Disclaimer: I do not own Homeland, or any of its characters or plots. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners.

Carrie was surprised to find Quinn in the parking lot of the high school she taught at when she exited the building on her way home. Once more it had been a dull working morning and the fact that Haissam Haqqani had taken up residence in her mind lately had not helped her at all to navigate through boring classes and apathetic students. Not that he had ever left her thoughts since the attack on the embassy in Islamabad and its subsequent events, but she had somehow learned to live with all that. Now, all of a sudden, it was back full force. Not only the nightmares, but also the constant unease and the renewed urge to do her best to avoid an attack on American soil.

She smiled when she spotted her husband casually leaning on her car waiting on her. Quinn was distractedly checking his cell phone and she took the chance to stare at him as she approached her car. Still clad in his suit, he had discarded his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his white shirt. Carrie loved these scarce chances she had to look at him when he did not know she was watching him. On those rare occasions she always wondered how on earth she had never felt attracted to him during the years they had been working together. She always reached the same conclusion: "I was probably too focused on Brody first, and then on keeping my distance from Franny".

As usual she quickly dismissed those thoughts and kept her gaze fixed on him. His civilian job had not taken a toll on his good shape. Peter had always had a great body, and it was only getting better as years went by. He was now looking at her and smiling, and Carrie's heart skipped a beat. The shadow of their almost argument early in the morning had been bugging her all day, but now, seeing that bright grin on his face, she felt guilty for wanting to take a decision that would surely change their lives. "Had he not been in my life, I'd probably be working for the CIA again since the minute Saul called me, but now things are different, and I should have that into consideration," she thought as she approached him.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming…" she greeted him smiling, as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hey, I didn't either. But I'm really sorry about this morning, and I thought we could have lunch together and talk about it if you want to…" Quinn explained, still leaning on her car."That sounds like a plan to you?" he added, closing his left eye to look at her in the bright noon sun.

Carrie nodded. Things like this often reminded her of the reasons she had chosen him to start a new life. Well, technically he had chosen her and she had agreed, not without initial hesitation, but she liked to see it the other way around. "Yeah, it does… I'm sorry too, Quinn. I know we should talk about it, we're a family now and I didn't think about that…" she apologized, also falling back on the side of her car and turning to look at him.

"It's okay. I know a lot of stuff's come back since Saul's call and I can't help but worry about you… Where do you wanna go?" Peter asked before she had a chance to object to the 'worry' part.

"Home?" Carrie laughed. "I know it's not fancy but it'll give us more time until picking up Franny from school later…" she explained.

"Sounds good. See you there," he replied smiling as he started walking towards his SUV.

On his drive home Quinn could not stop thinking that lying to Carrie about such a matter like working for the CIA again was not the way he wanted their relationship to work. But given that Saul had already approached Carrie for the job and she was indeed considering it, and Dar had threatened to publicly expose her past actions with the Agency, the idea that he would rather see her working for the Agency again than dealing with the aftermath of the declassification of secret documents regarding her past actions in the CIA finally stuck.

As they arrived home, Dar Adal entered Saul's corner office in Langley.

"You know, Saul, for a spy you're quite predictable too. You're either in your office or kidnapped by terrorists in some secluded location in the Middle East. Frankly, I prefer the former, it makes it easier to contact you…" Dar said as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of his colleague's desk.

"That's kind of you to say. I'll try to keep it in mind the next time I go overseas to try and clean a mess created by your guys in Black Ops…" Saul elaborated from behind his desk. He had an important follow-up meeting in five minutes with the top NSA and CIA rank about Haqqani and chatting with his old friend and colleague was the last thing he wanted now. They had made very little progress in the manhunt they were currently conducting both in Afghanistan and Pakistan and it was due to be a long and complicated meeting.

Dar nodded, completely oblivious to Saul's thoughts. Had he guessed them, he would not have been of much assistance. That sort of meetings were certainly not his forte, he was more an action man, on and off the battlefield. "You've got a point there… Anyway, don't shoot the messenger for I'm the bearer of good news…"

"How good?" Saul inquired with skepticism, raising his right eyebrow. "Please don't make me waste my time, Dar, I have my hands full with Haqqani and…" The clock was ticking and he should have already left his office for the conference room.

"There you go, Haqqani," Dar said raising his right hand for emphasis."What would you say if I told you that your golden girl, that one you desperately seem to need to hunt down Haqqani, will be here tomorrow morning, 8 am?" he added as he nonchalantly leaned on the back of the chair, with a proud look on his face.

"You mean Carrie?" Saul demanded back, his upcoming meeting momentarily forgotten.

Dar chuckled. "How many golden girls do you have, Saul? Don't tell me you've got more than Carrie because I know for sure that you are a faithful man…" he joked, but backpedaled as he noticed Saul's reaction. "Oh, my friend. You must be losing your abilities if you can't recognize a joke…" he added, lifting himself from the chair.

"So Carrie will be here tomorrow?" Saul asked, still surprised, glued to his chair.

Dar nodded. "She will. Get all her credentials ready, she´ll be here, 8 sharp," he stated.

"And what the fuck did you do to get her come here?" Saul inquired again, now standing by his friend and walking him to the door of his office.

Dar stopped on his tracks and turned to face Saul before entering the hallway. "Why do you care, Saul? You wanted her, didn't you? Well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth…"

Saul sighed. "If you dared to resort to any…" he started.

Adal chuckled again. "Don't tell me you weren't intending to do it yourself… you should be grateful I've spared you the ugly part…."

It suddenly hit Saul. It was all there, in front of him. It had been right there since the moment Dar had stepped into his office: the way he was proud of getting Carrie back in the CIA, her sudden chance of mind, without even contacting him (after all, he had been the one to ask for her assistance). "Oh, I see. She doesn't know yet that she's fucking coming tomorrow, does she, Dar?"

His colleague just raised his eyebrows. He really hated it when Saul worried about the minor details, overlooking the bigger picture. "Quinn does, and, believe me, you can bet he'll make sure she's here tomorrow morning."

Saul frowned. "What the hell did you do? They're out, Dar, as much as you and I don't like it," he said angrily.

Dar smirked. "Stop whining, Saul. You wanted the girl, you have her. Tomorrow. It's funny that Black Ops always has to lend a hand. A thank you now and then would be nice, by the way…" he complained before walking down the hallway, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Carrie was trying to express out loud her conflicted emotions since Saul's name had suddenly appeared on her cell phone screen.

"I'm really sorry Quinn, but I think I won't be able to fucking live with myself if there's a chance I can help to track him down and I don't do it," she explained. "That doesn't mean I don't love you… or Franny…" she added, after diverting her gaze briefly to the right only to lock eyes with him again. They had had a light lunch and were now sitting on the couch, facing each other, each of their backs resting on the arms of the sofa.

Peter nodded. "I understand. You don't have to apologize. I was there, remember?"

"How could I forget…" she mumbled. That had been one of the most difficult and dangerous times of all the years she had worked for the Agency. "I don't want you to think that I don't cherish our life, because I do, I really do, Quinn. Never in my dreams could I imagine that it would be like this, but…" Carrie trailed off, her lower lip quivering as she felt her eyes well with tears. The CIA, Haqqani, Islamabad, Aayan… all that brought back too many emotions she was doing her best to keep at bay.

Despite his enormous concern about her health, Quinn really understood what she was going through since Saul had called her. It had happened before: when duty had called again over the years, she had never been strong enough to resist that call. Her life with Franny and him was only making her struggle with the decision, but he was positive now that that decision had been made by her subconscious mind the minute she hopped off Saul's SUV. That reinforced the idea that had taken up residence in his mind since his meeting with his former mentor and boss: there was no need for Carrie to be aware of Dar's threats. "Carrie, if you really want to do it, you've got my full support… It's just that I worry about you…" he finally said.

Carrie smiled and blinked, trying to get rid of her tears without shedding them. "You shouldn't. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself…"

He raised his eyebrows. "I know you can," he chuckled. "But I also know that there's no such thing as a part time job behind a desk in the CIA, at least I'm sure that's not what they want you for. And you know firsthand the pressure, the stressful situations… I'm afraid that would take a toll in your health Carrie…" Peter explained.

She shook her head. "It won't, Quinn, you don't have to worry about that…"

Quinn could not help but chuckle. "How can you be so sure? I don't wanna bring back bad memories but…"

Carrie softly snorted, her eyes still fixed on his. "I'm sure because I live with you now, and I have no doubt that you'll keep a close eye on me…"

"But will you listen to me? Will you fucking listen, Carrie?" he insisted.

Carrie nodded. "I will, I promise," she nervously ran her hand through her blonde hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. "I love you…" she finally added, and crawled on the couch until she reached his knees and leant in to kiss him.

"I love you too. Go ahead and call Saul, I'm sure he´d like you to start asap…" Quinn whispered, breaking the kiss and wishing, not for the first time, that they were free from their past so nobody, not even themselves, could make them go back to that kind of life.

Totally oblivious to his current thoughts, Carrie began to place soft kisses along his jaw. "Shall we seal this deal in the bedroom? I know we should wait till the next cycle but I just wanna be with you…"

"Frankly, I don't fucking care about your next cycle right now…" he replied, cupping her face with both hands and kissing her deeply in an attempt to deal with his angst.

And as Quinn took Carrie's hand in his and led her upstairs, he wished his well-meaning lie would not end up backfiring at him, or at her, for that matter. Little did he know that that was exactly what would happen, and much earlier than what he could have expected.