Rest and Recovery
Amanda sat in the car next to her mother on the way home from the hospital in unusual silence. Her mother did however notice how Amanda biting on her fingernails. "Amanda, dear, is everything okay? I mean outside of having a sprained ankle and a knot on your head."
Amanda noticed her mother looking at her hands and withdrew them from her mouth, resting them in her lap. "I was just thinking this is the second time this summer that I hurt my ankle and how this hasn't been a really great summer."
"Well, the summer isn't over yet and anything could change. It is only the middle of July, you know."
Amanda nodded her head and quietly agreed with her mother. When they arrived home, Dotty helped Amanda from the car and to her room. Amanda thanked her mother telling her she would see her in the morning.
Amanda lay in bed going over all the things the doctor told her at the hospital.
"Mrs. King, can you tell me how this happened?"
"Yes, I was getting ready for a date. I went to go down the stairs to put my shoes on to leave. I made it to the third step from the top, lost my footing, and fell hitting my head. I barely remember hearing Lee and my mother calling my name. I woke up here with your light in my eyes."
"When you fell, were you dizzy or lightheaded first?" The doctor asked as she continued to check Amanda's pulse and other vitals.
"Um, I don't think, well, I was a little dizzy." Amanda replied.
"Mrs. King, are you currently sexually active?"
"What? Why?" Amanda asked.
"Are you currently pregnant or might be pregnant?" The doctor asked as she began to press on Amanda's abdomen.
"Not that I am aware of. I mean I take birth control."
"So, you are active? When was the last time you had your period?"
"What difference does that make? I already told you I am on birth control." Amanda claimed.
"Mrs. King, even when used properly, birth control is not one hundred percent. We ran blood tests when you first arrived. You came back with a positive pregnancy test."
Tears slightly fell from her eyes as she said, "The first week in June was the last time I had sex. I had been off my last period for about a week. I forgot that I had been on an antibiotic then also."
Sitting next to her patient, she took her hand in hers and said, "The antibiotics are probably the cause for the ineffective birth control. With what you told me, you should delivery around the end of February. I want you to verify all this with your own doctor or OB. Also, in light of who brought you in, I assume you are in the same line of film work?" The doctor looked at Amanda in a knowing expression while Amanda just nodded.
"Mrs. King, I must insist that you inform your supervisor as soon as possible. He or she will need to make the applicable restrictions and accommodations for your work environment."
Amanda nodded and agreed to Doctor Polar's advice. Wiping the tears from Amanda's face, Doctor Polar asked, "Is Mr. Stetson a friend or father?"
"Yes."
"I'll send the nurse out to get your mother for you. I will prepare your discharge papers. I will also leave it up to you to reveal your news."
"Thank you, Doctor Polar."
Lee Stetson lay in his bed wishing he knew what was bothering him the most; that he had found her hurt or that he felt as if she had pushed him away. He thought back to before he left. He was pretty sure he had made it clear that she was the one he was interested in. Did she only think it was sexually? God, he hoped not. He had really grown to care for her over the last few months of meeting her. Knowing her only for a few weeks and he knew she was someone special and needed to be treated better than the women he dated.
He thought back to their first case together, at the train station. She blindly trusted him and after one day of knowing him, she invited him to her home. He didn't go of course, but she opened up to him immediately. Not to mention how brave she was during that time, saving him, helping plug the leak, and taking anything else that the Agency or him had thrown her way.
She blindly followed him again six weeks ago when he carried her caveman style into his bedroom and made love to her. She left before they had a chance to talk about it. The next day though they did get to talk and he thought they were at an understanding.
His thoughts drifted to their dinner in the park. The drive to the park was very interesting to say the least. He was beginning to realize how uninhibited she was. If that wasn't proof, than the phone call to her three weeks ago was. It wasn't a one-way conversation; she had him just as worked up as he had her.
Last night was no different after talking on the phone; she still showed up and spent as much of the night as she could in his arms before having to go home. Seeing her in the office handcuffed the following morning and later being reminded by her that she didn't want restraints between them put a smile on his face.
Another memory plagued him, it was one of seeing her helpless and lifeless on the stairs of her home. He was terrified that something from his life had swept into hers, something that he would be unable to fight or fix. He made a promise to himself to protect her as long as he could but at that moment, seeing her unconscious body on those stairs, a fear he hadn't felt in years over took him.
The next morning the King household was a quiet one, until the boys came home from their sleepover. Amanda was lying on the couch with her ankle propped on a pillow when Phillip saw her stopping in his tracks. "Whoa, Mom, what happened to you?"
"Yeah, Mom, you were fine yesterday." Jamie chimed in.
"I fell on the stairs and hurt my ankle and hit my head, but I'll be alright fellas. I don't go back to work until Monday, so I will have plenty of time to rest and recover."
"Boys, be careful around her ankle, the swelling has only just started to go down."
"Okay, Grandma, can we have something to eat? We haven't had lunch yet."
"Sure, I'll go make it while you two go wash your hands." The boys turned, gave their mother a kiss, and then raced up the stairs to see who could make it to the sink first.
Dotty finished placing the plates for the boys on the table just as the phone rang. Phillip answered it, "Hello? Yes, she is. May I ask who is calling? Okay, Mom, Lee for you?" Phillip carried the phone over to his mother on the couch and then asked his grandmother, "Who the heck is Lee?"
"A friend that your mother works with, he helped take her to the hospital last night. He seems like a very nice man from the little we talked."
"Grandma, is he mom's new boyfriend?" Jamie asked.
"I don't think so, but one never knows about these things." Dotty answered her grandson, but never took her eyes off of the soundless conversation coming from the couch.
"Hello, Lee. How are you today?"
"I should be asking you that. I was just making sure it was okay for me to still come by after I get done at work today. It should be a short day, nothing heavy. I have to finish being debriefed after lunch and this morning I have a few contacts to go meet, like I said a real light day."
Amanda smiled at his attempt of humor for the world of espionage. She knew from what little experience she had that a "light day" in DC could turn into World War Three in a drop of a hat. "If you get a chance to drop by, that would be perfectly fine. If you happen to come by around dinner, I am pretty sure there will be enough to go around."
Lee smiled at her shy way of asking him to have dinner with her family, "I'll be there as long as Francine lets me leave for dinner."
"She better, you need to eat like everyone else."
"I'll see you later, Amanda, and stay off that ankle."
"I will, see you later and I will stay off my ankle." Hanging up the phone, she rested her head on the side of the couch and thought how Lee might react to her news. Would he be upset? Would he be happy? Would he blame her? It was then she decided to wait to tell him until after seeing her own doctor. She had already made the appointment for Monday before work. She had even called Mr. Melrose letting him know she would be to work as soon as her appointment was over and that she would like to talk with him privately. She almost said something to him over the phone when she heard his concern, but decided against it.
"Can we go to the park, Momma?" Jamie asked.
"Sure you guys can, as soon as you clean your room. I noticed that it wasn't as clean as it could have been in order to stay the night with a friend. I bet if you two hurry you could have it cleaned in no time and still have plenty of time to play at the park today."
After five minutes of swearing they would clean it when they got back, Amanda put her foot down saying, "No, you guys pulled a fast one on your Grandmother last night. Now if you would like to go to the park today then I suggest you go clean your room or that room is the only thing you will see for the rest of this summer. Is that understood?"
Without a word, the two young boys nodded their head and went silently to their room to clean it. They may hate cleaning their room, but they both knew that their mother was serious when she told them that would be all they would be seeing if they didn't go clean it.
Thirty minutes later Dotty was checking their room and giving them the green light to go have fun. Amanda took this opportunity to take a nap. She wasn't sure if it was her new found knowledge of being pregnant that made her tired or the fact she still had a headache from hitting her head on the railing of the stairs.
Amanda found herself inside a room filled with warm light. She watched as a little girl with golden curls sat coloring in the room. She walked over to see what the little girl was coloring. It was a family picture. It showed many people in the photo all marked with their names. Amanda read the names, Grandma, Daddy, Jamie, Phillip, Uncle Joe, Aunt Francine, Grandpa Billy, and Mommy.
Lee walked into the room and over to the little girl at the small table. "What's shaking, Princess?"
"I have to draw a picture of my family for school; did I get everyone?"
Lee looked over the photo, "It looks like you got everyone, even Aunt Francine. Very nice, Mommy will be so proud of you for remembering everyone."
"Where is Mommy?"
"I think we can find her downstairs making dinner. Why don't we go see her?"
The scene in front of Amanda changed from the warm room to a cozy kitchen she had never seen before. "Mommy, mommy, I drew a picture of our family. What to see it?"
"I sure do." Amanda saw a beautiful woman pick the girl up and praise the picture. Kissing the little girl she said, "Why don't you go play in the yard with your brothers until dinner is ready."
"Okay, Mommy." The little girl ran from the kitchen out into a backyard where Amanda followed without moving to see the girl jump on a pile of leaves that Phillip and Jamie were raking.
"Amanda!" The two boys yelled at her at the same time.
"Amanda, wake up! Amanda, it's Lee, wake up!"
Amanda jerked up seeing Lee and her mother standing over her, she ran her hands over her face and hair. "What? What happened?"
"I think you were having a nightmare, you were crying no, not my daughter. What daughter, dear?" Her mother asked.
"I don't have a daughter, Mother, I have two boys." Still trying to shake herself awake, Amanda tried to move her foot so Lee could sit down instead of on the coffee table.
"Hey, don't move your foot. Do you need something?" Lee asked.
"Yes, I have to use the bathroom. Can you please hand me my crutches?"
"Sure, do you need any other help?"
"No, I know how to use the bathroom all by myself." Speaking more harshly then she meant to, she quickly added a shy smile.
Smiling back he said, "I meant getting to the bathroom?"
"No, it might take me a little longer but I promise I will be back."
Dotty and Lee watched as Amanda worked the crutches and stairs like a pro. "It looks like she knows what she is doing. Does she have a lot of experience with crutches and stairs?"
"No she will be fine. Would you like something to drink, Mr. Stetson?"
"Do you have any iced tea?"
Dotty and Lee sat down at the kitchen table drinking their tea in silence as the boys came in fighting about a shot on the basketball court at the park.
"I could have totally made that shot. Why did you block me?" Jamie demanded to know of his older brother.
"I was on the other team; what did you want me to do?" Phillip's sarcastic reply didn't go unnoticed by the two adults.
"Boys, now that's enough! This is Mr. Stetson. He works with your Mom at the film company."
"Hello." They said in unison.
"Sorry, Grandma, where is Mom?" Jamie asked.
"She went upstairs for a minute. She will be back down soon."
"So, Mr. Stetson, what do you do with Mom?"
Lee choked on his tea then recovered quickly, passing off the coughing fit as tea going down the wrong way then answered, "I am a director/producer and I often have your mom help me on some of my locations."
"Really, what kinds of things does mom do?" Jamie asked. "She doesn't really talk a lot about her job."
"Your mom is a great help. She is great with organization, a skill I am still working on. She helps me with mainly my reports and paperwork. On a location she may help with anything from taking street shots all the way to a final take."
"Our mom takes pictures for you? Does she cut heads off in them like the ones for us?" Phillip asked.
"Yes, she takes photos and no she doesn't cut the heads out of them. Most of the time it is a street or building, the people aren't that important for the shots she takes."
"Oh, that is good to know. I love my daughter but she lacks a certain picture taking skill I fear." Dotty said laughing.
"Gee, thanks Mother, tell me how you really feel." Amanda came into the kitchen sitting at the table with everyone else.
"I thought tonight we would just have some pizza and board games, how does that sound Amanda?"
"That sounds perfect. Mother, why did you let me sleep so long?"
Concerned Lee asked, "How long were you asleep?"
"I fell asleep not long after the boys went to the park; I thought that was about one. If Lee is off work then it had to be after five. Did you boys just now get home?"
"Mom we aren't late. You said to be home before dinner; dinner isn't here. We were playing ball and lost track of time. Tommy's mom came and got him and told us we should be getting home as well."
"Well, go clean up before dinner; you two are sweating like pigs."
"Mom," Jamie stated as he went to go upstairs, "pigs don't sweat. When they get to hot they just roll in mud or find water."
"Thanks for the lesson, Jamie. Now please go clean up."
Dotty guided the boys up the stairs to give Amanda and Lee some privacy. It didn't go unnoticed on either of them.
"Wow, I know how to clear a room, don't I?" Amanda mentioned but she never looked in Lee's direction. She was afraid he would tell what was wrong with her just by looking at her.
Lee took her hand in his and inquired, "Did I do something wrong?"
Looking in his eyes, "Did you do anything wrong?"
"At the hospital you just seemed to distance yourself from me; kind of like you are now avoiding my question with a question. Hell, Amanda you aren't even looking at me."
"I'm not avoiding anything," she stammered nervously as she ran her hands over her pant leg, "and you haven't done anything wrong. I just, um, I just need to-" She pulled him close hoping she could get his mind on more pleasant thoughts by kissing him. She ran her tongue over his lips, waiting for his acceptance to deepen the kiss. Moving closer to Amanda as their kiss extended Lee moved his hand to her waist, which quickly brought Amanda back to the present.
"What? What did I do?" Lee creased his eyebrows in confusion.
"Nothing, I just can't think when you touch me like that and we can't get carried away with everyone here."
Smiling smugly Lee said, "I completely understand. I guess I will just have to give you safe kisses while we are under surveillance."
"Is there such a thing as a safe kiss with you, Lee Stetson?"
"Amanda, who could be safer than me? I would never do anything to hurt you. I promise."
Amanda's nerves were at high alert. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, she just hoped he understood she wouldn't do anything to hurt him either.
Long after dinner was over, Lee and Amanda sat on the couch talking over his day at work and his growing frustration with Francine and her debriefing of his time in Europe. "I don't know why she seems to think there is more than what I am telling her."
"She wants the juicy stuff, all your sexy pillow talk." Laughing at her own statement, Lee gave her a look of utter shock.
"You want me to tell her about my late night phone calls to my girlfriend?" Lee asked just before he kissed her.
"Is that what I am, your girlfriend?" Amanda asked.
"You are the only woman I have seen on a personal level since that day in my apartment when your car broke down." Lee replied while drawing circles on her wrist with his thumb.
"So you have had romantic dinners with other women while you were in Europe?" Pulling from his touch she rubbed her wrist where his thumb had just been.
Breathing out heavily, "Only business associates or sting operations, none of them were on a personal level."
"Lee, you know you didn't have to tell me that. I trust you." Touching his face to try and make up from pulling from his touch.
"I know you do. I hope you know that you can trust me too. Is there something about last night that you aren't telling me?" Lee looked down as he asked, feeling his frustration building.
"Yes, but I can't talk about it just yet." Amanda wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her arms as if she were cold.
"Does it have anything to do with your nightmare?" Lee whispered not wanting her mother to hear this part of their conversation.
"Yes, it does. Why are you pushing this, Lee?" She tried to stand forgetting all about her ankle, until Lee stopped her with his hand.
"Amanda, why are you avoiding this?" Amanda could tell he was becoming frustrated by the tone of his voice.
Whispering and avoiding his eyes, "You don't even know what it is I am avoiding."
"I have an idea." He avoided her gaze as he stood and then said, "I want you to know that you can tell me anything. I also want you to know that we won't work, professionally or personally if we keep things from one another. I'll be here whenever you want to talk about things. I need to get going. I will talk to you tomorrow. Get some rest."