Savior - tagalogue

Written by Marshall Goldberg (excerpts from the episode belong to him)

"What about you, Amanda? When did you actually find out about the bomb?" Billy asked from his position behind his desk.

"Ohhhh." She laughed nervously and glanced at Lee, who straightened and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She returned her glance to Billy and Francine then back to Lee and laughed weakly. "Just before it didn't go off." Lee smiled and winked at her and Billy and Francine both laughed in amazement.

"I'm surprised that you can be so calm about this, Amanda," Francine remarked once she recovered. "You do have to admit, this isn't exactly your cup of tea."

"Well, I..."

"It's good that you didn't overreact, though, Mrs. King. It shows a very level head and the ability to not lose your cool under pressure. That's something we can always use around here," Billy added. "How did you manage it?"

"Oh, as I said, I didn't find out it was a real bomb until after everyone had run away. I thought Lee was bluffing, too." She glanced at Lee briefly, then back at Billy and Francine. "When he told me to get back and said it was going to blow, I don't think I was thinking clearly from that point on. All I could think of was that we were two feet away from a live bomb and had to do something to keep it from exploding. When Lee said he needed a pin to disarm Savior, I frantically searched for one and ended up using a 'Go Bombers' badge."

"Go Bombers?" Francine asked incredulously.

"Yes, it was a badge from my son's little league team," she explained. "They give them out to the parents and friends of everyone on the team so you can show your support. We all usually wear them to the games and awards events and picnics, any place that we can show that the Bombers are our team."

"Oh. How quaint," Francine replied in her typically patronizing manner.

Amanda ignored her, as usual, and continued. "I searched through my entire purse and couldn't find a thing, but when I searched my pockets, the badge was there. It had this little pin on the back for when you pin it to your shirt or jacket or purse or wherever you want to display it. I guess I didn't stop to think for a moment that it wouldn't work, and it did." She threw up her hands and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "All in a day's work."

Billy placed his hands on the top of his desk and smiled. "Well, we're very grateful for your help, Mrs. King, as usual."

"Oh, it's my pleasure, sir," she replied and stood to her feet. "Anything I can do, you just let me know!"

"Thank you."

Amanda reached for her purse and lifted it to her shoulder, then walked around the chair she had just vacated and headed for the door. Lee uncrossed his arms and stood from where he was perched on the corner of Billy's desk. "I'll walk you out," he offered and Amanda just nodded.

"See you tomorrow, Mrs. King," Billy added. Francine smiled curtly.

"Good-bye." Amanda smiled at them both then turned towards the door. Lee's lips formed a half-smile before he held the door open for Amanda and followed her out of Billy's office, pulling the door closed behind them and placing a hand at her back as they walked towards the entrance to the bullpen.

They both cast a glance to where Fred Fielder was haphazardly dumping things into a box on the desk he had occupied for less than a week, and Lee couldn't help but chuckle at the turn of events which returned him to his top agent status and Fred back where he started. He paused as if contemplating something and Amanda interrupted his thoughts.

"You're not going to say anything to him, are you? Because I really don't think that would be very wise considering the circumstances. After all, he really did think you had left the Agency for the money and attraction of working for Ballon. He was quite convinced you had sold out and were taken in by the tailored suits and expense account. Now, to find out you were working for the Agency all along and..."

"And he's become the butt end of a joke for panicking on the field..." Lee finished for her and left his sentence hanging then turned to glance at her. "No, I'm not going to say a word," he assured her.

"Good."

"At least not right now," he added with a grin. She stopped so fast, Lee almost propelled her forward due to his hand at her back. He blanched at the accusatory look in her eyes and turned on one of his most charming smiles. "It was a joke, Amanda. A joke. You know, ha-ha?"

She started walking again and he matched his stride to hers as they left the activity of the bullpen. Amanda smiled and thanked the guard who held the door for them and walked down the corridor towards the elevator, joining the other government officials who were all on their way to some task or another. "Well, it better be, because I don't think it would be too funny for Fred if you teased him about this. You're already on his list of who to not like. Do you really want to make things worse?"

"Amanda," he groaned. "You're making much more out of this than what's really there. So, let's just drop it, all right?"

"Fine." When they reached the elevator, Lee pressed the button and Amanda turned to him. "But, if I find out you're being unusually rude to him..."

"You'll what?" Lee interrupted with a teasing challenge in his eyes.

Without missing a beat, Amanda replied, "I'll ask Mr. Melrose to offer me work with someone else."

"Oh, you would, huh?"

"Yes, I would."

He attempted to appeal to her good side and used a different angle. "Since when do friends desert their friends?"

"Oh, but I thought you were exaggerating when you said that," she threw back at him. "You were impressed that I would get involved to such an extent for you, but you wouldn't admit that we're more than business associates."

He softened a little at her remark. "Well, I was impressed...am impressed. I haven't met too many people who would believe in me so much that they'd be willing to do anything to get involved in what I was doing or even care enough about my welfare to suggest that I might not be where I should." Unconsciously, he reached out and lightly clasped her hands in his as he continued. "And knowing that you'd do that much for me, I guess I can't really say we're just business associates." He paused for effect and noticed how her eyes lit up in anticipation of what he would say next. "We're partners all the way," he said with a grin.

"Partners," she repeated. "Well, I guess that'll have to do." She grinned in return. "One of these days, though, Stetson..."

At that moment, an agent who was headed for the bullpen cast a glance at them and looked down at their entwined hands then back up at them before he silently continued on his way. Lee and Amanda immediately dropped their hands and turned to face the elevator. They both cleared their throats nervously and waited for the doors to open.

"So..." Lee cleared his throat again. "You gonna tell me when you learned how to read upside down? How you were able to read what I wrote so fast? Especially since it was in my writing, which we both know isn't the easiest to read."

"That information is classified, Scarecrow," Amanda replied with a straight face. "It's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know."

Lee stared at her for a brief moment and watched her face for any signs of teasing. She was either serious or hid it very well. "Well, as your partner," he stressed the word, "I think I do need to know. It should be included on your list of essential skills."

"Nope. Not good enough, not considering everything about you that I don't know." The doors to the elevator opened, and Lee stepped aside for the agent who stepped off as Amanda entered and turned to face him. "Being a partner goes both ways, you know," she teased. "Good-bye!" She smiled sweetly as the doors closed and wiggled her fingers at him in farewell.

Lee just smiled and shook his head, then groaned in frustration. They may just have been spending too much time together. She had picked up far too well on his evasive maneuvers when trying to avoid answering a question, and she was getting too good at keeping her thoughts from showing on her face. These were necessary skills for a good agent, but she wasn't one. It was times like these when he didn't know whether he wanted to congratulate her or wring her neck.

He wondered if it would be better to have her back to how she was when they first met, rambling and not knowing what she should do. Then again, he couldn't exactly deny that d to admit that it was nice to have someone care about him, and she could be very persuasive when she was determined. When she had come to visit him the second time, he had almost confessed everything to her about the assignment. Amanda was affecting him in ways that didn't fit with his plans, and if he wasn't careful, it could cause a lot of changes, changes he wasn't certain he was ready to handle just yet.

(THE END)

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