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

[neverwrongagent]

It was edging rapidly to 4 PM, which meant that he would probably missed as it approached the dinner hour. Or so she would assume if she thought too much about it. She didn't really notice where he was looking, though, as she was thinking about what she could wear for cooking and if there was actually anything edible or if they would have to order things.

Wine she had in plenty. "That's enough of that or we'll never get out of bed." Not that it sounded like an awful idea. "And put some pants on or I'll burn the...whatever we're having because I'm distracted."

[posterboymarine]

He spotted the clock and nodded slightly to himself. Then she was talking about food and cooking and pants and he had to laugh. "Okay, okay. I'll put on pants. You have to put on a shirt, though."

With another kiss, he rolled off her and sat up. "Where are my pants?"

[neverwrongagent]

She slid right out of bed the moment she could get up and headed straight for the pile of his things. He got his pants thrown at him and she wriggled not into any of her own things but into his shirt. It came down to her knees. "Fuck, you're giant." She tugged at the shirt. "At least I'm decent."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed at her the entire time he put his pants on. "No. You are tiny." He came to her and kissed her forehead. "Can I use your phone?"

[neverwrongagent]

She put up her fists to playfully tap punches on his chest, which only made her looks smaller. "Tiny but tough." She pointed to her pants that were still in a pile on the floor. "In the pocket, have at." She could have had him use the landline, but that would come up with a name on caller id.

She left him to make his call, both because he deserved the privacy and because she didn't want any part of hearing his answers to his wife's questions.

[posterboymarine]

Appreciating her discretion with the use of her, likely agency, cell phone, he made the call as quickly as he could. Given that he was around the house so much, she was actually glad he was out and that he was talking to someone. He admitted to also drinking and told her not to wait up for him. She appeared to suspect nothing and gave her blessing, told him to be careful and get some sleep.

He left the phone on the nightstand, then headed downstairs to see what was for dinner.

[neverwrongagent]

What was for dinner was take out and Carrie had menus on the counter by the time he came down. She also had a large glass of wine poured for him. She was sipping her own, looking mildly abashed. "I have moldy cold cuts and what I think were carrots once. Or they could have been bananas. Not sure."

[posterboymarine]

Not laughing was hard and he almost choked on his first sip of wine. "You'd think I was in charge of shopping."

He glanced at the collection of menus, then at her. "I'm going to trust you with the decision."

[neverwrongagent]

"Oh man, you are a brave soul, aren't you?" She grabbed for the pizza menu, then for the phone. After quickly quizzing him on preferences, she placed their order. "And don't think I didn't see that laughter. I know I suck at domesticity. Always have." She led him out into the living room so they could sit together. "I get distracted by things."

Things like rangy Marines with secrets, for one. Or enemy plots in every corner. Or her own mind taking charge.

[posterboymarine]

"I can understand that." He got distracted by things, too. Things that weren't really there usually.

Once they were seated, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back between sips of wine.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't think much of the tender kisses when he started, but after a while she found herself watching him. It wasn't the kind of thing men did with her. Of course, staying after sex wasn't the kind of thing men did with her. He already bucked that trend on a regular basis. "How bad is it? I need to know so I have some clue what the fuck to do."

[posterboymarine]

He looked at her in confusion for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't really have a gauge. Nothing to compare it to." And he didn't. He knew he was fucked up but he had no way to know how fucked up that was.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie frowned deeply. She knew she hadn't been specific, but then she was hoping he'd have a little more information than that. She was no use where his domestic situation was concerned. Not once had she ever lived with a man, she couldn't risk it. What was certainly PTSD she had more of a clue about.

She rubbed her thumb against his hand. "I don't want to make things worse."

[posterboymarine]

"Worse doesn't really seem likely, all things considered." He kissed the back of her hand again. "How could you make it worse? Gonna throw me back in a hole in the ground? Leave me there to rot, or worse?" He shook his head. "Worse isn't likely at all."

[neverwrongagent]

She put her glass down so she could shift close enough to put her head on his shoulder. "I won't leave again, but that doesn't mean I can't end up taking things away from you." She licked her lips. "I've done that before. You only just got them back."

She meant his kids. What he decided about his wife was another issue.

[posterboymarine]

He wasn't even thinking that far ahead and he frowned at her again. Then he sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm no good to them right now."

[neverwrongagent]

She wasn't sure that was true. Even at his least stable, her own father had been a huge part of her world. She couldn't imagine what life would have been like if he had been the one to use his legitimate reasons to avoid things and fled the way her mother did. "Then you need to get strong again." She turned her head and kissed his bare shoulder. "I'll be here."

[posterboymarine]

That was the support he needed to have. He laid his head against hers and sighed again. "I'm trying."

[neverwrongagent]

She wondered if his wife would think sleeping with another woman was trying. Different perspectives. "You've already done so much." She closed her eyes. "I'm afraid if you keep coming here, other things will pretty much be decided."

[posterboymarine]

He licked his lips and exhaled deeply. "And if I don't come here, what happens to me then? I spend all my time looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to grab me." It sounded irrational, even to his own ears, but that didn't mean he didn't worry about it.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie shifted so she could put her free hand on his face and be sure he was looking in her eyes. "You can come here any time. Even if I'm not here." She kissed him softly. "Any time." She had no idea how that would work with her hours and his family and the very real possibility that her co-workers would stop by.

[posterboymarine]

He watched her and nodded. "Just don't answer the door, right?"

[neverwrongagent]

She had to laugh at how he read her mind while at the same time both solving the problem and highlighting it. She nodded. "That's probably for the best. I should warn you my dad has keys and doesn't understand the concept of knocking. So...pants would be good."

[posterboymarine]

"Why wouldn't I have pants on?" He raised his eyebrow at her, then kissed her forehead.

[neverwrongagent]

She snorted again, knowing they could both imagine any number of reasons he wouldn't have pants on. "You'd like my dad. He's got an odd sense of humor. Very...quirky."