"Simone" -- by Bridget Frawley ([email protected])

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters that are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. It is meant for enjoyment purposes. I retain the rights to the plot and not the characters.

It was late at night at the Department of Justice building.

A door opened a crack and a figure peered around cautiously. They were wearing dark trousers, a dark turtleneck and a face mask. Once they saw the coast was clear the perp walked out into the hallway, closing the door as quietly as possible.

"Hey!" A voice called sharply.

The unidentified figure spun around and saw a guard just rounding the corner.

The guard upholstered his pistol. "What are you doing there?"

The unidentified perp turned and ran as fast as possible.

The guard gave chase. "Halt or I'll shoot!" He called angrily.

They raced down hallways for a few minutes. A junction loomed ahead. The perp was still ahead.

The guard was panting slightly from over-exertion. "Halt!" He shouted again, firing a warning shot into the ground.

The perp wound his way around the corner.

The guard rounded the corner as well, hot on the perp's heels.

There was no one to be seen.

"What the -- " he muttered, looking all around. "Where'd he go?" He took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart, then pulled out his radio. "2 Guard to Central K."

"Central here. What's up, K?"

"There was an unidentified perp here a few seconds ago. I lost him, K."

"2 Guard, if there were a perp the alarms would have gone off and the President would have heard them, K."

"I know that, Central. I also know what I saw. There was a perp here but he's gone now. Requesting a search of the premises, K." It couldn't hurt to be extra cautious what with all the trouble going on with world affairs right now.

"10-4, 2 Guard." The dispatcher thought for a few seconds. She knew that the guard was a veteran and didn't make requests like this lightly. She made her decision. "Right, 3 and 4 Guards will be there to assist. Over, K."

"10-4, Central, K." He sighed, putting away his radio. Leaning against the wall but eyes continually scanning for any signs of escape he might have possibly missed he waited for the other guards to help his do a thorough search.

* * * * *

Lee and Amanda were snuggling together on the sofa.

"I'm looking forward to this week-end," Lee whispered huskily, looking deep into her eyes.

"Me, too," Amanda sighed contentedly, nuzzling his neck. "I love three-day week-ends. And now that the boys are off on their own..." she trailed off contentedly.

"We don't even have to hurry back," he completed, kissing her. "I wonder if I should have taken Monday off as well."

The telephone rang suddenly.

They both froze for a minute, staring at each other in surprise.

"Let the machine get it," Lee decided, drawing his wife closer for a deep kiss.

"I like your thinking," she agreed, smiling.

Suddenly a male voice boomed out, "Stetson! Pick up this telephone right now!"

This time they both sighed in disgust.

Lee rose to his feet and walked over to the telephone as a man might walk up the steps to the gallows. He forced himself to pick up the receiver. "Yes, Dr. Smyth," he groaned, rolling his eyes.

Amanda sympathized with her husband. After all, Smyth was the last thing either of them expected. She got to her feet and walked behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and started nibbling on his ear.

Lee smiled. 'Now THIS is the way to talk to Smyth,' he thought contentedly, his mind starting to wander. Smyth's next words snapped him violently back into the present. "What do you mean I have to come in tomorrow?!" He demanded angrily. "I took off because I have plans for this week-end!"

Amanda stopped her romantic overtures, staring at Lee in disbelief.

"What does that have to do with me?" Lee continued in fury. "Can't someone else handle it?"

She went back to the couch and sat back down, deflated.

"All right," Lee grated resignedly. "I'll be there first thing in the morning." He slowly placed the receiver back into place, then made his way to her side. He sat down wearily.

"What's up?" She asked, forcing herself to not sound too depressed.

"Someone's trying to cause problems with the peace talks in Ireland," he explained sharply. "The Agency's afraid that the US'll be blamed somehow."

"But why did Smyth pick you?" Her curiosity was aroused now. "Please don't take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but there are plenty of other agents that can handle something like this."

"Oh, who knows?" Lee snapped, folding his arms in front of him petulantly. "He probably just wants to ruin our week-end."

She smiled. "I think I heard that after Mr. Melrose retired Dr. Smyth wanted to take over temporarily because he missed being in the field. I don't remember hearing anything about you."

"He's had it in for me since day one," he countered.

Deciding to make the best of the situation she reached over and took one of his hands in hers and pulled him closer to her, staring deep into his eyes. "Well, we still have tonight."

He smiled then, his anger melting. "That we do."

They leaned over and kissed passionately.

Later the next day Lee and Amanda were in Billy's old office.

Francine had just breezed in. She halted in mid-stride when she saw Lee there. "Didn't you say you had plans for this week-end?" She asked archly.

Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Can it, Francine," Lee warned, ice in his voice. He was annoyed enough. He just was not in the mood for Francine's attitude. He then turned to face Smyth. "Let's just get this over with."

"I agree, children," Smyth said affably. "Now that everyone's here we'll begin." He pulled out a picture from a folder he'd been holding on his lap and passed it around. It was a picture of a cute young woman with a button nose and an engaging smile. She had shoulder-length auburn hair. "This is our prime suspect at the moment."

"What?!" Lee exclaimed, laughing in disbelief. "Are you kidding? That's Simone."

Amanda glanced over at the picture again, but the face was unfamiliar to her. "Simone who?"

"Simone Dellabarre," Smyth answered, pleased that Lee still remembered the name. "You're the logical choice since you had a previous history with her."

"Excuse me, Dr. Smyth," Francine protested, "but I've met Simone myself once or twice. I wouldn't exactly think of her as foreign agent material."

"She's more interested in what's going on in the social world rather than the political one," Lee agreed.

Smyth held up his hands to forestall any further input. "People, please! We don't know how she's involved. It's not even definite that she is involved. It's only a possibility, but one that the President, and therefore this Agency, believes that it should be investigated fully."

"The last time I saw her was 16 years ago," Lee pointed out. "What do you think I should do? Call her on the telephone and say, 'Hi, it's me. I just wanted to see how you were doing?'!"

Smyth sighed in disgust. "You're the agent. Are you telling me that that's the best you can come up with?"

Lee rose to his feet in anger, sparks flying from his eyes. "This is ridiculous! Francine's right. There's no way Simone can be involved in any of this!"

"Not even unwittingly?" Smyth asked pointedly.

Lee was silent, thinking. 'It was possible,' he was forced to admit grudgingly.

"Excuse me, Dr. Smyth, but if the President's this concerned shouldn't he have the Secret Service look into this?" Francine asked logically. "Meaning no disrespect, sir, but this doesn't seem like something we should be involved in."

"Ordinarily you'd have a point, Desmond," Smyth conceded. "However, her father is an unofficial good-will ambassador so the President doesn't want to make any kind of accusation until he's 100% certain of his facts."

"But we're helping to broker the peace talks," Amanda added. "The US is already involved."

"Our only involvement is as an interested third party. That's it. We are not taking sides in this situation. It would be political suicide to do so. Besides, as far as we're concerned it's strictly an internal matter."

"But -- " Amanda continued.

"Ladies, you can go back to work now," Smyth continued in a voice that brooked no argument and definitely meant their dismissal to the meeting. "I believe Scarecrow and I will be a few minutes longer."

Amanda and Francine hurried out, not wanting to risk Smyth's anger. They rode in the elevator together to the "Q" Bureau in silence, both thinking.

"I don't understand something," Amanda admitted once they were alone, closing the door firmly behind them. "If both of you know this Simone person then why did Smith pick Lee for this assignment?"

"She and Lee dated for a while," Francine explained, glad to be the one to enlighten Amanda. "The few times I met her was when she was with Lee. Didn't he ever mention her, dear?" She ended condescendingly.

Amanda sat in the chair at her desk. "No, he didn't." 'But there was no need to say anything since it was so long ago,' her subconscious reminded her pointedly.

"Still, we all thought it was pretty serious for a while," Francine continued, warming to the subject. "Then she suddenly went to Europe. Lee never said a word to anyone about why."

Just then the door opened. Lee leaned in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. "Anything I can help you with, Francine?" He asked sharply, guessing exactly what the topic of discussion was.

"Nope, I'm through in here," Francine answered quickly. She hurried outside, making sure she gave Lee as clear a berth as possible.

Lee slammed the door behind her. He marched over to his desk and threw himself into his chair, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

Amanda glanced over at him, then she quickly lowered her eyes. She wasn't sure how to begin to say what was on her mind.

"What?" He snapped defensively, noticing her looking at him.

She threw her hands up in the air. "I didn't say anything," she protested innocently. There was no way she'd broach the subject when he was in THIS kind of mood.

He sighed and went over to sit on the edge of her desk. None of this was HER fault, after all. It wasn't fair to take his bad mood out on her when she was an innocent bystander. "I'm sorry. Look, how much did Francine actually tell you?" He could handle the damage control better once he had more information.

She stared at the top of her desk, unable to look him in the eyes. "Just that you were -- serious at one time," she admitted softly, toying with the pen on her desk.

Lee took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Look, Amanda, it was a long time ago. All right?"

She nodded, still not looking at him. "I know that," she whispered, voice lacking conviction. He was right and she knew it. It still made her uncomfortable but it was her problem. She'd find a way to deal with it somehow.

He sensed her mood. "Hey," he said tenderly, putting his finger under her chin and tilting her face upwards so he could look at her face.

She smiled nervously. "Like you said, it was 16 years ago."

"We were never serious," he explained honestly, knowing how important this was to her. "We were more like good friends, almost like a brother and sister. She was a cute socialite who had connections, okay? She never knew I was an agent. We'd go to various cocktails parties and soirees as a couple. It was a perfect cover. She was always invited to them, and it was a legitimate reason for me to be there. We had fun. I won't lie to you. But believe me, Amanda, she was more interested in the social scene than in any sort of political intrigue."

"Why did she leave?" Amanda asked curiously.

"I don't know. One day she asked me to come with her to Europe. I had an assignment to go on the next day and couldn't make it. She went off alone. I was undercover for a few months, and I never thought about it again. You know how busy this kind of work can be. Then one day, I believe it was about a year later, I bumped into the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen at a train station in Arlington."

She smiled, warmed through the heart. "You did?"

He nodded. "I asked her to deliver a package to a man in a red hat on a train and Simone's never crossed my mind since."

Amanda reached for his tie and pulled him closer to her. "So whatever happened to her?"

"Who?" He asked teasingly.

She slapped him playfully.

He laughed. "Well, for some reason the package never got delivered and somehow we got married."

They kissed deeply.

"Lee," she asked breathlessly after they'd parted, "Why does Francine and everyone else think that the two of you were ever serious?"

"Water cooler gossip?" He guessed. "Francine met Simone a couple of times when we bumped into her at some party or other, or at Nedlingers'. You know that people will invent things if there's nothing to talk about."

She nodded understandingly. Lee DID have a point. "So what are you going to do?"

Lee shrugged his shoulders. "About Francine? I don't think anything can be done about her."

She smiled again. "About Simone."

"I don't know." He got up and went back to his desk, sighing. "Do you have any ideas?" He asked hopefully.

"Where's she staying?"

"At her parent's place in the Country Club Hills. I can't call her after all this time and say, 'Hi, it's me. Lee Stetson. I work for the government and I heard you're planning to sabotage the first chance Ireland's had at peace in a hundred years." He slammed his fist down on the desk. "This is so crazy! There's just no way she could be involved."

"Lee, people do change," she pointed out gently.

"YOU haven't met her yet," he countered.

Several hours later Lee was on the way home. Amanda had stayed behind to finish up some paperwork. He decided to go for a drive to straighten out his thoughts. He'd heard that there was a party in two days time that Simone was sure to be going to, but he hadn't figured out what he'd say to her yet. He decided that he'd pick up some flowers for his wife so he'd stopped at a florist's on the way home. He had a bouquet of flowers in his arms and walked outside.

"Lee?" He heard a female voice call.

He turned around. "Simone?" He whispered in shock. He felt the flowers slipping from his grasp and he grabbed them before they hit the ground.

She hurried over and hugged him. "Lee Stetson, it IS you!"

"Well, uh, hi," he stammered. "When did you get into town?" This was ridiculous. He didn't know why he was so nervous.

"I just got back yesterday," she explained. "How are you?" She looked him up and down appraisingly. "You look fantastic."

"So do you," he admitted truthfully. She looked gorgeous in the cool blue mini-dress she had on. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come back for a visit." Suddenly she folded her arms across her chest in mock anger, pouting. "You know, I should be very angry with you."

"Why?" Lee asked in surprise.

"After I went to London I never heard a word from you," Simone explained petulantly.

"Well, Simone, my work keeps me pretty busy," he explained evasively.

"I know, I know," recognizing the familiar complaint. "Well, I guess the only way you can make it up to me is to be my escort for the Martindale's party."

Lee fidgeted uncomfortably. "Uh -- "

"Unless there's someone else you're involved with?" She added pointedly.

"Actually, there is," he admitted.

"Oh?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise.

There was no other way to say it but to say it. "I'm married."

"Married?" She blurted. A strange look crossed her face but it disappeared before he could identify it. "To who?"

"You don't know her."

"Darling, I may have been gone for a few years, but I still know everyone who's anyone in society," she pointed out, studying her nails.

"She's not in society. Her name's Amanda. We've been married for 10 years now."

"Do you think she'd mind if I gave you a kiss?" Suddenly she leaned over and kissed him passionately.

He was so stunned that it took him a few seconds to pull away.

"Congratulations," she whispered throatily. "I'd love to meet her sometime."

"Uh, sure. We'll -- we'll have to do dinner or something," he stammered uncomfortably.

"Will I see you at the Martinson's?" She smiled seductively.

"You bet," he muttered VERY unenthusiastically.

"Well, I'll see you, then." She blew him a kiss, then hurried off.

He stared after for a few seconds, sighing. He had no idea what that was all about. He got in his car and drove home more confused than ever.

Lee came in the front door of their house about an hour later.

"Sweetheart, is that you?" Amanda called out.

He went inside and found her in the kitchen. "Hi."

She looked up from chopping vegetables. "Hi!" She spotted the flowers. "Are those for me?"

He glanced down at them, surprised that he remembered bringing them in. His mind was still spinning from his unexpected meeting earlier. "They sure are." He handed them over to her.

She kissed him on the cheek. "That's so thoughtful." She went to put them in water.

He stood in the doorway watching her in silence, his mind going over the events of earlier in the day.

She busied herself getting a vase down from the shelf over the sink. She filled the vase with water and placed the flowers in it. After a minute or more of complete silence she asked, "Lee, is something wrong?"

He looked up at her guiltily. "Huh? No, I guess not. I bumped into Simone while I was coming out of the florists."

"Oh? Well, that's good. Isn't it?" She was confused now, not understanding why he was so out of sorts since he'd been so worried about how to get in touch with her himself. This sounded to her like it was his perfect opportunity.

"I guess," he admitted reluctantly.

She went over to his side and slipped her arms around him. "What happened?"

"I don't think that contact will go down as one of the smoothest in the annals of Agency history."

She smiled. "I'm sure you're just over-reacting."

"It just took me by surprise." He sat on a chair at the counter. "She asked me to escort her to the Martinson's party."

"That's the one you told me about this afternoon?"

He nodded.

"Oh," she remarked uncomfortably. "What did you tell her?"

"That I was a married man and couldn't do it," Lee answered.

"You did?" Amanda exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

He nodded. "She wants to meet you."

"Maybe one night we could all get together for dinner," she suggested agreeably. She'd like to check out her past competition and she definitely wanted Simone to see that Lee was indeed a very happily married man. "So what's bothering you?" She asked curiously.

"It's all too weird," he explained, voicing his feelings aloud. "I suddenly bump into her after all this time and she acted like it was yesterday. I can't explain it." He got to his feet. "I'm going to wash up for dinner."

"All right, sweetheart." She watched him go upstairs thoughtfully.

* * * * *

The criminal who narrowly made his escape from the Attorney General's office the night before placed a phone call that he KNEW was going to be unpleasant. He dialed a number. "Yeah, it's me. Things didn't go exactly as planned. One of the guards showed up early on his rounds."

"Do you mean you didn't get it?" An angry woman's voice demanded furiously from the other end of the telephone.

"I already told you, a guard showed up on his rounds early," he whined. "I'm lucky I got away at all."

"Oh, you think so. Do you?"

"Now, look, don't get mad at me. I was there. I got into the office. It's not my fault that guy showed up early. Maybe someone gave you the wrong security schedule."

"No one gave any incorrect information, idiot! The guard was just probably trying to make points doing his rounds early. My information was right on the money."

"How can you be so sure?" The perp demanded, clearly defensive.

"He knows better than to lie to me," was the steely response. "And you'd better learn that here and now. If I find out you're lying -- "

"No, no!" He interrupted in terror. He'd heard what kind of temper she had. He wasn't about to find out the hard way. "I swear I'm not. Just tell me the time and place and I'll try again."

She smiled thinly. "You'd better. And remember what I'm saying now. Fail me again and you'll wish the only thing I'll do is kill you."

He swallowed hard, not doubting for a minute that she'd carry out the threat. "I'll – I'll remember." He carefully placed the receiver back into place, annoyed to find that his hand was shaking as he did so.

* * * * *

The next day passed very quickly for Lee Stetson. Amanda had decided to take the day off to do what she considered very necessary house cleaning. Since the house was always immaculate he didn't understand what the fuss was about, but he'd learned long ago that it was best to humor her at times like this. He spent all morning catching up on the paperwork that she usually did for him, remembering to fill out a contact report on his meeting with Simone.

At about 1pm his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since early that morning. He decided to go out to the commissary for lunch. Once there he picked up some food and sat at a table outside, enjoying the people walking past him and letting his mind wander.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

He glanced up quickly, startled. He hadn't heard anyone approaching. "Well, hi!"

Simone smiled warmly, tray in hand. "Hi, yourself. Come here often?"

He laughed and indicated the empty chair across from him. "Help yourself."

She sat down. "Thanks. You looked lost in thought. I wasn't sure if I should disturb you or not."

"Just people watching. What brings you here?"

"I was in the neighborhood shopping."

He glanced over and saw no bags anywhere near her.

"They're in the car," she explained. "I needed a new dress for the party, after all. And new shoes, and a new purse to go with everything. So after all that hard work I decided to reward myself with lunch."

'Same old Simone', he thought, smiling slightly. She'd always loved shopping. He glanced over at her tray. All he saw was a small frozen yogurt and a glass of ice water. "That's the reward?" He asked in dubiously.

She laughed. "Well, it is for me. I've got to stay in shape, you know."

"You don't have anything to worry about." 'She sure looked good in this outfit, too.' A crisp white sailor-type thing with shorts and red piping on the collar.

"Well, thank you." She took a taste of her yogurt, then looked around expectantly. "So where's the little woman?"

"Who?" Lee asked blankly.

She smiled. "Your wife. Amanda, wasn't it? Where is she?"

"She's home. She had some things to do."

"Quite the homebody, isn't she? When do I get to meet her?"

"I'll have to check our calendar and get back to you," Lee promised evasively.

"Well, there's no time like the present," she announced decisively.

"What do you mean?" He asked blankly.

"Let's get her and bring her out to lunch with us." She pushed the yogurt aside, making a face. "Come on, it'll be my treat. I can certainly do with something other than this after all. Unless you're hiding something?"

"I've already eaten," he pointed out, indicating his now almost empty tray.

"So you can come keep us company and have a drink," she reasoned, used to getting her own way. She rose to her feet. "Come on, let's go."

"What about your car?" He asked desperately, not thinking of a better excuse at the present. 'Fine agent YOU are,' he thought to himself angrily. 'Is that the best you can do?

"After lunch you can drop me off back here and I can drive home." There. It was settled. He couldn't have any more excuses now. She'd thought of everything. "Unless there's a reason you'd rather not…" she trailed off.

"All right, but remember this was your idea," he sighed, deciding to bow to the inevitable. Maybe Amanda would have a better perspective on this thing than he did. He got to his feet as well, taking both of their trays over to the trash bins. He threw out the remains of lunch, left the empty trays on top of the can and they left.

Lee opened the front door of the house. He held the door open for Simone and then went inside behind her.

"Amanda, you here?" He called.

Simone strolled around the living room disdainfully, examining everything critically. "How -- quaint. This really isn't what I expected of you at all."

He smiled warmly. If anyone had asked him 15 years ago that he'd be married and living in suburbia he wouldn't have believe them in a million years himself. "I know. It's not what I would have -- "

"Lee?" Amanda called out. "Thank goodness you're home. I sure could use some help here." She entered the room, unaware that he wasn't alone. She had been cleaning the house from top to bottom and was filthy. Her hair was sticking out in places from under the kerchief she'd placed on her head earlier. When she saw Simone she froze.

Simone smiled at her dazzlingly. "Hello, I'm Simone Dellabarre." She extended her hand daintily as if she were royalty.

Amanda paled and quickly rubbed her hands on her pants before she extended her own hand. "I'm sorry. I'm Amanda Stetson. Please excuse my appearance. I've been doing a little spring cleaning." She was very aware of the contrast between them at the moment: Simone in her crisply tailored out and her looking like she needed to be hosed down. She shifted her feet uncomfortably.

"We just came to take you to lunch," Lee explained, completely unaware of her discomfiture.

Amanda's eyebrows rose. "Lunch?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Excuse me a minute, please, Ms. Dellabarre."

"Oh, please call me Simone," she corrected graciously.

"Simone," Amanda repeated dutifully, the tone of voice indicating her displeasure at the entire situation but forcing herself to try to remain gracious. "I just have to go check on something upstairs. Lee, would you come help me?"

"Sure, honey, what's broken?" Lee asked innocently.

"The washing machine," she lied quickly. She hurried upstairs before he pointed out that both the washer and dryer were out in the garage.

"Sure," Lee said, finally taking the hint. He turned to Simone. "We'll be right back." He made his way upstairs far more slowly than his wife did.

Simone smiled brightly after him. "Take your time," she called.

Lee found Amanda in their bedroom. "What's wrong?"

She closed the door behind him. "What's wrong?!" She repeated angrily. "Lee Stetson, I can't believe you did this to me! How could you bring her here today of all days? You knew the reason I took the day off was to do some cleaning."

"She asked about you," he said reasonably. "She's the one who suggested that we take you to lunch. Why are you mad at me, anyway? You're the one who said you wanted to meet her."

"At a restaurant or someplace where I had some kind of advance warning," she countered. "I look like something the cat dragged in!"

"We'll wait for you to shower and change," he said reasonably.

"Oh, will you?!" THAT was the last straw. She'd been working since he'd gone to the office and things had gone wrong from almost from the start. The garbage disposal chose to break down, and it took her almost an hour to get it to work properly. After that the sink backed up...it had been a LONG day. "Well, I have news for you, buster. I am not going to lunch. You go and have a good time!" She hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

He sighed, thinking to himself that he'd never understand women. He knocked on the door. "Amanda, honey. I'm sorry. Come on, open the door." He leaned his head against the door, waiting for an answer. "You know you're blowing this all out of proportion." All he heard was the sound of her crying. He sighed again, then made his way slowly back down to the living room.

Simone looked up at his expectantly. "Your wife's very charming."

"Yes, she is." After a few seconds, "Look, something's come up and she can't come with us. Why don't we make it another time?"

"Well, sure!" Simone was all sweetness and understanding. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine. She just has something she can't get out of."

"Well, why don't we go by ourselves?"

"I don't know… " he started, not liking the sound of this.

"Come on, Lee. We can catch up on old times. What do you say?"

He thought for a few seconds. He didn't want to catch up on old times, but he still had to find out what she knew about Ireland. "All right. Let's go."

They both left.

They went to Nedlingers and were seated at one of the tables.

One of the waitress came over to them. "Can I take your order?"

Lee looked over at Simone quizzically.

"I'll have a white wine," she answered.

"One white wine and one scotch," Lee ordered.

"Coming right up," the waitress nodded, leaving.

Simone looked around. "This place hasn't changed very much since the last time we were here."

"I know. I don't come here very often any more."

The waitress returned with their drinks, placed them on the table and then left.

"You have a lovely home," Simone offered after a few seconds of silence.

Lee took a sip of his scotch. "Thanks."

Simone slowly twirled her wineglass around on the table, not looking at him. "I can't believe you finally settled down."

He laughed. "I know what you mean. Sometimes it doesn't seem real to me either."

She took his hand. "Are you happy?"

He nodded. "Amanda's the best thing that's ever happened to me," he answered honestly.

She withdrew her hand.

"So, how about you?" He asked curiously, thinking this was his opportunity to pump her for some information. "You ever settle down?"

"Not me. I like my life the way it is, thanks." Simone took a sip of her wine.

"What have you been doing with yourself? Have you been in England all this time?"

"You know me -- today one place, tomorrow somewhere else."

Lee smiled warmly. "You haven't changed, have you?"

"Not really. You know how I am, Lee. I love traveling, seeing the world, checking out the latest fashions. Have you seen some of that stuff lately? I can't believe it's catching on."

"I don't follow fashion much. Francine does, though."

"Francine! I haven't thought about her in ages. How is she?"

"Same old Francine," he replied, finishing his drink.

She smiled in remembrance.

"I did think of you a few months ago when that bomb went off in front of that hotel in London. I was hoping you weren't there."

She shook her head. "I was in Ireland at the time."

"Oh?" He tried not to sound too interested.

She nodded. "I'd heard so much about it that I thought I'd finally take a trip to see it for myself. After all, it isn't that far from England."

"Weren't you worried after hearing all about the trouble that the Sinn Fein was causing?"

"Nope. I didn't stay too long. It rains there nearly all the time. My hair was a mess."

Lee knew there was no way Smyth could be right about her. All she could think about was her hair?! "You didn't meet any strapping young lads while you were there?" He asked.

"I didn't say that, Lee," Simone corrected. "I do get around, you know."

He laughed.

"But I didn't meet anyone to write home about, if you know what I mean."

He decided to try to put her more at ease for now. "How are your parents?"

"They're fine. Doing very well. How's the Colonel?"

"Okay, I guess. You know we're not exactly close."

She nodded, glancing at her watch casually. "Oh, look at the time! I have to go. Would you be a dear and drive me back to the commissary?"

"Sure." He pulled a $20 out of his wallet and left it on the table. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, no. I promised Mother that I'd make an appearance at her bridge club, and then Sharon Parker and I...you remember Sharon, don't you...Sharon and I are going nightclubbing."

He looked at his watch quickly, wondering where the time went. When he saw what the time actually was he said in puzzlement, "It's only 2:30."

"I know, but I have to go home and change, you know," she pointed out.

"All right. Let's go."

They left.

A few hours later Lee came home and found Amanda napping on the couch. After dropping Simone off at the commissary he decided to stop by the Agency to write a follow-up report on their meeting and then caught up on some paperwork. He glanced around and saw the table set with candles and the lights were dimmed. She'd showered and changed into one of her most sexy nightgowns. He blushed guiltily as he suddenly realized how late it was. He'd hesitated a second about waking her, so he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

She smiled and sighed contentedly.

He shook her shoulder gently. "Amanda?"

"Hmmmm?" She slowly opened her eyes and saw him there. "Oh, hi."

He smiled and sat beside her. "Hi." He leaned over and kissed her again with more passion. "You okay?"

"Lee, I'm sorry about how I acted earlier," she started to explain guiltily.

He held up a hand to forestall anything else she might have said. "No, it's my fault. I should have called first. You had every reason to be angry at me." He paused for a second. "You're not still mad, are you?"

She shook her head, blushing. "I wanted to surprise you by having a nice dinner ready. I guess I fell asleep."

He laughed and drew her close to him. "I guess you did. But you know what?"

"What?"

"You're just as beautiful when you're asleep as you are when you're awake."

She smiled again, kissing him. "You're just saying that."

"Nope. Not at all. You're the most beautiful woman I know. Know what else?" He asked huskily, tracing her cheekbone.

She shook her head, mystified.

"I'm not really hungry for dinner, are you?"

She shook her head, smiling. "You sure know how to end an argument, I'll give you that."

He laughed again and kissed her hungrily. He leaned over into her and they both ended up lying on the couch.

She stared deep into his eyes, breathing heavily. She reached up and gently caressed his face. "Oh, Lee, I love you so much."

A few days later Amanda was busy working on the computer doing some research.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called.

One of the runners came in, clipboard in hand and an envelope underneath it.. "Mrs. Stetson?"

"Yes?"

"The information you requested from London just came in." He held the clipboard out to her for her signature. "Line 30 please."

Amanda dutifully signed the form and handed it back to him.

"Thank you, ma'am. Here's your package." He handed the envelope to her.

"Thank you. You have a good day."

"Thanks. You, too." He left.

Amanda opened the envelope with trepidation and removed the contents. To her surprise they were more extensive than she'd thought. She began reading.

About two hours later Lee came into the room and found her still reading. "Hi, honey," he said absently, sitting down at his own desk and going through his mail.

Amanda looked up at him. "Sweetheart, we have to talk."

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously.

She got up from her desk and went over to him, sitting on the edge of his desk, not knowing how to begin. She took a deep breath. "Did you know that Simone was over in Ireland two weeks ago."

Lee sighed in annoyance. "No, I didn't know that, but so what?"

"Well, she was seen in the company of Gerry Adams and a few other IRA members for a few days. She was supposedly involved with another member, Sean Williams."

"She's single, Amanda. I really don't care who she's dating."

'Why was he being so blind?' she demanded silently. "Lee, you remember those English soldiers that were killed the other day? Well, some Irish citizens were killed as well, and one of them was Sean Williams."

"Yeah?" He asked disinterestedly, not really caring less one way or the other.

"MI-6 reported over there said that Sean had come in to offer information on an American over there who was a terrorist. He gave a deposition about two days before he was killed and offered to testify if they gave him immunity. They were a little suspicious about the coincidence so they forwarded a copy of the report to us."

"That doesn't mean that it's Simone," Lee protested stubbornly.

"Lee," she began hesitantly, taking a deep breath. If he was resisting the truth at this stage how could she ever hope to make him listen to what else she'd discovered so far.

"Why are you so determined to prove that she's guilty?" He demanded angrily.

"I'm not determined to prove anything like that and you know it," she objected, trying to keep a rein on her temper. She couldn't get him to listen if they were both shouting at each other. "I'm just saying that you should have an open mind. Even Dr. Smyth said that it's possible she's involved somehow."

"The only thing suspicious about this is your imagination," Lee argued.

"Okay, fine!" She exploded. "Why don't you prove that she's innocent then?"

Lee drew back a little from her, eyes opening wide in shock. "What?!"

"We've worked on opposite sides of a case before," she continued. "You're the only person who won't even consider that Simone may be involved in this somehow. Maybe you're right and the rest of us are crazy. Show us all that you're right and we're wrong."

He stared at her for a minute, eyes narrowing. "That's nuts!"

"Why?" She demanded furiously.

"I don't know why you're being so unreasonable," he stated stubbornly.

"I'm unreasonable?!" She shouted in disbelief. "You won't even consider anyone else's reasoning but your own. I thought trained agents were supposed to be objective."

He slammed his fist down on his desk and rose to his feet. "I can't talk to you when you're like this." He walked over to the door and threw it open. "I'm taking a walk." He strode out angrily, slamming the door behind him so hard that the glass vibrated alarmingly.

She stared at the closed door in stunned surprise, wincing when it slammed. 'What happened?' She asked herself, dazed. 'How did things degenerate this far?' Her mind was spinning crazily.

Just then Francine breezed inside. "Whew! What's Lee's problem?" She had seen him downstairs when he was leaving. When she tried to say hello he all but bit her head off. She decided to come upstairs and find out what was happening. "Trouble in paradise?" She asked cattily.

Amanda just wasn't able to deal with anyone at the present, least of all Francine. "Excuse me," she whispered, swallowing hard. She uncharacteristically pushed past Francine and hurried out the door. She strode quickly to the ladies room for a little privacy. She went inside, relieved that no one else was there. She sat heavily on the couch, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to figure out what went wrong a few minutes ago. WAS she reacting out of jealousy? True, she was a little jealous but that was only natural. Was she letting it color her judgment? She didn't think so earlier but was Lee right? She just didn't know.

The outer door opened cautiously.

Amanda shifted her position to face the wall, hoping that whoever it was would just walk past her.

Francine came into the room quietly and observed Amanda's lack of reaction. "Amanda, are you all right?" She asked quietly.

Amanda sighed in annoyance. 'This is all I need right now,' she thought bitterly. 'She's probably just here to gloat.' "Francine, please," she said aloud, strain evident in her voice. "I just need to be alone right now."

To her surprise Francine sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You know how I am. I guess I just got carried away."

Amanda didn't respond, confused by this uncharacteristic side of her. This was definitely unlike Francine and she waited silently for the other shoe to drop.

Francine shifted uncomfortably. "Look, no one could accuse us of being friends, but you've come a long way since you first started here. And much as this pains me to admit it, you're what Lee's needed for a long time."

Amanda's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"You've got good instincts," Francine continued, "and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Lee just has a stubborn streak sometimes, especially when it's something that he really doesn't want to see."

Amanda was far too overwhelmed to say anything to her.

Francine rose to her feet. "Well, if you need someone to talk to you know where I am." She walked over to the door and went about two steps when Amanda called out to her.

"Francine?"

Francine turned back to face her, eyebrows rising in curiosity. "Hmmmm?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Francine smiled slightly, opening the door. Suddenly she paused and turned to face her again. "Oh, and Amanda? I wouldn't say anything about our little talk to anyone else if I were you. Otherwise you might find yourself accidentally taking someone's cyanide capsule by mistake."

Amanda laughed. "It'll be our secret then." 'Who would ever believe her anyway?' She thought to herself, surprisingly feeling a little better than she had earlier. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Francine shut the door and came back to sit beside her.

"Do you think that Simone could be involved in any of this?"

Francine paused thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Do I think she can be the brains behind any of this? No. But I do think it's possible that she could be used unknowingly."

Amanda nodded slowly. "I've been doing some research." She explained to Francine what she had explained to Lee a few minutes ago. "And," Amanda concluded, not having had the chance to explain this to Lee before he'd lost his temper and walked out, "she's dating Jeff Wilson."

"Janet Reno's assistant? Amanda, that's all very circumstantial," Francine pointed out.

"I know that," Amanda countered, desperately needing another opinion. "But don't you find it all just a little coincidental? Then Gerry Adams wants to come over here to meet with the President to get him involved with the crisis over there and suddenly she shows up one week before Adams."

Francine grudgingly had to admit that Amanda DID have a point.

"Doesn't it bear looking into at least?" Amanda pressed her advantage.

"What do you want to do?" Francine finally asked after digesting this latest bit of information.

"I want to dig a little more into this and follow her for a few days."

"You have to have backup if you do that, you know."

She nodded.

"Do you want me to talk to Lee? Maybe I can knock some sense into him." Francine smiled. "It could be fun."

Amanda smiled as well, imagining what a sight that would be. "No, thanks. He bit my head off when I tried to explain what I'd found out so far. Will you help me?"

"Me?!" Francine blurted in surprise. Being asked to be her backup was the last thing she'd expected.

Amanda sighed, not sure if she'd be able to convince Francine or not. "Francine, we may not always get along, but I do respect your judgment. Next to Lee you're the best agent I know. Someone's got to do this whether we like it or not, but I think Lee will accept it better if we're the ones to do it."

Francine mulled it over. Unfortunately she could see no fault with her logic. "When do you want to start?" She asked resignedly.

"Tomorrow," Amanda said gratefully, sighing in relief.

"What will you tell Lee?" Francine asked curiously.

"Nothing. I don't want to tell him anything until we have to."

Simone was on the telephone. "Did you get into Reno's office yet?"

"Security's been tightened and the stuff got moved," her accomplice whined nervously.

"She's got proof that I'm involved in this and I want it. And you'd better believe me when I say that if I go down I'll make sure you get killed slowly and painfully before I go. Do you understand me?" She asked icily. She meant every word of it and they both knew it. "I have positive information that those documents have been moved to one of the vaults in the Justice Department at Bethesda. I'll have an exact location later this evening. Call me in about -- " she checked her watch " -- three hours." She slammed the telephone down.

Suddenly the door flew open.

Amanda was shoved forward into the room.

Wilson was directly behind her. "I caught her outside," he stated simply.

"Amanda, what's going on?" Simone asked, feigning innocence.

Amanda rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Save it. I heard everything."

Simone smiled, knowing the jig was up. "In a way I'm glad. I was getting tired of this little game anyway. Where's Lee?"

"Out calling for back-up," Amanda improvised quickly.

Simone laughed. That was definitely NOT the Lee Stetson she knew so well. "Please! Lee Stetson, the cowboy? If he were here I think he'd have made an appearance by now." She turned to her accomplice. "Search her."

Wilson did a thorough search and found the wire that was concealed under Amanda's blouse. He ripped it off none too gently and handed it to Simone.

"How sad," Simone sighed, staring at the wire for a moment. She placed the wire carefully on the floor and stomped her foot on it, smashing it into a million pieces. She walked over to Amanda, removing the scarf from her hair as she did so. She grabbed Amanda's hands and jerked them behind her, tying them behind her tightly.

Amanda winced painfully but made no sound.

"Take her to the safe house," Simone instructed, going back to her desk and removing a revolver from one of the desk drawers. She pointed it at Amanda for added insurance.

Francine was out in the car listening to the entire exchange until she heard the loud smashing of the wire being destroyed. She reflexively pulled the earpiece out of her ear and threw it on the seat beside her. She watched the one entrance of the building carefully to see what developments would then transpire. After a few minutes she saw Amanda being shoved outside by Reno's assistant and Simone. Francine ducked down low in the seat to make sure she wasn't observed. She slipped her compact out of her purse and opened it, pointing its mirror into the reflection of the rear-view mirror so she's be able to see without hopefully giving away her position. She observed Amanda being shoved roughly into the car and the trio drove off. After a few seconds Francine straightened up and started her car, following them at a discrete distance.

She pulled out her cell phone to call for backup, not knowing if she'd need it or not. They drove for about a half hour to Anacostia. Francine glanced around warily, this not being one of the safest neighborhoods around.

Simone and party finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. They got out of their car and went inside, Amanda in the lead.

Francine carefully parked her car at the front of the street, hoping no one could see where she was parked from inside the warehouse. She anxiously observed the front of the building from her vantage point while waiting for backup to arrive.

A few minutes later Lee's silver 'vette pulled up behind her car. He stormed out of his car and marched over to Francine. "Okay, what's going on here?" He snapped in annoyance.

"Amanda's being held hostage by Simone and Jeff Wilson."

"Don't you start -- " he began, then stopped as her words sank in. "Wait a minute, who's Jeff Wilson?"

"Janet Reno's assistant. Lee, I saw them force Amanda into the car and drive here," Francine explained patiently.

He thought that over. "Is Simone a hostage as well?" He asked uncertainly, not really believing that one himself.

Francine shook her head. "Amanda's hands were tied behind her back and Simone had a gun pointed at her."

He digested that information for a minute and finally came to the obvious conclusion that Amanda had been right all along. "Okay," he said slowly, not liking the situation but there it was. "Why didn't Amanda come and talk to me about it instead of investigating this on her own?" He was a little hurt by this last.

"As I recall she did try to talk to you and you didn't want to listen," Francine pointed out sharply. "I was there so don't even try to deny it. So we decided to investigate this one on our own." She didn't want Amanda to swing in the wind over this alone. Besides, Francine really WAS annoyed at how Lee had handled this entire situation so far.

Lee sighed, running his hand through his hair anxiously. Francine was right and there were no two ways about it. 'Amanda must have really been desperate to ask Francine for backup,' he thought to himself guiltily, knowing that the two women didn't exactly get along. He realized how hard it must have been for her to have been forced into this position. Amanda could be killed and it would all be his fault. "All right, all right!" He exclaimed aloud, throwing his hands in the air in front of him. His anxiousness made him brusque. "You can rub it in later. How many goons are in there?"

"I only saw the one," Francine answered. "And there's only two entrances -- one in the front and one in the rear."

"Right. You take the back and cover me. I'll take the front. I have less of a chance of being shot than you do right now."

Francine nodded. It was sound strategy. "I'll give you 10 minutes before I make my way back there." She checked her watch and removed her gun from the glove compartment.

He opened the car door for her and helped her out. "Francine, thanks for being there, and -- well -- " he wasn't sure how to say what was on his mind.

"Lee," Francine interrupted, a twinkle in her eye. "Don't get all mushy on me, okay? If this is Amanda's influence on you then I'm not sure we're doing the right thing by getting her out of there." She wasn't able to deal with Lee's attempt at thanks any more than he was at verbalizing it.

Lee smiled, knowing that this was all a facade.

"Go on before I change my mind, Stetson. You only have 9 minutes left." She tapped her watch meaningfully.

He nodded. "Be careful, Francine. I wouldn't want to lose you."

"Always, Lee. Always. Now go!"

He walked to the front of the building and went inside.

Amanda was tied securely to a chair.

Simone turned to Wilson. "Go wait outside."

"What are you going to do?" He asked nervously, swallowing hard. This wasn't what he bargained for when this all started. He enjoyed the fact that such a beautiful woman was interested in him, but now he was having second thoughts. He had thought first that they were just going to scare Amanda and then release her later. This obviously was not the plan.

"I'm just going to take care of this little problem," Simone explained silkily, smiling and pointing the gun carelessly in his direction. "Unless you'd like to join her?"

"I'll – I'll be right outside," he stammered fearfully, realizing that she meant business. He wondered not for the first time if he'd made a mistake hooking up with her. 'Well, it's too late to do anything about it now,' he thought to himself guiltily while he was hurrying out the door.

Simone smiled, knowing that she'd have to take care of him later. "It's a shame you found out about me," she said to Amanda thoughtfully. "After this mission I was going to retire."

Amanda glared at her skeptically, forcing herself to relax. She was glad she remembered her training about tightening your muscles when you're being tied up and then relaxing later on to loosen the ropes. She still needed a diversion so that her attempts at untying herself would go unnoticed. "People like you don't retire."

Simone shook her head sadly. "You know we could have been friends if you hadn't been married to Lee."

"He'll find you, you know," Amanda said self-assuredly.

Simone laughed. "I know he will. I'll be there to comfort him after they find your body." She reached over and pulled out a can of gasoline that she had stored there earlier. She started pouring it liberally all around Amanda's chair.

Amanda leaned back as far as she could, the fumes making her ill.

When she was finished Simone stood back to admire her handiwork. "What's one more case of arson in this neighborhood?" She asked rhetorically. "You were tailing a suspect and were accidentally killed trying to stop him."

"Isn't that a little far fetched?" Lee asked, leaning in the doorway nonchalantly.

Both women looked over at him in startlement, neither having heard him enter the room until now.

"Lee, she's got a gun!" Amanda warned frantically.

"I know," he replied, straightening up and scanning her with his eyes. "You okay?"

"I am now," Amanda sighed, nodding. She knew that Lee must have some kind of plan up his sleeve.

Simone quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Lee looked over to Simone. "Why are you doing this?"

Simone laughed. "Why indeed? Your wife's a lot smarter than you give her credit for. She figured it out right away."

"Amanda's the most perceptive person I know," Lee admitted honestly. "How did you get involved in all of this, Simone? This isn't the girl I dated a few years ago."

"I have a question for you," Simone countered. "Why didn't you come after me when I went to London?"

Amanda figured that this was the best diversion she was going to get so she started frantically working to untie the ropes around her hands.

"Didn't you go over there for a fashion show or something?" He asked in confusion, trying hard to remember. It was so long ago!

"We'd been dating for two years. I thought that after I'd left you would be following me in a few weeks. You had planned on coming, remember?" Simone demanded accusingly.

"Well, you know how it was," Lee answered evasively. "Things came up with my job. Besides, we were just two friends having a good time. It was nothing serious. No strings, no commitments," he pointed out.

"You didn't want a commitment," Simone corrected. "I thought that after a while you'd miss me and realize that we were meant to be together."

Lee's eyes opened wide with shock. "I didn't know," he said gently. He had genuinely liked her and didn't want her to be hurt. He never realized how she felt towards him.

"So after a while it dawned on me that you weren't coming," Simone continued, eyes getting a far away look. "And I was approached by the IRA. It seemed like good money. I was able to move in circles that they couldn't hope to get access to. Since my country took you away from me I decided to take something away from my country."

"Why did you come back here?" Lee asked, hoping to keep her attention from Amanda.

"For several years I was able to slip in and out of a few places without being a prime suspect or anything. People had their suspicions, sure, but there was no real proof."

"Until Belfast," Lee guessed.

Simone nodded. "Until Belfast. Someone sold me out to MI-6 to make a deal for themselves. I took care of them, but not before they gave their deposition. I decided to come back, get those documents and then retire in Spain or someplace like that." She carelessly turned the gun towards Amanda. "And if you make one more move I'll shoot you right now."

Amanda froze and slumped in her chair, defeated. All she needed to be free was a few more minutes.

Lee lunged forward two steps.

Simone spun around toward him, gun cocked and aimed. "Come on, try it. I'm a crack shot."

He stood absolutely still. "You don't want to do this."

Simone smiled a cold smile. "Wanna bet?"

"Drop the gun!" Francine called out from seemingly nowhere.

Simone quickly glanced around and saw no one. Sensing that time was a luxury she could no longer afford she quickly pulled a lighter out of her jacket pocket, flicked it on and tossed it towards the trail of gasoline leading towards Amanda's feet. She paused for a minute to make sure that the gasoline caught fire and then bolted out the door.

Lee dove into the room and fumbled with Amanda's almost undone ropes. He lifted her in his arms and carried her out of range of the gasoline-saturated area just before the flames engulfed the chair.

Amanda quickly kicked off her gasoline soaked sneakers and jacket and tossed them as far away from them as she could.

Lee held her in his arms for a few seconds, relishing the fact that she was safe and unharmed.

The room was becoming rapidly unbearable as the flames started engulfing the entire wall opposite them.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Lee said, pulling her outside. "Watch out for debris," he whispered, mindful of her stocking-clad feet as they made their way outside as silently as possible. He pulled out his gun and cautiously took the lead. "We have to help Francine."

She nodded.

"Halt!" They heard Francine shout.

Suddenly a shot rang out.

Lee shoved Amanda behind him and backed them into a wall. "Stay put," he hissed, slipping forward silently.

Amanda ignored him, following behind him closely. She was so close that when he stopped suddenly she ran into him.

Lee glared at her angrily for a second, not wanting to say anything in case someone else heard them.

She smiled innocently.

"Lee, Amanda," they heard Francine call.

Lee lowered his gun and unconsciously drew Amanda close to him.

"We're here, Francine," Amanda called from the safe haven of his arms.

Francine came around the corner of the hallway, gun lowered. "Are you both okay?"

Lee nodded. "You?"

"Where's Simone?" Amanda asked apprehensively.

"Dead," Francine answered shortly.

Lee unconsciously held onto Amanda tighter.

"Oh, Lee, I'm sorry," Amanda said sympathetically.

Smoke started billowing from behind them.

"I think we'd better get out of here," Francine commented.

Lee glanced over his shoulder, alarmed to see how badly the fire had spread in so short a time. "Let's go."

They left the warehouse.

Lee and Amanda were in their living room snuggling on the sofa.

"Lee, you never told me if they caught Wilson or not," Amanda remarked lazily.

He nodded. "Turns out he was having a change of heart about everything after leaving you at the warehouse. He was in the middle of confessing everything to Janet Reno when the mop-up team got there to arrest him."

She nodded, curiosity satisfied. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better," he admitted. "I'm just thankful that I got there before anything happened to you."

"Not as thankful as I am."

Lee laughed. "I've been meaning to ask you this all day. How on Earth did you end up having Francine as backup?"

"Well, my regular partner was unavailable and I knew that I definitely needed help from someone. She was the only person available. We do have to do something nice for her, Lee."

He nodded. It was only right, after all. She'd really helped the both of them. "Dinner one night -- "

"No," she interrupted firmly, holding up her hand forestall him saying anything else. "Definitely not dinner. A box of imported truffles will do just fine."

"And I thought that the two of you were beginning to understand each other," Lee teased, eyes twinkling.

"We will never understand each other. That was a one-time emergency situation, buster, and don't you forget it."

"If I do I'm sure you'll remind me," he pointed out knowingly.

"You betcha," she agreed readily.

He kissed her passionately. "Well, since last week-end was ruined I thought it was the least Smyth could do was to give us the next few days off." He leaned over to kiss her again.

"What if he calls to change our plans again?" She asked breathlessly, playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"One of the other things I did was get voicemail," he replied in a self-satisfied tone of voice.

She glanced over to where the telephone was and noticed that the answering machine was indeed no longer there. "You've been busy."

"I already forwarded the phone to ring directly into voicemail," he concluded, nibbling on her ear. "We won't even hear it ring."

"What if Philip or Jamie calls with an emergency?" She countered, forcing her mind to stay on the matter at hand with difficulty. "They'll be worried if no one answers."

"No, they won't. I already called them and said that we'd be away for the week-end."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" She asked admiringly.

"I hope so."

"Well, in that case," she smiled, leaning over towards him.

They kissed passionately.

FADE OUT