To get me back into writing, my bestie Heather (hjlbsw - please check out her stories) suggested that I should write short stories that are being inspired by the shenanigans of the Specter family (strawberry_specter & nyc_closer) we created on Instagram. If all goes well, I will post a few random one-shots that go along with the pics we post there. This won't be highly literal and it will not win me any prices. It's just pure, mindless fluff to get my lazy ass behind the keyboard again. I hope you enjoy it regardless.

This one-shot goes along with the Father's Day post on Donna's IG from July 17, 2019

Sweet Peas

"Donna, have you heard from -"

Harvey looked up from the folder he was reading from and the rest of the sentence got stuck in his throat. His wife was not in her office like he expected her to be. They had a call with a potential new Senior Associate scheduled and it wasn't like her to run late.

Making his way back out into the hallway, he saw Gretchen coming towards him. Before he could realize what was happening, his former secretary had grabbed the folder out of his hands and pushed him down the hall.

"Mr. Specter, I will reschedule the phone call. Red is in the bathroom, puking like a couple of teenagers on spring break. You better take her home before she takes down the whole office. I will never hear the end of it if Mr. Litt catches whatever she has."

Harvey raced towards the ladies room, silently cursing his wife. He told her not to have the leftovers from last night for lunch but she claimed they would still be good. Looks like Donna Paulsen-Specter wasn't always right after all. She was already feeling off this morning after having the Thai food last night. He should have just thrown out the whole box while she was in the shower.

Pushing his way through the door, he found Donna leaning against the sink, reapplying her lipstick. Hearing the door slam shut, she turned towards him.

"Harvey, what are you doing here?"

"Are you alright?" He looked her over, checking if she was really as fine as she appeared.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She gave him an innocent smile.

"Don't give me that face. You ate the noodles, didn't you?"

She tried to keep up the charade, but she also hated lying to her husband. Even if it was about something so trivial.

"You were in your meeting and I didn't want to go out for lunch on my own. It was just convenient. And you know I can't say no to their sweet peas."

"As convenient as this food poisoning is going to be?"

"It does give us an excuse to go home early. I will let you decide how convenient that is going to be," she said with a smirk.

She put an extra swing into her step and brushed against her husband on the way out of the bathroom.

As much fun as an Afternoon Delight would have been, Donna wasn't feeling up to much the rest of the day. They just spent the evening on the couch, watching old Star Trek reruns. It didn't take them long to move their attention from the TV to the stack of case files on the coffee table.

"I booked our tickets for next week and the suite at the Four Seasons is confirmed. Do you really think we can get her to testify?"

Harvey and Samantha had been working on a class action against an energy company for three months now and they were desperately trying to make the former CFO of the company talk. After the woman was fired, she had moved to Washington, DC and Harvey had hoped that he had more chances pleading his case face to face. As it was hard for Donna and Harvey to find time for each other in between their busy schedules, they decided to make this an overnight trip and enjoy their time away from the office.

"I sure hope so, but if not, I'm certain my brilliant wife will find a way."

A sudden boost of energy and desire for her husband made Donna crawl into Harvey's lap where she slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Specter."

A week later, the sound of retching woke Harvey up minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off. Hurrying out of bed, he followed the sound into the guest bathroom.

Donna was crouched over the toilet, her hair up in a messy bun.

"I can't believe it. How long has this been going on?"

He hated the accusatory tone he used on her but she had lied to him. After the noodles disaster, Donna had stayed home for two days but she had promised him that she was feeling better. She kept her sickness from him on purpose or she wouldn't have gone to the guest bathroom for this.

Donna flushed the toilet and leaned against the bathtub. She was white as a ghost and Harvey immediately felt bad for yelling at her.

"It's been a week now." Donna's voice sounded weak and scratchy. Tears were pooling in her eyes.

Harvey dropped down on the floor next to her and took her into his arms. He had been so busy working on this case, that he hadn't noticed his wife being sick for a whole week. He promised her that he would always be there for her. How could he let work become more important than Donna again?

"I'm sorry. I should have been there for you. One year in and I am already letting you down."

By now, Donna was breaking down in his arms and clinging to his shirt. It took her a few minutes to calm down again.

"I am the one who is sorry. I should have told you. But you had so much on your plate already and I didn't want our trip to be affected by it."

"You are and always will be more important than any case. I hope you know that."

Her tears had stopped flowing and she snuggled deeper into Harvey's chest.

"I do know that. But I'm a grown-up and can deal with a stomach bug on my own. I have just been feeling so sluggish and emotional but it's not constant, so I really thought I would be getting better."

"In sickness and in health, you remember that part? Please let me know when you are feeling unwell in the future. I do need excuses to get out of budget meetings from time to time."

Donna let out a quiet laugh and hoisted herself up from the floor.

"Come on, Closer. Time to catch our flight."

They made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare and even though Donna was feeling better, she stuck to tea in the lounge while Harvey enjoyed a coffee and pastries.

"Are you sure you are feeling good enough to fly? The trial is not for another month, I can reschedule."

"If you keep asking me, I will stay home just to get away from you. I'm feeling great. It's like nothing happened this morning."

She leaned over the table to give him a kiss. Her beloved scent of his aftershave, coupled with the taste of his coffee, suddenly made her stomach flip unpleasantly. Swallowing down the bile that was threatening its way up her throat, she hastily excused herself with a smile and hurried off to the bathroom.

When she returned to the table, Harvey gave her a concerned look.

"First thing tomorrow morning, we are going to the hospital. You are worrying me."

"We get one day away from the office. I will not spend that day in a hospital over an upset stomach."

"And if it is something serious?"

"Then we will deal with it back home."

Donna rarely had to put her foot down with Harvey since they became a couple, but she also knew her body better than he did. If she said it wasn't serious, he should believe her.

The flight to Washington was spent in a tense atmosphere and both tried to keep busy, keeping all conversation to a minimum. So far this was not the romantic weekend they had envisioned.

They checked into the hotel and arranged for the bellhop to bring their luggage up to their room. Trying to save the evening, Donna pulled Harvey aside while they waited for the elevator.

"Let's just forget the last 12 hours and enjoy our night. Can you do that? I promise I will get checked over Monday morning when we are back home."

Harvey leaned into her and gave her a kiss that perfectly conveyed his relief and his plans for the evening.

Donna giggled and pulled him towards the closing elevator doors. The button for their floor already lit up.

Caught up in each other, they hardly noticed the other couple that was on their way to their floor as well. It wasn't until the woman let out a groan that Harvey and Donna paid her any attention.

The man turned towards the Specters and apologized for his partner.

"Please excuse my girlfriend. She is pregnant and the elevator movement makes her sick."

Harvey and Donna stared at the woman and then slowly turned towards each other. They didn't need words to communicate, both able to read each other's thoughts on their faces.

The other couple got off on their floor and Harvey didn't even wait until the doors were closed again before he repeatedly pushed the button for the lobby.

"I don't want us to get our hopes up. It could really just be the Thai food. It wouldn't be the first time," Donna tried to reason with him.

"For a whole week? And didn't you say that you were feeling more emotional than usual?"

Harvey tried not to get his hopes up. They feared it might never happen for them, their age working against them. But somehow he just knew. They were having a baby.

Back on the ground floor, he asked the concierge for the nearest pharmacy and practically pulled Donna in the right direction. The excitement was rolling off him in waves.

"Harvey, please. Don't get too excited." She wanted this more than anything, but she couldn't live with the disappointment if it really was just food poisoning.

Inside the store, Harvey grabbed five different pregnancy tests and a large bottle of water.

"You expect me to pee on all of them?"

"Won't really work if I do it, will it?"

Donna rolled her eyes and put her game face on. Someone had to stay reasonable or this would get out of hand. She took two of the boxes out of his hands and put them back on the shelf.

"Three will be more than enough."

Harvey pulled her into his chest and gave her a gentle kiss.

"This is it. I know it."

"You know? I'm Donna. Shouldn't I know?"

"You can't always be right. The universe wouldn't allow it."

It felt like the trip back to the hotel took forever. Donna downed the whole water bottle on the way and was bursting by the time they made it up to their room. Harvey wanted to come into the bathroom with her, but that was where she drew the line. She needed a minute to herself before taking the tests.

Taking a deep breath, she got the three sticks out and lined them up on the counter. This could change their lives forever. They wanted it so badly and they already wasted so much time. Knowing the result would not change the longer she waited, she decided to just get it over with.

The moment she flushed the toilet, Harvey barged into the room, a bottle of champagne in his hand.

"Harvey!"

"I got excited."

After washing her hands, Donna made her way into the living area and started to unpack their suitcases.

"Don't you want to know?" Harvey leaned against the door frame, keeping half an eye on his watch.

"I'm sure you will let me know the second the three minutes are up."

He made his way over to Donna, took his shirts out of her hand and turned her around to face him.

"What are you so scared off?"

"You know what."

She tried to break away from her husband, but he wouldn't have it. He just pulled her closer and took her face into his hands.

"Everything will be alright. If not now, then later."

"And if not at all? What if we waited too long?"

"Then we will get a dog and spoil him rotten."

"Do you have a solution for everything?"

"I am Harvey Specter," he winked at her. Pulling her even closer, he kissed her forehead. "There is no one else I'd rather have a dog with than you."

Donna slapped his chest.

"You're an idiot."

"But I'm your idiot."

He gave her another kiss on the lips and took her hand in his. Making their way back into the bathroom together, Donna covered her eyes while Harvey took a peek at the tests. His hold on her hand got tighter and he placed his forehead on hers.

"I think we need to wait with the dog for a while. We have a baby to spoil first."

Donna's hand flew from her face and her eyes widened.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Donna," Harvey laughed. "Yes."

He picked the tests up and showed them to her. Two lines, the words 'Pregnant / 5-6 weeks' and a plus sign all staring back at her.

Her face broke out into the widest smile Harvey had ever seen. This time it was her who initiated a kiss.

"We are having a baby." Tears were pooling in her eyes.

"Good thing I ordered the champagne then." His smile was as wide as hers.

"Harvey, I can't have any of that."

"Who do you take me for? Nonalcoholic is the way to go now. Why don't you get the glasses and I get the laptop."

Donna gave her husband a puzzled look.

"What do you need your laptop for?"

"Research. New York schools, safety statistic on cribs. Do you think we need to move? Our condo is no place to raise children."

Donna just looked at her husband as her heart expanded. She couldn't have chosen a better man to spend her life with. Every day of heartache, every tear shed, every year wasted, was worth it to get to this point. It might have only been a few moments since they found out they would become parents but he was already the best dad.

Minutes later Harvey was knee-deep into his research, so Donna finished unpacking before taking a seat across from her husband.

Harvey's head shot up.

"Did you know that our baby is the size of a sweet pea right now?"

Donna let out a snort but had no chance to reply as he was already back to googling.

Making her way over to the phone, she called for some coffee to be brought up. It would be a long night.