Chapter 10

Lee spoke softly to William, telling him stories of different cases he and Amanda had worked on, watering down details when needed. He knew the boy didn't know the difference between a German mercenary and a French diplomat, but it didn't stop him. He was lost in the story of how he'd been poisoned and Amanda navigated him and Papa Billy through the Soviet Embassy to find the recipe for the antidote when the door opened. He jumped when he heard Billy clear his throat.

"Don't you think he's a little young to be telling all our secrets to?" Billy questioned.

Lee pressed his lips together tightly and turned to retort angrily, but the smile on Billy's face stopped him. "I was just telling him... stories. Stories about how his mom and dad used to outsmart the bad guys. That's all."

Billy approached him slowly, nodding. "I used to do the same when my girls were little. Only embassies were castles and it was a prince rescuing the fair maidens." Billy peered past Lee at William. "How's he doing? Any change?"

"Um… good I guess. No changes, but the neurologist was in here earlier and said she could tell he was dreaming. She was the one who told me to talk to him, so that's what I've been doing." Lee traced the soft skin on the back of William's hand as he spoke.

"I had a long talk with Emily this morning," Billy began.

Lee lifted his chin slightly. "Really? About what?"

"You, for starters." Billy scratched at his jaw for a moment.

"And what did Emily have to say about me?" Lee snapped, his tone icy.

Billy gave his head a short shake before he said, "She's worried about you. About what this is doing to you."

"Well, you can tell Emily she doesn't need to worry about me," Lee hissed.

Billy inhaled sharply, pressed his lips together tightly before exhaling. "We also talked about Barta and Krejci. She gave me all the information she had on Barta's plan. We're putting extra security on the President until we find him."

"I'd be interested in finding out how they paired up. They haven't been known allies in the past," Lee stated.

"We're working on that. Right now, our focus is on finding them. We'll get to all the specifics later," Billy informed him. He paused for a second. "Lee—"

"Listen, don't come in here and give me the whole 'Emily didn't do anything wrong' speech. I don't wanna hear it. She saw them and didn't say anything. It's as simple as that," Lee cut him off quickly.

Billy squared his jaw and peered out the window. He faced Lee once more. "Fine. But think of this. How many times in the field did you withhold information to keep Amanda safe? Or Francine? In the moment, you did what you thought was right. Maybe that's what Emily was doing… what she thought was right."

"No," Lee responded defiantly, shaking his head. A slight twitch of William's hand under his snapped his attention back to his son. "He moved! Get the doc in here!"

Billy jerked the door open and waved to the first nurse he saw. "The boy moved… where's Dr. Lore?"

"I'll page him, sir. And Dr. Anderson," she replied and ran to the phone on the wall.

Billy returned to William's room and found Lee pleading with him.

"Come on, Champ, move your hand again. You can do it… I know you can." With tears in his eyes, Lee looked back at Billy. "I felt it… I know I did."

The door swung open and both Dr. Lore and Dr. Anderson moved swiftly across the room to William's bedside.

"What did you feel, Mr. Stetson?" Dr. Anderson inquired.

"His hand. It twitched… moved a little. Under mine," Lee stammered. "He's waking up. Right, Doc?"

Dr. Lore pulled a stethoscope from around his neck while Dr. Anderson went to the machine behind William's bed. As Dr. Lore listened to William's heartbeat, she studied the printout and shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stetson. I don't think he's waking up just yet. I think what you felt is still a good sign. It's something called muscle reactivation. That tells us his brain is healing. It's creating new pathways with what's called neuroplasticity. That twitch you felt may very well have been the first sign of it."

Her words took a moment to register. A tear slid down Lee's cheek as he turned back and squeezed William's hand. "Come on, Champ. I know you're gonna be just fine. You're gonna wake up soon and be Daddy's little big man."

"He has all good signs, Mr. Stetson. All good signs," Dr. Lore encouraged. "Would you like to take a break and visit your wife? She's also showing improvement this morning."

Billy nodded at Lee. "Go ahead. I'll sit with William."

Lee raised his son's hand and brushed his lips across it. "Listen, Champ. Papa Billy is going to sit with you for a while, so don't give him a hard time. Save that for me and Momma, okay?" He lowered the small hand back down, brushed his thumb across William's forehead, just under the bandage, and turned back to Dr. Lore. "Thank you. I'd like to see Amanda now."

Dr. Lore held the handles of the wheelchair as Lee got himself situated. As they approached the door, it swung open, and Francine stood before them, looking slightly disheveled. "Lee!" she cried before throwing her arms around her friend and holding him tightly. "I got here as fast as I could."

"I see that," Lee replied, his voice muffled by her shoulder. "How was France?"

Francine released him and stood tall. "France? France was a piece of cake. Customs in Dulles was another thing altogether. They had the nerve to question me about the new designer purses in my bag. Like I wouldn't have a receipt, right?"

Lee tried hard to press his lips together to prevent himself from smiling, but his dimples immediately gave him away. "How many did you buy?"

Francine squared her shoulders, brushed her hair back with one hand, and stated, "Only six."

"Only six?" Billy teased.

"Well, I would have gotten three more but they wouldn't have fit in my suitcase. I only brought one this time," Francine informed him.

"Only one?" Lee nodded as he began to chuckle.

Francine narrowed her eyes at him. "Listen, bub, I happen to know from your wife how you pack for vacation now, so don't be giving me any grief."

"Who's giving you grief? I'm glad you're here," Lee admitted.

Francine peered across the room at her godson laying on the bed motionless. "How's he doing?"

"Better. Right, Doc?" Lee replied.

"Yes, Mr. Stetson. William is showing improvement today," Dr. Anderson answered with a smile.

"And we were just on our way to see Amanda." Lee reached over and squeezed Francine's hand. "Do you want to join us or sit with Billy and William? I'm sure you're pretty tired from that flight…"

Francine opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it again before she shook her head. "No, I slept on the plane. I'll… um… I think I'd like to stay here if that's okay with you. Billy can fill me in on all the details, you know?"

Lee squeezed again. "I get it. I'll tell Amanda you're here too."

"Is she awake?" Francine asked hopefully.

"Not yet. She had surgery last night and they're keeping her sedated for a while… you know… just to make sure she stays put and all," Lee explained.

Francine laughed. "We all know how well Amanda follows directions."

"Well, this time she has no choice." Lee smiled at his closest friend. "Thanks for being here. It means a lot."

Francine leaned down once more and hugged him tightly. "Don't do this to me again, Scarecrow. I'm not sure how many times I can do your jobs for you because you're laid up."

Lee chuckled, although the weight of her words hung heavily on his heart.