15

Window Reflections

The Pharoah's Engineer

Rupert Simpson was a dear man, but he sure was insistent. He was sticking to his guns with the exact same tenacity that he had stuck to his investigation of the "Night Pirates." Only this time she wished that he would just let it go. And now he had enlisted the help of the Mendelson sisters. The Agency must have always been good at pinpointing people with instincts because these three were now honing all of theirs on her. They wanted to know what she had wished for when she had helped to blow out Rupert's candles, and they were dangerously close to figuring in out. Was she that transparent? She certainly tried to hide it, but Lois, Glynis and Rupert were quite certain that her wish had something to do with Lee Stetson, and they were about to blow her cover. Desperate to throw them off their quest, she had begun to ask them a barrage of questions about the good old days at the Agency, only declassified information of course, and now they were animatedly regaling her with stories of the past, and she had time to look around the room for Lee. She was beginning to wonder what had become of him and if he had heard any of the retirees' banter. Had he noticed a change in her?

She had been so eager to see Lee after their last telephone conversation from the Tennis Tournament that she had gone straight to the Q Bureau as soon as Monday morning had arrived. He hadn't been there, so she had tidied up his desk and watered his plants and then had sat down to the chess game he had set up weeks ago. It was an exercise in strategy that he had set up for her. But she'd had no mind to strategize on anything else except wanting to see him. And then, all of a sudden he had appeared and been all about business. But it hadn't mattered. Because he seemed as happy to be near her as she was to be near him. And then he had taken her to Birchwood.

She had learned a lot of interesting things about Lee Stetson in the past two and half years, but this new information had surprised her. Could he really have been taking hours out of his weeks to visit with these wonderful retired agents? There was more to this man than she had imagined, and it had opened her heart to her feelings for him even more. Yes, he was a wonderful man! It had especially touched her that he had been willing to share Birchwood with her. It made her smile when she remembered how he had told Rupert and the Mendelsons that she was "one of us" and how he explained to Rupert that he could just as easily tell his business concerns to her because she was his partner.

Oh, but then he had gotten so mad at her that he wouldn't even look at her. One minute she had been wrapped in the warmth of sharing these familial relationships with Lee and the next it had almost appeared as if they were back at the very beginning. He had thought that she had gotten taken in by Rupert's imagination. But she was sure she had known better. Maybe because she had learned to trust the character of the people she had grown to care about or maybe it was just her instincts, but she was certain that Rupert was onto something, and as good as it was that Lee would come out in the middle of the night, he was too eager to just be the practical professional, and he had shut them down with that withering look.

Well, it hadn't mattered what Lee thought. Maybe she would have second guessed herself a year or so ago. But now, not only was she more confident in her own instincts, she was more confident in what she knew about Lee. If she could pull together enough research, she knew she would be able to find something to make some sense out of Rupert's "Night Pirates."

And she had. A shiver went down her spine as she thought about the way Lee looked at her as things began to click in his mind too. She loved it when he started to sink his teeth into a case and especially when she was able to help him out. Hearing him tell her that she had done good work had only been the icing on the cake. He had missed her when she wasn't with him, and he had appreciated the work she had done despite him. That shiver ran back up her spine again.

It had taken her a few moments to find Lee across the room. She thought that she had felt his eyes on her, but he seemed as if he was engrossed in some file on Francine's desk. It didn't completely surprise her that Lee might be reluctant for his colleagues in the bull pen to see how fond he really was of the retirees. Maybe to most of the people in the bullpen he was the enigmatic playboy with one thousand different personae and cover names, an apparently rootless man with barely any family and a long time bachelor with no close friends and a self-proclaimed loner. And yet, she knew him as a special man who regularly enjoyed nurturing visits with a group of retired agency personnel. Seeing him at Birchwood with Rupert and the Mendelson sisters had allowed her to believe that he could care for her too. He had already surprised her in so many ways that made her think he cared; he had told her that it was important to him that she cared about him, that he missed her when she wasn't with him and he had kissed her on the cheek and told her that she was a very special woman. But now, after watching Lee with his "uncle" and "aunts", it was even easier to believe Lee might be able to care for her in the way that she would need him to for her to truly fall in love with him.

She could just catch a view of his reflection now in the window of Billy's office. He had such a strong profile. She could remember the resolute expression that he had on his face as he boldly strode out of Billy's office with the untested syringe of antidote and the machine gun. He was willing to lose his life to protect everyone else. And yet, she now knew that his resolve wasn't due to a hardened heart and a wooden sense of duty. He could also smile the warmest dimpled smile at two little old ladies offering him banana bread and brandy. And she also knew what it was like to be close to Lee, to share electric moments alone with him. They scared her and drew her at the same time. But she had briefly known what it was like to be wrapped in the warmth of his strong arms and feel his warm breath as their lips drew together. To experience that again was the wish that had popped into her head as she blew out those candles. Oh! Now that was dangerous territory to let her thoughts meander into while standing in the middle of the crowded bull pen. If she let herself do that here, she would most certainly become completely transparent to everyone around her she was sure!

But now Lee had looked up and he had caught her watching him. It was too late to make it look like she was paying attention to something else. He had caught her and he wouldn't let her gaze go. His face had looked dark and tense for one brief moment, and then the most wonderful thing happened. The darkness and tension that she had recognized from early on in their partnership dissolved and, in its place, spread that beautiful smile and the warm softness that hit his eyes more often than not now a days. She was beginning to recognize this as his personal smile just for her – or so she hoped. It made her toes tingle and her stomach do flip flops while at the same time it relaxed her like the warm sun on a cold day. Now if she could just keep her wits about her she might be able to keep those three agency "aunts and uncles" at bay for the rest of the party.