Work Text:
The next couple of months flew by for Callie. Between work, staying in shape, and frequent invitations from Amanda, she found herself fairly busy. As she’d continued to spend time with the Stetsons, her relationship with Amanda became more and more comfortable. She was still struggling to find her footing when interacting with Lee, however. He was always welcoming and friendly. Callie tried to be more informal with him, but she could never seem to get past the fact that he was her superior. Her years at the academy had instilled into her the expectation to maintain a respectful distance.
One chilly Monday in November, Callie received an order to report to the motor pool the next morning at 8:15 am. The instructions gave no indication of the nature of the activity she would be involved in. While that was semi-unusual, Callie followed the orders without question like she’d been trained to do. When she reported promptly on time Callie was led to a gray sedan, handed the keys, and told to wait for her supervising agent. To her surprise, it was Lee who opened the passenger door and slid into the seat beside her. She managed to respond to his “Good morning.” with a greeting of her own. He then directed her to pull out and turn right.
There was no conversation between them except for the occasional driving-related direction or question. He seemed lost in thought leaving Callie to wonder where they were going and what was in the satchel he was holding carefully on his lap. As they passed through the capital’s streets Callie noticed the traffic was significantly less then usual. Then it hit her. It was November 11, Veterans Day, and most government offices were closed. The Agency was one of the exceptions to that rule.
Soon she found herself pulling into the parking lot of a small cemetery. Thinking they might be a meeting with an asset, Callie scanned the area while unconsciously resting her hand on her service weapon.
Lee noticed and put a hand on her shoulder saying, “That’s not why we’re here.” He opened the car door, turned, and said “Come on,” indicating that she should follow him. She stayed a couple steps behind him as he made his way to twin headstones. The names on the monuments gave her a shock: Matthew Stetson and Jennifer Stetson. She looked at the birth dates on the grave and realized they had to be Lee’s parents. Then the realization hit her that the death dates were the same.
Lee removed two flags from the satchel placing the American flag by his father’s grave and the British one on his mother’s.
“They were killed when I was 5,” he sighed still looking down. He seemed to sense the questions that came to her mind and explained, “They uncovered proof that a man was defrauding the government. He set it up to look like a car accident.” He took a deep breath and added, “With Amanda’s help, I uncovered the truth and identified the man. I ended up having to shoot him when he tried to pull a gun on me.” Lee reached into the satchel and removed two red roses which he handed to Callie. “Please,” he softly said motioning toward the graves. She bent down carefully placing one flower on each grave then stood up with her head bowed. After a moment’s silence he turned and walked back the car. Callie followed hurrying to keep up with his long strides.
Once inside Callie asked, “Back to the agency?”
“No,” he replied, “Arlington Cemetery.”
Once again despite the many questions forming in her mind, she simply followed orders. They were nearly there when he directed her to a special entrance not for the general public. Getting out of the car they walked a short distance to another grave marker with a name she recognized from her military studies.
“My uncle,” Lee explained.
“I had no idea,” Callie replied. “I wrote a paper on his strategic use of small aircraft to complete recognizance during the Cold War.”
“I wound up being raised by him. He was a much better strategist than surrogate parent.” A half laugh escaped his lips. “In the end we reconnected. Amanda helped us realize that maybe we weren’t that different after all.”
Sensing her discomfort with the personal information being shared, Lee motioned for her to sit on a nearby beach. He stood there seemingly unsure of what to say next. He paced back and forth a few times before he started to speak.
“You are probably wondering why I decided to have you along today.”
Callie could only nod, not sure what to say. Lee ran his hand through his hair something he usually did when he was stressed.
“Being in this business as long as I have means I am pretty good at reading people. Being married to Amanda for as long as I have means I am even better at reading her. Even when she tries to hide her feelings. You and I aren’t……haven’t….need to….”
“We need to learn to leave the office at the office,” she stated hoping they could move on. It was disconcerting to see her normally self-assured boss stumbling like this.
“Exactly.”
“How do we do that?” she asked.
Lee shrugged and looking her right in the eyes stated, “I have no idea.”
Once again, an uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Then Callie had a thought.
“Could you teach me about football?” she asked in a very quiet voice.
“What?” Lee wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly.
“Everyone at work talks about the games, especially the Washington team. I’d never even seen a football game until I got into college. The Academy didn’t have a team and before that….” She trailed off.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I’ve done research and tried to watch some games. But I just don’t get it.”
Lee smiled. If there was one thing he loved to talk about away from work, it was football. One of the few memories he had of his father was sitting on his lap during the DC team’s games. That had inspired him to be a life-long fan despite moving all around the world with his uncle. He’d never admit it, but one thing that had excited him about being assigned to the Washington bureau was the chance to see a game in person.
In fact, Amanda teased that his famous dimples had been on display for two straight days following the first time he took Philip and Jamie to a game. Honestly, he missed having the boys around to watch with. He momentarily wondered if his wife had inspired Jackson’s suggestion, but the uncertainty on her face indicated Callie had come up with it on her own.
He smiled and she let out the breath she had been holding.
“I think we can manage that,” he agreed.