Life's Not So Little Changes Chapter 6, a scarecrow and mrs. king fanfic

Chapter 6

In the afterglow of making love, Amanda rolled over onto Lee's chest as he put his arms around her. The events of the last couple days floated through her mind, including her unlikely new friend.

"I think we need to be careful at work," Amanda said. "I caught Kristen grinning at us. I think she suspects there's something between us."

"I think you're right" Lee said. "I can have trouble controlling my thoughts when we're working. When you get logical it makes you even more sexy, if that's even possible."

"However, maybe it's not so bad. I think we may need to come clean at some point. I also suspect Billy is on to us anyway. He keeps grinning too."

"Yeah, he's pretty clever that way. I'm not so worried about Billy, I'm more concerned about Dr. Smyth. He'd like nothing more than to break us up."

"We have the best closing record of any team in the Agency. He may want to break us up, but I think the backlash he would receive may be more than he wants to take on." Amanda reasoned. "He needs to take that into consideration."

"There goes that sexy logical brain again," he said squeezing her rear end.

"That's not where my brain is," Amanda giggled.

"But it sure is cute." Lee laughed, kissing her on the nose.

They laid in each other's arms for a long, peaceful moment. Lee lightly stroked her back making lazy circles.. She wanted for him to put his arm around her any time they wanted, or to show her affection without worrying who might be looking She wanted to be a real couple, in a real relationship. Her mother and sons knew of Lee, but not as the man she loved. It was like a knife through the heart to keep this from them. A sadness washed over her. Lee picked up on the shift.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lee asked.

"Nothing really," Amanda said.

Lee changed positions to lie on his side to face her. "Honestly, what's wrong?"

Amanda sighed as she looked into his eyes, "Well, if I'm not mistaken this relationship is getting serious."

"You're not mistaken," Lee pulled her closer, kissing her softly. "I've never felt this way for anyone, ever. I can't imagine being with anyone but you."

"Ok, if we really want to make a go of it, I want my Mother and the boys to get to know you. I don't want this to be a secret anymore. You're too important to me."

"You're right," Lee conceded shifting his weight anxiously. "I'm just a little nervous. I'm not great with kids."

"I know your experience with kids is limited, but I come as a package deal."

"Yes, you do. I know your family is part of who you are, and how important they are to you."

"So, where do we go from here?" Amanda asked, feeling a little anxious knot in the pit of her stomach. She loved Lee, but would this be a deal breaker?

"Tell you what?" Lee pushed up on his elbow and leaned over to look her into the eyes while he gently caressed her face. "What if we have a real date on Friday? I mean I go to your front door and pick you up properly. I can officially meet them."

Amanda smiled back at him as her heart raced. She looked deeply into the eyes that made her weak in the knees, "Thank you" Tears filled her eyes, she could not hold them back. "You have no idea how much that means to me. I feel like this is actually real. I love you so much, and I want you to be a part of everything in my life."

"Just promise me we'll take it slow with the boys. I need time to figure this out. I know what I was like at that age and well…"

"You're afraid of children." Amanda teased.

"They're terrifying." Lee laughed. "However, I've seen your boys. They actually seem like pretty good kids and they love you. I just don't know how they'll feel about me."

"It may take some time, but I have no doubt they'll come to love you just like I do."

"I hope not. That would be weird." Lee chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her firmly.

"Ooooh, no!" Amanda laughed with him. "Don't be gross." She rolled over to look at the clock and sighed. "I stayed out last night. I'd better go home tonight. It's getting late". She rose from the bed "Ok if I take a quick shower?"

"Ok if a join you?"

"At this rate, I may never get home," Amanda laughed as she trotted into the bathroom. Lee sprang from the bed to follow her.

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The next morning Amanda came downstairs to find Dotty in the kitchen already.

"Well?" Dotty smirked, "that was a late night again. Anything interesting going on?"

Amanda poured herself some coffee and looked at her mother, who stood there looking at her with raised eyebrows and the grin.

"It was a nice evening," Amanda smiled back.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not right now" Amanda answered. "But later this week." Now was not the time to bring up Lee as it would only result in a thousand questions she was not fully prepared to answer yet.

"Hmm, I'm intrigued." Dotty smiled back at her.

Amanda walked to the kitchen table where Jamie was sitting quietly eating some cereal. She leaned over and kissed him on the top of the head. He smiled slightly but remained quiet.

"Hey, you ok?" Amanda asked him.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Jamie responded rather listlessly.

"Are you certain? You've seemed a little down lately."

"I told you I'm ok," Jamie snapped back, very uncharacteristically.

"Woah, hey now," Amanda stopped him. "Was that necessary?"

"I'm sorry Mom," Jamie's looked up at her. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"Well, I need to get to work, but let's talk soon, okay?"

Jamie shrugged. "Ok, Mom."

Amanda looked at Dotty, who just shrugged. It was clear she did not know what was going on with him either. However, he'd been off for a few weeks now.

As Amanda turned she saw on the table a note from Phillip's Spanish teacher. "Mother, is Phillip failing Spanish?"

"Yes. I don't know what we're going to do with that boy." Dotty was exasperated.

As if right on cue, Phillip came down into the kitchen. When he saw his mother holding the note, he immediately stopped with a panicked look.

"Phillip, what is going on?" Amanda demanded of her son, "I thought Señor Gomez was giving you extra help."

"Mom," Phillips squirmed, "Señor Gomez smells like old cheese and I hate the way he teaches. I don't understand him."

"Do we need to get you a tutor?" Amanda asked, concerned about the additional costs.

"I don't know, Mom," Phillip said, appearing crestfallen. "It's really hard."

"We'll talk about this later." Amanda said, looking overwhelmed and disappointed.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Phillip pleaded. It was obvious that his failure in Spanish was not for lack of trying. Frustrated, Amanda left for work.

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That morning , Lee received an early call from Billy. Something just came in from the White House, and he needed to get in right away. When Lee arrived, he went straight to Billy's office.

"Lee," Billy started, "I wanted to give you the information first, as I'm putting you in charge. As you know the President has been calling for an end to terror at home. He has ordered an inter-agency collaboration on some Middle Eastern terror groups who are trying to get a foothold here in the U.S. I'm making you lead for this Agency. There is a meeting at 10:00 am at the White House, and I need you there with me and Dr. Smyth.

"This has to do with Karbala, correct?' Lee asked.

"Primarily, yes. Addi Birol is the leader of this group, as you're aware." Billy explained. "We understand he has a group here and I believe you may have a source, correct?"

"Yeah," Lee responded thoughtfully, "I have a source who's been working with me. So far it seems his operation has been fairly small, but growing. I agree if we're going to stop it, we need to do it now."

"I think we can also get some help from our inside source from Saudi Arabia, Yusef El-Kebir."

"Ah, Billy," Lee complained, "I can't stand that guy. You can smell the damn cigars from a mile away and I swear he's just looking for a time and place to drive a knife into one of our backs."

"I know he can be difficult, but he can give us some insight that we need." Billy explained, knowing full well Lee understood, but just didn't like it.

"Okay, okay, I understand," Lee conceded. "Just keep him safe distance from me or I may deck him myself." Billy chuckled knowing his friend too well.

"We should get on our way. When we return, you can start to assemble your A-TAK team."

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Lee arrived back at the Agency several hours later. This was quite the assignment and he was excited at the opportunity. He met Amanda up in the Q Bureau and explained Karbala and the assignment.

"I want you on the A-TAK team. I need someone around me I can trust."

"I'm in!" Amanda replied. "Are we still on for Friday night?"

"Of course." Lee smiled.

Lee was looking forward to his date, but terrified to meet Amanda's family. However, after the conversation he and Amanda had after making love last night, he knew the path forward meant he needed to get to know her family. He had fallen in love with Amanda, and if this is what it took to be with her, he was willing to do it. He recalled when he was Phillip and Jamie's age, just getting into their teens, and cringed. He was pretty much a class-A jerk every day. However, he did not have a caring mother like those boys did. They also had a father, however, he was skeptical about how caring Joe was as he essentially chose his career over his children.

Chills then ran down his spine. Would he be the same way? His career had always been the focus of his life. Would that need to change now? Would he want it to change? He could not imagine his live without Amanda, but up until now, her kids had just been a side note he'd not yet had to consider. Yes, he would watch over them to make certain they were safe and protected, but interacting with them was a whole new territory.

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The next several days Lee had been putting together his team and working with his counterparts with the CIA and FBI. As Amanda was part of the team, she was taking part I the meetings. They had been busy all week, so she'd not been in the training room much, but it was understood she had a long history with Lee.

Meanwhile, Efraim Beamon was hard at work training several other new agents. He knew that Lee Stetson had been talking about only using the top agents. He waited for Lee to approach him, but, of course, he was looked over again. Figures. He thought they'd turned a corner with the Zhmed Doorlof case, but apparently not. Jerk.

Phyllis had been talking to him about taking control of his life, and not letting the people he worked with decide his destiny. He needed to make his own path. She had told him she was part of the group of people looking to make real change for the good. To make a stand for the little guy, to no longer be ignored. Maybe it was time for a change. His anger at being looked over again was taking its toll. He had been set aside to become a babysitter for new agents.

He saw Lee and his team walking toward the conference room while Efraim was helping William make sense of some surveillance of a nearby warehouse where it was suspected there may be some drug trafficking. He saw Lee turn toward him before entering the room.

"Efraim," Lee called. Maybe this was it. He thought to himself. "Can you help us out here. There's been some low level cable traffic coming through. At first glance it appears to be nothing, but I think your recruits could be helpful reviewing the traffic again to make certain we've not missed anything. I would really appreciate it." Lee dropped a huge load of wire traffic sheets in front of him.

Really? You want me looking at low level bullshit? Efraim took a deep breath. Now was not the time and he knew it. But he was reaching the edge.

"Sure," Efraim replied flatly.

"I think this would be a great exercise for the new recruits and sure would help us out a lot." Lee patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave. He's just patronizing me now. Efraim thought to himself. Giving me some low level bullshit while he takes the glory again.

"Excuse me," Efraim said to William. "I'll be right back."

He walked back to his office and closed the door. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"Phyllis?" Efraim asked. "You think we can meet later? I want to hear more about your group. I think it may be time for me to take charge. I'd like to hear more."

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While Lee had been extremely busy with the A-TAK team all week, Friday morning had arrived. What had been nerves was now getting to be a little bit of a panic. Dammit, Lee, what is wrong with you? It's just her mother and her sons. You've come up against KGB. Masterminds and mobsters. Get yourself together, man. Lee shook his head to clear it.

It was about 2:30 pm and Amanda came up to the Q Bureau after spending the morning working on running down some leads with her CIA and FBI counterparts.

"Hey there," she said as she entered the room. "Everything going well today?"

"Yeah," Lee said, trying not to sound distracted. "Just a lot to take on with this Karbala group. Up to my ears here." He said without looking at her. Clearly she noticed.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Just a lot going on." He said. Stop being such a chicken Lee said to himself. Just meet the family. You're a good guy, it will be fine.

"Well," Amanda said. "We've wrapped up downstairs. There are a few files here I should put in the vault and then I can likely get home to get ready for tonight. So, where are we going?" She looked excited.

"Um," Lee stammered. "I made a reservation at Spencers for 8:00. Pick you up at 7:30?"

"Ok," Amanda looked a bit confused, "That doesn't give us much time for you to meet Mother and the boys."

"Well, that's ok," Lee said, "It can be quick. I don't mind, I can just say Hi."

Amanda looked frustrated. "Seriously? I thought you wanted to meet them."

"Well, technically you wanted me to meet them." Lee immediately regretted those words.

Amanda dropped the files down on her desk, clearly exasperated. "I thought the idea was to move forward."

"I'm sorry," Lee said, running his hand through his hair, looking nervous. "I just don't know what I'd say to them. I'm the guy that you ran off with you during the Stemwinder mission. How do I get past that?"

"Well, I told mother that it was a misunderstanding. Next, just introduce yourself and let her know that we've worked together for a few years and now we're dating. Once they see what I see in you, I'm certain they'll come to love you too."

"How are the boys going to take you dating someone new?" Lee asked.

"Well, they did not like Dean," Amanda admitted, "but he was kind of dull. You're not. You like baseball, you know martial arts, you drive a cool car. You'll find some common ground. How about you come at 7:00, spend about 15 minutes and then we can go. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that will be fine." Lee said, clearly still uncomfortable.

For the first time, Amanda was starting to question their future. She turned to put the files into the vault, turning her face away from Lee so he could not see her worried expression.

A few hours later Amanda had put on a new dress and earrings and came downstairs. Dotty, of course, noticed.

"Well, Amanda, you're looking especially pretty tonight." Dotty smiled. "Someone special?"

"Actually, yes, Mother," Amanda found this was the right time to let her in. "Lee Stetson is coming to pick me up. We have a date tonight."

"Wasn't he the one you ran away with a few weeks ago?" Dotty looked concerned. "What is really going on?"

Jamie had been sitting at the kitchen table with a science project and looked up, concern on his face.

"Mother, I told you," Amanda tried to explain. "Lee and I were working on a project that had some very sensitive information. It was leaked and Lee and I were suspected of being the ones at fault. But, they found the actual culprit and it turned out ok."

"Mm-hmm." Dotty looked suspicious.

"Well," Amanda continued, "Lee and I have been seeing each other for a few months now. I just didn't want to introduce him to the boys until I was certain it may be going somewhere."

"And now?…" Dotty broke into a smile.

"He's a great guy, Mother." Amanda smiled at her mother, blushing slightly, "I think you'll really like him."

Jamie sighed heavily and turned back to the table. Neither Amanda nor Dotty noticed.

"Well, I think it's clear you do." Dotty grinned back mischievously, "and the reason you come home so late or not at all?"

The knock at the door could not come at a better moment.

Lee stood outside the door to Amanda's house holding two bouquets of flowers. One for Amanda and another for her mother. He shifted his weight back and forth as well, waiting outside the door.

"I'll get it," Lee heard a young male voice behind the door.

Phillip opened the door with a quizzical look on his face.

"Hi, I'm Lee Stetson," Lee said.

"Phillip King. You work with my mom, right?" Phillip replied.

"Yes, I do."

"Come on in," Phillip replied, opening the door further and looking outside at the Corvette. "Is that your car?!"

"Yes," Lee replied. "Yes, it is."

"Cool." Phillip said with a smile. "My mom's in the kitchen talking to my grandma." he said leading the way.

Jamie looked up when Lee and Phillip entered the room. He had a suspicious look on this face and clearly wasn't happy.

"Hi there," Amanda said as Lee entered the room.

"Lee Stetson," Lee reached out to shake Dotty's hand. "These are for you." He handed her the flowers.

"Well," Dotty looked surprised. "Thank you. It's so nice to finally meet you." Dotty sized him up and down. Wow! What a looker. Tall, well dressed, courteous and thoughtful. This guy may be a real catch.

"And these are for you," Lee handed the other bouquet to Amanda.

"Oh, you're so sweet," Amanda said, giving him a little peck on the lips.

Jamie stood up at that point. This is the guy my mom is dating? He thought to himself. He did not like Dean, but was ok with it because he could tell, even at that young age, that his mom did not really have feelings for him. But this guy, he may be trouble. He was not a big fan of change, and he could feel it coming with this jerk.

"Lee," Amanda turned toward Jamie, "you've already met Phillip. This is my younger son, Jamie."

"Hi Jamie" Lee smiled over at him. The expression on this kid's face what he'd feared all along. Daggers! Be cool, Stetson, this is just going to take some time he thought to himself.

"Hi." Jamie said coldly, and sat right back down to his project, staring at it blankly.

Amanda sensed the tension, but now was not the time to address it. She would talk with him later when Lee was not around and Jamie had cooled down a bit.

"You ready to go?" Amanda said to Lee.

"Yes, let's go." Lee replied. "Nice to meet all of you."

"Bye," said Dotty. "Have a good time." She walked up the Amanda to give her a hug and whispered in her ear, "I'll keep an eye on Jamie and try to talk to him."

"Thanks, Mother." Amanda replied. "I will talk to him later as well." Amanda felt concerned this may be more difficult than she had anticipated. For the first time, she was truly worried for her son.

Once in the car, Lee signed heavily. "Well, I think that went ok with your mother and Phillip, but Jamie sure doesn't like me."

"I know," Amanda replied. "He does not take well to change. Plus he's just getting to know his father again. He's been a little off lately."

"That's a lot to take on," Lee replied.

"Yes, it is. We just need to give him some more time and let him get to know you. If it makes you feel any better, he's not very warm with Joe either."

Lee had to admit that the fact that Jamie was having trouble with Joe did make him feel a little better. The kid probably wondered if he was going to just be some guy who comes in and out of his life as well. There was a tough road ahead.

"Well, let's just enjoy our evening," Lee chirped up. "I have to admit I enjoyed formally picking you up for a real date."

"I did too," said Amanda smiling back at him. "I'm happy to not be hiding you from my mother anymore. You can actually come in the front door now."

"True, but I am going to miss those backyard rendezvous." Lee laughed.

The two arrived at the restaurant and were seated quickly. Lee was admiring Amanda in her black dress with the spaghetti straps. She had her hair pulled up on the sides with wavy tendrils framing her face. Gorgeous.

"Why are you smiling," Amanda asked, grinning back at him.

"Just enjoying the view," he replied. "You look really beautiful tonight. You're making it hard to concentrate on dinner."

Amanda blushed. "Well, once we have dinner, maybe I can interest you in some dessert?" She teased.

"Oh yeah," Lee took her hand and kissed her knuckles, staring into her eyes. "You know how much I love dessert." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, lingering and trailing kisses to her ear and down her neck sending chills up Amanda's spine. No man had ever made her feel like this. The very thought of being with him again, making love again, drove her crazy. She could spend eternity in his arms.

Eternity. Could this be possible? As they looked at the menus Amanda started to think about Lee's relationship with her family. Especially Jamie. He had become a different kid over the last six months. She thought Joe returning home would have a stabilizing effect on her kids. Except for his Spanish grade, it did seem to be helping Phillip. But Jamie was a different story. At first he seemed to be happy to have his father home. However, Joe had a much stricter parenting style. He expected good grades and for the boys to always put forth their best effort. Sensitivity was never Joe's strong suit, and Jamie needed that. Jamie needed to be nurtured and handled gently. Joe loved them, that was for sure, but the firm hand that worked well with Phillip seemed to have the opposite effect on Jamie. Lee, once again, noticed the change in her demeanor.

"Hey?" Lee asked, "you ok? You seem a million miles away again."

"Yeah," Amanda said, trying to brush off her thoughts. "Just a lot on my mind. I'm sorry. I don't want to spoil our date night."

Lee gave her a soft kiss. He wanted her to know he cared, but did not want to push her.

"I'm not terribly hungry tonight. Want to just share something? Amanda suggested.

"Of course," Lee said. "Or if you want, we can just order some wine and an appetizer. Make it a light evening?"

"Yeah,"Amanda said. "Mind if we go for a walk afterward? I think I just need some fresh air tonight."

"Anything you want." Lee said. He was right something was bothering her. Maybe a walk out in the air might help.

Lee ordered a bottle of wine and they shared some baked claims as an appetizer. While they were waiting, Lee reached out and took her hand.

"Want to talk about it?"

Amanda signed deeply. There were so many thoughts going through her head. With her now working full time hours, she had less time to spend at home. Phillip seemed to be taking it in stride, but Jamie was feeling it. He had been scared to death when she and Lee were on the run. Now seeing Lee as the man his mother was dating clearly made hm feel even less secure. He had changed. As a mother, it was tearing her apart. Would Lee understand?

"It's Jamie," Amanda admitted. "It's not just about his reaction to you tonight, he's not been himself for a while. It started shortly after Joe came back. At first he was thrilled to have his Dad back in his life. However, now he seems more withdrawn."

"It's a lot a change. It's got to be difficult on him." Lee said. He did not know much about teenagers, but he did know what it was like to live a life where you did not know where you were going to be in six months. Not quite the same, but he knew what it was like to be an unsure, scared kid.

"Ever since the Stemwinder incident, it's gotten worse." Amanda told him, trying to hold back tears. "He's not excited about anything lately. He used to love playing soccer, now he's missing plays and it looks like he doesn't even want to be there. It's the same way with science. He used to love his projects, but now it's like he's totally lost interest. His grades are falling and it's as if he's not really trying. Then, when I saw his reaction to you tonight, it hit home. He seems so unhappy. Lee, I'm so worried about him." She could no longer hold back the tears as they flowed down her cheeks.

Lee reached out and held her in his arms. He felt hopeless as he knew there was little more he could do but be supportive to her.

"Is there anything I an do?" Lee asked anyway. Whatever she needed, he would do it. He would move mountains for this woman.

"I don't know. I think I need to spend some time with him this weekend." Amanda said. "He has a game tomorrow. I want to make certain I'm there. I need him to know I'm still here for him, cheering him on."

"Of course you should," Lee said. He was disappointed that Amanda would not stay the night, but he knew her children needed to her top priority.

After a the appetizer and wine, Lee and Amanda took a walk around the beautifully coifed streets of Georgetown.

"Thank you for understanding," Amanda looked up at Lee. "For the first time, I feel like I'm failing him as a mother. I just wish he'd talk to me."

"Maybe Dr Pfaff would provide some insight," Lee suggested. "Or at least maybe refer you to someone who could." He knew it wasn't' much, but if it helped, he was happy.

"That's a good idea," Amanda said. "Maybe he knows someone who specializes in teens."

"He knows you love him," Lee told her, "that's a hell of a lot more than I had."

"I just wish Joe would not be so hard on him," Amanda continued. "He's so damn analytical, he just doesn't understand that Jamie's not like him. It really frustrates me."

"I get that," Lee said. "The times I've been around the house, I could tell Jamie was more of the sweet natured, creative type. He's always trying to keep up with Phillip, but sometimes I think he's just rather stay at home with your mother."

Amanda looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Wow. You know more about him than Joe does," she smiled up at him. "I think you may end up being a better influence than his own father."

Lee was taken aback. Stepfather. Wow, that was something he's never expected. But the more he thought about it, the more kind of he liked it. It could be a form a therapy making up for what he missed out on in his own childhood. This was a revelation he never expected.

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The next morning, Amanda came downstairs early to get some coffee and prepare for the day. It was a Saturday morning and Jamie had his soccer game. As Amanda was packing up snacks and drinks for the game she noticed Jamie come downstairs in his pajamas.

"Hey there," she said. "Did you oversleep?"

"Mom, I just don't feel good."

"You just don't want to be the one to cause them to lose the game again," Phillip teased him.

"Shut up!" Jamie yelled at this brother.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Amanda stepped in. "Phillip, that was rude. Apologize to your brother. Jamie, are you ok?" Amanda asked him, feeling his forehead.

"Sorry," Philip grunted half-heartedly.

"Mom, I just don't feel good," Jamie mumbled with his head hanging low. "I really don't want to play today. Don't make me go."

"Phillip," Amanda instructed. "Go help your grandmother fold the laundry."

Phillip exited the room, understanding that "go help your grandmother" was code for Mom needed to speak to his brother alone. Amanda took Jamie over to the kitchen table and sat him down.

"Ok, what's going on?" She asked. "Are you upset I'm dating Lee?"

"I don't know," he mumbled with his head down. "I just don't feel good."

"It's ok to talk to me," she said. "I swear I won't judge."

"Mom, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," Amanda tried to be sensitive to his feelings, but her son not talking was tearing her up. "How about we spend a day together today? Just you and me. We can go to a game, or visit the Natural History Museum."

"I don't know," Jamie said. "Won't Phillip get mad if he doesn't go? He's gonna call me a baby."

"I'm sure he would understand."

"No. I'll just go to the game. Do you promise to stay for the whole game?

"I promise. Why don't you go get changed."

While he still did not seem like his usual self, it was a start. Maybe playing in the game today with his friends would cheer him up.

Amanda then walked into the laundry room.

"Ok, Phillip, head back upstairs and get ready." Amanda told her eldest son. As he left, she turned to Dotty, "Mother, have you figured out what's up with Jamie?"

"I don't know. Ever since you were gone those couple days he's never been the same. I think it really spooked him."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Amanda responded.

"Maybe he should see someone," Dotty suggested. "I've tried talking to him, but he doesn't want to tell me anything."

"Maybe you're right. Lee mentioned the same thing." Amanda said, thinking her talking to Dr. Pfaff on Monday may be a really good idea. "Okay, he's getting ready for the game."

"Great. I'll be right in to clean up so we can go." Dotty replied. "Also, happy to see your new beau is taking an interest in your children" Dotty continued, winking at Amanda.

Two hours later, the game was on. Jamie was normally light and quick as a star forward. However, ten minutes into the game, he'd been called off-sides twice and clearly his head was not in it. One of his teammates yelled at him for clearly not keeping his eye on the defenders. The coach pulled him off the field to switch for another player. Jamie sat on the bench just looking straight forward with no expression. When halftime was called, Jamie walked up to the coach then the two of them walked over to Amanda.

"Hey Coach," Amanda greeted him and looked at Jamie. "Everything ok?"

"Mom, I feel really sick. I think I need to go home." Jamie said.

"He's clearly not playing like he normally does. Would not surprise me if he's not feeling well. I'm ok if he leaves the game today, but he needs to be back next practice."

"No problem, Coach." Amanda said.

Dotty walked up, "Is everything ok?"

"No," Amanda told her, "he's still not feeling well. Let's get him home."

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Over the weekend, Efraim met up with Phyllis. She came over to his condo to talk. He kissed her hello and welcomed her in. They chatted a bit to break the awkwardness. Finally, Phyllis took the chance to discuss her organization.

"So," Phyllis said. "I work for a fascinating man who has a vision. Someone who welcomes the oppressed and works to take down those who keep us from meeting our true potential. We look for the weaknesses for those who hold us down and use that against them. I swear within a few weeks, you'll be getting your just rewards."

"I don't know," Efraim was a little nervous. "While I really dislike this guy, I don't want any harm to come to him. I just want him to get some egg on his face to take him down a few pegs."

"Easy enough," Phyllis said. "What's his greatest weakness? Family? Gambling? A woman?"

Efraim's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, there's a woman at work. They say there's nothing between them, but I can tell the way they look at each other that they're involved. It's getting a bit annoying as well, as I am supervising her, but because of him, she totally goes around me. It's so maddening."

"Ok," Phyllis surmised, "If something were to happen to her, let's suppose. You could then get the best of him?"

"Woah, I don't want any harm to come to anyone." Efraim was now getting a bad feeling. Was he getting played? "I don't know if I like this."

"Don't worry," Phyllis smiled. "I'm just being theoretical. We're not into harming anyone."

"Listen," Efraim said, "I need some time to think about this, ok?"

"Sure," Phyllis smiled. "Don't worry."

Efraim had lunch with Phyllis that afternoon but then made an excuse to leave. He needed to think about this. What type of group was she with? Who was she?

Meanwhile, after lunch, Phyllis stopped at a pay phone.

"Hey, I got some info." She said into the receiver, "Scarecrow's got a woman. Someone at the Agency. I bet you she's working with him. He wouldn't give me a name or identity or any more info and I don't think he hates Scarecrow enough to give it up willingly. But give me some time, I know I can get it."