Carrie's sitting beside him, giving him that look of concern he can barely handle when Quinn wakes again, blinks his way back into consciousness.
"Hey," she says with a smile.
He can't help but think again that she's being way too good to him, is more worried than she should be. But he also can't deny it means something that she hasn't abandoned him, has done about as much as she can.
"Anything news?" Quinn asks, wonders how long he's been out for.
Carrie shakes her head, keeps looking at him in that way that makes him uncomfortable.
"What?" he finally says, unable to maintain the tension of being watched.
Carrie startles a bit, as if she didn't quite realize she was doing it. Then shrugs and smiles again, exhales loudly in that way she does.
"I'm just glad you're awake," she says with a little shake of her head. "You feeling any better?"
Quinn nods, thinks he isn't exactly lying. He does feel better, yet still pretty fucking shitty. Carrie doesn't need to know that part though, will never leave if she thinks he's dying.
"Yeah, I'm good," he lies, tries to make it sound legit.
Carrie sighs, gives him a skeptical look, that same concerned half-smile. Then looks up as Jonas calls her from the other room, tells her there's something she should see.
She goes over and Quinn can hear the news report on a protest at the Russian embassy, that it somehow involves the documents that got leaked. Then Carrie gets on the phone with Astrid, and he strains to make out what she's saying, hear if they IDed the guy.
Carrie ends the call, seems to have a lead.
"I've been such a fool," she says. "It's been staring me right in the face."
"What has?" he hears Jonas ask. Which echoes Quinn's own thoughts as he becomes suddenly nervous about the energy he hears in her voice.
"Quinn needs to hear this too," Carrie says, thankfully bringing the conversation back towards him, where he can better assess what the hell she's going to do.
"Did you get a name?" he asks as she walks back over.
"Got more than that," she replies in that tone that says she's onto something. "I've got who tried to kill you worked for Russian intelligence - that's who got in the middle of your operation. Saul didn't put my name in that kill box, the Russians did."
"Why?" Quinn asks, can't see what the Russians have anything to do with this whole mess.
"Well, think about it," Carrie says. "The stuff Laura Sutton published last week was only part of what was hacked out of Berlin station."
"So there was something in the additional documents the SVR didn't want you to see," Jonas says, catching on.
Shit, Quinn thinks. Has to admit he didn't see this coming, that the situation is worse than he thought. If it's Russian intelligence out looking for Carrie then she's definitely not safe anywhere in Berlin. Especially if there's someone interested enough to have figured out his system with Saul. And if he knows Carrie at all, she's about to head back out there, try to round up these documents herself, figure out what they didn't want her to see in the first place. Basically put herself at risk in order to become a even larger threat.
She can't go out there alone, he thinks. Needs someone to look out for her, watch her back. And the boyfriend is clearly no operator, would be a liability in almost any situation.
"Correct," Carrie says, that determined tone in her voice.
Quinn struggles to get up, thinks he can at least hold a weapon, feels like he has to do something other than just lie there.
"What are you doing?" Carrie asks, already starting to lean down towards him.
"If you're going back out there again I'm coming with you," he says, tries to make it sound convincing, like he could actually do this.
But by then Carrie's already caught his weakened body in her arms and Quinn already knows he won't win.
"No, hey, hey, hey, Quinn, lie back," she says, easily pushing him back down to the bed.
"It's too dangerous," he mutters, suddenly feverishly sure she's going to get spotted, found out.
"It's not," Carrie replies, forceful yet gentle. "No one's after me at the moment thanks to you."
He knows she's just trying to make him feel better but the truth is he should not be anywhere near a gun in his condition. She holds him to the bed, her hand pressing on his chest and Quinn's already exhausted with his effort but still doesn't want to admit defeat. He exhales in frustration, thinks how he is never going to win with her. Especially when she's being this nice, almost inexplicably so.
"Where's Laura?" Carrie asks, making his anxiety grow. As if just being in Berlin wasn't enough, she's trying to make contact with her original source, Quinn thinks. It makes him fucking nervous even though he knows that Carrie's right, that no one should be looking for her right now.
The boyfriend goes off to call her and Carrie sits down by the bed again, leans down towards him.
"Hey, you gonna be alright?" she asks softly.
Too concerned, he thinks. And not about the right things.
"I'd be better if you'd get the hell out of dodge," he replies, even though he knows she won't. Not until she's either figured it out, exhausted her resources, or ended up dead.
"I can't do that. Not now, " she replies predictably. "We'll talk about it when I get back, okay?"
But Quinn knows that things are going downhill in his own situation, that he's going to have to come up with a plan soon. And he's thinking of all the shit that could go wrong before she makes it back when Carrie stands up, runs her hand through his hair, pats his head gently.
Which is just too much. Quinn looks up at her askance as her fingers drift away, wonders what the hell has gotten into her. Of course he attributes her touchiness with him to his obviously pathetic state, a physical projection of her concern. And so her hands have become the ultimate catch twenty two. So soothing, irresistible. Yet each touch makes him hate himself a little more, reminds him she's there partly for him, that her continued presence in Berlin is entirely on him.
It all just reinforces the idea that he can't win, that he's completely lost when it comes to her. The only thing left of his life, something to die for.
#
Carrie goes to run her fingers through Quinn's fever-soaked hair, is halfway through the gesture when she remembers she's only been doing this while he's out cold, that this is not something she would normally do at all. But she figures what the fuck, does it anyhow, feels almost compelled to touch him. Wants him to know that she really does care, that he has her pretty fucking worried.
She almost smiles to herself, thinks how ridiculous he's being. So Quinn. Trying so hard to be reliable. To protect her. Even when he looks terrible, so weak she can barely stand it. He has always been there for her and now she has to figure this all out, get him well.
He wants her to leave so badly but then how's she ever going to get her life back? And who's going to make sure he doesn't die out of pure stubbornness? She just needs to get her hands on the documents and then get back quickly, make sure he doesn't do anything rash.
But until then she can't leave Quinn on his own, knows she's going to have to ask Jonas to stay. There isn't much choice in the matter, could likely be the last thing she can ask of him after everything she's put him through.
Not that she feels good about leaving Quinn with Jonas, knows this is way the hell out of Jonas' comfort zone. Even part of her still can't believe any of this has happened, that there would be a situation where Jonas would ever even find out about Quinn, much less meet him. All too crazy, as Jonas would say.
But in the end Carrie knows it's just how her life goes, especially when crisis strikes. When she is on the hunt she will manipulate anyone to her advantage, especially a Jonas, such a good guy, easily used. Then bear the consequences later, when the situation has been resolved.
So Jonas hangs up his call, tells her that Laura Sutton is at the Russian Embassy covering the demonstration. And she thinks fuck, this is probably not going to turn out well. Leaving her nice boy Jonas alone with her cold assassin Quinn. Even with a bullet hole in him Quinn could do some damage.
But she doesn't have any choice, tells herself it's just for a few hours. Looks at Jonas and tells herself to be convincing.
"I'm gonna need you to look after him for awhile," she says, ready to argue.
"Carrie..." Jonas groans, in that tone that says he's over it.
"I'll just be a few hours, last thing I will ask you to do, I swear," she continues, over his objections. Gives him her best desperate look, knows he can't possibly leave her in the lurch like this.
And of course Jonas nods, with the saddest look in his eyes. Defeat and concern and anger all together, enough to make her genuinely feel bad for him, regret what she's put him through. It's more self-aware than she usually is about this sort of thing, Carrie realizes. Has previously done shit like this without thinking much about the people she used along the way, even the ones she cared about. Like all those times she pulled Quinn back into the game.
So she gives Jonas a hug, tries to tell him she appreciates everything he's done, that she's sorry he had to be involved. That she knows he can't possibly understand, that he doesn't know this side of her.
Yet this is something she has to do, part of her very DNA. Someone is out to kill her, almost killed Quinn. And no one else can get to the bottom of it, figure it out and save them both. She just hopes there's enough time, that Quinn can hang on until then.