Diving for Pearls

Set between the end of the third season and before the fourth season.

Synopsis: Amanda and Lee have only just acknowledged their attraction for one another before an explosion and injuries may take everything away from them both.

I would like to send my sincere thanks to my beta, SpyGirl1969 who went above and beyond the call of duty. This story is much better than it would have been without her efforts. All the mistakes are wholly mine.

Disclaimers and Caveats: Scarecrow and Mrs. King was created by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming, and is a production of Shoot The Moon Enterprises, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Studios. Shoot The Moon Enterprises, Ltd. is owned by Kate Jackson. Scarecrow and Mrs. King was filmed at the Burbank Studios and surrounding areas in Burbank, California. Stock footage filmed in Washington, D.C. during the first season.

Regrettably, I do not own the characters, but I did take them out for another spin. Lee was not amused at my jeopardizing Amanda and pulled out his service revolver before coolly informing me I needed to return them to Warner Bros/Shoot the Moon immediately -- or I wouldn't like the consequences. I decided not to mess with him. Also very regrettably, I will not receive any remuneration – Amanda heard this and shook her head empathetically. She understands the predicament of a working mom.

References are made to a variety of episodes from seasons 1 – 3. Specific allusions are made to the following episodes:

The First Time - Written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming (excerpts from the episode belong to them)

I Am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been ... a Spy - Written by Peter Lefcourt (excerpts from the episode belong to him)

Diving for Pearls – Chapter One

Francine looked aghast at the flames shooting from the top of the warehouse. She heard the thunderclap of timed explosions that shook the ground beneath her. Six of their best agents were in that building. It had been a trap - and they had walked right into it.

"Francine!" Billy shook her by the shoulder trying to pull her out of the danger zone. "We need to move away! Come on - now! That's an order, Desmond."

Francine turned to him in mute horror. "No, Billy, no!" Her face was white. "There's a chance we can get them out."

Billy shook his head, his eyes sharing her desolation. "The frame is buckling, Francine. Look!" He pointed at the far end of the warehouse where it was already weakening and leaning, falling in toward the center. "There's nothing we can do - and I won't risk anyone else." His eyes mirrored her pain, but making these tough calls was part of his job. "I can't, Francine. I'm sorry…"

Francine took a step forward toward the building, holding her binoculars up to her eyes in desperate hope. "Wait. Billy! Someone's coming out. On the left, the far left. No - there's two of them. I see Fred…and Orrie's right behind him!" Her voice climbed in hope and fear, maybe there was a chance - just an outside chance they would get them out of there. More of the building started to cave and she coughed as the air filled with particulate and ash. The heat from the inferno blasted across the intervening parking lot.

She heard someone shout on her far right. "Billy, I see Cartwright and….and…I think it's Leatherneck, he's limping. Cartwright's got him." Four….they had four. Oh God, please…Her breath hitched and she could feel the tears as her throat closed tightly. Lee and Amanda were in there. She had to stand here… stand here and watch her friends die before her. Her hand covered her mouth in horror as she bit back a silent scream of anguish. This had been her operation, start to finish, and she had sent her friends in to die needlessly. She was heedless of the tears that ran down her face, hoping against hope, but time was running out.

"Cartwright," Billy bellowed. "What the hell are you doing? Get back here, now!" He watched helplessly as the blond agent, having safely delivered Leatherneck to them, pelted back toward the right of the building.

Francine trained her binoculars on him and grabbed Billy by the arm. "Oh my god, oh my god. It's them," her voice ragged. "Amanda's trying to pull Lee out." Her eyes trained on the slender brunette battling impossible odds as she tried to pull Scarecrow's limp form from the building, buckling under his dead weight. Cartwright dashed forward and hefted Scarecrow across his broad, stocky shoulders in a fireman's lift. Amanda fell to her knees, her body wracked in coughs. Cartwright's words gave her the impetus she needed, and she staggered into a standing position and followed him blindly through the smoke and soot away from the building, which collapsed in entirety as they ran.

"Thank God…Thank God." Billy intoned deeply next to her. He turned to shout at the support staff behind him. "Get a gurney for Scarecrow. We need medics…Let's get a move on, people!"

Francine had torn off to meet them half way, slipping an arm around Amanda's waist as she helped support her to the waiting ambulance. Amanda couldn't stop coughing, and they slipped an oxygen mask over her face. "Lee..?" she mouthed, turning frantic eyes to Francine.

"You did it Amanda, you did it!" She blinked back tears that were in sharp contrast to her face wreathed in smiles. "I don't know how…but you got him out." She held Amanda's limp hand in her own tight grasp.

Amanda's eyes closed weakly in exhaustion, her face ruddy with the heat of first degree burns. "Thank Dave for me," her voice rasped faintly.

"Don't worry, I will!" Giving her hand a final squeeze, she left Amanda in the hands of the medics as they prepared her for transport.

Dave Cartwright sat on the bumper of the van taking occasional draughts from an oxygen mask. He looked exhausted, his head bent down and his hands resting on his knees as he attempted to hold up his stocky frame. Francine didn't think she'd ever seen anything as beautiful as his homely, square cut face. Striding over to him, she called "Dave…Dave!" He looked up in dazed exhaustion to find himself in the diminutive blonde's embrace. After giving him a fierce hug, Francine put both hands on the sides of his face and planted a light kiss on one cheek. "That one was from me," she said exuberantly, "and this one is from Amanda." She leaned forward and kissed the other cheek.

He gave a weary smile and said, "Hey Francine, for that I'd run into another burning building."

"Don't you dare!" Her voice shook with contained laughter and tears.

Billy Melrose joined them, likewise boasting a wide smile. "In view of your heroics, Cartwright, I'll overlook your insubordination. Damn it, you scared the hell out of me, man!" He gave the weary agent a firm handshake. "There's a commendation in this for you, Dave."

"Thanks, sir." Dave coughed, and took a quick breath from the mask.

"We'll save the debriefing for later, but is there anything you can tell us quickly right now?"

"I don't know sir," Dave rasped, his voice roughened from smoke inhalation. "It was rigged from the get-go. Scarecrow went in first. When we heard the explosions, we got cut off from Fielder and McEvoy. I saw a beam fall and get Scarecrow right across his head. Leatherneck was right behind me, and a wall collapsed on him. So, first, I got Leatherneck out. I thought Mrs. King was right behind me…" He shook his head in disbelief. "She wouldn't leave Scarecrow. And damned if she didn't get him out of the building." He looked up at his section chief. "I don't know how the hell she did it, but I do know I'd have never made it back far enough in the building to get him." His body was wracked with a coughing fit. "Are they OK?"

"I don't know about Scarecrow's head injury," Billy said guardedly, "but we think they'll both make it…thanks to you, Dave. Damn fine work, son." He let out a forceful breath. "Get back to the clinic and get yourself checked out and then go home and get some rest, you hear?" He turned to his assistant with a serious face. "Francine, we'd better get to the hospital." They weren't out of the woods yet, and he knew it.

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Splitting…knife-like, lancing pain shot through Lee's head. "Uhhh," he moaned, flirting with consciousness. Voices spun through his leaden memory.

"….likely subdural hematoma."

"But will he recover?" The deeply concerned voice sounded like Billy Melrose.

"…matter of time before we know…non-responsive…likely neurological damage." Fragments of what the doctor had replied filtered through.

That had been a while ago. Blearily, Lee opened his eyes to scan his surroundings. As the room spun, he shut them. Great. Another damn hospital room. Weakly, he pushed up and tried to swing his frame out of bed, gripping the bed rail until his knuckles were white. He felt like he had been hit by a convoy, let alone a truck. Drawing on sheer force of will, he tried to stand. Willpower alone wasn't enough; he sank back into the hospital bed in defeat.

Hearing the door open, he saw a slender figure enter the room furtively; her pale skirts swished as she quickly closed the door behind her.

"Lee!! You're awake!" she gave a cry of happy delight which turned quickly to a scold. "Oh my gosh, Lee, you weren't trying to get out of bed, were you? Of course you were! Lee, you have to stay in the hospital and I don't care what excuse you try to offer this time. Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" This last was issued as a fierce whisper as she approached the bed and sat on the edge next to him. Her wide dark eyes gazed at him in relief and barely contained happiness.

She threaded her hand through his hair, brushing it back in an oddly comforting gesture. "We didn't get Divornasky, but at least we all got out alive. Leatherneck will have a limp for a while. And you…you will just have to take as much time as you need to recover. Lee, you gave me the scare of a lifetime!" She shook her head, and pulled his hand up to rest it against her sunburned cheek. "I'm just so glad you're all right!" She sighed. "I really should go get the doctor; they'll want to check you out thoroughly, and I know how much you're going to love that!"

Lee's brow furrowed as he pushed himself further up in bed, leaning away from his uninvited companion. "I don't know what you're talking about…I don't know a Divornasky and I don't know you," he said as forcefully as his condition allowed. "So if you don't mind," he said, and gestured to the door with a head nod.

"Lee!" Amanda responded in a horrified whisper. "If this is some kind of a joke, it's not the least bit funny."

"Look," he responded irritably, "I've been in an accident and if you don't mind, I'd really rather be alone and get some rest."

"Lee, I'm serious!"

"And so am I!" he responded fitfully. "Do I need to page the nurse's station to get you out of here?"

With shock and worry etched on her face, she slowly said, "All right, then, Lee. I'll go get Mr. Melrose and tell him you're awake. He and Francine have been very worried about you." She quietly rose and stepped away from the bed.

"You know Billy Melrose?" he inquired sharply.

"Of course I know Mr. Melrose," she responded with aggravation. "Lee, I'm your partner!"

"That's ridiculous. I haven't had a partner since…" Since Eric, he thought silently. "I work alone! I don't know what kind of a game you're playing, lady, but…" he began.

"A game?! This is not a game, Lee!" Her voice crumbled. "Oh Lee, you must have amnesia," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I knew…I knew you had quite a head injury. That beam got you right across your left temple." Her hand covered her mouth.

Lee felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. His years as an agent had made him adept at spotting a phony. This delicate brunette facing him with the cloud of curly hair and almond-shaped eyes wasn't one of them. She meant what she said, and he was the one lying in a hospital bed with a splitting headache and a bandaged head. She knew Billy Melrose and she knew how he felt about hospitals. The sick feeling intensified. If he didn't have his memory, then he wasn't in control and Lee hated being out of control.

"If I have amnesia, they'll take me out of the field," Lee voiced his fears aloud. "I'll be closeted with shrinks from now 'til kingdom come." He rubbed his face with both hands in frustration.

"Lee," she said soothingly. "It will probably all come back to you in just a few days. You've had quite a shock to the system, you know," she finished.

"No! If they know I have a memory problem, they won't trust me to work in the field for months…if ever!" He faced her urgently. "Look…if you're my partner," he said, with his voice and face evincing doubt at the possibility, "you have to help me!"

"Lee, I really think what you need is medical help," Amanda countered.

"Please…" he entreated, "Please." Urgently, he caught one of her hands in his own.

"Honestly, I think…" she argued.

"Please! I need your help." His gaze was inexorable and she knew, as always, she would not be able to deny his heartfelt request.

She looked resigned. "What is it you want me to do?" she responded reluctantly with a sense of déjà vu.

Relief played across his face. "Cover for me…help me as I get my bearings. They can't know my memory is shot. I don't even know what our mission is about." He shook his head in disbelief. "You are my partner?"

Amanda's shoulders drew back and her chin tilted up as she said, "Yes, Lee, I am your partner. I have been for the better part of three years now."

He nodded, but his hesitancy belied his agreement. "What's your name?"

She winced in pain, "Amanda…my name is Amanda King." She looked over her right shoulder and pulled her hands away from his. "I hear voices, I think they're coming to check on you again. I wasn't really supposed to be here. I snuck in during the nurses' shift change. It isn't visiting hours…" Her hands twisted together and her face colored at her admission.

Good God, how could this woman function as an agent if she even felt guilty about disobeying visiting hours, he wondered. He still couldn't countenance that she was his partner, no matter what she said. He preferred to work alone and if he did choose a partner, it wouldn't be someone so missish about breaking a few inconsequential rules.

Her hand rose to lightly cover her throat in anxiety. "I need to tell them you're awake." She gave him an uncertain smile and a small shrug before slipping out the door. Her bearing was at such odds with the way she had originally greeted him, he considered. Just what kind of relationship did he have with Amanda King?

The door swung wide as Billy Melrose and a white coated physician entered, followed by an anxious Amanda. "Lee, you really scared us this time!" Billy said; his smile was wide in relief.

"Mr. Stetson, I'm Dr. Jameson. We're glad to see you awake, finally. Let's see what kind of shape you're in." The spindly doctor took out an otoscope to check Lee's pupils. He began firing orientation questions at Lee designed to check his cognitive state. Lee confidently answered questions about the year, their location and even the current president. When the doctor asked him about what he recalled from the time of his accident, he faltered.

"Just images, really. Heat, smoke, the smell of burning wood and gasoline."

"Was there anyone else there in the warehouse with you?" Billy interjected.

Lee shook his head, eyeing Amanda's subtle gestures behind the section chief. "Just the…six of us," he correctly interpreted her hand gestures.

"There would have been only five at the end, Lee, but Mrs. King here and Dave Cartwright pulled you out of that burning warehouse." Billy's head shook slowly at the haunting memory. "Actually, I really thought we had lost you both." His glance included Amanda, and Lee noted the warmth and affection his section chief displayed toward her.

'Mrs. King'….that meant she was married. Huh. He bet her husband wouldn't appreciate just how warmly she had greeted him when she first arrived!

Amanda made a timely interjection. "Sir, we really were there only a few moments before the explosion and then that beam collapsed and hit him. He didn't have much time to make any observations. It just…it just took a while for me to get him out, that's all."

Lee stared at her incredulously; this slip of a woman had pulled him out of a burning warehouse? A wave of fatigue hit and Lee knew he didn't have it in him to dissemble much longer. The doctor noted the loss of color in his face and informed them all his patient would need to rest.

"You'd better get home to your husband, Amanda." Lee suggested. Billy gave him a startled look.

Amanda gave an uneasy laugh. "Lee…I know Joe has been around a lot more lately to see the boys, but that hardly makes him my husband anymore, no matter what my mother wishes." She subtly tapped her bare left ring finger. Ah, she was divorced. His gut clenched; how was he going to pull this off?

She turned to the doctor. "But, I really should be going. My boys Jamie and Phillip both have tests tomorrow and I doubt my mother has been making them study. You know, she was such a stickler with me when I was young? But she always says to me that the joy of being a grandmother is, that after all these years, she finally gets to say 'yes.' She lives with us in Arlington, you know, and that means my sons are in danger of being spoiled rotten." She smiled at the doctor, who was clearly surprised at this wealth of personal information. Lee realized, though, that she had engaged in the monologue for his benefit. She had two school-aged boys and lived with her mother in Arlington. Got it. He watched her carefully tuck her handbag under her shoulder and quietly exit without looking at him.

"All right, Lee. I'll be back to check on you tomorrow," Billy ended. "And I expect to still find you here in your hospital room! Understood?"

Lee nodded and grimaced. Billy Melrose knew him all too well and so, apparently, did Mrs. Amanda King.

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He saw a lot of Amanda King over the next few days; she kept him company for long hours in the hospital and none of his colleagues seemed surprised at her devotion to him. Billy clearly had a soft spot for his partner, always addressing her with the warm courtesy that he usually only saved for visiting dignitaries and old friends.

She had quickly and efficiently apprised him of their latest mission and any questions that might come his way. They had been set up, and by pros. They had reports of stolen plans for ballistic missile sites that were making their way into Russian hands. All of the covert intelligence information that Francine had acquired pointed to one Russian agent's handiwork in that deserted warehouse. But they had been duped, Divornasky was long gone - if he had ever been there, and the warehouse had been rigged to take out a full complement of agents immediately. It had been a minor miracle that they had all escaped.

With critical eyes, he watched his so-called partner interact with all of his colleagues who came to visit. She had an uneasy truce with Francine, which was honestly the best anyone could hope for. While Francine expressed impatience with the fact that Amanda was spending more time at the hospital than the Agency, her grousing seemed more ritual than genuine. Amanda took it in stride without rising to the bait; it certainly suggested that she had experience in coping with Billy's tetchy assistant.

Leatherneck visited from down the hall, his knee in a heavy brace. While the ex-marine ostensibly was there to visit him, he noted that the man's eyes usually followed Amanda as she quietly flipped through the reports and papers on her lap. She was friendly and warm toward Leatherneck, but just short of encouraging him any further. Yet, Lee could tell the other agent was smitten with her as he bantered with them both. If Amanda was aware, she gave no sign.

Dave Cartwright and Orrie McEvoy stopped by once, just to check in and debrief following the debacle in the warehouse district. Amanda had told him of Cartwright's heroics and Scarecrow was honestly grateful to the stoic agent. Amanda was too, tearfully so. Cartwright had never been brilliant, but he was a solid, reliable agent. Fielder didn't bother to stop by, but that was no surprise, as there was nothing in it for him.

Through all the visits, Amanda had run subtle interference, filling in gaps and making slight gestures that enabled him to bluster his way through each of them without anyone detecting his memory loss. It was a frustrating process; as each day passed, memories would come to him in discordant flashes. But the harder he tried to remember something, failure was guaranteed. It was like diving for pearls of memory in murky waters. Most of the time, he came up empty handed.

Try as he might, he could remember frustratingly little about his partner. What he could recall was sketchy at best - details from cases they had apparently shared. His dependence on her was maddening and it contributed to an overall state of pronounced irritation. Amanda herself, though attentive and courteous, was becoming more and more withdrawn.

"You seriously mean to tell me that you've never completed Station One successfully?" Lee demanded as he flipped through prior case notes that she had provided him.

"No, Lee, I didn't,"Amanda replied patiently, but with a thin thread of irritation at the question. "If you check the notes, you'll see that while I didn't complete the course; we did stop a team of Russian assassins." Her carriage was erect and her chin tilted up, as if she expected more criticism.

"You just don't seem the type," he countered.

"What type?"

"The type to be an agent," he responded, making a vague gesture at her appearance. "You don't seem to be much of a risk taker…I would have pegged you as an accountant, or librarian or something like that."

She gave him a tight smile. "Well, I guess it takes all types, then, doesn't it?" Her patience was wearing thin today. The emotional strain of being with him this week while he had forgotten her was taking its toll. She tried to remember that he had coped with the very same issue when she forgot him in entirety. But that was long ago, before they had become…emotionally involved. Her throat tightened at her loss. What if Lee never remembered her? She had to get out of there.

She abruptly began stacking the case notes on his bedside table and gathering up her belongings. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lee. I need to be getting home to make the boys supper." Her voice was tight with strain and she pointed to a notepad next to the pile. "You have my number if there's anything else you need." Her tone, however, suggested that he not use it. She was a quiet whirlwind of efficiency as she prepared to take her leave.

He had upset her, he realized. Probably it was those comments about her appearance; he didn't realize she was so sensitive. Again, he thought with frustration, she just seemed too…fragile…to be an agent, or even a civilian auxiliary. He sighed in barely contained frustration. "Look, Amanda, I know how hard this has been for you…"

She whipped around to face him, her face set in taut lines. "No, Lee Stetson, you don't. You have no idea how hard this has been for me." Her voice was low and fierce. "You lost some of your memory, and I am so sorry this happened to you. More sorry than I can say." Her voice cracked with contained emotion as she continued, "But I…I lost my best friend that day and I don't know if I'll ever get him back." Her laugh was light but bitter as she said, "I don't blame you, and there's nothing we can do about it, but I can't sit here and justify my existence to you for one more hour today. I'm going home!" she finished before pushing her way blindly out the door.

Lee let out an unsteady breath. So there was a tough core under all that gentility. He felt a wave of helplessness and guilt wash over him. Clearly they had been closer than he realized, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

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She wasn't going home to make dinner. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, for goodness sake. But she couldn't, she just couldn't sit there for one more hour of the all-knowing Scarecrow belittling her. They had come so far past that. Her eyes filled with tears that she dashed away with the back of her hand. She picked up the pace to a brisk walk across the park paths and tourists intuitively stepped aside. It was clear to them that this woman meant business.

She let a slow uneven breath, trying to calm herself. She came up behind a park bench and gripped its back tightly, gazing out over the water in front of her. So what was she going to do now? It had been a week, and he showed absolutely no signs of remembering her. Land sakes, they couldn't even get medical advice because no one knew about his memory problem but her.

Why had she ever agreed to this ridiculous charade? 'Because he asked you,' her conscience answered. Fundamentally, she realized that she and Lee had a loyalty that transcended partnership. He had risked treason and death for her. He had supported her when she lost her memory, hadn't he? She had trusted him even when he had turned to shoot her with coldly calculating eyes. She couldn't betray that trust now. Not even when their partnership meant nothing to him anymore.

Her breath caught in an unreleased sob, and she sat on the end of the bench, twisting her hands in her sweater hem. What was it going to be like, day in and day out, working with him now? Especially now that they had become more than partners, more than friends. Just over a month ago, she had the world on a string. Scarecrow had finally come to the realization that the woman he really wanted was, of all people, Amanda King. She would never forget his intense regard as he had locked the world out of the office, saying, "No…Not this time." Finally, they had both succumbed to the feelings that had been building for three years. Oh, that kiss had been worth waiting for!

"It's just not fair!" she whispered brokenly, allowing her tears to fall for the first time since he had woken. All this past week, she had suppressed them, certain that it was a temporary thing. He would surely have to remember her at any time. But he didn't…and he wouldn't. And now, she realized, she would have to find a way to cope with that.

She fished a handkerchief out of her purse. "Sometimes, life's not fair." It was a reply she often had to provide her boys when faced with their heartbreaks. Now, she'd have to live by that same tenet herself.

Well, she decided, she would do what she always had done. When the going got tough, you put one foot in front of the other and just kept going. She would be his partner, and she would cope. And their romance…she would just let it go. Her throat was tight and it was hard to swallow as she felt a fresh wave of tears threaten. She ruthlessly clamped down on her emotions. She had learned over the years not to dwell on what could have been.

First things first, she would find a washroom and repair her appearance. Then, she would head back to work. She nodded decisively with a shade more force than absolutely necessary. Good. She had a plan. All she had to do was keep her recalcitrant heart quiet in the meantime.