Disclaimer - I do not own Homeland. That pleasure belongs to Showtime. No copyright infringement or money making scheme intended. This is purely for reading enjoyment.

A/N Emm...first part begins after Quinn put his binoculars away (in the choice) and second/third parts...may need tissues. Warning for some sexual content - not explicit. I don't think so anyway. Was going for romantic rather than explicit.

Please review and let me know what you think.

The Cabin was warm. They'd gotten up from the couch and he was kissing her tenderly, undressing her. Putting her arms around him, hands in his hair, she pulled him closer. She wanted more of him, all of him. She heard her intake of breath echoing as though from a distance as he cupped her left breast, moulding it. She felt him smile against her chest as he kissed his way down, claiming her right breast with his mouth, as his hand moved away from her left breast and lower still.

Her senses were heightened, he was everywhere, teasing her. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted him now. He took the hint as she gave his hair a hard tug. She kissed him with passion when their mouths met again.

He nudged them over to the bed, pushing her down on it. She tried to pull him down with her but he was having none of it. Heat spread through her like molton lava, her body blushing under his gaze, eyes filled with passion and love. He moved over her and she reached for him pulling him into a firey kiss, trying to take control. He pulled back, taking a hold of her arms and trapping her beneath him.

"We're going to take it slow", Brody whispered in her ear.

Excitement and fear pounded through her veins in equal measure. Brody pushed in moving slowly but purposefully, her eyes closing, savouring the sensations. Nerve endings tingling as he whispered words in her ears.

She was close now. She could feel it.

"Look at me", he demanded softly.

She forced herself to open her eyes, to meet those blue eyes. Oh God, the intensity was almost too much. Her eyes fluttered shut again.

"Look at me", he said more forcefully this time. He was close now as well.

She forced her eyes open to meet his again, the intensity of his gaze enough to push her closer to the edge.

"I love you", he said hitting that spot physically and emotionally.

Oh God. She heard her own scream as she came, tightening around him in reflex as he continued to thrust in to her.

"I love you", Brody repeated as he reached his own orgasm.

Both panting for breath in the aftermath of their high, Brody pulled out of her and off her, not wanting to crush her. He pulled her over to him. She put her head on him, listening to his heart pounding in his chest. It was her turn to smile, knowing she had that effect on him. Warm and comfortable in his arms, eyes heavy lidded, she drifted off to sleep, content.

The wind was howling outside, rain pouring, thunder crashing.

Carrie woke up startled by the noise. Just the thunder she thought, smiling, she reached out for him. Finding nothing, no sign that he had been there. The warmth and smile disappeared. She wasn't at the Cabin, lying contentedly in Brody's arms. Because she was in her house on her sofa bed having fallen asleep in front of the TV. So many times she'd fallen asleep here watching him. She'd fallen in love with him at some point on this sofa. She'd been in the middle before she realised she'd began. But Brody wasn't here and never would be again. Powerless to change the situation and to get back what she had lost, she swallowed the lump in her throat, could hear her own heavy breathing as cold reality hit her hard threatening to overwhelm.

Her chest felt tight and her stomache ached with longing. Alone, she was so alone. She didn't want to be alone. Once she had thought she might be destined to be alone and before it hadn't bothered her, wrapped up in her work as she had been. But then she met him and found it was quite nice to be with someone...really be with them. Fear spread through her body like ice but she didn't know what scared her most, the thought of feeling like this for the rest of her life or the day when she could be with someone else. That's what they said, her dad and Maggie...that time would heal her broken heart and eventually she'd be able to move on. She didn't like it. It sounded too much like forgetting him. She didn't want to forget him and she didn't want anyone else either. She wanted him. She was shaking now with misery, tears streaming down her face. She sat for the longest time in the dark. Alone.

Noise, what was that noise. Loud, wailing, where was it coming from? Louder, why won't it stop? Carrie put her hands to her ears wishing it would stop, that they'd leave her alone. Louder still the wailing became. She cried harder. She wanted Brody. She wanted him next to her, whispering softly in her ears, living here, not just for a moment, but forever. She wanted to see the goofball make their daughter laugh or stare at him strangely as she wondered what this idiot was doing...their daughter...their daughter! She was on her feet before she made the conscious decision to stand up. It wasn't wailing, it was crying. Allayna's cries were echoing through the baby monitor.

She moved quickly without thinking to her room. Picking up her daughter from her cot and comforting her, she sat down on her bed. Rocking her, trying to get her to settle down.

"shhhh mommy's here. It's ok. shhhh."

She didn't know at that point whether she was trying to convince Allayna or herself. But still, she rocked her gently back and forth. Their daughter of red hair and blue eyes, a gift she had taken too long to accept. It struck her that she was much better at being a mom than she ever thought she could be. She was still terrified of course but also grateful. He gave her this gift, not just Allayna but love. He opened her eyes to the fact that there was much more to life than work. If only she'd noticed it earlier. No! Stop it. Don't go there, she tells herself. Focus on Allayna, she has Allayna.

Allayna, their little girl, proof that he had been here and hers, that he had existed and wasn't just a dream torturing her. Allayna now fast asleep against her chest, her presence comforting her mother back to sleep, as her mother had done to her. Ours, Carrie thought as sleep once again claimed her. Our creation!