Amanda showed her ID at the door of the Zakiran Embassy, "Hello. I'm Amanda Stetson. I'm from the Agency, here to coordinate with your security team about Friday's event."

"Yes. The princess is expecting you," the guard at the door answered in a clipped tone.

"The princess?" she questioned in confusion. "But I thought Rheza and Penny weren't going to be here until Friday."

Ignoring her question, he simply answered, "This way," and indicated for her to follow him.

Amanda shook her head at the curtness of the man who was accompanying her through the embassy. She knew that Penny had had her share of troubles with men in Zakir who thought that women shouldn't be as outspoken as she is. Amanda could only wonder what they thought of having a woman leading the Agency's security team. Still, she was happy that she'd be getting to see her old friend again sooner than she expected.

She was pulled from her thoughts, by a familiar voice excitedly saying her name. "Amanda! I'm so happy to see you," Penny gushed as she reached out to hug her.

It was then that she realized she'd been led into a private dining room. "You too. It's been too long."

Penny released her and gestured for her to sit. "I was just having a cup of coffee. Would you care to join me?"

"I would love too," Amanda replied. While Penny gestured to a different robed man for coffee, they sat down opposite each other. "Not that I mind...I mean, it's great to see you, but what brings you into town earlier than planned?"

"I wanted to have some time to visit my parents before they're subjected to the stuffy party on Friday. It's been years since I've seen them and I wanted to have some one-on-one time with them without them being bombarded by a bunch of people they don't know."

"Makes sense," Amanda nodded, but looking into her friend's worried eyes, she could tell that she wasn't being entirely truthful. "Penny...is...is everything okay?"

"Fine." She took a sip of her coffee and then shook her head. "Everything is just fine." Then quietly, she hissed, "Not here," with a nod of her head to the guards at the entrance of the room.

Amanda's coffee was brought in and she suggested loudly, "Why don't you show me around? If I'm going to be running security for this thing, I should get the lay of the land first."

"You know, you're absolutely right," Penny agreed with a smile. "We can just take our coffee with us."

"Sounds like a plan." As they exited the room, the two men moved to follow, but Penny stopped them with a wave of her hand and a terse, "It's fine. I can handle this." They both glowered at her, but grudgingly obliged. Penny let out an obvious sigh of relief as the two women moved further away from the embassy guards.

"What was that all about?" Amanda whispered to her.

"The grand ballroom is this way," Penny answered in her normal tone of voice, but then in a hushed tone, added, "Rheza's idea."

"Ahh...That's where the party's going to be?" Amanda questioned. In a softer tone, she asked, "The goon squad was his idea?"

"Yes," the princess answered to both of her questions.

As they entered the ballroom and closed the doors, Penny finally relaxed and began to explain. "He's worried about me because this is the first time we've been back to the US since Bo Johnson tried to have me killed. He insists that he's not taking any chances this time. He didn't want me to come here early by myself, but I argued with him and explained my reasons for doing so. He finally agreed, but only if I was guarded 24/7."

"That must be awfully confining for you," Amanda sympathized. Penny nodded. "But I have to ask, why are you here early? I mean, why was it so important to you? And before you lie to me again, I could tell by the look on your face that it was about more than just a quiet visit with your mom and dad."

"Still being the G-Woman, huh?" Penny snorted sarcastically.

Amanda was a bit taken aback by the slight attitude in her friend's tone, but tried not to let it show. "Penny, I'm being your friend. I'm worried about you."

"Well, it's not me you should be worried about." She sighed and gripped her cup tightly. "It's...it's my son."

"Your son? Are you worried about his safety this weekend? Because, I promise I'll do everything I can-"

"No, that's not it," Penny interrupted. "I'm not the least bit worried about his safety. I'm worried about his health."

"Is he ill?"

"That's what I don't know for sure. He's...he's been having some respiratory issues lately and I don't know if it's asthma or allergies or..." She trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.

"Or something worse."

Penny nodded. "It's not as if we have the most cutting-edge medical facilities in Zakir. I didn't want to discuss this in front of all those guards because it's bad enough sometimes that they're pissed that their beloved crown prince married an American...and an outspoken one at that. What would they think if they learned I produced a sickly heir to the crown?"

"Oh, I'm sure it can't be as bad as all that. The last time you were here, they seemed to have a lot of respect for you."

"To a point, they do and I think they've pretty much accepted me now, but it's still hard sometimes. The main thing I'm concerned about though, is helping my son. That's why I need to see my parents...I need family medical histories."

"You know, it may not be as bad as you think. I know what it's like...you know, being a mother myself, but sometimes as mothers, we work ourselves up worrying to find out that it's nothing major. Maybe it is just asthma, which doesn't necessarily mean he'll have it forever. Did you know that Lee had childhood asthma, but he sort of...outgrew it, so to speak? When you talk to your parents, you might ask them if either of them did."

"I would love to Amanda, but that's not enough."

"What aren't you telling me, Penny? I mean, if it's just medical records you were after, couldn't you have just called your mom to have those records sent to you in Zakir?"

Penny took another sip of her coffee in an attempt to calm herself. She took a deep breath and finally responded, "They're not my parents. I mean, they are...they raised me and loved me and I loved them, but they aren't my birth parents. I was adopted. So, I need to talk with them to see if I can find out who my birth parents are, get their medical records."

A stunning realization hit Amanda. "You were adopted." She'd known there were things about the princess that she didn't know because when she'd first met her, the Agency had kept her on a need-to-know basis when trying to protect her. She only really knew what Penny had confided in her. Now, that she had a higher security clearance, it had never even occurred to her to look at the files the Agency had on her friend. She'd felt no need, but now under the circumstances, she couldn't help wondering. Lee's mother had just been told it was safe to come out of hiding, but then was attacked almost immediately afterwards. Then she had told Lee about the baby girl she'd give up for adoption fearful that her daughter may be in danger. All of this at the same time that Amanda herself had been assigned to handle security at the Zakiran Embassy.

Then there were Lee's nightmares and his assignment on the D'Angelo case whom he was certain he now remembered from his childhood. Was there a connection? Could all of these things occurring at once be mere coincidence or was there something more? She peered at the other woman as if examining her. It couldn't be, could it? Amanda looked Penny up and down...the same dark hair, dark eyes...she already knew that her friend had the same fiery spirit as Jennie...and for that matter, Lee as well. Did her son just have childhood asthma as Lee had? Was it possible that Penny was the long-lost sister Lee had been so desperate to find?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and Jennie entered the waiting are of the adoption agency. He gave a sideways glance to his mother and couldn't help noticing how nervous she appeared.

"Hey, are you okay? You sure you're ready for this?"

"No," she confessed. "But it's long past time, don't you think?"

"I couldn't agree more," Lee answered gruffly.

Looking at her son, she reflected back on her conversation with Dotty earlier in the day and how she'd said that it had taken a long time for Amanda to reach him. She couldn't help wondering for herself how long it would take for him to truly let his guard down with her. Would it take three or four years like it had with Amanda? She certainly hoped not. She'd waited over thirty years as it was to have a relationship with her son.

Jennie's thoughts were interrupted by a loud female voice. "Get out!" the woman at the reception desk shouted at Lee. "I told you once already!"

Lee held up his hands in surrender. "Look, I'm not trying to make trouble, but you said that you needed permission from the mother..." he gestured to Jennie, "And here she is."

Jennie stepped up to the desk. "Please," she pleaded. "I'm just trying to locate my daughter."

"Fine," the woman conceded. "I'll need to see some ID and you'll have some paperwork to fill out."

"I assure you that I'm willing to do whatever is necessary."

Half an hour and a pile of paperwork later, mother and son were seated in a private room, the coveted adoption files in front of them, but neither had yet had the nerve to open them.

"So..." Lee hedged. "I...uh...I guess this is it."

"Yes," Jennie replied. "I-"

"Do you want me to...?"

She gripped the file tightly, not sure if she wanted to let it go, but also unsure if she was ready to open it. What if her decision to give her daughter up had placed her in harm's way? Had her new parents care for her? Or like so many of the horrible stories one sees on the news, had they been abusive, or perhaps neglectful? She shuddered at that thought. She took a deep breath and silently handed the file over to her son with a nod.

Lee tensed as he tried to brace himself for what he might find and with a little sigh, opened the file. As he flipped through pages of documents and when he finally found what he was looking for he let out a low whistle and said, "I'll be damned!"

With a startled look, Jennie questioned, "What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

Lee smiled. "No. Nothing's wrong. Just the opposite. I know her."

"You know her? What do you mean, you know her?"

"I mean, I've met her. I never even thought...I mean, I knew from her history that she'd been adopted, but I...it never occurred to me..." He turned the file toward her to show her what he'd found. "See this...right here?" When Jennie nodded. "Patrick and Betsy Squire..." He couldn't believe that he hadn't made the connection the moment he'd heard he had a sister. She was the right age and she could be a dead ringer for his mother when she was young. "Penelope Squire. She's a princess."

"A p-p-princess?" Jennie sputtered in disbelief.

A frown crossed Lee's face as a disturbing thought struck him. "Shit! That means she's in even more danger than we thought. And Amanda is too. We've gotta' go...NOW!"