tell Tom there's no other way."

"But there is another way. Oh, wait, you don't even want to hear it?"

"Of course, I want to hear it. Since when do I take marching orders from a bow tie?"

"There are eight projects being built in the two blocks around Madison 25. Every one of them started after it. Madison 25 is the centerpiece of the whole development. If it's not finished, they're all worthless."

"That's not the bank's problem."

"But it is, 'cause guess what six of these buildings have in common."

"National's backing them all?"

It didn't make sense that the bank would foreclose on all their projects unless there was an agenda.

"This is some really good thinking on your part," Harvey complimented, which was rare.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Or any for that matter. It was all Meghan. She has about twenty lab journals for each case that covers every possible way it can go down. One was left behind at my desk yesterday, so I read it." The lie was uncomfortably easy to say.

He handed the notebook over to Harvey who read the last entry aloud. Harvey was impressed with how well she had portrayed Porter for having only read the man's case reports.

Their case ended on a high for their client, but because Porter didn't get what he wanted out of Harvey, he backed Hardman for managing partner. Something he was probably going to do anyway.

Jessica and Harvey, who were at odds recently, had found a way to make amends.

Mike's date with Rachel went well. Really well. But he couldn't bring himself to make it official. Not while lying to her about so many things. If he was going to be in a relationship with Rachel, he wanted her to know about Meghan, his lack of a degree, Witsec, their brother...

He couldn't do it without talking to Harvey about the fake lawyer thing, or Meghan about their secrets first. Meghan had been begging him for while now. If only he could get Harvey on board.