Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Moving In

Cause I could. Enjoy.

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Carter dropped the box down in front of the bedroom closet, her arms aching with the weight of it. Behind her, she heard a grunt and stepped back as her father walked into the room, a similar load in hand. He lowered it on top of her own and rolled his shoulders. With the addition of his box, there was now a wall before the closet with a small opening.

"Did you line those boxes with lead?" he asked, rotating his arm.

Carter smirked. "Getting weak in your old age, Captain?"

Scowling, her father wrapped an arm around her neck, rumpling her hair with his hand. Carter laughed feeling like she was sixteen again for just a moment. When her father was done with his display of annoyance, he released her. Hair fell loose from Carter's ponytail but she made no effort to fix it, it had been a mess before her father had gotten to it.

From the living room, they heard the murmur of voices and the thud of more boxes being added to the apartment. Already the place was a maze of them. The bedroom was crowded with pyramids of cardboard. A mattress leaned against the wall, waiting for its placement. Despite the mess, the floor to ceiling windows had been left clear, showing off the D.C. landscape.

Carter's father sighed and tossed his arms around his daughter's shoulders as if the finality of what they were doing was just hitting him. For a long while, the pair remained like that, looking over the beginnings of a new way of life. A new division between them that was hopeful as well as tinged with a sense of melancholy. Her father kissed her on the head and directed them back to the living room.

Maggie and Maddy were staring at the walls and gesturing, clearly already designing what the apartment's color scheme should be while Donovan and Link were leaning against the kitchen's granite island, talking. In a far corner were crammed a couch, armchairs, dining table and covered chairs. The rest of the room was littered with more boxes.

"Is the van emptied?" Carter's father asked.

Donovan nodded.

"Okay, Maggie and I will drive it back, leaving you two kids to get settled."

At the declaration, Maggie stored away her interior design plans. Carter hugged her father, feeling the weight of change.

"We'll see you tomorrow for dinner," he said. "Don't be late."

She smiled, reassured that somethings would stay the same. "We won't."

Maggie took her husband's spot, squeezing Carter affectionately.

"If you need help with decorating just let me know," she whispered in Carter's ear.

As Carter pulled back, she smiled. "We will most likely take you up on that offer."

Steve shook Donovan's hand and nodded to Link, then took Maggie's hand and left. When Maddy took the spot by Link's side, he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"It feels weird to not have you living next door," he said.

"Then maybe you should take the apartment across the way," Carter said.

Maddy laughed. "Don't tempt us, our current apartment is less than desirable, but for now it's the most affordable." She tilted her head up to Link. He kissed her as if always looking for an excuse to do so. "We should head back." She winked at Carter. "We don't want to ruin your first night."

With farewells and promises to come help paint or rearrange furniture, the couple left. Carter turned to the living room, taking in the whole space, the wall of windows, the high ceiling, the beige carpet, and the bare walls that were waiting for framed memories. At the silence and unfamiliarity of it all, she felt a twist in her stomach. She swallowed, trying to banish the budding thoughts in her mind.