Dear friends,

Here's the eighth and last chapter.

I have to admit, saying goodbye to this fic is bittersweet to me.

It took me a huge leap of faith in myself to write and post this story, and I can't thank you enough for all the support you guys provided me during this amazing journey. I have to say, even the negative feedback I got helped me grow, so I am thankful for that too.

There are so many people I have to be grateful to for being there for me through this ride.

Most of all, Marie, thank you for being the best beta ever and such a great friend.

Sarah, thank you for the endless support and for the amazing day together in Toronto, it gave me the last little push I needed to write this.

Flav, thank you for always being there for me and cheering me up whenever I'm insecure.

And last but not least, Laura, this fic wouldn't exist without you. You gave me the very first inspiration and I couldn't be more thankful for that. This whole story is dedicated to you, I love you.

As always, let me know all of your thoughts on this one!

Enjoy this last ride friends,

Love you always xx

Chapter 8: Could roses bloom?

As soon as he heard the crashing sound of the glass, Harvey felt his heart racing inside his chest and it suddenly became impossible for him to breathe.

He knew it was coming, he recognized all the symptoms.

Apparently, so did Mike because this time around he knew exactly what to do. He got up from the couch and rushed to get Harvey a glass of water, while the man's forehead started to sweat.

Harvey had learned how to control his panic attacks better, but this one caught him off guard, he hadn't had one for a couple of years.

A couple of years until tonight. And he knew exactly what triggered them to come back. The reason had always been the same.

"I am leaving you, Harvey"

Only this time she wasn't going to leave him to join another office on the same floor, this time she was going away to another state. With another man.

When Mike first witnessed Harvey's panic attacks two years ago, he thought they might have been caused by all the stress his friend was experiencing at work, after all they had gone through some of the most difficult times at the firm back then.

The puppy had to admit the idea of them having something to do with Donna had crossed his mind back then, but now, seeing Harvey in those same conditions again made him see the real reason behind all of it.

"This is about Donna, isn't it? It always has been" he asked while handing the glass over to Harvey.

The man looked up to meet Mike's eyes and simply nodded, his panic attack hadn't stopped completely yet, so it kept him from uttering any words.

"Now I am seriously worried" his associate went back to take a seat next to him on the leather couch, "You have to find a way out, Harvey. You need to take care of yourself".

Harvey's gaze landed on the floor "I know…".

He drank a sip of water, hoping it would help him breathe again and then started playing with the glass, moving the remaining liquid around its surface.

"It's like my heart is telling me that I can't afford to lose her, Mike".

Mike had always known whatever relationship Harvey was in over the years, those women were not the one for him.

He remembered how one morning he had seen his boss flirting with Scottie in his office and, for a moment there, he had thought that she could be it for him. But then, ten minutes later, he witnessed Donna comforting Harvey and that's when he knew, no one else could ever compare.

And now, Mike couldn't believe the sight in front of his eyes.

His "caring makes you weak" boss was truly broken to pieces because he had finally learned what being in love really meant.

"Then don't, Harvey. If there's anyone in this world worth fighting for, it's Donna Paulsen"

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Later that night, Donna was already in bed at half past nine. She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was to drink her cup of hot peach tea and go to sleep.

Of course, she found herself thinking about Mark and Connecticut instead.

She surely wasn't ready to leave the city, but to be honest, she never would be.

What Donna really wanted was to allow herself to take a leap of faith and truly believe her and Mark could build a happy future together, away from all the troubles the years in the Big Apple had brought her.

And, who knows, maybe one day, in ten years' time, when she would be back to visit, she would find Harvey happily married with a big family – and she could ponder over everything they could have had but didn't.

Okay Donna, it's time to switch off your brain – she told herself as she sank deeper into that comfortable bed of hers and tried to get some sleep.

That's when her mind decided to wander in her sleep to a beautiful white cottage house in Greenwich surrounded by red and yellow foliage. You could see the fall starting to embrace New England.

Her and Mark were standing in their big beautiful garden, their hands intertwined as her lips were gently kissing his.

She slowly turned around to watch their daughter – Laura - playing with leaves and she felt Mark's strong arms hugging her around the waist and landing on her stomach.

As soon as her eyes started to roam around the garden, looking for their little girl, she heard a different voice - a very familiar one - coming from the backyard.

"Gordon, come here, I got you!"

No. It couldn't be.

She spotted him, with the biggest smile on his handsome face, laughing as he lifted a little strawberry blonde boy and spun him around in the crisp October air.

She could no longer feel Mark's arms around her waist, and when she turned around, she discovered that the man had disappeared.

She stood there with her mouth wide open. She couldn't understand what had just happened.

Donna's eyes started filling with tears and her mouth curved into a sweet smile as soon as the little boy spoke.

"Mommy, there you are" the second Harvey put him back on the ground, the boy ran up to her and hugged her legs so tight that she almost lost her balance.

She stroked his hair and looked over to Harvey, who was giving her the most heartfelt smile with just his eyes.

And that's when Donna suddenly woke up, covered in sweat, only to find out that the in her eyes were very much real and not just a dream.

Harvey Specter would always be the only one for her.

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Next morning Rachel found an unexpected visitor inside her office waiting for her.

"Harvey, Good morning!" she greeted him kindly, her puzzled expression so obvious to the both of them.

"Hi, Rachel" he got up from the chair he had been sitting in for the last hour while waiting for the brunette to get to work.

Rachel placed a black Prada bag on her desk and turned around finally coming face to face with the lawyer "So, what's bringing you into my office so early in the morning?"

"I need to ask you something" Harvey looked extremely tired and stressed.

Rachel had already figured out what this was all about.

"Mike told you about Connecticut, didn't he?"

"He did..." he cleared his voice before moving a little closer to her, looking straight into her eyes. "Look, Rachel…I want to be with Donna, I really do. But I need to know something"

Her brows arched at his words, still unaware of where he was going with this conversation.

"I need to know if she's happy with him. Because if she is, if – for once – she found some peace and relief from all the pain she has had in her life, I am not going to be the one who takes all of that away from her"

Rachel's heart warmed up after hearing those words. She never really got to know Harvey that well, she had always thought he was a very closed off and tough man, but she had always suspected he had a huge heart, especially when it came to Donna.

"Harvey, she's never going to be happy as long as she isn't with you".

He gave her a tender smile because he knew she was rooting for them too "Thank you, Rachel".

She smiled back at him and, before he could leave her office and run to do whatever he had been planning to do since the moment he had set foot in her office that morning, she added jokingly, "Don't screw it up"

"I wouldn't do it for the world"

And of that, she was more certain than ever.

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Mark and Donna had settled for a fancy date that Friday night. He had suggested they'd go to Del Posto but she turned down his idea as soon as she'd heard the restaurant name and proposed they go to Per Se instead.

It was a quarter past seven and she was home, getting ready for the night.

It was time to choose a classy pair of earrings that would match the beautiful blue dress she had put on for the night, when she spotted them.

The golden triangle shaped earrings Harvey had gotten her for her last birthday. The exact same thing happened when it was time to pick the clutch for the night. His Hermes bag was standing right there, looking at her, almost saying "I am the perfect one"

He was everywhere in her apartment, even when he wasn't physically present.

She needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

She grabbed a Valentino pouch she had bought herself a couple of years before without even checking if that one would look okay with her dress. Honestly, at that point, she didn't even care.

Her and Mark arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes later, and as soon as they sat down and started looking at the menu, Mark began to talk about the beautiful cottage houses he had found for them in Connecticut and how beautiful their garden would look with the Fall colors.

Her most recent dream immediately re-entered her mind and she realized she couldn't do this anymore.

"Mark…" she abruptly stopped his joyful fantasies about their future life, and he understood straight away.

"You're not coming with me, are you?"

She could almost feel his heart breaking and she knew she would hate herself for what she was about to do to him.

"I am so sorry, Mark. I tried, but I can't leave New York"

"You can't leave New York, or you can't leave him?"

And she did it again. Over the years, she had always found so many excuses not to admit that the only thing she wasn't ready to leave behind was Harvey. First, he was "the firm" and now, he had become "New York".

"I really am sorry, I wanted this to work more than you know, but - "

"You love him" Mark cut her off without even letting her finish that sentence.

It was time she faced the truth. She couldn't hide anymore. It wasn't fair to him and surely it wasn't fair to herself either.

"I do"

That's when both Donna and Mark knew it was over and that there would never be another chance for them to get back together.

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Harvey was staring deep into his computer, typing relentlessly, when Mike knocked on his office door and he barely even noticed.

"Wow, so you actually work when you're around here" Mike laughed and let himself inside his boss's office "What case is keeping you so busy at eight on a Friday night? I thought we could grab a burger"

Harvey looked up to meet his gaze "This isn't about work…" he quickly closed his laptop and got up from his chair "And Mike, as much as I'd love to say yes, right now I have to deal with something more important than burgers"

Before Harvey could make his way out of his office, his associate called him out.

"Harvey"

"Yes?"

"Go get her" Mike said, showing him the proudest smile of all.

Harvey smiled back, thanking him with his eyes for always being there for him, and took off running towards the elevators.

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Donna came home straight from the restaurant. Her heart was still aching from the break up with Mark, but most of all she was devastated, because, once again, her feelings for Harvey had gotten in the way of her chance at a happy future.

She was so tired of that. Will she ever be able to cut him out of herself?

As those thoughts were running through her mind, she noticed a newspaper placed in front of her doorstep.

It only took her a closer look to understand exactly what newspaper it was.

"Young lawyer presents daunting "Specter" for defendants"

It was the article about Harvey's first big win at the DA's office.

A soft smile formed on her lips at the memory, right before she spotted a note attached to the corner of the paper.

"Twelve years later, I am the one who's waiting for you. If you want this too, you know where to find me"

She grabbed her bag that had fallen to the ground in the process and immediately ran out of her building to get a cab.

Ten minutes later she spotted him, standing in front of the counter where she had approached him twelve years ago. The exact spot where their incredible story had begun.

Harvey was visibly nervous and that elicited a small chuckle out of her once she realized he was nervous because of her.

She got closer to him and as soon as he saw her, he let out a breath of relief.

"I've been here for an hour… I kept looking around, but you just weren't here"

"I am here now" she softly said while smiling and taking the last steps separating them.

"You are, and I'm glad… apparently, today is my lucky day"

"And why is that?" she felt the tears already forming in her eyes at his reminiscence of their very first meeting. .

"Because it's the day I get to tell my someone special that I am in love with her"

"And let me guess, I am that someone special"

"Oh, you have no idea how special you are"

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore, she was overwhelmed by his confession in the most beautiful way.

He cupped her chin and held it up so his eyes could meet hers and wiped the tears away, a sweet gesture that was followed by him taking her hands in his.

"I've been blind for twelve years, but I am not wasting another second. I want you, Donna. I want everything with you.

I am scared like hell to lose you, but, honestly, I don't care about how messed up we are, I am sure that as long as we stick together, we can overcome any obstacle.

I am ready to face whatever the future holds for me with you by my side, because I love you, Donna Paulsen.

So please, don't go to Connecticut. Give me the chance to make you happy here, with me"

Donna was speechless, but the words seemed to leave her mouth freely, as if they were waiting to come out for too long and now was finally the perfect time to say them out loud.

"I love you, Harvey Specter"

As soon as she spoke, he covered her lips with his.

This time, there was no rush or rage in their kiss, it was only filled with true love. The "you've been my soulmate since the first moment I met you" kind of love.

When their lips reluctantly parted, Donna placed her hands on his chest and whispered into his ear "Take me home, Harvey"

The signature Cheshire cat grin formed on his lips "With pleasure, I think it's time we got ourselves a bed"

She laughed out loud at his words and let him guide her towards the bar's exit, shaking with excitement thinking about how she was finally going home with the love of her life.

Before they could get past the door, Donna grabbed Harvey's arm and stopped him, causing him to stumble in surprise, not understanding her intentions.

"Oh, and Harvey, now that you finally got lucky enough to have me, I hope you have no intention of sharing anymore" she gave him a witty smirk, remembering the last time she had made him that same remark back at the DA's office.

Harvey was astonished by the vision in front of him. He still couldn't believe that woman was now his, for the rest of his life.

"You can bet your wonderful ass I won't" now he was the one playfully smirking at her.

She laughed at the comment about her ass, but also understood his intentions because, more than anyone else, she always got him.

Harvey might be a gambler, he always had been, but this time around, he was all in for her.

He put his arm around her shoulder, gently pushing her closer to his heart, and she placed her head in the crook of his neck in response.

There they were, Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen, walking into their future together, taking the first steps into their "Forever".

Fin.