Amanda was rearranging the suitcases in the back of her Wagoneer, Lee stood beside her as he shook his head. "Do you think we have everything?"
Amanda laughed, "Probably not. The boys always manage to forget something and I'm sure Mother will have an extra bag ready before we leave."
She just started to close the tailgate as Lee complained, "We should leave within the hour if we are going to get there before it's too late. We have a long drive ahead of us."
"I know, I know. I'll see what I can do to get Mother moving. She's so excited you invited her to join us," Amanda said as she rubbed her hand up his chest lovingly.
Lee captured her hand to still it as he said straight-faced, "If she's not ready to go in thirty minutes, I'm leaving her here. Now, I'm going to check in with Billy one last time, check all the locks on the doors and windows and come back out here." His patience was worn thin after the frustrating week they had.
Their week began early Sunday morning, with the sounds of Phillip vomiting in the hallway bathroom. Amanda heard him first and was out of bed immediately, although, they'd only been asleep for a few hours. Lee could hear her comfort him between his moaning and heaving. With each wretched sound, Lee cringed, closing his eyes tightly hoping the sound would stop soon. Thirty agonizing minutes later, Amanda crawled back into bed beside him and whispered, "That's the last time he'll challenge anyone to a cake eating contest."
Lee leaned up on his elbow, rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand and asked, "He did what?"
Amanda rolled over to face him as she said quietly, "He ate fourteen pieces of cake. He challenged Carrie's cousin's son he could eat all of them. I am pretty sure he is regretting that decision now. Let's go back to sleep." She tried to take his hand in hers, a signal she wanted him to settle back down, but Lee was wide awake.
"Amanda, what would possess him to think he could eat that much cake?" Lee asked loudly.
"Shush, keep your voice down. He's a teenage boy and if you remember being a teenage boy, you'll remember you probably did some stupid things too," she reprimanded him quietly yet firmly. "Now, go back to sleep."
Lee rolled onto his back and crossed his arms, "I can't go back to sleep now, I'm too awake."
Amanda wiggled her body closer to his and whispered as she tucked herself against him, her head on his shoulder, "Sweetheart, just close your eyes and relax. It's been a long night and you just need to settle down again."
Taking advantage of her position, Lee pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "Let's say we lock the door and you can give me a reason to be tired."
Amanda closed her eyes and with an almost imperceivable shake of her head whispered back, "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, we can't, not for a few days. Besides, even if we could, I'm sure Phillip is still awake. I don't think he's going to be sick again, but his belly hurts quite a bit. I just gave him some Pepto-Bismol, but it's going to take a while to kick in. Let's just snuggle and get some rest."
Lee exhaled loudly as he groused, "Figures. But, I guess snuggling is better than nothing." Sleep didn't find him again until the wee hours of the morning.
Sunday quickly rolled into Monday and Lee's grouchy mood was made worse when he received the call their mortgage closing was going to be pushed off again. He'd been hoping to sign the papers first thing Monday morning and start moving the boxes out of his apartment. As soon as he hung up the phone, Francine appeared in the doorway of the Q Bureau informing Lee that Billy had an assignment for him.
In Billy's office, Lee nearly exploded when Billy handed him the file folder and stated, "You need to be on a plane in four hours, you're heading to Port Moresby in Paupa New Guinea. There you will be brought to Port Moresby Nature Park by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary where you will be picking up Michael Muinepe, their top archaeologist. Your assignment is to bring Dr. Muinepe back here along with his most recent find."
"You can't be serious? I'm going to be a babysitter?! Come on, Billy!" Lee shouted as he tried to shove the folder back toward him.
"Dr. Muinepe has been part of a team that may have just had a huge archaeological break through and the Smithsonian has stepped in to examine everything here. Now, if you have a problem with this assignment, I'm sure you could take it up with them! In the meantime, you better get your bag packed and get on that plane, unless you'd rather be back on suspension!" Billy stood and hollered back. He'd promised Amanda he would keep Lee out of trouble for the next few weeks and thought this assignment was perfect.
"Fine!" Lee shouted back understanding he had no other options then quieted his tone, "When is the flight back?"
"You should be touching down in Dulles on Thursday afternoon," Billy stated as he sat back down. "Francine has your tickets and itinerary all prepared for you. All you need to do is show up."
"Thursday afternoon?" Lee whined. He was still tired from the lack of sleep over the weekend and now he had to sit on a plane for almost twenty hours one way to be a carrier pigeon for the Smithsonian.
"Yes, Thursday afternoon, unless you would like me to extend your time there. Maybe add in a day or two of sightseeing at the Park," Billy teased sarcastically.
Lee shook his head as he pursed his lips. "No, no, Thursday will be fine. It's just Amanda and I are taking the boys to Virginia Beach for the weekend for the Neptune Festival and I was trying to avoid anything that may change those plans. It's our first vacation, I guess you could say with the boys, and well, I don't want to screw it up," he admitted.
"I know, which is exactly why I thought this assignment would be perfect. Keeps you busy, away from Dr. Smyth and you'll be back in plenty of time," Billy smiled. "I remember the first vacation to the beach we took the girls on. They were much younger than Amanda's boys but, I can give you one piece of advice."
"What's that?" Lee smiled weakly.
"Don't forget the sunscreen. Now, hurry before you miss your flight. There aren't too many flights leaving Dulles, heading in that direction. I'll see you Thursday afternoon when you get back," Billy replied. As Lee turned toward the door, Billy said, "Oh, and one more thing. I know you've been worried about keeping a low profile next week around here so I've made some arrangements to help you with that."
Lee stood, and he partially opened the door and asked with a grimace, "Oh really, what's that?"
Billy shook his head as he laughed, "I'll tell you all about it when you get back." Lee grunted back as he left the office and headed to his apartment to pack.