Thanks for the reviews!
So I actually managed to write this chapter before the show starts again on Thursday. I'm so looking forward to the new episodes. I really missed Harvey. I can't wait to see him again. I'm such a sucker for handsome men in suits. :-)
Okay, guys! This is the last chapter of this story but it's on the long side. There will be an epilogue but this is the real end of the story. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8
The ring was now burning a hole in his pocket but he still didn't know how he should propose to Donna. Donna was special, he wanted to propose to her in such a manner that it showed how much she meant to him. But every idea that popped into his head was not good enough, so he had tossed them all away. He wasn't accustomed to feeling that incompetent.
How hard could it be to find the perfect way to propose to the love of your life? He was an excellent attorney. He knew he was a rock star in court. But this, this felt different. Maybe because it was more important. Maybe because a small part of him feared that her answer might be no.
Donna watched him pacing through his office. Harvey had been acting weird lately and she knew him inside out and normally she was always able to figure out what troubled him. But this time she just couldn't or maybe she didn't want to read the signs because when she was honest he was acting way too distracted lately and she feared that he was pulling away from her.
Maybe he'd realized that he didn't want to give up his bachelor life. Maybe he wanted to get back to the way things were before. Donna just didn't know and she was afraid. She didn't want to lose him and this fear had made her act extremely uncharacteristically. Normally she would have confronted him by now, make him tell her what was wrong. Maybe she should just grow a pair and ask him. She had never been a coward and she didn't want to start now. She would talk to him. Tonight.
When Donna turned her gaze back to the computer, a movement at the periphery of her vision caught her attention and she looked over the monitor, curious who might be still in the office this late at night. When she recognized the woman who was walking purposefully towards Harvey's office she almost cursed out loud. Of course, now where she had doubts about Harvey's true feelings the one person who could crash it all walked back into his life.
Dana Scott.
"Is he in there?" Scottie rushed past Donna's cubicle, not even waiting for an answer and Donna had to hold herself back since she wanted nothing more than to grab her arm and yank her back from Harvey's office. She had already jumped out of her chair but stopped herself. She would not let the green monster get a hold of her.
She knew she should trust Harvey, that she could trust him. But Scottie wasn't some ordinary woman, she was the woman he had always dragged into bed the moment they were behind closed doors. Donna knew intellectually that Harvey wouldn't cheat but her heart still constricted in her throat as she watched Scottie stroll towards him, brushing her hand down his arm and Donna curled her hands into fists, pressing her fingernails into her flesh, using the pain to keep herself from causing a scene by rushing into his office.
"Hello, Mr. Specter." Scottie almost purred as she stopped a step behind him. He hadn't seen nor heard her entering his office, apparently too caught up in one of his thought processes, probably about a case.
"Scottie?" Harvey turned around surprised. He hadn't known that Scottie was in the city. She didn't tell him. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a divorce." And without saying anything else she closed the gap between them and pulled his head down to her, pressing her lips against his.
Every color drained out of Donna's face and her knees almost gave out under her as she watched Scottie kiss Harvey. A sharp pain slashed through her heart, tears shot into her eyes and she turned around sharply, grabbing her purse from under the table before she rushed towards the elevators.
Harvey needed a few seconds before his brain was able to register what was actually happening since her kiss had completely taken him by surprise. He grabbed her arms and pushed her away, looking startled down at her before sudden realization hit him and his head snapped up and his eyes shot to the cubicle outside his office.
"Shit." She wasn't there. He knew she had been at her computer just a minute ago and she wouldn't leave without saying anything. The only conclusion was that she had seen everything and he couldn't blame her that she rushed off. Though he felt a short sting of disappointment that she apparently still believed that he had any feelings for Scottie beyond friendship. "Fuck!"
"Harvey?" Scottie asked unsure. She could see a flicker of panic cross his face and she couldn't remember ever seeing this expression on his face before. Harvey had almost completely forgotten that Scottie was standing right in front of him and he yanked his hands away from her as if he got burned.
"Damn it." Harvey cursed. "God damn it, Scottie. Are you completely insane?"
"What?" Scottie replied slightly annoyed. "I'm free again. We can pick up where we left off."
"No, we can not." Harvey stated firmly, taking some steps back to put even more space between them.
"Why?" Scottie looked up at him, puzzled.
"Didn't it occur to you that it might be a good idea to give me the chance to actually say something to you before you jump me?"
"Why should I ..." Scottie started to speak but then suddenly realized that there was only one explanation why Harvey didn't kiss her back. In all those years there were only two times where he didn't take her up on her offer. Harvey Specter was a lot of things but he wasn't a cheater. "You are seeing someone."
"Yes, Scottie. I'm with someone and believe it or not ..." Harvey looked her straight in the eyes. He wanted to make sure that she understood that he was serious. "I'm in love with this woman. I want to marry her."
"Marry her?" Scottie asked, her jaw almost dropping to the floor. "You want to marry? Commit to one woman for the rest of your life?"
"Shocking, isn't it?" Harvey replied, sighing heavily. "But since she just rushed out of the building after you planted a kiss on me she might not want to marry me."
"Donna? You two ..." Scottie trailed off, wondering why she even had to ask. She'd always known that there was more between Harvey and Donna than friendship. But she still needed to ask the question. "You two are together?"
"Shouldn't be that much of a surprise."
"No, it actually isn't." Scottie replied, giving him a sad smile.
"God, she is going to rip my head off. She won't even listen to me." Scottie actually had to suppress a chuckle as she saw the desperation on Harvey's face. She'd never seen him that vulnerable.
"Then what are you waiting for, you idiot?" Harvey's head snapped up and he looked at her, apparently completely at a loss to what she was referring and Scottie walked over to him, turning him towards the door and giving him a gentle push. "Go get her."
A little push was apparently all he had needed because he rushed towards the door, not even looking back and Scottie felt a slight sting in her heart region. Harvey Specter was chasing after a woman and part of her was sad that he wasn't chasing after her.
"Oh, and Harvey?" Scottie called after him, waiting for him to turn around to her. "I'm happy for you. I can see she is the one."
Harvey walked back to her and leaned down to press a kiss against her cheek, giving her a short hug. "Thank you, Scottie. Take care of yourself, will you?"
"I will."
Scottie stood in his office for a few more minutes, staring down the empty hallway before she inhaled deeply and let her breath out on a sigh. If she was honest with herself she'd always known that she could never have him, that she wasn't the one woman he could truly fall in love with.
Maybe because she'd known all along that he'd lost his heart a long time ago. She was really happy for him. He had finally admitted to himself that he loved Donna. She'd always seen the signs. She'd once come to Harvey's office and overheard a conversation between Donna and him. It was then that she realized that Donna was the most important woman in his life even if he hadn't realized it for himself back then.
Scottie had married another man because she knew that Harvey would never marry her. The marriage didn't work out but she had to try. She'd come back to New York because a small part of her had hoped that she had been mistaken, that there was maybe a slight chance to win his heart. But there was only one woman who had a hold on Harvey's heart. The woman who had stood by his side for the last fourteen years. At good times and bad times. Scottie had not the slightest doubt that Harvey would marry Donna. She had lost him.
~H&D~
Donna was furious. How could he kiss another woman? Donna grabbed the shot of Tequila in front of her and downed it without batting an eye.
"Can I buy you the next one?" A soft voice spoke directly beside her and a man slipped on the bar stool next to her. He was handsome, not as handsome as Harvey but she wouldn't let herself think about him right now. Why shouldn't she have some fun?
"Sure. Why not?"
Harvey had searched over an hour for her until he finally found her in a hotel bar. He'd remembered that she'd once told him that whenever she felt the need to get drunk she ended up in this bar. He should have found her earlier.
As Harvey scanned the bar, laughter suddenly pearled through the air and he froze. He would recognize this laughter everywhere. He turned slowly towards the sound and couldn't believe his eyes as his gaze fell on Donna.
She was leaning towards the man sitting beside her and the man devoured her with his eyes. Hot fury shot through his veins and he rushed through the bar, grabbing her arm and almost yanking her violently of the bar stool.
"Come on. Let's go."
Donna's gaze dropped pointedly to the hand around her arm before she met his gaze and Harvey almost flinched back when he saw the hurt in her eyes she couldn't completely conceal from him.
"Get your hands off me." Donna stated, her voice so eerily calm that a chill ran down his spine.
"Donna, is there a problem?" The man beside her interjected and Harvey felt the unbearable urge to just punch him in the face and knock him off the chair. "Do you want me to get rid of him?"
"So that you can put your hands on her? Don't think so, pal. She belongs to me."
Harvey could see the dangerous glint in Donna's eyes but he didn't have the time to shield himself in any way when she raised her hand and slapped him so hard that his head flew to the side, a harsh sound echoing through the bar as her hand connected with his skin. He lifted his hand and rubbed over his cheek, looking at the other man. "Besides, as you can see, she can handle herself just fine."
"I don't belong to anyone." Donna hissed. "You two immature imbeciles can fight it out who is gonna pay my drinks. I'm going home." As Harvey stepped one step closer, Donna raised her hand and stopped him. "To my apartment! Alone!"
Harvey only hesitated for a second, knowing that he needed to talk to her. He couldn't let her walk away like this, not when she thought that he had betrayed her and kissed Scottie.
"Donna!" Harvey shouted after her before he reached into his pocket and threw a fifty dollar bill on the counter, not caring that it was probably way too much. "Donna, wait!"
As he reached her he stepped around her, blocking her path and she stopped in her tracks but refused to look at him as she told him with an ice-cold voice. "Leave me alone, Harvey. I don't wanna talk to you right now."
"Too bad." Harvey snatched her hand and pulled her through the door and in the direction of his car. "Because you are gonna come with me and listen."
The car ride to his apartment was filled with silence and with every minute that ticked by Harvey grew angrier. Had she really just assumed that he would embrace Scottie in his arms and have wild sex with her? Didn't she trust him at all?
Harvey gritted his teeth trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. God damn it, he didn't kiss her back. Donna should at least give him the benefit of a doubt.
Donna looked out the window, struggling with the tears that were constantly rising up in her chest. She would not cry. She knew she didn't act rationally. But she couldn't get a grip on the mixed feelings that were rushing through her body.
As she had looked up into his face at the bar her heart had skipped a beat and the realization how much she loved him had almost taken her breath away. God, how could she have been turned on by the anger that shot out of his eyes? But for one brief second she'd contemplated to just yank his head down and kiss him senseless.
Images of them having sex all over the hotel had invaded her brain and she almost sobbed out loud as the image of him kissing Scottie flashed up behind her closed eyelids. Seeing him kiss Scottie had hurt so much. But she would not let him see how much he had hurt her. She would keep her pride. She would let him talk and than she would just walk out of his apartment with her head held high. She would not give him the satisfaction to see her break down.
Harvey watched her out of the corner of his eye on their way up to the apartment and somehow seeing the paleness of her skin, the rigidness of her body made him even angrier. He hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't even known that Scottie was in the city. How the hell could he have anticipated that she would show up at the office and just kiss him? Blaming him wasn't fair.
Staying calm was getting harder and harder from minute to minute and the moment they stepped into the apartment Harvey huffed out in frustration. "Are you freaking kidding me?"
Almost regretting his outburst as Donna swirled around to face him, her cheeks suddenly bright red, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "You have the balls to ask me if I'm kidding you?"
"His eyes almost popped out of his head as you rubbed your breasts against his arm." Harvey replied, well aware that he sounded like a jealous husband.
"I did not ..." Donna took in a deep breath to calm down before she would hit him again. "I don't have to explain anything. We were just talking."
"He almost fell into your décolleté. I guess he was talking to your breasts then, right?"
"But I didn't kiss him." Donna shouted, punching his chest with her fist.
"I didn't kiss anyone either." Harvey replied quietly, all the fight had rushed out of his system the moment her eyes locked with his.
"I saw you. I was there." Donna said. "She looked as if she would rip off your clothes any second."
"Are you seriously suggesting that I had sex with Scottie?" Harvey asked incredulously. "God damn it, Donna. I didn't kiss her back. She took me by surprise but I didn't kiss her. Do you hear me?"
"But it's Scottie ..."
"If you would have stayed around for just a few seconds longer you would have seen that I pushed her away. How can you even believe for one second that I would kiss her? I love you, Donna. YOU."
"I'm sorry. I should have ..." Donna started to speak but Harvey interrupted her.
"Yeah, you should have just trusted me. I ... I would never cheat on you." Harvey turned away from her, just now realizing that his hand was curled around the ring box in his pocket and he pulled it out, staring down at it before he said barely above a whisper. "Maybe buying this was a bad idea."
Donna almost didn't hear him but the sadness of his voice took her off guard and she raised her hand and placed it gently between his shoulder blades, asking softly. "Buying what?"
"This!" Harvey swirled around and held up the velvet box in his hand and Donna sucked in a breath, her eyes went wide in shock as she realized the meaning of the box in his hands. Her shocked expression actually made him smile and just like that all his doubts vanished. She didn't need a fancy proposal. She just needed him to commit, to show her how much he loved her and if a proposal from him, Harvey Specter, couldn't convince her how serious he was, nothing could.
Harvey held her gaze and lowered himself slowly on one knee, snapping the box open, gulping hard as his emotions almost choked him when he saw a lonely tear running down her cheek as she stared at him without moving a muscle.
"Donna Paulsen ..." Harvey said with a husky voice. "Will you marry me?"
"Oh my God!" Donna whispered, stretching out her hand, her fingers stopping only an inch away from the sparkling diamond. "Are you ... you really ..." Harvey could see her fingers trembling before she pulled her hand away. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"I've never been more sure in my life." Harvey said firmly because he was only telling her the truth. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me, Donna. You might not belong to me but I belong to you. With every fiber of my body and heart. Marry me?"
"Harvey, I ..." Harvey's smile faltered as he saw her hesitate. Of course she wouldn't say yes. How could she say yes?
"I get it, Donna. I ..." Harvey stood up slowly and snapped the box shut. He needed to get out of the apartment. He could feel tears burning the back of his throat but he would not cry in front of her. He shoved the box back in his pocket and walked towards the elevator but her voice suddenly stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Do you really believe I would let you walk away?" Donna said quietly. She had seen the telltale shimmer of tears in his eyes and realized that she should have told him first that she wanted to marry him before she could talk to him about everything else that was cursing through her mind.
Harvey waited a few seconds before he turned around and met her eyes. "But you ..."
"Get back here and give me my ring." Donna stated confidently, hoping that her comment would wipe the crushed expression off his face.
"Does that mean ...?" Harvey trailed off, stepping slowly closer until he was standing right in front of her.
"Yes, it does mean ..." Donna said, not able to finish the sentence when tears closed up her throat.
"I think I need you to say it." Harvey told her with a slightly shaking voice.
Donna lifted her hands and cupped his face. "Yes. I want to be your wife."
Harvey took the ring out of the box and lifted her left hand up, slipping the ring slowly over her finger before he intertwined his fingers with hers. "I love you so much, Donna."
"I know." Donna whispered, pulling his head down to her. "I love you, too."
Harvey bent down and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to the bed room. He would make love to his soon-to-be wife all night and no one could stop him.
~H&D~
"Did it hurt?" Donna asked the moment she was able to speak again, skimming her fingers over his cheek.
"It stung a little bit." Harvey replied and Donna raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm not a wuss." Her eyebrows rose even further and Harvey chuckled. "At least not when it comes to women punching me."
"I didn't punch you, I slapped you." Donna clarified. "If I had punched you I would be probably in the ER because of a broken hand and cursing the day I met you instead of lying in bed with my fiancé."
"Sounds strange, doesn't it?" Harvey said quietly.
"I think you have to give me some weeks to get used to the fact that I'm going to be Mrs. Specter."
"You are giving up your name?" Harvey asked surprised.
"Too sappy?"
"No. I like the ring of it. Mrs. Specter." Harvey grinned at her, letting his fingers trail over her cheek before he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against hers. "Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Specter."
"Don't believe for a second that I'm playing the subordinate housewife."
"I don't want you to change in any way, Donna. I fell in love with all your quirks."
"I don't have quirks."
"Yes, you have." Before she could protest any further Harvey wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace. "And so have I. We just have to live with them."
"For the rest of our lives." Donna whispered.
"Yes, for the rest of our lives."
~H&D~
"Let me see." Rachel said, grabbing Donna's hand and pulling her towards the windows to look at the ring in better light. "It looks amazing."
"I know." Donna said, smiling from ear to ear. She still could hardly believe that she was engaged to one Harvey Specter but looking into his face and seeing how happy he looked made it clear that she was not dreaming. She would be marrying Harvey Specter.
"So how does it feel?" Mike asked him quietly.
"The sex is mind-blowingly fantastic." Harvey replied, hiding a smirk.
"I'm not talking about the sex." Mike said exasperatedly. "How does it feel to give up your bachelor life?"
"I'm not giving up anything, Mike." Harvey spoke, clearing his throat when his voice turned husky with emotions. "For the first time in my life I think I'm completely happy. It feels amazing." Harvey turned his head and looked at his associate, smiling as he saw him sharing a loving look with Rachel. "But I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
"Yes, I do." Mike said quietly.
"What is going on here?" Jessica's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Just a little celebration." Mike replied quickly, holding up the glass of champagne to prove his point. "Since we won another case."
"I see." Jessica said before she walked back towards the door. When she reached the door she turned around and stated, as if it was just some random afterthought. "By the way nice rock, Donna. I hope he paid enough for it." When she saw the dumbstruck expression on the faces in front of her she laughed out loud. "Did you really believe you can hide this from me, Harvey?"
Harvey's confused expression turned into a grin. "No, of course not. How could I ever believe I could fool Jessica Pearson?"
"What about the fraternization policy?" Donna said quietly. Harvey had told her that she shouldn't be worried but she still needed to know if they could still work together even after they got married.
"Don't worry about it." Jessica replied. "Since the whole firm already assumes that you are together for years I don't think that anyone is going to be surprised when you two get married."
"Thank you, Jessica." Donna said, walking towards Harvey and slipping under his arm. "I would have hated to stop working here."
Jessica watched how Harvey tightened his grip around Donna's shoulder and her smile broadened. "Just keep your fights out of the office, okay?"
"You are talking about our personal fights, right?" Harvey asked.
"As if I ever would stop the famous Harvey and Donna banter. The firm wouldn't survive without it." Jessica joked before she turned serious. "I wish you all the best."
"Thank you, Jessica." Harvey said quietly.
"Can we get back to the party now?" Mike threw in.
"Of course." Harvey said. "Let's put on some great music."
"Not the Spinners." Mike whined.
"How often do I have to tell you that they were one of the defining pop bands of their time?"
"We can listen to NSYNC." Mike replied, grinning smugly.
"Do you wanna work with Louis again?" Harvey shot back, walking over to his record collection.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me." Harvey smiled broadly. "Maybe you need another 'burn down the village' speech."
"Harvey, please! Don't joke about something like that."
"Who says I'm joking?"
Donna looked at Rachel and both rolled their eyes simultaneously as they listened to the bickering of their respective others. Donna's eyes followed Harvey through the room as he walked to his vinyl collection and chose a record. Her right hand went to her left hand and her fingers covered her engagement ring. Sometimes it still felt like a dream. But if it was a dream she never wanted to wake up. She was together with the man she always wanted to be with. Her greatest dream had come true.
I decided to put the complete stamp on this. Thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting and following. I loved to write the story and I'm happy that you enjoyed it! :-)