Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. We retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. this story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Timeline: Takes place during the summer of 1989 after the removal of the Hungarian Border fence that eventually led to German Reunification in 1990. Lee and Amanda have been married for over two years at this point and still kept it a secret.

Author's Note: This is a re-post of a story that I wrote over 15 years ago that I never completed. It was posted under my original pen name, Lanie Sparks, which I no longer have access to so I am unable to update it under that name. I've consolidated the original seven chapters that I had posted into four to make the chapter lengths a little more even and have started working on the completion of the story. I hope to have it completed within the next week or so.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee Stetson was at his apartment on his way out the door when the phone rang. He debated on whether or not to answer it. He looked at his watch. He was supposed to be at Amanda's in half an hour. He'd been looking forward to it all week. He hadn't gotten to spend much time with his family lately because of his and Amanda's heavy case load, but they'd finally gotten some good leads and wrapped some stuff up so now was the time for quality time together. After more than two years of living apart, he and his wife were finally done with the secrecy and had decided to come clean about the whole thing tonight at dinner. Oh well, he thought. I might as well answer is and get it over with.

Lee slammed the phone down a few minutes later. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Damn! I should've just let that damned phone ring! What am I going to tell Amanda?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the King house, Amanda and Dotty were in the kitchen fixing dinner when Phillip and Jamie came thundering down the stairs.

"When's Lee getting here, Mom?" Jamie asked impatiently. "I want to show him my new video game."

"It's hard to tell, Sweetheart." Amanda replied. "He probably got hung up at work or something. I hope there's nothing wrong, she thought. She knew The Agency well enough to know that something simple could easily turn into something life-threatening in a matter of minutes. "Why don't you boys go get washed up for dinner? It'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Ok." they both said as they ran toward the bathroom just as the phone rang. Dotty picked it up,

"Hello?" she said in her usual cheerful tone.

"Hi, Dotty," Lee said.

"Lee, darling, where are you?" Amanda perked up when she heard that Lee was on the phone. "Your fan club is here waiting for you."

"I'll explain it later, Can I talk to Amanda, please?"

"Of course." She handed the phone to her daughter.

"Lee, what's going on? You're late," Amanda said worriedly.

"I don't have much time to talk."

"Where are you," she asked getting more worried by the minute.

"At the airport. I have to fly to Berlin in less than an hour."

Amanda had a million questions. She rattled them all off at once. "Why? What's going on? Why didn't you tell me about it? How long are you going to be gone? Do you want me to go with you? What can I do to help? Do you need me? We're supposed to be partners, remember?"

"Amanda, I promise, I'll explain it all when I get back. This just came up. I shouldn't be gone more than a day or two."

"What about our plans for tonight?" Tonight was the night they'd panned to tell the truth about their secret life. She'd wanted to for so long and they'd finally agreed to start living like a normal couple but they couldn't do that if he wasn't going to be around.

"I'm sorry, Amanda. There's nothing I can do. We'll take care of it this weekend, I promise. I have to go soon if I'm going to catch my plane

"Please be careful."

"I will. Take care of yourself and the boys and I'll see you all in a couple of days. I love you."

"I love you too." She said with a sigh as she hung up the phone. Dotty immediately picked up on her daughter's distress.

"He's not coming tonight, is he?"

"No. He has to fly out of the country right away on business."

"What kind of business can he conduct at this time of day?"

"I don't know, Mother. He didn't have a whole lot of time to talk. He had to get on a plane."

"You and your jet-setting men, I swear."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda said turning to her mother.

"Well, you were married to Joe for ten years and all he did was travel all over leaving you alone with the boys. Now, you're a successful career woman, but you're still falling into the same trap. You're involved with a man who isn't ready to settle down yet and just wants to traipse all over the globe. I think Lee is a wonderful man, but he's obviously afraid of commitment. You read about it all the time."

"What? Mother, you're talking nonsense. Lee is committed to me and to the boys."

"Then why hasn't he asked you to marry him yet? You've been dating for how long now?"

"Over 2 years," she answered, but really that wasn't true. They'd been married for over two year and had actually started dating over three years ago.

"See? I think it's been far too long. and tonight he just takes off at the drop of a hat without giving you any kind of notice."

"Mother, what's this all about? I thought you liked Lee."

"I do. He's good to you and he's good-looking, charming, polite and he adores the boys. I know that the two of you have this fiery, passionate relationship, but is that really what you need?"

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

"Don't even try to deny it, Amanda. I know that the two of you have been sleeping together for years, before I ever even met him, so don't think I believe your story that it's only been two years.. You think I can't put two and two together? The men's clothing items that keep appearing mysteriously in our laundry, the endless long nights that the two of you "work" together, the number of times that I've come home to find the two of you looking guilty. It all adds up to one thing and don't think the boys haven't figured it out either. They are teenagers, after all."

"Ok, so what?"Amanda said. "We're both adults and we love each other."

"I've never doubted that the two of you are in love. I could tell that from the first time I met him. No, I take that back. I knew even before I met him by the way you used to talk about him, but that doesn't make me feel any better when he just takes off like this out of the blue or the fact that you two still don't seem to be heading toward a real future together."

Amanda heard the boys heading back down the stairs. "Look, Mother, why don't we talk about this later? I don't really want to discuss this in front of the boys. We can talk about this some more after they go to bed."

"All right, Dear. I'm going to hold you to that."

Amanda nodded her head, knowing that was true. "Ok, there are some things I need to tell you in private. Things you should have known about a long time ago."

Later that evening after the boys had gone to bed, Amanda had been true to her word and told her mother everything. She sat silently staring at Dotty and wondering what was going on in her head. She had to know what she thought. "Mother, aren't you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say, Amanda? You tell me this wild story about you and Lee eloping two years ago. Then you tell me that you two are spies. And I'm just supposed to accept this? The next thing you'll be telling me is that that sweet old lady, Emily Farnsworth is a spy too."

"Um...she is." Amanda replied.

Dotty laughed. "Amanda, this is just too much. You always did have a vivid imagination, but this is going too far."

"Mother, I'm serious. There have been spies in and out of this house for the past six years. More than you even know about."

"Well, now I know all about Mr. Melrose."

"Mr. Melrose is our supervisor. I've been working for him since 1983."

"Oh, Amanda, this is priceless. I love it!" She laughed. "Imagine you working for a man like that."

Amanda shook her head. After six years, she was finally trying to tell her the truth and she didn't believe her. "Mother, you have to believe me. This is not a joke. It's serious. I really am a spy. Why do you think I have to take off so suddenly on business. terrorists don't work nine to five. They strike whenever it's most inconvenient for the rest of the world."

Dotty was laughing so hard, her face was red. "Terrorists, Amanda? This is too funny. Oh, wait a minute, I know. This is for one of your documentaries, isn't it? You're doing something on comedy routines, right? Or some kind of hidden camera thing?"

"Mother, I wish you'd take me seriously. This is important. I'm not a filmmaker, Lee's not a filmmaker. We never have been. Lee is on mission that could possibly get him killed. You don't understand. Every time he goes away without me, I worry constantly that he may not come back without having me there as backup."

"Backup? I think you've been watching too many of those crime shows on TV. I have to hand it to you, Amanda. You've certainly been entertaining this evening." Dotty stood up and started for the stairs. Amanda rose to stop her.

"Mother, wait." Oh, forget it, she thought. There's no convincing her.

"Yes, Dear?" She turned to face Amanda.

"Nothing. Good night, Mother.

"Good night, Love." She kissed her daughter and headed up the stairs.

Amanda sighed and flopped down on the couch. She didn't know how to convince her mother of the truth. She had to do it somehow. Keeping these secrets had been tearing her up inside. Her thoughts turned to her husband as she absently fingered the chain around her neck that held her rings. Why hadn't she thought to show them to her mother? Her mind was racing between her mother's disbelief and worrying about Lee. She was wondering where Lee was now and if he was ok. She drifted off to sleep on the couch dreaming about her husband.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee was agitated and apprehensive. He stood outside what looked like an abandoned building. This can't be right, he thought. He'd been in some seedy looking places, but this was crazy. He knew something was going on, but was unsure of what. He looked back to his rental car and the agent who called him in the first place to let him know that the contact would only meet with him because of his previous work in West Germany. He didn't have all the details. He only knew it had something to do with a rebellion against the proposed reunification of Germany, a rebellion that had already been causing trouble in the streets of Berlin on both sides of the wall. From what he'd heard, there were many people who were quite happy with the way things had been for decades and wanted to keep it that way. He knew these people would do anything to stop reunification.

He glanced at his watch still set to DC time. 6AM at home and once he got done with what he needed to do, he would still have an eleven hour flight back home. He sighed when he realized this wasn't going to be as simple as he thought. He'd been hoping to meet his contact, get the information he needed and get back on a plane so he could be with his family again. He felt he was letting the boys down. He didn't want to be like their father who had missed countless events in their lives. Even though they didn't yet know that he was their stepfather, Lee had made a promise to himself when he married Amanda that he wouldn't be like that with them, but The Agency wasn't making it easy. He sighed and opened the door. He didn't have time to even react when the blast hit him and all he saw was black.