Chapter 2

"Amanda!" Lee called out as he raced into the house.

"In here," came her muffled reply. Lee rushed into the family room to find her leaning to the side with a pillow underneath her large belly.

"Amanda!" Lee rushed forward to kneel beside her. "Show me where it is," he instructed without any pleasantries.

Amanda rubbed her hand alongside her ribcage and groaned, "I didn't want to bother you at work, Sweetheart, but I couldn't move. I couldn't get her to move. Mother isn't going to be home for hours. I didn't know what else to do."

Lee gave her a warm smile, "It's okay, Amanda. Really. Consider this a test for the real thing, okay?" He lifted her oversized maternity top and immediately located the small protruding bump on Amanda's side. "All right, little one, time to move," he stated before applying gentle pressure to the small mass. Initially, he felt resistance, as if the tiny bundle in Amanda's womb refused to budge. After several long seconds and several groans of discomfort from Amanda, Lee could feel the small protrusion shift and eventually disappear.

"Oh, that's so much better," Amanda sighed. "I don't know how much longer I can take this. Philip and Jamie never did anything like this."

Lee rubbed her soft skin for another minute as he stated, "That's because they didn't run out of room like these two are. Remember, the doctor at the hospital said this might happen a few more times before they're born." He helped Amanda sit up before he reclined on the couch beside her.

"I know what the doctor said, but I can't help feeling uncomfortable and nervous… and I guess a little bit scared, too," Amanda admitted.

Lee continued to run his hands across the soft, tight skin on her belly. Under his fingertips, he could feel hard forms and bumps, but he was unable to identify anything specific. "Amanda, there's nothing to be scared of. Isn't that what you've been telling me the last three months?" Lee reminded her.

Amanda covered his hand with hers and held it against her skin as one of the twins rolled. "I guess I'm just scared of making a mistake with them… I'm not as brave as I wanted you to believe I was," she admitted softly.

"Amanda, you are the bravest woman I know, and we're going to get through this. We only have a few more weeks, and then they're going to be here, and together, we're going to figure it out," Lee reminded her gently.

Amanda sighed, "I guess I forgot what it's like to have someone else help with a baby. Not that Joe didn't help… I mean, when Philip was born, he did… but then Jamie came along, and he got the job at the EAO, and he just wasn't around as much as I would have liked him to be. But I hope you'll be able to spend more time with the girls, especially in the beginning."

Lee gave her a dimpled smile and stated, "I already told Billy, I'm taking all my vacation time as soon as the girls are born. That should give us five weeks before I have to go back, and even then, he and I have already worked out a rotating schedule of two days on, two days off until the end of the year."

Amanda's eyes grew wide when Lee finished. "You planned all that? And you didn't tell me?"

"Billy and I just finalized it yesterday. I was going to tell you, but then you wanted to work on getting things arranged in the girls' room and then everything happened. I forgot," Lee admitted. He glanced at his watch and groaned. "I have to get back to the office. That meeting about Sorenson is supposed to start in an hour."

"Sorenson? I thought he was holed up in London?" Amanda questioned.

Lee nodded, "He was, but somehow he found his way across the pond. Intelligence spotted him in DC Monday. They're asking for our help to trap him."

Amanda poked his chest with one finger and stated, "Well, you better stay far away from any of that. Our luck, you'd be tangled up with the guy when I went into labor."

Lee rolled his eyes, "Amanda, do you really think I want to be anywhere near one of the best bomb-makers right now? No, I'm staying put. In the office. I have plenty of reports to catch up on, and I have to check in with all my contacts anyway."

"Good," Amanda nodded. "Do you think you can do one more thing before you go?"

With a chuckle, Lee stood and offered her both his hands. He helped guide her to a standing position and waited as she slowly waddled her way to the small bathroom in the hallway. When she reappeared in the doorway, he asked, "Where would you like to go? Do you want to sit back in the recliner? You can get your feet up. That will help with the swelling?"

Amanda lifted her chin and waited for Lee to lean closer before she brushed her lips across his. "The recliner will be fine. I might start reading that book I picked up on surviving the first few months with twins. I figure if we have an idea of what can happen, then we can hope for the best, right?"

"Right," Lee agreed before kissing her once more. He helped lower her onto the recliner and made sure she was completely comfortable before he left and headed back to the office. He managed to slip into the conference room just as Billy was giving his opening remarks. Billy acknowledged him with a raised eyebrow to which Lee simply nodded.

"All right people. As I was saying, Sorenson appeared in DC on Monday. You know what that means… If you're not working on a case, you are out on the streets searching for this guy. He's public enemy number one. His bombmaking skills have evolved like we've never seen before. The last bomb he made, he took out the equivalent of half a city block, killing nineteen civilians, three of them children. We have no idea why he's here, so we have to find him before he does any damage on US soil," Billy informed the group.

"What about any contacts he might have?" Francine asked.

"Good question, Desmond. As of now, any known contacts have been detained and questioned; however, no one claimed to have contact with him yet," Billy stated.

Lee raised his hand and asked, "What about family? I thought I had read Sorenson had a sister living nearby."

Billy nodded, "He did, but she was killed in a car accident just before Christmas last year. A wrong-way driver hit her head-on."

"Does he know? I mean, he's been out of the country, hiding, maybe he doesn't know what happened to her?" Lee suggested.

Billy tugged on his vest and stated, "That's a good point. We know she had a roommate, so if Sorenson didn't know, he's bound to reach out to her." He scanned the room and instructed, "Ferguson, take Michaels and head out there this afternoon. Now, if no one has anything else to add, get on this, fast. We need Sorenson off the streets before he can wreak havoc here." Lee waited until the other agents filed out of the conference room before he approached Billy. "How is Amanda?"

Lee gave him a slight grin, "Resting, just like I left her this morning."

"Good, maybe this time it will last more than an hour," Billy joked. "You know I don't expect you to be out looking for Sorenson. Amanda would have my head if I even considered that."

"Mine, too," Lee laughed. "No, I promised her I was going to stay here, squirreled away in the Q Bureau finishing reports, and checking in with all my contacts."

Billy gave him a sharp nod, "Good. The last thing I need is your very pregnant wife worrying about you being in the thick of things."

"Just think, Scarecrow, Amanda being pregnant is a small blessing in disguise," Francine teased.

Lee tipped his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

Francine shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Well, you know she won't be anywhere near Sorenson since she is safe at home with her feet up."

"Very funny," Lee snapped back. "And just so you know, if she doesn't keep her feet up, they swell, and she can't put her shoes on."

"I rest my case," Francine snarked with a smile.