If You Just Believe…

Chapter 1

Sheremetyevo International Airport-Khimki, Russia

There it was, December 22, 1987, three days before Christmas, and Lee was stuck sitting in a bar at the airport waiting for them to announce his flight back home. He was sipping on his whiskey while his right leg anxiously bounced up and down. It'd been snowing all day and was coming down even heavier as the day dragged on. The winds whipped everything up, causing big snow drifts to form all around the tarmac area. He hoped it would all die down and soon. Otherwise, he was afraid his flight might be canceled.

Three weeks ago, he told Billy he wasn't thrilled about being sent half-way around the world just before Christmas. He'd begged Billy to send one of the younger and single agents to go in his place. Billy refused, telling him he needed someone more experienced to meet with the Prime Minister to deal with the sensitive negotiations they were trying to broker. Lee moaned and groaned for a long time before Billy put his foot down and finally ordered him to take the assignment. Billy assured him he would make it back in time to spend Christmas with Amanda and the family.

Both Amanda and Lee were furious, but in the end, they knew Billy hadn't left them with a choice. So, after they explained to Dotty and the boys what they could, Lee packed his bags and headed for the airport. He couldn't wait to get back home to his wife and family. This was going to be their first official Christmas as a family.

Lee kept glancing down at his watch as the time ticked by slowly. His flight was due to start boarding in less than an hour. However, he was extremely nervous. He was also watching out the window he was sitting next to. As he stared out the immense window, all he could see was the blizzard conditions that were happening all around the airport.

When Lee talked to Amanda earlier, he explained the weather situation to her, and to say the least, it went over like a lead balloon. Lee also gave Amanda his itinerary during their phone call. It was supposed to be his flight out of Russia was due to leave at six o'clock Moscow Standard Time on Lufthansa, land in Paris to refuel along with a bit of a layover. Then from Paris, he would carry on to Dulles in Washington DC. The total amount of flying would be approximately eighteen hours. The last part of his flight was due to land at around twelve noon on December the 23rd.

If everything went as planned, he would be home the day before Christmas Eve. They were both relieved because it would allow plenty of time for Lee's debriefing with Billy and time to catch up on his sleep. This way, Lee would have the day on Christmas Eve to help with the many last-minute things needed to be done before all the festivities began.

After Amanda opened his eyes to what Christmas was like with a family, he hoped this Christmas was going to be even better than last year's. He was actually excited for the first time ever, so he planned on enjoying this holiday season. He and Amanda were off the duty roster from December 24th through January 3rd, 1988, so they could enjoy a full family vacation with Dotty and the boys, seeing they were on their break as well.

Everyone was ecstatic because they'd all made plans to head to Disney World for seven glorious days before the family returned to work and headed back to school on January 4. They would be flying out of Virginia in the early evening hours the day after Christmas. Lee thought to himself, I can't believe it. My first Christmas as a married family man. Who would've thought I'm looking forward to it? I love my life.

As far as he was concerned, life couldn't get any better. He was anxious to get home. He pictured the house all lit up and decorated for the holiday. A sad little smile appeared on his handsome face. One of the things bothering him the most, was that he'd missed out on helping them with all the decorations. His assignment sent him out of the country before the tree was even up. Amanda and the boys described it all in great detail one night during one of his many phone calls home. They were all disappointed he couldn't be there to help, but he insisted everyone should continue to have fun and take plenty of pictures. He assured them he wouldn't miss next year's tree trimming.

He still couldn't believe he was really getting into the whole family holiday spirit. He looked forward to spending it with his new wife, Amanda, Philip, Jamie, Dotty and last but not least, Aunt Lillian.

There would be no Joe this year because he was still actively working for the EAO. After Joe married Carrie, the Prime Minister of Estoccia begged him to come back there and work for him. He told Joe he trusted him implicitly and wouldn't take no for an answer. He even promised a house for him and Carrie. After much debate and discussion, Joe and Carrie agreed. If Lee was being honest, he was a bit relieved he didn't have to worry about Joe this year, but he did feel bad for the boys. Anyway, enough about Joe, I can't wait to get back home to my family, he said silently to himself.

Lee shook his head, grinned, and glanced down at his watch again. He took the last little gulp of his drink and was going to order one more before he headed over to the gate to wait for his flight. He'd just gotten the attention of the bartender when suddenly, over the loudspeaker, he heard an announcement:

"Attention, please! Attention all passengers! Due to the severe weather we are experiencing here, and throughout most of Europe, all flights have been temporarily suspended until further notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience."

"Damn it!" Lee yelled out as he slammed his fist on the bar as the announcement repeated in different languages. He knew it! He just knew something was going to derail his attempts at getting back home. Right then, he just wanted to wring Billy's neck. Lee kept mumbling under his breath as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it up, grabbed a few dollars out of it, slammed the money down on the counter and slid his wallet back into his pocket.

The bartender just stared at him. Lee was beyond pissed. He picked up his things, and before he walked away, he called over, "Something tells me I'll be back." The bartender continued to eye a very angry Lee Stetson as he stomped off in the direction of the ticket counters.

After Lee made it over to the other side of the terminal, he slammed his belongings onto the floor and threw his arms down on the counter in front of him. The young woman across from him smiled, licked her lips as her eyes took in the sight of him, and chirped out with a thick accent, "Good evening, Sir. How may I help you?"

Lee decided to try and calm down a bit before speaking. He knew it wasn't her fault and didn't want to take his frustrations out on her. He felt her eyeing him like a piece of meat. However, he made the decision to use her obvious attraction to him to his advantage, hoping he could maybe sweet-talk her into getting what he wanted. Which was a quick way home to his family. He took several deep breaths, tried to smile and oozed out his most charming voice.

He glimpsed at her nametag before he spoke, "Hi there, Natalia. Can you please tell me the soonest I can get out of here? I will take any flight you have going anywhere east; I need to get home to Washington."

Natalia grinned at the handsome man and batted her eyelashes. "I'm sorry, Sir. I can't help you with that right now. As you heard, all flights have been canceled until further notice. Everything has been shut down over most of Europe because of this terrible winter weather. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She finished her last statement with a wink while she ran her tongue over her bottom lip.

Lee frowned, took a huge breath, and gritted his teeth while the muscles of his cheeks danced wildly. "Do you mean to tell me nothing is leaving here in the next few hours? I will take anything? Anything, at all. I will even pay double."

Natalia continued to hungrily gawk at him. "I'm sorry, Sir. I wish I could help."

Lee was at his wit's end. "Listen, young lady, I need to get home. How about standby? Would that work?"

She was still practically drooling all over herself as she tried to get Lee to notice her the way she wanted. "Hmm, give me a minute, Sir. I need to speak to my supervisor. I will be right back."

Lee gave her a small, weak smile as she bounced away. While he was waiting, he became even angrier and more annoyed. He then began to drum his fingers on the counter. A few minutes later, Natalia finally returned. He brought his attention back to her and plastered on his best fake smile.

"Sir, I spoke with my supervisor. The best I can do for you is to try and place you on the standby list for another airline and flight. However, I must warn you things may not open up for many hours. Is that okay?"

Lee huffed out his displeasure, "Well, I guess it will have to do. I really don't have much of a choice, do I? I know it's not your fault, but I really need to get home. Tell me what you've got."

Natalia smiled, nodded her head and focused her attention down on the computer screen. She entered the parameters of her search and waited. A couple of minutes went by, and she began typing furiously again. All the while, Lee started drumming his fingers again as he shifted back and forth on his feet while he waited. He really was trying to keep his cool and be patient. His cheek muscles were going a mile a minute.

Suddenly, Natalia looked up and announced, "I may have found something, Sir." Lee's ears perked up in anticipation.