Disclaimer - I do not own Homeland. That pleasure belongs to Showtime. No copyright infringement or money making scheme intended. This is purely for reading enjoyment.
LilMisfit - remember when I said I wouldn't be adding to this one for a while because of The Long Goodbye?...ha!, see how long that lasted!
Anara - thank you very much for the lovely review. Regarding Brody, you are not alone.
A/N This was originally meant to be a one shot. Then the idea for Chapter 2 popped up. Now, I have a third. I have marked the story as complete for now though. It is my intention to concentrate on The Long Goodbye and I Have to Say. So, it is likely this one will be on the shelf for a while...though maybe don't quote me on that.
Carrie heard her front door banging shut and her dad shouting on her.
"Carrie, Carrie?", she could hear him moving around. Right now she wished he'd just go away, she wasn't in the mood for another lecture.
"CARRIE", where the fuck are you?", he yelled.
Realising she wasn't going to get away with sitting in here and hoping he would take the hint and leave, she yelled back, "in the fucking toilet. Is that ok?", daring him to answer her back.
He didn't. She could hear him moving about again, most likely in the kitchen. Sure enough, that's where she found him, taking out bowls and spoons and pouring them juice.
He looked up at her as she walked into the kitchen and said "we need to talk".
Before he could say anything else, Carrie cut across him, "Look, dad, I don't need another lecture or argument. I'm tired, my back aches and I need to pee all the time".
He just stares at her for a few seconds, appraising her in the way that only he, as her father could, before speaking to her, "You know I know you're a smarty pants and CIA, but if you remember, I keep tin foil hats. Your CIA tricks won't work on me. So, maybe you should let your old man speak for himself, instead of assuming you know what he's going to say".
Despite herself, Carrie smiled.
"See, now that is much better", her dad looks at her with a smile of his own.
"Come on", her dad says pulling her into the living room, bringing the bowls and juice with him.
She notices an Ice box in the middle of her living room floor. She looks at him quizically and asks "Dad, why is there an ice box in my living room?".
"Never mind that right now", he waves his hand dismissively. He looks right at her and says "I'm sorry".
This catches Carrie completely off guard "what?" she asks stupidly, no idea what he's apologising for.
"For comparing you to your mum. It was wrong of me", he answered her.
"oh...that" she says sadly.
"I'm not going to pretend that I'm happy about it, but if you need to go to Istanbul, I'll respect that decision", he says sincerely.
Carrie, afraid her voice might crack if she speaks, settles instead for giving her dad a hug.
"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about though" he says looking at her intently, after breaking the hug.
"Oh" is all Carrie says to that, afraid of where this may be going.
Her dad continues "I've been waiting for you to come and talk to me, but you've always been independent and head strong...and you take leaps of logic. When it comes to your work that's probably a good thing, but for your own personal life, not so good. It dawned on me that maybe the reason you haven't said anything, is because you think no one cares".
Carrie said nothing, hardly daring to believe her dad wanted to talk about what she thought he did.
"All I am saying is that, if you want to talk about Brody, I'm here" he says to her.
Being deffensive about Brody is a reflex Carrie can't help, "You didn't like him, didn't approve", she says accusingly, anger rising to the surface.
"How could I like him after what he put you through? And since when have I approved of most of the things you've done? Doesn't stop me being here, does it?", her dad fires back at her not backing down, "I won't let you push me away, not when you need me the most".
Carrie, feels the tears pooling in her eyes "then why do you care?" she stutters out, head down and voice cracking.
Her dad reaches over to her and lifts her head up, looking her directly in the eyes and simply says, "Because you do".
Carrie can't hold the tears back any longer and allows her dad to pull her to his chest, where she rests her head, sobbing uncontrolably.
"I'm your dad and, I have never seen anyone have the effect on you, he did. I can't pretend to understand how you could love him, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you did and, if people have a problem with that, let them. That's their problem. You feel the way you feel, your heart wants what it wants. Never let anyone make you feel guilty about that, not ever. Where is it written that love has to make sense?".
Carrie couldn't have spoken now if she wanted to, but her dad understood. He just let her cry. "That's it let it out, just let it out", he comforted her.
They sat there for a long time, Carrie wasn't sure how long. The tears were still falling, but she'd calmed down a lot. Her dad got up and opened the ice box and turned back to Carrie, "I believe Chocolate Chip Mint Cookie Dough Ice Cream is appropriate?", he questioned.
She nodded her head in reply and her dad started spooning it into their bowls. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about the baby, still uncertain and scared. She knew one thing though, if she did decide she had to go to Istanbul, their little girl would have the best and most loving Grandfather in the world.