Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes

For personal use and select distribution only © March 2002 by Amber Stockton

Weekend - tagalogue

Written by Rudolph Borchert (excerpts from the episode belong to him)

 

"Come on, boys, let's get that stuff put away," Dotty called as she marched up the stairs, loaded with her own camping gear.

"Hurry up, now!" Amanda called up the stairs after them. She turned and clapped her hands, then stepped down into the living room and headed for the kitchen. Just as soon as she opened the refrigerator, she heard four knocks on the back door. Slowly, she closed the door and peered behind her.

The back door opened and Lee entered. "Amanda?" he called loudly. "Coast clear?"

She quickly tiptoed over to him and whispered, "No, the coast isn't clear! Mother and the boys are upstairs!"

"Ah."

"I thought you left," she stated with a questioning look in her eyes.

"Well, I did. But I came back." He didn't offer an explanation as to why.

Amanda nodded nervously. "Oh." She wasn't certain whether he was going to explain or if she had to ask why he had returned, so she simply waited.

"Yeah." For a long, silent moment, they stood there, facing one another and not saying a word. Then, Lee produced a small item from behind his back and held it between them. "You forgot your toothbrush." He grinned.

They both laughed, then Amanda placed a finger to her lips to signal the need to be quiet.

"Amanda!" Dotty called from upstairs.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Could you make me an extra sandwich? I'm starving for some real food!"

"I will, Mother!" She cast a quick glance at Lee and turned back towards the kitchen. As soon as she reached the counter, she pulled out the bread, then opened the refrigerator again to retrieve cold cuts and mustard and mayonnaise for the sandwiches. Figuring Lee would take his cue and leave, she didn't expect him to speak, especially not from almost directly behind her. The knife she held clinked against the glass jar of mayonnaise as soon as she heard his voice. She fought hard to keep her breathing under control.

"Were you able to get your things stashed before they bombarded the house?" His voice was low, almost a whisper, and it sent tingles down her spine.

She spoke over her shoulder to reply, not trusting herself to turn around and look at him. "Not really. I was on the bottom step when I heard their voices, so I dumped my things in the closet in the foyer. I hope Mother won't find a need to get anything out of there before tonight when I can get my things out and upstairs to my room after she's asleep." She finished with the mayonnaise on two of the sandwiches, squeezed some mustard onto the other two and spread it with her knife, then reached for the ham slices.

"You know, you made quite a sacrifice, staying the extra night at the Cumberland, even though we had already wrapped up the case. I know what a difficult decision it must have been to make."

She heard the teasing note to his voice, so she turned halfway around to glance at him out of the corner of her eye and saw the grin on his lips. "Well, it's not every day I have the chance to stay at a high-class resort like that, and since the room was already paid for, it seemed like such a waste to leave..." She grinned.

"Yeah." He chuckled.

"It was really nice to relax and enjoy the amenities of the resort without having to worry about someone getting kidnapped or even thinking about work." She felt the warmth of a blush begin to creep into her cheeks. Of course, the company made it that much more enjoyable. She would never tell him that, though.

"Even with there not being enough accommodations?"

Willing the temperature of her skin to return to normal, she turned around with a piece of cheese in her hand. A smile formed on her lips when she saw him leaning casually against the island in the middle of the kitchen with a smirk on his face. "Well, I think we managed very well, don't you?"

"Oh yeah." He rolled his eyes. "That rollaway bed was so comfortable." He glanced at the cheese then reached out and took it from her. "For me? Thank you." He grinned as he folded the piece in half and took a bite.

She sighed and shook her head, then turned back around to finish the sandwiches. "I offered you the bed, but you wouldn't..."

"Amanda, like I said last night. There was no way I was going to put you out of the bed."

"I guess we sort of blew our cover as newlyweds by requesting that, huh?"

"Maybe. Either that or the maid thought we were having a disagreement."

She turned back around and opened the cabinet door to pull out some paper plates, set them up on the counter and placed one sandwich on each plate, two on her mother's. Then, she turned towards the refrigerator again and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

She reached into the cupboard to retrieve four glasses and poured lemonade into each one. "No, but thank you for offering."

He lightly touched a red mark on her right wrist. "Is that from the ropes?"

Amanda almost spilled the lemonade at his touch, but managed to continue pouring until she had filled the final glass. "Yes, but it's nothing. I got it when I rammed into Armin to keep him from getting a clear shot at you with his gun. The ropes were tight already, but the movement caused them to rub against me a little too much. I'm going to put some aloe on it later." She nodded towards him and continued. "Speaking of injuries, how is your leg feeling?"

He glanced down at it then back at her. "Oh, it's as well as can be ... considering. It doesn't hurt as much as yesterday, and some of the swelling's gone down."

"Oh! I have just the thing!" She set down the pitcher and rushed out of the kitchen into the powder room, returning a moment later. "I was going to get this for you when you dropped me off, but it must have slipped my mind. Thank you for reminding me." She handed him a tube.

He looked down at the item in his hand, then glanced up at her and raised his eyebrows. "Arnica?"

"Yes. It's great to reduce swelling, and it works wonders to help blood circulation to increase the healing process from bruises sustained during an injury. You hit that fence pretty hard at the speed we were flying. I'm surprised you didn't hurt yourself any more than you did."

"Yeah, me, too!" He smiled as he tossed the tube lightly in his hand and placed it in his jacket pocket. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Philip! You come back and put your backpack in the closet, where it belongs." Dotty's voice was heard upstairs, and Amanda immediately moved into action.

"They'll be down any minute. You have to get out of here before you're seen!" She moved around the counter to hurry him towards the door.

"I'm going, I'm going!" He stumbled once or twice as she nudged him. "Amanda! You can stop pushing."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right." She stopped just as they both reached the door and her hands swung loosely at her sides as she watched him open the door then turn to face her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she hurried to interrupt. "Thank you for inviting me this weekend. I really did have a good time. It wasn't camping, but it was a weekend in the country, and it sure beats sitting at home typing." A sudden thought entered her mind and a worried expression crossed her face. "Do you think Mr. Melrose will give me another day or two to get that work done?"

Lee smiled. "I'm sure he will. Don't worry about it, all right?" She nodded, relieved. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself this weekend. Thanks for coming along and keeping me from blowing my cover." He started to step out the door, then stopped. "Oh, here." He handed her toothbrush to her. As she took it, he added, "Next time, I'll make sure there's two beds." He grinned and winked as he closed the door behind him.

Amanda smiled at his parting remark, then watched him walk through the yard and around front. She followed his progress through her windows and saw him duck quickly through the bushes, obviously to remain concealed from view. At the same moment, her mother and boys came downstairs and invaded the kitchen.

"I'm starved!" Philip exclaimed.

"Me, too!" Jamie echoed.

"Did you make two sandwiches?" Dotty asked.

"There's sandwiches and lemonade for all of you on the counter." Amanda pointed to where the plates and glasses were sitting. She placed her toothbrush in her pocket and walked over to join them. As she picked up her glass of lemonade, she invited, "So, tell me about the weekend."

She listened to the stories from first Jamie, then Philip, both of them correcting the other on what really happened, and heard her mother contribute. However, she found her attention shifting and her thoughts returning to the man who had just left. A part of her wished they didn't have to keep everything such a secret, but she knew her mother would never understand, not even if she said Lee worked with her at IFF. Her mother would only be pushing for her to pursue that relationship, and she definitely didn't need that.

Her thoughts were focused too much on him as it was, and this weekend certainly hadn't helped matters any. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep her mind from replaying each and every time Lee had held her hands in his over the past two days. The first night at dinner was the worst, or the best, depending upon how she decided to view it. She didn't know why she had called out to Mrs. Craddock, since that had only served as a reminder to the kind woman that they were posing as newlyweds. That, in turn, had led to Lee immediately planting several kisses on the back of her hand as he tenderly stroked it, making it extremely difficult for her to keep a clear mind.

That thought led to her response that they hadn't been married long when they had first met Mrs. Craddock. She would never vocalize it, but she secretly wanted to see how Lee would treat her if they had to pose as newlyweds. After all, it was just a part of their cover ... wasn't it? She would know if that was something she really wanted ... and it certainly wasn't. She was going along with the assignment, as instructed, and since Lee hadn't seen fit to explain anything to her in advance, there wasn't time for them to discuss what they would say should they face any questions from other guests. Yes, that was exactly what had happened. Or was it?

Regardless of what she tried to tell herself, she couldn't help but remember his soft touch on her hands, the half smile on his face when she had asked him if what he was doing was necessary, the teasing grin when he had replied that they were newlyweds after her inquiry of whether or not he had wanted to follow Mrs. Tucker. Then, there was waking up and hearing him in the shower, seeing him in a bathrobe, and the way he had caressed her wrists after untying the ropes, not to mention spending an extra day with him, completely unrelated to work. Lee had insisted they continue their facade, so whenever they were seen in public, his arm was firmly around her waist, or his hand was holding hers. Even thinking about it now brought a warm blush to her face.

Of course, just recently he had returned, seemingly for no reason, only to tell her she had forgotten her toothbrush. He had looked so good in that blue shirt and black suit jacket. She was grateful she had the talk of making the sandwiches to allow her to keep her back to him most of the time.

It was extremely difficult to put all of that out of her mind, but she knew she didn't have a choice. They were business partners on an assignment. Nothing more. It was very important that she make the distinction in her mind and keep that reminder foremost in her thoughts. Not only did it help her keep focused on whatever assignment they had, but it helped provide a buffer between them to prevent things from going any further, and after this weekend, that was certainly something she needed.

"Amanda, have you heard a word we've been saying?" Dotty suddenly asked, startling Amanda from her thoughts.

"Yes, Mother, every word. I was just thinking about how much I wish I could have gone and had as much fun as you did. This was the first year I've missed, and I'm sorry I had work that needed to get done." She put down her glass and gave both Philip and Jamie a little chuck under their chins. "I really did miss you guys." They just smiled at her as they chewed on their sandwiches.

"Well, I hope you didn't stay cooped up inside this house all weekend, doing nothing but work!" Dotty exclaimed and raised a hand with her finger pointed at Amanda. "You know you should get out more and enjoy yourself. The weather was beautiful this weekend, and if you kept yourself inside, you should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Oh, no, Mother, I did enjoy myself this weekend. And I did get out. It wasn't camping, but it was a very nice weekend." The smile on her face was one that held a secret only she and one other person knew ... and it would have to remain that way ... at least for now.

(THE END)

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