Twenty one year old Lee Stetson woke up to the sound of a baby crying. He felt his wife, Rebbeca, stir beside him. She pulled back the covers to get up, but Lee stopped her.
"I'll get her. You go back to sleep."
She waved him off and got up anyway. He met her halfway. He pulled her into his embrace. "Go back to bed honey. You need your sleep, for the baby."
She sighed. "Lee, I'm only two months pregnant. It's okay for me to take care of-"
"Go back to sleep." Lee said. She looked at him with her brown eyes and smiled. He kissed her briefly, and went to check on their first child, Katherine Elizabeth Stetson.
Katie had been somewhat of a surprise child, which made her even more dear to Lee. She was the spitting image of her mother at that age, except for her eyes. She had inherited his shocking blue eyes. As her entered the nursery, she looked up at him with them. He picked her up from her crib, and she immediatly stopped crying.
"Hi Katie. What are you doing up so late? Your mom and I need sleep."
He sat down in the rocker with her. "Your mom is pregnant again. I'm crossing my fingers for a boy this time.Not that I wish you had been a boy." He snuggled her close to his chest and softly kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't trade you for the world. I just think we need to even things out a little around here."
Lee yawned. He was going to start work tomorrow at a governement company called International Federal Film. It was a film company, as the name said. He was a desk clerk. Lee would have liked to find a more exciting job, but this job was eight to five and it payed well.
With Katie in his lap and a smile on his face, Lee Stetson fell asleep.
********************************
The deafening sound of an explosion woke Lee up. He could feel searing heat coming from the hall. The baby started crying in his arms. He jumped up and closed the door, trying to stop the heat from coming into the room. He opened the window and jumped out, his daughter in his arms.
His neighbor, still in his pajamas, came out of his house just as Lee was climbing out the window. He ran over to Lee's house. "What happened?"
"I don't know, Mr. Laslo." He shoved Katie into his arms. "Take her, I've got to go get my wife."
"You're crazy man! You'll never survive!"
Lee ran into his burning house. He ran in through the living room, and when he got to the hall, flames were everywhere. He tried to go into the hall, but the heat was so intense, he could not. His heart sickened at the huge flames shooting out of his bedroom. There was no way she could have survived.
He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay and let the heat kill him, so he could be with his wife. He couldn't live without Rebecca. He sat down and closed his eyes, ready to let death come and take him away on it's pale horse. But a thought crossed his mind. Katie, his daughter, was still alive. He could almost hear her crying. She needed her daddy. He had to live, for her. He tried to get up, but found his legs wouldn't work. So he started to crawl. He crawled through the living room, and out the door, where he collapsed. The last thing he remembered was fire fighters bending over him.
********************************
"Hello Mr. Stetson."
Lee Stetson rubbed his eyes, and the blurry images in the room become people.
"My wife?" he asked. "Did she...survive?"
The nurse exchanged a look with the doctor. He nodded his head solemnly. "You should tell him."
The nurse looked back at him. "When the explosion occured, your wife was killed instantly. She suffered no pain, as far as we can tell. But we did have to identify her by her, ah, dental records."
Lee sighed and closed his eyes. So it hadn't been a dream. She was gone, really gone. His eyes started to fill with tears, but he held them back, not wanting anyone to see him cry. "Katie." he said, looking at the doctor pleadingly. "Can I see my daughter?"
"Nurse Lanni, will you please get her? She's in the children's ward." The doctor looked at him, and noted the concern in his eyes. "She's fine, Mr. Stetson. We treated her for some smoke inhillation, and she's doing great. As for yourself, we had you on oxygen for awhile, and treated you for some second degree burns, but you'll be all right too. You were lucky."
"No I wasn't." Lee whispered. He had lost his wife. How could he be lucky?
The nurse came back in, carrying Katie in her arms. She layed her in Lee's arms. "She's a beautiful child, Mr. Stetson. How old is she?"
"Eight and a half months."
The doctor smiled. "We'll let you get some rest now. Would you like us to take her?"
Lee shook his head. The doctor and nurse left and shut the door. He pulled Katie close to his chest. And he sobbed. He let all his grief over his wife pour out. Katie seemed to understand how he was feeling. She reached up a small finger and touched it to his cheek. Lee took the baby hand and held it in his. Katie held on tight.
Lee smiled. His wife was gone. But he had Katie, and with her, he could some how go on.
**************************************
Six months later
"I can't do it anymore, Melrose!"
Lee Stetson ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't train to be an agent and take care of a child at the same time!"
Billy Melrose sighed. "So does that mean your quitting even before you've even started?"
Lee shook his head and sighed. "No. I want to put Katie up for adoption."
Billy was stunned. "Stetson, that child has been your whole life ever since your wife died! I even hesitated to tell you about what IFF really does, because I didn't think you'd take the job for fear of putting Katie in danger. "
"Thats what I am afraid of. Billy, I can't take care of her anymore, I can't be a real father. Even if I do quit IFF, I'd have to find another job, and I'd still be away from her most of the day. And I don't know the first thing about raising a girl! I was counting On Rebecca to..." Lee sighed. "I have to. She deserves so much more than I can give her. She was my reason to go on after Rebecca died. But I can't take care ofey her anymore"
"And your telling me this why?"
"Because you have friends. Friends that might know people who would take Katie. Or maybe you have friends that can get her a great home until someone adopts her. I was hoping..."
Billy held up a hand. "I think I have the perfect family. I have friends who are foster parents. They love kids. And they can give her everything."
Lee looked at him. "Yeah. That sounds great. Do you think they would take her?"
Billy smiled and nodded. "I think so. But we'll never know if we don't ask, will we?"
He picked up the phone. "Stetson, wait outside my office until I make this phone call."
Lee left and stood outside for half an hour, waiting. Finally Billy called him back in. "Well?"
Billy grinned and laughed. "They're thrilled! They have two foster boys right now, and they think it would be great to take a girl. Now, they can't adopt her, but they'll give her a home until someone does. Which, as Mrs. MacKenzie pointed out, may be soon, because she's so young. Anyway, they're going to shuffle some paper work, and hopefully be able to take Katie into their new home by the end of the week."
Lee was shocked. "Thats..thats great. I didn't expect things to move so fast, though."
"It usually doesn't. But Mr. MacKenzie is a lawyer. He knows people."
Lee smiled. "Uh, Mr. Melrose, can I have the rest of the day off?"
"Call me Billy, and sure, but you need to be back here tomorrow to begin training."
Lee looked at Billy, his blue eyes sad. "Can we wait until next Monday? I want to spend some time with Katie before she.."
"I understand. I guess we can wait until she's safely in the MacKenzie's arms before we start."
Lee nodded his thanks and turned to leave the office.
"O, wait a minute Lee.
He turned back around.
"You need to think about your code name. You need one."
Lee smiled. "Yah, okay."
***********************************
An extremly nervous Lee stood on the MacKenzie's doorstep, Katie in his arms. He let a lone tear slip down his cheek. Katie reached her small hand up to touch it. "What wong, daddy?"
He smiled. "Nothing, honey."
Katie clutched a doll to her chest. Lee smiled at it. It was a scarecrow doll, he had given it to her a few months back, and it was her favorite. She always had it with her.
Mr. MacKenzie opened the door and Lee stepped in, Katie in his arms. Billy stepped in beside him. "Hi Roger. This is Lee Stetson, and Katie."
The man smiled. "Emma, they're here!" he called. Lee fought to keep a smile on his face. This was tearing him up inside, but he knew it was for the best.
Lee set Katie down. A woman came up behind the man. "Oh Roger! She's adorable! Look at that blonde hair. And her eyes are beautiful." She looked up at Lee. "She has your eyes." Mrs. MacKenzie smiled and extended her hand. "I"m Emma MacKenzie. And you must be Lee."
He nodded. "Yes." He was having trouble controling his voice.
Billy apparently noticed. "Uh, Lee and I have to be going."
Lee nodded.
Katie looked up at him. "Where you go, daddy?"
All eyes in the room were on him, and they were very sympathetic. He crouched down so he wasn't so much taller than the one year old. "Katie, daddy has to go away. And you have to stay here and be a brave girl for daddy. Can you do that?"
Katie nodded, but she looked ready to cry. So did Lee. Katie hugged him, and Lee returned it. He kissed her cheek and couldn't hold back a few tears. "I love you, Katie. Remember that."
"I wuv you too, daddy." she whispered. She clutched her scarecrow doll to her. "Can he stay here with me?"
Lee nodded. "Yeah. And when you see him, you think of me, all right?"
She nodded. He gave her one last quick hug and went out the door. Billy followed. The door shut. Lee and Billy stood on the front porch, neither knowing what to say. Finally Billy spoke up. "It's hard letting go. But you'll survive. You're a strong man, Lee."
Lee nodded. "I thought of my code name."
Billy stared at him. Lee gave a sad smile. "Scarecrow."
********************************************
Fifteen years later
Amanda King sat with Lee Stetson on the couch in their office. Billy was standing in front of them, arms crossed. "Lee, I need to talk to you, privately."
Lee smiled. "C'mon, Billy. She's my partner anything you say can be said in front of Ama-"
"It's about Katie."
Lee's eyes went wide? "What? Katie..."
"Excuse me, sir, who, or what, is Katie?"
Lee looked straight ahead as if staring at something only he could see. Amanda touched his arm. "Lee?"
"She's no one, Amanda." he said. "But, just in case, I think you need to leave now."
Amanda was shocked. This was something personal, she could see it in Lee's eyes. They had been partners for three years, and after finally admitting their feeling for each other, they had become more. Lee had shared most everything about his life with her now, and vice-versa. Amanda felt a little betrayed. She nodded and left the room.
Outside, she started to worry? Was Katie an old girlfriend? A fiance'? Even a wife? Lee had never said anything about being extremely involved with someone before, but was he just hiding something from her? Amanda sighed. She needed to work, but with so many questions floating around in her mind, she found it impossible.
She scribbled Lee a quick note and left in on the door. Then she went home.
**********************************
Lee waited until Amanda had gone. "What about Katie?"
Billy sighed. "Something I should have told you about long ago..."
Lee was concerned. "C'mon Billy! Spill it!"
Billy cleared his throat nervously. "Lee, Katie was never adopted."
Lee jumped up. "Wha-"
Billy held up a hand. "Let me finish. There were several people who wanted to, but by law we were forced to tell them what you do for a living. They didn't want Katie, for fear that someone might come after their family. So when she was eight, Dr. Smyth had her put in the young agent's training program.
"He did what?!" Lee exploded. "He didn't consult me, he just..."
"Katie is sixteen now. She's old enough to work for us now. She's going to be a great agent, Lee. She's got so many of your traits."
"You've seen her?" Lee said. He started to pace, and ran his hands through his hair in furstration. "How could he..how could you do this to me! She's my daughter for heaven's sake!"
"Lee, sit down and calm down. Now she knows her father was an agent. She doesn't remember you, and she doesn't know you work here. She doesn't even know your name. She does, however, have the last name Stetson. She never took the MacKenzie's last name."
Lee sighed. His life was perfect. He had Amanda and a great job. He had met her family and was becoming very attatched..and now this. He had put Rebecca and Katie behind him. But now he found old emotions resurfacing.
Billy looked at Lee. "Scarecrow, you have every right to be mad at me. And I'm sorry."
Billy turned and left. Lee sighed and grabbed his coat. He needed to go home. He needed to think. He grabbed his jacket and put it on. He went out and locked the door. And he saw a note on the door. It was from Amanda.
Dear Lee,
I'm sorry I had to leave so soon, but I have some things I need to get done at home.
Amanda
Lee mentally kicked himself. How could he have done this to Amanda? He should have told her about Rebecca and Katie from the beginning of their relationship. But he thought it was unimportant. The past was the past, right? Wrong. He had been wrong. He had hurt her. Her note proved that. She was a horrible liar.
Lee sighed. He had been selfish. Amanda was the best thing that had ever happened to him, she would have been undersanding. When he left IFF, he headed for Amanda's house.
************************************
Lee pulled up beside her house, and was surprised when he saw the station wagon gone. He hoped she hand't left, or not have come home at all. He went around back and peeked in. Amanda was in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, staring into space. He knocked on the window. Amanda looked up. She gave him a breif smile. She came and opened the door.
"Hey, I thought you had stuff to do here." Lee said, giving her his trademark smile.
Amanda shrugged. "I finished."
Lee shifted his position. "Can I come in?"
"O, sure, come on in." she said. "Uh, would you like anything to drink?"
"Oh, no, thanks." He sighed and walked over to her, placing his hands on her arms. "Amanda, this is silly. I think we need to talk."
Amanda gave a small smile. "Only if you want to."
Lee smiled. "I don't want to. But I need to. Lets sit down."
Amanda and Lee sat on the couch. Lee took her hands in his and regarded her with sad eyes. "Amanda, I love you. You know that, don't you?"
She nodded.
"Well, once I loved someone else."
"Katie." Amanda whispered. Lee shook his head. "No. Her name was Rebecca. We were married when I was nineteen. And we had a baby, Katie."
He felt hot tears come into his eyes, but he held them back. "Rebecca was killed when I was twenty-one. There was a gas leak in our house, it was the stuff you can't smell. And it exploded. Katie and I survived, though. I kept her for six months, but by then I was going to start training at IFF as an agent. Then I found I couldn't take care of her, much less be a decent father. So I gave her up for adoption."
Lee gave a small chuckle. "She's alot like me, so I hear. Amanda, she became an agent."
A few tears ran down Lee's cheeks. Amanda leaned forward and hugged him tight. "Oh Lee, why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared Amanda, so scared."
Amanda pulled back. She stared into his eyes, and Lee noticed here eyes were wet with tears, too. She kissed him. "So what are you going to do?"
Lee smiled. "I'm going to meet my daughter."
"I'll get her. You go back to sleep."
She waved him off and got up anyway. He met her halfway. He pulled her into his embrace. "Go back to bed honey. You need your sleep, for the baby."
She sighed. "Lee, I'm only two months pregnant. It's okay for me to take care of-"
"Go back to sleep." Lee said. She looked at him with her brown eyes and smiled. He kissed her briefly, and went to check on their first child, Katherine Elizabeth Stetson.
Katie had been somewhat of a surprise child, which made her even more dear to Lee. She was the spitting image of her mother at that age, except for her eyes. She had inherited his shocking blue eyes. As her entered the nursery, she looked up at him with them. He picked her up from her crib, and she immediatly stopped crying.
"Hi Katie. What are you doing up so late? Your mom and I need sleep."
He sat down in the rocker with her. "Your mom is pregnant again. I'm crossing my fingers for a boy this time.Not that I wish you had been a boy." He snuggled her close to his chest and softly kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't trade you for the world. I just think we need to even things out a little around here."
Lee yawned. He was going to start work tomorrow at a governement company called International Federal Film. It was a film company, as the name said. He was a desk clerk. Lee would have liked to find a more exciting job, but this job was eight to five and it payed well.
With Katie in his lap and a smile on his face, Lee Stetson fell asleep.
********************************
The deafening sound of an explosion woke Lee up. He could feel searing heat coming from the hall. The baby started crying in his arms. He jumped up and closed the door, trying to stop the heat from coming into the room. He opened the window and jumped out, his daughter in his arms.
His neighbor, still in his pajamas, came out of his house just as Lee was climbing out the window. He ran over to Lee's house. "What happened?"
"I don't know, Mr. Laslo." He shoved Katie into his arms. "Take her, I've got to go get my wife."
"You're crazy man! You'll never survive!"
Lee ran into his burning house. He ran in through the living room, and when he got to the hall, flames were everywhere. He tried to go into the hall, but the heat was so intense, he could not. His heart sickened at the huge flames shooting out of his bedroom. There was no way she could have survived.
He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay and let the heat kill him, so he could be with his wife. He couldn't live without Rebecca. He sat down and closed his eyes, ready to let death come and take him away on it's pale horse. But a thought crossed his mind. Katie, his daughter, was still alive. He could almost hear her crying. She needed her daddy. He had to live, for her. He tried to get up, but found his legs wouldn't work. So he started to crawl. He crawled through the living room, and out the door, where he collapsed. The last thing he remembered was fire fighters bending over him.
********************************
"Hello Mr. Stetson."
Lee Stetson rubbed his eyes, and the blurry images in the room become people.
"My wife?" he asked. "Did she...survive?"
The nurse exchanged a look with the doctor. He nodded his head solemnly. "You should tell him."
The nurse looked back at him. "When the explosion occured, your wife was killed instantly. She suffered no pain, as far as we can tell. But we did have to identify her by her, ah, dental records."
Lee sighed and closed his eyes. So it hadn't been a dream. She was gone, really gone. His eyes started to fill with tears, but he held them back, not wanting anyone to see him cry. "Katie." he said, looking at the doctor pleadingly. "Can I see my daughter?"
"Nurse Lanni, will you please get her? She's in the children's ward." The doctor looked at him, and noted the concern in his eyes. "She's fine, Mr. Stetson. We treated her for some smoke inhillation, and she's doing great. As for yourself, we had you on oxygen for awhile, and treated you for some second degree burns, but you'll be all right too. You were lucky."
"No I wasn't." Lee whispered. He had lost his wife. How could he be lucky?
The nurse came back in, carrying Katie in her arms. She layed her in Lee's arms. "She's a beautiful child, Mr. Stetson. How old is she?"
"Eight and a half months."
The doctor smiled. "We'll let you get some rest now. Would you like us to take her?"
Lee shook his head. The doctor and nurse left and shut the door. He pulled Katie close to his chest. And he sobbed. He let all his grief over his wife pour out. Katie seemed to understand how he was feeling. She reached up a small finger and touched it to his cheek. Lee took the baby hand and held it in his. Katie held on tight.
Lee smiled. His wife was gone. But he had Katie, and with her, he could some how go on.
**************************************
Six months later
"I can't do it anymore, Melrose!"
Lee Stetson ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't train to be an agent and take care of a child at the same time!"
Billy Melrose sighed. "So does that mean your quitting even before you've even started?"
Lee shook his head and sighed. "No. I want to put Katie up for adoption."
Billy was stunned. "Stetson, that child has been your whole life ever since your wife died! I even hesitated to tell you about what IFF really does, because I didn't think you'd take the job for fear of putting Katie in danger. "
"Thats what I am afraid of. Billy, I can't take care of her anymore, I can't be a real father. Even if I do quit IFF, I'd have to find another job, and I'd still be away from her most of the day. And I don't know the first thing about raising a girl! I was counting On Rebecca to..." Lee sighed. "I have to. She deserves so much more than I can give her. She was my reason to go on after Rebecca died. But I can't take care ofey her anymore"
"And your telling me this why?"
"Because you have friends. Friends that might know people who would take Katie. Or maybe you have friends that can get her a great home until someone adopts her. I was hoping..."
Billy held up a hand. "I think I have the perfect family. I have friends who are foster parents. They love kids. And they can give her everything."
Lee looked at him. "Yeah. That sounds great. Do you think they would take her?"
Billy smiled and nodded. "I think so. But we'll never know if we don't ask, will we?"
He picked up the phone. "Stetson, wait outside my office until I make this phone call."
Lee left and stood outside for half an hour, waiting. Finally Billy called him back in. "Well?"
Billy grinned and laughed. "They're thrilled! They have two foster boys right now, and they think it would be great to take a girl. Now, they can't adopt her, but they'll give her a home until someone does. Which, as Mrs. MacKenzie pointed out, may be soon, because she's so young. Anyway, they're going to shuffle some paper work, and hopefully be able to take Katie into their new home by the end of the week."
Lee was shocked. "Thats..thats great. I didn't expect things to move so fast, though."
"It usually doesn't. But Mr. MacKenzie is a lawyer. He knows people."
Lee smiled. "Uh, Mr. Melrose, can I have the rest of the day off?"
"Call me Billy, and sure, but you need to be back here tomorrow to begin training."
Lee looked at Billy, his blue eyes sad. "Can we wait until next Monday? I want to spend some time with Katie before she.."
"I understand. I guess we can wait until she's safely in the MacKenzie's arms before we start."
Lee nodded his thanks and turned to leave the office.
"O, wait a minute Lee.
He turned back around.
"You need to think about your code name. You need one."
Lee smiled. "Yah, okay."
***********************************
An extremly nervous Lee stood on the MacKenzie's doorstep, Katie in his arms. He let a lone tear slip down his cheek. Katie reached her small hand up to touch it. "What wong, daddy?"
He smiled. "Nothing, honey."
Katie clutched a doll to her chest. Lee smiled at it. It was a scarecrow doll, he had given it to her a few months back, and it was her favorite. She always had it with her.
Mr. MacKenzie opened the door and Lee stepped in, Katie in his arms. Billy stepped in beside him. "Hi Roger. This is Lee Stetson, and Katie."
The man smiled. "Emma, they're here!" he called. Lee fought to keep a smile on his face. This was tearing him up inside, but he knew it was for the best.
Lee set Katie down. A woman came up behind the man. "Oh Roger! She's adorable! Look at that blonde hair. And her eyes are beautiful." She looked up at Lee. "She has your eyes." Mrs. MacKenzie smiled and extended her hand. "I"m Emma MacKenzie. And you must be Lee."
He nodded. "Yes." He was having trouble controling his voice.
Billy apparently noticed. "Uh, Lee and I have to be going."
Lee nodded.
Katie looked up at him. "Where you go, daddy?"
All eyes in the room were on him, and they were very sympathetic. He crouched down so he wasn't so much taller than the one year old. "Katie, daddy has to go away. And you have to stay here and be a brave girl for daddy. Can you do that?"
Katie nodded, but she looked ready to cry. So did Lee. Katie hugged him, and Lee returned it. He kissed her cheek and couldn't hold back a few tears. "I love you, Katie. Remember that."
"I wuv you too, daddy." she whispered. She clutched her scarecrow doll to her. "Can he stay here with me?"
Lee nodded. "Yeah. And when you see him, you think of me, all right?"
She nodded. He gave her one last quick hug and went out the door. Billy followed. The door shut. Lee and Billy stood on the front porch, neither knowing what to say. Finally Billy spoke up. "It's hard letting go. But you'll survive. You're a strong man, Lee."
Lee nodded. "I thought of my code name."
Billy stared at him. Lee gave a sad smile. "Scarecrow."
********************************************
Fifteen years later
Amanda King sat with Lee Stetson on the couch in their office. Billy was standing in front of them, arms crossed. "Lee, I need to talk to you, privately."
Lee smiled. "C'mon, Billy. She's my partner anything you say can be said in front of Ama-"
"It's about Katie."
Lee's eyes went wide? "What? Katie..."
"Excuse me, sir, who, or what, is Katie?"
Lee looked straight ahead as if staring at something only he could see. Amanda touched his arm. "Lee?"
"She's no one, Amanda." he said. "But, just in case, I think you need to leave now."
Amanda was shocked. This was something personal, she could see it in Lee's eyes. They had been partners for three years, and after finally admitting their feeling for each other, they had become more. Lee had shared most everything about his life with her now, and vice-versa. Amanda felt a little betrayed. She nodded and left the room.
Outside, she started to worry? Was Katie an old girlfriend? A fiance'? Even a wife? Lee had never said anything about being extremely involved with someone before, but was he just hiding something from her? Amanda sighed. She needed to work, but with so many questions floating around in her mind, she found it impossible.
She scribbled Lee a quick note and left in on the door. Then she went home.
**********************************
Lee waited until Amanda had gone. "What about Katie?"
Billy sighed. "Something I should have told you about long ago..."
Lee was concerned. "C'mon Billy! Spill it!"
Billy cleared his throat nervously. "Lee, Katie was never adopted."
Lee jumped up. "Wha-"
Billy held up a hand. "Let me finish. There were several people who wanted to, but by law we were forced to tell them what you do for a living. They didn't want Katie, for fear that someone might come after their family. So when she was eight, Dr. Smyth had her put in the young agent's training program.
"He did what?!" Lee exploded. "He didn't consult me, he just..."
"Katie is sixteen now. She's old enough to work for us now. She's going to be a great agent, Lee. She's got so many of your traits."
"You've seen her?" Lee said. He started to pace, and ran his hands through his hair in furstration. "How could he..how could you do this to me! She's my daughter for heaven's sake!"
"Lee, sit down and calm down. Now she knows her father was an agent. She doesn't remember you, and she doesn't know you work here. She doesn't even know your name. She does, however, have the last name Stetson. She never took the MacKenzie's last name."
Lee sighed. His life was perfect. He had Amanda and a great job. He had met her family and was becoming very attatched..and now this. He had put Rebecca and Katie behind him. But now he found old emotions resurfacing.
Billy looked at Lee. "Scarecrow, you have every right to be mad at me. And I'm sorry."
Billy turned and left. Lee sighed and grabbed his coat. He needed to go home. He needed to think. He grabbed his jacket and put it on. He went out and locked the door. And he saw a note on the door. It was from Amanda.
Dear Lee,
I'm sorry I had to leave so soon, but I have some things I need to get done at home.
Amanda
Lee mentally kicked himself. How could he have done this to Amanda? He should have told her about Rebecca and Katie from the beginning of their relationship. But he thought it was unimportant. The past was the past, right? Wrong. He had been wrong. He had hurt her. Her note proved that. She was a horrible liar.
Lee sighed. He had been selfish. Amanda was the best thing that had ever happened to him, she would have been undersanding. When he left IFF, he headed for Amanda's house.
************************************
Lee pulled up beside her house, and was surprised when he saw the station wagon gone. He hoped she hand't left, or not have come home at all. He went around back and peeked in. Amanda was in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, staring into space. He knocked on the window. Amanda looked up. She gave him a breif smile. She came and opened the door.
"Hey, I thought you had stuff to do here." Lee said, giving her his trademark smile.
Amanda shrugged. "I finished."
Lee shifted his position. "Can I come in?"
"O, sure, come on in." she said. "Uh, would you like anything to drink?"
"Oh, no, thanks." He sighed and walked over to her, placing his hands on her arms. "Amanda, this is silly. I think we need to talk."
Amanda gave a small smile. "Only if you want to."
Lee smiled. "I don't want to. But I need to. Lets sit down."
Amanda and Lee sat on the couch. Lee took her hands in his and regarded her with sad eyes. "Amanda, I love you. You know that, don't you?"
She nodded.
"Well, once I loved someone else."
"Katie." Amanda whispered. Lee shook his head. "No. Her name was Rebecca. We were married when I was nineteen. And we had a baby, Katie."
He felt hot tears come into his eyes, but he held them back. "Rebecca was killed when I was twenty-one. There was a gas leak in our house, it was the stuff you can't smell. And it exploded. Katie and I survived, though. I kept her for six months, but by then I was going to start training at IFF as an agent. Then I found I couldn't take care of her, much less be a decent father. So I gave her up for adoption."
Lee gave a small chuckle. "She's alot like me, so I hear. Amanda, she became an agent."
A few tears ran down Lee's cheeks. Amanda leaned forward and hugged him tight. "Oh Lee, why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared Amanda, so scared."
Amanda pulled back. She stared into his eyes, and Lee noticed here eyes were wet with tears, too. She kissed him. "So what are you going to do?"
Lee smiled. "I'm going to meet my daughter."