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Chapter 22 - "You want to crash here on the couch?"

"Do you have a second to talk?"

Though Link's message seemed innocent enough, Donovan knew what he headed into and so on his way to the door, grabbed his gun case. When he entered Link's apartment, Link sat perched on the edge of the couch, one knee bouncing with nerves.

"There's pizza," Link said, gesturing to the box on the coffee table. It was a beforehand apology and Donovan accepted it, sitting in one of the chairs before the coffee table.

Link sprung to his feet and began to pace as Donovan took out a slice of pizza and ate. He didn't need to ask Link why he was there or what Link wanted to talk about. He knew.

He knew just like he knew that he would not need to say anything for the next twenty minutes as Link rambled. Link was the type of person who needed a presence in the room so he could talk, but rarely needed that presence to even respond.

"Okay, so I like Maddie," Link started. "I mean how could I not, she's cute. Her eyes are really pretty. Her laugh is like bubbles."

Donovan knew that made no sense but had no intention of telling Link that. He was only acting as a presence after all.

"I want things to go well, but this is my first time dating. What if I screw it up. Or make an idiot of myself and she realizes exactly how completely incompetent I am and goes after someone else."

Again Donovan kept his silence. It was an unlikely outcome seeing as Maddie had already seen how clueless Link could be and was still interested.

As he talked, Link wandered about the apartment, sometimes hardly breathing between sentences. Only half-listening, Donovan went to work on his gun, assembling and disassembling it. The rhythm was natural and quick, his fingers knowing what to do without him having to think about it.

At the end of half an hour, Link flopped onto the couch, spent, the pizza was cold, and Donovan had lost count of how many times he'd taken apart the gun.

"So what do you think?" Link asked.

Donovan set down the dissembled pieces and met Link's gaze. "I think you're scared and that's natural for a first relationship. I think that the more you let Maddie in the more she will see the loyal and caring person you are and never be able to let you go."

Link ducked his head, bashful under the high praise. "Thanks."

A knock on the door cut into the friendly moment. Donovan raised his eyebrow, questioning. Link shook his head, as if to say he wasn't expecting anyone. Another knock came and Donovan motioned for the door.

"It's your apartment, not mine," he said.

Uncertain, Link crossed to the door, opened it and froze in surprise.

"Carter?!"

Donovan straightened at the name, his mind spinning to a million different reasons why she would be there. The corner of his mind that held his jealousy wondered why she hadn't tried his apartment. The counter argument to this was even if she did, he wouldn't have known because he hadn't been in it. Before he could get caught in a spiral of 'what ifs', he heard her voice.

"You have a minute to talk?"

With that one response, he knew that it wasn't him she'd looked for and he squashed the disappointment that the realization brought.

"Sure," Link said. "Come in."

Carter walked into an apartment as if unsure that she really should be there. Which renewed Donovan's curiosity of why she was. She gave the place a once-over, neither showing envy or admiration at the large and well-furnished apartment.