Waiting for Godorsky - tagalogue

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

Lee turned and saw Amanda holding her medal and looking at it in a very thoughtful manner. "What are you thinking about?"

"I think I'm going to share this with my mother," she replied and met his gaze. "Because I don't think she's ever going to get her driver's license."

Lee sighed in agreement and turned away to chuckle with derision, then turned back towards her. They both shared a grin, knowing they were thinking the exact same thing. After the scene they had witnessed the other day, it would be a long time before Dotty got her license. Lee still couldn't believe that Amanda's mother had been in the middle of the collision of cars that allowed the Agency to apprehend and arrest the Russian pair smuggled into the country to assassinate Princess Valosky. What was it about these two women? Wherever there was trouble, it seemed one or both of them would find it.

"Now, Mr. Stetson...and Amanda," Princess Valosky addressed them both and drew Lee out of his musings, "I want you both to take a glass of this fine wine and enjoy yourselves."

A servant handed two glasses of wine to both Lee and Amanda, and after they both took them, Amanda immediately opened her mouth to speak. "Oh, your Highness, I couldn't possibly..." She stopped when she was interrupted by the Princess.

"Amanda, I do not wish to hear any protests. You and Mr. Stetson are here as my guests, and I want you both to have a good time. You have certainly earned the right to do so. Were it not for your help, I would not have my dear friend, Leonid, here with me." She turned to bestow a look of adoration upon Godorsky, who was standing next to her. "Now that he is here, we are able to do so much more to help stop the tyranny that is present in Russia." She turned back to face Lee and Amanda. "So, you see, I owe you quite a lot. You will stay as my guests." She started to turn away, then gave Amanda a very poignant look. "And that *is* a royal command," she added with a smile.

Lee smiled at Amanda's obvious discomfort, so he placed his left arm around her waist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you, your Highness." Amanda gave a slight bow.

Obviously satisfied that everything was going according to how she wished, Princess Valosky turned to Godorsky and slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. "Come, Leonid. Let us go and greet our guests."

Lee watched them both leave, then heard Amanda release a sigh, so he turned to face her. "Amanda, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Lee!" She sighed again. "I can't possibly stay here. I know the Princess issued a royal command for us to remain here as her guests, but that isn't possible."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"

"I don't fit in here. You know that as well as I do. I'm bake sales and PTA meetings and Little League and soccer games. I'm not embassy parties and royal luncheons. It doesn't feel right."

Lee gave her waist another little squeeze. "That's where you're wrong, Amanda," Lee said quietly. "You fit in with this group better than you think you do. If you would take your mind off the fact that there are many political figures present, you would find that it's really not that different from an office party. The people here still talk and discuss affairs of their lives and still complain about everything that's not going right and what needs to change." He took a sip of his wine. "In fact, I would wager a bet that if you relax, you'll probably find a Countess or two who would love to have your recipe for poppyseed cake."

Amanda turned to look up at him, and he smiled. She nudged him a little with her shoulder. "Oh, stop it. You're just teasing me."

"No, I'm not. I'm serious! Remember when Princess Penelope came to visit and you took her to the local school then to your house to see that play? Remember how much she enjoyed herself?"

"Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with..."

"They're people, just like you, Amanda. They don't have the opportunity to have things like that in their lives, so to them, you're unique. So, why don't you relax and be yourself...only..."

"Not too much," they both said at the same time. Lee winked and gave her one of his dazzling smiles, then took another sip of his wine.

"Oh, all right. You win. But, we can't stay too long. I want to be sure to get home in time to share this medal with Mother. She was involved in a way, and since we both know she won't be getting her driver's license anytime soon, she deserves to have something to treasure."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll only stay as long as is appropriate for events of this kind." Lee turned and led her over to the table where there was a spread of imported cheeses and other delectable treats. "You know," he said as they moved down the table, "I still can't believe how you and your mother got tied into this entire thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I find it amazing that your mother happened to find the ad in the paper for the estate sale, and that the two of you managed to come and meet the Princess. Not only that, but you came back to bring her a meatloaf and poppyseed cake and managed to get us invited to a private luncheon of her close friends. Then, your mother is taking her driving lesson and is a key player in causing the accidents which allowed us to nab the assassins as well as Babik, which in turn allowed the Princess to safely bring Godorsky here to the States." He paused and shook his head. "What are the odds?"

Amanda laughed. "Yeah, I see your point, and I guess you're right. It does seem that Mother and I do get into our share of interesting situations, doesn't it?"

"That's an understatement," Lee muttered. "Then again, if it wasn't for your logical mind in pointing out the nonverbal things you heard during that phone conversation, we most likely wouldn't have had any clues at all for this case, but thanks to you noticing the slurping sounds, we were able to connect Mikhail to the conversation which connected the conversation to the Princess."

Amanda shrugged. "It's all part of my job."

Lee knew she was trying to pass it off as unimportant, but he saw the light in her eyes at the knowledge that she had contributed in a very important way to this case. He still didn't find it very easy to compliment her, but the more they worked together, the more he realized how helpful she was. Even when she rambled, seemingly about nothing at all, she always seemed to have something in all of those words that helped point out an important detail they may have missed.

Despite his initial protests about working with her, he was finding that he really enjoyed having her with him on assignments. If nothing else, it made the cases much more interesting. He smiled as he thought about all they had done since he had first picked her out of the crowd at the busy train station that day almost a year ago. Who would have thought that a housewife from Arlington would come to play such an important role in the work he did on a daily basis?

There was still a lot she had to learn, but she picked up on things very fast, and she did have instincts. He could definitely give her that. She thought quick on her feet, and that was very important in what they did. He turned to gaze at her in admiration, and he suddenly realized that she was talking. She had obviously been talking for several moments, and he hadn't heard a word she'd said. Regardless of that fact, he couldn't take his eyes off of her -- her animated face, her hands gesturing in time with her words, and the way her eyes lit up.

"...perfect for each other," he heard her say. "I mean, did you see the way she looks at him, and the way he looks at her? It's just like..." She paused, then glanced up and caught him staring at her. "Just like...the way...you're..."

Lee suddenly realized why she had stopped, so he shook himself out of his pondering and cleared his throat, then turned back towards the table. "Yeah, well, it's obvious they're very good friends, and that always helps if there's interest in taking the relationship further." Was he speaking of the Princess and Godorsky or of him and Amanda? No, he wasn't going to allow himself to continue that train of thought. He stopped it right there, before it took him somewhere he knew he shouldn't go.

"I'm glad everything worked out. It still amazes me that I had a part in all of this, but I'm very happy for them both."

Lee finally managed to recover and gain control of his thoughts, and he couldn't help but slip back into their typical cajoling banter. "Yeah, you're actually turning out to have a knack for some aspects of this work ... Now, if we could just figure out how to get you to remember those passwords!" He grinned, then with his plate in one hand and his wine glass in the other, he immediately turned away and headed for a table, leaving Amanda standing there.

He knew she was staring at him, and he couldn't help but grin. Oh, how easy it was to tease her, not to mention how much fun it was. Still, he couldn't just leave her there, so he stopped a few feet away and turned back to her with a smile. He nodded, silently asking her to come. She smiled, picked up her own glass and plate and joined him. Once she was at his side, they walked together towards one of the tables to enjoy the afternoon, just as Princess Valosky commanded.

(THE END)

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