SMK: The Ties That Bind - Chapter 2

Lee and Amanda's Apartment – Day 1

Gun in hand, Lee opened the bedroom door as quietly as possible. He'd already cleared the rest of the apartment, and though he assumed Amanda was still sleeping peacefully in their bed, he wasn't taking any chances. The fact that the doors had still been locked when he returned home didn't mean much; whoever had placed the bug obviously knew how to get past a locked door. He'd need to talk to Leatherneck about a specialized update on his security system.

He glanced at the bed as he came into the semi-dark room; her form was there under the blankets. Slowly, he closed his eyes and released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Thank God!

Lee crept around the room with the device he'd grabbed on his way out of the office and swept every nook and cranny for the offending bug. Reaching up, he ran his fingers along the top edge of the window casing. Aha! There you are. After gently dropping the bug into a glass of water sitting on the bedside table, he resumed his search. It took ten minutes to conclude that the rest of the room was clean. They were alone. Sort of.

With his weapon holstered back in his shoulder harness, he returned to the bug. Putting it in water wasn't SOP, but it worked in a pinch. He picked up the glass and tried to get a good look at it. It looked like it might be Agency issue, but in the dark of the room he couldn't be sure. He glanced back at Amanda sleeping peacefully in their bed. He hated to disturb her rest, but...

Gently, he sat on his side of the bed and gazed at her; she was laying mostly on her stomach with her face turned away from him. Unable to resist, he reached out and smoothed her hair back from her face. After only a few months of marriage, he sometimes still needed to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

She stirred and stretched, turning toward him onto her back. "Lee?" Her eyes fluttered but remained closed.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he whispered as he continued stroking her hair. Eyes still closed, she smiled dreamily. He'd been up before the crack of dawn, and she made the bed too inviting to resist, so he slipped off his shoulder harness and climbed under the covers. She was still half asleep, and they had pressing matters to discuss. Still...he glanced at his watch...

"What a lovely wake-up-call," Amanda sighed forty-five minutes later as she lay in his arms with her head propped on his shoulder and her face tucked into his neck. "I don't even know what time it is."

Lee stopped stroking her hair to turn his arm and check his watch. "It's 8:30."

"8:30?" Her eyes popped wide open. "Oh my gosh! What time did you leave this morning?"

His eyes, on the other hand, were closed again in complete contentment. "How did you know I left? You were sound asleep."

"Lee…" Amanda snickered huskily, "…you're dressed for work. Well…you were dressed for work."

He chuckled and turned his head to kiss her temple "Very observant, Mrs. Stetson."

"I try, Mr. Stetson." She sighed and closed her eyes again.

Lee gently pulled his arm out from under her and raised himself up on an elbow. He looked down into her sleepy face and smiled simply because he couldn't help it.

Amanda opened her eyes and gazed up at him. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on, or is it on a need-to-know basis, and I don't need to know?"

Reality slammed back into him like a punch in the gut. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Yes, it's need-to-know, but you really need to know."

"I'm not so sure I like the sound of that." Tension filled her eyes.

Lee sighed. "Uh, Amanda. I'm not sure how to tell you this..." He sat up rather abruptly, pulled on his boxers, and walked over to the dresser.

"Lee, you're scaring me." Amanda grabbed her robe and tied it around herself. She came up behind him and, wrapping her arms around his waist, lifted her chin to set it on the back of his shoulder. "What's going on. What's wrong?"

Lee turned in her arms; he had a glass of water in his hand. "Here."

Looking at him quizzically, Amanda took the glass and glanced down at it. Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked back up at him. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It's exactly what you think it is."

"Where did it come from?"

He looked steadily into her eyes and rested his wrists on her shoulders where his fingers could play with her hair. "Right here, Sweetie."

"Right here. You mean...right...here." It wasn't a question. Lee nodded his head as he maintained eye-contact with her. "I think I need to sit down." Amanda turned and walked stiffly to the chair in the corner of their room.

"Amanda, Honey," Lee followed her and got down on one knee in front of the chair. Wrapping his hands gently around her arms, he sighed. "Sweetheart?"

"You mean to tell me that thing has been in our bedroom?"

"Yes..."

"Someone's been listening to us?"

"Mmm-Hmm..." The implication in her question was loud and clear. "Amanda, I am so sorry..."

She cradled her forehead. "I am so embarrassed."

"Well, Sweetheart, at least we don't think anyone else has heard it."

Amanda's head jerked out of her hand; her gaze drilled into him. "What do you mean, 'we'?"

Lee rubbed a hand up and down over his face, "Uh..."

"Who is 'we,' Lee?" she asked sternly.

"Amanda, look." Lee took her hands into his and rubbed his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. "The tape showed up at the Agency this morning."

"Oh..." She looked up at the ceiling.

Hurriedly, he tried to do damage control. "Now, it could have been worse than it was."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Shaking her head, she looked down into her lap.

He closed his eyes and took a breath, steeling himself to barrel through the explanation. "Well, it showed up at encryption, but Francine intercepted it."

"Francine..." more head shaking.

"She took it to Billy, so Dr. Smith doesn't know anything about it."

"Mr. Melrose…" She shook her head again. "Oh, my gosh."

Lee rubbed her knuckles some more. "I know, Sweetie. I know. But..." he raised her chin and smiled at her. "There's really nothing to be embarrassed about." Amanda gave him 'the look'.

He cleared his throat, stood, and brought her up with him. "Look. I understand. But who cares what people think, Amanda. Besides, don't you think they already know we're more than friends?"

"I care," she whispered.

"Why?" He searched her eyes. "Why should you care?"

Ever since she'd been shot in California and Francine had basically taken over her place as Lee's partner, she'd been feeling her self-confidence slipping. The Alyssa Danton thing hadn't helped. "People are going to wonder why you're with someone so...average."

"Now just wait a minute..." That word had always bothered him when used to label a woman, even before it was used by witnesses to describe Amanda's look-alike who killed two agents and tried to make him the third. But since then, it had bothered him even more.

"No, I mean it. You could have just about any woman at the agency – or outside the agency. Shoot. You probably have." Amanda buried her face in his chest as old insecurities popped back to the surface. She didn't feel like she was in the same league with his past women.

"Amanda...don't go there." He tipped her chin back up, and slowly she raised her eyes to meet his. "You are the most beautiful, exciting, and desirable woman I've ever met." With eyes cast back downward, she shook her head. "Yes. You are," he stated emphatically. "You're my heart and my soul, Amanda. Surely you know that."

Chagrined, he tried to hold her, but she remained stiff in his arms. "Amanda, we've already dealt with my past. I was a jerk, and I know it. I've asked your forgiveness, and you've given it. Please don't do this to yourself." He brought his hands up to frame her face. "My life was empty, and I was looking for ways to fill it, but I had no idea what it was that I was missing... until I met you."

He felt her body soften. "I love you more than I could have ever imagined loving someone. If you're struggling with self-confidence – which you shouldn't be – then please have faith in my love for you." He wrapped both arms around her again and drew her back into his embrace.

Amanda laid her head against his shoulder and let him hold her. "I love you."

He rocked her in his arms and stroked the back of her hair. "I love you, too, Sweetheart."

They stood this way for several minutes, but then he reluctantly pushed her away just enough to look into her face. "Now, unfortunately, we need to go see Billy. We've got to figure out who is listening in on us and why. Are you up for it?"

Amanda sighed. "I supposed I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Lee chuckled. "Not really."

Amanda just nodded her head, even as embarrassment kept her gaze down.

"Now, now, Mrs. Stetson. No shame. You go in there with your head held high. There's not a woman there who even comes close to holding a candle to you, you got that?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"Okay!" She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes at him.

"Good. Now let's get dressed and get this over with. We're in this together, and we'll get through it. I promise."

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