As another weekend ends (I swear they go faster than weekdays!), here's a one-shot that I've had in my head for a while now and wanted to write, before I focussed on my two on-going stories You Can Never Go Back and Love & War. Hopefully, you'll like it. It's short and sweet, but contains some moments, I've always wanted to see on screen. All the usual disclaimers in my profile still apply (I own nothing, just dream about being in the writer's room)! Do leave a review to let me know what you think. All feedback is welcome!

...

By Her Side

The call from her father had stopped Donna in her tracks; his voice choked with emotion as he told her she needed to go home right away. The rest of his words blurred in her mind, fragments moving in and out of her consciousness – "accident," "hospital," "serious," "hurry." She felt the tears building in her eyes and swallowed, taking deep breaths to bring herself back under control.

The last few weeks had already been emotionally draining, Harvey lashing out at her almost daily since she'd taken the bold and perhaps misguided step to kiss him. Every day had been a battle, the tension between them unbearable and now, as if to top off the pain she currently felt, had come her father's call. She heard her voice respond to say she was on her way; she barely recognised it.

Hanging up the phone, she was packing up her bag, when Louis scurried in to her office. "Donna! You're here! Perfect. I need you to help me plan the perfect surprise for Sheila. Now she's given me a second chance, I need it to be perfect!" He stopped his ramblings the moment he saw her face.

"Donna, what happened? You're shaking."

"I have to go Louis," she replied, as she took her coat from its hanger, putting it on, as if on autopilot.

"Go where?"

"Home. My Mom…..she…..there was an accident…..I need to get there." Her voice cracked and Louis moved to try and hug her, but she moved away, knowing that his kindness would shatter the shell that was holding her together.

Louis watched her go, as she practically ran out of her office, concern written all over his face.

…

It had been a wasted afternoon, listening to an arrogant ass talk utter bullshit for a couple of hours. There was no agreement, just more frustration on top of all of the pent up emotions he'd been fighting for weeks.

He was angry; at himself, but also at Donna for putting them both in this position. How she could unbalance what they had, especially when he was dating someone else, still astonished him.

Stalking back in to his office, he looked on his desk for the papers he'd told Donna he needed. She'd barely responded to the clipped request and now he saw they weren't there.

- God damn it, Donna!

Storming in to her office, he found that it was empty, despite it only being late afternoon. Before he could think more about it, the ringing of his mobile interrupted his thoughts. Retrieving it from his pocket, his stomach tightened at the name on the ID. "Paula…..hi…..," he answered awkwardly.

"Hey you…..I wanted to check you hadn't forgotten about dinner tonight. I made a reservation…..Harvey? Are you there?"

He closed his eyes. God, he hated himself. "No, Paula. I haven't forgotten. I'll see you later." On ending the call, he felt the all too familiar feeling of guilt, before another wave of anger built inside him, as he returned to his own office.

Only a few minutes had passed before Louis appeared with the latest financials. Seeing the thunderous look on his friend's face, he sighed. "I see you're in one of your Jekyll and Hyde moods today. Wonderful."

"Go away, Louis."

"Gladly. I was just dropping these off. You need to look at them so we can sign off the hiring budget."

"Not now Louis. I have work to do and I need to find Donna. She owes me a report and I can't find her."

Louis hesitated, unsure whether to keep what he knew to himself or not. He decided to speak the truth. "She's not here Harvey. She won't be back today and probably not for the rest of the week."

Harvey's head shot up in Louis's direction. "What?! We have a business to run here and now she's disappearing whenever she feels like it?!"

Louis felt his protectiveness for his friend kick in. "Harvey…," he began, a warning tone to his voice, but Harvey continued his rant about professionalism and commitment, causing Louis to finally snap.

"Her mother is dying Harvey! She has more important things to think about than tending to your every need!"

Louis's raised voice stopped Harvey in his tracks. "What?" All the hostility had left his voice, replaced by concern.

"Her father called a few hours ago. There was an accident. I don't know the details. He just said she should get there as soon as possible."

Harvey stared blankly at Louis, unsure what to say. "Was she…..how was she, Louis?"

"Holding herself together, barely," he replied with a sigh. "I have a dinner meeting, so I should go and prepare." With that, Louis left Harvey alone with his thoughts. His heart ached for Donna; for the pain and worry she must be feeling. Yet she hadn't called him. After their recent exchanges, he couldn't blame her.

He tried to distract himself, answering emails that he'd usually ignore; making a couple of calls that he tried to pretend had been a priority. Yet, his mind returned to Donna; the woman who had been by his side through his most painful moments; losing his father, Mike's arrest, Jessica's departure, she'd been there through them all, as well as helping him start to repair his relationship with his own mother.

Pacing his office, he finally knew where he needed to be. Having made a call to the car club, asking them to drop off one of his favourites for longer distances, he was pushing through the doors of the building, when he practically bumped in to Paula.

"Harvey! Good to see you're so keen to go to dinner."

He stood still, staring at the woman before him. He cared about her, he really did, but it just didn't compare and he couldn't ignore that truth any longer. "I'm sorry Paula…..I can't have dinner tonight. I have to go."

Her face turned in to a frown and he saw annoyance mixed in with her confusion. "But you said everything was fine a few hours ago."

The words came out of his mouth in a rush, unplanned and hurried. "Donna needs me." He saw anger flash for the briefest of moments across her face, before she covered it. "Why?"

"Because her mother is in hospital and she's alone. I have to go be with her."

Paula tried to sound calm and supportive. "Well of course. That's terrible and she's your friend. Of course she said she needs you." He sensed an undertone to her final sentence, one that he didn't particularly like.

"She hasn't said anything to me, Paula, but that doesn't matter. I realised that I need to be there for her. I want to be there. It's where I'm meant to be." The last few words were almost a whisper.

Paula looked away, biting her lip. "I think deep down I always knew. I just didn't want to admit it."

Harvey cast his eyes to the ground. He hadn't meant to talk to her tonight; not like this. "I'm sorry," he replied sadly. "I really am."

She met his gaze and nodded. "I know." Taking a step back, she folded her arms across her chest, as if placing a shield between them. "You better go." He paused, trying to find something else to say. "Go, Harvey," she murmured, her voice even and quiet. He nodded, whispering again that he was sorry, before walking to the car and accepting the keys from the guy who had dropped it off. With a last look, he slipped inside and drove away, hating himself even more for managing to hurt two women who deserved better.

…

Once out of the city, he'd been able to put his foot down, reducing the drive by a good 30 minutes. It was dark by the time he arrived, having found out from Louis along the way the name of the hospital.

Making his way to the ICU, he stopped at the desk and asked after Donna's mother. "Are you family?" He only hesitated for a split second before answering. "Yes, I'm family."

Before the nurse could question him further, he caught a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye and turned around to see Donna emerging from a room a little further up the corridor.

She looked pale and her eyes were red. Seeing her looking so vulnerable made him ache. It was only then that he realised she might not want him there, not after everything that had happened and he stalled, momentarily halted by fear of making things worse for her.

She glanced his way then and he saw the look of confused shock cross her face. Her mouth opened, as if she was going to say something, but nothing came out and she bit her lip, holding back her emotions.

He didn't even remember making the conscious decision to move towards her. It was a reflex, as natural an instinct as breathing, as he crossed the space down the corridor to her and, without a word, enveloped her in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. It took her a few moments before he felt her arms move around his waist, her fingers digging in slightly to the material of his suit jacket.

Wrapping his arms more tightly around her, he let a hand move up her back in a soothing caress, as her head rested against his chest, just under his chin. He'd forgotten she was shorter without her heels.

They stayed that way for what felt, to Harvey, to be hours, but he knew were mere minutes, before he found his voice. "I'm here, Donna."

It was as if hearing his voice finally made everything real and he heard the sobs escape her, as she shook a little in his arms. Her pain broke his heart and he kissed the top of her head softly, rocking them ever so slightly. "I'm here," he whispered again, knowing no words were really enough, instead offering her his strength to draw on, as she continued to cry.

…

They'd moved silently in to the room and Donna had taken what Harvey assumed was her fixed position next to her mother's bedside. He didn't know her mother well, but he'd liked her. She had spirit, just like her daughter.

He took the seat next to her. "How is she?" Donna continued to stare at her mother. "She's in a coma. They don't know if she'll wake up." Her voice was quiet and he hated to see her in such pain. "I'm sorry, Donna." She turned her head towards him then, her eyes bloodshot, her cheeks stained with her tears. "You didn't need to come Harvey."

"I wanted to come. I needed to, to be here for you. For as long as you need."

She glanced down to her hands, folded in her lap. "Thank you," she whispered. He reached for her hand tentatively, squeezing it gently. "You should try to sleep. You look exhausted."

"I'm okay. Dad's on his way. He'll need to know what's going on when he arrives."

Harvey nodded. "Well, how about you get some rest until then? I'll be here." She raised her eyes to his and he knew in that moment that he could never love anyone else the way he loved her. She squeezed his hand in response. "Maybe just a few minutes."

Before she could say anything, he moved his arm around her, drawing her against his side and she relaxed in to him, her head resting against his shoulder. He didn't speak, simply stroked his hand against her lower back until he knew from her breathing that she was asleep.

…

Jim Paulsen made his way slowly through the hospital corridors. It had only been in recent years that he and his ex-wife had started to get along again, the past finally far enough behind them.

It had taken him longer to get there than he'd intended, but he at least knew Donna was already here.

The nurse on the desk pointed out the right room. "Is my daughter still here?" She smiled kindly at him and nodded. "Yes, she is. Her husband has arrived too." Jim paused his movement to the room at her words, puzzled. He was going to query it, but found himself too exhausted to dig deeper.

On opening the door to his ex-wife's room, everything became clear to him and he smiled, despite the sadness he currently felt. On the far side of the bed, his daughter was asleep, her head against Harvey's shoulder, her hand against his thigh. She wasn't the only one sleeping though. Harvey's eyes were closed, his head to one side, resting against Donna's, as his arms were wrapped around her protectively.

Jim watched them from the door for a few minutes. He'd never been a big fan of Harvey's, but he'd never doubted how much he loved his daughter and for that, the man had his respect.

He took a seat quietly on the other side of the bed, taking his ex-wife's hand in his. "Well, now you have to wake up Judy. You won't want to miss this," he whispered, a small smile forming on his face, as his eyes returned to the sleeping couple across from him.

…

I hope you enjoyed this short story. I've always wanted to see Harvey truly comfort her (or indeed, her comfort him). Maybe we'll see it on screen one day!