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6:06 am Saturday Day 3


Lee awoke slowly. He was in a tight place—crowded—as his mind cleared he remembered. He was in a narrow bed, wedged between the wall and Amanda. She was still deeply asleep in his arms.
He shifted his focus to her: breathing slow but good, he touched her forehead—not hot, not cold; felt gently for the pulse in her neck—slow but strong. Good. She was just asleep, good. He relaxed.
Hopefully the drug’s effects had worn off. He checked his watch: 6:06 am, they had slept the night through. He was surprised he had slept so long and deeply. Well, it had been a stressful couple days. And the rest seemed to have done both of them good.
Today was Saturday, day three. He had been out of contact since early Friday morning, and today they would have to get back to D.C. If that doctor hadn’t called in the cavalry by now, he probably had just run off. But they had to get back, soon. Billy would be frantic and furious. And Amanda needed medical attention—those drugs might have lasting effects—she needed to be checked out.
‘I’ll give her until 7 to sleep—then we’re up. I’ll get food and drink into her, then get to the car, a two mile trek.’ He’d prefer she walked it, but he was prepared to carry her out also.
He shifted slightly and pulled Amanda closer to him. She sighed and snuggled into his chest. He smiled. Even asleep she trusted him to keep her safe. He realized he should be a bit apprehensive about that—but he wasn’t. He was touched by her unwavering trust. In him. How did he get so lucky to have this incredible woman as his partner? It was so much more than luck she had been at that train station almost three years ago. She had come a long way in those three years. And so had he. And he knew the reason for his change was right here, in his arms.
He thought about his life before Amanda, and now. What a difference. Before he had the job and ... diversions to fill his non-working hours. Now he had the job … and a life. And that life seemed to revolve around Amanda. His Amanda. His partner, his best friend, the woman he … loved. ‘Uh oh!’
Partners shouldn’t be “involved”. Of course that rule was broken regularly. But he would still have to be discreet and careful. Life was about to get a lot more complicated if Amanda was interested in him as more than a friend and partner.
‘No guts, no glory. I know she cares for me. I’ll just have to take my time and go slowly. Start with dinners, movies, concerts. Get to know her better outside work. Get her used to being around me away from the Agency. She’ll want me to get to know her family. Well, let them get to know me. I know them pretty well. I’ve been watching them all for the past three years. But they don’t know me except as a voice on the phone. Amanda’s boss.’
‘What if she doesn’t want me romantically? Could I lose her? I can’t lose her. Life without Amanda wouldn’t be a life, just existence. How did she do it? How did she manage to sneak past my defenses and change my life? Why didn’t I see it coming? Would I have stopped it if I had seen it coming? I thought I wasn’t ready to fall in love. Is anyone ever ready to fall in love? All I know is somehow she’s become everything good and valuable and important to me.’
‘I’m … in love … with Amanda King. I’m not ready to say it to her. I’m still not comfortable admitting it to myself. But I know I need her in my life—forever. Forever. Oh, God!’
Lee’s mind went totally blank. Was this shock? What now? Instincts for practical action took over and he checked his watch: 6:51am, close enough to 7.
“Amanda. Amanda, wake up! We need to get back to D.C. Amanda?”
“Mmmm—Lee…” she sighed and snuggled closer to him.
“Hey, Amanda, wake up. C’mon, we’ve got to get moving.”
“Mother—five more minutes. I’m having such a nice dream…”
“Do I have any part in that dream?”
“It’s all about you, Lee.” She was silent for a few moments. “Lee? Are you here?”
“Yes, Amanda, I’m here.”
“Lee, what? Where? Oh…I feel awful.”
“You’ve had a rough time, but we’ll get you back to D.C. and you’ll get checked out by the doctors. They’ll help you get better.”
“Lee, what happened? I had some really bad nightmares. These men thought I was you, they hurt me, you weren’t here. I was scared.”
“I’m here now. You’re safe. Come on, get up and I’ll make you some breakfast.”
“Oh, I couldn’t eat.” Amanda’s stomach rumbled.
“Your stomach has a different opinion. Toast, fruit, juice, you’ll like it.”
“Coffee—I need coffee.”
“Ahhh, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. C’mon, let’s get up and I’ll make you breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day—or so I’ve been told.” He was trying to cajole her into action. It wasn’t working.
“All right, all right. I still feel awful. I hurt everywhere.”
Lee knew if Amanda was complaining this much, it must be pretty bad. But she had to eat and they had to get back to the car—so he decided to just keep things moving. Once they got to his car, she could rest again.
He sat up in bed, and pulled her up with him. She was still in his arms, her head against his chest. He took her chin and tilted her face up to him.
“Good morning. You awake yet?”
“I must be … I’m sitting up. OK, I’ll get up,” she grumbled. She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom.
Lee watched her—she was still shaky—but hopefully food and drink would help.
He started coffee for himself and toast for Amanda. He got out juice and a couple pieces of fruit. He cut the fruit up to make it look more appetizing.
Soon Amanda sat with the remains of her toast and juice. She had eaten most of the fruit as well.
While she was eating, Lee checked the backpack for all he had placed there. Vials of the drugs they had used, plus all the used needles and other medical paraphernalia. Anything to get residue for tests. He also made sure the recorder and tapes from Amanda’s interrogation were in the bag as well. He surreptitiously checked on the man he had shot and dragged into the back room. Yep—still dead.
At 8:03am Lee checked his watch, finished his coffee and cleaned up the remains of Amanda’s breakfast. He put a couple bottles of juice and pieces of fruit in the backpack. Normally it should take less than an hour to walk two miles, but Amanda was still somewhat shaky, so he doubled his time estimate to get to the car. Once there he could try to call on the cell phone and check in. Have a NEST team standing by at the hospital for Amanda. She would need full blood work and possible detox for the two different drugs she had been given.
“OK, Amanda, let’s get going.” He tried to sound cheerful and upbeat.
“Where are we going, Lee?”
“To the car and back to D.C.” he patiently explained.
“Where is your car?”
Lee was a bit frustrated. He had explained it before but obviously she was still fuzzy from the drugs. “It’s a bit of a walk. I had to park out of sight. Come on, it’s not long, a couple miles.”
“Oh. OK.” She sounded dull.
They gathered their things and left.


The first mile wasn’t bad. Amanda was slow, but she seemed to loosen up a bit and they made pretty good time, considering. Then, just short of the road, she ran out of energy.
“Lee, stop. I’m dead on my feet.” She sat on the ground where she had stopped.
He brought out a bottle of juice. “Here, have something to drink, you are just thirsty.”
He hoped the juice would give her some energy. He worried about how much she had eaten since she had been kidnapped on Thursday. He had tried to get her to eat and drink the day before, but she hadn’t eaten much.
She drank the juice and just sat on the ground, staring into space.
“Are you ready to go?” Lee asked her hopefully.
“What? Can’t we just rest here for a while?”
“We already had a rest. Let’s go, I’ll help you.” He helped her to her feet, and put her arm around his neck. They continued for a few steps, but she was stumbling more than walking. Finally he just picked her up.
“Lee, what are you doing?”
“I’m carrying you. You can rest once we get to the car.”
The last quarter mile was tough, but he made it to the car. Once she was buckled into the passenger seat, Amanda fell asleep almost immediately. Lee checked her forehead and pulse. OK for now. ‘She’s just exhausted.’
He started the Corvette and took off. The phone was out of range, but he drove as fast as he could safely go.


11:15am Saturday Day 3

Once he had been on the highway for a while Lee finally got a signal on the phone, and got ahold of Billy.
“Scarecrow, where the hell are you?” Billy demanded.
“Billy, I’m coming into D.C.—I have Amanda—we need a NEST team.”
“Is she injured? Do we need an ambulance to meet you?”
“No, but they drugged her and tried to get her to talk—they thought she was Scarecrow…”
“Not again!” Billy was incredulous.
“Yeah, they used two different drugs. She’s OK so far, but she’s dopey and sleeping right now. I’m worried about her, one of the drugs was experimental and hallucinogenic.”
“How do you know that?” his section chief demanded.
“I overheard them talking—it was the last drug they used. I took one of them out just after they gave her the injection. The other guy ran off. That was yesterday morning. But I couldn’t follow, I had to stay with Amanda—it was pretty bad, Billy. It took almost 18 hours for that drug to run through her system. Then she slept. I had to park a couple miles down the road, so I needed her awake enough to walk it.”
“Did she do OK?”
“Mostly. Anyhow, have NEST standing by. Where should I bring her?”
“Come to Gallilee General—it’s on your way. What’s your ETA?”
“Another hour or more. I’m pouring it on. Can you alert the highway patrol, I don’t need to be stopped for speeding.”
“Will do. Do what you have to, but get her in fast!” Billy ended the call.


12:30pm Saturday Day 3

Once he got to the hospital, the NEST team took Amanda. Lee felt lost. He should be in there with her, she wouldn’t know what was going on, she needed his presence, needed to hear his voice.
Billy met him in the waiting area. “Scarecrow, report!”
“Billy, I’ve got to get in there. Amanda needs me.”
“She’s with the best team we have—they’ll take good care of her. Now report.”
“OK, OK.” Lee ran his hand through his hair. “I got a line on a property in the Shenandoah Mountains late Friday-early Saturday. I found a map and directions and took off.”
“You seemed to have neglected to tell anyone where you were going.” Billy was annoyed.
Lee was surprised. “I left a message with the switchboard, and a map and a note in your office.”
“That explains the strange message I got when I inquired about you. There was a new trainee on the switchboard, and apparently she got things confused. I never saw any map or note.”
“Well I left them on your desk before I left.” Lee was defensive now.
“That’s something for another time. What came next?” Billy asked.
“I just had to get to Amanda. I had a meet with Lana. She found out some rogue Romanians had her. They thought she was me—I guess their records haven’t been updated since the last time she was kidnapped in my place.”
“You’d think those governments would talk to each other once in a while.” Billy said dryly.
“Yeah. Well, I got there just after dawn. There were two of them, one was a doctor, he did all the injections. The other guy was the interrogator. They hadn’t gotten anything out of her—they didn’t even know they had the wrong person. She was great, Billy. All they got was the secret ingredients for her poppy seed cake. Can you believe it?” Lee was proud of his partner.
“She’s really something, Scarecrow. You said it was bad…”
“Uh, the last drug—it cycles the metabolism. One hour it’s accelerated—that’s the interrogation phase. Then one hour of low metabolism—unresponsive. The doc said some subjects went into shock—some died.” He paused and gathered his thoughts. “She was really talkative the first round. Then she just crashed and slept. Second round she was—silly. She sang songs and stuff. Then she crashed really bad—she got cold, weak pulse. I treated her as if she was in shock—got her warm, feet elevated. I tried to get food and drink into her when she was awake, she took some. Third round she just cried. I swear if that guy hadn’t already been dead I’d have killed him again—slowly. Then she crashed, it wasn’t as bad as before but I still tried to keep her warm.”
Lee continued, “The fourth round was bad, she was terrified. All I could do was hold her and tell her it would be OK. After that she went into shock again. I kept her warm, did what I could—which was damn little. Fifth round she was mostly out of it. I don’t even know if she recognized me or not. Then she crashed again—just slept, but I still kept her warm, just in case. Sixth round she was mostly lucid and we just talked. She told me what had happened up to then. But she was getting weaker. I tried to get her to eat—she did some, not much but some. Then she crashed again.”
He paused and took a deep breath. “I thought that was it, but I guess there was still some of the drug in her system. There were only supposed to be six cycles, 12 hours in all. The last round scared me the most. First, she thought she was dying, she could feel death creeping up her body. I couldn’t convince her otherwise. She asked me to take care of her mother and the boys… Then she started having flashbacks—she relived almost every case we ever had. That was weird. Then she crashed for the last time. I just kept her warm and we slept through the night.”
Billy was reassuring, “It sounds like you did very well, Scarecrow. She’s alive and you got her here. You even got her to eat some. That’s got to help.”
“I don’t know, Billy. She was still pretty out of it this morning. She said she hurt everywhere. She’s got a couple bruises where they roughed her up—her face, right side and hip. But she said she hurt everywhere and felt awful. Amanda never complains. I hope I did the right thing. They said the subject shouldn’t be moved until the drug had run its course and the subject had rested. That’s why I waited to get back. Even if the car was right at the house, I figured I shouldn’t move her until after the drug had run its course. And I couldn’t drive and deal with her at the same time. And if she went into shock while I was driving…Well, I figured I had to wait.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
“It seems you did the right thing,” Billy reassured him. “Why don’t you go home and get cleaned up and I’ll let you know when they have something.”
“No! I can’t leave Amanda—she may wake up and not know where she is—she’ll be upset—she’ll need me to be there…” Lee was stressed.
“Scarecrow, calm down man!” Billy took a breath. “OK, I’ll send someone by your place to pick up a change of clothes. You can clean up here. We’ll arrange for a full debriefing while you are waiting.”


3:26pm Saturday Day 3

After Lee was debriefed and cleaned up, Dr. Kelford came out to Billy and Lee in the waiting area.
“Mr. Melrose. Mr. Stetson.” She addressed the two men waiting for word on Amanda. “We have some preliminary results from the blood tests. Good work, by the way. Bringing those samples helped us greatly.”
Lee was anxious, “How is Amanda?”
Dr. Kelford was professional, “She is stable and resting.”
Billy and Lee exchanged looks. “What aren’t you telling me?” Billy asked.
The doctor looked a bit wary. “The drugs she was given—each one was pretty powerful. But two drugs in less than 24 hours—that’s a lot of strain for anyone’s system. Plus we don’t know how they might interact. Or how she will react to the drugs, individually or collectively.”
“So what are you doing for her?” Lee demanded.
“We examined her and treated her injuries. Took blood for tests. Other than that we really can’t do much of anything. We have her on IV saline and glucose, to keep her from getting dehydrated and offer some nutrition, but we can’t give her any other medications right now. She’s still got residue of those drugs in her system, and we don’t know how it would interact. So we wait until she comes around.”
The pager sounded. “Dr. Kelford to 203, Dr. Kelford to 203 stat.”
The doctor took off with Lee and Billy right behind her.


In the room it was chaos. Amanda was screaming and fighting. There was blood, the staff were trying to put her in restraints. Amanda was fighting for all she was worth.
“What happened?” Dr. Kelford demanded.
The head nurse replied, “Doctor, she woke up and asked where she was. I told her she was in the hospital, and she was being taken care of. She asked for Lee and when I told her she should rest, she just started fighting. She tore out her IV line she’s…”
“Amanda, I’m here!” Lee shouted above the chaos.
“Lee, where are you?” Amanda sounded desperate. “You’ve got to save me, they’re hurting me!” Amanda was still fighting the staff trying to hold her down.
Lee muscled the hospital staff aside and took Amanda’s uninjured hand. “I’m here, Amanda, I’m here.”
“Lee, is it really you?”
“Yes, it’s me. Look at me.” He took her face in his hands, “It’s really me.”
“Oh good. I was scared. They were hurting me. Stickin’ more needles in me—I don’t like needles, Lee…”
As soon as Lee had stepped forward, Dr. Kelford had motioned for the hospital staff to stay back.
Lee spoke soothingly, “Amanda, you’re hurt. Your hand is bloody—we have to fix it.”
He took her left hand where the IV had been torn out. She looked at her hand with surprise.
“Oh, I’m bleeding—that’s what hurts. Lee please—can you fix it?”
Lee moved to the opposite side of the bed and took her face in his hands again, turning her to look at him. “Sure, I’ll fix it.”
He nodded to the personnel, and a nurse stepped to the side of the bed where Amanda couldn’t see. She took her left hand and began bandaging the wound. Lee kept Amanda’s eyes on him the whole time. Once the nurse was finished, she moved back.
“Amanda, we need to change the sheets. Can you get up?” Lee found a robe and offered it to her.
“Uh, OK.” She got up and put the robe on. Lee led her to the chair in the corner and she sat. Lee stayed by her and she clung to his hand, looking at him the entire time. An orderly changed the bed and left.
Amanda looked around the room at the group standing by the door. “Lee, who are these people?”
“You know Billy, and Dr. Kelford.” He tried to sound reassuring.
“Yeah, I guess. But who are the other people?”
“They are the doctors and nurses who are taking care of you.”
“Why am I here, Lee?” She was confused.
“What do you remember, Amanda?”
She thought a moment. “I feel awful. I ache everywhere. I’m tired and I want to rest.”
Lee looked at Dr. Kelford, who nodded.
“OK, why don’t you get back into bed and rest now.” He led her back to the bed.
“Yeah, I’ll do that. Lee—don’t leave me. I’m scared—these strange people—they want to hurt me—they stuck needles into me—keep them away from me please?”
“I’ll stay right here. I won’t leave you, I promise. OK?” He smiled at her.
“OK, thanks. You’ll keep me safe. I know it.” She drifted off to sleep.


Dr. Kelford motioned Billy and the staff out into the hallway. “It looks like she’s going through some sort of detox or withdrawal. Paranoia is not uncommon. She has fixated on Scarecrow as safe—it’s best if we let him stay with her. I want to call Dr. Pfaff in on this one, he may have some insights I don’t.”
Billy asked, “How long will it take for her to come out of it?”
Dr. Kelford was at a loss. “I have no idea.”


After a few minutes, Lee opened the door and leaned out. “She’s asleep. I’m not surprised she freaked. They kept her tied to a chair from the time she got there. Trying to restrain her probably made her flash back…”
“Yes, I understand now, Stetson,” Dr. Kelford replied.
Billy spoke next, “Scarecrow, you just stay in there with her. I’ll make sure you get food. Do you need books or magazines or anything else?”
“Yeah,” he replied, “something to read might be nice.”
Dr. Kelford spoke again, “We should move you—we have a suite upstairs—more private, secure—two bedrooms also.”
Lee nodded, “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that. How long will it take for her to shake this?”
“We don’t know exactly.” Dr. Kelford was rueful. “If it were only one drug I’d say two to three days, but with two drugs…”
“Does today count?” Billy asked quickly.
She answered quickly, “Probably, but plan on her being here at least one more day, maybe longer.”
Lee spoke emphatically, “Hey, I’m here for my partner—however long it takes, I’m here for her.”
Dr. Kelford was more placating, “OK, Stetson, we’ll get clothes for both of you—she’ll probably be more comfortable in regular clothing. Go back in and we’ll get you both upstairs when we’re ready.” The doctor then pushed Lee back into Amanda’s room and pulled the door shut after him.
She turned to Billy, “Is this the same agent that absolutely refused to ever work with a partner again? Was that only three years ago?”
Billy sighed. “Eric Jarvis died nearly four years ago. For almost a year I tried to get him to work with almost anyone. He refused and caused a lot of grief in the unit. Then Amanda came along, and somehow they clicked.”
“Right away?” Dr. Kelford was incredulous.
Billy smiled ruefully, “It took a while—OK, almost a year—but she is more stubborn than he is. How she put up with him that first year, I’ll never know. Even now, they still have some pretty spectacular arguments. But they always make up and they make a great team. Actually they have the best track record of any partnership in my unit.” He paused. “Will she recover?” Billy was worried, too.
“I just don’t know. But I do know that if she is calmer with her partner by her side, then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll make the arrangements now for the isolation unit, and we’ll move them upstairs as soon as we can. Hopefully while she’s still asleep.” The doctor paused and took a breath. “Melrose, the way he’s acting toward her, if she doesn’t recover fully, you’ll probably lose two agents, not just one.”
Billy nodded darkly, “Don’t I know it.”


4:52pm Saturday Day 3

Lee helped wheel Amanda up to the 7th floor isolation unit. Usually it was used for patients with infectious diseases as a quarantine facility. But nobody needed quarantine, and it was a semi-normal living environment that Dr. Kelford and Dr. Pfaff thought would help Amanda feel more calm.
There was a spacious living area with two separate bedrooms opening off each end. Each bedroom had a double bed and its own bathroom. There was also an easy chair and reading lamp, for private reading, or rest, if the bed was not what the patient wanted.
The main room resembled a hotel suite: in the center, there was a comfortable couch with a coffee table and a big TV with a VCR, there were many books and games on a shelf nearby. One corner had a dining nook with a table and chairs plus a sink, a microwave and a small but well-stocked refrigerator, and shelves and cupboards with dishes and snack foods. The other side had two recliners flanking a small table with reading lamps. Except for the locking door and secured windows, it was warm and cozy, quite homelike.
Amanda had been brought up the elevator sleeping in her hospital bed, and Lee had carried her into the suite and put her into bed. She had barely stirred. He tucked her in and left the bedroom door open so he could hear if she woke up.


Dr. Kelford and Dr. Pfaff met with Billy and Lee in the main room of the suite. They spoke softly.
Billy started the meeting, “What do we know here?”
Dr. Pfaff spoke first. “We have a good idea about one of the drugs she was given. Normally, just rest, forcing fluids and taking it easy would do it. Simple detox—however that second experimental drug… We know it’s hallucinogenic, and that’s the problem. Until we can fully test and analyze it, we really don’t know much.”
Dr. Kelford spoke next, “So far she seems to be reacting well physically. She has bruises, and the wound from removing the IV, but aside from the possible shock you reported, Scarecrow, her vitals are quite good.” She continued, “You seem to have done remarkably well taking care of her. And good job, keeping her still that last day. I think that may have been the best thing you could have done.”
Lee replied, “When that doctor said the subjects shouldn’t be moved, I figured he knew what he was talking about. So we stayed put.”
Dr Pfaff continued, “Now we have to deal with any possible psychological side effects of her ordeal, including flashbacks. She seems paranoid, which is understandable after being held captive and subjected to interrogation using medical means along with physical duress. She is physically stable, so for now we’ll keep the other medical personnel away unless something goes wrong.”
Pfaff continued, “Psychologically, she’s on shaky ground. We know about the paranoia, she seems to have trouble remembering short-term and perhaps longer. That’s to be expected, especially considering the chemical soup in her veins. She has fixated on Scarecrow as safe. That’s good and something we can use. As long as he is with her, she will probably stay calm.”
Lee interjected, “Like I said before, I’m here as long as Amanda needs me.”
Billy replied, “You’re both off the roster until we find out just how Mrs. King will react to all of this.”
Dr. Kelford spoke next, “We have prepared the suite here for you. It’s secure, private and we have surveillance if we need it. We’ll have food brought in and we’ll monitor you off and on. There are phones in the suite and a panic button in every room. If something goes wrong, don’t hesitate to call us.”
Lee nodded, “I’ll do that.”
She continued, “Now we’ll have to be careful about food—I don’t want her eating or drinking anything that might interact with the residual drugs in her system. Three days is usual for standard detox, so for at least that long, no alcohol, no caffeine, no chocolate. We’ll keep the food light and easily digested. No complicated sauces or spices. You need to encourage her to drink—force fluids—it helps flush the drugs out of her system.”
Lee nodded again, “Force fluids, I can do that. Anything in particular?”
“No,” Dr. Kelford replied. “Just whatever she wants of what we provide. We’ll keep things as pure as possible, no artificial sweeteners or carbonation. Just juices, milk, water.”
“Anything else I should look out for?” Lee asked.
Dr. Pfaff looked uneasy, “You know her well—so anything uncharacteristic or unusual. She will probably have nightmares—just be reassuring—from what we’ve seen so far, just your presence should be enough to calm her. We have video tapes available for you, but it’s a careful selection. Nothing heavy or intense, mostly light comedy, musicals, documentaries. The same for the selection in books and magazines, though she may not have the inclination to read.”
Dr. Kelford spoke up, “We also have a treadmill and stationary bicycle outside that we’ll bring in here shortly. Exercise can also help, but make sure she drinks before and afterward. Dehydration can interfere with the detox process.”
Dr. Pfaff was next, “I’ll be by every day to see if she wants to talk—but realistically she needs to detox first. I’ll be monitoring the process, because how she reacts can help with future exposure to this drug, if it does get used again.”
Lee pointed accusingly at Dr. Pfaff, “So Amanda’s the guinea pig in all this—and you’re just using her for your research.”
Pfaff thought a moment and calmly replied, “I suppose so. We didn’t plan this, so we have to make the best of a bad situation.”
Billy spoke to change the subject, “Will she recover fully?”
Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford exchanged looks. Dr. Kelford spoke first. “As I said, physically she seems well on the way to a full recovery.”
Dr. Pfaff spoke next, “As to psychologically, only time will tell. I have a feeling how we handle it now will determine how well she recovers. We don’t know what we’re dealing with, so we just have to do what seems right, and hope for the best.”
Lee was upset, “Amanda deserves better than that! Can’t you guys do more?” He ran his hand through his hair.
Billy was placating, “Lee, they are doing their best—that’s all we can ask. Your getting upset won’t help your partner. Just stay calm and do your best to help her through this.”
Lee was still agitated, “Yeah, I will, but she has to get better. I need my partner at her best—we take care of each other and watch each other’s backs out there. So she’s just gotta recover fully.”
Billy tried calming Lee down again, “Scarecrow, calm down. These doctors are doing their best to help Mrs. King. You need to let them do their jobs.”
Lee was calming down a bit, “Yeah, fine Billy. But you know I just don’t trust doctors…”
Dr. Pfaff cut in, “Yes, Scarecrow, your opinions on the medical profession are well documented. But this time we are helping your partner—you are, too. Your presence helps keep her calm and if she is calm she can recover more quickly. You need to remain calm for her—focus on helping her—you can take it out on us after she is well. OK?”
Lee was calmer but not mollified, “Yeah doc, I know what you’re doing here. I’ve dealt with you shrinks more than I want.” He paused and took a cleansing breath. “But I’ll do it for Amanda.” He started to pace as he spoke, “She doesn’t deserve this—she’s not even an agent. Damn it, they thought she was me—that should have been me—I could have dealt with it better than she could. Hell, I’ve been trained—she hasn’t got the skills…”
Billy interrupted, “She did remarkably well for an untrained civilian. Hell, she did better than many agents would have. So just lay off and concentrate on Amanda getting well. Can you do that?”
Lee pointed accusingly at Billy, “You don’t have to remind me what’s important here. I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
Dr. Kelford spoke up, “Yes, we all want to see Mrs. King fully recovered. We’ll just go now and leave you to it, OK?”
Dr. Kelford ushered Dr. Pfaff and Billy out of the suite.


Once the door to the suite had closed the three moved a short way down the hall. Billy stopped the doctors. “Tell me straight. Will she recover?”
Dr. Kelford replied, “We don’t know. It’s that experimental hallucinogenic drug. We’re still analyzing it. And then there is the fact it was one of two different drugs administered within a 24 hour period. The first drug was pretty straightforward, but in combination with the hallucinogenic… We just don’t know. So far she’s doing remarkably well. After examining her, and hearing what Stetson had to say—hopefully the two episodes of shock were the worst of the physical effects. Physically, she can only improve. Psychologically…”
Dr. Pfaff took up the conversation, “Yes, that’s the unknown here. The wide range of effects she exhibited while under the drug’s influence—well, that’s unusual—even for hallucinogenics. You are aware how LSD can cause flashbacks years later—but most people have no adverse effects. And then in worst cases, the personality can fragment and the subject never recovers fully. Now this is not LSD, but we just don’t know about this one. All we can do it watch and wait.”
Billy asked about his other agent involved this, “What about Lee, is he doing OK? Can he do this?”
Dr. Pfaff replied, “Scarecrow is a man of action. Giving him an active part in helping his partner is the best thing we can do for him.”
Billy asked the question he didn’t want to, “What can we expect from him if she doesn’t recover?”
Pfaff answered, “She will probably live, so we don’t have to worry about that aspect of it. But if she suffers permanent psychological damage—it could be worse for him than if she had died. We’re all aware of how badly he dealt with the death of his former partner, what, four years ago?”
Billy replied, “Four years this fall.”
Pfaff continued, “But if she survives and suffers permanent damage—he may never get closure. His survivor’s guilt will keep eating at him. I’d recommend he be pulled from field work in that case. And seeing how he’s highly resistant to medical help—well, it doesn’t look good. Add to that the emotional ties between those two…”
Billy looked Pfaff squarely in the eye, “I know. But it’s Amanda King who has gotten Scarecrow to where he is today. I’ve encouraged the partnership from the start—and I still do.”
Pfaff was supportive, “They both have benefited—we can all see that. All we can do now is watch and wait and hope it ends well.”
Billy finished up, “Keep me informed. I have the rest of a unit to watch over—but I need my top team back in the field.”


In the suite, Lee tried the door to the hallway once it had closed—it was locked from the outside. ‘Probably best that way’, he thought.
He positioned a chair so he could see into Amanda’s bedroom and watch her as she slept. He read a book.
About 7pm, a nurse came into the suite pushing a cart with dinner for them. Lee went in and gently woke Amanda.
“Hi, how are you feeling?”
Amanda looked groggily around, “Lee are you here? What is this place? Where are we?”
He smiled, that sounded more like his Amanda. “They’ve brought some dinner, are you hungry?”
“Dinner, oh, something smells good—I’m hungry!”
Lee indicated the dresser with clothes for her. “Why don’t you get dressed, then come in and we’ll eat.” He closed the door to give her privacy to change.
In a few minutes Amanda emerged in sweats and a t-shirt with slippers. They sat down to dinner at the table. There was grilled chicken breast, salad, soup, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.
Lee was at the refrigerator, “What do you want to drink, Amanda?”
“Oh, coffee would be nice,” she replied.
“We don’t have coffee—I have milk, juice or ice water.”
“No coffee?” she looked at him. He shook his head. She continued, “OK, milk, I guess, no wait, is there wine?”
He shook his head again, “No wine, either. Milk it is.”
They ate. Amanda seemed hungry—she finished most of her dinner.
“Boy, I’m thirsty,” she said as she finished the last of her milk. “Can I have more milk?”
Lee poured her some more milk, “Sure, Amanda.” He planned to have water available beside her bed also.
Lee cleared the dishes onto the bottom of the cart. “Do you want dessert? It’s strawberry shortcake.”
“Oh great! I love strawberries!”
They finished their dessert, and Lee took the cart with the remains of their dinner to the suite door, it opened, and he passed the cart to the nurse there. He returned to the suite.
“Do you want to watch a movie, Amanda?”
“What do we have to watch?” She moved to the shelf with the movies and looked them over. “Let’s see, oh look! The Sound of Music. I love that movie! Will you watch it with me, Lee?”
He took the tape and loaded it into the VCR, turned on the TV and took the remote. “Of course I will.”
They sat on the couch, and Amanda moved closer to Lee. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled into him. She looked up at him, “This is nice.”
“Yes, it is.” He smiled at her. Maybe things would get better.
She smiled back at him. It was the first time he had seen her smile since they woke up that morning, what seemed weeks ago. ‘Yes, things are looking up.’
They settled in and watched the movie.


10:52pm Saturday Day 3

After the movie, Amanda was tired, so she changed into a nightgown in her bathroom while Lee waited, sitting on the edge of her bed. Once she emerged, she climbed into bed.
Lee asked her, “Do you want a bedtime snack? I could get you some milk and cookies.”
She smiled, “Thank you, that would be nice.”
Lee brought a glass of milk and a plate of sugar cookies. She drank the milk and they shared the cookies.
“These are nice, Lee.”
“Yours are better, Amanda.”
She smiled at him, “Thank you, Lee, that’s very sweet.”
Once the snack was consumed, Lee took the plate and glass back and returned to sit on the edge of Amanda’s bed. “I’ll sit here next to you until you fall asleep, OK?”
“Thank you. Those strange people are gone now?” She looked questioningly at him.
“I’m here with you, I’ll keep you safe. You go to sleep. I’ll leave the door open. If you need me just call out, and I’ll hear you. I’ll come.”
“Stay with me, Lee. I’m still a little scared, this is a strange place.”
“I’ll stay until you fall asleep. I’ll just be out there. You call out, and I’ll hear you. OK?”
She looked a bit disappointed, “Oh, OK.”
He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, Amanda. Rest and get well for me, please?”
“OK, good night, Lee.”
“Good night, Amanda.” He turned out the light and sat on the edge of the bed.
In a few minutes she was asleep. Lee sat and watched his partner sleep for a while. ‘At least she is eating well. And drinking lots of fluids. That’s got to help.’ He got up and filled a small pitcher with water and placed it and a cup on the table next to Amanda’s bed. He looked at her sleeping so peacefully, and then went out into the main room to read on the couch.


1:42am Sunday Late Day 3

“Help! Stay away from me!”
Lee bolted up from the couch where he had fallen asleep. His book landed on the floor with a thump. Amanda screamed again, and he rushed into her bedroom. He saw she was asleep, but fighting someone in her dreams.
“Amanda, wake up!” She did not respond to his voice. He cautiously took one of her hands.
She grabbed his hand and pulled it to her. “Run, we’ve gotta run and get away!”
He sat on the edge of her bed and tried again, “Amanda, wake up, you‘re dreaming.”
“The Nazis are coming—we’ve gotta run and hide!” She started to get out of bed, still holding his hand and trying to pull him after her. She climbed over Lee.
“Hey, Amanda!” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. “Wake up, it’s just a dream!”
“Lee, is that you?” Amanda opened her eyes and looked at him in the dim light.
“Yeah, I’m here. You were having a nightmare.” He tried to hold her still on his lap.
“Oh Lee, we have to get out of here. The Nazis are coming for us and they’ll kill us if they find us.” She was still trying to get away, but he held her closely, gently but firmly.
“I hear you, Amanda, but we’re safe here. They can’t find us here.” He turned her head toward him and looked into her eyes.
She stilled and looked back at him. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Just relax, you’ll be OK.”
“OK.” She yawned. “I’m sleepy.”
“Why don’t you get back into bed?” He slowly relaxed his hold on her.
“I’m scared,” she said in a small voice. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“I’ll sit right here.”
She looked at him with big, soft eyes. “Before, you held me while I slept. It was nice. I felt safe,” she said in that same small voice.
Lee remembered the surveillance, “Ahh, that might not be such a good idea here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She moved off his lap and climbed back under the covers. “I don’t want to make you unhappy. If you don’t want to be here…”
“Amanda,” He took her hand and held it between his. “I do want to be here. There’s nowhere else I would rather be. Really.” He tried to sound reassuring and comforting.
“Oh.” She looked sad. “But then why…” Big tears started running down her cheeks.
Lee gathered her in his arms again and rocked her gently. “OK, I’ll stay with you. Let me get into my sweats and I’ll be back in a minute, OK?”
She sniffed, and Lee pulled a tissue from the box by her bed and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. He looked into her eyes. She looked so lost and forlorn.
“I’ll go get changed, now, is that OK? I’ll be right back.”
“…OK…you promise to come back? You won’t let the Nazis catch you?”
“Yes, I promise.” Lee moved her to sit on the edge of the bed and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”
He went to his bedroom and changed into sweats and a t-shirt. He pulled on his robe, took a pillow from his bed and walked back to Amanda’s bedroom. She was still in the same position that he had left her in, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I’m back.”
She started as he spoke. “Oh good, you did come back. I was worried. I thought I heard the Nazis out there.”
“Amanda, you didn’t have to worry, I’m here and I won’t leave you alone. Not until you’re better.”
She sniffed again. Lee wiped the tears from her face.
“You ready to sleep yet?” he asked her gently.
“You’ll stay with me?” she sounded unsure of him.
He replied warmly, “Yes, I’ll stay with you.”
She gave him a shy smile, climbed under the covers and moved over in the bed to make room for him. Lee removed his robe, put his pillow down on the bed, pulled back the covers and climbed in next to Amanda.
‘At least this is a double bed,’ he thought. “You ready to go back to sleep now?” he asked her.
“Yeah.”
They settled in comfortably, side by side. She took his hand, “I feel safe with you here with me.”
He kissed her hand. “Goodnight, Amanda. Sleep well.”
“Goodnight, Lee. You too.” She sat up abruptly. “Did you hear that?”
“There’s nothing out there. The Nazis have gone. It’s just us here, nobody else. We’re safe. Really.” He sat up and gently drew her back down into the bed. “Just close you eyes and sleep, Amanda. I’m right here beside you.”
She spoke in that small voice, “Will you hold me? I’m still scared.”
He drew her into his arms and she snuggled against him. She was shaking. “Hey, relax. I’m here. You’re safe.” He ran his hand up and down her back to calm her.
”Lee, what’s wrong? I’m so scared.”
He spoke reassuringly, “You’ve had a hard time. You’re getting better—really you are. It will just take a bit longer before you’re back to normal. I’ll stay with you until you are OK. You need to sleep now. Rest will help you heal.” She slowly quieted, and her shaking stopped.
“Lee, was it real?” she whispered.
“What?” he continued rubbing her back gently.
“Those two men—the needles and drugs—they thought I was you—they hurt me—I felt so awful—the mean man kept asking me to tell him all of Scarecrow’s secrets—I don’t know all your secrets—I don’t want to know all your secrets—well maybe some of them, but not all of them… I knew I couldn’t tell them anything about you or the Agency—I told them my secret ingredients for my poppy seed cake. That’s when the mean man got mad and he hit me. The doctor stopped him. Lee, they were gonna kill me after it was all over. What if you hadn’t found me?”
“Hey, it’s OK. I did find you. ‘What if’ isn’t something a good agent dwells on. Just what happened—how it went down. Just the facts.”
“You have to keep your feelings separate. That’s what you’ve always told me.”
“Amanda, your feelings are what make you an effective agent. And your instincts.”
“Harry said you’d follow me ‘blind through a blizzard at midnight.’”
“Yes, I would.” He kissed the top of her head.
She sighed, “You’re so sweet. I know I’m safe with you here.”
“Yes, you’re safe. Go to sleep, you need to rest. Please?”
“Just stay with me. If you hold me I know I’ll be safe.”
They settled in and drifted off to sleep.
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