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.

LilMisfit and Shockey – thank you so much for the reviews. We all know what Carrie is like when she gets the bit between her teeth.

A/N – Apologies if not everything appears to make sense within this chapter. It will eventually. Enjoy everyone and thanks for reading. As ever, caution for lots of Carrie (and Stephen) swearing.

Looking at the caller ID, Stephen smiles as he answers the phone.

"Allayna wake you up this early?"

"Yes, you could say that", the male voice replies.

"Mr Mathison? Sorry, I thought it was Carrie."

"Of course you did. I'm using her phone. So, she's not with you then?"

Stephen sits up straighter, his concern matching Frank's, "no, she's not. What's wrong?"

"I woke up with Allayna screaming the house down and when I went to investigate, there is no sign of her mother. It's too early to go shopping and she hates that anyway."

"I noticed", Stephen answers.

Frank chuckles at that, "ye, she's not good at hiding things like that. I tried calling her to find she'd left her phone here. I thought maybe she had gone to the Hospital, but Maggie's on shift and when I phoned she hasn't seen her. She's pretty sure she would know if Carrie is there on account of the argument she'd likely cause when they wouldn't let her into see them."

"How are they?"

"The daughter is awake and responsive. Her mother and brother are still critical and could go either way. Maggie says the grandmother and Mike Faber haven't moved since they arrived. You didn't hear that from me though. Maggie isn't their Doctor and isn't supposed to be anywhere near them. She only found out because Carrie was nagging at her that she needed to know. That it would help."

"And of course it hasn't helped, because it isn't what she wanted to hear."

"No. She wanted to hear that they were all going to be fine and now…", Franks trails off with a sigh.

"I'll find her Mr Mathison."

"Thank you…and it's Frank."

"Frank…right", Stephen repeats, before ending the call.

"I know I'm thirteen minutes late, but honestly Probie, you have this ability to find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place in such a small time frame."

Processing what has been said, Carrie nonchalantly folds up her paper as though she has been waiting for him all along. Standing up to move with him, she answers, "perhaps I'll buy you a watch for your Christmas…and I distinctly remember telling you never to call me Probie."

"Yes, I remember that. I also remember calling you it every time you did something stupid."

Carrie throws Stephen a dirty look as they approach his car.

"So I take it my dad phoned you?", Carrie demands, unimpressed.

"Well, he didn't appreciate waking up to find his granddaughter screaming like a banshee with her mother nowhere to be found."

"What? Is she ok?"

"Yes. Your dad has it under control", Stephen replies with an edge to his voice and starting the car.

"Don't judge. Don't you dare fucking judge", Carrie snaps at Stephen. "And what the fuck do you mean between a rock and a hard place? I saw the two guys doing surveillance. They couldn't have been more fucking obvious. It is why I chose to sit where I did, out of their line of sight."

"Well, it's a pity you didn't notice the other two whose line of sight you were right in", Stephen shoots at her.

"Fuck off. No way", Carrie snaps back. "I'm not that out of practice."

"It's not about being out of practice. It's about emotions clouding judgement."

"What the fuck are you…", Carrie begins in a rage. "You've just missed the turn, you moron. Take the next right."

Stephen drives on past the next turn.

"We're being followed", he says quickly, before Carrie can argue about it.

Carrie looks at him for a minute before taking a discreet look in the mirror and finding he is right.

"Shit."

"Recognise them?"

"How the fuck am I meant to be able to tell from here?"

"You're not! It's why I am holding out my phone…you know with a picture", Stephen answers testily.

"Smart arse", Carrie replies, taking the phone from him and having a good look at the picture. "No, I don't recognise them, but I did recognise the other two. How did you know where I was?"

"Apart from waltzing into Langley and demanding answers, it's the stupidest thing you could have done."

"What are you…"

What the fuck are you doing exactly?", Stephen interrupts angrily.

"Something", Carrie replies heatedly. "I'm no good sitting around doing nothing when something needs done. The easiest place to start is with Congressman Smith."

"No. No it's not. He is a shit storm waiting to happen. This is not your responsibility."

"Yes, it is", Carrie whispers, turning away from Stephen to look out the window.

"Carrie", Stephen tries gently, changing tactic, but Carrie does not answer. Already lost in thought.

It was her responsibility. She knew it, even if no one else could understand.

"It's your fucking fault", the distraught 19 year old screams at her. "He walks out on us for you and ends up fucking dead. "What the fuck makes you more important than us?"

Carrie could not remember a time when she sat and took abuse, even if she knew she deserved it. But this was different, so very different.

Dana runs out of the room, followed by her weary mother.

"I think you should go."

Carrie looks up startled at the coldness of Chris's. He's sitting rigidly, eyes blazing with barely suppressed fury. He has hardly said anything in the half hour she has been here, but there is a firmness about his suggestion. He's not really suggesting she leave. He's telling her to.

Carrie can feel her hopes slipping away from her as she walks to the front door, Chris following behind her. She opens it and steps outside. How stupid it seemed now to walk in here with some hope, when bringing them news she just had.

Turning back around to face Chris, she found she needed to say something.

"He loved you", the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She knew as soon as she said them, it had been the wrong thing to say.

"I think I'd rather have heard that from him", Chris replies acidly. "Don't ever come back here. You've done enough damage."

The door is slammed in her face. Her dad once told her that hope springs eternal. She knew now of course he'd only said that to cheer her up, for he was as bitter as Maggie about her mother. Her mother hadn't come back. Brody wasn't coming back. She wasn't sure that hope did spring eternal.

"Carrie?"

"Oh for fucks sake what?", Carrie snaps back into the present.

"I'm worried about you getting yourself pulled back into shit. You have Allayna to think about", Stephen replies with patience.

"I don't know why. I haven't done anything yet thanks to you being a boy scout. And I am thinking about Allayna."

Realising they were now parked in the Walmart car park, Carrie narrows her eyes at Stephen, "how long ago did we lose them?"

"About 20 minutes ago."

"So, why are we here then?"

"We're going to get your dad's shopping…and yours."

Carrie glares at him before trying to get out of the car, only to find the door locked.

"Let me out", Carrie commands, voice dangerously low.

"No. Not until you listen to me", Stephen refuses to back down, meeting Carrie's furious glare.

A tense silence fills the car.

"Well fucking get on with it then!", Carrie growls after a few minutes.

"Reading between the lines, the shit is about to very seriously hit the fan with Congressman Smith…"

"You don't say", Carrie interrupts sarcastically.

"He's gone from being a loudmouth to modestly quiet very quickly. Judging by the surveillance team on him, the CIA are not the reason."

Carrie realising what he is getting at whips her head round to look at him, "motherfucking shit! They're going to think it's me!"

"Still think you haven't done anything yet?"

"Fuck! If they think I'm whispering in his ear…shit, shit, shit. I only wanted to get him to back the fuck off. His crap is causing trouble."

"And you have a contrary interest in all of this to your former employers."

Carrie stares at him curiously.

"I'm good at reading between the lines. Besides you told me enough for me to realise. If you want Allayna to have a relationship with her brother and sister and help them, you need to be alive."

"They need to be fucking alive", Carrie bites back.

"Just promise, you'll step back."

"Well, I fucking can't now."

"Yes you can. Just go back to being mom. They'll see you have nothing to do with it", Stephen practically pleads with her. "Look, your emotional attachment in this case is a big fucking alarm bell to them. It'll get you in big fucking trouble…"

"Listen to who is talking. You'd know all about that wouldn't you. I remember that day. You were fucking out of control. So, don't fucking lecture me about emotional attachment." Carrie regrets the words almost immediately.

Stephen's eyes flash dangerously, even though he looks as though he has just been slapped.

He unlocks the car door.

"Stephen…"

"You're right", he interrupts abruptly. "I would know all about that which is why I'm advising you not to make the same mistake. After all, the only thing I had to lose then was me and at that point, I couldn't have cared less. You have much more to lose." Stephen gets out banging the car door shut behind him.

Carrie rubs her hands over her face, "fucking idiot, Mathison", she scolds herself, watching him walk across the car park before getting out and following.