Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton You Only Die Twice - tagalogueWritten by Bill Froehlich, Gina Goldman, Stephen Hattman & Mark Lisson (excerpts from the episode belong to them)
Amanda glanced down at a form in Lee's hands and pointed at the paper. "What's that?" "What?" She pointed again. "That." He paused and waved away her concern with his hand. "Oh, nothing. It's just a form I've got to fill out." "What is it? Am I still dead?" Lee caught his breath and opened his mouth to reassure her that it was nothing, but when his eyes met hers, he couldn't brush it off as unimportant. She deserved to know the truth, especially after what she had endured in the past two days. "It's for Internal Affairs, Amanda." "Why don't just rip it up?" "Well, uh...until I process the form, technically you are still dead ... Agency policy." "Well, if I'm still dead, could I stay dead until Tuesday?" She didn't miss a beat. "I think I'll take the boys to the Amusement park on Monday." Lee released his breath and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess so." "Yeah, and could you reincarnate me at a higher salary?" she added with a laugh. He grinned, then chuckled and shook his head. "Higher salary, huh? You know, if I do that for you, I'll put one in for the rest of us as well." "Wouldn't that be nice?" "Sure would. Shame it'll never happen, at least not in the near future. Just a few weeks ago, Billy was telling me of the budget cuts in our department and the double workload for the agents. He's having enough trouble finding agents to fulfill the demand, let alone..." "Let alone paying a civilian more when she's not even an agent," Amanda finished with a nod. Lee paused. "Something like that, yeah." As he looked at her, he saw a hint of disappointment at her status, but there was nothing that could be done. She hadn't even been working with the Agency for two years, and she still hadn't completed any real training, save the brief stint at Dodge City. That wasn't even official. So, instead of dragging out what would turn out to be a dead end, he stepped towards the counter and reached into the top of one of the grocery bags he had placed there. "How about I help you put this away, huh? That way, you'll have some food when your mother and the boys get home." For a brief second, she appeared to be surprised at his suggestion, but she recovered quickly and reached for the other bag. "Sure, all right." Turning towards the refrigerator, she placed a thumb under her chin and a forefinger over her lips, as if she was contemplating what to do next. "How about you just hand me the items and I'll put them away? It'll save time and I won't have to tell you where everything goes." "Sounds like a plan!" He reached for the box of Oaties first. "You know," he began as he handed her one item after the next, "I still can't believe Sylvia turned out to have gone behind the backs of the section chiefs and those above her to investigate this case." Amanda took the head of lettuce from him and turned towards the refrigerator. "I'd still like to know how she managed to use my background and file as her cover when going in for the job at Teldar." "Well, I believe that was partly my fault," Lee replied with a somewhat sheepish grin. When Amanda turned back around to face him with a curious look on her face, the grin turned into a self-satisfied smirk. "You see, there was a new temp. from the temp. pool filling in for Leon and I believe she ... uh ... became distracted when she saw me approaching the bullpen." He handed her the package of butter sticks and cream cheese. Amanda took them, but paused. "What's that got to do with how the files got mixed up?" "Well, June was taking the personnel files to Billy. When she saw me, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, so she dropped them all. I rushed to help her, and she became very flustered, so she just put the disks back in the cases without really looking at them." At Amanda's raised eyebrow, he gave her a half-grin. "I do have a reputation around the office, you know." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then sighed and turned back towards the refrigerator. "How could I forget? All of the women know about Lee Stetson! Scarecrow, the ladies' man," she intoned with an obvious note of sarcasm. "Hey! It's not like I asked to have that label," he defended. "It just sort of ... happened." He shrugged. She whipped around so fast, it nearly caught him off guard. "Yeah, like you had absolutely nothing to do with how you got that reputation in the first place," she accused with a knowing look. "Well, I wouldn't say I had nothing to do with it..." He grinned. "Uh-huh." She nodded. "Hand me the milk, will you?" He smiled and lifted the gallon from the bag. She took it from him with pursed lips. "That's the last of everything, so could you fold up the bags and put them in the rack behind the door?" she instructed, her back once again turned to him. He glanced at the back door, then awkwardly managed to get the paper bags folded so they would fit with the others. This definitely wasn't his area of expertise. He usually crumpled the bags and threw them out. However, he couldn't deny a tiny bit of satisfaction at helping Amanda with this usually menial task. Somehow with her, the most boring task was.... "Would you like a sandwich or something?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Mother and the boys won't be back for a little while yet, and you did go through all the trouble to get my groceries for the second time." She pressed the tips of her fingers together and tapped them several times. "Uhh, what do you have?" He took a step towards where she was standing, and watched her open the refrigerator door, placing her hand along the side edge. "Well, you saw what we just put away, so what would you like?" "How about a ham sandwich?" "No problem." She nodded and retrieved the items to make them both a sandwich. Lee watched her back as she prepared their light meal and thought about how resilient she was, no matter what life threw her way. He didn't know how often that realization had come to mind since they had been thrown together, but each new experience had him admiring her more and more for her ability to bounce back and think quick. Billy was always the first one to say that an agent had to think quick on his feet, and Amanda certainly fit that bill. Truth be told, she had demonstrated more skills than some of the freshman agents they currently had working at the Agency, although he'd never admit it. He knew he was the reason Amanda hadn't been invited to complete any more training, but something kept holding him back. Lee didn't know what it was, but something kept him from recommending her for further advancement above her current civilian status. Perhaps it was the fear of admitting how much he had come to depend on her. Maybe it was the knowledge that she would most likely be placed with him as a partner, or worse, that she would be placed with someone else. That thought gave him a start, and he shook his head to clear it. He couldn't allow himself to dwell on something like that. There was definite enjoyment working with her, but he was still a solo agent, and his hesitation to recommend her had nothing to do with his personal feelings. At least, that's what he told himself. "You're awfully quiet," Amanda suddenly spoke, drawing him out of his musings. Lee snapped up his head to look at her. She was holding out a plate with a sandwich and some potato chips on it, and he wondered how long she had been standing there. He opted to not make a big deal of it, so he took the plate and found a seat at the counter. Amanda set her plate caddy-corner to his, then turned to retrieve two mugs from the cabinet and poured coffee into them both. "Black with cream, no sugar," she announced when she set his cup in front of him. He grinned at her memory of how he liked his coffee. "Thanks," he replied and lifted the cup to his lips for his first sip. "Perfect." She took a seat and raised her sandwich to her mouth. "So, are you going to tell me what had you so deep in thought a moment ago?" She took a bite. "It was nothing," he replied, a little too quickly. "Mmm." She obviously didn't believe him, but shrugged and silently agreed to let it drop. For a moment, they both sat and ate their sandwiches, then Lee heard a quiet chuckle escape her lips. "What?" "Oh, I was just thinking about the fact that we both now know what it's like to have everyone else think we're dead." He tilted his head and thought about it. "You know, you're right. I hadn't really thought about it." "Except you actually got a nice funeral. I only got a brief obituary in the paper and some flowers." "We could always remedy that!" He took another drink of coffee and smiled from over the rim of his cup. "No, no!" She raised one hand in the air. "I think I've had enough of being dead to last me a lifetime. It's really quite exhausting work!" Lee shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is." He took the last bite of his sandwich and gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Well, thanks for the meal and coffee. I'd better be heading back. Billy's got some paperwork he wants me to do this weekend, and I haven't even begun putting it together." Amanda stood at the same time he did and reached for his plate and cup. "If you have it ready first thing, I can type it for you as soon as I get into the office." She turned to put his dishes in the sink, followed by her own, once she drank the last of her coffee. "That would be super, Amanda. Thank you!" She shrugged. "Just doing my job." Lee noticed a trace of disappointment in her expression, but decided not to pursue it. Instead, he walked towards the back door and placed his hand on the doorknob. "So, I'll see you on Tuesday?" He opened the door and paused to glance over his shoulder at her. "Tues...oh, right! That's when I'll be able to join the land of the living again." She grinned and nodded. "Yes, I'll be there bright and early Tuesday morning!" "Good. I'll see you then!" He stepped outside. "Right." Lee almost left, but something stopped him. He knew Amanda had joined him at the door, so he turned around slowly and looked at her for a moment before saying anything. Not certain how to say what he was feeling, and not certain how she would take it, he shifted his weight from his left to his right foot and back again. "Lee? Is there something else you wanted?" Amanda encouraged, her right hand and arm resting along the side of the door. He knew he was stalling, and it was best to come out with it, so he did. "Amanda ... I ..." He paused again, then suddenly reached out and pulled her to him in a warm embrace. Her arms came around him and returned the hug, and they stood there for several moments before he stepped back. Feeling the need to explain himself, he hurried to say, "I'm really glad you're alive." It wasn't the best thing in the world to say, and he inwardly cringed at how it sounded. "I should be going, now." "Lee?" Her words stopped his progress. "Thank you." He heard the sincerity in her voice and smiled, then stepped outside. Hearing her close the door behind him, he continued around the side of the house. Without a thought, he paused and turned to look back at the kitchen window and saw her at the sink as she began to wash the dishes. For a moment, he stood there and watched her, but didn't know why. Something about her made him take that second look. Rather than allow his thoughts to go any further, he turned again to leave. Just before he did, she glanced out the window and looked directly at him. He was fairly certain she couldn't see him, hidden in the shadows of the trees lining her yard, but it was almost as if she had felt him staring. With a touch of his hand to his forehead, he saluted her in farewell and disappeared into the night. (THE END) |
