A/N: I want to thank those of you who have told me about "The Rookies" and Sam Melville - I didn't know about that show and the fact that Kate and Sam starred in it together. In this chapter, I have given Mrs. Marston a first name (thank you to TheSpyFamily for reminding me about Dr. Smyth's name!). For those of you that are nervous/curious about Lee's mission - well, he and Francine are just out of the country rescuing some agents. As for Amanda's assignment - read on!

Weekday mornings during the school year were a whirlwind of chaos in the King household – and this morning was no exception as I settled Emily at the kitchen island with a hot cup of tea and a fresh piece of homemade coffee cake. I briefly wondered how Lee would settle into our well-established routine.

Mother kept a running conversation with Emily as she fried some eggs and bacon, made toast, and encouraged the boys to eat a little faster as they were moving at a snail's pace this morning. I managed to grab a quick shower and change my clothes before running back downstairs to down my own cup of tea and grab a piece of coffee cake.

"That's all your eating?" Mother frowned at me. "Amanda, breakfast is-"

"The most important meal of the day," I finished the sentence with her, grinning at Emily. "I guess some of Lee's bad habits are rubbing off on me."

"Are you telling me my future son-in-law doesn't eat breakfast?"

I shook my head. "Nope, just coffee."

Mother grunted. "We'll see about that."

I grinned and kissed her cheek. "Let's give him a bit of time to settle in with us before you start changing his bachelor ways, all right?"

"I take it you've already tried and failed?"

I felt the color come up in my cheeks as I nodded.

Emily and my mother laughed as Jamie piped up. "I don't get it – Lee's a grown-up – can't he decide for himself what he wants to eat for breakfast?"

Mother frowned. "Coffee is not breakfast."

"Yeah, worm brain," Philip punched Jamie in the arm. "Grandma means food."

"Philip, do not call your brother worm brain," I frowned at my eldest son. "Are you both about done? Grandma needs to take you boys to school this morning as I have an early meeting-"

"Yahoo! Grab your crash helmet, Philip!" Jamie crowed as he dumped his dishes in the sink. "Demolition Dotty is driving today!"

"Jamie!" I gasped. "Where on earth – I want you to apologize to your grandmother right now!"

"Sorry, grandma."

I turned to see my mother shaking her head, her eyes tearing up as she tried to hold in her laughter.

"You're not – you find this funny?"

A chuckle escaped her lips.

"We didn't come up with the name, Mom," Philip explained. "Mr. Phelps did-"

My eyebrows shot up. "The assistant principal?"

The boys nodded.

I sank into a kitchen chair. "Okay, let's hear the story."

Jamie started. "A couple weeks ago, Grandma was picking us up from school – and she didn't know about the construction – you know, they were painting new parking spaces and stuff?"

I nodded. I remembered and I had forgotten to tell my mother about it before she had gone to pick up the boys from school. A sense of foreboding washed over me as I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

Philip continued. "Yeah, so there were all these cones and stuff that the parents had to go around to pick us up – and Grandma was doing great – but Jasper's mom was in front of her and –"

I groaned. Jasper was a little boy in second grade who had gotten a beautiful golden retriever puppy for Christmas. His mother brought the puppy when she picked him up and more than once, when Jasper opened the car door –

I held up my hand to interrupt the story. "Let me guess: the puppy got out of the car."

Philip nodded. "The puppy went running around those cones like he was on a racetrack! Grandma hit the brakes and then swerved this way and that way-" he zoomed around the kitchen, his arms on a pretend steering wheel, while Jamie dropped to all fours and pretended to be the puppy.

Emily and my mother were laughing so hard by this point that tears were streaming down their faces. I was trying to maintain a straight face but as the tale continued, I found it increasingly difficult.

"And Mr. Phelps? Where does he come into the story?"

"He was on pick-up duty that afternoon," Jamie said from his position on the kitchen floor. "He tried to catch the puppy, along with Jasper's mom, but he just made things worse because Grandma was trying not to hit him too!"

"And ever since then he's called her Demolition Dotty!" Philip announced as he hit the imaginary brakes.

"Oh, mother," I sighed as the smile broke out on my face. "I thought you had finally –"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Amanda King soon-to-be-Stetson." My mother glared at me. "I am a perfectly safe driver. It was entirely that puppy's fault."

"And it never occurred to you to simply stop the car and wait until the puppy was back in his own car?"

My mother gave a snort of disgust. "You had to be there to fully understand how impossible that would have been."

"Your mother is one of a kind." Emily was still laughing about 'Demolition Dotty' as I held open the door for her to proceed me into the Georgetown Foyer.

"Good morning, Mrs. Marston. Today's word is 'backwash' – I called ahead and got clearance for Lady Farnsworth – do you know-"

"Everything is in order, Mrs. King. It's been a long time, Emily."

"Indeed, it has, Phillipa. How are you?"

I gave a start at hearing the older woman's first name – I don't think I'd ever heard it before. The two ladies continued to chat as Mrs. Marston opened her drawer and pulled out security badges and handed them across to us.

Emily smiled at me as I pinned my badge to my sweater. "I see you've finally lost your 'guest pass' – this one actually has a picture."

Mrs. Marston nodded. "Mrs. King is a full-time agent now – has been for almost a year. Oh, and I hear congratulations are in order as well."

I frowned. "Congratulations?"

"The office water cooler is buzzing this morning about how our most eligible bachelor is finally off the market-" her eyes dropped to my left hand and my face paled.

"Oh my gosh! I forgot I was still wearing my ring-"

"It doesn't matter, Amanda," Emily soothed as she placed an arm around my shoulders. "It sounds like everyone already knows."

"Including Dr. Smyth?" I whispered as I cast my eyes upwards to the security camera in the corner. "Does he know?"

The phone rang on Mrs. Marston's desk, and she picked it up. "Hello? Yes, she's standing right here." She held out the receiver to me. "Mr. Melrose."

"Sir? I'm not late, am I? We just got here-"

"No, Amanda, you're early but Smyth is wanting to get started – he was watching for your arrival on the cameras."

"I'll be right down. Just let me settle Emily in the Q bureau-"

"Negative, King," Smyth's voice came over the line and my back straightened in shock as the man interrupted what I thought was a private conversation. "I want you down here pronto. Bring Farnsworth along – I've cleared it with MI6 for her to work with you on this case since your partner and Desmond are out of the country."

Relief flooded through me. Having Emily to watch my back was the next best thing to having Lee here – and I knew he would feel the exact same way.

"We're coming down now, Sir."

"Cutting it close, King."

I could feel my stomach roll over and I was glad that I hadn't eaten more than a small sliver of coffee cake for breakfast. Being in this man's presence always set me on edge – being in his presence without Lee next to me was almost more than I could bear. I opened my mouth to apologize but Emily beat me to the punch.

"Austin, it's seven fifty-five – we're five minutes early for your eight o'clock meeting. Now, are you going to tell us why you have your knickers in a twist so early on a Monday morning?" Emily shook her finger at him as she pulled out a chair and sat down, motioning for me to do the same.

Dr. Smyth blinked and blew a blue smoke ring into the air. "I'll be right back, Kids."

I turned to Billy and whispered, "Is his mood because of this?" I lifted my hand and showed him my engagement ring.

Billy shrugged. "I honestly don't know – I told him about your engagement first thing, so he does know but he didn't say much about it – I think he has other things on his mind at the moment."

"So you don't think he'll try and separate-" I bit off the rest of my words as Dr. Smyth returned, holding the door open for an older woman.

"Put that out, Augie. Your co-workers might be used to your filthy habit but I for one don't want to die from lung cancer."

I bit my lip to keep from smiling as Dr. Smyth scowled but complied with the woman's order. I studied her in silence, wondering at their connection. They did bear a striking resemblance to each other – same intense blue eyes, firm chin, and facial bone structure. Her hair was darker than mine and shot through with gray, but I could see that once upon a time, she had been quite a strikingly beautiful woman. She turned to face me and smiled, reaching out a hand to shake.

"I'm Margaret Smyth, Augie's sister. Please call me Maggie, everyone does."

I took her hand and marveled at the firm grip and how her eyes remained sad even as her lips curled upwards.

"I'm Amanda King."

"You're Lee Stetson's partner-" she turned my hand over in her grip so my ring was facing upwards and caught the light. "In more ways than one, it seems."

"Yes, it would seem that Scarecrow has been playing house with his little housewife turned agent," Dr. Smyth remarked dryly.

Maggie dropped my hand and turned to glare at her brother. "Austin! We need her help to find – can you please be nice?"

Dr. Smyth blinked in surprise. "I'm always nice."

Billy coughed so he wouldn't laugh, but Emily didn't even try to hide her chuckle. I focused on Maggie, ignoring my superior for the moment. "Have you lost something – or someone?"

Maggie nodded. "My granddaughter – she's been missing since Friday night."

I frowned. "Have you notified the police? I mean, if one of my boys went missing, they would be my first phone call."

"This isn't a matter for the police, King."

Billy spoke up. "Well, excuse me, Sir, but I don't see how it's a matter for the Agency. Unless your great-niece was involved in something regarding national security-"

"Augie, you said these people of yours could help us find Meg – you promised me."

"Maggie-"

A piercing whistle cut across everyone's voices and silence descended as all eyes fell on Emily, who withdrew her fingers from her mouth.

"Now then, shall we all sit down and discuss this calmly and rationally? I, for one, would like to hear this story from the beginning and then we can discuss if this is indeed a matter for the Agency and how Amanda and I can help."

I shot her a look of gratitude as I grabbed the back of a chair and sat down to her right. Billy sat down next to me, and Dr. Smyth held out a chair for his sister across the table from the three of us.

"Meg is all the family I have left – after Augie," Maggie began, speaking softly but clearly. "Her mother, my daughter, Anna, was my only child. She died in a car accident when Meg was eight."

"What about Meg's father – is he in the picture?" Emily asked.

Maggie sniffed. "Anna had a brief affair with a professor when she was in college – he was married, of course, and when she found out she was pregnant she came home to me. The two of us decided to raise Meg together. Anna never told me his name."

"Could Meg have gone looking for her father?" I asked. "Perhaps she decided it was time to look him up-" I stopped talking as Maggie shook her head.

"No, that's not it. I told Meg that whenever she was ready, I would help her – that Uncle Augie had connections and he could find her father. She wouldn't run away to do it on her own." Maggie stopped to catch her breath. "No, I'm afraid it's that charity she's become involved with: Project Care Patch."

"Project Care Patch?" I repeated, "The one that's recruiting high school and college kids?"

Maggie nodded. "It's so popular with the young people right now! And their pitch is simple – help young people in other third world countries by having bake sales, potlucks, concerts, car washes – anything that you can charge a simple flat entry fee per person. Then take that money and buy books or medical supplies through the Care Patch company and they will ship it overseas."

Billy nodded slowly. "Sounds simple enough-" but the tone of his voice was skeptical.

Emily shook her head. "Sounds like the perfect front to ship weapons or drugs or anything else illegal."

"Just like 'Food for Flight'," I sighed. "We've been in this business too long."

"Perhaps," Dr. Smyth chimed in as he reached for a cigarette but dropped his hands as his sister glared at him. "But I looked into the company anyway. I always keep an eye on my niece's interests. On the surface, Project Care Patch seems legit, but I couldn't find out where the money to fund it was coming from or who was at the top. I sent a couple of my men to the headquarters for surveillance and still got nada – zip city. But then after a week, we got a picture of this man."

He slid an eight by ten glossy across the table and waited for me to pick it up.

"Thoughts, King?"

I stared at the man in the photo. It was a profile view, and I hadn't seen him in over two years, but I would still recognize him anywhere.

Sinclair.

11/11/84

Lee says I have a sixth sense for finding trouble – that I don't have to go looking for it, it just naturally seems to find me.

I would argue that before I began working with Lee, my life was quiet – boring even. The most trouble I got into was standing in the checkout line and discovering that I had left my checkbook at home or the one time a red sock got into my whites only load of laundry and turned everything pink. In other words, domestic housewife trouble.

But now there's the trouble I get into with Lee and there's the trouble I get into all by myself by – well, just being in the right place at the wrong time.

Take this last week for example. I had offered to help out with the charity that was raising money for guide dogs for the blind – specifically for blind children. I mean, how could I say no to that? All I had to do was imagine Philip or Jamie losing their sight and needing one of those guide dogs and of course I said I would help. It had nothing to do with my work with Lee – how was I to know that I would be in danger? I was only ever in danger when I was doing a job with him – not when I was doing something in my personal life.

Of course, I thought that the purse snatching was because of the courier assignment. But it got me thinking about whether or not I should be doing this kind of work – and Lee was really upset with me. He seemed to think that I shouldn't have taken the assignment – that I should have known he didn't want me to take it. That I wasn't ready for an assignment with this much risk. He thought I wasn't ready to go solo – the last time I did that, I passed counterfeit money in Germany!

The truth is, I don't have the training I need – and I don't know if they will ever give it to me. Perhaps the best thing to do is quit. Lee needs a partner who has all the necessary training to back him up as well as be able to hold their own out in the field and not be a burden to him. Of course, if I'm not working with him, I won't have any excuse to see him – he'll fade out of my life. The thought alone breaks my heart, but I know it's for the best. He will be fine without me, and I will learn how to go on without him. It's not as if we could ever be more than friends. . .

Since writing the above, so much has happened. It turns out that S- could see all the time, that he was faking his blindness and was running some kind of white slavery ring. He had Gail kidnapped and he grabbed me as well. Lee jumped onto the van in an attempt to stop them but ended up getting hurt and knocked out. I was so worried when he didn't wake up during the entire trip to the marina. Two of the men carried him below while I was thrown into a small cabin and told to wait, that S- would be with me shortly. I tried to formulate an escape plan, but I didn't know where Lee had been taken so I decided to wait and see if they would put us together. After a chilling interview with S-, who told me that he would be spending time with me before selling me to a private businessman, I was taken below deck to where Lee was being held.

"Are you all right?"

"Do I look all right? I'm chained to a pipe!"

As we worked on escaping, Lee told me that perhaps it would be a good idea if I left the Agency, but I said no, I didn't think so anymore. Ever since I'd figured out what was really going on, that this had nothing to do with my work with Lee, that S- had targeted me for ME, not because I worked with S-, a novel thought had crossed my mind.

What would have happened to me if I didn't know Lee? If S- had kidnapped me with every intention of abusing my body, of selling me to some unknown businessman – I'd never see my mother or the boys ever again. If I'd never taken that package, there would be no one riding to my rescue today.

Hours later, after everything was mopped up – S- was in custody, Gail was at the hospital, the microdot was recovered, my resignation letter was in the circular file, and I was safe and sound at home – this thought still plagued me. I sat at the kitchen table, cradling a cup of tea, trying to get warm, shivering slightly, when I heard the familiar tap on the back door. I set my cup down and slipped outside, trying to smile up into Lee's face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little cold –" I shuddered.

He pulled me into his arms. "Hey, it's okay."

I shivered and buried my face in his chest. "I was really scared, Lee. I can't stop thinking if I hadn't taken the package that day, we never would have known each other and therefore you wouldn't have been there today-"

"Hey!" He pulled back and grasped my upper arms, shaking me slightly. "Stop it, Amanda. You took the package, and you saved my life that day if I recall correctly!"

"Yeah."

"Look, I need to apologize for coming down so hard on you-"

"No, Lee, it's okay-"

"No, it isn't. You are more than capable of handling the mid-level courier assignments, it's just-"

I smiled. "You don't like me going alone – you need to keep an eye on me."

His arms fell away, and he frowned. "I wouldn't put it quite like that – It's just – I got you into this business and I - I don't want anything happening to you."

"You don't want to have to break in a new partner?" I teased him.

He smiled back at me, his dimples popping out. "Well, not now that I'm just starting to get you broken in."

A/N: See how I worked Lee into the chapter even though he's out of the country? Up Next: more about the case, and Joe calls Amanda to plead his case to her. Today is my birthday - and all I want is lots and lots of love in REVIEWS!