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.
Never in a million years would Quinn have thought that he would be ever flying out of the country with an Special Ops team again. In fact, he had really thought for the last few years that he would not be seeing any of his colleagues again. Yet there he was, sharing a plane headed to the other side of the world with them once more. And his destination was Kabul, no less. He had not hesitated to put all that life, and everything that it entailed, behind him when he had decided to leave the CIA for good three years before, so there were certain things that he had been sure he would not experience again. It wasn't that he had been naive during the exit process from the Agency. On the contrary, he had been well aware that adjusting to a normal civilian life would take time and determination, probably lots of patience too, which was something that both Carrie and him were not very good at, but he had never doubted that they could achieve it together. So it seemed especially cruel to suddenly be back on square one after finally having the life they had both worked so hard to have with Franny.
Anger had washed over Quinn as he had registered his former boss and mentor's words over the phone, and as a result of that he had abruptly ended the call, mentally blaming himself for falling in Adal's dirty play. Only to contact him once more half an hour later. "When does that fucking plane leave?" had been his form of greeting when he had heard Dar answer his phone in a joyful tone. "The bastard is certainly enjoying this," Peter had thought as he listened to his instructions.
During those thirty minutes that had gone by before finally calling Dar again, Quinn had tried Carrie's cell number non-stop. At first he had been certain that if she picked up his call he would be able to convince her to come back home as soon as possible. Maybe there was even a chance that she was still on American soil. But as he kept trying her number, getting her voicemail every single time, reality began to hit him. He realised that for someone who knew Carrie so well, he was really having trouble reading the situation, because once she had made up her mind about going to Kabul, did he really stand a chance to stop her? Who was he trying to fool?
As much as he didn't like to remember it, it was an irrefutable fact that whenever duty had called in the past Carrie had rushedly left everything and everyone, not looking back. Quinn was trying to come to believe that things were different now, that she wasn't bound to repeat the same behavior under different circumstances, but it was impossible to ignore that she had left a newborn Franny under the care of her sister Maggie and her dad to become the 'drone queen' in Kabul as Station Chief.
Another memory rapidly came back during those minutes: at the time he had even suspected that she had deliberately chosen a post in a war zone in order not to be able to bring family over with her. In Istanbul officers and agents were allowed to live with the families, and Quinn had always thought that that possibility had actually weighed when she had finally opted for the position that opened last-minute in Afghanistan, which was further from home, too. HOw convenient! He had been posted in Islamabad back then, after refusing her offer to work under her in Kabul. It had been one of the most difficult decisions he had made over his career in the CIA, but he had felt the refusal was totally necessary in order to keep his sanity in check. By then he already knew he was in love with Carrie, and he did his best to try and give himself some space from her. But despite all his efforts, they still ended up working closely, speaking several times every day on the phone, and the wall he had worked so hard to build between them came down in a few days.
If Carrie had not felt the pull of family back then, right after giving birth to her daughter, only a few months after her child's father had been publicly hanged in Iran, and had run directly into a war zone, playing an active role in the activities carried out by the Agency out there, why wouldn't she do it again now? Yes, currently circumstances completely differed: they were raising Franny together, they had been a family for more than two years, and they loved each other. But could that be enough for her when duty called?
That doubt convinced Quinn that there was no way he was getting Carrie back unless it was during a face to face conversation. And, still, he was beginning to doubt she would give up the chance of helping apprehend Haqqani, no matter how much she loved Franny or him, and regardless of the method he used to contact and talk to her. He was starting to sense that maybe he would not be able to stop her from diving into danger again, and that only left him with one option: taking the damn plane with the Special Ops team. In other words: complying with Dar's devious wishes. Apparently, no matter how hard he had tried for years, he was not able to shake him off his life.
After calling Dar again, his mind started racing. There were so many arrangements to be made regarding Franny. Thank God for Maggie! She had not hesitated or asked any questions when he had blurted out that they would be busy for a few days and would really appreciate it if she could take care of the little girl. "Thank you, Maggie. We'll be back soon," he had said, hoping that he was not lying to her. He really liked her, and often wondered how Carrie's life would have been hadn't she been by her side.
And his job, he almost forgot about his job! Fortunately for him, his boss was reasonable and told him to take all the time he needed when he called him to ask for a few days to deal with a family emergency. "Of course, Quinn, whatever you need. And let us know if we can be of assistance," he had offered. "Yeah, just like Dar," Peter mentally snorted, thinking how different his new working environment was from the one in the CIA, starting by his boss.
Quinn was nervous as hell while he was waiting for Franny in front of her school. After agreeing with Dar that he would go and quickly packing a bag for him and a bag for his daughter, he called Maggie again to let her know that he would be picking Franny up from school, taking her to her house afterwards, thinking that maybe it could be a good thing to prepare her for the absence of her parents for the following days. He then doubted for a second and wondered if it really was a good idea, or he should just let aunt Maggie take her from school and immerse her into their family life until Carrie and he got back. But he just couldn't let himself fly to a war zone without seeing her first. As for what to tell her, he would improvise.
Franny ran to him as soon as she saw him by the entrance, turning a deaf ear to the teachers' instructions, her soft red curls and her backpack bouncing in the air. Quinn scooped her in his arms as she got near him.
"Daddy! Is Mommy coming home today?" she asked as she hugged him tightly, placing her little arms around his neck.
Well, that was not the welcome he had been expecting. Franny did usually run to him, but her first words were always about something she had been doing in class during the day. She also normally asked if they were going to the park, or to aunt Maggie's, but she had never asked about Carrie, not even during the last week when her mother had been stuck at Langley and they had only spoken on the phone. "She must've sensed that today is somehow different," Peter thought, his heart sinking, and silently promising himself that he would do everything he could to protect their little girl from the turn their lives were suddenly taking. How are you supposed to tel a soon-to-be four year old child that her mom won't be coming home today, because not only is she working, but she's heading for one of the most dangerous parts of the world, and that her dad would not be home either because he's going after her mom to try and convince her to stop chasing bad guys and come home with them?
He kissed the kid's temple and shifted his head to make eye contact with her. "No, sweetie, I'm afraid she has to work tonight…" he explained, immediately noticing her features clouding with disappointment, and probably worry, too. "But you know what, you're having a sleepover at aunt Maggie's…" he quickly added to cheer her up.
That definitely did the trick. Her face lit up with excitement, her eyes wide open. "Really? And do I get to eat pizza with uncle Bill, and sleep with Ruby and Josie?" she asked, resting her small hand on his cheek.
"Yeah, and you might even watch a movie…" he said, winking, relieved to see that she was happy with the plan. Quinn would be forever grateful for the support system that Maggie and her family had become for Franny since she had been born. Until Carrie came back from Islamabad and they decided to leave the agency together, Franny had been raised by Maggie and Bill with the help of Frank, Maggie and Carrie's father. It was the proud grandfather who would take the baby to the park, or just take care of her while they were working (they both had demanding jobs), in the hope that Carrie would eventually come back and open her heart to her daughter. Franny had spent her first year and a half growing up in a loving and caring environment, surrounded by a real family, with two cousins that quickly became like her big sisters and often babysat for her when the adults were busy.
"Frozen! Uncle Bill likes it!" she exclaimed, smiling. Quinn had always thought that Bill, Maggie's husband, had never really liked Carrie. He seemed to see her as someone who led her life regardless of the consequences her actions may have, no matter how hard the people close to her had to suffer those consequences. Mainly, Peter was convinced that Bill thought that her sister in law was selfish and careless. So it had been a huge and pleasant surprise when Quinn found out about the special bond uncle Bill had developed with Franny when he and Carrie started living together. Bill Dunn would probably not agree with Carrie on anything, but he would certainly go to any length to make her daughter happy.
"I'm sure he'll let you watch whatever movie you want, pumpkin…" he chuckled as he began to walk towards his car, Franny still in his arms, chatting about her day in school.
In the end Quinn did not find the right words to let her know that not only her mom was going to be away for a few days, but he would be, too. Not while he drove, and not at Maggie's, either. A lump settled in his throat as soon as he placed her in her safety seat in the back of his car and buckled her in, and it stayed there until he had waved her goodbye from her aunt's kitchen counter as she was starting to bake with her cousins.
"Don't worry, Peter, she'll be okay," Maggie had gently said when she had walked him to the door. She had not asked what was going on, but she had gotten to know Quinn well enough during these last years to sense that there was something important he needed to do. She could not picture any other circumstance under which he would leave Franny with them for more time than a sleepover. And she had a hunch that it was somehow related to Carrie, but after long years of being the sister of a CIA agent she had learnt not to waste energy inquiring in vain. And, frankly, after some scaring experiences she had come to think that the less she knew, the better.
After almost twenty-four hours, Quinn's plane finally landed in Kabul, and he ran after Dar when he spotted him on the tarmac, a few feet behind him. The CIA Black Operations director was talking with two army officers that held maps in their hands.
"I'm here. Before I do anything else, take me to Carrie," Quinn blurted out as soon as he reached him, nodding to the officers who looked at him and nodded back.
Dar turned around to face him as soon as he heard his voice. "Well, hello to you too, Peter. I hope you enjoyed your flight. We do our best to provide our soldiers with our finest…"
Quinn let his bag drop to the tarmac in frustration. "Cut that fucking shit, Dar. Take me to Carrie, now…"
Dar just shrugged, fixing his eyes on him for the first time since he had addressed him. "I'm afraid I can't, Peter…"
"What the fuck does that mean, Dar? I just came here with your team. I honored my part of the deal, it's time you honor yours…" he retorted, placing his hands on his hips.
"I really can't, Peter," he slowly repeated. "A helicopter carrying Saul, Carrie and most of our team in Kabul headed for Hindu Kush as scheduled, but these gentlemen here were just informing me that it went off the radar halfway an hour ago…"