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Francine had been intending on spending the night pampering herself with chocolates, a glass of wine, and some classical music while she took a bubble bath. After a long week of running all over the city to catch one single KGB agent that turned out to honestly be nothing more than a traveling magician, she needed it. She had just gotten her dinner dishes draining by the sink when the knock came. The sun was still out, so it was possibly the Girl Scouts hitting up the neighborhood to sell cookies again. It would be the third time this week, and Francine wasn't having it.
Then the doorbell dinged three times, paused, and once more.
It wasn't the kids. That was Lee's signature ring.
Hanging her head, she grumbled and went to the door. “What do you want, Scarecrow?”
“I need a friend.”
The honesty of his reply startled her. She let him in swiftly, wondering when he started thinking of her as a friend. Sure, they were good co-workers. Sure, they had once been lovers. But friends? Not really.
Lee looked hassled, hair messy as if he'd driven the whole way over in the cool autumn air with the top down on the car. Well, the windows open. The car he had now wasn't a convertible like the last one. He didn't even have a jacket on to hide his gun, and his vest was unbuttoned all the way. Once upon a time, she would have taken advantage of that.
Then she saw the mark on his neck, just shy of being hidden by his unbuttoned collar. Those imprints were made with teeth. Now she worried.
“You need a drink.” She wasn't asking when she took him by the hand and led him to the dining room. “Sit.”
He did as he was told only long enough for her to pour a glass of wine for each of them and put one in his hand. After the first sip, he was back on his feet, pacing the length of the room. He fidgeted with his clothes, trying to fix his tie with only one hand and failing.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about, or do I need to start guessing?” She prompted.
His pacing paused as he leaned on the back of a chair. Hazel eyes bored into ice blue. “This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry.”
Francine blocked the door to the living room, trapping him before he could run. “Now, hold it right there! You can't just show up at my door looking like hell and not give me a clue! What kind of trouble are you in?”
“None yet, but,” Lee downed the rest of the glass of wine in one go, “I will be very soon.”
“Then tell me what happened so I can help you. That is why you came here, right? You don't want to get Billy or Amanda involved, but you need someone you trust. So, talk.”
He waved the glass at her. “I need something stronger first.”
Rolling her eyes, Francine went to the lower cabinet, pulling out a bottle that looked like some kind of blue-green battery acid. It tasted and burned like it was going to eat a hole through his throat and gut, but Lee took two more swigs to be sure it did its job.
“Okay, that's enough.” Francine jerked the bottle back, taking a sip of her own. “If it's this bad, maybe I need some, too.”
“Oh, it's not bad,” Lee contradicted, already feeling the effects of that much alcohol in that short of a time. The man could drink, but not like that. He had to sit down. “It's something I've wanted for a long time.”
Francine sat back down, too, studying him carefully. Those teeth marks were probably a day old at best. He said whatever was going on was something he wanted. So, at least she knew he didn't have an STD or another former girlfriend trying to pressure him for marriage or something. Billy would laugh and give him the number to a doctor's office. Amanda would give him a yelling session. Francine knew Lee and Amanda were still very close, even if they were told to break it up for the sake of professionalism. Her own thoughts on the matter needed to go on the back burner, though. Lee needed her right now. But for what?
“So, you're okay?”
He leaned back, leg bouncing as he stared at the ceiling. “No, I'm not okay. I have to stop drinking, or at least slow down. This is going to stall out my career, too. I'm going to have to hand over a lot of cases to other agents for a year or two. And Amanda... she's going to have to leave for a while. That or just sit at the desk. You know she hates that. The whole Agency is going to be up in arms over this one. And it's all my fault. I should have been more careful and asked first.”
“Lee,” she grabbed his hand, getting his full attention. “What did you do?”
Lee dead ass looked at her, kept a straight face the whole time as he said, “My wife called the apartment to tell me we're having a baby because I ran out of condoms and forgot to pull out.”
Francine's mind went blank for just a second. That was a lot to process all at once. Lee? Married?? About to be a father???
“I said I would meet her at the house. She has to pick her mother up from the mall on her way home. Francine, I need help. I don't know the first thing about pregnant women, or babies, or how to tell her family, or how to tell Billy, or what Dr. Smith is going to do to us. I... Is there enough time to get early retirement before she starts to show? Do you think I can pull it off? Hell, I don't even know what kind of work I could pick up after all these years! We talked about having horses. I could rent space to people who don't have room for their own horses or something. But that's just part of the dream, not something I know she could really get into like I could. She...”
“Slow down.” Francine blinked several times, trying to figure this one out. “Let's start at the beginning. Since when are you married? Who is she?”
“Two years.” Lee took a deep breath. “We got married in secret two years ago. Her own family doesn't know. Her mother's been pestering us about getting hitched, but if we tell Dotty, she'll tell everyone. She's going to be so mad at us. Not to mention her ex and their kids.”
Francine's eyes narrowed. “Dotty?”
“Yes, her mother. Keep up, Francine. You've met Amanda's mother.”
Francine gasped, hands to her face as she did yet another look over Lee. He was dead serious. “You are so dead, Lee Stetson! Oh, I cannot wait for you to have to tell Billy and watch the fireworks around the Agency! You deserve it for keeping all this from us!”
“Francine, you are not being helpful!”
“I gave you my best bottle from my favorite stash without knowing anything and listened to your confession. I think that's being helpful, Scarecrow!”
“Maybe if you were a drunken priest, it would be,” Lee grumbled. “What do I do?”
“Well, I...” She shook her head slowly, shrugging in helplessness. “I've never been married, and children are not my thing by a mile. How should I know?”
“How do I tell her family?”
“Not the way you told me, I hope. And, fix your shirt. I can see her love marks from here.”