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TIME: Approximately 2 weeks after the end of Season 4.

Dotty came down the stairs to find out what all the noise was coming from the kitchen. There she saw Amanda on all 4's, halfway in the cabinet under the microwave.

"Amanda? What are you DOING? It's 9:00 at night. What is all the racket?"

Amanda backed out of the cabinet and looked over her shoulder at her mother. "I am just cleaning out this cabinet. Lot's of junk in it and I need to get rid of it." Amanda said as she threw some old Tupperware into the black garbage bag at her side.

"At 9:00 at night? On a Thursday?" Dotty questioned her daughter. "Most people are in bed by now."

Amanda stood up and brushed the dirt off the knees of her jeans and then shut the cabinet door with a slight slam.

"I didn't realize it was that late," she said as she pulled off a long roll paper towels from the under the cabinet. "I'll be done soon."

Amanda began spraying the countertops with cleaner and began to scrub away with the paper towels. Dotty stood back and watched Amanda attacking the invisible dirt on the countertop. Amanda had already scrubbed every inch of counter space about 2 hours ago, now she was going back for a second round of cleaning.

Dotty walked over to Amanda and put her hand on her shoulder. Amanda stiffened slightly at her mother's touch and stopped scrubbing for a moment.

"Amanda, dear….do you want to talk about it?"

Amanda turned around and looked at the paper towels in her hand.

"Talk about what, Mother?"

Dotty dropped her hands to her side and let out a small sigh.

"About what is bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," Amanda said, still not making eye contact with Dotty.

"Amanda, darling" Dotty said as she placed a finger under Amanda's chin and raised her head, so they were eye to eye. "I'm your mother. I've known you your whole life and I know when there is something wrong. You tend to go into a cleaning fit when you are really upset with something, and if you clean those countertops anymore, you're going to wear them away to nothing."

Amanda bit her bottom lip for a second and just let out an exasperated "hhmmpppfff".

"Did you and Lee have a fight?"

Amanda looked at her mother and straightened up her posture a little.

"No, we didn't have a fight…" Amanda paused. "It was more of a…..well I wouldn't call it a fight exactly…a disagreement maybe….OK, YES! We had a fight."

Dotty's shoulders relaxed a bit as she quietly said "ah!"

Amanda turned back to the countertop and began scrubbing.

"He can just be so…STUBBORN! And ridiculous, too! I wanted to talk things out….but no! He had to have the final say!"

"Amanda…" Dotty said as Amanda continued to scrub. "Amanda?" Still no reply. "AMANDA! Stop for a second!"

Amanda stopped and walked over to the garbage can throwing out the now shredded paper towels.

"What did you fight about?"

Amanda thought back to earlier in the day while they were in the Q-Bureau discussing her new assignment.

"Amanda! You are NOT taking that assignment!" Lee bellowed.

"What? Of Course, I am! Mr. Melrose assigned it to me personally!"

"No, you're not! You're not ready for something like that."

Amanda looked at Lee, mouth agape.

"Oh yes I am! Why would you say that to me?"

Lee squirmed uncomfortably, took a deep breath, and replied.

"You're just not. It's too dangerous for you to be out there alone without back-up."

"I'll have back-up. You and a team will be nearby."

"Nearby is not good enough. You need someone with you."

"Lee, I've done this type of thing before. I don't understand why this time it is such a big deal!"

After a long moment of pacing around the room and running his hand through his hair, Lee began to speak.

"Mark Pierce is a slimy, slippery, double crossing, dangerous….no, NO Amanda! You can't do it!"

Amanda's eyes widened.

"Lee, I've already made contact with him. He already thinks I am Jessica Hagen, stealing launch codes for him. The buy is set for tomorrow."

Lee got visibly angry at that comment.

"And you don't think I can take care of myself with this exchange?" She asked, and Lee didn't answer.

"Thank you for having such confidence in my abilities, Lee" she said flatly with a sarcastic tone. "I'm taking the assignment."

Lee sharply inhaled and ground his teeth together.

"Amanda, I'm putting my foot down. I won't let you take this one."

"You won't LET ME?" she said with a volume very close to yelling. "You won't let me?" She asked again. "What right do you have to tell me what assignments I can and can't take?"

Lee and Amanda were standing very close to each other, both in a defensive posture.

"What right? Come on, Amanda! I'm your HUSBAND, damn it! I think that gives me the right!"

"OOoooooo!" Amanda said in a very loud, very annoyed guttural tone. "I cannot believe you just said that! When have I EVER used that excuse with you when you have been asked to go do something dangerous or unsavory….NEVER, that's when." Amanda's voice got even louder. "And don't you think that…."

Just then a loud knock came on the Q-Bureau door followed by Billy entering.

"What's all the shouting about?' Billy asked with alarm.

Amanda and Lee looked at each other wondering how much of what they had just said was overheard in the hallway.

"Just a…little disagreement" Lee said pointedly.

"Sounded like more than a little disagreement." Billy replied.

"Oh, no." Amanda said, "Just…..a little conversation that got a little heated. Everything is fine."

Billy looked at them both. They calmly smiled back at him.

"OK, well then, good" he said skeptically. "Lee, I need to see you downstairs right now. Dr. Smyth wants to go over the plans for Project Centaur."

Lee sighed heavily. "Oh, come on, Billy. That project is weeks away! Can't it wait? We were about to leave for the day. It's already 6:30."

"Afraid not. Timetable just got moved up. Needs to be now."

Lee looked at Amanda. He wanted to finish this conversation but knew they couldn't right now. Her eyes reflected the same frustrations as his own.

"OK, fine. Let's go. The sooner we start, the sooner I can go home." Lee said as he and Billy walked out the door.

Dotty waved her hand in front of Amanda's face.

"Amanda?! Are you still there?"

Amanda jolted back to reality.

"What did you fight about?" Dotty asked again.

"Just….work stuff. We had differing ideas on how a case…I mean project should be handled."

Amanda grabbed the broom and started sweeping the floor. Dotty grabbed the broom and stopped her mid sweep.

"Amanda, stop. The kitchen is clean enough. Clearly you are very upset. Why don't you call Lee?"

Amanda scoffed at that idea.

"Call him? No way, I'm not calling him! He should be the one calling me!"

Amanda had thought about calling him about 200 times tonight. She wanted to talk to him and was more than a bit hurt that he hadn't called her.

"I tell you what…. Why don't you go take a nice hot shower, get into bed with a good book and I will bring you up a cup of chamomile tea. Helps calm the nerves." Dotty said as she took the broom away from Amanda and propped it back against the wall.

"Maybe you're right, Mother. I think a nice hot shower will do me some good."

Dotty put some water in the kettle and put it on the stove burner as Amanda walked away and up the stairs.