So I got all kinds of distracted and forgot to post the update here. Oops! Thus, you get a second chapter today. Sadly, it's also the last one. But there is good news to be had in the end notes, so check them out after you're done reading the fic!

Epilogue

He stared out at the city for a long time, playing a little with the phone in his hand.

He needed to make the call. Not knowing was driving him nuts and his own research had come up woefully empty.

Donna could probably answer his questions, but, despite what she said, he wasn't one hundred percent sure she actually knew what had happened and he didn't want to be the one to share Mike's secret. He needed the kid to trust him and that would be a surefire way to ensure he never did again.

But calling... It risked a lot.

If Harvey did this—and he was under no illusions that it would come free—then he might very well be inviting trouble back into both his and Mike's lives. Literally.

And, though he hated the reason for them, he'd gotten used to the late night calls followed by a Star Trek marathon at either his or Mike's place—once he got Mike grounded in the present again anyway. He knew that making this phone call—making the offer that was a necessary part of the phone call—could end all that.

He was a substitute, he got that, and this could very well bring the person he was standing in for back into play.

But he needed to know.

He dialed, moved the phone to his ear, and waited.

"Hello?"

"This is Harvey Specter."

There was a curse and the sound of something dropping, the phone was fumbled, and then, "Uh, yes? I mean... I haven't talked to Mike since I left. I haven't even called him. I—"

"Would you like to?"

Silence filled the line and then a wary, "You're not the kind of guy to do anything for free, so... What'll it cost me?"

"Two things, but I'm pretty sure you'll think they're worth it." He hoped so, anyway.

"I'm listening." The tone was wary. Good. He was learning.

"First, you will agree to clean up your act and not drag Mike into any more stupid messes. You'll stay firmly on this side of the law or I'll make sure that you're on the other side of the bars in a place far, far away from New York. Understood?"

There was a pause. "And the second thing?"

"Did you kill him?"

"Did I— What? Kill... I haven't killed anyone! I'm not—"

Harvey glanced over his shoulder to be sure Donna was still gone, then said, "The guy who raped Mike."

Trevor fell silent again. "Hold on," he finally said.

There was the sound of movement, a door opening and closing and Trevor telling someone he'd be back in a minute.

"How do you know about that?" he finally asked.

"Let's just say I have my sources and—"

"No. How do you know?" That was promising. It almost sounded like the guy Mike had described that first night and mentioned since.

Harvey considered, then said, "Mike fell asleep at my place a few months ago when we were working late. He had a nightmare."

"Shit."

"It's happened a few times since then too. He's doing okay. He's even considering actual counseling. I just want to know if the man who hurt him is dead."

A sigh, then a bitter, "No."

Harvey wasn't sure if he was relieved or not to hear that.

"But I can tell you this: He won't ever fucking rape anyone ever again." There was a beat and then, "Are you going to report me to the cops?"

Harvey waited a moment, letting the relief—sans anything resembling guilt—flow through him. Then he said, "I'm giving you a second chance because of what you did for Mike. I'm assuming that the friend he told me about is still inside you somewhere. Don't fuck this up."

Then he ended the call and turned back to his desk. "Donna—" he said when he saw she'd returned.

"Mike's on his way now."

"Send him in when he gets here," Harvey said and sat down to work while he waited for Mike to bring him the Chalmers briefs.

This is my least favorite part of a story: the end. It's been a wild and crazy ride and I have made SUCH a good friend out of it. I can't even explain how glad I am that phreakycat prompted this so I could write it. Truly, she is an awesome, awesome person. Thanks also go to GallowsHumor for her beta and flailing and all the lovely things she added to make this story better than it was. And to Lu, my Muse, my BFF, my picker-of-genres and demystifier-of-last-lines. Without her, this would have had a much crackier ending that would have ruined it all. (No lie, it mentioned Harvey plotting actual world conquest because I just could NOT think of the words.)

The good side to this unfortunate event is that I am writing a sequel at phreakycat's request and, though the return of school might slow it down a little, I'm so excited to write it that I fear more for my homework than I do leaving you guys hanging. I'll be crossposting the sequel here on FFN, so keep an eye out if you're interested.

Thanks for reading and I'll see all of you next time, I hope!

Prompt: Harvey and Mike are working late at Harvey's condo on a case, and Mike crashes on the couch/in the guest room for the night.

In the wee hours of the morning, Harvey is woken to the sound of terrified screaming. Understandably freaked-the-fuck-out, Harvey grabs his baseball bat and rushes to see what's happening.

He finds Mike, fast asleep and clearly in the grip of a terrifying nightmare. Mike is tangled in the sheets, sweating, hyperventilating in his sleep, maybe shouting, and he looks like he's trying to fight off an invisible attacker.

Harvey isn't sure what to do, but when Mike curls in on himself and whimpers like the world is ending Harvey can't stand it and he wakes him up. Mike is disoriented, scared, and doesn't recognize where he is or who Harvey is right away. Harvey has to talk him down. Once he's more calm, Harvey asks him what he was dreaming about.

Up to anon what he was dreaming about, but I'd really like it to be something traumatic from his past like abuse, non-con, assault, etc and not just reliving his parents' death (but if that's what sparks your muse go with it!).

Wants:
* Hyperventilating!Mike
* Harvey having to physically restrain Mike at some point while waking him up, and Mike totally losing it when he's restrained
* Trembling!Mike (teeth-chattering is bonus!)
* Mike clinging to Harvey's tee shirt so hard he stretches it/ruins it and his fingers cramp up so badly that Harvey has to help him uncurl them.
* Mike burying his face in Harvey's neck and crying
* Mike being unable at first to put into words what he was dreaming about, and Harvey having to coax it out of him by gently asking questions and guessing (i.e. "is it something that happened in your past?" "did someone hurt you?" etc)
* Harvey stroking Mike's hair and the back of his neck to calm him without realizing he's doing it
* Mike begging Harvey not to leave him (still a little out of it) and Harvey lying down with him and holding him until he falls back into an uneasy sleep
* Mike continuing to sleep restlessly (occasional twitches, whimpers, tensing up or clinging to Harvey in his sleep, etc) and Harvey staying up all night to soothe him whenever he starts to fall back into a nightmare
* Harvey calling out the following day for both of them, knowing they're in no shape to work
* Mike being embarrassed the next morning (because these things always feel more humiliating in the light of day when you're fully with it and not disoriented by panic)
* Harvey convincing Mike that he doesn't think less of him, convincing Mike to talk to him more about the dream/trauma
* Harvey making Mike promise to call him at any hour if he wakes up terrified, and finding more and more reasons to have Mike stay over so he can wake him if he has a nightmare

Sorry for the super-angsty, long, overly detailed prompt folks. It's 3 am and I'm up after having a doozy of a nightmare (that, incidentally, made me jerk awake and totally irritate my surgical incision, just for an added fun bonus). Unfortunately, I don't have a Harvey or anyone at home right now to soothe me through a terrible technicolor reliving of personal non-con trauma, so I'm looking for fic-as-therapy so I can be comforted vicariously through Mike. :)