After leaving the house, Lee stopped at a shopping center, dropped off Amanda's prescriptions at the pharmacy, then headed to the supermarket to stock his empty refrigerator, back to the pharmacy to pick up her medications and then made an unplanned stop to a florist on the way to his apartment.
After making several trips from his car to carry everything in, and depositing Amanda's suitcase on his bed, he made his way into his kitchen, hastily put the groceries away with the exception of one bag then turned his attention to the sinkful of dishes. After washing them and putting them away, he returned to the one remaining bag, piling its contents on the counter, then pulled out a saucepan and set the chicken he'd bought to simmering to make broth out of. With that done, he then through his cupboards until he found a large lead crystal vase and carried it into his dining room.
Once there he picked up the box from the florist and began carefully arranging the long-stemmed red roses as he'd seen Amanda do both at her house and in the office they shared. He smiled as he reflected back on the first time he'd ever given her roses as a thank you for her being there for him in a difficult time, but also to tell her that he was ready to move on...with her. He'd found himself as giddy as a high boy on his first date when she'd rewarded him with a kiss.
When he completed the job on the flowers, he stepped back to examine the arrangement and make sure that it was perfectly centered on the dining table. Satisfied with his handiwork he turned to clean up the mess he'd left in his living room, tossed the take-out food containers that Francine had brought over when they were formulating their plan to get to Birol. The discarded clothes that he'd left laying around both before and after his rescue of Amanda, he stuffed into the hamper in his bedroom.
Lee then cleared out a drawer of his dresser that was mostly full of junk, transferring some things to his closet and others to his desk, then unpacked Amanda's suitcase, neatly folding her clothing the way he knew she would have. He shook his head as he worked, wondering why the hell he hadn't thought to do this for her before. She'd spent enough nights with him that she should have some space in his home. He supposed it didn't matter though, because if he had his way, they'd soon be sharing a home anyway.
With her clothes put away, he entered his bathroom with her suitcase and the pharmacy bag, neatly arranging her toiletries on the countertop alongside his, and tearing open the stapled pharmacy bag, putting the two pill bottles inside his medicine cabinet. He then pulled out the sheets of paper about the medications so he'd have them for reference, crumpled the bag and tossed it into the wastebasket before exiting the room. As he did so, he laid the paperwork on her prescriptions on his desk and looked around.
He surveyed the bedroom, inspecting it as if he had his uncle's keen eyes and realized that he'd overlooked making his bed. Since Amanda would be recovering, she'd be spending some time there. He had to make it as nice as possible for her. As he started to straighten the comforter, he shook his head again and said aloud, "Not good enough," and unceremoniously flung it from the bed, stripped the bed of its sheets and pillowcases. As he walked to the hamper with the bundle in his arms, he was assailed by Amanda's scent on the pillowcase that she'd slept on the last time she'd stayed with him, her shampoo and her perfume flooding his senses with memories.
Lee and Amanda lay wrapped blissfully around one another amid the tangled sheets. Amanda sighed in contentment as she planted a kiss to his bare chest and said, "Sorry I woke you."
Lee laughed heartily, kissed the top of her head and replied, "You don't ever have to apologize for waking me up that way."
"No, I imagine not," she said with a giggle. "I just felt bad that I fell asleep on you and ruined the romantic evening you had planned."
"Shh, Amanda," he lovingly caressed her face, his fingers tangling in her thick hair. "You didn't ruin anything. Just being with you, speeding time with you is enough for me."
"Really?" Amanda questioned dubiously.
"Don't look so surprised. Didn't you hear what I said in the office? When we're not at work, we're not together enough to suit me." He thought again to the diamond ring that was now safely tucked away in his dresser drawer out of sight, wondering if he should just bite the bullet and give it to her now, but then he thought that proposing marriage post-lovemaking might not be the best plan. How could he expect her to take him seriously when they were both naked? Or for that matter, when she'd awakened him by tugging at his boxers and before he'd had a chance to react, she'd had her mouth around him? No, now was not the right time under the circumstances.
Having finished his chore, Lee perused the job he'd done and with a firm nod of satisfaction, reached for his keys where he'd thrown them on the desk, He scooped up the flower box, jammed it into his kitchen trashcan, and made a quick stop at the stove to check on the chicken. When he found it simmering nicely and headed toward his front door. He paused for a moment before leaving as the thought of Amanda's engagement ring sprang to his mind again. He pulled the box out of his pocket, opened it to gaze one more time at the shimmering diamond within, once again aching to give it to her to show his commitment to her and to their baby, but how was he going to do that when she didn't remember him proposing? He sighed, closed the box, shoved it back into his pocket and headed out.
Upon re-entering the agency infirmary, he was accosted by Dr. Kelford who stopped him before he could enter Amanda's room. "I need a word with you," Kelford said with a nod of his head toward his office.
"What is it?"Lee asked worriedly. "Don't tell me that I can't take her home, after all?"
"No, you can," Kelford reassured him as they entered his office. "I just have some instructions for you on her care." He reached across his desk and picked up a handful of papers handing them to Lee. "I wanted to give you this without our resident Negative Nancy in here."
"Where is he anyway?" Lee asked, not that he was anxious to see him again, but he wanted to be sure that he wouldn't try to stop him from leaving with Amanda. He'd made his objections to her being released plainly clear.
"He went back upstairs to his office to sulk once he realized that he was overruled about letting Amanda go home," Kelford explained with a mischievous smile.
Lee skimmed the papers in his hand, his eyes widening at one particular section, "Sign of miscarriage?" He looked at Kelford in alarm, his brow furrowed. "I thought you said that since the baby had a strong heartbeat, that was a good sign."
"It is," Kelford confirmed and then placed a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Relax, Lee, I just want you to have this as a precaution. I may not agree with Dr. Quidd's methods but he was right when he said that we just don't know how the baby's going to be affected by what Amanda's been through. It's entirely possible that there won't be any negative effects. After all, under normal circumstances, Amanda's strong and healthy." He nodded toward the paperwork and added, "Now, if she complains about abdominal pain, has any bleeding..." He sighed. "Well, you've got it all right there. If you notice any of those things, take her to the ER immediately. We have some skilled doctors here, but we're not really equipped to give the proper care to a pregnant woman."
Lee nodded. "I got it."
"Good," Kelford replied as he took Lee's arm and lead him out of the office and down the hall toward Amanda's room. "There is some good news," the doctor told him as they walked. "While you've been gone, she's been able to keep down some clear liquids, but we haven't attempted solid food yet. Days of not eating properly combined with the normal symptoms of pregnancy have done a number on her digestive system, so take it slowly with her. Clear liquids to begin with, water, broths, sports drinks like Gatorade will help to keep replacing what she's lost."
"I'm already prepared for that," Lee replied as they entered Amanda's room.
"My concern right now is that she's lost a couple of pounds."
Lee smiled warmly at Amanda, nodded to Billy and Francine who took his cue and left. Once they were gone, he turned to the doctor and in a hushed tone, said, "That's bad isn't it? I mean, isn't a woman supposed to gain weight when she's pregnant?"
"I can still hear you," Amanda inserted pointedly. Lee couldn't help but laugh at the irked look on Amanda's face. Amanda then turned her attention to Dr. Kelford and added in an annoyed tone, "I already told you that when I was pregnant with Jamie, my morning sickness was so severe that I lost weight before I gained weight and he was still over eight pounds at birth."
Kelford nodded. "Yes, I heard you Amanda and it's not uncommon, but what IS uncommon it to be starved for days and get as dehydrated as you did during the early stages of pregnancy. That's where my concern is. I'd love to believe that this is the same thing that you experienced with your son. If it is, that's great, but I want you to take all the possible precautions to make sure that you and your baby make a full recovery. That's why I'm arming Lee here with all the tools and information he needs to help you with that." He approached her bed and said, "Now, let's get you unhooked so your fiancé' can take you home."
While Kelford worked, Amanda's mind was so focused on his use of the word, "fiancé' that she barely noticed the slight sting of the IV being removed or him blotting and bandaging the tiny wound it had left behind.
"Fiancé'?" She questioned, her eyes locking with Lee's, as she reflected on Francine's words to her earlier. Was it true? Had Lee really proposed to her? Were they engaged and she just didn't remember getting engaged or was it just a story that Lee had told so that he could get in to see her and be allowed to take her home?
Lee crossed the room, clasped her hand with his free one, and answered her with, "Hey, we'll talk about that another time when you're feeling better, okay?"
"Well, I'm all done here," Kelford announced. "So, you're all set to take her home. Just follow those instructions and you should be just fine." Without another word, he left the pair alone.
"Come on, let's get you outta' here," Lee said, using the hand he held in his to help her out of bed.
"Lee, I get that you're worried and I understand why, but I'm perfectly mobile and I'm not helpless."
"I know," Lee replied sheepishly. "I...um...I guess I just don't want you overdoing it."
"Well, I don't want you overdoing it either," she countered as she stood up, stretching out the kinks in her back from the uncomfortable infirmary bed.. "You don't have to baby me."
"Amanda, you're carrying my baby, so if I feel the need to baby you, let me." He desperately wanted to ask her why she hadn't told him right away, but knew that he shouldn't. She didn't need any added stress.
As if sensing his thought, she said, "Um...about that..." She paused and let out a deep sigh before continuing. "I-I-I wanted to tell you, but-"
Lee silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Shhh. Don't, Amanda. We'll talk about that another time, too. Let's just get you healthy first." He then replaced his finger with his lips, kissing her tenderly and linked his arm with hers to guide her out of the room. His thoughts were a jumble as he wondered just how he was going to keep his mouth shut about all the things he wanted to ask her, knowing that her own jumbled mind may just become more so if he pushed her too much. He disguised his worry with an affectionate smile at her and said, "Let's go home."