It happened just after noon on Wednesday, October 19th. Mike stood, slowly and camly, slipped his bag over one shoulder, and walked out of the building. He didn't tell anyone where he was going nor did he stay to finish the paperwork that was on his desk. One of the files was only half-read, the highlighter still sitting on top of it with the cap off. Harvey needed that file done and on his desk within the hour. Mike walked away.
After said hour had passed, Harvey looked up from his desk, suddenly realizing that he was missing something. He'd been expecting Mike to deliver a file for him partially because he needed it but also because he needed to speak with him about the case. He waited for about fifteen more minutes before he picked up his phone and called Donna.
When she picked up the phone, he cut in before she ever said hello. "Donna, I need you to call Mike and get him to come to my office. Immediately."
There was a soft sigh on the other end of the line. "I can't Harvey.
Harvey frowned. Since when? It wasn't a huge undertaking and he certainly hadn't been rude to her in any way that would make her shut him down like that. Still, he sighed and tried again. "Donna, could you please call Mike and get him to-"
"I can't Harvey," she cut him off again, her words emphasizing on the word 'can't'. "He's not here." There was a strange quality to her voice then, a sort of sad resignation, and Harvey's eyebrows furrowed together.
"What do you mean he's not here? Did I tell him he could leave early? Because I specifically recall telling him that I needed both him and that file in my office by 1:30, no excuses." There was a soft click on the other end of the line and Harvey realized with a start that Donna had just hung up on him.
Not five seconds later, the door to his office swung open and she was standing there. There weren't tears in her eyes but there was a stricken expression on her face that immediately told him something was wrong. "Harvey..." she started, her hand dropping from the doorknob and falling to her side uselessly. "Mike's grandmother just passed away."
Harvey felt like he'd just been punched in the stomach. There was an absolute silence that fell across the room for a few seconds before he found the ability to speak again. "When?" He asked, his voice coming out strange and harsh in his ears.
Donna shrugged just a tiny bit and looked at an obscure point on the wall. "He got a call from the nursing home about thirty minutes ago and just left. I called them back to see what had happened and they told me she passed away earlier this morning."
Had it been any other time, Harvey might have chuckled at Donna's insatiable curiosity. She was the best secretary he'd ever had and she made it a point to know everything about everyone who worked close to Harvey. She'd once told him you never knew when certain bits of information would come in handy and she stuck to that philosophy like glue. Once again, any other day Harvey would have smiled. Today he just felt sick.
He stood, sliding the papers he'd been working on into his desk drawer and closing it abruptly. "Tell Mr. Williams I'll have to meet with him tomorrow," he said and Donna nodded quickly, disappearing out of his office and going back to her desk. Harvey walked out into the hall, just barely paying attention as Donna called his afternoon client and re-scheduled the meeting. He took out his phone and called Ray, already stepping into the elevator.
OOOOO
The nursing home sat in the middle of a downtown retirement community. There was a shiny brass fence sitting on either side of the driveway and the name "Shady Grove Retirement Home" was painted in light blue letters across the sign in the front lawn. Harvey had only been here once and it had been to drop Mike off to visit his grandmother. He felt the same dead weight settle in his stomach that he'd felt back in the office when he thought back on that day.
Ray gave him a sad smile as he got out of the car and closed the door. His driver had told him to give Mike his condolences but Harvey was still trying to figure out he was going to do it. He walked up to the front door, heart heavy, and stepped inside. The nurse behind the front desk smiled softly, knowingly, when he said Mike's name and gave him the room number. Harvey thanked her quietly and walked down the hall, taking a slow, steady breath as he approached the door.
Mike was inside, staring blankly at the empty bed. The bed had been stripped of the sheets and blankets and it was as if no one had ever been here. Harvey felt an irrational flare of anger at that. The woman had just died and they'd cleaned the room as quickly as they could to make room for someone else. He knew it was policy and that it was in no way meant to seem callous and uncaring but still, it angered him for reasons he wasn't really sure of.
There was a cardboard box sitting on the edge of the bed filled with pictures and figurines that had belonged to Mike's grandmother. It was pitifully small and only half-full. A tattered quilt was folded neatly next to it, the corners neat and precise and Harvey had no doubt one of the nurses had been to the one to fold it.
He stepped a bit closer to the bed, his eyes still trained on Mike. The younger man hadn't moved, hadn't even registered someone else had entered the room...he just stared. For a brief second, Harvey was afraid he's gone into shock and was tempted to rush across the room and shake him silly just to get some kind of reaction out of him.
Finally, Mike looked up at him and Harvey felt his breath catch in his throat. There were tears in the younger man's eyes, not falling but just hovering on the ragged edge of trickling down his face. He smiled brokenly, the expression grim and miserable. "She's gone..."
Harvey was across the room then, before his brain ever caught up with the fact that he'd moved, and gathered Mike in his arms. He didn't do hugs or high fives or any of the other touchy-feely things that Mike did. Hell, he was about as comforting as a dead ostrich. He grabbed Mike and held him tightly because it was the only thing he could think to do.
Mike crumbled, his knees buckling a bit as harsh, ragged sobs wracked his body. Harvey held him close. One hand rubbed small, nonsensical patterns across his back and the other carded through the younger man's hair, fingers slipping easily through the cornsilk soft strands. It was an intimate gesture, one Harvey didn't even use on the women he'd slept with, but he didn't care. Mike was gripping him like a lifeline, like the older man was the only thing keeping him drowning in the sea of despair. Harvey tightened his grip and tucked Mike's head beneath his chin.
He wanted to say something to comfort him, anything that would help to ease the pain. Words felt hollow and useless right now, unwarrented and intrusive. Tears were soaking his neck and shoulder and he suddenly found that he couldn't speak even if he wanted to. He knew better than to ask if he was okay...Mike wouldn't be okay for a long time.
They stayed that way, locked in a fierce embrace, for a long time. Harvey felt his feet begin to go numb from locking his knees. He held on. They stayed that way until Mike's sobs finally subsided into nothing more than hiccuped gasps, his hands twisted into the back of Harvey's suit tight enough to cause bruises. They stayed that way until the tears dried and Mike couldn't find the energy to cry anymore. They stayed that way until Mike was so drained and bereft that he could barely stand on his own two feet. Harvey held him close and refused to let go.