Chapter 51: A Day with Haley

"Are you sure?"

Harvey couldn't help but ask. He was currently at the Pritchett household, and he was having a conversation with its patriarch. The man nodded and smiled; he had a small glass of scotch.

"Of course. That's what Thanksgiving is all about." Jay said as he looked at Luke, Manny, and Pietro doing push-ups. "Sharing a meal between family and friends is what the holiday is for."

"Thank you, Mr. Pritchett. If you really don't mind, we'd be happy to join you for Thanksgiving." Harvey smiled at the man, and he smiled back.

"Don't sweat it, kid." Jay then looked over to the three young men; they had now moved on to doing sit-ups. "After everything we've gone through, it would be odd not to have you at dinner."

Harvey nodded, and the man then bid him goodbye. Jay's football game was about to start its second half. Harvey then looked back at his friends as they continued the exercise. They were all shirtless, even Manny. 

The young Colombian boy was doing well; he was starting to lose his extra weight and started to grow his muscles. Out of the three, he really dived into his training and diet plan with a serious mindset. No matter how much time passed after Alex's kidnapping, the boy never took it easy on himself. Harvey could respect that.

Luke's body was showing decent definition after all the training and running he's been doing. Luke's ability to absorb everything he's taught him was impressive; then again, Alex told him Luke had an odd ability to be good at anything he picked up. Harvey was sure he would be able to handle himself well in a serious fight against any well-trained opponent in half a year.

Turning to his silver-haired friend, Harvey saw him train with an intense look on his face. After their completed mission in Sokovia, Pietro thought long and hard about what he wanted to do with his life. Harvey was surprised when the speedster told him that he wanted to do good with his abilities and be a hero. Of course, Harvey was initially shocked but was impressed with his friend's new conviction.

So, with that in mind, he decided that it would be convenient to train everyone together simultaneously. Balancing three different sets of training plans was challenging, but Harvey quickly got used to it. Luke, Manny, and Pietro quickly got along. Pietro's easygoing personality meshed well with both Luke and Manny.

"Wow, those three are really impressive." 

Harvey turned to Andy, the Pritchett family's nanny for baby Joe. Harvey found Andy to be enjoyable to be around. Andy had a free and easygoing personality. Andy honestly reminded him of Phil.

"Yeah, they're definitely trying their best." Harvey nodded and looked down at Joe in Andy's arms. "Hello there, little man."

Joe just looked at him and held his arms out; soft baby noises escaped his smiling mouth. Andy smiled and motioned to the baby. Harvey nodded and took Joe from Andy's arms.

"Manny's been training hard even after you all leave. Mrs. Pritchett really gets upset at him for not taking it easy." Andy crossed his arms and watched Manny now doing squats. "But his training is seriously starting to pay off. Just look at him."

"Manny has come a long way." Harvey said as Joe pulled on his hair. "They all have."

"Can I… ask you something?" Andy looked slightly nervous as he turned to him. 

"Shoot." Harvey said as he turned to Andy.

"How has… Haley been? She seems pretty down these days, at least whenever I see her." Andy's face twisted into a frown.

Harvey's eyes widened slightly, and then started to think. He's been so busy being the Ghost Rider and hanging around his new little family that he hasn't spotted the little details regarding Haley. Was something the matter with her? 

"Like how?" Harvey prodded. Maybe Andy could clue him into what could be going on.

"I don't know… it's just seems like she's sad or something like that. I'm just worried about her." Andy held his chin and thought back. 

Harvey nodded and rocked Joe in his arms as the baby began to whine. He decided then and there that he would talk to her today after training. Harvey couldn't ignore this.

"I'll try to find out what's going on with her." Harvey handed Joe back to Andy, causing the baby to whine slightly. "Thanks for letting me know, Andy. I can't believe I missed something like that."

Andy shook his head and rocked Joe in his arms. "Don't worry about it. I'm just worried about her."

Harvey smiled and nodded. Joe began crying in Andy's arms, so the nanny decided it was time for the baby to take his nap. Andy and Harvey said their goodbyes, and he made it upstairs to Joe's room.

Harvey frowned and looked over to his friends; they were currently resting after they finished their exercises. Pulling out his phone, Harvey saw it was time to begin the next part of their training. Harvey opened the backyard door and walked over to three.

"Okay, it's time for our spars. Ready?"

"Ready!"

•••

"...What did you say?"

"You, me. A day out in the city. What do you say?"

Haley looked at Harvey in shock as he stood by the door of her room. Harvey was dressed in a brown David Outwear Salvador leather jacket over a black shirt. On his legs were a pair of black jeans that led down to black military combat boots.

"...like a date?" Haley whispered.

"What was that?" 

"I said, like, we just hang out today?" Haley looked at Harvey and saw him nod at her with a smile. Harvey then walked into her room and stood over her as she sat in front of her desk.

"Yeah, I've been so busy lately that I haven't seen you in a while. We should go and catch up." Harvey then looked down and tilted his head. "Wow, did you make that?"

"Oh, yeah. It's just something I did for fun." Haley looked to the side and hid her face from Harvey. Her face flushed in embarrassment due to Harvey looking at her drawings.

Harvey asked if he could look through her sketchbook, and she agreed without looking at his face. Harvey then flipped through several pages, and with every new page, he hummed. Haley filled several pages with clothing designs she thought up over the year.

"These are really good! What are they for?" Harvey turned to her with an excited smile.

"I was bored, so I doodled away to pass the time." Haley looked up with a small smile.

"I may have a bad fashion sense, but these look amazing. These are much better than the stuff they have at the mall." Harvey smiled as he continued flipping through her sketchbook.

"Shut up, no, they're not." Haley smiled as she twirled a strand of hair around. "Anyways, enough of that. You said you were taking me out?"

"Right! Get dressed. We're gonna go have a fun day." 

Harvey closed her book and set it down on her desk. Hayley smiled and nodded; she then told him to go wait upstairs until she was ready. Once he was outside her room, Haley closed the door and took a deep breath.

"Why are you making it so hard to move on from you?"

•••

"Oh my god! Look at that dress!"

Harvey smiled and nodded as Haley ran forward at a mannequin wearing a purple dress. They were walking around Rodeo Drive, a shopping center with some of LA's most exclusive clothing stores. 

"Harvey, Look! This pink dress is so cute!"

Harvey sighed and followed behind the brown-haired girl as she zoomed from dress to dress. While he wasn't one to spend more than five minutes picking out clothes, he knew Haley had a great time browsing and looking at clothes.

"Easy there, Haley. There's no need to rush." Harvey said as he stood next to her as she inspected a fancy-looking handbag. His eyes almost bulged out of his skull when he saw the price tag.

"Wow..." Harvey said in shock.

"I know, right? It's so cute." Haley clapped as she looked inside the bag. "Okay, let's head to Louis Vuitton next!"

Harvey could only smile and nod as Haley turned to him with an excited smile. She then reached down and grabbed his hand to pull him along. Harvey sighed to himself and realized that even after two hours of shopping, Haley still hadn't had enough.

"Can't wait."

•••

"Wow, I can't believe I haven't come here in a while."

Haley looked out at the setting sun over the waves of water. After they were done shopping, Harvey drove them over to Dockweiler State Beach. She turned to him and watched as he looked out to the beach as they walked on the bike path. Harvey was currently carrying her bags.

"Yeah, this place is beautiful." Harvey looked over to her and grinned at her. Haley couldn't help but imagine he said that to her instead of the beach.

"Haley?" Harvey suddenly said with a concerned look. "Have you been feeling alright lately?"

"What... do you mean?" Haley asked nervously.

Harvey then looked forward as they continued walking. "I heard that you haven't been acting like yourself. That you've had a sad look on your face lately."

Haley felt her eyes widen, and her heart began to beat loudly in her heart. Was it possible he found out? No, he couldn't. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking what was wrong with her. Right?

"No... I'm fine." Haley looked down at her shoes as she walked. "Just fine."

Harvey stopped walking and looked at her worriedly; he then turned to the water and spoke. "If you don't want to tell me what's bothering you. That's okay.

"But just know that I'm here for you. Anything you need, I'll be there."

Haley heard him say as he stood a few feet behind her. Slowly, she turned around and looked at him. A cool breeze pushed her hair back.

"I guess... I just don't know what I'm gonna do with my life." 

Haley closed her eyes and decided not to tell him what was really going on with her. She liked him and wanted to be with him, but she couldn't. She racked through her brain for any other excuse, and those words came out of her mouth.

"Alex is going to go to some fancy college and change the world while I'm just in some second-rate community college while I'm living in my parent's basement!" Haley was surprised at the fact that she was venting at Harvey. For some reason, everything that was bothering her was just pouring out.

"I'm worried I will just keep living with my parents and accomplish nothing! The most anything anyone expects from me is to get married to some loser and have kids. That's it!" Haley felt tears pour out of her eyes as she looked down. "I'm just... I'm nothing."

Haley hugged herself and sobbed silently. Everything she was holding in came exploding out. Haley jumped slightly when she felt a pair of strong arms hug her.

"Haley..." Harvey began saying as he rubbed her back. "You're not nothing. You are so much more than what you think."

"You have a fantastic eye for fashion. Your designs make whatever that Luis Vito guy creates look like something a child drew! You have an untapped talent that could propel you to stardom!"

Harvey backed up and held her shoulders as he smiled down at her. Haley felt more tears come out of her eyes as he continued talking about her.

"If you think everyone expects nothing from you, then remember this! I expect to see your designs in shopping malls everywhere! Underneath them all will say 'Designed by Haley Dunphy'!" Harvey waved his hand in the air as if he was brushing an imaginary sign. "And if that's not what you want to do, then that's okay! You can do anything you set your mind to!"

"...You really think so?" Haley whispered with a shaky smile. "You think I can actually do all that?"

"I do." Harvey nodded and hugged her again. "And if you can't believe in yourself, then believe in the me that believes in you!"

Haley laughed in his arms at that. She continued hugging him as the sunset washed them in an orange glow. It felt like a huge, invisible weight she didn't know she had just lifted from her shoulders. 

"Okay... I won't let you down."