Wrong Number - tagalogue

Written by David Brown (excerpts from the episode belong to him)

"Well, there you have it!" Amanda exclaimed, standing by the door as soon as it closed.

"Mm-hm," Lee agreed, his hands in his pockets as he stood next to her.

"I knew he wasn't KGB." She used her chopsticks to lift a bite of food from her plate to her mouth.

"You knew?" he asked, giving her a dubious look.

"Mm-hm."

"That's pretty strong. You were ... fairly certain," he corrected, "but you didn't know."

She used the chopsticks as a pointer and aimed them in his direction. "You know me too well."

"Oh no! Listen to me, Amanda, will you? Most of the time, we only think we know. We don't know. Therefore, I can't know you too well," he rationalized and gestured with his right hand to punctuate his conclusion.

"Exactly my point," she agreed and lifted a bite of Chinese to him.

He opened his mouth and accepted the food, closing his lips around it in a very precise manner and giving her a tolerant look. She just smiled and shook her head. His attempts to reason away the conclusions he made were as much a part of him as his uncanny ability for sneaking up on her, both a little annoying. However, she had learned to take the good with the bad and simply appreciate everything that made Lee who he was.

She refocused her attention on him and not on her thoughts as he lifted a vegetable pod from her plate and held it to her lips, daring her to take it. She met his gaze and saw the familiar twinkle in his eyes, so she opened her mouth and bit down on the pod, her eyes firmly fixed on Lee's. He held onto it as she took it bite by bite into her mouth, and only removed his fingers just as they grazed her lips, sending a tingle across her nerves.

They repeated the gesture and fed each other another bite, only the second time, Lee lifted a piece of carrot and held it to her lips, allowing her to close her mouth over his fingers briefly before he removed them. She watched his eyes darken and thought it might be wise to throw a bit of cold water on the charged atmosphere between them. A moment later, Lee made the decision for her.

Clearing his throat, he stepped away from her as if he had touched a hot stove and needed to soothe his burnt hand. Although it was probably best for the time being, she couldn't help but feel a little upset at the feeling it was something she did that was causing his reaction. He had done the same thing at his apartment a few nights ago. Just when things seemed to get charged, he backed off. Not that she wasn't grateful, since it was obvious neither one of them was fully ready to act on the growing attraction between them, but at least he could talk about it instead of pretending like it hadn't happened.

His voice interrupted her musings. "So, why don't we get these cartons cleaned up and get this office back in order so we can get to our report?" he suggested and stepped over to the folding table they had brought to the Q-Bureau for the meal.

"I think that's a good idea," she agreed, then sighed in resignation. It was obvious that talk wasn't going to happen today, so she walked over to the table and set her plate down on top of the others. "I never thought I'd say this, but it sure is nice having Francine back," she remarked as she gathered a few of the cartons.

Lee chuckled. "Did I just hear you right? Did you say you were glad to have Francine back?" he asked, surprise marking his words as he tried to condense some of the scraps. "Is this the same Amanda who bristles at the slightest barb that comes out of Francine's mouth?"

"Oh, come on, Lee," she retorted, stacking some cartons inside of each other. "It's not like she doesn't have her good points. Besides, regardless of what she does or says to me, no one deserves to be captured by the KGB and held for ransom...not even Francine."

"Yeah, I guess you do have a point." Lee nodded and turned to lift the trash bag from the can by his desk so they could have a place to dump the cartons and plates, then held it out towards her. She dropped her armful of cartons and leftovers into the bag, then reached for the napkins and miscellaneous items left on the table. "I'm glad Francine's back, too."

"And that Mr. Towne is safely back at the college, teaching mathematical theories to graduate students," she added.

He closed the bag after she tossed the remaining items into it, then tied the corners and walked over to set it by the door. Her gaze followed him as she waited to see if he would make any comment about her contribution to the recent case, but he didn't. Instead, he turned back to face her and walked over to begin taking down the table. With a small sigh, she positioned herself on one end to work together as they tipped the table on its side and folded the legs in towards themselves, then released it as Lee walked it over to lean it against the wall.

"Ah, good," he said and dusted his hands together, then walked to the other side of the room to step behind his desk. "Now that that's done, we can get back to our report, and hopefully, we'll be done in time to get out of here at a decent hour. Working weekends tends to make all of the days run together, you know?"

"Yes, it does," she replied absentmindedly.

"All right, now, what have we written so far for this report?"

She watched him reach for a folder on the desk, shove a few things aside, then open the folder in front of him. It was obvious he was going to conduct business as usual, so she may as well work with him. Take a few steps towards him, she walked around the desk and rested her weight on the corner. "I don't know," she replied. "I believe we noted the use of Popovich to try to trade Mr. Towne to the KGB."

"That's right." Lee nodded. "And we have the surveillance details from the brown bag drop as well as all of your notes from your research on Towne," he added, then lifted the folder to straighten the papers inside. She watched one piece fall to the floor. "Amanda, would you get that for me, please?"

"Sure," she answered. Slipping off the desk to retrieve the sheet, she bent at the knees and heard his chair scoot backwards followed by some shuffling. When she turned to hand him the paper, she came face to face with a small bouquet of Chrysanthemums, Roses, and Gerbera. Unable to contain her delight, she reached for the bouquet, but he held tight and lowered it so she could see his face.

"I know I was a little harsh on you with this assignment, and it was uncalled for," he began, his voice soft and sincere. "You really did a great job with your attention to detail. If it hadn't been for your logical deductions when it came to catching the MSG and your instincts that Towne was being set up, he really would be on his way to Moscow right now." He paused and leaned forward a little in his chair, then sighed. "When am I ever going to learn that nothing gets by you?"

"Probably when Francine turns over a new leaf and decides to be nice to me," she retorted with a grin. He chuckled, then released his hold on the flowers, allowing her to bring them closer and inhale their fragrant aroma. "Chrysanthemums and Gerbera," she remarked. "You really are sorry, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Amanda, I am," he replied sincerely. "I really do feel bad about the things I said to you. I was downright rude, and I had no cause to be. You've done nothing but devote everything to your work, and even to me, although I don't deserve it." He reached out for her right hand, which she placed in his, her left holding the bouquet. "And you were right about what you said in Billy's office the other day...about my need to be right all the time." He grinned and began stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "I guess I'm just not used to having someone else give me a run for my money in that department."

She smiled, attempting to keep her breathing calm. He really could be so infuriating, but most of the time, he managed to salvage whatever mistakes he made and come out on the winning end....like now. It was times like these that made it extremely difficult for her to stay mad at him for very long. Then again, that was most likely his plan.

"You know, you're so cute when you grovel," she teased.

"Does that mean you forgive me?"

The pleading look in his eyes was just too hard to resist. "Well, that all depends," she replied, one side of her mouth turned up as she looked up at him from her crouched position.

"Oh? On what?"

"On whether or not you're going to start trusting my instincts and believing me when I tell you that things aren't always what they seem." She paused for a quick moment and planned out what she wanted to say. It would take just the right wording and just the right inflection in her voice as well as expression in her eyes for him to understand her full meaning. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Sometimes, there's a little something just beneath the surface, and you don't see it unless you take the time to explore. That may mean taking a risk and laying a lot on the line, but it could also mean the difference between satisfaction at having found it and the loss if you don't."

His gaze focused intently on her as he digested her words, and she watched the emotions play across his face. At first, he was going to immediately reply, but then he reconsidered, instead appearing to weigh the truth behind her words and decide if she was only talking about their recent case. When one corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked grin, she knew she had made her point.

With a little tug, he pulled her forward, and she shifted to kneel in front of his chair, bringing herself a little closer to his level. He leaned towards her, his eyes still locked on hers, then opened his mouth and moistened his lips. "You know, you're right. I do need to be more aware of that little something just beneath the surface. Just never know what I might be missing."

"Exactly!" she replied with a grin.

"Forgive me?"

"Of course I do."

He placed a quick kiss on her lips then pulled her into his warm embrace. She was careful to move the flowers out of harm's way and set them on the desk before wrapping her free arm around him and returning his hug. He was still just as infuriating, but if she had the choice, she wouldn't have it any other way.

(THE END)

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