When Amanda returned to the office after seeing Emily out, she found Lee at his desk perusing the file Dr. Smyth had left behind. "Anything helpful?" she queried.

"Not so far," he replied irritably.

"You're annoyed that I insisted we take this on," Amanda surmised as she walked around his desk and perched on the edge of it facing him.

"No, no, no, not at all," he denied as he looked up from the file.

She gave him a stern look. "Lee..."

"Okay, okay." He let out a sigh and took her hand in his. "It's not that I don't understand why you want to do this. You're a mom and you hate to see another mom hurting over her child. I know how strongly you feel about family. I remember that's why you were so adamant about helping Elizabeth Sullivan last year; you didn't want to see her family torn apart. It's just...I guess I just don't understand why the Agency is involved in a runaway teen's disappearance in the first place. It's not a matter of national security, or a terrorist threat or-"

"Well, Dr. Smyth must have had a reason for taking it on," she countered. "I mean, who would know better than he does what would and would not fall under the Agency's jurisdiction." She picked up the file and started skimming it. "Hmm...didn't Emily say something about her husband protecting the Agency's assets when she was yelling at Dr. Smyth?" She flipped through the pages. "I'm not sure what she meant by that, but there must be something in here about it."

"I looked him up." Lee tapped the computer screen. "Richard Gilmore, son of Charles...and get this...another Lorelai Gilmore. What's with this family and that name?" He shook his head. "Just like his wife was screaming about to Smyth, he's a Yale graduate, currently works as the senior account manager in charge of long-term accounts at Gehrman-Driscoll Insurance Corporation."

Amanda put the file down and shifted her position to look at the computer screen over Lee's shoulder. "That's probably it." She tapped the screen. "Look at his list of accounts. CSN, for starters...isn't that one of the Agency's cover businesses?" Her eyes drifted down the list. "Oh...and look, there's IFF on the list too."

"You know something...you're right...there are at least a half a dozen more Agency fronts on his list of accounts. Maybe that's why Smyth got involved in the first place. It seemed like he knows the Gilmores personally from his country clubbing. Maybe Richard Gilmore threatened the Agency to get Smyth's help. I mean, if he's anything like his wife..."

"Oh, I don't know, Lee. I don't think she was that bad. I think she was just hurting because she's worried about her daughter and granddaughter and you know when people are upset, they have a tendency to...I don't know...lash out at whoever happens to be nearby." She nodded toward the computer. "However the Agency investigation came about, it does seem that Dr. Smyth used Mr. Gilmore's connection to the Agency to justify it."

"Yeah, I just wish we could figure out how to find this kid so we can get back to more important things." He smiled warmly at her, thinking of the kisses they'd shared and how it had taken their relationship to a new level that he was dying to explore further.

"Have I thanked you yet for doing this for me?" she asked, returning his smile as she leaned in for a long, lingering kiss.

His smile widened and he replied, "No, but that's a good start."

"Listen, since you hate the computer, what do you say we switch?" She suggested as she offered him the file. "I'll take over the computer stuff and you can finish reading through this."

"I like that plan," he readily agreed as he gave up his seat to her and took over her former position on the edge of the desk.

An hour later, Lee let out a sigh. "This is useless," he moaned as he leaned his head against the back of the sofa where he'd moved to be more comfortable. "There's nothing useful here. Both the local badges and the rookie agents Smyth initially assigned to this did all the normal searches...no recent social security records, no work records, no income tax records, no bank account...they also checked airports, bus terminals and train stations and found no records of her purchasing a ticket anywhere when she left Hartford."

Amanda nodded. "I'm afraid that I'm not having any better luck. The last record I found was of her registering to take the GED test, but that was before she left her parents' house." She frowned at the computer screen. "I can't help thinking though, that with her having a baby to support, surely she's got to be working at some kind of job."

"I hate to even suggest this, but a runaway teenager...there's all kinds of things they can get sucked into when they're desperate and-"

"I know. You don't have to say it," Amanda cut him off as a shiver ran up her spine.

"I think it needs to be said, Amanda," he insisted as he rose from his seat and approached the back side of the desk where she sat and leaned against it facing her. "Maybe that's why she hasn't contacted her parents. Since she was underage when she left home and would need her parents' approval to get a work permit, maybe she's gotten into drug-dealing or prostitution or something equally bad just to make some quick cash. Or worse, maybe she got mixed up with the wrong crowd trying to make some money and she's-"

"Dead," Amanda completed morosely, her heart aching at that thought, not only for Lorelai, but for her baby.

He lightly squeezed her hand to comfort her. "I don't want to think that, Amanda, but I don't know what else to think when we know one thing's for sure, there is no employment or tax record...or anything anywhere for Lorelai Victoria Gilmore." He glanced at the file again. "Maybe we should talk to this Hayden kid...the one who got her pregnant. I know the local PD interviewed him, but he's a kid; he could have lied...or she could have contacted him since then. If he's her baby's father, maybe she'd reach out to him instead of her parents. I know she didn't want to marry him, but surely if she cared enough about her daughter to want to get out of her mother's controlling hands, she'd care enough to not deprive the baby of her father."

"Hmmm…let me see that file again," Amanda requested as the wheels in her brain began turning at a furious pace.

"Sure. Beats me going blind staring at it," he replied with a shrug as he handed it over.

She began perusing the details of the case, muttering to herself as she did so. "Lorelai Victoria…" She flipped to the next page. "…and Leigh…"

"Yeah?" Lee questioned.

"What?" Amanda looked up, startled by his voice when it pulled her from her musings.

"You said my name," he replied a bit testily.

"Oh! No, not you, Lee." She tapped the page in the file. "This Leigh…only not L-E-E, like you; the younger Lorelai's middle name is Leigh, spelled L-E-I-G-H. Lorelai may have named her daughter after herself, but she didn't give her the same middle name."

He nodded as if he understood while his brain attempt to follow her thought process. "Okay, but I don't see how that's getting us any closer to finding her."

Amanda began typing at the keyboard again as a thought struck her. "Well, I think you may be onto something with what you said."

"What? The kid? Hayden?"

"Yes...I mean, no, not Christopher Hayden. His kid...or their kid, I should say. Something you said struck me. Maybe we need to stop thinking of Lorelai as just some runaway teenager and start thinking of her as a mother. You said Lorelai wouldn't want to deprive her daughter, right?"

"Right."

"Well, that got me thinking...maybe we're looking for the wrong Lorelai Gilmore. We're looking for Lorelai Victoria Gilmore when we should be looking for Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

"The baby? I don't get it. How's that going to help? Wouldn't there be even less records for her?"

"Not necessarily." She tapped the computer screen displaying her newest search results. "Ta-da!" Lee leaned over her to look at the monitor.

"The kid's medical records?" Lee's eyes widened as he read. "Amanda, you're brilliant!"

"No, not really. I'm just a mom and I know that kids that age are on a very specific vaccination schedule and I was doing a little mental math. Rory would have been about fourteen months old when Lorelai took off and there are immunizations that a baby is supposed to have at fifteen and eighteen months."

"I wonder why the local PD didn't think of that," he mused. "If Lorelai took her kid in for a shot four months ago, you'd think they would have found this before they gave up. Not to mention she got another one a month ago that our agents in Connecticut didn't find. Why?"

"Probably for the same reason you didn't think of it. They must have thought they wouldn't find anything on little Lorelai and were solely searching for the older one."

"So, this says that Lorelai - the older one, that is - took her daughter to a pediatrician in Stars Hollow, Connecticut and that as of a month ago, they were living at the Independence Inn just outside of town. Makes me wonder if I wasn't right about the prostitution thing if she's living in a hotel."

"Oh, Lee, stop! You don't know that. I'll bet you anything she's just doing some kind of work there off the books."

"Come on, Amanda, I know you always like to look for the best in people, but you're not the only one who did a little mental math. If you look at her kid's birthday compared to hers, that means she got knocked up at age fifteen and gave birth at sixteen, so I wouldn't discount that theory."

"This place she's living in is a little country inn, not some seedy no-tell motel that rents rooms by the hour," Amanda countered.

Lee stared at her with an arched eyebrow. "Oh? How would you know that?"

"Because I've stayed there," Amanda replied succinctly. "As for the other part-"

"Hold on just a minute," he cut her off. "Don't think you're getting off that easily. Didn't we say we were on our own personal mission to get to know each other better?"

"Yes. Yes, we did, but-"

"So, I think I need a little more information here on how you just happen to have been to this inn in Stars Hollow," he teased with a flirty grin. "Is there something I should know there?"

"Spoken by the man who could win an Olympic medal in keeping his past to himself," she fired back with a cheeky grin.

"Well, you weren't exactly forthcoming with the whole story about your divorce," he reminded her. "Besides, I told you about Eva, about Dorothy, about my uncle...I think I'm entitled to a juicy story or two about you. I mean, this is just the kind of thing I was talking about when I said I still feel like there's a lot about you I don't know."

"If you're looking for something juicy, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. It's not really that big a deal. It was about a year before we met, just after the divorce was finalized and I didn't want to dwell on it or worse, have the boys dwell on it and since it happened shortly before their fall break from school, I decided to take them on a little road trip. One of my neighbors had told me that Stars Hollow has some really unique festivals and one right after another, so I took them up there for the Autumn festival for the long weekend. They had a big cornucopia in the town square, booths selling all kinds of things, music and people dressed in pilgrim costumes. The boys loved it."

"Huh."

"I told you it wasn't very exciting, but anyway that's how I know the Independence Inn isn't that kind of place. It's more of a family place. And as I started to say before I was so rudely interrupted, maybe Lorelai getting pregnant so young was because she was just a terribly lonely girl who reached out for whatever human contact she could. While I sympathize with Mrs. Gilmore's situation, she's not one of the warmest people I've ever met."

"I'll agree with you there. Either way, I guess that means we can tell Richard and Emily Gilmore where their daughter and granddaughter are."

"Not so fast," she argued in a warning tone. "I know you're in a hurry to get this wrapped up, but I really think we ought to take a more cautious approach. If Lorelai ran away once, she might do so again if her mother just shows up there. Besides, we don't know what kind of people the Gilmores really are. What if she had a very good reason to run in the first place?"

"Right, especially if they're friends with Dr. Smyth," he joked earning himself a scolding look from Amanda. "You're probably right that Lorelai would just run again if her mother surprised her there and I got the impression that Emily Gilmore is the type to do just that...show up and demand that her daughter come home. So, I guess we're taking a trip to Stars Hollow, huh?"

"Don't you think we should? Maybe if an objective third-party talks to her, they can...I don't know...reason with her and maybe talk some sense into her."

"Well, if anyone's good at that, it's you." He let out a sigh of resignation. "I'll go clear our travel arrangements with Billy."

She stood and planted a quick kiss to his lips. "Thank you. While you're doing that, I should make arrangements for Mother to look after the boys...maybe have Joe pop in to check on them too." Lee frowned at the mention of her ex. "Lee, you're just going to have to get used to the fact that he's their father and it looks like he's going to be staying around town for awhile."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "But I don't have to like it." To change the subject, he turned his attention back to the case at hand. "Speaking of which, what do you think this Hayden kid's deal is? We know Lorelai refused to marry him even though she was pregnant, but looking at the baby's medical records, his name doesn't appear anywhere on them. Do you suppose that he just dumped his responsibility to his kid when she wouldn't marry him?"

"That would be really sad if he did," Amanda commented. "But it also shoots a hole in your theory that she may have contacted him. I mean, if he basically abandoned their child, I can't imagine she'd want much to do with him."

"Unlike you, you mean?"

"Lee...don't."

"What? It's not much different, is it? Joe took off travelling to God knows where leaving you all alone. The difference is he left you to raise two kids by yourself, not just one."

"Now, Lee, you know that was an entirely different situation. First of all, we were adults, not teenagers and second, he didn't abandon his responsibility to the boys - you know very well that he always paid child support. While, yes, he wasn't around a lot, he travelled for work, not to try to pretend they didn't exist. And those times when he was home, he did everything he could to let Phillip and Jamie know that he cared. Besides, we don't know for sure that Christopher Hayden abandoned his child. Like you said earlier, he could have lied to the police."

"I guess," Lee responded skeptically and then quickly changed the subject, not wanting to fight with her about it. "You know, I'd better go work this out with Billy so we can get on the road as soon as possible. I have a feeling that Gilmore woman is not very big on patience if she doesn't get results right away."

"Yeah, and I'd better make that call home, so I'll see you in a bit." She did have to admit at least to herself, if not to him, that his words had struck a little too close to home. She found herself empathizing with Lorelai Gilmore in her seeming willingness to do whatever it took to care for her daughter. "Hey, Lee?" she rose to stop him before he left.

"Yeah." He turned to face her.

"Listen, I know you don't really want to go to Stars Hollow, but look at it this way...It's a six-hour drive from here and that will give us plenty of time to talk, you know, get to know each other better like we both want to." Just as she had the other day when they'd finally shared a real kiss, she ran her hands up his chest and rested them on his shoulders.

"Yeah?" He slid his hands to her waist. He grinned mischievously at her. "Hmm...you do make a good point and since it is quite a drive, I doubt we'll be able to make a return trip in the same day, especially since we don't know what we're going to find when we get there. Soooo...that means we'll probably have to spend the night."

"Oh, definitely. We'll need a room." She nodded as she stepped closer to him and linked her hands behind his neck. "And they do have some pretty nice rooms at the Independence Inn."

His eyes widened at her use of 'room' instead of 'rooms,' but was afraid to push his luck by asking her about it. "I like the way you think." He beamed at her and was just about to lean in for a kiss when the door was opened. They quickly broke apart just before Francine entered the room.

"Again?" the blonde rolled her eyes. "Can't you two just get a room already?"

"Well, actually that's what we were just discussing," Lee replied with a salacious grin, unable to resist teasing her now that she'd interrupted them yet again. Leave it to Francine Desmond to win the perfect timing award again, he thought ironically.

With an arched eyebrow, she questioned, "Oh? Finally planning your opening night?"

"It's for a case, Francine," Amanda hastily added a bit testily, hoping her face wouldn't betray her since she'd been rather elated that Lee didn't seem to balk at the suggestion that they get just one room at the inn. "This case we're working on for Dr. Smyth."

"The missing girl?" Francine asked. "I was just coming up here because Smyth was on a rampage downstairs and said he was only giving you guys until Monday to figure this out."

"Why didn't you just call?" Lee complained, irritation evident in his tone. "You know the phone up here works just fine."

"Lee, you've seen Smyth on a rampage. I got the hell out of there before he could get me in his crosshairs. Anyway, he said if you haven't found any new leads on the girl by Monday, it's done. He said the Agency's already wasted too much time and manpower on something we shouldn't even be involved in."

"I'm sure he threw money in there too," Lee commented.

"Probably, but I stopped listening after awhile. You know how he is when he gets into those moods. So, Monday's your deadline to find something new."

"No problem," Amanda chimed in cheerily. "We already found something new. We found the girl."

"Already? How'd you manage that when no one else has been able to track her down for months?" She rolled her eyes. "Leave it to our Scarecrow to have no trouble when there's a girl involved."

"If you wanna know the truth, Francine, it was all Amanda using her motherly thing again," Lee gushed with pride at his partner's ingenuity.

"Of course it was," Francine replied sarcastically. "Dinner at six, dishes at seven and case solved by nine."

"Actually, we have dinner at five," Amanda fired back. "The boys always have homework and they have an early bedtime so they'll be up in time for school." She cast a flirty glance at Lee. "Plus, it gives me time to do things that I want to do after they go to bed."

When he saw Francine visibly shudder at Amanda's comment, Lee jumped in before she could insert another jibe, "You know, I was just about to go downstairs to talk to Billy about making some travel arrangements, so if you'll excuse me." As Francine stepped aside to let him through the door, he couldn't help grinning at the thought that she wouldn't be able to interrupt them again for awhile.