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Reaching the door to her room, Amanda fumbled with her key, keenly aware of how close Lee was. After what felt like an eternity, she opened the door, walking in ahead of him toward the table with the coffee. Behind her, she heard him quietly close the door. Feeling his eyes watching her, she began to rifle through the instant coffee packets. "Did you want regular or decaf?" Her tone was uneven, betraying her increasing anxiety and discomfort.
"Amanda." His voice was soft and quiet as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. Dropping the coffee packet, she turned to meet his gaze. Opening her mouth, she intended to protest, to tell him this was a bad idea. Before she was able, Lee's hands were cupping her face, his eyes telling her that coffee was the last thing on his mind. Slowly, he pulled her toward him, bending down so his lips brushed hers. Drawing back, he met her gaze, seeking permission to continue.
Her shy smile encouraged him to a more intense kiss, leaving them both breathless and unsure of what to do. Bringing her close, Lee bent his head, kissing her gently on the forehead, his arms around her.
"Is this the field experience you were referring to?" She teased, her voice a whisper.
Laughing softly he answered, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time." He tightened his arms around her, remaining that way for a moment, each absorbing the implications of their first real kiss.
Amanda pulled back first from the embrace, prepared to remind him it was late, but once again the words wouldn't come. Leaning toward each other, their lips came together once more -- building slowly, gaining intensity until they were both breathless again.
"Wow." Amanda's words were slightly above a whisper, her cheek resting against his chest. Finally, she lifted her head, meeting his gaze with a tentative smile, trying to read in his face and eyes what it all meant.
Seeing the questions in her eyes, Lee put a gentle finger to her lips. "Sh... We'll have plenty of time to talk later."
She laughed softly, amazed at his new ability to read her mind.
Once again he kissed her gently on the forehead, "I'll see you in the morning, after your breakfast meeting."
Disengaging from their embrace he exited quickly, leaving her standing in the middle of the room. Grasping the table beside her, Amanda attempted to steady herself. Unsure of what had just happened, the questions swirled in her head. If there was any doubt of her intense physical attraction to Lee, it had evaporated the moment his lips touched hers.
But as much as she wanted to see their relationship progress there was so much to consider. Her mother, the kids, their careers, how would an interoffice relationship work when their lives were in danger. The shrill ring of the phone brought her attention back to the present.
Amanda took a deep breath to steady herself. "Hello," she answered.
"Amanda, it's Francine. I just wanted to let you know I'm right next door."
"Terrific." Amanda muttered just under her breath. Instantly she realized her mistake and adopted a more professional tone. "That's great they found you a room," she stated, happy Francine hadn't heard the first remark or chose to ignore.
"Have you seen Lee?" Francine continued. "He didn't answer my phone call or knock."
"No, I haven't."
"Oh?" Francine asked, her tone seemed to indicate she didn't believe Amanda was telling her everything. "Well, I guess I'll see you after breakfast. If you hear from Lee, let him know where I am."
"Sure thing," she promised. "I'm sorry Francine, but I have to go," Amanda interrupted, not trusting herself to continue the conversation. "Mother's expecting my call and I'm really exhausted and I really need to get my sleep," she rambled, hoping it would get her fellow agent off faster.
"Oh, right," Francine replied. "I'll see you tomorrow.
Hanging up the phone, she slowly she sank down on the bed. The idea that Lee hadn't gone back to his room made her think the kiss had affected him too. She smiled to herself. How long had she dreamed of this. Recently it seemed like it would be a reality, particularly after the Sacker case, when they'd been chased into the woods, chained together. She knew. It was in his eyes and the way his arms felt around her. Still smiling at the memory, she picked up the phone to call her mother and let her know everything was going fine on her business trip.
Amanda sat in her car, unsure of what to do. Under the bright fluorescent lights of the Agency, dinner and a very special bottle of wine had seemed like a perfectly reasonable, even nice idea. But now, she was a nervous wreck. It took four changes of clothes before she settled on black pants, heels and a matching tank top and sweater. Fortunately she still had a few minutes before she would be late and was using the time to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
"Amanda, this is ridiculous," she chastised herself out loud. "You and Lee are good friends and if he doesn't bring up the kiss, that's okay." Checking her lipstick one last time, she grabbed her purse and headed to his apartment.
Lee's afternoon had been stressful as well. Billy had kept him tied up going over details on the Marvelous Marvin case and now dinner would be late. He'd barely had time for a quick shower and shave -- and cleaning his apartment consisted of shoving everything into a closet. More than once he wondered why he was going to all this trouble. This was Amanda, someone who had seen him at his worst.
But lately he obsessed over little details in his appearance when he knew he'd see her. He could almost pinpoint the shift in attitude, it had started when he broke up with Leslie. He began to view Amanda differently. Everything had snapped into focus when he sought in Leslie all those qualities that made Amanda so special. Then, there was the Sacker case. After that night there was no doubt in his mind about what he wanted. The only question was what did she want? Their kiss at the hotel seemed to indicate she felt the same, but until they talked he couldn't be sure.
The doorbell rang as he was selecting the perfect wine. Glancing at his watch, he noted she was exactly on time. Leaving the bottle on the kitchen counter, he headed for the door. He took a moment to take a deep breath, then opened the door.
The first thing he noticed was how beautiful she looked, the way her hair rested softly on her shoulders and the soft scent of her perfume. After a moment he realized he was holding his breath and he let it out slowly.
Amanda stood patiently in the doorway, waiting to see if Lee was going to invite her in. Clearing her throat, she attempted to get his attention. "Lee, can I come in?" She asked shyly, unsure of how to begin.
"Of course." He stepped aside as she made her way past him into his living room. He closed the door behind her. "Dinner will be a bit late," he explained. "Billy grabbed me and shoved an hour's worth of paperwork that, and I quote, 'could not wait until Monday'." I really hate you only working half day's on Fridays," he teased affectionately, offering just the slightest hint in his tone it wasn't just because of the paperwork. "Would you like a glass of wine?"
"That would be great."
"Make yourself at home," he called as he headed into the kitchen.
Returning with glasses in hand, he poured the wine, relating a story about why he should never be allowed to touch paperwork, but Amanda wasn't really listening. Instead she was surveying the apartment, trying to spot any indication that he viewed this dinner as a "date." She'd noted the two unlit candles on the dining room table, the soft lighting and the instrumental music coming from the stereo when she came in. But it wasn't just the apartment - Lee was definitely acting strange. Nervous seemed a more appropriate description, but this was Lee Stetson. Women didn't make him nervous. Still, he wasn't wearing the jeans he customarily wore when they had dinner, and she had smelled cologne when he let her in. Lee interrupted her thoughts as he handed her the wine.
"Here we go." She accepted the glass gratefully and was about to take a sip when Lee stopped her, placing his hand gently on hers.
"A toast." He paused, waiting until their eyes locked. "To extra curricular field work."
The intensity of his gaze was enough to make Amanda blush. At that moment there were no more doubts, only questions. How would they proceed? Did he want a relationship or a one night stand? Could they keep their work separate? If they were involved could they still work together? Seeing her feelings reflected in his eyes, she managed to push aside the nagging questions. "I'll drink to that," she replied, clinking her glass to his.
The wine seemed to relax both of them as they settled into comfortable conversation, the earlier intensity temporarily eased. They sat side by side on the couch, close but not quite touching.
"So what did you and Francine talk about in the freezer?" Lee finally asked.
Amanda regarded her glass for a moment, unable to meet his gaze, "Not much really." She paused, considering how much of their conversation to share with him. "She said something about people not always being there when you need them. And that I shouldn't expect you to come in on a white horse." She looked up and met his gaze, her expression somewhere between a question and an apology.
Lee shook his head, a nervous laugh escaping his lips as he stood up. He walked to the fireplace, leaning against the mantel for support. "She's still angry," he stated, nodding his understanding." After a moment he turned around to face her. "Amanda, you know Francine and I were... involved once."
It was more a statement than a question and Amanda nodded slowly. "I guessed as much." Amanda could feel a tightness growing in her chest, though she wasn't sure why. She couldn't imagine where Lee was going with this line of discussion.
He nodded absently, his mind no longer in the present. "It happened right after my partner died and her fiancé left her at the altar -- about a year before we met." He smiled at her, but it quickly faded. "Francine was assigned to work with me temporarily. Aside from Billy, she was the closest thing to a real friend that I had at the Agency. More importantly, I was her only friend. She was still reeling from being dumped so Billy thought it made a lot of sense to have us work together. Everything was going fine, but Francine'd drop hints about us becoming permanent partners. I refused. I worked alone." He sighed deeply. "I was being pretty stubborn about it. I knew Agency policy about field operatives having partners. But Billy looked the other way as long as Francine and I continued to work well together."
He gazed off distantly, remembering that time. "About two months into this 'arrangement' came the inevitable overnighter. One of those out-of-town, one room, one bed assignments you're so fond of," he teased, lapsing back to the present and was rewarded with a soft smile from Amanda.
"It was a cruise, and between ports we solved the case, so we had a few free days and nights. The celebrating got a little out of hand and the next thing I knew, Francine and I had slept together." Lee paused a moment, trying to gauge Amanda's reaction. He knew his past had earned him a reputation as a playboy and that Amanda was well aware of it. But it was another thing for her to hear about it firsthand from him and about someone who had always treated her so horribly. Unable to read her expression, he continued.
"I guess we always knew it would happen. Ron's death affected me pretty bad and the only comfort I knew was physical. For Francine it was about feeling desirable and attractive after being so unceremoniously jilted." Lee fidgeted nervously. "It continued after we got back to DC, but we both knew it wouldn't last. It was only a matter of time. Knowing that, Francine began a full court press to be named my official partner. She knew it would do a lot for her career because it's very difficult for female field agents to get assigned to top operatives. I continued to resist and finally we had a big fight. The next morning I went into Billy's office and requested an overseas assignment. I left the next day without saying good-bye. When I got back, she was barely civil to me. After about a month, I finally persuaded her to have dinner and we called a truce." Having finished, Lee walked back to the couch.
"Francine has such a hard time with you because she knows you and I are partners. And even though I really don't think she ever wanted more from our relationship, it still hurts her to see how close we've become." He took her hands in his and took a deep breath. What he said next surprised Amanda most of all.
"She also knows that I went to Billy two weeks ago and asked that you be named my official partner."
"Oh, Lee." Amanda was stunned, but before she could ask any more, Lee continued.
He smiled. "I knew Billy would turn me down. You're still classified civilian auxiliary and your Station One performance doesn't exactly scream 'top trainee'," he teased and she smiled, her heart racing as she waited to see what he would say next.
"Billy agreed to put you on probation. And, more importantly, start dropping your name when he has tea with Smyth. In the meantime, we continue working together. I was going to tell you during the Marvelous Marvin assignment, but we got sidetracked." His expression grew serious as he waited to see her reaction.
Amanda hesitated only a moment before leaning forward, cupping his cheek with her hand and bringing her lips to his in a kiss that thanked him in a way words never could. As the kiss deepened, she could taste the wine they had shared. When they parted, she spoke first, "I've been wanting to do that since I arrived, but you just wouldn't stop talking," she accused him affectionately of something she was so often guilty of.
"Maybe I get it from hanging out with my partner," he replied smiling, leaning in for another kiss, his left arm encircling her back, pulling her closer to him. Just as their lips met, the kitchen timer sounded. Ignoring it, Lee continued the kiss.
Laughing as his lips pressed against hers, Amanda tried to break away, unable to disregard the timer's cry for attention. "Lee.." she began softly. When he didn't break the kiss, she pushed him back, her voice firm. "Lee, our dinner. It'll be ruined."
He regarded her for a moment, her cheeks flushed from kissing, her brown eyes sparkling. He bit back a retort about no longer being hungry, this was Amanda and he intended to take things slowly. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."
As he bounded into the kitchen Amanda was glad for the break from physical contact. Their kiss had grown more heated and some questions simply couldn't wait, they needed to be answered while cooler heads prevailed.
In the kitchen Lee was having similar thoughts. Dinner would give them a chance to cool off and talk. He wanted to tell Amanda this was only the beginning and he saw no end in sight. Grinning to himself as he pulled the dinner out of the oven, he called to Amanda to have a seat because dinner was served.