A/N: Happy 4th of July, my dear readers! Another long chapter for you! Enjoy.

As soon as I returned to the Agency, Mrs. Marston informed me that Emily hadn't returned from her errands yet.

"Thank you, Mrs. Marston."

"Be careful, Mrs. King – Dr. Smyth is on the warpath."

I sighed as I took my security badge and pinned it to my sweater. "Do you know why?"

The older woman shook her head. "I do know he was looking for you before he headed down to Mr. Melrose's office-"

Today just isn't my day.

I spun on my heel and headed for the elevator as the phone on her desk rang.

"If that's Dr. Smyth, tell him I'm on the way down."

I could hear Dr. Smyth's raised voice as I entered the bullpen, though the words weren't discernable as Mr. Melrose's office door was shut tight. A few agents were standing nearby, leaning their heads close to the wood, shamelessly eavesdropping but as soon as I walked into the room and they caught sight of me, they cleared their throats and wandered away-

All except Efraim Beaman and Fred Fielder.

The two men watched my approach and while I saw something akin to concern in Fielder's eyes, I only saw glee in Beaman's.

Efraim had never been my biggest fan – even though I had been his top student, or perhaps because I had been. The simple fact that I had worked with Lee Stetson, agent extraordinaire, for nearly three years before entering the standard training program, irritated the man to no end. I had more firsthand on the job knowledge, not to mention a higher security clearance than all the other agent candidates combined and Efraim believed that I had gotten special treatment from Mr. Melrose all along. He was quick to point out my flaws and often complained that I shouldn't be given plum assignments just because I had been working at the Agency for years.

I actually felt sorry for Fred. The man was constantly in Lee's shadow – trying to make a name for himself. He was a good, solid, steady agent – but he made some basic blunders in assignments that kept him from being promoted or being recognized by the brass. I asked Lee once if Fred would be a better agent if he had a partner – and Lee said that Billy had paired him with several agents in the past, but none of them had worked out. Fred had bored them all to death and they had quickly asked to be reassigned.

Fred caught my elbow as I reached up to knock.

"I don't think you should go in there-"

Efraim interrupted. "Yes, she should – Dr. Smyth has been looking for you-"

"I know, Beaman," I bit the words at him before turning and offering Fred a small smile. "It's okay, Fred. Now if you'll both excuse me-" I rapped sharply on the door, my traditional four rap of the knuckles.

"Come in!"

I slipped inside and shut the door behind me. "Sir, Dr. Smyth," I nodded, acknowledging both men.

Billy nodded at me from behind his desk, but my view was cut off as Dr. Smyth stepped in front of me and I coughed as a blue ring of smoke was blown in my face.

"King, I'm waiting for an explanation."

"For what, Sir?"

"Why did you order surveillance on my sister? Did you honestly think that I hadn't already done so – who did you think the people in the cable TV van were?"

Those were Smyth's men – Agency men.

I straightened my spine as the man circled me like a shark. "I was following agency procedure – straight out of the manual, page 165, paragraph 3, subparagraph 1: "When an agent notices a-"

"Don't quote the Agency manual to me – I know what it says," Smyth snapped. "I wrote the damn thing."

Billy coughed. "You revised the damn thing-"

Dr. Smyth spoke over him. "And that's not an explanation-"

I whirled to face him. "You should have informed Mr. Melrose and myself that you had already ordered a security detail for Maggie – including the specifications –"

"I don't need to inform-"

"Because then you would have found out that using a cable TV van was the wrong cover."

Dr. Smyth's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh?"

I pressed on before my nerves caught up to me. "If you'd done your homework, you would have found out that most of Maggie's neighbors are retired and therefore live on a fixed income – they don't have the money to spend on cable – so they would have been suspicious of your van and begun to ask questions in another day or two. So, in reality I really did you a favor. Now you can send another team in as surveyors or plumbers- something much more realistic."

I paused to catch my breath and looked at Dr. Smyth, who was staring back at me with an inscrutable look on his face. After several seconds of silence, he blew out another smoke ring before turning to Billy.

"Tigress."

"What?" Billy queried, cocking his head to the side.

"You know, until right now, I've never fully understood what you and Lee have seen in the housewife – she's always been a bit mousy and too much in Stetson's shadow – but you've got a real tiger by the tail here, Billy."

He turned back to me. "I'll change the cover on the security detail. Have you and Emily made any further progress on the case?"

I swallowed, as I tried to focus on his words.

I stood up to the big, bad wolf and I'm still breathing. I didn't get forty lashes – in fact, he seemed to – respect me for it?

"Emily has names of four other girls that have gone missing over the past two years – the only connection being that they were all involved in Project Care Patch-"

He waved my words away like he was swatting a fly. "We can't open an investigation with something so flimsy – I need evidence!"

"You'll get it, Sir."

He narrowed his eyes. "Carry on then, Tigress."

I managed to keep my feet under me until he swept out the door, but then my knees buckled, and I collapsed into the chair directly behind me.

"Well done, Amanda!" Billy praised me, coming around to clasp my shoulder.

"Wh- what just happened?" I whispered, looking up at him in confusion.

"I think you just got your code name," Billy chuckled.

"I think it suits you," Emily nodded as she used her chopsticks to maneuver another bite of lo Mein from her plate to her mouth.

On her way back to the Agency, Emily had stopped off to pick up Chinese take-out for lunch. The two of us were now tucked away in the Q bureau stuffing our faces, while I filled her in on the scene in Mr. Melrose's office.

I shook my head. "You really think so? I mean, today has been a bit crazy and my emotions have been all over the place – so naturally I'm a bit –"

"Snarly?" Emily suggested.

I laughed as I scooped more pork fried rice up and ate, savoring the flavor. "Exactly. I mean, I don't sleep well without Lee anymore, I'm worried about Jamie, I fought with Joe, and now there's four missing girls-" I shrugged. "But usually, I am the calm, cool, and collected one – I'm not so sure 'tigress' is the right code name for me."

"Shall I tell you why I think it is?" Emily asked, brushing sesame seeds from the front of her blouse.

I nodded.

"Right-o. The word tigress literally means a 'fiercely passionate woman' – and that is you, Amanda Stetson. You don't do things halfway – you throw yourself into all your projects, all your jobs and relationships without hesitation-"

I held up a finger. "I think Lee would say that's not always a good thing."

"True, but I think if he was here, he'd say it's also one of the many things he loves about you."

My cheeks flushed as I thought about my adoring husband.

"Yes, he would."

"And there's the passion – for Lee, for your boys, for the missing girls – for this job – you are fiercely passionate about all of it – sometimes quietly so, and other times you are more vocal, like today – it just depends on the situation. Never lose that fire, Amanda."

I reached across and took one of her hands in mine. "I'm so glad you're here – I've been so jealous of all the times Lee's gotten to work with you."

Emily squeezed my hand and then let go. "That's sweet – though we both know you'd rather have him here with you-"

I gasped. "That's not true-"

She stared at me until the blush stained my cheeks again.

"Well, all right – I do wish he was here – but it's not an either-or thing – I want you both working this case with me!"

Emily laughed and handed me a fortune cookie. I turned the sweet treat over in my hand, not opening it as licked my lips, wondering if I should ask the question that was on my mind – or if I should just drop it.

"Emily?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you call me 'Amanda Stetson'?"

The older woman turned her piercing gaze on me. "That's your name."

My mouth went dry. "Lee and I just got engaged-"

"Amanda. Are you honestly going to try to lie to me – a fellow intelligence operative?"

"How did you know?"

She smiled. "The tan line on your finger is thicker than your engagement ring-"

I gasped and held my hand up, staring hard at my ring finger.

Oh my gosh. She's right! Has anyone else noticed? Has mother noticed?

"Amanda, breathe. We're trained to notice things like this – if your mother hasn't noticed the tan line before now, I think your secret is safe-"

I groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"She knows."

"Knows what?"

"That I'm a spy – that Lee's a spy."

Emily blinked in astonishment behind her glasses. "Well, that's – an interesting development. What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know – Lee and I haven't had time to discuss it – he left on his assignment this morning and mother only told us that she knew yesterday. Apparently, she's known for some time and has just now decided to let us know that she knows."

"Why? What happened?"

"California."

"Ah, your shooting," Emily nodded. "She must have been terrified-"

"She was – so was Lee. He still blames himself – I can't get him to let it go-"

"Give him time. Men are trained from childhood to protect us women from harm. And Lee feels doubly responsibly because he brought you into this life."

"How did you know?"

"Oh, I know our boy very well – and we've had quite a few conversations about you over the years. I'm just so happy that he finally realized what was right in front of him." She clapped her hands. "Right-o. Let's have a little lighter talk before we delve into those case notes, shall we?"

"Did you have a topic in mind?"

"Tell me how Lee proposed – the first time."

I made a wry face. "I thought you wanted a lighter subject-"

"It's not?"

"Not unless you consider being held hostage by Addi Birol and nearly being sold to the Libyans-"

"Good gracious, Amanda! Well, at least you got some down time for your wedding, right?"

I sighed. "Not exactly."

11/2/86

Lee proposed.

To me.

Amanda West King.

Lee S-, spy extraordinaire, proposed to me, Amanda King, a divorced mother of two, living in the suburbs, with her mother and a mortgage.

As I lie here beside him in bed, tracing a line on his chest with my finger as he sleeps, I can't help but think that it's a dream – that he'll wake up and tell me that I've been dreaming – that even though we've crossed the line to lovers, he could never settle down and marry someone so normal.

Two days ago, I was afraid that my life was over. I was terrified that I was going to be sold to the Li-, and I was being drugged so that I hallucinated and didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

Lee has been the head of a taskforce for the past six months to capture AB, a particularly nasty man from the middle east. He had an inside contact, one of his family, feeding him information, and everything was going well – until I was kidnapped. I knew that AB wanted me to give up Lee's contact, but I didn't know who it was – I only knew the codename – Lee had purposely kept their identity from me. I desperately tried to hang on because I knew that Lee would come for me – but I had so many dreams and hallucinations about him coming to my rescue that I didn't believe it when he showed up in my cell.

Until he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, claiming my mouth with his, dragging my hands up to feel his face.

"We may not make it out of this one-"

I shook my head. "Yeah, it really stinks, doesn't it?"

He crouched down in front of me, lifting my chin up until our eyes met. "Amanda King, you are the best, the bravest, the most beautiful woman I've ever known-"

"I love you," I sighed.

"Then will you marry me?"

"Will I marry you?" I repeated hoarsely, barely able to believe that this beautiful man was here in front of me, asking me this question here and now. "Oh yeah, I'll marry you."

Of course, Lee had a plan, and it wasn't long after this that the cavalry arrived, and we were rescued. I was whisked away to the Agency infirmary to be checked out and debriefed. Lee never left my side, except for the twenty-minute physical part of my exam, during which he took a quick shower and changed clothes.

When he came back into my room, I was putting on a clean pair of scrubs.

"Ready to go home?"

I nodded. "Lee?"

"Hmm?"

I captured one of his hands as I stood, holding it tight. "It's okay if – I know we were in a life or death situation and we both said some things-" I paused to take a deep breath. "I'm trying to say, I won't hold you to it-"

He dropped my hand to cup my face. "Amanda, are you trying to give me a way out of our engagement?"

"Well – I just thought maybe you might have proposed in the heat of the moment-"

He pressed a soft open-mouthed kiss to my lips. "I've been planning to ask you for weeks and have been interrupted every time. So, no, it wasn't how I planned – but I meant every word."

I gave him a trembling smile. "So, you weren't playing our cover?"

He grinned. "No. No more covers for us, Amanda King. Just you and me, for the rest of our lives."

He kissed me again and then drove me home.

Mother was watching TV in the den, some late-night movie special. She greeted me with a hug, and I braced myself for the contact, not wanting her to see my bruises or notice how sore I was. She frowned and told me I looked terrible, that I had obviously been working too hard again. I agreed and kissed her good night, escaping up to my room, before I took off my coat that had hidden the scrubs from her prying eyes. I stripped and took a hot shower, letting the steam relax my muscles and the sound of the water cover the sound of my sobs as I released all the emotions from the past two days. When I got out of the shower, I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep – not without the comfort of Lee's arms. I pulled my hair up into a loose bun, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and then sat on my bed to wait until I heard mother's footsteps on the stairs before I snuck back down. I wrote her a note saying that there had been a problem in the editing room, and I had been called in early and left by the back door, heading for Lee's apartment.

I knocked on the door when I arrived – I knew he would still be awake. He had told me long ago that he never slept well after the difficult cases, that it took him a while to decompress, and after my kidnapping I had a feeling, he wouldn't be sleeping well for many nights to come.

I was preparing to knock again when the door flew open and there stood my partner, my fiancé, clad only in a pair of sweatpants, that hung low on his hips.

"Amanda – what-"

I gulped. "I couldn't sleep."

He held out his hand and I placed my hand in his as he pulled me inside, shutting the door. "Me either. You should have called – I would have come back over."

I shook my head as I moved into the circle of his arms. "No, I needed-"

"What?"

"You." I breathed the word out softly before I crushed my lips to his.

He swept me up and into his chest, devouring my mouth for a full minute before he pulled back, shaking his head. "No – we can't- Amanda, you're not – you were drugged, kidnapped. I can't take advantage of you like this-"

I shook my head as I leaned my forehead against his chin. "Dr. McJohn says my blood is clean – whatever I was given left my bloodstream over twelve hours ago."

He ran his hands down my sides, lingering on my ribs. "I don't want the first time we make love to be when we're sleep deprived – or hopped up on adrenaline."

My eyes swam with tears. "I never thought I'd hear the midnight rambler say no to sex."

He took my hand and led me towards the bedroom. "Hey, I'm not saying no, I'm saying wait – and it won't be just sex, Amanda."

I smiled as we entered the darkened room, lit only by a dim light from the bathroom. "Hold me?" I asked as I sat on the bed and scooted backwards.

Lee stretched out beside me, holding out his arms as I curled into his side. "All night long."

I don't know what time it was when I woke up, but it was still dark. Lee was awake and watching me, his fingers tangled in my curls.

"Hi there, big fella," I teased. "Did you get any sleep?"

He nodded. "I just woke up a few minutes ago. I thought I was dreaming until I opened my eyes and found you here-"

I rolled and heard his breath catch as I lay on top of him.

"Did you get enough sleep?" I asked as I nipped his jaw and straddled his hips. "Because I'm feeling very well rested."

"A-man-da," he growled, lifting his hands, and stilling my hips. "You don't play fair."

I fused our mouths together and slowly rocked my hips on top of his. He groaned into my mouth and took control, rolling us so that I was pinned under him. He locked eyes with me as his fingers reached for the hem of my sweatshirt.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, gasping as his warm fingers slid underneath and began pulling the material up, touching the skin of my stomach.

"I love you, Amanda King soon-to-be Stetson," he breathed the words into my right ear as he pulled my sweatshirt up and off.

I grabbed his face and brought his lips back to mine. "I love you, Lee. Thank you for rescuing me-"

He buried his face in the nape of my neck. "Thank you for bringing me back to life – for showing me how to love someone."

"Fellas, I need to talk to you for a minute. Can you pause your game?"

"Sure, mom." Philip hit a button on his remote and Mario froze mid-jump. "What's up?"

I took a deep breath. "It's about your dad-"

Jamie rolled his eyes. "I don't want to talk about-"

"Just listen, okay? I had brunch with him today to talk about his trip to Estoccia – and why he's going. Did either of you know that he and Carrie called off their engagement?"

Jamie shook his head and Philip shrugged.

"Philip?" I pressed him for an answer.

"I thought it was weird that she wasn't around the past couple of weeks, but I didn't know they broke up."

"Jamie?"

Jamie shook his head. "I didn't know – Dad didn't say anything. Is that why he's going back to Estoccia – because she broke his heart?"

"I don't know what happened between them – but your dad needs time and space to figure out what he wants to do with his life-"

"Geez, Mom- Dad's like – old," Philip groused. "Doesn't he have that figured out yet?"

"So, he's really going?" Jamie asked, his voice strained, and my heart broke to hear the pain in it.

"I don't think he's made his mind up yet, and I've asked him not to call or come over until he has a final decision – I don't want you guys to be worried or stressed about what he's going to do until he knows if he's leaving DC or not."

"Wow," Philip breathed.

"Of course, if you guys want to see or talk to him, I can-"

The boys shared a look before they moved as one and threw their arms around my neck.

"Thanks, mom."

"For what?"

"Sticking up for us."

I ruffled the hair on their heads, and they pulled away, groaning at the display of affection.

"Hey, is Lee coming by later?"

"No, he got called out of town this morning – he'll be gone a few days."

"Aw man," Philip complained. "He promised to take me to see Lethal Weapon!"

"I'm sure he'll take you when he gets back-"

Jamie punched his brother in the arm. "It better not be the same day as the photography exhibition at the Smithsonian-"

"Hey, my movie is way more important than your dumb-"

"Is not!"

"Fellas!" I laughingly broke into their argument. "I'm sure that Lee will make time for both of your outings – now, go back to Mario – you've got twenty minutes before bed."

"Okay, mom."

I shook my head and walked back to the kitchen where Mother was pretending to read her latest novel and drink tea. I poured myself a cup and sat next to her at the table.

"Well, that went okay," I whispered, taking a sip of tea.

"Hmm, yes. You managed to dodge the bullet of their father still being in love with you quite nicely."

"MOTHER!"

I had just settled into bed with my own book when the phone on my nightstand rang. I picked it up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, beautiful."

"Lee," I breathed his name on sigh, leaning back into the mound of pillows. "You made it safe and sound to your convention," I continued, using the agreed upon cover.

"The flight over was uneventful and the accommodations are nice but the food leaves something to be desired – they definitely do not have a four-star chef."

Translation: no problems on the plane, hotel room isn't bugged, but he's spotted a few suspicious people around the hotel, mainly in the dining room.

"Now, honey," I drawled. "Don't be such a food snob. I know how much you enjoy mother's cooking but I'm sure you can find a little bistro that serves some tasty dishes."

He grunted. "If I can get away from the convention – today's agenda is packed."

"Poor baby, no free time at all to sight see and pick up some souvenirs for me and the kids?"

"I know better than to come home empty-handed, Darlin'. I'll do my best to slip away in the afternoon and pick up some trinkets."

Translation: Francine and I have a meeting this afternoon with a contact.

"Do you want some suggestions for gifts?"

"I think I've got it covered – tell me what you've been up to today."

I was dying to tell him about my day – but this was an open line, and anyone could listen in. It was enough for now that I had him on the phone with me – I had to make it be enough.

"Oh, you know, same old routine. Work, errands, supper with mother and the boys. Oh! You'll never guess who came to visit – Aunt Emily!"

There was a pause as Lee made the connection and then I heard his low chuckle. "Really? She just dropped in?"

"Yeah, she must be psychic – knew I would need help with the kids since you were out of town. She'll be staying for a few days and hopefully you'll be back by then-"

"I'm glad she's there for you."

"Me too."

His sigh came over the line. "I have to go – my first meeting of the day is about to start and it's getting late for you –"

"Yeah."

"Hey-"

"What?"

"I love you."

I smiled, the warmth and love in his voice coming through the phone. I knew beyond any doubt that those words had nothing to do with his cover – they were for me alone.

"I love you too."

A/N: Ah, finally Amanda and Lee connect - even if it is by phone! What did you think of her codename? Drop me a line in reviews - it's candy that feeds the muse!