A/N: Ready for an action-packed chapter? Amanda and Emily are on the case-

"Can I take a peek yet?"

Emily chuckled, shaking her head as she applied more make-up to my face. "I would have been done ten minutes ago if you hadn't asked so many questions and had sat still like a good girl-"

I felt myself start to fidget again, so I clasped my hands tightly on my lap under the hair styling smock. "I'm just excited – I've never played dress up like this before."

Emily grunted as she stuck another bobby pin into my wig, securing it in place. "Just wait until the wig starts itching like the Dickens- you'll be counting down the minutes until you can get out of this get up." She stood back and clapped her hands. "Right-o, I think that's everything – no wait!" She picked up a small case and held it out to me. "I need you to put these contact lenses on."

I frowned. "Is that really necessary? I have 20/20 vision -"

"Those aren't prescription, dear, they're colored contacts to go with your disguise."

"I don't think I need-"

"Listen to me, Amanda." Emily placed a hand on my shoulder. "If Sinclair is involved in this operation in any way, you need to remember that this man hunted you – stalked you for days before he kidnapped you. He knew your intimate physical measurements, including the color of your eyes." She pressed the contact case into my hand. "Put them on, please."

Emily wouldn't let me use a mirror, insisting that doing it by touch was easier, and she wanted me to see the full effect of my disguise when I had them in my eyes. It took me a few minutes, as the only thing I had ever put in my eyes had been drops when I was a teenager because of a nasty infection in both eyes when I had the flu.

I blinked rapidly once they were in, my eyes tearing at the invasion of a foreign object, but then I smiled. "Is that ok – do my eyes look all right?"

Emily studied me in silence for a minute and then nodded. "Perfect. You look like any ordinary secretary now – see for yourself."

She moved out of the way and for the first time my eyes landed on my reflection in the small dressing table mirror we'd set up in the Q bureau that morning. I gasped at the woman staring back at me.

Emily had transformed me into a platinum blonde – the wig was piled into a tight chignon bun at the base of my neck - with light blue eyes. Using makeup, my eyebrows and complexion had been lightened to match the hair, but my complexion wasn't so great a contrast that it didn't match my body's tan. I stood up and walked around a bit, trying to get used to the stilettos I was wearing, my movement a bit more restricted by the pencil skirt I was wearing.

"I can't believe it's me!" I gasped. "I look so different."

Emily beamed as she began to clean and put away some supplies. "That's a good thing."

"Are you going to be in disguise too?"

"Just something simple – a red wig and some heavier makeup, I think." She sat down in the chair I'd vacated and began to apply dark lipstick.

"Russian again?" I laughed.

Emily pouted. "Not for an IRS cover!"

There was a tap on the door, and I said, "Come in."

Beaman stuck his head in, looking at me in confusion before his eyes landed on Emily. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Farnsworth. I was looking for –" his gaze swung back to me, his mouth falling open.

"Yes, Beaman, it's me."

He whistled and came inside the office. "Amanda – wow – I – I nearly didn't recognize you!"

I grinned. "Then Emily's done a good job with the disguise."

"I'll say! I just came by to give you your IRS id's and a few business cards in case anyone at Project Care Patch asks for one. If someone calls the number to check up on either one of you, Billy has set it up to ring Fielder's line – he's all set to act as an assistant for the IRS."

"Thanks, Beaman."

"What happens if someone tails us when we leave their offices?" Emily asked around a mouthful of bobby pins that she was using to secure her red wig in place. "I don't think we dare come back to the Agency-"

I shook my head. "No, in that case, I think we better swing by the government offices and make whoever's tailing us thinks we're going back to the IRS headquarters."

Emily frowned. "Does the Agency actually have a contact inside the IRS?"

Beaman snorted. "Of course – how do you think we got such authentic-looking identification in the first place?"

Emily stood, her head a frizzy mess of wild red curls, with painted lips to match. She was dressed in a bright lemon-yellow pantsuit that nearly, but not quite, clashed with her hair. I bit back a chuckle at Beaman's gaping expression. It was all part of the plan – Emily's appearance was loud and garish, meant to stand out while her secretary was dressed in neutral colors and meant to blend into the background. We wanted the focus to be on her while I could move around behind the scenes to see if I could discover what was really going on at PCP – and hopefully find Meg in the process.

"Ready to go, Amelia?" Emily asked, referring to me by my cover name.

I nodded, focusing on taking small, precise steps in my heels. "Yes, Ms. Worthington."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Styles is a very busy man, and you can't just show up here without an appointment and expect him to drop everything to see you. If you would like to leave your name and number, Mrs.-"

Emily sniffed. "It's Ms., not Mrs. – and the IRS doesn't need to make appointments-" she looked down her nose at the nameplate on the secretary's desk. "Fiona. We are conducting reviews of every non-profit charity within the limit of the DC area that was founded within the last five years. It is only a courtesy that I talk with your boss and inform him before I begin – but I can and will start this process today-"

"Oh, I don't think Mr. Styles would like that-"

"Young lady, I really don't care what Mr. Styles would or wouldn't like. My job is to conduct an audit-"

The heavy oak door behind Fiona's desk opened, and a young man in a three-piece business suit stepped out.

"Is there a problem, Fiona?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Styles. These two women are from the IRS, and I told them you were very busy with meetings all day and that they needed an appointment-"

Mr. Styles paled. "The IRS?"

Emily stepped forward, holding out a hand. "Ms. Worthington, and this is my assistant, Amelia."

I gave a slight nod and was glad that Mr. Styles' eyes barely slid over me in acknowledgment before returning to Emily.

"Fiona, hold my calls. Ladies, please step inside my office."

Emily and I followed him inside and I tried not to jump as the heavy door swung shut behind me. Mr. Styles and Emily were already sitting down, and I silently wondered if I was to sit or stand, when Emily glared at me over her shoulder, and I hurried to sit next to her.

"What's this all about Mrs. -?

"Ms. Worthington," Emily repeated her name through clenched teeth. "I'm an auditor with the IRS-"

"Let me stop you right there," he held up a hand. "If you've done your homework, you must know that Project Care Patch is a non-profit company. We have been since I opened the doors in January 1985. My 501c3 status is up to date and-"

"Let me stop you right there, Mr. Styles," Emily threw his words back at him, and I bit my lip to hold back the smile. "I'm an auditor for the non-profit charities in the DC area. It's my job to conduct reviews of businesses such as yours every five years-"

"But PCP has only been in operation for two years-"

"Every five years or less," Emily continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "I'm simply here to do my job. I know that no one likes it when the IRS comes and pokes about in the books – but you've got nothing to hide, surely? I've heard nothing but excellent things about your company and all the work you're doing with the youth in this city to help the youth in Africa."

Mr. Styles nodded. "I'm passionate about today's youth – that's why I founded PCP."

"And all I'm here to do is make sure you're not misusing your donations- or your tax-exempt status."

"How long is this going to take?"

"A full audit usually takes two to three business days-"

"What! I have events, meetings –"

"Oh, we don't need you looking over our shoulders, Mr. Styles. We just need you to give us full access to all your financial records and files. If we need to get in touch with you for some reason, I'm sure Fiona has a number where she can reach you?"

"Most of the time, yes."

Emily beamed. "Good, then let's get started."

Two days.

Emily and I had been pouring over the financials of Project Care Patch for two days and we hadn't discovered a single thing – except that reading microfiche for hours on end resulted in migraine headaches.

Mother was very sweet and supportive about my extra-long working hours – and when she discovered that Emily was a spy as well – she just rolled her eyes and promised not to say anything to the boys. When both of us came home looking exhausted and nursing headaches, she had ice packs and chamomile tea ready and waiting. The first night we had pizza delivered and the second night, she and the boys surprised us with a supper that the three of them had worked together on. I felt a bit guilty for neglecting my housewife duties but for the first time I was working a case on my own without Lee and it was consuming my waking hours. Every single day that went by, I worried that we wouldn't find Meg or Tessa alive.

"You can't think like that, Amanda," Emily whispered after the boys had gone to bed and Mother was taking out the garbage. "We'll find them-"

"How can you still have hope? Tomorrow is Thursday- it's almost been a week! Tessa's mom must be going out of her mind!"

"Who's Tessa?"

I turned at the sound of Mother's voice, cursing myself inwardly for talking about this while she was still awake. "I – I can't talk about work, Mother-"

"Amanda, this case you're working on is eating you up inside, I can tell! You're coming home every night with a migraine, and you look like death! You need to talk about it-"

"I have Emily-" I nodded at the other woman.

"Didn't you tell me that it was nice I knew the truth now so that we could talk about it?"

"Yes, but there are still things I can't tell you, Mother, because it's classified."

"Oh, I hate your job!" Mother threw up her hands and stomped from the kitchen, climbing the stairs to her room.

I stood, intending to follow but Emily's hand dropped on top of mine. "Let her go, dear. What would you say?"

"I don't know – I hate this! I thought once she knew the truth – some of it anyway – that it would make things easier – but I still feel like I'm being pulled in different directions – that I'm living a secret life."

Emily nodded and sipped her tea. "I don't know how you do it – and yet, I envy you – having Lee and your family. All I ever had was James, and believe me, that was hard enough,"

I reclaimed my seat and took a sip of tea, trying to calm down. "The two of you never had any children?"

"We tried – after a while, we went and saw our doctors to see if something was wrong, you know, medically. That's when my husband found out he was sterile."

I clasped her free hand in mine. "I'm so sorry, Emily."

Emily blinked rapidly and didn't say anything for a few minutes. "It was a long time ago."

"That doesn't matter – my divorce was a while ago and the pain is still there – sometimes, I think the pain of it will always affect the boys."

"Is that why you've been so hesitant to tell them the whole truth about you and Lee? You're protecting them in case this marriage doesn't work out?"

I released her hand and sat back, taking a deep breath. "In the beginning, maybe – ultimately, we decided on a secret marriage to keep the boys safe from the dangers of our job."

Emily shook her head. "Don't let your jobs rob them of having a family, Amanda. Those boys need Lee in their lives – and Lee needs them too."

"I know," I blinked back tears.

"Not to mention any future children the two of you might have-"

"Emily!"

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Amanda. You can't tell me you haven't thought about having Lee's baby-"

I blushed furiously as I sipped my tea, refusing to answer that question.

11/2/86 (Flashback)

"No, please! I don't know!"

"Amanda – sweetheart- wake up. Birol's gone – you're here, with me. I've got you-"

I moaned and opened my eyes to see Lee looking down at me, his eyes filled with worry, as he cradled me in his arms in bed. I lifted a hand to feel his bristly cheek, my heart rate slowing as I felt his skin under my fingertips.

"You're here – I'm here, with you. It's over?"

He nodded his head slowly. "Do you remember everything that happened?"

I blinked slowly, the events of the last twenty-four hours flooding my mind. Lee coming to save me, his proposal, taking me home, and me coming back over here and falling asleep in his arms only to wake up and-

I smiled and reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck, realizing for the first time that neither one of us was wearing any clothes.

"I do."

He smiled at my words, dropping a kiss to my forehead before pulling back to meet my eyes again. "Amanda, we need to talk."

I groaned. "Do not tell me you are going to trot out the old party line now?"

"What?"

"You know – the "Amanda, some things happened last night, but we just got caught up in the moment-"

"No! Damn it, do I really sound like that?"

"Yes – well, you used to – not so much anymore."

"I hope not." He fused our mouths together and for the next minute I couldn't even remember my own name as he proceeded to kiss me senseless. "You were saying?"

"Hmm? I don't remember."

He chuckled. "I'm trying to be serious here."

"Then you should know that lying in bed with you naked is highly distracting-"

"A-man-da."

I pulled away slightly to wrap a sheet around my body, ignoring the fact that my skin was crying out for physical connection with his. "Okay, I can concentrate now – what do we need to talk about-"

"Well-" he ran a hand through his hair, and I was amused to see that he was blushing. "Last night when we – I mean, I didn't- do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

I took pity on him. "You didn't use a condom. It's okay, Lee, I'm on the pill. I have been ever since Jamie was little-"

He was shaking his head. "That's not the point-"

My eyebrows shot up. "It's not?"

"I mean, I'm glad to know you were protected – that we weren't being reckless, and you couldn't have gotten pregnant but that's not what's bothering me."

"Then what is?"

"I don't want you to think that I'm the type of guy that just sleeps around and isn't prepared – I mean, I always protect myself and my partner – last night was a surprise-"

I placed a hand on his chest, to stop the rambling. "Lee, I know that you are responsible when it comes to sex. Last night just happened – and I wasn't worried about it because I'm healthy and on the pill."

"But we didn't talk about my history before we-"

I removed my hand and sat up. "I didn't think we needed to – I mean, if there was something I needed to know, you would have told me, right?"

He sat up swiftly, framing my face with his hands. "How did I get so lucky as to fall in love with the most patient, understanding woman on the planet?"

I snorted. "I'm far from patient, Lee – and my understanding only goes so far. Right now, I'm in the dark as to what has you tied up in knots this morning. Do you regret making love to me last night?"

"I could never regret that." He placed a feather light kiss on my lips. "I just – I need you to know that I have a clean bill of health from Dr. McJohn – and that I haven't been with another woman, sexually, since Randi."

I gasped as I did the mental math in my head. "But that's – that was before Leslie – Lee, that was over two years ago!"

He chuckled and began to rub his hands up and down my arms. "I'm well aware of how long it's been."

"But I thought – you and Leslie-"

He shook his head. "We went on a grand total of four dates, and I kissed her a few times, but there was nothing there. I was already losing sleep over you- wondering if maybe you and I could be more than friends and partners at work-"

I crushed my lips to his, using the weight of my body to push him backwards onto the mattress. His fingers curled around the top of my sheet and began to lower it, his eyes searching mine for permission. I covered his fingers with mine and together we lifted the sheet, and it fluttered to the side, falling away like a butterfly. I shivered as his fingertips traced down my bare skin, coming to rest over my lower abdomen for a few seconds.

"Would it be so bad?" he whispered in my ear.

"What?"

"If one day you were pregnant with my child?"

Shivers of delight ran down my spine. "One thing at a time, Stetson," I teased as I kissed a trail from his ear to his chin. "You haven't put a ring on my finger yet-"

He rolled me beneath him, and I moaned as his weight settled on top of me. "I keep getting distracted-"

"I suppose that's my fault?"

He gripped my hips to stop them from shifting under him. "Not entirely."

The phone on my nightstand woke me out of deep sleep and I groped around until I found it and pulled it under the covers with me.

"Hello?" I spoke groggily into the receiver.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Oh my gosh, Lee!"

I sat straight up in bed, glancing at the alarm clock radio as I did: 6:05am. He hadn't called last night, and I had fallen into a fitful sleep sometime after midnight, wondering if he would call this morning or if I would need to alert Billy to send in the backup team.

"Where are you?"

"Waiting for transport-"

"You mean, it's done?"

"Yeah, sweetheart. It's done – we're headed home, safe and sound."

I sighed. "Everyone's good?"

He chuckled. "Well, Francine's nose is a little out of joint since she heard our news-"

"Lee Stetson – you told her?"

"Everyone else knows – so I thought I'd go ahead and spill the beans to her and spare you the trouble."

I grunted. "How'd she take it?"

"I don't know – she hasn't really been speaking to me – she says she wants to talk to you when we land."

"Great. Thanks a lot, Stetson."

"Will you stop calling me by my last name, please?"

I grinned. "It's my last name too-"

"Yeah, but no one knows that -"

"Emily does-"

"What? How?"

"By her superior powers of observation – when do you land?"

"Late tonight – I probably won't see you and the boys until tomorrow morning."

I groaned. "I don't think I can wait that long-"

"I know, I know. But I'm on my way back to you – and our family. Just like I promised. I have to go – transport's here."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"This is day three – I think they're going to kick us out this afternoon," I commented to Emily as we parked outside PCP's corporate offices.

"I know – we need to find something today or we're out of luck."

Fiona, the battle axe secretary we'd encountered on our first day had set us up in a conference room down the hall from Mr. Styles' office and equipped us with a computer, a microfiche reader, and boxes upon boxes of files. We only had two more boxes to go through and I knew it wouldn't take us all day – not even if we dragged our heels.

Fiona wasn't at her desk when we entered the office area.

"I'm going to the conference room – why don't you see if she's in Styles' office. If she's not there, maybe you can look around – if she's there, ask her to get us coffee," Emily suggested as she marched down the hall.

I tapped on the heavy door and waited for a beat before swinging it open. Fiona was standing by the wet bar, sliding a panel back into place as I entered.

"May I help you with something?" she asked me coldly.

"Ms. Worthington would like some coffee," I spoke softly, keeping my eyes downcast.

"You've been here for two days, and you don't know where the coffee is? Make it yourself, it's in the small room right across from the conference room. I have to run to the bank for Mr. Styles."

"Yes, ma'am."

She waited for me to exit the office first and I wandered down the hall, but I only went far enough for her to think that I was going to make coffee. I flattened myself against the wall and waited, watching for her leave.

I darted into the conference room. "Fiona just left to go to the bank – I interrupted her in Mr. Styles' office – I think she was closing a safe. Maybe there are a second set of financial papers in there-"

Emily stood up. "Let's go – I'll be your look-out while you search the office."

"Don't you want to do it?"

She shook her head. "Your lock picking skills are better than mine."

"Really?"

Emily smiled. "I've been talking to Leatherneck. He says you're a great safe cracker."

"He exaggerates my abilities."

"Let's not waste time- who knows how close the bank is."

Emily slipped behind Fiona's desk and began a thorough search while I slipped back into Mr. Styles' office. We had been on the premises for two days, but this was the first opportunity we'd had to conduct a search – we'd never been left alone. Fiona or Mr. Styles had always been on site. I took a minute to take a deep breath and still my shaking hands. Lee always chuckled at my aversion to go through people's private property. He constantly reminded me that it was a necessary part of the job. I wished that he was here now to do it, to watch my tail, to crack the safe. As much as Leatherneck praised my abilities, Lee's far exceeded my own.

I walked over to the wet bar and studied the paneling, wondering how to get it open. I saw that there were a number of decorative beer knobs on the right side, and I methodically began to pull on each one, sighing in relief when one clicked and a small panel slid up and into the wall, revealing a safe. I stepped close, leaning my head next to the dial and began to spin slowly, listening for the click of the tumblers, as the right number fell into place. I have no idea how long I had been here, or how long it took me, but I wanted to do a victory dance when the last number locked in place. I pulled the lever and the safe door swung open.

Inside were two ledgers, an enormous stack of cash, and stationery with PCP letterhead. I grabbed the ledgers, a small bundle of cash, and a few sheets of stationery before shutting the safe. It took me a few minutes to find the right knob to slide the panel back in place and then I slipped out the door.

Emily wasn't sitting at Fiona's desk – the office area was now deserted.

"Emily?" I hissed her name, the small hairs on the back of my neck standing up in alarm.

A strong pair of arms wrapped around me as a large burlap sack dropped over my head. I screamed and dropped the ledgers, to kick and fight the person holding me tight. My stiletto heel came down on their toes and I heard them gasp in pain, their hold on me loosening. Suddenly another person was in front of me, boxing me in, holding something to my face through the sack. I tried to hold my breath, but it was no use, and I inhaled the sickly-sweet scent, the fight going out of me as I lost consciousness, and everything went dark.

A/N: Oh my gosh! Lee better hurry up and get home - Amanda's in big trouble! Want more? Drop me some love in reviews - they feed the muse!