Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © May 2002 by Amber Stockton Tail of the Dancing Weasel - tagalogueWritten by George Geiger (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
"I sure hope he wants it," Amanda stated as she unfastened her seatbelt. "He said he left it at the Agency because it made him look old." She got out of her car and walked around back to join Lee. "Oh, he just said that. It would hang by the door so he could watch the comings and goings," Lee replied, glancing up towards Harry's house. Amanda unlocked the back hatch of the wagon, then they both lifted the door. She put her finger to her lips to signal him to stay quiet, and Lee lowered his voice. "Believe me, he hated retiring. He spent twenty-five years building up the Agency, and he couldn't quite get over the fact that his work was over." "Well, it wasn't." Amanda shoved the sleeves of her shirt back past her elbows and stepped back. "Well, it is now," Lee whispered, "and I'm going to make sure he starts enjoying the rest." "Right, because life's too short!" "Yeah, especially around..." he lifted the covering off of the portrait, "Harry." "Sure we shouldn't have had this fixed?" Amanda helped Lee lift the portrait from the car and held one end as she looked at him. "Well, if I know Harry V. Thornton, he'll want to hang this on his wall just the way it is," Lee replied with a smile. He and Amanda both laughed as they looked at the portrait of the founder of the Agency, complete with two bullet holes from Mrs. Marston's haphazard firing, one to the right of Harry's face, and the other just below his left shoulder. They both cringed as they realized their laughter could be overheard. Without shutting the back hatch of the wagon, they carefully and quietly turned and walked up the steps towards Harry's house, holding the portrait between them. Amanda looked up at the house. "You know, I don't know why we're trying to sneak up to his house. He probably already knows we're here." "True, but we can pretend that he doesn't," Lee countered as they walked. "Besides, Harry's probably been watching our every move since we came within a thousand feet of this place, not to mention hearing every word we say with bugs hidden all over." "So, why are we whispering?" "That's a very good question, Mrs. King!" Harry stepped out from behind one of the bushes next to them. Lee didn't act at all startled by Harry's appearance, but Amanda almost lost her grip on the portrait. "So, I see the two of you arrived together this time, instead of following each other!" Amanda blushed, and Lee gave her a crooked grin. "Yeah, seems I can keep a better eye on her when I don't have tell her to stay put." "And she can keep a better eye on you without having to invent excuses to be around you," Harry countered in Amanda's defense. "Or without disobeying instructions." "She just works on her instincts, which are obviously finely tuned and work to her advantage." Amanda stood there with a hold on her end of the portrait, becoming very agitated that they were ignoring her. "I really wish the two of you would stop talking about me like I wasn't standing right here," she finally managed to interject. "Please, forgive me, Mrs. King," Harry apologized, "and please, let's get this portrait up to the house." He gestured for them to continue walking, leading the way up the path. "I wanted to thank you both, for your help with this recent case. If I had suspected that Gregory was in on it all, I wouldn't have had to involve either of you." He paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder at them. "But, I'm glad I did." "Well, Gregory's every bit as good at his job as you are," Lee pointed out. "He knew he couldn't let on about his plans, and he used all the necessary means to get what he wanted." "Except for one thing," Harry added, climbing the porch steps. When he reached the top, he turned and looked down at Lee and Amanda. "He didn't count on a top agent and a non-agent with great instincts being on his tail." Amanda ducked her head and felt the warmth in her cheeks again, but Lee added, "He also didn't count on you being wise to some foul play." Harry nodded and turned, and Lee and Amanda walked up the steps, then set the portrait down on the porch. Following Harry's lead, they all took a seat in the chairs on the porch. "No, you're right." Once Harry was seated, his cat immediately leaped up into his lap and curled into a ball. "Gregory didn't count on my knowing anything at all, and that was his first mistake. I have eyes and ears all over, and I know what's going on at my Agency. Of course, if it weren't for that letter, I don't know that I would have found anything odd about his sudden contact with me or his request to meet me at the chemical plant." Amanda smiled. "We're all just glad that the letter is safe, and that you're safe." "And that Crawford is finally where he should be, behind bars for treason!" Lee added, a note of disdain in his voice. "Didn't he have the Q-Bureau?" Harry asked. "Yeah, but we scooched him." Lee sighed, then grimaced. "Guess who has it now?" Harry nodded and grinned, then turned to Amanda. "And you, Mrs. King?" "Please call me Amanda." "Amanda," he repeated. "Are you working in the Q-Bureau now, too?" She glanced at Lee, who turned to her with an odd look on his face. For a moment, they stared at each other, and neither one said a word. Then, Amanda realized that Harry was waiting for an answer, so she shook her head a little and turned back to face him. "To be honest, I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Mr. Melrose hasn't really ever given me a desk or place of my own. I have one that I normally use in the bullpen, but even that has been known to change." "Well, if Melrose doesn't keep the two of you together, I may have to reevaluate my assessment of his ability to be section leader," Harry remarked, a serious look on his face as he stroked his cat, Ike. Amanda and Lee both looked at him, but when Amanda saw the twinkle in his eye, she knew he was teasing, at least about Mr. Melrose, so she smiled. "No, I know Melrose does excellent work, so I don't have to worry about him." "You don't have to worry about anyone, Harry," Lee interrupted. "You're supposed to be off duty and enjoying your retirement!" "Lee, you know as well as I do, that I'll never retire until I'm dead. I will take your advice, though, and start enjoying life a little more. I'll just continue to lay low." "As if you could ever really do that," Lee muttered. "Maybe not, especially if I have to keep watching out for you," Harry retorted. "It's a good thing you told me about Mrs. King, here. I knew from what you said about her...." Harry paused, and Amanda glanced quickly at Lee to see him give Harry a warning look. She looked back and forth between Harry and Lee and wondered what they were saying to each other with their silent communication. "Well, I knew she was the perfect one for the job," he finished. "Yeah, and it's all over now, so I really would like your assurance that you're going to take it easy for a while. All right?" Harry nodded. "I'll give you my word, if you do something for me in return." "Name it!" Lee spoke with confidence. Harry nodded at Amanda. "You promise not to let this one get away." Lee turned to face her, and a slow smile spread across his face. Amanda wanted to look away, but something kept her eyes focused on Lee. Every fiber in her being was waiting to hear what he would say, and although she tried not to let it show, she desperately wanted him to agree to Harry's challenge. She wasn't ready to admit why she wanted this, but knew that she held her breath in anticipation of what his next words would be. "I ... don't think that will be a problem," she heard him say, and her gaze darted to his lips. When she looked back at his eyes, there was twinkle there and a hint of something else. Before she had time to figure out what it was, it disappeared as he carefully concealed his expression and turned back to look at Harry. "Good!" Harry stated with finality. He slowly rose from his chair, and Ike jumped down from his lap, then waited for Harry to open the door to the house. "Now, why don't we go on inside and have something to drink while we talk about where I can hang this?" He took the portrait and turned toward the door, leaning the portrait against the wall. Lee immediately jumped up from his seat to assist him. As Lee held the door open, Harry carried the portrait inside. Lee let the door slam after Harry and turned to face Amanda. "Shall we?" he invited, extending his arm out towards her. She stood and joined him, and he turned to allow her to step in front of him. Reaching around her right side for the door, he grabbed the handle, then reached around her left to transfer the door to his other hand. She started to enter, but his voice stopped her. His warm breath on the back of her neck sent shivers down her spine, and she fought very hard to control her breathing. "So, what made you decide to take Harry's assignment to spy on me?" For a brief moment, she didn't reply, but she forced herself to maintain her composure and shrugged. "Oh, it was just something he said about blizzards and midnight," Amanda replied, intentionally not giving him the full truth. "Besides, we already work together on a lot of things, so I didn't think it would be all that difficult." She glanced at him over her shoulder and was slightly disappointed when his face seemed to register nothing but confusion at her remark. It was as if he had no idea what she was talking about. Harry had assured her that Lee had talked about her to him, but Lee's face made her wonder if it had just been an exaggeration to persuade her to accept the unofficial assignment. Trying to hide her disappointment, she turned back around and started to step into the house. Lee immediately followed and placed his hand at the small of her back as the porch door banged shut behind them. The pressure of his hand moving from her back to lightly touch her waist caused her to stop. "Harry was right you know," he suddenly said. "I would." Amanda jerked her head up to the left to look at him, but his face was a perfect example of complete nonchalance. Not a trace of anything that would remotely reveal the words he had just spoken. Just before she looked away, though, she caught a slight twinge at the corner of his mouth. He turned his head slightly and gave her a wink, then gently nudged her forward. As he led the way through Harry's house, Amanda's thoughts were all in a whirl. His little wink and the words he just spoken had caused her heartbeat to increase its pace. Those things alone would be enough to cause confusion, but with the touch of Lee's hand at her back, she immediately thought of the last time they were at Harry's and how Lee had pulled her back out of harm's way from the motorcycle. They both had fallen, but Lee had pulled her on top of him and wrapped his arms around her. For several moments, he had laid there and held her. When he gazed up at her, the oddest look had crossed his face. Almost as if he had touched a hot stove, he had shifted and unceremoniously shoved her away from him. Surprised at finding herself dumped in the dirt, she sat up and brushed off her hands, sending an exasperated look his way, as got to go after the guy on the bike. As hard as she tried to deny the way she had felt then, and the way she now felt, she couldn't. A name couldn't really be given to her feelings at this point, but one thing was certain: she'd better get things under control, or the dangerous waters the two of them always managed to avoid would creep up on them without warning. If that happened ... well, she'd rather not think about that right now. He didn't exactly make it very easy on her, though. In the last couple of weeks, she had noticed a change in his demeanor, too. He seemed to not be so eager to get rid of her and more willing to work with her or find reasons to involve her. Maybe she wasn't the only one who was battling with mixed emotions. Maybe he was struggling just as much as she was. Maybe the change in his mannerisms was his way of dealing with all of it. Maybe she should stop pondering the situation and start getting her mind back on track. There was plenty of time to analyze things. No reason to try to solve it all at once. Besides, she felt fairly certain that they had come to a crossing point in their relationship, and that things were going to change very soon. If her instincts proved correct, as they usually did, that change was going to be for the better, for both of them. She just had to wait and see. As she stole a quick glance up at Lee, she smiled and realized that waiting for that change to take place would prove to be very enjoyable. (THE END) |
