Work Text:
"Dad, why are you wearing your suit?" Allison asked.
Lee internally groaned. He had thought both girls were already fast asleep when he came downstairs to head out for the latest party he had to go to for their mission. They knew that he was going out that night, under the guise of a sick poodle, not somewhere he needed to wear a suit. But it seemed Allison wasn't as deeply asleep as he thought, though it didn't seem as though she was fully awake either.
"I'm just seeing how it still fits," he lied.
"Why? Don't you have to go to Mrs. Johnson's house?"
She was confused and it was even more adorable than normal thanks to her half asleep state.
"I do, but I'm not leaving for a little bit longer. I'm making sure you all get to sleep before I do."
"Okay," she said, and turned around to go back to her room.
He was glad she was still young enough for that excuse to have worked. It certainly wouldn't have on his father, who had also decided to go to bed early that night, which should have made it easier for Lee to sneak out in the suit without attracting attention.
But since Allison had gone back to her room, he felt it was safe enough to leave for the party. He didn't want to be any later than he already was. So, he headed out to his car and drove to the event venue. He was able to use the valet service thanks to the invite he had received, which made things a lot easier when he arrived.
Not that it made it any easier to face Amanda's frown when he found her waiting outside for him. She was wearing a dark blue dress that was perfect for the event they were going to. And the fact it wasn't really warm enough to be wearing it outside probably made her even more annoyed at him being late.
"You're late," she said, by way of greeting. "How many times is this going to happen before you are on time?"
He smiled, trying to be apologetic with it.
"Likely at least one more time," he said. "But I am sorry, Allison interrupted me as I was trying to leave. I had to make sure she got back to bed."
Amanda sighed but didn't say anything else on the matter. It was nice that she understood his kids were going to come first, which a lot of people still didn't understand. She knew that if one of his girls needed him he would be late for anything. Even mission critical events.
"Let's get inside before we're late enough to be noticed," she said.
He quickly followed her inside and took the invite that she slid him. The covers they were using had the full expectation that he would be the one in possession of it. Which was the main reason he was there in the first place. Amanda was using him as a cover to make her life easier. He didn't really mind, even if he would have loved more responsibility sometimes.
Amanda shifted from her businesslike demeanor to one of the role she was playing. Which included taking Lee's arm as they entered through the door. While it was only for the cover, Lee's pulse still picked up just a little bit at the touch. He could almost imagine what it would be like if it was real.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster," the greeter said, upon reading their invite, "it's wonderful you were able to make it."
"We are happy to have gotten here in time," Lee said, with a charming smile. "There was so much traffic from the direction we were coming."
"Ah, yes, a number of guests have mentioned the traffic," he said, handing the invitation back. "It seems to be quite the problem tonight."
They headed into the main space for the party with no further issues. A relief for Lee. He hated having to improvise excuses for various things. Once they got to the person they were there to meet, Amanda would take over entirely and he would just have to follow her lead.
"I'm not seeing Ford," Amanda said quietly. "He should have been here before us."
"Maybe he got stuck in the traffic," Lee suggested.
"No, he would have been here long before that," she replied.
Even if it wasn't showing much, Lee could tell that Amanda was worried. The drop they were going to get was important, he knew that. But it was more than that. She was worried for the safety of their contact he realized.
"Let's keep looking," he said. "Maybe we don't have the right angle."
"Maybe."
They continued to move around the room, stopping when needed to talk to various people. It was important to blend in with the crowd and not seem suspicious.
Amanda was good at blending in and even better at hiding his faults in remembering his cover. It was odd to attempt to treat Amanda as his wife. Parts felt almost natural but others were just wrong. He wanted to change it but the person he was supposed to be wouldn't do those things.
"He's not in here," Amanda said when they were in a break between conversations. "I think we need to go looking elsewhere, see if he left a message."
Lee wasn't happy about the idea of snooping, but he had been through enough with Amanda over the past months to know it was the best option that they had. So, he led her in the direction she wanted. Until they were in the hall and she dropped his arm, going back to herself instead of the devoted wife. And the world felt more right. That was his Amanda.
They walked through the halls as quietly as possible, listening for anything. Lee didn't hear much but there was the sound of voices in a room up ahead. He gestured at Amanda and she nodded. They went and listened at the door.
"Killing the agent was a mistake," one man said.
"There was no other option," a second said. "He had information that he was going to pass on to another."
"His disappearance is going to cause even more issues," the first said.
Lee looked to Amanda, there was a look of mixed sadness and anger on her face. She had know Ford well enough to be more than hurt by his death. There was no other agent that they could be talking about.
"Hey who are you?" a third man said from behind him.
The doors opened and Lee lost track of what was happening. It was chaos between shouting and running and at one point even having to carry Amanda when her shoe broke in a way she couldn't keep running and didn't have time to take it off. It was all a blur. Until it wasn't and they were safe, others coming in to arrest the men that had killed Ford.
After it was all said and done, Billy let him leave and go home, before any of his family noticed he had been gone for way too long. He would just have to turn in his report as soon as possible. Which wouldn't be a problem.
-
Lee was working on the dishes the next morning, after the girls had headed to school when a familiar head of brown curls appeared in the window. He made sure his dad was distracted before opening it. Amanda greeted him with a smile.
"Are you okay, Amanda?" he asked. "That fall you took wasn't pretty."
She sighed, "I'm going to be fine, but I am stuck at my desk the rest of the week."
"A good chance to catch up on all that paperwork you've been ignoring," Lee said, making sure the teasing tone of his voice was clear.
She rolled her eyes.
"Sure, I'll do that."
"Everything okay in there, Lee?" his dad called out.
"Perfectly," he called back over his shoulder. "I'm just talking to myself."
"If you say so."
He turned back to Amanda. She was brightly smiling at him.
"Is that all you came to say?" he asked.
"I wanted to let you know that they found the rest of the ring, even without the information we were looking to get," she said. "We're off the hook for the rest of it. Mission accomplished."
It was his turn to roll his eyes.
"Billy already called to tell me that."