Chapter 2: A Near Miss

A/N: Thank you all for reading or reviewing my story. It does help to motivate me to continue. As mentioned in Chapter One, I will only be doing some of the episodes, so we'll be skipping a few after this one. This story picks up in the ambulance scene from James Delano's home in "Service Above and Beyond."

I also realized I forgot to put the standard disclaimer in Chapter One: I don't own the characters or any part of the story that are recognizable from the show, but I do own this plot. Thanks again for reading!

It was too close this time. He had told her that he didn't want her to have too many field experiences, and this one almost cost her life. He planned to make it up to her. "I, uh . . . I guess this one got a little rough. I'm sorry." Lee softly brushed her hair back from her forehead, sighing. "You just might make a … decent agent someday."

"Thank you," she whispered back.

He blinked. "You're awake?" he asked, both excited and nervous at the timing of his confession and her response. Amanda smiled up at him.

"Oh, Porter, please wake me when we get to Portofino?" She closed her eyes, this time into a deep sleep.

Lee chuckled, then shook his head. Only you, Amanda. At that moment the ambulance EMT looked at the agent once more, announcing that they were backing into the ambulance bay at the hospital. Lee nodded once, never once relinquishing his hold on his partner's, his friend's, hand.

After pacing the floor of the waiting room, Lee was ready to head back to the treatment room when he saw one of the NEST doctors heading toward him. "Doc, how's she doing?"

"She's doing really well, Agent Stetson. All she really needs now is rest." The doctor looked down at the chart as if to refresh his memory of his patient. "The drugs have been counteracted, and along with a few days of rest, she'll be good as new. I recommend only light activities for a day or so, but otherwise she can resume all normal activities."

"So, she's cleared to go home?" he asked. He really did not want to have to make that phone call to explain to Amanda's mother what had happened.

The doctor nodded, and then closed the file. "Yes, she can. She cannot drive herself, but she is able to go home as long as someone is there to be with her."

Lee looked toward the room that Amanda was housed. "Would it be okay for me to step in and see her?"

"Certainly. She will need that ride home, so if that is you, that should be more than okay." The doctor tilted his head toward the nurse's station. "I'll go ahead and prepare the discharge paperwork so you can both go ahead and take off." The doctor walked off in the direction he had indicated, while Lee stood staring at the door that would take him to Amanda. Swallowing in nervousness, he stepped forward and pushed open the door.

Amanda was laying on the bed, looking so small and still. Lee approached her bed and picked up her hand once again. "Amanda?" he called out softly.

Amanda tilted her head toward the sound of his voice. "Lee? You're here with me?"

"Yeah," he smiled, squeezing her hand. "I'm here." He brushed at her hair once again. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Amanda's eyes fluttered opened, then fixed on his hazel ones. "Hi," she breathed.

"Hi," he replied with a smile. "You about ready to break out of this place?"

"Am I ready? More than ready," she responded, attempting to sit up in the process.

Lee moved forward to help her. "Easy, easy does it….." as he gently helped her sit up.

Amanda leaned forward until her forehead was against Lee's shoulder. "Ugh…." She moaned. Lee grew concerned at this. He moved his left arm up until he had wrapped it around her shoulders. "You okay? Do I need to get the doctor?"

"No," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Just sat up too quickly." She leaned back a little to look at Lee. "I'm fine, really. Just ready to go home."

Lee rubbed his hand down her arm. "Good, I'm glad you're doing better." He paused, wondering how to make this work when he dropped her off. "Look, I was thinking of how to approach this, so hear me out and then we can modify if needed."

Amanda closed her eyes, and leaned forward once again into his shoulder. "Sure, go for it."

"I was thinking, I would take you to the front door, and let your mother know that there was an accident on the production set this evening, that you were checked out but need a few days to rest. Do you think she will buy it?" he asked, gently rubbing his hand down her back.

She sighed. "I don't see that we have a choice. I'm not going to be able to walk into my own house on my own. I'll need help, help that Mother will not be able to give me." Amanda leaned back once again, looking Lee in the eye. "We'll just have to hope she'll go for it."

Lee pulled up to the modest house in the neighborhood, then glanced over at his passenger seat. Amanda had drifted off to sleep once more. He pulled the brake handle on the car, got out and then went around to the passenger door. Lee opened the door to the Porsche, then glanced up at the dark house behind him. It was after 1am in the morning after all. He hoped the only person he woke up was her mother….

"Amanda?" he asked, shacking her shoulder. "We're at your home. Come on, time to wake up…."

Amanda lifted her eyes once, then briefly closed them once more before opening them a bit more. "Okay, I'm awake." She sighed. "Let's do this."

Lee extended his hand to help her out of his car, then wrapped his right arm around her back to keep her steady. He carefully closed the door to his car, then helped her make her way up to the front door. Once he had her steady up against him, he pulled her keys out of his pocket and preceded to open the door. He was not sure who was more surprised when the door opened on its own: Amanda's mother or him. Both recovered rather quickly and quickly moved to the topic that was leaning against him.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Dotty West exclaimed in a lowered voice. "Is she okay?"

"Mrs. West, if you don't mind, let me help get Amanda in and I'll explain what happened," Lee responded as he shifted Amanda's almost dead weight.

Dotty blinked, then opened the door wider. "Of course, of course, come in, please…" Lee started to step over the threshold, only to discover that Amanda was out once again. He quickly bent down and scooped her into his arms before walking on in. "Where should I lay her down at?"

Dotty turned and looked up the stairs. "Top of the stairs, first door on the right." Lee made his way up the stairs carrying Amanda, Dotty close behind. Once he got to the top of the stairs, Dotty stepped around him to open the bedroom door and then turn down the covers. Lee gently laid her down, on the bed, then looked over as Dotty pulled Amanda's shoes off and then pull the covers up over her daughter. Once she was satisfied she was tucked in for the night, Dotty gestured back to the stairs, and Lee headed back down to the kitchen area to explain to her what had happened to her daughter overnight.

"Okay, now that we have her settled, I guess introductions are in order. I'm Lee Stetson, I work at IFF with Amanda." Lee stuck his hand out to Dotty.

Dotty looked him over with a measured eye, trying to determine if she should trust him. In the end, she decided she should. She reached forward and clasped his hand. "I'm Dotty West. Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Stetson?" she asked as she waived her hand toward the fridge.

Lee declined. "I would love to, but it is getting rather late. Mrs. West, there was an incident at the set location this evening. Amanda was doing a stand in for one of our shots when there was lighting malfunction and one of the lights collapsed near her." Dotty gasped, so Lee stepped forward and reassured her. "She's okay, just a little woozy from some of the medications she received from the medics on site and then again at the hospital. They said she should be able to resume normal activities after a day of rest, but to take it easy for a few more days after that." Lee closed the difference between him and Dotty. "She's really going to be okay."

"Really?" she asked, relieved. "She's really going to be okay" Dotty turned hopeful eyes up at him.

Lee smiled, "Really." He patted Dotty's arm, then stepped back. He turned toward the front door to let himself out. "Mrs. West, I'm going to head out but I plan to call on her tomorrow to make sure she is doing okay." He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. "If something does come up, these are my numbers. IFF knows how to get in touch with me if needed."

Dotty took the card, then looked at Lee once more. "Mr. Stetson, thank you so much for bringing my little girl home." She paused, then asked boldly, "Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving?"