5

After an impromptu client meeting has pulled him out of the office all morning, he needs caffeine and he's downright irritable. That is until he rounds the corner of the associate's bullpen to hear the warm, familiar laugh.

"Speak of the devil," says Donna, spying him over the other man's shoulder.

"Dad," Harvey says, appearing as nonchalant as possible, but he immediately feels the weight of work lifting off his shoulders.

His father turns and after a quick glance in around the bustling office. "Harvey."

Harvey motions for him to come to an empty conference room for some semblance of privacy. Donna, as expected, is hot on their heels.

"You weren't supposed to get in until tomorrow."

"I figured we could hit the batting cages at Chelsea Piers tonight, if you're not afraid of getting schooled by an old man," he replies with a shrug.

Harvey narrows his eyes at Donna, who is excitedly glancing between them.

"Gord was just telling me about your little league days," Donna says, as if she needs to explain herself.

"Gord," Harvey parrots, his voice flat.

She nods brightly. "I was just dropping off the Floyd depositions when lo and behold, there he was, waiting at your desk."

"And good thing too," Gordon interjects, running a hand through his gray head of hair. "I was bored out of my mind 'til this lovely lady decided to turn up. She's been keeping me company for nearly an hour." His father's eyes twinkle as he meets Donna's gaze and she returns his smile with equal fervor.

This could be dangerous.

"You mean she hasn't been working for nearly an hour."

"Get that stick out of your ass, Harvey," his father chastises before shooting a wink at Donna.

She tries, but fails miserably, at holding back a smile. "Lord knows I tell him that every single day."

"Donna, I need those filings by 5 pm today."

She shoots him a dark look that tells him this isn't over, but she places a hand on his father's forearm affably. "It was very nice to meet you."

They watch Donna's retreating form through the glass of the meeting room, and Harvey has to tear his eyes away from the subtle swaying of her hips.

His father arches a brow suggestively. "Jesus, how do you get anything done with that strutting around you every day."

"I'm not you," Harvey replies back, a little too quickly.

The smile on his father's face wavers, but he gives Harvey a slap on the back anyway. His mother is a touchy subject, and Gordon knows Harvey's feelings towards her are less than amiable. His father's unwavering support, no, love, for this woman makes him sick to his stomach.

"She asks about you all the time, Harvey. You can't keep doing this."

Harvey closes his eyes and exhales. After a moment, he pats his father on the back lightly. "I'm going to take the rest of the day, how about we get out of here now?"

"See you there," Gordon sighs, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets and trudging out.

Harvey meets Donna at her desk, but she turns in her chair when she hears him approaching. "l already cleared your schedule, I'll see you tonight."

"Tonight?" he replies, bemused.

"Oh," she chuckles sheepishly. "Gord sort of invited me to his gig at the Blue Note."

Harvey blinks.

Donna gives him a smirk which he finds himself mirroring. "Well I'm sure he was getting around to telling you."

"Alright, I'll agree on one condition." Harvey leans in close and whispers conspiratorially. "Gord? Never again."

"You're not in a position to negotiate," she murmurs back as she rolls her chair away from him, which is a sharp reminder that they are in the middle of a crowded office and people always talk.

After almost getting schooled by his father at the batting cages, they grab a quick dinner at Gordon's favorite New York deli. They talk about Harvey's work, Gordon's music, how terribly the Yankees have been doing in the playoffs and really anything but Harvey's mother. He tries to work her into the conversation a few times, but Harvey sidesteps all the questions, the comments with practiced ease. There's a reason he's one of the highest paid attorneys in New York City.

"You shouldn't let your feelings about her hold you back," Gordon finally says, eyeing the leftovers of his pastrami sandwich, if only to avoid eye contact with his son. "I mean…personally."

Harvey laughs at this uncharacteristic and clumsy attempt to broach the topic of his personal life. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I just want you to be happy, Harvey, and if this is doing that for you, that's great. But I just want you to know…your career isn't everything. It can make for a pretty lonely life," he finishes slowly, quietly.

Silence descends upon them. Harvey pushes his pickle aside on the plate with distaste, and idly thinks that Donna would have already snagged it, were she here.

"I am happy," he says finally as he stands. "Shall we?"

The finality of that conversation is abundantly clear, so Gordon sighs as he follows suit.

Later that night in front the Blue Note, Harvey waits for Donna to arrive while Gordon warms up backstage. His mind is annoyingly replaying the conversation with his father over in his head and he watches a woman leaning against the brick of the building. She catches his eye and brings the cigarette down from her lips and offers it to him with a coy smile.

He hesitates for a moment, then accepts it. He notices the end is stained with lipstick as he takes a long drag and sighs as the smoke escapes his mouth. He had a nasty habit during undergrad, which he knows he will never fall back into, but the taste of the tobacco on his tongue is a familiar comfort that he will not forgo just this moment.

Harvey tries to pass the cigarette back to his companion but she shakes her head. "You look like you need it."

"Thanks."

"And if you need more after the show, I'll be here," she smiles and turns to return to the club.

He gives his thanks and ponders her proposition. He lets the cigarette sit between his teeth as he checks his phone for messages. And just like that (the whiff of perfume being his only warning) the cigarette is snatched from his mouth. Donna drops it to the asphalt at quashes it under her heel, wrinkling her nose with distaste.

"That's disgusting."

"Quick to judge, are we?"

"You knew I'd catch you here," she points out. "And you knew I'd disapprove."

Harvey shrugs and takes her in, all Friday-night-out, a dark blue pleated dress that sets off the fire in her hair. He decides to keep up with this theme of consequences be damned he's got going today. "Disapproval looks good on you."

For a moment she is taken aback by his open flirtation, but she recovers quickly. "You forget, everything looks good on me."

He chuckles and offers his arm, which she accepts willingly, but she deliberately leaves space between them. It seems one of them must always play the reluctant partner in this never ending dance, but he is used to it now. This inconsistency has strangely become the only consistency in their relationship, so it does not faze him.

They sit in the back corner, side-by-side so that they can watch the stage easily. Harvey orders a bottle of light Reisling to keep them company for the night.

"Have I been looking forward to seeing you this entire week," she says to the glass.

"I am wounded," he interjects lightly as he hands it to her.

"You should be, you're the hardass that needed those Harrelson filings by Tuesday."

The wine is flowing as well as the conversation when the double bass player lugs his instrument on stage. Shortly after come the pianist and the drummer and Gordon Specter. Donna lets out a jeering wolf whistle, and Harvey's father waves at her.

"Oh, Gord, you old dog," Harvey mutters, though loud enough for Donna to hear.

The first piece is quick paced bebop, colored with undertones of improvisation by all the performers. The bass player, Dougie Mills, introduces himself to the crowd to much applause, as he is the headliner of the show. Then comes his father, the pianist and the drummer.

The pieces are peppered with intermissions of friendly banter amongst the musicians, who are clearly old friends. The atmosphere is warm and friendly and Harvey wonders know why he doesn't come here more often.

"He reminds me of you, in some ways," Donna whispers over her drink they take a quick break during their long set. "It's like looking at you through frosted glass. What you might have been, if things were a little different..."

Harvey cocks his head, questioning.

"Nevermind," she waves him off and turns her attention back to the stage.

He wonders why she never asks about his mother. Then, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, he knows that even though he hasn't told her, she's Donna and she can read him like a book. She knows they're practically estranged, and does not want to broach the subject.

Before the last song, there's one more interlude.

During his father's turn, there's obligatory thanks, and then, to Harvey's surprise and embarrassment, "My son Harvey is in the crowd tonight."

Dougie interjects in deep baritone. "Forget Harvey, Gordon, look at that lady with him." Then comes a low, well-practiced whistle.

The crowd laughs easily at the joke as the pianist takes his turn at the mic. Harvey stiffens in his seat and turns to Donna to see her beaming; never has he met a woman more comfortable in the spotlight. She arches an eyebrow suggestively at him.

"What's the matter," she asks, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. "I'd ask if a cat got your tongue, but we all know that's impossible."

Harvey opens his mouth to retort when his father hops off the stage and joins them.

"Well?"

"It was excellent," Donna says sincerely. "Thank you for inviting me, I loved the closing number."

"I knew you would," Gordon laughs.

His eyes flit between the two of them, and Donna takes the silence as her queue to break it. "How about we get a round of drinks?"

And they do. This time, when they talk about Harvey's childhood, he does not resist. In fact, he regales Donna with a story of his own, when Gordon caught him with his high school girlfriend in the back of their old sedan when he was 16. She throws her head back and laughs with such enthusiasm that he thinks he won't regret it when she uses this information as leverage to blackmail him.

"I should get going," she says some time later. She stands and pats her skirt down, and before he can protest, she holds up her hand. "It's barely midnight, Harvey, a cab will be fine. I'll see you on Monday."

Gordon stands they embrace quickly. He whispers something in her ear, but Harvey doesn't catch it.

"What did you tell her?"

"None of your business," his father shoots back.

When the weekend comes to a close, Gordon leaves to go back upstate, and the reprieve from his working life is suddenly over, leaving him with a strange sense of melancholy he never though he would feel. But as soon as the feeling comes, it is gone, and he is all business once more.

Some months later, he and Donna go to that bar where they first met, if only to reminisce. He tells her about his mother, and he finds out her father has been fighting a battle with cancer for the better half of a decade. He was a heavy smoker before she was born, she explains to him quietly. Harvey never touches a cigarette again.

TBC

No beta, as usual. All typos/silly grammar mistakes are my fault.