The discordant sounds of squeaking box springs and quiet snoring roused Amanda from a fitful sleep. Momentarily disoriented, she lay perfectly still and tried to regain her bearings before she slowly opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her was both reassuring and unsettling at the same time.

As she subconsciously snuggled closer to her sleeping partner, memories of how they'd wound up on the run from the Agency assailed her. Over the course of the three years that she'd been working with him, Amanda had seen other cases go south quickly; however, none had ever placed their lives in greater jeopardy while leaving them with no one but each other to rely on. She was alarmingly aware that rather than backing them up, elements of the Agency were hunting them down every bit as ruthlessly as their Russian adversaries were.

Although this wasn't the first time that they'd been forced to share a bed during the course of an assignment, it was the first time that they were lying mere inches apart with their hands clasped between them. Despite the dire predicament that the pair was in, her mind kept replaying the moment when he had declared his love for her. She had long suspected that he loved her and she'd fantasized about possible scenarios in which he might reveal the depth of his feelings for her. The first time that she'd heard those three words from him was nothing like what she'd imagined.

"It's just not fair," she murmured sadly and let out a deep sigh.

"I know it isn't…you should be safe at home with your family," Lee replied, his voice sounding deeper than usual. Surprised that he was awake, Amanda turned her face in his direction and clasped his hand more tightly as he continued speaking. "Your life hasn't been the same since that day at the train station, I'm sorry that I gave you that damned package-"

"Stop right there, I didn't have to take the package, I made a conscious decision to help you and I've never regretted it."

"If you hadn't helped me, than you would be home in your own bed-"

"With my husband, Dean McGuire. Is that what you really want my life to entail? If my mother had had her way…," she teased him.

"Nah, you wouldn't have married him because you were never in love with him," Lee smugly interrupted her. "He was a safe long-term dating partner because he was eminently respectable, you didn't have to think twice about letting him spend time with your boys, and you didn't have to worry about having your heart broken by him because he never had a place in your heart."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," Amanda huffed. She withdrew her hand from his and retreated to the edge of the mattress. His characterization of her relationship with Dean was spot-on, yet it made it sound as though she had intentionally used the boring weatherman. And when she was truly honest with herself she knew that she should have ended things with Dean sooner than she had, but she'd never set out to mislead him about their potentially having a future together.

"I'm not nearly as cocky as you think that I am," he declared. Averting his eyes from hers, he continued, "I simply call things as I see them. Joe hurt you and the boys badly. I don't blame you one bit for making sure that no other man gets the chance to cause you and your family any more pain. You didn't set out to lead what's his name on…your mother was giving him more encouragement than you ever did. You're the most honest person that I know-you've never misled me about where I fit into your life-I'll always be a dirty little secret that you keep from your family."

"That's ridiculous!" She hotly refuted his assertion while subconsciously wondering whether or not there was a kernel of truth in his charge.

"Is it?" His tone was challenging, but it lacked the anger that she'd braced herself for.

"Of course it is. When we first met, you insisted that I couldn't tell my family anything about the Agency and my association with it. I followed your instructions and I've been keeping secrets and lying to them ever since then even though I hate being dishonest with them."

"Wouldn't you know it, one of the few times that you follow my instructions to the letter, it dooms me to skulk around in your yard rather than being introduced to your family," he said plaintively.

For the second time in the past few days an unexpected declaration made by Lee left Amanda's emotional equilibrium significantly challenged. From the start of their working relationship, he had always ensured that her family would be protected at the earliest sign of potential danger to them, often before she'd had time to ask him to do so. As their personal relationship deepened he displayed an increased interest in hearing about her family life. She'd chalked it up to his stated desire to learn more about her combined with his natural curiosity about lifestyles that differed from his own.

Using her peripheral vision to surreptitiously study him, she noted that he looked sad and deflated. Does he really want to meet Mother and the boys? Would he be comfortable sitting down and sharing a family meal with them? She wanted to believe that he wanted to fit into her world as she'd worked to fit into his. But what if his interest in her family waned…did she dare to take such a huge risk?

"I'm sorry that I've made you feel unworthy of meeting Mother and the boys," she said earnestly. She slowly edged closer to him without actually looking at him.

"Don't apologize; if I were in your place I'm not sure that I'd take a chance on someone like me. I haven't even met them and I've still managed to turn their lives upside down. We may not even survive the next twelve hours-the last thing that you need to be worrying about is my hurt feelings."

"That's where you're dead wrong," she stated emphatically while reaching out to stroke his cheek. "What I need…what we both need right now is a distraction from what's going to happen in the morning. As I see it, we can both sit up and talk about my family or we can make the most of an uninterrupted night in the same bed. Your choice, Big Fella."

For the moment, all thoughts of Amanda's family were forgotten as they fell into each others' arms.