Dr. Wright was still staring at the pictures in his hands while his patient still rambled in his sleep. He knew that it wouldn't be too long before he woke up.

"Amanda, Amanda!" he cried over and over again. His eyes suddenly flew open. Dr Wright rushed to his side watching his patient's every move as he tried to help him sit up.

"Easy." He said. "Don't try to move too much. You've sustained some bad injuries."

"Where am I?" Lee was confused. "Where's Amanda?" He was frantic. He had to know where she was.

"Who's Amanda?"

Lee searched for the answer to that question and shook his head. "I don't know," He said sadly.

"You don't know who she is?" Dr. Wright was intrigued.

"No," Lee said sadly. "I just have this name in my head. I know I have to find her."

"Is she your wife?" the doctor probed.

"I already told you I don't know." Lee snapped in frustration, annoyed that this memory was just out of reach.

"Let me ask you a question then, do you know who you are?"

Lee searched his memory banks for any clue of his identity. Finding none, he slowly shook his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Amanda finally let go of her mother, Phillip and Jamie took their turn to comfort her. Amanda hugged them tightly to her. While this was going on, Dotty took Billy's attention away from them and led him into the kitchen. Francine followed.

"Look, I want a straight answer out of you." Dotty demanded angrily. "Amanda told me a far-fetched story last night about her and her boyfriend working for you."

Francine raised a curious eyebrow at the word "boyfriend" being used to describe Lee.

"Now, I want to know, is it true?" Dotty continued. "Is that why he's dead now? Is that why my daughter's going through hell?"

Billy swallowed hard. He could only nod. This was killing him too. He'd not only lost a damn fine agent, but he'd lost the best friend he'd ever had as well.

"I see. And what is she supposed to tell those boys? They've finally learned to trust another man after the way their father deserted them and now he's been taken from them too."

Francine felt the need to jump to Billy's defense. "Mrs. West, You have to understand. Lee had a bad habit of going off on his own not knowing what he was getting into, many times without backup." Billy had no idea what was going on. He didn't even know Lee had gone to Berlin until he got that phone call early this morning."

Amanda pulled away from the boys. She wiped the tears from her face. "I'm ok, Fellas. Why don't you go outside and get your baseball stuff out of the backyard and put it away? Will you do that for me?"

"Are you sure you're ok, Mom?" Jamie asked, unsure of whether he should leave her alone at a time like this.

Amanda put on her bravest face. The same one she always used on Lee when they were in trouble. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. Now, scoot." She watched them go, then walked into the kitchen to talk to Billy. "I want this case, Billy."

Billy looked at her, stunned. "Amanda..."

"I mean it, Billy. I want this case. I have to know what happened."

"Amanda, you know I can't let you do that. Standard agency policy when your partner is killed is to take at least two weeks off."

"Well, I don't care what The Agency's policy is!" Amanda snapped. "I want this case and if you don't give it to me, I'll book myself on a flight to Berlin and find out what happened on my own."

Francine looked at her as if she's lost her mind. "Amanda, you can't be serious. You can't go over there alone. Look what happened to Lee when he went alone."

"I can and I will. I learned everything I know from Lee, remember?" She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The last thing she needed was to appear hysterical in front of them. "Billy, I'm going to do this with or without your help, but it would be a lot easier if you'd give me permission to do the investigating."

Billy was sympathetic, but he didn't think Amanda was thinking clearly. "Amanda, I really think that's a bad idea. You need some time off to..."

"To do what?" She interrupted bitterly. "To sit around the house and think about how much I miss him? To retrace everything we ever did together and wonder why it had to end? Billy, that would be the worst kind of torture you could put me through."

Francine tried to back Billy up. "Amanda, I know from personal experience what it's like to lose a partner. I've been there. I know what you're going through." She placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Amanda shrugged her off angrily. "No, you don't. You can't possibly know what I'm going through!" She shouted just as Phillip and Jamie walked in the back door. "Lee was more than just my partner. He was my husband."

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.

Phillip and Jamie looked at each other not knowing what to say. Was their mom serious? Was Lee really her husband? That would make him their stepdad. And what did Mr. Melrose have to do with all this? Amanda went over to her boys and hugged them both. She knew they must have a lot of questions.

Francine stared openmouthed at Amanda, not quite believing what she'd just heard. How could this be? Lee was never the marrying type. Amanda wasn't thinking very clearly because of her grief. Francine herself knew the feelings that came with losing a partner. She knew that when she lost her partner, she'd felt tremendous guilt as well as grief at the loss of a friend. Now, she'd just lost another good friend. It dawned on her that had to be what Amanda was feeling. She knew that Lee and Amanda had once dated, but that it hadn't worked out. That had to be it. It had to be something she just made up to compensate for guilt feelings about breaking up with Lee. Now she knew she would never have a second chance with him. But then again, why would she make up a story like that? Thinking about all of this was giving her a headache.

Billy decided he had to be the one to break the silence. "Amanda, if you're really sure you can handle this case, it's yours." He'd been trying to protect her, but her announcement had made him realize that it would only be more dangerous for her if he tried to keep her off the case. He knew now that she wouldn't rest until her husband's killer was brought to justice. He'd have to fight Dr. Smyth, but he'd back Amanda up whatever the cost.

"Thank you, Sir. If you don't mind, I'd like to have some time with my family."

"Of course. Francine...?" She merely stood there, not knowing what to say. She couldn't even come up with one of her famous one-liners. She was too stunned to move. "Francine." Billy said again. She snapped out of it, shook her head and followed him out the door.

After they were gone, Amanda told her mother and her children that it was time for a family meeting. She sat down on the couch with Phillip on one side of her and Jamie on the other. Dotty sat in chair opposite them. Amanda tried to compose herself, but she couldn't stop thinking about Lee. If only she'd gone with him, maybe he'd still be alive. No she thought. Don't do this to yourself. You have to be strong.

"Ok, Fellas. I know this is a shock to you and I didn't want you to find out this way, but Lee and I did get married back in February of 1987. We were planning on telling you last night after dinner, but Lee wasn't able to make it. We felt it was time that you knew the truth. We hated keeping this secret from you all this time, but there was a very good reason for it. Lee and I work for Mr. Melrose. We're both federal agents."

"You mean you're spies?" Phillip said, excitedly.

"You could put it that way. The thing is we tried to keep you out of harm's way by not telling you. There are a lot of dangerous people out there that might try to use you to settle a score with Lee or me. We didn't want that to happen to you. I know you must be angry with me and I'm sorry, but I can't take it back and change it. All I can do is tell you that I love and that I won't ever lie to you in the future. I need your love and support more than anything right now. You both know how much I loved Lee. With him...gone...Well...It's going to be rough on me for a while, especially at the office where we spent so much time together..." Amanda's voice trailed off. She couldn't continue. Her tears starting flowing again.

Dotty rushed to her daughter and hugged her and just let her cry. After a while, her sobs abated and she looked at her mother. Dotty took her hands in hers and said, "I know how hard this must be for you. I really wish you'd reconsider Mr. Melrose's offer and take some time off. You need to have time to heal."

"No, Mother. Don't you see? I have to know who took my husband from me."

"Amanda, I felt the same way when your daddy died, but..."

"Yes, well, there was nothing you could do about it, but there is something I can do." She said with a determined nod of her head. "I can find the people who did this and make sure they're brought to justice. Lee and I have been partners for six years. I have to know why his life is over."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee certainly felt as if his life were over. He had no recollection of who he was and no way to find out either. The doctor had told him that they'd determined that he lived in DC, but that's it. He had to know more. He couldn't handle not knowing anything about himself. All he knew was that he lived in DC and that there was a woman named Amanda in his life, but he didn't know who she was. He tried to get out of bed, but Dr. Wright stopped him. Lee fell weakly back on to the bed.

"Just let me out of here," Lee said in frustration. "I hate hospitals."

"You're not in any condition to go anywhere." Wright explained.

"But I have to get back to DC. I have to know who I am."

"All in good time. When you've healed enough, You'll go back to DC. I'll take you there myself."

"You?" Lee was confused. "Why would you do that?"

"That's my job. I work for a group called the Emergency Aid Organization. I travel to different places all over the world. I go wherever I'm needed. I came here because of all the rioting that's been going on over reunification."

Lee's head was spinning. "Rioting? Reunification? What was going on? Whereexactly am I?" He asked the doctor weakly.

"You're in Berlin."

"Berlin? As in Germany?"

"Yes. West Germany to be more specific, but that will soon change if the groups opposed to it don't get their way. What I'm wondering is why were you in the middle of one of the riot zones?"

Lee shook his head. He had no idea what was going on. Why was he there? He searched his blank mind and couldn't come up with an answer. He just kept getting flashes of that dream with that brown-haired woman. "Amanda..." He said softly as he drifted back off the sleep.