Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Maddy Finds Out

So yeah, you wanted this chapter so I wrote it.

Predictions?

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Carter stepped off the elevator and found Donovan waiting in the hallway. He leaned on the opposite wall, his arms crossed, focus on the ground. There was a slope to his shoulders that told Carter so much.

"Hey," she said.

At her voice, Donovan roused himself and lifted his head.

"Worried?" she asked.

He let out a slow breath. "It's a big step and even though they've been serious for a while there's no determining how this will affect her or them."

Carter nodded, sliding her hands into her pockets. The discussion on this topic had spanned over weeks, every angled examined, every outcome analyzed but in the end, there was no way to know for certain how it would all play out.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

Donovan pushed himself off the wall and headed towards Link's apartment.

"You can ask him yourself."

Inside the mid-morning light cascaded through the windows in golden strands. The warm autumn tones softened the apartment and haloed Link as he rested against the back of an armchair, facing the windows. Everything about his posture spoke of calm, but Carter didn't buy it, from this point on everything would change.

When Carter settled onto the couch's armrest, one foot on the cushions, Link looked at her. His hazel eyes were where the heart of his emotions lay. It was like seeing a storm forming on the horizon. As he breathed out, he ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you think I'm making the right decision?" he asked.

Donovan took the seat beside Carter, his shoulder brushing her hip as he leaned forward.

"Do you love her?" Carter asked.

Link contemplated his hands. "I've loved her since our sixth date and three years later I only love her more." He raised his head. "I still wonder if it's a teenage infatuation." He chuckled softly. "But we're not teenagers anymore."

"Then I think you're making the right decision," Carter said.

Link didn't respond to his, his brows furrowed, a hint of sadness in his eyes as he stared out on the world.

"And if I lose her because of this?" he asked.

No answer would make the question any easier to handle, so both Carter and Donovan remained silent. Link nodded as if they had spoken and he was agreeing. For a long while, the trio held onto the quiet, feeling the weight of change that hung just around the corner. Right then they were who they always had been, their friendship tightly knit. But the next step in their story was one that could shift the whole dynamic.

A knock on the door broke the moment. Looking at Carter and Donovan, Link rose. Taking in a deep breath, he crossed to the door and pulled it open. Maddy beamed at him from the other side. Stepping forward, she kissed him.

"Hey, babe," she said.

Link tried for a smile but it didn't come. Noticing, Maddy's own smile sobered.

"What's up? Are you okay?"

Link waved her into the apartment. Frowning slightly, Maddy walked in, spotting Carter and Donovan for the first time.

"What's going on?" she asked, spinning back to Link.

"Sit down, I have something to tell you."