She Can And She Did

Chapter 20

Amanda, returning to Lee's hospital room, found him watching TV, and talking to the screen, "What morons!"

Amanda asked as she sat down in the chair near his bed, "Who are you talking about?"

Lee, gesturing to the TV, answered, "These "Wheel Of Fortune" idiots! Why do they wait until the last letter and use up their vowels?"

He yelled at the screen, "Hey! It's Jury For The Defense. Geniuses!"

Amanda with a smirk, gently took the remote from Lee, and switched off the TV, stating, "You really ought to rest now, Lee..."

With a sidelong glance at Amanda, Lee nodded answering, "Okay. Deal...But first, you and I need to talk."

Amanda queried, "What about?"

Clearing his throat, Lee remarked, "Well, that little performance you pulled earlier when you left the room. Were you seriously upset that you couldn't wrap up the case?"

Amanda shook her head commenting, "Look! All I had to do was talk to Augie, and-"

Lee put up a hand stating, "And get yourself in a situation that you couldn't get out of! You don't have firearm training, and Augie just likes giving clues and getting paid too much to talk as it is! And as Francine already found out, Augie's a scaredy cat who can't handle real confrontation! You, on the other hand, have unique intellect that helps us immensely to finish a case most times-"

Amanda swallowed hard, replying, "Except this time...I didn't know anything until Mr. Melrose told me you had gone to New York to meet a contact for a case and then you ran into some trouble...Now, I know you hate when anyone worries, but I thought you'd be used to at least me being worried about you-"

Lee, changing the subject, sighed and asked, "So, how is your family? What did you tell your mom about being here?"

Amanda shrugged answering, "Told her you got hurt on location and that it would be another day at least until I got home-"

Lee groaned, stating, "Oh, Amanda-"

Amanda responded, "What?"

Lee remarked, "You can go home-"

Amanda protested, "But Mr. Melrose said-"

Lee answered gruffly, "Go home! I'll be fine!"

Amanda, rising from the chair, replied, "Fine, but what about your clothes? They're at your hotel, and the hotel hasn't heard from "Leo Strauss" in a while, so-"

Lee gave a deep sigh, knowing Amanda wasn't going to give up easily, and queried, "Okay, message received...Amanda?"

Amanda remarked, "Yes?"

Lee asked gently, "Can you please go to the hotel, and pick up a few things for me until I'm released here?"

Amanda, with a slow smile, commented, "I'll do you one better. I can have you checked out of the hotel, and get one for us that's nearby here, so we don't have far to get to the airport when we go back to D.C...That okay with you?"

Lee answered questioningly, "One room?"

Amanda said, "A double room...Two beds. Relax, alright? I can adapt if you can."

Lee sighed answering, "Okay, see you in a bit..."

But before Amanda left, she handed Lee back the remote, stating, "Here...Since I know you really won't rest, find a good movie to get lost in...No more "Wheel Of Fortune."

Lee chuckled responding as he took the remote, "Okay, I promise."

Lee waited a few moments until he knew she was far down the hall, and smirking, switched the TV back on, and flipping channels, found "Wheel" once again, saying, "She doesn't have to know..."

-SMK-

Later that evening, Amanda came into Lee's hospital room to find him sleeping, and the nurse, Carol, writing something in his chart, and seeing Amanda, answered, "Visiting hours are almost over, Mrs. King. Dr. Miller took a look at Mr. Stetson's head, and the swelling has gone down slightly, but he'll examine him again tomorrow...Are you staying nearby?"

Amanda nodded commenting, "Yes, at the Radisson...I'll come back in the morning."

Patting Lee's hand, she remarked quietly, "See you soon..."

Leaving the room, she went to the Nurse's Station to dial the Agency.

Billy answered, "Melrose."

Amanda replied, "Sir, it's Amanda."

Billy remarked, "Amanda! How's Scarecrow doing?"

Amanda commented, "The swelling's gone down a bit, but Dr. Miller will look at it again tomorrow."

Billy remarked, "Fine...You both will be off the roster until Lee's alright. A head injury's nothing to mess with. Make sure he gets rest, hmm?"

Amanda responded, "Alright, Sir, I'll do my best, but you know how stubborn he can be."

Billy chuckled commenting, "Only too well! Take care."

Amanda said, "Goodbye."

Hanging up, she left the hospital and got a cab to take her to the Radisson Hotel for the night.

Arriving at the hotel, she went up to the floor where the double room was, and coming inside, she then forgot she had no other clothes, seeing as she had no luggage!

Shaking her head, she muttered, "Okay, Amanda. It'll be just like camping out..."

As she laid down on one of the beds, she thought, I'll worry about this tomorrow...

The next morning, after 10 A.M., Amanda came in and said to Lee, "Good morning...How did you sleep?"

Lee sighed answering, "Fine, except when they came in to take more blood from me. I mean, don't they have enough?"

Then giving Amanda a second look, he queried puzzledly, "Hey, am I losing it, or is that the same outfit you wore yesterday?"

Amanda sighed remarking, "Yes, but I didn't expect to be staying beyond yesterday, because Mr. Melrose and I didn't know how serious the situation with you was until later-"

Lee put up a hand stating, "So, go shopping-"

Amanda shaking her head answered, "Lee-"

Lee commented with a gesture, "A-man-da! I'm stuck here anyway until they decide to release me...Look, take my credit card out of my wallet, and go-"

Amanda responded, "I have money of my own, and a credit card-"

Lee replied, "So, go make a day of it- I'll be fine-Look, this isn't a stakeout where you have to be stuck in the same outfit for 48 hours- Go already!"

Amanda stated, "Lee, I have my own money, but I'm on a budget-"

Lee argued back, "Forget the lousy budget, alright? This is a special circumstance. You need clothes for the next few days, and and I'm sure your undergarments are-"

Amanda cutting him off, answered going to the door,, "Alright! I'm going! And I'm only getting what's absolutely necessary! See you later..."

When she Left, Lee swallowed hard, muttering, "Whew! Someone needs a nap..."

TBC