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"I don't need a damn wheelchair, Billy, now let me walk." Lee was saying as he was brought in. Billy choosing to ignore him gently jerked the chair slightly as Lee went to stand.
When Lee gave him an affronted look Billy simply smiled saying, "You wanted to see her before you were seen by a doctor, so you get the honor of seeing her in this chair." Billy wheeled Lee closer to the side of the bed next as he took Amanda's hand from Francine and placed it in his.
"Look here, you can't keep getting hurt or that child of ours will not make it past the first trimester." He kissed her palm before she placed it over his face and traced the bruises and cuts. She was trying to stay brave and not break down, but she failed herself. It was the first time in four days that she allowed herself the luxury of crying and feeling all she had been pushing away. Whispering in his ear so only he could hear she said, "I am so sorry I'm not as brave as you."
Placing his bloody hands on her face he said for all to hear, "You are as brave as anyone in this room. Is it your fault our child likes breakfast as much as I do?" Smiling and laughing.
"Lee, you have seen her, now we have to get you checked out as well as debriefed to what, when, where, how, and why they were holding you for the last four days."
"Okay, Billy, let's roll and get this over with. I have some very important matters to take care of." Lee never once took his eyes from Amanda's as he let Billy wheel him out of the room until Amanda could not see him any longer.
Francine sat Amanda up and handed her the box of tissues as the last of the tears fell from her eyes. "Here, use this; we have to clean you up. Did I hear Lee correctly? He is the father of your baby?"
Nodding her agreement and then said, "Yes, Francine he is."
"How in the world did that happen? Now before you give me the birds and bees story, I just don't understand because Lee has been gone most of the summer, then with the kidnapping, I just would like to know when you two had the time to get pregnant. I say that only because as I am sure you are aware that I know from experience that Lee is not an eight second cowboy." The two women looked at each other and before either knew what was happening the both busted out in laughter until both needed the tissues. In the next room Lee, Billy, and Dr. Kelford looked at one another as they heard the laughter coming from the other room.
"Hey, Doc, what did you do? Did you pump laughing gas in there or what? Ouch, don't do that." Lee said as Kelford pressed his fingers under Lee's ribcage, checking for broken ribs.
"Good news, Scarecrow, no broken ribs for once, very proud of you." Kelford said with a grandfatherly smile.
"Thanks, Doc; I do what I can to gain your approval. Come on, I know what is wrong with me. I have a few cuts and bumps. I remember who I am, what I do, where I live, and what in the hell are they laughing so hard about?" Lee glanced at Billy who shrugged his shoulders.
"How do I know? I am in here with you." Billy thought he had a good idea but he wasn't about to confirm Lee's notions that they were in any way making comparative notes.
"They don't even like one another. Do you mind, Doc?" Lee said as Kelford shined the light in his eyes.
"No, you two aren't bothering me at all. I do this all day with you guys." He said as he turned to get a needle and then turned back to Lee.
"What in the hell are you doing with that?" Lee asked.
"I am going to stich your head up and then I am going to slap a bandage on that cut. After that, I am going to order you to take medicine that you will not take. Finally, I am also going to order you to take some time off for at least two weeks, any other questions, Stetson?"
"Are you done yet?" Lee asked innocently.
Ten minutes later, Lee and Billy were walking from their room just as Francine and Amanda came from the other room. The two men looked at the two women who began a new fit of laughter.
Lee walked over taking Amanda's hand pulling her close and just held her. She put her arms around his neck while he held her close. After a few minutes, Amanda pulled back and said, "They need to talk to you. I have been told to stay home until I stop getting dizzy and passing out."
"Will you be able to drive?" He asked while stroking her face with his fingers.
"I took a cab in today, Mother has the car, and it was my day off. Stop by after you are done here."
"I will, we still have a few things to work out from the other day."
Blushing she gave him a sideway glance before she heard him say, "Get your mind out of the gutter, will ya?"
Francine and Billy sat on the opposite side of Lee as he began to tell what happened starting four days ago.
"I left your office to go to a meet. My contact is someone I trusted so I went alone. I got there and my contact was nowhere to be seen, what was waiting for me was Catarina Bella and her hired hand Peirce"
"Bella and Peirce; they weren't at the development when we came after you."
"No, Billy, from what I understand they are staying at the Russian Embassy. Why they are there make no sense since they are British. The next thing I know Bella was telling me to get in my car and drive to the train station. She rode with me, telling me to stop and get an overnight bag, but to make sure it was empty."
"Is that the bag you got from your apartment? We talked to your doorman."
"Yes. I made a call to you, leaving a message with Francine after I found out you had already left, but I knew that when you heard the message that you would know that everything I told her was a lie."
"I did, what happened after that?" Billy asked as he and Francine both made notes as Lee spoke.
At the train station, Lee pulled into a spot and turned the car off. Bella was looking over at Lee then said, "Here is a key to a locker, go to the locker, and then bring me the contents."
"What makes you think that as soon as I can that I wouldn't stop and call for back up, taking you and Peirce in for questioning about what I find in that locker?" Lee asked smiling at her.
"Lee, we have a mutual 'friend' so to speak. I would hate to see anything happen to Lady Farnsworth, wouldn't you?"
"What have you done to Emily?" He spat out.
"Nothing as of yet, but I would hate to be tempted to kill her."
Lee walked to the locker with Peirce following close behind him, watching his every move. Lee looked at the key before putting it in the lock. He had been thinking that everything else that morning had been off, his fight with Amanda over the baby, the fight with Billy about Amanda in the field, and finally his meet going wrong. Please don't be a bomb, he thought as he put the key in and turned. The manila envelope lay in the locker and as Lee picked it up and opened it. He saw pictures of the Russian Embassy ballroom. He had been in it enough to know what it looked like. Just as he was putting the pictures back in something hit the back of his head and his world went black.
For the next four days he tried to escape his captors, every time he would get so far he was found and moved to a new location. The latest move took him to the office of the housing development. While his captors were talking no one noticed as he raised the phone from its place and dialed Amanda's number. He knew he couldn't talk directly to her but if he could keep the line open long enough she would hear his voice and hopefully have the Agency trace the call.
Lee began to speak, "Hey! I am an apartment kind of guy. I don't think I should be looking at homes. They aren't really my style."
"It would be in your best interest, Scarecrow to become a house kind of man, since I think you will be part of the foundation of one of these brilliant structures."
"No, I think I'll pass." Lee said hoping that Amanda was the one who answered her phone and was still listening.
"You have no choice in this matter. My only question is why haven't my comrades already killed you?"
"I guess they just aren't smart enough. Can I ask one question first though?" Lee asked trying to stall while he tried to stretch time.
"What is it that you want to know?" The man said as if dealing with Lee was beneath him.
"If I am going to die, can I at least know why?" Lee asked as if he dying wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him.
"I don't see why it would hurt. I plan on having your friends, Peirce and Bella, kill the Russian Ambassador. There is a party tonight and they are the guests of honor. They plan to poison him at the reception. No one will even know what happened until after the party and they are long gone."
"What do they have to gain from killing the ambassador?" Lee tried to rack his brain as to why they were even involved.
"Now that you know, go tie him up in the basement here and then set the explosives, and then it will be ruled just another industrial accident."
Billy sat forward and picked up the phone. "Get me the Russian Ambassador!"
"Lee, why would Bella and Peirce want to kill the Ambassador?" Francine asked.
"The only thing I can think of is that they owe some big favors and this is either the down payment or the pay off. I just have no idea what they could have gotten into that would cause this kind of damage to their careers. They weren't always the most up and up people in the game but they never seemed to be killers to me."
"Catarina even saved my life once a few years ago, Lee; I don't see them being killers either."
Billy got off the phone with the Ambassador. "Ok, people, this is where things stand. The Embassy security is going to pick them up and bring them to us quietly. Then once they get here we will find out what is going on from them. Lee, is there anything else you want us to know?"
"I don't have anything else. I was in that basement and had just gotten free when you found me. I mean I pretty much have no idea why I was even involved in the first place."
"Well, go home, get cleaned up, and go see Amanda, you two have a lot to talk about."
"Yes, we do, thanks Billy. Could you keep me informed of events please?" Lee asked as he left the room and headed toward the garage to get his car from Leatherneck. Instead of Leatherneck he found Amanda sitting in his car crying.
"Amanda, are you okay? Have you been here the whole time?" He asked tenderly.
"No. Yes. I mean, I will be. For the last four days since Billy told me you were missing I have been frightened. I haven't been able to talk to anyone about any of this. Jamie has been privately flooding me with questions about why you were not around since you knew about the baby. I told him that your being gone was work related and had nothing to do with the baby. I hate to say this, for the first day and night I began to think that was why you were gone. That you were just off somewhere thinking things over."
Lee interrupted her, "Amanda, we need to talk, but I need to clean up first. Come with me." Lee put the key in the ignition and left the garage as Amanda tried to control her emotions.
"Amanda, I am ok. I am alive, thanks to you, and I am going to be okay. I wasn't hiding out because of the baby. I thought I explained that before I left for the day, didn't I?"
Looking over at Lee she wiped her eyes and said, "I know what you said, but I also know that this was a big shock for you. I know it had to have scared you, it did me."
"Amanda, you and this baby have all I have thought of these past four days. All I could think about was what you would tell him if I wasn't here. Would he even know how much I wanted him?"
Smiling she reached over and placed her hand on his face, "It could be a girl, Jamie wants a girl."
Laughing he said, "Oh, God, I don't know if I could handle a girl. Jamie wants a sister?"
Lee pulled into his space at his apartment and then walked around to let her out of the car. "Let me get cleaned up then we will go to your house and talk with your family, I will definitely be talking to Jamie about girls and fathers."
Lee went to his room and got a clean change of clothes. He walked into the bathroom, turned the shower on, stripped down, and climbed in. The hot water felt like heaven on his sore muscles and bruised skin.
Lee had just rinsed the shampoo out of his hair just as he felt her slender fingers on his chest. He opened his eyes and saw Amanda standing in front of him. He watched as she moved to him kissing his chest. He took a deep intake of breath as her lips made contact with his skin.
"Amanda,"
"Shhh," Amanda kissed him openly and deep. She placed her arms around his neck and pulled him close then barely in a whisper said, "I need you now, not later."
That was all Lee needed to hear. He placed his lips on her neck, kissing the tender spot he found that first day in his bedroom. His hands continued to roam her body as he listened to the moans escape her deep in her throat.
She ran her fingers along the base of his neck sliding them through his hair. A moan slipped from Lee as his fingers moved over her shoulders and down her back. Spinning her around the hot water sprayed down on her making her shiver.
"Would that be the water or my touch making you shiver?" He asked as he placed his finger at her center slipping in her warm and ready center. "You really do need this, don't you?"
"Lee, I am not opposed to begging at this point, please don't make me."
"I can't let you beg, I need this too." Before Amanda could say another word removed his finger and replaced him in her. He moved in her slowly, deliberately keeping her eyes locked to his. He loved watching her emotions run through her brown eyes like a fire in the night forest.
Neither said a word as her body met his every thrust with as much force and desire as his. Feeling her tightening around him he increased his pace to release at the same point as her. He knew it wouldn't always be like that but he wanted that this time.
A few moments of euphoria in one another, Amanda leaned on her tip toes to kiss him and then got out to get dressed and wait for him. Lee finished his shower and tried for the life of him to figure out what her actions were all about. After getting dressed Lee walked into the living room to find Amanda asleep on the couch. He hated to wake her but they needed to get to her house and talk.
"Hey, Amanda, wake up, we have to get going." Lee said as he kissed the tip of her nose.
"No, I prefer to keep sleeping at the moment." Amanda said as she opened her eyes and looked at him, as if to reassure herself he was really there.
Smiling at her he said, "I would love to let you sleep but we have three people at your house that we need to talk to about this," rubbing his hand over flat stomach, "by the way, when will you start to show?"
"Depends on this child of ours, with Phillip I didn't show until almost seven months, but I was throwing up with him so much. Then with Jamie, I think it was around the end of my forth month. Since I haven't had any morning sickness yet it could be even sooner, unless it just hides in all the fat from all the eating I have been doing. I swear, Lee, it is like I don't have a full button. Do you know after eating a huge breakfast this morning I stole half of Francine's Cheese Danish?"
"What? You did not?" He asked as he tied his tennis shoes then handed her shoes to her as well.
"Yes, I did, and then practically attacking you in the shower just now, it only makes me even hungrier. I am going to have to talk with the doctor about this. I mean I am only seven weeks. I have 33 weeks to go and I am not going to look like a whale before, during, or after this baby!"
Trying his best not to laugh, he held his hand out for her to take it as he continued to listen as she talked in a non-stop ramble from his place all the way to hers. He didn't get a chance to say anything until they were sitting in her driveway and he kissed her.
"Amanda, we're here. It's time to face the firing squad. Come on."