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.

Anara - thank you. I'm glad you are enyjoying. I can't say exactly when we'll see Carrie, because this fic keeps growing chapters of its own. But she will be making a reappearance, so please bear with me.

A/N I'm now at the part of the story I have been most looking forward to. I hope you will all enjoy it as we go along. Please read and review. Thanks.

October 30, 2013

"It's ok, Jess, I've got him", Ted tries to reassure her. She knows he's a retired EMT, but his reassurance is not working when she looks at the state her son is in. The bile is rising in her throat.

"Here, Ted, some blankets to keep him warm", she hears Marge say as she approaches. Bending down she picks up Chris's keys which had fallen next to him, "Jess, I think these are Chris's", Marge says, handing them to her.

Jess takes them but is hardly aware of it.

"Mum what's going...", Dana who had come to find her, stops mid sentance as she comes closer, taking in the scene in front of her.

"No, No, NO!", Marge moves forward to catch Dana, to stop her from falling, "NO!", she screams.

There were times when Virgil hated this job and as he watched the ambulance draw up, he knew this was one of those times. Thankfully, a neighbour had come out to assist almost immediately, saving Virgil a fight with his conscience about that particular matter.

He could see the kid's mom on the phone to someone.

Now he just had to hope Max wouldn't be noticed.

"Right I better be off, dad. I need to go pick up the girls from Drama club. I want a kiss from my niece before I go though", Maggie says.

"Just your niece, oh that's nice that is. No kiss for your dad", Frank pretends to sulk.

Maggie laughs at her dad's antics.

"You see that Allayna, she's laughing at me", Frank mock whines to his granddaughter, whose only response is to blow bubbles.

"She's laughing at you too dad", Maggie tells him.

The phone ringing interrupts Frank's response. "Here, you two laugh at me together", Frank says passing Allayna to Maggie as he goes to answer the phone.

"Hello. Oh, hi Jess...what? when? is he ok", Maggie hears the worry in her dad's tone with each question and walks into the hall. His face is chalk white. Something is very wrong.

"I'll be there as soon as I can", Maggie hears her dad saying before he hangs up the phone.

Frank is numb. This can't be happening.

"Dad?, dad, dad!", Maggie tries to bring her dad out his trance.

"Dad, what's happened?", she asks concerned.

"It's...it's Chris, he's...he's been knocked down. He's in a bad way", Frank struggles to get the words out, still not quite believing it.

"Go to the Hospital right now. Phone a taxi. You're not driving", Maggie instructs him.

"Yes, I should...wait, what about the girls?", Frank asks.

"Don't worry about them. I'll stay with Allayna and I'll get Jennifer to pick the girls up and drop them off here", Maggie answers calmly.

Frank nods his head, then realises "Ruby!", looking at Maggie worried.

Maggie sighs and responds, "I know. Let me deal with it dad, you just get to the Hospital, ok!"

Frank nods and forces himself to move.

"Where was it?", Virgil asked Max.

"Under a car, like I said. He was running with it in his hand. It flew out of his hand when he was hit and under a car", Max answered whilst relocating himself in the passenger seat.

"You weren't seen?", Virigl asked, worried.

"No", Max replied with a sigh, before adding, "this sucks".

"Ye, it does", Virgil said, pausing to compose himself before continuing, "You phone Quinn and we'll follow the ambulance to the Hospital."

Max nodded his head in agreement and called Quinn. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"Everything went fine, got out clean", Quinn informs Adal.

"Good", is all Adal says in reply, returning his attention to the report in his hands.

Quinn's phone rang and seeing who it is from caller ID, he answered "Hi, Max, I was just going to call you...what do you mean, problem?", Quinn asked. Quinn saw Adal turn his full attention back to him.

Listening to the news Max was giving him, Quinn became worried and angry, "shit, I'll head there just now."

"What's happened?", Adal asks a few minutes later as Quinn finishes his conversation with Max.

Quinn looks at Adal and answers, "Wilson has just fucked up massively. He's knocked the kid down. The kid's on his way to Hospital."

Adal said nothing for a minute, then made a call of his own, "Stevens, has Wilson checked in yet?"

Quinn knew Stevens was first port of call for anyone who had just fucked up an op.

"He's hysterical, is he? When he gets to you, keep him there. Do not let him go anywhere", Adal orders, hanging up. Turning to Quinn he asks, "Did Max say what happened?."

Quinn nods the affirrmative, "yes, he and Virgil were running late because of the job you had them doing this morning."

Adal nods his head, "understandable, given what happened there", he informs Quinn.

"Well apparently Wilson didn't think so. He was on the phong giving them grief for it. Then when he saw the van enter the street, he decides he's leaving, even though he's supposed to wait and speak with Max and Virgil to do a proper handover. He was so desperate to get away, he wasn't paying attention and never saw the kid running down the Street. He pulled out too fast and knocked the kid down", Quinn finished, his voice rising slightly with every word.

Adal took in what Quinn had just told him and then said, "you go to the hospital and find out what's going on."

"What about Wilson and the cops?", Quinn asks.

Adal replies, "I'll deal with it."

Quinn nods his head, but doesn't leave. Adal notices and suggests, "if you have something to say, Peter, then just say it."

Quinn, struggling to contian his fury, fixes Adal with a cold glare he, himself would be proud of, "you've been so busy testing me in the aftermath of Carcaras, you dismissed valid concerns. Wilson is imptatient, indisciplined and ignorant. He should never have been on this op at all, never mind left alone. He has no appreciation of the importance of surveillance work, something I made you aware of", Quinn says, practically spitting the words out. He turns on his heel and leaves, not giving Adal the chance to say anything.

Quinn knew he'd likely pay for such blatant insubordination later, but he could care less right now. There was something scratching away at his cool, calm exterior. It had been for a while now. He thought he'd managed to silence it, but it had started gnawing to the surface again during this op and after Max's phone call, it had gone on all out attack and wasn't for leaving him alone. It was the feeling that nothing justifies what they do.

Still October 30, 2013, later on

He's alive, at least", Virgil says looing at Quinn and Max.

"Well lets hope he stays that way", Quinn responds.

"Interesting that they were arguing about Brody again", Virgil notes from listening in to what was being said courtesy of Quinn's bug.

"Eeveryone is always arguing about him", Quinn responds dryly. Then he says to Max, "you said on the phone you may have something?"

"Max saw the kid's bag flying out of his hand. No one noticed it, so Max went and got it", Virgil answers."

"What do you mean you went and got it?", Quinn asks incrediously, looking at Max.

"No one even looked my way. Besides it was get it then or let the cops have it when they arrived. This is the bag he had that night he dug something up", Max responds calmly.

"Shit, so it is", Virgil realises.

Seeing Quinn's murderous look, Max narrows his eyes, "don't look at me like that. I'm, not the one who ran the kid over and screwed this op up. Do you want to find out whether we've been wasting our time or not?"

Virgil was looing at Max like he was insane. Quinn, simply replies, "I suppose we should."

"How long has she been sleeping?", Jess asks Frank nodding at Dana as she comes back into the family room.

"Not long", Frank replies.

"You need some rest as well", Frank tells Jess.

"We both know I am not going to get it", Jess replies.

Frank nods his head. He did know it. He was the father of a Doctor.

"How did Ruby take it?", Jess asks Frank.

Frank looks at Jess confused, "I don't know, but I don't imagine she will have taken it well."

Jess looks at Frank panicked, "What? But you said they usually...she was at your house right, Chris was coming over?".

Frank now looking concerned himself answers, "no, Ruby and Josie were at Drama club tonight. Maggie was about to go pick them up when you called." Seeing Jess's worried look, Frank added, "it's ok, she arranged for a friend to pick them up, so she could stay with Allayna."

"He said he was going out. I just assumd he was going to your house", Jess says to Frank. Taking a minute to think what Chris had been trying to say before Dana had started the argument, Jess remembers, "he said he had something he needed to do".

"You've no idea what it was?", Frank asks.

After a few moments of silence, Jess suddenly breks it and says, "Mike!"

"What about him?", Frank asks puzzled.

"Chris has been desperate to speak to him. I better go and phone him!"