Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton Playing Possom - tagalogueWritten by Rudolph Borchert (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
Lee took a stack of papers from Amanda and set it on the desk with the other stacks, then turned to face her and slid his hands into his pockets. "You know, it's a damn good thing you were an easy subject for hypnosis." "Aw, gee, I wasn't so easy," she argued, her head down and her hands in her pockets. "Yes, you were," he countered. "No, I wasn't easy." She looked up at him. "Lee?" Francine interrupted as she joined them. "Amanda..." "I wasn't easy." "Amanda, you were very easy." "Well, I was...all right, I was easy." She removed her hands from her pockets, shrugged and swung her arms at her sides. "Um, excuse me?" Amanda and Lee both stopped and looked at Francine, who was holding a disconnected lamp in her hands and looking at it in puzzlement. "I can't seem to figure this thing out." Lee and Amanda looked at the lamp and saw three wires on one end, then they turned to look at each other and nodded. "Well, you...uh..." Amanda smiled with a lift of her hand, then stopped. "Try the blue wire," Lee added with a smile. Francine looked at the one end with the wires and touched the blue wire, then looked up at them. Amanda and Lee just looked at each other and laughed. "All right," Francine interrupted. "What's the gag? And it better not be at my expense, because Lee, you know I'll find a way to exact revenge!" she threatened. Amanda just rolled her eyes and tried to hide the grin which threatened to form on her lips. Francine must still be on her power trip after Operation Possum, and for a moment, Amanda considered bursting her bubble, but realized it would cause more trouble than it was worth. One thing she knew, she did not want to be on the receiving end of Francine's wrath, even if it was just a case of no-sense-of-humor. "Trust me, Francine," Lee assured her, "it doesn't involve you in the least. Amanda was just the one to figure out how to diffuse the nuclear bomb that saved all of D.C. today." "Amanda?" Francine replied, shocked. One glance at Lee's face, and Amanda saw the dimples, proof positive that he was holding a grin in check as well and getting one up on Francine by elevating her own work far higher than necessary. She couldn't help but be pleased. He may not compliment her work directly or tell her when he was proud of her, but with Lee, she had learned to take what she could get. The compliments were usually few and far between, and when he did issue them, he almost always had to qualify them or explain his reasoning. It was actually rather amusing to know that he sometimes acted like a tough guy, who couldn't allow anyone to see that he had a soft heart underneath. However, now was not the time to call him on it. Besides, she enjoyed seeing Francine squirm, too. "Actually, it wasn't much of anything," Amanda protested. "I just thought since I have to jiggle the blue wire on my dishwasher to get it to work when it's not, it would be the blue wire on the bomb, too." She shrugged. "Ah, yes," Francine remarked with a smug grin. "Another lesson from Housekeeping 101." "Knock it off, will you, Francine?" Lee chastised, and Amanda was glad, because she felt like kicking Francine at the moment. Instead, she just took a deep breath and clenched her fists. "Well, thank you for the advice on this lamp. I believe I'll head back over to my desk and do my part in getting this place back in order." She started to walk past them, then stopped. "You know, I'm glad Operation Possum is over, but this cleanup is just not my thing. Billy can be quite an ogre when it comes to stuff like this." "Desmond, I heard that!" Billy's voice boomed from a few desks away. Francine cringed and offered a sheepish smile. "Gotta go!" she said and wiggled her fingers in a wave. Amanda sighed when she left and faced Lee again. "So, what needs to be done, first?" "You really don't have to stay, you know. It's not a requirement or part of your job description." "Well, I never really received a job description," she countered, "and besides, I want to stay and help. Mother and the boys are in Vermont until tomorrow, so there's no need for me to go home." She stepped over to the desk and lifted a folder from the surface. "So, I repeat. What needs to be done, first?" "All right, if you really want to help..." "I do." "Then, how about you sit in this chair," he pulled one out for her and placed his hand at her back to encourage her to sit down, "and begin alphabetizing these file folders. They're going to have to go in the drawer when we get the cubicle walls set back up, so we might as well have them in order now." "I think I can handle that." She nodded and took her seat, then reached for the first file. "Lee?" "Hmh?" "Did anybody ever figure out how Mr. Melrose disappeared?" She looked up to find him sorting through a folder and crumpling certain pieces of paper while organizing others. "Billy said he was grabbed while walking to his car a few nights ago after staying late," Lee replied without looking up. "They must have been waiting for him." "Well, if that happens in the future, will someone get in touch with me to let me know? I mean, it was just creepy going to work and finding no one there and the entire place empty." She shook her head as if to ward off the thoughts of how she had felt when she had first arrived. "Amanda," Lee said in his typically exasperating tone, one she had really come to dislike. "Things like that don't happen all that often, and when they do, the only reason we would need to get in touch with you would be if we needed your help, like I did with the bowling." "Oh." She paused and began making separate stacks of some folders. "And that's another thing. If all you needed was someone to go with you to bowl, why didn't you call one of the girls listed in one of your blackbooks?" "Bowling isn't exactly why I have their names in those books," he teased with a knowing smirk. She felt her face heat at his inference, but quickly brushed it aside. "It's a good thing you did, or we may have never found out about those tapes I transcribed," she pointed out. "You're right." "And we would have never known about the location of the bomb," she added as she placed another folder in one of her organized stacks. "True." He nodded, distracted as he sorted through another folder. "You know, I think I've actually been of some use to the Agency, despite the fact that you swear you only get in touch with me to help you maintain your cover..." He looked up. "Amanda..." he interrupted, his impatience evident, but she quickly continued before he could say anything more. "So, in the future, if something like this happens, I think I deserve to be contacted by someone and told about it. It's the least anyone can do," she said, continuing to organize the folders as she spoke. "Just a simple phone call or a note to tell me I don't have to come to the office and I'll be told when everything is back to normal. After all, I have been working for the Agency for over a year, and I think it's only fair to..." "Amanda..." he interrupted again, and this time she stopped and looked up at him. "If you'd only stop long enough for me to say something! Okay, you're right. You have earned it, and I'll keep it in mind if necessary for the future." He handed her the folder he held. She took it and looked at him. "You're actually agreeing with me?" "What? It's not like I never do, but usually, we find ourselves on opposite sides of a disagreement, so it's just not common. But, it does happen from time to time," he defended. She just chuckled. "You're too easy." "I am not easy!" "Yes, you are," insisted and couldn't hide the grin as she thought of their little argument a moment ago, only that time, the tables had been turned. "No, I'm no...." He stopped and just stared at her, then spoke. "We're doing it again." He sighed. "This is as ridiculous as you trying to get me to bowl." He paused and turned away. "Speaking of which..." She watched as he walked over to the doors and bent down to retrieve something. When he walked back, she finally saw what he held in his hands. "My bowling ball!" she exclaimed with a smile. "How did you...? "Well, I happen to know the guy that owns the alley, so when we had to head out of there in a hurry, I took a moment to call him the first chance I got and asked him to hold it for me." He held the bag out to her. "Who knows? Maybe we can do it again some time," he suggested. She took the bag from him and set it on the floor at her feet. "Anytime," she replied with a smile. "Scarecrow! My office!" Billy's voice interrupted them. "What's he want now?" Lee muttered, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He looked at her with that same pleading, yet apologetic look she had seen dozens of times, and she knew she was in trouble. "Look, Amanda...would you..." "I'll be fine on my own, Lee," she assured him before he could even ask. "Go see what Mr. Melrose wants, and I'll keep organizing until you get back." "Thanks," he said with a smile and turned. "Oh!" He snapped his fingers and faced her once more. "By the way, I may get back in touch with Valov and get pointers on that hypnosis method. It might come in handy in the future," he teased and immediately walked away, not giving her a chance to reply. Amanda just shook her head. He could be so infuriating some times! Then again, remembering how easily she succumbed to the hypnosis with Valov, she was a little concerned if Lee should ever figure out how to make it work. It was bad enough knowing how easily he could get her to agree to something when she was awake. It's not that she couldn't disagree; on the contrary, she enjoyed helping. There was just something about him that made it near impossible for her to not help when he asked. Even when he instructed her to follow his lead, she always knew she would go along with just about anything he concocted, no matter how bizarre or even uncomfortable. This recent case was a good example. She thought back to when he had first popped up at her kitchen window and when he had asked her to go bowling with him. He had placed his hands on her upper arms and looked intently into her eyes, pleading with her to agree. How was she going to say she couldn't? Even now, she could still feel the warmth of his hands on her arms, not to mention the soft way he used those endearing terms when referring to her as his wife to Valov and the hug of relief when he had successfully diffused the bomb at the cemetery. Yes, working with Lee, certainly had its finer points. Aside from all of that, it was fun to go bowling with him, even if he did only throw one ball. True, it was a strike, but that was just beginner's luck. She'd love the chance to bowl with him again and keep score in a real game. Perhaps it was one thing where she would actually be better than him. That alone would make anything more than worth it. (THE END) |
