highlander_ii

"I'll make you a deal -" Harvey began, "- prove that you actually saw a ghost and I'll grant you one request."

"What are you, a genie?"

Harvey smirked at her.

"Well, I can tell you that he looked like that." She pointed to a photo on the album cover set out on the desk.

Harvey frowned. "You saw a ghost that looked like that?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes."

"That's impossible," he said and sipped his scotch. "Forgetting the part where ghosts aren't real. He can't haunt this place, because he's never been here." He wanted to down the rest of his drink.

"Wait - who is that?" Rachel asked, then took a closer look. When Harvey didn't say anything, the pieces fell into place. "Oh my god. That's your dad."

Now Harvey did down his drink, carefully avoiding Rachel's question. Rather, carefully not responding to Rachel's question. He was honestly surprised she didn't already know that it was his father in that photo.

She blinked big brown eyes at him. "Harvey, I'm so sorry."

He frowned at her. "For what? You didn't kill him." He poured another drink.

Rachel kept her cool. She knew this was a touchy subject for him. It had come up a couple times when talking with Donna. "I know that," she said softly. "The ghost-thing I saw though, looked just like him."

"Ghosts still not real, Rachel," he said.

"An apparition then?" She knew it was splitting hairs. That wasn't the point. "Harvey, I never had the pleasure of meeting your father, so he isn't here to see me."

"And I told you, it can't be him because he has never been to this apartment before. I moved in here only a couple months before he died." Harvey's shoulders sagged. "He never had the chance."

Perhaps taking her life in her own hands - definitely risking some serious grumpiness - she approached him and curled her arms around him in a gentle hug. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't surprised when he didn't immediately throw her across the room. He hugged her back, one-armed and equally as gentle.

"Does this mean I get my wish?" she asked softly.

"No," he whispered, "you didn't prove shit."

Rachel smiled. "At least I know you're still you."

"Get the hell out of my condo."

This time she smirked at him. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."