Fanfic: Burning
Title- Burning
Fandom- Suits
Ship- Harvey/Mike
Rating- PG-13
Genre- hurt/comfort, angst, slash
Warnings- unbetaed
Wordcount- 2400
Disclaimer- I do not own Suits
Summary- Mike has a fever, but insists he's fine. Right up until he passes out in Harvey's office.
A/N- written for a prompt here at suitsmeme : Faced with a massive case load, Mike forces himself to come to work with a really high fever one day. He ignores everyone asking if he's okay because he doesn't think the fever is that bad.He goes to deliver a set of files to Harvey's office and ends up passing out in front of him. Harvey freaks the fuck out!
It was about an hour after the official beginning of the work day when Harvey arrived at Pearson Hardman, making it an unusually early morning for him. He greeted the receptionist with a wink and strolled to the elevators. Harvey sipped his coffee as he counted off floors, enjoying the emptiness of the elevator at this hour and trying not to think of all the work that awaited him in his office. As he stepped off on his floor, his eyes instinctively went to Mike’s cubicle. He could see the back of the younger man’s head as he worked furiously on something- either for one of the many cases they had on their collective plate at the moment, or on the pro bono case that had been assigned to Mike.
Harvey slowed as he walked past Mike, stealing a long glance at the other lawyer. What he saw made him stop and look again. He could see that Mike’s cheeks were flushed with heat, and every few seconds he would sniffle and rub at his nose with the back of his hand.
“Mike,” Harvey said, “are you sick?” Mike barely spared a glance at him, and turned back to his work even as he spoke.
“Not very. Don’t worry; it’s just a little sniffle. I’m fine to keep working.”
“Not you I’m worried about,” Harvey denied. “I don’t want you getting me sick. Anything you have for me today goes through Donna, got it?”
“I’m not that sick!” Mike muttered, and then ignored Harvey as he went back to work. Harvey continued to watch him for a moment, trying to decide if he was truly alright. Finally he decided that Mike was the person best qualified to say how he was feeling, and if he said he was well enough to work then Harvey should take his word for it. He left Mike to his papers, and went to his office to see to his own.
In spite of his decision to trust Mike’s judgment, Harvey couldn’t help but check on him, and made multiple excuses to pass by the younger man’s cubicle during the day. Mike showed no signs of letting his cold slow him down; in fact, he was working extremely hard, trying to keep up with all of the paperwork involved with their cases. But Harvey could see the worried looks some of the other associates were giving him, including some that obviously disliked him, like that Boone kid. Harvey even saw Rachel the paralegal stop by Mike’s cubicle and ask if he was alright.
But Mike insisted, both to Harvey and to everyone else, that he was fine. Harvey tried to put it from his mind and concentrate. He truly did have a lot of work to get done.
Harvey had actually managed to work for about an hour and a half without thinking of Mike when said associate arrived to drop off some paperwork. Harvey set down his pen and listened to the conversation between Mike and Donna.
“Donna, can you give this to Harvey? He said I couldn’t give it to him myself.”
“First,” Donna said testily, “I don’t take orders from Harvey, and certainly not from you. Second,” her tone changed to one of amazed horror, “you look awful.”
“And you’re stunning as ever,” Mike replied lightly, though he sounded somewhat tired. “Seriously, Donna, I’m fine, and I need to give this to Harvey.”
“Kid,” Donna said, serious now, “you look like you’re about to pass out. You should sit down.”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me feel your forehead.”
“Enough of this,” Mike said in a frustrated tone. “I’ll give it to him myself.” Harvey looked up as Mike brushed past Donna’s desk and pushed open the door of his office. Mike approached Harvey’s desk with a frown that prevented Harvey from saying exactly what Donna had. The younger man did look like he was about to pass out. His face was flushed like he’d just run a marathon, and his eyes were glassy.
“Here,” Mike thrust the papers onto Harvey’s desk. “You can spray them down with Lysol or whatever before you touch them. I need to get back to work.” He turned and started towards the door.
“Wait,” Harvey said. He wasn’t sure what he was going to suggest. That Mike sit down and rest for a few minutes. That Mike let him take his temperature, or get him some tea, or soup, or something. Maybe even that he take the day off. But none of those suggestions ever made their way past his lips, because as soon as he said Mike’s name he saw the younger man’s knees buckle, and Mike dropped gracelessly to the floor.
Harvey was on his feet and at Mike’s side instantly, rolling him onto his back and pressing a hand to his forehead. He snatched it back immediately, because the heat emanating from Mike was too great. “Donna!” he called desperately, and in a second she was kneeling with him on Mike’s other side. “He just passed out- he’s burning up!” Harvey said, looking up at her with wide, panicked eyes.
“Get him to the bathroom; put cold water on him,” Donna said, her voice incredibly calm for the situation. “I’ll bring some ice.” Harvey nodded and scooped Mike’s limp body up in his arms. As panicked as he was, Harvey still noted how light the younger man felt, almost unhealthily so. Donna held the door open as he carried Mike out, then she ran in the direction of the break room to get ice. Harvey went immediately to the men’s bathroom and set Mike gently down on the cool tiles of the floor.
Harvey pulled Mike’s suit jacket from his shoulders, then began tugging at his shirt. He popped some of the buttons in his haste, and was forced to pause to loosen the tie before he could get the shirt all the way off. Then he stumbled to his feet at turned the cold knob on the sink as far as it would go, cupping water in his hands to pour over Mike’s chest and head. He soaked paper towels in the cold water and placed them over Mike’s body, folding one across his forehead.
“Harvey,” Donna’s gentle voice interrupted. She had a large glass full of ice in her hand. Harvey took it from her and peeled the paper towel from Mike’s forehead, replacing it with chips of ice. His fingers shook as he laid them on Mike’s overheated skin.
Harvey saw from the corner of his eye Donna pick up Mike’s shirt and soak it in the cold water. Then she turned the sink off and knelt across from Harvey, dabbing Mike’s skin with the wet shirt. “I called an ambulance,” she said gently, and Harvey nodded. “They’ll be here in just a few minutes.” He nodded again, and swallowed, fighting to breath past the lump in his throat. The sight of Mike lying unconscious before him was almost too much to bear. Harvey cursed himself for not sending Mike home the moment he saw him that morning. Hell, he should have driven the man to the hospital himself!
“Hey,” Donna said gently. “Look at me.” She touched Harvey’s chin and force him to look away from Mike and meet her eyes. “He’s going to be fine, Harvey. The doctors are going to fix him right up, and then you take the week off and play ‘nurse from Hell’ to punish him for not staying home.” Harvey couldn’t help but laugh at that. Donna knew him well. All of his cases were going to be put on hold for the rest of the week so that he could personally nurse Mike back to health. He owed the younger man that much, for not noticing how hard he was pushing himself. And all to make Harvey proud, he knew.
Agonizing minutes ticked by as they knelt next to Mike, replacing the ice as it melted away and re-soaking the shirt and paper towels when they grew too warm. Mike’s skin still felt blisteringly hot, and he showed no signs of waking. With each passing second Harvey found it more difficult to breath. He felt like he needed to be doing something more to help Mike, and it was all he could do to keep from getting up and running around pulling his hair out. More than once Donna laid a hand on his arm and murmured soothing things to him, which helped for a little while. Harvey wouldn’t have been surprised if Donna saw tears in his eyes when she reached out to him.
Finally the paramedics arrive. Harvey and Donna stood back as they attempted to load Mike onto a wheeled stretcher they’d brought in. Harvey fought to keep his composure as he watched. He couldn’t help thinking how frail and helpless Mike looked, lying stripped and unconscious on the bathroom floor. Harvey followed the stretched back to the elevator and down to the ambulance, Donna next to him gripping his hand. They refused to allow Harvey in the ambulance, and he watched helplessly from the street as they drove off with Mike.
Harvey sat up front as Ray drove to the hospital; he wanted to see the roads go by. “Tell the kid to get well for me,” Ray murmured as he pulled the car up in front of the hospital, and Harvey nodded without speaking as he jumped from the car and raced inside.
“I’m looking for Michael Ross,” Harvey told the woman at the desk. She typed the name into her computer and nodded.
“He’s just been admitted to the ER. You’ll have to wait until he’s been moved to the Intensive Care Unit.”
“When will that be?”
“It depends on what’s wrong with him,” the woman said gently. Seeing Harvey’s obvious panic, she added, “I can page you when he’s been moved. What’s your name?”
“Hervey Specter,” he said, fighting to calm his racing heart. Mike was at the hospital. He was going to be okay.
“Friend or family?”
Harvey hesitated only a moment before answering, “Friend.” He and Mike rarely interacted outside of work, but he still considered the younger man one of the most important people in his life. The nurse nodded.
“Mr. Specter, if you’ll just sit down, I’ll page you when they’ve moved him.” Harvey thanked her and went to the waiting room. He dropped into a free chair set apart from the others and tapped his foot anxiously as he waited to hear his name called.
About half an hour later Donna arrived. She’d stayed behind to cancel all of his appointments for the rest of the day, and deal with the irate clients. “Have you heard anything yet?” she asked gently as she eased into the seat next to Harvey’s. He shook his head and raised one fisted hand to his mouth, biting his thumbnail. Donna gave him a concerned look.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before the nurse at the front desk called his name. A nurse in blue scrubs led them to Mike’s room. Harvey went in while Donna stayed outside to talk with the nurse about Mike’s condition. Although Harvey had planned to yell at Mike, or at least lecture him, all of that flew out the window when he saw the younger man lying in the hospital bed, looking small and weak.
“Hey,” Harvey whispered as he came to stand next to Mike.
“Hey,” Mike croaked in return, his voice scratchy. He managed a shaky smile, which Harvey returned easily. He was too grateful that Mike was alright to keep himself from smiling.
“How are you feeling?” Harvey asked him as he settled into the chair by Mike’s bed.
“Better than I did earlier today,” Mike said. “They stuck me in an ice bath until I came to, then made me take some pills to bring the fever down. I don’t feel as hot now, or as sore.”
“That’s good.” Harvey reached out and touched Mike’s hand lightly, resting his fingertips on the smooth skin.
“Harvey,” Mike whispered, looking down at the sheets of his bed. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Harvey asked, genuinely surprised.
“For not finishing what I needed to get done. For making you miss work to be with me. For getting sick.”
“It’s not your fault, Mike,” Harvey said gently, taking the other man’s hand in his. “I just wish you’d stayed home, instead of pushing yourself so far and making your fever worse. I was worried about you.”
“You were worried about me?” Mike repeated, sounding amazed.
“Of course I was,” Harvey replied, giving Mike’s hand a squeeze. Mike seemed to think through that, then he smiled.
“You like me,” Mike proclaimed. A blush rose in Harvey’s cheeks, but he didn’t bother to deny it. “You really like me!”
“Of course he likes you,” Donna said from the doorway. “He’s been stupidly infatuated since you met. Everyone who knows it can tell: me, Ray, Jessica. Louis.” Mike laughed at that, and Harvey scowled at Donna. She simply shrugged, knowing there was nothing he would do to her.
“When does he get out of the hospital?” Harvey asked Donna to change the subject.
“They say he can leave tomorrow, if someone will stay with him to monitor his condition for the next twenty-four hours,” Donna said with a little smile.
“Consider him monitored,” Harvey replied, giving Mike a stern look.
“Can you do that?” Mike asked. “Just take off of work when we have so much to do?”
“I’ll be taking the whole week off to take care of you,” Harvey declared, amused by Mike’s stunned expression. “If you’re so worried about getting work done on time, remember that the next time you get sick and save us all the time and effort by staying home.”
“I will,” Mike said. “And I’m sure that if I don’t you’ll send me home on my own.”
“Send you?” Harvey raised an eyebrow. “I’ll drive you home and take the day nursing you back to health if you even think about coming in to work when you shouldn’t!” Mike laughed at that, and Donna smiled.
“Okay,” Mike said. “I guess I’ll just be in your tender care for the rest of the week.” He grinned up at Harvey, who tried to smirk but failed miserably as he looked down at the younger man. The best he could manage was a loving smile. From the corner of his eye he saw Donna smirk and roll her eyes at him, but he couldn’t even bring himself to care. All that really mattered was that Mike was alright. And that Mike returned his feelings. Harvey just nodded in response to Mike’s statement as he gently rubbed his thumb over the back of Mike’s hand.