Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. No copyright infringement is intended
Time: Post Season 4- a few weeks after "When You Least Expect It"
Lee and Amanda sat across from each other in Lee's office, their eyes locked on to one another, their gazes laced with stubbornness and a dash of anger. Amanda was the first to speak. She tried to remain calm but in this case, Lee was being absolutely ridiculous and Amanda was not going to cave.
"Lee, I can't believe we are fighting about this! It's almost the middle of December! What did you THINK was going to happen?"
"Why am I the one that is wrong in this case? Can't you even TRY to see it from my side?"
Lee knew he was being somewhat irrational but he wasn't about to let Amanda see that. Why was it so difficult for anyone to see it from his perspective?
"Do you really think that I am not considering your feelings at all in this situation? Of course I am thinking about your feelings. But I also know that you are the master of avoiding things that bring up difficult emotions and you are NOT going to avoid it this year! I understand that this is a hard time of year for you but it is time that you started building some happy memories associated with Christmas You are part of a family now, Lee. We all love you very much and will be there for your personal struggles with the holidays. But like it or not, we are going to the Christmas Tree lot, TONIGHT, and we are picking out a tree. You have already promised the boys and they are so looking forward to it, so don't even think of trying to weasel your way out of it!"
"Amanda, it's just a tree. Why can't you and the boys go get it without me?"
"Because, Lee! As I JUST finished saying…..YOU promised the boys that you would go and they really, really want to go with you. We are ALL going. Period!"
"Amanda! You just don't understand!"
"You're right! I don't! Because you will never talk to me about it. You change the subject or get mad at me. And if you continue to be mad at me, that's fine but I am not letting you hurt Jamie and Philip in the process. I have to go upstairs, meet with Francine and then go drop off some files across town before I pick up the boys so I will meet you at home…5 o'clock. Sharp. Weatherman said it was supposed to flurry tonight so don't be late."
Amanda grabbed her files and left the office, angrily. Lee hated when they fought and went their separate ways while they were still angry. He didn't want to ruin anything for Philip or Jamie or especially, Amanda. Lee sat heavily into his chair. He wanted to tell Amanda why he didn't want to go pick out a tree, he wanted to tell her why he really didn't like Christmas. The truth was, he didn't really know. He leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes….
"Lee, dear! Come put on your jacket! You and mummy and daddy are going to go pick out a Christmas tree for our living room! Won't that be fun?" Jennifer Stetson said warmly to her 4-year old son.
"Oh, Mummy! Our very own Christmas tree? In our house? Just for me?" Little Lee said, jumping up and down, gushing with joy, eyes wide with excitement.
Jennifer chuckled lovingly at her precious son.
"Yes, darling! A tree just for you and when we get home, we are going to decorate it with pretty lights and tinsel and lots of ornaments!"
"Oh, yippie! Can we go now? Can we go right now?"
"As soon as you put on your jacket, young man!"
"Where's my champ?" Matthew Stetson called from the front hallway.
"I'm right here, Daddy! I'm right here!" Lee ran to his father and was swept up into his big, strong arms. "We are gonna go get a Christmas tree! And Mummy said we are going to bring it in the house and put or-ma-nents on it!"
Jennifer smiled as she watched her husband and their son interact. "It was going to be a happy Christmas for all this year", she said to herself as they walked out to the car.
The ringing phone forced Lee out of his daydream. He opened his eyes to the familiar surroundings of his office. Lee exhaled a heavy sigh and picked up the phone.
"Stetson here."
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Amanda was desperately trying to not be mad at Lee. She understood that he has some childhood trauma that gets in the way of things from time to time. She doesn't ever hold that against him. But in this case, she really was thinking he just needed to get over it and make some new memories-as a husband but perhaps more importantly, as a dad. Amanda has always said that you have never experiences Christmas until you have experienced it through a child's eyes. She knew that if she could just get Lee to participate in getting a tree and decorating it with the family that he would start to view things differently. She was really kicking herself that she let herself get so mad at him. She never intended to start a fight or to raise her voice. He can just be so stubborn sometimes!
Amanda reached the Q-Bureau door and took a deep cleansing breath before she went in.
"Good morning, Francine! How are things?"
"I am great but you look a little flustered. Everything ok?"
Amanda sat down in the chair opposite of Francine's desk.
"Oh….yeah. I am fine, or I will be. Lee and I just had a slightly heated discussion a few minutes ago."
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"No. I'll be fine. I will go back down to talk to him in a few minutes after we both cool off."
"You sure?"
"Yup! Positively." Amanda paused for a moment and collected her thoughts. "So, tell me Francine, how are things going with you and Sam? It's been 2-weeks now?"
Francine immediately smiled from ear to ear at the thought of Sam.
"I am almost afraid to talk about it, Amanda. I am afraid I will jinx it!"
"Aw, come on, Francine! You won't jinx it! Tell me!"
"Well, things are…..GREAT!" Francine said clapping her hands together and laughing despite herself. "He is such an amazing man! He's so smart and considerate. He makes me laugh and is a romantic, not to mention how gorgeous he is!"
"I told you! He's a catch! And it's about time you found a nice man that treats you well! He does treat you well, doesn't he?"
"Oh very, very well! I am not used to it! The last few men I have dated have all been kind of jerks."
"That's wonderful, Francine! We will have to have you two over for dinner soon!"
"That would be great!"
Amanda sat again in silence, her mind thinking wandering to Lee.
"Uh, Amanda? I am guessing you came up here to pick up these files that you are bringing with you today?"
"What? Oh yeah, thanks Francine. I guess I had better get going. Talk to you later. Tell Sam I said hi."
Amanda walked out of the Q-Bureau and down the stairs to the Georgetown lobby. As her hand touched the door knob to leave, she changed her mind and walked over to the elevator. Moving the coats out of the way, she made her way onto the elevator and pushed the button that would bring her to the bullpen and to Lee.
Amanda stepped off the elevator and briskly walked through the bullpen. She knocked on Lee's door but there was no answer.
"Lee?" she asked as she slowly opened the door.
Disappointment wracked Amanda as she realized that Lee was not in his office. She checked the time and saw that she didn't have time to wait for him if she wanted to get all her files delivered and pick up the boys on time. She walked over to the desk and ripped off a blank piece of paper from the yellow legal pad sitting on the corner of the messy desk. She proceeded to write Lee a note:
"Sweetheart, I am so sorry we fought earlier. I had no intention of fighting with you when I came in to talk to you. I understand that this is hard for you and I am not trying to ignore your feelings. You are the most important thing in the world to me and I hate when we walk away angry. I love you. I will see you tonight at home. Love-Amanda"
Amanda folded the note and taped it to his phone receiver. Checking her watch one last time, she realized that she had better get going or the rest of her day was going to be behind schedule. She quickly made her way to the elevator and once again, made her way to the Georgetown lobby. The weather was much colder than she expected it to be. A cold front had definitely made its way into the DC area. A change of clothes and a much warmer coat would be needed for this evening's tree hunt. She quickly trotted to her car that was parked right in front of the building. Placing the files on the seat beside her, she started the car and immediately turned on the heat. As she drove away, she wished that she had gotten to talk to Lee before she left for the day.
Amanda had scarcely been gone from his office for 3 minutes when Lee returned. Part of him hoped to see Amanda waiting for him when he returned. Disappointed, he flopped down on the couch and began to read through the thick file he had just been handed.
"Why do all the Russians want to defect in December?" he said out loud to himself.
Just as quickly as he picked it up, he put the file back down on the coffee table. He leaned back on the couch and looked at his wedding band. Carefully spinning it around his finger, he began to wish that he wasn't so defensive this morning with Amanda. He knew she was right and that if he backed out of going to get a tree, he would hurt Philip and Jamie and that was not at all his intent. He looked at the time and wondered if Amanda might still be up talking to Francine. Lee got up from the couch and quickly walked to his desk to call the Q-Bureau. As he reached for the receiver, he noticed the yellow note taped to the receiver. Immediately, he knew the hand writing to be Amanda's. He opened the note and read it. A melancholy smile appeared on his lips. "I love you, too" he said to the empty room. He would make it up to her tonight. Lee vowed to try and make this Christmas different from all the others. He vowed to try and make it special for his family.
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Amanda quickly made her last stop before having to drive all the way back to Arlington to pick-up the boys. She was kicking herself for getting sucked into the conversation with the file clerk at the records building. Amanda didn't care in the least about their change-over to lower acid based file folders, yet she let the clerk talk her ear off about them for almost 20-minutes. As she rushed down the back roads, the temperature continued to drop. The wind also began to pick up and blew invisible gusts across the road. She hated the thought of Philip and Jamie waiting outside the school in this cold. Amanda decided that a few more miles over the speed limit wouldn't hurt. She gently pressed the accelerator and began to drive a little faster. She cruised along comfortably feeling that she would be able to make-up some of the time that she lost. As she crossed into the Arlington town limits, she felt a little more at ease and slowed back down to the speed limit. Rounding the sharp curve in the road, Amanda came face to face with two deer standing in the middle of the road. She quickly swerved to avoid the deer and ran off the road down an embankment. The car finally came to rest in a small grove of pine trees, just out of sight from the main road. Amanda sat slumped over the steering wheel unconscious and no other cars in sight.
To Be Continued…