Written: July 2001-October 2001

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. All characters and businesses in this story are fictional. Do not distribute or copy this story in part or full without the express written consent of the author.
 
 

Set in June 1987
 

Amanda walked into the bullpen, and the three people who were laughing over at the water cooler suddenly became quiet. Each of them looked up at her sheepishly, smiled weakly and then walked away. She sighed in frustration. This was the third time this week that had happened to her.

She and Lee were finding it increasingly difficult to hide their feelings for each other, let alone their marriage. It was now widely known that Amanda was 'dating' Lee. With Lee's reputation of womanizing, Amanda didn't wonder what they were whispering about. She'd overheard a conversation in the restroom on level three the other day to find she and Lee were still the hot topic…

'Poor Amanda,' she had heard one woman say. 'She thinks it's the real thing. You know Scarecrow, now that he's bagged her his eye will be roaming for the next one to come along.' The other woman replied. 'It took Scarecrow a while to get her in the sack. But whatever Scarecrow wants, Scarecrow gets…' She had heard the two women laugh as they headed out the door.

She tried not to let it bother her, but deep down it did. The whispers, the pathetic glances as she walked down the hall were hard to ignore. Luckily the warnings from Francine weren't as forthcoming as they once had been, but the subject would eventually come up. Would it ever end she wondered? Even as Amanda permitted the thought to cross her mind, Francine looked up from her desk.

"Amanda, if you're looking for Lee he hasn't been down here this morning," she stated briskly with an air of authority.

"Actually, I was looking for the Rutledge report. Mrs. Marston said it came in by messenger but was sent down here," Amanda answered.

Francine tapped her pen on her desk and nodded. "Check the 'IN' box over by Billy's office. It probably got stuffed in there."

"Thanks, Francine," Amanda said as she headed towards the bin Francine had indicated. After sorting through the large stack she found what she wanted and gladly exited the bullpen heading for the relative safety of the Q Bureau.

******* *******

"Hi, beautiful," Lee greeted her as she entered the Q Bureau.

She returned his greeting with noticeably less cheer. "Morning."

"You seemed to have left the 'good' out of the morning," he noticed from her tone of voice as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

She squirmed away, looking over her shoulder at the door. "Lee, the door's not locked."

He sauntered over to the door and turned the dead bolt. His face had a determined smile as he then strode back to his wife confidently and took her in his arms. "Now, let's try this again. Good morning," he whispered tenderly as his lips met hers.

Amanda kissed him quickly and wriggled out of his arms, her mood quite sour. "I've spent the last hour tracking down the Rutledge report," she explained quietly, unable to look him in the eye.

"We've got plenty of time to work on that," he chided, frowning slightly. "You mind telling me what's bothering you?"

"I just told you; I've spent the last hour tracking down this report. I had hoped to have read it by now." Amanda repeated brusquely as she sat down at her desk, hoping that Lee would drop the subject.

Lee could tell something else was bothering her. Tracking down what department a file had been mistakenly sent to was often a frustrating part of the job. However, Amanda was clearly upset and he knew that a misplaced file wasn't the cause.

"Well, I know it's not your birthday," he surmised as he leaned on her desk. He gently touched the flowers that sat on her desk as he continued his less than subtle interrogation. "We made Phillip's ball game last night, so that can't be it. "

"Lee, I'm trying to read here," she protested with exaggerated patience refusing to look up from the file.

He gently took the file from her hand, glancing at the first few pages. "Fascinating reading. I can see why you were so engrossed in it," he teased. "So where did you finally find it?"

"You're not going to let this drop, are you?" she sighed with frustration.

"Let me guess, Mrs. Marston didn't have it. So you must have had to go down to central receiving and sort through all the morning mail. Am I right?" Lee guessed, observing her carefully.

"OK, I finally found it in Mr. Melrose's 'IN' box. Satisfied? Now can I please have the report back? You may be familiar with the case, but I'm not," she gritted out testily as she tried pulling it out of Lee's grasp.

He refused to relinquish it from his grip; he got up from the desk and started pacing. "Francine said something to you again, didn't she?" he deduced angrily.

Amanda knew Lee well enough to know that he wouldn't stop until he found out exactly what happened. She pushed her chair away from her desk and stood up and crossed her arms protectively around herself.

"No, it wasn't Francine," she mumbled, but the hurt was apparent in her voice. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat before she explained. "There were a few secretaries chatting at the water cooler when I walked into the bullpen. They were laughing and giggling until they saw me. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I didn't have to either."

"Amanda, it doesn't matter what anyone says about us. You know how I feel about you. There's bound to be gossip. You know that; we talked about it before we got married." Lee tried to be reassuring, but there was little he could do to stem the tide of rumors.

"I know that, but I didn't expect it to continue month after month. They just get under my skin," she answered guiltily. "I think we need to keep our distance from each other while we're at the office."

"Amanda…" he started to argue.

"Lee, I'm serious. We've both been bad lately about keeping our feelings for each other under wraps while we're here," she pointed out.

"You mean like this?" He reached for her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her again hoping to cajole her into a better mood.

She sighed and surrendered for a few moments of welcome affection. "Yeah, a lot like that," she whispered huskily, but finally she pulled away. "From now on, when we're at the office, it's strictly business."

"It would be easier if we got a little privacy when we left the office," Lee complained, shaking his head.

"Who said this was going to be easy?" she quipped with defeat then, she put her hand out, arm length in front of her. "A little more space and a lot less….well, you know."

"That could set off a whole new set of rumors about us," he suggested knowingly.

Amanda sat back down at her desk, refusing to meet his glance. "Lee, I really don't know how much more of this I can take. We have to do something."

"OK, OK," he relented. "I'll try to behave. I'll put some distance between us here, but then we're going to have to make up for it when we're not here - agreed?"

She smiled up at him and responded warmly. "Agreed."

*** *** ***

Francine called up to the Q Bureau later that afternoon. "Billy's called a staff meeting for two o'clock."

"Thanks, Francine," Amanda answered looking at her watch. "We'll be there."

A while later the conference room filled with agents and finally Billy walked in. "OK, people, let's get started. As you know the Armament convention will be in town next week. Beeman's going to be running security using the freshman candidates. They'll be spending several shifts on the premises, but if anyone can spare a few hours it would be greatly appreciated."

There was a collective groan around the room.

"Every crackpot on the East Coast will be trying to get in, Billy," Francine protested sharply, arching a delicate eyebrow. "You're going to need a whole lot more than appreciation to get me to head over there."

"I'll remember that, Francine, next time you're due for a raise," Billy reminded her pointedly, folding his arms across his chest. "I know it's not a choice assignment, but I better not hear from Beeman that he's short staffed. Is that clear, people? An incident over there will be a bad reflection on this agency."

The agents in the room murmured various replies.

"On to other business. There's been a change on the Romanoff Jewel Exhibition. It will be here for limited viewing next week. It was supposed to be by invitation only, but that has changed and it will be open to the public for one day," Billy explained as he stared in Lee's direction.

"No way, Billy," Scarecrow complained with a loud groan.

"Sorry, Scarecrow, you're in charge of security and don’t even start," Billy interrupted firmly. "I realize they didn’t give us much lead-time."

"Why the last minute public showing?" Amanda inquired curiously.

"It's for charity. They're trying to soften their image. Might help them out politically at the bargaining table," Billy explained with a shrug. "What they're sending has never been viewed outside of Moscow before, and it should be a good money maker."

"If you think Beeman's going to have his hands full with the Armament convention, just wait. This display will attract every crack pot and jewel thief in the world," Lee added. "So how much input do we have in…."

Billy cut off Lee's line of questioning. "It’s in the file. You're not going to like it, but you need to put this on top of your calendar."

"Great!" Lee groused unhappily, rolling his eyes. "Like I don’t have enough to do already."

"Lee, you're going to need some help. I want a list of who's on your team by tomorrow morning. We'll get together next Monday to go over the details. Any questions?" Billy asked as he surveyed the team of agents sitting around the table. "OK, people, we've got a lot on our plates, so let's keep on top of it."

As the agents started filing out of the room, Lee called out. "Francine, you got a minute?"

Francine looked over at Amanda who'd hesitated for a moment. Francine expected Lee to ask her to stay as well. Lee however, didn't ask Amanda to stay and she left the room without any comment.

"Yeah, sure, Lee. What do you need?" Francine asked innocuously as the door closed leaving them alone.

Lee thumbed through the file and put it on the desk. "I'm going to need some help on this. It's going to take up a lot of time, probably most of the weekend. You game?"

Francine looked at Lee and then glanced out into the bullpen. She watched with concern as Amanda headed out into the hall. "Well, sure, but I just figured that Amanda…"

"Yeah, she'll be briefed on this, but as Billy said, the freshman agents are going to be working the Armaments convention," Lee explained logically. "I'm going to need an armful of agents with a lot of experience to help with security. So are you up for the challenge?"

"Yeah, sure," Francine agreed after only a moment's hesitation. "I'll meet you up in the Q Bureau in about a half hour and we can get started?"

"Great, I appreciate it," Lee said as he collected the file and headed out the door.

Francine shook her head and followed.

*** *** ***

"I'm sure Francine jumped at the chance to work with you on the Romanoff collection. She'll be dazzling just like a diamond," Amanda snapped angrily after Lee came into the Q Bureau.

"Now wait a second," he retorted defensively. "You're the one who suggested we distance ourselves from each other. Billy just finished telling everyone that the 'freshman candidates' would be working the Armaments conference. It's really a perfect setup."

"Yeah, I can hardly wait," Amanda complained. "I'll be checking out Howitzers and AK47's with every sleazy gun dealer that has big enough purse strings to get in the door. In the meantime you and Francine get to ogle priceless gems that have never been seen in the US before and wining and dining with Washington's high society!" she balked, quite annoyed.

"First of all, this was your idea, not mine," he reminded her. "Secondly, there's no reason you can't be part of the team, but if you want us to distance ourselves it's kind of hard to be partners! You can't have it both ways." Lee took a deep breath trying to calm down. He knew and understood the frustration she felt; he softened his tone. "Besides, you'll have plenty on your hands with that Armament convention."

"You know, I feel like no matter what I do I can't do anything right!" she admitted in frustration, tears filling up her eyes, her voice beginning to crack. "If I let on that we're involved at work, I'm the center of ridicule. After all, everyone's so sure that with your track record, I can't hold onto you. At home they know I'm in love with you, but I have to pretend I'm not ready to make a commitment. You know everyone's concerned about your track record, but I'm starting to worry about mine. I've already had one failed marriage…" her voice trailed off sharply, when the door flew open.

Francine barely knocked before she barged in. She stopped abruptly as a tense silence permeated the room. Francine stole a quick glance at Lee and Amanda's faces and she knew she'd walked into the middle of something. She just wasn't sure what.

"I'm umm, I'm a little early," she stammered uncomfortably, not wanting to make an obviously bad situation worse. "I could come back in a few minutes…"

"No, Francine," Amanda declined blinking back her tears and grabbing her purse. "I think I've had about as much of this place as I can stand for one day." She quickly got to her feet and hurried out of the office.

"Amanda…" Lee called out to her pleadingly.

When she didn't even pause, he threw the Romanoff file onto his desk in fury and plopped down wearily into his chair.

"Office romances rarely workout," Francine commented curtly.

"You know, Francine, if everyone at this agency would worry more about national security than they do about my relationship with Amanda the world would be a safer place," Lee snapped giving her an icy stare.

"Trust me, Scarecrow, it's not YOU that most of us are worried about," she harangued back at him vengefully. "I've warned her about you, but your charm does seem to create a fatal attraction. She's not like the rest of us, Lee. She's different…"

"I know she's different, Francine," he shot back scathingly.

"But in the end, you're going to hurt her more than you've hurt all the other women in your little black books!" she lashed right back at him.

Lee closed his eyes, willing himself not to lose his temper. He was beginning to understand how Amanda felt when time after time another alleged Good Samaritan told her how wrong she was for him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Francine, we have two choices here," he finally said, not willing to discuss the subject any further. "We can either get to work on the Romanoff collection or you can leave and I'll find someone else to help me. But my relationship with Amanda is off limits - period. The choice is yours."

He grabbed the file from his desk and snapped it open.

Francine decided to take the hint for now, and moved Amanda's chair next to Lee and started reading over his shoulder.

End Part 1
 
 

A FINAL REVIEW     Part 2
 
 

The house was quiet when Lee pulled up. The front porch light was on, but he sneaked around the back. Amanda was curled up on the couch, book in her lap and her head resting on the cushion.

He tapped on the window lightly at first, then again a little louder before she stirred.

It took a moment before she realized what the noise was that woke her from her slumber. She got up and unlocked the door and let him in.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "I wasn't sure if I should wake you up or not. You looked pretty peaceful."

"Yeah," she answered as she stretched. "I was out like a light."

"Something tells me you needed it. Where is everybody?" Lee asked curiously as he noticed the unusually silent house.

"Phillip went to the Orioles game with one of his friends and his family. Jamie was invited over for a crab feast at the neighbors down the street, and Mother had a date," she explained as they crossed the kitchen and headed for the family room.

"Why didn't you call? We could have rendezvoused at my place," Lee asked.

"Other than mother's date, it was last minute plans and I figured you were up to your elbows in diamonds and rubies," she answered as a little bit of sarcasm crept back into her voice.

"Amanda, please…" Lee started, uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry," she said, holding up her hand as if to surrender. Then she reached for his hand and sat down. "I'm not dealing with this very well. I don't mean to take it out on you, but…"

"But you don't have anyone else to confide in," he finished her sentence.

She smiled appreciatively with a slight nod of her head. "So you do understand?"

He pulled her to him in a comforting embrace. "I went a round with Francine just after you left."

"Who won?" she asked jokingly.

"It was a draw. I don't always realize what you put up with. I've always turned a blind eye to the gossip. You, on the other hand, have 20/20 vision," he conceded. "Other than Francine, there's no one else at the office who would say anything to me."

"It's been pretty bad this week at work, but that's not the only problem," Amanda admitted quietly. "Things here at home aren't the way I want them to be… the way they should be. I want to set a good example for the boys, and you've been a wonderful role model for them. You've been a friend and a mentor to both of them."

"I hear a 'but' coming," he said nervously as he examined her troubled face. He'd been so busy the last few days he hadn't noticed that her usual bright eyes and warm smile were missing. Her eyes were melancholy, her face showing signs of strain.

She pulled away from his embrace and nodded, not knowing how to say what she needed to say without hurting him. Her voice was hushed, almost a whisper.

"I'm afraid of failing again. I'm afraid of what'll happen if this doesn't work. Maybe everyone is right, maybe we can't make this work," she stated with uncertainty.

"Amanda, you know that's not going to happen," he replied, but his tone was less than certain. "Don't let this turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy

"Lee, hear me out," she pleaded calmly, hoping she could allay his fears as well as her own. "I know that you love me as much as I love you. I would have never married you if I had even the slightest doubt, but sometimes our marriage seems more like a game. I feel cheated… I feel like I'm cheating you out of a family and I feel like I'm cheating my sons out of their last chance at having a father. Phillip and Jamie will be off to college and out on their own in a few years, and the only example they have for a dad is Joe who was never here for them and now you."

"And they think I don't want to commit to you or them either," Lee concluded in an anguished voice.

"My marriage to Joe fell apart because we were never together," she continued on, her voice a whisper as she tried to hold back a painful sob. She wiped her eyes and threw back her head. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to gain control of her emotions.

Lee pulled her to him again. He had never thought about that aspect of their marriage. Certainly she would have some doubts and concerns. But before he could answer the front door opened unexpectedly.

"Hi, Mom, hi, Lee!" Jamie called out in excitement as he slammed the door. "You should have joined us, Mom! They have tons of leftovers."

Amanda took a deep breath before answering. "I'll remember that for next time. Sounds like you had a good time."

"Yeah, I really did, but now I smell all fishy," he complained, making a funny face as he held out his hands.

"Try some lemon juice," she suggested to her son. "On the door in the refrigerator."

"OK, thanks," he answered as he walked into the kitchen.

"I guess this discussion is over for now," Lee whispered as he watched Jamie in the kitchen.

"For now," she agreed.

"We need to talk about this over the weekend," he said determinedly.

Amanda nodded. "So how are things going with the Romanoff collection?"

Lee rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I'll be glad when it's back in Moscow."

*** *** *** ***

Friday morning Lee met Billy in his office to discuss the Romanoff Jewel exhibition.

"I'm going to need a lot of help with this thing, Billy." Lee concluded as he finished his assessment of the exhibition. "I'll need six full time agents, and the day it's open to the public I want at least a dozen agents plus the hotel's security and metro police."

"You've got it. I've got an open budget on this one," Billy agreed as he eyed the manpower list. "I don't see Amanda's name on this list."

"Yeah, well Francine's available - full time, so are Brockman, Dunn and Martinez," Lee explained. "You made it clear that the freshman candidates would be used at the Armaments conference, so I hadn't planned on using any of them."

"That's right, she'll be expected over there. We'll be stretched thin," Billy nodded thoughtfully. "Talk with Beeman. See who he plans to use when, and work around that. That is, if you want her on your team."

"Of course," he replied.

"OK, we'll meet back on Monday morning and go over the rest of the details," Billy agreed. "Have a good weekend."

"Yeah, sure," Lee quipped skeptically as he got up and walked towards the door. "I'll be over at the Hotel Monroe's 'Emperor's Ballroom' most of the weekend working out the details with Francine. This one's not going to be easy."

"Scarecrow, who ever said this job was easy?" Billy jested as Lee shook his head and exited the door.

*** *** *** ***

The weekend rushed by as the boys kept Amanda busy and plans for the exhibition kept Lee and Francine hopping as they tried to iron out security details. Other than a few quick phone calls and hastily left messages on answering machines, the weekend was nothing more than a series of near misses. The important discussion from the other night still weighed heavily on each of their minds.

Monday morning Lee got into the Q bureau just minutes before the roll call meeting.

"This game of telephone tag we've been playing has reached a new level of frustration," he commented as he walked in and locked the door behind him.

"I'll second that," Amanda agreed with a warm smile.

"Yeah, I spent much more time with Francine over the last three days at the hotel than I had planned to," Lee began, bending down and kissing her.

Amanda cringed. "Not exactly what your wife wants to hear on Monday morning when she didn't get to see you for even an hour!"

"Well, I made it by your house Saturday afternoon, but you weren't there," Lee teased her.

"Phillip's All Star team had to practice, but the field in Arlington was being sodded, so I had to drive him down to Alexandria," she explained apologetically.

"Next weekend they're with Joe, right?" he questioned.

"Yup, he's got reservations at Nags Head," she replied.

"Good. The Romanoff collection will be back on a plane on Friday morning. Maybe I'll make some reservations as well," he suggested with a grin.

"I think we better get ourselves downstairs before Mr. Melrose calls up here looking for us," Amanda replied as she looked at her watch.

Lee stole another kiss from his wife and reminded her. "The door's locked."

She smiled. "Yeah, I noticed you locked it on the way in."

Lee took her in his arms, and they shared another, more intimate kiss. As Lee pulled away Amanda wiped the lipstick off his lips with her finger. Then he gave her a quick wink before they went down to the bullpen.

*** *** ***

"OK, people, you all have your assignments. Some of you will be working both the Armament conference and the Romanoff Jewelry Exhibition. Stay on your toes," Billy encouraged as the meeting wound down. "Does anyone have anything else to add?"

"Billy, I've got to be down at the Hotel Monroe this morning. I want to be there when they install the remaining security cameras. Can we meet this afternoon?" Lee answered.

Billy shook his head. "No, I've got to be at the Pentagon this afternoon. I'll meet you at the hotel - how's eleven? Then I can get an idea of how bad this layout really is."

"I'll be there," Lee promised.

"That's it then," Billy announced as the agents began to clear the room.

Amanda picked up her assignment folders and started for the door.

"Amanda, I want to see you in my office in a half hour," Billy called out to her.

"Yes, sir," she said, then looked over at Lee who shrugged, tapped his watch, then headed out of the office.

End Part 2
 
 

A FINAL REVIEW       Part 3
 

She knocked at Billy's door promptly thirty minutes later. He was on the phone, but motioned her to come in. He covered the receiver of the phone and rolled his eyes. "I'll be right with you."

Amanda sat in the chair in front of Billy's desk and politely turned away to give him some privacy. Her mind wandered back to her relationship with Lee and their discussion that had yet to be concluded. Her relationship with him had been complicated from the start, but since Stemwinder last September, it had been like she was on a whirlwind tour.

She remembered so vividly the first real kiss they shared in the Q Bureau last spring. It had shaken her to her core. Never before did she feel so alive from a kiss. It took him another few months before she heard him say what her heart already knew, but her ears hadn't deceived her because later that same day, he said it again. The second time he told her he loved her in her bedroom, as he was about to go deep into hiding to clear his name.

She thought about the obstacles they had both overcome in the last few years. They both carried a lot of baggage into this marriage. Lee had never fully dealt with the loss of his parents early in his life. She pushed aside the pain from her divorce from Joe. Certainly the odds were against them. The fact that they ended up married was nothing short of a miracle. If the secretaries at the water cooler only knew she was married to the elusive 'Scarecrow'. Her smile turned into a laugh, but Billy's voice snapped her back to reality.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, but I didn't think you'd take this so lightly, Amanda," Billy lectured her sternly.

Amanda looked up at her boss, wide-eyed, her heart suddenly pounding. What did he just say to her? She was so lost in thought she hadn't heard him hang up the phone.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to laugh. I was thinking about something else. I… I didn't hear what you said," she confessed, blushing in embarrassment.

"Well, I could use a good laugh myself. Care to share the joke?" Billy prodded jovially.

That statement from her boss only made her face turn a deeper shade of crimson. Finally in a soft voice she replied. "No, sir, it's kind of personal. You were on the phone and I didn't want to eavesdrop, so, I… well, I allowed my mind to wander. Would you mind repeating what you said?"

Billy let Amanda off the hook easily. "I've been keeping in close touch with Beeman on your progress. He's been very pleased and at times frustrated with you."

"Frustrated, sir?" she interjected with concern.

"Relax, Amanda," Billy quickly reassured her. "Usually it takes at least a year for most freshman candidates to complete all their required course work. You've done it in less than nine months. That in itself is quite a remarkable feat; I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," she smiled appreciatively.

"Don't thank me just yet. I'm sure you saw your schedule for the week. I'm really counting on you a lot. Beeman had you scheduled everyday for the Armaments convention; you’re his best recruit. But Scarecrow needs you over at the hotel as well. So Wednesday you're working two shifts… one at each location and Thursday, the day the exhibit's open to the public, you'll be at the Romanoff exhibition all day."

"I was surprised by that. I didn't think Lee was using any freshman agents for the public exhibition," she reminded him.

"Well, you’re the exception. You two work well together and the public exhibition is important to both the Russians and the Agency," he replied and pulled a large packet out of his desk drawer. "But part of the reason I've called you down here this morning is to give you this."

"What is it?" she asked in a confused voice.

"Paperwork for a final security review," Billy stated. "It'll take about a month to process, and then you'll officially be a full fledged field agent," Billy announced with pride. "The Agency always run one last security check, it's merely routine. If there were any skeletons in your closet we would have found them last October when you formally entered the program."

Amanda was stunned at first and didn't say anything. Then what Billy said sunk in. "Another security check?" Amanda groaned with dismay.

"Relax, Amanda, what could you possible have to hide?" he chided as he held up the stack of paperwork. "I know you've a busy week ahead, but the sooner you get this back to me, the sooner it will all be over. It doesn't come with a big pay raise, but it will jump you up a couple of levels."

Amanda absently took the paperwork from his hand. "Thank you, sir, I'll get it back to you as soon as I can."

Billy nodded as he watched Amanda get up and exit his office. He really expected her to be more excited. It wasn't every day that a civilian turns into a field agent in record time and with above average grades. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his watch. He then grabbed a few files and hurried out of his office to meet up with Lee.

**** *** ***

Amanda walked up the stairs to the Q Bureau with some trepidation. Beeman hadn't said a word to her that she was nearing the completion of her course work. She knew she was ahead of the class, but she'd never expected to finish three months early. Billy's words kept reverberating over and over in her head. 'Relax, Amanda, what could you possible have to hide?'

As she reached the Q Bureau she was relieved that Lee would be in the field, and she'd have a moment to herself. She sat down at her desk and thumbed through the paperwork. Most of it was routine; all but the last few papers were stapled together. The words "FINAL SECURITY REVIEW" stood out in big bold letters. At the bottom of the last sheet was a formal statement: 'The signature below represents knowledge and consent for 'The Agency' to examine any and all information regarding the aforementioned candidate, personal or otherwise.'

"This is going to be a long week," Amanda sighed out loud as she finally turned her computer on and tried to get to work.

The folder Billy gave her sat prominently on the corner of her desk. She tried valiantly to ignore it, but it kept catching her eye. Finally she grabbed the folder and its contents and threw it in the top drawer of her desk.

"There," she scolded. "Now leave me alone!"

She went back to her other report, but she couldn't get it out of her mind. Amanda desperately needed to talk to Lee. She knew well enough that a final security check would turn up their marriage license.

As unlikely as it would be to reach him at the Hotel, they needed to talk. She decided to leave a message for him at the Concierge's desk. Their discussion from last week had been put off, but it couldn't be put off much longer.

"Yes, I'm trying to reach Lee Stetson," Amanda said politely. "Could you leave a message for him? He's directing the security team for the Romanoff Jewel Exhibition in the Emperor's Ballroom."

"Certainly," the concierge replied courteously.

She dictated a short but concise message. "Lee, please call Amanda. It's important."

"Did you wish to leave a number?" the concierge asked.

"No, he knows how to reach me," she answered, thanked the concierge and hung up.

Amanda felt better after making the phone call. She worked through lunch on the hopes that Lee might call, but his call didn't come. Late in the afternoon she decided she'd drop over to the hotel on her way home from work. She'd be working the exhibit later in the week, so a peek at the layout now could be helpful.

*** *** *** ***

"Mrs. King, what are you doing over here?" Agent Martinez asked as he checked his list of agents on duty. "You're not scheduled today are you?"

"No, not until Wednesday, but I thought I'd drop by and see how everything's coming along," she said to the other agent as her eyes scanned the ballroom.

"The security cameras were installed earlier today. As you can see we're working on finishing up the display cases," Martinez replied. "They should be ready in a few hours."

"Do you mind if I look around?" she asked.

"Casing the joint, Mrs. King?" he teased, but he was certain that she was looking for someone, not something.

They both laughed.

"With all this security?" she replied. "Not on your life!"

"Go ahead, Mrs. King. Just look out for some of the wires on the floor," Martinez answered as he permitted her entrance into the ballroom.

Amanda looked around the lavishly decorated ballroom. She could understand why the Hotel Monroe was chosen. It was a very appropriate setting for the Romanoff collection with its regal décor, but at the moment it bustled with workmen and security staff handling last minute details.

The main entrance, which she'd just come in by, looked out onto the second floor lobby, which was graced with a decorative fountain and matching spiral staircases which guided the guests down to the first floor. Luckily there were no exterior exits from the ballroom itself. There was an entrance to the kitchen and a back entrance that led down a corridor to other conference rooms, rest rooms and a bank of elevators. She was making mental notes as she surveyed the area. Three entrances would make it more difficult to monitor who was coming and going during the public exhibition. Lee had his work cut out for him.

She shook her head at the thought, and again scanned the crowd hoping to see him.

"Amanda, sneaking in for a private showing of the jewels?" Francine bantered annoyingly, interrupting her reverie.

"I thought I'd drop by and get to know the layout," Amanda replied, refusing to rise to the bait. "I'll be at the Armament convention most of tomorrow and Wednesday morning, so I probably won't have another chance."

"Doing your homework, I see," she smirked. "You didn't need to come down. You know I'll have all the information in your mailbox for you back at the Agency."

Amanda nodded and rolled her eyes at Francine's attitude. At times they got along reasonably well, but there were times that Francine wanted to make it clear that she was in fact, the senior and more experienced agent.

"I never doubted that for a moment, Francine. I was just on my way home," Amanda answered curtly.

"I'll tell Lee you dropped by. He's over at the airport supervising the transfer of the collection. We'll be working late tonight," she informed her.

"I'll see you Wednesday evening, I guess," Amanda said flatly, clearly disappointed in missing Lee.

"See you then. Enjoy the Armaments convention," Francine called out as Amanda headed towards the main entrance.

"Yeah, maybe I can buy a heat seeking missile for your car," Amanda mumbled under her breath as she waved to Agent Martinez and left the ballroom.

End Part 3
 

FINAL REVIEW       Part 4
 

The boys had gone to bed; Amanda cleaned the dishes, mopped the kitchen floor and tidied the family room. She looked around the house for something else to do.

Dotty looked over at her daughter and finally asked. "Did you and Lee have a fight?"

"A fight?" Amanda repeated with surprise. "Why would you think that?"

"He hasn't been around all weekend; he hasn't called all night, and you've done nothing but clean all evening," Dotty stated as she eyed Amanda suspiciously. "Just a hunch."

Amanda sat down on the sofa near her mother throwing a dirty rag over her slumping shoulders. "No, I haven't seen him long enough in the last week to have a fight," Amanda lamented with disappointment.

"Oh, I see," Dotty answered with a concerned look.

"No, Mother, you don't see. It's just we've been assigned to two different projects which are taking a lot of our time and we're not getting to spend any time together - either at work or when we're off duty," she explained sadly.

"So what project is he working on?" Dotty asked.

Just then the news was showing the Romanoff Jewel collection being unloaded from the plane at the airport. "He's working on that," Amanda nodded.

"IFF is doing a documentary on the Romanoff Diamond collection?" Dotty exclaimed with delight.

"Actually it's the Romanoff Jewel collection, not just diamonds. But yes, Lee's been assigned to that," Amanda said in a wistful voice.

"Did you know they're having a public showing on Thursday?" Dotty asked her daughter. "I called for tickets to no avail."

Amanda nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to be over there on Thursday helping out."

"You are? Oh, Amanda, why didn't you say something? As soon as I found out I called for tickets," Dotty bantered on quickly.

"It's the first time the collection has been on view outside of Moscow, Mother. I'm sure it will be a popular event," Amanda answered.

"You know they sold out the tickets in less than two hours - two hours, Amanda!" Dotty continued on with her complaint. "Can you believe that? I couldn't even get through on the phone. Apparently they're only letting in so many people an hour."

Amanda nodded in agreement. "Yes, security is going to be a nightmare on Thursday."

"Just be glad you're not in charge of security," Dotty reminded her daughter.

"Yeah, that's why I haven't seen…." Amanda trailed off abruptly.

Dotty looked at Amanda oddly.

"What were you saying, dear?" Dotty asked with a confused look on her face.

Amanda sat stunned for just a second. She couldn't believe what she had almost blurted out right in front of her mother.

"I thought I just caught a glimpse of Lee in the background at the airport," Amanda explained slowly, pointing to the TV set hoping to cover her near gaffe. "He said he'd be at there when the collection arrived."

"Well the showing will be over on Thursday night. Maybe you two can spend some time together this weekend. Who knows, perhaps being around all those diamonds will give Lee some ideas…" Dotty grinned at her daughter as she raised her eyebrow.

"Mother!" Amanda shook her head and got up off the couch. "I'm going to bed; good night," she said as she kissed her mother and quickly went up the stairs. Her mother never saw the tears that flooded her eyes. 'If only you knew, Mother,' she whispered softly.

Dotty watched as her daughter walked up the stairs to bed and sighed. It was hard to miss how dispirited Amanda had been lately. She hoped that it was just busy schedules that had her daughter dejected and longing for Lee. She stretched and yawned before turning her attention back to watch the rest of the news….

TAP… TAP… TAP

The noise repeated itself.

TAP… TAP… TAP

Dotty woke up to find the TV still on but the news was long over. Again she heard a light tapping sound. She lifted her head up from the sofa to see Lee tapping at the kitchen door. She got up off the couch and headed for the door.

"Good evening, Lee. Or should I say good morning?" she asked sarcastically as she let him in.

"I'm sorry, Dotty. I was working late; I saw the light and I thought maybe Amanda was still up," Lee said apologetically. "We haven't gotten to see much of each other lately."

"So I've heard," she commented. "Amanda went to sleep hours ago. I could wake her up…"

"No, I'm really sorry," he repeated, his embarrassment showing on his reddened face. "I'd better go; it's late."

"You look tired and hungry. You didn't eat tonight did you?" Dotty inquired knowingly.

"Well, no, but…" he began uncertainly.

Dotty reached for his arm and escorted him in. "No, 'buts', Lee. Have a seat. I'll fix you a plate and maybe I'll have a midnight snack as well."

"Really, Dotty, I don't want to be a bother. I'll just head home…"

"It's no bother and I've heard enough about you, Lee Stetson, to know that you probably don't have any food at home, now do you?" she queried as she sat him down and gave him a motherly stare.

He grinned like a little boy. "No, I don't. Thank you."

She opened the refrigerator and began pulling out the leftovers, fixing Lee a sandwich suitable for a hungry man. Then her questioning continued.

"Amanda tells me you're doing a documentary on the Romanoff Jewelry Collection," Dotty began after pouring them each a glass of milk. "I tried to get tickets when it's open to the public on Thursday, but they sold out."

"I heard they sold out pretty quickly. I, um, can't promise you anything, but I'll ask around," Lee answered in-between bites.

"I'd just love to get a look at those diamonds. I heard some of them are as big as golf balls. Could you imagine a diamond that size?" Dotty continued on as she sipped at her milk.

"I had a chance to see some of them this evening. They're quite exquisite," Lee concurred as he ate hungrily.

"They'd set a man back a pretty penny," she remarked as she watched Lee's face. "That is, if they were for sale of course."

Lee didn't look up at Dotty. He knew where this conversation was going. Instead of answering he took another bite of his sandwich. After swallowing he gulped down a drink.

"Dotty, this sandwich is the best; now I know where Amanda got her cooking talents from," Lee said hoping to steer the conversation to a different subject.

"She has many wonderful talents. Maybe someday you'll find out about them all," she added in with a wry grin.

Lee finished his sandwich as rapidly as possible without further comment. It was clear what was on Dotty's mind, and as tired as he was, he didn't want to get into that discussion and end up saying something he couldn't explain. He pushed his empty plate away and looked up at his mother-in-law. He could understand how difficult it was for Amanda to live day in and day out hiding the truth about their marriage. He had only spent a few minutes and had been given a cleverly constructed third degree.

"I really appreciated the sandwich, but it's pretty late and I better go. Give Amanda a kiss for me in the morning. I probably won't get to see her tomorrow," he remarked with regret.

"I enjoyed the company. Midnight snacks are always tastier when shared," Dotty replied. "It's been kind of lonely around here without you."

Lee stood up and Dotty headed to the front door. Lee had to stop for a second as he was heading for his usual exit out the back. He pivoted without Dotty ever noticing his mistake.

"Drive carefully, Lee. It's late," she said when she opened the door.

"Good night, Dotty. Thanks again…" Lee said as he softly kissed her hand just before walking out the door into the early summer morning…

*** *** *** *** ***

Amanda was in the kitchen cooking breakfast when Dotty wandered in.

"Morning, Mother, looks like you need some coffee?" she greeted, noting the slight circles under her mothers' eyes.

Dotty nodded and mumbled. "Please."

"Did you fall asleep watching TV again last night?" Amanda guessed as she held out a fresh cup.

Dotty nodded and then kissed her daughter's forehead. "That's from Lee."

"Lee? Did he call last night after I went to bed?" Amanda asked with surprise.

"Actually, no. He stopped by," Dotty answered nonchalantly.

"He stopped by?" she repeated, blushing slightly.

"Yeah, he saw the light on and thought you might be up. I made him a sandwich and we had a nice chat. It seems like he misses you as much as you miss him," Dotty concluded after taking a sip of her coffee.

A smile formed on Amanda's face and Dotty couldn't help but notice the response.

"Amanda, what are you two waiting for? Clearly you're in love with each other. I know your divorce from Joe hurt you, but it's time to give love a second chance," her mother advised with heart felt concern. "Some people don't find true love ever in their lifetime. Yours came knocking at the door at one in the morning."

Amanda blushed furiously. It was these heart to heart moments that she hated lying to her mother about her real relationship with Lee. The truth was going to come out, and with a final security review only days away, she knew it would come out shortly.

"Mother, can I be honest with you?"

"I hope so, dear," Dotty replied as she rummaged through the refrigerator.

Amanda took Dotty's hand and led her to the kitchen table. They both sat down and Amanda took a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

"There are times when I think I can't live without Lee. I love him so much. He's great for the boys, and I know they both care for him. But then I worry that I could mess up this relationship just like I messed up my married with Joe. Sometimes I worry that I couldn't survive that kind of hurt - not again," she said honestly. Then in a whisper she added. "I know you think I'm crazy, but can you understand how I feel?"

"Darling," Dotty sighed heavily as she put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "As amiable as your divorce was from Joe I think I'm one of the few people who know how much he really hurt you. You didn't mess up your marriage. Joe decided that his career was more important than his marriage or his family. I'll never forgive him for that."

"I could have gone over to Africa like Joe wanted me to…"

"Amanda, stop sticking up for Joe," Dotty interrupted sharply. "You made the choices that were in the best interest of your sons," Dotty lectured. "They were the right choices then and time hasn't changed that. You had two children when Joe decided to take a remote overseas position in a third world country. It's not like you got pregnant to get him to stay. At the time you both wanted a family. People change, Joe changed. I know you loved Joe, but you may never get another chance at loving someone as special as Lee. Trust me, dear. Since your father died I've been searching for that special person, to share my life with…."

"Oh, Mother," Amanda exclaimed sadly, squeezing her mother's hand gently.

"Amanda, don't worry about me; my life is very full. What I'm trying to say is that you need to move forward with your relationship with Lee with a clear conscience and create a new life for yourself and the boys. Don't look back, sweetheart, look forward," Dotty suggested wisely.

Amanda hugged her mother. "Thanks a lot, Mother. Sometimes I forget how good a listener you are. I better get going; traffic on the bridge will be heavy. I'll be late tonight."

"Have a good day, Amanda. But think about what I said."

"I will. I love you," she called out as she grabbed her purse and went out the back door.

 End Part 4
 
 
 

FINAL REVIEW       Part 5

Even before she got to the Emperor's Ballroom for her shift that Wednesday evening, Amanda was exhausted. The previous day and a half she'd spent at the Armament Convention had been grueling. She was, however, looking forward to seeing Lee. They hadn't even talked since Monday morning.

"Right on time, Amanda," Agent Martinez said as he checked off her name on his list. "You're to guard the back hall doors. We've had some problems with the guests leaving through those doors. Absolutely nobody comes in that way."

"Got it," Amanda said cheerily as she scanned the room hoping to catch sight of Lee.

"How's it been going?" she asked curiously before going down to her post.

"As you can see, everyone who was invited seems to have shown up. It's been crowded all day, but other than some people sneaking out the back door, things have gone by the book."

"That's good," Amanda nodded with relief and then started off towards the corner. "I'll see you later."

Agent Martinez nodded and watched as she blended into the crowd.

She walked casually down to the back doors, glancing only briefly at the display cases with the jewels. The room was bustling with a mixture of diplomats, politicians and some of the Washington's 'Who's Who'.

Taking her place in the back of the room only a few yards from the doors she scanned the room searching for Lee. Finally she saw him over by one of the larger display cases. He was chatting with what appeared to be several men from the Russian delegation. She'd hoped to catch his eye but he was deep in conversation.

The evening wore on and Amanda found her assignment tedious. She still hadn't gotten to talk with Lee; he seemed to be going from one group to the next but understandably never made it to the back of the ballroom. Most of the evening was spent chatting pleasantly with the occasional guest that wandered down her way.

She thought she was going to fall asleep on her sore feet when she heard the door open a crack. She walked over to it and a tall woman with short blonde hair peered in the room and then took a step inside.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't an entrance," Amanda said politely to the blonde woman.

"I just left to go to the wash room. My husband is still inside," the tall woman replied in slightly accented English.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to use the main entrance," Amanda stated firmly as she blocked further access to the room. She watched as the tall woman scanned the room, but didn't seem to be looking for anyone in particular. Amanda got an odd sense about her.

"Couldn't you just let me back in this way?" the woman persisted stubbornly.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to return through the main entrance," Amanda repeated adamantly, gently putting her hand on the woman's shoulder and escorting her through the door. She pointed down to the other door and promptly closed the one she was guarding. She watched the main entrance, waiting to see if the woman would return, but after waiting several minutes, the woman didn't return.

She peeked out the door again and looked down the hallway towards the reception area. Finally she spotted the blonde woman walking down the staircase. Amanda had a sinking suspicion that although the woman was leaving the problem wasn't really going away. She looked for a security camera in the back hallway, but after careful scrutiny of the area she didn't see one. She went back into the ballroom, made certain the door closed tightly behind her and then went looking for Lee. He was near the main entrance when she caught up to him.

"Lee, I need to talk to you," Amanda called out sharply.

"It'll have to wait, Amanda," Lee cut her off and then asked Martinez again. "Are you sure it was 'The Fox'?"

Martinez nodded. "He didn't try to get in, but I recognized him. He was up on this level for at least ten minutes."

"Was he with anyone? Are you sure he left?" Lee continued to interrogate Agent Martinez.

"I saw him go back down the stairs. I'm not sure if he was alone. He may have been with a woman."

Amanda looked up at Martinez. "Was she a tall blonde?"

"Amanda," Francine interrupted icily as she arrived at the entrance. "You left your post unattended. If you have something to add, you can put it into a situation report when your shift is over this evening."

"Lee, I've been trying to tell you…" she tried again to explain but Lee was clearly distracted.

"Martinez, I'll get Walker to replace you ASAP. I want you to watch the surveillance tapes until you can give me a positive ID that 'The Fox' was here. I'm going to check on the surveillance team and see if anyone else spotted or tracked him," Lee directed and headed out the door.

Francine nodded to Martinez and then snapped at Amanda. "Don't you have somewhere you're supposed to be?"

"Francine, I think this may be related…" Amanda tried one more time.

"Amanda, surely Beeman taught you about a 'situation report'?" Francine jeered. "Now we'll be wrapping this little soiree up within the hour, and when we do, you can head back to the Agency and let those fingers fly across the keyboard, but until then," she pointed her finger to the back door. "You've abandoned your post!"

Amanda's blood was boiling, but she kept her temper in check and returned to the back door, mumbling angrily.

*** *** *** ***

As the last of the guests finally departed the ballroom, agent Walker came down to Amanda's desolate post.

"We're clear now, Mrs. King. The floor's been secured for the night. You can head out," Walker said with relief in his voice.

"Do you know where Lee went to?" she asked wearily.

"No, I haven't seen Scarecrow since he told me to replace Martinez an hour ago. He probably went back to the Agency," he surmised.

"I guess I'll head back there too," Amanda replied.

"Better rest up, tomorrow this place is going to be like a zoo on children's day!" Walker announced.

Amanda nodded as she headed towards the main entrance. She knew he was right. Tomorrow would test their security to the hilt. As she walked out the main doors, she looked down at the hallway to the doors she was guarding for the last few hours. Her eyes again scanned to see if there was a security camera hidden inconspicuously. However, even to her trained eye she couldn't see one.

*** *** *** *** ** * ** **

Amanda finished writing her incident report, outlining the suspicious blonde and the lack of security cameras near the doorway. She placed one copy of the report on Lee's desk and brought the other copy down to the bullpen. It was there that she finally ran into Lee who was talking to Billy.

"Lee, I wasn't sure where you were. I left a copy of my situation report on your desk," she explained as she handed the other copy to Billy. "If you don't need me for anything else tonight, I'll be heading home."

Billy scanned the report and then glanced up at Lee. "There aren't any security cameras by the back entrance?"

"There's two by the elevator banks," Lee explained as he thought about the layout of the hotel. "But no, there aren't any right outside the back ballroom door."

"Amanda, would you recognize this woman if you saw her again?" Billy asked.

"Yes, sir," she answered. "She was taller than me and I had heels on."

"Scarecrow, have her take a look at the Inter Agency cross check files. We must have something on female jewel thieves," he advised then looked at Amanda. "It should only take you a few minutes, Amanda. The list can't be that extensive."

"Yes, sir," Amanda smiled wearily.

"I'll be with you in a few minutes, Amanda," Lee said with a smile. "I just need to finish some things down here."

She nodded and turned to head back up to the Q Bureau.

"Oh, Amanda, how are you coming on your final review paperwork?" Billy called after her.

"To be honest, sir, as busy as I have been this week I haven't had the time to fill it out. I'll work on it this weekend."

"Final review?" Lee asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes, didn't Amanda tell you?" Billy said with a broad smile. "She's completed her freshman agent training. Just one final security check and you have yourself a full fledged partner!"

Lee and Amanda gave each other a silent glance. Their faces expressed what they both knew.

"Congratulations," Lee finally said with little ebullience.

"Thanks," she nodded with a half-hearted smile. She heard the tone in his voice. She knew the problems that final review would bring. She sighed ever so slightly before replying. "I'll be waiting upstairs in the Q Bureau."

**** **** ****

"I can't believe this!" Lee snapped angrily as he slammed the door when he entered the Q Bureau. He threw the file in his hand and the papers scattered across his desk.

Amanda jumped at the sudden noise.

"What now?" she asked not sure what had gotten his ire up.

"A final review? Why didn't you tell me?" he griped as he turned and faced his wife.

She looked up and the ceiling then slumped back on her chair. As busy as they'd both been all week, she had put the paperwork in the back of her mind. She opened her drawer removed it from where she had stashed it away earlier in the week.

"Lee, I tried to tell you a couple of times this week," she tried to explain, "but I haven't seen you in the last 72 hours. I've left messages for you with the Concierge desk at the Hotel, with Francine, and a half dozen messages on your answering machine. I figured at this point it waited this long, I'd wait until the Romanoff collection left town."

He shook his head and sat down on the corner of her desk. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just I'm exhausted. I miss you and this was the last thing I expected to hear tonight. I never expected this so soon; you just started classes in October."

"I haven't even touched the paperwork yet. I haven't had the time," she responded. "Not to mention what's going to happen when I do…"

"Yeah, but we need to get through tomorrow and I plan to sleep until noon on Friday," he teased.

Amanda nodded wearily. "I'll second that idea."

"Amanda, I know we keep putting off this conversation, and we can't continue doing that," Lee stated with frustration. His hand ran through his hair nervously. "But right now, you need to go through those files. They should be available on the computer in your user file."

Amanda nodded, switched on her computer and then waited for it to boot up.

He watched as his wife focused on the task at hand. A smile grew on his face. She had two very separate personalities and he was in love with them both.

Lee leaned down and kissed her. "I miss you, Mrs. Stetson."

Amanda leaned her head onto Lee's. "I miss you too, Mr. Stetson."

Their lips met again and they relished a few stolen moments of time. It wasn't until the computer beeped requesting a password that they pulled apart, breaking the spell.

Lee cleared his throat reluctantly. "I guess you should get to it, huh?"

Amanda nodded, pulled up the file and started systematically looking at pictures of women suspects. "I thought Billy said this was a small file?"

"I guess there's a lot of women out there who like diamonds," Lee teased.

Amanda nodded as she clicked through the faces on her computer screen. She was about to give up when the tall blonde woman who she spoke with earlier in the evening stared blankly at her from the computer screen.

"Lee," Amanda called him from his desk. "That's her; the woman I saw tonight. She tried to get in the back door."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sitting on the corner of her desk and leaning over her shoulder.

"Positive," she answered firmly. "Do you know her?"

Lee shook his head. "No, never heard of her. Print out the bio."

He went over to the printer and pulled it off and scanned the information. "Olga Sluvinova, 6' 2" blonde hair, brown eyes, 32 years old. Likely targets: precious metals and gemstones."

"Lee, it was her. There's no doubt in my mind that was her," she reiterated as she looked at the picture and the bio.

Lee shoulders slumped as if in defeat. He'd been hoping that the woman Amanda saw was just an over eager patron wanting to see the collection. "Great! So now we have to worry about 'The Fox' and Olga!"

"Who's 'The Fox'?" she asked, inquisitively.

"Only one of the most sought after diamond thieves in the world. They call him 'The Fox' because he's sly. He snatches the gems before you know what happened to them," Lee answered as he exhaled sharply. "Rumor has it that he's responsible for a half dozen or so of the world's largest diamond heists. He's wanted in at least seven countries. "

"Any chance that he's working together with Olga?" she ventured thoughtfully.

"I don't know. All I know is that I have two more security cameras that need to be installed before tomorrow's showing," he replied, exhaustion beginning to show on his face. "That was a good suggestion this evening, Amanda. I'm not sure why they weren't installed there in the first place."

Amanda smiled, pleased by the compliment. "You were pretty busy; I'm sure you just overlooked it."

"I'm paid NOT to overlook things," he reminded her gruffly.

"That's why you have a partner," she winked.

"Well, partner, you did a good job tonight," he reaffirmed as he reached down for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's late; why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

"When are you leaving?" she asked with concern.

"I'll be another hour. I've got to alert the team to be on the lookout for both 'The Fox' and now Miss Olga," Lee explained. "I'm going to put out a full scale alert. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Amanda tilted her head up and met Lee's waiting lips. "Goodnight, partner. I'll see you in my dreams."

Lee pulled her into a warm embrace and then sighed. "I'd like to see you in more than just my dreams."

Amanda pulled away and picked up the paperwork Billy had given her on Monday from her desk. She opened her drawer and placed it back inside. "Looks like that's going to happen sooner than we thought."

Lee shook his head. "Amanda, I'm really proud of you, you know."

"Yeah," she smiled as she opened the door. "I know."

"Good night, partner," Lee whispered as he blew her a kiss.

She lingered at the door for a moment, then sighed and headed home.

 End Part 5
 
 
 
 

FINAL REVIEW             Part 6

The Emperor's Ballroom was packed as the public gawked at the priceless gemstones. As the afternoon wore on, there were no signs of trouble. Neither 'The Fox' nor Olga had been spotted. Finding a rare moment of free time on his hands, Lee searched the crowd for his wife.

"I see you managed to get away from the back door for a while," Lee teased when he caught up with Amanda.

"Yes, but not for long. I'm supposed to 'float and mingle' until four. Then the last hour I return to the back door," she replied, shaking her head. "At least this way, I get to see the collection."

"If you can get close enough to them. In this crowd, it'll be tough," he acknowledged.

Amanda nodded as her eyes scanned the throng of people who managed to get tickets. Then her eyes focused on one person.

She blinked her eyes and squinted. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed.

Lee looked at her with concern. "What's wrong? Is Olga back?"

"No, worse!" Amanda croaked out. "My mother's here."

Lee breathed a sigh of relief. "I know, I sent her a ticket by messenger this morning."

"You did what?" Amanda answered loudly. "Are you crazy?"

"Relax," Lee replied. "She really wanted to come and with all these people here I figured what would be the harm? Just act natural and 'mingle'."

Before she could respond Agent Martinez called out, "Scarecrow."

Lee nodded to him, smiled at Amanda and went to talk with his other agent.

Amanda shook her head and mumbled to herself as Lee disappeared into the mass of people. "Sure, just have Mother hear someone call you 'Scarecrow'.  That alone will take an hour to explain - if I can…"

*** *** *** ***

Amanda tried to keep an eye on her mother while staying out of her path. She figured that the crowded ballroom and her mother's intense desire to see the exhibit would work in her favor. She continued her systematic mingling while scanning for Olga, The Fox, her mother and anyone else that she might deem suspicious. But for the moment things remained quiet.

Suddenly there was a several loud blasts and pops in the ballroom and a gray cloud of smoke formed near the display case where the Romanoff's Emperor's Diamond was being housed. During the first few seconds of the melee the crowd shouted and screamed.

"Everyone, get down!" Lee hollered as he rushed towards the Emperor's Diamond. He pushed people away from the smoke. None of them seemed to been injured, but the smoke had caused the confusion it was meant to. He was the first to reach the display case to find the 'Emperor's Diamond' missing.

"Seal the building!" he yelled loudly as he noticed the back door to the ballroom had somehow been opened during the melee. "And closed that back door. Nobody goes in or out without being searched!"

There was a scuffle behind him. He quickly turned to see Francine wrestling a suspect to the ground. He hurried towards her as she handcuffed the man and pulled him back to his feet.

"I saw him throw something out the back door," Francine began to explain before Lee even asked. "It was the size of a rock."

"It was a rock," Lee snapped angrily. "The Emperor's Diamond is missing. Looks like someone used acid to melt the hinges on the display case and snatch it."

Lee patted the suspect down and found gloves and an empty glass vile in the suspect's suit jacket pocket.

"Take him downtown, Francine," Lee gritted out. "I want answers and I don't really care how you get them."

Francine nodded and pushed the small man towards the front door. "You got it."

The agents on duty had corralled the rest of the guests against the back walls. Lee surveyed the room. There were a couple hundred people mulling about anxiously.

"Martinez, get that back door closed again!" Lee reiterated and then started issuing orders. "Nobody goes in or out without being interviewed and searched. Brockman, I want a list of names of everyone in this room… what they saw and where they were when this happened. Get Jackson and Dewey to help you. Amanda, I want you to go over the surveillance tapes. I want to know who opened those doors. Whoever did has probably got the diamond. Mercer, grab anyone else you can find and make sure this place is locked down. Nobody goes anywhere until I find that rock. Got it?"

The agents nodded.

"Was anyone injured?" Lee asked as he reviewed a mental checklist.

"Not that I'm aware of," Agent Dunn answered then seeing the look of concern in Scarecrow's eyes he added. "I'll double check."

"Good idea," Lee answered and nodded his head. The agents needed no further instructions and headed in the directions of their assignments. Lee marched determinedly towards the back doors to search the hallway area in the hopes of finding 'The Emperor's Diamond'.

*** *** *** ***

Amanda was viewing the surveillance tapes when Lee came into the cramped room.

"How's it going out there?" she asked without taking her eye off the screen.

"Lousy! We searched the area outside the doors. That diamond is too big to miss," he answered as he ran his hand through his hair. "What have you come up with?"

"On the one tape you can see a blurred image of what I assume is the diamond being thrown out the door. This is the tape from the other camera now," she mumbled as she squinted her eyes. She continued to scan the tape frame by frame. "There! That's who opened the door."

"Can you guys print that frame?" Lee questioned as he pointed to the screen. "I want a blow up of that person."

"Yeah, but it will take a few minutes," replied Ernie, the technician, as he fiddled with the equipment.

Lee paced the room while he waited. Finally Ernie gave him a black and white picture of a suspect wearing a suit and a hat. "Your suspect is a Caucasian male, at least six feet tall, on the thin side."

"Good job, both of you," Lee answered, pleased with a break in the case.

"Let me make you some copies," Amanda suggested as she ran the picture through the copy machine and then handed them back to Lee.

"Amanda, finish going through that tape; let me know if you find anything else. Check with me when you're done," Lee ordered.

"You got it," she replied as Lee quickly left to return to the ballroom.

*** ***** *** ****

It was a while later that Amanda joined up with Lee. She could see by the look on his face that they still hadn't found the accomplice or the diamond.

"No luck, huh?" she asked in a subdued voice.

"Plenty of luck - all bad!" he retorted tersely looking at the picture again. "We've searched the ballroom, the lobby and the main level. Nobody's seen him since the camera caught his snapshot, but yet, Gomez and Doyle swear to me nobody got through downstairs."

Amanda took the photo from Lee and studied it carefully. She started shaking her head.

"You're going to think I'm crazy, Lee," Amanda started slowly. "Ernie said our subject is a male, tall with a slight build. What if he's wrong?"

"Amanda, the picture doesn't lie," Lee began to argue.

"What if he's disguised? Look at the picture again. He's very tall, but look how thin he is. That suit jacket just droops on him…" Amanda queried and she could see by the look on Lee's face that he was following her suspicions.

"No, it couldn't be?" Lee mumbled.

But Amanda was nodding her head. "What if 'he' is a 'she'? Remember Olga is six feet two inches tall. What a better way to escape than to dress up like a man, but you're really a woman? Everything happened so fast, nobody was looking at what people were wearing; they were looking at the man Francine took down," Amanda reasoned.

The look on Lee's face changed from a frown to a smile. He shook his head in amazement. "You could be right." Then he grabbed his radio and issued the update to his agents scattered throughout the hotel.

The agents again checked each and every person in the ballroom and those that were in the lobby on both the first and second floor. Again they didn't turn up the accomplice. One by one they reported back to Lee with nothing.

"Scarecrow," Agent Martinez called out as Lee lingered by the back door. "The people inside are starting to get a little unruly. They want to know when they can go."

"They can go when I say they can go," Scarecrow snarled back at his agent.

"If we hold them much longer we're going to have to provide them with some refreshments and bathroom breaks," Martinez suggested.

"That's it," Amanda exclaimed with a grin. "We're overlooking the obvious."

The agents looked over at Amanda waiting for an explanation.

"Obvious to you, maybe; what is it?" Lee finally asked.

"We're looking for a woman who was disguised as a man. Nobody checked the ladies room, did they? It's the perfect place to change clothes and hide until things quiet down," she explained.

"Brockman, check it out," Lee ordered.

"Lee!" Amanda called out. "He can't go in there; it's the ladies room. I'll go."

Lee rolled his eyes before nodding his consent and she walked the short distance down the hall and opened the door.

Amanda went in and looked under the stalls; they all appeared to be empty. She decided to open the doors to the four stalls. The first one was empty as was the second. As she opened the third door, out flew a tall woman who threw her hat at Amanda's face and karate kicked her in the stomach. Amanda went flying across the room and hit her head against the sink.

As Amanda fell to the floor, the tall woman dashed out the door…

End Part 6
 
 
 
 

FINAL REVIEW           Part 7
 

It took only seconds for the agents to react as the woman darted out of the bathroom. Lee grabbed her by the arm. She twisted around, trying to escape his grip, but only succeeded in falling to the ground.

"Mind your manners," Lee warned as he handcuffed Olga's hands behind her back. He lifted her back onto her feet.

Martinez was already searching her bag. After tugging on the lining of her purse he carefully pried out 'The Emperor's Diamond' that had been cleverly concealed behind the clasp. Both Lee and Agent Martinez smiled while Olga frowned.

"I guess diamonds aren't always a girl's best friend," Lee chuckled, then his attention turned to the bathroom door. Amanda had yet to come back out. He looked over at his other agent, turning Olga to face him. "Brockman, get her out of here."

"Amanda?" Lee called out as he walked towards and then peered into the ladies room. Then he saw her; she was lying on the floor in front of the sinks. He called to her again; the second time more frantically - "AMANDA!"

There was no response. He rushed to her, bending down and gently touching her face.

She groaned softly.

"Martinez, get an ambulance," Lee yelled loudly.

A few moments later Agent Martinez poked his head in the room. "Problem, Scarecrow?" he started to ask when he saw Amanda lying still. "I'll call an ambulance."

Lee carefully checked his wife's head, finding a large bump on the back. His fingers hit moisture. He pulled his hand back to find them soaked in blood.

"Did you catch Olga?" Amanda groaned again as she attempted to sit up.

"Shhh, just lie still. Olga's on her way downtown," Lee answered reassuringly. "You just take it easy. Help's on the way."

The door to the bathroom opened again. Then Martinez came back in with blankets.

"The ambulance is rolling," he said as he handed the blankets to Lee.

Lee put one behind her head and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. He put pressure on the cut in the back of her head to get it to stop bleeding.

"Scarecrow?" Lee's radio went off.

He grabbed his radio with his one free hand and answered. "Yeah?"

"We've just had a sighting of 'The Fox' in the park across the street," the voice came over the radio.

"Get the trappers on him; I'll be down in a few minutes," Lee answered then looked up at Agent Martinez. "Go back into the ballroom and find Dotty West. She's Amanda's mother, bring her in here."

Martine nodded and hurried out of the bathroom.

Lee caressed Amanda's face tenderly. "Amanda, I don't want to, but I've got to go. Your mother will be here in a minute."

"I'm OK, really," she whispered weakly. Her head throbbed and her eyes tried to focus but the room was a blur.

"I promise I'll catch up with you later. I love you," he reminded her.

Her lips pursed to blow him a kiss; but before she could reply Dotty came through the door with Agent Martinez.
 

"Amanda? Lee, what happened?" she asked in concern.

"She hit her head on the sink. She's got a pretty nasty bump on the back of her head. There's an ambulance on the way. Dotty, I've got to go, can you stay with her?" Lee implored as he reluctantly left his wife's side and stood up.

There were a lot of questions that Dotty wanted answers to, but she knew that this wasn't the time. She didn't answer Lee directly. She bent down on the floor next to her daughter and began talking to her.  "Amanda, you're going to be just fine," she reaffirmed but shook her head. "But I think you're going to have one heck of a headache."  Dotty looked up at Lee finally answering him in one short sentence. "I'll talk to you later, Scarecrow."

Lee swallowed hard. Amanda had worried when her mother showed up with good reason. He should have known better. How would he be able to explain what she saw and heard today?

He looked over at Agent Martinez and nodded. "Come on, Martinez, we still have a lot of work to do…" Lee replied as they hurried out of the door.

*** *** ***

Dotty was sitting in Amanda's hospital room when Lee finally came in later that evening.

"Hi," he said quietly. "How's she doing?"

"She's been pretty quiet for most of the evening. She just fell asleep a few minutes ago," Dotty whispered as she got up and nodded for him to follow her out the door. "They just wanted to keep her overnight for observation."

Lee nodded, not knowing what else to say. He knew that once he finished interrogating Olga and her cohorts, that he'd be facing the third degree from Dotty. He opened the door, but took a quick glance at Amanda with the hopes that she'd awaken. She continued to sleep soundly so he followed Dotty out into the corridor.

"So," Lee mumbled, hoping to put off the inevitable line of questioning. "I guess she'll be released tomorrow then?"

"Yes, they only kept her overnight as a precaution. But I didn't call you out in the hallway to discuss that."

"I guess you have some questions for me?" Lee squirmed uncomfortably.

"I've had questions about you for a long while. Since you've been around things haven't added up in Amanda's life. But for the most part, I figured them out this afternoon while I watched you really work," Dotty stated emphatically. "A film company! HUMPFH! What I'd like to know is how you got my daughter involved in all this and just how long has she been… been… doing what ever it is she does?"

"I think we better sit down," he suggested as he led her down the hallway to a small waiting room.

Dotty sat in one of the chairs and Lee paced nervously in front of her.

"Lee, that is your real name, isn't it?" Dotty asked, her face serious, almost cross. Lee was a bundle of nerves. "Or do you prefer, Scarecrow?"

"No, my real name is Lee Stetson. Scarecrow is my code name," he answered and finally sat down. "Dotty, I'd really rather not discuss this with you here or now. I think Amanda should be part of this conversation."

Dotty shook her head. "No, I want the truth and I want it now. I think I deserve that much. I don't want to wait until you compare notes with my daughter and decide what you can tell me."

"It's never been like that, honestly. Amanda's kept you and the boys in the dark to protect you. I'll give you a condensed version right now," he said earnestly as he looked around. "And when we're somewhere a little more secure we can fill you in on the rest."

Dotty nodded in agreement. "That sounds fair, but let me ask you something. This love affair that you seem to be having with my daughter, is that real or just another part you're playing?"

"No, I really love Amanda!" he said with conviction. "We met a few years ago by accident. She would help me out from time to time with little things, sometimes typing or filing, sometimes as a courier. She has good instincts, and my boss, Mr. Melrose saw that right away. So she was put on the top of the civilian auxiliary file and we started using her more and more."

"Melrose, you work with that man?" Dotty questioned harshly.

"Yes, he's our boss," Lee replied as he nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "He was just doing his job when you met him, Dotty. Last September he had every reason to believe that I had sold out and went over to the Russians."

"I knew after that incident when Amanda came back that she wasn't telling me the whole truth, just selected parts of it," she said staring at Lee.

"She hated lying to you, but it was safer for you and the boys to not know what she was doing specially when she was just part time. But that's going to change now," he answered. "You should be really proud of her. She just finished what we call 'freshman agent training' in less than nine months. The only thing between her and full time agent status is a final security review."

"So what you're telling me is my daughter is a full time spy?" Dotty said with a surprised, but steady voice.

"We don't like to use the word 'spy'. We prefer intelligence agent, but yes," he answered. "Dotty I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for getting her mixed up in this profession, but she's really good at her job.

"Lee, a mother's love is unconditional. However, I'm not sure I truly understand how keeping me in the dark about her job makes me any safer than I am right now," Dotty complained. "I guess in all honesty I'm relieved. For a while I really wondered if Amanda had gotten into something illegal that she couldn't get herself out of. Now I know the facts. Facts are much easier to live with than my vivid imagination."

Lee smiled with relief. "So does that mean you'll forgive me, too?"

Dotty crooked her head and sized him up. "That all depends, on one thing."

Lee focused on Dotty's hardened face. "What's that?"

"What are your intentions towards my daughter?" she asked bluntly.

Lee knew Dotty was asking that out of love and concern for her daughter. His face broke into a smile. Now was not the time to divulge the entire truth, but knowing the full scale security review Amanda was facing would force them to go public with their marriage he felt he could stretch the truth a little.

"Would it make you feel any better if I told you there's an engagement ring in my top dresser drawer back at my apartment?" Lee answered, knowing that was the truth.

This time Dotty smiled. "Yes, in fact it would make me very happy, but how much longer are you going to make me wait?"

"I promise it will be soon," he replied.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Mr. Stetson," Dotty warned him.

"Just don't say anything to Amanda about this part of our conversation. I'd like it to be a surprise," he answered.

"I won't say anything to her about our conversation tonight at all," Dotty said as she stood up. "I need to get home. The boys have to pack for their weekend with Joe. Seems their idea of 'necessities' varies greatly from Amanda's or mine. Are you going to stay with her for a while?"

"Yeah, I'm going to stay until they throw me out," he replied with a boyish grin. "Goodnight, Dotty, drive carefully..."

"Good night, Scarecrow," Dotty said as she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "It's been a very enlightening day."

Lee chuckled as Dotty turned and walked down the hallway to the elevator. He waited until she got on and then walked in the other direction towards Amanda's room.

End Part 7
 
 
 
 

FINAL REVIEW              Part 8
 
 

When the phone rang the next afternoon at the King household, Dotty glared at her daughter in silent warning not to answer it. "I'll get it, Amanda. You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"Mother, you haven't let me get off this couch since you brought me home from the hospital. It was just a little bump on the head and a couple of stitches. I'm perfectly fine," Amanda insisted.

"Hello," Dotty replied as she picked up the phone.

"Hi, Dotty," Lee greeted. "How's Amanda?"

"I don't know what's gotten into her. She's supposed to be taking it easy, but I'm having a devil of a time just getting her to sit still," Dotty complained in frustration. "She never used to be like this!"

"Can I talk to her?" he asked in a sympathetic voice.

"Yes, just a minute. Maybe you can remind her she should be resting," Dotty suggested pointedly as she walked over to Amanda and handed her the phone.

"Hello," Amanda said into the receiver.

"How are you feeling?" Lee asked.

"I'm fine - really. It's just a little sore where the stitches are," she replied, glancing over her shoulder. "Mother won't even let me get up off the couch. Why don't you come over when you finish up and rescue me?"

"Do you think you're up to a quiet dinner?" he probed.

"Dinner sounds wonderful. Mother's going to kill me with kindness if I don't get out of here soon," she complained.

"All right, I'll pick you up when I finished here," he suggested with a smile in his voice.

"Lee, you wouldn't mind hurrying?" Amanda asked playfully.

"I'll do the best I can," he replied, chuckling as he hung up the phone.

Lee pulled up to the house later that afternoon. It had been a chaotic day at the Agency processing paperwork for the three jewel thieves. He was glad to finally be free of the Romanoff collection and the problems it had caused.

He walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

"I'm glad you're finally here," Dotty sighed, after she opened the door, and pulled him into the house. "I've just about had to sit on her to keep her quiet."

"I'm fine, Mother, really," Amanda reminded her mother, who shrugged her shoulders and then discreetly disappeared up the stairs.

Lee looked over at his wife and shook his head. "Can't keep still, can you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" she asked as he came over and sat with her on the couch, "You look tired."

"Been a hectic couple of days," he answered as he kissed her cheek and took her hand in his. "But your mother's right though; you should be taking it easy."

She rolled her eyes. "So how are 'things' at the office?"

"'Things' are fine," Lee said with a sigh. "The Russian's were pleased by the showing despite, as Billy puts it, 'the minor incident'. We caught two very notorious jewel thieves, and one guy who didn't know what he got himself into. "

"That's the little guy Francine tackled, who threw the diamond out of the ballroom?" Amanda guessed.

"Yeah, but enough about work. How about you and me and dinner for two at my place?" Lee suggested with a wry smile.

"We won't starve at your place, will we?" Amanda teased.

"I think I can rustle something together," he promised with a twinkle in his eye.

"Just the two of us. I really like that plan," Amanda answered as Lee stood up, taking her hand gently in his and helping her up as well.

Amanda called up the stairs. "Mother, I'm going to Lee's apartment for dinner. Don't wait up and don't worry, I'm fine."

Dotty appeared at the top of the stairs. "Whatever you think is best, dear. Have a nice evening."

Lee opened the door and Amanda went out. He looked up the stairs at Dotty, gave her a quick wink and then followed his wife out the door.

*** *** *** *** ***

Lee opened the door at his apartment. He allowed Amanda to go in first and within moments she gasped.

"Lee! When did you have time for all this?" she asked with astonishment as she looked around his apartment in amazement. The table was covered in a crisp white tablecloth. It was set beautifully with two tapered candles and fine china. The aroma from the kitchen was mouth watering. There was romantic music playing softly and the lights were already dimmed.

"I snuck back over here at lunchtime; called in a favor down at Emelio's…" he said with a shrug. "I thought we could both use a relaxing dinner for two where we could be ourselves and just take it easy."

Amanda hugged her husband. She was totally at a loss for words.

He bent down and kissed her and then gently guided her to the table and held out her chair.

"Table for two, Mrs. Stetson…" he said as he gingerly pushed it in and carefully lit each candle.

Their dinner conversation was kept to relaxing discussion of family and friends. Their eyes would meet every so often when the conversation lagged; a hand would reach out to touch the other. Lee's smile would mirror his wife's and then, almost as if it was the intruder, they'd look at their plates and continue with their meal.

After dinner Lee cleared the plates, not letting Amanda lift a finger. Then he disappeared into his bedroom for a minute. When he came out he escorted his wife over to the sofa and sat down next to her.

"That was really a delicious meal. I can't believe you went through all this trouble considering the day you had," Amanda observed with appreciation as she quickly nuzzled up to him.

"I'm glad you enjoyed dinner. You've had a rough couple of days too," he noted, then his hands reached out and touched each side of her face with a delicate caress. Gently he pulled her to him and kissed his wife passionately. The embrace continued and started to grow stronger. After several minutes Lee reluctantly pulled away.

"Whew," he remarked as he pulled on the knot in his tie, "getting a little warm in here."

"So why did you stop?" she asked as she leaned in to start up where they left off.

Lee pulled away. "You're supposed to be taking it easy tonight."

"I plan to stay off my feet and I'm hoping to go to bed early," she said with a sly grin as she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Well, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he reminded her as he pulled away slightly.

Amanda looked at him, her eyes wide in disbelief. "You want to talk?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days. With a few notable exceptions, the last nine months have been the best of my life because you've been an important part of it," he started to explain.

"Now I hear a 'but' coming," she said with concern.

"No, just hear me out. I'd planned a night like this last fall. Quiet evening here, just the two of us. Nice bottle of champagne, romantic music, a relaxing dinner and this…"

He reached into his pants pocket.

"My engagement ring!?" she exclaimed with a curious look.

"First it was Addi Birol then the Viet Diem. I let them get to me. I let them get under my skin just like you let the secretaries under your skin at the office. Because of that I asked you to marry me in Birol's hideout. I was afraid I wouldn't have a chance to do this right. Tonight I'm going to do this the way I should have nine months ago," Lee said from the heart.

He got off the couch, got down on his knee and opened the black velvet box with her engagement ring. "Amanda, will you marry me?"

Her mouth opened to respond, but there were no words to express her feelings. She thought about the last few days, her conversation with her mother and her intense desire to make this marriage solid and lasting. But most importantly she thought of her deep love for the man kneeling in front of her.

"This time we do it right," Lee continued nervously, unsettled by her silence. "We'll take all the necessary precautions to protect our family, but I want the world to know that you're my wife from this day forward…"

Amanda swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Oh, Lee, there's nothing I want more."

"So that's a yes?" he prompted, smiling in relief.

"Of course it's a yes!" she answered as tears sprang from her eyes.

Lee took the ring out of the box and carefully guided it down her finger. He looked at the sparkle of the diamond and then at the sparkle in her eyes. "I love you, Amanda Stetson."

The kiss that followed took Amanda's breath away. She finally pulled away to gasp for air. She looked at him and nodded towards the bedroom.

"Would you mind if we finished this conversation in there?" she suggested.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" he asked with concern.

"I know I am, but I could ask you the same question?" she teased with a gleam in her eyes.

Without further hesitation he scooped her up in his arms, kissed her passionately and then carried her into the bedroom. He pushed the door closed with his foot and carefully placed her on the bed. Their lips met again as they began to seek out ways to please one another…

Later that evening they caressed each other's bodies with gently strokes and tender kisses.

"It's amazing what you can do with a simple kiss," she whispered as her finger traced the outline of his lips.

He reached out for her hand and held it gently in his. "It's amazing what the touch of your skin does to me."

They sat together in silence for a few moments, luxuriating in the love that they shared for one another. In the past, times like these were few and far between, but they both hoped that the near future would change that forever.

"So," Amanda sighed, not wanting to breach the intimate time they had just shared but knowing they had more to discuss about their future. "What do we tell Mother, the boys, not to mention Billy and the Agency?"

"Your mother and I had a chat last night at the hospital while you were sleeping. She knows about the Agency," he confided.

Amanda nodded. "I had a feeling she figured most of it out yesterday. Especially when I didn't get the third degree this morning when she picked me up, but I thought she might have been waiting until I fully recovered."

"We need to tell the boys as well, set up some ground rules and restrictions. I think they're old enough to understand the pertinence of it all. I'll set up a security system in the house and we'll use common sense," he explained. "We can't protect them from everything, but together we provide a united front."

"You really have thought this out," Amanda replied as she cuddled close to him.

"I'm not leaving anything to chance," he answered. "We'll be a very close knit family."

"I can live with that," she smiled. "But what about Billy? They're going to find the marriage license with February's date on it when they do the final security review…"

"I've thought about that as well. I think we have to come clean to Billy. Once the rest of the Agency sees that ring on your finger I think you'll find we're not going to be the center of attention for more than a few days," he surmised with a willful smile.

She looked down at the ring on her hand. "And you thought there were fireworks yesterday at the Emperor's Ballroom."

"Yeah, it will give Francine and the secretaries at the water cooler something to talk about for awhile," he teased. Then his expression turned more serious. "What about the wedding?"

"Small wedding in the backyard. We'll see how quick we can put this thing together," she replied as she leaned on her elbow and looked up at Lee.

He pulled her into his embrace again. "Can't be soon enough for me, Mrs. Stetson."

"Me neither, Mr. Stetson," she answered as she tucked her head in under his chin and yawned.

She closed her eyes and relaxed in her husband's arms. Lee closed his eyes as well and pulled his wife closer to him. He could feel the warmth of her body as he relaxed, and together they both drifted off to sleep…

End Part 8
 
 
 

FINAL REVIEW                 Part 9         (Conclusion)

Monday morning Lee and Amanda met Billy in his office before the roll call meeting.

"Amanda, Lee, I didn't expect to see either of you today. You're not on the active duty roster," Billy reminded them as he sipped his coffee. "How are you feeling, Amanda?"

"I'm feeling fine, sir. Lee gave me a ride over so I could give you my paperwork and we could talk to you," Amanda stated hesitantly as she handed over the package to Billy with her right hand.

"Good, I'm glad you finally got to it. So what did you want to discuss with me that couldn't wait until tomorrow?" he asked with interest.

"Sir, Lee and I eloped," Amanda said matter-of-factly.

"Well congratulations to you both!" he exclaimed excitedly, a grin plastered across his face. "I've had a feeling about you two for some time now."

Lee looked over at Amanda; she shrugged to him and nodded for him to continue.

"Thanks, Billy, but you might want to look at the date on our wedding license," Lee suggested and Amanda pulled it out of the paperwork for his convenience.

"February!" he gasped loudly as he held the license in his hand. "Why didn't you say anything before now? Why the big secret?"

"Mostly because of my family," Amanda started to explain.

Lee cut her off. "It was my idea and not one of my smarter ones. I let the likes of Birol and Diem get to me. I was afraid that…" Lee stopped mid sentence.

"Lee, Amanda, I understand. Jeannie and I had the same fears when we got married and started a family. You should have come to me for some advice," Billy chastised, shaking his head. "The Agency will protect its own; you know that."

"Amanda's family thinks we've just gotten engaged," Lee explained.

"And you want the rest of the Agency to think that as well?" Billy surmised.

"Can we do that? Amanda's got the final security review and all…" Lee questioned with doubt.

"The information is still considered confidential. So whoever is assigned the review shouldn't disclose the date unless it jeopardizes security or one of you mentions it. So as long as you two don't wait too long…" Billy suggested.

"We've already set a wedding date to make it appear official to our family. It'll be a small backyard wedding - next Saturday," Amanda volunteered. "You'll find a wedding invitation in your mailbox. We'd both like it if you and Jeannie would come…"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Billy remarked. "If you'd like, I could make an announcement at the end of the roll call meeting today."

Amanda grinned and nodded at both Billy and then Lee.

"That would be great, Billy. Just give us enough time to clear the building," Lee answered.

"Well, you better make it quick. You know how news travels around here," Billy reminded them and then looked down at his watch. "OK, you two, I better get a move on it. It's already past the hour. I want you to know that I'm really pleased that you found each other. In this business happy endings are rare."

"We owe a lot of it to you, sir," Amanda reminded him. "You kept putting the two of us together."

"Yeah, since we didn't end up killing each other, the only other alternative was to fall in love," Lee teased as he and Amanda got up.

Amanda swatted at Lee playfully as they left Billy's office. They were so wrapped in their own happiness they were barely aware of the busy bullpen around them.

Billy continued to watch as they crossed the bullpen. Their fingers entwined into each other's without hesitation or thought. When they reached the door they parted only momentarily while Lee allowed Amanda to pass through the doorway first. Then as if on cue, Lee's arm reached around her back and escorted her down the hall and out of his sight. Billy sighed. It wasn't often that his job brought him so much joy. He had seen a spark in both of them when he first met Amanda, but he never knew four years ago how much she would change him, and he her. He shook his head and reached for his morning agenda.

*** *** *** ***

A half-hour later he had gotten through his entire agenda and sat back looking at the agents in the conference room. Billy knew the announcement he was about to make would race through the Agency grapevine in record time. The rumors over the last few months about Lee and Amanda had been a constant. He was also hopeful that the announcement would put to rest the speculation everyone had on their relationship and allow the newlywed couple some much need space.

Francine waited while Billy seemed to have drifted off into space. Finally she cleared her throat. "Was there anything else, Billy?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, Francine, the Russians didn't report any missing diamonds, did they?" he asked her point blank.

"NO!" she denied emphatically. "Of course not. They signed for the shipment before they took off. I can't be held responsible for anything that happened after Aeroflot left the airport."

"Calm down, Francine," Billy chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure that the rock I saw on Amanda's finger this morning wasn't part of the collection."

"WHAT?" Francine stammered as the rest of the agents tuned into the verbal exchange.

"I have the pleasure to advise you that Lee Stetson and Amanda King have announced their engagement and have set a wedding date," Billy said with great delight.

Francine's face lost all color. The other agents in the room mumbled to each other; they all were shocked and surprised.

"That's all people. We had a pretty good week last week. Let's not drop the ball this week," Billy stated as he got up and left the conference room.

A few minutes later Francine knocked on Billy's door. He motioned for her to come in.

"Billy, is this a cover for a new case?" she asked hesitantly as she stared at the wedding invitation in her hand.

"Francine, I can assure you this is not an assignment. Those two have been in love with each other for a while now," Billy said shaking his head.

"She must be pregnant," she surmised.

"Enough, Francine," Billy bellowed, tired of her speculation. "Not that it's any of your business, but I don't believe there are any little Stetson's on the horizon anytime soon. I have it on good authority this wasn't a quick decision. They've been thinking about marriage for months."

"But, Billy," Francine mumbled in disbelief. "Amanda King and Lee Stetson?"

"Francine, you and Jonathan have gotten back together. A few months ago I wouldn't have thought that to be possible. Be happy for him, be happy for them," he suggested giving her a stern look.

Francine stared at Billy for a few moments as if she was trying to digest the idea.

"Are you going to the wedding?" she finally asked him.

"I wouldn't miss that wedding for the world!" Billy announced with delight then added. "I expect you'll be there with a smile on your face."

"Great, so just what do you get the happy homemaker and the smashing spy for a wedding present?" Francine questioned sarcastically.

"I'll leave those difficult decisions to Jeannie and stick to mundane chores such as national security myself. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to have my office back. I have work to do," Billy suggested as he nodded towards the door.

Francine got the hint, turned and headed towards the water cooler. Billy couldn't help but notice that there was a crowd around it. He didn't need to be section chief to figure out what was the hot topic of the day…

*** *** *** *** ***

The alarm beeped loudly as Amanda struggled to find the alarm clock. It wasn't in it's usually spot on her night stand. She opened her eyes to see the sun peering past the curtain as Lee still slept quietly next to her. It when then she realized she wasn't in her own bedroom or Lee's. Their suitcases sat against the wall eagerly awaiting their honeymoon trip to Bermuda. They were at the airport hotel.

She grabbed the sheet protectively and leaned over fussing mildly at the alarm clock as she tried to turn the incessant beeping noise off.

"Amanda," Lee groaned. "I can't believe you set the alarm clock. It's supposed to be our honeymoon. The plane doesn't leave until after lunch."

"Trust me, I didn't set the alarm clock," she defended sleepily as she fumbled with the buttons still trying unsuccessfully to stop its loud shrill. Finally she hit the right button and the beeping ceased. "I had other things on my mind last night when we got in. I didn't set the alarm clock," she reiterated.

"What time is it anyway," Lee mumbled as he turned toward his wife.

"Six o'clock," she reported as she began to settle back down next to him. "Go back to sleep. The airport's only a few minutes away. We can sleep as late as we want."

He smiled at her as her soft velvety skin touched his warm body. "I'm not sure I want to," he grinned devilishly.

"Close your eyes and go back to dreamland…" she whispered as she yawned.

"But this is better than a dream, and now that I'm up…" Lee suggested as his hands began to tenderly explore his wife's disrobed body.

"Close your eyes and you'll fall back to sleep," she whispered, relaxing at his gentle touch.

"That's not what's up!" he teased as he nibbled on her ear and his ministrations became more insistent.

"I'm starting to think that you set the alarm clock," Amanda murmured as Lee touches began to arouse her.

"No, like you said, we were kind of preoccupied when we got in here last night, but I'll have to thank whoever did set it," he mumbled as he began to make love to his wife fervently. "It was a wonderful idea."

Amanda eagerly responded to his touches. "The rate we're going, we'll never make our flight, Mr. Stetson," she giggled.

"We might still make our flight, Mrs. Stetson," he responded and then covered her lips with another passionate kiss…

The end
 

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