She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Assuming it was Mike or Rachel, she didn't turn to look. What did cause her neck to snap and look was the voice the hand belonged to.
He crouched down to her current level. A sad smile on his face. He was thrilled to see his siblings again.
"This… is not how I wanted our reunion to go, Silver Tongue."
The look of shock on her face would have been entertaining any other time.
"Danny?"
He pulled her up from a leaning to a sitting position, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't hit him like she wanted to. It also helped him determine the strength behind the hug. If he'd left that up to her, Meghan would have squeezed the life out of him.
"I got your message."
"What about-"
"If you think the threat of arrest is going to keep me from my family, then you don't know me very well."
Meghan scoffed. "How can I when I didn't know you until five years ago?"
"I'm trying to lighten the mood here, Little Missy," Neal said, ruffling her hair.
"And I wish it was working…"
"She loved you, you know," they heard Mike's voice in the hall. "Pretty sure she never got over our breakup."
"Rachel?" Neal asked. Meghan shook her head.
"Well, that's because she knew you would never do better."
The voices rounded the corner to see Meghan already in the room. Mike didn't recognize the person holding her.
"Get your hands off my…" Neal turned around. "Danny? You're back?"
"For now… I don't have a lot of time before the FBI and TSA realize I'm not dead. Maybe a day or two."
"I can't believe I forgot to call you," Mike said, angry with himself again.
"It happens, Mike."
"But… if I didn't call you… How did you know?"
Neal looked down at the form still in his arms. A tidal wave of guilt was building in Mike's eyes. Meghan, the kid was legally responsible for, the kid who had relied on him for everything, was acting like more of an adult than he was.
Two weeks before, he was more concerned with work and the school's disciplinary action toward Meghan than he was in her physical condition. After Harvey had sent him home and he had some time to himself, he was finally seeing things he should have noticed from day one.
Gently, he took Meghan's bandaged arm. He removed a corner of it to see the damage. He could see it healing based on the scar tissue around the scabbing.
"I should have seen this when it happened," he said to himself. "Does it itch?"
"Like any rash," she corrected mid-word."
"When was the last time it was changed?"
"This morning. Supposed to be every four hours with a thirty-minute breather." She wasn't sure what to think. Lately, Mike hadn't seemed to notice her much unless she caused trouble.
Mike covered it back up, gently pressing on the tape. "Could you take her to the desk to have that changed, then take her home, Danny? I have two weeks off now that everyone at works knows about Grammy. We can spend some time together before you head out."
"I'll take her to get that changed. Can you handle this, or should we stay and help?" Neal asked.
"I'd rather she not see this any more than she already has to. She had to go on sleeping pills a while back. Talking about something very private in her sleep at the office."
Neal always said that eidetic memories were more of a curse than a blessing. And in Meghan's case, he was right.
Neal didn't take her home, though. They went to Mozzie's place instead. Her bandage took an hour to change, and Mike had to be called to the desk to sign the forms allowing them to treat her.
Meghan voiced her concern about staying with Mike during his bereavement time off from work. While she wasn't going to be granted that, she wanted to stay away from the self-destructive path he had already taken, even before he blew up at his boss.
"I'm sure Rachel cleaned him up before the funeral, but I could still smell it on his clothes."
"He's been clean ever since he started working at the Firm," Mozzie added. "Some of it had to do with her meds. It does not mix well with them."
"And how would she know they don't mix?" Neal asked with a pointed look toward his sister.
"I didn't know I had ordered the coffee kart special until I was high and still had the meds in my system. It was a weird day to say the least… It was like a scene from Men Who Stare at Goats. But with weed instead of acid, and no nudity."
The door was pounding. Mike was alone. He'd heard that knock before, but a knock was a knock. He could have been wrong. But if he wasn't wrong, he had to turn down picture frames in order to hide Meghan. There was nothing he could do to stop Neal from leaving again, but if he could keep anyone from finding her, he was going to do that regardless of the situation.
He opened the door to see the very person he'd suspected.
"When I sent you home, I didn't mean for you to never come back."
"My grandmother died."
"I know."
"Rachel tell you? Meghan?"
"You're asking a question to which I don't think you want an answer."
"It was Meghan. She's been checking up on me all day."
"Look, you obviously weren't ready to deal with it, so I respected that by keeping you busy. Was I wrong?
"No."
"Are you stoned?"
"Yep. And I'm not interested in a lecture, so—"
Harvey pushed right by him. "Good, 'cause I'm not interested in giving one." He lifted a joint from the coffee table, place in his mouth, and lit it.
"Yeah, help yourself."
"Don't mind if I do." He inhaled. "Is this the coffee cart guy?"
Mike was unaware that Harvey knew about that.
Time went by and Mike was seeing a side of Harvey he'd never experienced before. It was a fun night. Mike hadn't had a lot of crazy nights like this after Meghan moved in with him. He even thought it was funny when Harvey put this image in his head:
"Did you ever hear of a hanger?" Harvey asked, lifting one of Mike's suits from the floor.
"Oh, God, wow!" He chuckled. "I just got an image of you as a dad… with, like, a little Harvey Specter, you know, all hair-gelled, and, like, pinstripe Oshkosh B'gosh. 'Dad, don't play the odds, play the man. It's-it's a win-win.' You being like, 'go to your goddamn room'."
They were both laughing their heads off until Harvey saw the contract for Edith's apartment. Next to the contract was an image of Mike, Meghan, and their grandmother. He leaned in to get a closer look at the image. From Mike's angle it looked like a closer view of the contract.
"Oh, look at this. You bought an apartment in Manhattan."
Mike wasn't really looking at him, now. An opportunity had presented itself for Harvey to slide the image into his pocket.
"I got it for her… I always hated the word orphan. I mean, I just... I never felt like one… Until now."
Meghan spent the whole night tossing and turning on the air mattress Mozzie provided. Neal obviously didn't know why after not being around for the last few months.
They didn't stop by the apartment to pick up her prescription. Now it was like her body was going through withdrawal after one night without it.
"Maybe Mike's home. I'll stay with her while you get her meds. Make sure you grab both bottles," Neal whispered.
"You should have let me hit him," Harvey complained after chasing Louis from his new office. He had been moved to Paul Porter's office unwillingly.
"Oh, I don't know about that, but maybe we shouldn't have let him leave," Mike replied.
"Why?"
Mike was going to answer that when his phone rang.
"Meghan's at my place tonight," Mozzie said before letting Mike say a word. "Where do you keep her meds?"
"Medicine cabinet, and nightstand. Why do you need both?"
"Do you know if she's had her heart medication today?"
Mike froze. He had to think about it. Had he really paid that little attention to her for two months?
"Are you at my place?... Okay… Thanks for doing that. I'll meet you there," he said before hanging up.
"Who was that?"
"Neighbor thought they heard something. Let's finish up here so I can check on something... Maybe he wasn't snooping. Maybe he was, I don't know, trying to plant something, like- like drugs."
There was doubt in Harvey's response. "In my record collection?"
"What better place to stash the weed than with the Bob Marley, man?" Mike said in his best Jamaican accent.
"Louis doesn't even know where to buy drugs, let alone plant them."
"I know where to buy drugs… What if instead of peeing like we originally planned, we planted something in Hardman's office… genius!
"It's a crime."
"Maybe. But he wouldn't hesitate for one second to do the same thing to get rid of you."
Meghan was still sweating. Breathing was becoming a slight issue, though not serious. She was still at the stage where this could be fixed by taking her meds without being placed in a medically induced coma. Though a checkup with her doctor was going to happen.
To ease her breathing while Mozzie was away, Neal raised her up so she was leaning against him. There was a glass of crushed ice on the floor beside them. He was using the ice to keep her hydrated.
The door opened with Mozzie, and a stoned Mike coming up behind him.
"Mozz, get a glass of warm water… Warm, not hot… She has to be awake to take this pill. You wake her, and I'll open the bottle."
The water was brought to them. Neal was tapping Meghan's face to wake her. She was moving her head to get it away from the annoying taps. Mike dropped one pill into the cap. In situations like this, at least two were needed, but he always started with one. The second was only given after her breathing and heart rate had returned to normal.
Once she had opened her eyes to prove she was in fact awake, Mike held the water glass to her lips. She took small sips. Once she was ready to swallow a pill, Mike set it in her hand. She popped it in her mouth then took another sip.
Within an hour, things were returning to normal. The second does had been administered.
"When was her last episode?" Neal asked. "Looked like it's been a while. You knew what to do which means you've gone through this before." Mike held her hand while Neal kept her back against his chest.
"It has been a while… She was seven. You probably remember at that age, kids don't particularly like taking medicine. Couldn't get it in her even if you hid it in a brownie… and you know how much she likes chocolate." He looked down at her to be met with slit eyelids. "Grammy told the doctor's who then suggested IV treatments instead of oral until she was older. Meg was fine during the day, so she didn't need to be hooked up. She only needed to use it at night."
Mike still had his hand over Meghan's, his fingers against her wrist to monitor her pulse. Though dry, now, she still had the sweaty sheen. Her pulse and breathing had returned to normal.
"She can't have the sleeping pill until after the doctor's tomorrow. Could either one of you bring her back here after? She can't be alone after an episode," he explained. Then he looked back at her. "Don't scare me like that, again." It was a gentle tone. "We just lost Grammy. I can't lose you, too… I know a lot has happened over the last three days, but you can't let that stop you from taking care of yourself."
Meghan nodded. She wasn't quite ready to speak yet.
"Looks like she's getting that time off after all," Mozzie noted.
"Harvey and I are meeting with Jessica first thing, then I'll be coming back home for my two weeks off. Mozzie, I need you to call the office as her guardian and let them know she won't be coming in until her doctor clears her. If you can't reach Harvey's office, call Rachel. You won't have to lie. She'll think of something."
After that, Meghan fell asleep with Mozzie and her brothers watching over her in shifts. But Mike couldn't sleep. To busy his mind during one of the other shifts, he thought about what they were going to tell Jessica. How he and Harvey came up with their theory on Hardman. Their state of mind.
How were they going to prove this theory when they were as high as the building?
Harman more than likely planted something that would get rid of Harvey and Donna. Maybe even Mike, and now Meghan.
Because it was a heart condition, though managed, Meghan's doctor wanted to see her right away. She went through stress tests for what felt like hours.
Mike kept looking at his watch. It was getting closer to the time he needed to be at the office and Meghan was nowhere near done. He couldn't leave in case he had to sign anything, and letting Mozzie forge his signature wasn't going to happen because the security cameras had seen him come in with her.
He let Donna know he might be late, but he didn't give a reason. Harvey wasn't going to be please, but as important as their jobs were to him, Meghan was higher on his list.
Her tests were finally complete, and Mike was called to her exam room. She was back in her clothes.
"What's the verdict, Doctor?" He asked.
"Her test results have yet to be determined. There is one more test I'd like to run on her. It's a portable heart monitor that sends everything directly to us. No one would even know she has it unless one of you tells someone."
"How long would I have to wear it?" Meghan asked
"Depending on your results, it could be a week to a month. The dosage of your medications might change as well. We should have the results back by tomorrow. Keeping on your current dosage is better than you not taking it at all. I'd also like to recommend getting her back on the IV solution for the next few days."
"I don't want that again."
"What are our options?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Mr. Ross. She can go home or be admitted for over night observation. Either way, Meghan will have to be administered her heart medication intravenously at least once a day."
Meghan was going home. Her wrists had been set for the IV probes then they were ready to go. Mike shook the doctor's hand in thanks, then Meghan did the same. She followed him out the main entrance.
"Tell me something, Megs… do I have to count your meds again to make sure you're actually taking them? I haven't had to do that since you were ten…" he pulled her pill bottles from his pocket. "This one is supposed to be with you at all times. Where's the bracelet you're supposed to be wearing and why haven't you been wearing it?"
"I need a new one. The chain broke and the engraving faded."
Mike left Meghan with Mozzie after telling her he'd be ordering a new medical bracelet for her. He left instructions for Mozzie to follow until his return.
He entered Jessica's office intime to hear"
"He needed an executioner," from Harvey.
"And he picked Tanner."
"So when I suspected something was fishy, I'd focus on Tanner, not him."
"They were in on it together, Mike replied. "I went through every box that Hardman looked at, to find dirt on Tanner. There was no dirt."
"You need to call a partner meeting," Harvey stated.
"I'll call for it... five minutes after you get me some proof."
The two men got up, making plans.
"Bring the kid in on this. The more eyes we have on our side, the better. I'll go find Tanner, find out why he settled the CM case."
"I'll see if she's available," Mike said as they approached the new office.
"That may be a problem," Donna said as if she heard everything three floors away. "Kid's guardian just called. She won't be coming in for at least a week. Spent all morning in the hospital with heart trouble. Even faxed over a copy of the doctor's note."
Kid spent all morning in the hospital… Mike didn't come in until after noon… the picture in his apartment…
"Did her guardian give a name?"
"Teddy Winters," Donna answered.
Mike let out an internal sigh. Harvey was fishing. He had to be careful what was said or seen.
Harvey had been gone for at least two hours. He'd boxed a round with Tanner. The bet was if Harvey won, Tanner would answer one question. The CM memo that got the ball rolling was fraudulent.
Mike also found un-doctored documentation that provided what Tanner said was true. He was excited enough he tried to kiss Rachel who was in the file room with him.
"It can't be... it can't be like this," she stopped him.
"Why?"
"Because your grandmother just died. And your sister was in the hospital."
"You think not kissing is going to make that any better?"
"No, no, I think that's exactly what it's gonna do, and that's why it's a problem."
"Rachel, in the middle of the worst week ever, I have found a moment of something good. Now, ple..."
"I know. But when something like that happens, people don't make smart choices."
He respected her, but he was beginning to feel annoyed. "Yeah. No, you're right. But being smart... hasn't made either one of us very happy."
He hadn't given up on Rachel, but he did have work to do before he took his two weeks off. The kind of work that would clear on innocent lawyer. To some, those two words didn't go together. But in this case, with what the lawyer was given to work with, he was innocent.
He left Rachel alone and went to Harvey's office.
"I need you to run an angle for me," Harvey said. "Go to CM. Get them to sign this and bring it back in time for the meeting."
Getting Lawrence Kemp, CM's CEO, to sign the document was a challenge that failed. He'd already admitted to Harvey that what he did was wrong.
Jessica had called a meeting. Those who attended, including Hardman, thought it was about Harvey's refusal to adhere to the new drug testing policy.
The only ones who expected the document Mike brought into the meeting were not surprised by the turn of events.
"Harvey Specter has refused to take a mandatory drug test, leaving me no choice but to terminate his employment. As is his right, he has requested a hearing to dispute this, "Hardman said, pretending to be civil.
"Thank you, Daniel, but I'm not here to dispute anything. After all, I was high. I was high because I was being forced to work for you. A man who, it turns out, knew CM was negligent before I ever even took the case."
Louis tried to question the timing of this. Mike came in with a signed document, should Hardman continue with his lie as they felt he would.
"Do you deny knowing about the defects?" Harvey asked of Hardman.
"Unequivocally."
"And you deny writing this memo? Sending it to Tanner, knowing that he would come after this entire firm?"
It was a childish fight to the end.
Harvey's plan worked though he thought Mike had forged Kemp's name. He wrote his own name instead. No one bothered to look at the signature once Hardman learned he'd been sloppy.
"Tell me about the con, again," Meghan nearly begged. "I want the image of defeat on Hardman's face in my head."
"Let's set up your IV first. When did you take your sleeping pill? They can't be taken together." Mike got up from the floor beside the air mattress.
"I don't need it every night, Dad. Label says as needed."
Mike retrieved a bag of clear fluid from the refrigerator. Upon his return to her bedside, he hung the bag on a hook Mozzie had placed for her. He attached the tubes to the bag, allowing the fluid to flow through them, removing the air inside. Then he attached them to the needles in her arms, fastening the seals.
"Maybe tomorrow." He kissed the top of her head. "You should get some rest. Real rest… The doctor said it'd be better if you stayed in one place. You can take walks through the house, but you can't over-do it with the stairs. I'll see you in the morning to show Mozzie and Neal what they have to do if it's needed."
He wasn't going to tell his sister he was about to have an affair with the woman he was talking to on his way to their grandmother's nursing home room.
