Take Two: Knight in Shining Armor

A/N: There will be some parts of this particular chapter that may be similar to my "To Be Held" story line. I wanted to tie that part into this AU. In this installment of Take Two, I'm picking up right where the last chapter ended. Lee is becoming more open to the packaged deal called Amanda's family. Here I wanted to showcase that sometimes Amanda needs a little as well. Hopefully I was able to convey that here. It does mention events within "Sudden Death" toward the end.

Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of it, except the little story plot that is posted here. Enjoy!

It was the day after Jamie's birthday party, and Lee was pulling up once again to the home on Maplewood Drive. He had promised to take Phillip out for a little basketball playing while the weather was good, to follow up with a board game with Jamie once they returned.

However, the plans he had made seemed to vanish the moment he was let into the home to a frazzled looking Amanda. "Amanda, what's wrong?" Lee asked as he shut the door behind him.

"It's Jamie," she explained breathlessly, shrugging her coat on." I thought it was just the combination of the cold he had last week along with the chicken pox yesterday that made him really tired, but now I'm really concerned." She paused, putting a hand on her forehead. "His temperature has spiked, and he is beginning to wheeze. I've only hear that from him a few times when he was little, but it really has me worried." She dropped her hand. "I think I need to take him to the emergency room."

Lee took her hands in his to give her his support. "What can I do to help? Remember, you told me earlier this week we're partners, package deal." He gave her a supportive smile. "Now, what can I do to help?"

Amanda sighed, closed her eyes, and her shoulders seemed to slump as if the weight had been lifted. "Could you drive me and Jamie to Arlington Memorial? Mother can stay here with Phillip, and that way he doesn't get bored in the waiting room, and I can focus on Jamie…."

"Amanda, yes, I can. Where is he? I can carry him out to the car for you," Lee asked as he looked toward the stairs then to the den.

"He's still in his bed, this way," Amanda explained as she led the way up the stairs. Turning to the left at the top of the stairs and across the hall from her room a door stood open with Phillip standing there looking at his brother in concern.

Phillip looked up at his mother. "Jamie is going to be okay, isn't he?" Amanda draped her arm over his young shoulders and gave him a quick hug. "Of course he is! Lee is helping me take him to be checked out. We'll be home before you know it."

Meanwhile, Lee went over to the young boy's bed and sat on the edge. Taking a hand and running it over Jamie's head, he gently spoke his name. "Jamie, it's Lee. I'm going to pick you up, and we're going to see a doctor to make you feel better, okay?"

Jamie blearily looked up Lee, and nodded. Seeing that Jamie understood, Lee scooped the boy up from his bed, and wrapped one of the blankets around his shivering body. Turning to Amanda, "I think we need to take your car. It'll be bigger to get all 3 of us in it rather than mine." Shifting the boy a bit higher, he also asked, "Do you need me to drive or do you think you can?"

"I can drive," she reassured him, turning to her room to grab her purse. Leading once again down the stairs, the group met Dotty at the bottom landing. "Mother, Lee is helping me take Jamie to Arlington Memorial. I have no idea how long we'll be there, but could you stay with Philip?"

Dotty reached out and hugged her daughter. "Of course!" She reached over and took Jamie's limp hand. "I'll see you soon, young man." She smiled, then let go.

Amanda opened the front door and the led the way to the car.

By the time they made it to the emergency room, Lee became alarmed when he realized that Jamie's little wheezing became more of struggles to breath. As soon as Amanda pulled up to the entrance, Lee jumped out of the car and ran in, hollering for help. He was swarmed and felt Jamie leave his arms. He tried to follow, only to be stopped at the entrance of the room.

Lee felt so lost in that moment. He knew Amanda would there as soon as she was able to park the car, but he wasn't sure what his next step needed to be. A kind nurse stepped up, and put her hand on his arm. "Sir, the doctors are taking good care of your son. Please, come on over and we can get the paperwork started."

Lee blindly followed her, still looking back to see if he could be some chance catch a sight of Jamie or the doctor. Before he knew it, he was at the counter and a clipboard in his hands. "Just fill this out, and bring it back to me to complete his admission. You can have a seat over there while you are filling that out and waiting on the doctor." Lee looked over at the banks of chairs in the waiting area, but felt it would be best if he stood by the doors while he waited for Amanda. He didn't have to wait long.

"Where is Jamie?" she queried after seeing Lee along but no sign of her son.

Lee gestured to the chairs. "Let's sit down first," he suggested. They walked over and sat down. Lee handed her the clipboard. "When we pulled up, I realized that his breathing had changed. It was no longer just a mild wheezing, it sounded like he was really struggling to breath." Amanda gasped and her hand went to cover her mouth. Lee gently pulled it down. "I think we got here just when it started to get that bad. I believe we got here just in time. He is in good hands right now, or so I have been told."

Amanda closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself. She couldn't lose control; not right now. That would be later tonight behind a closed bedroom door. She reopened them to see a concerned Lee. "Thank you." She leaned forward, Lee wrapping her in his arms to give her all the reassurance he could.

It seemed like hours, but the doctor finally came out looking for the family of James King. Amanda stood up and pulled Lee with her. "We're here. How's Jamie?"

The doctor pulled them over to a small conference area. "You did the right thing bringing him in when you did. The forms you filled out said you suspected a bad cold last week with a combination of exposure to chicken pox, correct?" After getting nods from both Lee and Amanda, the doctor continued. "It appears that mild cold has morphed into bronchitis. But what is concerning is that he ended up having so much trouble breathing." He had a folder under the clipboard, and flipped it open. "I took the liberty of pulling his file and then called his pediatrician. Now, when he was younger, your doctor suggested the possibility of asthma at the time. Do you remember the conversation?"

"Sort of," Amanda responded. "It was so long ago, and he's been so active, that I didn't really think any more about it. Just thought it was a phase in his life he outgrew."

"Which is true in some cases," the doctor confirmed. "However, in Jamie's case it seems to have resurfaced." He took a moment to review the file, and make a quick notation. "I'm recommending that we keep him overnight, that way we can monitor his breathing, run some tests, the usual. Then, if everything is okay by morning, we should be able to let him go home. However, he will need to remain at home for the next week from school and all activities so that he can get over the bronchitis and chicken pox." He looked at both Lee and Amanda. "Are there any questions?"

Amanda looked so shell shocked, Lee reached over and held her hands. "Will he need any after care once he is discharged?" Lee questioned.

"That will mostly depend on what we find with the tests, but he will need to be prescribed an inhaler." The doctor made another notation. "I can go ahead and make sure the script is filled for you when you are ready to go home tomorrow." He closed the file and made to stand. "If there aren't any other questions, let me take you to Jamie."

Following the doctor into the room, they were just in time to hear him state, "Jamie, your parents are here." And stepped forward to allow them to enter. Lee paused not sure how to respond, but moved forward once again when Amanda reached back and pulled his hand to her.

After the doctor wished Jamie well and let them know they would move him to his room shortly, Lee looked at both Amanda and Jamie. "Guys, I'm sorry, I have no idea why they thought…."

Laughing more out of relief, Amanda slipped her arm around Lee's waist. "Lee, it's okay."

"Yeah, Lee. It's okay," rasped Jamie. Looking over at Jamie, they saw that he had a breathing mask with some mist coming through. The nurse assisting Jamie explained. "It's a breathing treatment. We're using a nebulizer to get the medication into to him. As the doctor may have told you, once may be sent home with him to be given based on the doctor's instructions."

At that moment the machine beeped. "And the treatment is over, Jamie. You are free of the mask!" she teased as she lifted the unit from Jamie's face, and then jotted some notes on the chart in his room. "Okay, that's all for now. My name is Ashley, and I'll actually be working the floor Jamie will be transferred to in the Children's Ward, so I'll see you all soon." With a jaunty waive the nurse was out the door, leaving the family to reassure each other that all was well.

After Jamie had been move to his room for the rest of his stay, Lee excused himself to return to Amanda's home to bring Dotty and Phillip by to visit with Jamie during visiting hours, then took them home after he swung by Marvelous Marvin's for quick take out for them. After reassuring Dotty he was fine, he returned to the hospital to find Jamie asleep and Amanda sitting by her son's bed, tears running down her face.

Pulling her from her chair, Lee took her down the hall to a private family waiting area to talk. Pulling her into his arms, he let her cry for a few moments, lips pressed into her hair. "Amanda, he's going to be fine. You heard the doctor. Yes, there'll be some changes, but none that will really stop him from his normal activities." He paused, and kissed her head. "Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be." Amanda sniffed a few more times, then sat up straighter in his arms so she look at him better. "Not quite what I meant when we were a packaged deal – to have to sit in waiting rooms and dealing with a sick child." She swiped at her face to remove the traces of tears. "And I know that tears scare you. I'm sorry."

Lee shook his head. "Don't be sorry, and maybe not what I had signed up for, but I am glad you felt you could trust me to help. And I was happy to help." He reached down for a forgotten overnight case he had brought up for her. "Your mother packed a few things for you knowing you'll be here the rest of the night." He paused, and decided to just launch into what he and Dotty discussed. "Since we need to leave the station wagon here for you to use, I offered to help her get Philip to school tomorrow. I hope you don't mind?"

"Mind?" Amanda laughed. "You'll make Philip's year that he will get to say he rode in a Porsche to school!" She leaned forward to give him a tender kiss. "Thank you, for everything you did today." She looked down at her hands. "I know you know that I have been divorced for just over a year, but what you may not know is that I have been having to rely on myself to be both mother and father since Joe left us when Jamie was just a baby. I'm not used to having the extra help."

Lee couldn't quite help the surge of disbelief, but then realize that this woman before him was not only the bravest person he had the privilege to meet, she was also the strongest. He reached over and squeezed her hands. "You are not alone anymore. It's like you've told me – it's okay to lean on others for help."

The next day, after Lee dropped Philip off at school, he checked in with Amanda to make sure she and Jamie didn't need anything before he headed on in to the Agency. Once there, he let Billy know that Amanda would be out that day with a sick child, but should be back the next day. When he inquired about Jamie, then found out about the hospital stay, Billy was shocked.

"How is Amanda? Is she doing okay having to have dealt with a sick child in the emergency room?" he asked. Having a family of his own, he had spent his own time waiting in emergency rooms waiting to hear how his own daughter was doing after a nasty tumble on the playground years ago. He really liked Amanda, and thought she and Scarecrow made a great team. If she needed to take time off to deal with a sick child, he would need to make other arrangements for the next assignment he was about to give Scarecrow.

Lee reassured him that both Jamie and Amanda were fine. "Good!" Billy smiled. I have an assignment for the both of you with the Washington Pioneers….."

Amanda stood on the sidelines, adjusted the aperture and focused her lens on some of the players, specifically those that Lee had casually mentioned to her in passing. She knew that she really needed to find Bela Pravik, and once she was able to find him and then gather any messages from Lee to take back with her, she would be free to go check in on her family.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not see the player walk up beside her. "Hello."

"Oh! Hello!" She smiled. "I'm looking for a player named Pravik."

The player smiled. "Bela," he responded pointing to himself, then shuffled his feet. "I kick the ball."

Amanda smile again. Bingo. "Oh, yes, yes, Bela."

"You've heard of me?" he asked excitedly.

"Oh, yes, I've Yes, of course." Like three hours ago.

Bela shuffled his fee some more. "Uh, do you like, uh, the bowling? I beg your pardon? Um, the the bowling. Uh, knock down pins? Perhaps we can have date. First, uh, pizza and then the bowling. No? Uh, no. Are, are you girlfriend of a player? In such case, I withdraw my request."

Amanda smiled even more. Poor guy, she thought. He has no idea….. "Well, that is sweet of you Bela, but yes, I am already in a relationship. But your idea of a date sounds like fun!"

Little did Bela know that Sandy Newcombe, aka Lee Stetson, was her knight in shining armor.

TBC...