II. Matinée sur la Seine (Early Morning on the Seine)

The first thing Amanda noticed when she woke up was the smell. "Ugh." The mold in her refrigerator had never smelled so strong, even the time Jamie forgot his job of emptying the crisper before their two-week camping trip to West Virginia. She lifted her head, confused. When she heard rustling and felt something needling her side, she remembered, and dropped her head back against the pile of hay. They were in a field an hour's drive outside of Paris, not far from where they were supposed to meet their contact last night. The plan had been to have dinner at a little bistro overlooking the river, take care of the meet, and then enjoy the moonlit drive back to the city.

Well, the first part of the plan went just fine. Amanda smiled, remembering how romantic dinner was. Trusting Lee to read the menu and order for her worked wonderfully, starting with a bottle of white wine from a local vineyard and ending with a chocolate torte that Francine would kill for. The candlelight created gentle shadows on the old stone walls of the inn, giving everything a warm glow. She didn't think she had ever seen Lee smile so much, whether he was holding her hand, telling her more crazy stories about his adventures around the world, or just gazing at her across the table, his face softened by the flickering light.

While dinner was wonderful, the rest of the evening was a disaster. After nightfall, they drove down a narrow, winding country road to the bridge they'd been directed to by a note discreetly dropped at the restaurant. Then they pulled over and waited. Before long, they saw the headlights of an approaching vehicle blink off and on, just as expected. Two men got out, not one as they had anticipated, and Amanda exchanged a nervous glance with Lee. When Lee rolled down the window, the gun stuck in his face was definitely a surprise. So was the gunman yanking open the door and pulling Lee out of the driver's seat before sending him sprawling on the ground with a well-aimed blow. He shouted something at Lee in French before climbing into the driver's seat. Amanda fumbled open the door and quickly scrambled out before he made off with her as well as the car. By the time she rushed over to see if Lee was okay, the second man had jumped in the car, and they were gone.

Then it started to rain. Hard. Without the maps that were in the glove compartment, and with no visible lights, they had no idea how close they were to shelter. The trees by the side of the river were poor protection from the downpour, and there were no buildings in sight, but a dark shape in the middle of the adjacent field looked promising. They ran across the uneven ground and burrowed into the haystack. The rain made it a damp and chilly night, which gave them a good excuse to curl up next to each other. Amanda couldn't help wondering as she dozed off whether her mother would be more astonished at how many times she had spent the night with this man, or at the situations in which they had spent those nights.

Now as she reluctantly untangled herself from Lee and stiffly crawled out into the open air, she realized that even with the moldy smell, a haystack beat the cardboard box where they had slept while on the run from the Agency. Particularly the view upon waking. "Wow," she whispered, eyes wide. Golden fields stretched off into the distance, dotted with round haystacks, the early morning sunlight casting a diffuse glow over the scene. The poplars along the river a hundred yards away were waving in a gentle breeze, and she thought she'd never seen anything so lovely as their dark silhouettes against the rising sun.

That is, until she turned around and saw Lee, rising to his feet behind her. Even with pieces of hay stuck in his hair, his clothing rumpled, and yawning fit to crack his jaw, he was a gorgeous man. She felt a warm smile creep over her face as she thought of how he insisted on curling up behind her so that he was closer to the outside of their pile of hay in case the rain seeped in. She realized she liked all the little ways Lee tried to protect her, now more than ever since she knew the real reason why. 'He loves me,' she thought as he approached her while stifling another yawn. "Good morning, sweetheart," she said a little shyly.

Lee smiled in response and reached out to enfold her in his arms. "Good morning," he murmured, bending down to give her a kiss. "I'd ask how you slept, but I suppose the answer's pretty obvious," he grumbled as he reached up to rub his neck.

"Oh, not too bad." She reached up and ruffled his hair, plucking hay out as she did so. "The haystack was actually pretty soft, though it was a little scratchy. It's not a hotel bed, but." She shrugged. At least they hadn't been tied up, handcuffed, or strait-jacketed this time around.

Lee shook his head, taking her hands in his. "Amanda, I'm really sorry. We were supposed to be sitting outside some little café on the Boulevard des Capucines this morning, drinking coffee and eating fresh croissants, not," he jerked his head towards the place they had slept, "out in a field somewhere. I guess that's what we get for having such an accurate cover. Those guys last night thought we really were reporters, and they were warning us off the 'story.' I should have figured that it was a setup; there was no reason to go an hour out of the city for a simple meet."

"It seemed like a perfectly reasonable meeting place to me," she replied, squeezing his hands. "Okay, so maybe it was a little far out of the city, and a bit late at night, but we had no reason to think there was anything suspicious going on, and I think we were following all of the correct procedures, and--" She suddenly found it difficult to talk when someone else's mouth was pressed against hers.

That kiss was a little more passionate than the first, and Amanda found herself wondering if they could just burrow back into their haystack and spend the morning there. As they broke off their kiss, she added, "Besides, I don't think we would have been quite so close last night if we'd been in our respective hotel rooms."

Lee smiled wickedly. "Hey, if being stranded or on the run is what it takes -- " He broke off as she whacked his upper arm.

She gave him another reproachful look and turned around, pleased when he curled his arms around her waist. "Isn't it beautiful?" She gestured at the sun rising over the river. "It's just like a painting. Mother and I went to this exhibit of Impressionist art at the Smithsonian last year, and I swear I saw a piece that looked just like this."

"Very beautiful," he replied.

When she turned her head, she saw he was intently looking at her. "Aww," she said softly. She tilted her head back to kiss him, laying her hands over his to keep his arms tightly clasped around her.

"I love you," she whispered when their lips parted, keeping her eyes closed for a moment. They hadn't said those words to each other since they were standing in her bedroom, about to escape down the trellis. When she opened her eyes and saw the look on his face, she knew the words weren't really necessary.

He answered anyway. "I love you too," he whispered, brushing his lips across her cheek. She nestled her head back against his, and they stood and watched the sun rise pink and gold over the mingled green and blue of the trees and the river.