A Spooky Little Girl Like You, Part XI
By Christine
A Halloween Tale
DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. My use of these characters is intended purely for fun.
"Well, Lee, you have your answer," he whispered to himself. "She hates you. She mistrusts you. She's afraid to show her true self to you. And now she's left you." Lee's thoughts landed on his soul like dirt lands on an open grave. Right at this moment he felt nothing, and he knew he must be in shock. He knew the emotions would come very soon, acid black emotions that would gnaw him raw and leave him whimpering for mercy. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold them off, couldn't slam the door to keep them at bay. And so he turned to leave, wanting to make it to a safe place before his pain caught up to him and turned him into a blubbering lunatic. But he turned for one last glance at her, like a drowning man reaching one last time for the life preserver that will surely save him, knowing in his heart it's too far away. He saw her climbing the stairs, probably to go to the ladies' room. Her chestnut hair shone under the dim lights. Her black gown clung to her in all the right places, her bare skin creamy white and glowing. And then it happened.
Amanda felt any composure she had left quickly dissolving. Her recent encounter with Lee left her feeling wrung out and spent. It had taken every ounce of strength for her to lash out at him like that. And now she had no energy left to hold herself together and pretend that everything was all right. Oh, how she hated him for all those mean things he'd said to her. And how she wanted to turn and throw herself at his feet, begging forgiveness. But she knew another scene would only make him feel contempt, so she excused herself and headed toward the bathroom, where she planned to spend the rest of the evening crying and wishing she were dead. She thought she could hear her heart splintering into a thousand pieces, shattered by the explosion of his rejection. Then she realized the stairs under her were giving way. "Something upstairs has actually exploded!" was all she had time to think as the force of the blast knocked her down the stairs and splattered her on the landing below. She looked up just in time to see a huge support beam falling directly toward her. It seemed to move in slow motion, like one of those silly cartoons. She knew it would land on her and probably kill her. She knew she didn't even have time to roll out of the way. And she really didn't care.
Lee watched in horror from the safety of the doorway as the upstairs landing exploded. Amanda was the only one on the stairs at the time, and he felt his gut heave as he saw her fragile little form go flying through the air like a discarded doll. His blood turned to ice in his veins as he saw the support beam land on her, crushing her beneath it. "Amanda!" He called frantically to her, shouting over the screams and the confusion.
The explosion had knocked the power out, and the back up generators kicked in with emergency lighting, turning everything a ghoulish red. Few people had actually been exposed to the full impact of the explosion. But most had been hurt somehow or other by flying debris. It looked to Lee just like a scene from those horror movies, where the bleeding dismembered and disfigured amble around in shock, or lay on the ground moaning. It seemed to take him forever to get to her; he had to pick his way carefully around bodies and debris. "Amanda, I'm coming," he kept shouting over and over to her, hoping she could hear him; praying she was still alive to hear him. He realized he didn't care if she left him for Paulson or not, as long as she was alive and safe.
Finally he caught sight of her. Her top half was sticking out from beneath the support beam, her left arm extended carelessly, her head turned away from him. "Amanda!" he shouted again, begging her to answer. He moved a large portion of the solid oak banister that stood between them like prison bars, and then he was beside her. "Amanda..." he said gently, questioningly as he knelt down.
"Lee?" she answered tearfully, turning her head so she could see him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. She couldn't believe he was here. She wanted him to be, wanted to say goodbye before she died. She could feel the life draining from her slowly, and silently prayed for more time. She had so much to say to the people she loved, so much she needed for them to know. There were so many things she had to make right with this man kneeling here beside her, this man whom she loved more than life itself. But she knew there wasn't time. She was just glad he was here. She was glad she had the chance to say goodbye. And she prayed it would be enough. It would have to be. "Oh, Lee, it hurts so bad," she whispered through clenched teeth as she fought to control her pain. She would have regain control if she were to be able to tell him what she needed to.
"Amanda," he said he name gently, soothingly as he tried to comfort her. "Just be quiet, Sweetheart, the rescue workers have just arrived, and they'll have you out of here in no time. I'm right here. I won't leave you," he said as he took her hand in his.
"Lee, I want you to tell Mother and the boys I love them, and I'm sorry I can't be with them anymore. Tell them; just tell them I love them. That will be enough."
Lee stared down at her in shocked disbelief as he realized she was saying her goodbyes. He had always known that most people knew when they were dying, but hearing her talk like that brought it home to him with chilling finality. His Amanda was dying here in the dark, on this cold floor, in incredible pain. He didn't think he could bear it.
"Amanda," he began sharply as she interrupted him.
"Goodbye, Lee. I love you, too. I'm only sorry you never loved me. But your friendship has meant so much to me, and I want you to know I've cherished our time together," Amanda said weakly, her voice beginning to fade.
"Amanda, don't you dare say goodbye! You can't just come into my life and turn it upside down against every one of my wishes, then leave the minute I finally begin to like the change! You can't leave me! Who else can put up with my temper and my sarcasm? Who else can play my wife so convincingly? Who else will care about me like you do? No one, Amanda. No one. If you go, you'll leave me alone and lonely the rest of my life. And you'll break up the best partnership the Agency has ever seen. Amanda? Amanda? Oh, God, please don't die!" But Amanda was already unconscious, and Lee was helpless to do anything but hover over her and shout for the rescue workers to hurry.
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It was Sunday morning at Galilee General Hospital, and Lee sat numbly by Amanda's bed, absently playing with the ruby ring on her finger, images from last night swimming drunkenly in his head. She had barely made it to the hospital alive. Lacerated kidney, they had said. Massive internal hemorrhage, they had said. Luckily it encapsulated itself, with the blood exerting pressure on the injuries, keeping them from bleeding further. Fractured pelvis, not too bad. She should be up walking fairly soon, if she survives. They had poured blood into her all night long; Lee had lost count of how many bags. Nurses hovered over her constantly, tending her and all the machines around her with skill and compassion. Lee was thankful for that. He had never had good experiences with nurses, but he was relieved to see Amanda being treated so gently. And every few hours, a nurse would come in and draw more blood for more lab tests. It would show if she started to hemorrhage again, they explained. If she did begin to bleed, she would need immediate surgery to save her life.
But now the Sunday morning sun shone brightly through her window, dispelling the nightmares of last night. Her condition had stabilized along toward first light, and Lee could see the nurses relaxing just a little. Amanda's last few blood counts had shown no sign of decreasing, which seemed to indicate she was no longer bleeding, and the doctors were cautiously optimistic.
Billy had already been and gone, checking on his two favorite Agents and offering anything they might need. Of course he had been unsuccessful in getting Lee to leave Amanda's side, so he just sighed and brought Lee a large cup of coffee from the hospital cafeteria. Lee was incredulous to learn that the explosion the night before had truly been an accident with bad wiring and a faulty gas heater, not an act of vengeance or terrorism. Somehow, it made it easier to bear knowing that no one was directly responsible for hurting his Amanda. That was one less grudge he would have to carry. And he also learned that Daniel Paulson had been injured in the explosion, too. He was in the hospital one floor above them, in traction with a broken thighbone. So that's why he didn't come to see about Amanda, Billy explained, because he couldn't walk. OK, two less grudges he would have to carry.
And Amanda had said she loved him. The thought covered him like a warm blanket, smoothing out the rough edges of his ragged nerves. He knew she had said it as her final goodbye, and that it was uttered straight from her heart. But she was bleeding to death, and he knew that the lack of blood to the brain did strange things to people. Even though he didn't doubt her sincerity, he decided not to mention it and wait for her to confirm her feelings again when she wasn't actively dying. He would just be very careful and treat her like she deserved from here on out. And he would have to begin showing how he really felt. Maybe then she would feel safe enough to open up to him.
Just then the door opened and a tall woman Lee had never seen before entered Amanda's room. She looked very young, and had waist-length brown hair that glittered in the sun. Her emerald green eyes seemed to cut straight through him.
"Hi, I'm Briannon, Daniel's friend," Briannon introduced herself, crossing the room to the opposite side of the bed from where Lee sat. She smiled at Amanda tenderly and placed a delicate hand on Amanda's forehead. She felt sorry that it had taken this much to bring Amanda her true love, but she was glad the matter was now settled forever.
"Hi," Lee answered, less than thrilled that this woman was a friend of Daniel's, "I'm..."
"I know who you are," Briannon met held his gaze with hers, "You're Amanda's true love."
Lee inhaled sharply as she spoke, wondering just who the hell she was and what had Amanda told this strange woman about their relationship? Lee watched in amazement as Briannon gently lifted Amanda's right hand and carefully removed the ruby ring from her finger.
"Just what do you think you're doing," asked Lee, getting angry at this woman's imprudence, "that's Amanda's ring. That's not costume jewelry, it looks antique."
"It is a family heirloom. It belonged to Amanda's Great-Grandmother West, and I'm taking it as payment for services rendered. It brought her all the luck she needed." Briannon said matter-of-factly.
"Over my dead body! Lady, if you think for one minute..." Lee began angrily through clenched teeth as he rose off his stool.
"Sit down," Briannon said patiently, as if to a small child, raising her right hand in front of her. "Just be glad she didn't offer up something stupid, like her soul."
Even though Briannon was nowhere close to him, Lee felt a pressure on his chest and a gentle backward push as she raised her hand. He sat back down with a thud, not believing anything that was happening. He was tired and the events of this past week were taking their toll, he rationalized. How else could he explain this strange woman standing before him? He stared in fascination as Briannon took a small flask from her purse. She opened the stopper and waved it under Amanda's nose as she whispered something in Amanda's ear. Then she placed the open flask on the bedside table.
"She'll be all right, you know. She'll recover quickly and be back to her old self in no time. And as for you, Lee Stetson, you have been given a rare and precious gift for a second time," Briannon said as she gestured to Amanda's small body lying in the bed, "don't mess it up," Briannon said as she moved around the bed toward the door. Her hand was already on the doorknob to leave, but she had to warn him again. She had to make him believe for his sake, for Amanda's sake, and for the sake of all the lives Amanda would touch in the course of her lifetime. And so, she turned around and proceeded to blow his mind: "Amanda has been entrusted into your care. She had been given to you. In return for her safety, she will give you more joy and peace than you can ever imagine. But remember, Lee Stetson, you are being watched. She will be taken from you if you ever mistreat her so shamefully again." And in the blink of an eye, Briannon was gone leaving Lee both frightened and mystified.
Briannon's words slowly sank into his brain, giving birth to a happiness that rose like the sun after a long stormy night. Amanda would be his as long as he took good care of her. He thought he could do that. Lee looked down at Amanda, smiling softly as he took in her sweet face. "Well, partner," he began, "looks like I have a new assignment, one to last me an entire lifetime. And I have a feeling it really started three years ago on the platform at the train station. But I don't mind, as long as I have you to back me up." Lee spoke to her lovingly as he kissed her forehead. He was delightfully surprised when she began to move slightly under his touch, trying to break through the membrane of unconsciousness.
Amanda opened her eyes slowly and found Lee beside her, a big grin on his face and unconditional love shining in his eyes. "Oh, my gosh, I'm dead," was Amanda's first thought.
"Hey there, Sleepyhead," Lee teased gently as he leaned forward to place his head on the pillow next to hers and caressed her cheek with his hand. She was wrapped in the warmth of his nearness, and soothed by his masculine scent. "If this is what being dead is all about, I should have done it years ago," she thought to herself. She turned to face him, giving him a contented smile, then drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Instinctively, she seemed to know that everything would be OK. He lay there and watched her sleeping, pondering the events of the past week, especially his strange visitor this morning. And it didn't take him long before he followed Amanda down that long, dark corridor to dreamland.
Some time later, Amanda's nurse found them still curled up together, fast asleep. She did only what she had to do very quietly then tiptoed from the room. As she left, she placed a NO VISITORS sign on the door, ensuring that no one would disturb Scarecrow and Mrs. King.
THE END