Author's Note: For the scene with Amanda's thoughts of her date with Alan, part of this comes from an unfilmed scene in the script in which Amanda accompanies Alan to his hotel room, but then makes a hasty escape when things begin getting too close for her comfort. The interaction between Francine and Amanda also comes from the original script as well, so can't take credit for it either. I just added a few little tidbits of my own. On an additional note, for the love scene in this one, I decided to extend the late night scene in Amanda's bedroom just a little. I also decided to lift my "bed ban" a little earlier than I'd planned on since this was the best place to fill in a love scene. This one turned out to be almost twice as long as the normal chapters, but there was so much that I wanted to include in it. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 48-Don't Get Up Until I Turn the Light Off

"A Lovely Little Affair"

Lee found himself becoming more irritated and more confused by the minute as Amanda rambled on, her hands flailing wildly. He finally held up his own hands and said abruptly, "Stop." Once Amanda stopped chattering, he asked in a gentler tone, "What are you talking about? Chamberlain?" After Amanda explained that she'd made contact with the subject of her surveillance and that she'd made up a story about who she really was and that the man had asked her to dinner, he replied, "Dinner?" a little flare of jealousy coursing through him, but he knew that this might just be what the agency needed.

"I'm sorry," Amanda apologized as she hung her head.

"Fabulous!" Lee exclaimed.

Amanda's head shot up as she stared at him warily. She could have sworn that she'd heard just a touch of jealousy in his tone a moment ago. "I thought you told me to keep my distance." She was more confused than ever. She felt like she was on a constant rollercoaster of emotions when it came to Lee. Did he not care that she was talking about going on a date with another man? She listened politely while he explained his reasoning and nodded in understanding when it hit her that he was just being the practical agent.

Once Amanda agreed to go to dinner with Chamberlain to gain more information from the man, Lee couldn't resist a little jibe. "Is he as stuffy as he looks?" He asked with a hopeful smile on his face. "You know...head in the clouds...artistic type?"

There's that jealousy again, Amanda thought as she smiled back. "Dull as a stick," Amanda reassured Lee.

Lee smirked at Amanda's response and replied gleefully, "Good," as he exited the room.

As Amanda exited behind him, she was lost in her thoughts of the idea of accepting a date with Alan and just how far she should take things for the sake of the job. She reflected back on her coffee date with him and how when she'd reached to shake his hand, he'd taken it a little further, clasping both of her hands in his the way that Lee often did. She unconsciously clasped her hands together as she thought about it, her mind whirling as she had realized in that one small gesture he had told her without words that he was looking to pursue a relationship with her. She was so focused on that, that as she was making her way through the bullpen, she failed to notice Francine trailing behind her until she'd caught up with her and asked archly, "So, how's life in the fast lane?"

Amanda paused for a best and simply replied with a noncommittal shrug, "Interesting."

"Interesting," Francine repeated incredulously. "Amanda, Alan Chamberlain is a delicious hunk of masculinity who personifies the very soul of the Italian art experience! You might as well call Fettuccine Alfredo, 'yummy'."

Amanda looked at her co-worker, biting down on her lower lip, wondering if she should ask her the question that was on her mind. Normally when she had a question about how she should behave on an undercover assignment, she'd ask Lee, but in this situation, she just couldn't, not with the history they shared. Francine, on the other hand had experience with just this kind of thing and knowing her the way she did, she knew that she'd give her an honest answer. She took a deep breath and began. "Francine, if you're through correcting my grammar, I do have a serious question..."

"Professional?" Francine gave her a quizzical look.

"Personal, too." Amanda paused for a beat before continuing unable to believe that she was about to do this. "What do you do when you're on a case and you're not sure where the case ends and your own life begins?"

Francine looked at Amanda, surprise evident on her face. "Go with the flow." When Amanda gave her a pained look and fidgeted with her hands nervously, Francine got her meaning. "You and Alan...? Amanda!"

"It's nothing... yet," Amanda quickly replied, not wanting Francine to get the wrong impression. "It's just confusing. I didn't plan any of this...we just sort of met, totally by accident," she took a deep breath. "Anyway, he asked me to dinner."

"You don't need my advice," Francine responded a little tartly, knowing that she and Amanda would react to this type of thing completely differently.

"It's all part of my cover."

Francine at seeing the seriousness of Amanda's concern dropped the jesting manner and gave her the most honest answer that she could. "It's a judgment call. You probably did the right thing, but be careful. Don't get in the water if you don't know how to swim." She gave Amanda her patented arched eyebrow.

"I know all about swimming," Amanda retorted feeling a little insulted by Francine's comment.

"Not in this end of the pool," Francine countered, walking away, leaving Amanda alone with her tortured thoughts.

Amanda's worries were only made worse by her family's reactions that evening.

"Way to go, Mom!' Jamie said exuberantly as his mother entered the room dressed to the nines.

"Sweetheart, that is beautiful," Dotty gushed as she examined her daughter's appearance, "Is that a new dress?"

Amanda stammered nervously, but thankfully was spared answering by her older son's excited, "Who is your date?"

"I don't have a date, Sweetheart," Amanda explained. "It's business."

"That's business?"Jamie questioned wide-eyed just as the doorbell rang.

"Could you get the door for me?" As Phillip took off for the door, she said, "Thank you," and then turned to her mother. "Mother, I may be a little late tonight."

"Oh, that's all right. I'll wait up," Dotty replied pointedly. She wondered if her "business dinner" was with the man she'd seen so often in the shadows, if this meant that they were finally ready to have a relationship that was out in the open or if this was someone new which would mean her daughter was finally ready to let go of the co-worker who'd captured so much of her attention. Either way, she found herself more hopeful than she'd been in a long time for her daughter's future. As Phillip returned with a corsage, she couldn't resist looking over her daughter's shoulder at the attached card. She smiled knowingly at Amanda. "Nice business card, Dear," she quipped.

Amanda lay awake for a long time that night with her mind reeling after dodging her mother's inquiries about what she thought was a real date. She sighed as she rolled over onto her stomach, punching her pillow in frustration. How could she explain to her mother that she was just using the man because he had a high-level security clearance and it was her job to make certain that he wasn't abusing it? She flipped back over again, staring at the ceiling. More importantly, how could she explain to Lee that she'd allowed her "date" with Alan to go farther than she'd intended it to, for just a brief moment, giving in to his kisses. She lightly brushed her fingers over her lips as she reflected back on it. His kisses had been gentle, expressive and while they were nice, they were not the same as the explosive kisses she'd shared with Lee.

On the plus side, with Alan there was no hesitation. They'd walked and he'd talked about his travels as he lightly held her hand in his own, she had thought about how nice it was to spend time with a man who talked about himself openly. She'd asked in the course of the conversation what he was currently working on and he'd invited her back to his hotel room to show her. She'd hesitated for a moment, but then thought that she might learn something that would help her in her assignment. Once there after only a few minutes of him talking about the parchment paper and calligraphy pens he had in his room, he'd told her he didn't want to talk about his work anymore, then he'd kissed her again, only this time his kisses had been more insistent hinting that he wanted more. She'd abruptly pulled back, stammered an apology and headed for the door. He'd then offered an apology of his own for being too presumptuous then had asked if there were someone else. She'd given him the only answer she could, that yes, there was someone else. He had responded by telling her how lucky the other man was and had asked her on a breakfast date, teasing her with, "For old time's sake." She'd accepted knowing that her job wasn't done yet.

She'd driven home, her emotions in turmoil, only to find that her mother in an attempt to wait up for her had fallen asleep on the couch with an open book on her chest. She'd felt obligated to wake her so she could go up to her own room and be more comfortable and instantly wished that she handed once her mother had started grilling her about her date. She'd tried desperately to play it off as if it didn't mean anything, not wanting to get her mother's hopes up that she was going to have any future with Alan. The only man she wanted a future with was the one that she was sure she could never have in that way.

Her thoughts of Lee and the raging desire she felt for him, her reflections of all the times they'd been intimate kept her mind awake long past the point of common sense. Her restless thoughts were unable to block out the memories of his searing touch and burning kisses. She soon found her hands roaming her own body as she closed her eyes and imagined that it were his hands touching her as she slipped one hand inside her panties, stroking herself the way that he would, the way she felt about him running through her mind as she wished he were here with her. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out and awakening her mother as she reached her peak, her body trembling, her breathing erratic.

Having given herself the release that she so desperately needed, Amanda had finally fallen asleep just out of sheer exhaustion, but hadn't been asleep for long when a noise awoke her. Half-asleep and disoriented, eyes still closed, she picked up the phone and said, "Hello?" When the noise came again, she realized that it was someone pounding on her window. She bolted upright in bed as the knocking continued followed by Lee's voice calling her name. Startled by his presence outside her window when she'd just been wishing he were there, she hissed, "What?"

"It's me," Lee answered back. "Let me in."

Amanda sighed, threw the covers back and padded to the window to let him in, then quickly climbed back into bed, pulling the covers back over her lap.

"How did everything go with Chamberlain, huh?" Lee asked her.

Amanda shushed him, slid out of her bed long enough to close the partially open door to her bedroom and turned the light on before climbing back into bed. As she explained to Lee that everything went fine, she felt incredibly guilty at the way things had gone, as if she'd been unfaithful to him.

"Anything unusual happen?" Lee inquired, dying to know exactly how far she'd taken her cover.

Amanda hesitated as she once again ran her fingers over her lips, wondering if she should be honest with Lee and then upon thinking about how he could get with his fits of jealousy, opted against it and answered, "No, nothing worth mentioning." What was the point of telling him about her almost-affair with Alan when she'd been thinking about nothing but the man in front of her during her date with him and afterward and hadn't she just been fantasizing about Lee while she was... She shook her head to pay attention to what Lee was trying to tell her.

As Lee explained why he was there and that he wanted her to back off for her own safety, she offered him an alternate solution of having him and Francine at the restaurant to keep an eye on things. He reluctantly accepted that as logical, but with a warning finger pointed at her, admonished, "You be damn sure you see us before you walk in that place."

"I will," Amanda agreed.

"It's a deal," Lee said reaching out to shake her hand.

"It's a deal," Amanda repeated as they shook hands.

The tension in the room mounted as they locked eyes with one another, their business-like handshake, suddenly no longer about business as it sent a jolt through both of them. Lee couldn't help glancing at the open neck of Amanda's nightgown, staring for a moment as he realized for the first time that it was not her normal cotton one. It was satin, though in the same style of the cotton ones she usually wore.

At catching Lee staring, Amanda self-consciously raised her free hand to cover the exposed skin, suddenly feeling very nervous with him sitting on her bed with her as she thought about how easy it would be for her to invite him into it, opening a can of worms that she wasn't sure either was ready to have opened.

Lee was the first to break the awkward silence, "Well, I guess that's it then," Lee said hoping that she'd argue with him and ask him to stay. When she nodded, he slid his hand out of hers, lightly skimming his fingers along hers as he let go, feeling disappointment flooding through him. "''Til...uh..." He found he could no longer keep his eye contact with her as he knew the disappointment must be evident on his face, He turned from her and finished with, "'Til breakfast." He took a moment to compose himself, turned back to her. "You be careful now."

Amanda nodded and replied, "Be careful going down the trellis."

Lee shifted nervously and gave her an awkward half-smile. "Oh...Heh...Down the trellis." He sighed as he thought that just once he'd like to be able to come and go through the front door. He gazed at her for another moment before saying, "I better go," fixing her with a look that said leaving was the last thing on his mind.

"Yeah, you better go," Amanda agreed but as he started to get up, she stopped him. When he looked at her hopefully, she told him, "Please don't get up until I turn the light off."

Lee nodded once again feeling disappointed, having thought for just a moment that when she's stopped him, she might ask him to stay. Who was he kidding though? That would never happen with her mother and kids in the house when they didn't even know that he existed. As they walked toward the window together and Amanda braced her arms against his back to help him begin to exit through the window, he turned back to her and said firmly, "No, not yet." Without giving her a chance to respond, he pulled her tightly to him, enveloping her in his arms and kissed her hard, demanding entrance to her mouth. When she readily acquiesced, he groaned low in his throat as the fire that stirred within him.

Amanda pulled back from his kiss and hissed, "Shhh. My mother's asleep in the next room."

"We'll be quiet," he whispered back as he captured her lips again while his hands slid to her bottom, lifting her up to straddle him as he walked them both back to her bed, lowering her to it as he stripped off his jacket and his tie, dropping them to the floor, then stepping out of his shoes. He looked down at her for a moment for any sign of hesitation and at seeing none; he joined her in bed and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to him as they began to kiss again while their hands explored one another lying on their sides facing one another.

Amanda ran her hands down Lee's chest toward his stomach, then to his belt while he slid his up her thigh, tugging at the hem of her nightgown in an attempt to pull it over her head. They broke their kiss and both chuckled softly at realizing they were at cross purposes, neither able to strip the other of the garments between them when they had their hands moving in opposite directions. "Let me," Amanda whispered as she sat up long enough to pull her nightgown over her head. She then pushed Lee gently onto his back and resumed her task of freeing him from his pants, her fingers barely grazing his shaft as she worked to slide them down his legs.

'Mmm," Lee whimpered softly at the fleeting touch of her hand. Once his pants and his boxers had been dropped to the floor, he grasped Amanda's hips, hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties to pull them down and off. He then sat up and pulled her into his lap astride him, clasping the back of her head with one hand to pull her mouth down to meet his, he probed her mouth with his tongue while his other hand travelled down her back to cup her bottom.

Amanda whimpered at the sensations that were flooding through her as she braced one hand on Lee's shoulders and began to rock against him while she reached her other hand between them to stroke him before leading him to where she really wanted him.

Lee pulled back from her stopping her with his hand on hers, with a shake of his head, "No. Not yet. Not until I know you're ready."

"I am ready." Amanda took his hand, guiding him to her center so that he could feel just how ready she was, then took him in her hand as she lowered herself to meet him, pushing him deep inside her.

""Manda," he growled low at the contact, marveling at how wet she was for him already as she began to ride him slowly.

Amanda lowered her head to nip at the tender skin of his neck muffling her cries of pleasure against his skin.

Lee, quickly losing patience with her maddeningly slow movements, gripped her hips and keeping himself within her, flipped her onto her back, her head at the foot of the bed as he drove into her hard.

"Yes," Amanda hissed as she tugged on the back of his head to pull him down for another heated kiss and hooked her legs behind him, her earlier fantasy becoming reality as they moved in sync together, pushing and pulling, holding each other tightly, swallowing each other's cries of release in their fiery kisses.

They continued to kiss long after their movements had stopped, the passion of them cooling and becoming long and languorous as they held each other in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Lee was the first one to pull back, caressing her face as he did so and gazing into her eyes. "So, is this what you meant about not getting "up" until you turned off the light?" he teased.

Amanda laughed and slapped at him playfully. "Not exactly."

"Well, I'd say that it was not what I had in mind when I came here tonight, but I-"

He didn't get the words out as another voice intruded. "Amanda?" Dotty West's voice called from the hall.

"Shit," Lee growled as he leapt from Amanda's bed and hurried to gather up his discarded clothing followed by Amanda hustling him toward her closet, knowing there wasn't enough time for him to get dressed and out the window before her mother would demand entrance to her room.

Once Lee was hidden away, she yanked her nightgown over her head and quickly reached for the remote to the small TV that sat on her vanity, flipping it on as she called through the closed door, "Yes, Mother?" wishing to God, she'd locked the door when she closed it. She scrambled for her bed and pulled the covers back over her lap.

Her mother entered the room then and inquired in an incredulous voice, "What on earth are you still doing up and what was the noise I was just hearing?"

"Oh, I...Um...I was having trouble falling asleep, so I thought I'd watch a little TV until I get sleepy. I'm sorry if I woke you. I'll...um...I'll just turn it down." Amanda the made a big show of using the remote to adjust the volume.

"Uh-huh," Dotty said disbelievingly as she knew the sounds she'd been hearing were not of any television show. Aside from that, she'd detected the faint musky scent of sex in the room as soon as she'd walked in. She wanted to call her on it, but instead she said, "You know, you shouldn't watch TV in the dark. It's bad for your eyes," knowing that her daughter would just deny it.

"Yes, Mother, you're right," Amanda agreed.

"So, what's keeping you awake this late? Thinking about your new man? Or perhaps you're thinking about your other man."

"I don't have a new man," Amanda denied. "I told you that dinner tonight was just business."

"Sure, okay, business. With a man who sent you flowers, kept you out way past midnight and invited you for a breakfast date in the morning?"

"Just a business breakfast," Amanda explained. "There's nothing romantic between me and Alan."

Dotty shook her head and said, "Amanda, I don't know what it is with you. This Alan obviously thinks there's more to it than that. Why else would he have written you the note that he did?"

"Look, Mother, he made an overture tonight and I turned it down, okay?"

"Why would you do that? He must like you."

"It's complicated," Amanda hedged.

"I don't suppose that this has anything to do with the fact that I just happened to look out my window before I came in here and noticed that silver sports car down the block again," her mother suggested.

"I don't know what you mean, Mother."

"Of course you don't, dear," Dotty replied sarcastically then gestured toward the closet. "Tell Lee, if that's really your mystery lover's name, that he might as well leave by the front door. I can't imagine it's very pleasant for him to climb up and down the trellis. You don't want me to meet him, fine. I'll keep my distance."

Before Amanda could respond, her mother was gone. She scurried out of bed and to the door to lock it before making her way back to the closet to let Lee know the coast was clear.

"Yeah, I know. I heard," he groused, now fully dressed. "I...Um...I think I'd better still go out the window."

"Tiptoe," Amanda whispered.

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When he arrived home after wrapping the case and entered his bedroom, Lee violently tossed his keys onto the desk in the corner as he reflected on the events of the past few days. While he was elated that Amanda had finally allowed him into her bed, that elation had been short-lived due to the interruption and overhearing her mother's conversation with her about Chamberlain. He walked back into his living room, poured himself a double shot of scotch downing it quickly before pouring another.

"Damn!" he swore loudly. What was going on with Amanda? She'd told her mother that it was just business with Chamberlain, but as he'd walked away from the two of them, he'd seen her kissing him with his own eyes, not even a full forty-eight hours after he'd been making love to her in her bed. Had he underestimated Amanda? Was she seeing both of them? No, that wasn't possible because she wasn't really seeing him.

As he paced restlessly, his eyes fell on the slip of paper he'd haphazardly tossed on his coffee table a week or so ago. He picked it up and stared at it. "Leslie O'Connor," he said aloud as he recalled the pretty, vivacious brunette he'd met at an embassy party and had chatted amiably with for a good portion of the night. He picked up the phone and began dialing. When her phone was answered, he said, "Leslie, hi, Lee Stetson, we met at the Soviet Embassy..." If Amanda could play the field, giving no thought to the fact that they'd been growing closer, or at least in his mind they had, then what was wrong with him having a little fun too?

After making a date for the weekend, he hung up the phone and walked back to the bar to refill his glass. As he did so, he noticed the opera tickets that he'd dropped there a couple of days ago. After procuring a set of tickets to bribe Murray with, he'd gotten himself a set as well, thinking that he'd ask Amanda to go with him. He'd been dying to take her on a real date for months now. He'd completely forgotten about them when talking to Leslie. Maybe he should call her back and change their plans. Just as soon as he thought it, he shook his head. "No," he scolded himself. Those tickets were meant for Amanda and that's how it should stay, but how could he ask her out on a date now that he knew she was dating someone else? He'd have to come up with a way to ask her without making it sound like a date. After what he'd seen and heard about her romance with Chamberlain, he wasn't about to wear his heart on his sleeve, only to risk rejection.

They were supposed to work together tomorrow on putting away all the numerous files that Congresswoman Faber had insisted on dragging out and scrutinizing. Maybe he'd just find a way to work it into the conversation them. He knew he'd have to do it soon because the tickets were for tomorrow night. He could be clever when he wanted to be. He'd look for an opening and jump on it. He swallowed the last of his drink and made his way back to his bedroom, getting undressed quickly, before climbing into bed and falling into a restless, tormented sleep.