"What the hell were you thinking?" Lee paced the length of his living room. "Are you crazy? You sent her on an assignment like that-without me?" Had his boss lost all sense of reality? Sure, Amanda had great instincts, and yeah, she'd even gotten him out of some pretty sticky situations, but sending her on a mission of this caliber? Crazy! That's the only explanation he could come up with. Lee struggled to keep his voice down. With Amanda sleeping in the next room, he had to stay calm and the look on his boss' face was a good indication that he hadn't appreciated his outbursts either.

"Calm down, Scarecrow."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down when you've sent my partner, a mother of two small boys, I might add, out on an assignment that could have-should have gotten her killed? And you want me to calm down?" Lee could feel his blood pressure rising.

"She had full back up, man. She was perfectly safe–." Billy cringed slightly as he glanced toward Lee's bedroom.

"Perfectly safe?" He shouted. Realizing he was going to wake Amanda up if kept shouting, Lee tried lowering his voice. "Then explain to me why my partner is asleep in my bed right now with bruises all over her body, Billy? Huh? Please, tell me!" Anger singed the corners of his control as he stomped across the room. The sudden urge to throw something clear across the room was nearly overwhelming.

Billy looked down contritely at his shoes, foregoing the hard-as-nails agent mode that was expected of him. "How is she, Lee?"

"I don't know, Billy." Lee rubbed his hand roughly over his face in frustration. "She fell asleep after getting sick in the bathroom, so I put her to bed. She was still asleep when I checked on her after I called you."

"She got sick?" The worry on his supervisor's face was unmistakable. Lee knew how much Amanda meant to his boss. She was a bright spot in what could be a very dark place . . . for all of them.

"Yeah, seems she had thrown back some scotch before I arrived home and then said something about pain killers. I take it the Doc gave her something for the pain?"

Billy nodded and pulled out a small bag. "Yeah, she forgot to take these when she left the clinic last night. Be sure she takes them."

"Yeah, I will."

"Look, why don't I head out so we don't wake her? I'll keep you posted if I hear anything." His supervisor grabbed his coat and threw it over his arm.

"Yeah, okay." Lee walked to his front door and opened it quietly. "But, you call me if you hear anything—" he jabbed his index finger at the corpulent man for emphasis, "Anything at all."

"I will. Now, go take care of your partner."

2:07 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 1986

Feeling the warmth of sunlight on her face, Amanda slowly stirred from her slumber. She tried to move but found her body wouldn't or couldn't cooperate. That's when she remembered. Memories of the night before forced themselves into her awareness-memories she'd rather forget.

"Why didn't I tell Mr. Melrose I couldn't handle the assignment?" Her voice was raspy and she tried to clear it. She quickly regretted that decision when the crescendo exploded in her head. "Shoot!" Rubbing her temples did little to appease the pain so she pulled herself from her bed in search of aspirin. Only, it wasn't her bed. Where was she? She couldn't still be . . . 'No, I got out. I know I did.' She squeezed her eyes shut and just as panic threatened to sweep through her, she remembered driving to Lee's apartment and her heart began to beat normally again. But how had she ended up in his bed?

Stumbling to the door she slowly opened the door and poked her head around to make sure she was alone. Not hearing anything, she sighed in relief. 'He's still in California.' Satisfied, she slipped into the bathroom to freshen up. She ran her tongue carefully over her dry split lip. The taste of metallic filled her senses and her stomach flipped in protest.

Amanda turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water, only to be shocked when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She knew she was a frightful sight; the night before she had caught a glimpse of herself in the two-way mirror during her debriefing and scared herself. But the few hours spent sleeping had only added to the gruesome effect. She had deep bruising on her right cheek and eye as well as her split lip. She slowly pulled the robe open to inspect the damage. The bruising and redness on her shoulders, neck, and ribs where he'd grabbed her were some of the worst. Actual handprints were left in his wake.

She shuddered as snippets of the previous night once again flooded her memory. 'If only I'd gone with mother and the boys. I would have never met Patrick.' "Patrick." Even whispering his name aloud sent shivers down her spine. She had never seen anyone so out of control-like a savage beast. 'If only . . .'

10:42 a.m. Monday, March 3, 1986

"Amanda, could I see you in here for a moment?"

She looked up from her desk and nodded to her boss. Why did he look so solemn? She hadn't been working on anything important, so she couldn't have messed anything up. Could she? Since Lee had left for California last Thursday things had been pretty quiet. She'd kept to herself mostly, with an occasional lunch with one of the girls from accounting. 'Well, only one way to find out.' With that she headed into Billy Melrose's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, please come in, Amanda and shut the door." He motioned to the empty chairs across from him.

"Thank you, sir."

"How's it going out there? I know things have been a little quiet around here." He smiled pleasantly.

"Oh, everything's fine, sir." She smiled in return, but the smile faded when she picked up on his uneasiness. "Sir? Excuse me for asking, but is everything all right? I mean did something happen –"

"No." He interrupted. "He's made all his check-ins." He held his hand up. "I'm sorry to have worried you. We've just had a case come up and . . . well, I need your help. I need someone to help Desmond and with Dawson on the Gillespie trial and Miller on medical leave, well, I'm in a bind. I hate to ask you to miss your vacation, but I really don't have any other options, Mrs. King."

"I understand, sir." As disappointed as she was to have to cancel her trip with her family, Amanda was excited to work on a new case. She was going to have a real case of her own-without Lee. Well, it would be with Francine, but at least she'd have the chance to prove herself to the blonde know-it-all agent. Maybe Francine would finally see that she wasn't just a housewife from Arlington. At the very least, maybe she'd stop making snide comments. 'Don't expect miracles, Amanda!'

"You'll be her . . . uh." He seemed to be struggling for the right word.

"Window dressing, sir? That's what Lee calls it." She closed her eyes and nodded at his furrowed brow. "I understand, sir."

"Yes, well . . . " The stout man sifted through the rather thick file and continued. "Sean McGuinnis came through Dulles on Sunday."

Amanda opened her mouth to ask who he was but was stopped short by Billy's raised hand.

"McGuinnis is a notorious IRA operative. He's been linked to several terrorist bombings including the '84 attack on the Brighton Hotel in London where Prime Minister Thatcher and her cabinet were meeting. As I'm sure you recall, several officials were injured and four civilians were killed."

"Oh, yes, sir." She remembered reading about the awful attack in the paper and nodded in understanding. "So where do I come in, sir?"

"We've received word from one of our snitches that McGuinnis is here to stir up trouble during the World Conference on Anti-Terrorism at the British Embassy coming up in two weeks. It appears he's looking for a way in. We're going to give him just that."

With a raised brow Amanda reached for the file her superior held out to her. "Sir?"

"You'll pose as the assistant to the coordinator for the event. Francine will be the coordinator. We'll leak word through our contact that she is working the event. He'll also mention that she hangs out at a local bar after work with fellow co-workers, and just hope that he bites . . ."

"Oh, he bit alright." Amanda gently patted the towel over her face and turned to fill the tub. What she needed was a long hot soak to soothe her aching muscles. She only hoped Lee wouldn't mind her taking over his place in his absence.

"Amanda?" The muffled voice came through the bathroom door as a light tap echoed in the small room.

She jumped at the sound of his voice. 'Oh no! Lee's home, but how did he know I was here?' She pulled the lapels of the robe tighter to her body and pulled the sash snug. Just then, she heard another soft tapping on the bathroom door.

"Amanda? I know you're in there. Please, just open up." His voice pleaded with her.

"How did you know I was here?" She whispered, her back pressed against the door.

"I came home early this morning and found you passed out on my couch."

"You saw me . . ." 'He knows?' She brought her hand up to her cheek as she felt the heat rise in embarrassment of having him see her that way. Why did she have to go to his apartment? Why hadn't she just gone home? 'Because you didn't want to be alone and even though you knew he wasn't home, you felt safer in his apartment than you would have at home,' her inner voice replied. She closed her eyes in hopes of waking up to find this was all some kind of bad dream.

"Let me help you. Open the door . . . please."

His pleading touched her heart and she let go of her embarrassment long enough to unlock the door. She quickly turned her back to the door and walked toward the sink as she heard him enter.

"Billy stopped by with the ointment and pain meds that the doctor prescribed . . . that you forgot to take with you—"

"I'm sorry, Lee." She couldn't help but blurt the words out. She knew she was a disappointment to him. Her first real assignment without him and she blew it!

"Sorry? Sorry for what, Amanda?" She could feel his breath on her neck and knew he was standing right behind her. She didn't dare look up into the mirror, lest their eyes met.

"Sorry for messing up this case, for coming here instead of going home . . . for everything. I should have—"

"Amanda King, you stop right there. Billy told me what happened. He should have never involved you in this in the first place. You didn't mess anything up . . . and I'm . . . glad you felt you could come here. Now, please . . . just turn around so I can help you."

Turning around slowly, she wasn't prepared for the look of sadness in his eyes. His eyes darted to the side as soon as they made eye contact. It was obvious he was fighting for every bit of control, as was she.

He lifted his hand to touch her cheek but hesitated. "Come here." He whispered and held out his arms to her.

It didn't take long before she felt his arms encompassing her in a warm gentle embrace. Oh how she needed this. She hadn't realized how much-if only to feel safe for just a moment. Amanda bit her lip to keep from losing control, an act that she quickly regretted when she once again tasted the fresh metallic taste of blood on her tongue. Reluctantly, she pulled away from the warm cocoon he had created. "You said you had some cream?" She asked barely above a whisper. She had to regain her composure and she certainly couldn't do that in his arms.

He cleared his throat and pulled out a small tube from the back pocket of his jeans. "Yeah, right here. Why don't you sit down, and I'll put it on." He guided her to the toilet and patted the lid. "Have a seat."

Gingerly, she sat down, wedging her legs between his and watched as he teetered on the edge of the tub. She tried to look anywhere but in his eyes—knowing that if she did, he'd see clear down to her soul. She couldn't handle that on a good day, let alone at a time when her emotions were so raw. His fingers were so soft and cool on her heated face. She flinched when his fingers rubbed too long on an abrasion.

He pulled his fingers away as if burned by a flame. "I'm sorry, Amanda." It was clear by the look of remorse on his face that he was frustrated with himself. He dropped his hand to his lap, and then closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No." She grabbed his hand and returned it to her face—not wanting to lose the connection. "It's okay." Their eyes met and they both tentatively smiled.

He continued his ministrations and moved toward her neck where she had noticed some scratches earlier. How could something so painful make her feel so warm and tingly inside? His touch was so careful, so tender. She wished, not for the first time, that he would just kiss her. Had she said that aloud? The look he gave her made her wonder.

His fingers slowed from a rub to a sweet caress. Were they finally on the same page? She looked into his eyes and thought she saw desire, the same desire she felt for him. Was it possible?

His fingers moved around to the back of her neck and slowly pulled her toward him. Just as their lips were about to touch he pulled back, his eyes like saucers.

Amanda turned her head so Lee wouldn't catch the look of utter disappointment she knew would be present. She understood. How could she not? She looked like a monster. Who'd want to kiss that?

"I'm sorry," he said as he scooted away, putting some distance between them. "Amanda –"

"No, don't." She carefully lifted herself from the commode and brushed past him. "I understand. Um, I'll just get dressed and be out of your way." She cautiously picked up her clothes that she vaguely remembered leaving on the hamper the night before. "I really shouldn't have come here. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Wait, you don't understand." He grasped her shoulder to turn her toward him but she flinched at the touch and he let go immediately. She wasn't sure if it was due to the soreness of her aching body or the searing touch of his hand.

"Please, I just want to go home, Lee." Resting her hands on the sink, she looked up catching his reflection in the mirror. Her eyes pleaded with him to let it drop. Much to her surprise, he silently agreed and shut the door behind him.