Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton Odds on a Dead Pigeon - tagalogueWritten by Juanita Bartlett (excerpts from the episode belong to her)
Amanda hopped up onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs and called up to her boys. "Uh…how would you like a little…umm...hot chocolate, from room service, fellas?" she asked with a thumb pointed back at herself. "That sounds great," Philip called down, and Amanda nodded her head. "Yeah," Jamie echoed. "Okay." She turned towards the living room and took a step down, then heard her mother call from upstairs. "Don't forget the marshmallows!" Amanda shook her head as she went into the dark kitchen and turned on the light on the other side of the doorway to the dining room, then opened the refrigerator. A knock on the door caused her to turn her head and for a moment, she looked startled. She glanced at the back door and stopped what she was doing, then glanced towards the stairs and set a gallon of milk on the counter. After another glance upstairs, Amanda walked to the back door, stepping lightly on her heeled shoes. One final look to make certain no one was coming downstairs, and she opened the door a crack. As soon as she saw Lee, she smiled. "Hi." "Hi!" She stepped out and closed the door behind her, cringing as the hinges creaked. "How are you feeling?" She nodded. "Oh, I feel all right now." "Good, good." He seemed relieved. "I just came by to tell you that it looks like Redding won't be getting out on parole, this time." "Oh well, good." She smiled. "That makes me feel a whole lot better." "Yeah." "You know it was really awful strange, looking at somebody that looked exactly like me." Lee gave her a real serious look. "You know, I used to think that I wanted a twin when I was in school…" Lee raised his eyebrows in a knowing manner, "...and I would go to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and she would go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and you know, we would alternate off like that, but...to really look at somebody, who looks exactly like you..." she turned her head to the right, looking at the house, then pointed with her right hand back at the house, "...who could just walk right into your life and take your place..." She left her sentence hanging and shook her head. He leaned his head to the left and shook it, then smiled. "Amanda, I don't think anyone could pull that off." "Hey, Mom..." Philip called from upstairs. Amanda raised her eyebrows and both she and Lee looked up towards the house as Philip continued, "Don't forget the marshmallows!" Amanda glanced back to find Lee looking at her, and she continued their conversation. "You're right, and you know why?" "Why?" She lifted her index finger and shook her head back and forth. "Because nobody knows where I hide the marshmallows." She smiled, then chuckled, and Lee followed suit. Amanda realized that the windows were open a little upstairs, at least enough for them to hear Philip, so she stopped laughing and raised a finger to her lips to signal Lee to stop as well. "Amanda..." "Lee..." They spoke at the same time. He nodded for her to continue. "Why don't you come inside while I make hot chocolate for the boys," she invited, not quite ready to say good-night to Lee and certain he felt the same way. There was just something about this recent situation with Karen that had her feeling out of sorts and a little disoriented. If she felt this way and had only come face to face with Karen on two brief occasions, how would Lee be feeling after spending the same amount of time with Karen? "What about your mother and the boys?" "Mother is supervising their baths," she explained. "Jamie ended up with poison ivy and Philip got it as well, so she ordered them both upstairs as soon as they got home. I don't think we'll have to worry about any of them coming down. I even offered to deliver room service with the hot chocolate." He nodded. "Okay, sure." Amanda turned back towards the house and quietly opened the back door, Lee right behind her as they both stepped up and into the kitchen. He only pushed the door to, and Amanda looked over her shoulder to nod in approval. It should be left open in case he needed to make a quick exit. She looked towards the stairs and realized he most likely wouldn't have to, but it was better to be cautious. "You know, I really am glad all of this business with Karen is over, although I'm sorry that two of your agents are gone because of her." She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the container of milk, then poured some into a saucepan and set it to heat on the stove, after which she retrieved some mugs from the cabinet. "Yeah, tell me about it," Lee replied, his voice low. "It was just creepy looking at a mirror image of myself," she continued, then took the cocoa mix from a box in the cabinet and moved to set the packets and the mugs on the counter in the middle of the kitchen. As she did that, she caught a glimpse of Lee out of the corner of her eye and turned to look fully at him. "Lee? Is everything all right?" He was watching her with an odd look on his face, and he almost didn't seem to notice that she was talking to him. She watched him shake his head, as if clearing his mind, then focused on her. "What? I'm sorry, Amanda. I wasn't paying attention. Did you ask me something?" She began tearing open the packets to dump the contents into each cup. "I asked if you were all right. You sort of zoned out there for a moment." "Well, you mentioned how weird it was seeing someone who looked like you, and I just got caught up watching you for a moment." He shrugged. "I guess I'm still trying to make my mind believe that it's really you and not Karen." "Oh, Lee," she intoned. She really hadn't taken time to think about how all of this had affected him, at least not on any level other than the surface. A moment ago, the thought had crossed her mind about his feelings, but she didn't pursue it. However, looking at him now, it was clear that he had been affected quite a bit. "It must have been terribly confusing and very disconcerting to not know who was who from one moment to the next." "Yeah, you're not kidding!" He straightened. "When I called you, or rather Karen, the other day and you...she...told me there was something wrong with the car and needed a ride, I had this feeling that something wasn't right. You...she...had just said that she had sent your mother and the boys on ahead and decided not to go camping. Well, that would mean they would have taken the car. Besides, you usually tell me when you're having problems with your car as soon as you do, not when I call to tell you that you're needed at the Agency. But, I brushed it off and came here to get you...her," he corrected himself again. She turned and dipped her finger quickly into the saucepan to test the temperature of the milk and realized it was ready. It didn't take long to heat on a gas stove, and she was again thankful they had gas and not electric. "You know, I'm a little glad we were out of the house, at least temporarily." She removed the saucepan and turned towards the counter to pour hot milk into each of the mugs. "I don't want to think about what would have happened if we had all been here!" She quickly stirred the chocolate in with the milk, then placed the spoon on a paper towel and bent down to take the bag of marshmallows from beneath the counter. Plopping a handful into each mug, she looked up. "Lee, I need to run these upstairs to Mother and the boys, but I'll be right back down." She wanted to let him know that she was interested in hearing his side of things and hoped he understood. His nod showed he did. "Go ahead, I'll be here." She gave him an encouraging smile, placed the three mugs on a tray and left to carry them upstairs. After she checked on the boys and handed them their drinks, she left her mother's on the tray and started to head back downstairs, but her mother's voice made her pause. "Amanda, why are you in such a hurry?" Amanda turned to see a dubious expression on her mother's face. "Oh, I just wanted to get back downstairs to clean up the kitchen and make myself a cup, maybe even enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet with my book. You know how I feel about messy kitchens, Mother," she replied, hoping her answer would satisfy her mother's curiousity. Dotty nodded and uncrossed her arms, then pushed herself off the doorframe where she had been leaning. She raised her hands a little in a gesture of dismissal. "All right, Amanda, but don't get too absorbed that you forget to come up and say goodnight." "Mother." Amanda sighed. "When have I ever forgotten to say goodnight to them....when I'm home, that is?" she hurried to add. Dotty nodded again. "You're right. Well, enjoy your book, dear." Amanda waited until her mother had disappeared into the room again before she turned and descended the stairs and rejoined Lee in the kitchen. She quickly made two more cups of hot chocolate, then reached for the bag of marshmallows again and looked at Lee with raised eyebrows, silently asking him if he wanted any. At his nod, she dumped a few in both of their cups and handed one to him, then took a seat caddy-corner to him at the counter and raised her cup to her lips. "So, when did you first really know something was wrong?" He lifted his own cup. "When I came here and saw the front door partway open. I know you never leave it open unless you're standing right there, so that tipped me off right from the start. You also normally have me come to the back door, not the front. I told you earlier that I had an odd feeling about things back when I first called your house, but I couldn't put my finger on why. So, anyway, I called for you with no answer, and my instincts immediately went on full alert." "What happened?" "I kicked the door open and jumped out the way. Good thing I did, because the door was rigged with a rifle to go off and shoot whoever opened it." "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed and saw Lee grin at her customary reaction. She smiled, too, remembering it was those exact words that had helped him determine who to save when she and Karen were hanging on that ledge. "You know, I was wondering why there was a dent in the wall behind the door." Her head tilted to the side as she recalled finding that mark. "Is there? I'm sorry, Amanda, we'll get that fixed for you." "No, no, no. Don't worry about it. It's not a big mark, and it's nothing that a little spackling and paint won't fix." She nodded in encouragement. "Please, continue." He shrugged. "Once I got inside, I saw the counter cluttered with food left out, dirty dishes piled high in the sink, a drink and an ashtray full of cigarette butts on the coffee table. One, you don't smoke, two, you don't drink, and three, you never leave a sink full of dirty dishes or a mess on the counter ... unless your home has been temporarily transformed into Khartoum 1886." He grinned and gave her a knowing look. "I was suspicious, but when I came by the house later and you told me you hadn't spoken to me that afternoon, I knew I was either losing my mind or someone had managed to pull of sounding just like you. I just had a gut feeling." She smiled. "A gut feeling that it wasn't me." It was nice to know that Lee so easily picked up on those subtle nuances that distinguished her, even if he would never admit it. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, then we had the snake and gas incident which led to you being taken to the hospital..." "Where I remained for your peace of mind." "Right," Lee replied without missing a beat, "and when I came to get you, something told me it couldn't be you in that room, or if it was, something was wrong. Didn't take long to find out it was Karen, and then we ended up at the construction site. Good thing you said what you did when you did!" "I don't want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't." She shuttered and for more times than she could count, she was thankful that Lee was there to save her. Lee reached across and placed his hand over hers. "Hey," he said softly, "don't think about it anymore. You're safe and back home with your family, and you don't have to worry about Karen anymore." Although her skin tingled at the contact, she was reassured by his words and touched by his concern. "Thank you, Lee....for everything," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Amanda?" Dotty's voice interrupted them from the stairs. "Yes, Mother?" Amanda replied and jerked back her hand from his. "Do we have any more marshmallows?" "Yes, Mother, I'll bring them up!" Amanda called back. "I guess that's my cue to make my exit!" Lee drained his cup and set it on the counter, then slipped off the stool. "I'm glad you're back." She grinned. "Me, too!" He chuckled. "You know, I set out on this case to find out what woman could set up and take out two of our best agents, and I find out it's you. Good thing it wasn't really you, or I'd be worried!" He winked, gave her a parting grin and slipped out the back door. Amanda stood and looked at the door for a moment after he left and smiled. If it had only been a thought before, she knew it for certain now. He knew more about her than he wanted to admit, and although there was a certain level of fear associated with that, there was also a measure of comfort and a warm, secure feeling that accompanied that knowledge. She may get into scrapes and difficult situations, but she felt safe knowing that Lee was there to help her get out of them. Remembering that she had to take marshmallows up to her mother, she quickly washed the two mugs and set them to dry, then grabbed the bag and headed for the stairs, turning off the light as she passed it. With a final glance at the back door, she smiled. Knowing Lee was out there watching over her gave her the peace of mind she would need to sleep well tonight. (THE END) |
