Chapter 14

Carrie and Quinn sleep soundly until dawn when Quinn wakes from the pain radiating through his chest. He slowly slides his legs over the edge of the bed and sits up with his back to Carrie. He had hoped to slip quietly from the bed but Carrie wakes, alarmed to find him upright. She sits up and brushes her hand across his upper back.

"You okay?" she asks sleepily.

"I'm fine," Quinn whispers, but the pain is so intense he can scarcely feel Carrie's soothing touch.

Carrie can hear the strain in his voice and leans forward to lightly hug him from behind, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He turns to face her and kisses her tenderly on the lips, then caresses her cheek with his thumb and admires her.

"I'm just going to grab a Percocet."

Quinn retreats to the bathroom, washes down a Percocet and carefully climbs back in the bed. His body is tense and Carrie can see it in the darkness of his face. He turns away from her to try to hide the pain, but she circles her arm around him, nestling herself against his back so she is spooning him. Her fingers trace the muscles in his chest, careful to avoid his wounds, then his stomach, and up his arm. She presses her body against his and lightly kisses the back of his neck and behind his ear. Quinn lets out a low sigh and begins to relax again. He can't resist pushing himself up against her warm body, relishing the feel of her soft breasts against his back. He wonders how long he'll be able to control the desire and passion coursing through his veins. Despite how broken his body is, every cell in him wants to roll over to explore and pleasure her, and the mere thought of it makes him hard. But he knows he must wait. He slowly turns to face Carrie.

"You're destroying me…" he whispers with some levity.

Carrie pulls back her hands and kisses him.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help myself."

They lay in silence, looking at each other, fingers lightly grazing one another.

"Maybe I should stay at my place for a while…until I'm fully healed," Quinn suggests as he kisses her.

Feeling disappointed, Carrie says nothing at first, but knows he's probably right. The last thing she wants is to set him back in his recovery.

"So, what…a day? A week?" she asks.

"A week?" he guesses.

She lets this idea sink in. Since expressing their feelings for each other, Carrie has felt an urgency to spend more personal time with him and hates the idea of delaying things any longer, but knows they have little choice. She nods her head in agreement. Quinn pulls her to his chest again and closes his eyes. He wants to prolong this moment for as long as possible as he knows she'll be leaving soon.

"There is no harm in us taking this slow," he reminds her. "We've got nothing but time now."

They lay together for a few moments longer, until the alarm starts buzzing.

The week crawls for them both. Carrie works long days at Langley, while Quinn focuses his energy on his recovery. By Friday, they're both excited and anxious about seeing each other after work. So it's a great shock to Carrie when she glances up from her desk and catches sight of Quinn heading into a conference room across the way. Her first reaction is confusion - what is he doing here? Who is he meeting with? Followed by worry - why didn't he tell me he would be here? She steps closer to her office door to get a better look but he has already disappeared behind the conference room door.

Carrie spends the rest of the afternoon obsessing about Quinn's meeting. She finally gives up on trying to get anything done and calls his cell.

"Hey," he answers, "I was just about to call you. When are you heading out?"

Carrie's nostrils flare with annoyance at his tone and she wonders when he's going to mention his presence at Langley.

"I'm leaving now. Where are you?"

"My place. You still want me to come over?" he asks, somewhat jokingly as it's been all they've been looking forward to all week.

Carrie pauses, thoughts racing through her head, and manages to a terse response, "Sure…yes. I'll be there in 20."

She hangs up.

Quinn knows immediately that Carrie must have seen him today. He had wanted to tell her that he would be on site but things happened so quickly there wasn't time. He knew tonight was going to be rough.

By the time he arrives at Carrie's, it's 7:30p and he is surprised when it's Maggie greeting him at the door. It's been months since he's seen her.

"Quinn – good to see you," she greets him with a smile and a warm hug.

He once again stiffens from the unexpected affection but returns the embrace; after all, she is Carrie's sister.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect to see you here," he tells her.

"I know. I'm just picking up Margo for the night. I'll be out of your way in minute."

A little confused, he walks past Maggie and towards the living room. Carrie is putting a few final items into Margo's diaper bag.

"What's going on?" he asks Carrie.

"Maggie is taking Margo for the night…so we can have some privacy."

Her face is serious if not dark. He turns to Maggie to get her read on things, but she only shrugs, unclear herself why Carrie is acting so cold.

"Okay, I think it's all in here," she tells Maggie, then goes to the Pack-n-Play to get Margo. Quinn watches Carrie pass Margo off to Maggie.

"We'll talk to you tomorrow!" Maggie sings as she and Margo leave.

With the house to themselves, Carrie returns to the living room, her arms crossed tight against her chest, and she stares at Quinn.

"You saw me at Langley today," he tells her.

She nods. Her lips are tight, her eyes dark.

"Carrie, before you jump off the ledge, just listen to me…"

"You were meeting with Dar, weren't you?" she says with an accusatory tone.

"What? No…"

She is shaking her head in disbelief.

"Quinn…"

"Carrie, I told you I was done there."

She just stares at him. She feels like the floor is falling out from under her. Her heart is racing, her head is light. Everything she had feared was coming true. He was not just lying to her, he was returning to that dark, clandestine world that would likely take him away.

"Carrie…"

His tone is soft and pleading. He can see her starting to sway, the color leaving her face, so he moves swiftly toward her to prevent her from falling.

"Get your hands OFF me!" she screams at him and yanks her arm away.

She turns to elbow him in the stomach but he anticipates her move and is able to grab her arms and lock them behind her back.

"Don't touch me!"

Carrie continues to fight and scream, but Quinn is too strong and skilled for her and soon has her pinned up against the wall, his hips pressed firmly against hers, his hands still holding her back. It's taking all his energy to keep her still, to keep her from hurting him and herself. His face is red and a vein bulges from his neck.

"Carrie! I was with Lockhart. I was handing in my resignation!"

He is trying not to scream but his words come out hard and cold.

"You're lying! I know you're lying!"

"Damn it, Carrie! Listen to me…I told you...I am done with the CIA!"

She glares at him, her chest heaving. She looks more than angry, she looks crazed. But before she can say another word, Quinn's mouth is on hers. His lips are strong and hot. She turns her head to escape him but he moves his mouth across her cheek to her ear, his breath hot against her skin.

"Don't do this…" he pleads angrily.

Though the rage is coursing through her, she feels a rush of excitement through her core. She continues to fight him, twisting her body against his. Quinn presses his hips harder against her and moves his mouth to her neck, covering her with his lips and tongue. Carrie's body starts to weaken and she turns her head to face him. He looks into her eyes, which are now dilated and full of passion. Their mouths quickly reach for each other and their tongues tangle. Quinn releases Carrie' arms then grabs her from around her waists and pulls her to him. She reaches up, grabbing his hair in her fingers, and pulls him closer. All the pent up passion and yearning explodes as their mouths consume each other, both unable to touch and taste enough. Carrie grabs at his pant buckle while he yanks her blouse over her head and throws it to the floor. She hastily pushes his pants down his legs and reaches for his growing erection. As he rips off his shirt, Carrie shimmies out of her pants, then maneuvers Quinn cock between her legs. They simultaneously groan as he fills her, then start to move together. She is tight and wet against him and he has to focus and slow his breathing to control himself. But Carrie is still wild with passion and continues to press down on him.

"Quinn…" she breathes against his neck.

Giving in to every instinct in his body, Quinn drives deep into Carrie, causing her to cry out from a mix of pain and pleasure. They quickly find a rhythm and it's not long before they're clinging to each other and crying out each other's' names.

Their breathing and movement slows. Quinn rests his weight against the wall, careful not to crush Carrie. He looks down at her and carefully grasps her face in his hands. Her mouth searches for him and he kisses her tenderly. He wants to strangle her and cradle her at the same time, but one look in her tear filled eyes and he just pulls her close and holds her. She continues to cling to him, her head resting on his chest.

"I'm not leaving you…not even if you try to make me," he tells her.

Carrie nods. She really wants to believe him but doesn't know how.