As she stares out of the cab window, the sound of her barely three-year-old daughter's voice snaps Donna out of her daydream.

"Momma?"

"Yeah baby?" She answers warmly, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Why are you sad?"

"I'm just sad that Grandpa Jim is sick, honey" Donna says.

James 'Jim' Paulsen had been diagnosed with a brain tumour two and a half years ago; after an eighteen month battle, he had happily remained in remission for six months before they had found another tumour; a tumour that had now given him a terminal diagnosis.

The medication he was on could prolong his life, for how long no one could say for sure. But, one thing was certain, this would eventually take his life.

It was upon hearing that news that Donna had decided to move home, back to New York, so that Hope could spend as much time as possible with her Grandfather.

Donna had left New York almost four years ago, she had packed up her life, rented out her apartment and made the move to Chicago, determined to never look back; life seemed to have had other plans.

Moving away was to this day one of the hardest things she'd ever done. Leaving her family, her friends, her home.

Leaving him.

"Me too" Hope says, snuggling closer to her Mom.

"Seeing you is going to make him feel so much better though." Donna says softly.

"How do you know that, Momma?"

"I just do" Donna smiles, tucking a strand of long strawberry blonde hair behind Hope's ear.

Donna's cell phone echoes through the small space, rummaging through her bag she manages to locate the device, Mark's name flashing on the screen.

"Hello?" Donna answers.

"Hey, just checking you arrived ok?" Mark says.

"Yeah, we landed not long ago." Donna explains, "…We're just in a cab on the way to Dad's now"

"Is she still awake?"

"Are you kidding?" Donna laughs, "She didn't stop talking the whole flight! Not a chance she was going to miss any of it"

Mark laughs at the thought.

"You wanna talk to her?" Donna says, smiling at the thought of her chatty mini me.

"Yeah."

"Hello?" Hope says, accepting the cell from her Mom.

"Hey princess, how was your flight?"

"It was sooooo good!" she says before launching in to a vivid recount of their trip thus far.

Five minutes later Mark manages to get a word in, happy to hear his baby so excited.

"I love you angel, be good for your Mom, ok?"

"I will." She promises.

"How much do I love you?"

"To the moon and back." She answers, reciting the familiar words.

Donna smiles as she listens to Hope's side of the conversation.

She had never expected to rekindle things with Mark but after things had gone from bad to worse and she made the decision to leave New York; she found herself being drawn back to him, re-igniting the flame between them. Not long after they found out she was pregnant and the rest, as they say, was history.

…At least for a while it was.

Looking over at the sight of the New York skyline coming in to view, her mind instantly travels back to the night everything changed, the night her world deviated on to a path more different than she had ever imagined.

It had all happened so fast; one second, she was listening to Louis pour his heart out about Sheila, the next, she had found herself kissing him.

Harvey.

She'd never meant to put him in that position, it was as if she had no control over her actions, her body simply acting on impulse as the realisation of Louis' words hit her, her arms automatically draping themselves over his shoulders before pulling him closer as her lips pressed against his firmly, desperately seeking the answer she needed.

She could not risk losing him.

* FLASHBACK *

"I'm sorry, Harvey, I just had to know"

Her head was spinning as she quickly walked away.

"Donna!" He called out, running after her as the shock of what had just happened wore off.

She just kept walking, not knowing what would come out of her mouth right now, with her in such a vulnerable state.

"Donna"

She had thought kissing him would prove Rachel and Mike and Louis wrong.

It didn't.

Fuck, she thinks to herself as she picks up the pace, trying to get to the elevator before he can stop her.

"Donna!" He repeats, his fingers wrapping around her arm as he forces her to stop. "Wha …What the hell was that?" He asks, confusion still etched on his face.

Donna shakes her head, attempting to walk away again, only to be stopped by him once more.

"Donna…"

"It was a kiss, Harvey!" She begins, her tone slightly more frustrated than she intended

"Why would you kiss me?" He asks, genuinely confused and still reeling from the feeling of her lips on his for the first time in well over a decade.

"You know I'm with…"

"I know!" She interjects, not wanting to hear her name. "…I know."

She sighs, "I'm sorry, Harvey."

"I don't need you to be sorry, I need you to tell me what the hell's going on."

"I just… I – I can't do this" Donna says, backtracking towards her office, realising that in her haste she'd forgotten her purse and her keys.

Harvey remained no more than two steps behind her, following her closely the entire way.

"Would you just stop?!" He demands.

Donna ignores him, reaching down to open the draw where she kept her personal items.

"God damn it, Donna, answer me! What the hell is going on?! What was tha…"

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" She shouts, exasperated.

Harvey's mouth drops at the revelation.

"I love you. I'm in love with you, Harvey and I needed to know for sure before I lost you forever"

"Lost me?" He says softly, still trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"I spoke to Louis earlier and he is heartbroken over Sheila, he is drowning in regret because he didn't tell her how he feels and now he has to watch her marry someone else." She says softly.

"…and I just …I just needed to know."

"Donna."

"Please don't." she whispers, her façade beginning to crumble in front of him.

"I just want to go. Please, just forget that ever happened and let me go home." she begs, scooping up her purse and making a beeline for the door.

Harvey uses his arm to stop her, blocking her from moving past him.

"Harvey." She whispers, wiping a tear off her cheek. "I'm sorry. Please just…"

Her words are cut off as he crashes his lips against hers, his hands slowly moving to cradle her face.

The kiss is firm but gentle, as he breaks away slowly his eyes lock with hers, his thumb gently wiping the tear on her other cheek away.

"What are you…" She begins to say before she's cut off by another kiss.

Harvey's tongue finds its way in to her mouth, moving sensually against hers as he tilts his head to deepen the kiss.

His hands make their way to her waist, lifting her and walking them towards the desk, sitting her on top of it.

Their movements become hurried, desperate, almost primal; a physical need taking over for both of them.

A deep sigh leaves her as Harvey's lips find her neck, kissing his way down to her collarbone to suck at the point that he remembers drives her crazy as she unbuttons his shirt. An involuntary "fuck" escapes her as she moves to his pants, pulling them down just enough as he unzips her dress, peeling the material off her upper body.

Harvey loops his fingers under the sides of her lace panties, pulling them down swiftly before moving so that her legs wrap around him once more.

Donna spreads her legs wider as he instantly pushes in to her, welcoming the move and relishing in the feeling of Harvey being inside for the first time in over a decade.

"Jesus, Donna." He moans, the exquisite feeling of her overwhelming him; he'd like to say he'd forgotten how tight she was or perfect she felt, but he'd be lying.

The truth is, he's never forgotten anything about her.

"Harvey…" She whimpers as he continues thrusting inside her, deep, hard, urgent; his tongue seeking refuge in her mouth, as he kisses her passionately.

Within mere minutes they are both reaching breaking point, Donna first, closely followed by Harvey; succumbing to a combination of their physical need for each other and having spent far too long apart.

Harvey rests his forehead against hers, her hands still gripping on to him tightly, their rapid breaths mingling as they try to regain some semblance of composure.

"Harvey, I..." She begins, before being cut off by his lips returning to hers, his tongue sneaking out to move sensually against hers.

As he gently breaks their kiss his eyes lock with hers; she can feel the passion and intensity between them, but she can also see the confliction in his face.

He's just done the one thing he thought he'd never do.

Before she can say a word, he's whispering a strangled "I love you" in her direction and leaving as fast as he can, exiting the room before he's even finished straightening up his clothes.

* END OF FLASHBACK *

"GRANDPA JIM!" Hope shouts, spotting her Grandfather as they enter his New York townhouse.

"There she is!" He smiles, spreading his arms wide and bracing himself to catch his granddaughter as she launches herself at him. "…How's my favourite Granddaughter?" He smiles, squeezing her tight.

"Hi Dad." Donna smiles, walking towards them.

"Hi honey."

"How are you feeling?" She asks, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Some days are better than others " He shrugs, "…But today's a good day." He says, smiling down at Hope.

"…How are you?" He queries.

"Better now I've seen you!" She answers honestly.

Placing Hope down, Jim embraces his daughter, hugging her firmly.

"I'm glad you're home, honey"

"Me too Daddy" She says quietly, hugging him back tightly.

Donna scans the bookshelf in front of her, smiling at the sound of her daughter's laughter echoing through the room. Her own smile faltering sadly when her gaze falls upon a particular photo.

"Look, Grandpa!" Hope says, attempting her tenth pirouette in the space of thirty seconds.

"Careful there darling." Jim warns "…Even ballerina's get dizzy!"

"Not me!" She boasts.

"Be careful" He repeats, "…if you're too dizzy, you won't be able to open the present I have for you." He says with a smile as he exits the room to find the package.

"For me?!" She says, excitedly. "Momma, Grandpa got me a present!"

Donna stares at the photo in her hands, not noticing the commotion behind her.

"Momma!" Hope repeats.

"Hmm?" Donna says, her attention snapping back in to the present moment.

"Grandpa got me a present!" The little girl repeats, smiling brightly.

"Aren't you lucky?!" Donna smiles, half-heartedly.

"Here it is."James says, returning to the girls 'side, "Now I bought this for your Mom when she was about your age, I hope you like it just as much as she did."

Hope begins to unwrap the present, slowly revealing a beautiful pink and gold porcelain music box.

"Wow" She says, in awe "It's very pretty, Grandpa."

"Open it." He encourages.

She slowly lifts the lid to reveal a porcelain ballerina, rotating to the tune of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

"It's a pretty Ballerina." Hope says.

"Just like you, honey." James smiles, earning himself a big smile from the girl.

"…and do you know what that says?" He asks, pointing to the wording on engraved plaque at the front of the box.

Hope shakes her head explaining, "I can't read."

"To my princess, I love you infinity times infinity, Love Dad."

Jim reads.

"Is that a lot?" She asks.

"It is bigger than anything you can imagine."

"Wow." She repeats as her grandfather winds the music box up again for her. "I just say to the moon and back ...and that's far!"

Donna blinks back tears at the heart-warming scene in front of her.

"Hey…" James says, noticing his daughter, "Are you ok? I didn't mean to upset you, honey."

"No, Dad. You didn't." She says wiping her eyes, "it's beautiful, thank you. I just"

"…What is it?"

"He took this photo of me you know" She sniffs, referring to the photo frame in her hands, in it a beautiful candid black and white photo of her laughing; Blissful, care-free, happy.

"That's my favourite photo of you" James smiles. "You look so happy"

"He kept trying to make me laugh that day" She explains.

"Donna…"

"I have to tell him; whether he wants to see me or not. I have to tell him he has a…"

James nods, understanding what his daughter means. "Life's to short for regrets, sweetie. Trust me. It's not too late"

"Grandpa?" Hope says, oblivious to the adult's conversation "…What are these words?" she asks, pointing to the other letters etched in to the plaque.

"D. R. P." James reads, which are initials, letters, from your Mommy's name" He explains.

"…And these" He says, pointing to the freshly engraved letters next to it "…are your initials, because this is yours now and maybe one day you will pass it on to your own daughter."

"H. R. S." James says, pointing out the letters to the young girl.

Hope Rachel Specter.

Please let me know what you think x