Amanda had stayed at her desk through her eighth month of pregnancy. When she started to show, she became amazed at how little some of these agents knew about it. There were only a few that didn't treat her like an invalid, unfortunately Lee was not in that group. This was his first child, a miracle to him, so he didn't want to take any chances. Several times he overreacted when she had the slightest little injury. It took her nearly a month to convince him that something like catching her finger in a file cabinet drawer in the vault was not going to hurt the baby, yet he still wanted her to go home.
Amanda's cover as a producer at International Federal Films is what nearly got her killed towards the end of her pregnancy. Part of her job was to sort through outside submissions from amateur film makers. Almost all of them got rejected. She was watching another batch of really poorly made films with Francine. IFF didn't put out the best material to keep from gaining a reputation for good film making, but they did have some standards.
"Why did we have to have a film production company cover?" Francine said acidly after watching four very badly made films on subjects such as naval lint, The Joy of Sneezing, and the like.
"Well, it allows us to carry camera equipment around and not get questioned to closely I suppose." Amanda said slightly tired.
"Your boys could make better films than most of these clowns." Francine said absently.
"Why Francine, I didn't know you had such a high regard for them." was the surprised response.
"Amanda, your sons are a lot like you. They wouldn't send in such shoddy work. More popcorn?" Francine offered.
"No, I don't think so."
"Okay, what's next?"
"Oh no, we have a repeat offender here. It's another one from Rupert Galt."
"No! Do you think we could just reject it without watching?"
"I wish we could, but we have to check every one of these tapes."
Amanda handed the tape to Francine to put into the machine. Amanda was sitting there with her shoeless feet up on another chair trying to relax her back. Francine came to sit down beside her and pushed play on the remote. The film started normally enough, until what was on the screen scared both women.
Thank you for your rejections, Mrs. King.
Then the tape stopped with a click that was not normal for the video cassette player. Francine and Amanda began to move at once, with Francine at Amanda's back as they bolted as fast as Amanda could to the door. As Amanda opened the door, the tape exploded, and they dove for the floor down the hall away from that conference room. Alarms started going off throughout the facility, and agents running towards the explosion. Amanda turned over to check Francine who was propping herself on her hands to check Amanda. Both had gotten really lucky, as neither were seriously hurt.
"Francine, you okay?"
"Yes, just a little singed. How about you?"
"I think I sprained my ankle."
Francine helped Amanda sit with her back to the opposite wall as more agents appeared, among them Lee and Billy.
"Amanda!" Lee yelled when he saw her on the floor.
"I'm okay Lee, check Francine, she was behind me when the bomb went off."
Lee turned to look, but Billy was already there. The Agency medics were there shortly after and had Amanda and Francine on stretchers which were being rolled toward the Agency ambulance in the underground parking garage. Billy questioned Francine about what happened, though all Lee could think about was that Amanda and his unborn child almost got killed. He saw red and swore that the guy would pay for this. Then he felt Amanda's hand on his arm, he looked down at her.
"Lee, don't get in trouble." she whispered.
She had been more injured than she thought at first. Her eyes closed, and Lee panicked until he saw her chest rise. They got to the parking garage and the ladies were loaded into the ambulance. Billy lead Lee to his car.
"Come on Lee, you can ride with me. You might want to call her mother on the way." Billy said softly.
That sobered Lee more. This would be the second time in a little over a year that Amanda was put in the hospital unconscious. This time through, Lee did have the choice to leave Dotty out of it. They weren't hiding their relationship, and Amanda was his wife. For just a moment, he got really possessive and didn't want Dotty there. Then he thought of Phillip and Jamie. While following the ambulance, Lee took a deep breath and picked up the receiver of the car phone and dialed home. He then remembered that Dotty was out with Captain Kirk all day and the boys were in school, so there would be no answer. He put down the receiver.
"No one would be home Billy." he said softly, "Dotty is out and the boys are in school. Let's just hope that Amanda is on her feet in a few hours." For the first time, Lee's emotions were outside of his control. In that rolling box in front of them was his wife and unborn child. He couldn't stop it, for the first time in a very very long time, Lee cried.
As they pulled up to the hospital, Lee was finally able to get some control of his emotions. He looked over at Billy. Billy only nodded in understanding. By the time they got to the ladies, both were awake and had been admitted into the same room.
"What happened back there?" Billy asked while Lee took Amanda's hand.
"It was Rupert Galt, a really bad filmmaker." Francine answered. "He rigged the last tape he sent in to explode. Apparently we had rejected him too often, and since Amanda is the one who writes the rejection letters, he dedicated the explosion to her."
Hearing that Lee's eyes turned cloudy with anger. Amanda saw it.
"Lee let Billy handle it, please. I don't want you in a holding cell right now."
"I can't let this stand Amanda!"
"You won't by letting Billy handle it. Billy has been doing this longer than you have. I need you here Lee. The doctors want to keep me here overnight for observation. Mother can take care of the boys while you stay here with me."
Lee nodded at that, then looked over at Francine, "Thank you."
"For what?" Francine asked.
"For what! For risking your life to save Amanda, again!"
"I really didn't do much, her chair was closest to the door, so of course she got there first. Amanda, I still can't believe how fast you were able to move, given your condition."
"Will everyone stop treating me like an invalid?!" Amanda replied exasperated. "I have been stuck to a desk for the last seven and a half months. I needed the exercise." The last shocked Lee until he looked at her face and saw that she was putting on a brave front.
After a few more minutes, Billy left to go back to the office to start the manhunt for Rupert Galt.
Lee stayed and chatted with both women for a few hours until a nurse arrived with Francine's discharge instructions.
"Do either of you need anything?" she asked on her way out the door.
"No Francine, but thanks for the offer." Amanda said. "You have done more than your duty today."
Francine smiled back at the two of them, "Anytime. You never know when I will need a favor," then she slipped out.
Lee and Amanda stared at the space she had occupied.
A few hours later as Amanda was sleeping, Lee slipped out to get a cup of coffee after checking to make sure that the guards were in place. However, Amanda wasn't asleep. She had been waiting for Lee to take a break. She got on the phone to Paul Barnes. It didn't take Paul long to get to the phone.
"Hello sir...yes, I'm okay, nothing broken...I need a favor, would you order Lee to stay away from the investigation, please?...Oh thank you sir, I really appreciate it." Then she hung up and closed her eyes again. She had been very tired, so she could now relax and really get some rest.
Lee was standing at the coffee machine on that floor. It seemed to take forever for it to dispense the coffee. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost two in the afternoon. The boys would be getting home from school soon. They only had until around six in the evening before they would have to come up with a reason to be later getting home. He started running scenarios in his head, but nothing sounded quite right for the situation. Then the coffee machine stopped, and Lee took it out and gently blew on it to cool the contents.
He walked back to the hospital room, only to see Fred Fielder standing there. Without a word, Fred handed Lee a piece of paper. Lee opened and read it, then his jaw clenched in anger.
"Scarecrow,
Stay out of the bombing investigation.
Blue Leader"
Lee crumpled the piece of paper and threw it into the nearest garbage can. He knew better than to yell at Fred, he was just the messenger.
"Thanks Fred. I got the message." Lee said, still steaming.
He turned to the door of Amanda's hospital room and went inside. He sat down on the chair in the room and just watched Amanda sleep. Without the ability to investigate on orders from Blue Leader, he felt helpless. After another hour went by, Amanda's eyes flipped open fast. She looked directly at him.
"Lee, I think you should get a doctor in here, sweetheart."
"What? Why?"
"Because my water just broke, and I just felt a contraction. Not a big deal at the moment, but it will be in a very short time." she said with a smile.
Lee jumped up from his chair and went over to Amanda.
"Are you sure?"
"I have done this before Lee, so I know what to expect. So, why don't you go out and get the doctor." She nudged him toward the door.
Soon after things begun to pick up the pace in Amanda's room in preparation in moving her to obstetrics. Now Lee could call home and leave a message that was no lie, Amanda was in labor!
During the entire delivery, Amanda's calm kept everyone around her calm, even Lee who went from eager to anxious moment to moment. That isn't to say that Amanda was completely quiet the entire time. There were moments when she could be heard right outside the door and her grip on Lee's hand got tighter than he had ever felt before now. Their daughter was born early the next morning around seven.
"Hello Dorothy." Amanda cooed at her daughter while Lee just smiled at the little girl in his wife's arms.
For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, they spent it quietly in the hospital with Dorothy Jennifer Stetson. That evening, Dotty arrived to take Amanda and Lee, though Lee drove home. The boys were boys when it came to their new baby sister. Dotty had made dinner, and they all ate. The adjustment to their new family member had begun.
When Dorothy woke to be fed, Amanda took her downstairs. She turned on just a few lights and sat on the couch. That is when she saw the envelope on the coffee table. She leaned over to pick it up and open it. Lee was just coming downstairs to see if everything was all right. He was a very nervous first time father. Amanda handed the envelope to Lee. He opened it with extreme care then took the note out. It simply read...
"Rupert Galt handled. - WW"
Lee looked at Amanda.
"You don't have to worry about Galt anymore. This is from the Oz network. It looks like they got to him before the Agency did." he said very quietly.
Amanda only nodded as she read the note. She handed it back to Lee as Dorothy was asleep again. It was only when she turned away from Lee that her expression changed to sadness knowing that while her daughter was being born, a man named Rupert Galt who she never met was killed.
Contact Fantasy!
I am against the Internet Blacklist Legislation also known as Protect IP Act in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act in the House of Representatives in the United States of America where this site is hosted.
Fantasy's Realm was built with the help of the PerlMonks and the users of #perl and #perlcafe channels on freenode.