posterboymarine | Two Ships [rp for neverwrongagent]

The trip for Carrie was a little more complicated. Five times on the drive up she changed cars, picking up more supplies for him each time. On top of a solid supply of his tea, she got him clean clothes, books, toiletries, just the staples of life that would help him remember that someone cared.

She changed her appearance, too, looking stylish with red hair once and nearly invisible with brown another. The documents that got her over the border weren't the ones she'd grabbed when she got him away, instead they were new ones she'd had made just for this kind of trip.

By the time she reached him, she wasn't entirely sure who she was supposed to be. All she could focus on was getting to that room and handing over tea. Two simple things. She knocked lightly on the door, wincing at how loud it sounded.

The knock at the door startled him and he jumped. His hand went immediately to the hunting knife that he carried and he took the handle, the blade along his forearm. Then he stood and silently went to the door.

He looked through the peephole for only a moment, looking at her face and not her hair. Then he jerked the door open and pulled her inside, right into his arms. To anyone watching, it would look like two lovers stealing away a little private time. Which, perhaps, is exactly what it was.

He was thinner, tired and worn looking. He'd grown a beard and dyed it blond, making enough of a difference on his face that it would have taken several looks to figure out who he was. And no one ever got that long these days. His hair was longer, but not too much. The most striking thing about him, however, was probably the fact that he just looked empty.

Any discussion of how he looked would come after she had, hopefully, fixed some of it. The beard would have to stay, as little as she liked it. It reminded her too much of the photos from right after he was released. And he needed to eat regularly. She might be able to do something about that, too, with some talk.

It was the look in his eyes that scared her. Not surprised her, but scared her. She pushed that away, too, and kissed him deeply. Her moan managed to be pure pleasure and not any of the relief she felt at finally being able to touch him. Hopefully that would help, too.

He kicked the door shut and dropped the blade in the same movement, his arms tightening around her. She moaned, he whimpered, and started dragging her back deeper into the room.

She was the first person he'd more then brushed against since she'd sent him off and he still wasn't sure she was real. He'd had dreams that had seemed this real while he was in that hole. But this was different. This had to be different.

She jumped at the clang of the knife and twisted some to see what he'd dropped. The flash of steel was enough to answer her and all her attention went back to kissing him. She wanted to get him sitting on the bed with her where she could really get her hands on him.

"God, Brody." She nuzzled at his jaw. "Missed you so much."

"Missed you more." They finally reached the bed and he pulled her down with him, settling on his side with his arms around her. He pressed his face against her neck and then, safe for the first time in weeks, started to cry.

She could tell how incredibly true that was. As badly as she missed him and worried about him, she was busy every minute. He had nothing but time and he'd already had plenty of that. She shifted a little so she could get one arm better around him. With the other, she found his hand and laced her fingers through his.

And then she held him. Nothing she could say would mean much while he was getting the tears out. What mattered was the solid truth of her against him. She'd come, the way she said she would, and she was fighting for him. Every so often she kissed his hair and made soft noises.

For her, there was no awkwardness in it, no discomfort or pity, just a sorrow that it couldn't be different. She loved him.

He cried for easily half an hour, long after the actual tears were gone. He lifted his face, red-eyed and tear streaked, and pressed his lips to hers. "Hi."

She'd have held him if he cried all night. If that's what he needed, then that was what she was there for. She kissed him tenderly, smiling at his greeting, the kissed away a tear. "Hey there." She brushed her lips lightly over his other cheek, then his lips. "I'm gonna stay like this for a while, okay? Really close."

"I'd like that, a lot." He kissed her forehead, then settled back against her. "How long can you stay?"

She tucked herself in close against him, nuzzling at his jaw and throat. The beard tickled her lips. Sighing, she considered her question. "I can manage three days, I think. Four if I check in."

"Three days? Four?" He was expecting hours. Overnight at best. He whimpered again, then sagged against her. "Now I don't feel so bad just laying here."

She'd let Saul see her stress, carefully modulated of course, and set up the chance for him to tell her to rest. Maggie had given her plenty of back up for that. The first two days were covered by her supposedly sleeping off a medication adjustment. The second would be a little trickier, but she'd actually brought some work with her. It was worth the risk for the extra hours together.

She held onto him tightly, squeezing his hand. "I want you to sleep, baby. Now that I'm here, you can sleep some." She kissed him softly. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" He tucked himself against her, his other arm tight around her as he squeezed her hand. He knew he needed the rest, had needed it for days, but he'd been unable to get any until now. Now he really thought he would be able to close his eyes and really rest for more then an hour.

Pressed against her, wrung out from all the stress, he was asleep in moments, not even waiting for her promise.

Once she was certain he was solidly asleep, she shifted some. She was tired, too, and more than ready to get some rest. Still, it took her longer to fall asleep because she was planning what she needed to accomplish while she there. Stabilizing him was her prime concern.

He needed something to do, something solid and concrete. She'd notice early that he liked to please people, but it had been raised to high relief while she was handling him. No way to know if that was always a part of him that Nazir just brought out, but given what she knew of the end of his marriage, she thought he had been.

Now she was it, all he had to please, and he needed a way to do that. She fell asleep kissing his hair and sighing softly. Maybe when she woke up she'd have an idea.

He actually managed several hours of sleep before he jerked awake. Breathing hard, he sat up and looked around, the room now shrouded in darkness. It took him a moment to register that it was Carrie in the bed with him and that her arrival had not been a dream. Which set off a fresh round of deep sobs.

She blinked awake when he moved, but didn't shift. Instead she relaxed her expression so when he looked to her he would see only affection. She reached for him as the sobs started. "Come back, Brody." She touched his shoulder gently, urging him to her. "Lie back down with me. Still nothing to do yet but be here."

Her expression and voice were even, but her heart was breaking. "Come on, baby."

He sagged back against her and hugged her tightly. "You're real."

She held him as tightly as she dared, wrapping her limbs around him and snuggling close enough that she knew there was no air spaces left. "Blindingly real. Annoyingly real." She kissed his cheek. "And I'm here. I'm yours and I'm here."

"Thank God. I had a dream that you were a dream, that you never existed and I was still in Iraq." He sniffled loudly, then kissed her shoulder. "But you're here, just like you said you would be. Just like you promised."

She shifted so she could give him a firm, tender, proper kiss. "Told you it was us. For us." She kissed him again, more lightly. "Won't leave you alone. One way or the other I'll be with you."

It was what would ultimately trip them up, she knew, but she couldn't leave him alone. She needed him, too. "You got through that. It's over." She groaned softly. "This is something new, but we're doing it together."

He wasn't ready for anything approaching sex yet, not mentally, but he did give her another kiss. They could work up to that in the time she was there. "Together. That's good. I don't think I could do this alone. Not now."

She put both her hands on his face, drawing him up so she could meet his eyes. Then she gave him another gentle kiss, still seeking more to connect than entice. If she thought it would help him, she'd entice the hell out of him, but that wasn't what this moment was for. "Not alone. I won't abandon you, Brody."

She frowned a little, not liking how that sounded. She didn't mean it as a slam against anyone, not even Jess who she wouldn't mind blaming for something. It was only a statement of who she was and the kind of crazy that kept her around.

He leaned heavily into her hand and smiled. "I'm glad. I'm glad you're with me." He kissed her nose and settled some. "I'm glad you came."

She wrinkled her nose at him, then nodded. "God, so am I. You're the only person I know who knows everything. Not just what happened, but me." She gave him a crooked smile. "And you still like me. At least I hope you do."

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