Part II

See Part I for disclaimers, etc.


Rushing from the room, Liz ran smack into Lee's broad chest. Stumbling backwards, she looked up to see Lee's shocked expression slowly turn to one of anger. Elizabeth cringed and backed into the room. She knew Lee would be upset if she left, but she let her emotions get the best of her and ran from the room without thinking.

"Where were you going? I seem to remember you promising you would stay put until I got here." Lee and Amanda came into the room and closed the door behind them.

"You are here," she stated simply, her voice barely above a whisper, but her chin held high.

Lee started to say something then stopped and sighed, knowing it was hopeless to argue with her.

"I'm sorry...I'm just worried about my dad and it's hard to sit here and do nothing."

"I know." Lee could see the worry and the fear in her eyes though she tried to keep a straight face. His heart went out to her. Opening his arms for her, she stepped into his embrace. He hugged her tightly, "Don't worry. We'll fix this."

Amanda stood back and watched quietly. Elizabeth was a beautiful young girl. She had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes. The color was quite different then Lee's hazel, but they held the same emotions, they were so expressive. Liz's lightly tanned skin was free of makeup, and she wore jeans and a light blue t-shirt. Amanda guessed she could pass for much older than 15 if she were to put on some makeup and change her clothes. Briefly, she wondered what Lee was like at 15. She imagined it was much the same as Elizabeth. They were both forced to be independent and take care of themselves at a very young age.

Liz pulled back from Lee's embrace to look up at him. It had been awhile since she had seen him last, but she felt safe when he was with her. "I'm glad you came," she smiled, averting her eyes to the floor.

"You know I'll always be there for you."

Liz cocked her head and gave him a funny look as though he was stating the obvious, "I know."

Elizabeth stepped back and seemed to notice Amanda for the first time. "You must be Amanda."

Amanda looked at Lee with a surprised glance. "Yes."

Liz noticed her surprise, "Lee likes to talk about you," she grinned, "and Billy, he's...uh...mentioned you a few times."

"Oh." Amanda smiled warmly looking back towards Lee.

Liz shifted her gaze from Amanda to Lee then back to Amanda. "I take it you've never heard about me."

"Not until this morning."

Liz and Amanda looked at Lee. He laughed and smiled sheepishly. "Well, what do you say we get something to eat, and you," he pointed at Liz, "can start explaining."

"Yeah, okay," Liz agreed.

"Let us get settled and we'll come back here to get you."

***

Eating in the hotel restaurant, Liz tried to explain what had happened when her father had called a week ago and how she had come to be in Paris. "He told me he was having problems with some new deal he was working on. Some people weren't very happy with his plans."

"What does your father do, Elizabeth?" Amanda asked gently, spearing a cherry tomato with her fork then putting it in her mouth.

"He buys companies," she shrugged indifferently as if he was an average paper pusher, "ones that aren't doing very well...then he sells them again. You know, 'hostile take over' stuff. Usually, the people are forced into giving up their businesses for next to nothing, then my father breaks them up into more profitable pieces and sells them to the highest bidder. It involves a lot of legalities I don't understand." Her eyes dropped to her plate and she shrugged her shoulders again. "He's made a few enemies, I guess." Suddenly she didn't feel like talking about it anymore. No little girl liked to believe her father had done things to make enemies.

"So, what's he working on now?" Lee prompted.

She sighed, then looked at Lee. "He's buying a car manufacturing company. They haven't been very successful recently, and my father can make a lot of money by selling the 'pieces' to the bigger companies. I think he said it was owned by the Casale brothers. Anyway, he called me about a week ago and told me all this and he said he might come here, to Paris. I thought that was odd since he does most his business in Italy and he finally told me he had been receiving threats and he needed to lay low for awhile." Liz cast an anxious glance in Lee's direction, "He told me he missed me and he wished he could see me."

Amanda saw Lee clench his fist and the muscle in his jaw twitched. Putting her hand on his knee, she rubbed his leg gently and he quickly relaxed under her touch.

When Lee didn't say anything, Liz continued more animately, her pale blue eyes brighter than before. "I tried to get a hold of him a few days later, but no one would let me talk to him or tell me exactly where he was. So, I tracked him down to this hotel and called his room. I didn't think he would answer, but he did. He told me not to worry and then he hung up on me. I got on the next flight to Paris." She was very matter-of-fact in her speaking, not seeming to realize this was unusual for a 15 year old.

"Elizabeth, you can't just fly to Paris because your father's in trouble and he says he misses you. You had no idea what you were getting into. What if you had gotten hurt?" Lee asked.

She ran her hand through her long blonde hair pulling her fingers through the tangles. "I'm not going to get hurt," she stated. "You're here."

Lee sighed, "How did you get a flight anyway?"

Liz shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eye, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Elizabeth..." Lee warned and her smile quickly faded.

"Listen," Elizabeth started, she searched the pattern on her napkin in her lap for the right words to explain how she was feeling. "I know how you feel about my father, but when he called...when he told me he missed me, he was sincere. When he told me he wished he could see me, it wasn't the usual 'Yeah I wish I could see you, too, honey, bye'. He sounded upset, like he really wanted to see me." Liz paused and looked back down at her lap. "I had to come." There was no doubt in her voice.

Lee contemplated what she had just said. Despite the fact that he still thought of her as a little girl, she was intelligent and she wouldn't have run off without a plausible reason, dangerous or not. He knew of the Casale brothers and their secret ties to the Mafia and he knew Jones wasn't one to back out of anything. He suddenly realized how dire the situation actually was.

"I know you came to bring me back, but I need to see him. Better late than never."

"We didn't come to bring you back," Amanda said. "We came to help you."

"Yes, to help you and keep you safe."

Liz smiled, "So, let's find my father."

Lee knew she was anxious to find her father but he could see the dark circles under eyes and the slight slump in her shoulders. "Okay," Lee agreed, "but tomorrow, not tonight."

Elizabeth looked disappointed, but she didn't object.

"You won't get anything done if you can't keep your eyes open, and Amanda and I just got off an 8 hour flight. We could all use a little rest."

"Yeah, ok." Liz conceded

"I'll be right back." Amanda excused herself from the table and Liz returned to pushing her food around her plate.

"You know, I'm not buying you dinner so you can play with it," Lee scolded.

Liz rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Piercing a piece of chicken with her fork, she dramatically stuck it in her mouth. "So," she started, chewing then swallowing her chicken," what's the deal with you and Amanda?"

"Excuse me?" Lee wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Well, you were both wearing wedding rings when you first got here, now they're gone."

At Lee's shocked expression, she knew she had hit the nail on the head. "When did you get married?" Liz asked with a child-like enthusiasm. "No, wait, let me guess." She tapped her bottom lip with her fingernail. "If you got married, then you had to have had a honeymoon, right?" She smiled at Lee, but, of course he didn't answer. "So, when was the last time you took a trip..." Liz picked up her fork and fiddled with it while she thought. Suddenly, she remembered his trip to California and her face lit up. "Did you get married on Valentine's Day? Oh, that's so sweet."

"No," Lee answered gruffly. "We didn't."

"Oh," Liz's face fell then her eyes narrowed on Lee, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Lee put his fork on his plate, but Liz's expression remained the same, determination written clearly in her eyes.

"It was the 13th," Lee relented, knowing Liz wouldn't give up and that she could keep a secret.

"You couldn't have waited one day?"

"I've never been accused of being a romantic." Lee picked up his fork again, then pointed it at Liz. "This is a secret. We haven't told anyone."

Liz nodded in understanding, but couldn't keep from asking why.

Lee thought for a moment, a hundred different things running through his head, but despite Liz's maturity her innocence was clear. "It's complicated."

"How complicated can it be if you really love each other?"

Lee paused again. Thoughts of lonely nights and missed opportunities crossed his mind along with those of the safety of his family -- it was complicated as hell. He sighed as he met Elizabeth's inquisitive stare. "It just is."

Elizabeth shrugged and went back to playing with her food. The rest of dinner was spent in quiet. Amanda wondered what had passed between the two while she was gone and decided to bring it up with Lee later.

After paying the bill, they all headed up to their rooms. When they got off the elevator, Amanda turned to the right and Liz turned to the left.

"I'm gonna walk Lizzie to her room," Lee said.

Amanda smiled. "Okay." She turned and walked away, happy not to be the object of Lee's over protectiveness for once. Ever since she had been shot in California he had gone crazy always keeping one eye on her and trying to keep her safe.

She had reluctantly stayed at a desk for the better part of a month while her body finished healing. Then when her doctor cleared her and the Agency doctors cleared her, she was more than ready to get back in the field and finish up her training classes. Lee, however, wanted nothing more than to have her safely chained to a desk for the rest of her life. She had tried to humor him for about a week, but then one evening over dinner, he had calmly suggested that she come out of the field for good. That was the last straw. She told him what she thought about that, rather loudly, and had stormed off.

That night, alone in her bed, after she had calmed down, she realized that it wasn't really Lee, the man, selfishly asking her to give up half her life. It was more like Lee, the little 5-year-old, asking her not to leave him. The next day they had a long talk and Amanda clearly stated she would stay in the field with him for now, but that they could work through this together and she would do her best to ease his mind. They had decided a few sessions with Pfaff wouldn't hurt and in the past few months they had worked through Lee's fears and a few of Amanda's together. Of course, they hadn't told Pfaff everything and anything they did say to him was confidential, anyway. Finally, things were getting back to normal.

Amanda unlocked and opened the door to her room. It was very beautiful. It was too bad they weren't here under better circumstances. Sighing, she decided she would feel better after a nice, hot shower.

***

Lee followed Lizzie to her room and walked her in. She turned to face him. "Thanks, see ya in the morning."

"Now, wait just a minute, I want you to promise me you will stay in this room, and you won't leave without telling me." Lee shook his finger, trying to sound stern and serious. He couldn't forgive himself if anything happened to her.

"Lee..." she protested and looked down to the floor. She wasn't used to having someone watching over her every move.

He lifted her chin with his finger so she was forced to meet his gaze. "I want you to promise me that you won't run off," he repeated.

Lizzie held her breath. She knew if she promised him now, she wouldn't break that promise.

Watching her eyes, he saw her defenses crumble.

"I promise," she breathed and he knew she meant it.

"Good." He pulled her into a quick hug, "Now, try and get some sleep."

Lee turned to leave, "Lock the door behind me."

"Okay, goodbye Lee."

He stepped outside, closing the door behind him and waited for the click of the locks. Hearing her lock the door, he waited another second, just to be sure.

"Lee, you can go now," came Liz's muffled voice from the other side of the door. "I promise I won't leave."

"And don't --," Lee started.

"Or let anyone else in."

He narrowed his eyes, then shook his head and smiled softly, "Okay, goodnight."

"Bye."

Lee made his way slowly down the hallway, mentally exhausted from the situation with Liz and physically exhausted from the long flight. When he bent slightly to unlock the door, his lower back protested immediately. 'A nice hot shower would feel good,' he thought.

Opening the door, he saw Amanda's clothes strewn across the bed and heard the shower running in the bathroom. 'A nice hot shower with Amanda would be even better.'

He peeked in the bathroom just as Amanda was stepping into the shower. A devilish grin spread across his face as he contemplated the possibilities. Stripping quickly, he snuck into the bathroom and slid open the glass door.

Amanda turned and gasped in surprise. Lee smiled that smile that could melt her heart every time and her rigid body slumped in relief. "I really wish you wouldn't do that," she said turning back towards the water.

Lee laughed and stepped in the shower behind her. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and rested his head lightly on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered against her ear.

His breath tickled the sensitive skin of her neck and she shivered. Leaning back in his strong embrace, she sighed, "I forgive you." They stayed that way for a moment, under the water, simply enjoying the peacefulness of being alone.

Unable to stand still any longer, so near Amanda, Lee began to press feather-light kisses along the back of her lightly freckled shoulders. Inhaling the sweet scent of her skin, he wrapped his arms tighter around her body and brushed his lips across the nape of her neck.

His attentions slowly stirred her from her peace, each caress taking her breath away. When he paused, Amanda turned in his embrace and pressed her body close to his. Their lips met in a fervent kiss, all other thoughts momentarily gone from their minds. Lee moved one capable hand to cradle the back of her head, effectively deepening the kiss. His other hand moved surely over her soft curves and supple skin, urging her closer.

"Lee..."she moaned as they pulled apart.

"Whadaya say we move this into the bedroom?" he murmured against her cheek.

"Mmm," she replied and turned off the shower.

***

Later, comfy in the warm bed, Amanda laid with her head on Lee's chest, her arm around his waist and their legs intimately entwined under the sheets. She began to drift into peaceful slumber when she remembered she meant to ask him about Liz and their conversation at dinner.

"Lee?"

"Hmm," he rubbed her arm lightly, trailing his fingertips along her bare skin. He hadn't been able to fall sleep despite how tired he was.

"What did you and Liz talk about while I was in the bathroom?"

"Oh," Lee chuckled. "She knows."

"What?" Amanda raised her head off his chest.

"Remember? We didn't take our rings off until after we checked on her."

"But I was careful, I kept my hand in my pocket."

"Well, she noticed. You can't keep anything from Lizzie."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing much, really. She figured it all out on her own." Lee paused. "I told her it was a secret. She asked why, and I told her it was complicated. You know what she said?"

Amanda raised her head again to meet the hazel eyes of her husband. Propping her head on her hand she asked, "What?"

"She said, 'How complicated can it be if you really love each other?'"

Amanda smiled ruefully. She could remember a time when she was young and full of dreams. She had thought she'd found the perfect man with whom to have the perfect babies and live in the perfect white house with a white picket fence. She had known Joe had great ambitions for his career and she was proud of him, because, after all, how complicated could it be if they really loved each other. She had learned her lesson the hard way. Though, since then, she had come to the decision they just weren't meant to be. She loved Lee more than she had ever loved anyone, but nothing about their relationship was easy. "It can be very complicated," she said.

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "But do you ever think maybe we're the ones making it too complicated?"

Amanda laid her head back on Lee's chest, "I don't know Lee. I think we're doing the best we can."

"You have to admit something's off when I feel lucky just to have two whole nights in a row in the same bed as my wife."

Amanda thought for a minute. Maybe they were making it too hard. What was important was that they loved each other and they loved their family. And needless to say, going home alone every night was getting old very quickly. Nevertheless, this was neither the time nor the place to discuss it. "We can talk about it when we get home. Right now, we have to think about Elizabeth."

***

Liz slumped against the side of her father's building taking cover in the shade from the harsh afternoon sun. They had been all over Paris since early this morning and still she hadn't seen a glimpse of her father. However, they were now certain that he was in Paris and business at Jones Industries was on as usual.. Her father didn't spend much time in Paris under usual circumstances, but he had an office in every other major city; LA, New York, Paris and Rome. They had started at this building this morning and worked their way around, coming back here one last time before going to the hotel. Lee and Amanda were inside talking to one of her father's assistants and Liz had gone outside, frustrated with the lack of information they were receiving.

Liz sighed and strolled to the corner of the block. Hearing the blare of a car horn she turned her head to look down the other street. A man came out of a side door of her father's building and quickly crossed the street heading towards a dark Rolls Royce with tinted windows.

The driver got out of the car, opened the back door and took the man's briefcase.

Elizabeth moved closer trying to get a better look and pushed her sunglasses onto her head. He was tall, medium build, dark blonde hair. "Dad?" she said under her breath, her eyes narrowing.

The man turned to say something to the driver giving Liz a clear look at the profile of her father.

"Dad!" she yelled, but he didn't hear her over the hum of the traffic.

Liz ran to the side of the street, but the light had changed and she couldn't cross. "Dad!!" she yelled louder and waved her arm.

Turning sharply towards her, his eyes widened in surprise then narrowed again in worry. "Elizabeth?"

Smiling, she moved to cross the street, forgetting about the oncoming traffic.

"Stay there!" he shouted holding his hand out like a traffic cop.

Liz frowned and stepped back onto the sidewalk. This wasn't the warm welcome she had been expecting.

Jones told the driver to start the car, and that he'd be right back. Then he waited for a break in traffic and quickly crossed the street.

At the front of the building Lee held the door open for Amanda and followed her outside. Immediately, an alarm rang in his mind.

"Where'd Lizzie go?"

"I --" Amanda started, but her answer was cut short by a loud explosion coming from the side of the building and then the weight of Lee's body pushing her to the ground.


To be continued...