Chapter 3 - The Kid

This had to be one of the worse stakeouts that Lee had even headed up. First off, who brings bean dip on a stakeout? Well Lee did love the stuff and he had eaten his share too but Agent Dane ate most of it. Needless to say, it was good that they weren't out to pick up any women. They had a good time teasing each other about who farted this time while they sat and waited for Clemens to emerge from the house. It was definitely a classic case of boys being boys. When they witnessed a man and woman being kidnapped, Lee knew something had gone wrong and he made his way into the house while Agent Dane went after the kidnappers. What he didn't expect to find was a young boy. Alexi was a tough young man that reminded Lee way too much of himself at that age. When he had suddenly lost his parents and found himself shifted around while everyone decided who would be stuck with him, he became angry with the world, his dead parents and everyone near him and he sure wasn't going to take any crap from anyone. So he had lashed out at everyone; even those trying to help him. Watching Alexi, reminded him of those days and he knew he had to help him. What did he know about kids though? He really didn't know much at all. He decided that the best thing to do was to bribe him. So he bought him $10 worth of candy and cookies in hopes of getting him to open up and talk to him but the kid refused to say a word. Lee wasn't even sure if he could talk. So what could he do? It wasn't like he could beat him up to make him talk? Suddenly it dawned on him; there was one person he knew that was awesome with kids. So he picked up the phone and called Amanda. Once again, she reminded him that he had no phone etiquette. He couldn't help it though, he just didn't have time for all this stupid formal phone talk that people chose to do. He wanted to just get right to business but Mrs. King didn't approve of that behavior and wouldn't let him continue until he at least said hello. Then, when he told her about his dilemma with this kid, she actually asked him if he was talking about the girls he dated. He could see now that he had let Amanda into his private life too much since she knew that he dated young girls. Well, he did, but that was none of her business. Young girls were more fun than girls his age. Women his age were starting to look for commitments and they wanted you to do things for them while young girls just wanted to have a night of fun. In the end, the call was for nothing because Alexi ran and Lee had to go chase him. When he finally caught up with him and got him into his car, he decided that it was best if he brought him to the agency. They spent almost 2 hours trying to get him to talk and Alexi wouldn't tell them anything. Finally Lee decided to try to use some reverse psychology and pretend to be on his side against the agency. It was fun to antagonize Francine as she tried to question Alexi and he couldn't help but chuckle when Alexi reminded her that he never asked for the agency's help so he really didn't need to answer her questions. The kid had balls for sure. Lee couldn't help but think that he could be his son with the way he acted because he definitely acted like that at Alexi's age. Then Billy walked into the room with a huge lollipop. Lee groaned just thinking about how lame they all were around kids. He was sure glad Amanda had agreed to come over the next day and take control of Alexi.

Lee and Alexi got back to his apartment around 1am. The kid was exhausted but still trying to act like a tough guy. He walked in and strode around looking at Lee's stuff including his record album collection. "All this music is sung by old people" he said.

Lee said "Hey kid, one day the groups you like will be older too and you'll see that you still love their music."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

After checking out the whole place, Alexi said "So where am I sleeping?" The couch was full of clothes and other things and Alexi gestured to it to explain why he was asking. Lee showed him into his bedroom and left him alone to get some sleep. He then took the stuff off the couch and laid down to grab a few hours of sleep. He was still exhausted from not getting much sleep after Amanda left Arizona and now having to deal with a kid was just making him more tired. He was glad that he could keep him out of the children's home though. Lee finally fell asleep around 3am as he thought about what kind of dad he would make and whether his son would be like Alexi.

At 7am, there was a loud knocking on his door. Lee shot up off the couch and immediately reached for his gun. As he prepared to check out who it was, he heard "Lee, are you in there? It's me, Amanda. Let me in."

Lee groaned and reached for his robe. Since he had crashed the night before, he wasn't wearing anything and the robe was the first thing he could think of to cover his naked body. He yelled in to Alexi and asked him if he was awake and he yelled back that he was getting dressed. Meanwhile, what was Amanda doing here this early? She just spent nearly a week with him and had to know by now that he was not a morning person. But good ole Amanda just came into his place all full of her usual pep and cheeriness while Lee struggled to wake up. He hadn't even had his coffee yet but asked her if she would like to join him in a cup once he made it. She agreed but then went through his apartment checking out his dust collection and telling him how her Mother made her move when she stayed in a similar place during college. This is why he liked being alone. When he was alone, no one worried if he had an inch of dust or if his clothes were on the floor or if he had food in the refrigerator. He was a bachelor who ate out every night, what did he need a refrigerator full of food for? Amanda wouldn't leave it alone though and said that he couldn't keep Alexi here without any food. Lee thought about his own needs when he was a kid and when they were talking about what kids needed, he had said "attention, someone to talk to". He realized afterward that he had again let Amanda see in through a doorway of his past but he didn't think she picked up on it. Those were the things he had craved the most after he lost his parents. No one had time for him anymore other than some of the fellas on the base who felt sorry for him. He didn't have anyone to share his secrets or fears with, he didn't have anyone who made him feel special. He sometimes realized how much he missed out on those feelings, especially when he saw Amanda with her own two sons. That was the past though and you couldn't live in the past wondering what if all the time.

They soon agreed that Amanda would go back to get some things of Alexi's out of his house while Lee took charge of Alexi and got him some food. They did question the safety of Amanda going back to the house but Lee assured Amanda that they had security still watching outside so she would be safe.

The kid was kind of fun to hang around. Lee warned him as they entered the grocery store not to run because he would shoot him. Alexi joked back that he wouldn't shoot him and Lee informed him that he was a killer. This kid had his sense of humor. He found himself fonder of him by the minute. Maybe having a kid wouldn't be so bad after all if he could have one like Alexi. Lee let him buy what he wanted and pizza and brownies sounded good to him when Alexi suggested it, so he agreed. He realized he was out of beer though and grabbed a 12 pack. Alexi told him that he drank the cheap stuff and tried to get him to buy a different brand. Lee told him he was too young to be drinking beer. They shared a teasing laugh between them as they headed back to Lee's apartment. Amanda pulled the Mother routine on them both over their choice of food and Alexi had to go and remember about the beer. Lee expected an Amanda ramble over that but instead she teased him about going for the award of Father of the Year. He didn't even deny it, just said that the kid had been having a rough time and needed a break. He couldn't help but think that he would have given anything to have someone spoil him a little bit after he lost his parents, but instead he was just expected to act like an adult and not cry. He couldn't say all of that to Amanda though. He didn't need her knowing his past because she would try to mother him or did he mean smother him? He told her that he needed to get back to the agency so he handed her a wad of cash and told her to keep him busy but that he would keep some security watching them just in case. Amanda questioned why it was necessary and Lee couldn't resist teasing her again. "Danger, Excitement, Intrigue" he had said to her and she told him to Shut up. He laughed and knew he had gotten her again. Sometimes, it was just too easy. It was during these times, that he realized just how much he would miss not having her around. As he was leaving, he ran into Alexi who was returning from getting the beer out of his car. He told him to behave and to listen to Amanda because he didn't want to hear that he had given her any trouble. Alexi just looked at Lee with a huge grin and said "Me? Cause trouble? Where would you get an idea like that?" Lee grinned back at him and reminded him that he could still shoot him and Alexi began laughing and said he would see him later.

TBC