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]

"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."

[posterboymarine]

"Like you?" He liked her sense of humor. She made him smile. He touched her hair, combed his fingers through. "Anytime?"

[neverwrongagent]

"All together too much like me." Right down to their same diagnosis, but she was nowhere near in a place where she was going to tell that to her new lover. Instead, she nodded. "Anytime. We'll just have to deal with what comes up from it."

With her work, which might be easier than his wife in the end.

[posterboymarine]

He nodded again. "Okay." That was enough for him. It was a promise of refuge, even if he rarely used it.

As he moved to kiss her again, food arrived. He looked at her, then down at himself. "I should get that."

[neverwrongagent]

She glanced down at her bare legs and laughed. "It might cut down on the tip if I go." She licked her lips as she looked him over. "Of course, depending on the driver, it might work better if you go." He might have hang ups about his body, but she was damn fond of it.

She got up and headed toward the kitchen for plates and more wine, stopping on the way to fish cash out of her wallet. "This should be enough."

[posterboymarine]

He took the cash, then smacked her on the ass. It was a testament to how he was with her that he wasn't even thinking about his scars.

Of course, that only lasted as long as it took to open the door. The kid with the pizza stared. Brody growled softly as he handed the driver only as much as it took to pay for the pizza. Staring cost tips. And got the door slammed in your face.

[neverwrongagent]

She was humming to herself in the kitchen and only heard the hard slam of the door. It brought her right out into the hall with a plate in her hands. She saw that he had the pizza and gave him a questioning look. "Was the order wrong?"

[posterboymarine]

He shook his head and brought the pizza into the kitchen. He didn't say anything until he'd set it down and taken several, deep breaths. Then he gestured to his chest by way of response. "This is why I don't take off my shirt."

He took another deep breath, then walked out of the kitchen. He knew she would try to follow him. "I'll be back down in a few minutes. I just... I need a minute, okay?"

[neverwrongagent]

She reached out to touch him as he went, her fingers just brushing his arm before he was gone. Only when he was out of sight did she let her fury show at how something so simple had been turned into yet another blow to him. There was no point in doing something like calling the pizza place and reaming the guy, no matter how satisfying it would be. All she could really do was keep showing him that it didn't matter to her.

She took the plates and the pizza into the living room, setting up on the coffee table where she ate most of her meals, despite there being a perfectly good dining table. Sitting on the couch meant she could sit right up against him when he came back.

[posterboymarine]

He went upstairs and into the bathroom. Leaning forward on the sink, he took deep breaths for a minute before looking up at the mirror. His eyes went immediately to the scars on his chest and he scowled. He would not break the mirror, as tempting as it was, because it wasn't his. He'd already done that at home and gotten no small amount of grief for it.

When the urge to violence did not pass, he moved away and stripped his pants off. If he couldn't wish them away, maybe he could wash the feeling of being judged off. He started the shower, finding that point that was as hot as he could comfortably take it, then going a little past that.

Then he climbed in and stood under the heat.

[neverwrongagent]

Hearing the water surprised her. After a long moment, she closed up the pizza box and went upstairs. If he wanted her to leave him alone longer, he could tell her. She hoped he wouldn't, though. She'd left him alone long enough.

She stood in the bathroom door, watching him, for longer than she probably should have. She saw his scars, but for her they were the least important part of the damage done to him. "Nick?"

[posterboymarine]

He felt her watching him before she spoke. But she didn't look at him the same way the kid at the door had. She'd never looked at him that way. She'd always seen past the marks on his body.

When she spoke, he turned to look at her. Then he sighed again and turned off the water. "Sorry. I just..." He shrugged as he reached for a towel.

[neverwrongagent]

She grabbed a towel and stepped close, holding it up so he could either take it from her or walk into it and let her dry him. "Don't. You didn't do anything wrong. I should have punched the guy."

[posterboymarine]

He stepped into the towel and sighed. "You didn't know. I should have punched him."