Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Poker Night

"I'm in," James said immediately.

Clint and Brock echoed the statement. Donovan leaned back in his chair, twirling his cigar between his fingers.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked. "They are likely to ask some embarrassing questions. I know them."

Carter moved to the dining table, snagged a chair, and added it to the poker table, sitting down.

"I'm ready. Besides, I can imagine they have some great material on you."

Donovan grinned but Carter could see that there was a touch of apprehension and she wondered what embarrassing moments she'd never heard about.

"All right," Donovan said. "Deal her in."

Brock lifted the pizza boxes off the table and moved them to the kitchen counter. The brothers all grabbed multiple slices before resuming their seats. As Clint shuffled, Carter eyed her competition. She was outnumbered but figured the odds were worth it.

As everyone assessed their cards, Carter accessed them. She looked for ticks, for hints of delight or disappointment, even neutrality. It all meant something and years of reading people played into her hand.

From the first, she knew Clint had a decent hand, the twitch in his eyebrow betraying him. Brock had a hand that could go either way, depending on what cards he picked up. She knew this from the lack of emotion. James had a bad hand, this coming from the brief tug on the corner of his mouth. Donovan...he knew her too well and gave nothing away. But at least she had three out of four. Her own hand wasn't bad, it was manageable.

"All right," James said. "I start the betting." He picked up a poker chip. "I bet an embarrassing story of Carter's." He grinned at her.

"I see your embarrassing story," Brock said, collecting two poker chips. "And I raise you a dark secret."

The brothers looked to Carter. She called the bet as did Donovan and Clint. They went around, trading in cards. Carter's hand improved, but so did Brock's from the tug in the corner of his mouth. Still, she was willing to stay in the game.

When it came to the reveal, Brock beat them all with a flush. Smug, he leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, studying Carter.

"All right," he said. "Since it's the first loss, I won't ask for too dark of a secret, but I do want an embarrassing one."

Carter took a breath, she'd asked for this. She simply hoped this night wouldn't be one she regretted.

"Okay," she said, bracing herself. "I sing in the shower." As the brothers called for more specifics, Carter found herself blushing. "I sing the Mulan song, I'll Make A Man Out of You."

The brothers burst out laughing and Carter buried her face.

"Why that one?" Clint asked.

Carter sighed. "Because the cartoon Mulan was my favorite movie growing up. I mean it's about a girl sacrificing herself for family and learning to fight, how was I not to love it? Well, when my father wanted to taunt me when I would be learning to throw a punch or assemble a gun, he'd hum that song. It's been one I've always known."

The brothers' laughter doubled and James broke into song but failed since he only knew some of the words.

"Okay, okay," Carter said. "Deal, I'm not done here."

Still smiling the brothers resumed the game, unfortunately Carter didn't win the next round either, Donovan did.

"I have a question," he said.