Running away from home. Just like kids.

[neverwrongagent]

Briefings with Saul were getting more and more tense. Carrie could feel the strain on all of them as a real, palpable thing. Beside her, no one had ever had much faith in Brody, which was largely her fault. How could she explain her change of heart without explaining it was exactly that. What was harder was not telling him about how bad it was. Every time she was vague it was a physical pain.

The final straw was a heated conversation about what they would do if he were found out, revealed to be on a mission. They had escape plans, but it was clear very few people in that room gave a damn if they worked. Or if they even existed. She'd been through hell for the man they were dismissing like so much dross and all because... She wasn't that sure why because at this point. It was about Saul, really, and she knew that. That's why when he made a passing comment that made it sound damn like he'd made his decision and Brody didn't figure into it at all, she felt her stomach lurch so badly she almost had to leave the room.

She didn't go to him that night, that would be stupid. She waited a day, all of which was spent wondering when she would throw up. She got there late, just before dark, and sat back to watch the men finish up before meal break. He looked good. Better than when she saw him last, even.

Comments

[neverwrongagent]

"Teasing?" She gave him such a look. At this point, she figured she was the definition of a sure thing. "Promising. And you don't have to do that all day. There are so many other good options." Cuddling could be nice. Kissing.

She leaned over and kissed his shoulder. "It'll be nice."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "It will be." And it would be hard. There would be days when no amount of promising from her would make things better or right. There would be days when the stress of hiding would be too much.

His hope was that those days would be few and far between.

[neverwrongagent]

If they were very lucky, they wouldn't both have those bad days on the same day. That could be the end of them if it happened too often. Her meds would help, but so would keeping clear, simple goals. House. Jobs. Her health with the baby. There wasn't really anything else. "So, what do we need in a house? We should have a proper list."

[posterboymarine]

He thought about that question, then smiled. "Well, bedroom, nursery, dinning room, kitchen, view. Probably a porch. Boathouse. One floor." He winked at her. "What else?"

[neverwrongagent]

She laughed about the boathouse. She'd forgotten that bit. "Ranch? Really?" She'd never lived in one. Her townhouse had more floors than anyone ever needed. "I'll probably like that later. And a study. Someplace one of us can close the door and regroup." They were both fighters by nature, which was good in the long term, but could be rough day to day.

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "Yes." After another moment of consideration, he grinned. "Maybe we could find one that comes with a dog already?"

[neverwrongagent]

She looked at him funny, then laughed. "I'm pretty sure they don't come with dogs, but we can look. Nice big one." She had this image of an Irish Setter. Him in dog form. She suddenly groaned. "We have to buy furniture. We'll be camping inside for a while."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed. "We'll manage." He reached over and squeezed her thigh. "Besides, you like it rough."

[neverwrongagent]

She laughed brightly. It wasn't like he had any problem tossing her around. "I like it with you. Just think of all the variations we can manage with a room of our own." Let him chew on that for a while.

[posterboymarine]

He groaned and turned his attention back to driving before he had to pull over. His hands tightened briefly on the steer wheel, then he started chuckling to himself.

[neverwrongagent]

She glanced over when he laughed, but gave him time to explain himself. When he didn't, she cocked her head. "Okay, give. Share the laugh." It was a pleasant sort of laugh and she could always use a little boost. "I promise to grope you if I like it."

[posterboymarine]

He glanced at her and grinned. "I was just picturing ways to keep either of us from getting splinters in our asses. You don't get to cut your hair until I find out if it'll work."

[neverwrongagent]

She stared at him for a long minute, trying to figure out just what he had in mind for her hair. "Okay...." She shook her head. "I'm just going to sit here and think about us naked and my hair on delicate parts of your anatomy."

[posterboymarine]

He laughed as he went back to focusing on the road. "That would work, too."

[neverwrongagent]

She smiled sweetly at him. "Yeah? Good." She licked her lips and settled back some. "I'll just sit here and think about it for a while. I'd hate to be unprepared when the time comes." If she left him thinking about that, it was better than their options.

After a while, she pulled the map out again and took a look at how much longer they had. She frowned at it for a long time, then suddenly smiled. They were closer than she'd thought. They'd get there before dark.

[posterboymarine]

About the time she smiled, he needed to stretch. He started looking for a pull off and found a rest area. That would work just fine. He pulled in and shut off the car with a groan.

"Something bigger. That's what we need. Next time we flee cross country."

[neverwrongagent]

She shorted. "It's not my fault your legs are so damn long." She reached over and ran her nails down his thigh. She loved his legs. Then she looked at him. "If, and I say IF, we ever flee anywhere, we fly. Or sail. Not drive."

Not that they'd ever flee again. If they failed at this, they were sunk.

[posterboymarine]

He groaned at her nails, then pulled himself out of the car. He stretched, reaching high over his head, then down to his toes. Once he was upright again, he smiled at her. "I'm going to hit the head."

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't bother responding. The minute he said it, her bladder insisted. Stupid suggestible bladder. The condition of the john was better than she expected, but she still didn't linger. The smell was still bad enough to make her stomach flip once.

She leaned against the car, eyes closed, catching her breath. "Big, clean bathroom. With a whirlpool tub."

[posterboymarine]

He returned a few moments after her and laughed softly. "I've smelled much worse." He stretched again, then dug out sandwiches. "Picnic lunch, before you drive?"

[neverwrongagent]

She nodded gratefully. She needed the fresh air. She went into the back of the car and dug out a blanket, spreading it out next to the car away from the road. It was almost romantic. If you ignored the diesel fumes, which she worked hard to do. "You take me to all the best places." She laughed. "Or do I take you?"

[posterboymarine]

He laughed as he sat down next to her. "We take each other." He stole a kiss, then set into his food. He was hungrier than he thought he was.

[neverwrongagent]

Her laugh was cut off by his kiss, not that she minded. Then they tucked in. She was as hungry as he was. Between all the sitting still and the parasite she was growing, she was eating way more than normal. It was decidedly odd. At least they'd mostly avoided fast food. They were too old for that.

"This is surprisingly nice."

[posterboymarine]

"The eating? The outside? Or the eating outside?" It was a very valid question, as once he knew, they could do it more often.

[neverwrongagent]

She blushed slightly, knowing right away what her answer was. "All of the above. With you." That probably said something seriously off about them, but she was having fun. Things were going well, they'd weathered some trouble already. "Would want to run away with anyone else."