Glimpse of the Future: Occurs shortly after The Artful Dodger.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just use 'em for entertainment occasionally.
I always wondered how Lee would've reacted if someone had told him back in the first season, that he would marry Amanda. So, I decided to write it, now, this will probably contain spoilers for any other of my writings because it will be in my SMK fantasy world I'll use the family that Lee and Amanda have that I created for them. My Mom read this before I put it on this site, and she said she wanted to know more. If you guys want a sequel I could write it, but only if there's interest. Other than that, feedback is welcomed.
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Lee sat in his apartment watching old reruns of Bonanza, it was Sunday night and he was glad he finally got to spend a night at home. He probably would have been at some bar looking for a lovely lady to spend the evening with if he wasn't so tired. As his head bobbed up and down and he tried to force himself not to fall asleep, 8:45 was far to early for him to start sleeping, he couldn't help but think of the week that was to come.
Darlene was coming into town Tuesday night, he was going to meet her at Dulles at around 7, and then he'd planned to take her to Chez Pierre, she loved French food. Retreat for dessert at his place by 10, it would be great.
He was taking Lisa to an embassy party on Wednesday, he hoped they'd be able to get out of that early.
Thursday would be less than not perfect, he and Amanda were supposed to work on an assignment together. They were to be meeting a Senator from Wyoming for dinner, he'd had some worries about security breaches in his staff or something, and the only night he was available was Thursday.
But Friday would definitely make up for it when Cindi came over. Chinese take-out that would probably end up being Saturday's lunch. Lee thought as he tried to become interested in the commercial.
Then, a chuckle came out of his mouth, as he wondered how Cindi, Lisa and Darlene would feel about him, if they knew about the other women in his life. It made him laugh when he thought of how they'd feel if they knew he spent his days with a housewife from Arlington. What was Billy thinking when he decided to make Amanda his partner, he probably wasn't thinking.
Lee came into the bullpen early Monday morning, he knew going to sleep at nine o'clock was a bad idea. He was fully awake and ready to go by 5:45, he'd decided Billy would probably be in the office by 6:30, Lee decided to meet him. The bullpen was empty, it would've been completely dark if it hadn't been for the light on in Billy's office. Lee opened the door to Billy's office.
"Lee, I wouldn't have expected to see you here this early?" Billy said as he concentrated on the papers in front of him.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep." Lee said as he looked down at the floor, he remained in the doorway. "Hey, you want to go get somethin' to eat down at Ernie's?"
"Scarecrow, you don't eat breakfast." Billy reminded him.
"I know, but I can drink some coffee, you can eat some breakfast, and we can ya know, talk, like friends." Lee told him.
"What's the matter with you?" Billy asked him.
"Nothing, I just, got to bed really early last night, I don't have anything better to do."
"Well, you could go write some reports you owe me. But I wouldn't expect you to worry about that. Amanda's doing a good job getting you caught up on those. So, why don't you go take a walk, just be back by 9, when I'll need you back here." Billy told him.
"A walk huh?" Lee asked thinking about it. "Yeah sure, I think I will."
As promised, Lee returned to the Agency with a clear mind at 8:45, and as he'd expected, Amanda was in the bullpen, chipper as ever. He rolled his eyes, and tried to avoid her as he headed into the bullpen. While he wasn't his usual grump this morning, he was no where near as peppy as she was.
Success, he entered Billy's office, and could only hope she hadn't seen him. "Scarecrow!" Billy greeted him warmly.
"Billy." Lee said calmly, did someone spike the coffee, why was everyone so happy?
"Meet your new assignment, Mr. Terry." Billy motioned toward the small man that sat in one of the chairs in front of Billy's desk. Lee looked down and barely saw the top of the mans head over the top of the chair. The man stood up, and turned to face Lee. Immediately Lee began sizing him up.
'Nice, distinct hooknose. What is he, 4' 10"? He's got the biggest lips I've ever seen. One blue eye, one brown one, very fashionable. Maybe he's looking to scare off girls, the snot hanging from his nose must help. And is that a wart on his ear?' Lee gave a wimpy smile and nodded. "Mr. Terry." He fumbled out slowly reaching for the man extended hand. 'Try not to think about what he touched last Stetson.' Lee repeated over and over in his mind as he shook the tiny, dry hand, it felt like leather. He cautiously wiped his hand on the inside of his coat pocket, trying not to offend, 'Mr. Terry'.
"Terry T. Terry to be exact." Terry screeched.
Lee nodded and looked over at Billy. "Ah, Billy, can I talk to you, in the bullpen, for a sec?" Lee tried to say as comfortably as possible.
Billy nodded and left the office, followed by Lee, they stood outside the door. "Where'd you pick this guy up Billy, I don't remember the last time I met a geek like that?!" Lee said trying to contain himself. "And what do you mean by assignment. Fashion is Francine's department, it's definitely not my forte, but I know that guys got a black thumb."
"Lee, Senator Hackman was murdered last night." Lee told him.
"Happens all the time, we've never brought in a crazy man for that before." Lee tried to plead.
"He saw the whole thing."
"Let me guess, he was trapped in his locker, the jocks' put him there."
"Not to far off, he dropped a letter into a closet that Senator Hackman had, fell in, and the door closed from the outside, which is the only side the door opens from. Saw the whole thing through a tiny window or something like that. All I know is that they brought him in this morning."
"They should have left him."
"Lee, you are going to have to talk to that guy and find out what he knows. Maybe he can help you."
"Can't Amanda do that, he looks like her type?"
"Amanda is finishing up your report, then I have some tapes I need transcribed, it won't take you too long to just talk to the guy."
"Yeah." Lee groaned, he opened the door to Billy's office. "Triple T, let's go!" Lee shouted into the room. He shook his head at Billy and left the bullpen, with Terry T. Terry close behind.
Terry ran to keep up with Lee, but he finally caught up. "You know, my real name is Terry Terry Terry, my mother thought it was such a beautiful name, Terry, that she gave it to me three times. I don't think she had much choice on the last name though." Terry was obviously a rambler. He began to laugh at the joke he made. "Oh, don't you understand, well you see, my father…"
Lee rolled his eyes and stopped in the hallway, he looked at Terry. "Look, Terry, I understand, just because I don't laugh at your joke, doesn't mean you should explain it."
"Oh, well, didn't you think it was funny?"
"No Terry, it wasn't very funny. It was hardly a joke. Now, can we just get to the interrogation room so I can ask you about what you saw, and you will be free to leave."
"Good, I have a Chess meeting at 11, and then after that, I go home, and Mom gives me lunch, she'll worry if I'm not there by noon." Terry informed Lee, who just shook his head and continued down the hall. Terry talked about his day the entire was to the interrogation room. Lee opened the door, his patience was running out with this man.
Lee shut the door and locked it. Then he took a seat at the table opposite Terry. "I'm a little scared." Lee rolled his eyes, 'What tree did this dufus fall from?'
"Relax Terry, all you have to do, is tell me what you saw."
"Well, I don't…"
"Alright Terry, why don't you tell me what you were doing before you got into the closet, just make it feel like a casual conversation, and then, maybe it'll come out." Lee tried to calm the man down.
"Okay, that sounds nice." Lee sighed as Terry began. "Well, yesterday, at around one, after I left mothers, I was on my way to work. The Senator never made me come till about one, he said I was sort of clumsy before noon. So I was walking along, enjoying the cool, afternoon and I got this tingling in my hands, and I knew what that meant, so I went to the bench, and prepared for my vision. That's what the tingling in my hands means, Daddy has something he wants me to know."
"What are you talking about?" Lee asked, this man was really a piece of work.
"Well, my Daddy died when I was just five, but he told me, just before he died, that whenever he wanted to tell me something, he'd come, and tickle my hands, and that would make me know to sit down, and get ready for whatever it was he wanted to say."
"What does he tell you."
"Important things, things that are going to happen to me, or sometimes, things that are going to happen to people around me that he really likes. He tells me the future."
"Okay." Lee said, trying not to sound like he wasn't buying a word of this future stuff. "Continue."
"So, I sat down, and he told me that somebody I knew was going to be murder. I got scared, but he told me just to go to work."
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
"People don't believe me when I tell them about what Daddy says. So I normally don't tell them, unless Daddy says it's okay. He let me tell Beatrice that's my girlfriend. She's so pretty."
"Terry, can we try to stick to the story?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. Um, where was I?"
"You told me why you didn't go to the police."
"Oh, yeah, so I just went to work, like Daddy said. I got there, and about two, he told me to go and get in the closet, so that I could know who murdered the Senator, because otherwise, nobody would."
"What about the letter."
"Oh, I just told Mr. Melrose that so he wouldn't think I was strange. There was no letter. Why is that bad? Should I not have lied to him?"
"So, you were in the closet, because you put yourself there, because your Dad told you to?"
"Yeah. I guess that's how it worked out. Pretty coocky, huh?"
Lee nodded. "Okay, well, thanks Terry, we'll call you if we find out anything." Lee said beginning to stand up.
"Uh oh." Terry said as he watched Lee.
"What?" Lee asked as he looked at Terry with a shocked face. 'God, please tell me he didn't wet his pants?'
"Dad's trying to tell me something." Terry closed his eyes.
"What?" Lee asked deciding to amuse this man.
"Do you know, a woman named Amanda?" Terry asked, keeping his eyes closed, this began to scare Lee, and he tightened his face.
"Yeah." He whispered.
"Amanda…" Terry paused grasping for a name. "Amanda King?"
"Yeah, what about her, is she in danger?" Lee asked concerned.
"No, but she's going to marry you." Terry said nonchalantly.
"WHAT?!" Lee shouted.
"That's what Dad said, you and her would get married, and you'd have four kids." Terry told him standing up.
"Four kids, and I'm married to Amanda?" Lee asked, beginning to think about the idea, a smile began to start at the corners of his mouth when he started to enjoy the thought, then, reality hit. "I think you've had one too many beers Terry." Lee said grabbing his arms and leading him out of the room.
"I don't drink beer." Terry corrected him. "Although I do enjoy a good Wall-banger every Friday night with Stuart and Henry."
"Yeah, okay Terry, just keep going down this hall, when you get to the desk, ask Martha to show you out. Thanks Terry." Lee said as he raced back to Billy's office.
Lee opened the door, his mind was spinning, his head was racing, was this a practical joke that Billy had played on him. "Who was he? Did we do a background check?" Lee asked not even noticing Francine.
"Lee, what did you find out about the Senator's death?" Billy asked ignoring Lee's questions.
"I didn't ask." Lee said remembering that he'd been so startled he completely forgot about the Senator. "Was that a joke or something, did Senator Hackman really die?"
"Ah, yeah, three bullet holes in his chest, point-blank." Francine answered him.
"I've gotta go." Lee said as he raised his hands up his forehead and ruffled his hair. "Maybe I'll be back later." Lee shouted from the bullpen.
"Ah, Lee I need…" Amanda began chasing after him with a pen.
"Later Manda, we'll talk later." Lee ignored her and left.
15 minutes later he arrived at his apartment, loosened his tie and fell onto his couch. 'He was lying right, no one can tell the future, right?' Lee tried to reason as he turned on the TV.
"Like sands through the hour glass, so are the Days of Our Lives." Lee recited with the TV. He'd only seen the show a few times, and never all the way through, but that phrase had become somewhat famous. The show then went to commercial.
"Some people have questions about their future, and that's where Quinoa's Psychics comes in. We'll tell you anything you want to know, and the first five minutes are free. Call now, and we'll throw in an extra two minutes if you call now! The number…"
As the lady read the number, Lee's curiosity piqued and he dialed the number.
"Name."
"Lee Stetson."
"Date of Birth"
"July 27th 1952."
"Parents names."
"Mathew and Jennifer Stetson."
"Okay, you'll have seven minutes with Madame Nina, please hold."
Lee ran his fingers up and down the side of his couch. He'd never believed in this stuff before, but maybe she could tell him whether or not Terry was for real, marriage scared the crap out of him, especially when the name Amanda King was mentioned in the same sentence, someone had to know the truth. They looked certified in the commercial. You can't just run scams like that, go around scaring people, can you?
"Lee." The lady's soothing voice answered the phone.
"Yes." Lee replied.
"I sense some doubt, what are you doubting child?"
"Uh, someone told me something today."
"It was about marriage wasn't it, this scares you, doesn't it?"
"How'd you know?"
"This isn't a hoax Lee, just relax."
"So, what can you tell me, was what the person told me correct."
"Why don't I tell you what I'm reading, okay Lee, and then you can tell me if he was correct."
"Alright." Lee said uneasily.
"You will marry Amanda King, she has two boys from a previous marriage, is that correct."
"Yeah."
"After you two marry, you will have four more children." Lee immediately hung up. He jumped from the couch and began to pace, pressing his fingers against his temples.
"Too much information, too little time. Way to much information." He walked over to the phone, he needed to talk to someone. "Amanda." Lee said when he heard her voice on the other side of the line. "Hypothetically here, what would you do if someone was trying to predict your future?"
"That would depend on what they told me." Amanda answered.
"What if they said they knew who you were going to marry?"
"Well, I would just let something like that up to fate Lee. Don't worry about it, what ever's meant to happen, is going to happen. Just let life play out the way it's supposed to." Amanda wisely answered him.
"Thanks." Lee sighed, she'd definitely made her feel better.
"That help?" Amanda asked him.
"Yeah. It really does." Lee was about to hang up, but Amanda stopped him.
"Oh, Lee, just out of curiosity, who'd they say you were going to marry?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Lee said and ended the conversation by hanging up. He laid down on the couch to sleep, he intended to do just what Amanda had said, let life play out, the way it was meant to, a secret to the players, a mystery to the world.