A/N: Many thanks to everyone for the reviews and follows. I appreciate them greatly. If any blatant typos are found, please inform me. I use Evernote on my mini and the spellcheck has somehow turned off I have no idea how to fix this. Just a warning about this chapter: Lee is kissing the wrong person. ;)

The next morning Lee wasn't expected in until later so he took his time after such a sleepless night. As he sat at the table, practicing his morning ritual of coffee and newspaper, he thought through his next move. For a moment his thoughts drifted to Amanda. He felt a brief pang in his chest before he stuffed the feeling down where it belonged.

No, he chastised himself mentally. He wasn't going to think about Amanda that way again. There were other women like her in the world. She'd shown him that, opened his eyes to a world he thought he'd only imagined. The world he knew before his parents had died. One filled with family and warmth and laughter and houses with white picket fences. He smiled and shook his head. If anyone who knew him could read his mind they might think he'd been brainwashed.

He thought back to another woman he'd been thinking of this morning. He'd met her at a UN function when he was in New York a few weeks earlier. Looking across the room to the telephone, Lee hesitated only a moment before walking over and placing a call the mutual friend who'd introduced them. Karl was hesitant when Lee had asked.

"She's really not the type of woman you normally run around with," he'd explained.

"That's not what I'm interested in anymore," Lee said, and quietly grinned at the stunned silence at the other end of the line.

In the end, Karl had passed her work number to him reticently. Lee wasted no time. When he had met Leslie he'd thought how different she was. Their small-talk led them from work to family. She wasn't loud or brash. She didn't come on to him or hang all over him. It had been a pleasant 30 minutes. After his epiphany regarding Amanda, he was excited to start on a real relationship. The situation with Amanda aside, Lee was never the type to dance around a task, preferring instead to jump in with both feet. Life was short. He'd learned growing up in the military that if you wasted time you'd get shipped off somewhere else before you were able to finish what you wanted. Working at The Agency only re-inforced that belief.

Lee called and left a message with Leslie's secretary, then went to work.

Whistling as he walked into the Georgetown foyer, he gave Mrs Marsden the password then accepted his badge with a wink and a smile. The older woman almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow causing Lee to chuckle as he took the stairs to the Q Bureau two at a time.

He was humming as he walked into the office. Amanda was already there, standing before an open filing drawer, her hands full of papers as she looked for the appropriate spot for each. She looked up and smiled at Lee and he felt the familiar warmth wash over him.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Amanda said, with a slight laugh.

"And why shouldn't I be?" he replied smiling back at her.

He walked over to the coffee maker and began to pour himself a cup. He opened his mouth to tell her about Leslie, but he'd found no words would come out. This was neither the time or place, he quickly reasoned and instead asked her to lunch. She smiled and accepted, then finished her filing and returned downstairs to the bullpen, leaving Lee alone, the latter trying not to think of how the office, which had just felt like the proverbial "happiest place on earth," now felt somewhat hollow.

Lee had fully intended to tell Amanda about Leslie at lunch. He knew she'd be thrilled when he explained what Leslie was like, told her what he knew about Leslie's family. This was the "normal" of which Amanda always spoke. He knew it was what she wanted for him. But somehow he didn't get around to mentioning Leslie. He just could never find a place in the conversation to fit it in. Besides, he thought, what if she doesn't call back? That might be embarrassing. Later he would tell Amanda, after, or rather, if Leslie called and agreed to a date.

When he arrived home the light on his machine was blinking, something it rarely did nowadays. He pressed the playback button and found that Leslie had returned his call. She was apparently in town and left her hotel number. Lee called her back right away, and while she sounded surprised, she accepted his invitation to dinner that night. An hour later found Lee walking into Leslie's hotel lobby. He felt like he was on cloud nine. And when he saw Leslie he wondered if there couldn't be a cloud 10 or 11. She was in a beautiful blue dress. It wasn't slinky or provocative, as all the other women he'd dated would have worn. Its conservative cut, with its long sleeves and higher neck, appealed to Lee in ways they never would have only a few months ago. She had finished off the look with a simple string of pearls. Momentarily Lee had to shake off an odd feeling of déjà vu and thoughts of fast food chicken, though he couldn't think why.

Dinner at the hotel's restaurant had been everything Lee hoped and after dessert Lee walked Leslie to the elevator. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled and Lee felt, well, he thought he felt warm. Didn't he? He ignored the question and made plans with Leslie for lunch the next day. After all, she was only going to be in town for the week. He had to make the most of it.

He watched as Leslie entered the elevator and waved goodbye before the doors closed and she made the ascent to her floor. As the valet pulled the 'Vette around Lee thought briefly of going to see Amanda. It was only 10pm. The boys would be in bed, maybe he could talk with her about Leslie tonight. No, he couldn't keep her up for that. She was busy and needed her rest. He'd talk to her tomorrow, maybe at lunch. No, he grimaced, he'd invited Leslie to lunch. Well, maybe tomorrow night he'd stop by and they could chat.

That night, Lee rolled over in a sleepless fit to stare at the clock again. 2:08.

"Great," he mocked himself. "You've been able to keep your eyes closed for five minutes."

Grumbling and kicking off the covers, he climbed out of bed and padded into his living room. He was about to head to the bar when he recalled that Amanda swore by warm milk to help her sleep. He'd never tried it but, since it was a work night, he thought it might be preferred. In the kitchen he took a mug out of his cupboard, poured in the milk, and proceeded to heat it in the microwave. Taking it out of the machine, he carried it back into the living room. He sat on the sofa and slowly let the warm liquid sooth him. He was half finished with it when he started to feel relaxed enough to maybe finally sleep. Laying his head back on the sofa, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off.

In his dream Lee found himself in Leslie's hotel lobby. He saw her across the room in her blue dress and went to her. He was only mildly surprised when he got to her and found she was actually Amanda. He took her hands in his and said, "You look fabulous." Then he leaned in to kiss her gently. The kiss was just like the one at their "wedding" in San Angelo. The feelings it evoked in Lee were powerful. But suddenly the scene shifted and he saw Amanda sprawled on a bed, unconscious. He was desperate to get to her. He had to save her. He saw the East German agent laughing at him. Lee tried to move but his legs were like tree trunks firmly rooted. The laughing agent walked over slowly and shut the door to the room in Lee's face. He heard Amanda scream.

Waking in a panic, Lee found himself on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table. He worked to control his ragged breathing as he stared at the ceiling.

"What was that about?" he wondered aloud. The dress, he thought. Leslie's dress had reminded him of the dress Amanda had worn to James Delano's party that night she... Lee cut off his thoughts. It was never a good thing to think of that night.

Going back to his room he saw it was now nearly 3:30. He crawled into his bed and tried to fall back to sleep, but he only dozed intermittently before giving up at 6am. Stumbling out of bed and into the shower he hoped the spray of water would stimulate him enough to get him moving. Finishing, he toweled himself off, put on his robe, and headed to the kitchen for some much needed coffee. He sat down at the table to wait for the pot to brew. Slowly his eyes began to drift shut. He snapped them open but something seemed different. He looked over to the coffee machine and saw that the carafe was full. He wondered how long he'd slept. Then his eyes turned to the clock on the microwave.

"9 o'clock!" he exclaimed loudly. "How did that happen?"

That morning he had bounded up the front steps to The Agency in a panic. It had been a very long time since he'd been late for work. He chastised himself for the hundredth time. Entering the foyer, he spat out the password to Mrs Marsden who this time shook her head noticeably as she handed him his badge. He ignored that and made quick work of the stairs to the Q Bureau. Just as he put his hand on the knob to open the door, it was ripped from him and he stood face to face with Amanda.

"Amanda!" he snapped.

She looked surprised and, apologizing, she stepped back to allow him to enter the office.

"Everything OK?" she asked quietly as he sat down in his chair.

"Everything's fine!" he snapped at her again.

There was a pause before she said, "I was worried. It's so unlike you to be late without at least calling to let me know."

If Lee had been given a million years, he'd never have been able to come up with an explanation for what he did next.

"Yeah?" he bit out. "Since when do I have to answer to you?"

He looked up at her angrily and his breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were wide with shock and surprise. She looked so much like she did that time at Nedlinger's. That time he'd sworn to never let happen again.

She lowered her eyes and without a word turned to leave.

"Oh, god, Amanda," he jumped from his chair and practically leaped across the room to intercept her before she could walk out the door.

"Amanda," his voice was pleading. "I'm so sorry."

He wanted to touch her, pull her to him in an embrace, but he cold only stand next to her and stare helplessly.

"It's OK," she said, her eyes never lifting to his face.

"No it's not," he clenched his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palms. Why couldn't he bring himself to touch her?

"Amanda," he continued. "You're my partner, and my friend."

She looked up at him and forced a smile. He saw her fight back tears.

"Oh, Amanda," Lee said in almost a whisper. He brought his right hand up toward her face but he stopped and it hovered in mid-air. "Please, please forgive me."

His eyes pleaded and if he had to get down on his knees and beg, he would.

Her face softened visibly and her smile became sincere. The look she always had for him, the one filled with trust and something else he couldn't yet identify, returned. Lee found he could breath again. The vise that had tightened around his chest loosened and the pounding in his head subsided.

"Of course, Lee," she said.

They stood in the doorway for what seemed like an eternity but the blink of an eye simultaneously. Lee didn't want to turn his eyes from hers. They gazed into each others eyes like lovers until a feeling slowly began to take over Lee and the desire to lean in and kiss Amanda became apparent to him. He mentally shook himself out of his reverie. No, Amanda didn't want this. He wouldn't force himself on her. He needed to stay in control and stop thinking about her like that. She deserved better.

"Thank you," he finally said. And with that he broke the moment. Amanda returned to the bullpen downstairs and Lee continued shuffling his paperwork until lunch.

He saw her again on his way to his car for lunch. She was leaving for the day and he told her he'd see her tomorrow. Driving to lunch he thought again how wonderful it was to have a friend like Amanda.

Lee had had a wonderful lunch with Leslie. He just couldn't believe how well they were hitting things off. He liked everything about her, from her gentle voice, to her unpretentious ways. She was a translator for the UN, had travelled all over the world, met all the important dignitaries, yet to hear her talk about it you would think her work was no different than any other person's work. She had a sweet and kind way about her. When she spoke of the people she knew he could tell she cared for each of them. She never had a bad thing to say except that this person could at times be exasperating or that person had frustrated her a little bit but that was just the way life was. She didn't "dish the gossip" in the way his other girlfriends had, nor did she name drop to make herself sound important.

Afterward, Lee couldn't help himself but ask her to dinner that night. She looked surprised at first but then smiled and accepted. Lee felt like a teenager who'd just asked the prettiest girl to Prom and she'd accepted. This time their parting kiss lingered.

This was good, Lee thought. Really good.

At 6 that night Lee picked Leslie up. She was waiting for him by the valet station. Lee got out and opened the door for her. He took her hand in his and kissed her gently on her lips.

"I could have come up for you," he told her.

"Oh, Lee," she laughed lightly. " There's no reason for you to pay the valet just for that."

Lee shook his head as he closed the door of the Corvette. Leslie was definitely unlike any other woman he'd dated.

He'd taken her to a restaurant with a dance floor. The band was good there, he'd remembered. He had been enjoying the meal and company so thoroughly, that he'd gotten carried away with the wine. At least that's the reason he came up with early in his sleepless morning for what had happened that evening. After dinner they danced for a while, then Lee guided Leslie out onto the veranda under the guise of needing some air. It had cooled and Lee took his jacket and placed it on Leslie's shoulders. She smiled up at him.

"I'm having such a wonderful evening," she said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Me too," he smiled back as he slowly bent his face toward hers.

Leslie had very sweet lips. They weren't...

'No,' Lee reminded himself, 'I'm not going to think about that anymore. Amanda would never want this with me.'

It couldn't possibly have been the thought of Amanda while he was kissing Leslie that suddenly made him desire more than he should have on only their third date. No, he convinced himself in the dimly lit living room at 3:30 am. It was the wine, combined with the fact he hadn't been with a woman in months.

Slowly Lee had intensified the kiss. His hands pulled Leslie gently closer. He ran his left hand slowly up her side, when he felt her shudder he worked to control his response. He pulled his hand out from under the coat and to her face, caressing her cheek then reached back to feel her hair with his fingers. He pulled away from her lips, but only to trail passionate kisses across her check and down the column of her neck. He heard her breathe his name and it was his turn to shudder. Really, it had been so long. But he didn't want to rush things. He'd learned from Amanda that there was no need. Getting to know a woman outside the bedroom could be just as evocative as inside.

Lee pulled away slightly from Leslie.

"I'm not pushing this too fast, am I?" he asked. The look in his eyes conveyed his concern that maybe this was a little too much for the third date. He'd never moved slowly. Even with women he claimed to care for like Eva and Dorothy.

Leslie just smiled at him sweetly and tilted her head slightly.

"You are such a gentleman," she said.

Lee had to laugh.

"Well, it's been a long time since someone accused me of that," Lee said, with a relieved smile.

Lee pulled Leslie into a warm embrace and pressed his lips to her temple. Sighing a contented sigh, Lee thought that this was going to be very nice.

When he returned Leslie to her hotel she again refused to let him pay the valet just so he could walk her to her room. He settled for a gentle kiss and a promise for another date the following night.

As Lee drove away he looked at the time. 11:30. Much too late to go and talk to Amanda. Tomorrow he'd ask her to lunch and then he'd tell her all about Leslie. He knew Amanda would be very happy for him and she would definitely like Leslie. Maybe if Amanda was free this weekend and Leslie had some time, they could all have lunch at that restaurant at the hotel. Yeah, that would be perfect.