SMK: Too Close to Home – Chapter 28

Saturday, Day 12

Amanda's Hospital Room, Early Morning

At the sound of a knock on the door, Lee stood and turned to see Dr. Pfaf poking his head inside. "Can I come it?"

"Sure." Amanda placed her glass of milk on the bed-tray and offered him a welcoming smile.

Dr. Pfaf grinned and turned to Lee. "Good morning, Scarecrow."

"Dr. Pfaf." Reaching out to shake the man's hand, Lee gestured to the seat on the other side of Amanda's bed.

"It's good to see you sitting up and smiling, Amanda." Accepting the offer, Dr. Pfaf sat next to her and beamed his approval.

"Thank you." Amanda relaxed against her pillows. "I'm feeling much better. So...do you think I can get out of here yet?"

"What..." Dr. Pfaf looked at the mushy-looking breakfast left sitting on a plate on her tray and somehow managed to keep a straight face. "...they're not feeding you well enough?"

Scowling at the offending plate, Amanda picked up a fork and rearranged the food around. "No, quite frankly they're not." She put the fork down.

Laughing, Dr. Pfaf patted her hand and perused the chart he'd brought in with him. "Well, your blood pressure is down, so that's good." He closed the file and beamed his approval. "And the baby's vitals seem fine. Dr. Kelford said the sonogram looked good..." Quickly, he opened the file and glanced back down at the chart "...Ah, good thing I looked. It says here you don't want to know the gender of your baby." His eyes twinkled. "I almost gave it away."

"So, I can go?"

Amused by her hopeful look, Dr. Pfaf chuckled. "Yes, you can go..." Just as a smile began breaking over Lee's face, he held up a warning finger. "But...we need to have a little talk. Have a seat, Scarecrow."

The smile disappeared, replaced by a worried frown. "What's up, Doc?"

Dr. Pfaf scowled. "Seriously? Do you know how many times I've heard that one?"

Lee sat back in his chair and held his hands up in surrender. "Honestly, I didn't even think about it that way." He rubbed his head almost viciously with both hands. "There's way too much going on for me to crack a joke. So, what's going on?"

Dr. Pfaf turned toward Amanda and reached for her hand. "Amanda, I'm very concerned about the PTSD."

The serious look in his eyes made her catch her breath. "Okay...so, what does that mean?"

"It means that if you keep going through crisis after crisis, trauma after trauma, your nervous system will never have a chance to recover." His concerned gaze locked with hers. "Yes, that can be dangerous for the baby. But more than that, it could do damage to you in the long-term. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Amanda zeroed in on a snag in her blanket and picked at it. "Probably."

His eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline. "Probably?" Almost imperceptibly, he shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Alright, fine. I'll spell it out for you. I want you off the streets, Amanda. Working in your office is fine, but I want you off the field for at least six months."

Amanda's jaw dropped to her chin. "Six months!"

Lee's eyes slid closed in a silent prayer of thanks. Finally, someone else was telling her to stay safe.

"Six months, Amanda." Dr. Pfaf's face was stern. "And I want you in my office three times a week."

"Dr. Pfaf..."

"Amanda, listen to me." He leaned closer to her and braced his elbows on the bed. "Your PTSD isn't severe, but if you don't give yourself a chance to work through all the trauma that's behind it, it could eventually become that way. That's not something you want, is it?"

Amanda turned toward Lee. Seeing the reality of his angst written all over his face, her heart melted. This, after all, wasn't just about her own needs. Not anymore.

Lee leaned toward her and reached for her other hand. "Just listen to him, Manda. Please?"

Heaving a great sigh, Amanda closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her pillows. "I don't like not being strong." She opened her eyes, and her gaze collided with her doctor's. "I've always been the strong one. The one taking care of everyone else."

"I know," he smiled gently. "So, maybe it's time to let someone take care of you for a change."

Amanda looked down at her hands. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "I don't know if I know how to do that."

Lee reached over and brushed her hair away from her forehead. "Sweetheart, you're the strongest woman I know. But everyone needs help sometimes; isn't that what you always tell me?" He reached over to take her chin in his hand and turned her face toward him. "We've gotten through a lot of really tough things together. We'll get through this, too. I promise."

Slowly, Amanda let out a breath and shifted her gaze back toward the doctor. "Six months?" He nodded. "In your office three times a week?" He nodded again. "And I can still go into the office?"

"That's right."

"Then we re-evaluate."

"Absolutely."

"Alright, what do we do about me worrying about the danger other people are in?" She threw a pointed look toward her husband, and Dr. Pfaf pinned him with a look.

"Are you open to a discussion on that front, Scarecrow?"

Lee gazed at his precious wife lying in the hospital bed; he'd be so lost without her. "I'll do whatever I have to, Doc."

The Agency - Late Morning

Sitting next to his wife on the sofa in Billy's office, Lee watched her from the corner of his eye. Hands tapping her crossed arms and foot bouncing, she looked ready to bolt. Rarely did he ever see her this restless. He knew it was because she wanted to get upstairs to her boys. "Unfortunately, this isn't over, you know." Lee looked around Billy's office at his colleagues.

"Yeah," Seated in the chair across from them, Francine crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward. "We still have to transfer Tania to the F.B.I..."

"And we've got to nail Foster's hide to the wall," Beaman added.

Amanda uncrossed her arms. "Let's not forget Jennifer and Janine in all this."

Lee reached over and took her hand. "Of course we're not going to forget Jennifer and Janine, Sweetheart."

Billy took off his glasses, leaned back in the armchair, and sighed. "Well, unfortunately, Janine has vanished."

"What!" Three sets of eyes wide with shock turned toward him.

"Yes. I sent Frank over there this morning after Francine talked with Jennifer. He said the place looked like a hurricane had swept through, and she was nowhere to be found."

Amanda turned to find Lee's eyes searching hers. They were both thinking the same thing – Janine's future looked bleak. After everything it sounded like the girl had been through, it broke her heart. Looking away from her husband, she turned her gaze on Francine. "So, how was your conversation with Jennifer?"

Francine rolled her eyes and waved her hand through the air. "Oh, Jennifer was a goldmine of information." Smiling, she uncrossed her legs and leaned back into her chair. "Most of it we already knew, or at least we thought we knew. Tania sent the girls into schools to scope out which teens were likely to take the bait. They targeted them, made friends with them, goaded them into parties, and hooked them on Ecstasy."

"Speaking of girls..." Lee shifted on the sofa, turning slightly toward Amanda and laying his arm on the back of the sofa behind her. "...were we able to pick up any of the other girls?"

"Agent Johnson was able to do that while Frank was looking for Janine. They're in a safe house until the proper authorities can get here to take care of them."

"Oh, good." Amanda breathed out a sigh. "Maybe we'll be able to reunite some families while they all get the help they need."

"What about the O.D.s in California? Did Jennifer know anything about those?"

"Nope. She couldn't help us there, Lee. She said she wasn't involved in those."

Lee's jaw clenched. "Damn. There was nothing about that in Valarie's journals, either."

"Yeah. All she knew was that Janine was part of getting the drugs into the school. Tania didn't get Jennifer involved until they moved to D.C."

Raising an eyebrow, Amanda rested a hand on her belly and unconsciously caressed her baby. She turned her concerned gaze on Billy. "What's going to happen to her, Sir?"

Billy smiled, but it was bittersweet. "Well, the missing child report you found was right on the money. The police are going to be contacting the parents."

"And in the meantime, Sir?"

"Well, in the meantime, she's going to have to go through a rehabilitation program for her addiction."

"She vaguely remembers her parents, but she's very nervous about the whole thing," Francine added.

"Oh my gosh." Amanda's gaze drifted down to her belly, then back up to Lee. "I can't even imagine."

"Yeah," Lee squeezed her hand. "She's got a long road ahead of her." Sighing, his eyebrows lowered as he thought through the implications. "It's not going to be an easy one."

"So now what?" Amanda looked back and forth between Lee and Francine. "How do our boys get their lives back?"

"Well," Billy leaned his elbows onto his knees and clasped his hands in front of him. "With Tania's testimony and what both you and Lee overheard, we have enough to pin all of this mess to Foster."

Eyebrows drawn together causing her brow to wrinkle, Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "But Sir, what Lee and I heard is only hear-say. Couldn't Foster's lawyers have a hey-day with that?"

"I was wearing a wire, Amanda." Lee bumped his shoulder against hers.

"You were wearing a..."

"Wire." He winked at her. "Yeah. We wanted hard evidence of whatever Jennifer might have told us in the car." He patted her hand. "Seems like we didn't end up needing it for Jennifer, but it sure came in handy for Watson."

Amanda's eyebrows shot up. "So, we got 'im?"

Lee looked around the room and smiled. "Yeah." He turned back to Amanda. "We got 'im."

Breaking his silence, Beaman removed his glasses. "I hate to rain on your parade..." He leaned forward in his seat, anchoring his forearms to his knees and clasping his hands between them. "...but your family isn't safe until Foster's put away where he can't get access to anyone on the outside." He paused and scratched the side of his head. "Or access to anyone on the inside who has access to anyone on the outside, come to think of it."

"We all know that's not going to happen."

"Yeah, Billy's right." Abruptly, Lee got up and paced toward the bookshelves. "Foster will be charged, indicted, and tried for these new crimes." Running his hand over his hair, he turned and watched understanding dawn on the faces of his teammates.

Francine turned to Billy. "Can he at least be kept in solitary while all this is going on? That way his contact would be limited to his lawyer, and even that would be watched as strictly as legally possible."

"Yes, that is a possibility."

"What about Brad and Devin, Sir?" Even with everything they did, Amanda was concerned about the boys.

"It's hard to know. They weren't really in on it, though they were accessories. Being minors, it gets complicated. At the very least they'll be attending mandatory, court appointed counseling..." He raised his eyebrows. "In fact, the whole family will."

"So, when can we go home, Sir?"

Billy smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry, Amanda," he spoke softly. "I need you to wait until the Foster threat has been at least somewhat neutralized."

"That's not going to be a problem." Four sets of eyes swung around to find Dr. Smyth standing in the doorway speaking around the cigarette he held between his teeth. He strode into the room, closing the door behind him. "We've got a veritable smorgasbord of grievous crimes with which to charge Foster." Pulling the cigarette away from his mouth, he blew out a trickle of smoke. "That on top of a few favors I've called in will get our man promptly deposited into solitary confinement." His cold blue eyes glimmered with amusement as he raised an eyebrow. "All legal, of course, children. Special circumstances and all that."

He took another pull on his cigarette and turned to Amanda. "Your boy did very well, Mrs. King. But then, I'm not surprised; the apple, afterall, doesn't fall far from the tree, does it."

It'd been a really long week on top of a really long year. Amanda didn't know if she had the emotional strength to let his comment – his whole attitude, really – roll off her back. She was tired of playing "Mrs. Everything Nice." Polite might be her default mode, but given the right circumstances...

Able to see his wife bristle from where he stood, Lee walked nonchalantly back to the sofa and sat beside her. He reached for her hand and squeezed, bringing it onto his lap and lacing his fingers through hers. "So, when will all this go down?"

"It's happening as we speak, Scarecrow." He took a puff of his cigarette and blew out the smoke. Again. "At least most of it is." In an uncharacteristic move, he grabbed one of the chairs near Billy's desk, brought it close, and sat in in. "Simultaneous warrants are being served right now on Hutchins and Hughes." He leaned over and tapped the butt of his cigarette to drop the ashes into the tray on the low table. Leaning back into his chair he speared Lee with a look. "I thought you might enjoy the honor of confronting Foster yourself, Scarecrow." He took another drag. "The Agency plane is waiting for you right now if you're so inclined."

Lee reached around to rub the back of his neck. Maybe now was the time to inform everyone of the decision he and Amanda had made with the help of Dr. Pfaf. That might shake Mr. High-and-Mighty down off his imperial pedestal a notch or two without jeopardizing their jobs...much. Raising his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, Lee tightened his fingers around Amanda's and gazed at her sweet face. At her small nod, he turned back to the group. "Actually, I'm going to have to decline that offer, Dr. Smyth, as tempting as it is." His delight at seeing the man's jaw drop even a fraction was probably a bit unprofessional. "But Amanda and I have an announcement to make."

Eyes wide, Francine leaned toward them. "Please don't tell us you're resigning."

Amanda smiled at her friend. "No, Francine. We're not resigning, but we did have a long talk with Dr. Pfaf this morning before I was discharged from the hospital."

"As you all know, this past year has been especially stressful, what with the Stemwinder thing..." He speared Dr. Smyth with a hard gaze. "...the investigation into my parents, Amanda's kidnapping, Donek's PD2, the shooting in California..."

"Every day is stressful, Scarecrow." Dr. Smyth interrupted with a scowl. "It's part of the job. Agents have to deal with it all the time."

"And agents burn out all the time as well." Billy growled. "Wouldn't you say, Dr. Smyth?"

"Yeah." Beaman sat on the arm of the sofa next to Lee. "Statistically speaking, The Agency tends to chew us up and spit us out."

"Back to Dr. Pfaf..." Lee intentionally interrupted to get the conversation back on track. "...He's put us on physician ordered lite-duty..." He paused, bracing himself for the response to the final punchline. "...for six months."

Jaw dropping, Billy stood abruptly. "Six months!"

"No can do, Sonny Jim." Dr. Smyth sat calmly in his chair and took a puff of his cigarette. "A couple of weeks, maybe. But not six months."

Tired of Dr. Smyth's lack of concern, Lee sat forward and braced his forearms on his knees. "Dr. Smyth you yourself have been party to letting us go through Hell this past year. Now, my sense of duty is as strong as ever, but this Agency is no longer my top priority. My family is. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you force me into changing that."

Lee shifted his focus to Billy. "Give us six months, Billy. We'll still come into work. I'll take light cases, and Amanda will work as my research assistant. She'll also need to see Dr. Pfaf three times a week, and sometimes he's going to want me there, too." Tilting his head slightly to the side, Lee's eyes begged for understanding. "Haven't we earned it, Billy?"

Not breaking eye-contact with Lee, Billy leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair and used his hand to rub his forehead. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "Yes, Scarecrow..." Dr. Smyth's head swiveled in his direction, but Billy held up the universal sign for halt and carried on. "...you both have most definitely earned it." He shifted his gaze to meet Amanda's. "And you, Amanda, you take the time to get healthy. This team needs you, you hear me?"

Appreciation shone from her face. "Aw, Mr. Melrose. That means the world to me; thank you."

Dr. Smyth stood and turned toward the door. He opened it and turned back to the room, roaming his eyes over the best group of agents he had. "Personally..." He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "...I don't think you can handle six months of lite duty, Scarecrow." He waved his hand at the wall of the office. "You'll be bouncing off the walls like a racquetball in a racquetball court." Putting the cigarette back in his mouth, he turned and stepped through the door. "Let me know when you can't handle it anymore. Toodles!"

Dr. Smyth stepped out of the bullpen and walked down the hallway toward the elevator. Well, well. He pushed the up button and waited. Scarecrow's finally grown up. It's about time. Never again would he be the impatient, reckless, throw-caution-to-the-wind agent he'd been in the past. No, he'd be much more steady on his feet and wise with his decisions. The door of the elevator opened. He stepped inside and turned around. No one was there to see the satisfied smile on his face. Mrs. King may have tamed the savage beast, but she surely had made him more focused and more dangerous than ever before. What a great team. The doors closed, and the elevator swept him up toward his office. Yes. Six months, and they'd come back stronger than ever. He'd take that trade any day.