Disclaimer: I do not own of these characters; they are the property of Shoot the Moon Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television. I acknowledge gratefully the hard work of the creators of the series who brought to life characters we like so much we can't let them go.
Author's Note: Still combating the crazy airing times of the original series and trying to make it work, so have stretched the last few episodes out into the summer of 1987 because damn it, Francine cannot possibly have vacation time immediately following two consecutive episodes.
This story will make the most sense if you have read my story "Daddy Long-Legs" and that's not even just a feeble attempt to get more traffic on old stories. Although reading "Titian Temptation" will help too if you're going that far.
All in the Family
Amanda was leaning back in her chair and ever so carefully running her foot up Lee's calf as he sat opposite her at a table at the back of Ned's, grinning as he tried to let nothing show on his face but she could tell from the glint in his eye that there'd be payback later. She ran her tongue gently around her lips and watched him press his own lips together, trying not to laugh before she turned to ask an apparently oblivious Francine, "So what are you going to do with your time off?"
"Oooooh, New York for some of it, I think," answered Francine, with a pleased wriggle. "I haven't had a chance to get up there in months."
"Sounds like fun," said Amanda in a much too demure voice. "What do you do when you're up there? Visit Coney Island?"
Francine looked up with a smile as Lee gave a shout of laughter. "Pity you don't have time off. You could come with me and I could finally show you how to shop properly." She didn't miss the wry look that passed between Lee and Amanda at the reminder that only one half of the team had the next two weeks off. "So what are your big plans, Lee?"
Lee shrugged. "Not sure yet. Just find somewhere hot and sunny to lie around and do nothing, I guess."
"If you're looking for somewhere hot and sunny, my backyard meets those requirements and has a fence that needs rebuilding," quipped Amanda.
"Ah, but then I wouldn't be doing nothing like I planned," answered Lee with a lazy grin.
"You're terrible at doing nothing. You'll get bored and end up getting involved in something dangerous without someone there to watch your tail."
"You make a good point. Will there be brownies?" Lee tried to look as if he was actually considering it.
"Well, Tom Sawyer, you'll have to show up to find out." Amanda's eyes were twinkling at him across the table, and the moment the dimples deepened on his cheeks, Francine knew with absolute certainty he'd be spending at least part of the next two weeks repairing the fence.
He's not just normal, he's domesticated she thought, Damn it if he didn't grow up and get domesticated. She studied the laughing couple who were doing that silent conversation thing they often did and not for the first time, it wasn't annoyance she felt, but envy. Maybe I could have had that. But she knew she could never have had it without someone who understood how much she loved her job and how good she was at it and somehow, unbelievably, Lee had managed to pick just such a person out of a crowd in a train station. One in a million, he'd said the other day; well, she should be so lucky. God knows I don't want normal, but to have someone who looked at me like that…
She was still shaking her head at his astounding luck when she noticed Billy coming in and waved him over. Too late, she noticed Efraim Beaman was right behind him and as their eyes locked, she couldn't help her lips twitching as she remembered his truly terrible attempt to ask her out earlier that week. He flushed and with only the slightest hitch in his step, abruptly changed direction and headed for a table in another part of the bar.
"What did you do to him now?" It figured Amanda would notice and ask.
"I didn't do anything to him," she answered, too quickly perhaps. "He started it," she amended when Amanda started to laugh. "He did! He tried to act like I owed him something for letting me into the Q Bureau the other day when I couldn't find my keys so I let him know I agreed, but he'd have to take it right there, right then. Can I help it if he can't handle all this?" she said gesturing to herself in a head-to-toe motion.
Amanda's expression was a mix of amusement and exasperation. "So he finally got up the nerve to ask you out while he was sober and you gave him the full Francine? Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"
Francine hadn't actually stopped to give it that much thought before and felt a small pang of something she refused to acknowledge might be guilt. "Well, he started it," she said again sullenly.
Amanda was already turning away shaking her head to greet Billy properly as he joined them and Francine glanced across the bar just in time to catch Efraim sneaking a sidelong look. When he realized she'd caught him, she couldn't help smiling as he tried to make himself smaller, which was impossible for someone his size; it was like watching a giraffe try to fold itself up. Amanda's right, I should be nicer to him. But right then, Billy asked her a question and she turned away without giving it another thought.
Francine could have kicked herself later for being so stupid and never stopping to think there might be a third man. She'd reacted on instinct and done the one thing she always told Lee off for – going in without backup. In her defense, she had thought it was some kind of simple mugging, but now, tied up in some dark windowless room, she was beginning to realize just how bad a situation she was in. No one in the world knew she was in trouble, no one would be looking for her, she had absolutely nothing with her to use as a weapon and worst of all, there was a civilian involved.
It had all started simply enough at the train station. She had decided to catch a train to New York after the morning rush and with the pouring rain, it was much quieter than normal on the entrance plaza. She'd parked her car and was walking towards the front of the station, looking for a porter to take her suitcase when she noticed the girl. Everything about her said "tourist" and Francine rolled her eyes at the way the girl appeared completely oblivious to her surroundings as she studied the Metro map. Her backpack was at her feet and her purse was slung loosely on her shoulder. As Francine walked down the front of the station, she saw the man step up behind the girl, as if to read the map over her shoulder, and then she saw his hand come out of his pocket with the syringe and she dropped her suitcase and began to run towards them.
"Federal agent! Drop it!" she yelled, but too late as the girl collapsed almost instantaneously and the man began to drag her to the white van that had pulled up beside them. He was already bundling her through the sliding door when Francine caught up to them. She shoved the man so that he toppled into the van, then reached in to try and pull the unconscious girl back to safety. Too late she sensed the shadow behind her, felt the blinding pain and fell into the inky blackness.
*. * .
She was waking now to the sound of men arguing and realized that they were fighting about her.
"Why did you bring her? Why didn't you just leave her there?"
"Because she could have identified us!"
"She's some kind of law enforcement and you've kidnapped her! What are we supposed to do with her now?"
"She's pretty enough – the customer will want her."
"The customer likes them young – he won't want her."
"She's young!"
"She's over thirty if she's a day. He likes them young."
Even with a pounding headache, that annoyed her enough to open her eyes and that was when she found herself in this basement, arms and legs tied. She wriggled around to discover that her arms were loose enough to allow her to push herself upright using her elbows, but not loose enough for her to reach any of the knots. She looked around and finally spotted the slight figure of the girl who had been tossed into the van, leaning up against the wall across the dim room, also tied up.
"Are you alright?" she croaked out.
"I'm fine I think, just woozy," answered the girl.
"Do you know these guys?" asked Francine. "Do you know why they grabbed you?"
"I have no idea who they are but from that conversation they were just having, I think they're human traffickers of some kind. They were talking about the customer being pleased I had green eyes."
It was amazing that she appeared to be staying quite calm but Francine could hear the crack of fear in the girl's voice and began asking questions, trying to distract her. "Are you going to be missed? Was anyone supposed to be picking you up? Or were you meeting anyone in DC?"
The girl perked up at that question. "Yes, actually. I'd come in to town to meet up with my Uncle Bob. We were going to surprise Dad for his birthday."
"Okay, well that's a point in our favor because absolutely nobody is looking for me," answered Francine. "Let's see if we can use that fact to put the fear of God into them because I guarantee they thought you were just a backpacker and that no one will miss you."
"Didn't I hear them say you're police or something?" asked the girl in a hopeful tone. "So won't they be looking for you?"
"Well, I am, sort of, but I'm on vacation so everyone I work with will assume I'm out of town. Now, can you move at all?"
"I've tried to get loose but I can't. Dad's going to kill me," she added unexpectedly.
Francine quirked up a brow at the comment. "Your father's going to be mad at you for getting kidnapped? That seems like an odd reaction."
"Oh, he's not my –" The girl gave a laugh. "It doesn't matter – it's just that he's always telling me to be careful and showing me stuff to avoid getting into jams like this."
"Your dad sounds smart, but a little paranoid," remarked Francine.
"Well, look at me now," answered the girl with a wry grin.
"True enough," answered Francine. She liked this girl – most teenagers would have been gibbering idiots in this situation. "I'm Francine, by the way."
"I'm Julie," answered the girl, shyly.
"Alright, Julie, let's start thinking of ways to get ourselves out of here. Most crooks will go for easy money, so do you think your dad would pay a ransom?"
Julie's eyes brightened. "He probably wouldn't, but he'd say he would to buy time. He's kind of in law enforcement too."
"He is? Excellent – here's what we're going to do." Francine quickly outlined a plan, glad to see the young girl was smart enough to pick it up without hesitation. They had barely agreed on what to say when one of the guys from the van unlocked the door and walked into the room.
"Both awake, I see. Okay, Little Lady, we're going to go take you for a little photo session. Our customer likes to see the product before purchase."
Francine could see the flare of panic in Julie's eyes and started to talk rapidly. "Will your customer pay enough though? She's just been telling me about her family and they'd pay a lot of money to get her back. A lot of money," she repeated when she saw the mercenary look go across his face. "What is it your dad does again?" she asked Julie.
"He's a film producer," answered Julie.
Francine's head swiveled towards her in shock. She had told Julie to stick as close to the truth as possible; how on earth had Julie chosen that as the cover story?
"He has a lot of contacts though," Julie was going on, rapidly, trying to sound convincing. "He could pull together a ransom or something for me really fast. I just have to call and ask him – he'd do anything for me."
"And where does he live?" asked the thug.
"Right here in Washington. I could call him right now," said Julie enthusiastically.
The thug looked suspicious. "If he lives in Washington, why were you at the train station looking like a tourist?"
"Well, I live out west with my mom, but he lives here. I just came to visit," came the ready answer.
The thug considered that for a moment. "Okay, come on. You can come explain it to my friends upstairs." He untied Julie's feet and dragged her upright. As they headed for the door, she gave Francine a frightened look and Francine gave her what she hoped was an encouraging nod.
They were gone for some time and Francine took the opportunity to study the room she was in. It was obviously an old unused cellar of some kind. Damp seeped in through the walls and it smelled heavily of mold. There was something oddly familiar about it but she couldn't place it just yet. She could only hope Julie was paying attention to her surroundings and might have noticed something they could use.
Eventually they returned, the thug pushing Julie ahead of him into the room and then tying her up again. He turned to Francine and eyed her up and down. "Don't suppose you got anyone willing to pay good money for you, do you?"
Francine's mind flashed instantly to her parents, happily oblivious right now to the danger she was in. She knew she'd never let these creeps near them, but it was better not to let them know that yet. "Maybe, but let's see how well you turkeys do with her first."
The thug looked a little put off by her attitude, which is just how Francine liked it - annoyed hoodlums tended not to think clearly, she'd found. She continued to meet his gaze sullenly until he finally gave a snort of exasperation and left them alone.
"So what happened?" she hissed at Julie the moment the door closed behind him.
"I think I talked them into trying for a ransom," said Julie. "They fell for the rich producer thing completely. They're going to discuss it some more, they said."
"Did you see anything that would give you a clue about where we are?"
"I could see the river outside the window and it's one of those old factory buildings, I think. It has those big glass windows, you know the kind? It reminds me of the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, you know the place?"
All of a sudden, Francine realized why this cellar looked so familiar. It was a sub-basement exactly like the one they'd rescued Scotty from three years ago. But how could she get that information out to someone who could rescue them? It had been Amanda who remembered the old cellars then – but even if Julie's dad contacted the police, no one would ever contact the Agency about a kidnapping, she thought hopelessly.
That was when she remembered the conversation Julie had had with the thug before she'd been dragged out of the room.
"Julie, what made you tell that guy your father was a film producer?" she asked suddenly suspicious, a feeling confirmed by the slightly guilty expression on Julie's face.
"Well, I'm not supposed to tell people what he does really," Julie answered slowly.
Francine closed her eyes for a moment, breathed a silent prayer and then asked slowly, "Julie? Does your dad work for IFF?" The gasp of surprise was all the answer she needed.
"It's ok – I work for them too," she sighed. "So who's your dad?"
There was a long silence while Julie wrestled with answering before finally saying, "Well the thing is, he's not my real dad and I don't think anybody knows about me and my mom except his boss and his fiancée and even she only just found out about me and-"
"Good God, I didn't think anyone could out-ramble Amanda King," said Francine in complete exasperation.
"You know Amanda?" squeaked Julie.
"YOU know Amanda?" answered Francine in astonishment. They stared at each other across the room, both of them wide-eyed. "Is Lee your dad?"
"Yes, well no, not really, but yes."
Francine was struck dumb for possibly the first time in her life as she tried to sort through everything Julie had just said. "He's your dad but not really?"
"He's like my godfather, but I didn't have a dad growing up so I call him Dad," explained Julie uncertainly. "So you know him?"
"Not well enough apparently," Francine couldn't help starting to laugh. "But those guys upstairs have no idea the hell-storm that is about to hit them if they've kidnapped somebody important to Lee." For the first time, she started to feel truly optimistic that there was going to be a way to get out of this. She beamed at Julie across the room who was smiling shyly back.
"Really? He's going to get us out of this?"
"Oh yeah, he is. You should see him when something happens to… wait a minute, did you say fiancée?"
Julie looked startled. "Yes – unless they've broken up in the last few months. Have they?"
Francine snapped her mouth closed to cover up the look of shock she knew had to be on her face. Domesticated she thought. Normal. An image of Lee and Amanda at Ned's just two days ago flashed through her mind, laughing over whether or not he'd help with the fence. Happy she thought, followed immediately by I'm going to kill them.
"No, they're still together," she answered, stifling the laughter that had burst out when she realized Julie was looking at her uncertainly. "I just didn't realize… look never mind about that. If Lee's going to be at the other end of that phone line, this is going to be a hell of a lot easier. Here's what you need to tell him…"
"Skip, would you please stop pacing? You remind me of Matt."
"Where the hell could she be? Why would anybody take her? Could someone have found out her connection to me? And who's the woman?"
It had been a hellish morning for everyone at IFF from the moment Robert Clayton had called, trying to find Lee when Julie hadn't shown up at his hotel as planned. She'd called him from the station to say she's arrived from New York and was on her way as soon as she figured out the Metro line she needed and then she had vanished off the face of the earth.
The Colonel had almost been relieved to get Amanda instead, knowing that unlike Lee, she was not going to go off half-cocked the minute she heard the story. "It was supposed to be a surprise for Lee's birthday –she was going to be in New York with her friends and when I realized I'd be here at the same time… I'm sure I'm worrying over nothing, right? Teenagers get distracted, don't they? Skip used to drive me crazy disappearing, Julie's probably just done the same, right?" He sounded desperate with worry.
Amanda hadn't known Julie for long but she sure she would never have disappeared like this without a reason and she'd been hanging around Lee long enough to be paranoid too. She'd given the Colonel the address for the office, she'd called Billy to get permission to have someone start looking for security video at the station and only then, when everything was underway to start the hunt, had she called Lee.
He'd arrived at the office barely a few minutes after his uncle and only a few minutes before Mrs. Marston had appeared in the Q Bureau with tapes couriered over by the train station security office. They'd all watched in horror as Julie had been swept into the van, and they could see a woman attempting to interfere only to be knocked out and tossed in as well. It had been four hours since the kidnapping and two hours since Lee had arrived like a tornado and they were nowhere closer to figuring any of it out. The van didn't have plates or any distinguishing markings and the morning's driving rain had made the video almost useless. Billy had arranged to have all the calls to Lee's apartment and Amanda's house forwarded to the Q Bureau just in case but so far, there'd been nothing.
"I can't believe there' nothing that could tell us who the woman is" groaned Amanda, wishing futilely that it hadn't been raining that morning. The woman had a scarf pulled over her hair and it was blocking any attempt to identify her. "It happened so fast – how did she even know Julie was in trouble?"
"Because it's Francine," said a voice from the doorway. They all turned to look at Beaman who was walking in carrying a suitcase, still dripping wet from the torrential storm outside. "I don't know why but something about the video bugged me so I went back to the station. Her bag was found on the sidewalk outside the station earlier today and put in Lost and Found. Until I went asking, nobody had made the connection." He looked around at the shocked faces staring back at him. "So what do we do now? How do we get her back?"
Amanda turned to look at Lee, watching as he dropped onto the couch as if he could no longer stand up, a stricken look on his face. He and Francine had been through hell and back together last week but she could tell he was feeling helpless this time. Efraim's shoulders sagged a bit as he took in Lee's expression.
The silence in the room was so profound that almost everyone jumped when the phone began to ring. It took a beat for Lee to leap across the room and pick up.
"Stetson." There was a pause then, "Who are you and what do you want?" Lee motioned to Amanda to get the call traced. His brows snapped together, "What do you mean you have my daughter?"
Efraim looked around the room, wondering why he was the only one reacting to that question, since neither Billy nor Amanda seemed surprised. He'd thought this was simply someone Stetson knew but now began to see why Scarecrow was even more intense than usual.
Lee was scowling down the phone line, trying not to give anything away. "I don't believe you – she's supposed to be in New York with her friends …. Well, put her on then."
Amanda reached over and turned up the volume of the recording machine slightly so that everyone could hear.
Julie's voice was trembling but it was unmistakably her. "Dad? I'm in trouble."
The furious expression on Lee's face got darker as he heard the fear,but he tried to sound calm for her. "Julie – where are you?"
"I'm sorry – I should have listened to everything you and Aunt Frannie told me about Scotty that time."
Amanda looked up to meet Efraim's eyes across her desk; she knew she looked equally relieved that Julie had obviously talked to Francine. But what was the rest of it about?
"Are you ok? Have they hurt you?"
"We're fine, Dad, but come and get us soon, okay?"
There was the sound of a slight scuffle and a man's voice came on the line.
"We want $250,000. We'll call you back later with instructions. You better ante up, Pal, or your pretty little girl is going to the highest bidder." There was a click as they hung up and Lee was left staring at the handset with a furious expression.
"Did we get a trace?" asked Billy.
Amanda shook her head. "Not enough of one. We know it's in DC and we can narrow it down to an exchange in the southeast but we didn't get any closer than that." She got up to stare at the map of Washington on the wall, her finger tracing the streets of that phone exchange.
"At least we know she's got Francine with her and whoever has them has bought the father-daughter bit," muttered Lee running his hand over the back of his head in frustration. "But who the hell is Scotty?
Amanda gave a squeak and whirled around and watched Lee realize it at the same time. "Scotty from the parking lot," they chorused.
The Colonel looked perplexed as everyone in the room went into scramble mode. "Who is Scotty from the parking lot?" he asked out loud.
Only Amanda paused to explain. "It's a long story, but we think that was a hint about where they're being held. It'll be a warehouse somewhere near the river."
"You got all that from one sentence?" He shook his head in amazement as Beaman raced out of the room while Lee and Billy began barking orders down phone lines.
Amanda smiled and shrugged, even as she began pulling up addresses on the computer. "Like I said, long story and a lot of shared history."
From that point on, the Colonel watched as Lee and Amanda efficiently pulled together a plan, mapping likely warehouses, calling in resources and juggling information often with barely a word between them. He shook his head remembering the last time he'd seen them at work two years before. They had seemed to work well together then but it had since developed into a well-oiled machine unlike anything he'd seen before. Beaman was in and out of the Q Bureau like a jack-in-the-box, bringing computer printouts, maps and building plans as they raced to narrow down a search field. Once word had gotten out that it was 'family' that had been taken, Billy was having trouble keeping the entire Agency from volunteering and by the time the phone rang again three hours later, everything was poised to be put into motion.
"Stetson!" barked Lee into the phone. "Yeah, I can get the money. Yes, by the end of the day. Where and when?" He didn't bother to scribble anything down, knowing the recording machine would pick it up. "That's near the waterfront park right?... Yeah, no cops, I'll be alone … Let me talk to Julie…" but it was obvious the man at the other end had hung up.
"Did we get it this time?" he asked Beaman.
"Yes – payphone two blocks off M St," said Efraim triumphantly.
Amanda drew a finger across the map pinned to the wall. "There are two empty warehouses down there that are getting ready for redevelopment. Could be either one but they're on opposite sides of the freeway."
"Then we check both," said Lee with a confirming nod from Billy.
"Start with this one," said Amanda. "It's further from Jefferson and would be a quieter street if you're trying not to be noticed."
Lee nodded in agreement. "Okay, we'll need two teams at least on the park side in case they try and get away on the water."
"I'm coming," said Efraim, unexpectedly.
Lee cocked a brow at him. "Beaman, you don't exactly have a lot of field experience yet – you'll be more useful in the surveillance van."
"No," answered Efraim stubbornly. "I want to be on one of the teams."
Lee met Amanda's eyes and gave a rueful grin. "Oh, why didn't you say so? You don't want to stay in the car. Okay, go get set up. They're not expecting me until 10 tonight so they won't be moving out of their bolt hole until at least 9. That gives us a few hours to corner them."
Francine was starting to get light headed from lack of food and the bump of her head, and her arms and legs were cramping by the time the door was yanked open and two men entered, hours later. She recognized the first one from his earlier visit and thought the second one might be the one who had originally approached Julie that morning.
"Okay, Ladies, we're going for a walk," said the first one, stooping to untie Francine's legs, then yanking her to her feet. She stumbled forward, her legs too stiff to walk properly. Julie wasn't in much better shape as they were dragged out of their cellar and upstairs to the main part of the warehouse. She could see from the windows high up on the walls that it was still raining outside. She couldn't judge what time it was; it seemed like it must be evening since she thought it was getting dark but that could have been the storm.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked. "I know where she's going but what about me?"
"Well, first you're going to be our shield in case her father is stupid enough to show up with anyone. And then you're coming with us on your way to a new life. Our customer is willing to overlook your age since we told him how pretty you are." He cocked his head and leered at her. "Unless you've come up with someone who might be willing to pay for you too?"
She shook her head, certain it would never come to that, not if Lee and Amanda were after them.
They walked out into the pouring rain, a rain that kept the number of possible witnesses to a minimum. Francine looked around quietly, worried slightly that she could see no sign of the third man she knew had been the driver and also no sign of any Agency surveillance in the area. Please let them have figured it out she prayed.
Unexpectedly, they turned east towards the river park. Francine looked up at the man walking beside her and he gave her a cocky grin.
"If he's stupid enough to have brought backup, they won't be expecting us to leave this way. We've got a boat out there that'll get us out of here before they even know we're gone."
Well that explained where the third man was, she thought, shaking her head at the inevitability of criminals who wanted to show off how smart they were. Little did he know that even Fred Fielder would know to block off any escape by water. Taking advantage of having to look up at him, she looked past him and scanned the buildings nearby, her heart leaping with relief as she caught a glimpse of movement on one of the rooftops. She looked over at Julie and gave her a smile. The frightened expression lightened and she managed a tremulous smile in return. Francine had warned her to be ready for anything and she nodded to show she remembered.
As they approached M Street, Lee stepped out from behind a building, carrying a large duffle bag.
"Dad!" gasped Julie in relief.
"It's ok, Tink. I've got you," he called out to her.
"Drop the bag and put your hands on your head," called the man holding onto Julie, visibly relaxing as Lee obeyed. "Now back up and turn around."
Lee began backing up but yelled out, "I'm not turning around until you let them go!"
The man with Julie walked slowly forward until they reached the bag, then motioned for her to pick it up, his eyes never leaving Lee. Once Julie had the bag, he began pulling her backwards towards his accomplice and Francine.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" shouted Lee, angrily.
"Dad?" sobbed Julie.
"Julie, get down!" he shouted, reaching around to pull his gun from his waistband and to Francine's intense relief, Julie dropped to the ground like a pro.
The man who had been using her as a shield immediately grabbed the bag, then turned and began to run back towards Francine and the second man. "Move it!" he shouted as he ran past them and his accomplice pushed Francine aside and turned to race after him towards the boat idling nearby, not noticing its driver was missing. As she stumbled backwards, hands still bound behind her, Francine could see agents pouring out from behind buildings in every direction, and then, just when she thought she was safe, her foot hit a rock and she went tumbling several feet down into the Anacostia River.
The shock of frigidly cold water knocked the breath out of her. The constant rain of the last few days had created a strong current as well and as she struggled to twist her body to try and kick her way back to the surface, she couldn't help the rising panic as she felt herself being swept away. She looked up through the murky water in time to see a lanky silhouette dive into the water beside her and then arms wrapped around her, pulling her upwards.
Lee, thank God, she thought with relief as she felt herself being lifted up. Her lungs were burning by the time they burst out of the water and all she was capable of doing was to suck air in as deeply as she could. Somehow, despite the current and the debris in the water, he managed to drag her to the river's edge where hands stretched down to haul her onto the bank. Amanda appeared, crouched down beside her, telling her she'd be okay as someone cut through the knots behind her back and then she was lifted onto a gurney and rushed to an ambulance.
She was still having trouble catching her breath and was shivering uncontrollably as Billy clambered in after her.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "That was a little too close for comfort."
"Worst vacation day ever," she managed to gasp out. "Is Julie okay?"
"She's fine, Lee's looking after her."
"Well, every girl needs her daddy," she quipped between ragged breaths, watching with amusement as Billy choked with laughter. "And yes, I know he's not," she went on, when it looked like he was going to say something. "But that's not going to save him from about a year's worth of teasing."Not when I have so much to tease him about.
"You know what I don't understand? How come you and Francine got along so well that night we were all in Brussels and now you can barely string two words together when she's around." Amanda gave him a sideways look, smile playing on her lips as she got nothing but a grunt in response.
She was driving a shivering Efraim home. He'd stripped off most of his wet clothes and was wrapped in a blanket from one of the ambulances. He'd lost his glasses when he'd dived in after Francine and she knew he couldn't really see anything out of the window he was staring at so hard.
"It was different there," he said finally. "I'd been on the road for three weeks with Stetson and it was my first field work and it turned out I was pretty good at it, you know? Even though I was supposed to just be the paper trail guy." He glanced sideways at her, and she nodded, knowing he'd at least be able to see the motion. "And when we followed you up the street that night, he trusted me to back him up and grab you – not that we knew it was you – and the adrenaline was crazy. You must know what I mean, right? You do that stuff all the time."
Amanda was still nodding. "Oh yeah. I flew a helicopter my first time out with Lee – I know exactly what you mean."
"Really?" He peered at her trying to decide if she was pulling his leg. "Anyway, when Francine showed up, for a little while, it was like she was pleased to see me."
"She was. We both were," answered Amanda. "So then what happened?"
Efraim shrugged. "We came home. Everything and everyone went back to the way it was before and she remembered she was way out of my league."
Amanda drummed the steering wheel thoughtfully. "I think you'd be surprised."
Efraim wrapped the blanket more tightly around himself and leaned his head back on the headrest. "I don't," he answered. "We're not penguins."
Francine was dressed in scrubs and wrapped in a warm blanket in an examining room at Parker General. She was perched on the edge of the bed, too wired up to lie still and rest like the nurse had told recommended to her. There was no mirror in the room, but from the way the nurse had sympathetically brought her a comb and a wet facecloth without being asked, she was pretty sure she'd only had a few times in her life where she looked worse than right now. She could hardly wait for the doctor to come back with her release so she could go home and shower the grime of the Anacostia off in a scalding hot shower – it had been hours and she was still shivering with cold.
"Hey, how ya doing? Up for a visitor?" Lee stuck his head around the door.
"Well, well, well, I was wondering when Dad was going to show up," she couldn't help grinning at the embarrassed flush that rose on his face. "How's the kid?"
"She's fine, thanks to you," said Lee, crossing the room to envelop her in a hug. "She says you were the only thing that came between her and –." He stopped, unable to complete the sentence.
"Yeah, well, right place, right time, I guess," she answered. "And besides, it was fun, getting to hear about Lee Stetson, family man."
"Ah, yeah, about that," he began but that was as far as he got before Francine had jumped off the bed and was hitting him repeatedly in the arm.
"I cannot – thwack – believe – thwack – that this is how – thwack – I find out – thwack – you and Amanda – thwack – are engaged! Thwack!" She finally ran out of energy and leaned back against the gurney, grinning. "So when's the wedding? Do I least get to go to that?"
The silence after that question went on just a little too long.
"You didn't," she breathed out, smile slowly disappearing. "You did not seriously do that and not tell me! I have put up with the two of you acting like idiots for four years and you didn't tell me!" She could tell from the stricken look on his face that they had. "You jerks!" She couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice as she stepped back.
"We haven't told anyone, not even her mother!" Lee said, hurriedly grabbing her hands in case she was about to start hitting him again. "You and Barney are the only people who know!"
"Barney? Barney in California? Why does he kn-oooohhh." Her eyes went wide as she realized the implications of what Lee had said and watched as he nodded miserably in confirmation. "You haven't even told Billy?"
"Like I said, even her mother doesn't know. So no, I haven't told Billy."
"Told Billy what?" asked the man himself as he walked in.
"That I've offered to drive Francine home since Julie has to stay in overnight for observation anyway," replied Lee glibly, with only the slightest look of panic towards Francine.
"Well, that's good, I was just coming to offer since the doctor says she can go, but it'll save me having to double back to the Agency," said Billy with a paternal smile. "Francine, you can debrief tomorrow when you've had a good night's sleep. And I'll do the paperwork to extend your vacation since this one seemed to get off on the wrong foot. You know, Francine," he added pausing at the door, "this getting kidnapped on vacation thing better not become a regular habit. A third time and I might have to start wondering if I should let you leave the office at all." They could hear him chuckling to himself as the door swung quietly shut behind him.
'Thanks," muttered Lee. "For not saying anything."
"Get me out of here and tell me the whole story and maybe I won't tell him tomorrow," came the snarky reply. Francine pulled off the blanket and stood shivering for a moment before Lee took off his jacket and wrapped her in it. She slipped her arms into the sleeves, enjoying the warmth still radiating off it. They were halfway across the parking lot, dodging puddles left from the earlier rain as they walked before she thought to ask, "Why is your jacket so dry? And how come I look like a drowned rat and you don't?"
"Well, it's been a few hours since I've been out in the rain and unlike some people, I didn't go for a swim in the river," said Lee with a bemused expression.
"You didn't jump in and pull me out?" she asked as they reached his car.
"Nah, that was Beaman," he answered, pulling open the passenger door and waiting for her to climb in.
Instead she stood stock still, clutching the plastic bag full of her wet clothes to her chest. "Beaman? Efraim Beaman? What was he even doing there?"
"He wanted to come. Hoping for some field experience, I think." Lee managed to maintain an almost straight face at the memory of how firmly Beaman had insisted on being there.
Francine continued to stand there, looking at him through narrowed eyes. "And you decided this would be a good time for him to get that?"
"Lucky for you, yes," replied Lee honestly. "When those two guys started running, everyone else's attention was on them. By the time I grabbed Julie and turned to look for you, you were in the river and Beaman was already in mid-air. You would have been halfway to Alexandria in that current if he hadn't been there."
Francine had started to get into the car but now popped back up again. "Well, then where is he now? Is he still in there?" She turned back towards the hospital.
"Amanda drove him home an hour ago. He's fine - he only got wet. Oh, and he lost his glasses in the river," he added. "He'll be in the office tomorrow, you can thank your white knight then. Come on. Let's get you home." He waited for her to get in the car before closing the door and walking around to his side.
He climbed in and looked over at Francine as he turned on the ignition. "He was really good today, you know. We had no idea it was you on the video from the station until he followed a hunch to go scour the station again looking for evidence. He was the only one who thought to go check the Lost-and-Found and found your bag. We might never have realized what Julie's message meant without him figuring that out. It reminded me of when Amanda goes off on one of her hunches. I owe him a lot."
"Not as much as I do," answered Francine, absentmindedly rubbing the chafe marks on her wrists.
There was silence for a few minutes while Lee drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. He braced himself as Francine turned in her seat so that she was facing him.
"So. Security at a brothel, huh?" she said finally and grinned as she felt the Corvette speed up ever so slightly. "Tell me everything, Stetson."
"Been there, brought you the t-shirt," he couldn't resist replying, pressing his lips together at the startled "oh" of comprehension as she remembered that particular gift.
"Lee! I've worn that shirt in the Agency gym!" she growled which made Lee finally let loose the belly laugh he'd been holding in.
"I know. Amanda told me. OW! Stop hitting me when I'm driving!"
Lee thought he was going to just duck back to the apartment for a quick change of clothes before going back to the hospital to stay with Julie, but he couldn't contain the ripple of pleasure at seeing Amanda's car parked out front when he got there.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" he asked once they had finished kissing each other breathless.
"I didn't really. I just figured it was easier to come here for a shower and a change of clothes than to go home and try to explain it to my mother if I was going back to the hospital anyway."
"Well, I just about have time to scrub your back," smiled Lee, slipping his hands under her shirt and pulling it off, even as her hands started to work at his belt.
"Did you rent this place because of this really excellent shower?" Amanda asked him a few minutes later as they caressed under the steaming water.
Lee didn't answer the rhetorical question, too intent on teasing her nipple with his tongue as she ground against him. As her hands slipped up his body to rest on his shoulders, Amanda gave a small noise of worry as she felt the tension there.
"Rough day," she commented as he straightened up and then rested his forehead against hers as she began to knead the stiff muscles along his neck.
"I've had better," he admitted. She leaned back on the shower wall and his body followed hers. He leaned forward, kissing her gently as she used his crossed arms behind her head as a pillow. "I thought it was your family we were trying to protect from this kind of thing."
"Our family," she corrected him automatically.
"Our family," he sighed, in agreement.
"And Maggie and Julie are part of that family," she went on, relieved as she felt him to start to relax under her ministrations. "And even Francine," she added with a smile, relieved when that made him laugh. "Families are things you make, Sweetheart. You should know that by now."
"I always thought I'd do that the old fashioned way," he chuckled into her ear.
"Well, we can do that too." Amanda's hands moved down for his shoulders and she used both hands to point at his chest with a smile "Once we're not a secret anymore."
"Practice makes perfect, I hear."
She was relieved to see Lee's expression start to lighten as he began to truly relax for the first time that day. She lifted her eyes to meet his, still seeing the shadow of strain there, then wrapped her arms around his neck for a lingering kiss. She felt his arms move to lift her and raised her legs to wrap around him, as he stepped closer to let her back rest against the wall. They slipped together, both giving deep sighs of contentment at the joining, then moving in a well-practiced rhythm, slow and languorous, with no race to the finish line. She was making him laugh quietly with a string of nonsensical encouragement when she saw the hazel in his eyes darkening to tawny; she clasped him tighter, clenching around him as he flooded her with warmth, then followed him into the temporary oblivion with a moan of delight.
"I love you," he murmured against her cheek, unwilling to let her go just yet.
"I love you too," she answered breathlessly, snuggling against him under the warm water.
*. *.
"There you go. All dry," grinned Lee as he finished toweling Amanda off. "I believe I have reached very nook and cranny." After the shower, he had wrapped her in a bath sheet and carried her, protesting, to the bed. She had stopped protesting when he began to dry her off, his lips tracing the same path along her skin as he did so.
"I suppose I could do a second inspection to make sure," he cocked an eyebrow at her as his hand traced along her back.
"Oh that last inspection was extremely thorough," she chuckled, running her fingers through his damp hair and letting her nails rasp against his scalp in the way she knew he loved. "I don't think I have the energy for another inspection. Not if we're going back to the hospital tonight."
"Tell you what, you follow me back there but then can you take my uncle back to his hotel while I stay with Julie tonight? He's blaming himself that she was even here and he'll never leave if I try and make him, but he'll listen to you. And then you can go home and get some sleep for both of us."
"And when will you sleep?"
"I have two weeks of vacation to catch up on my sleep," Lee answered in a mocking tone. "Once Julie's discharged tomorrow, I'll have lots of time to do all the catching up. And then," he went on with his concluding argument, "she can come and supervise my uncle supervising me while I fix that fence."
"Well, thank goodness," she answered, laughing as she began to pull on her clothes. "I don't know how I've managed all this time without a husband and in-laws for that."She glanced up at the strangled noise he gave off then, seeing his eyes widen and a guilty expression on his face. "Oh no, what have you done?"
"I forgot to tell you - Francine found out," Lee muttered.
"Francine found out what exactly? Julie can't have told her anything – she doesn't know we're married."
"No, but she told Francine we were engaged and one thing led to another and well, she knows now." He watched as Amanda processed that new reality.
"And?" she said finally.
"And she's keeping it a secret, but her feelings are pretty hurt," he admitted. "So I kind of invited her to dinner tomorrow."
Amanda couldn't help starting to laugh. "Dinner where? At the house? With the whole family?" and laughed harder when he nodded with a grin. "Shall we invite Efraim too?"
"As much as I love your incurable romanticism, I don't think either of them are ready for a first date with the extended Stetson-King clan, do you?"
"No, I suppose not. But you agree with me they'd be cute together?"
"Could anybody be cute with Francine?" asked Lee, laughing as Amanda punched him in the arm, giggling. "But nobody's working harder at it than he is."
"You noticed that, huh?"
"It's hard not to notice the guy diving into the Anacostia screaming her name, Sweetheart."
"Yeah, pity she didn't hear it, though. I think he's about ready to give up trying." Amanda finished dressing and walked over to run a brush through her hair. "Okay, let's get back to the hospital and look after your family."
"Our family," he corrected her, with a crooked grin.
"Our family," she answered, holding out her hand and smiling into his eyes as he took it with a squeeze.
Amanda arrived home from work and surveyed the scene in her backyard from the top of the driveway, smiling at the unlikeliness of it all. Julie was curled up on a lounge chair, shouting instructions to Lee who was attempting to get a piece of fence panel level with Philip's help. Jamie was documenting the whole thing with his camera and shouting distracting instructions to them about where to face so he could get the best picture. As she watched, the kitchen door swung open and the Colonel walked out, carrying a tray of glasses and a pitcher of lemonade, followed by her mother.
She could have burst out laughing at this insanely attractive scene of domesticity except for the fly in the ointment that was this increasingly frustrating secret marriage. She could only hope Julie and Uncle Bob didn't let anything slip, not that she was worried really - both of them had already proven to be excellent secret keepers. And now Francine knew as well, she sighed to herself – these circles of secrecy were getting more complicated on a daily basis. They were going to have to do something about it and soon – at this rate, Gorbachev and the KGB were going to know about their marriage before her own mother.
She heard light footsteps coming up the driveway and turned to see Francine walk around the corner, exactly on time as always. Francine slowed down as she walked across the patio, studying the tableau in front of her, but kept walking until she reached Amanda's side. There was a long silence as if seeing the reality of it had robbed her of words, and then she finally turned to look at Amanda with a smile like the Cheshire Cat.
"Well, well," she said. "Isn't this cozy?"