"Are you okay?" Amanda asked Lee, as he pulled away from the curb after getting the required information from Augie Swan.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure? Augie is right; you do seem rather grouchy tonight."
"It's just that I want this case to be over…so we can get back to us."
"Lee, there is always an 'us', no matter what we're doing or where we are at," Amanda replied as she touched the back of his hand.
The immediate contact caused Lee to smile in spite of himself. "That's true, but it just burns my britches that we have to cut our day short to help someone like Dr. Smythe," he spit out.
"I know, but remember, what Billy said," at Lee's lifted eyebrow, Amanda went on and said, "that he would make it up to us with time off."
"Oh, yeah!"
"And we can use that time anyway we want," Amanda said with a smile.
"I like the sound of that," Lee said as he turned from the road for a second and returned Amanda's smile then looked back at the road and continued on to Amanda's house. Lee thought about several ways that he and Amanda could enjoy that time off which included spending time alone, but also included being with Amanda's family which would be his family very soon. Of course, he longed for more physical intimacy between him and Amanda, but he was more than content with being with her in other ways; such as simply reading the newspaper like they'd done that morning, or watching a movie to walking in the park and holding hands.
/
The airport was even more crowded today than the last time Joe was in town. This time, he had more luggage than before, so he had to wait a little longer at the luggage claims area. Joe had to admit that when he was in Arlington several months ago, that things had not turned out quite the way he had hoped and when he left, he hadn't been too happy with the turn of events. He'd anticipated getting his children and ex-wife back but there were people and events that happened that dashed his hopes and dreams. But this time, he was better prepared. He'd left his job in Africa, found another position here, close to his family. He was now in a taxi cab headed towards his hotel, where he would stay temporarily until he had a permanent residents in Arlington, someplace not too far from his family, but not too close.
Another thing that happened when he was here was that besides the fact that Amanda seemed to be seeing someone rather seriously, she also appeared to have a much different career than what she led others to believe she had. She was definitely a changed woman and something about those changes both scared and excited him. He'd made several attempts at getting her to think of rethinking their relationship and he'd failed. So, why was he back now? And what did he think had changed? He asked himself. He couldn't exactly explain it, but ever since he'd left, his thoughts had been more and more on his family and Amanda and he thought he just had to give it one more shot.
But right now, all he wanted was a shower and a bed to lay down in. Later, he would worry about contacting Amanda and the boys. He couldn't remember, but he thought that this weekend was when the boys had some sort of plans. He would wait a few days before contacting them anyway. And this time, he would most definitely call before going over to Amanda's. But what if Amanda or the boys didn't want to see him? Well, he'd worry about that later.
/
Several hours later after his meeting with Augie; found Lee, Billy, Francine, and Amanda at the warehouse address that Augie had given them. Billy and agents Thomas and Gunnar were positioned at the back of the warehouse while Francine poised in her happy hooker outfit at the front of the warehouse, while Lee and Amanda stood to the side. Lee was surprised to not find Augie there as he had instructed him to be; but this was the address he'd given him and Amanda, so he was prepared for whatever happened after they were able to get in.
Francine rapped on the door; then waited patiently for a few seconds. When there was no answer, she knocked on the door again. Francine turned to Lee and Amanda, who looked on and shrugged their shoulders. Just as Francine turned to walk away, the door opened, an arm reached out and grabbed Francine inside, the door closing directly behind her. Lee and Amanda both startled; turned to the door.