Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © May 2002 by Amber Stockton Utopia Now - tagalogueWritten by Robert Bielak (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
"Hello, there!" she greeted when she saw Lee standing next to her. "Hi." "Well," she continued, then rubbed her hands and lifted a picnic basket from the desk, "thanks for the picnic." She turned and walked towards the corridor. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time!" "Well, you make a pretty mean chicken sandwich," Lee replied and walked with her. "Oh, my BLT's even better." "Oh? Toasted wheat?" "Mm-hm." "Crisp bacon? Touch of mayo?" "Just a touch." "Sounds perfect!" Amanda stopped and turned to face him, the picnic basket hanging in the crook of her left arm. He paused and looked her. "Lee?" she asked, a little hesitantly. "Hmh?" She sighed and almost reached out her hand to touch his vest, but resisted the urge to do so. "About last night," she finally managed to say. "I know. I know." He nodded, his eyes downcast for a moment before he lifted his head to look at her again. "It was just two cold people..." "Two people," she said at the same time. "...seeking a little warmth. Right?" She wondered if the look in his eyes and the way he posed the question were as much to convince himself of his own words as they were to reassure her. However, he wasn't going to reason away what happened last night with such a simple statement, so she gave him a teasing look and smiled. "Not exactly," she retorted, then turned to walk away from him down the hall. There was no need for her to turn around and see his face. She knew exactly how he looked. His mouth was partially open in mild surprise, and his eyes were watching her departing back as he digested what she had just said. Sometimes, he managed to stay one step ahead of her in his actions, but most times, like right now, he was so predictable. In fact, she could almost picture the moment he would collect his thoughts enough to... "Now, wait a minute. Amanda!" she heard him call after her and heard his footsteps echo in the hall. The smile still on her lips, she didn't stop until she reached the outside elevator and pressed the button. A moment later, he joined her, and she pretended that nothing was amiss. At first, he didn't say anything, so she just shifted the picnic basket on her arm to redistribute the weight. Realizing that he either wasn't going to say anything or didn't know what to say, she decided to spare him a small amount of distress and turned to face him, an innocent look on her face. "Lee, was there something else you wanted?" The dumbfounded expression on his face caused her to fight hard to resist the urge to laugh. After blinking several times, he opened his mouth to speak, then shut it, obviously unable to form the words. He took a couple of deep breaths, then expelled them and cleared his throat. "Uh...Amanda..." He paused. "Yes?" "Wait a minute! Why am I the one who's having trouble coming up with something to say? You're the one who should be explaining what you said back there!" he accused. "What do you mean, what I said?" "Just a moment ago," he replied, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the bullpen. "About my BLT being better than my chicken sandwich?" "Yeah. No!" he immediately corrected, his frustration evident in his drawn eyebrows and the lines on his forehead. The elevator chimed and the doors opened, and Amanda turned to face them. "Lee, if there's something you have to say, say it. Otherwise, I have to be going. Mother is already upset with me for not calling, and I know the excuse I gave on the phone hasn't pacified her, so I'm going to have to get home and do some damage control." When he didn't immediately say anything, she stepped forward and parted the coats in the elevator, then turned to face him once more. As the doors started to close, he jumped into action and held them open. "You're not getting away that easily!" he warned, ducking to join her in the elevator. Once they had both rearranged the coats and other clothing on the bar, he turned to face her. "All right, fess up!" "What exactly am I supposed to be confessing?" she asked innocently, still not willing to make this easy on him. "What you meant by that parting remark you made before you walked away," he informed her, as if she didn't know what he meant. "Which parting remark was that?" "The one about...." he stopped and gave her an exasperated glare. "You know exactly which comment it was, so don't play games with me!" "What makes you think I'm playing games?" "Why are you always answering my questions with a question?" he accused. "Why does it bother you so much?" "Because...." He paused and sighed. "Look, I told you once before that I always know when you're hiding something, because you answer my questions with a question, like you're doing right now. So, I know you're avoiding the issue." "More results from Interrogation 101?" she teased. "Very funny," he retorted. "Now, are you going to answer my question or not?" "Which question was that?" "Argh!" he groaned, lifting his hand and running it haphazardly through his hair in frustration. The strands now stood on end and in complete disarray. Amanda had to fight to urge to reach up and smooth them back into place, and she mentally chastised herself for even allowing her mind to go in that direction. She was supposed to be the one maintaining her composure, and that didn't allow for skewed thoughts, so she forced herself to remain in control of the situation. "I'm sorry, Lee. You're right," she acquiesced. "But I didn't mean anything by my parting remark other than what I said. You attempted to explain away what happened last night, and I simply disagreed with you." "Yes, I know that, and I asked what you meant by disagreeing," he reiterated. "What does anyone mean by disagreeing?" she countered. "It means they have a different opinion." "Well, would you care to share that differing opinion?" His eyes bored into hers, and she almost wilted, but she forced herself to remain unaffected. "Not really," she answered. "Not really," he repeated and sighed. "Is that sort of like 'not exactly'?" "Maybe." "Amanda!" he groaned. "Do you realize how trying you can be on someone's nerves?" "Mother tells me that all the time," she replied with a grin, watching through the crack in the doors as next floor passed. She kept her eyes on the doors and continued, "You know, Lee, if you have a problem with my different opinion about last night, then you obviously feel that I'm wrong. However, maybe it's your own opinion that needs to be changed, not mine." "And what makes you say that?" "Well, there has to be some reason why you followed me down the hall and into the elevator, pressing me to explain my remark to you," she pointed out. "There was, and you've been avoiding it from the start," he retorted. "Avoiding what from the start?" "Avoiding my question." "Maybe that's because you've asked so many, I don't know which one you mean." "Then, I'll make it easy on you. I said that last night was just two cold people seeking warmth, and you said 'not exactly' in reply. Now, would you care to elaborate on that?" He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and crossed his arms. "Since it's obvious you're not going to let this rest, I may as well." She sighed, pretending to be annoyed with him. The reality was that taking that small breath allowed her to gather her thoughts and plan out what she was going to say and how she was going to get out of this. If he continued to question her too much longer, she may just admit how she really felt, and she was certain neither one of them was ready for that just yet. It was a lot like how she was sure he felt about her coming along with him on this assignment. He certainly made no attempt to conceal his feelings about her being there, and if his reaction to a lot of what she said or did was any indication, his reasoning had nothing to do with her skills as a partner. The only problem was that he wasn't ready to admit it, either. Taking another breath and then exhaling it, she faced him and met his gaze. "We've already established that we were both cold and seeking warmth, but that wasn't all. I told you last night that I was really scared, and I didn't know if we were going to get away from Sacker and his men, alive, and as always, you were quick to reassure me that everything was going to be all right." She paused and glanced down at the buttons on Lee's vest, then looked back up and caught the slight grin on his lips. It was almost as if he knew what she was trying to say, and just like she had made it difficult on him, the silent challenge in his eyes was making it difficult for her to keep from admitting how she really felt. "Lee, it means a lot to know that you're there to find the good in every situation. Last night...." she hesitated and wrung her hands together in nervous agitation as she felt the elevator stop at the ground level, "we...." Lee reached out and took her hands, covering them with his own and giving her a reassuring smile. "We learned a little bit more about each other than we knew before we went on this assignment," he finished, and her entire body relaxed in appreciation. "In fact..." he pulled her towards him, "I think we both learned a lot more." His voice was soft and low as he spoke, and his eyes darkened as he gazed at her. She tried to look down and avoid his intense stare, but something kept her eyes riveted to his. It was like an invisible bond that held them there, frozen in time, no one and nothing else around. The air inside the small area of the elevator was charged, and Amanda could feel the tension crackle like the sparks in a roaring fire. Lee slowly leaned down and began to close the distance between their faces. Amanda held her breath as he drew near, and her eyes fluttered closed, waiting for the soft touch of his lips on hers. She felt his warm breath on her face as he whispered, "A lot more," but when his lips touched her cheek and not her lips, she battled with the disappointment she felt. He drew back, and she opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes were still dark, but there was a hint of a smile in them. Realizing that he had done what he had on purpose, she turned to reach for the doorknob that opened the door into the Georgetown Foyer, then glanced back at him and threw him an impish grin. "Close only counts in horseshoes," she retorted, turning the knob and stepping into the foyer. As she let the door close behind her, she couldn't help but smile, delighted to know that she had managed to get the final word. When he didn't come out after her, she knew that she had once again left Lee speechless, and that added a little extra bounce to her step as she left the Agency and headed for home. (THE END) |
