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 4/?
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.
A gust of cold air blew into the Georgetown foyer as Amanda entered IFF the next morning. The sun was shining and the brisk early winter temperature had brought a bloom to Amanda's cheeks. She pushed down the hood of her coat, once again breathing a sigh of relief over the news she'd gotten from Francine late last night. Francine had been able to get Augie to loosen his grip on the bogus message he'd intercepted. The information peddler cum mud wrestling entrepreneur had taken the loss of future income pretty well, considering. In fact, Francine informed her, he'd gotten a good chuckle out of Amanda's quandary. Amanda counted it a small price to pay for keeping Lee in the dark concerning the whole "stork drop" as Francine was now calling it In fact, she'd already set into motion plans for a quiet dinner with Scarecrow that evening, at which point she would break the news that they were expecting. Hopefully she could then put this entire mishap behind her forever.
Amanda smiled pleasantly at Mrs. Marsten, supplying her with the correct password for the day: Bumbershoot. Mrs. Marsten's broad grin gave Amanda pause, and she turned back and looked at the woman with misgiving. Normally, while kind, Mrs. Marsten was not the type to be overly demonstrative…tight-lipped and stern were the two words that Amanda always thought of when the older woman came to mind. Today, however, she seemed downright jovial. A strange feeling began to inch its way up Amanda's spine, but she shook it off and turned to head up the steps to the Q-bureau.
"Mrs. Stetson," Mrs. Marsten's voice stopped her in mid-step. "I just wanted to tell you congratulations."
Amanda slowly turned, looking down at the woman who was gazing up at her from the reception desk. A large lump formed in her throat. She knew the answer to the question before she asked it. "Congratulations on what, Mrs. Marsten?" she asked, her voice a barely audible whisper.
"Why on the baby, of course" The older woman smiled warmly. "You and Mr. Stetson must be thrilled."
"Thrilled?" Amanda croaked. "Yes, thrilled. Ah, Mrs. Marsten, can I ask you how you heard about…the news." Amanda tried to keep her tone normal, but her voice still held a slightly strangled quality.
"Oh, Leatherneck told me."
Amanda's heart lurched and then dropped like a lead sinker to the pit of her stomach. Leatherneck?
"Thank you, Mrs. Marsten, " she managed to squeak out, dashing up the steps.
Her brain was in a flurry as she strode down the hall towards the Q-bureau. Trembling fingers unlocked the door and pushed it open. Leatherneck? How in the devil did he find out about the baby? And if he knows, and Mrs. Marsten knows… "Who else might know?"
Amanda hadn't realized she'd asked the question aloud until Francine answered her. "Oh, I'd say just about everyone on the eastern seaboard."
Amanda looked over at the blonde, who was sitting on the love seat, her legs crossed, holding a notepad in one hand, tapping the long red nails of her other hand on the arm rest.
"How?" Amanda fairly screeched.
"As best we can figure, Augie ran into Lana, at a party at the Bulgarian embassy, who then told Rhonda who then spoke with Katrina as she was filling up her Volvo, who in turn mentioned it to Harlan when she was picking up some take-out for dinner last night…Geez, these people get around. No wonder Lee calls them his 'family'." Francine ran a manicured finger down her notes. "You know, Amanda, I don't think there's a snitch, a spy, a counterspy, a double agent, or any other sort of intelligence operative in the D.C. metropolitan area that doesn't know your happy little news." She looked pointedly over to Amanda, who was still standing, dazed, in the doorway. "Oh, correction, there is ONE person who doesn't know."
"Thank you, Francine," Amanda hissed.
"When DO you plan to let Lee in on this not-so-secret secret of yours?" Francine asked, ignoring the daggers shooting at her from Amanda's gaze.
"This evening, after he gets back from Williamsburg," Amanda muttered, walking over to her desk and plopping into the chair.
"Well, you'd better try to catch him as soon as he gets back for our late meeting with Billy. Because, as of right now, your news, and the fact that the great Scarecrow is quite probably the only person in the intelligence community that's in the dark about it, is the subject of quite a few coffee break and water cooler jokes."
"Oh, no," Amanda sighed in dismay. Just when she thought she was getting things back under control, they kept getting worse. "Everyone here knows, too?"
"Please, Amanda, the woman in the Deli department of the Georgetown 'social' Safeway asked me if you'd picked a name yet and the guys in the accounting department have a pool going on your delivery date," Francine spouted, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, my gosh." Amanda's head dropped to the desk. Thud. She picked her head up slightly and let it drop again. Thud. "Lee's going to be the last person to find out I'm pregnant…this is just awful."
"Yes." Francine drew out the word, smiling. "He's going to take some terrible ribbing over this one."
Thud-Thud-Thud…
To Be Continued