Disclaimer: This story is based on characters copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. It is meant for enjoyment purposes only. I retain the right to the plot and not the characters. Do not distribute or copy this story in part or full without the express written consent of the author. All characters in this story are fictional.
 
 

Amanda and Lee were in the comfortable confines of the Q Bureau filling out the stacks of paperwork that seemed to sometimes overwhelm them.  He looked across the room at her, silently watching as her fingers flew across the computer keyboard as if she was within seconds of victory.  Unfortunately, they were far from being finished.  He had no idea how he ever kept up with the paperwork without her.  Then he chuckled to himself; he wondered how he had ever lived without her.  He felt a warm glow fill him; a smile crept over his face knowing that she was his not only his partner, but his wife.

Amanda's fingers began to falter. She didn't need to look up to know Lee was watching her. She could feel his eyes upon her. Finally she glanced across the room at his loving gaze and blushed.

"You're watching me again. You know I can't concentrate when you do that," Amanda scolded him.

His chair creaked on the old wooden floor as he pushed it away from his desk and purposely crossed the room. He leaned on the corner of her desk and whispered, "How about we knock off early tonight, head to my place and discuss how we plan to celebrate our anniversary?"

She looked up at him, his twinkling eyes shining down into hers. "Now if we go back to your place you know darn well we won't end up discussing anything."

He grinned devilishly. "You can call it practice..."

"Practice?" Amanda repeated as she rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain her smile. He began to lean down for a kiss, but the phone rang and interrupted their intimate conversation. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her poise and quickly answered it. "Q Bureau. Yes, Billy, he's right here," she answered as she handed the phone over to him.

"Yeah, Billy?" Lee answered distractedly.

"Scarecrow, I need to see you in my office, pronto!" Billy demanded.

"Billy, it's almost five…" he complained as he looked at his watch. Amanda grimaced knowing another evening was probably going to be lost to the Agency.

"Scarecrow, now! It's urgent," Billy repeated and hung up the phone.

Lee sighed heavily. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere? Promise?"

"I'll be here," Amanda replied, staring at the pile of paperwork on her desk. "Where else would I go?"

** *** **

Lee entered the bullpen just as Billy opened the door to his office. "It's about time," Billy warned hastily.

"Blame it on that elevator; it got stuck between floors again," Lee argued as he headed towards Billy. "When are we going to get that fixed?"

"Never mind that, in my office!" Billy urged as he just about pushed Lee into his office. "I've got an assignment for you."

"Billy, we're swimming in paperwork upstairs, not to mention I still haven't gotten reimbursed for the bullet holes in my suit from the last assignment," Lee complained. "I was counting on a couple days of R & R."

"Sorry, but that will have to wait. This is top priority," Billy closed the door and adjusted the blinds. "Need to know. Triple alpha clearance required."

"But, Billy, Amanda's not…" Lee stopped mid sentence. That was why he was here - alone. Amanda's clearance wasn't that high. He settled into the leather chair opposite Billy's desk. He knew there were few agents with a triple alpha clearance, and like it or not he was one of them.

"What we have here, doesn't leave the room. You're not to tell anyone where you are going, not Francine, not even Amanda. Got it?" Billy warned sternly. "Any word leaks out about this operation and there will be hell to pay!"

"Yeah, I got it, need to know," Lee answered gloomily.

"I mean it, Lee. No communication with anyone once you walk out the Agency door tomorrow - zero contact. No phone calls unless they're to me - my private line only," Billy ordered.

Lee groaned in frustration. So much for planning a romantic weekend with Amanda, so much for celebrating their first anniversary in style. The way things looked, he wouldn't even be able to call her. "OK, Billy, I get the message. I know how to do my job, do you mind telling me what the job is?"

"You're to drive up to the Chateau Lodge tomorrow morning."

"The Chateau Lodge in the Poconos?" Lee complained.

"That's the one," Billy answered.

"Billy, that's a couples place. Don't you think a single guy up there is going to stand out?" Lee griped. He certainly didn't want to be spending the weekend alone at a resort when he should be with his wife celebrating their first anniversary.

"Yes, but you will be meeting a woman up there. She's your contact. We've reserved a suite for you two for the weekend. She's going to be slipped some information up there sometime during the weekend and pass it onto you," Billy answered.

"What exactly is she passing me?" Lee asked.

"All I can tell you is that it's highly classified. That's all you need to know for now."

"For that I have to ruin an entire weekend?" Lee argued.

Billy shrugged. "Hey, it could be worse, I just sent Samuelson to Tel Aviv for a week. He's the only other agent I have with triple alpha clearance. If you prefer, you could switch assignments. I'm sure you could catch him at the airport. I assumed, you, being the senior agent would have preferred this one."

"No, thanks," Lee swallowed hard; a weekend away would be bad enough.

"You need to protect this woman. I don't want anything to happen to her. When the information trade goes down, you can do what you please. But until then, I don't want her out of your sight for a minute. Got it?" Billy warned urgently.

Lee nodded his understanding. At this point he was glad it was 'eyes only' and 'need to know'. He wouldn't relish the idea of telling Amanda that he was going away to a resort and meeting an unknown woman with whom he would have to share a room with. Thankfully, Billy had gotten them a suite. The weekend on the hide-a-bed would be better than the floor.

"So how and when am I meeting this woman?"

"She'll meet you at dinner on Friday night at seven. I want you up there early, get familiar with the layout of the place, in case there's any trouble."

"Is there anything else?" Lee asked, still annoyed at the intrusions the Agency seemed to always cause in his and Amanda's lives.

"Just remember, once you leave here tomorrow, no contact with anyone other than me. Is that clear?"

"I understand, Billy. You don't need to tell me again."

"Lee," Billy started as Lee was heading for the door. "I'm sorry about ruining your weekend plans. I'll make it up to you."

Lee shook his head. "Billy, some things you just can't make up for."
 

*** *** ***

"Come on," Lee called out to Amanda when he opened the door to the Q Bureau.

"Where to?" Amanda questioned.

"You ask too many questions," he quipped, trying not to let his bad mood take over.

"Who taught me that?" she asked in return as she grabbed her coat and purse and followed him out the door.

Lee drove through Georgetown and to his apartment in stone silence. Amanda finally asked. "Lee what's going on?"

"Our plans were just ruined for the weekend - our anniversary weekend. I've got to go out of town," Lee snarled emphatically.

"That's what Billy wanted to talk to you about?" Amanda asked in a deflated voice.

He merely nodded. There wasn't much else he could tell her about his assignment. He opened the door to his apartment and followed her in. He threw his keys on the table in disgust.

"Lee, calm down. We can celebrate another weekend," she replied softly.

"Another weekend? Amanda, I had everything planned for this weekend. Joe has the boys; your mother will be out of town. Tomorrow night I was planning on taking you to dinner at Spencer's…"

Amanda smiled. He had claimed that he hadn't made any plans for their anniversary. She turned to him, putting her hands on the lapel of his jacket, and bringing her lips up to his. They kissed tenderly.

"I thought you hadn't made any plans for the weekend?" she murmured as she stroked his face with her hand.

Lee cleared his throat. "So I lied. I wanted this anniversary to be special. I wanted it to be everything our honeymoon wasn't."

Amanda cringed slightly at the painful memory. She too had hoped that this weekend would have been different as well. She had been looking forward to a romantic weekend alone. They seemed to be so few and far in between.

"Amanda, it's just that we get so little time together - alone. At work it's always Francine's nose or Billy popping into the Q Bureau unannounced…"

"And at the house it's two active teenagers and a very nosy mother-in-law," Amanda added.

"Wait right here," Lee stated as he headed into the bedroom.

Amanda called out to him. "Well that's a first, you're usually inviting me in there."

"Very funny," he called back and moments later he came out carrying a box. "Amanda, I wanted to give you this over the weekend, but I guess now is as good as it's going to get."

"Lee," Amanda started and then got teary eyed. She sat down on the couch and took the package from Lee.

She unwrapped the paper around the box carefully, then lifted the lid. She pushed aside the tissue paper and removed a small Waterford Crystal vase - its mouth was heart shaped.

"Oh, Lee, it's beautiful," she cried with delight. She leaned over and gave him a lingering kiss.

Lee smiled. "I wanted to give you something that you wouldn't have to hide from our family. You can say it's a Valentine's present. Whether it's filled with flowers from your garden or flowers I give you, you'll know how much I love you. I know it doesn't go with the traditional or modern gifts, but…"

"No, sweetheart, it's perfect. It truly is beautiful. But my gift for you is at home," Amanda lamented. "If you'd like to come over later tonight…"

"I'd like to, but I can't. I've got to pack," he sighed.

"Where exactly are you going? You never told me," she asked curiously.

"I should be back Monday," he said firmly as he put his hand on her's.

Amanda nodded as she laced her fingers with his. She understood; it was need to know.

"Can I at least expect a call?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "I'm really sorry, Billy's orders - zero contact, except on his private line."

"I understand," she whispered, trying to hold back tears.

They embraced, clinging to each other tightly, knowing that this impromptu rendezvous would be all they would share for their anniversary. Lee breathed in her fragrance as he held her in his arms. His hands casually roaming down her back. Finally their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Lee pulled away and nodded towards the bedroom. "Would you care to join me?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Amanda said with a smile.

He helped her up, led her to the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind them…

*** *** ***

The next morning Lee sneaked into the Q Bureau before he departed on his assignment. Amanda looked up as he walked in, then smiled as he locked the door to their office.

"Good morning, Mr. Stetson," she greeted him brightly. "I thought you would have left by now, but I was hoping you'd stop in."

"You knew I would. Couldn't leave without seeing you," Lee grinned as he bent down next to her. "I needed one last kiss."

Their lips met without hesitation, their arms pulling each other into a protective, yet all too brief embrace.

"You know, I was thinking since this weekend has been ruined, how about a ski weekend?" Amanda suggested. "You know, before the spring thaw."

"Pine Top?" Lee suggested with a grin, remembering the first time they went there.

"Well, the last time the skiing was lousy. I thought we might have better luck this time," Amanda said trying to remain cheerful. "The boys have been asking to go skiing…"

"I guess we could rent a chalet or something for all of us," Lee shrugged.

"Well, yes we could do that, but the boys wanted to go on a ski trip with the church, to Ski Valley. I was planning a separate trip," she smiled devilishly.

"Mrs. Stetson, you have the most wonderful ideas," Lee remarked as he pulled her to her feet and began a series of small kisses down her neck.

The phone rang once again breaking what was a rather intimate moment.

"Stetson," he snarled into the phone.

"Scarecrow, have you looked at the time? You should have left already. Say goodbye to Amanda, and get going," Billy yelled loudly into the phone.

"Yeah, OK, Billy. I was just taking care of a few last minute things. I'll be out of here in ten minutes," Lee answered.

"Make it five," Billy snapped, then hung up the phone abruptly.

Amanda winced at the loud 'click'. "You better get going. The only thing staying in here will do is make us both more frustrated and get Billy boiling mad."

Lee held Amanda's in his arms one last time. "I love you, you know."

Amanda nodded. "I love you, too. Now get out of here before you get into more trouble. I've got three reports due before I leave this afternoon, and I don't need Billy any angrier than he already is."

"OK, I'm going, but Pine Top, say in two weeks? Nothing short of a nuclear explosion will keep us apart," Lee said as his fingers caressed her face. He leaned down and gave her a short, but fulfilling kiss. "Remember how much I love you," he said as he unlocked the door and headed out.

Amanda dropped into her chair with her eyes closed, savoring the taste of him, the smell of his cologne, his gentle touch. She sighed deeply before opening her eyes and surveying the files in front of her. Shaking her head she reached for the one on top and began working diligently.

*** ***

Amanda worked through lunch, eager to finish her reports. When she was finally done, she picked up the files and headed down to the bullpen. As she walked into the bullpen Billy was yelling loudly. Apparently his day hadn't improved since Lee's brief telephone conversation.

"What do you mean we don't have anyone available?" Billy yelled. "There's got to be a freshman candidate who can handle a routine assignment!"

"No, they're all on assignments," Francine advised.

"It's a simple drop, an information exchange; what about a civilian auxiliary?"

"Billy, it's Friday afternoon and Valentine's day weekend. You really expect to find someone without plans?"

"Sir," Amanda broke in, "is there something I can help with?"

Billy stopped his tirade momentarily and quickly glanced at the 'on call' board and shook his head in despair. "Amanda, this could take half the night. You're on 'off assignment mode' as of now," he said as he looked at his watch.

"That's all right, sir. My plans for the weekend changed. Joe's picking up the boys from school, so I'm available."

Billy looked relieved. He put his hand across Amanda's back; a smile grew on his face as he led her into his office. "Amanda, I really do appreciate this one. I know you and Lee have worked almost every night this last week. I promise to make it up to you both."

"That's all right, sir. What exactly do I have to do?"

Billy gave her a large envelope with another sealed envelope inside. "Follow the directions in here. Give the letter to a Mr. Walker, got that? Mr. Walker. Nobody else. He'll have something for you."

"That's it?" Amanda asked, wondering what all the fuss was about.

"I said it was a simple information exchange, but you better get a move on it," Billy said as he looked at his watch.

"Yes, sir, I'm on the way," Amanda answered as she got up and headed back to the Q bureau to quickly grab her things.

***

After the long drive, Lee was glad to arrive at the hotel. He checked in and headed upstairs to his room. He opened the door to his suite; it was nicely decorated with a balcony that overlooked the snow-covered mountains. He noticed the couch and chuckled at its fluffy heart shaped pillows. Assuming it would be his 'bed' for the weekend he sat down on it for a minute to check it out.

"I've slept on worse," he commented out loud before he continued his exploration. Next he headed into the bedroom and sighed in frustration. The bed was heart shaped with a bright, candy apple red bedspread. It had numerous heart-shaped pillows near its head. Finally he investigated the bathroom to find a heart shape Jacuzzi tub for two with a large box of bubble bath near the faucet. He shook his head at the irony of the situation. Not quite his style, but with the right companion…he sighed, he really wasn't looking forward to this weekend.

Lee unpacked deliberately, trying to kill some time; then he changed and headed downstairs. After a thorough investigation of the resort he headed to the bar for a leisurely drink. He still had a while before meeting his dinner companion. Just a few minutes before seven he went into the restaurant. Lee sat alone at a small candlelit table for two. The dining room was tastefully decorated; the lighting subdued; a piano player off in the corner softly played a medley of love songs. The atmosphere was quite relaxed. Lee was anything but.

He looked out the window at the dark night sky. He thought of how the evening should have played out. A relaxing drink before they headed to Spencer's for a very romantic dinner. Afterwards they would have headed back to his apartment for what he planned would be a very private evening. Instead, he was at a honeymoon resort, waiting for his 'date'. He had no idea whom this woman was and really didn't care. He wanted to spend this weekend with his wife; not some contact he would be responsible for until the drop went down. He had plans to high tail it home as soon as that happened. He hoped to be able to salvage part of the weekend.

"Sir," the waiter called again to Lee.

Lee looked up at him blankly; he hadn't even noticed him walk up.

"Would you like to order a drink while you wait for your companion?" he suggested.

Lee nodded. That might be the best way to make it through this long weekend, slightly numb. "Yes, please, a scotch on the rocks."

"Would you like to order something for your guest, or wait until she arrives?" the waiter asked.

"Ah, no. I'd prefer to wait. I'm not sure what's detaining her. Just the scotch for now," Lee answered, not having a clue as to what his companion would want to drink. He sighed in frustration; he surely wasn't acting like an impatient lover. He was distracted; he couldn't get Amanda out of his head.

A few minutes later the waiter returned with Lee's drink. "Would you care for an appetizer while you wait, sir?"

"No, thank you," Lee answered shortly and shooed him away with his hand.

"Yes, sir," the waited responded then drifted casually out of sight.

The time ticked on slowly. Lee looked at his watch, becoming annoyed at this woman's tardiness. Was she going to be a no-show? Several tables that had been seated after he was already were eating their main courses as he slowly sipped at his scotch. The ice had melted long ago. Occasionally, a woman would walk by, alone. Lee, not knowing who he was expecting looked up each time with a fake smile, only to be ignored as the woman would walk on by to meet and greet her own lover. His watch read half past seven. Billy clearly told him dinner was at seven. He would give her until eight and that was it. What could be worse than being stood up by a contact at a romantic resort? Lee shook his head. This was going to be a long weekend.

*** *** ***
 

Amanda walked up to the receptionist.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked.

"Is Mr. Walker available?" she inquired.

"One moment please," the clerk answered as she buzzed his office. "Someone here to see you, Mr. Walker." Moments later, a tall thin man dressed in a suit greeted her.

"Can I help you?" Mr. Walker asked.

"I'm looking for Mr. Walker," Amanda answered.

"I'm Dan Walker," he replied with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Walker, I have something for you," Amanda answered as she handed him the envelope.

He opened it slowly, smiling at her. Then shaking his head, he came around the desk. "Ah, yes, I've been expecting you. Come with me, please."

"I was told you would have something for me," she said, as the man led her through a series of corridors.

He only nodded. Amanda followed him dutifully, unsure of where they were heading or what she was picking up. He led her into a dining room and finally stopped.

"Table thirteen, ma'am," Mr. Walker pointed to the solitary man sitting at the table, staring off into the night.

Amanda squinted her eyes, trying to focus. She thought she was seeing things in the candlelit dining room. Her heart began to beat quickly. She looked back towards Mr. Walker but he was gone. She turned her head back to the table and squeaked out, confused, "Lee?"

His head shot like a rocket in her direction. "Amanda? What are you doing here?"

"Billy sent me, I was supposed to drop off a letter…" she stuttered, unsure of what was going on.

"A letter, for who?" Lee asked as he got up and closed the short distance between them.

Amanda turned to point in the direction of Mr. Walker, who had discreetly disappeared. She didn't know what had happened. "What's going on?" she asked with a growing smile. "Did you set this up?"

Lee shook his head, speechless. As much as he would like to take credit for this tryst, he couldn't. He took Amanda's hand and sat her down with him at the table. Moments later the waiter came back in carrying a bottle of champagne.

"Mr. Walker asked me to give you this. I believe this should explain things," the waiter said as he handed Amanda a note then dutifully began working on the cork to the champagne bottle.

Amanda quickly tore open the note address to her. She looked up at Lee and shook her head.

"You're not going to believe this," she responded, her voice cracking in disbelief. Her eyes were wide with wonder.

"What is it?" he asked, intrigued as Amanda handed the note over to him.

Lee shook his head, then laughed. A grin broke out on his face. "I'll be damned. That old son of a gun…"

The note read simply, "Happy Anniversary, Mr. & Mrs. Stetson - Warmest Wishes, Billy and Jeannie."

The end.

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