Chapter 4: Is there a voice of reason in the room?

Amanda quickly closed the distance between herself and her son.

"Good morning. Are you feeling okay?" Before he had the chance to reply, she reached out and touched his forehead, and then ruffled his hair affectionately. "I doubt that you're running a fever."

"I'm not sick; I just wanted to come home."

"Were you and your brother having trouble getting along?"

"Nope."

He wished that she wouldn't pursue the question of why he'd returned home, but he knew her well enough to know that she would.

If I can distract her, maybe Lee will jump in and change the subject? "Phillip and Dad were too busy discussing his bad report card to pay any attention to me."

"I'm sure that your dad commended you on your outstanding grades. We're all very proud of you."

She smiled at him, and there'd been pride evident in her voice, but her body language was anything but relaxed, and she hadn't looked at Lee since she'd walked into the room. That fact was not lost on her already frazzled spouse, who decided that his wisest course of action was to keep a low profile.

"Yeah, Dad mentioned my grades in passing. It was during dinner last night. and I think it was because he was trying to keep his mind off of the food since Carrie's cooking hasn't improved much. Speaking of meals, Lee and I were about to have breakfast, do you want to join us?"

"He needs to go take a shower while I make your breakfast," she stated brusquely, continuing to address Jamie rather than her husband.

"Can't his shower wait?"

"The shower can wait, but he needs to take off those clothes now."

"Your mother's right," Lee interjected, rising from the table wearily. "I should never have worn them home, and if I'd known that you'd be here, I wouldn't have. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I'm sorry that you saw them. Excuse me; I think I will shower before I put on fresh clothes."

After he rushed from the room, Jamie eyed his mom apprehensively.

"What he needs right now isn't a shower. Taking off those bloody clothes and showering isn't going to change what happened."

She hadn't expected to be challenged by him, but more importantly, she wasn't prepared to see such maturity in his eyes.

"What do you know about last night? Did he tell you what happened?"

"Not yet."

"Good." I know he's not a little boy anymore, and in many ways he's more mature than his brother, but that doesn't mean that I'm ready to allow him to be touched by the realities of Agency life.

"Not talking about it won't change what happened," the teen continued to prod.

"I'm well aware of that fact, but I don't want what we do for a living to change you."

"How could finding out that you and Lee risk your lives on a potentially daily basis not change my life? I worry about you guys. I overheard you talking to Lee yesterday-"

"And what you heard scared you? Is that the reason that you had your dad bring you home early," she probed gently, as she came to stand beside him.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you talk to us before your dad picked you up?"

"I didn't get a chance…"

She tilted her head slightly and eyed him skeptically.

"And I didn't think you'd level with me anyway. I understand that most of what you do is classified…I don't expect you to tell me anything that you shouldn't, but…"

He hung his head and didn't finish his sentence. She lifted his chin and forced him to make eye contact with her.

"Talk to me, Sweetheart, what were you going to say?"

"I don't understand why you can't talk to me about Agency stuff the same way that they show real police cases on that old TV show that Grandma likes."

"Do you mean 'Dragnet'?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Jamie, that program was made a very long time ago, and it didn't portray the seamier aspects of law enforcement. Most of what Lee and I do is fairly routine, but sometimes a case can get messy." How can I convince him that he isn't as ready to deal with the harsh realities as he thinks he is?

"I've suspected that for a while now…seeing Lee's bloody clothing only confirmed my suspicions. He said that working with him has changed you, and you agreed with him. Has working for the Agency been bad for you?"

Author's note: Thanks for sticking with this story! The next chapter will reveal why Lee and Amanda are so deeply shaken.