Link tensed, staring at Carter. After a long silent moment, where Donovan knocked on the door again, Link burst out laughing. Carter blinked and took a startled step back.

"You think that..." Link was bent over double, laughing.

"Carter, open the door," Donovan called out.

Carter stood there, trying to iron out her thoughts. Link straightened, the end of his laughter sitting on his lips.

"Does this mean I can walk around acting like a jerk and people will still have to be my friends?" he asked.

More knocks resounded through the bathroom.

"Link, do you honestly not know?" Carter asked.

Link tossed up his hands, looking around the room.

"Carter, you can't be serious? Me? Be..." Link didn't finish his sentence.

She stared at him puzzled.

"Funny one, Carter," he said.

He walked passed her and unlocked the door. Donovan stopped knocking at the sound. As Link stepped out of the bathroom, he threw a furtive glance at Carter, his eyes holding in a look of panic. She froze, understanding what lay behind the look, knowing what she had discovered was true and Link knew it too.

Link slipped out and the door swung shut behind him.

The bell rang, jolting Carter from her thoughts. She reached for the door and yanked it open. Before her was a storm of bodies and no sign of Link or Donovan. She rushed into the crowd in search of them but as she burst out of the entrance she still hadn't found them.

Students raced down the stairs, heading for waiting cars or moving to the parking lot. She spun around, her gaze jumping from face to face in a vain attempt to find Link. When it seemed that the majority of the school had left, she gave up the search.

******************

A troubled look still held Carter's expression as she stepped off the bus. The doors clunked closed behind her and the bus drove away, leaving her alone on the quiet street. The sun was dipping to touch the horizon, its last rays elongating the trees and buildings' shadows. Carter shifted her messenger bag and headed for the deli.

The ding of the overhead bell was lost in the sound of loud conversations as she walked in. Maggie greeted her with a bright smile and a wave before continuing on with her current customer. Carter slid into an empty booth and stared out the window, her chin resting in her hand. She watched, her mind half distracted, as a family of three walked down the sidewalk, their faces dotted with smiles.

A napkin was dropped before Carter, closely followed by a cookie. She didn't take her eyes from the glass, the world around her drowned by her thoughts. Maggie slid into the seat across from Carter, her eyes holding a look of concern. She poked Carter's arm.

"Hey girly," she said. "What are you thinking over there?"

Carter finally pulled her gaze away from the window and looked at Maggie.

"I was pondering why people do what they do," she said.

The concern in Maggie's eyes deepened.

"Thinking about your mom?" she asked, in a caring voice.

Carter tensed and her hands instinctively curled into fists. Maggie placed a hand over her fist.

"You understand that what she did was terrible and you didn't deserve that, right?"

Carter pulled her hand away and crossed her arms, staring out of the window.

"Yeah, I know," she said. "I was thinking about something else."

Maggie pulled back and nodded.

"Of course," she said.

She smiled, but the look lacked it's usual brightness.

"What brought this line of thinking on then?" Maggie asked.

"School. I discovered why I thought something was off about Link and Donovan," Carter said, still speaking to the window.

Maggie leaned forward, intrigue burning in her eyes.

"Oh and what is that?"

Carter opened her mouth and looked at Maggie, but no words came out. Maggie raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Carter shifted and dropped her hands to the cookie, breaking chunks off. She popped one piece into her mouth and shrugged.

"They just kept hanging out with me because they actually enjoy my company," she said. "Just something I'm not used to, that's all."

Maggie laughed and playfully slapped Carter's arm.

"And you thought it was because one of them was an assassin," she teased.

Carter smiled, but the look was humorless.

"Maggie!"

Both Carter and Maggie looked over to see one of the workers waving to her. Maggie looked back at Carter and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, it looks like I'm needed. Come over in a few minutes and I'll have your sandwiches ready for you," she said.

Carter nodded as she slipped out of the booth and moved back to the counter. Carter ate her cookie staring out the window. Once finished, she crumpled up the napkin and slid out of the booth. At the counter Maggie handed her two sandwiches and she gave her a ten in return.

"Tell Steve hi," Maggie said.

Carter raised the sandwiches in salute and left the deli, the noise of the customers dying away as she crossed the street. She jogged up the metal staircase and shouldered the front door open, after unlocking it. The apartment was empty and looked lonely cast the light of the fading sun. The keys clinked in the ceramic bowl and Carter nudged the door closed. The sound of her footsteps and the thunk of her bag on the kitchen table seemed to echo in the emptiness.

She turned and stood motionless in the kitchen, her hands tucked into the pockets of her khaki pants. She stared at the living room. The appearance of a feminine touch had faded over the years. Silky throw pillows were now worn. Small little knickknacks had been broken or removed. Only brighter squares of paint spoke of family photos that had been removed. She eventually turned away and flipped open her messenger bag.

*****************

The lock clicked and Carter looked up as her father stepped into the apartment. He dropped the keys into the bowl and paused as he saw her sitting at the dining room table. A slight frown came to his features as he made his way over to her.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, setting his stuff on the table.

"Talk about what?" she asked.

He took a seat beside her, studying her with his dark blue eyes.

"You're doing work at the table," he said.

"Is that a crime now?"

"No, it just means you don't want to be in the living room. Which means that you are thinking about your mother and you don't want to look at the empty spots on the wall."

Carter shrugged and leaned back in her chair, trying to look unconcerned.

"Nope, it just meant that I wanted to have proper support for my back. The couch is too soft."

Her father didn't remove his stare and Carter knew he wasn't convinced.

"Not everything I do has a deeper meaning, Captain."

"No, but you forget that I've known you your entire life. I know what certain things mean." He crossed his arms and gave her a steady look. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She hesitated for a minute. She shrugged and shifted back to her homework.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said.

She looked up and gave her father a mocking smile.

"I can move into the living room if that would make you feel better."

"It's okay to talk about it, Sarge. You know that."

She nodded with fake nonchalance and picked up her pencil.

"Yup," she said. "But there's nothing to talk about. We should have another gun assembly race. I think I could beat you this time."

Her father studied her for a moment longer then stood, accepting her change of subject.

"Alright, but if you lose again don't get mad at me."

"Ha," she said. "I'm not going to lose. You're getting arthritis in your advanced years, old man."

Her father ruffled her hair. In retaliation Carter grabbed his wrist and twisted. Her father jabbed a nerve cluster on her bicep, effectively deadening her arm.

"Ow!" she said, cupping her arm with her non-numb hand. "Dang it! I always forget that move!"

Her father smirked at her as he grabbed a water bottle and drank.

"I'll teach it to you after dinner. You hungry now?" he asked.

"If I could feel anything, I might be."

"It's only your arm, you're fine."

He moved to the refrigerator and pulled it open. Carter grabbed a pencil and threw it at his bent form. Her father raised his head and looked at her. She shrugged.

"I was annoyed," she said.

He rested his arms on the refrigerator door.

"I hope that's not what you do when you're annoyed with your teachers?" he said.

Carter laughed.

"Please, instead I stick to correcting them in front of the whole class and selling their test answers."

Her father frowned and she gave him a toothy grin.

"Just kidding, like I would promote idiots getting ahead in the class just because they have money."

Her father shook his head and grabbed the sandwiches.

"How's the arm?" he asked, setting a sandwich before her.

"Still numb," she said. "If I can't do my homework because of this, then my bad grades are on you. I hope you're happy for single handedly destroying my future."

"Did you really have that bright of a future?"

She glared and her father gave her a wide smile. She turned away and pulled the wrapping off her sandwich. As they ate, Carter's gaze darted to and away from her father. He took her glances in stride and waited.

"So," she said, "did you know that President Douglas has an illegitimate son or is this news to you as well?"

Her father hesitated for a fraction of a second before he continued to eat. She dropped her sandwich and gave him a shocked look.

"I hope you have a better poker face than that when you're with the President," she said. "Because that was just embarrassing. Might as well have screamed that you knew."

Her father lowered his sandwich, staring at her with a steady gaze.

"Carter, what do you know?" he asked.

She pointed to him with an accusatory finger.

"Better yet, what do you know, Captain? And why didn't you tell me?"

Her father pushed aside his sandwich and leaned on the table.

"Carter, I'm serious. How did you come by this information?" he said, his voice taking on an authoritative tone she hardly ever heard.

"Calm down, Captain," she said, raising her hands in a placating gesture, unaware that her arm had stopped feeling numb. "He goes to school with me. Well, just started going to school with me. He originally attended Jefferson Private High school. They had a mold problem and so the some of the students got transferred to Hamilton. I've been hanging out with him for the last week. I made the discovery today. He wears glasses to obscure his face and his hair is dyed brown. His name is Link Evans."

Her father nodded as Carter finished and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright," he said.

"So you knew?"

"Of course. I'm on the President's detail. I need to know everything about him, which includes things in his past that could compromise him. Who else knows?"

Carter shrugged.

"As far as I'm aware I'm the only one who knows at the school," she said.

He father visibly relaxed.

"You're sure about that?" he asked.

Carter paused.

"Mason might know. They seem to have history together."

Her father nodded and stood.

"Okay, I need to make some calls, get this sorted out," he said.

Carter turned as he walked away.

"He won't have to go somewhere else, will he?" she asked.

Her father stopped and looked back.

"Why?" he asked.

Carter shifted uncomfortably.

"He's one of the only two friends I currently have. And if he goes, Donovan goes," she said.

"We'll see. I just need to make sure our files are updated," he said.

Carter nodded and he left the room. She sank back into her chair, her appetite gone.

**********************************************************************

Oh my cotton balls!

I know, a part of you hates me just a little bit because this chapter wasn't long enough. Don't worry, I understand and I wish with all my heart it could have been long enough to make you happy.

Now! Question time! This question was from the marvelous soniaaggarwal23: Can you please tell us who is going to become a couple...? Carter and Donovan or Carter and Mason?? Or is something else entirely is going to happen?

Answer: Mawhahahaha I'm not going to tell you. I will let the story speak for itself. Besides every story needs a little mystery and now that the main mystery, (or one of the main mysteries) is solved what else would there be to entertain you? So yes, I'm a little evil for not telling you, but fear not! I will tell you this! Someone does get together with someone else! See I'm not completely unreasonable!

Vote, comment, follow! Ask more questions, though I won't promise I'll answer them, I will feature them!

THIS IS AWESOME!!! A huge, stupendous thank you to skycatkat! Because she was super amazing and made me this BA cover! Literally girl you are awesome! Thank you!!!