Saturday, 6:23 a.m.
Lee Stetson could not remember ever being this happy. He was sure at some point during the foggy time before, he had felt this safe and loved, but he was five when he lost his parents and he couldn't remember it. The dawn light was suffusing the room with shades of pink and gold, and when it lit upon the woman in his arms, she seemed to glow like the angel he knew her to be. He couldn't believe they were finally here, in his bed, wrapped around each other. Some days it had seemed impossible, and other days it had seemed inevitable, but they had finally admitted their feelings for each other. He loved Amanda King, and she loved him back.
He was a little bashful as he thought back to last night and realized that she had been the one brave enough to move them forward. He had been thrilled that she had agreed to come up to his apartment to talk about their mission after their assignment. He'd asked her if she wanted a drink, and almost dropped his expensive decanter of brandy when she'd plopped down on the sofa and replied, "I'd much rather just kiss you." He had walked over to her to gauge whether she was serious and was shocked to see no hint of guile in her face. "Amanda, what has gotten into you tonight?" he wondered. She had given him a soft smile, looked into his eyes, and bared her soul. "I love you, Lee. I have been in love with you for a while. I'm tired of waiting – I don't know what we are waiting for. I think we have both just been chicken, but I'm ready to be with you. I don't want to waste any more time."
Lee swore he could actually feel her love pouring into him, filling all of the empty places in his soul. He pulled her closer as he grinned and said, "Amanda, I love you too. I have for a long time. I'm so happy." He felt like a dopey kid as he kissed her. It was the best kiss he'd ever had.
Amanda began to stir in his arms, and he pulled her closer to him. She raised her wide coffee colored eyes to his face, and he couldn't wait to kiss her. "Good morning beautiful" he whispered as he pulled her in for a kiss. When he pulled away, she was staring at him with rapt attention. "Lee" she started, but he didn't give her time to finish as he leaned in again and whispered against her ear, "Have I told you how much I love you yet today?" He felt her shiver and he kissed her again, a languid kiss full of promise.
Lee had always assumed she would be a morning person, but he was starting to think he was wrong as she was tensing next to him, her tone tentative as she spoke again. "Lee, there is something I think we should talk about."
"Sure" Lee responded as he moved to her neck. He loved her neck, it was so long and elegant. He could spend days just kissing her neck. Amanda melted into him for a moment before her resolve kicked in. "Lee, I'm serious." Lee pulled back to give her the attention she deserved. Amanda chewed her bottom lip and tentatively said, "I don't know how to say this, but I can't remember how we got here."
Lee paled, "What do you mean?"
Amanda continued, "I don't remember anything that happened after I left the Embassy. I don't remember how we got here" she said, gesturing toward the bed.
Friday, 10:30 a.m.
Lee entered the office of his Section Chief, Billy Melrose, and was surprised to see Amanda already there, seated next to agent Frank Duffy. Lee couldn't help but notice how her cute fuzzy pink sweater made her face glow, and he nodded at Frank and her as he gave his attention to Billy.
Billy smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which was usually an indication that he was not pleased about something. "I have an assignment for the three of you. We intercepted a partial message from one of our sources, indicating that something is happening at 11:00 tonight at the Hungarian Embassy party. We know when, we know where, but we don't know what or who."
Amanda asked, "could we go back to the source to get more information?"
Billy gave her a sympathetic look before sharing, "unfortunately, no. Our source was found dead in Rock Creek Park shortly after we received the partial message. We think she was interrupted and killed."
Lee was all business, "Okay, how do you want us to proceed?"
Billy asked Agent Duffy, "Frank, your file states that you worked as a short order chef while you attended college – can you still remember your way around a kitchen?"
Duffy chuckled and replied, "How do you think I convinced Mrs. Duffy to marry me?"
Billy laughed and continued, "Great. We don't know where exactly this is happening, so Frank, you will work in the kitchen as a Sous Chef to cover that angle. Amanda, we were able to obtain one invitation so you will attend the party as a guest. Scarecrow, you can dust off your waiter jacket and work the party – that way you can touch base with both Amanda and Frank as you coordinate your findings. It's not going to be easy, but hopefully with all 3 of you there you will be able to figure out what is happening."
Saturday, 6:28 a.m.
Lee felt like he was going to vomit. Amanda didn't remember anything that happened the previous night. He sat up with a lurch, "Oh God, Amanda, you seemed fine – I didn't realize you were drunk – I would never have…" Remembering some of the activities that had taken place, Lee worked to keep from regurgitating at the thought that he had taken advantage of her.
Amanda sat up as well, clutching the sheet over her chest. "Lee, stop. I wasn't drunk, or at least I don't think so – I was working last night, remember?"
Lee glanced at Amanda. It was typical, he thought. He had taken advantage of her when she apparently wasn't aware of what she was doing and she was comforting him. He really didn't know what he had done to earn her trust or devotion. He could only hope she would continue to trust him. He placed his palm against her cheek and earnestly said, "I'm so sorry if I stepped over the line; I really didn't know that you were in a compromised state."
Amanda could read the turmoil on Lee's face and rushed to comfort him. "Lee, I'm not mad. Did I hear you correctly earlier?" She paused and glanced down before daring to meet his eyes. "Did you tell me you loved me?"
Lee realized it was time for him to be brave. "Yes. I love you. I have for a long time, I just never, you know?" Oh that's great, he thought, win her over with your eloquence.
Amanda's face lit up with the most beautiful smile, the same one she had the previous night. "I know. Did I tell you that I love you?"
Lee looked apprehensive. "Yes. You actually said it first. Did you mean it?" He looked away, afraid he would see rejection now that she had come to her senses.
Amanda put her palm on his cheek and waited for him to look at her. "Yes. Look, if you told me you love me, and I told you I love you, then ending up here is something that would have happened even if I weren't in a – what did you call it? Oh yes, a 'compromised state'."
"You're not mad?" he asked.
"I'm not mad that it happened. I'm a little mad I can't remember it," she grumbled.
Lee looked serious. "You know, it is odd that you can't remember anything. Most likely you were drugged somehow. We should get you to the docs at the Agency to see if they can figure out what they dosed you with." He jumped out of bed and stalked toward his dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers and jeans. He heard a gasp and glanced at Amanda. Amanda was staring back at him, but her eyes were in a decidedly more southern region than his face. "Amanda King, are you checking me out?" he laughed.
"I'm sorry, it's just that you are so much bigger than anyone else I've ever been with," she declared. Lee's swagger lasted approximately 1.5 seconds until her wording struck him, "Wait a minute. Anyone else? Just how many guys have you been with?"
She immediately responded, "Four, well I guess five including you and why am I telling you that? I mean it's not like I wouldn't tell you that, but usually I would think about what I was going to say before I said it, and this time I just kind of said it."
She took a breath. "Please don't ask me any more questions" she begged at the same time he said, "I shouldn't ask you any more questions." Any of the tension that had been building was dispelled as they realized they were on the same page. Apparently, Amanda was still in a "compromised state" and they would need to get to the Agency ASAP for a blood test.
Amanda briefly thought about asking Lee to leave the room so she could get dressed, but then she realized he must have already seen her, so she bravely stood up and looked for her clothes. She found her bra on the nightstand, and her panties had been flung into the corner. Her dress was nowhere to be found, and Lee said, "um, let me check in the living room." He came back a minute later with her dress in hand.
"I don't suppose I have time to go home and change clothes before we go to the Agency, do I?" Lee responded, "We probably shouldn't. Do you want me to see if I have some sweatpants or something else that might fit you?" Amanda cringed, "Oh no – the only thing worse than going to the office in last night's clothes would be to go in wearing yours. I'd never hear the end of it."
"Right" said Lee. "Let's head out and see what we can figure out."
Friday, 7:06 p.m.
Lee straightened his white tux jacket, picked up a tray, and started circulating. He had already connected with Duffy, and was pleased to note he had placed himself well in the kitchen. He began weaving through the crowd, picking up snippets of conversation but hearing nothing of interest so far. As he took a turn toward the door, his breath caught in his throat. Amanda had just arrived and she looked stunning. Her white evening gown resembled the one Marilyn Monroe wore over the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch, except the skirt was floor length and it looked more classy on her willowy frame.
Lee waited a few minutes before he made his way to Amanda. "Chardonnay, Miss?" he asked at full volume, before whispering, "you should probably head to the bar, it's central and you'll be able to observe more." He didn't say "plus there will be fewer men pawing at you all night than there would be on the dance floor," but he sure thought it. Amanda whispered, "Right" and snagged a glass of wine before floating across the floor to the optimal position.
As Lee spent the next 45 minutes circulating around the room, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, and he hoped Duffy and Amanda were faring better than he was. He checked in with Duffy, but he only could report that the kitchen staff was unmotivated and complained a lot. He'd been watching the food prep and didn't see anything concerning, nor had anyone slipped out.
By 10:45 Lee was starting to wonder if the whole operation had been canceled. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. He made his way over to Amanda, who was still holding the glass of wine. He leaned in, "have you noticed anything?" Amanda said, "Well, Senator Bloom is here with a woman that is definitely not Mrs. Bloom, and the Secretary of State is pregnant, but I haven't seen anything having to do with the operation."
Lee glanced at the Secretary of State and said, "Mrs. Abernathy hasn't announced a pregnancy. How can you tell?"
"She's been carrying around that same scotch and soda all night and she hasn't taken a sip, plus she keeps resting her hand over her abdomen. Dead giveaway" Amanda imparted.
"Well, in that case, you might want to switch out your drink or people will start asking you when your due date is," Lee chuckled. "They're making a toast in a few minutes. It's so disorganized back there they made the waiters pour our own trays of glasses."
Amanda laughed but put her glass down and picked up a champagne flute off his tray.
Saturday, 7:15 a.m.:
Intelligence gathering wasn't something one did solely during business hours from Monday to Friday, but Amanda was still surprised to see how busy the agency was so early on a Saturday. She had hoped to be inconspicuous but she definitely felt overdressed for the office. Fortunately, the doctor's offices were on a different floor than the bullpen so at least she wouldn't be likely to run into Francine. Which of course meant that Francine rounded the corner three seconds after Amanda had this thought.
"Amanda, Lee, why the rush? Did your prom limo turn into a pumpkin?" Francine smirked and pointed to Amanda's state of overdress.
"Can it, Francine. I think Amanda was drugged last night." Lee barely slowed his pace as he tried to skirt Amanda around Francine.
"Awe come on," Francine joked. "At least let me know if you got to second base."
"Nope, he slid all the way home" popped out of Amanda's mouth before she could stop herself. In unison, Lee and Amanda froze and winced.
Francine's mouth dropped open, but she recovered quickly. "Is she still drugged?"
Lee pressed Amanda further down the hall and called back, "I think so. No time to discuss. Got to get Amanda to the doc."
Amanda whispered, "was that as bad as I think that was?"
"That depends. Would you have preferred something a little less public, like maybe taking out a billboard in Times Square?" He gave a little chuckle at his own joke. Amanda sighed. She wasn't sure she was ready to be fodder for the gossip mill, but she did feel a little tingle at the thought that she and Lee were an "us." She was surprised at how well Lee was taking it. "Are you mad at me for telling?" Lee pulled Amanda to him. "It probably wasn't the smartest thing to blab before we had a chance to talk about everything, but I'd be lying if I said I was upset. I'd kind of like to tell everyone I know."
Friday, 10:55 p.m.:
Lee had been increasing his activity but he still hadn't seen anything. He had just checked in the kitchen and Duffy said everything there had appeared above board. No strange private conversations, no drops he could see. Lee saw Amanda at the bar and did his best to make a beeline to her, which was difficult with guests scrambling to get another drink from his tray. He smirked when he offered the tray to Madame Secretary and she just shook her watered down drink at him and announced that she was all set. Leave it to Amanda to notice something all of the news hounds in the room had clearly missed.
Lee spotted Amanda, and was annoyed to notice that a rather short balding man was leaning into her and speaking at a volume entirely too loud for his proximity. "Anyway, I told my buddy that you were the prettiest girl here and it was a shame you weren't dancing, so I've come to rescue you." This statement may have been more charming if it hadn't largely been directed at Amanda's chest. Amanda forced a tight smile and started to reply, but Lee thrust himself in front of the man. "Drink Miss? Sir?" he asked as he used his body to force the man back. Amanda expelled a breath of relief and said "yes, please" before grabbing a flute and taking a swig. The man started to try to maneuver his way back toward Amanda when Lee whispered to him, "I wouldn't if I were you. I've met her boyfriend and he's the jealous type. Got mad when I flirted with her. Did I mention he's 6'5" and 250 pounds of muscle? I've been avoiding the ape all night." The balding man paled a bit and shouted to Amanda, "Excuse me - I think my friend over there needs some help" before hastily waddling away.
Amanda started to laugh when she suddenly grabbed his arm, almost causing his tray of drinks to plummet to the ground. "Lee, I just saw that man slip something into Judy Abernathy's drink." Lee casually turned around and whispered, "which man?" Amanda nodded her head and said "the one that looks like an ostrich." Lee started to grumble about her vague description until he noticed the man with the long neck and beady eyes. His shocked brain thought "I'll be damned, he does look like an ostrich" before his training kicked in. "I'll grab him, you get the drink from the Secretary of State."
Lee slid his tray on the bar and made his way toward the ostrich man, while Amanda plucked the glass from Mrs. Abernathy's hand and intoned in a thick southern accent, "Oh my. It looks like you got my Long Island Iced Tea. I'm not normally a fan of Yankee drinks but this one sure is delicious!" She mimed drinking from the glass and made a face, continuing in her drawl "Oh shoot. I think this must have been your drink after all. It tastes just awful."
Lee caught up to the ostrich man and grabbed his arm, steering him into the kitchen almost before the man knew what was happening. Ostrich whirled around and tried to deck Lee, but his reflexes were too quick and he ducked the blow. He countered with one of his own and ostrich crashed to the floor. Lee called Duffy over to collect the man for questioning. Once he was secured, Lee headed to the ballroom and caught up to Amanda just as she drawled, "and that's when we discovered the horse had been in the kitchen the whole time!" Mrs. Abernathy looked caught between amusement and confusion at Amanda's story, and he took the moment to quietly introduce himself to her and tell her what they had discovered. She thanked them both profusely and agreed to talk to an agent in another room about a protection detail.
Saturday, 7:50 a.m.:
Lee and Amanda reached the door to the infirmary. Before they could go inside, Amanda stopped Lee and asked, "About what happened last night. Was that the start of something, or was that just two people caught up in a moment for you?" Lee's face darkened a bit and he took in a sharp breath before facing her and grasping both her hands. "I probably deserve that question, but Amanda, you have to know that I wouldn't risk our friendship or our partnership over something fleeting like one night together." There was an odd bit of amusement in his tone, but he grew more serious as he continued, "I know I don't have the best track record, but I have only told two women before you that I loved them, and I am now realizing that what I felt for them was a pale comparison to the real thing. You are the only woman I want to be with from now on."
Amanda's face broke into an adorable smile, and she squeezed his hands before nodding to him and whispering, "Good. I'll hold you to that." She turned and strode into the infirmary, greeting the receptionist for the department. "Good morning Mary. Who do I need to see about a drug test?" Lee coughed and clarified, "We think Amanda was slipped something while on assignment. Who is on duty?"
Mary let them know Dr. Pfaff would see them in a few minutes and took them to one of the treatment rooms. Dr. Pfaff followed quickly and drew blood from Amanda for testing. "Before we do any other tests or procedures, is there any chance you are pregnant?" Amanda quickly answered, "I don't think you would be able to tell yet - it's only been a few hours." Lee's eyes bugged out and his face started to flush as he sputtered, "Amanda!" He flushed more when she turned to him and said, "did we use a condom? I'm not on birth control." Dr. Pfaff swallowed a smirk and said, "Yes Scarecrow, did you? I need to know if Mrs. King should be tested for any STDs."
"Hey!" Lee and Amanda objected together. Lee ignored Pfaff and said, "Yes, we did Amanda - you told me last night that we needed to, so we used condoms." It was Amanda's turn to blush as she asked "Condoms, plural? How many did we use?" Lee pointedly glared at Dr. Pfaff until the man took the hint and excused himself from the room.
Saturday, 2:38 a.m.:
"Wow! That was even better than the first time!" Amanda flopped over so she was on her back next to Lee, panting to try and catch her breath. Lee flashed his most conceited smile, then took care of condom disposal before rolling toward Amanda and pulling her into his arms. "So, you liked it?" he prodded. "Lee, you know I did. You don't have to fish for compliments" she mock complained as she chuckled.
Lee's smile slipped as he realized that Amanda was no longer the starstruck woman he first knew, who had been dazzled by his job and exciting life. She knew him, knew all of his tricks, and had seen his four little black books. He knew he could deliver in the bedroom, but what would she see in him in her day to day life? He had no idea how to act around her kids if he was even allowed to meet them. Lee was not used to feeling insecure, and he wasn't used to talking about his feelings, but Amanda was different. If he wanted to keep her, he knew he would have to treat her differently than any of his past girlfriends, and he damn well wanted to keep her.
"Amanda." Lee winced inwardly at the way his voice cracked. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Is this really the start of something? Or did you just get caught up in a moment?" Amanda placed her palm on his cheek, smiled, and said, "of course this is the start of something. You are too important to me to give you anything but the best I have to offer. I wouldn't risk our friendship over some fleeting night together." Lee's smile was so big and so genuine Amanda's breath caught. "Good" he intoned, "I've known for a while that I wanted my future to be with you."
"We do have a lot to talk about though. We have to figure out when and how to introduce you to my family. We have to figure out how to work together. There are a lot of things that we need to talk about, but I think all that can wait for a bit. Right now, I just want to enjoy this time with you." Amanda punctuated her thought by trailing her fingers down his chest, and when she dipped below his belly button, all thoughts left both of them.
Saturday, 10:15 a.m.:
Amanda and Lee had been in the Q Bureau working on paperwork while they waited for her test results. They had decided Lee should type so there would be no extra unwanted details in the report, and it had been slow going. With a knock, Dr. Pfaff entered, holding a file folder. "Amanda, I have your test results, and there definitely is something in your system."
"Any idea what she got? Is she going to be ok?" Lee's expression belied his worry. Dr. Pfaff was quick to reassure him. "Based on the compound, it looks like you got a decent dose of a truth serum of sorts. I haven't seen this formulation before, but it looks like they slipped in something that could affect your memory. It's the same thing we found in that drink you brought us last night."
Lee pondered the report and asked, "Why did you drink that anyway? I know you were trying to take it away from Judy Abernathy but you knew it was drugged." Amanda's forehead crinkled. " I didn't drink it. I just pretended to. Could it have gone through my skin? The drink barely touched me."
Now it was Dr. Pfaff's turn to look confused. "It wouldn't have, at least not in the amount I'm seeing." Lee asked Amanda what else she had imbibed. "I didn't eat or drink anything - I was working and I didn't want to lose focus and miss something."
Suddenly Lee hopped up from his perch on the desk. "That's not entirely true. When that creep was hitting on you, I saw you take a drink of champagne."
"But I took that randomly from the tray you were serving. No one could have been sure that I would take that particular drink, and I know you didn't try to poison me."
Now Lee looked alarmed. He picked up the phone and dialed, waiting impatiently for an answer. When he got one, he barked out "Billy. I don't think Amanda was targeted last night. I think they dosed everyone at that damn party. We need to get on the phone and contact anyone with top secret clearance on the guest list to see if we can figure out if anything happened to them last night. If they were drugged it would affect their memory. Dr. Pfaff just confirmed it was some type of truth serum."
Saturday, 8:20 p.m.:
Lee and Amanda were both exhausted. Except for a brief foray to Amanda's house to pick up a change of clothes, and a stop off at Lee's apartment to shower and change, they had been at the Agency all day helping to contact everyone that had attended the embassy party. They caught a break when the ostrich man, who had been identified as a low level KGB operative named Viktor Novikov, broke and told them that Judy Abernathy had been their target all along. She had information they were looking for on the locations of key military bases and weapons materials. They hadn't managed to slip her a dosed drink since she wasn't replenishing, so in desperation he had dosed the champagne bottles. When that ploy failed, he tried to slip the serum into her existing drink, which had gotten him caught. It was not the first time one of his missions failed, and he was desperate to make a deal to be able to defect and escape punishment.
As Lee parked on the street in front of the house, he turned off the engine and spun toward Amanda. "Amanda, can I ask you something?"
"Are you asking because you think I can't lie? Because I'm pretty sure that serum wore off. I called mother earlier and told her we were editing a film all day today."
"No, I'm just curious. When we first started working together, why did you keep coming back? I know I wasn't always very nice to you."
Amanda's eyes twinkled. "There were two reasons. First, I got to do a lot of exciting things while helping my country and making the world a little safer for my boys. I was just looking for work typing and doing menial tasks, and all of a sudden I was solving puzzles, tracking down bad guys, and using my whole brain. I have always loved my family and loved being a mother, but there were parts of my life that were so boring."
"Dan?" Lee couldn't help but interject.
"You know his name was Dean and you shouldn't make fun of him. He was a very nice man."
"Okay, that makes sense, but what was the second reason?"
Amanda stifled a smirk. "Well, there was this man, this really arrogant, rude man, who kept pestering me to help him out."
"Ouch! But I guess I deserved that."
"Honestly, you asked me to get you a woman while you were in the hospital." They both laughed at that memory. "Seriously though, even with all your bluster there was that one moment when we first met that you talked about your old partner, and all I could think was that you needed someone to be your friend more than anyone else I had ever met. You needed someone with patience and kindness, and I thought I could be that person."
Lee leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "You are that person, and I love you for it." He turned and hopped out of the car, jogging around to open Amanda's door for her. After helping her out, he kept holding her hand and started to walk toward the house.
Amanda whispered "Lee, where are you going?" He squeezed her hand, "I'm going to walk you to your door, and then I am going to wait while you introduce me to your family." Amanda's jaw dropped. "Now?" Lee smiled, "I'm not going anywhere. They might as well get to know me."
Amanda shrugged and entered the house. She could hear her mother humming in the kitchen, and the TV on in the den. Then her mother called, "Amanda, dear. Is that you?" Lee, now thinking maybe this wasn't the brightest idea, started to back up, but Amanda grasped his arm and whispered, "It's too late - she will see you and I'll never hear the end of it." As if to prove her point, Dotty poked her head around the corner and her smile grew wider as she took in Lee.
"Oh hello. You must be Mr. Stetson, or can I call you Lee now that we will be seeing more of you?" she asked as she came forward to greet him. Amanda's jaw dropped. "Mother, how did you know Lee's name?" For his part, Lee pasted on a big smile and said, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. West. I've heard a lot about you."
"Well, I've heard almost nothing about you until last night, and please, call me Dotty." She smiled with her mouth, but her eyes remained sharp.
Amanda paled, "Last night?"
"Oh yes, I heard all about Mr. Stetson. More than I wanted to hear," she said as her eyes drifted south on Lee's frame.
Lee managed to blush again, and Amanda just muttered "Oh my gosh. When did I talk to my mother?" Lee shrugged, "I don't know. It must have been when I was making you a snack - you kept asking me if I had any food that wasn't moldy."
Making an effort to sound more normal, she cleared her throat and said, "Mother. I apparently had too much champagne last night and I can't remember what I told you. Is there anything else I need to explain?"
Dotty quipped, "well, too much champagne would explain those wild stories you were spinning about being a spy. I mean honestly Amanda, who could imagine you spying on anyone? You don't even know how to hold a gun!"
"That's true," Lee chuckled. "Stop helping," Amanda whispered back.
Dotty took Lee's arm and started moving him toward the kitchen. "Well, Mr. Stetson, I'm just dying to ask you some questions. How did you meet Amanda? How long have you been seeing each other? What are your intentions?" Lee turned to Amanda and mouthed "help" before being taken through the doorway, and Amanda followed, intent on saving her partner once again.