*The usual disclaimers apply.  Thanks to Cheryl for the story idea and to the Wicky gals in chat for their help and encouragement in helping me complete this—no beta so mistakes are purely my own—hope you enjoy :)

New FF: The Streak

4247 Maplewood Dr

Saturday, July 7, 1990

10:30 AM

“Mother and I are still here at the airport,” Amanda’s voice crackled slightly over the phone. “Lillian’s flight was delayed but it should be coming in any minute now. Is the spare room ready?”

“Yes, the spare room is ready.” Lee balanced the cordless phone against his shoulder as he slowly stirred the soup on the stove.  From the family room he could hear the sounds of Jenna as she sang loudly along with the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ theme—it was her favorite cartoon. “That was the first thing I did.” 

“You took the sheets and bedspread out of the dryer and made the bed?” 

“That is exactly what I did, yes.” 

“The towels?”  

“Folded and in the bathroom,” he told her.  Not completely the truth—they were folded and on the family room sofa, but he planned to put them into the bathroom in just a moment.

“And did you vacuum the carpet in there?”

This was beginning to feel like an interrogation—Lee let out a sigh. “I vacuumed the entire house,” he told her. “You’ll be happy to know that I even picked some flowers from the garden and put them on the nightstand.” 

“That’s great,” Amanda said. “And the casserole in the freezer?”

“There’s a casserole in the freezer?” 

“Lee—”

Lee grinned. “Only joking, Amanda—it’s in the oven right now. I’m even making some soup to go along with it. Trust me, everything’s under control.”

“What about Jenna?” 

 “What about Jenna?” Lee repeated blankly. 

Now it was Amanda’s turn to sigh. “Lee, please stop joking. Did you get her dressed in the clothes I picked out?” 

The clothes she  picked out—Lee wracked his brain, trying to think. He thought he’d remembered everything Amanda had told him before she’d left that morning—cleaning the guest  room and making an early lunch. Had she said anything about Jenna?  He couldn’t recall.

“Lee?” Amanda’s voice broke into his reverie.  “Did you get her dressed or not?” 

“Well, I definitely got her dressed,” he said finally. “But I didn’t see any other clothes—”

“They’re on the top of her dresser,” Amanda told him. “The sundress that Aunt Lillian made her for Easter—the one with the butterflies on it? It’s still a little big on her, but I know she’ll want to see Jenna wearing it—you know how sensitive she gets about those things.”

To call Aunt Lillian sensitive would be an understatement, Lee thought drily. If he had a penny for every time she’d locked herself in her room— he ran his hand back through his hair. “Yes, I know how she gets about these things. Don’t worry, I’ll get Jenna dressed.” 

“Good,” Amanda replied. “Oh—Lillian’s flight just came in so I should let you go now. I’ll see you soon, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, Amanda.”  Lee hung up the phone.  The soup had begun to simmer—Lee turned the heat down to low and went into the family room, where Jenna had her leg up over the side and was valiantly trying to pull herself out of the playpen.

“Hey, there munchkin.”  His little escape artist—bending down, Lee scooped his daughter up into  his arms. “Just where are you trying to go, huh?”

 “Pay ‘side?”  Jenna said, pointing to the French doors that led to the back yard.

“We’ll play outside later, okay?”  He told her “Right now we need to get you dressed for your Aunt Lillian.” 

“Yillyan?” Jenna repeated, her small brow furrowing. 

Lee smiled.  “Close enough.”

“But—but—I dwess, daddy,” Jenna pointed to her red Winnie the Pooh shirt.  “See?”

“Yeah, I know you are.” He kissed the tip of her nose, making her giggle. “But right now we need to get you dressed in other clothes, okay?”

“’Kay.”

Lee carried his daughter upstairs to her bedroom.  The clothes were right where Amanda had said they’d be, neatly folded on top of the dresser, along with a pair of anklet socks and sandals. He picked up the sundress and placed Jenna down on the floor, kneeling down beside her.

“Lift up your arms,” he told her. Jenna did, and Lee pulled the t-shirt off.  Next came her pants—Jenna pulled them down and Lee held her hands while she stepped out of them.

“Okay.”  Lee picked up the sundress. “Come on, munchkin—let’s get this on you.” 

“I do it?” Jenna asked, her chubby arms reaching towards the dress.

“You can do it—here, let me help.”  Lee carefully guided the dress as Jenna pulled it over her head, making sure it was facing the right way.  “Easy now—put your arms in the sleeves—no not your head, munchkin—your arm—put your arm in there.” He pulled the dress down.  “There you go—that’s just right.” 

“Wight,” Jenna grinned. “I did it!” 

“Yes, you did it.”  Lee tied the sash of the dress loosely around the back, making  what he hoped was a neat bow.  He could see now what Amanda meant about the size—the dress almost came down to the floor and the shoulder straps looked like they might fall down at any minute. Still, she’d grow into it before too long, and it really was a beautiful dress—lavender with embroidered butterflies. Jenna looked down at the dress, her finger tracing one of the embroidered shapes.

“What that, Daddy?”  She asked. 

“That’s a butterfly.” 

“Burrfly?”

 “That’s right,” he told her “Sit down now—let me put your shoes and socks on.”

“’Kay.”  Jenna sat on the floor and Lee pulled the ankle socks on each foot, neatly folding them down. The sandals came next.  She squirmed and giggled, kicking her feet as he tried to pull the tiny strap through the buckle and navigate the prong through the tiny hole.

“Hold still, Jenna—” He spoke through gritted teeth. These things were always easier for Amanda—his fingers always seemed to be too big somehow.  He had just managed to get them fastened when the phone rang downstairs.

“Pone, Daddy,” Jenna said.    

“Yeah, that’s the phone.”  Lee picked her up. “Let’s go see who it is.”  He carried her downstairs into the family room.

“Pay ‘side?”  Jenna asked again. “Pease?” 

“In a little bit, munchkin—just be quiet now.”  Lee picked up the cordless.  “Stetson residence.”

“Lee do you have a copy of the Entermann debriefing?” 

“And hello to you too, Francine,” Lee replied drily. “How are you doing?” 

“Save it, Lee,” Francine snapped. “I don’t have time for niceties—I’m in the middle of an interrogation and there’s some information in there that I need.”

Jenna squirmed in his grasp, arching her back.  “Want down!” she said. Lee placed the toddler on the ground beside him.  

“Who was that?”  Francine asked sharply.

“That was Jenna—but you can relax; she doesn’t need security clearance quite yet.” 

“Very funny,” Francine said. “Do you have a copy with you or not?”

“Yes, of course I have a copy with me.”  Lee kept one eye on Jenna as he spoke—she stood near the French doors, her palms pressed against the glass. “But can’t you just look it up on the computer?” 

A sigh. “Well, I could—if the system wasn’t down for maintenance. Lee, you’ve got to help me here.  I need the names of the people that Entermann listed as accomplices.” 

“’pwinkle, Daddy.”  Jenna tapped at the glass.  “See?” 

“Yes, I see that, munchkin.” Lee said. She meant the lawn sprinklers—she liked to run through them on hot days. “Hang on, Francine—I’ll get that report.” He pulled his leather briefcase down from the top of the bookcase and unzipped it. The Entermann report lay neatly on the top.

“It’s right here—I have it,” he told Francine. 

“Great.” The relief in Francine’s voice was audible. “Stay on the line—let me know when you find the information.” 

“Will do.”  He sat down in the chair, pulled it out and leafed through the pages—his eyes scanning the transcript.  Not there—not there—there were more than sixty pages here. If only he had a page number or something— Lee let his breath out in a sigh of frustration. He glanced over at Jenna, who was sitting on the floor—she caught his eye and grinned.

“Hi!”  She said, waving at him.

“Hi yourself, munchkin.”  He waved back.

“Lee?”  Francine said. “Have you found the names yet or not?”

“Relax Francine. This was a three-hour debriefing, remember?” Lee flipped through the pages. “I know it’s in here somewhere.”  Another brief glance at Jenna—still sitting on the floor. Up to page fifteen and still nothing—at this rate it was going to take longer than the debriefing itself. 

“Lee?” 

“Still looking.” Lee turned the page “Okay—here we are—I got it.” 

“Lee, you’re a lifesaver,” Francine replied. “Just give me the names.”

“Sure.”  Lee was about to read the names when he cast another glance over in Jenna’s direction—where she had been.  She was gone.

“Munchkin?”  Lee called out. He turned his head, looking around him. “Jenna!”    No response—he couldn’t see her anywhere.  Where could she have gone?  She hadn’t been out of his sight more than a few seconds.

But a few seconds was all that it took for a toddler—and Jenna could move pretty fast when she wanted to. 

If anything had happened to her…

“Lee?”  Francine’s voice registered dimly in his consciousness.  “What is it?  I need those names now.” 

“Francine, look—I have to let you go—I’ll call you later.”  Without waiting for a reply Lee turned off the phone, tossed the report down and stood.

That was when he saw the clothes.  They lay in a little pile by the French doors—Jenna’s sandals and socks, her sundress, still tied at the back. And neatly placed on the very top of the pile was her diaper. 

But where—a faint giggle sounded nearby—Jenna’s giggle.  Looking outside Lee felt a wave a relief washing over him as he saw his daughter, now completely naked, running through the sprinklers.

“Oh, munchkin—” Lee muttered.  Grabbing one of the towels from the sofa he ran outside. “Daddy!”   Jenna ran towards him—smiling widely. Her hair was soaking wet now, bits of grass clinging to her damp feet and legs.  Lee scooped her up, wrapping the towel around her. 

“Just what did you think you were doing, huh?” he asked, carrying her inside. “Why did you take your clothes off?” 

“‘pwinkle.” Jenna said, as if that explained everything.

“Yeah, so  I see.”  He carried her into the kitchen.  Placing her down on floor he began to dry her off, starting with her hair. “But from now on, I don’t want you going outside and playing in the sprinklers without Daddy—okay?”

“’Kay,” Jenna said.  

At that moment he heard the sound of the front door opening.

“Lee?” Amanda’s voice. “We’re here.” 

Jenna’s face lit up. “Mommy!”   Before Lee could stop her she wriggled out of her towel and ran towards the front door. Amanda, Dotty and Aunt Lillian stood in the foyer.   

“Well hi, there, sweetheart.” Putting down the suitcase she was holding Amanda lifted Jenna into her arms. “Just what have you been up to?”  

“’pwinkle, Mommy,” Jenna said, grinning. 

“She decided it would be fun to take her clothes off and run through the lawn sprinklers,” Lee explained as Amanda shot him a questioning glance. 

“Like mother, like daughter,” Dotty said. “You did the exact same thing when you were her age, Amanda.”

Lee grinned. “Oh, she did, did she?”

“Mo-ther—” Amanda said.

“In fact,”  Dotty continued, “there’s a photo of you somewhere, running around naked as a jaybird.”

“Really?”  Lee took Dotty’s hand.  “Oh, I’d like to hear more of this.” 

Amanda sighed. “Mother, please—”

“Well,” Dotty began. “One summer when Amanda was about two years old, we rented a cabin up near the lake—”

The End