Page 44 of Hack

Did he want one?

That was the question, wasn't it? He was enjoying his time with Archer, focusing on something different. Granted, it was his daughter's murder case, and his mind was never far from thoughts of her or what happened to her, but there had been times with Archer where he'd almost forgotten about everything else and just enjoyed the moment. Sitting at dinner with him there were times when he'd be caught up in their conversation, forgetting they were working together, forgetting the team was depending on him, forgetting everything other than whatever lame thing they were talking about. He found those moments to be something he wanted more of. He wanted to forget the evil in his life and in the world, if even just for a few minutes at a time. He wanted to laugh and have a life that didn't revolve around children being hurt.

Maybe he was burning out. He didn't know. He was so tired, but there was a part of him that couldn't let go. He made a difference. The team made a difference. And, if they were lucky, Archer and he were going to make a difference too.

The sound of his cell phone pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced down, seeing Archer's name, and answered, "hello?"

"Hey, I'm just leaving the police station. You at the library?" Archer sounded all business.

"No, they were closed. I'm at…" He glanced at the name of the place on his coffee cup. "Brews and Foods. It's a coffee shop just down from where you dropped me off." He looked up, seeing that one of the other customers had left without him even realizing it.

"I'll be there in five." Archer hung up.

Carter set his phone down, hoping Archer had news. Together, the two of them could do what the FBI hadn't been able to and close this case. There was no reason the FBI couldn't do what they were doing and it pissed him off that they hadn't kept following leads.

As he waited for Archer to arrive, he thought about Angel's sweet face. One way or another, he was going to help her find peace.