Donna stops by at the nurse's desk, signing whatever needs to be signed before going home. Placing a hand at the back of her neck, she releases the tension by stretching it out in a circular motion after performing a grueling 5-hour emergency transplant surgery.
Like what a good doctor does, she checks the patient's chart to make sure everything's fine. She's in the midst of reading the last page of the chart when she hears some giggling coming from two young nurses. She eyes the two who are deeply unaware how loud their bursts of laughter are. She follows their gaze and surprisingly finds Harvey on the other side of the glassed walls, assisting an elderly patient get to her bed. Her chuckle has now joined the nurses' when she sees him having a hard time looking for a plug for the patient's machine. Letting some moments pass before deciding to offer help.
"You know if you needed a job, you could've told me. I would've put in a good word for you." She teases, grabbing the cord from him and plugging it in. She calls the attention of the two nurses to take over, allowing her and Harvey to leave the room.
"Hi." He murmurs shyly.
"What are you doing?" She asks, walking back to the nurses desk with him.
He looks back at the patient's room. "She called me. There's no one around." He explains, embarrassed.
She tries to suppress her laugh but fails. "No, I mean here." She swirls around a finger between them.
He clears his throat, rocking back and forth on his heels. "I'm here to pick you up." He tells her, both hands in pockets. He's nervous just like the first time he asked her out.
She turns around meeting his gaze, speechless with confusion written all over her face.
"Avery mentioned that you get off at 5 today." He fills in when she doesn't say anything. "And that you've been commuting recently." There's concern and a hint of annoyance in his tone. He was so furious when he found out that she uses public transportation at an ungodly hour.
.
.
(flashback)
He's woken up by the creaking of the hardwood floor and of the muffled footsteps coming from the hallway. He slept light, checking on his daughter from time to time, all throughout the night. Worry sends him rushing out of the bedroom.
"Avery?" He calls out.
"Living room!" He strides down the stairs almost missing a step as soon as he hears her reply. He finds her pacing back and forth. Face glowing from the light of her phone screen. Thumbs padding away, eyes glued on whatever she's typing.
"Avery, are you okay? Does something hurt?" He queries, catching the crook of her elbow to stop her from pacing. His eyes scan his daughter from head to toe.
"I'm fine. Nothing hurts." She replies without throwing a single glance at him.
"Okay but what's wrong?"
She peers up at the clock by the fireplace. "Mom hasn't come home yet and she hasn't texted me back either." She continues pacing, this time with her phone glued to her ears finally calling the hospital. "She said she's done at five. It's already thirty after five, Dad. It doesn't take that long to get here from the hospital."
He tries not to worry. "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably stuck on a surgery or something." He consoles her daughter, knowing how it usually is when Donna doesn't answer right away. He's gotten used to it and has accepted the fact that her working hours are sometimes unpredictable.
"No. Not when she's commuting."
"What? What do you mean by commuting?" He asks, a crease forms along his forehead.
His daughter holds a finger up when she gets connected to the hospital operator. A few minutes pass and he hears a sigh of relief from her, after finding out Donna's actually stuck performing an emergency transplant surgery. Still bothered by his earlier question, he asks again.
"Her car was brought to the dealership. They haven't fixed it until now. She's been taking the train or cab sometimes." Avery answers as she makes her way to the sofa. She lies down, closing her eyes.
"What's going on?" A third voice chimes in. Clara who came in last night walks in the living room. The youngest Paulsen fills in her grandmother with her worries.
Clara sighs. "Oh Avery." Averting her gaze from her granddaughter to Harvey. "She always waits for her to get to the hospital or get home especially at this time of the day. Wouldn't sleep without knowing her mom's safe." She gives him a faint smile, proud of her granddaughter's protectiveness. "They even argued one time. Avery didn't want Donna to leave because of some horrific news she saw on TV. You know the norm." She pauses when she notices the quick rise and fall of Harvey's chest. "Something you would do, I presume."
He wishes he knew the details sooner. He would've gotten her a car. Hell, he would've even gotten her a driver if necessary. Though he knows, she'll politely decline. But what's another thing to argue about if it's for their safety.
"Alright, that's it." His voice is firm, both hands on his waist. "I'm picking her up from now on." He adds, before walking back to the bedroom to get dressed. He should put the new clothes he bought to use after all.
(end of flashback)
.
.
"So, how long have you been waiting?" She crosses her arms in front of her chest.
He runs a hand through his hair before rubbing the back of his neck. "Not long," he says quickly with a low voice.
"Harvey," she warns. She doesn't buy his answer because she sees he can't even look her in the eye when he responds to her question.
"Okay, maybe around two hours. Got here just before six." He sees her 'but' coming so he beats her to it. "Your mom's home by the way so you don't have to worry about Avery."
Her breath hitches after knowing he's been waiting for about two hours. There's a warm fuzzy feeling spreading like a wildfire that she refuses to entertain, not wanting to give any meaning on why her ex-husband is picking her up all of a sudden. She washes away her thoughts, refusing to overthink.
"Okay, uhm let me go get my stuff." She excuses herself and walks down to her office.
...
They walk in silence towards the parking lot, with Harvey walking a step ahead of her. She's currently on the phone with their daughter who's a little pissed off that she didn't give an update. With her phone tucked away in her office, she didn't get the chance to. "I'm sorry. Yes, Avery. We're on the way home." She looks at her company shaking her head. A few more interrogations from their daughter and she finally bids goodbye.
"She's worse than you, you know." She tells him smiling as they reach the parking lot, amazed that Harvey knows his way around the maze-like hospital corridors.
He returns her smile and he spots the car he got and opens the passenger door for her. She feels the exhaustion as soon as her back hits the comfort of the passenger seat. She closes her eyes, allowing herself to drift away for a moment. That is until his scent fills her nostrils, waking her up in an instant.
She slowly glances up and meets his gaze. Their faces are just a mere inch away from each other. Her eyes widen, and he clears his throat. "Sorry, out of habit."
"What?" She asks until she hears the sliding of the seatbelt that he reaches over her shoulder. "Oh. Thanks," she murmurs.
"You're welcome." She almost didn't hear him with the quick and loud hammering of her heart against her chest. Her ex-husband still has the same effect on her.
He starts the ignition and drives out of the parking lot, welcoming the rush hour traffic in the Windy city.
"How's your shift?" He starts the conversation as they patiently wait for the light to turn green.
She sighs. "Tiring as always. But all the operations went well so there's that."
"How about you, did you sleep well?" She inquires.
"Not as well as my first night here." He teases, wiggling a brow, automatically earning the roll of her eyes. "Because I had to check on Avery." He continues with a smirk.
He decides to tune in the radio to accompany them and mask the horns blaring outside. The soft jazz fills the atmosphere, but the grumbling of her stomach didn't go unnoticed.
"Hungry?" He asks, brushing a finger at the back of her hand that's resting on the middle console.
"Seems like it." She chuckles. "But it's okay. I can still wait 'til we get home." She waves off a hand.
Fifteen minutes passes and their daughter has called to inquire their whereabouts. With the cars barely moving, it'll take them at least another half an hour to get home. They sit in silence, until her stomach makes another noise, causing them both to burst out in laughter.
"Hey, how about we stop at the next restaurant and feed that hungry stomach of yours." He offers. "Might as well wait 'til the rush hour passes."
...
"What are the chances?" He asks, looking at the familiar big retro sign of the family owned diner they had stopped by. The diner is nicely situated between the suburbs and the city, offering a nice steady pace of foot traffic.
"Yeah." She replies, releasing a deep breath.
Nostalgia hits him. The diner has been a witness to countless breakfast they've had when he visits. Memories of them play like a movie in his head as they walk inside. Instinctively going for the usual spot by the large glass window, offering a view of the morning hustle and bustle along the street.
Donna excuses herself to go to the ladies room, leaving him alone at the table.
"Harvey?" A familiar male voice asks. "Am I seeing a ghost?"
He turns around to see the owner of the diner. "Bob!" He stands up greeting the man in his early sixties. "Long time no see."
"Are you with Donna?" The older man asks straightforwardly.
"I am."
"So you two are finally back together, huh?" He hears him asking, receiving a congratulatory tap on the back.
"No." He answers bitterly. Quickly changing the topic, he asks the man how he's doing and the diner.
"Aside from getting old, I'm good. And the diner is doing pretty well." The two vacant tables left are enough evidence.
He nods, genuinely happy for the owner. "So do they still come here often?" Harvey asks. The owner already knows who he's pertaining to. He's grown accustomed to the little family that frequents his diner before, already treating them as an extension of his own. "From time to time. Mostly just Donna stopping by for coffee before she goes to work."
The sadness in Harvey's smile is left unmasked. It used to be the two of them stopping by before he drops her off at work.
"But hey, I always stock up a bottle of vanilla for her coffee." The older man replies, trying to lighten up the younger man's mood. "Just like you asked me, two years ago." He adds with a wink.
"What did I miss?" Donna butts in as she walks towards the gentlemen. After exchanging pleasantries with Donna, the owner excuses himself to grab the menu for the couple. Or ex-couple for that matter.
...
"Just holler when you guys are ready to order." Bob leaves after handing the menus and placing down two cups of coffee with vanilla, an order they didn't have to voice out.
They grab the much-needed drink at the same time. She peers up and sees him already staring. He slightly clinks the cup to hers before taking it to his lips. "Still beautiful." He whispers before sipping, eyes glued on her.
She breaks eye-contact looking out the window, pretending she didn't hear the whispered compliment. Thankful for the cup of coffee, she sips the warm liquid with both hands curled around the cup to hide her pinkish blushing cheeks.
"What do you want?" He asks. He skims through the menu but none of the words or images register in his head, too consciously aware of who's across him. Taking another quick glance at her, he wishes someone would take a picture of them so he could print and hold on to this moment — the morning sunlight diffuses through, giving a glow on her long red strands dangling on one side, the beautiful flutter of her lashes as her eyes scan the menu.
"I'll have pancakes." Her soft voice and the low thud of the menu hitting the table breaks his reverie.
"Pancakes, huh?" He mocks. "When was the last time you had pancakes?" He straightens up on his seat and breaks the embarrassing stare behind the lousy question he has thrown.
"I'll have you know, I just had some a few weeks ago." She quips, grabbing the cup for another sip.
"You finally learned?" He cocks his head to the side and raises a brow at her.
"Yes!" She replies with a nod. "No." She places down the cup and wiggles her index finger. "Avery cooked." She adds, undoing the white lie quickly and mirrors his grin.
Right on time, Bob passes by to grab their order. "And for you, Harvey?" He asks after writing down Donna's.
"Uhh," he scratches the back of his head. "I'll have the same thing she's having." He copies her order after forgetting to choose one off the menu. He feels the questioning stare from Donna, thankful she didn't say anything.
They're left alone in each other's company. Not knowing what to say next, they sit in silence, leaning on the table but craning their necks towards the window, watching the daily chaos of the city outside.
Donna abruptly sits back when she feels a throbbing discomfort travel from the back of her right dominant hand down to the nerve of her fingers. She shakes the hand off on the side and starts the massage she's done a million times after surgery, oblivious of the worried stare from Harvey.
"Let me." He says in a low husky voice, reaching out his left hand with an open palm. She fidgets in her seat, unsure if she should give out hers. Until the silver band catches her eyes, glistening under the ray of sun.
She couldn't believe it. "Y-you're still wearing it?" She asks, lips quivering as she stares at his wedding ring.
It's been two years since the last time she'd seen it. Yet the day she slipped the shiny silver band on his ring finger feels like it just happened yesterday. All the details of their union are still deeply ingrained in her mind. As cliche as it may sound, their wedding day was one of the happiest days of her life. She could probably still recite her vows. One that she had unfortunately broken. For better or for worse. The phrase rings in her ears.
His brows furrow at her question only getting it when he follows her gaze. "Never took it off." He answers trying too hard to sound casually, gently pulling her hand and starts kneading. "Where does it hurt?" He asks, trying to change the subject and solely focusing on her hand. Her question is nothing but a sore reminder that they're not together anymore.
As if on cue, his eyes search for the same thing on her hand, only to find it bare. No shiny silver ring in sight.
"You don't have to do that anymore." He hears her say shyly, not sure whether it's about wearing the ring or about the kneading.
"Donna, as far as I'm concerned you're still my wife." The last word sounds strange out of his mouth, not having used the term for so long. "And I promised I'd take care of you." He's too stunned to say anything else after the sentence slips out. Though what he said was nothing but the truth. Under the eyes of the law, they're legally married. Neither filed for a divorce. He didn't have it in him to initially do it. Not even sure he'd sign if she serves him one.
She sees the pained expression on his face, her hands bare of the wedding ring being the cause. Her other hand reaches for her chest, words stuck in the throat. Not sure how to voice out the explanation of the case. "It's all good now." She murmurs instead. The throbbing pain in her hand now replaced by a different ache in her chest. Of longing. Of missing him.
"Are you sure?" She nods at his question, giving his hand a light squeeze for assurance.
"Okay. With your hand aside, how are you?" He asks without letting go. She brushes a thumb on the back of his. "I'm good. Busy at work, Avery. Nothing new."
"And you?" She throws the question back at him.
He shrugs. "Just work. Rachel's my associate now too, but I'm sure you know that already. " He gives a faint smile. "Aside from that, there's nothing new." Still missing you, he wanted to add but didn't.
"It's been two years, huh?" She says. Hands still intertwined resting on the table, neither pulling away.
"And here are the pancakes!" They jerk their head after hearing Bob's voice who's in the process of putting their meals down the table. Causing them to ignore her comment and break the physical contact to make space.
...
They're in the midst of devouring the warm buttery pancakes when the quiet chatter in the background is replaced by his voice.
"Speaking of work, how long have you been commuting?" He asks, folding his arms against the chest. "And you use the public transpo at nighttime or at dawn." He adds wanting to say more and get the frustrations out of his chest but chose not to. He keeps it to himself not wanting to cause any arguments on his second day in the city.
She avoids his piercing gaze as she feels his irritation. "Uhm, three months?" She whispers, biting her lips. There's no point in lying. He sees right through her just as well as she does to him. Toying with the fork, she explains further, feeling the need to. "My car's at the dealership getting fixed. Something about a car part they need and hasn't arrived yet from overseas. That's why it's taking so long."
"They didn't loan you a courtesy car?" He asks, brow raised in annoyance, already on the verge of suing a Lexus dealership.
"There's none available apparently." She shrugs. "But I get rides from my colleagues too, sometimes." She adds, seeing the expression is still on his face, trying to minimize his irritation and worry.
She knows he isn't fond of her taking public transportation at unconventional hours. He tries to pick her up no matter how inconvenient it may be for him when they were living in New York. The reason he got Ray in the first place, especially when they already had Avery. So one of them can stay with her. It gave him peace of mind, keeping both of his girls safe.
He pulls out a business card from his wallet and hands it to her. "It's my car club here, use it at your disposal."
She takes the card, knowing he won't take no for an answer. "Wow! You've been here two days and you were able to register at a car club that fast?" She's amazed as she scans the information inked on the sleek black card, giving the impression that it's one of the exclusive car clubs in the city.
"No." He mutters, scratching his temple. "I've had it since."
She quickly looks up and meets his eyes, shock written all over her face. She knows he rents a car whenever he's in the city because he never liked the idea of taking a cab especially when he's out with their daughter. But she didn't think he gets his cars from a car club and that he's done it ever since they transferred to Chicago.
He just nods at her, answering her silent question of 'since I started working here?' He averts his eyes from her, not sure he's ready to respond to the next questions she has for him. He focuses back on his coffee, finishing the last few sips left on his cup until his phone buzzes.
Where are you guys? Last I checked the hospital isn't in another state.
He smiles at the message. Their daughter sounds more like their parent than their child as each day passes, a perfect mix of their stubbornness and sassiness. But he's glad that she still seeks them out and enjoys their company even in her teenage years.
At Bob's.
He replies back but immediately gets another message after a few seconds.
Without me?! Not fair.
The smile on his face hasn't left since he picked up his phone. And the second time his phone buzzed has left him chuckling at whatever it is he is reading. Donna's heart sank a bit at this sight in front of her. She still has thoughts running in her mind and things she'd want to clear up but it seems Harvey has completely forgotten her presence.
She thinks quietly in her seat as she watches him type again on his phone. Who is he talking to? Who suddenly got his attention? But most importantly, why is she bothered by it?
He tucks away his phone and stands up. "It's Avery," he says. "I'll grab some pancakes to go and then we can leave. She's still waiting for us."
She nods as he leaves their table and makes his way to the counter. She shakes her head at the thought that, for a second there, she may have felt something different. Maybe a bit hurt that he's quick to drop their conversation. And maybe, just maybe, a tinge of jealousy that someone else made him smile when it's her that used to be the reason behind it.
She lets out a sigh as she remembers that it's their daughter that put the Cheshire cat smile on his face. 'Way to go Paulsen,' she whispers to herself, closing her eyes at how ridiculous that one moment of jealousy went.
But that hasn't fully put her at ease. She opens her eyes and turns her head to where he's standing. She looks at him from afar and still can't help but wonder.
What if he really has someone else now?