Acceptable Risk, chapter 1
"How dare you do this to me? You're not a lone wolf anymore; we're supposed to be partners. What were you thinking", Amanda asked quietly knowing that she'd get no answer from Lee. She sat stiffly on a straight back chair in a small room in the ICU of Parker General Hospital; the only sounds in the room were coming from the machines that were tracking Lee's vital signs. She had insisted upon being allowed to sit with Lee the moment his doctor had told her that Lee's condition had stabilized enough to allow him to be moved from the recovery room.
Amanda was watching the rise and fall of Lee's chest intently and thinking about how little time she'd spent with him outside of work in the weeks since her ex-husband had returned to the states. Phillip and Jamie were happy to have their father back in their lives but he'd been gone for so long that they barely knew him. Amanda had been spending most of her time away from work with Joe and the boys in order to help them to get reacquainted with each other. Amanda was lost in her own thoughts and didn't realize that Billy had entered Lee's room until he was standing next to her.
"Amanda, how are you holding up", Billy asked as he was struck by the thought that he'd never seen Amanda looking so sad and frightened.
"I'm okay, sir, it's Lee that you should be worrying about. I keep hearing the doctor telling us that if Lee hadn't been found when he was; a few more minutes and he would have…he would have bled-", Amanda stopped because she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
"He could have but he didn't, Lee's a fighter, you have to concentrate on that instead of dwelling on what could have happened. I should have had more men on him; I shouldn't have believed him when he agreed that we'd handle this threat against him as a team." Amanda could see the regret in their section chief's eyes as he quickly glanced from Amanda to Lee and back. "I thought that Lee had learned that he doesn't have to handle everything on his own anymore", Billy concluded.
"Sir, may I ask you a question", Amanda inquired tentatively.
"Of course, what do you want to know?"
"Why didn't you tell me that Reynolds had threatened to kill Lee until after Lee ditched his Agency protective detail? I'm his partner; I had a right to know, how could I back him up if I didn't know that he was in danger?"
"You're right, Amanda, you did have a right to know and the last time I spoke to Lee he told me that he was going to brief you on the situation. An hour later I found out that he ditched the men I had watching his back and then when I spoke to you it was clear to me that Lee hadn't told you about Reynolds. Reynolds vendetta against Lee was very personal and I think Lee decided to handle it himself rather than putting any other agents at risk. Lee has always preferred to risk his own life rather than having agents who have families put at risk. I should have seen this coming", Billy said sadly. Billy watched as Amanda's expression changed from sadness to anger.
"Lee may not have a family in the traditional sense but he does have people who…who care about him more than he knows. He should have been thinking about them before he went out and almost got himself killed", Amanda said as she rubbed Lee's hand where it had been resting beneath her own hand. Billy remembered seeing Amanda take Lee's hand in her own when he had left them alone several hours earlier because he'd had to go back to the Agency once Lee's condition had stabilized.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Amanda. When Lee wakes up someone should tell him in no uncertain terms how deeply people feel about him and that he should start behaving accordingly", Billy advised Amanda with a warm smile on his face. Billy didn't doubt that Amanda would give Lee an earful the first chance that she got and he only hoped that Lee would realize what Amanda was trying to tell him even if she didn't spell out the depth of her feelings for him.