A/N: This is an attempt to answer Lanie's challenge about "filling in the gaps" that the writers left. I always felt that in the episodes "Welcome to America, Mr. Brand" and "Our Man in Tegernsee" they never showed how Lee made it up to Amanda, he looked happy about "owing her". Also in the other episode what did Lee mean by "it was very personal" exactly when Harry told him it wasn't personal.
Thank you to Lanie for helping out with an extra set of eyes.
Please enjoy as Lee is…
Paying a Debt
Lee walked leisurely through the aisles of the store carefully choosing his ingredients for the special meal and night he was planning. He was surprised at how much he was looking forward to this dinner. He knew she didn't think he could cook a whole meal without help. He was a great cook, he just chose to eat out, it was easier.
He was stopped by the smell of flowers; roses, and the smell rolled his stomach. Walking past them he spotted some lilies. He found some with all different colors, though as he reached for them he spotted the perfect bouquet. As he placed the flowers in his cart, he moved on to find the two bottles of wine needed.
Back at his apartment he arranged the flowers in a vase and placed them in the center of the table. Walking into the kitchen he took the finest china out of the cabinet and went about setting it perfectly on the table. The final piece was setting the wine glasses out.
Lee headed back into the kitchen to begin to prepare the sauce for dinner. He knew it would take most of the day to simmer and cook to the perfect consistency and flavor. Once he had the sauce going, he set about making the sausage and meatballs. He wrapped the meatballs up and placed them in the fridge until he would need them.
He then gathered his ingredients to make homemade garlic bread. One of the secrets to making the bread was to add some crushed garlic into the dough itself, not just the butter to top it. Looking at the mess in the kitchen, Lee rolled his sleeves up and began to clean up the mess he had already made in the kitchen. He was well aware that Amanda thought he was an eternal frat boy that lived in filth and grime, but she was wrong. She just met him at a time when important things such as a clean home weren't his priorities.
He found that he didn't have a lot to do now that most of the dinner was prepared. It was too early to take his shower, since he still had things to do in the kitchen. All he had left to do for the sauce was cook the meatballs in about an hour and add them to the sauce to marry in. He wished he could bake like Amanda. That would be something; to make something sweet. Baking bread was one thing; baking a cake was a concept he never could seem to master.
The rest of his day went by in pieces. He went through some old boxes finding things to donate and throw out. Finally, it was time to shower and make the final preparations for dinner. She would be there in an hour. He turned his bedroom stereo on to the local rock station and hopped in the shower. He sang along with the songs as he dried off and dressed. Lee looked once more in the mirror. He smiled and thought he didn't look half bad. He turned off the stereo as he left his room, then went to the kitchen, placed the bread in the oven to finish and started the pasta.
He heard her knock and went to answer the door. He smiled as he saw her standing there with her hair falling loose to her shoulders. His eyes fell to the tray in her hand.
"What do you have there?" Lee asked as he moved aside to allow her in.
"Oh, it's just a little cake. I didn't want to come empty-handed and I know that you don't really cook a lot." Her smile went all the way to her soft brown eyes.
Smiling at the thought of how he had just spent his day, he took the cake and set it in the kitchen as Amanda took a seat on the couch. "So what's for dinner?"
"Spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and thanks to you, cake." Lee replied as he came and joined her on the couch.
Smiling she said, "That sounds as good as it smells. You didn't go through a lot of trouble did you?"
"All I did was boil pasta, heat up some sauce, and put some bread in the oven I don't think I broke any cooking records today. Besides, this is just a little make up dinner for sticking you with Brand."
"He wasn't as bad as that grabber from Interpol. He was terrible." She shuddered at that memory.
"Okay then it is a make up for that one." Lee laughed which made her laugh as well.
When it was time to eat, Lee stood up and held his hand out to her to help her up. He then led her to the table where she commented, "Lee, the flowers are beautiful, my favorite."
"Well, they aren't as nice as the ones I trample in your garden, but I thought these would make a nice second."
She took her seat as he took their plates to fill in the kitchen. Lee then set the plates back on the table as he began to fill their glasses with wine. He watched her as she began to eat, observed her face as she tasted the first bite, and smiled as she closed her eyes savoring the flavors he worked hard on for her.
Amanda's eyes open wide as she exclaimed, "Lee, this is fabulous! This took much longer than just opening a box of pasta and throwing it in some sauce."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I mean I did take the time to go buy the stuff and put it together. How hard is it to boil pasta, add some meatballs, dump in some sauce, and bake some bread?"
"Not too difficult, if that was all you did. I have never tasted a sauce like this except maybe that time I was in New York with Mother and the boys and we went to an authentic Italian restaurant. The flavor is sweet enough to know that it has been made with wine. You can't buy that in a store, Lee. This is a completely homemade meal. Where did you learn to cook a meal like this?"
"I told you before l knew how to cook. Can I help it if you really never believed me?" Lee questioned as he popped a piece of bread into his mouth, smiling tat devilish grin at her.
Rolling her eyes she stated, "I know you said you could cook and I did believe you. After all, I ate that Japanese meal you made at the house that one time. I just didn't know how far your culinary skill went." She took a sip of her wine.
"I learned this from Barney, a friend of mine since I was a kid with my uncle on one of the many Air Force bases we were stationed at. He taught me most of what I know and what he didn't teach me, I picked up from here and there. The only thing I have never mastered is baking."
Taking a bite of her bread she gave Lee a look of disbelief. "Where did you buy this bread? Mother and the boys would love it."
"I made that too." Lee explained.
She gave him a funny look, and then broke into a slow laughter. She tried to stop, but found that she couldn't. Lee looked at her with concern. After a few minutes he finally got her attention by asking, "What in the hell is so funny over there?"
Coughing to quit laughing, Amanda responded, "Last time I checked, making bread from scratch was baking Lee."
"I know that, but what I meant was things like cakes, cookies and pies; all that good stuff. I have never been able to make those things. My cakes are lopsided."
"Your cakes are frozen." She corrected.
"My cookies have ended up as one big burn pile on a pan that just ends up in the trash. My pies are soup, if anything. Bread though, bread I can do."
"I don't know Lee; you can pick out a mean bottle of wine. Speaking of that is there any more?" she asked waving her glass at him. He refilled her glass and they continued dinner with conversation of what was going on in her family's life at the current moment.
"Oh, did I explain about our new neighbor, Buck?"
"Buck, no I think I would have remembered that name."
"I doubt it; you couldn't even remember Dean's name and he was on television. Anyway, Buck is our new neighbor. He is like the uncle that no one invited to the wedding but somehow still found a way to show up. He never knocks and just always seems to be there. I am surprised he hasn't seen you in the backyard yet and asked me or Mother about you."
"Wow, do you want me to check him out?"
"No, he's harmless. If the Russians wanted him for anything trust me they would send him back for lack of interest." She began to laugh again and Lee found the sound of her laughter infectious. Soon both were laughing until their sides hurt and Amanda was wiping her eyes.
"Let's clean this up." They cleaned the table and the dishes in a comfortable silence. When Lee felt the kitchen was suitable he poured them another glass of wine and suggested, "How about we go into the living room to make room for some of that wonderful looking cake."
Sitting on the couch, Lee suddenly began looking at her and noticed, not for the first time, all the changes she had taken on in the last few years. He found that there wasn't anything she could ask now that he wouldn't answer.
"You have really changed in the last couple years, do you know that?" Lee asked wondering if she saw the changes.
"I know, but that is what people do isn't it? They change and grow to meet the needs that arise in their lives. Since meeting you I've had to make a number of those changes. How I interact with my family and friends. I now know things that I never knew before even existed in the world."
"I know and I'm sorry that you know about those things." Lee let the guilt slip into his face just long enough before masking it, but not before Amanda saw it.
"Don't make that face, You, Sir, will get wrinkles and we wouldn't want you to ruin that handsome face, now would we? How about we listen to some music or watch a movie?" she suggested.
Standing Lee pointed out, "Well, my movie collection is a bit on the western and army type. Are you in the mood for one of those?"
"Not really Lee, how about some nice music?" Amanda smiled up at him from her seat on the couch.
"I can do that no problem." Lee walked to the stereo and turned on his favorite jazz station. "How does that sound?" He held out his hand pulling her to her feet.
"Dance with me, Mrs. King." he said.
"Is that an order, Agent Stetson?" She laughed as he pulled her close.
"No, it is not an order," He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "just a really strong suggestion."
Amanda smiled as they began to sway to the music surrounding them. Lee was learning to really love that smile. He looked forward to it when he came into the office or back from a longer assignment, especially the overseas ones.
When the song was over they sat back down with both reflecting on their own thoughts when Amanda suddenly asked, "Lee, if I asked you something could you please just answer me without your standard 'need to know' answer?"
Lee faced her and said, "As long as it is something I can answer then I promise I will."
"Do you remember last year when we were in Tegernsee?" Her eyes fell to her lap before looking up into his awaiting hazel ones.
"Yes, it was a very memorable time. Why do you ask?" He took a sip from his wine and tried to think back to what could be upsetting her after a year.
Taking a deep breath she said, "Just hear me out; you were so angry with me when you first arrived. I mean, I was so happy to see you… well, at that point I would have been happy to see Francine, I think, but I was really glad it was you. You were so upset though, as if I had gone out of my way to ruin your weekend with someone. You made me feel really awful, as if I try to find myself in situations like that."
"Amanda, don't even think like that. Yes, I was irritated, not at you, but at the whole situation. First off, I never thought you would or could be involved in counterfeiting. That was the first thing I told the Agency when I was called in. When they didn't like what I had to say, they were going to send Duffy to come and help you, so I could get back to my long weekend. I volunteered to come and help you." He patted her hand and gave her one of his calming smiles.
Smiling back she looked down again gathering her courage for the next question she had for him. "Lee, when you left me at the festival, to keep me safe, Harry came back without you."
Lee nodded remembering the anger he felt for Harry as he realized that he might hurt Amanda.
"He told you it was never personal, but you told him it was very personal; how?" Her eyes wide stared at him without blinking and Lee felt suddenly exposed.
"It was personal on many levels. Like you said, he could have just exposed everything and come back to Washington or almost anywhere. So on a national level of what we do and are sworn to do, it was personal. It was very personal because it involved you, my friend. I don't know if you realize it or not but I don't let too many people close to me enough to call them a true friend. You are a true friend."
Amanda smiled and nodded, "I am really glad I have you for a friend, Lee".
They shared a few more dances and then as the wine bottle was emptied into their glasses, they laughed more about past cases and she listened as Lee told her some of his early adventures. Lee went in the kitchen as he came back out with their cake, he saw she had curled up and was resting her head on the back of the couch. She looked so peaceful, he hated to disturb her.
"Do you want your cake?" He whispered. He didn't get a response except for her deep even breathing to show she had fallen asleep.
Lee sat next to her. As he ate the cake, he watched her sleep. He had awakened her up before, but tonight he wanted this moment where she was in peaceful rest, unguarded, lost in a dream that made her face soften even more than usual. She was beautiful, even in rest.
Lee didn't know how long he sat watching her sleep before he stood to go put the rest of the cake away and finish the kitchen. He came back in and slipped her shoes from her feet. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where he set her gently on the bed and covered her up. He opened the closet and took his spare pillow and blanket to the couch for him.
Walking back in to get a change of clothes to sleep in, he gazed down at her again. He leaned down placing a kiss on her forehead, "No, I am really glad to have you for a friend, Amanda King."