Hi, all. Sorry it's been so long. In these last two weeks I learned the real reason I had stopped writing, even for private pleasure after I started working last year. Between that and school (I homeschool) there is little time for anything else. I was finally able to settle my brain enough this week to work this chapter out.

Thanks for everyone's comments on my question about the A/N. And for everyone's reviews in general. I greatly appreciate them.

Real quick, and I'm sorry that I don't have the names but I want to get this posted before I get distracted by things I need to do around here.

For the reviewer who thought Lee had moved throughout the series...he only moved within the same apartment building in the first three series. I actually had always thought that as well until the DVDs came out. The outside view of his apartment doesn't change until the fourth season.

For the one's who wanted a bit more Frank, he's here a little but if my fingers will cooperate (they do my writing) there will be more in the epilogue.

For everyone who wanted to know Lee's thoughts on the, as one FF writer put it many years ago, Freudian Slip heard 'round the world, I only deal with it briefly here. It's a pretty big deal but he needs more time to figure it out than he had that evening.

I hope that covers everything. I will attempt to reply to all the messages this week as I find time because I do enjoy interacting with all the readers. :)

Lee closed the door to his apartment and leaned his head up against it.

'What just happened?' he wondered.

A voice behind him brought him out of his thoughts.

"Everything alright?" Leslie asked.

Oh, god, Leslie. Lee hadn't been kidding that her presence in his apartment was a surprise. He honestly hadn't even thought of her once today. How was that possible? They were dating. He should have thought of her at some point.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he said, turning to face her. "Amanda and I just don't always see eye to eye on things."

"Well, I'm sure she's just looking out for you," Leslie smiled, as she put her arms around his waist. "That's what good secretaries do."

Lee nodded, not in agreement but to end any further discussion of Amanda.

"Dinner's just about ready," Leslie said. "I'm going to go get changed. Do you want to pour some wine?"

Lee nodded and leaned down to kiss her. As she pulled slowly away from him and headed for the bedroom, Lee couldn't help but think that this all felt terribly wrong. But this was what he wanted, how could it be wrong?

And how could he have forgotten Leslie for an entire day?

Lee thought back over the events of the day briefly. He'd awoken feeling just fine. Better than fine, actually; it had been the first night in nearly a week he'd slept straight through. There were no nightmares, no insomnia, just a feeling of complete rest he wasn't sure if he'd ever felt before. He wondered again what he had dreamed about. Why was it that he could remember every nightmare from this week, but the one night he probably had a nice dream, he couldn't remember one detail?

It had been his day off, but that never kept him away from the office. And with this mess with the bombing and Amanda being caught up in everything involved, he wasn't surprised to pick up his ringing phone that morning and hear her voice at the other end. She'd been worried about Elizabeth Sullivan, telling him she'd tried calling her several times and that no one seemed to know where she was. Lee could hear the worry in her voice and told her he'd do some checking.

The day was a fairly normal work day for him after that. He and Amanda had hunted down the car Magnuson's killer had been driving. Amanda had gotten herself in a tight place, again. They'd managed to get out of that, thankfully, and then they'd come back to his place, where he'd been reminded he was dating.

How had he forgotten Leslie for an entire day? Why did it feel so wrong that she was here right now? And would he even have remembered to call her if she hadn't been here? He had to admit, he'd been entertaining the idea of more time with Amanda. Today had felt so right. This week had been stressful, and being with Amanda, as always, had made things less so.

And Amanda, had she been jealous of Leslie? No, that wasn't possible. To be jealous of Leslie would imply that she wanted...No, he couldn't let himself think like that. Still, it seemed obvious to Lee now that something about Leslie bothered Amanda. It made no sense at the time, but now he wondered if Amanda wasn't actually jealous of Leslie. Her argument sounded just like their old arguments, only in reverse. Instead of him being jealous of men she was dating, she was jealous of Leslie. Lee let that thought settle over his mind for a moment. He had to admit it made him slightly hopeful.

Just as suddenly though, he shook that thought from his mind. Amanda was just looking out for him, like Leslie had said. He shouldn't get his hopes up.

Sighing, he looked around the room. While he had been in the hall with Amanda, Leslie had lit some candles. Lee reached over to the light switch and dutifully dimmed the lights then went to pour the wine. But despite his reasoning against it, Lee continued to try to decipher Amanda's reaction to Leslie, and what it could possibly mean.

He saw movement from the corner of his eye.

"Amanda..." Damn! Lee turned his head away from Leslie so she couldn't see him visibly react to his very stupid mistake. How the hell was he going to explain that?

He turned to look at her. She looked very...nice. That was the best Lee could think because his traitorous mind suddenly brought forth an image of Amanda from the night at the Soviet Embassy to compare with Leslie, and it just wasn't the same.

"Amanda *is* very nice," Lee couldn't believe Leslie was giving him an out. "And you're very lucky to have her."

"Yes, Amanda is very special," Lee smiled at Leslie, trying to keep his thoughts in the present.

He took her outstretched hands in his and led her over to the sofa. There were a few minutes left before dinner and Lee hoped to take his mind off Amanda by then. They sat closely together and Lee said Leslie's name with the hopes he wouldn't make that terrible mistake again this evening. He leaned into kiss her as she put her arms around his neck.

Just then the phone rang. He was fairly certain who it would be and he grimaced.

After taking the call then calling Francine to tell her to be ready, he turned to Leslie to apologize.

"It's OK," she smiled as she stood. "I understand."

Lee stood up and started for the door.

"I'll wait for you?" Leslie asked.

"I don't really know how long I'll be," he said apologetically.

"I'll wait a while," she said. "And I'll keep some food warm for you."

Lee shook his head and smiled. Leslie was very kind and understanding.

"Alright," he told her. "But don't wait too long."

He kissed her goodbye and left to pick up Francine.

As he rode the elevator down to the lobby, Lee tried to ignore the feeling of relief he felt at being called away so quickly.

Frank looked up as the elevator sounded its arrival. Walking to the door of the lobby to open it for whichever tenant was leaving he cringed inwardly as he caught Mr. Stetson's reflection in the glass. Putting on a pleasant face he turned to greet the man as he approached the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Stetson," he said.

"Evening, Frank," came the reply.

"Leaving so soon?" Frank queried, though he knew it was none of his business.

"Yeah," Mr. Stetson sighed. "Back to work."

"And Ms. O'Conner?" Frank knew he was pushing it but he couldn't stop himself.

"Um," Mr. Stetson hesitated. "She'll probably have to leave before I get back."

Inwardly relieved Frank continued with what he really should have lead with.

"I'm sorry if I caused any problems letting Ms. O'Conner into your apartment," he said, though it was a lie. He was now secretly glad that things had turned out the way they had. Mrs. King might be hurt right now but it was better to learn what type of man Mr. Stetson was early on before things got any more serious than they already were.

"No," Mr. Stetson replied. "No problem."

And he looked as if he meant it, which only served to confuse Frank more.

"Have a good evening," Mr. Stetson said as he walked out the open door.

"Thank you, sir," Frank said. "You, too."

Once alone in his car, Lee took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. That certainly had been one of the less memorable moments of his life. In all his dating years he could not remember ever doing something that stupid. How could he have called Leslie by the wrong name? First he forgets about her for an entire day, then he uses the wrong name. He was going to screw this relationship up before it even got off the ground.

For now, though, Lee needed to push those thoughts aside. He couldn't afford to be distracted going into this "meeting," if that's what this turned out to be. Lee had a feeling he and Francine were walking straight into a trap. He needed to be fully present or he could get himself or Francine hurt or killed. He'd have to worry about the mess he'd made of things later.

By the time he reached the Agency, Lee was convinced this wasn't going to be as cut and dry as he'd tried to make it sound to Amanda. He was glad to see Francine waiting for him at the curb with her brown wig to double as his partner. He'd already dealt with Amanda getting in too deep once today when her ruse at Trans Oceanic was discovered.

As the usually blond agent opened the door and sat down, Lee thought to himself, "At least she left the curlers at home this time."

"What's the game plan?" Francine asked.

"Well," Lee replied. "I doubt they're just going to give us the money. I'm sure they have something else planned. We just need to be on alert."

"Think it's wise to have back-up 30 minutes out?" she questioned.

"I'm hoping we can get more than money," Lee said. "It'll be too hard to get a conviction based solely on that. It's too flimsy."

Francine nodded.

"It's a good thing I'm coming along instead of Amanda, then," the woman quipped.

Lee was immediately incensed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, his voice almost a growl.

"Don't be so sensitive," Francine replied coolly. "I'm just pointing out that there is too much riding on this assignment so we don't need a housewife there pretending she knows what she's doing."

Lee clamped his jaw shut, but he knew his anger had to be obvious on his face. He had been trying to stay focused on their task to keep himself and Francine safe; she apparently had no such concerns. He wanted to tell her he thought she'd been behind a desk too long and that Amanda would never have tried to distract him going into this sort of situation, but he bit his tongue and gripped the steering wheel tightly. All the while trying to ignore the existence of another person in his car.

But Francine wasn't done.

"So, you and Amanda kiss and make up?" came her next remark.

"What?!" he hollered.

"You seem to be a little upset about my comments regarding her fitness in the field," Francine said. "So, I assume the two of you are back to your usual, if you can call anything with Amanda usual, selves."

"Amanda and I are just fine," Lee grumbled. Francine had obviously been fishing with her first comments, still, Lee wasn't happy she had brought this subject up now. It was just too distracting for him.

Francine shook her head.

"It was nice of her to forgive you for such a petty lie," Francine chided. "You know, considering how she feels about lying and all."

Lee's breath caught, and Francine went on.

"I don't even know why you were lying in the first place," she said. "It was so obvious to everyone."

Francine looked over to Lee and added, "Besides, one of the girls from the steno-pool saw you and the new conquest making out at some restaurant a few nights ago, so the whole office knows."

Lee was barely listening. Oh, god. He had lied to Amanda. He hadn't thought about it before Francine pointed it out. That explained why Amanda was so upset at the apartment. What had he been thinking? He hadn't wanted to destroy his relationship with Amanda, he just knew he needed to move on.

As Lee drove on, Francine finally talked herself out, seemingly oblivious to Lee's distress. What was he going to do, he thought. How would he ever be able to fix this with Amanda. He had lied about something so stupid, and he had absolutely no idea why.

Finally, Trans-Oceanic Industries came into view and Lee worked to get into agent mode. He couldn't be thinking of how he'd messed things up with Amanda, again, at a moment like this.

Amanda had watched Mr. O'Keefe's assistant from her spot atop some boxes behind the fence surrounding Trans-Oceanic Industries. He had placed something near the parking spaces in front of the building then walked quickly toward the boxes right in front of her. When she saw him start toward her she had a feeling it wouldn't be long until Lee and Francine came into view and she couldn't believe her luck that the man had planted himself right in front of her.

As she watched Lee's Corvette pull into the parking area, Amanda knew what she had to do. This wasn't like hitting someone over the head with a stick and hoping Lee could get to her quickly enough, she was entirely on her own. Lee and Francine didn't even know she was at the facility. Trying not to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong, Amanda focused on the one that had to go right. She had to stop the man from hurting Lee and Francine. Taking a deep breath, she climbed up over the wall and knocked down the boxes closest to her. This action caused O'Keefe's assistant to jump back and out of the way of the falling boxes, but did nothing to stop him permanently. Amanda jumped from her perch and onto his back, but the man easily threw her off and back into the crates. Then he reached for something. Amanda didn't bother to see what it was. She grabbed a 2x4 and hit him square on the back. Then she ducked as she heard an explosion.

When she looked back up, the man was unconscious and she could hear gunfire coming from Lee's direction. She watched over the boxes as Lee ran to the front entrance and waved Francine around to the side. As soon as she was sure it was clear, Amanda ran quickly around the side and followed Francine into the building.

She paused briefly when she reached the door, fear and panic threatening to strangle her. The gunshots from inside the building forcing her to recall her time at the firing range earlier. She didn't realize until now how much that had shaken her self-confidence.

"I'm really out of my element," she said to no one, hoping the sound of her own voice would bring her courage enough to follow through.

Reminding herself again what was at stake, she ran into the balding following after Francine.

She came up behind her and watched as O'Keefe fired a shot at Francine. Though it missed, the splinters that flew up from the crate where the bullet impacted must have flown into Francine's face. She turned away quickly and fell, dropping her gun. Mr. O'Keefe used that moment to overpower the agent. After O'Keefe pushed Francine around the corner and probably into Lee's view, Amanda grabbed up Francine's fallen gun. Trying to ignore her heart, which felt as if it would burst out of her ribcage, she boldly moved to hopefully help Lee and Francine.

As she moved to get behind O'Keefe and Francine where she couldn't be seen, she hear Lee try to bluff is way out by claiming the place was surrounded. Amanda might have found some humor in that idea if only her mind could focus on something aside from the dread of the gun in her hand and what she might be forced to do with it.

As she came up to the fence, she knew Lee had to have seen her, but she couldn't look directly at him. She might lose her nerve. Bringing the pistol up in both hands, she leveled it at O'Keefe's back. Remembering the training that morning, she froze. What if she missed? He'd shoot Lee. If possible, that idea made her heart beat even harder. Instead, she looked up to the ceiling where she saw a pulley. She aimed as best as she thought she could, closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. If nothing else, the shot might distract O'Keefe long enough for Lee to disarm him.

Fortunately, she hit the pulley and the net fell onto O'Keefe, surprising him enough to enable Lee to jump down, knock the hand out of his gun and knock him out. Then he and Francine came to talk to her through the fence separating them.

"Amanda, that was great shooting," Francine complimented.

But Lee was not so easily appeased.

"Why didn't you just take O'Keefe out?" he said angrily.

"Well, Lee," Amanda explained. "I probably would have missed him. And if I didn't shoot him, then he probably would shoot you." And I don't ever want to see you shot again, was left unsaid for more reasons than just Francine standing there with them.

"Amanda," Lee said, and she could tell her explanation did nothing to appease him by his increasingly angry voice. "If you didn't think you could get him, what makes you think you could get the pulley?"

She was too stressed to think up anything much better than the truth.

"Well, I just aimed for the broad side of the building and hoped for the best."

She could tell by his expression that Lee was disappointed and angry. Amanda just held out Francine's gun by its barrel. The agent walked around and took it, giving her a strange look Amanda wasn't sure about. She couldn't tell if the woman was amazed or disgusted. Amanda didn't suppose it mattered, really. Lee had not come one step closer to her. She knew he would probably give her some lecture about it later.

But later never came. Billy came in with the back-up shortly after that. Amanda drove down to the Agency and gave her formal statement and was debriefed. Lee, she was told, was questioning the suspects, so she decided it was best to go home and perhaps get a good night's sleep before having to hear any of Lee's other thoughts on her performance this evening.

A few hours later, Amanda was sitting on the sofa in the den, nursing a hot cup of cocoa when her mother came downstairs. Dotty poured herself a mug of the hot cocoa and came to sit at the other end of the sofa from Amanda.

"Mother," Amanda said.

"Yes, dear."

"Why would someone lie about something really unimportant?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, I don't know why anyone lies about anything, Amanda," her mother said. "Why? Who's been lying to you? It's not one of the boys. Oh, it would be just awful if they started that habit. You know, Amanda, I always say that truthfulness is one of the most important traits a person can have."

Finally Dotty stopped to take a breath and a sip of her cocoa.

"No, Mother," Amanda assured. "It's not one of the boys."

"So what is this about?"

"My friend at work," Amanda said.

Her mother thought for a moment.

"Oh, the one you said was making bad decisions," she said finally.

Amanda nodded.

"He lied about something that was really unimportant," Amanda explained. "And it was something that was going to be found out eventually. So I just don't understand."

"Maybe he was afraid?" her mother ventured. "I think most people lie when they are afraid of something or someone."

Amanda thought on that while her mother looked at her.

"What did he lie about?" she asked.

"A woman," Amanda said absently, not thinking before she spoke. By the time she realized what she'd said, it was too late to take it back.

"Someone he's seeing?"

Amanda nodded again.

"Who did he lie to?"

"Everyone," Amanda told her. "Everyone at the office. Even our boss."

Dotty furrowed her brow as she thought.

"It seems odd to lie about someone you are seeing to your boss," she observed. "What difference would it make."

"I know," Amanda said, a sadness creeping into her voice.

"Amanda," Dotty said softly as she reached across the sofa and put a hand on her daughter's knee. "Are you sure there is nothing between you and this man at the office?"

Amanda didn't even react. She just shook her head.

"No, there's definitely nothing going on between us."

Dotty looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments before going on.

"Maybe there's someone at the office he's involved with and he didn't want her to know."

Amanda sighed.

"I suppose that could be it," she said. Then she quietly finished her cocoa.

When she was finished she stood to take her mug to the sink and washed it out absentmindedly while she stared wistfully out the window. After placing the mug in the dish drain, she bid her mother goodnight and slowly climbed the stairs to her room.

If Lee was finished at the Agency, he would have gone back to his apartment, and, Amanda sighed deeply, Leslie. Nice, normal, high security clearance, world traveling Leslie. As she readied for bed, Amanda couldn't help but think about Lee and his new girlfriend. Leslie was a nice woman, and Amanda needed to be glad for Lee. He was her friend, her best friend, and she was acting like the jilted lover. She had no right to that title. But Lee did have a right to happiness and if he thought Leslie would make him happy, Amanda should support that. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Lee wasn't really happy with Leslie. The whole week he had been more miserable than she had ever seen him. If Leslie was as perfect for him as he claimed, why had he tried to hide her existence from everyone at the office by lying? As she crawled under the covers, Amanda hoped that Lee would either open up to her finally, or she could find a way to help him.

Next: The long-awaited break-up chapter. :) Sad that we are all so happy about that. hehe.