Chapter 2

After several minutes of a heated discussion with the young lady, Lee and Natalia both settled on a standby list for a flight aboard Belavia Airlines. It was scheduledto leave at midnight, heading to Stockholm. The in-air time would be approximately six hours, which meant he would still be stuck at the airport for at least six more hours. That was even if they reopened up the airport, the air space and if he could snag a seat on the flight. Nothing, of course, was a guarantee, but at least it was something.

Natalia was also able to set him up for the possible next two legs of the trip and assured him his checked luggage would follow. The next flight was leaving from Stockholm, and if it took off on time, it would get him into Prague about two hours later. From there, the last flight she was able to get him on would be on TAP Air Portugal landing in Lisbon, which would hopefully get him there around noon Lisbon time on Dec. 23rd. When he landed there, he would have to make further arrangements.

Lee gave her the best smile he could under the circumstances. "Thank you, Natalia."

She still couldn't keep her longing brown eyes off him. She winked as she gave him a flirtatious smile and placed her fingers on top of his right hand. "Anytime, handsome. You know, I get off-duty in about twenty minutes if you want some company while you're waiting to board. I'm sure we can find something to do to pass the time away."

Lee immediately pulled his hand away from her, as if he'd just been touched by red hot coals. "Listen, Natalia, you seem like a nice girl but don't you think I'm a bit old for you."

Natalia grinned as she spoke to him in the sultriest voice she could muster and crooned out, "Oh no, I love more mature men. They just turn me on. What do ya say, you up for some fun?"

Lee felt completely uncomfortable, took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He stood there thinking, this girl definitely doesn't understand subtlety. It finally dawned on him how to stop her attempted seduction and quick.

"Listen, young lady. I'm definitely not interested. But I absolutely appreciate your help, as will my wife."

Her smile fell instantly, as the sparkle left her eyes just as quickly and she stuttered out, "I, I… you're married?"

His face lit up as he raised his left hand to expose his ring finger. She sullenly stared at it as Lee responded, "Happily, for almost a year now. Which is why I'm in such a hurry to get home to her and the rest of our family. Thanks again. Enjoy your evening."

All Natalia could do was woodenly shake her head. Lee gave her a devilish grin, picked up his stuff and sauntered away from the counter. He searched the terminal, spotted a bank of phone booths and made a bee-line straight for them.

As he made his way over to them, his mind was whirling ninety miles an hour. Whew, I'm glad that's over. Was that how I was when I was younger? I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that stuff anymore. Boy, I totally need you, Amanda!

While he thought about calling her, he felt himself start to get jittery and shook his head. He suddenly realized he wasn't looking forward to their conversation. He knew how upset and disappointed she was going to be because he felt the exact same way. He knew at this rate; it was going to take him much longer to get home than he originally anticipated.

When he made it over to the phones, he plopped his bags beside him and sat down. He decided his first call would to Billy to give him a piece of his mind. He was also going to inform him the Agency would be picking up all the added expenses for this trip.

Fifteen minutes later, he slammed the phone receiver down and ran his fingers through his hair after laying into Billy. Billy assured him the Agency would incur all the needed extra expenses because, after all, it was the job's fault. Billy then apologized profusely as he'd been the one who gave him the orders, to begin with. He promised Lee he would find a way to make it up to him. Lee, in no uncertain terms, informed him if he missed Christmas with his family, he would never forgive him and promptly hung up in his ear with a bang.

Lee sat there for a few minutes as he tried to collect himself before he made his next phone call to his wife. His heart was breaking as he knew Amanda's would be too, very shortly. He calmed himself down and took several deep breaths as he dialed his home phone number. Lee closed his eyes as he heard the ringing on the other end. His eyes popped open the minute he heard someone pick up.

"Hello, Merry Christmas!"

He weakly smiled as he heard a familiar voice. "Hi, Mom, it's Lee."

He could almost hear Dotty grin on the other side. "Ohh, Lee! It's so good to hear from you, darling. Are you on your way home? Where are you? Is everything all right? You sound tired. We can't wait to see you. We miss you."

Lee chuckled at her rambling. God, how I miss home. "Slow down, slow down. Everything is okay. I'm just a little tired. I'm at the airport in Moscow but hope to be home soon. I really miss all of you as well. Where is everyone?"

"You better take good care of yourself, young man! We have a lot of exciting things to do during the next couple of weeks. No one wants you sick, you hear me?"

Lee shook his head because he felt even more homesick than he was just a few minutes ago. "I promise, Mom, I'm fine. Like I said, just a little tired. Not to mention somewhat homesick. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about all our plans. I'm honestly looking forward to all of it. Is everybody over there all right? Are you getting along with your sister?"

Dotty scoffed, "Of course, everything is fine with Lillian. We haven't gotten on each other's nerves just yet." Lee snickered. "We are all fine here. We just miss you and can't wait for you to get home. The boys are in school, and Amanda just came downstairs. She's getting ready to leave for work. Mr. Melrose asked her to change her hours a bit today."

He could hear his wife's voice in the background. "Is that, Lee? Where is he?"

Dotty replied, "He's fine, sweetie! I think he's calling from the airport. He says he is in Moscow still."

Lee tiredly spoke up, "Can I please speak to Amanda?"

"Of course, dear. Safe travels, I love you!"

"I love you too, Mom!" He could hear some rustling noises through the phone. Then he heard the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Hi, Sweetheart! Everything okay? Shouldn't you be on the plane already?"

Lee hung his head down, unable to reply with anything but silence before he started to become a bit emotional.

"Sweetheart, are you there?" Lee was still trying to compose himself. "Lee…" Sniffle. "Lee, what's going on? Talk to me, please?" Amanda was becoming extremely worried about her husband. He was never this quiet for quite so long. She knew he was still there because she could hear him breathing and then another sniffle. Something was definitely wrong.

"Lee, what's wrong? I know something's got you upset. Please, tell me what's going on."

Lee swallowed hard and squeaked out, "Manda…I'm so sorry."

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief when he finally spoke, "What are you sorry about? Are you hurt? Did something happen? You're scaring me here."

"I love you, honey! I really do miss you."

"I love you too, Lee! Now, what's going on?"

He repositioned himself so that he was sitting up straighter, wiped the corner of his eye and took a deep breath. "Everything is all screwed up. I just got off the phone with Billy after letting him have it. I'm so angry and need to admit I'm actually homesick. I'm sorry. But I don't know if I'm going to make it home for Christmas, Amanda."

All he heard was silence and then a deep sigh of disappointment, "Oh my gosh! Let me guess you got snowed in?"

"Pretty much. Most of the airports are shut down here and across much of Europe. No one is sure if they will be opening up anytime soon. I was at the airport bar when they made the announcement about an hour ago. I'm so sorry I screwed up our holiday. I counted on being home for our first Christmas as a family. This is killing me."

Amanda was trying to hold back the tears because she knew he was hurting. She was determined to remain strong and comforting for his sake. "I know, Sweetheart! Everything's going to be fine, you'll see. After all, this is the season for miracles, right?"

Lee was feeling completely defeated. "Amanda, you know I don't believe in that stuff. It just isn't fair. I feel like everything always holds us back. Usually, we're stuck together in a nest of killers for Christmas. Except, we're on opposite ends of the earth this time. I want to be there with you so much. I want to listen to the boys argue, I want to try to play referee between your mother and Aunt Lillian, I want to help finish all the wrapping, and most of all, I want you in my arms. And now, I'm stuck here in this stupid airport, in this stupid storm and completely miserable."

Amanda decided it was time for some tough love. "Lee Stetson, I don't want to hear any more of this defeatist attitude from you. You got that, buster! We've been in worse situations than this before, somehow things always work out. Now, there must be something you can do instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Have you tried to make any other arrangements? Have they said how long you will be socked in? It's still only the twenty-second. There must be something that can be done."

Lee opened his mouth, "Amanda, what do you thi—"

Amanda snapped, "Don't make me come over there and kick your sorry butt home."

Lee couldn't help but chuckle as he heard his wife giving him orders and threatening him. "I'll take the part of you coming over here, but not so much the butt-kicking thing. And you are absolutely right. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself."

Amanda smiled and felt his fighting spirit coming back. "There's the man I fell in love with. Now, let's try and figure this out."

Lee nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. Over the next few minutes, he explained his secondary plans to her, which entailed putting himself on the standby list in Moscow and the two other possible flights he'd managed to arrange. It was all dependent on the weather. He also explained how he might have to make new arrangements almost every time he landed.

"I love you and miss you, my beautiful wife. Thanks for not giving up on me. I will call each time I land. Hug everybody for me, tell them I love them and will see them soon."

Amanda smiled and cheerily replied, "I love you too, Sweetheart. Safe travels. Try and get some rest and make sure you eat something. We will talk soon. Everyone misses you. And most importantly, remember, you just have to believe…"

"I promise I will try! Bye, honey."