Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © May 2002 by Amber Stockton Fast Food for Thought - tagalogueWritten by Robert W. Gilmer (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
"By the way ... uh ..." Lee glanced down at Amanda's hands. He almost reached out, but realized they were in the hallway and resisted the urge. "Did you buy those chocolates for Francine?" he continued in a conspiratorial tone. She darted her eyes to her left, obviously to make certain that no one overheard her. "Once on the lips...forever on the hips!" Amanda replied with a laugh. Lee joined her, and when the elevator doors opened, they both quickly composed themselves. After nodding to the courier who stepped out, they ducked under the bar and turned around to rearrange the clothing. Once the doors closed, they lost their well-contained composure and burst into laughter again. It took several moments before either one of them could manage to speak, and Lee was the first to finally find his voice. "So, what made you go out and find that box of gourmet chocolates for Francine? Don't tell me the two of you are actually setting aside your daggers and knives and being cordial to each other?" "What, and ruin a perfectly good hate-hate relationship?" Amanda grinned. "Never!" Her gaze focused on the numbers as they rose to the ground level. "By the way, you forgot hair curlers." "What?" "Hair curlers," she repeated. "You said daggers and knives, but you forgot to mention hair curlers. No housewife worth her salt is ever without them!" At the teasing note in her voice, Lee turned to look at her. She was barely managing to control her grin. He shook his head and chuckled. It didn't take him long to remember that assignment with the film drop and the patrol car that came by while they were waiting for Francine to arrive. Of course, those thoughts led to what had happened that night in Amanda's car, and he couldn't help but be amazed at how far they'd come since then. They had gone from experiencing moments of awkwardness and discomfort to having no problem spending an evening together ... off the clock. It was obvious that they enjoyed seeing each other outside of work, but where would it lead? "Isn't this our floor?" Amanda's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What?" "Hello? Earth to Scarecrow!" She waved her hand in front of his face. "You zoned out there for a few moments." "Oh, sorry." She tilted her head and raised one eyebrow. "Care to share what had you so deep in thought?" "Not really!" He grinned, then opened the door to the Georgetown Foyer and extended his hand with a flourish and bow. "After you." Amanda stepped out ahead of him. He could have sworn he heard her say, "You just wait, Scarecrow," but he wasn't sure. His ears must have been playing tricks on him. After they dropped their badges off with a good-bye to Mrs. Marston, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Her face was the perfect picture of nonchalance, her expression expertly concealed. There was no way to tell if she had said what he thought he had heard or not, but he had a feeling he would find out soon enough. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * "Mmm, that was delicious!" Amanda walked from the kitchen to the living room where she found her usual place on Lee's couch. He was right behind her, but stopped to refill their wine glasses before joining her. When he walked around the couch and stood in front of her, he handed her a glass, then slowly lowered himself to sit close beside her. His arm closest to her extended across the back of the couch. He had shed his jacket when they had first arrived, and with Amanda around, he was glad. The jacket would have only made him warmer than he already was. "To freezer confessions and family togetherness," he toasted with a wink and raised his glass. How he had come up with that toast, he had no idea. Considering their recent assignment, it seemed to fit. Especially with their cover as brother and sister. Of course, he he had inwardly hoped their cover could have been something else. That was one confession he would keep quiet for a while. She smiled and clinked her glass to his, then they both took a sip. "So, what's your secret?" He almost spat his wine back out, but managed to swallow and look at her in confusion, his eyebrows drawn together. "My secret?" he rasped, hoping his thoughts hadn't been discernible on his face. "Yes, with dinner." She nodded towards the kitchen. "What's your secret for making it so delicious? And what exactly is that dish called? I'd love to get the recipe. Certainly beats anything Marvelous Marvin's makes, although I think my boys would disagree with that." "Oh, that secret." He released a quiet sigh. "What other secret would you have?" She then quickly amended her question. "Never mind. Don't answer that." Her free hand gestured between them. "You're a spy." She spoke the three words as if that said it all. In truth, they did. There was a large part of his life that he couldn't share and most likely wouldn't, at least not yet. Too much was at risk. "Exactly!" Lee took another drink. "So, you asked about my secret for dinner. Well, first, it's called Bistecca Parmigiana, and I picked up the recipe when we were stationed down in Cuba for a brief period. As for the secret...well..." He paused and swirled the wine in his glass. The candlelight from the dining room reflected in the shimmery liquid. "The secret is to soak the steak in the egg, cheese and bread crumb mixture. Most just dip it and let it sit, but if you marinate it while you sauté the onions and prepare the sauce, it absorbs more of the flavor and gives it a much richer taste." "Whatever you do, it definitely worked. That was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. I'm going to get spoiled if you keep cooking for me." "I'd love to spoil you," he muttered. "What was that?" Lee panicked. He couldn't believe he'd let that slip. Maybe she hadn't heard him, since he spoke under his breath. He'd have to bank on that. With a grin, he went back to her previous remark. "You have to admit, it was much better than our missed chance for coffee!" She appeared to hesitate, as if weighing whether or not to pursue his muttered remark. "No arguments there!" she finally agreed. "If only Francine hadn't reappeared, we might have been able to share that cup and have a nice chat." "A chat?" One eyebrow lifted, followed by a smug grin when the telltale pink crept into her cheeks. "Nothing else?" There was a twinkle in her eyes when she replied. "Perhaps." "Is that anything like 'not necessarily'?" She grinned and raised her glass to her lips. "Not exactly!" He gave her a knowing nod. "Uh-huh." Let her play her games. He'd show her who would get the last laugh. "Mmmm, you were right, Lee." Amanda nodded at her glass. "This is a very nice way to keep me from getting chills." He lowered his voice. "Well, that wasn't the only way I had in mind," he retorted with a crooked grin. "Oh?" There was a note of surprise in her voice. Pushing up one sleeve of her sweater, then switching her wine glass to her other hand to push up the other sleeve, she turned to face him. "What exactly did you have in mind?" "Well, if you recall, I said that my cure would take some time, and dinner, and a very special bottle of wine." He paused and nodded over his shoulder. "We've had dinner." He lifted his wine glass. "And we've sampled the special bottle of wine." Very slowly and deliberately, he took her glass from her and set both glasses on the table, then turned towards her and clasped her hands in his. "As for the time...well..." He paused and began to run his thumbs over the backs of her hands. A smile cracked his lips when she glanced down at their joined hands and caught her lower lip between her teeth at his touch. In a husky voice, he continued. "I thought that we could put our heads together and come up with a way to spend that." "Mmm, put our heads together." Her eyebrows lifted for a second, then she grinned. "I like the sound of that." "Me, too." He gave a little tug and pulled her toward him. Their faces were mere inches apart. He grinned, then tilted his head so that their foreheads touched. His gaze focused intently on her eyes. "Now, can you think of a way we can spend that time?" Lee watched her moisten her lips, then he looked up to stare into her cocoa-brown depths. "I think an idea is coming to mind," she rasped. By mutual consent, their eyes drifted shut. Lee slowly closed the small gap between their lips. Their kiss was a light touch at first. Lee released Amanda's hands to reach up and gently touch her face. Her hands moved to rest just below his shoulders. After a lingering moment, he reluctantly pulled back. "Mmm." She sighed, her eyes still closed as she leaned forward to bury her face against his neck. "Very nice cure," she murmured, her breath warm on his skin. Lee chuckled and drew her close against him. He may not know where any of this was leading, but he wasn't about to give up the enjoyment he found in spending time with her. She didn't exactly seem in too much of a hurry to leave, either. Regardless of the uncertainty of where they were headed, this present moment was all that mattered. It was a moment he wanted to savor as long as he could. (THE END) |
