The apartment lay completely quiet around Carter the next day. Faint bits of noise from outside could be heard, but none of it effected the silence. Evening had taken command of the sky, although night was slowly edging in. Carter stood before the mirror, her unfocused eyes barely registering her hands as they pulled her hair back. Once finished she didn't bother making sure it looked good, just simply walked back to her room.

On her nightstand her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and read the text from Donovan, confirming where they were meeting. She sent off a quick reply and pocketed it. The quiet seemed to take a more solid hold on the apartment as she continued to get ready. Grabbing her jacket, she walked into the hallway. She glanced at her father's room. The door was open and everything inside was still. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice that the framed picture, that had sat on his desk for the last six years, was gone.

Carter pulled her bag over her head and opened the front door. The sky above her was putting on a color show as she stepped out. The air was cool but not to a finger numbing degree. Hints of dinners, taking place though out the neighborhood, wafted around her. As she pulled the door closed and locked it, car headlights lit up the staircase and the front of the apartment. The driver side door opened and her father stepped out. He wore his black suit and everything about him was its normal military neat self. Before he could climb the stairs, Carter moved down them, alerting him to her presence.

At the bottom of the staircase they observed each other, trying to read thoughts that were expertly hidden behind flawless masks of impassivity. Her father looked down at her bag and back up at her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Carter vaguely pointed towards the street. "Maddy and Link are going on a date tonight and I'm keeping Donovan company as we tail them."

A flicker of a frown flashed on his on face. "It's a school night."

"I finished my homework."

He nodded. "What time will you be home?"

"Eleven at the latest."

He nodded again. "Maggie said you didn't stop by the deli today."

"I didn't. Had homework to get done. How was PT?"

Her father pulled back his thoughts from his expression, the look mirrored in Carter's.

"Fine."

The silence from the apartment seemed to travel down the stairs and slowly wrap around them. Carter shifted and moved away from the staircase.

"I have to go," she said. "I have a bus to catch."

She sidestepped him and headed towards the alley. She had just passed the trunk of the car when he father's voice pulled her back.

"Carter," he said.

She turned around, her response an expectant look.

"Stay safe," he said.

She gave him a nod and moved to leave but paused once more as he spoke.

"I love you, Sarge."

She looked into his face. A face she knew better than her own. A face she trusted. A face that held something from her that she couldn't read or understand. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Yeah, same," she said.

She turned away and walked into the alleyway. Behind her, her father watched until her shadow was out of sight. With a weary sigh, he headed up to the apartment and the silence that was waiting for him.

Carter jogged across the street as the bus pulled up to the curb. She climbed on and settled into a seat. With a rumble of the engine the bus took off, jostling its occupants as it went. Buildings, cars, houses, parks and trees swooshed past the window, becoming a blur of color. Browns, grays and greens. Carter slid down in her seat, letting the constant changing scenery keep her thoughts captive, instead of the face that had become shut off from her.

Before her thoughts could lose interest, she arrived outside an office block. The sidewalk was crowded. Business men in suits headed out to relieve their weary minds with the a strong drink. Women, who during the day wore sensible shoes, now walked in high heels with laughter on their lips and freedom in their eyes. The fading light of the sunset lit up the tops of the buildings, outlining them in yellow.

Carter disembarked and joined the suited and high heeled throng. She moved with it until she reached the mall and pushed through the revolving doors. Upbeat music overlaid with the beating of shoes on tile and discordant voices filled her ears. Around her groups moved from store to store, some urgently, feeling the eyes of tomorrow's early hour on them while others ignored the gaze and meandered about.

Carter carved a path through them, ending at a movie theater with doors there never seemed to fully shut as customers came in and out. Across from the entrance, Donovan leaned against a wall, hands in his dark jean pockets and ankles crossed. The picture of ease.

As she moved forward though she could see his eyes darting from face to face, his own serious. When she stepped around a group of younger teens, his gaze locked on her. He gave her a single nod.

"Are they already in there?" she asked, taking a spot by his side.

Donovan nodded again. "They're in line at the concession stand."

He pointed into the theater lobby. Carter looked and found Link and Maddy waiting in line, facing each other, their hands locked together. Both of them were wearing smiles, though Link's was more subdued than Maddy's. He spoke and Maddy's hand flew to her mouth as she laughed.

Carter watched them, mesmerized by the simplicity of the moment. Their carefree expressions and plainly read thoughts. She wasn't aware that her expression was betraying anything, as her troubled thoughts rose to the surface. Donovan nudged her arm with his elbow, his features in control.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Carter frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You've been distracted all day."

"It's noth-"

Donovan's flat glare halted Carter's remaining words. She turned away from him and studied the tableau before them without really seeing it. Donovan took her silence in stride and continued his appraisal of the surrounding crowd.

"You don't have to be here," he said, after a few minutes.

Carter looked at him. "Do you not want me to be here?"

"Do you want to be here?"

Thoughts of home and the quiet darted through Carter's mind. She turned away from him. "Yeah, I want to be here."

He nodded. He pulled out two tickets and handed one to her. She took it and glanced from it to him.

"Link told me what they were seeing and I got it when we showed up early," he said.

She nodded and read the movie title. "It's a horror movie."

"Apparently Maddy has a liking for them, or is looking for an excuse to cling to Link."

"How does Link feel about them?"

"He has a stronger stomach than you'd think and I don't think he'll mind Maddy clinging to him."

Carter managed a rough smile that didn't last. They watched as Link and Maddy made their way to the front of the line and made their purchase. When they took off towards the theater, Donovan and Carter moved in sync. They handed their tickets to the red vested, freckle-faced attendant and joined the stream of movie goers down the long hallway dotted with doors.

Towards the end they entered their auditorium. Donovan reached out a hand and stopped Carter before she could round the sloping wall. She glanced down at his hand on her arm, then at him. He let go of her.

"Link is going to text when it's clear," he said.

Carter settled back against the padded wall, listening to the rustling of clothes, muted conversations and crinkling of candy wrappers. Donovan's phone buzzed. They both looked at it. He nodded and they moved forward.

The sight of rows of red cushioned chairs rising towards the back filled their eyes and both of them instantly looked for the couple. They were towards the back and off to the right. Maddy had her back to them and Link glanced their way for a brief second. Carter led the way up the stairs taking a spot far from Link and Maddy but still in view.

They took their seats, their arms brushing each other as they both went to claim the middle armrest. Carter took her arm away first, silently conceding to let him have it. Commercials played on the screen as the seats continued to fill. Donovan shift towards Carter, his body leaning in slightly.

"You really don't have to be here," he said.

She looked at him, surprised to find him closer than she expected, but she didn't back away.

"Why do you find the need to ask me that again? If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be."

"I don't doubt that, but you have to be the quietest date I've ever had. And I didn't expect that. Especially not from you."

Carter crossed her arms and studied him. "First, this isn't a date. And second, do you have a problem with silence, Donovan?"

"I know it's not a date, it was a slip of the tongue. And silence with you yes, because it holds too much weight."

"I don't imagine you've ever let anything slip, let alone a word. And my silence has nothing to do with you or this situation. So why should it bother you at all?"

Donovan put his elbow on the arm rest, shifting closer, his eyes narrowing. "In this instance it's true. I don't think of you as my date, and don't plan on letting that slip again. And the fact that your silence doesn't involve me doesn't bother me but it is affecting me. In that manner you have put me in the situation."

Carter pivoted towards him, her brow furrowed. "For the record I don't think of you as my date either, just in case that thought crossed your mind. And whether my silence affects you or not is none of my concern."

"The thought never crossed my mind," Donovan said. "And you can be as silent as you want. I no longer care."

"Good, because it never crossed mine. And that's fine with me. I don't need you to care."

"Fine."

"Good."

They stared at each other and then shifted back in their seats, facing the screen. Conversations filled the silence they had left. Carter rested her elbow on the unoccupied arm rest. She glanced over at Donovan. He sat with his arms crossed and one foot balanced on his knee, his eyes flickering to Link and Maddy every few minutes.

"You had other dates," she said.

A flash of a smile skidded across his lips. He spoke without looking at her.

"I grew up on a Marine base, not a monastery, Carter."

She nodded and looked back at the screen. Donovan turned his head towards her, studying her profile.

"Why do you ask?" he said.

She shrugged. "You said I was your quietest date-"

"A slip of the tongue."

"And I was just curious. That's all."

"How many dates have you been on?"

Despite herself, Carter chuckled and looked down at her hands.

"That many, huh?" Donovan said.

She gave him a flat look. "I have a secret service agent as a father, transferred schools and my mom left when I was fourteen, you figure it out."

"That means the double date was technically your first date then."

"If you could even call it a date."

"Do you?"

"No."

Donovan nodded, his expression almost teasing. "Then you have yet to have a first date."

"It would seem so."

"You don't seem that broken up about it."

"I'm not run by my hormones. So no, I'm not the broken up about it. No one worth dating anyways."

The lights dimmed in the movie theater and the crowd fell silent. The screen went black before displaying an announcement for previews. Donovan leaned close to Carter's ear and whispered, his breath falling across her neck.

"Who constitutes someone worth dating?" he asked, his voice barely audible expect to her.

She turned towards him, eyeing him in the darkened theater.

"Why do you want to know?"

He gave a half convincing shrug. "I was just curious. That's all."

She gave him another flat look and he smirked. She shook her head and looked back at the screen. He shifted away and retrained his focus on flash of images that meant nothing for a moment. As the characters on the screen started talking, Carter leaned back over to Donovan. He looked at her and shifted closer.

"Honestly," she said, her voice quiet, "I would take anyone who could last five minutes in hand to hand combat with me."

He nodded seriously and shifted back in his seat.

"Good to know," he whispered, a faint smile touching his lips.

Carter settled back in her seat, her thoughts not as heavy as before.

Only ten minutes into the movie she noticed as Maddy shifted closer to Link, her arms wrapping themselves around his, her hand finding his. When the first scare occurred, she buried her head in his shoulder, letting out a small squeak. Carter fought back a laugh and looked over to see Donovan smirking.

As the movie progressed Carter and Donovan moved closer to each other, their thoughts aligned on the main character's choice of actions and the validity of them. Half way through a side character was brutally murdered and the theater seemed to cringe. All except the two of them.

"He should have taken the crow bar with him instead of the axe," Carter said, in a hushed tone, gesturing to the screen. "The axe was too heavy and his aim would have had to be precise to even do damage."

"Where are his natural fight instincts," Donovan said.

"Obviously he wasn't born with any."

"His death was unavoidable then."

Carter looked at him and smiled. "Clearly. No one that stupid could live."

"Not in this movie," he said, his lips curled in a half smile.

Carter looked back at the screen and jumped with the rest of the crowd as the main killer popped up. She gripped Donovan's arm, muttering something under her breath. Instantly, she let go and shifted, forcing her face to look unconcerned.

"Surprised me," she said, not looking at him.

"Of course," Donovan said, the smile in his voice.

For the rest of the movie, Carter forced herself to be unfazed by any jumps scares. She succeeded by the end of the movie. As the credits began to roll the house lights brightened. The crowd stood and under the cover of the rising mass, Donovan and Carter quickly exited. They broke away from the chatting group and moved off to the side. They settled against the wall a few feet away and out of sight line.

"That was an impractical ending," Carter said.

"As well as predictable," Donovan said.

"That too."

She joined him with studying the exiting crowd. Link and Maddy appeared, their hands clasped and her head buried in his shoulder. He said something and she looked up, smiling at him, her apparent shock from the movie completely lost. They made their way towards the entrance. After a few minutes, and a couple more movie goers, Donovan and Carter followed.

"Do you know where they're headed?" she asked.

"For frozen yogurt."

She nodded. Neither of them said anything as they made their way to the frozen yogurt place. Donovan secured a table where they could see the couple, but wouldn't be seen while Carter bought two cups of frozen yogurt.

As she took a seat beside Donovan, she handed him his yogurt and a spoon. Young couples and groups of girls filled the space with a hum of voices. As she ate, Carter scanned the surrounding crowd. Her gaze roamed over a muscular man, who sat alone a few tables down from Link and Maddy. She moved on but brought her gaze back. She rested her elbow on the table, her hand toying with her spoon.

"Donovan," she said, grabbing his attention. "wasn't that man watching the same movie as us?"

She gave a nod in the man's direction. Donovan looked the man over.

"Yes," he said, sounding unconcerned.

"That's not something worth noting?"

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair, digging into the yogurt. "Not at all."

"How come you're so sure?"

He nodded to a couple two tables past Link and Maddy. "Because they were also at the same movie. It's not odd for people to come here after a movie, Carter."

She nodded and settled back into her chair. Link and Maddy slowly shifted closer and closer toward each, taking scoops from the other's frozen yogurt cup. Couples whispered to each other, as groups of girls giggled sharing conspiracies on people they didn't know.

Carter didn't seem to take in any of her surroundings, her own silence downing her. She ate absentmindedly. Donovan looked over at her as Link and Maddy found another occupations for their mouth instead of eating. He studied her for a long moment without her realizing it. Finally his voice pulled her attention over.

"Thanks, Carter," he said.

She frowned. "For what?"

"Coming with me tonight."

"Oh that. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"No, but I found it amusing to see you pretend to get startled just for the excuse to grab my arm."

Carter gave him a flat look that couldn't be misread.

"Get over yourself Donovan or go find some helpless bimbo to cling to you."

He laughed, the sound deep and genuine. He stretched back, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll pass on that offer," he said.

Setting aside her yogurt, Carter laid her arms on the table and stared at him.

"Are you telling me in all this time you've never dated? Or even had very short relations with a girl?"

Donovan looked back towards Link and Maddy, his jaw flexing.

"No," he said.

"Why not? It's not like they aren't practically begging for it."

Donovan looked at her, his face completely closed off from her.

"Carter, why are you even curious about this?"

"It's this or silence. Take your pick."

Donovan looked away again and crossed his arms. Carter moved back. She watched Link and Maddy, their heads so close together their words only reached each other. Donovan shifted, drawing her gaze. He said nothing, his face unreadable. After a few minutes he spoke without looking at her.

"It could affect my focus," he said. "So I have never gotten involved with anyone."

She didn't say anything, just looked at him.

"And because it would be a lie," he said. "They are drawn to something that isn't real."

"Interesting," Carter said.

He looked at her. "Did you want a different reason?"

"Most guys fake who they are to get exactly what they want. It's interesting to meet a guy who doesn't think the same way."

"You forget I have a few years on these girls and can see how a relationship with me would effect them. I care, that is the difference between those tools and me."

Carter nodded and looked off the smallest of smiles coming to her lips.

Maddy broke away from Link and looked down at her phone. She said something him and they both rose. Carter went to raise, but Donovan stuck his hand out, stilling her. She sat back down and watched as Link and Maddy tossed their frozen yogurt and exited. She looked at Donovan and he stood. They trashed their remaining yogurt and followed. They waited by the glass front doors, looking out until Maddy kissed Link and climbed into a car. Link was still watching the car drive off, when Carter and Donovan appeared at his sides.

"Have a fun night?" Carter asked.