Time Frame: After the tag of Odds On a Dead Pigeon

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon still own the characters, no matter how much I wish they were mine. The story is all mine.

Author's Notes: This was originally posted on 01/17/2001. Thanks to abitdotty for her beta efforts and for helping me find the missing pizzazz.

Double Vision

Lee leaned against the window in Billy's office and listened with one ear as Amanda told Billy and Francine what occurred from the time Gordon Redding kidnapped her to the time Lee arrived. He was glad Billy had decided to wait until the day after her rescue to debrief Amanda. It was obvious, to Lee at least, that she was still shaken up about seeing Karen plunge to her death. He smiled when he recalled how Amanda had explained to him, in her own unique style, that having a twin really wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

He shifted his position slightly and folded his arms across his chest. Lee thought back to the beginning of the case when nobody had any idea why Treloggen and Credle had been targeted. The description given of the woman at the hotel had been 'average.' At the time, Lee had scoffed that 'average' was really no description at all. Gazing at the woman seated in front of him, he wondered how anyone could describe someone who looked exactly like Amanda as 'average' at all. The thought, 'Amanda is far from average, she's beautiful,' sprang unbidden to Lee's mind. He shook his head to derail that train of thought, but it persisted. Surreptitiously, Lee took in Amanda's appearance as he tried to decide what exactly it was about Amanda that made him think such a thing. He nodded a little. 'Yeah, she's attractive, but that's not it.' Watching her animatedly speak to Billy and Francine, Lee realized that it was the whole package that made Amanda special, not the sum of her parts, even though some of those parts were particularly special… like her eyes. Amanda had beautiful, beautiful, beautiful eyes. Lee could get lost in those and had, in fact, caught himself staring into them on more than one occasion. And her smile. What a smile. Amanda had a perfectly marvelous smile. Even the short haircut that Francine declared "the furthest thing from the latest fashion" looked absolutely wonderful to Lee.

As Lee continued his inventory of Amanda's charms, a memory came floating to the surface of his mind. When he had personally interviewed people at the hotel about the woman who killed Credle, 'great legs' was mentioned by one of the hotel staff. Lee's eyes wandered to Amanda's legs. 'Great was an understatement. Skirts and heels were made for this woman,' he decided.

"Isn't that right, Scarecrow?" Billy's voice interrupted Lee's musings. "Scarecrow?"

"Ah, sorry, Billy. What did you say?" Lee glanced apologetically at Amanda and shrugged. "I wasn't really listening."

Billy grinned. He had been watching Lee out of the corner of his eye while Amanda told her story and knew exactly where Scarecrow's attention had been focused all morning. "I said it's a good thing you were able to tell Amanda and Karen apart."

"Yeah," Lee nodded at Billy and smiled at Amanda. "It was a very good thing."

"Well, I guess that wraps everything up on the Redding case, so we can move on to other business. Lee, I expect the Robbins report on my desk by the end of the day. Amanda…"

"Yes, Sir?"

Billy handed a folder to Amanda. "Please take a look at this pile of expense reports. You seem to be the only one around here who can make any sense of them."

"Yes, Sir." Amanda rose and took the folder from Billy and turned to leave the office. "Thank you, Sir."

Lee placed his hand on Amanda's back and ushered her out of the office. As they entered the bullpen, they heard Billy say, "Francine, about these requisitions…" The rest of his statement was lost to them as Lee closed the door behind them.

Outside Billy's office, Amanda put her hand on Lee's arm. She looked into his eyes for a moment before speaking. "Lee, I just want to thank you again for saving my life. Who knew that three little words could be so important?"

"Yeah, three little words. Who knew?" Lee responded. Lifting Amanda's hand, he looked into her eyes and lost himself in the deep brown pools. "Three little words."

Amanda's eyes widened at the intensity of Lee's gaze. She couldn't seem to take her eyes from him his. Her pulse quickened as she repeated, "Three little words."

The sudden loud sound of files being dropped onto a desk startled them both out of their thoughts. Amanda looked at their joined hands and nervously cleared her throat. "Um, I have to… um… I should get started on these expense reports," she said, waving the folder Billy had given to her.

"Right," Lee responded, "and I have to get on the Robbins report." Slowly, he slid his hand from hers and watched her walk to her desk. As he turned to walk to his own corner of the bullpen, he muttered under his breath, "Amanda, there is absolutely no way anyone could 'duplicate' you and fool me."

The End