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]

Carrie shrugged apologetically. "I keep forgetting we're going to need that extra room." She put a hand low on her belly. "It hasn't really sunk in yet." She was actually proud of how she delivered the news, with out even a shiver of fear. Just slight embarrassment at being silly about it.

Mel took a second to get it, then beamed. "Of course! Room to grow." She thought for a second. "I know where to show you. Just came on the market. Not ten minutes from here."

[posterboymarine]

Brody smiled. "Alright. Let's go see it." He took Carrie's hand and walked her back to the truck, then took his position in the back seat. He figured this was going to change the conversation up front and he was interested in seeing how it goes.

[neverwrongagent]

Thankfully, Mel wasn't too intrusive. She sensed that Carrie wasn't quite ready to spill about certain things. But she was honest about one thing. "It was all very unexpected. It's why we moved, really. If we were going to do one radical, crazy thing, we might as well do the other one we'd been talking about. And if we didn't do it now, we might not get the chance after." All of which was true enough, sort of.

Mel nodded her understanding. "Well, it's a great place for families. Ridiculously safe, people are friendly, schools are good. You chose well."

[posterboymarine]

Brody decided to sit forward a little and keep his hand on Carrie's shoulder. Mel was the first person, outside of them, who knew and that had to be having an effect on Carrie. So he did the dutiful husband thing, because it was important.

[neverwrongagent]

Carried didn't realize that she had her hand on his until the seat belt pulled because she'd turned. She squeezed his hand lightly. "It seems like it. Even staying at the motel we've been comfortable so far." And she meant that. It wasn't cozy, but it felt safe.

They pulled up in front of another house, not far from the last one, but this one sat much further back from the road than the others had. Mel parked and turned to look at them. "This one has a boat launch pad and an office. They call it a third bedroom, but I wouldn't." She handed Brody the key. "Happy hunting."

[posterboymarine]

Brody took the key, then squeezed Carrie's shoulder before climbing out of the car. He took his time walking up to the door, giving Carrie time to catch up before he opened the door.

[neverwrongagent]

She was right behind him as he opened the door, close enough that she goosed him lightly. She glanced around him into the formal living area, nodding slowly, then headed back to where she figured the kitchen was. She walked into the open space, clearly a family room, and stopped cold. One side was the open kitchen, the other had a huge fireplace. Not as big as the last one, but plenty big enough. She moaned softly.

[posterboymarine]

He came up behind her, looking over the top of her head. He nodded, then moved past her to investigate the kitchen. It was open, nice enough to move around in, and had a great view of the fireplace. The breakfast nook overlooked the lake and the boat launch. There was a small boathouse covering the launch and Brody grinned broadly.

Next up was the bathroom test and he headed off to check out the master suite.

[neverwrongagent]

She didn't get a look at the scenery until she'd followed him into the master bedroom. The room was huge and so were the windows. And so, she realized with a happy moan, was the closet. The bathroom was lovely, too. The fixtures weren't super high end, but they were solid. She stood in the doorway, watching him. "Well?"

[posterboymarine]

He stepped into the shower and spread his arms out. He fit. They would fit together. He came out and touched her cheek, then pointed at the door next to the windows. He took her with him and went to it, opening it and looking out. It lead a few steps down to a nice patio. He could pray out there and not be in the way, or in sight. That would also be nice.

The last real test was the bedroom situation. The master was lovely, but there were still two more rooms to look at.

[neverwrongagent]

She liked the idea of a more private area outside for them and she could almost feel his stress level lower as they stood there. Then she kissed him lightly and led him out of the bedroom so they could finish looking. She was almost scared that the rest would somehow be awful.

It wasn't and she shuddered slightly as she looked in the second bedroom. The room was small, but the closet was huge and so was the window, which looked out on a small wooded area that provided complete privacy. It was a perfect child's room and she nearly whimpered. "One more. If it doesn't suck..."

[posterboymarine]

He chuckled softly, then paused to really kiss her. He needed her to settle some. Then they headed for the entryway and the last bedroom. He leaned in the doorway and grinned. It was not a bedroom. It was definitely an office.

[neverwrongagent]

She appreciated the kiss more than she could say. And she was going to appreciate the next one even more after she saw the room. She leaned against his back and groaned. "It's perfect. Fuck." She shook her head. "I wasn't expecting it to be perfect."

[posterboymarine]

He turned in her arms and kissed her hard, then he pulled back and smirked. "Let's go look at the lake?"

[neverwrongagent]

She nodded weakly, trying not to jump ahead. "Lead on, big boy." She grabbed his hand hard and followed him out to the other deck. She took another look at the fireplace as they passed. She liked that damn fireplace.

Once they were outside, she whimpered again. The deck was big, raised so it had a better view. And the view included a small boathouse and a small beach. She shook her head. "I give up."

[posterboymarine]

He wrapped her up in his arms and just looked. It was lovely. He liked it. A lot. "So, think we could live here?"

[neverwrongagent]

She nodded mutely, leaning heavily against him. She was afraid her knees would give out. The place was perfect, which scared the living hell out of her. Of course, except for her direct feelings about him, everything scared her at the moment. She wondered if being behind a door they were legally permitted to use deadly force to defend would make her feel better. That made her moan. "Please? I'm so sick of motels I could scream."

[posterboymarine]

He nodded. "I think so." Of course, they still had to talk money and they couldn't really sign anything yet, since they had no id. Still, time to make an offer all the same.

"Let's go do the hard part."

[neverwrongagent]

She looked up at him and laughed softly. "Give it a couple months and ask me if you still think this is the hard part." She kissed him softly. "Okay, let's do this thing."

[posterboymarine]

After another kiss, he set off back through the house to find Mel. He considered being straight faced about it, but that was just silly. It was better to just be honest. Or as honest as they could be.

He locked the house behind them, then went to find their Realtor.

[neverwrongagent]

The ride back was full of business, all the details of making an offer. Carrie was a fairly hard bargainer and they had a clear offer hammered out before they got back to the offer. That made drawing up the paperwork that much faster. But it also meant Carrie would be spending the rest of the afternoon lining up clean identification and other paperwork. All she really wanted was a nap.

She did give Mel a hug before they left for the motel, thanking her for making the process so fast. And so relatively painless. They'd hear back from the sellers by the next day, so there was nothing to do but go back to the motel and get on the phone. Of course the first thing she did when she got there was kick off her shoes and flop onto the bed with a rough groan.

[posterboymarine]

Brody laughed as she flopped down. "Car tomorrow. But I am going out for clothes tonight. You might want to make me a list of what you need."

[neverwrongagent]

She groaned and shook her head. "No point. I have enough if we wash things. I'm going to grow pretty fast and need things I have to try on." She wasn't looking forward to that. At least she knew she could find cute things. Her sister had proved that. She glanced back at him. "Bring back good food? With flavor?"

[posterboymarine]

He walked over to her and kissed her shoulder, then her cheek, then her lips before nodding. "I saw Indian. I'll try that." He hit the head before slipping out and going on his adventure.

[neverwrongagent]

She grabbed his shoulder, holding him in the kiss for a long minute, then let him go with a happy groan. "Indian. Perfect." Her eyes shut tightly and she was very nearly asleep by the time he left.

She slept solidly for a while, then her body intruded, waking her to go to the bathroom. Complaining the whole way, she took her time in the john, afraid that her stomach might still rebel on her. When she finally dragged herself out of the john, she got on the phone, working to move some money around so they could actually pay for this house they'd fallen in love with.