"Carrie!", Virgil called, tapping lightly on the driver's side window and hoping he hadn't startled her. She jumped though, then rolled her eyes before rolling down the window.
"Virgil? What the..what are you doing here?"
"No reason. We just saw you swerve into this lot like your life depended on it. The cops after you or what?"
"No. I'm fine.", she said hoarsely.
"Yeah and I'm a spokesman for Head and Shoulders.", Virgil scoffed as she snorted, looked down and away from him.
"Carrie, what the hell is going on? Is it Farrah? Did something happen?"
"No, she's fine. I just dropped her off at the community center."
"Hey Carrie.", Max greeted, getting a glare from Virgil as he stood next to him beside the car.
"Hey Max.", Carrie acknowledged.
"Why aren't you at the Brody meeting?", he asked curiously.
"What meeting?", Virgil frowned as Carrie slumped down in her seat, wiped her eyes.
"Well one of you can answer me, can't you?"
"Saul called for a meeting today with Brody.", Max answered, getting a look.
"How the fuck do you know about it?"
"I had to go to Langley yesterday, install that new facial recognition software. I know things.", he said defensively.
"Like that the meeting started a half hour ago..."
"Carrie?", Virgil questioned.
"I don't want to talk about it, okay.", Carrie said softly as Virgil swore, paced beside the car.
"I can't believe that son of a-"
"DAMN IT, Virgil! I don't want to talk about it!", she exploded, getting a nod.
"Okay. C'mon then. I'll give you a lift home. Max, take her car."
"No, don't. That's not necessary. I'm-"
"Fine, I heard. Too bad I'm not."
"Virgil..."
"Carrie, do it for my sake okay? Christ, I already saw your car smashed to shit once. Not exactly up for a repeat.", he said truthfully.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Carrie nodded and unbuckled. Grabbing her bag she walked over to the surveillance van while Max got into her car, put the key in the ignition.
"Can he even drive?", she asked, frowning and watching intently as he left the lot.
"By some miracle, yes. C'mon." Opening the door for her, she smiled. Jumped in the passenger seat.
"Oh, just so you know we're stopping for breakfast on the way."
"I'm not that hungry."
"Tough shit. I am."
The drive to get food and then to Carrie's house was too quiet for Virgil's liking. He'd done enough ride-alongs with her through the years to know she had the tendency to be a backseat driver. If he didn't glare at or curse out drivers who cut them off or tailgated them, she would jump at the chance and then criticize him for not being assertive enough. Even their infamous drive to Walden's speech when she was recovering from her episode, there was noticeable fire in her. Today though she barely said two words.
Once outside of the house he turned to her nervously when she made no move to leave the van.
"Carrie, are you-"
"Please, Virgil. I don't want to talk."
"Okay, that's fine. But you can't just sit here all morose in the fucking van all day. C'mon."
When she still didn't move he resorted to another method of convincing.
"Okay so let's assume you do stay in here all day. Farrah comes home and wants to see you. You're going to let her inside this piece of shit? Where Max and I practically live?"
Grimacing, Carrie shook her head and quickly left the van.
"Yeah, that's more like it."
Following her inside Virgil set down a grocery bag in the kitchen. He'd made a run and picked up some things for lunch after she let him stop for coffee and donuts.
"Max should be back with your car soon. At least I hope. I mean his moronic capabilities are infinite."
After putting away the groceries, putting some water on for pasta, he went in the living room, saw Carrie sitting forward on the couch with her knees hugged to her chest. Holding something crumpled up the palm of her right hand.
"Let me guess, the credit card bill came in?", he joked but barely got a smile.
"Can I see?"
Shaking her head, Carrie crumpled it into a tighter ball, bowed her head.
"Goddammit, Carrie."
Sighing sadly she lifted her head, wiped her eyes. Feeling guilty for worrying him so much, and knowing before Farrah got back she'd have to pull herself together.
"I swear to God, Virgil, if your weird little brother fucked up my car...", she snorted, looking at him with a slight gleam in her eye.
"He's paying for any damages. Otherwise I'll break his goddamn face.", he smiled, getting a soft one in return.
"C'mon, you should really eat some lunch."
"Fuck, don't tell me it's spaghetti."
"Nope. Linguini this time."
Rolling her eyes Carrie got off the couch and followed him to the kitchen, only to see Max coming in the front door.
"Max, if anything happened to her car I swear."
"No, nothing happened, I found this though in the backseat."
Taking Brody's compass from him, Carrie's chin began wobbling but she swallowed hard, held it together.
"Thanks.", she said softly.
"Virgil made us lunch so c'mon. Through here."
"Is it Brody's?", Max asked.
"What?"
"The compass, is it Brody's?"
"It's none of your fucking business whose it is."
"Okay.", Max conceded as they sat at the table, taking her by surprise.
"Thanks by the way, for bringing my car home.", she said sheepishly, getting a nod.
"You know Max, you can stand up to me when I curse you out or treat you like shit. Especially after you went and did me a favor today."
"Okay.", Max shrugged.
Appalled, Carrie shook her head, getting a shrug and "What can you do?" look from Virgil as he set down the bowls of pasta, sat down with his own.
"So Max what did you find that was none of your fucking business?"
"Brody's compass.", Max answered as Virgil bit his lip, twirled some pasta around his fork.
"Asking that was none of my fucking business."
"It's alright, Virgil."
"No! It's not alright!", Max said sharply, as Carrie jumped and Virgil dropped his fork.
"Max..."
"It's not alright! It's not alright he's lost out there without it and that Saul's going to send the dogs after him for being lost. It's not alright!"
"Holy fuck...", Carrie muttered, completely caught off guard by his outburst.
"Also, Virgil! Your pasta sucks!", he yelled, getting up from the table.
Jaw on the ground, Carrie wasn't sure if it was alright to laugh, but couldn't help herself.
"Oh yeah, go ahead. Encourage him!", Virgil scoffed.
"Should I go and find him? Slip him some of my meds?"
"Just finish your lunch, I'll deal with it. He's my brother after all."
After Virgil stepped out, pushing the pasta aside Carrie reached into her pocket, retrieved the compass. She remembered her dad giving it to her when she was a kid and wanted to join him on his yearly fishing trip. He bought it for her at the bait shop so she'd be distracted when he bought worms and hooks.
It was a junky old thing but Carrie had held onto it all these years. Kept it in the glove box of her car.
She'd forgotten about it until the night she and Brody drove to the border. After the two of them stood horrified in the shop, watched his tape play all over the news, the remainder of the drive she'd sneak glances at him sitting in the passenger seat.
Even in profile she saw the fright all over his face. He looked completely lost, his eyes doing that darting back and forth thing they'd do whenever he felt panicked beyond reason.
More than anything Carrie wanted to just keep driving. Keep control in all of this for the both of them. Get them far away enough from this surreal fucked up nightmare that it couldn't haunt them anymore.
Seeing though that wasn't an option, that the stretch of highway was about to turn to trees, after she stopped the car and Brody climbed out, quickly she reached into the glovebox, grabbed and jammed the compass into the side pocket of his pack. He hadn't seen her place it there, it could've easily fallen out of the bag or he could've chucked it, dismissed it as the useless thing it was and lightened his load slightly. She had no idea he'd carry it on his person everywhere he went. See it as something of value.
She also had no idea someone who thought that highly of her to hold onto her cheap plastic compass all these years, could write so callous a note and then disappear.
Thinking of that balled up sheet of notebook paper on her couch she wanted to scream, break something, flush her meds down the toilet and let the mania course through her, get her feeling like queen of the goddamn universe.
None of that was an option though. Not with Farrah coming back here tonight, and not after the speech she'd made to Maggie earlier.
Carrie wished she could go back in time to before the first day she'd dropped Farrah at the mosque, before the parade, the apartment, hospital, cabin. Back to when it was her and her foster daughter and that was it.
She always thrived on her being independent. Not needing a man aside from when she was in the mood for a few too many drinks and mindless fucking. She had to get back to that. At least an edited version of that.
Getting up from the table she saw Max and Virgil standing by the door and approached them.
"I'm sorry for what I said.", Max shrugged.
"It's okay. Trust me, you're not the only one here upset.", Carrie admitted, shrugging as well before Virgil spoke up.
"Max is heading out but I'll stick around for the night."
"Damn it, Virgil. You don't-"
"Hey someone's got to clean up the kitchen, right?"
Before Carrie could get another word in, Virgil was on his way there and Max ducked out the door.
Rolling her eyes she went over to the kitchen as well, saw him doing the dishes.
"Will you at least let me dry?", she sighed, grabbing a towel from the rack.
"It's not going to be like the last time, Virgil. You don't need to camp out here all hours keeping tabs on me."
"Hey, you've got a stocked fridge and since you sprung for that new TV, a nicer one than mine. I'm more than content to camp out."
"Well I'm not going to have another fucking breakdown and spend the rest of the week in bed. I can't. Farrah needs me. Now especially."
"Hey...hey."
Stepping back from the dishes Virgil moved to face her, as she reluctantly set the towel down, turned to look at him.
"I'm not trying to say this time's anything like the last time or that you can't take care of your own kid. Really, I'm not."
"Then what are you trying to say?", Carrie asked, arching a brow.
"I think you and Farrah could use some company right now. Besides, I only fucking promised her I'd teach her Mario Kart."
"Shit. I forgot about that."
"See..another reason I'm worth keeping around.", Virgil grinned, getting a light laugh before his smile went softer.
"Carrie I'm just here to lend a hand, that's all."
"Okay, I understand. And thank you. Really."
After quietly drying the rest of the dishes, hanging up the towel she excused herself, turned to leave.
"Hey, where...?"
"I'll just be a minute."
Making her way upstairs to her bathroom, after unlocking the medicine cabinet Carrie took her meds, splashed some water on her face, then docked her phone and stretched back on her bed. Stared up at the ceiling until her eyes went heavy.
"Alright, minute's up Carrie. Time to decide on a movie for us to-"
Frowning, not seeing her in the living room Virgil walked down the hall, towards the foyer only to hear a soft meow, feel something dart past his ankles.
"What the..where the fuck did you come from?"
Picking up the now purring kitten, Virgil draped Calvin onto his shoulder and went upstairs.
"Hey, Carrie don't know if you know or not but-"
Seeing her curled up in bed, likely asleep, walking over Virgil draped a throw blanket over her then went back downstairs.
"C'mon buddy, guess you're picking the movie."
Falling asleep in front of the TV with Calvin curled up on his shoulder, Virgil didn't stir at the first loud knock on the door, or the second. Finally the third combined with the doorbell jarred him awake, but disturbed Calvin in the process.
"Sorry little man.", Virgil apologized as the kitten hissed and leapt off him, flicked his tail.
"What! I said I'm sorry!"
Rolling his eyes Virgil stood up and answered the door, only to see Saul on the other side looking ready to break it down.
"Saul..."
"Where is she?"
"Saul, look just cool it alright? Take it easy."
"Get the fuck out of my way.", Saul snarled, brushing past as he removed his cap.
"Fuck just slow it down, okay!"
Standing between Saul and the staircase, blocking his path Virgil was met with a glare.
"I'm not playing games, Virgil."
"Neither am I! Look, just go drive around the block a few times and get your head together before you see her. All you'll accomplish now is making her upset."
Seeing that slowed him down ever so slightly, Virgil pressed on. Hoping to get Saul to reconsider this all together.
"I'm serious, Saul. Look, you weren't the only one Brody made a fool of today."
"Maybe. But this time she fucking let him do it. She gave him goddamn permission to."
"Saul.."
Virgil sighed as the older man brushed past him, took the steps up to Carrie's room two at a time. Meanwhile Calvin meowed nervously, twined around Virgil's ankle before he scooped him up, walked him to the living room.
"C'mon, we shouldn't be here for this."