A story in response to the writing challenge to write an SMK version of a holiday classic for Christmas. This one is set in Season 3, and hopefully the inspiration will become obvious. Thanks as always to Lanie for being my best beta and to Cindy D. for joining the pack.
"No, Darling, I can't possibly get away this Christmas… I know, I know, I'd love to hit the Caribbean beaches with you too, but I have so much work piling up on my desk that I'll be bogged down until past New Year's…"
Amanda stopped just outside the slightly open Q Bureau door and unabashedly eavesdropped. Lee was making no effort to speak quietly, which meant she could hear every honeyed syllable dropping from his lips.
"Now, Sugar," Lee drew out the shhhh sound seductively, "there's no reason to get mad at me about it… Yes, I know I owe you a lot for that little favor you did me…" He chuckled seductively. "Okay, that big favor, and believe me, if I can get the time freed up, I will absolutely take you up on that offer."
Amanda realized she'd unconsciously curled her fingers into tight fists. I thought he wasn't dating around anymore, she thought. I thought we were getting closer…
Another chuckle. "Yes, I guess there's always Valentine's Day to look forward to. But with my luck, a pretty girl like you will find herself another conquest in Ste. Marie and you'll have forgotten all about me by then."
I thought wrong, apparently. She shook herself and straightened out her hands. This is ridiculous, she chided herself. Lee has never made any kind of real declaration and neither have I. We are two independent adults who can date whomever we want.
Except you want to date Lee, said the annoying voice in the back of her head.
But he obviously doesn't want to date me, she argued. If he wasn't tied down here with work, he'd be off with Sugar Darling Babycakes in a heartbeat.
She waited for the pithy comeback from the annoying voice that would make her feel better but there was only silence. She sighed, pasted on a bright smile and walked into the office.
Lee's face was a study of guilt as he scrambled to get whoever it was off the phone. "Okay, well now, Sharon, I have to go… sorry, Shirley, I totally meant to say Shirley… okay, well, you take care now and we'll talk soon, hmm?"
The phone clattered back into its cradle while Amanda moved to drop some files in front of him. "Amanda! Hi! What have you got there?"
"Just a few questions from Billy on your last set of briefing notes. He wants more detail on some of it." She glanced down at his desk, covered in stacks of files – he'd even moved most of his knick-knacks off to the side to make room. "I was going to say you had plenty of time with it being so quiet the last week before Christmas, but… where did this all come from?"
"This? Oh, this is nothing… I just pulled a few files that I wanted to clear before the holidays start. Wouldn't want to have any of that hanging over me when I could be home relaxing, you know how it is. That nosy congresswoman will be back next year and it can't hurt to have everything shipshape." He had risen to his feet and was obviously trying to distract her the way he always did when she was paying attention to something he didn't want her to.
"I do know how it is," she agreed, smiling to hide how her suspicions were now roused by his behavior. "And I also know you'd never willingly do paperwork unless you had to. So what do you need to clear in these? Can I help with anything?"
"You? No, no, no, this is all stuff I can manage. It's just, well, you know, looking through them, making sure every 'T' is crossed and 'I' is dotted. No big deal. And besides, aren't you supposed to be off work after today?" As she watched he began to rapidly stack the files and move them in cluttered piles to the credenza behind him.
Definitely up to something.
"Well, I was but if you have things that need doing, you know I'm happy to help. Besides, my work seems to be clearing off my desk faster than I thought, so I have time." She reached for a stack of files, stopping only when Lee grabbed her wrist.
"No, no, it's fine. You've earned some vacation time. You should take advantage, get in some quality time with Philip and Jamie. And J-, I mean… enjoy some family time this year."
She was almost certain he'd started to say "And Joe" there but that was ridiculous – he must know Joe would be spending Christmas with his parents and extended family this year, after being away for so long. Of course the boys would join him and their grandparents for some of it, but this year of all years was going to have the least amount of 'family time' in it.
"But all this could take you forever," she argued. She shook her hand loose from his grasp and took a file from the top of one of the piles. She flipped it open, then looked up at him with a hurt expression. "Wait a minute. This is the Coleman file I was working on last night – did you take this from my desk?"
She could see from his guilty expression that he had. She reached and grabbed several more files, turning them and flipping through the labels quickly. "All of these were on my desk last night – why do you have them?" Sudden realization hit her. This is why the work on her desk seemed to be evaporating – Lee had been taking it – and for some reason, he was trying to hide that from her.
"Amanda, I just thought you-"
"You just thought I wouldn't do them right? To your rigorous super spy standards? Because I'm still just a lowly trainee spy?" Her feelings, already abraded by hearing his phone call, were now raw at this obvious sign he didn't even trust her with simple paperwork and she couldn't hide the hurt in her voice.
"That is not true!" he shot back. "I just thought you could use some help."
"Well, I don't!" she flung back at him. She began rifling through the files, pulling out everything she recognized. "I don't even understand why you're bothering with little stuff like this," she snipped. "Why not just go and enjoy the Christmas slowdown? Take some time off, go somewhere nice? Oh that's right – you don't like Christmas, do you? God forbid you spend any of it enjoying yourself! Or enjoying someone else, for that matter!"
"Amanda!" Lee was standing now and trying to keep her from raiding the files on his desk even more. "Don't be mad! I was just trying to help! Your desk downstairs looks like a bomb hit it and I-"
"Oh wait – so now you think my desk is disorganized and messy and that's why you think I can't do this?"
"No! You're just being ridiculous now!"
She managed to grab a few more files and straightened up, clutching them to her chest like a shield. "I don't think it's ridiculous to have pride in my work or to be rightfully upset that after all this time, you obviously still don't trust me!"
"Now, that is ridiculous!" Lee defended himself, leaning forward to rest one hand on his desk while he wagged a finger at her with his other. "You know I trust you. You just seemed to have a lot on your plate and I thought-"
"You thought I couldn't handle it," she finished. "That is so insulting! When have I ever let you down?"
Lee dropped his head and ran his free hand along his scalp. "Oh my God, how are we even arguing about this? All I wanted was to try and get the whole Christmas holiday clear of work. You know, rest and relaxation and nothing hanging over it."
"Well, you can just leave it with me then," Amanda sniped back at him. "I certainly wouldn't want to interfere with whatever little recreational activity you have lined up for the holiday. You just go and plan something nice, maybe somewhere warm!"
She spun and stalked out the door, ignoring the one last exasperated "Amanda!" that followed her exit.
He wants a clear desk for the holidays? Well, he'll get it!
For the next two days, Amanda barely left her desk except for bathroom breaks and quick meals in the break room. If anyone noticed that Lee slunk in and out of the bullpen to speak with Billy but without speaking to her, they certainly knew better than to say anything out loud. After all, they all knew Scarecrow always got in a bad mood around this time of year, and the universal opinion was that Amanda must have finally wised up and chosen to ignore him like everyone else did.
Only Billy worried – watching from his office as two people he was very fond of, two people who he thought had developed a really solid partnership, appeared to be avoiding each other for no discernible reason. He couldn't complain about their efficiency – Amanda was supposed to have started her time off but instead she was there early in the morning, head down, working like her life depended on it, and he knew Lee was up in the Q Bureau until all hours at night. Every time he'd dropped in up there, Lee had been hunched over his desk, uncharacteristically surrounded by paperwork, with stacks by the door, ready to go down to the file room. No, he couldn't complain but he could worry – and he was very worried indeed about what was going on between Lee and Amanda.
On the third day, Amanda really felt like she was making headway. The pile in her Inbox had gone way down and she had a real sense of accomplishment. Until, that is, she went looking for a specific file and found it missing. Her heart sank for a moment, wondering if she'd actually managed to mislay confidential information, before she turned to Barbara who sat nearby and asked, "Did you notice if anyone has been near my desk? I could swear I had the Operation Redwood file here this morning and now it's gone."
"Only Scarecrow," shrugged Barbara. "He was rooting around through stuff while you were at lunch."
"He was? Why?"
"I didn't ask," replied Barbara. "He just flipped through everything you were working on and left with a stack of it. I figured he was collecting stuff you'd left for him to sign off on."
Amanda returned her gaze to her desk and realized for the first time that, yes, her stack of files to be worked on was several inches shorter than it had been the night before.
He still doesn't trust me to get this done she thought angrily. Except now he's sneaking around to do it.
"You okay, Amanda?" asked Barbara. "You look… frustrated."
"No, I'm fine," Amanda said, smiling through gritted teeth. "Those files just weren't quite ready for him yet and I thought I'd have more time with them."
A few minutes later, she noticed Lee headed for Billy's office and watched as he entered and closed the door. Seizing the opportunity, she jumped up and headed for the lobby elevator. From there, it was a matter of minutes to grab all the missing files off of Lee's desk and return to her own. She flung the files – not one of which was ready for his signoff - back onto her To-Do pile with a grunt and got back to work.
When she took a break to grab a coffee a few hours later, she returned just in time to see Lee striding off down the hall with a stack of files under his arm.
"He didn't!" she muttered, hurrying back to her desk. "He wouldn't!" She quickly thumbed through the stack and growled. "He did!"
"He did what?" asked Barbara absently.
"Nothing," said Amanda sweetly. "I just have to go do something – I'll be right back."
She stalked to the elevator, tapping her foot impatiently the entire time it was going up. With a tight smile and a nod hello to Mrs. Marston, she went up the stairs to the Q Bureau and walked in without knocking.
Lee jumped to his feet and moved to try and hide the stack of files he had in front of him on his desk. "Amanda! I, uh, wasn't expecting you!"
Without a word, she stormed forward, grabbed the stack of files right out of his hands and left without a word. That night, when she left for the day, she carefully put everything in her desk drawer, out of sight.
The next morning, she opened her top drawer and felt her jaw drop. He broke into my desk!
She knew without a doubt that it was Lee – it didn't even occur to her that anyone else could be responsible. Her injured pride went up in flames, erupting into outright anger. The moment she saw the senior agents disappear down the hall to the morning staff meeting, she was on her feet and up in the Q Bureau taking back every file he'd taken. And that night, she locked her desk drawer.
He broke into my locked desk! she seethed.
Not only had Amanda locked the drawer the night before, she had also placed a small piece of tape along the inside of it to show how high the stack had been, and there was no doubt about it - there was a one and a half inch gap between the tape and the top of the pile now.
What Lee obviously hadn't realized was that she had filled that drawer with completed files – all the ones she was still working on were locked in Barbara's desk.
"Here you go," said Barbara right at that moment. "I can't believe you have so much it doesn't even all fit in your desk anymore."
"Well, I'm coming down the home stretch now," answered Amanda. "Everything should be done by the end of the day now once I get Mr. Melrose to initial them. Thanks for locking this all up for me."
"No problem," said Barbara, turning back to her own work.
Amanda picked up everything that was left after Lee's midnight raid out of her drawer and walked over to rap on Billy's office door.
"Ah Amanda!" Billy's broad smile went across his face at the sight of her. "Is that the last of it? My hand is cramping up with all the things I've had to sign off this week! You are really burning through it!"
"It's not quite everything, Sir," she responded with a smile of her own. "But you know how it is, it's nice to have everything tidied away before the holidays so you can sit back and enjoy them."
"Well, I hope Lee appreciates it – he usually keeps himself on duty at this time of year just so that he can get it all done before I start nagging him for it after New Year's," Billy chuckled.
"Oh, I don't think he'll be doing that this year," said Amanda, working hard to keep her voice even. "I think he has other plans."
Billy looked up, surprised. "He does? He hasn't said anything about that."
"I think there's a warm beach with his name on it," she answered. "And a warm body," she couldn't help adding.
Billy's brows snapped together. "Really? That's surprising."
"Is it?" she replied. "Seems like a pretty regular Scarecrow Christmas to me."
"It does," said Billy slowly. "I just thought he said he was…"
What he thought was destined to go unheard as something moved in Amanda's peripheral vision and she turned to see Lee bent over her desk.
"Oh no you don't!" she gasped and almost ran out of the office.
"What are you doing?" she snapped as she approached and watched with some satisfaction as Lee almost jumped out of his skin.
"I, um, I… was just looking for a paperclip," he said weakly.
Amanda picked up the small bowl of clips from her desk and shook it in front of him. "Help yourself," she said with saccharine sweetness. "Oh, are those for me?" she went on, holding out her other hand. "Thank you so much. Mr. Melrose was just asking me to bring him those – he's been so pleased with everything I've completed this week." The unspoken unlike you hung in the air between them as she reached to pluck the files out of his other hand.
Lee only made a token resistance before giving up and letting her take them.
"I'll make sure to dot every "T" and cross every "I", she smirked. "Wouldn't want you to have to ruin your vacation worrying about this."
"I'm not –," he began, but gave up as she turned her back on him and sat down at her desk. "Uh, Amanda? You really don't need to do all this paperwork, you know."
He flinched at the expression on her face when she turned back around to glare at him.
"Oh, I think I do," she said in a remarkably even voice. "I wouldn't want Billy to think I can't manage."
"Billy would never think that."
"No, he won't," she agreed. "Because I can. And I will. Good old dependable Amanda can always manage."
Lee's eyes had already gone wide at the sharpness of her tone and now his mouth dropped open at hearing her describe herself that way again. 'What is wrong with you?" he asked, quietly.
"Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me," she snapped back, equally quietly. "I am managing!"
"Okay, that's enough." Lee walked around her desk and put a hand gently around her upper arm. "Come on," he tugged her to her feet.
"I have work to do," she hissed.
"It can wait," he growled back. "We need to talk. Now."
It was obvious he wasn't going to let it go – or let her go for that matter, so she gave in, letting him guide her down the corridor and into the elevator.
"Lee," she said after the doors closed. "What's this all about?"
"That is a damn good question, Amanda King," he answered, "but it can wait until we're alone." He pointed to the camera up near the ceiling.
Amanda sighed and stared at her feet, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Lee was rubbing his thumb and forefinger together in agitation. She snuck a sideways look and sure enough, his cheek muscle was jumping as he ground his teeth.
I don't what you have to be mad about, she thought morosely. I'm the one who's being underestimated here.
The elevator door opened and Lee whisked her past Mrs. Marston's fascinated gaze without a word. Once they were in the Q Bureau, he pushed her down to sit on the sofa, then leaned back against his desk, arms crossed.
"Alright, now spill. What is going on with you?" he asked. "Why have you been in such a bad mood all week?"
"I have not been in a bad mood!" she protested.
Lee tilted his head and bent his patented skeptical look on her. "Amanda, for the last two years, you have always been at your most nauseatingly chipper around Christmas. Thanksgiving on is your favorite time of year: you decorate, you plan, you bake, you wear holly-themed jewellery and you hum Christmas songs under your breath twenty-four hours a day – it's like living with Mrs. Claus instead of Mrs. King."
"I've done all that this year," she said. "You know I have."
"Yes, you have," he conceded. "But for the last few days, your heart hasn't been in it. You've had your head down at your desk working like a robot, refusing to even accept any help."
"I don't need help," she muttered.
"I know you don't," he said severely. "But it doesn't mean you shouldn't accept any and you usually do. So I'm asking again - what burr have you got under your saddle that's had you snapping at me all week?"
"I have not been snapping!"
Lee said nothing, just raised his brows and waited.
"Okay, maybe I've been a little bit snappy," she admitted, holding up her hand with her thumb and her forefinger half an inch apart to emphasize how little. "But all I've been trying to do is help you have the Christmas you want and you have been doing nothing but undermining me this whole week!"
"What do you mean the Christmas I want? You know I don't do anything at Christmas but catch up on paperwork and spend the day watching the game."
"Not this year," she countered.
"Yes, this year," he answered. "It's what I do every year – unless I'm in hospital and sometimes even then - why would this year be different?"
"Because this year, if you didn't have all that paperwork, you'd be free to go off on that beach holiday with Sharon or Shelley or Sherri or whatever her name is!"
Lee stared at her, a look of honest confusion on his face. "What are you talking about? I don't have any trip planned. In fact, I specifically put myself on the duty roster because I was planning on being in here catching up on stuff anyway."
"Well, that's why I was trying to get this all out of your way! So that you didn't have to catch up on things!" Off his confused look, she went on. "I heard you the other day," she explained. "On the phone – you were sweet-talking one of your lady friends about how you wished you could return that really big favor and go to the Caribbean with her."
"I was what?" Lee furrowed his brow and puzzled it out. Suddenly his face cleared and he shouted with laughter. "Wait – did you hear my call with Shirley?" He leaned forward, mischievous grin in place. "Were you eavesdropping on me, Mrs. King?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping! I was coming down the hallway and your voice carries," she defended herself. "And that's not the point! You wanted a clear desk so you could off on one of your little amorous escapades and I was helping!"
Lee had suddenly got far more relaxed, leaning back and surveying her with an amused look. "Well for your information, Shirley is the reservations clerk at the Fox Run Inn, and the big favour she did for me was getting me those rooms when we were undercover at Marvin's conference the other week. I had to pull some of my best moves to get those at the last minute and I guess I left the wrong impression about exactly how grateful I was. She called me, not the other way around."
"Well, it was pretty obvious you were looking forward to paying back that favor," she sniped.
"Not particularly," he said. "I was sweet-talking her in case I ever need her to help me out again, but if you'd really been listening, you'd have realized I was trying to weasel out of her invitation politely."
Amanda stared at him, completely confused. "All you said was that you couldn't go because of all the paperwork you had to do. And you were calling her 'Darling'!" she added as a plaintive afterthought.
"Amanda, you should know better than anyone that I only call people Darling when I'm on a case and don't want to screw up and use the wrong name." Lee smiled at the look of surprised comprehension that crossed her face. "And you also know there's always paperwork to do, Amanda. That's never stopped me from taking a vacation when I wanted one. That wasn't one I wanted."
"Oh."
"Exactly. Oh." They stared at each other silently for a beat. "And why exactly were you so keen to help me go in that vacation you were so sure I wanted to go on?"
"Well, I guess… you work really hard and you haven't had a real vacation for a while and, you haven't, uhhh…" She scrambled to change the direction of that sentence. "I just thought if it was paperwork that was holding you back, then I could help you, sort of like a Christmas present."
"Wait a minute – back up there," Lee interrupted her. "I haven't what?"
"Excuse me?" she squeaked.
"You said I haven't had a real vacation and I haven't… what?"
Amanda chewed her lip. "Well…"
"Yes?" Lee prompted her.
"You haven't had a date in a while," she muttered into her lap.
"I haven't had a date in a while?" Lee looked at her in amazement. "Amanda, I literally had you over for dinner last week!"
"Oh well, that wasn't a date, Lee, I mean not a real date. That was just a …"
"A what?" Lee appeared to be having a hard time not laughing out loud at this point, as the dimples danced in his cheeks.
"A pity date?" she ventured. "Because you felt bad about the whole freezer thing."
The smile was wiped off his face in an instant. "A pity date? You thought that was a pity date?"
"Wasn't it?"
"Oh my God – Amanda, are you serious? I thought you enjoyed it!"
"Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh," she rushed to say. "I mean, it was a lovely evening and you're a wonderful cook and the wine was just as good as you promised, but – "
"But? There's a but?"
"But it wasn't a date – it was just dinner with a friend. You really haven't had a real date in months! We've been so busy on cases, helping Agnes and then helping Bart and Colleen and then you helping out me and Joe."
"Oh right, Joe," he muttered under his breath. "Can't forget good ole Joe."
Amanda paused and looked at him curiously. "Well, you did help him – and we're both very grateful."
"I was just doing my job," Lee said, uncomfortable under her scrutiny. "I wasn't looking for gratitude."
"I know," Amanda blushed and looked down at her hands. "Anyway, I thought you deserved a nice Christmas and that phone conversation made it sound like all that was holding you back was work, so I thought if I could just get your desk cleared for you, then you could go."
"That's what all this was about? You've been making me crazy all week so I could go on a trip I didn't want to take?"
"Well, you've been doing the same thing to me! Sneaking around and stealing files off my desk and making me feel like you didn't trust me to help you with any of it!"
"That was never my intention – I trust you more than anyone in here." Lee gave a sigh and stood up, to walk over and sink down on the sofa beside her. "But what were you thinking, taking on so much extra work? And how are you supposed to have a nice Christmas with your family if you were determined to do all of it yourself? You've stolen enough stuff off my desk to keep you busy until New Year's!"
"I have time," Amanda shrugged. "Joe's taking the boys for a few days after Christmas to go skiing and Mother and Aunt Lillian are going to visit friends in Florida at the same time and I would have had the whole Agency to myself to get it finished. And in the end, with no active cases and the two of us not speaking all week, I have most of it done already."
"Wait a minute – aren't you going with them?" Lee asked. "With the boys, I mean?"
"Oh no – I'm not even invited. It's all Joe's family that's going so that would just be weird for everyone if I tagged along. Besides, the boys need some time with their dad; he's been away for too long and they have a lot of catching up to do."
Lee dropped his head in his hands. "Oh for Pete's sake. I don't believe this."
"You don't believe what?"
"Oh, Amanda." He sat back up and took her hand in his. "The reason I kept taking all the files back from you wasn't because I didn't trust you to do everything right. Nothing could be further from the truth."
"Really?"
"Really. I was trying to get everything off your desk because I overheard you telling Barbara about how you were scrambling to get everything done for the ski trip and I thought you could use some help so that you could leave and enjoy the trip without worrying about work."
"I didn't mean I was trying to get work stuff done, Lee; I meant I was scrambling to make sure the boys had winter gear that still fit. They're growing like weeds and Joe gave me money to buy them new ski jackets, but after so long in Africa, he doesn't have the first clue about how to buy something like that anymore. And that was on top of all the other things I'm normally trying to get done to get ready for Christmas."
"Well, I guess my eavesdropping wasn't any closer to the truth than yours was, hmm?" His smile was back and his eyes were twinkling again.
"I guess not," she agreed. She searched his face carefully. "So you were really just trying to clear my desk as a kind of Christmas present because you thought I wanted to leave town?"
"I was. And you were trying to clear mine for the same reason?"
"Uh-huh. I guess I was." She gave one of her low husky laughs. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"
"We sure are." His grin widened. "And now every speck of paperwork has been done and we're both footloose and fancy-free for the holidays."
"So we are. Guess you can take Shauna up on the trip after all," she said lightly.
"Shirley," he corrected her absently. "And again - I never wanted to take her up on that."
"You never wanted to go spend time on a sunny beach with a pretty girl? Pull the other one, Scarecrow."
"I haven't wanted to spend time with other women for a while now, Amanda," he answered softly, his hand still playing with her fingers. "I thought you knew that."
"You haven't?" She tried – and failed – not to sound too hopeful.
"I haven't," he repeated, smiling when her eyes brightened. "But what about you? Aren't you disappointed that Joe invited the boys and not you?"
"Oh no, of course I'm not. Joe and I are still friends but we're not vacation-together friends. That would be weird."
"So you two aren't…?" Lee left the question hanging.
"Oh my gosh, no!" stammered Amanda. "That ship has sailed!" She stared at him for a beat. "You thought I'd get back with Joe just because he was back in town?"
Lee shrugged. "I thought you broke up just because he wasn't in town."
"Oh." Amanda considered that for a moment. "I guess it could look that way from the outside, but there was a lot more to it than that, you know."
"I'm starting to understand that," he said.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
They lapsed into silence, although Lee didn't let go of her hand.
"So, here we are. No work, no plans, no romantic entanglements with other people," Lee said finally.
"Yep, here we are," she agreed. "Although I do still have a few files on my desk that you didn't manage to steal yet."
"Oh that's right – and so do I." Lee glanced at his watch. "Tell you what, Partner – let's go grab some lunch at Ned's, then we can come back and finish those up together. Deal?"
"Deal. That sounds really nice."
"Good." Lee stood up and helped her up in turn. "So what are your big holiday plans now that you have no work?" he asked as they exited the Q Bureau.
"Well, you know, I haven't really given that much thought," said Amanda, smiling up at him. "Got any suggestions?"
"Oh I think we can come up with a few." Lee's hand dropped to the small of her back and his eyes danced as he smiled down at her. "What are you doing New Year's Eve?"