As he headed to bed the night before, he had been sure that sleep would easily overtake him and that his dreams would be wonderfully sweet. For the first time, he had been rather looking forward to the fantasies that had been plaguing his sleep for the past two months.

Unfortunately, it hadn't worked out that way. Rather than falling into a nice relaxing slumber, he had found himself replaying the past two days over and over in his mind. Each time a scene had played out, Lee had mentally adjusted it to some degree, adding things he wished he had said, removing things he shouldn't have said. Trying to imagine the impact that different words might have made.

Mostly, he had replayed each and every moment that had been spent in Amanda's company. He relived his anger and hurtful words through her eyes over and over, wishing he could erase each and every one of them. She hadn't deserved to be treated so shabbily just because his emotions were in a total array of confusion.

As he reexamined each moment, he spotted a dozen more items he should have apologized for, things that should have been handled differently, words he should have left unspoken. He had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, where instead of delightful dreams, he had been plagued with tormenting images of bombings and people dying, ambulances and sheet- covered bodies. He had awakened in the middle of the night drenched in a cold sweat. Getting up, he had splashed some water over his face, fixed himself a drink and turned on a few more lights.

Heading back to his room with his second drink in tow, he had fluffed his pillow with one hand, propping it up against the bed board. Then flopping down into a semi-lying position, he finished his drink and stared at the ceiling. A few moments later, he could feel the alcohol relaxing his body. Now if the activity in his mind would cease, maybe he could get some sleep.

Those nightmares had been so incredibly realistic. He had felt as if he were right there experiencing each and every emotion they invoked. Not wanting to dwell on the troubling visions, he deliberately forced his mind to seek out more favorable thoughts. At that particular moment, he couldn't think of anything more pleasant or delightful than the sight of Amanda in that blue silky concoction.

He smiled at the memory, seeing her again in his mind as she had sat there in the kitchen talking with her mother. He saw her as she crouched beside the windowsill, her beautiful face softened by the moonlight. He could hear her soft husky voice, see her easy smile and the sparkle in her eyes. He pictured her as she had looked immediately after his climbing in through her window, shaking off the intoxicating image a moment later. Some thoughts, he grinned to himself, could definitely be dangerous, almost lethal.

The picture in his mind was softly killing. She was so incredibly beautiful and sexy. He found himself aching at the memory of how it had felt to hold her close against his body, having her lean into him with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his waist. His emotions might be in total chaos regarding Amanda, but his body seemed to be having no such confusion.

Shifting uncomfortably, he set his glass on the night stand, deciding he had better confine himself to thoughts of Amanda's face rather than the rest of her. He could picture the sparkle of her eyes and the sweetness of her smile and the warmth in her expression as she had spoken. He allowed his mind to drift to those last few precious moments right before he had left her, recalling with a tinge of sadness her words about what had attracted her to Chamberlain.

Replaying them in his mind, he made the decision that one way or another, he would do what he could to make Amanda feel special. Every woman deserved to feel special, but none more than Amanda. She defined the word special. His one major regret as he had listened to her words, was that he hadn't been the one to make her feel that way. He planned to remedy that. He drifted off to sleep making a mental list of all the ways he intended to accomplish his plans.

He had awakened earlier than usual feeling energetic and ready to begin the day. His arrival at work, looking well rested and suitably groomed had drawn a few teasing comments from those around him. He had ignored them, choosing instead to get down to the business of completing the paperwork on the Trans-Oceanic case.

By the time Billy had entered the bullpen at 9:00, having gotten several early morning meetings out of the way, the report was finished, barring the typing. Lee had moved onto the next file on his desk and had it almost completed, as well.

Seeing Lee at his desk working, Billy had raised an eyebrow, but given him a nod as if to say he was suitably impressed with the changes. Lee, in turn, had pretended not to notice the look or the grin that followed it.

By the time Amanda had come in, he was in the morning staff meeting and didn't get a chance to speak with her until later, just before they had headed out to finish up the last of the leg work on Amanda's spring cleaning list. Lee had found himself grateful that Amanda was who she was. Another woman might have made things more difficult or awkward, but Amanda had greeted him with the same warmth she always did. It was as if the previous week had never happened. Nor had she made any reference, either by word or deed, regarding his late night appearance in her room. To his pleasant surprise, she also seemed to be oblivious to the attention the other men were trying to bestow on her. Fortunately for him, she was equally blind to the fact that he had given several of them hard glares, causing them to return to their cubicles with resigned looks on their faces.

After a quick, late lunch, they had made a stop at the marina to let Elizabeth and her husband know that Trans- Oceanic would no longer be bothering them, or anyone else. It was after speaking with the Sullivans, that Lee had brought up the subject of the two of them spending some time together.

First he had casually asked her about her plans for that evening. Finding out that she had none, he had taken the plunge and suggested that they go to dinner, just the two of them, steak, red wine, baked potato, no shop talk. He had kept his words casual, hoping she wouldn't notice how much he wanted this time with her.

Now, he sat just down from her house, waiting for her to appear, feeling like a teenager on his first date. He was almost twenty minutes early, but hadn't been able to think of anything else to use up the time, and had decided that he would rather be sitting outside her house than wishing he was. He looked around him, just enjoying the feeling of the neighborhood. Over the past couple of years, he had spent more hours than he could count either parked in or driving through this neighborhood.

At first, it had been mainly to discuss a case or to assure himself that she was okay. Other times, he had found himself passing through on his way to or home from some place. Sometimes he had stopped and sought her out for a few moments, others he had merely driven slowly by the house, scanning the area and noting which lights were on in which windows.

He had been here so many times that he could probably make the drive in his sleep. Looking back now, he realized that Amanda King had been occupying a substantial place in his thoughts right from the beginning. Now three years later, she was the best friend he had ever had, and his partner, even if he rarely admitted it out loud. They had spent many hours together, and they had even been out to dinner before. They had been in and out of each others homes on a regular basis. So why did he suddenly feel so incredibly apprehensive?

'Because this is uncharted territory,' he told himself.

He had only been sitting there for a few moments when a dark blue sedan that had 'rental car' written all over it pulled up in front of the house. He watched in his side view mirror as a very distinguished looking man got out and walked to the front door, ringing the bell. From the back, Lee couldn't tell if he knew the man or not, but something about him was vaguely familiar.

Lee watched with interest that quickly turned to chagrin, as Amanda opened the door. She looked absolutely charming, dressed in a white skirt and soft rose-colored blouse. By now, Lee had turned slightly in his seat to watch the scene unfolding before his eyes. He saw the casual interest on Amanda's face turn to surprise and then quickly to absolute delight, as she surveyed the gentleman on her front step.

In the next instant, the man had opened his arms in outstretched invitation. Without any hesitation, she had happily launched herself into them. With seeming enjoyment, she planted a kiss on his cheek, hugging him to her. Lee could hear the deep rumble of the man's laughter as he wrapped his arms around Amanda in a big bear hug that completely lifted her off the ground and then swung her around. When he finally set her feet back on the ground, she gave him another hug, laughing and chattering away, as she pulled him into the house, closing the door.

Lee groaned in vexation, having recognized the man's face as Amanda was swung around. If this wasn't the absolute limit. He was beginning to think that the fates must surely be conspiring against him.

To be cont.