This was written in response to the following prompt made by phreakycat on the suitsmeme: "I'm going to keep this simple - can I have Mike falling down some stairs? Like, maybe he's mid-sentence bantering with Harvey and just - BAM - EPIC FAIL. I mean limbs pinwheeling, ass-over-teakettle, undignified and girly shriek of terror, FALLIN' DOWN SOME DAMN STAIRS." I hope you enjoy it!

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"Harvey!"

Harvey, who was impatiently waiting by the elevator doors, turned at the shout and glared at his approaching associate.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?" he asked, motioning for Mike to hand over the documents he was clutching.

Mike gave him the thick folder and bent over to catch his breath. He had been frantically working all morning and during his lunch break to assemble the agreement draft. "I'm sorry, I had to look through more paperwork that I expected and the files they sent over were so damn dense. And then Louis asked me to –" he stopped talking when Harvey gestured with a single finger for him to shut up without looking up from the documentation he was skimming through. After a few moments that made Mike fidget and scratch the back of his neck, he closed the folder with an audible snap and glared up at his associate.

"I don't care. This should've have been ready hours ago. The meeting starts in twenty minutes," he paused and looked up and down Mike's disheveled and sweaty appearance, frowning even more at what he saw. "And what have I told about looking presentable? Do you expect me to bring you with me looking like that?"

Mike tried to fix his loosened tie guiltily before meeting Harvey's glare. It was true he looked somewhat untidy and he'd forgotten to put on his jacket before rushing over but there was no need for the disgusted tone Harvey was using on him. "I was up all night finishing up on the Bennet-Smith case and you only told me this morning that I was supposed to have the Fisher corporations draft finished by this afternoon. It's not my faul -" he interrupted himself when Harvey swore at the elevator's closed doors, abruptly turned and started walking away from him.

"Harvey, wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm taking the stairs. Apparently the elevators haven't been fixed yet," Harvey replied curtly without looking back at Mike.

Mike knew very well the elevators weren't working. Just an hour ago when a smug Louis Litt had ordered him to fetch his lunch (Mike wasn't quite comfortable enough on Pearson-Hardman to refuse the man) he had to climb up and down all those stairs. So yes, there were sweat stains on his shirt and he had taken off his jacket. And his hair was probably messier than usual. Still, nothing that couldn't improve with a quick stop at the restroom. He could go to this meeting if Harvey just stopped and listened to him. Harvey wasn't stopping though. His boss was going down those stairs pretty quickly, actually.

"Please, be reasonable. I can help. I'll tell you all about the changes that Mr. Fisher wanted on the agreement on the way over. With Ray driving we'll get there in ten minutes," Mike appealed, trying to keep up with the other man.

"No. I waited thirty minutes more than the deadline I gave you for this," Harvey angrily waved the folder at Mike, not even slowing down, "and by then I was ready to leave without it and without you. That's what I'm going to do. And I don't need your help," he spared a cold glance at the other man and continued down the stairs.

Mike, frustrated and tired, hating the cold treatment he was getting from Harvey and feeling hurt, stopped in the middle of the flight of stairs. "Harvey, I'm sorry. I'm trying my best," he pleaded, letting some of the hurt and uncertainty he was feeling show in his tone.

The other man finally stopped and turned back to his associate. In reality, Mike wasn't exactly the cause of Harvey's anger. The obnoxious and pain-in-the-ass CEO of Fisher's industries was the cause. The man had occupied Harvey's time for more than two weeks now with irrelevant and time consuming requests that lead to nothing and only delayed the merger. And mergers were so utterly boring. The constant meetings Fisher had demanded in the last few days were just ridiculous and unnecessary. So Harvey was not looking forward to spending more time listening to Robert Fisher. He knew it was unfair the way he was unloading his anger on Mike and later he would probably regret it, but at the moment, Mike's apologetic attitude was leaving him even more irritated. He wanted someone to snap back at him. The kid had been working for him for a month, it was time to show some back bone.

"I don't want your apologies. I just want you to do your job. And this conversation is over, I'm already late as it is," he replied briskly. Harvey turned around, dismissing Mike. "Go back to your cubicle."

Mike knew he should be used by now to his boss' occasional sharp remarks but it still stung. He'd worked hard on that draft. Dejected, he resigned himself to turn back when he noticed a few sheets of paper on the floor that had gotten loose from the folder. He so didn't want to be blamed for the missing pages too.

"Harvey, wait!"

Harvey was already a bit ahead so he rushed down the flight of stairs to catch up with him. Or he intended to. At the first step down he somehow stumbled over his own feet and went tumbling down the stairs instead.

Harvey stopped when he heard a yelp and a few strange thumps. He went back up the stairs suspecting that he had just listened to his associate falling down the stairs. Could he really be that clumsy? That kid was unbelievable. When he reached Mike though, the kid was sprawled awkwardly on his left side, not moving and Harvey felt a sharp spike of panic go through him. He kneeled down next to his moaning associated who was starting to turning around to lie on his back and put steady hands on his shoulders, helping the movement.

"Mike. Are you okay?" Harvey asked, urgently. He glanced down Mike's body and saw that he was cradling his left shoulder against his chest. There was a cut at this bottom lip that was bleeding slowly and the left side of his face was red and scraped. Harvey suspected it'd become an ugly shade of blue later. Mike was hissing and disorientated. Harvey let go of his shoulders and cupped his face in his hands, mindful of the bruised left side. He looked at Mike and tried to catch his eyes. "Are you okay?" he repeated. When Mike finally met his eyes, he continued, "Where does it hurt, kid?"

Mike was still reeling from his fall. One moment he was coming down the stairs and the other he was lying on his side, and everything hurt. His left shoulder in particular was killing him. "My shoulder –" he gasped, meeting Harvey's eyes. He couldn't even feel triumphant for the concern he saw there. He was hurting too much for that. "It feels - wrong."

Harvey probed very gently at Mike's left shoulder. Mike let out a loud groan that he tried to cover immediately but Harvey knew what a dislocated shoulder felt like. "Sorry, kid." He was still cradling Mike's face with one and he brushed his thumb over his cheek as an apology. "Where else? Are your legs okay? What about your ribs?"

Mike nodded. His left side was very sore, he must have landed particularly badly on it but he could move his legs and feet without major pain. His ribs felt normal, too.

"And your head?" Harvey asked, still looking at Mike intently. He ran a gentle hand through Mike's hair, looking for any bumps or any signs of sharp pain from his associate. Mike, who was starting to come to his senses found it soothing.

When Mike didn't react badly to his probing, Harvey allowed himself to calm down. He straightened up and rested a casual hand on Mike's uninjured shoulder. "Okay, this is what we're going to do, rookie. We're going to get down to the bottom of these stairs and Ray is going to drive us to the hospital to see to your shoulder. Alright?" He cocked his head at Mike and that smirk Mike knew so well appeared at the corner of his lips. "I can't believe you fell down a flight of stairs. Only you, kid. And of course you're going to make me miss the meeting," he rolled his eyes at Mike, smirk firmly in place. The slight squeeze of Mike's shoulder made him think Harvey wasn't very upset at missing the meeting.

Mike on the other hand, just smiled at Harvey. The amount of caring his boss had just demonstrated was staggering. He was going to use this for months.

"Unbelievable," Harvey shook his head at the almost maniacal smile his associate was giving him. "Come on, get up." He put Mike's right arm around his shoulders and steadied him as they slowly got up together. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Mike replied, unable to stop staring at Harvey. He liked this version of his boss. He liked it a lot.

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Slowly and with a lot of hissing from Mike's part, Harvey was able to get them both to the bottom floor and outside where Ray was waiting by the company car. He looked startled when he saw Mike leaning on Harvey for support.

"What happened?" Ray asked, rushing over to help Harvey get Mike in the car.

"Hey Ray. I had a little accident on the stairs," Mike answered, sheepishly.

Harvey rolled his eyes heavenward. After making sure Mike was settled, he closed the door to get in on the other side. "Drive us to the nearest hospital, will you Ray? The idiot managed to fall down the stairs and dislocate his shoulder."

"Poor kid," Ray commented. He got in the driver's seat and tried to drive as smoothly as possible.

On the backseat, Mike was sweating slightly and clenching his jaw at the pain in his shoulder. It seemed to be getting worse. He looked at Harvey who was fiddling with his phone. Harvey glanced over before turning his attention to the person he was calling. Mike closed his eyes and rested his head against the head rest, listening to Harvey postpone the meeting they were supposed to be going to. The call ended and the rest of the ride to the hospital was made in silence.

"We're here," Ray told them when the car stopped.

Mike was opening the car door when Harvey's "Wait" made him hesitate. Harvey got out first and went around, opening Mike's door and reaching out to lead him out. Mike only wished he wasn't feeling awful so he could fully appreciate the way his boss was handling him.

"I need to call Donna," Harvey muttered to himself as they made their way to the ER entrance. He had noticed how quiet Mike had become and didn't like it.

The two made their way inside where Harvey sat Mike in one of the waiting chairs and headed to the registration desk. He quickly explained the situation and after being assured Mike would be attended to as soon as possible, Harvey came back to Mike's hunched form with some paperwork to fill. He was completing the insurance form when the silence started to unnerve him.

"How you doing, rookie?" Harvey asked while skimming through the rest of the papers he was given.

"Fine," Mike answered through clenched teeth.

"Uh huh," Harvey decided to not comment on the lie. "Are you allergic to any meds?"

"I – I don't think so."

Harvey, in a magnanimous gesture, did not roll his eyes.

"When was your last tetanus shot?"

"Um. At the appropriate time to get a tetanus shot?"

"Right."

Harvey gave up on finishing the rest of the questionnaire. He turned to Mike and noticed the bruise that was starting to show at his temple and cheek.

"You really did a number on yourself, kid," Harvey said.

"Michael Ross?"

Both looked up at the nurse calling, Mike with a lot more reluctance. Harvey stood up and looked at him expectantly when Mike made no move to rise. Mike just looked back at him, a little fear showing on his eyes. His shoulder hurt so much when he dislocated it. Putting it back sounded like something that would hurt too. And he had had enough pain for the day, thank you very much.

"Are you kidding me, rookie? Up, up," Harvey said. The gentle grip on Mike's elbow took the sting out of his words. "The sooner you go the sooner you get fixed and we can get out of here."

Harvey delivered Mike to the nurse who smiled kindly at the scared associate and told Harvey she'd keep him informed.

Harvey sat down and hoped it wouldn't take long. He took the time to call Donna who rescheduled all his meetings for the day and warned him to be nice to Mike. After a while, when Harvey was starting to get anxious, the nurse from before informed him Mike was ready to leave and asked him if he wanted to talk to Mike's doctor. Harvey said yes and she led him to the room Mike was occupying. Mike was sitting on the bed in his undershirt, his left arm in a sling. He was staring blearily ahead while a doctor was putting a small adhesive bandage on the inside of his arm. When finished he turned to Harvey and shook his hand.

"Mr. Specter? I'm Dr. Turner, Michael told me you accompanied him. We reset his shoulder with no complications. He'll have to schedule an appointment with an orthopedic doctor for a follow-up examination within a few days."

Harvey nodded and couldn't help but notice that Mike's eyes kept slipping closed.

"He'll need to wear the sling for a few weeks. I'll give you the prescription for the pain relievers."

The doctor turned to Mike after handing Harvey the prescription. He was a tall, thin man in his late forties, if Harvey had to guess, with light brown hair and brown eyes. Harvey liked that the doctor waited until Mike had focused on him to speak.

"Plenty of rest for the next couple of days, alright Michael?" The doctor patted Mike's good shoulder and adjusted his sling. "Also, ice your shoulder - it'll help with the swelling."

"…yes," Mike mumbled.

"He's still under the effects of the sedative and pain medication so he'll be groggy for a while. He needs to go home and sleep," the doctor told Harvey. He turned to Mike, "Do you have someone to stay with you, Michael?"

"Uh, I'll be fine alo -"

"Yeah," Harvey interrupted. "He'll stay with me."

"Great, that's it then." The doctor shook Harvey's hand and Mike's free hand and left the room.

"Harvey, you don't need to, I'll be fine on my own," Mike murmured. There was a pronounced slur to his words and he was having trouble putting his suit jacket over his shoulders.

"Shut up, Mike," Harvey said, helping him get his right arm through the jacket sleeve. The left side of the jacket was all torn up. "Where's your shirt?"

"I - I don't know,"

"You're even more useless than usual," Harvey quipped. "No great loss, anyway. You ready to go?"

"Yes."

Mike swayed when he took the first steps but Harvey's hand at his elbow helped him along and soon they reached Ray's car.

"All good then?" Ray asked Mike.

Mike took a few seconds to focus on Ray and when he did he smiled dopily at him.

"Oh, h-hey Ray. You're here." He sounded intrigued by the fact.

Harvey exchanged looks with Ray.

"I know it's difficult to tell but he's high on pain meds," Harvey said as he guided Mike into the car. "Please stop at a pharmacy on the way to my condo, Ray."

"Sure thing, boss."

Harvey let out a discreet sigh of relief when he sat down. Mike was fixed and no longer in pain. Problem solved. He looked at the puppy in question that was wriggling his fingers and staring at them with half-closed eyes.

"You're not really sure of what's going on, are you kid?"

Mike turned to him and blinked heavily. "Yes," he answered after deliberating for a while. "Everything is – muffled. And – floaty."

He suddenly grew paler, brought his hand to his mouth and bent over as much as the sling allowed.

"Whoa! You're not going to be sick, are you?" Harvey looked ready to tell Ray to stop. "Please don't throw up in the car," he said fervently, resting a cool hand on Mike's neck.

Mike seemed to heed his plea and after a few tense moments he straightened up slowly, not looking as pale.

"Thank you," Harvey said, sounding relieved.

Mike just leaned back, dislodging Harvey's hand. When he began sliding down the seat towards his good side which was, coincidently, the side where Harvey was sitting, the older man tried to stop him but didn't want to cause any pain so he just ended up flailing uselessly.

"Mike –"

Mike was now sliding down him. Until there was a blonde head in his lap.

"This – this is better," Mike murmured. He sighed happily and actually nuzzled into Harvey's leg before seeming to settle.

Harvey just looked straight ahead and refused to acknowledge Ray's smirking eyes in the mirror.