Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © February 2002 by Amber Stockton No Thanks for the Memories - tagalogueWritten by Lee Maddux (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
In his kitchen, Lee popped the cork from a wine bottle and grabbed two glasses to bring out into the living room. "....So, Amanda, think of this as a celebration for Zmed being accepted into the Defector's Relocation Program," he said as he set the glasses on the table behind the sofa and began to pour wine into them. "And I can only speak for myself when I say that we are long overdue for some celebrating around here, especially the type that includes only the two of us? Hm?" He set down the bottle and reached for the glasses, then walked around the couch as he talked. "So, with that thought in mind, some romantic candlelight, a little bubbly, and a little romance." He crouched down in front of her on one knee and noticed that she was fast asleep on the couch. Sighing, partially in frustration, but partially in resignation, he set down the glasses on the coffee table and leaned towards her. "A very little...romance," he said and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. When he leaned back, she stirred and reached out her hand to place on his arm. With her eyes closed, she smiled a little. "I may be sleepy, but I'm not dead," she murmured and tugged a little on his arm. He gazed at her slight grin and smiled, then willingly leaned in to share a much more tender kiss. He started to pull back, but her hand was still on his arm, and she drew him towards her again. As his lips touched hers, she immediately responded, and Lee repositioned himself to fully kneel in front of the couch as he placed his arm around her waist and deepened the kiss. Her soft moan stirred him even more, but he caught himself and pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open, and she gazed up at him with an impish grin that told him she knew exactly why he pulled away. "Mmm, the perfect solution to fatigue," she teased. "If we don't change gears real fast, I'm going to forget all about the food on the table over there," he retorted and pinned her with an intense stare. "Exactly!" she rejoined. He chuckled and smiled, then shook his head. "Amanda, you're going to be the death of me yet," he sighed, his voice mirroring the frustration he felt. "You mean before I have the chance to taste your famous frittatas?" Lee groaned in frustration, knowing that he couldn't even trust his mouth to form a reply, especially when all he wanted to do was press his lips to hers again and kiss her breathless. His feelings and desires must have been present in his eyes, because she glanced down, then just as quickly raised her gaze to meet his again, only this time, she had managed to erase all trace of the deep emotion he had seen only a few moments before. "So, what did you have in mind?" Thankful that she had changed the subject to safer territory, Lee reached for the two glasses of champagne and handed one to her. "First, I thought we'd have ourselves a little toast, and then we can move to the table to enjoy a nice romantic meal." "Sounds like a good idea," she replied and took the glass from him, then slowly propped herself up against the back of the couch. "What are we toasting to?" "How about....to Class C interrogations?" "That's an interesting one." "All right, then how about to Class C interrogations, and the hope that the only ones we do in the future will involved just the two of us?" he suggested with a grin. "I'll drink to that!" she agreed, then smiled and clinked her glass to his before raising it to her lips. He did the same, then reached out his free hand towards her. "Now, how about we shift this operation to the dining room, and then later, we can talk about dessert," he said and winked. She chuckled and placed her hand in his. "You're incorrigible, you know that?" He smiled and stood to his feet, drawing her off the couch to stand with him. "No, just incurable," he countered and placed a kiss on her (cute)nose, then led her to the table, where he held out her chair for her and pushed it in when she was seated, taking his seat to her right. Once he was seated, he took the spatula and flipped the frittatas one last time and smiled in satisfaction at the appetizing golden-brown color. His mouth watered with the anticipation of the upcoming meal, made even more enjoyable by his dining companion with him this evening. Dividing up the main dish, he served out a generous portion onto Amanda's plate, then took the remainder on his own. Before they delved into the savory and fluffy treat, he watched Amanda pour a little salad dressing her salad, then cut it to allow the dressing to seep onto all of the greens. She had placed her napkin in her lap when he was serving the frittatas, and he now did the same. With a glance and a smile at her, he also put dressing on his salad, and together, they ate in companionable silence. When they were finished, Amanda pushed her salad plate away, then took her knife and fork in both hands and cut a piece of the frittata on her plate. "Now, I'll find out if this is all you've made it out to be with your boastful talk!" she remarked with a grin. He held his breath as she took the first bite, knowing that his culinary skills were more than adequate and confident that she would enjoy the scrumptious flavor. She chewed agonizingly slow and appeared to be giving the taste a lot of thought. It was obvious that she was doing it just to exasperate him, but not in an annoying manner, more to see how long he would last before he made a comment. "Mmm," she finally said, after she swallowed and took a sip of champagne. "Not bad." He had just taken a sip of from his own glass and nearly choked on it at her remark. "Not bad?" he repeated in disbelief. "Yeah, not bad." She shrugged. "I have to admit the flavor is interesting, but overall, it's not bad." Narrowing his eyes, he focused his gaze on her face and did his best to determine her mood behind the words she spoke. For a moment, she averted her eyes, but when she finally looked directly at him, he saw it. That tiny little sparkle in the center of her eyes that told him she was teasing. Although, he wanted to counter her remark, he decided to have a little fun, instead. "Yeah, I guess you're right. 'Not bad,' just like your work with Zmed on this Looking Glass case." "Just like..." She put down her knife on her plate and placed a fist against her right hip. "And just what is that supposed to mean? You told me yourself that I did a great job and that my instincts were right on target, and now you're telling me that my work was 'not bad'?" She moved her hand to place it on top of the table and leaned forward. "I'll have you know that..." He just grinned when she stopped, and watched the understanding dawn in her eyes. Throughout her tirade, he had enjoyed watching the spark leap into her eyes as she reacted to his words, and could almost mentally predict exactly what she was going to do just before she did it, right down the fist on her hip and the straightening of her back. "Oh, you...." she retorted and lifted her hand to give his arm a swat. Her tender smile in response to his teasing drew an answering smile to his own lips, and he set down his knife to reach for her right hand, raising it to his lips to place a soft kiss on its back. "Just giving back a little of what you dish out," he whispered. "Turnabout's fair play, I guess," she replied. "Exactly!" "All right, now can I have my hand back, so that I can enjoy the rest of this delicious and absolutely mouthwatering frittata?" He chuckled at her over-exaggeration of adjectives, but released her hand nonetheless, then picked up his knife again to cut another piece. A few minutes later, the frittatas gone and the champagne glasses empty, Lee watched Amanda raise her napkin to blot her lips, then set the cloth on the table and look at up him expectantly. "What now?" "Now, we have our dessert," he replied with a crooked grin, turning on all the charm before he pushed back his chair and stood, then held out his hand towards her. She placed her left hand in his right, and he led her into the living room, then paused and turned to face her. "Wait right here," he instructed, then disappeared back into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a small box. "Now, close your eyes," he told her and tilted his head over her shoulder to make certain she had obeyed, then stepped around in front of her. "Why all the secrecy?" "No questions," he replied, then lifted one of the little treats from the box and held to her lips. "Open your mouth," he whispered, and she immediately obliged. Slowly, he placed the sweet just past her lips, and she immediately closed her mouth and took a bite. He held the box under her mouth to catch any falling crumbs, then watched her eyes open in response to the fluffy substance. "This tastes just like..." "Meraner Torte," he finished for her. "It is." "But, how did you....?" she said as she finished chewing. He pulled the little box away and showed it to her. "I have my ways," he replied mysteriously. "I remembered our little visit to Salzburg, and I couldn't help but recall how much you loved these in that little corner shop, so I made a few well-placed inquiries and managed to procure a little treat for us both for tonight." She reached down and took the other piece that was in the box and lifted it to his lips in the same way he had for her. He opened his mouth to accept the treat, then closed his lips over her fingers as he took the entire piece into his mouth. She slowly removed her fingers, and he watched her brown eyes darken in response to his actions. Since he still had the rest of her piece, he silently held it to her lips and watched as she opened her mouth to take it from him. He could feel his own gaze responding to the look in her eyes as she closed her lips around the rest of the torte. Brushing his finger underneath her bottom lip, his gaze intensified and dropped to her mouth, watching her tongue lick the remaining remnants of crumb and sugar from her lips. Unable to resist, he leaned forward and captured her lips with his, savoring the sweetness of her kiss blended with the sugar and chocolate of the torte, a hint of cinnamon and clove only adding spice to his already blazing emotions. He dropped the little box on the floor, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her back, enjoying the feel of her hands on his chest as they slid up to wrap around his neck and entwine in his hair. The taste of her lips and the intensity of the kiss was intoxicating, and he found the need to take a breath overwhelming. Fighting his own desires, he pulled back and gazed down into darkened brown eyes that were every bit as impassioned as his own. "Mmm, if I had known that was dessert, I would have skipped supper altogether," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Amanda, I think we need to ... uh ... take a breather, huh?" he suggested, barely able to get the words past the emotion clogging his own throat. She released a long sigh and nodded. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Leaning forward once again, he placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, "But that doesn't mean we won't enjoy our dessert another time." He smiled when she shivered in response, then stepped away. "How about a little Duke?" "I'd love it," she rasped. With just a few steps, he was in front of the record player, and he lifted the lid, checked to make sure the record was still there, then placed the needle on the record and flipped the switch to start the music. He immediately returned to Amanda, and held out his hand, then pulled her to him and led her in a slow dance to the soothing sounds of jazz that filled the room. As they swayed in time to the music, Amanda's head dropped to lean against his shoulder and her one hand rested lightly against his back. He tightened his hold of her waist and held her other hand against his chest, breathing in the soft fragrance he had come to know as distinctly her. Their entire relationship was completely new ground for him, and each day that passed found him more and more excited about what each day would bring. Never before would he have thought he could be this involved and not have the strong desire to back away. With Amanda in his arms, he knew that life could only get better. (THE END) |
