Stormy Weather
by matahari2
Summary / Disclaimers, etc.: See Chapter 1
Chapter Two – Early Warnings
Amanda coughed herself awake at 5:00 a.m. She tried her best to stifle the coughing, holding her mouth closed so as not to wake Lee, and padded into the bathroom to get the cough syrup. 'Might as well take a pain-reliever, too. . .my joints are starting to ache, with this cold coming on', she thought, stretching her neck to the side and opening the medicine cabinet to take the half-empty bottle off the shelf. 'That's funny. . .I just bought these last week, and this is a 100-count bottle. How'd we manage to use that many already?' she wondered, as she filled a paper cup with water and took one of the pills. She shrugged to her reflection in the mirror, dismissing the pill-count issue for the moment, and crept back into bed.
When the six o'clock hour rolled around, Amanda was reminded of that movie, "Groundhog Day", where the poor guy relives the same day, over and over and over again. It was as if their bedtime conversation the night before hadn't happened. At least that's what it sounded like to her.
Lee burst open their bedroom door shouting, "Amanda! What the hell are you still doing in bed? You knew I had to get the car into the shop this morning!" He stepped into their bathroom to pick up his watch and put it on his wrist while continuing his rant. "I need you to follow me there and give me a ride to the Agency. Now come on!"
"All right, all right!" Amanda answered as she sprung out of the bed and shut off the unnecessary alarm clock. Rubbing her tired eyes, she said, "I'll just get Jenny up and start the coffee. . ."
"Never mind the coffee. . .you just get ready!" he yelled, turning her shoulders and propelling her into the bathroom.
'Yes, sir!!' she didn't say, but offered an exaggerated mock salute to his retreating back and picked up her toothbrush.
"Jenn-i-fer!! C'mon! Up and at 'em!" Lee called, banging on Jenny's door with his fist and twisting the knob to enter her room.
"But Dad, it's only 6:00!" Jenny protested, pulling the covers over her face.
Lee pulled the covers back down and held up his wrist, showing Jenny the time and saying through gritted teeth, "No. . .it's ten after, and we've gotta be on our way before 6:30. . .now come on, get with it!" He circled his hand in front of him in a 'hurry up' gesture, and Jenny bounced out of the bed and hurried over to the hall bath.
'All right, already! What's the big deal?' she thought. She didn't remember hearing anything about having to leave early today.
Twenty minutes later, Lee paced the kitchen, drumming his fingers against his leg, as Amanda came down the stairs and picked up the phone's receiver and started to punch in a number.
"What are you doing?" Lee asked, stopping and thrusting out his hand in apparent frustration. "Who are you calling at this hour?"
"The Carters. Jenny's gonna need a. . .oh hello, Janet! This is Amanda Stetson. Listen, I hate to ask you this at the last minute, but would you be able to give Jenny a ride to school today? We need to get Lee's car into the shop and I have to drive him in to work. . .okay, then, thanks so much! We'll drop her off at your house in just a few minutes. Okay, bye!"
"Oh great, Amanda! Another stop to make!" he spouted, rolling his eyes as he started to pace again.
"Well, Lee. . .what did you think we'd do with Jenny this morning?" Amanda asked, in a voice only slightly calmer than the emotions she was feeling. "She's definitely not walking to school from here, and you know she's been afraid to get on a school bus, ever since. . .", she hesitated, looking away for an instant, "ever since. . .what happened the last time."
He didn't answer her, but stopped mid-stride and nodded a grudging acknowledgement. Just then, Jenny came hurrying down the stairs, and the three of them headed out the back door.
**********
Amanda found him in the hallway, just coming out of one of the interrogation rooms. Before he'd become aware of her presence, she'd caught him shutting his eyes and pressing his fingers across his forehead. "Havin' a hard day?" she asked.
He looked up at her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. . .Hi," he said, stuffing one hand into his pocket and smoothing his hair back with the other. "A hard day? Well, yeah. . .I guess you could say that," he answered with a slight nod, flipping off the light switch and closing the door behind him.
"Looks to me like you could use a break," she said, touching his sleeve and taking a good hard look into his overtired eyes. "How about lunch at Nedlinger's?"
"Well. . .all right, I guess I can work it in, as long as we make it a quick one," he consented. "Let's go back to my office for a minute. I'll check my messages, and then we can head out, okay?"
"Okay, yeah, that's fine," she agreed, as they wound their way through the labrynth leading back to the bullpen and Lee's office.
Lee called the voice mail message server and picked up three messages. The first one notified him that the mechanics were finished with his car; the second alerted him to a time change for tomorrow's budget meeting. The third message was flagged as URGENT, regarding an agent and a civilian who'd just gone missing in Afghanistan. Lee made notes on his calendar regarding the first two messages, and wrote down the contact's phone number on a scratch pad, along with the notes, 'agent – civilian – Afghan.', before dialing the number. "Sorry, Amanda. I really need to return this call. It's about a missing agent. . ."
"And a civilian. Yeah, I see," she said, eyeing his notes on the pad. When he picked up the receiver and hesitated before starting to dial the number, a look of understanding crossed her face. "Oh. Right. I'll just be out here," she said, backing out of the room and closing the door.
Five minutes later, Lee opened his door and asked Amanda to come back in. "You're gonna want to sit down for this, Amanda," he told her, placing his hand at the small of her back and urging her toward one of the chairs.
He walked around the desk and sat down in his chair, but it seemed to Amanda that he was having a hard time knowing how to begin. This was starting to make her nervous. In a shaky voice, she asked, "Lee? What is it? WHO is it?"
He studied his notes for a moment, then leaned his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together before answering. "One of our agents, Bob Seehra, and a civilian photojournalist were driving toward the Pakistani border when they were captured and carried away by a small group of Al Qaeda terrorists." At her questioning look, he went on, "We don't know their exact location yet, but Bob's partner, Yusef Shaheen, and several other U.S. operatives are working on finding them."
"But, Lee, the civilian. . .a photojournalist, you said. . ."
"Yeah. Well, the truth is, we don't have a name on him yet," he said honestly. Before she could interrupt, he held up his hand and continued, "I know what you're thinking, believe me. The thought kept going through my mind all during that phone call," he said, pausing to comb his fingers through his hair. "And you're right. It's possible. . .it could be Jamie," he admitted, coming around his desk to sit beside her and take hold of her hand. "But we don't know that yet, so try not to worry, okay?"
She tried to answer in the affirmative, but the words wouldn't come. The best she could do was to nod and silently mouth the words, 'I'll try'.
Lee reached around to stroke Amanda's back, saying, "I guess lunch is out. . .going out to lunch, that is. Tell you what. Why don't we just have something brought in, okay? You just stay right here—I'll be right back."
While she waited, Amanda couldn't seem to block out the stew of emotions that warred in her mind. 'First Jenny's kidnapping, now this? I mean, I know Lee said we didn't know for sure, but until I do. . .oh please, God, don't let it be Jamie!'
TO BE CONTINUED
by matahari2
Summary / Disclaimers, etc.: See Chapter 1
Chapter Two – Early Warnings
Amanda coughed herself awake at 5:00 a.m. She tried her best to stifle the coughing, holding her mouth closed so as not to wake Lee, and padded into the bathroom to get the cough syrup. 'Might as well take a pain-reliever, too. . .my joints are starting to ache, with this cold coming on', she thought, stretching her neck to the side and opening the medicine cabinet to take the half-empty bottle off the shelf. 'That's funny. . .I just bought these last week, and this is a 100-count bottle. How'd we manage to use that many already?' she wondered, as she filled a paper cup with water and took one of the pills. She shrugged to her reflection in the mirror, dismissing the pill-count issue for the moment, and crept back into bed.
When the six o'clock hour rolled around, Amanda was reminded of that movie, "Groundhog Day", where the poor guy relives the same day, over and over and over again. It was as if their bedtime conversation the night before hadn't happened. At least that's what it sounded like to her.
Lee burst open their bedroom door shouting, "Amanda! What the hell are you still doing in bed? You knew I had to get the car into the shop this morning!" He stepped into their bathroom to pick up his watch and put it on his wrist while continuing his rant. "I need you to follow me there and give me a ride to the Agency. Now come on!"
"All right, all right!" Amanda answered as she sprung out of the bed and shut off the unnecessary alarm clock. Rubbing her tired eyes, she said, "I'll just get Jenny up and start the coffee. . ."
"Never mind the coffee. . .you just get ready!" he yelled, turning her shoulders and propelling her into the bathroom.
'Yes, sir!!' she didn't say, but offered an exaggerated mock salute to his retreating back and picked up her toothbrush.
"Jenn-i-fer!! C'mon! Up and at 'em!" Lee called, banging on Jenny's door with his fist and twisting the knob to enter her room.
"But Dad, it's only 6:00!" Jenny protested, pulling the covers over her face.
Lee pulled the covers back down and held up his wrist, showing Jenny the time and saying through gritted teeth, "No. . .it's ten after, and we've gotta be on our way before 6:30. . .now come on, get with it!" He circled his hand in front of him in a 'hurry up' gesture, and Jenny bounced out of the bed and hurried over to the hall bath.
'All right, already! What's the big deal?' she thought. She didn't remember hearing anything about having to leave early today.
Twenty minutes later, Lee paced the kitchen, drumming his fingers against his leg, as Amanda came down the stairs and picked up the phone's receiver and started to punch in a number.
"What are you doing?" Lee asked, stopping and thrusting out his hand in apparent frustration. "Who are you calling at this hour?"
"The Carters. Jenny's gonna need a. . .oh hello, Janet! This is Amanda Stetson. Listen, I hate to ask you this at the last minute, but would you be able to give Jenny a ride to school today? We need to get Lee's car into the shop and I have to drive him in to work. . .okay, then, thanks so much! We'll drop her off at your house in just a few minutes. Okay, bye!"
"Oh great, Amanda! Another stop to make!" he spouted, rolling his eyes as he started to pace again.
"Well, Lee. . .what did you think we'd do with Jenny this morning?" Amanda asked, in a voice only slightly calmer than the emotions she was feeling. "She's definitely not walking to school from here, and you know she's been afraid to get on a school bus, ever since. . .", she hesitated, looking away for an instant, "ever since. . .what happened the last time."
He didn't answer her, but stopped mid-stride and nodded a grudging acknowledgement. Just then, Jenny came hurrying down the stairs, and the three of them headed out the back door.
**********
Amanda found him in the hallway, just coming out of one of the interrogation rooms. Before he'd become aware of her presence, she'd caught him shutting his eyes and pressing his fingers across his forehead. "Havin' a hard day?" she asked.
He looked up at her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. . .Hi," he said, stuffing one hand into his pocket and smoothing his hair back with the other. "A hard day? Well, yeah. . .I guess you could say that," he answered with a slight nod, flipping off the light switch and closing the door behind him.
"Looks to me like you could use a break," she said, touching his sleeve and taking a good hard look into his overtired eyes. "How about lunch at Nedlinger's?"
"Well. . .all right, I guess I can work it in, as long as we make it a quick one," he consented. "Let's go back to my office for a minute. I'll check my messages, and then we can head out, okay?"
"Okay, yeah, that's fine," she agreed, as they wound their way through the labrynth leading back to the bullpen and Lee's office.
Lee called the voice mail message server and picked up three messages. The first one notified him that the mechanics were finished with his car; the second alerted him to a time change for tomorrow's budget meeting. The third message was flagged as URGENT, regarding an agent and a civilian who'd just gone missing in Afghanistan. Lee made notes on his calendar regarding the first two messages, and wrote down the contact's phone number on a scratch pad, along with the notes, 'agent – civilian – Afghan.', before dialing the number. "Sorry, Amanda. I really need to return this call. It's about a missing agent. . ."
"And a civilian. Yeah, I see," she said, eyeing his notes on the pad. When he picked up the receiver and hesitated before starting to dial the number, a look of understanding crossed her face. "Oh. Right. I'll just be out here," she said, backing out of the room and closing the door.
Five minutes later, Lee opened his door and asked Amanda to come back in. "You're gonna want to sit down for this, Amanda," he told her, placing his hand at the small of her back and urging her toward one of the chairs.
He walked around the desk and sat down in his chair, but it seemed to Amanda that he was having a hard time knowing how to begin. This was starting to make her nervous. In a shaky voice, she asked, "Lee? What is it? WHO is it?"
He studied his notes for a moment, then leaned his elbows on the desk and laced his fingers together before answering. "One of our agents, Bob Seehra, and a civilian photojournalist were driving toward the Pakistani border when they were captured and carried away by a small group of Al Qaeda terrorists." At her questioning look, he went on, "We don't know their exact location yet, but Bob's partner, Yusef Shaheen, and several other U.S. operatives are working on finding them."
"But, Lee, the civilian. . .a photojournalist, you said. . ."
"Yeah. Well, the truth is, we don't have a name on him yet," he said honestly. Before she could interrupt, he held up his hand and continued, "I know what you're thinking, believe me. The thought kept going through my mind all during that phone call," he said, pausing to comb his fingers through his hair. "And you're right. It's possible. . .it could be Jamie," he admitted, coming around his desk to sit beside her and take hold of her hand. "But we don't know that yet, so try not to worry, okay?"
She tried to answer in the affirmative, but the words wouldn't come. The best she could do was to nod and silently mouth the words, 'I'll try'.
Lee reached around to stroke Amanda's back, saying, "I guess lunch is out. . .going out to lunch, that is. Tell you what. Why don't we just have something brought in, okay? You just stay right here—I'll be right back."
While she waited, Amanda couldn't seem to block out the stew of emotions that warred in her mind. 'First Jenny's kidnapping, now this? I mean, I know Lee said we didn't know for sure, but until I do. . .oh please, God, don't let it be Jamie!'
TO BE CONTINUED