Chapter Text
Harvey’s heart feels heavy as he trudges back to his office after bidding Mike goodnight. As Mike begged off, stating that he needed to go back home, Harvey had told him he needed to go back to the office.
Mike had looked surprised, but Harvey had sent him off, telling him to go to Rachel to tell her the good news.
He sighs.
Mike had someone to go home to. He had not. Not anymore.
Scottie had left him.
Despite the fact that he tried to be honest with her and let her see the real him.
While he might have scored a temporary win against Woodall, he feels anything but a winner. Tonight has been a night of reckoning in a lot of ways. And while his and Jessica’s decision to be better lawyers is a good one, it came with a price.
Not that he blames either of them for leaving. He’s had to wrestle with his own actions and the kind of man he’s become because of those actions, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
So, how could he expect anyone else to?
You’re a good man, Harvey.
He’s heard that from two people tonight - and yet one of those people won’t be at the firm a few days from now. And while he understands and appreciates Mike’s reasons for leaving, it still does nothing to change the fact that he left.
And then there was Donna.
Who was the only reason he didn’t feel like a complete failure tonight. And she hadn’t left him.
Yet, his treacherous heart adds.
He sinks heavily into his chair, turning it around to look out of the window.
Given his history, he figures it wouldn’t be long before she gave up on him, as well. It would only be a matter of time.
Stephen - rotten as he turned out to be - was still an indication that her rule had been -
His spiraling thoughts are however interrupted by his phone ringing.
Glancing at his watch and then at the screen of his phone flashing an unknown number, Harvey feels his stomach twist in knots.
This can’t be good.
He answers the call, choking his name out.
“Mr. Specter, I am calling from Mt. Sinai on behalf of a Ms. Donna Paulsen, since you’re listed on record as her emergency contact.”
Even as the woman continues talking, Harvey is already out of his chair and sprinting down the hallway, not caring that he sounds out of breath when he confirms her statement. He keeps his phone pressed hard to his ear, while he jabs the elevator button frantically with his other hand.
“Mr. Specter,” the voice says again. “I must ask you not to panic. Ms. Paulsen was in a minor accident and…”
But all Harvey hears through the buzz that’s filling his ears is…. Ms. Paulsen… panic… accident…
He cuts the woman off when the elevator finally arrives, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Sat in the cab, his mind takes over from his legs and begins to race, presenting him with images that he can only describe as a waking nightmare.
He should have gone with her or let her stay with him when she’d offered, instead of insisting she go home.
He’d offered to send for Ray, but she’d declined, not willing to pull the man away from his family at this time of night. But, he should have overridden her objection.
He should have…
His self-recriminations are interrupted by the cab screeching to a stop, and Harvey springs out, throwing a wad of cash at the driver - he knows he probably overshot the fare, but he doesn't care in the least.
He skids to a stop at the reception, and one of the nurses behind the station moves towards him. Her kind eyes take in his suit, a look of recognition passing her face.
“Mr. Specter? We just spoke…”
“Donna. Where is she? What happened?”
“Sir, if you’ll just calm down…”
“I can’t. Not until I’ve seen her.”
“She’s fine, Mr. Specter. She just slipped off the curb near her apartment and twisted her ankle.”
“I just need to know where she is,” his voice comes out in a harsh bite, and he takes a deep breath, knowing he’s being rude. “I’m sorry. I’m just -”
Deciding not to keep him any longer, the nurse quickly directs him to Donna’s room and he moves - slower this time, his feet feeling like lead blocks.
As he nears her room, he takes a deep breath and knocks, before going to turn the doorknob.
“Come in!”
He’s surprised and relieved by the normalcy in her voice and he pokes his head around the door.
“Harvey!” she says, when she catches sight of him and her face turns remorseful. “I told them not to call you.”
He frowns; hurt pinching his throat at her words as he moves towards her bed, “Well, I’m glad they did. What happened, Donna? Are you… god, are you alright?”
She hears the strain in his voice and the way his face looks drawn and pale. Her heart drops in her chest and she regrets her previous words.
He'd been scared for her.
“Harvey. Hey, it’s alright. It’s just a bad sprain.”
His eyes trail her figure anxiously before landing on her right foot which is secured in a tightly wrapped elastic bandage, resting demurely on a pillow.
“It was no big deal,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “I was about to step into my apartment, when someone bumped really hard into me. Next thing I knew I was lying flat on the pavement, my head hurting like hell and my ankle feeling like it had been wrenched off my leg. I don’t recall much after that.”
“No big deal?” he repeats, incredulity in his voice. “Did the jerk even stop to help you up?”
She shakes her head, “I don’t think he did. From what I gathered from those who did stop to help me, he looked like he was in a hurry - probably running after tagging the walls or something.”
Harvey runs his fingers through his hair, his eyes closing against the image of her lying on the pavement.
“Harvey,” Donna says, gently. “I’m fine. I promise. You don’t have to…”
“Donna, stop. I’m not leaving. So don’t even try.”
“Harvey, you’ve had a rough day,” she says, doggedly. “The last thing you need is to stay with your clumsy secretary, especially in a chair like that. You need to go home and recharge.”
He gave her a wry look, “Donna Paulsen is never clumsy. God, if I ever find out who did this to you…”
She interrupts him, “It’s just a sprain. He didn’t take my purse or pull a gun on me. He was just an inconsiderate ass who…”
“Landed you in the hospital!”
“Harvey, come on,” she placates, reaching for his hand which was resting on the railing. “Let it go.”
He stays quiet.
“Please?” she reiterates, squeezing his hand.
He meets her eyes at that, and clasps his own fingers around hers and squeezes her hand.
At that, Donna looks briefly down at their hands and then clears her throat, gently removing her hand from his hold.
They never touch for this long, she tells herself, but as she raises her head to look at him, she catches a brief flash of something - was it hurt? - before he leans back in his chair.
“Are they planning to keep you overnight?” he asks.
“No,” she says. “The doctor said that I would be free to go home in another hour.”
“What about your head?”
“Just a bad bump. They don’t fear a concussion. Apparently, my big bag,” she indicates the ridiculously large tote that sits on the side table next to her. “cushioned my fall. So my head hit the pavement much less harder than it would have without it. Still ended up with a nasty egg on my head, though.”
She reaches her hand behind her head, and winces as her fingers graze the bump.
“Yeah, thank God for Hermès,” Harvey says, smiling for the first time, since he entered the room. Donna lets out a snort that makes his grin grow wider.
He notices that it’s the same bag they bought on the day after they’d arrested Stephen.
What he wouldn’t give to go back to that time? When things had felt much lighter and he’d been so happy to see Donna regain her cheery self after a few hours spent with him.
Donna watches him quietly, wondering what was going through his head. She knows he’s hurting from Scottie’s rejection and she feels a shiver of anger shoot up her spine at the last conversation she’d had with that woman.
He’s changed too much.
Donna had to bite her tongue to keep from telling her what she really thought: that she, Scottie, hadn’t changed at all and that Harvey had outgrown his old self, which also meant that he’d outgrown her.
But she’d kept her mouth shut because she knew Harvey had wanted to try to make it work with Scottie, even though Donna knew that the lawyer would never be able to accept Harvey for who he really was.
So, instead she’d couched her concern for Harvey with some well-worded advice to Scottie.
He’s a good man, Scottie. But he isn’t perfect. Sometimes you have to take what you get, or walk away.
And Scottie had chosen to walk away.
However, Harvey’s thoughts are further away from where Donna thinks they are and he gives voice to one of them, breaking Donna out of her own thoughts.
“Mike’s leaving,” he says.
Donna stares, “What? I thought he said…”
“He was. But, when I went to see him after you’d left, he’d changed his mind.”
“That kid…” Donna says, shaking her head. “He just doesn’t…”
“Donna, I gave him my blessing.”
“Why? Harvey…”
“He wanted to go, Donna. He didn’t want to stay here and continue to force us to cross lines. He’s building a life with Rachel, and I think he wants to be free of his guilt at what we did.”
Donna rolls her eyes inward at that, knowing that her friend’s less than stellar opinion of this man - this wonderful, kind man - had probably played a part in the kid's decision. She’d need to have a conversation with Rachel.
Rachel loved Mike, but she needed to realize that if it weren't for Harvey and his compassion, she wouldn't have met Mike in the first place.
Harvey continues, oblivious to her thoughts, and lets out a chuckle, “Mike’s our client now. Because we work for Sidwell.”
“He’s going to milk this for all it’s worth,” Donna lets out a scoff.
“He is,” Harvey agrees, smirking.
Any further conversation is stalled when the doctor enters the room with another shot of painkillers.
Harvey introduces himself and then listens intently as the doctor details Donna’s treatment - cold compresses every other hour and the need to keep her foot elevated at all times. He smiles at Donna’s huff of disappointment when the doctor tells her she won’t be allowed to put any weight on it for at least two weeks.
“And that means no high-heels,” the doctor continues, undeterred as her patient lets out a noise of disgruntlement, although Harvey sees a slight smile twitching at the corner of her lips. “And you can’t walk on it - at least not without your crutches or some kind of support.”
She looks at Harvey who nods assertively, “I’ll see to it.”
Donna opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by the doctor, again.
“Now, I’m going to give you one final shot of painkillers, before the edge of the current one wears out. That should tide you over for the rest of the night. From tomorrow, you can take the painkillers on your scrip - but only on a full stomach.”
“I don’t think I need another shot, doc,” Donna objects and wiggles her ankle. “See, no pain.”
“Yet,” the doctor says. “No pain, yet. Give it another few minutes. Now, this also means that if you want to go home tonight, you need to have someone take you home and get you settled for the night. I’m assuming Mr. Specter, you will be...”
At that, Donna’s heart rate picks up.
He hasn’t been in her apartment since … the other time. Harvey spending yet another night in her apartment? Especially if her faculties are less than alert? She cannot afford to risk their relationship over something that she might not be able to remember the next day.
And so, she blurts out, “No! That won’t be necessary. I told you, I don’t need the additional painkillers and I can manage by myself just fine.”
She sits up and slides her feet off the bed. Placing her good leg on the floor first, she then gingerly places her other foot down.
Instant pain shoots up her leg from the base of her ankle making her stumble.
Well, there goes the last of the painkiller. Dang it.
Harvey steps forward, catching her around her shoulders.
“Donna!” he says, anger and concern coating his voice, as he pushes her gently back on to the bed. “I told you, I’m not leaving you tonight.”
“Harvey,” she says, gritting her teeth and not looking at him. “I told you, you don’t have to.”
She meets his eyes at that, and Harvey feels his heart sink, shame flooding him, as he reads the reluctance on her face.
She doesn’t want him in her apartment. He’d lost that right after… he’d failed to fight for her when she’d needed it. She doesn’t want him around her outside the office now. It was only a matter of time, after all.
He lets out a deep sigh and says softly, “I get it. I’ll call Ray to pick you up -” He overrides the objection he knows is coming and adds, “I'm not sending you home in a cab! And then I’ll call Rachel to come and stay with you. Because you’re not going to be alone tonight and for the duration of your recovery.”
Even in its gentleness, Donna hears the resignation in his voice and takes a good look at him. Her heart lurches at what she sees. He looks withdrawn and tired, his brown eyes have gone dull with suppressed pain.
Harvey turns to look at her doctor, indicating that she should give her the medicine. He steps away, and Donna cranes her neck over the doctor's shoulder to keep him in her sight.
She barely registers the prick of the needle, as she watches him. He's leaning against the door jamb, his gaze not meeting hers, as he talks to his driver.
“I'm so sorry to pull you away, Ray, ” she hears him say. “But this is an extenuating circumstance, I'm afraid. ”
What was she doing? Was she really about to send him away to be alone at his apartment?
Two people he'd cared about had just walked out of his life and he'd been despondent, believing that it had been because he wasn't a good man. Good enough for two people who claimed to know him, but still turned on him when it suited them.
The number of times she'd heard Mike call Harvey's character into question or imply that he didn't understand or have feelings. And the way Rachel talked about him. And Louis. And even herself, when her anger had gotten the better of her, if she was being honest.
But, none of the others knew him. She did.
Everything that had happened tonight had been despite his best efforts to do the right thing, not because he’d failed anyone. And, tonight he needed that reassurance more than ever.
And here she was, pushing him away, when he was trying to show her he cared. Reinforcing his belief that people left or walked all over him when he did. Turning her reassurance of his goodness into an empty platitude.
All because she couldn't trust herself around him. But still, she trusts Harvey and tonight, she realizes suddenly that she wants to let him take care of her.
She wouldn't become one of those people who hurt him tonight. She steels herself, pulling herself out of her thoughts.
Donna hears her doctor tell Harvey that she'll be back with the processed discharge papers.
Harvey swallows and nods, watching the doctor's figure move down the corridor. He then turns his gaze back to his phone, his fingers scrolling through his contacts for Rachel's number.
And even though he's hesitant to interrupt their celebration, given Mike's decision and revelation tonight, he knows Donna needs Rachel more. He also knows it could be easier to call her from Donna's phone, because Donna would definitely have her on speed dial. But, he doesn't feel up to the notion of asking her for her phone after…
“Wait,” Donna calls, her voice urgent. “Don't call Rachel. You told me Mike had news for her. I don't want to bother her.”
“Oh,” he says, moving towards her bed and sitting down. “OK, then is there someone else you can call? You really need...”
“You,” she says. “I want you there.”
“But…”
“I know,” she said, quickly. “I'm sorry about before. But, we’ve both had shitty days. You don’t want me to be alone. Well, I don’t want you to be alone, either. I did offer to stay earlier, remember?”
He smirks, “Yeah, and I should have let you.”
She gives him a look, “This isn’t your fault, Harvey.”
Harvey shrugs and she reaches for his hand again. He looks surprised at that, but squeezes it when her palm slips against his.
“I’m serious,” she says. “You have to stop taking the blame for things that are out of your control.”
He stays quiet, watching their joined hands.
“I’ll try,” he says after a beat.
“Good. So that’s settled, we can both go to my place and be miserable together.”
He lets out a laugh, “If you’re sure.”
“I am,” she says.
She leans back against the pillow, her head beginning to feel heavy. But this time, she keeps her hand in Harvey’s, pulling their joined hands to rest against her stomach.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next hour is a blur for Donna. She tries to remain alert, but sleep tugs at the edges of her consciousness. She lets Harvey take charge and before she knows it, she’s bundled into Ray’s Lexus.
She sinks into the comfortable leather seats, her head falling against the glass window. She registers Harvey climbing in beside her and she slides her hand into the space between them, and sighs happily when she feels his warm hand close around hers.
Harvey looks at her, a familiar feeling welling up inside him. One that he often tries to wrestle down before it can make itself tangible. Usually, his fear of losing what he has with her - her friendship and her faith in him - is enough to chase this feeling away.
But tonight, Harvey lets it linger for just a little while longer, his heart feeling far too battered to fight it. If anything, tonight it feels like a balm to his soul. He imagines a world where he can give his heart freely to her without dragging her down into the abyss that is his life.
The feeling is short-lived, however, and Ray’s voice pulls him back to the present as they pull up in front of Donna’s building.
He turns to look at Donna who is now slumbering, finally having given in to her exhaustion. Her hair has fallen over her face, and she looks so peaceful that he is loath to wake her. The notion of carrying her into her apartment occurs to him, but he dismisses it, unwilling to trust his own reflexes after the few drinks he’d had with Mike.
Plus, he doesn’t want Donna to regret her decision to let him take her home by having them both end up back in the hospital.
And so, tugging lightly on the hand still clasped in his, he reaches his other hand over to gently shake her awake.
“Donna, we're here.”
“What? Huh, there are still more strawberries in the fridge,” she mumbles, shuffling further into the seat and turning her head towards his shoulder. She doesn't wake up.
Strawberries? What was she dreaming of?
Harvey chuffs out a quiet laugh and tries again.
“Donna,” he moves his mouth closer to her ear and lifts the shoulder her head is resting on.
The movement and sound causes a frown to appear between her eyebrows, and he lifts his other palm to rest on her cheek, patting it lightly.
With that Donna finds herself slinking back to wakefulness and blinks hard, adjusting to the dimness in the car.
“Hey,” Harvey's voice is low and soothing in her ear. “We're home. I mean, at your home.”
She nods, her brain still scrambling to catch up but as she registers those last words, she raises her head from his shoulder and her sight flits downwards to their hands still joined, resting in her lap.
She lets her thumb slide slowly against his skin, “We're home.”
She meets his eyes briefly and gives him a small smile hoping he gets her meaning. He holds her ilthe gaze for a beat and returns her smile before sliding out of the car and rounding it to reach her side.
Did he get her meaning?
He gently helps her out, warning her to keep her injured foot off the ground and slides her arm around his shoulder.
As he stands up straight, Donna blurts out, “Wow, I didn't realize how tall you are.”
He smirks down at her, “And I didn't realize how short you are.”
She smacks her free hand against his stomach for that, “Not that short.”
He grins and takes her tote bag from Ray, slinging it over his shoulder and then looks round at Donna when a giggle escapes her.
“What?”
“You look pretty. It goes well with your suit.”
“Alright, sassy pants, let's get you inside before I lose any more of my dignity.”
Ray laughs at that and then bids them both goodnight.
~~~~~~~~~~
“So let me get this straight,” Harvey’s voice travels through the closed door of Donna’s bedroom. “Louis wanted to sue Nigel for ownership of a cat that wasn’t his.”
Donna giggles, “Yeah. And Nigel got hold of Harold Gunderson as a witness.”
“All the way from Bratton Gould? All for a mock trial? Are you kidding?”
“You don’t get it, Harvey,” Donna says, leaning against her closet for support, as she slips out of her dress. “You’re underestimating just how much Louis terrorized this guy. Oh shoot!”
Her sudden exclamation startles Harvey, “What? Donna? Do you need help?”
“No, no. I’m fine,” she said. “I promise. It’s just my dress.”
Harvey frowned, “What?”
“It’s ruined. There’s a giant tear in the back seam. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it back in the hospital.”
Sighing in relief, he lets a note of amusement enter his voice, “Donna, you’re loopy on painkillers. I doubt you’d have noticed if a freight train thundered through the room.”
“Shut up, Harvey” her tart voice came floating back. “It’s just that I really like this dress.”
He grinned, “Well… it’s nothing that a trip to Saks Fifth can’t fix. Right?”
Donna feels herself turning pink, “You’d do that?”
“Of course. Just name the date and time. Unless, you’d rather...”
“Harvey, I’d love to” she interrupts him, wondering where all this uncertainty was coming from.
Scottie really had done a number on him, she thought. And she hated it.
“Good,” he said, and fell silent.
Harvey listens carefully, trying to make out what she was doing. He hears a little shuffling and then a light thump, followed by a low “ow”.
“Donna! What was that?”
“I accidentally put my weight on my right foot. I'm fine now.”
It takes everything in him to not just barge in and insist on keeping an eye on her.
“You know, I'd feel so much better if you'd just let me in there.”
Donna's voice returns in what he could only describe as a squeak, “That won't be necessary.”
“Donna,” he said, rolling his eyes and smirking. “If this is about seeing you - ” Another thump, and his hand slips to the doorknob, “Alright, that's it, I'm coming in.”
He steps into the room and stops short in his tracks at the sight that greets him.
Donna was seated on the bed, one of her arms had entirely missed the straps of her camisole top, like she’d tried to get it on in a hurry. The bottoms of her pajamas were on the floor, and Donna’s uninjured - and bare - leg was stretched towards it like she was trying to reach it from where she was sitting.
“Harvey!” her voice is definitely a squeak, now.
“Donna?” he asks, walking tentatively towards the bed.
Donna lets out a huff when she hears the laughter in his voice, and she points a finger threateningly at him, “Don’t.”
He stops next to her, taking her in. It is then that he notices her bra strap sliding down one arm, exposing her freckled shoulder and the top of the swell of her breast. He swallows, and then shifts his gaze quickly to her face.
His face breaking into a grin, he holds up his hands, “Do you want to tell me what happened here?”
“Not particularly,” she says, pushing herself to sit up straighter on the bed before noticing her top. Embarrassment floods her cheeks and she rights it.
Harvey tilts his head and smirks, before bending down to pick up her pyjama pants, “Come on, Donna.”
“Well, when you asked what happened earlier, I didn't put my weight on my foot. I actually hit the side table with it,” Donna cringes, looking caught. “I dropped the clothes because I was startled by the pain.”
Harvey shakes his head, “Donna…”
“It was fine, Harvey,” she shrugs and reaches for the clothes still clutched in his hand.
“It isn’t fine,” he says, tightening his grip on her pajamas. “Let me help, alright? You said it yourself.”
“Said what?” she asks, raising her head.
“Sometimes, we all need a little help,” he says with a small smile.
She smirks, “This wasn’t what I meant, Harvey.”
“No?” he asked, kneeling in front of her and gesturing towards her feet. “Can I?”
She nods, and leans on her arms, watching him quietly, as he picks up her good leg first. His fingers are warm on her skin, and Donna feels her pulse pick up. This, right here, was why she had been so hesitant - the way his presence affects her.
It’s not a new feeling, but over time she’s gotten used to tamping it down, because it’s futile to let it linger. Harvey doesn’t want her that way. No matter how much he says it bothers him, his actions tell a different story.
Sure, there’s the occasional flirting or lingering looks that pass between them, but at the slightest indication of it becoming a little more, he backs down. And each time, she hates herself a little for the tiny sliver of hope that pricks at her heart.
But today, she feels a little less equipped to push against it, and so she lets herself revel - if only for a moment - in the way he takes care of her.
His touch is gentle but firm, and as he moves to her injured foot, he lets his index finger trace the edges of the bandage, seemingly testing if it’s properly secured.
“I was so scared,” he says, his head still bowed.
She knows that, but it's the first time he's outright said it.
Donna swallows hard, her eyes pricking, “I know. I’m sorry I was so flippant about it. Both here and back at the hospital. It’s just that I’m not used to people helping me.”
He shakes his head and looks up at her, “You never have to apologize.”
At that, he gently slips the pant leg over her injured foot and then tugs the material up to her knees.
As he does, he tries to ignore the way her skin feels against his fingertips. It becomes even harder when his gaze briefly lands on the burgundy lace between her legs.
Shit. He hadn't anticipated this.
He closes his eyes, and feels his stomach clench. Seeing his reaction, Donna takes hold of the material in his hands, and then he uses his now free hands to pull her up into a standing position.
The movement brings their chests together and Donna looks up at him, her expression startled.
Both Harvey and Donna feel their hearts stop, as brown meets hazel and Harvey’s grip tightens on her waist. The moment feels loaded and intense, and Donna feels her chest fill with anticipation as Harvey’s head bends towards hers.
Donna is about to close her eyes, when a tickling sensation going down her leg makes her twitch. They both look down to see that her grip had loosened around the pyjamas, which had then started sliding down her legs.
“Oh!”
The moment broken, Donna catches herself and pulls the pants back up around her. Harvey steps back, but keeps his hands near her until she’s secured the ties, before easing her back on to the bed.
An uneasy silence fills the space between them, each of them processing what almost happened. Donna keeps her head bowed, while Harvey looks unseeingly around the room.
He vaguely registers that her bedroom looks a lot different than the last time he saw it. Not that, he'd been in any shape to fully take in the décor with what Donna had been doing to him the last time he was here, but he knew that she'd had a different color scheme then.
The thought of the other time brings him back to what they had been about to…
Were they about to?
He knew he'd begun to lean in. There had been something in her eyes.
Or had he imagined it?
He looks at her, hoping for some confirmation, but Donna doesn't sense his gaze like she usually does. And he finds himself afraid to put his question into words.
Words that he cannot take back if he's wrong.
He takes a deep breath and casts about for something to bring things back to normal. Or as normal as it can be.
“Dinner!” he blurts out.
Donna shakes herself out of her own thoughts at his outburst, her brows furrowed in confusion.
“I ordered from that shitty Thai place. It should be here soon. We should go out there and wait,” Harvey indicates the living room.
“Right,” she says quickly. “I'll be out in just a moment. You go ahead.”
Harvey looks for a moment like he's about to say something else before he simply nods, “Right.”
He sees her crutches propped against the dresser and moves them next to her on the bed. He gives her a small smile and then shuffles out of the room.
Donna takes a deep breath, and falls wearily against the mattress. Her skin still feels tingly from what had almost happened.
She had closed her eyes in anticipation, when she'd seen him beginning to lean in. Something in his eyes had captivated her until reality had pulled her back in the form of her errant pajamas.
Along with that was the realization that he had just broken up with Scottie. He was vulnerable and… in need of a distraction?
Right?
And if that was the case, she'd done the right thing. She couldn't let her guard down again. There would be no coming back from it, and she'd lose him for good.
With that, she sits back up.
Back to normal. To the status quo.
She grabs her crutches and hobbles out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~