Title: Be my Valentine
Time frame: One year before the wedding.
Summary: Romantic interest from others force Lee and Amanda to 'Fish or cut bait'.
Authors notes: My first story was posted a while back, and I received a lot of help from you guys. Thanks! I never actually thought of posting it that's why it looked like a 9 year old wrote it. I dared myself to do it, so I had to upload it before I changed my mind. Hopefully, this will come out better. Let me know. This story, like the last one, will probably not be 'canon' but I like to write about the romantic aspect of the show (and add a little bit of fantasy). I still may need help from the more experienced people. Please review and let me know.
Lee and Amanda exited the elevator together and headed upstairs to the Q bureau. Mrs. Marsten told Amanda that a present had been dropped off for her, so she walked back towards her desk as Lee climbed the stairs.
"Who's it from?" Amanda asks.
"All I know is a courier from downtown dropped it off about 10 minutes ago."
The secretary smiled as she answered, and hoped it was from Lee.
"O.K. Thank you Mrs. Marsten."
Amanda walked into their office to see Lee staring into outer space. She tried to hide the gift under her desk before he spotted it. Not wanting to play 20 questions, she eased it into the bottom drawer of her desk then busied herself with paperwork. Lee hadn't moved. He noticed she 'hid' the box and wondered what it was and who sent it. Determined not to let her know how angry it made him that another man sent her something, he snapped out of his daze, and started fooling with the computer.
That lasted about 5 minutes. "What did ya get?" Trying to act curious was hard for a man with so much jealousy inside him.
"Hum?" Ignoring the question, Amanda shuffled papers to indicate how 'busy' she was.
"I asked, what your present was."
"Don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No, I haven't opened it yet."
"Why not?"
The reason she hadn't opened it was because when she entered the Q bureau and saw his face she knew it wasn't from him. She couldn't tell him that so she did what she always does….Answer a question, with a question.
"Why not?" she snapped.
"Amanda, don't repeat my questions."
"I just thought I'd wait until I got home to open it." "I have a lot of work to do here, no time for opening presents."
"That's all?"
"Yes. What else would there be?"
"I don't know, maybe you don't want me knowing about your boy friend."
Saying the words out loud almost made him sick and he turned his back to her.
"I'm not seeing anyone Lee and you know it. We spend almost every waking hour together when would I have time to be dating someone?"
Feeling a little better, he walked back to his desk and started 'working' again.
The rest of the day was pretty silent and very uncomfortable. As Amanda got ready to leave for home, Lee reminded her not to forget her present, and then bid her goodnight. After she left, he went over to her desk and started investigating. Looking for a card that may have fallen off or some scrap of wrapping paper he could trace down, anything to tell him who this jerk was. It was pointless.
Amanda drove to the park and pulled over. She had decided to open the present before she got home so she would be better prepared to handle her mother's questions about the gift.
Arriving home, she put the box and it's contents, under the passenger's seat, and headed into the house.
Frustrated that he hadn't found any clues about Amanda's secret admirer, Lee went back over to his desk, retrieved his jacket and keys. Just as he reached the door, his phone rang. Hoping it was Amanda; he raced over to answer it.
"Stetson."
"Oh, hello Kandi. Yeah, it's been a while."
"This weekend? I don't know."
"No, I'm not seeing anyone."
Remembering what had transpired earlier this morning, and thinking that Amanda would probably be out with Mr. Mystery, he made his decision.
"Sure! Where and when?"
"O.K. Friday night I'll meet you at the restaurant at 7."
"Huh? Oh yeah, it will be a great Valentine's Day date."
"Bye."
"Valentine's Day! I totally forgot!"
Rushing out the door and down the stairs he mumbled out loud the thoughts that ran through his head. Amanda was going to be with someone else on one of the most romantic days of the year. He was realizing how much he cared for Amanda, and here she was, going out with another man.
"You can't blame her. You always push her away." He said to himself as he neared Mrs. Marsten's desk.
Considering what she just overheard, Mrs. Marsten knew now that Amanda's gift wasn't from Lee. Saddened a little, she took the badge he offered and bid him goodnight.
"Mother! I'm home. Boy's?" Nobody answered, so she fell down onto the couch and reached for the phone. As she picked up the phone she spotted the note from her mother. Knowing now that they wouldn't be back for about an hour, she could make this phone call in private and no one would ever know
anything.
"Hello Dean."
"Yes, I received your present. Thank you but you shouldn't have."
"I know Valentine's Day is Friday, but we broke up long ago."
"No, I'm not seeing anyone, but I don't think it would be a good idea to….."
"O.K. Just dinner and talk."
"How about that little place in Rockwell?"
" I know it's out of the way, but I've heard it's great."
What she said and what she thought were two different stories. In all honesty, she wanted to get out of city limits to decrease the possibility of running into Lee and the floozy he would be spending the "Day of Romance" with.
"Great! It's called "Martin's". Yeah, it's on Main street we should have no trouble finding it."
"I'll meet you there at 6:30."
"You too. Bye."
Just the thoughts of seeing Dean again made her think of Lee. Meeting Lee made her realize Dean wasn't what she wanted. He may have been what she needed, but never could he be what she wanted. She wanted Lee. Sure, he would probably be out with some girl that is only interested in one part of him, and she'd probably be satisfied with the events of the night, but that's Scarecrow. Lee is the man she wanted!
Upon entering his apartment, Lee threw his keys towards the table, his jacket landed somewhere near the coat rack, and he began pacing in front of the couch.
"I'll show her." He muttered as his hand went through his hair.
"If she thinks she's the only one who can have a mystery date, she's got another think coming!"
Friday morning in the Q Bureau, the two partners all but ignored each other. They spent the day typing and filing. The tension was so think the room seemed dark at moments. Everyone noticed the coldness the two of them were giving off, but figured Scarecrow had done something again. They knew he got 'short' with Amanda sometimes and she would pout at him, then he would eventually patch things up.
Francine brought up the last of the files that needed to be logged, and immediately noticed things hadn't changed since this morning. They sat at their desks as if they were the only person in the room, never looking up or even acknowledging she had come in. Thinking she could help, she walked over to Amanda's desk and started conversation.
"What's up?" She asked, trying to get Amanda to let it out.
"Just finishing up these last files so I can get out of here." She answered.
"Well, I thought the three of us could go out for a drink after work, ya know, it being a holiday and all." Standing between the two desks now, she directed her invitation to both of them. "What do you think?"
Lee and Amanda looked at each other for the first time toady then quickly at Francine. They answered simultaneously, "I have a date."
Shocked at the expressions on their faces, Francine knew something was not right, so she tried to lighten the mood. "Anybody I know?"
"No!" They once again spoke at the same time.
"No wonder you two work so well together," Francine started, "it's like you read each other's thoughts. I mean you say the same things, at the same time, and seems like one always knows when the other is in trouble, kind of like a sixth sense huh?"
"Francine!" Lee all but shouted, "The longer you set here and run your lip, the longer it takes to get our job done. So if you don't mind, please leave."
Amanda didn't want to hear Francine talk about the connection she had with Lee either, so she added, "Thank you Francine, for bringing up those files and your kind offer for a drink, but I do need to hurry and get this done so I can get home."
Feeling the agony of defeat, she quietly walked towards the door, wished them luck, and said she would see them Monday.
It was almost 5:30 when Amanda got home. She told her mother and the boys a little fib about where she was going tonight and hoped they bought it. If Dotty knew she was going to be with Dean tonight, Amanda would have to listen to one or several of her mother's speeches about dependability or something along those lines. She didn't need to hear that, especially not tonight.
After her shower, Amanda searched through her closet for something nice but not so nice that it might give Dean the wrong impression. She finally decided on cream-colored slacks and a red silk blouse. Just a little make-up on her face, and a couple pins in her hair, was all the effort she was going to put into getting ready for this 'date'.
Trying to avoid confrontation, she quietly eased down the stairs and opened the front door. "I'm leaving now!" She shouted. "I shouldn't be out too late."
From somewhere near the back of the house, she heard the three sing out together, "Bye! Hope you have a nice time at the premier."
Dean was already seated at their table when Amanda arrived. She drew in a quick breath and exhaled it just as quickly, then made her way over to him.
"Sorry I'm late. Work was hectic today." She stated as she sat across from him.
"You're not late, I was early. I know you had reservations about meeting me tonight, but when you agreed, I couldn't wait." Dean was spilling his guts and Amanda's heart broke for him. He continued as she sat silently. "I have thought about the way things ended, and what I could have done or said to make it work. I loved you so much back then, I wanted to marry you more than anything in the world, and I guess I could have been more patient with you."
Not wanting to break into tears, Amanda interrupted him before he could go on. "Dean, you didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I am the reason things didn't work out the way you wanted. You are a wonderful man. You loved me and my family as if they were yours."
"I still do." It was merely a whisper but Amanda heard it. And so, she decided to just tell it like it was.
Holding up a finger to protest any interruptions, she began again. "Do you remember the last time I took you to the train station?" He nodded, so she continued to tell him the story about 25 men in red hats.
As soon as she finished telling him about her secret life, and the importance of keeping it a secret, Lee walked through the door with some blonde hanging on his arm.
The sixth sense was working tonight. It was as if Amanda had shouted Lee's name and he, hers' because they immediately locked eyes.
"I can't believe this." Amanda's head was slightly bowed as she uttered the words, but Dean had a feeling he knew now the real reason she never agreed to marry him.
"Is that the man?" He asked. "Amanda, is that the man you helped at the train station that morning?"
"Yes," she began, "His name is Lee Stetson. He's kind of my boss but not really. We're more like partners."
"And you love him don't you?" Dean's voice cracked as he asked.
Amanda felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, yet she calmly answered, "NO!"
Knowing that Amanda had just lied to him he smiled at her anyhow. He would
always love this woman. She was so giving, so caring, and denying her love for this other man in order to prevent any further heartache. He reached over and touched her tiny hand with his fingertips, she looked up into his eyes and he said, "Liar."
"I know you better than you think I do, Amanda. And I can see you feel something for this man you never felt for me." He was rubbing her forearm to assure her he wasn't upset. "If you're happy, I'm happy for you."
Tears were threatening to fall as she tried to explain. "I do care for him. He's my partner and we have a very dangerous job. We have become good friends and"
Dean cut her off. "You love him."
"O.K. Maybe I do. So what! He doesn't feel the same way."
Slightly rising up from his seat, Dean scanned the dinning room to see where Lee had been seated. "We'll just see about that. Won't we?"
Amanda looked confused as she questioned his intentions. "What are you going to do?"
He took Amanda's hand in his as he spoke. "I told myself before you arrived tonight, that I would do anything it took to make this the best Valentine's Day you ever had. Seems to me that in order for me to keep my promise to myself, I have to step aside." He paused before he told her his intentions. With the plan laid out, Amanda reached over and caressed Dean's check, then kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered, "Thank you."
Not one touch, one caress, especially not that kiss, had gone unnoticed by Lee. He was nearly boiling over when he saw Amanda kiss Dean.
"I thought that was over a long time ago." The words came out of his mouth the same instant his hand struck the table.
"What are you talking about?" Kandi asked. "That woman you keep staring at, she's a co-worker, right?"
"Yes, I mean NO! I'm not staring at her and yes we work together." He cleared his throat and began to talk about Amanda. "We have worked together for about 3 years now, and I value her as a friend and partner. She never ceases to amaze me."
Kandi was beginning to see the whole picture. "You love her."
"What? No. NO!" Stammering, he thought over what he had just said and tried to start over. "I just told you , we're friends and partners, she has great instincts and is a very helpful, and the most giving person I know."
"Face it Lee, you love her." Realizing she had no right to be here, expecting his undivided attention, Kandi started to stand and leave.
Lee reached out and touched her arm. "But she's here with him. Don or Dave, whatever his name is. She doesn't feel the same towards me."
Standing, she held out her hand and invited Lee to join her on the dance floor. "Maybe we can do something about that. Dance with me."
"What are you up to Kandi?" Lee asked
As they started towards the dance floor she explained, "Lee, you two have been watching each other since we got here. She's out there dancing with her date, so maybe we can close in on them and I'll cut in and ask to dance with Dan or Dave, whoever."
"Then what?" Lee's eye's had a twinkle in them Kandi had never seen before as he questioned her. And seeing that, told her she was doing the right thing.
"Silly boy! You dance with her. Hold her. Tell her."
That was the last either of them said as they made their way towards the 'unsuspecting' couple.
"Finally!" Dean had wondered how long it would take Mr. Wonderful to get his but on the dance floor. "Here we go." He told Amanda as they swayed to the music and purposely closed the gap between themselves and the 'unsuspecting' couple.
After about 5 minutes of slow progress, the song was ending and the two couples were side by side.
"Excuse me." Kandi asked as she tapped on Dean's shoulder. Then she looked at Amanda for permission. "May I cut in?"
Dean and Amanda looked at each other and a smile spread across their faces. Apparently they weren't the only ones planning an attack tonight. Only one way to find out, Amanda thought as she stepped out of Dean's loose embrace.
Dean took off in the opposite direction with Kandi latched onto him. Lee and Amanda slowly looked up into each other's eyes for only the second time today. That's all it took.
"Shall we dance?" They laughed out loud at their ability to speak in unison, and then Amanda slid her hand into Lee's as he pulled her close.
They both whispered a 'thank you' to whoever was in control of tonight's music, as they held on tightly to one another. The song was slow and beautiful, the room was dimly light, and they were in the arms of the person they loved.
"Amanda," Lee began, "I'm sorry for today, yesterday, and the last 3 years. I have been so selfish and stubborn." He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. Seeing that she was trying to hide the tears that were streaming down her face, he pulled her as close to him as he could get her, and continued his confession. "When you came in with that present yesterday, I wanted to destroy it. When I walked into this restaurant tonight and saw you with Dan, I wanted to bust his head."
They had stopped dancing and once again, Lee had pulled back to see Amanda's reaction to what he was saying. Amanda wouldn't let Lee see her face, even though his hands were on her arms and pushing her back, she buried her head in his chest as she pulled herself together.
"I felt the same way when you announced you had a date, and when you walked into this restaurant with that other woman." As she spoke she thought of something. "Why this restaurant Lee? Did you follow me?"
"No." They had started dancing again and Lee placed his right hand between her shoulder blades, and with his left, he nudged her chin up so he could look into her eyes as he told her exactly what had happened the last two days.
Hearing Lee talk about Kandi's plan to play matchmaker, made Amanda laugh. "I need to confess something too Lee. Dean had the same intentions. I came here with him tonight only to let him know I wasn't interested in a relationship, and then he started putting himself down and saying it was his entire fault our relationship didn't work. I had to tell him the truth."
"You told him about the agency?" Lee asked.
"Yes. I told him as much as I could without giving away national secrets about the agency, my job, and you."
"Me?" A childish grin crossed Lee's face as he wondered what she had told Dean about him.
"I told him you were the man at the train station that morning and you're now my partner."
Lee and Amanda searched the crowd for their 'dates' and glided over towards them.
"Game's over you two." Lee told the couple standing in front of them.
Kandi looked over at Lee in a dazed state of mind. "What?" She took a step back from Deans' embrace and smoothed out her clothing. "Oh, I guess the cat's out of the bag huh?" She said as she stepped closer to Lee and Amanda
"I guess you could say that." Amanda moved to be near Dean and said, "Thank you for a lovely dinner and just so you know, you kept your promise. I'll never forget what you did for me tonight."
Lee told Kandi practically the same thing then kissed her on the nose.
"No problem!" Dean and Kandi said at the same time. Then went back to the dance floor.
Lee and Amanda laughed, both thinking the same thing, maybe Dean and Kandi had the same kind of connection they had.
Once again in each other's arms, slowly moving to the music, and reveling in the emotions they were sharing by just holding each other. Amanda broke the silence. "Lee, I wanted to be the one you held in your arms tonight. I heard what you told Kandi, and I'm sure you heard what I told Dean, I want to explain. He told me earlier, that before I arrived, he had sworn to himself that he would make this a night I'd never forget. That's when he told me his plan to make you jealous and give you the opportunity to cut in on us dancing."
"It worked." Lee replied. "But I hope he's not the only one who has made tonight memorable."
"No, your right! Maybe I should go and thank Kandi too." She joked, knowing Lee was fishing for a compliment, she decided to make him suffer a little like she had in the past.
Lee looked back over to where his date and Amanda's were dancing. "I don't think they would appreciate the interruption."
When Amanda looked over and saw the two of them in a passionate kiss, she quickly turned back to face Lee. "I was kidding. You are the most important part of tonight Lee. This is what I wanted."
Not wanting to be outdone, he told her, "I can make it even more enjoyable if you have the correct answer a question I have been wanting to ask you."
"What's the question?" She asked, as she gazed into his eyes and saw them begin to water a little more than usual.
"Amanda, will you be my Valentine?" A suburban housewife had broken down Scarecrow's walls and now, it was Lee Stetson, the man she wanted, asking her this simple, yet very appropriate question.
"Always." As the words left her trembling lips, tears fell from her eyes.
Lee slowly lowered his lips to hers as the song they were dancing to, faded out.
"You're all I need, My love, My Valentine."
And they kissed, then lived happily ever after.