Francine was at her desk the next day with her thoughts in a whirl. She was supposed to be trying to figure out how she could help with the Brody thing, but she couldn't get her mind off of the way she'd left things with Beaman last night. She couldn't figure out what was up with him being so hot and cold toward her; one minute they were making out hot and heave; the next, he acted like he'd had a bucket of cold water thrown on him.

Her mind jumped back to Roxanne's sneer when she'd talked about her own fling with Beaman and shuddered a bit. A hopeful thought struck her then. Maybe that's why he was taking his time...because he'd been burned with Roxanne. She decided she had to find out so she bolted from her desk and quickly hurried toward the elevator to get to the training department.

As it turned out, she didn't have to go that far because when the elevator opened, out stepped Beaman. "Hey," she greeted him with a half-smile.

"I was just coming to see you," they said in unison and then shared a chuckle over it.

"I didn't like the way we left things last night," he began. He also didn't like the fact that he'd been stupid enough to leave when she'd practically begged him to stay. Still, he couldn't help wondering if she'd only asked because she was lonely and not because it was him she really wanted. He'd heard the stories about how she'd been jilted at the altar several years ago and since then had pretty much just been looking for a good time when it came to guys. Just like Roxanne, he thought bitterly, but then chided himself for that thought since they were two very different women. Still, he didn't want to be just another one of those guys, but more than that, he also didn't want to risk hurting her like she'd been hurt back then, not if she were genuinely starting to care for him. Don't go there, he warned himself. You both need time to figure things out.

"Yeah, I didn't either," she responded honestly.

"I want you to know that the second I was out the door, I realized how things sounded...like I was some guy who just...you know-"

"Yeah, it did kinda' sound like that," she interrupted testily.

"Well, I didn't mean it that way," he explained apologetically. "I meant that I really would have called you."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she hadn't scared him off by asking him to spend the night.

"It hit me on my drive home that even though I'm not free tonight, I still should have made plans for another date some other night."

"Well, I don't know how long I'm going to be dealing with this Brody mess since we both know how stubborn Lee can be. Plus, I'm just starting this project with Dr. Dunleavy and that's going to take weeks..."

"Are you saying you don't want to see me again because I-I-" He broke off and quickly looked around to make sure no one was within earshot and then lowered his voice, "Because I didn't stay last night? If that's all you want from me, I-"

"No!" she said loudly, cutting him off again. She too, found herself looking around for anyone who might have heard her outburst, then seeing that the corridor was empty, she continued in a lower voice, "No, I just...I mean, it would be nice, but I've had a nice time with us just spending time together." She thought back to how he'd reacted when she'd teased him in the Q about fogging up the windows and figured maybe he just needed more time.

"So, how about Friday night?" he suggested. When she didn't reply, but instead looked like she was thinking hard about something, he tried again. "Francine...Friday? Or maybe another night if you're busy..."

"Oh, sorry," she shook her head. "Friday's great."

"Then what's got you so distracted all of a sudden?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about this Brody thing. Lee needs help and Amanda's out because she still has some tests she has to go through, but you said you were wanting to clock some more field time." Her thoughts of that day in the Q had gotten her putting the pieces together to come up with a solution.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," he replied apprehensively. "He and I don't exactly get along."

"But isn't that mostly because of Amanda? I mean, you have to admit that you've been a bit hard on her in your training classes. You know that's going to set Lee off because he's so protective of her, especially since her shooting."

"Yeah, I guess it's worth a shot. But then there's the problem of talking him into it."

"You just leave that to me. I'll take care of it," she promised and hurried off to the external elevator. She had one stop to make first, then she was going to deal with this once and for all.

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She stopped outside the door to the Q Bureau apprehensively, not sure what she would find inside when she heard raised voices coming from within. She really wanted to help knowing that Lee would feel responsible for finding Brody and sending him back to prison as well as talk to him about Beaman, but now she wasn't so sure she should get involved. She took a deep breath and told herself, "Just do it!" and opened the door.

As she stood in the doorway, she saw the newlyweds standing toe to toe, Amanda with a fiercely determined look on her face as she shouted, "What good do you think you're going to do if you don't get your proper rest? Look at you!" She gestured to his disheveled appearance. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"I can't." He shook his head adamantly. "Not until I know what Brody is up to next, not until I get him back behind bars where he belongs!"

"And just how do you think you're going to do that if you don't take care of yourself? Or if you wear yourself out from exhaustion?" Amanda continued, both of them seemingly oblivious to her presence. "And by the way, this isn't just and 'I' case. This is a 'we' case. I was right there beside you when he was arrested the first time, remember?"

"No, Amanda!" He began pacing. "Absolutely not! I don't want you anywhere near this, not until I know you're fully cleared for field duty."

"Maybe I can help," Amanda responded in a pleading tone. "I helped you the last time, didn't I?"

"You nearly died, Amanda! Do you think I'm going to just stand by and let that happen again? He's already killed Peters! The man is dangerous!"

Francine cleared her throat loudly. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"What?" Both snapped and their heads whipped toward her as Lee stopped in his pacing.

Francine would have laughed at the matching looks on their faces if this weren't such a serious situation. "I...um..." She let out a sigh. "If I could just play Devil's advocate for a moment here. I agree with both of you and I disagree with both of you." She turned to Lee. "Amanda's right, if you don't take some time for yourself and get some proper rest, you're not gonna' be any good to anybody." She then faced Amanda. "Amanda, Lee's right about you not taking on too much until the doctors tell you that you can. Weren't you just telling me yesterday that you still had some testing to go through before that could happen?"

Lee grinned at his wife in triumph. "So, what's your suggestion?" Amanda inquired, ignoring the smug look her husband was giving her.

"Beaman," Francine answered quickly. "He's been aching to clock some field time. He can fill in for Amanda and help you out." Of course, she wasn't about to tell them what Beaman had confided in her about his professional jealousy of Amanda.

"I don't need anyone to fill in for me, Francine," Amanda protested. "I'm still perfectly capable-"

"Of handling the stuff here in the office," Francine interrupted. "You're almost as good with the computer stuff as Beaman is, but let him do the legwork for once."

"You know, Lee, that's not a bad idea," Amanda told her husband thoughtfully.

"Beaman? Are you kidding?" Lee gaped a both women incredulously. "He may be good in the classroom, but he's never been field-tested."

"Sure, he has," Francine countered. "He went through the same training we all did. It's just that he hasn't had much opportunity for field word because his computer skills were needed in the office; that doesn't mean that he can't do it." She handed Lee the folder she'd brought with her. "Look at his scores from Station One and Dodge City. He can do this."

"Of course, you're not a bit biased because he's your boyfriend now?" Lee questioned her as he shot her a wary look since she just happened to come prepared with Beaman's records.

"I wouldn't go that far...just yet," she answered evasively. "Besides, this has nothing to do with that. You need someone to help you, he needs to gain more hands-on field experience. I'd say it's the perfect match."

"What makes you so sure Beaman would want to do it? He and I haven't actually seen eye-to-eye since he's been so hard on Amanda in class."

"Just ask him."

"Or better yet, I could ask him," Amanda suggested. "He might take it better coming from me." She already knew all about the tiff Lee had had with Beaman yesterday over their weekend escapades.

"Or even better," Francine interjected, "I could have Billy make it an order. Then he can't refuse, not that I think he will anyway, but if it comes from Billy, he's less likely to grumble about it." She already knew that despite Beaman's worries about working with Lee, he would jump at the chance to get out of the office since they'd talked about it on their first date, but Lee didn't need to know that part. It would only set him off again that she'd talked to Beaman first. The truth was she wanted to make it an order so Lee couldn't refuse.

Lee let out a sigh, but finally conceded, "Yeah, that sounds like the best plan." He had to admit that he was already tired. He pointed to the white board in the corner of the room between the two desks. "Well, here's what I've got figured out so far." He explained how he'd been deep-diving into Brody's old network of contacts and had come up with a couple of leads.

"Did you figure out how he got to Peters?" Francine asked.

"No. The only thing that I can think of is that in the brief time he had the Barnstorm list, he must have gotten a look at the contacts on it."

"That's what makes the most sense," Amanda agreed.

"Thank God your name was never on it." Lee remembered mentioning to her at the time that she was the one person who helped him out the most whose name wasn't part of the Barnstorm list.

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, it hit Francine in that moment just how much Lee loved Amanda. Feeling as if she were intruding, she stammered awkwardly, "Uh...you know...why don't you two keep working on this and I'll go downstairs and get Billy to write up that order and give Beaman the news." She quickly made her escape to give the pair the privacy they clearly needed.