"The cottage is best accessed by the back entrance to the grounds, right?"

"Right. We were able to get almost right on top of the cottage without being seen. It should be even easier this time. No guards around to see us approach." Amanda answered his question and glanced at him thoughtfully.

"Lee, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we can call for a back up team and do this without you." Amanda continued.

"No, no way. I’m going in with you." He shook his head emphatically. "I need to do this, Amanda. Can you understand that?"

"Yes, I can understand… I do understand. I’ve been there, sort of. I just want you to be sure. I want you to be okay enough to handle this, physically. It’s only been two and a halfweeks…" She shot him occasional looks as she drove along the busy highway.

Seeing her obvious concern, Lee smiled tightly and reached out for her hand. "I’m okay… My head is clear and I feel like I have a well-defined purpose for the first time in weeks."

A bit uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation, Francine had sat back in her seat and looked out to the side, affording them as much privacy as possible.

Amanda nodded and returned the comforting pressure of his hand on hers briefly before returning it to the steering wheel. "Once we get inside, what do you want to do? I think we need to stay together, no matter what."

"Yeah. We go in the back and make our way to the cottage. Check the perimeter and then go in, look for Marsh and any evidence that he may be trying to destroy." Lee outlined his rudimentary plan and waited for reactions.

"Lee, we’ve been over that cottage a dozen times! If there was anything to find, the Agency would have already found it." Francine spoke up again from the back seat.

"Maybe, maybe not… Francine, I have this vague memory of being told to "smile for the camera", over and over. I got the feeling that they were video taping at least parts of my interrogations. Did you find a surveillance system of any sort?"

"No… not a sign." The blond, puzzled by the news, could only shake her head.

"I think that may be what he’s going back for. It must be in the ceiling or one of the walls… hidden somehow. I know there was a tape recorder running; I could hear it humming and clicking all the time they were there with me… and I really believe there was a camera as well. I didn’t say anything to Billy because it just now came to me. What the words might mean… ‘smile for the camera’."

Francine and Amanda exchanged looks in the rearview mirror and Francine nodded. "Okay… we’ll look for that first." Francine went on, "The most recent merchandise out there, ironically produced by a subsidiary of Marsh Industries, is a small camera that would be easy to conceal in a ceiling panel or under a picture frame. We pulled the walls apart, literally. So, if it’s there, it has to be in the ceiling."

Lee nodded his agreement and turned to stare out the window. The other cars blurred by and he thought he recognized some of the sites that were beginning to appear. If his hazy memory served him, the turn off for the back entrance was fast approaching. His suspicions were confirmed as he felt the Jeep decelerate and saw Amanda look behind her before turning off the road to the right, onto a rough dirt road. For several minutes, they bumped along. Lee winced often as the bumps reminded him of wounds he had thought well healed.

Amanda, catching a particularly hard grimace, murmured her apologies. "I’m sorry, Lee…"

"It’s okay, I’m okay."

Finally, they drew to a halt and carefully exited from the vehicle. Making their way along the overgrown hedge, they approached the cottage’s back door, looking carefully into each window as they passed. It appeared deserted and empty. Together, the trio decided to go in and search for the camera and then proceed to the main house to look for Marsh.

First Francine entered the door, flanking the left, and allowing Amanda to precede her into the main room. Stepping far enough in to see that the room was indeed empty, she jerked her head and Lee entered, bringing up the rear guard.

They separated at that point, Francine to one room to verify that the entire cottage was indeed empty, Lee and Amanda to the other. As they entered the room where he had been held, presumed dead by those who knew and loved him, Lee paused and shuddered as a wild and unexpected panic over came him. His breath came in short, harsh bursts and a cold sweat broke over his skin. His heart thudded loudly in his ears and he felt his hands fist to control the tremble that was growing worse with each second. For that time, he was suddenly returned to the weeks of his capture. In his mind, he’d never been freed and he’d never been home, with his wife and his family. All hope was gone and he felt again that he would be forced to give in. Just as his knees began to weaken and his legs threatened to betray him, he felt it.

Her touch on his shoulder.

All the warmth and love that they shared seemed to flow from her in that touch and he drew much needed strength from her soft caress. His breath steadied and his skin warmed. His hands and knees grew sure again and he opened his eyes to the reality of here and now. His wife and his partner was here and they had another chance. He had another chance; another chance to prove himself. To himself and to the world...

Nodding to indicate that he was all right, he stepped into the room and began to look around. Immediately he crossed to the small bed and stood, looking up in the direction he remembered being told to smile for the camera. The ceiling tiles were white, diamond shaped foam and were the kind that were glued or stapled into place. Easily removed and replaced, they could easily hide a small camera behind their surface.

"Amanda, go into the next room and see if you can find any kind of wiring or cable coming from the ceiling." Lee moved to the end of the bed and stood on the sturdy metal footboard to better reach the ceiling.

"Okay, I’m gonna check with Francine, too." She headed out the door and disappeared from his view.

A few minutes later, Lee found the right tile. Removing the fourth diamond in the second row, he uncovered the tiny lens of the miniature camera that had recorded his captivity and torture. "Yes! I knew it was here. Now where is the recording device?" He hopped from the frame and called out. "Amanda, Francine, I found it."

"Well, well, well, Scarecrow, so you did. How nice of you to have saved me all that climbing." The voice reverberated through the half empty room and Lee froze momentarily as it washed over him. Marsh!

He turned and looked at the man. He held in one hand a syringe full of clear liquid and in the other was Amanda. She wore a slightly dazed expression and the beginnings of a bruise to her right temple. Her left sleeve was pushed up around her elbow and a tiny dot of blood began to trickle down her pale skin.

Lee stepped down and began to move forward rapidly, intent on ripping Marsh into pieces for harming her. He stopped as Marsh brandished the syringe and uttered an admonishment.

"No, no, Scarecrow… I wouldn’t do that. Your lovely partner has only had enough to make her cooperative at this point… But I can and will do more. You, of all people know that I will." He smiled mockingly and Lee stepped back a half pace.

"So, you’ve been reduced to doing your own dirty work, Marsh? Amanda took care of all your goons, didn’t she?" Lee chuckled and looked furtively behind Marsh for any sign of Francine.

"She is a bit more… tenacious, than I thought. But she won’t be a problem for long. And neither will you. I find it oddly fitting that you’ll perish together… partners to the end, eh?" Marsh obviously had no clue of their true relationship.

Lee stalled for more time in the hopes that Francine was still a viable operative at this point. "What about the Germans? I thought they wanted me, too? Won’t they be much happier if you turn me over to them?"

"True… But you see, I’ve already been paid a handsome fee for the information you provided… I don’t really need any more." He shrugged and continued, "The Germans have a nasty habit of letting you people get away from them… I think I’ll just not take that chance, if it’s all the same to you?" He jerked Amanda closer and pushed the tip of the glistening needle just under her skin. Even in her dazed, drugged state, she winced at the sharp sting. "Now, if you’ll be so kind as to just pull that camera down and track that cable to the recording box…"

"Why should I? You’re going to kill us both anyway…" Lee continued to stall. He had seen a flash of blond behind Marsh and knew that Francine was, even now, working into position.

"True." A cold, feral look crossed the man’s face. "But, I can make it slow and painful or I can make it fast and easy for her. You choose."

Lee sighed and turned to pull the camera from the ceiling. He had to buy time for Francine to get into place and to save Amanda! Ducking to look under his arm, he remarked idly, "So, why didn’t you get the film when you got the audio recording?" He saw that Francine was directly behind Marsh, weapon pulled. She nodded surreptitiously to indicate that she was ready when he was. Grasping the cable firmly, he pulled hard and jerked the entire ceiling down on their heads. Simultaneously, Francine stepped forward and pressed her gun into Marsh’s back.

Wildly, he ducked, trying to avoid the falling debris. He jerked to the left then to a sudden halt as he felt the nose of Francine’s gun against his body.

"Drop it, Marsh." She ordered and pressed the gun more firmly into his spinal column.

Remarkably, his grip on Amanda never faltered and he pushed the needle more deeply into her soft inner arm. "I may die, but so will she." He pushed the plunger down and injected several cc’s of the liquid into her body. He smiled coldly, even as Francine raised her gun and sharply rapped his head with the butt. He went limp and finally lost his hold on the smaller woman in his arms as he fell.

"Amanda!" Lee surged forward, scooping her into his arms before she could hit the ground. "Oh, God, no... Please no… not now." He jerked the arm of her jacket back up and inspected the area. The site was bruising and small drops of blood were welling and oozing from the wound. He reached for the syringe and saw that 2 cc’s remained in the barrel and wondered desperately how full it had been when the man began. He rocked her now unconscious form in his arms and pleaded with her to hear him. "Amanda, please… please… can you hear me?" He recalled with sudden clarity exactly how each injection had made him feel and prayed that she wasn’t being subjected to the same terror and confusion in her own mind.

He held her tighter and fought to think calmly. He had to get her out of here and to a NEST trauma unit. "Francine, we have to…"

"Call for back-up and an ambulance I know, I already did it. I called when I saw Marsh come up the front walk. I was out back looking for wires or cables coming from the house. By the time I got back in, he already had her." She dropped to her knees near him, after securing Marsh, hand and foot, with her own and Amanda’s cuffs. "How is she?"

"I don’t know… I don’t know how much of whatever that stuff is he gave her. She’s out though… her pulse is slow and her breath shallow. Where is that damn ambulance?" Lee pulled her closer and fell silent once more.

"They’ll be here, Lee. I know it." She reached out and in an uncharacteristic action, she tenderly brushed the brunette curls from her former partner’s forehead. "She’s one tough agent, Lee. I was so wrong about her. I’ve learned from her these past few weeks. And, she’s saved my ass a time or two as well. I’m going to miss her when she goes back to the Q Bureau with you."

"I know what you mean, Francine… I’ve been learning from her for years." Lee smiled a tiny, sad smile and looked back to his wife, so still in his arms.

A sudden spray of gravel against the house and the pounding of feet on the wooden porch announced the Agency’s arrival and reluctantly, Lee and Francine let go of their partner and allowed her to be cared for by the mobile NEST team that had arrived with the ambulance.

An hour later found Lee in an ironically similar position to that of his wife only weeks before. He paced the family room of Galilee General, anxiously waiting to hear from the team that was caring for Amanda. He looked up as the doors to the parking lot swished open and his family rushed in, led by Dotty.

"Lee! Where is she? How is she?"

"I don’t know, Dotty. I haven’t heard anything yet."

Phillip and Jamie stood nearby and nervously looked at each other. Lee held out his hands to them and they nearly ran to his side. Massaging their shoulders, Lee breathed deep and began to explain what had happened. As he ended his tale he added, "Dotty, boys, I’m so sorry… I’ve always tried so hard to protect her… This is all my fault, right from the start. "

"Lee! You hush that right now! I won’t listen to this from you. You are no more to blame for this than Amanda was for your disappearance. I would think that you two had learned that by now." Dotty scolded him in a motherly tone. "Now… I’m going over there and find out something about my daughter!"

Lee looked at the floor uncomfortably and then up at his stepsons. "How about you two? How do you feel about it?"

"Lee, we’ve been here before and you were nowhere around. Mom has a dangerous job. We know that. We don’t like it, but we’re proud of her…we’re proud of both of you." Jamie spoke for them both and Lee smiled.

"Thank you. We’re proud of you, too. For the way you’ve handled this and all the rest you may have to handle in the future." He patted them firmly on the shoulders and looked up as the ER doors opened and a tired looking doctor strode through.

"Mr. Stetson. I have news on your partner." His face was lined with fatigue and his eyes were serious as he looked at the family gathered before him.

"Amanda? You have news about my baby?" Dotty placed one hand to her chest and waited anxiously for further explanations.

"Baby?" The doctor looked puzzled at Lee. "I’m sorry… who are you?" This man had been with NEST for years and had learned that you don’t divulge information about an agent unless you knew who everyone present was.

"It’s okay, Dr. McJohn. My partner is also my wife and this is her family. They know everything." Lee rubbed one trembling hand over his face.

"Oh, Lee… look at you. You’re exhausted. Sit down." Dotty pushed him to a seat and then prodded the doctor to continue. "You were saying, Doctor?"

"Mrs… er… Stetson is awake and alert. She’s been tested for every known drug and so far what we have come up matches almost exactly the combination of drugs that we found in you, Lee, several weeks ago. Just not as large an amount. The bruise on her temple is superficial and while she’ll be sore and achy for several days… I think she’ll be right as rain in a few days."

Numbly, Lee stared up at him. "She’s going to be okay?"

"Yes, Lee. She’s going to be fine." The older, gray haired man smiled for the first time and patted Lee’s shoulder. "She needs a few days rest, along with you, it seems to me and then in a week or so, you can both go back to work. Come on back to the desk and ask for directions when you’re ready to see her. She’s already being taken to a room."

"Thank you, McJohn. Thank you." Lee stood and firmly clasped the other man’s hand and shook it vigorously.

The doctor removed his mask from his neck, tossed it in a nearby trashcan and walked back the way he came.

Lee pivoted and smiled tiredly at his family. "She’s going to be okay."

Wordlessly, Dotty squeezed his arm and together they proceeded down the hall to ask for directions to Amanda’s room.