Rescued?

[neverwrongagent]

When the posters went up showing the two members of the Marine sniper team who'd gone missing, Carrie Mathison stood and stared at them. She didn't see two Marines in their uniforms, though, she saw only one of them half dressed on a rooftop looking up at the blanket of stars. She saw a sweet smile from a man who was too far from home and was trying to hold onto his humanity. Every time she passed the posters, even if she didn't turn to look, she was as aware of them as if someone had reached out and grabbed her. Months went by and the sensation never weakened.

Then came word that they'd been found, that two Marines had been found in neighboring camps. Both men were in rough shape: dehydrated, beaten and demoralized. One was worse than the other, but first reports didn't make it clear which it was and Carrie held her breath until she knew that Brody was in better physical shape. Not that she asked or spoke to anyone about knowing him. The moment she said a word, they'd pull her out of it all and that wasn't happening.

The men were kept apart while they were cleaned up. Carrie read both files, but it was Brody's she kept going over and over in her head. She knew every detail of what they'd found out so far. On the outside it probably seemed cruel to interrogate the men so soon, but the sooner they got it done, the better. These men were headed home, at least for a while, and it would be harder to get solid information from them when they were there.

It wasn't until minutes before she walked into the room that Carrie knew for sure which man she was going to debrief. She was ready to bounce out of her skin by the time she walked in, a feeling that vanished immediately when she saw him. "Sergeant Brody? I'm Carrie Mathison. I'm here to ask you some questions."

Comments

[posterboymarine]

He frowned deeply. "Still in play? I'm not in play. I..." His frown deepened further and he looked away. "I'm not a traitor."

[neverwrongagent]

She said the only thing that she could, the only thing that could matter at the moment. "I believe you." And she did. "The bigger issue is, what does he think you're supposed to do? What is he supposed to do?"

[posterboymarine]

Brody shrugged. "I thought he was dead. I don't know what he'd supposed to do." He laid back on the bed. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

He was quiet again.

[neverwrongagent]

She finished her sandwich rather than tossing it back on the tray, then shoved the tray under the bed. She climbed onto the bed beside him, settling cross legged by his hips. "If there is a plan, if there's something coming down the pike, we have to stop it. They wanted to use you to hurt Americans."

[posterboymarine]

He looked over at her. "I'd ask how you can know that, but I know who we are talking about. Still, I don't know what I am supposed to do about it. I've told you everything I can remember." His eyes narrowed. "I told you the truth."

[neverwrongagent]

She repeated herself softly. "I believe you. I believe that you've told me everything you remember." That didn't mean he might not remember some other things down the line. "Maybe if you talked to him? Maybe he thinks you know and would reveal something."

[posterboymarine]

He wanted to help, he truly did. But he wasn't sure if he could do that. "Carrie, do you know what you are asking me?"

[neverwrongagent]

She opened her mouth to give him a real cheerleading answer, full of jingo and rah. No air came out. Instead she put her hand on his belly and nodded. "It's a lot to ask after everything you've been through. It's too much to ask." She exhaled slowly. "I still have to ask it of you."

[posterboymarine]

Still, he continued to frown. "And you'll want me to lie. Tell them I never told you what I did."

[neverwrongagent]

That was the rub. The only way it would work is if they both kept covering that up. She was going to have to find a way to have it come out under their control. "Just for the start. Until we know better what's going on." She shrugged. "I'll tell them it was all part of my plan all along, which is true enough."

[posterboymarine]

"And why are we being put together?" He didn't like this one bit, but it wasn't as if he had any choice in the matter.

[neverwrongagent]

"There's no reason to keep you apart much longer. Only three of us know the truth." She knew she should tell Saul. Or someone. But doing that would put Brody in such an awful place. If someone was going to take that risk, it shouldn't be the man who had been held and tortured. Of course, he would have his own risks.

[posterboymarine]

He sighed again. "So, we should have some kind of tearful reunion? And maybe he'll give it up?"

[neverwrongagent]

"Maybe." She shifted a little closer, her hand moving up to his chest. "He helped do this to you, helped convince you that you were part of something awful. Don't you want to know why?"

[posterboymarine]

He groaned softly at her touch. What she was doing was not, at all, fair. But that didn't mean he wanted her to stop. So he didn't answer her.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't realized exactly what kind of effect she was having on him, she only knew that she needed to keep him engaged with her and heading in the direction she thought was right. Her hand moved in small circles on his chest in a way she hoped was soothing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I have to ask this of you."

[posterboymarine]

He groaned again at the small circles, then looked hard at her. "You need to stop doing that."

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie looked down at her hand in surprise, then slowly pulled it back. "Was I hurting you?" She knew that wasn't it, but she didn't want to push at him anymore than she already was.

[posterboymarine]

He snorted softly. "No. Not hurt."

[neverwrongagent]

She had the good grace to wince a little and then look both abashed and proud at the same time. "Sorry. Don't know the power of my own hotness." She shrugged. "I like touching you. You made great noises when I did."

[posterboymarine]

"Are we alone?" He wanted to know if they were being watched or if she was still being trusted. It was important to him.

[neverwrongagent]

"Well, there's an MP at the end of the hall, looking bored, but that's it." So far, so good, with her grand plan of making Brody look harmless and every inch the returned hero. All she was doing was guiding him home.

[posterboymarine]

He reached out and took her hand, placing it back on his chest. "That felt good." He licked his lips. "You make me feel good."

[neverwrongagent]

She went back to caressing him, careful to avoid spots she knew from his records were still raw. "I want to make you feel safe." There wasn't much she could do that would make him genuinely safe, so if touching him would help, then she would do that.

"Is this helping?"

[posterboymarine]

Safe wasn't what he was thinking about at the moment. Just good. He needed to feel good. To feel alive if he was going to pull off this lie for them.

"It's helping."