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]

"That's great," was the extent of Brody's response for another few moments. Then he gave Carrie a resigned look. "Can we just get somewhere I can lay down? I'm not feeling so good."

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't bother pointing out that downing all that beer so quickly on a nervous stomach would put an ox out of commission. Instead she nodded, then looked over at Saul. They would have to take him somewhere official, but not back to their offices. Instead she gave the name of a semi safe house not too far away that had long couches.

Traffic was on their side and they got there quickly.

[posterboymarine]

Saul stayed quiet for the whole ride, just watching the other man.

And Brody ignored everyone.

When they arrived, he got out and followed Carrie inside, looking right away for that promised place to lay down. He dropped his body onto the couch and closed his eyes, passing out pretty much right away.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie watched him fall asleep without too much surprise. She'd seen him over stressed before, without the booze, of course. She got him a big glass of water, put it where he'd see it when he woke up, then went to sit near where Saul was clearly trying to restrain a growl.

"I should never have answered the door."

[posterboymarine]

Saul glared at Carrie. "Did you know he was going to do that? Did you have any idea at all? And did you know about what happened between them? What did you know, Carrie? When did you know it?"

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie pitched her voice in a low growl, not wanting to wake Brody until she had to. "Did I know who was going to do what? That Brody was going to nearly freak out? I was afraid he might. He is under sla little stress right now." He was trained to withstand combat and torture but not how to come home to the world. None of them were taught how to do that.

She sighed deeply, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to completely cover what she knew. Lying to Saul was going to suck, but the truth was, she did it every day. "I wondered over there, when we debriefed them. I used it to play them off each other, but since I couldn't prove it..." st least not without betraying her lover and herself. "He just told me. After we, uhm... consorted."

She wished Brody was even half awake to hear this careful blend of half and quarter truths.

[posterboymarine]

In reality, Carrie should be glad he was asleep. He was likely to be completely losing his shit if he weren't.

"Consorted. That's such a nice way to put fucking a potential terrorist and asset." Saul was about as fair from happy as he could be without yelling. Because even had the sense to not wake the man passed out on the couch. Even if he was not to be trusted, he was still a combat trained Marine who'd been through Hell. And he probably did not startle awake well.

[neverwrongagent]

She had to roll her eyes a little, not so Saul could see, of course, because she was the one who had used the cruder language first. "Look, I get it, it's not ideal, but this is where we are. As far as I can tell, Walker's up to his ass in something and Brody is our only way to find out what." She licked her lips. "No matter what side he's on." She had her opinion on that matter, but Saul wasn't going to listen to it right now, so why bother?

[posterboymarine]

Saul sighed. Even when Carrie was wrong, Carrie tended to be right. "Fine. But full surveillance. Full. No blind spots."

[neverwrongagent]

Now she did look at him. In fact, she flat out stared at him. Clearly he hadn't thought that all the way through because the worst thing she could do now in terms of managing Brody long enough to figure out what was going on was to stop fucking him. It wouldn't do her much good either, but that was another issue. "No blind spots? None? Okay, but can I pick who reviews the footage?"

[posterboymarine]

Saul considered that request. "Your place will be audio only. And yes, you can suggest analysts. I might not agree, but you can suggest."

[neverwrongagent]

She shook her head, smothering any further argument. If he wanted to listen, that was on him. She would find ways to cover the worst of it for her own comfort. Saul could suffer. "We're going to have to look into that meeting. And build a better excuse for his family for where he's been and where he might have to be." Because right now the best excuse was He's fucking around with a CIA agent and that wasn't going to play well at home.

[posterboymarine]

That got a nod from Saul. "Let me know what you come up with. And when he wakes up, getting him back to his car and home. Don't tell him we have to bug his place, but we'll have to get all of them out of there soon. I'll get the home phones done. And he needs to keep that cell."

[neverwrongagent]

None of this was going to end well. Carrie nodded her acquiescence, already trying to think of something he could tell Jess. They'd figure it out the way they'd figured out so much already. "I'll tell him what he needs to know." Which would be more than Saul wanted her to, but he'd have to live with that. "And I'll check back in once I get him home." Home, not to her place where she wanted him.

[posterboymarine]

"Good." Saul stood up and headed for the door. He squeezed Carrie's shoulder as he passed. Then he was gone. There were guards outside, but Carrie was alone with Brody in the room.

[neverwrongagent]

Carrie sagged the minute the door closed behind her. She was exhausted by what still was to come before her day was over. Watching Brody sleep, even though she knew it wasn't a terribly restful sleep, made her want to crawl in next to him and hide them both.

Finally she got up and went to sit on the floor beside him, her head on he knees.

[posterboymarine]

Carrie's scent drifted into Brody's dreams and he whimpered softly while rolling onto his side. Were he less drunk or more awake, he would have reached for her.

[neverwrongagent]

She said his name softly. Then she repeated it a little more loudly before reaching for his hand. The last thing she wanted to do was startle him, but he needed to know she was there. "It's just us now." Sort of, anyway.

[posterboymarine]

He grabbed her hand and pulled it close as he settled down. He wanted for closer, but he didn't have any way to ask for it.

[neverwrongagent]

She had to shift some when he tugged and after a moment she gave up and worked her way onto the narrow couch beside him. Luckily, she was pretty tiny compared to him. She wrapped his arm around him and squirmed in as close as she could. The moment she stilled, she felt better.

[posterboymarine]

His arm tightened around her, keeping her close. Then he finally settled into something more like sleep and less like an alcohol induced coma.

[neverwrongagent]

She knew they didn't have much time, but she also knew the moment she felt him relax that she would stab the first person who woke him before he was ready.

They could deal with it all later. It wasn't going anywhere.