DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs. King are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. My use of these characters is intended purely for entertainment, a few laughs and maybe a sigh or two
Title: Great Expectations 2/10
Author: Merel Inglis
Time Frame: Takes place after the show ended, the marriage is common knowledge
Summary: We know he can shoot with deadly accuracy, drop-kick a KGB agent in to the next day without mussing his hair, and bootleg his 'vett into any parking space in DC. But how will the charming and dashing Lee Stetson face the adventures of becoming a father?
Rating: G
Archive: Fine, but ask first
Author's Notes: Thank you, Pam, for taking the time to beta-read for me. Your feedback and interest in this story is much appreciated.
Great Expectations 2/10
"Lee, can I see you for a moment?" Billy Melrose's voice caught up with Lee just as his hand reached for the doorknob of the Q-Bureau.
"Sure, Billy. Meet you in the bullpen?" Lee pushed the door open a fraction, turning to look at his boss over his shoulder.
"No, Scarecrow, nothing that serious," Billy chuckled. "The Q-Bureau will be fine."
"Say did you see the game Sunday?" Lee asked, holding the door of the office open for Billy.
"Damn if the Skin's don't like to keep you on the edge of your seat every game."
"Yes, and I had money on…"
Lee, following Billy in, wondered at his superior's sudden loss for words.
Billy was staring at Amanda's desk. Actually he was staring at Amanda. A very peaceful, happy and soundly sleeping Amanda.
Lee's jaw dropped open at the sight. Amanda's head was nestled in the crook of an arm, her other arm outstretched, her manicured fingertips just barely grazing the end of the desk. Just beyond her, still opened, was the file she must have been reading when she drifted off.
Billy looked a question back at Lee.
Lee shrugged. He cleared his throat, hoping to awaken his sleeping beauty, but she was obviously out like a light.
Billy couldn't help but smile. Amanda was one of his very favorite agents and a dear friend. It had been obvious in the last week or so that Amanda had been feeling exhausted. He'd caught her yawning through his weekly staff meetings and had noticed the slight dark circles under her eyes. Billy had just chalked it up to the very active caseload she and Lee shared, and the fact that they were still newlyweds.
"Lee," he admonished, a gleam in his dark eyes. "Can't you let this poor woman have some sleep at night?"
Lee shot him a look telling him he didn't appreciate the teasing.
He walked over to Amanda's desk, touching her shoulder lightly. "Amanda," he called, softly. When she didn't move, he shook her shoulder gently. "Amanda!"
Brown eyes, glazed from sleep, showed briefly behind fluttering eyelashes as Amanda tried to pull herself from the dream she was having. She'd been dreaming she was asleep, curled up in her king-sized bed, the comforter drawn up to her chin. She really wanted to get back to that dream. She turned her head to the other side, trying to elude the voice and touch that were interrupting her slumber. "Five more minutes, Mother, please?" she mumbled.
"Amanda!" Lee's voice rose and finally caught her full attention. She jerked upright, her hand coming up to the side of her face, wiping away the tiny bit of drool that had formed in the corner of her mouth.
"Oh, my gosh." Her eyes began to focus on her husband and her boss. "I must have dozed off," she stumbled, embarrassed.
"Dozed off?" Lee cocked his head, grinning at his still bleary-eyed wife. "You were out for the count, Amanda."
Amanda smiled sheepishly at Billy, then shot a 'thanks a lot' look at Lee. "Oh, don't be silly, Lee, I must have just closed my eyes for a moment while reading the…ah…the…ah…"
Lee picked up the file folder from her desk, reading the label. "Grettish?" he supplied.
"…Grettish file," Amanda continued, nodding. "Yes, absolutely, that was it…the Grettish file." She nodded, more to convince herself than the two men now watching her with bemused expressions.
Billy's look softened. "Amanda, look, I know you've been pretty beat lately. Maybe you need to take some time off, just to recharge your batteries."
"Oh, sir, my batteries are just fine. I mean, I'm just fine, sir. Just a little tired, that's all. Lee and I have been pretty busy finishing up the….ah….the….ah…."
"Grettish…" Lee supplied again.
"…case," Amanda finished.
Lee shook his head at his wife. She was normally, under the best of conditions, able to go off on a tangent and ramble away with the best of them, but he'd never seen her quite as off-kilter and easily flustered as she'd been the last few weeks.
Billy looked over at Lee. "When was the last time she took a vacation, Scarecrow?"
"We both took a long weekend about a month and a half ago, Billy. But if you think she needs another one…" Lee glanced a concerned look at Amanda. Was Billy really worried about her? Should he be? She did look tired and lately she had been very forgetful and absentminded. He'd just chalked the fatigue and lack of focus to their busy work schedule and the fact they were still getting used to married life, both professionally and personally. It hadn't been easy for either of them, once they'd come clean about their wedding, to work out the details of their new life together. Lee had wanted to buy a new house, immediately. Amanda wanted him to move into 4247 Maplewood for a while. There had been numerous discussions about joint checking accounts and life and health insurance, and there had been the time that Amanda had let Dotty back his car out of the driveway. Neither of them had known how difficult it was going to be trying to combine their lives. Perhaps the stress has just been too much for her, Lee thought with a frown.
"I think it might not be a bad idea, Scarecrow. The agent candidate classes can be very grueling and handling a full caseload with you on top of that, well, it might just have her stressed too far," Billy added.
"Hello? I'm here! You're talking about me like I'm not here," Amanda piped up, standing up to face both men. When she had their attention she finished, "Look, I'm pleased as punch that you're both so worried about me, but really, I'm fine. I don't need a vacation. I don't want a vacation. I don't have time to take a vacation."
"Amanda," Lee drew out the name in frustration. "If you're falling asleep at your desk, that means something."
"Yes, Lee, it certainly could mean something. You know, I have been feeling a bit tired lately, most likely a touch of the flu that's going around, that's all."
"Well," Billy inserted, "I think we need to find out for sure. Amanda, make an appointment with Dr. Richter and get a check-up.
"Sir, I have my annual check up with my personal doctor early next week," she began.
"Even better. We just want to make sure you're okay. If it's the flu, fine. If not, and it's stress, you might need to take some time off, just to recharge those batteries." He smiled fondly at her, and turned to leave.
"Nothing….." she started as she watched him exit the Q-Bureau. "…wrong with my batteries," she finished to the closed door. She turned to glare at Lee.
"What?" he yelped.
She didn't answer, continuing to stare daggers at him.
"Oh, no," Lee threw up his hands, turning his back on her and walking over to his desk. "I am NOT going to take the blame for this. No. No. No. Not this time."
Amanda sat down slowly, her eyes never leaving her husband. "Not this time?"
Lee shot her a nervous glance, then feigned extreme interest in his desk blotter.
"Not this time?" she repeated. "And what's THAT supposed to mean? Not THIS time?"
"Nothing," Lee shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "It meant nothing…poor choice of words." Okay, Stetson, just walk away, don't say any more, discretion is the better part of valor. "It's just that lately it seems like everything is my fault." Open mouth, insert foot.
"Ummm Hmmmmm, I see," Amanda said slowly, fiddling absently with the now forgotten Grettish folder.
"Not that some things aren't my fault," he backpeddled furiously. Then, seeing the stubborn look in Amanda's eyes, something snapped. He'd had enough. He wasn't going to run from her recent bad temper any more. He was the Scarecrow. The Agency's top operative. He could handle this. Lee straightened up in his chair, pulling himself to his full height. "It's just things like the dishwasher not working are NOT my fault, Amanda. Neither is the cheese going moldy or you running out of panty hose or the car not starting or the vacuum sucking up one of your earrings. I have no control over these things, and yet, somehow, lately, they've all ended up being my fault. Just like now…you fall asleep at your desk, Billy catches you and it's suddenly my fault. Tell me, how is that fair?"
Amanda's eyes narrowed and Lee felt a nervous tickle at the back of his neck. Like a noose tightening? He watched as she stood, slowly, and reached down to pull her purse from the desk drawer. She walked over to the coat rack and retrieved her red woolen pea-coat, shrugging into it, deftly buttoning it up and then tying her scarf and tossing the loose ends back over her shoulder. During the entire process, she never took her steely eyes off him. Then, suddenly, she turned on her heel, giving him her back, and strode to the door. She was almost through it and Lee had just let go the breath he'd been holding, when she turned back to him.
"Scarecrow, nobody ever said life was fair." Her mouth smiled at him, her eye's didn't.
Yikes! He made a quick note on the pad of paper on his desk. When in a tight situation, even the Agency's top agent needed the right ammunition. Pick up large box of Devarona Chocolates on way home. He looked again at the closed door. And roses.
To Be Continued