Chapter 18
The rest of the day passed quietly as Amanda, Lee, and Dotty settled into a routine with the girls. Amanda napped off and on while Lee and Dotty tended to the everyday household chores. While Dotty ran to the market to pick up groceries and extra film for her camera, Lee helped with the laundry and getting dinner started for the three of them. Amanda insisted she could help but was quickly guided back into the living room where Lee gently commanded that she follow the doctor's orders and stay off her feet. With an exaggerated sigh, she relented. She spent the next hour simply staring at their sleeping newborns in her arms.
After dinner, as the evening wore on, Lee watched Amanda tending to Lily, and he sighed happily. "I can't believe I ever thought I was happy," he admitted.
"What do you mean, Sweetheart?" Amanda asked as she carefully changed the baby's clothes.
"The life I had… the embassy parties, long nights working, traveling all over the world… none of that even compares to this," he smiled before taking Amanda's hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "And it's all because of you."
Amanda blushed, tipped her head to the side, and sighed, "That's the nicest thing you could've said today. But it's not getting you out of changing DJ, so the diapers are right there as are her pajamas." Amanda raised a knowing eyebrow in his direction after pointing to the items on the couch beside her.
Lee chuckled, his hazel eyes flashing playfully. "I'll have you know, I wasn't trying to get out of anything. I want to do this… all of it," he stated. He waved the tiny diaper in his hand for emphasis.
"Good, because your daughter has another one of those diapers you claim you're not qualified for," Amanda teased right back.
Lee looked down at his daughter beside him on the couch. "Really? You're not helping…" he chuckled with a gentle poke. DJ wiggled slightly beneath his hand in response. Lee carefully unsnapped the fasteners along her legs before he tugged the tabs of her diaper free.
"Watch her belly button," Amanda reminded him.
Lee looked down at the small plastic clip and grimaced, "How long does that last?"
"A week… maybe two. And we can't give them a full, proper bath until it's gone," Amanda replied as she lifted Lily higher in her arms with a small groan.
Lee immediately tensed, "Amanda, are you okay?"
Amanda rolled her eyes, "Lee, I'm fine. It's just going to take me a few days to work out all the aches and pains."
"You're sure?" he questioned with a pointed stare.
"I'm sure," she stated firmly. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and asked, "Do you think you can turn the news on? We didn't catch the weather earlier, and I want to see what the next few days are going to be like. If it's not too hot, we can bring the girls outside. Fresh air never hurt anyone."
Lee cradled DJ in the crook of his arm and reached over to retrieve the television remote from the table. He clicked the on-button and waited for the screen to brighten. "The police are still investigating the two suspicious explosions that took place this afternoon in South Kensington and North Potomac. At this time, they are unsure if the incidences are related," the reporter announced. "Now, onto our weather… Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy and hot as that heatwave begins to roll in. For the next few days, we can expect the temperatures to climb to nearly one hundred degrees."
Lee quickly hit the button again to turn the television off before he turned to Amanda. "I don't know… how hot is too hot for them?" he attempted to distract her from the first part of the news report.
Amanda raised an eyebrow in his direction, "We'll discuss the weather in a minute… you don't think Sorenson has anything to do with those two explosions, do you?"
Lee shook his head, "I don't know. I guess I could call Billy and find out."
"I guess you could," Amanda declared pointedly.
Lee opened his mouth to reply, but the look on Amanda's face silenced him. "Fine, I'll go to the office and call Billy from there. Do you want me to take DJ with me or leave her here with you?" he asked tentatively.
"Take your daughter with you to remind you how important staying out of this is," Amanda instructed.
Lee stood and shifted the baby slightly. "Amanda, I know what you're thinking-" he began, but Amanda held up her hand to stop him.
"There's no way you can possibly know what I'm thinking right now, Stetson," she snapped loudly. Lily whimpered against her shoulder at the sudden increase of volume in her voice. Amanda tipped her chin against the baby's head and patted her back gently.
"I'm not going to go rushing right into work to nail him if he is involved. We don't even know that he is," Lee insisted. He snuggled DJ closer to his chest before he added, "I'm staying right here, with my family." Amanda pursed her lips tightly together as she contemplated his last statement. Without waiting for her reply, Lee left the family room, carrying DJ. He entered their dark office and sat down at the desk before turning on the small desk lamp. He lifted the phone receiver off the cradle and balanced the phone on his shoulder while he dialed Billy's home number.
"Billy, it's Scarecrow. What can you tell me about the two explosions they're talking about on the news?" he questioned as soon as he heard Billy answer the phone.
Lee could hear Billy clear his throat before he admitted, "It was Sorenson. Williams didn't make it, and Robicheau is in intensive care over at General."
"Williams? Robicheau? Billy, Sorenson isn't just targeting me. He's targeting the whole team that brought him down," Lee exclaimed loudly.
"Don't you think I know that!" Billy snapped. "I always know. Francine and I spent the last hour contacting everyone that was on that team to let them know."
Lee rolled his eyes skyward as he wracked his memory for the other agents he worked with. "Who else is left? James… no, he died a few years ago from lung cancer. Wilson… I think he's still around. Kim was working in Crypto a few weeks ago. What happened to Gagne? Or… or…" Lee tapped his hand against DJ's legs as he continued to think. The baby began to cry loudly once Lee tapped her enough to wake her.
"Scarecrow, you need to lay off this now. Go back to your family, man," Billy reprimanded him.
Lee gently rocked DJ as he shifted the phone to his other ear. "I can't, knowing that Sorenson might try again, Billy. Could you back off, knowing Jeannie or one of your girls was in danger?" Lee insisted.
Billy sighed heavily on the other end of the line, "No, I guess I couldn't either. Francine will be swinging by tomorrow morning with the case report. But that's as far as you are involved, you hear me. You are on vacation, for five weeks, remember? That means no work, no reports, nothing!"
"I can't just sit on my hands while Sorenson's out there blowing up members of my team," Lee rebuked loudly.
"Then keep your hands busy some other way, Scarecrow, because you are not, and I repeat, NOT, going to be in the middle of this!" Billy shouted into the phone. Lee cringed slightly as he tried to lift the phone away from his ear while Billy continued his barrage. "And if you do try to insert yourself any more than you already have, I'll write you up for insubordination, and you can explain to Dr. Smyth personally why you're out chasing down a bomber just days after your wife has given birth to your twin daughters! Do I make myself clear?!"
Lee grimaced again as he stammered, "Yes, abundantly." He glanced up to see Amanda's shadowed body in the doorway, blocking out the light from the hall. "What time will Francine be swinging by?" Lee asked tentatively.
Billy grunted once before he replied gruffly, "Around eleven. Now, get some rest. I'm sure you're going to need it." He slammed the phone down with a jangle in Lee's ear. Lee returned the phone receiver to the cradle on the desk before he turned his attention to his wife.
"What did Billy have to say?" Amanda questioned as she held Lily against her chest.
"Um… well… it was Sorenson. But we are not going to worry about that tonight. Tonight, we are going to get the girls settled, so you and I can catch a few hours of sleep before they wake up. Tell you what… I'll even get up with them tonight myself. You just stay in bed and rest," Lee announced as he stood slowly. He turned off the light and gently nudged Amanda out of the office and toward the stairs.
Amanda stopped dead in her tracks, turned, and faced him. "You're not going to be able to handle it," she declared.
"Is that a challenge?" Lee bantered.
"No, it's a fact. There is no way you will possibly be able to feed and change both of them without waking me or Mother," Amanda stated.
Lee pursed his lips together before he nodded slowly. "Fine. Then you can at least stay in bed, and I'll bring them to you. Deal?" Lee countered.
Amanda nodded with a gentle smile, "Deal."