It was breakfast time on a school morning at the King house. Phillip and Jamie were shoveling cereal into their mouths and poking one another under the table. Their grandmother put her own breakfast dishes into the sink and rolled her eyes heavenward as she muttered to their mother, "I'm glad I only had one of you to put up with!"

Amanda smiled at her mother as Dotty left the room, then said to the boys, "Come on now, you'll be late. Quit that and finish your breakfast." Apparently the dispute had been mostly for show, because they settled down to finish eating.

Just as they'd polished off their cereal, Dotty returned to the kitchen wearing her coat. "Well," she said cheerfully, "I'm off to the airport."

"Why are you leaving so early, Grandma?" asked Jamie, draining his juice glass. "You never go anywhere before we leave for school."

"Because," Dotty said firmly, picking up her purse and looking slightly nervously at the car keys, "Irene's plane arrives in half an hour. She's only going to be in town for a few hours between planes, and I haven't seen her in fifteen years. I'm here to see you, young man," and she paused to ruffle Jamie's hair, "leave for school every single morning." She tousled Phillip's hair as well, and then swept out kitchen door, leaving her family to stare after her in bemusement.

"Who's this Irene, anyway?" asked Phillip.

"Oh, she was a friend of your grandmother's in college," began Amanda, but before she could elaborate, Dotty's head popped back in the doorway.

"Don't forget, Amanda," she said, "I have a dentist's appointment this afternoon, so you'll have to be home by the time the boys get home."

"I remember, Mother. I'm not going anywhere, I just have some typing to do here at home." As Dotty started off again, Amanda added, "Be careful driving! You still don't have a lot of experience."

"That sounds like something I used to say to you," Dotty retorted, as she smiled and headed out the door for the second time.

After the interruption, the boys dashed upstairs to brush their teeth, and Amanda scurried around the kitchen getting their lunches together. Somehow, getting them out the door to school was always trying. She'd just managed it and was sighing in relief when Phillip, in unconscious imitation of his grandmother, stuck his head back inside the house, calling:

"Mom! Remember, you promised to take me to the mall to get that new Transformer after school today! Mr. Martelli said this is the day they get the new shipment!"

"How could I forget, sweetheart? You've been reminding me every hour on the hour for three days. I'll be here, and we'll go as soon as you're home from school, okay? Now GO, or you'll be late!"

With his younger brother tugging impatiently on his arm, Phillip reluctantly closed the door and headed off to school. Amanda could hear him saying, "It's going to be so cool! Nobody else at school has Optimus Prime yet, and I've got all the money saved...."

As his voice faded, Amanda poured herself a cup of coffee and sank gratefully into a kitchen chair, only to gasp in startlement when the kitchen door opened yet again and a familiar voice asked, "Is the coast clear?"

"Lee, you scared me to death! I wish you'd quit doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Sneaking up on me like that! Besides, you're the third person who's yelled at me through that doorway this morning, and I'm beginning to get tired of it!"

Lee looked contrite. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that I need you to help me with something this morning."

Amanda wasn't terribly surprised to hear this. Lee Stetson never turned up at her house unless he wanted her to do something. She really should teach him not to take her for granted. But -- "How long is this going to take?" she heard herself asking. "Because Mother has a dentist's appointment this afternoon and won't be here when the boys get home from school, and besides, I promised Phillip I'd take him shopping for a Transformer right after school. He'll be very disappointed if I don't take him."

Lee took all this in resignedly, and then said in his most soothing tone, "No problem, this will only take an hour, two hours, tops! Come on, get your coat." He began to hustle her into the other room and towards the coat closet.

Slightly irritated at his presumption, even as she acknowledged to herself that she was going to do whatever it was he wanted, Amanda said, "Wait a minute, don't you think you should tell me what it is we're going to do? I mean, I'm only dressed for typing and running errands, which is what I had planned to do today." The word "planned" came out with a slight emphasis.

"I'm sorry, Amanda, I really do need your help. I've got to pick up a potential informant and talk to her, and there's a three-year-old girl she won't leave anywhere else. I need you to watch the kid while I see what the mother has to say. If she's got something important, we'll go in; if she doesn't, I'll send her home. Either way you won't be gone more than an hour."

Amanda tried to imagine Lee interviewing a young mother with a small child present. That was enough to persuade her to help. She found she could imagine Lee's irritation very well indeed if the child was bored or frightened, and disrupted the proceedings....

"All right. Where are we going?

Mission accomplished, Lee became brisk and businesslike. "Now you're talking! Let's get going, we've got to meet her near Rockville Park."

Amanda followed him out to his Porsche.

* * * * * *

Amanda looked at her watch again and sighed. "Why don't I ever remember that one hour with you always turns out to be more like a day?"

Lee looked faintly hurt. "Look, you know I didn't plan this." He looked at his own watch, winced slightly, and said, "If we're lucky, we can still get you home before the boys get there."

Things had gone badly almost from the start. An accident on the expressway had slowed them down tremendously. Then, just as they had arrived at the park and Lee had pointed out their contact, a nondescript man in a brown coat had appeared seemingly from nowhere and had begun shooting.

"What the -- ? Hang on, Amanda," Lee had shouted, gunning the engine and heading towards the site.

The noise of the car startled the gunman, and he missed his mark. But the bullets hit near enough to the mother and child that some fragments of rock flew off and hit the mother on the cheek. Seeing the blood, the little girl began screaming. The mother was slightly dazed, but every instinct told her to try to get herself and her child to some sort of cover. The child tried to run one way while her mother tried to get her to move in a different direction, and in the few short seconds it took Lee and Amanda to reach their position, both parent and child were near hysteria.

Lee briefly paused the car to assess the situation. The gunman was running now, coat flapping behind him, and Lee could see he had nearly reached his own vehicle. Lee began to move out to follow the assailant. Amanda said quickly, "Let me out."

Lee looked questioningly at her. "Someone has to help those poor people," she said, "and I won't be any use to you in the car."

Lee nodded, slowed just enough for her to get out, and then roared off down the road.

Amanda rushed over to the mother and child. The mother was now holding the sobbing child, and Amanda ended up putting her arms around them both in an effort to calm them down. "You're all right," she said, "You're all right. He's gone. He can't hurt you."

As the mother began to regain control, Amanda let go of them, and stepped back. This time her conscious mind registered the blood on the woman's cheek. "Are you all right?" she asked. "Let me look at that."

She quickly determined it was just a shallow wound, and started looking around for a source of clean water. As they walked towards the nearest water fountain, Amanda introduced herself. "Look, my name is Amanda King. I don't know what this is all about, but I'm here to take care of you. When we get you cleaned up, we'll go find a phone, and we'll get you to the Agency. It will be all right."

The young woman smiled shakily, and said, "I'm Gina Monroe. This is my daughter, Heather."

Amanda smiled engagingly at Heather, but the little girl was still trembling. By this time they had reached the water, and Amanda tried to reassure the child. "Heather?" She waited for the girl to look at her. "Heather, look, the bad man is all gone. Your mommy is okay, too. Look. She's just got a boo-boo on her face. We'll fix it up, okay? Do you want to help?"

The little girl shook her head, but watched carefully as Amanda used a tissue to wipe the blood off of Gina's face, and then dug through her purse for a Band-Aid. The bandage had pictures of Snoopy on it, and Heather finally smiled when she saw it on her mother's face.

After that things went smoothly, for which Amanda was very grateful. They found a nearby phone and Amanda got in touch with Francine Desmond. Soon they were back at the office, and Gina and her daughter were whisked away to wherever it was that protected witnesses went.

When it turned out that Lee hadn't returned or even called in, Amanda began to get concerned.

"I wouldn't worry about Lee just yet," said Francine. "He's probably just still chasing the gunman. You know Lee, he doesn't give up easily. Look, do you want a ride home? We can get a driver for you."

"You're probably right, Francine," said Amanda dutifully. "But I think maybe I'd better stay till Lee comes in. He's going to want to know what happened with Gina and Heather."

Francine refrained from pointing out that there were plenty of people there who could tell Lee what had happened. She knew that Lee did prefer to hear things directly from the people involved, and besides, her intuition said that despite the casualness of Lee and Amanda's working relationship, there was a growing friendship between the two. Heaven only knew why, but as far as she could tell, Lee did seem to LIKE the housewife from Virginia.... She nodded and said, "I'll let you know when we hear from him."

Lee, it turned out, had lost the suspect. The chase had been a long one, though, and so Lee had been some distance from civilization when, on his way to a phone to call in, he had felt the clutch cable on the car give out. By the time he'd hitched a ride into the nearest town to call a tow truck and the Agency, it was nearly 11:30.

Relieved that he was safe, Amanda agreed to bring an Agency car out to him. It was only as she was on her way out to the town where Lee was waiting with his car that she began to think about the time. An hour out, an hour back -- that would make it about 1:30, and the boys didn't even get out of school until 2:30, so she should make it in plenty of time. No problem.

No problem until, as she neared her destination, the temperature dial began moving steadily up, up and up. By the time she reached Lee, it was clear the car was severely overheated.

"What kind of idiot let this car out of the motor pool?" Lee demanded when Amanda pointed out the problem. "How are we supposed to drive this thing back to D.C.?" Lee poked around under the hood briefly, then asked the shop which was doing the repairs on HIS car to have a look.

Amanda stood off to the side, beginning to fret about the time. At last, Lee came back and, looking faintly disgusted, said, "They're too busy to do anything with it for now. We're going to have to wait for my car. They say it should be ready in about an hour." Misinterpreting her frown, he added, "Come on, I'll buy you lunch."

As they ate sandwiches in a nearby coffee shop, Amanda filled Lee in on the details about Gina and Heather. Finally she asked, "What's it all about? Who was that man, and why was he shooting at Gina?"

"I don't know exactly who he was personally, but I'm sure he was KGB. See, Gina's husband is Alexei Lubov."

"The Russian agent?" Amanda was incredulous.

"Mm-huh," Lee mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

"But she said her name was Gina Monroe. And she didn't have any kind of accent."

"Monroe is her maiden name, and she's American. She met Alexei on a student tour of Russia. I guess he thought it might be useful to his career to have an American wife...." Lee shook his head. "There's never been any indication that she had any idea what her husband was doing, and no indication that they were anything but devoted. I guess we'll have to see what she has to say."

"Well, I just hope she's going to be all right, and the little girl, too. Heather's way too little to be mixed up in something like this. I hope she doesn't have nightmares."

Lee laughed and said, "Always the mother, aren't you, Amanda?"

Startled by the warmth in his voice, Amanda felt herself blushing. "Do you think your car is done yet?" she said, changing the subject abruptly. "Because I really have to get home. The boys will be alone after school."

"They're old enough to be home alone for a little while, aren't they?" Lee soothed.

"Yes," Amanda admitted, "but I promised Phillip I'd take him to the mall as soon as he got home. He'll be really upset if I'm not there."

Lee looked suddenly sympathetic. "I guess this is a little more than the hour I told you, isn't it? All right," he said, "Let's get going."

But the car still wasn't ready, and it wasn't until nearly 2:00 that they were on their way. To make matters worse, there was an overturned truck on the highway, delaying them further.

When Lee and Amanda finally reached her home, it was nearly 4:30 p.m., and they were both concerned that he might be seen by the boys or their grandmother. So, Lee dropped her off around the block. "I'm really sorry this got out of hand," he said earnestly. "I hope everyone isn't too mad at you."

"Well, you know," she said, feeling better to be so near to home, "I know you didn't do it on purpose. And I still have time to get Phillip over to the mall before dinner." She tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"Maybe I should walk you home," Lee said, somehow not reassured by her demeanor.

"Unless you plan to come in and explain to Mother why I'm so late...." She trailed off with a smile. "Really, I'm fine. See you later."

"Yeah, see you," Lee said, and watched her head around the block. But, some impulse told him to make sure everything was all right. He got back in the car and headed around the corner himself and down the street, parking in front of the house next to Amanda's.

He had reached the spot before she did, walking, and so was there to nod as she came past. Amanda nodded pleasantly, but in best agent fashion, otherwise did nothing to indicate a connection between Lee and herself. Then she headed for the front door.

Amanda walked into the house, feeling from the start that it was too quiet. "Boys, I'm home," she called, and receiving no answer added, "Mother?" There was still no answer, and she glanced around the kitchen worriedly, till she saw the note on the refrigerator. Sighing in relief, she went over and picked it up and began to read with growing fear. "Oh, my God," she whispered.

In a panic, she threw open the door and, heedless of the attention she might draw, called loudly, "Lee, are you still here?"

Responding to the tone of her voice, Lee was out of the car and there in an instant. "What's wrong?"

Bleakly holding the note out to him, she summarized its contents. "There's been an accident. Phillip is in the hospital. Mother says he was unconscious when they took him in the ambulance."

Amanda's eyes pleaded with Lee to say something to make it better, but he was already in action. He took her arm and steered her towards his waiting car, saying as they moved, "Let's go. I can have you there in five minutes. There's no point in calling when we can be there that soon."

As they drove, Amanda stared forlornly out the window. "It's all my fault," she whispered. "If I had been there...."

Though it wasn't intended as a reproach, Lee was stung, because if it hadn't been for him, he felt she would have been home. But, he was more worried about Amanda than his own hurt feelings, and tried to soothe her. "Amanda," he said firmly, "Don't borrow trouble. We don't know how badly hurt he is, he may be doing just fine. Let's not panic just yet."

She turned and managed to give him a grateful smile.

Lee smiled in return, and, as they turned into the driveway, said proudly, "See, I told you. Five minutes!"

Amanda didn't wait for him to open her door, she was out in an instant, and heading for the emergency entrance. Lee locked up the car and barreled after her.

Stopping the first official-looking person she saw, Amanda said, "I'm Amanda King, my son Phillip was brought in sometime this afternoon?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything about admissions," the woman said. "Check at that desk over there," she added, pointing to the first in a row of windowed counters.

Amanda looked around wildly for a moment, unable to concentrate or quite comprehend what was happening.

Unable to bear her pain, Lee firmly took charge to spare her additional burdens. He took her by the arm and guided her across the room. Once there, rather than have her repeat her request, Lee did it for her. "This is Amanda King. Her son Phillip was brought into the ER this afternoon. Can you tell us how he is doing?"

The nurse consulted her records and said, "Ah, the head injury." She made a phone call, while Amanda looked more and more panicked. Finally she was told, "He's still in surgery. It's a serious injury, but we can't tell you anything more than that until the surgeons are through. If you'd like to wait down the hall...."

"Mother," Amanda whispered suddenly, and Lee elaborated for the benefit of the nurse, "We think Mrs. King's mother and other son are here."

"I imagine they are down in the surgical waiting room too. If not, come back and I'll see if I can track them down for you."

Amanda nodded, and said automatically, "Thank you."

Lee took her hand, saying, "Let's go." He lead her down the corridors to the waiting room, but as they neared the door, Amanda came to life and dashed ahead of him. Lee let her go, unable to think of a valid reason to intrude into the sad family gathering.

As Amanda entered the waiting room, Jamie leaped up off the couch and cried, "Mom!"

Amanda swept him up in her arms and said, with more confidence than she felt, "It's all right, sweetheart, I'm here. I'm here. Everything's going to be fine." Looking over Jamie's shoulder she looked up at her mother, who had risen to her feet when Amanda entered. "They said it was a head injury. What happened?" she asked.

Wearily, Dotty recited, "He was hit by a car, over on Main St. The driver didn't stop. He's been in surgery for an hour now, ever since we got here. He's got a broken leg, too, but it's his head they're worried about. They don't know if he'll be all right...."

Amanda shaped a silent "Oh," and closed her eyes, clutching Jamie even tighter to her.

"We were lucky he had his wallet with him," Dotty said. "The hospital was able to call the house right away. At least I was there."

The rebuke sounded only faintly in her mother's voice, but Amanda winced anyway. A sudden thought struck her. "Main Street? You said he was on Main Street? What was he doing all the way over there? He knows he's not allowed to go that far on his own."

Even as guilty comprehension dawned on Amanda, Jamie pulled back and looked at his mother. "He was going to the mall. He got tired of waiting for you, so he took his bike to go get Optimus Prime. I told him not to go," he said plaintively. Into the silence Jamie added, "Mom? Phillip's not going to die, is he?"

The guilt was too much for Amanda to bear, and she heard herself saying sharply, "Jamie, how could you let your brother go off like that? You know it's not safe to ride your bikes outside of our neighborhood!"

The nine-year-old looked as if he had been struck. "It's not my fault!" he burst out. "I tried to stop him! I tried!" That said, he began to sob guilty tears of his own.

Devastated at what she had just done, Amanda wrapped Jamie in her arms again, even before Dotty had the chance to get her rebuke out. "Amanda! How could you say such a thing to your child?"

Without responding to her mother, Amanda tried to soothe her younger son. "Jamie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Of course it isn't your fault, you did your best, it's my fault. If I'd been there when I said I would be, Phillip wouldn't have tried to go to the mall on his own. It's not your fault, Jamie. It's not your fault. I should have been there." She was crying herself, as she stroked his head and back, and tried to make it better, the way she had when he -- and Phillip -- were tiny. As Jamie calmed down, and seemed to accept her taking the burden of responsibility from him, Amanda sat him back down on the couch.

Dotty gestured to her to follow, and walked across the small room in an attempt to be out of Jamie's hearing. "Where were you?" she demanded. "You knew I had an appointment, and you promised Phillip! You said you were going to be typing at home. Where were you?"

"I know, Mother, I know. I had to take the typing into the office, and then I got tied up. I tried to get home in time, I really did. I just couldn't get away." Even as she said it, Amanda was appalled at the way she automatically lied to preserve her "cover" even in such a tragic situation. "I should have been there. I should have tried harder."

Dotty wasn't disposed to grant her daughter complete absolution, but she softened her tone as she said, "Yes, you should have."

Lee had initially left them alone completely and had gone about trying to find out as much as possible about Phillip's condition, using either his considerable charm or a subtle air of menace, whichever seemed most useful. There really wasn't much information to be had at this stage. Now, again standing out in the hallway, he had viewed the most recent events through the window in the door. He couldn't hear what was being said, but his Agency observational skills and his knowledge of Amanda's character gave him a pretty good idea what was going on. He decided that the family needed someone to break the cycle of guilt and recriminations.

Looking around, Lee found a supply closet and grabbed a white coat, giving him the appearance of, if not a doctor, at least an orderly. He took a deep breath and entered the waiting room.

By now, Amanda and Dotty were sitting again in silence, Amanda next to Jamie. All three looked up hopefully, and Amanda apparently didn't recognize him at first, because her expression became faintly puzzled. "Mrs. King?" Lee inquired. "I'm sorry, there's no news yet," he hastened to add. "But we still have a few admitting papers for you to sign. Could you come with me for just a few minutes?" he asked, willing Amanda to go along with this.

She looked at him carefully, and then nodded. "Of course." She looked at her mother and repeated vaguely, "I have to go sign some papers." Dotty nodded, and Amanda turned to Jamie. "I'll be right back, okay? And I'll see if I can find out more about how Phillip is, okay?"

Jamie said, "I guess," and lapsed into a glum silence.

* * * * * *

Lee led Amanda down a hall and around a corner, close enough to hear if genuine hospital personnel appeared with news of Phillip's condition.

The walk down the hall had cleared her head, and now Amanda demanded, "What are you doing? Where did you get that coat?"

"I, uh, borrowed it," he said sheepishly. "Helps me blend in, you know? I thought it would be easier to get you out of there," he added, trying to keep his tone casual. When Amanda didn't respond, Lee nodded back down the hall toward the waiting room. "How are Jamie and your mom?"

Amanda shrugged miserably. "Pretty worried. Scared to death."

Hesitant, but desperate to help, Lee reached out to her and put his hand on her arm. "How are you?" he asked gently.

"Scared to death," she admitted in a whisper. "If he dies...."

Lee took a deep breath. "Look, I've been asking around, and maybe it isn't quite as bad as it sounded at the desk. It looks like he has a skull fracture, and they are worried about it, but as far as I can tell, he's stable. They're more worried about brain damage than losing him, I think." Amanda looked stricken, and Lee could have kicked himself.

"Brain damage?" she whispered. "Brain damage? Oh, Lee, it's all my fault! What kind of a mother am I that I'm out worrying about someone else's child when my own son needs me!" With that, Amanda burst into tears.

Appalled, and almost unable to breathe because of her pain, Lee pulled her to him and held her tightly. He stroked her hair and whispered over and over, "Shhhh, shhh, it will be all right. He'll be fine. I didn't mean to scare you. It will be all right."

Amanda shivered in his arms, but slowly stopped the tears. With an almost audible sigh of relief, Lee released her. She stepped back and said awkwardly, "I'd better go back to Jamie and Mother."

"Amanda, wait," Lee said suddenly as she started down the hall. "Really, I don't think they know anything's wrong, it's just that brain damage can occur in this kind of injury. They have to be alert for the possibility. But it's just a possibility. Keep that thought, okay?"

Morosely, Amanda said, "Even if everything is fine, it's my fault, and I'll never forgive myself as long as I live. How could I have put a job ahead of my children? I'm off playing spy, and --"

Like Amanda's earlier outburst in the car, her complaint wasn't intended as an accusation, but it hit Lee hard anyway. He suddenly heard himself interrupting, "Now wait a minute, Amanda! You were doing something important, and you were unavoidably detained."

Amanda looked at him with helpless eyes.

"Even when you weren't working for the Agency, I'm sure there must have been times when you got tied up with the PTA or a charity auction or something. Isn't that true?

Reluctantly, she admitted, "Yes."

"All right, accidents happen Amanda. You always think they're going to happen to the other guy, but sometimes they hit you. And you have to take what life hands you."

Amanda suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling Lee was thinking of his parents. Pushing past that, she said, "But if I'd been there, Phillip wouldn't have been hurt."

Lee's face had lost the introspective look, and he said, "How can you say that, Amanda? Parents can't protect their children every minute."

"I know that," Amanda admitted. "But the point is that if I'd been there like I promised, Phillip wouldn't have been tempted to take his bicycle and ride to the mall. Jamie tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen, and if I'd been there--"

Lee cut her off again. "Amanda, can I say something you probably don't want to hear?"

Puzzled, she nodded.

"You know, it's very human to want to parcel out blame for all the awful things that happen to us. But this isn't your fault. It was an accident. You can say you contributed to it by not being there, but if we have to assign blame --" He paused and took a deep breath, then continued softly, "Phillip must have known he was doing something against the rules."

Amanda screeched in anger, "How dare you say this is Phillip's fault! He's lying in there maybe dying, and you're trying to tell me it's his fault?"

Lee held up his arms as if to ward off a blow. "No," he said firmly. "No more than it is your fault. But if Phillip had followed your rules, this wouldn't have happened either. It was his choice."

He paused to let this sink in, and he could see Amanda's anger die. "Amanda, when I was ten, there was a small lake near the base where my uncle was stationed. It was really just a sinkhole, but all the kids liked to go over there to swim. But the bottom was unpredictable, there was no one to keep an eye on the swimmers -- well, you get the idea." Lee saw that Amanda had begun watching him closely as he continued with the story.

"My uncle had decreed the place strictly off limits. I knew that perfectly well. But one afternoon during the summer when I was pretty much left to my own devices, I kept thinking about that water. It was hot, and I was bored. I finally convinced myself that my uncle would never find out if I went over for a little swim. All the kids did it."

Lee paused in his narrative. He could see on Amanda's face that she was apprehensive about what was going to come next. "I think you can guess what happened. I got out in the water, snagged my swim trunks on something, and very nearly drowned. If some older boys hadn't come by at just that moment, I would have. And I knew, Amanda, I knew that I had done something wrong. I would not have been in that trouble if I had followed my uncle's rules."

Lee was looking almost physically ill at the memory, and Amanda felt suddenly ashamed of having yelled at him. She reached out her hand to touch his arm gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so awful. I'm just so darn scared."

Lee smiled gently at her. "I know you are. Just don't blame yourself. Accidents just happen sometimes, and it won't help Phillip if you blame yourself." He looked down the hallway, suddenly awkward. "Um, Jamie and your mom must be wondering what happened to you. Maybe you'd better go back to wait with them."

Amanda's eyes glistened with tears. "Thank you," she said. "I'll let you know...."

But Lee had no intention of leaving without knowing the surgical results. He found a quiet corner, and settled down to wait. And he was there several hours later when the surgeon came down the hall to report that, barring any unforeseen complications, Phillip would recover totally. There seemed to be no neurological damage, and the leg was broken cleanly, and had been set with no difficulties. He would need some physical therapy, but he would be fine.

Lee watched Amanda, Jamie and Dotty throw themselves on each other with happy tears streaming down their faces. He, too, felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he disappeared silently down the hall.

* * * * * *

Two mornings later, Amanda was heading for her car to drive to the hospital. As she reached for the kitchen door, it opened of its own accord and she stood face to startled face with Lee Stetson.

"Hi. I hoped I'd catch you," he said, as she stepped back into the kitchen and set her purse down on the counter.

"Yeah, I'm off to the hospital. Mother and I have been kind of taking turns staying near Phillip. Jamie's off to school now, so it's my turn to relieve her." She smiled at Lee warmly.

"How's he doing?" Lee asked.

"He's going to be fine, just fine. He's still groggy a lot, and in a lot of pain, but he's going to be fine." Amanda's face still reflected her relief.

"I thought you might want to know what happened with Gina Monroe and her little girl," Lee said.

"They're all right, aren't they?" Amanda asked hopefully.

"Yes, they're fine. Apparently Gina did discover her husband's spying, and threatened to expose him. He appealed to his superiors for help, and his comrades decided the simplest way to handle the situation was to eliminate the wife. The little girl was just incidental."

"That's terrible," Amanda began indignantly.

"But," Lee interrupted, "it turns out that Lubov loves his family more than his country, and he was outraged when he found out what had happened. He's going to defect, and the whole family is in the relocation program. Once Lubov is debriefed, they'll have a whole new life somewhere in the USA."

"Oh, that's wonderful! At least something we did that day worked out!" Amanda sighed through her smile.

Lee said lightly, "All's well that ends well," and then straightened up a moment and snapped his fingers. "I nearly forgot!" He leaned back outside the door and picked up a package which he handed to Amanda. To her puzzled look he said, "It's for Phillip. A present."

"Oh, Lee, that's very sweet of you. What is it?"

"It's that Transformer he wanted the other day. Optimum something?"

"Optimus Prime. Now how did you know that?" Amanda demanded, beaming at him.

Lee looked as if he were going to say, "Oh, we have our ways," but instead he grinned broadly and said, "Easy! I just went over to the toy store in the mall and asked which toy it was that Phillip King was waiting for!"

They shared a laugh, and then Lee said, "I'm really glad he's okay."

"Me too," said Amanda.

"Well, I guess I'd better let you go," he said, turning for the doorknob.

"Lee, wait," Amanda said softly. "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated everything you did for me the other day. I don't know how I would have made it through the first part of the evening without you. You got me there, and just knowing that it probably wasn't quite as serious as we thought helped."

Lee shook his head as if to say it was nothing.

Amanda went on, "I, uh, especially wanted to thank you for making me look beyond my own feelings of guilt. My not being there contributed, I know that, but no one should drown themselves in that kind of guilt." She paused, then said, "Do you know what practically the first coherent thing Phillip said to me was?"

Lee moved his head from side to side with a look of total mystification on his face.

"He said, 'I'm sorry, Mom. I shouldn't have gone off by myself.'" Amanda's eyes filled with tears, and she said, "You were right that he knew he'd done something wrong. Even if I wasn't there, he should have followed the rules."

Lee didn't trust himself to speak, and Amanda finished quietly, "The way I was feeling the other night, I was ready to give up working, working with the Agency. I couldn't see how any mother could justify not being there when her children might need her. But you made me see that I can't always be there every minute, even if I wasn't working. There have to be trade-offs. I'm there for them as much as I can, and they have to learn how to make the right decisions on their own when I'm not there."

"I guess that's what being a parent is about," Lee said. "Teaching your children to be independent, responsible human beings."

Amanda smiled. "Well, I just really wanted to thank you for reminding me of that. You know, I would have been really miserable if I'd given up this job. It's very important to me to be doing something this important for our country. It's for Jamie and Phillip too, not just for me."

Lee found he was unexpectedly moved by the thought that she had come so close to quitting. "Hey," he said jovially, to cover up his emotions, "what would I do without you to type my expense accounts?"

"Oh, I'm sure you would have managed," Amanda said, patting Lee proprietarily on the chest.

"I guess I would have," he said. "I, uh, guess I'd better let you go."

Amanda picked up her purse and they went out the door. As she started to lock the door, Lee leaned back in and picked up the package. "You wouldn't want to forget Optimus Whatsis!"

"I don't think I ever will in my life!" Amanda exclaimed, taking the gift from him and turning the lock. "Never in a million years!"

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