Amy looked up to see who her father was looking at and came eye to eye with a familiar pair of smiling, yet worried blue eyes.
"Face" she breathed in relief, loosening her hold on her father. Daniel stood back, nodding slightly as they both looked to him, almost as if asking permission. Without really waiting for an answer, Face swept her into a hug that took her breath away, one she returned with equal fervour, not really knowing where the emotion came from, each chalking it up to relief that she was all right. Eventually they separated, Face taking the chance to check to see that she wasn't truly hurt.
"I'm fine, Face," she said quietly. "Apart from a bruised ego," she paused, looking down in shame and embarrassment," and a few other bruises, I'm fine. Really. They just caught us by surprise, other wise…" she tailed off as Hannibal and the others came in.
Amy's mother was deep in conversation with Hannibal. The journalistic streak that Amy had, was obviously inherited from her mother. Christine had recovered from her ordeal at the hands of her captors and wanted answers, but her concern for her exhausted daughter soon overrode her curiosity. Hannibal cast faintly desperate eyes around the kitchen, finally settling on Amy.
"Ah, excuse me, Mrs. Allen, but I need to speak to Amy for a second." he said, before making his escape and moving towards a now grinning Amy. She knew exactly what her mother was like, it was where she had learnt all of her trade secrets. Christine Allen, however, had other plans, heading Hannibal off before she got anywhere near Amy. She moved over to her daughter.
"Amy sweetheart, you look shattered." She turned towards the others. "Look, why don't we all go home and relax. It's late, very late, we've all had a shock and I need to sit down. We can get some sleep, and you," she turned to Daniel," can explain exactly what on earth is going on and who our saviours are." With that she swept them all out of the kitchen and gave directions to their house.
Chapter 6Once at home, Daniel stood in his kitchen watching his wife question Hannibal and the rest of the Team. He stood off to one side, hiding from the questioning that was about to come his way. He and his wife had always been equals, but he had hidden his decision to hire the A-Team from her, wanting to solve their problems himself. She knew little about the proposed hotel and casino, and Amy had known even less, having just arrived back from Indonesia.
He glanced across at his daughter, wondering how she had come to know the A-Team, and by the looks of things know them fairly well. Amy stood leaning against Face, struggling to stay awake. Face had his arm wrapped protectively around her, he was almost propping her up. Daniel watched Face, the young man's emotions very close to the surface. Face looked up and caught Daniel's eye, and smiled softly before he closed his emotions behind a mask of amiability. Daniel watched as Face hid the way that he felt about Amy, hid it before Daniel could really recognise what he was seeing. Almost asleep, Amy turned and cuddled into Face as he subconsciously tightened his hold on her. The movement drew Hannibal and Christine's attention to them. Hannibal's eyebrows raised and Christine rushed over to the young couple.
"Amy sweetheart, come on darling, you're almost asleep. Let's get you to bed, come on now." she said and began to usher Amy away. Half asleep, Amy held onto Face and he turned and walked Amy to her room, following behind Christine. Hannibal, B.A. and Daniel stayed behind in the kitchen, detailing plans for guarding the house for the rest of the night.
In her room, Amy curled up, almost completely asleep. She had removed her jeans and shoes, but apart from that had just crashed out on the bed. Christine drew the covers over her, and stood watching her for a few moments before turning to the young man that had supported and saved her daughter.
Christine looked deep into Face's blue eyes and again he tried to hide his feelings. She was apparently satisfied by what she saw there, because she smiled softly, quietly murmuring "Thank-you". She smiled again and left the room. Face turned to follow her, when a soft whisper from the bed stopped him.
"Thank-you from me too" Amy said sleepily, reaching out to capture his hand in hers. Without really knowing what he was doing, Face reached down and softly kissed her on the cheek. He stood and smiled at her, watching as she finally fell asleep. He gently shut the door and made his way down the corridor towards the others. A quiet voice stopped him in his tracks.