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: This tale refers to adventures and jokes that are from previous stories. You don't have to read them, but if you'd like to, click on my name – my stories so far are in chronological order.

Life Support

"Amanda, you are a life saver. I don't know how I'd manage to get all this off my desk before I leave tonight if you weren't helping."

"It's no trouble at all, Francine. I'm happy to help, even if it's only the paperwork side of things. I promise to look after Billy – you just go on vacation and enjoy yourself, alright? Just promise me you're going to go somewhere and relax with no adventures this time, okay?"

"I promise. The last time I went on a trip like this with Jonathan, we never even left the hotel room. Although that did mean I came home with a bladder infection."

Amanda glanced up in time to see Lee, who had been walking up behind Francine, blanch and spin on his heel and walk away, shaking his head. "Well, it would be nice if you could manage to come home from a trip without a hospital stay being required."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Francine shook her head. "I think I should be safe this time – I mean, nothing ever happens in the Caribbean, right?"

Their eyes met and both women started to laugh uncontrollably.

"You're not going to Cap D'Far, are you?" asked Amanda, wiping her eyes. "If anyone could ruin a vacation for you, it'll be King Eddie."

Francine's eyes widened. "Oh lord, I never thought to tell Jonathan not to book us there! Can you imagine? With my luck, there'd have been a coup."

"So not Veronique either? We had a good time there," quipped Amanda.

"You had a good time there, Amanda. In fact," she added with narrowed eyes, "you were probably having more fun than I realized at the time, weren't you?" The glint of mischief behind Amanda's innocent expression told her she'd hit the nail on the head. "I, on the other hand, ended up in hospital that time too, remember?" she scolded, but with a smile. "No, not Veronique – we're headed for San Angelo."

"Well, be careful what you sign up for. I ended up having to marry Lee when we went there."

"The sacrifices you've made for your country are appreciated, Mrs. Stetson," murmured Francine after a quick look around to make sure no one was in earshot. "Okay, so that's Billy's schedule taken care of. Now, Dr. Dunleavy is in a new safe house and he'll probably be thrilled to see you instead of me, but I did promise him I'd start bringing him better food – he likes burritos."

"I'll bring him something from Milo's – if it's Lee's favourite takeout shack, it must be good."

"Good idea. And for any computer work, you can use mine and if you need any help, just ask Beaman - he's a whiz on the thing and he gets here faster than the guys from the technology department to fix stuff."

Amanda looked down to hide her smile at the idea that anyone other than Francine got quick help from Efraim, but Francine caught it anyway and sat back in her chair to look around the bullpen.

"Which reminds me, I haven't told him thank you for helping Lee figure out where Brody had taken me. If you think you've got a handle on this, I should go find him before I leave." She noticed Amanda's brows raise and went on defensively, "Well, you told me I should be nicer to him and if the last few months have taught me anything, it's that friends are important in this business."

Amanda nodded. "You won't get any disagreement from me there. Just don't rub it in that you're leaving to go off with Jonathan – he still has a crush on you."

Francine had started to get up, but paused at that remark and sank back into the seat. "Amanda? Does it bother you that Lee and I are working together so much lately?

"The way it bothered you when he first started working with me, you mean?" Amanda's eyes lit up with laughter as Francine grimaced. "No, of course it doesn't. You worked with him long before I came along, and you two have your own way of working together that I can't compete with. You're a much better field agent than I'll ever be – everyone knows that."

"He almost lost everything helping me fight that frame-up. How can you not blame me?"

"Why would I blame you?" Amanda sounded honestly surprised. "That whole Stemwinder thing taught us both about how easy it is for people to think the worst of you when you've done nothing to deserve it and that you need friends in your corner. Lee wouldn't be Lee if he hadn't fought for you when Billy couldn't."

Francine shrugged lightly. "It just seems like he's been pulled into my cases or me into his a lot lately and I don't want you thinking it's something I'm doing on purpose."

Amanda leaned forward to rest her hand on Francine's arm. "It really doesn't bother me – it's the nature of the business, and actually, it's been good for us to not be quite in each other's hair so much lately. It's been…" she paused, searching for the right word, "I don't know - difficult trying to figure out how to be partners and be married and not together and trying to keep it all secret." She sighed and stared down at her hand where her wedding ring should be. She looked up to see the look of concern on Francine's face. "Don't look so worried. I just meant that it's better when we're not trying to figure out our personal life and a case at the same time, you know? Stupid little things become stupid big things if you're not careful – I learned that with my first marriage."

"But you think you can do it? Be an agent and be married, I mean?" asked Francine. "It seems like a lot of extra stress on a relationship."

Amanda gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Yes, I do. No matter how crazy we make each other when we're together, it makes us crazier to be apart. It'll be better once we figure out how not to let those little things get to us."

"Would you have chosen to live like this if you'd known what it would be like?"

Amanda tilted her head and considered the question. "No, I might not have chosen this life but Lee and I choose each other every day. I'll always make that choice, whether we're working together or not."

Francine thought about that for a moment. "You choose each other? You two make it look like it's all just rainbows and unicorns."

"Oh wow – that could not be further from the truth!" Amanda couldn't hold in the ripple of laughter. "He's still Lee Stetson – grumpy in the mornings, thinks he's a lone wolf, used to leaving the toilet seat up – it's making him crazy trying to fit our lifestyles together, no matter how much he wants to."

"But at least he wants to, although I have to admit, even after seeing him around your kids, it's still weird – like trying to imagine Warren Beatty settling down and having a family."

"Well, it's been an effort for him. He still thinks he can figure it out from reading parenting manuals, poor guy. He had a pretty rocky start with Jamie because they're so much alike, but he's bringing him around."

Francine gave that some consideration before finally nodding her head firmly. "Well, if he can do it, I can do it." She stood up and gestured to the pile of paperwork. "Thanks for this again. I better get moving if I'm going to meet Jonathan on time."

She strode off too quickly to hear Amanda mutter "Trying to be happy is not a competition, Francine" as she rolled her eyes.