Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton DOA: Delirious on Arrival - tagalogueWritten by Robert Bielak & Nelson Costello (excerpts from the episode belong to them)
Amanda took a step closer to Lee, her right hand still inside her purse and her left hand holding the bag. "Lee?" He turned to look at her. "Hmm?" "Hardball?" He nodded. "Yeah." "Ty Cobb signature?" "Oh, yeah." He closed his eyes and turned his head, obviously upset that he lost such a treasured item. She nodded and shook her head back and forth. "You've been keeping it in my purse again!" She tossed the ball to him. Lee caught it, surprised. "What?" Amanda laughed nervously and licked her lips. She looked down at the ball in his hand, then glanced up to find his eyes on her. "I don't know how it got into my purse, though. It's not like it's something that would leave your apartment, let alone find its way into my purse. Speaking of which, Francine mentioned that I was at your apartment. When was that? I don't remember being there, at least not recently, and that..." "Amanda!" "I'm sorry, Lee." She pressed a hand to her forehead. "Everything is so confusing. I don't remember much of anything after I ate your sandwich, but I've been told I had to take some sort of an antidote, and I don't even know why." She glanced up at Lee, only to see him dressed in a white tux and looking at her tenderly. She blinked a few times then shook her head to clear it. When she looked at him again, he was back to normal. "Are you all right?" She waved away his obvious concern. "Yes, yes. I'm fine." He reached for her elbow to propel her towards the door. "Look, why don't I walk you to your car, and I'll tell you all about it on the way out?" "I think I'd like that." She nodded and walked just a step ahead of him out of the little room into the hallyway as they headed towards the elevator. Curious glances from the others in the hall made her feel like a specimen under a microscope. "Lee?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Lee pushed the button for the elevator and turned towards her. "Hmh?" "Why is everybody looking at me?" She wrinkled her forehead and gave him a worried look. He paused, appearing to weigh the consequences of answering her question. The bell sounded and the doors opened. Instead of replying, he nudged her towards the corridor. "I'll explain on the way out." * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * They stopped next to her car. "So, I was drugged with hallucinogens that were in your sandwich and meant for you?" That was the first thing that came to mind as she tried to make sense of all that Lee had told her. "Yeah, and Amanda, I can't tell you how bad I feel about all of this. It should have been me that ate that sandwich, not you! Although it wasn't intentional, Retzig took full advantage and played his trump card." He paused and grinned. "Good thing you got him with the hair dryer!" "Hair dryer?" Amanda repeated with a note of chagrin. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how she had managed to use a hair dryer to outsmart a well-known dealer in top secret weaponry blueprints and plans. "Yeah." Lee's grin widened into a smile. "Under the influence of the drugs, you thought the hairdryer was a gun. Normally, it wouldn't have worked, but a moment earlier, Retzig had shoved you into a pile of dry cement mixture, and it was all over the hairdryer. He turned around, you turned it on, and the dust blew directly into his face, giving me the edge I needed to take him out." "Well, at least I proved to be some help on this case," she muttered. "After what you told me about blowing your cover in that meeting with Dearcy, escaping from some of your agents, the ledge-walking, hitting Francine with a vase and the phone call to Mr. Melrose, I was beginning to feel that I was more of a hindrance than a help." She ducked her head in embarrassment and nervously played with her fingers. Lee grinned. "Don't forget the putting incident in the corridor outside the bullpen!" "Which reminds me, I still owe Philip and Jamie a visit to Goofy Golf. I'll have to take them this weekend." "You looked..." He continued, then stopped. She glanced up at him and saw a curious mix of humor and hesitation cross his face. He was obviously trying to spare her further embarrassment, but she had to know. "What?" "Never mind." "Lee..." she pressed. He sighed. "Well, I was just going to say that you looked cute, standing there and wiggling as you took aim for your shot," he teased. "Oh no!" she moaned and covered her face with her hands, barely peeking through her fingers. "Please tell me that everyone in the office didn't see me do that!" "All right, everyone in the office didn't see you do that," he repeated. "The truth." When he hesitated, she lowered her face again. "I knew it!" He placed his hands over hers and drew them away from her face, then looked directly at her. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you were only within viewing range of half the office personnel." She closed her eyes and groaned, not wanting to even think about what she was going to say to everyone when she returned. She could just imagine Francine and what would come out of her mouth about all of this. It would probably be some snide remark about never knowing she had it in her, followed by a reference to being a suburban housewife with unknown skills and talents. The subtle pressure of Lee's hands on hers caused her to open her eyes and look at him. "Amanda, don't worry about all of this, all right? None of it was your fault." His voice was soft and reassuring. "You were under the influences of some very strong drugs, drugs that would have brought a lesser man to his knees, yet you handled them pretty well ... considering," he added with a grin. "No one's going to hold any of this against you, and given time, it'll all blow over." A feeling of dread causing a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "But how am I going to face everyone when I return to the Agency?" He shrugged. "Same way any of the rest of us do after we've been compromised." His hands squeezed hers. "Amanda, it's happened at least once to all of us. Part of the business we're involved in. We all know the risks, and sometimes we pay the consequences. Remember when Francine was our leak with that Colonial Cookery show?" "Yes." "Well, see?" He raised his hands in demonstration and raised hers as well. "It happens to the best of us, so just put it out of your mind." "Thank you, Lee." She smiled. "I know you feel guilty about the whole sandwich thing, but aside from that, I appreciate you sticking by me through this." "No problem," he replied. "You know when the General said that he was going to send a guerilla team to the meet Retzig had specified, there was only one reason I agreed to it." "What was that?" She looked up at him and saw his eyes fix intently on hers. "You," he stated. "I knew that if we didn't get Retzig, the psychological alterations could become permanent, and you have two boys at home that still need you." Amanda felt a little tug in her heart at his words. She had to fight back the tears that threatened to blur her vision, so she smiled instead. "Thank you, Lee. That really does mean a lot." He squeezed her hands again and smiled in return. For a moment, she felt herself get lost in his hazel gaze. She closed her eyes briefly, then gently pulled her hands from his grasp and turned towards her car. "I'd better get home. I have no idea what I'm going to tell Mother, but..." "I'm sure you'll think of something," Lee finished for her as he reached to hold the door and assist her into her car. She looked up at him as she put her key in the ignition and reached for the handle. "Can you please apologize to Mr. Melrose for me and Francine. I really didn't mean to hit her with that vase, and I certainly didn't mean to break anything in your apartment." Lee's eyes took on a teasing twinkle. "Yes, ma'am!" He raised his finger and thumb to his forehead as he mimicked tipping an imaginary hat in her direction, before he firmly closed the door and stepped back. Amanda had the oddest feeling of déjà vu at his words, but couldn't make any sense of it. The only thing that was clear to her was the fact that Lee's face was the only one that wasn't blurry in her mind. Regardless of what she didn't remember during the time she spent in the drugged state, she did remember that. She backed out of the parking space and looked up to see him wave. The thought of candlelight dinners and Lee in a white tux, standing in front of her and holding a glass of wine, popped into her head. The confusion was almost overwhelming. Someday, she might understand or remember everything that had happened to her in the past few days, but until then, she would do as Lee suggested, and not worry about it. Things would be right back to normal, and she could put all of this out of her mind. At least, she hoped she could. (THE END) |
