She was finally married to Harvey.
Donna had never thought she would be married one day, she had had a few serious relationships in the past that had gone wrong at one point because they weren't on the same wavelength, or a little later, because of her so-called best friend. The redhead had really thought things would work out with Mark, it was actually the relationship that seemed to work out the best, but something was missing, and that something was Harvey. She had never felt what she felt when she looked at Harvey. Already in that bar, when he had looked her up and down, she had felt her heart race, her stomach knot, and the heat rise in her, but quickly, she understood that it would never happen because of the person he was. Harvey was handsome, caring, and absolutely perfect, but not at all serious when it came to commitment and relationships. Only, at certain times in their story, the redhead had the feeling that things could have been different. The first time was after the other time, when he had fallen asleep with his body surrounding hers, as Donna had imagined that things would change, but it was when she woke up alone the next day when all her hopes were dashed. Then, it was when she was fired and he had done everything to get her back, then when she had told him she loved him, or when she had kissed him and he had broken up with Paula. During all these years, she had hoped that things would work out, but without success, until the day he had shown up at her door, his desperate eyes looking at her with a mixture of love and relief. Since that day, it was crazy love between the two of them, the young couple were unable to separate, completely obsessed with each other, and this morning is the perfect example.
«Hum»
«Hey, did I wake you up?»
«Well, I think you've been kissing my back tenderly for at least twenty minutes, so yeah, a little»
«I'm sorry»
«No, you're not»snorted Donna.
«I'm not, you're right»chuckled Harvey.
As Donna turned to lay on her back, she looked at Harvey, who was still lying on his stomach, before running her fingers along his jawline, looking at him lovingly as he had his hand on her bare stomach, admiring her for a moment. She was only in panties and a bralette, her hair spread across the cushions while her eyes were still a little drawn from sleep, and for a few seconds, no one said anything, just looking at each other and enjoying the calm moment. While Donna had no desire to move, it was Harvey who took the first step to approach her and tenderly place his lips on hers.
«How is my wife this morning?»
«Good»
«I still can't believe your my wife»sighed Harvey before dropping another kiss on her lip.
«And you, my husband»
«I'm so in love with you, Donna»
«Me too, Harvey»
For a few more minutes, Harvey pecked Donna's lips while caressing her jaw very gently, looking at her with so much love that the redhead melted looking at his eyes. As the room was quiet, the first rays of sunlight lighting up the room, Donna straightened up slightly, placed a kiss on his mouth, then his cheek, his jaw, and finally his neck, she slipped her arms under his arms to hold him tight. Immediately, Harvey imitated her and slipped his arms under her neck, feeling her warm breath against the skin of his neck, the couple remaining like that for god knows how long. They were just so good and peaceful together, as if he had no more problems and what surrounded them did not overwhelm them, feeling safe in each other's arms. As the lawyer's alarm went off, he growled into Donna's neck as the redhead smiled and ran her hand through his hair.
«What time do you have your trial?»
«Nine o'clock»
«Soon, then»
«Yeah, but I'm so comfortable in bed with you»
«I know»
«What time do you start?»
«Later, I have my first appointment at two o'clock»
«Urgh, I wish I could have stayed in bed with you until two o'clock»
«Me too»
«I don't wanna go, Donna»
Without even waiting for a response from her, he kissed her tenderly for a few more minutes before Donna spoke.
«Harvey, you have to go»
«I know, but I just— »
Kiss.
«— can't— »
Another one.
«— do— »
Kiss her again.
«— it»
As he continued to kiss her, both of them got lost in the moment until Donna pushed Harvey away with wide eyes and whispered against his lips.
«Honey, you're really going to be late»
Realizing that he only had an hour left, he quickly got up, took off his boxers on his way to find himself naked, running to the bathroom before taking his shower while the redhead heard the water running. By the time he finished getting ready, Donna was scrolling on her phone until she saw him appear in the room again in his Tom Ford suit to climb on the bed and kiss her passionately.
«This is your last trial in New York, enjoy it»
«I will. See you later?»
«See you, honey»
As soon as Harvey was out of the apartment, Donna lay back down on his side, inhaling his scent and smiling, completely intoxicated by him. For his part, Harvey was in the taxi that took him to court, staring at his cell phone wallpaper, falling in love again and again as he saw the redhead on his screen smile widely, showing her hand and her wedding ring, joy written all over her face. Harvey would never have believed he would be so in love, and yet with Donna, he had the feeling that it hurt him physically, as if his heart was not big enough for all the love he had for her. Quickly, he was cut off from his thoughts when the driver stopped in front of the large, bright building.
«We have arrived, sir»
«Thank you very much. Have a nice day»
«To you too»
As Harvey arrived in front of the New York courthouse, the lawyer felt his heart pinch as he thought about the fact that this was probably the last time he would come to plead in this court that had seen him grow and evolve over the last fifteen years. He had no regrets about leaving for Seattle, he was even eager to start all over again with Donna, to finally live the life he had unconsciously been waiting for. So with a deep breath, he climbed the few steps and entered the building. On the other side of Manhattan, Donna had finally decided to get out of bed and walk around the apartment to look around her. After looking at her different vinyls, she found photo albums at the bottom of the shelf and quickly grabbed the one named Boston. As soon as the album was opened, Donna's breath caught when she saw the first photo.
«Oh my god»
On it, was a black and white photo where Harvey couldn't have been more than six months old, lying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows, while he looked at the camera with big eyes and his mouth slightly open. He was so adorable that Dona melted in front of the shot, and if until now, she found the photos of children cute, she had never felt as many butterflies in her stomach as at that moment. She knew very well why she felt that way, and even if she tried to push the idea away, she had started to imagine it as soon as they got together, then even more since they got married, but especially since they were looking for their future home in Seattle. Even if they didn't talk about it, the question of how much bedroom was needed remained unanswered. Right now, looking at the pic, she could picture herself holding this baby — a mini version of her husband — in her arm, kissing him tenderly and laying him in his bed, in one of the extra bedrooms of the house they had bought. She knew she had to talk to Harvey, but she was a bit scared because if she didn't know what she wanted, she absolutely had no idea what Harvey wanted, family and kids being a sensitive subject for him. As she slid her finger over another picture of him around five years old, his blond hair, his big chocolate eyes, and his typical little smile, she swallowed with difficulty before being interrupted by the alarm on her phone telling her it was time to get ready for her day. For his part, barely out of the courtroom, the lawyer heard someone shout his name behind him.
«Harvey, hey»
«Adam»
«Yeah, how are you, buddy?»
Adam was a lawyer with whom he had studied years ago at Harvard and whom he had the opportunity to see again from time to time at rallies or conventions.
«I'm good. What about you? What are you doing in New York?»
«Oh, my client has part of his business in Los Angeles, part in New York, so we're having the trial here. You? Still at Pearson Hardman?»
«It's actually Specter Litt Wheeler Williams»
«So you made it? Your name is on the wall? Good for you»
«Yeah. But that was my last trial in New York»
«Really?»
«Yeah»
«Why?»
«I'm moving to Seattle soon»
«Seattle? I would never have thought that about you, you who always talked about New York when we were at Harvard»
«Yeah, that's true, but being a lawyer in New York is a lot of time, energy, devotion, and I'm a little tired of that, I have other priorities that I would like to dedicate my time to»
As he showed his wedding ring with a big smile, the chuckled guy had to talk.
«You are married? Dude, when?»
«Two weeks ago»
«That's crazy. How long have you been with your wife?»
«Well, it's complicated, but let's say that I've been in love with her for thirteen years, yeah»
«Thirteen years? Man, that's a lifetime. I understand now why you want to dedicate yourself to her. Do you have a picture of the woman who made the great Harvey Specter, a tidy and devoted man?»
«Yeah, wait»
The photo showed Donna at Del Posto on one of their many dates where she was sitting across from him, one hand holding her wine glass, elbow resting delicately on the table, her upgraded engagement ring glinting against the material, while the other hand had intertwined its fingers with Harvey's and was visible in the corner of the photo. She was wearing a black dress with a straight collar and two thin straps revealing her freckled neck, cleavage and arms, while her long red hair, reflected by the candle in front of her, shone around her beautiful face, her big greenish brown eyes that looked at him with such love, and a small discreet smile on her lips.
«Alright, no disrespect, I understand you waited thirteen years»
«She's beautiful, yeah»
«So what? Are you going to continue practicing law in Seattle or dedicate yourself to your wife only?»
«No, I'm going to continue working — she's working too — but at a slower pace, which will allow me to spend more time with her and have other projects»
«Like baby project?»
«Hum, yeah, maybe — I'm sorry, Adam, I have to leave you, but I hope I'll see you soon»
«Me too, Harvey. See you, and oh, yeah, congratulations»
«Thank you»
With that, Harvey left the court with his head in a muddle. With everything that had happened in the last few weeks, the question of what would come next had never really passed, and he could feel that the subject of babies was something sensitive between them. On one hand, Harvey was afraid of not being up to it or of screwing up, not having the best example of parenting at home, but on the other hand, he was with Donna, they were together, and nothing and no one could stop them, they were a team and a good one. He would have let himself be tempted by a baby or two with her, it would be the perfect fulfillment of their lives and their love, little beings half him, half her, and just the idea gave him butterflies in his stomach. But the problem was that, even if he was ready, Donna didn't want one. He remembered a conversation they had once had when they were a bit drunk, and the lawyer had asked her if she didn't want children, and her answer had surprised his.
«Before yes, when I was a teenager or at university, like most girls, I dreamed of Prince Charming, children, and the big house, but now, I realize that I prefer my career and me, and that I don't want to deprive myself of things because I have children. As selfish as it may be»
Since that conversation, they had never spoken about it again, and Harvey had understood that the conversation had to be necessary one day, because if she was categorically against it, the lawyer was starting to think about it seriously, and he didn't want this opposition to create problems in their relationship. Only, they were so well at the moment that he didn't want it to explode, and left the problem for later, returning to his work. An hour later, he heard someone knock at the door and smiled widely when he saw his wife in a magnificent blood red dress.
«Hey»
«Hey. How did it go?»
«I win»
«My man»
«Yeah»chuckled Harvey.
«You were not too late?»
«No, right on time»
«Good»
«About tonight? Your place or mine?»
«Do you mind if we go to mine? I still have to come by to get some new clothes»smiled Donna.
«Alright, plus, your mattress is way more comfortablethan mine »
«Good, see you later, honey»
«See you»
After a quick kiss, both of them went back to work without ever seeing each other again. At five o'clock, when he had finished and Donna was still in an appointment, the lawyer went to his house to collect some things, then he went to his wife's, using his own keys to enter the apartment. After getting comfortable, he settled in front of the TV, watching a baseball game while waiting for her to return, until his gaze was drawn to a photo on the cabinet next to him. Until now, he had never paid attention, being too focused on her to look around him, but a series of photos littered the cabinet, and the lawyer quickly got up to contemplate. A photo of her as a teenager on stage, dressed in theatrical costume, one with him, Louis, and Jessica, a series with her friends, Rachel and her family, but the two that intrigued Harvey were hidden behind. On the first, we could see Laurel, Donna's mother, holding a very small version of his wife, not even a year old, already her big eyes and a tuft of red hair, while flashes of images of him with a little redhead in his arms, hugging her tightly, placing little kisses on her head while she was making high pitched noises, haunting his head. Right next to it was a close up photo of Donna from behind, a baby against her, its little head resting on her shoulder while the redhead's head was turned towards the child to look at him, revealing the side of her face, making the lawyer melt, who was already imagining his wife being a mother with their own babies. If Harvey was in the middle of a fantasy, he quickly came back to reality when he remembered that she didn't want a baby and that he was going to have to accept it. A few minutes later, he heard the door open, hurried to put the pictures back in their place before hearing the sweet voice of his wife reasoning in the apartment.
«Honey, I'm home»
God, he loved this new life, the simplicity of waiting for his wife to come home, for her to place a delicate kiss on his lips before caressing his jaw and then preparing food while listening to her tell him about her day, he just loved it. To her great happiness, the days followed one another, and were similar, warming the couple's hearts with each moment of domesticity, until the day they found themselves in the private lounge of the airport, waiting for their flight, while they were sitting next to each other, Donna with her legs crossed, Harvey's hand caressing her knee while the redhead had wrapped her arms around her husband's and had rested her head on his shoulder.
«Our first vacation as a couple»
«Yeah, I can't wait. You, me, on a private beach, under the sun, the sound of the waves, but especially you naked, God»
«Naked?»snorted Donna.
«What? It's a private beach»
«No way, I'll wear a swimsuit. Imagine if someone passes by?»
«There won't be anyone»
«No way»
«Babe..»
«Don't worry, you haven't seen the swimsuit yet»
In fact, when Harvey saw the swimsuit, he hallucinated. Donna wore a dark green bikini consisting of a simple thong panty and a triangle bra, covering the bare essentials and showing off the large areas of her pale, freckled skin. Sex on the beach was a first for both of them, but they're definitely going to do it again. After almost a week of basking in the sun, Harvey felt it was time to broach the subject with his wife. So when they were both lying on the double sunbed facing the ocean, cuddled in each other's arms, while their warm skin radiated on each other's, he cleared his throat before speaking softly.
«Hey, babe. Can we talk about something?»
«Sure. What going on?»
«I ran into Adam the other day, I don't know if you remember, we were at Harvard together, anyway, he asked me how I was doing, and we came to the fact that I was going to move to Seattle with you because we were looking for a less stressful lifestyle to focus on other things. And so he asked me if we had a baby plan»
As he said the word baby, he felt Donna stiffen in his arms, and he panicked, imagining that this was going to change everything between them, but seeing his wife sit up to look at him with a small smile, caressing his bare thigh while he was still lying down, Harvey swallowed hard before whispering.
«I don't want this conversation to change anything between us, Donna»
«It won't»
«But I need to know»
«I know»
For a few seconds, no one said anything until Donna started to speak.
«What do you think about it?»
«I don't know, being a father had never crossed my mind. Before, my priority was my career and my victories in court, nothing else, but now there's you, you're my priority now, and I don't know, we just got married, I know that's usually how it works: we fall in love, we get married, then we have babies. The idea of creating a being that's half you, half me really tempts me, I'm even a little excited at the idea that it could happen to us, even if I remain petrified at the idea of screwing up, but I know that it won't happen because I have you by my side»
«So, why do I feel like something is holding you back, then?»
«You don't want it»
«What?»
«Do you remember when we celebrated the victory against Andre Benny? When we drank in my office? Well, you told me that you didn't want children, well, he used to but that you didn't want it anymore, that you preferred to focus on yourself and your career first. So now, I'm torn between wanting to go all the way with you, to have everything, and the fear of losing you if we don't agree on this subject. I don't want us to argue or to move away because we don't have the same opinion on this, I love our life now, I don't want it to change. So if you really don't want it, it's okay, but I needed to tell you»
For a few seconds, Donna remained silent, biting her lip as she stared straight ahead, as if she were thinking about something. If Harvey was afraid he had gone too far, the redhead's fingertips drawing random shapes on his bare thigh gave the lawyer the impression that his wife was not upset by this conversation, but thinking about it.
«You're right. When we talked, I didn't want children, but I don't know, things have changed. We're married, happy together, we're going to move to Seattle, and —»
«Donna, I don't want you to feel obligated just because we're married»
«I didn't want children because I didn't imagine myself as a mother. But now, with you, I don't have the same vision that I had of myself. Before, I was a legal secretary who had a series of failed relationships while being secretly in love with my boss, I mean, that's not how I imagined myself becoming a mother, so yeah, I didn't want to. But now, I'm COO of one of the big legal firms in New York, and I'm going to occupy the same position in probably one of the biggest firms in Seattle too. I'm married to the love of my life with whom I'm happy, we have a stable professional situation, money, stability, and the perfect situation to welcome a child. So yeah, I didn't want a baby, but now that I have the opportunity, I want your baby»
«Seriously?»
«Yeah. I came across a picture of you when you were a baby, and honey, I dream of having one of our own like that in my arm»
«I would like a little girl. With your hair and your big eyes»
«But with your smile»Donna added.
«Yeah. This baby will be perfect»
«Like us»
«So you agree? We're making a baby together?»
«If it's okay for you, I'm ready, yeah»
«But Donna, if it doesn't work, I don't want that to tear us apart»
«It will work, come on. Aren't you the best closer in New York?»
«I am, yeah»
As both of them were chuckling together, the redhead moved around to straddle Harvey, bending over her husband to drop kisses on his lips while he caressed her bare back and ass, enjoying the moment. He had been so scared to talk about it and ruin everything that he never imagined that it could turn out the way it did. As soon as they got back, between preparing the moving boxes, they both went to the doctor's office to make sure everything was in order. At thirty-nine and forty, Donna and Harvey had never asked themselves the question, but now that they had to get to work, they both panicked at the idea that something was wrong with them or that it was too late, but when they both received a positive opinion, the couple celebrated under the sheets, Harvey working his ass off to get Donna pregnant while dreaming of holding their creation one day in his arms.
«Congratulations, daddy»
It had only taken a month for Harvey to get Donna pregnant, and when she had told him on his birthday, he had let the tears flow again and again until he fell asleep in Donna's arms, his large hand resting under her t-shirt, on her still flat stomach. Days passed, turned into weeks, then months, and Harvey was going crazy seeing Donna's belly rounding little by little, the redhead carrying this pregnancy perfectly. At the first ultrasound, they had cried when they saw what looked like a bean on the screen, then they had cried harder when they discovered that there was not one, but two beans. If the couple didn't think they would be happier, when the obstetrician revealed that they were two girls, Harvey never thought he would get over it, and spent his days kissing his wife's belly and thanking her. If the lawyer had more or less managed his emotions until then, when he saw his wife give everything to bring their two children into the world, he didn't think he could be more in love with her, until the moment they placed the twins on Donna's chest, who was sobbing while caressing their little backs. Everything was perfect, Donna was perfect, Harvey was perfect, and most importantly, their two daughters were perfect. So one night, while the mother was breastfeeding Juliet and Harvey was walking with Alice to rock her to sleep, the two of them exchanged a knowing look full of innuendo. For Harvey, who had been consumed by his demons for so many years, he realized that all he needed was Donna and their daughters, that they were the ones who would save him, his family, and that he was never going to screw up because he was exactly where he was supposed to be. And for Donna, she had long given up on her teenage dream of marrying Prince Charming with whom she would have perfect children because she thought that was not what she wanted. But in reality, what she wanted was Harvey, her Prince Charming, who had given her perfect children. So, yeah, she might never have thought of being a mother in the past, but when she looked at the almost sleeping baby on her chest, she realized that she had just never thought of being a mother other than being for Harvey's children, because it was him.
It had always been him.