"He really is," he agrees. "And so are you, if it's something you want."

He hopes it's clear she doesn't need to do anything for them. If this isn't something she wants to do, neither of them are going to hold it against her and John certainly has no intention of no longer spending time with her if she's not part of the team. While he would very much like to deny it, Carter had opened up a part of him he'd kept closed off, and now John can no longer successfully lie to himself about what others mean to him. Karen is important, no matter what either of them do.

"Oh," he adds as an afterthought. "We unfortunately won't be able to pay you much. At least to start."