Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon, Inc. The story is mine.
This is my first attempt at SMK fanfiction. I thought I might write about a concept others may not have.
Amanda found someone other than Lee in her thoughts that night, as she readied herself for bed. She and Lee were cleared of treason charges, and she had been offered a full-time position by none other than Dr. Smyth himself, following the Stemwinder debacle. She wondered only a moment as to why it was Dorothy, and not Eva or Leslie, or any number of Lee's past relationships, or Lee himself, who came to her mind. Dorothy couldn't be catalogued with these women. She was special. She did not have a "relationship" with Lee as the others had; although, given time, that might not have been the case. Dorothy held a special place in Lee's heart which Amanda now understood and accepted. She knew she would not try to dislodge her; in fact, she owed her her thanks.
Looking over the relationships that had positively influenced Lee's adult life, there were three that stood out. First, Harry saw something of himself in Lee when he hired him as a brash, young recruit, and groomed him to be a good agent. Then there was Emily. The first true friend Lee ever had. She polished off the edges and taught him to look beyond what is seen or known. Lastly, there was Dorothy. She brought him a sense of trust without ever knowing she had. She wasn't in his life very long, but she had kept his head above water in the sea of despair and distrust that he was drowning in, and her death colored the way he viewed relationships from that point forward. He had become resistant to being partnered, and he thought lasting love was something he could do without.
This is how Amanda found him that cloudy, October morning. She realized that it wasn't just a plea for help she saw in his troubled, hazel eyes that morning. She saw the despair and distrust he seemed to wrap himself in. Never wanting to see someone suffer she could help, she accepted the package he placed in her hands, hoping she was able to dispel a small part of it in that stranger's life, knowing she would never see him again. That was over three years ago and Amanda had since found the man Dorothy once knew. Even as she knew thoughts of Dorothy will fade in Lee's mind, Amanda would not attempt to drive them out, but help him cherish her memory. She owed Dorothy that much. "Thank you, Dorothy, for saving Lee for me," was Amanda's last thought before drifting off to sleep.