*****King Residence 9:30pm*****
A light rain had begun to fall just before the Corvette reached 4247 Maplewood Drive. For a moment the two occupants sat in silence, taking in the uncharacteristic darkness of the house in front of them. Amanda was so deep in thought that she jumped as the sound of Lee's voice broke the silence.
"Well, we should probably get inside before it gets any worse, huh? I bet Billy and Francine will be here any minute." With that he exited the vehicle and ran around the front to open the door for his partner. Using his body to shield her from the now steadily falling rain, he hurried them to the side of the house, which allowed the eaves to afford them a brief reprieve from the unexpected shower. Pulling his arm from around her body, he then reached down to take hold of her hand and continued leading her towards the back door.
As they reached their destination, a light from the neighboring yard allowed him to look briefly at her and he caught the smirk on her face and the question in her eyes. He was about to ask her what was so funny when he realized what he'd unconsciously done. He'd naturally led her to the back door to enter her own home, completely bypassing the front door on the way there. He watched her amusement grow as she saw that he understood what he had done. Preferring to forgo all manner of teasing on the subject, Lee simply opted for a one word-answer to her unasked question.
"Habit," he said shrugging. He then stepped aside allowing her to unlock the door with her key, rather than picking his way inside, in order to maintain some shred of dignity. Watching her, he caught the amused shake of her head as she entered the house. She walked through the room and immediately began turning on lights.
Amanda was somewhat surprised at the condition of the room. They'd left in such a hurry this morning that she hadn't had the time to notice that Lee had picked up after their late night work session. Empty take-out containers were gone, the coffee table was back in place with the files all neatly piled on top. While she deeply felt the kindness of the simple act of this man, it once again brought home all that she'd missed out on with her husband. She couldn't remember a single time he'd ever picked up a room so she wouldn't have to. 'And there were plenty of opportunities,' she thought sadly to herself. Sighing and shaking her head to clear away the unwanted thoughts, she moved into the kitchen to start some water boiling for tea.
As he followed her into the house, shutting the door behind him, Lee stopped to watch her light the room. He was pleased with himself for cleaning up last night when he saw her surveying the room with satisfaction. And though her back was to him, the slight slump of her shoulders also told him that seeing it had just caused her sadness. Not having the slightest clue what to do or say to make everything alright, he simply followed her into the kitchen and removed his jacket to let it dry on the back of one of the kitchen chairs before moving to take a seat on a barstool.
Amanda moved away from the sink to place the now full kettle on the burner and looked at it for a moment before placing her hands on either side of the counter and leaning into it. It was a posture he had seen her strike many times in her kitchen when she was deep in thought. Though he doubted she even realized she did it or that she had been observed as many times as she had.
Watching her a moment more before deciding to say *something* Lee mused, "Huh, the kitchen, that's funny, I do my best thinking in the shower."
"What?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the kettle.
'Oh shoot!' he thought, 'Did I say that out loud?' He cleared his throat and ignoring his previous statement, asked, "Uh, Amanda? Is...everything okay?"
"Hm?" She questioned dragging her eyes away from the tea kettle to find him staring quizzically at her. "Oh, yeah...fine," she said smiling warmly and reaching across to pat the back of his hand comfortingly.
He couldn't help but smile back at her while he thought to himself how amazing she was. Here, one of the darkest and most private pieces of her past had been revealed, and despite all the conflict of dealing with it, *she* was comforting *him*. She moved away from him to pull cups from the cupboard in preparation for the tea. Still having no idea where to begin comforting his friend he desperately wanted to try. He thought for a moment and broached the subject the only way he knew how.
"You know we're gonna catch this guy, Amanda," he questioned her. "And when we do..." he growled letting the threat hang, rather than finish the thought in front of her.
Amanda looked over at her partner and what she saw scared her. Though he was now focused on his thoughts, his face set in a determined glare, the look in his eyes she recognized as one reserved for his most arch of enemies. She had seen it, here and there over the years she had come to know him and just a few months earlier when he'd come in contact with one of the darker parts of his own history. When he'd had to deal with the man who'd killed Dorothy.
Though her partner was an honest and law-abiding man, who never used his position for personal gain, she had been terribly afraid that he'd killed an innocent man in Paul Barnes. Afraid of what would happen to him, that he'd be taken away somewhere to serve a prison term or otherwise be punished for his actions. While in the end, he in fact hadn't killed anyone, *and* caught the real killer, there were too many wildcards in this situation to tell what he'd do if presented with the opportunity to rid the world of Joe King. She had faith enough in him to know he'd do the right thing, but even she wasn't sure what that was. She moved over to stand in front of him and said, "Lee...the law. We have to abide by the law."
He allowed his eyes to meet hers and decided not to voice the thought that Joe King hadn't, so why should he. His face still showed the danger he was capable of, but as he nodded his agreement, his eyes held the promise that he would indeed let the law, not personal feeling guide his actions.
She smiled when she saw his eyes soften and was about to say something when the tea kettle announced that it had boiled, causing her to jump and cry out in surprise. Putting her hand over her heart to insure that it didn't jump out of her chest, she pointed an accusatory finger at his calm demeanor and barely suppressed laughter. "Yo-you knew that was going to happen!"
Any bit of control left him as he began laughing out loud, "Of course I did, so did you." Her glaring at him only caused him to laugh even harder. She continued to glare at him as she poured two cups full of hot water, carefully handing him one. He calmed down as he took the scalding liquid from her, apologizing, "Alright, I'm sorry, Amanda. It's just that I heard it getting close to boiling so it didn't catch me off guard." Then leveling the index finger of his right hand at her he said, "An agent always has to be aware of his surroundings. Could mean the difference between life and death."
He was standing next to his barstool now, cup in one hand, the other still pointed at Amanda. She stood facing him, hands on hips, lips pursed, eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened to reply but she was cut off by a light tapping on her kitchen window.
The next instant was filled with chaos as the sound caught Lee off guard and he jumped, causing the hot liquid to slosh onto his hand. He let out a yell of pain and released his hold on the mug, allowing it to crash to the floor only to be caught in the back splash of hot water. He yelled again and tried to pull the denim from his left leg where the water had hit in patches. Amanda jumped around the barrier of the island to assist him all the while motioning wildly to Billy and Francine to enter. Their boss and his assistant however were too enthralled by the dance of the Scarecrow to move at all and so stood just out of the reach of cover the eaves provided, getting wetter by the second.
"Amanda!" Lee growled, his frustrations finding their usual vent, "Why'd ya hafta fill that cup so full?!" he groaned as he stood with his burned left hand outstretched and rubbed at the stinging on his leg with his right.
"Oh, Lee, I'm *so* sorry," she cried sincerely before the first wave of laughter left her body. Her arm across his shoulders, she hunched over with him, moving them to the sink.
"Amanda, this is *not* funny!" he stated in a tight voice.
"Oh, Lee. Yes it is. An agent always has to be aware..." she repeated through her laughter as her hand reached down to carefully bring his to the cool water.
He closed his eyes as he sighed in relief at the instant comfort. When he opened them again, he looked in confusion out the window he was facing. "Ah, Amanda? Why are Billy and Francine standing out in the rain?"
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed running over to her door and flinging it open. "Sir! Francine! Come on in here before you catch your deaths of cold!" she commanded in a motherly tone. The two complied almost immediately, shutting the door behind them. Francine set down her purse and the folder of information they had brought to go over. Amanda left them standing there to rush into the laundry room to find them something to dry off with.
When Amanda had left him to go usher Billy and Francine inside, Lee's hand had drifted out from under the comforting wash of cool water and immediately began to burn. He thrust it back under the steady stream while angrily eyeing the broken mug and puddle of now innocuous water as if trying to find some way to do it even more harm for the wound it had inflicted.
Billy and Francine had by now shaken off their shock at surprising Lee and the 'dance' they had witnessed and were laughing openly, at what they knew to be great expense to their lives. Amanda could hear their laughter as she rummaged through the laundry waiting to be folded and found two clean towels. She silently prayed that they would let it go soon or Lee would surely find some way to make them pay. Her included. After all, she had laughed first.
Lee turned his unhappy gaze from the floor to their now silent but still smiling faces. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh, you think this is funny do you?" He looked surprisingly calm as he stood leaning over the sink, allowing his hand to soak. "Fine, fine, laugh now, but I warn you," he said as he unthinkingly removed his hand to point at them for emphasis, forgetting the burning pain that would accompany that removal, "aaagggghhh!" Their laughter started up again at his poor attempt of a threat.
"Lee!" Amanda admonished in concern, as she all but threw the towels at Billy and Francine in her rush to get over to him, "You've got to keep your hand in the water. Oooohhh, that looks bad." The burn on Lee's hand, which looked to be at least 2nd if not 3rd degree, was already blistering and was obviously extremely painful. Amanda held his injured hand in place under the water with one of her own while comfortingly rubbing his arm with her other hand to calm him down. Billy and Francine watched in wonder as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let the scowl leave his face. He opened his eyes to smile thankfully at Amanda before turning his attention back to the other two in the room. Smiling calmly he said, "You'll get yours."
Francine, knowing when to quit, thought a change of subject would be wise, "Amanda, do you think you have something we could..." her voice trailed off as she indicated their sopping clothes.
"Uh, yes," agreed Billy, "I don't want to ruin your furniture Amanda, just because we couldn't get out of the rain fast enough."
"Oh, yes," she replied looking over her shoulder at them. "Yes, of course. Sure I can...yeah, I think I...yeah, I'll go find you something," she replied all the while furiously trying to think of what she could offer them to wear while she dried their wet clothes. "Now, Lee," she began as though talking to a child, "I want you to keep your hand under the water till I get back, do you understand?"
He nodded as he rolled his eyes at her tone, "Yes, Amanda, I understand."
"Good," she said patting him on the shoulder, "now, I'll be right back," she paused as she looked again at her two wet friends, "right back."
As she hurried up the steps to her bedroom to find her robe for Francine, she suddenly remembered it had been part of a science experiment gone wrong and was in the laundry room waiting to be washed. She changed course and went instead into her mother's room to grab the spare robe she wouldn't have taken to New York and then into Philip and Jaime's room to get one of theirs. Still not entirely sure who would wear what and how it would work out, she was almost to the door when she heard a 'clunk' behind her.
She stood paused in mid-step, eyes wide, body paralyzed with fear. Suddenly she felt eyes on her. A second passed, she heard nothing more. Felt no one approach her. From below, she heard Lee call out to her, "Amanda? You okay?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and thought, 'I just need to get back down there. Please let me get back down to Lee.' Before what little courage she mustered at the sound of his voice could fail her, she whirled around to face her attacker.
****************
Below, Lee still held his hand under the running water, per Amanda's parting instructions. His hand looked awful and was beginning to feel worse even under the constant cool stream of water. Billy had gone into the den to remove his wet clothing while he waited for Amanda to bring him something dry. Francine had taken the laundry room. While they waited for her to turn up, each began to wonder what was taking her so long.
****************
Amanda's eyes wildly scanned the room. Nothing. No one there. Her shoulders slumped forward as a sound somewhere between a sigh and a sob escaped her lips. Tightly clutching the robes in one hand, she bent to retrieve the thick dictionary she had caused to fall. Shaking her head at her nervousness, she backed out of the room before turning off the light and hurrying to the safety she knew was below.
A moment after she'd gone, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room, allowing the man hiding behind the curtain a clear view into the hallway. As he slowly moved toward it, he brought a hand to his face to slowly peel back the mask that had concealed his identity for so long.
****************
"What was that sound Amanda?" Lee asked as she came back into the room. He noticed her notice the lack of people in her kitchen and supplied, "Francine's in the laundry room and Billy's in the den." He watched her hurry toward the laundry room and toss a robe in before heading to the den just as Billy's voice rang out, "Anything will do, Amanda, really."
"I'm glad you feel that way, sir, because that's all I could find," she answered as she stood, head turned, eyes squeezed shut, holding out her hand to Billy's groping one. He finally caught hold of the robe as he said, "I'm sure it will be just fine, Amanda."
She hurried back over to Lee, who was now facing the opposite direction, in order to track her movement. Just as she reached him, the 'clunk' from upstairs came again. Amanda jumped and cursed, "Damn, dictionary!"
"Amanda?" Lee questioned, "Are you okay?" In answer she simply leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. As she felt his right arm come around her back pulling her closer, she breathed a sigh of relief and felt a calm surround her.
"I am now," came her muffled reply.
"What was that sound?" he asked, still somewhat puzzled as to her odd behavior.
"I knocked a book down and I must not have put it back very well," she answered stepping back and pulling her hair off her face. "It just caught me off guard is all and I - well I guess I kinda panicked," she explained.
"Oh," he nodded as understanding dawned. "Well, you're safe now," he said, looking down into her eyes as his right hand soothingly caressed her shoulder.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused them to lock eyes as a voice called out, "Is she? Huh, yes, well now that *I'm* here."
Lee looked to the stranger entering the room with a gun in hand preparing to demand his identity when a suddenly very pale and shaky Amanda breathed in a near whisper, "Joe."
Lee looked from her to the man slowly advancing on them. Quickly connecting the name to her ex-husband and realizing he was looking at Joe King and therefore, Philip James, he noted that he did indeed see a resemblance between the two men now that he was actively looking for it. And what was that? Bits of plastic hanging off his face, as though he'd removed a mask? Knowing only that he had to protect Amanda at all cost, he moved her behind him, the action pulling his hand from the water. He immediately became aware of an extreme burning but knew he had to ignore it until he was able to diffuse this crisis. James might not realize it but they were not as defenseless as they seemed. Lee was indeed armed and though he couldn't make a grab for his gun at present, he would be alert to the first opportunity. Also in their favor was the fact that Billy and Francine were nearby and no doubt armed as well and very aware of what was going on in the kitchen. He just had to keep him distracted and away from Amanda.
"You know, I kept wondering when you'd come looking for me, I was waiting for you," he told Lee, "but you disappointed me Scarecrow. You're just not the living legend they make you out to be. I mean look at you, incapacitated by hot water." James began laughing as he gestured to the injury with his gun. Suddenly sobering he said, "Killing you should be fun though. I hope you'll at least put up a *little* bit of a fight. Hi sweetheart," he continued, looking around Lee's shoulder to Amanda, "bet you're glad to see me. Don't worry, hon, this'll all be over soon. I'm just gonna kill Stetson here so we won't have to worry about him coming after us and then we can get outta here."
Amanda was again gripped by a paralyzing fear as she realized her worst fear was coming true. She stood numbly, both hands on Lee's back, a death grip on his shirt. She felt his muscles tense under her hands as he prepared to move. 'Let go, Amanda,' she told herself, 'let go.' Just as she was finally able to get her hands to follow her minds command, Lee launched himself at the other man.
"Amanda, run!" he ordered her.
At that same moment a flash of lightening lit the kitchen even more brightly than it already was before a deafening crash of thunder followed it, shaking the house and it's occupants. They were suddenly plunged into darkness. Amanda saw the gun fire in the darkness and instinctively ducked, praying that Lee had not been hit.
Lee landed on James in the total darkness and took advantage of the momentary confusion of the other man. He began punching him, but James grabbed his injured hand and bit down on the wound, causing Lee to cry out. James then knocked Lee to the ground and began pummeling him with all the strength he could muster. "She's MY wife! Not your partner! Stay away from her!" the crazed man yelled.
Amanda realized she had to do something before Lee was seriously injured. She grabbed the kettle from the stove and swung it sideways at her ex-husband's head. The weight of the water however, caused her to swing wide and what could have been a painful blow, just glanced off the side of his head.
"OW!" he yelled, "Don't do that, Amanda!" And he shoved her back into the kitchen sink.
Lee heard her surprised cry as she fell and the sound gave him the needed strength to throw the other man off his body and knock him into a cabinet. With the gun knocked away in the fight, the two men were left to in a fight to the death with their bare hands. Until, in a bright flash of light, the sound of a single bullet firing was heard, and then nothing.
Amanda's shaky voice emerged from the darkness, "Lee? Are you okay?"
She heard him moving toward her and reached out for him. As she came in contact with him, her body's reaction to his touch was confirmed by the sound of his voice. "Amanda..." he breathed, gripping her hand tightly.
She screamed as she recognized the touch and voice of Joe King. Suddenly she heard a dull thud and felt his grip slacken as he fell to the floor. At that moment light was restored to the kitchen and she found herself looking into the somewhat glazed eyes of her partner.
"An...agent...always..." he managed before falling unconscious to the floor. Before she could stoop to grab him, another shocking sight accosted her eyes. There, still holding his gun in a defensive posture was Billy Melrose, dressed in the old ill-fitting peach and flowered maternity robe her mother still held onto for emergencies. Standing next to him was Francine in Philip's, much too short, red plaid robe. Amanda's final coherent thought as she let her body slide down the cabinet behind her was, 'Lee was right....they did get theirs.'
****************
Only moments later, her home was full of agents. "Where did they come from?" a stunned Amanda asked.
"While you were upstairs, Billy called to have teams put in place," Francine explained as she and Amanda struggled to lift Lee's unconscious body from the kitchen floor.
"Ah, Francine," Billy began as he hurried over to her, "maybe you should let someone a little more appropriately dressed do that." Francine immediately jumped to a standing position and smoothed the barely long enough robe over her backside, all the while turning three shades of red.
"Well," she began, clearing her throat, "I'll just go put our clothes in the dryer."
Amanda and Billy looked at each other and began laughing. The sound was enough to rouse Lee who opened his eyes to see his boss wrapped in what could only be explained as mumu gone wrong. "Ohhhh," he groaned, "I *must* be dead."
Billy laughed again as he said, "You're not dead, Scarecrow, but if this is the punishment I get for laughing at you earlier, believe me, it will *never* happen again! Help him, will you Amanda, I've got to go organize things."
Lee's head was getting clearer by the second and so was the stinging pain in his hand. "Aaaahhhh, damn, that hurts!" he growled. Then forgetting all else for the moment he sat straight up and pulled Amanda in front of him. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened? Is he-"
Amanda placed her hand over his mouth to silence him. "Shhhh," she said, "I'm fine. In fact, better than I've ever been. Joe's..." she looked up at the passing agent for any word. He silently shook his head in response. She turned her eyes back to Lee and said, "Joe's dead."
"I'm sorry, Amanda, I didn't mean to-"
"No, Lee," she cut him off, shaking her head, "Billy shot him." Then taking a breath she said as an afterthought, "You only hit him with the tea kettle."
"Oh, okay," he responded as she moved to help him up. Cradling his left hand he leaned on her as she led him to the couch. "You should be out of the way here," she said easing him back, "I'm gonna go get some help. Just hang on."
He nodded and closed his eyes as his body responded to the pain by passing out.
*****King Residence 9:30pm******
Amanda sighed as she once again attempted to fathom the events of the last two weeks. Her mother and sons would be arriving home tonight and she was looking forward to the reunion.
Words could not express the joy she felt at finally being able to put that ugly part of her life behind her, once and for all. And now she truly had. The last existing pieces, she had found in the folder Francine had brought to her house the night it all ended. The pictures of her bruised and battered body. She had pulled them from the file and burned them before anyone had noticed them missing.
After thinking long and hard, she had decided to tell the boys their father had been killed while on a mercy mission in the country he was now serving in. Sometimes, she realized, the lies were necessary to protect the innocent. And as cruel as she felt thinking it, she was grateful for the thought that they shouldn't take the news too harshly considering Philip hadn't seen his father since he was a baby and Jamie had never seen him.
She smiled as she thought of how supportive her friends had been. Billy had had the cleanup crew work overtime and by the time they left, all evidence of a struggle was gone, the damage from the one stray bullet repaired. Francine had offered kindness and support of a true friend when she'd explained all they'd uncovered about Joe and Julie's past. And Lee. She laughed as she remembered. Lee had been unconscious well into the next day. But after he had awakened, his friendship and kind words had meant the most of all. Never all those years ago would she have imagined how her life would turn out. But as she lived it each day she was more and more thankful that it had brought her to where she was.
A knock on her window brought her back to the present. She left her spot behind the kitchen counter and went to let Lee in. "Hi," she smiled.
"Hi," he smiled back, his dimples working overtime. "I, uh, just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Good, fine," she was still smiling, "Mother and the boys will be home tonight."
"Yeah, yeah, I remember," he nodded still smiling at her. "Listen, I can't stay, I...just wanted to bring you these." He pulled a bouguet of flowers from behind his back.
"Oh, Lee," she breathed, "they're lovely, thank you."
He smiled and shrugged, "You're welcome. Just my way of saying thanks for all your help while my hand heals," he said, holding up the injured appendage.
The sound of the front door opening and thundering feet and calls of 'we're home, we're home', interrupted any further conversation. Lee leaned down to kiss her softly on the cheek before winking at her and pulling the door closed behind him whispering, "See you tomorrow."
Amanda stood smiling at the back door as her family came running into the room. Family. She suddenly remembered a phrase her father used to use. The ties that bind. All this time she had thought it meant the family relation. Now she realized, it wasn't the actual family. It was the things that kept a family together. Love, friendship. And for Amanda King, those things were embodied in Lee Stetson. Without either of them realizing it, he had become the tie that bound her family together. She smiled broadly as the realization overtook her. Raising her eyes from the flowers in her hand to the darkness outside, she vowed in her heart to one day bring him, fully, into the light of her family.
As her eyes caught a flash of movement in the darkness, she was grabbed from behind in a bear hug. "Whoah," she cried, "hey fellas, did ya miss me?"
"Mom! Are we glad to see you!"
"We had a great time!"
"Oh, Amanda, how did things go dear? I'll have you know my magnets worked wonders! Oh my, darling, what lovely flowers......"
****************
Lee stood just inside the shadows watching the happy reunion. Smiling. Things had changed between him and Amanda over the past two weeks. Changed for the better. He smiled wider as he turned away, realizing that he might someday like to be on the inside of a reunion like that. Someday.....
****************
The End
A light rain had begun to fall just before the Corvette reached 4247 Maplewood Drive. For a moment the two occupants sat in silence, taking in the uncharacteristic darkness of the house in front of them. Amanda was so deep in thought that she jumped as the sound of Lee's voice broke the silence.
"Well, we should probably get inside before it gets any worse, huh? I bet Billy and Francine will be here any minute." With that he exited the vehicle and ran around the front to open the door for his partner. Using his body to shield her from the now steadily falling rain, he hurried them to the side of the house, which allowed the eaves to afford them a brief reprieve from the unexpected shower. Pulling his arm from around her body, he then reached down to take hold of her hand and continued leading her towards the back door.
As they reached their destination, a light from the neighboring yard allowed him to look briefly at her and he caught the smirk on her face and the question in her eyes. He was about to ask her what was so funny when he realized what he'd unconsciously done. He'd naturally led her to the back door to enter her own home, completely bypassing the front door on the way there. He watched her amusement grow as she saw that he understood what he had done. Preferring to forgo all manner of teasing on the subject, Lee simply opted for a one word-answer to her unasked question.
"Habit," he said shrugging. He then stepped aside allowing her to unlock the door with her key, rather than picking his way inside, in order to maintain some shred of dignity. Watching her, he caught the amused shake of her head as she entered the house. She walked through the room and immediately began turning on lights.
Amanda was somewhat surprised at the condition of the room. They'd left in such a hurry this morning that she hadn't had the time to notice that Lee had picked up after their late night work session. Empty take-out containers were gone, the coffee table was back in place with the files all neatly piled on top. While she deeply felt the kindness of the simple act of this man, it once again brought home all that she'd missed out on with her husband. She couldn't remember a single time he'd ever picked up a room so she wouldn't have to. 'And there were plenty of opportunities,' she thought sadly to herself. Sighing and shaking her head to clear away the unwanted thoughts, she moved into the kitchen to start some water boiling for tea.
As he followed her into the house, shutting the door behind him, Lee stopped to watch her light the room. He was pleased with himself for cleaning up last night when he saw her surveying the room with satisfaction. And though her back was to him, the slight slump of her shoulders also told him that seeing it had just caused her sadness. Not having the slightest clue what to do or say to make everything alright, he simply followed her into the kitchen and removed his jacket to let it dry on the back of one of the kitchen chairs before moving to take a seat on a barstool.
Amanda moved away from the sink to place the now full kettle on the burner and looked at it for a moment before placing her hands on either side of the counter and leaning into it. It was a posture he had seen her strike many times in her kitchen when she was deep in thought. Though he doubted she even realized she did it or that she had been observed as many times as she had.
Watching her a moment more before deciding to say *something* Lee mused, "Huh, the kitchen, that's funny, I do my best thinking in the shower."
"What?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the kettle.
'Oh shoot!' he thought, 'Did I say that out loud?' He cleared his throat and ignoring his previous statement, asked, "Uh, Amanda? Is...everything okay?"
"Hm?" She questioned dragging her eyes away from the tea kettle to find him staring quizzically at her. "Oh, yeah...fine," she said smiling warmly and reaching across to pat the back of his hand comfortingly.
He couldn't help but smile back at her while he thought to himself how amazing she was. Here, one of the darkest and most private pieces of her past had been revealed, and despite all the conflict of dealing with it, *she* was comforting *him*. She moved away from him to pull cups from the cupboard in preparation for the tea. Still having no idea where to begin comforting his friend he desperately wanted to try. He thought for a moment and broached the subject the only way he knew how.
"You know we're gonna catch this guy, Amanda," he questioned her. "And when we do..." he growled letting the threat hang, rather than finish the thought in front of her.
Amanda looked over at her partner and what she saw scared her. Though he was now focused on his thoughts, his face set in a determined glare, the look in his eyes she recognized as one reserved for his most arch of enemies. She had seen it, here and there over the years she had come to know him and just a few months earlier when he'd come in contact with one of the darker parts of his own history. When he'd had to deal with the man who'd killed Dorothy.
Though her partner was an honest and law-abiding man, who never used his position for personal gain, she had been terribly afraid that he'd killed an innocent man in Paul Barnes. Afraid of what would happen to him, that he'd be taken away somewhere to serve a prison term or otherwise be punished for his actions. While in the end, he in fact hadn't killed anyone, *and* caught the real killer, there were too many wildcards in this situation to tell what he'd do if presented with the opportunity to rid the world of Joe King. She had faith enough in him to know he'd do the right thing, but even she wasn't sure what that was. She moved over to stand in front of him and said, "Lee...the law. We have to abide by the law."
He allowed his eyes to meet hers and decided not to voice the thought that Joe King hadn't, so why should he. His face still showed the danger he was capable of, but as he nodded his agreement, his eyes held the promise that he would indeed let the law, not personal feeling guide his actions.
She smiled when she saw his eyes soften and was about to say something when the tea kettle announced that it had boiled, causing her to jump and cry out in surprise. Putting her hand over her heart to insure that it didn't jump out of her chest, she pointed an accusatory finger at his calm demeanor and barely suppressed laughter. "Yo-you knew that was going to happen!"
Any bit of control left him as he began laughing out loud, "Of course I did, so did you." Her glaring at him only caused him to laugh even harder. She continued to glare at him as she poured two cups full of hot water, carefully handing him one. He calmed down as he took the scalding liquid from her, apologizing, "Alright, I'm sorry, Amanda. It's just that I heard it getting close to boiling so it didn't catch me off guard." Then leveling the index finger of his right hand at her he said, "An agent always has to be aware of his surroundings. Could mean the difference between life and death."
He was standing next to his barstool now, cup in one hand, the other still pointed at Amanda. She stood facing him, hands on hips, lips pursed, eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened to reply but she was cut off by a light tapping on her kitchen window.
The next instant was filled with chaos as the sound caught Lee off guard and he jumped, causing the hot liquid to slosh onto his hand. He let out a yell of pain and released his hold on the mug, allowing it to crash to the floor only to be caught in the back splash of hot water. He yelled again and tried to pull the denim from his left leg where the water had hit in patches. Amanda jumped around the barrier of the island to assist him all the while motioning wildly to Billy and Francine to enter. Their boss and his assistant however were too enthralled by the dance of the Scarecrow to move at all and so stood just out of the reach of cover the eaves provided, getting wetter by the second.
"Amanda!" Lee growled, his frustrations finding their usual vent, "Why'd ya hafta fill that cup so full?!" he groaned as he stood with his burned left hand outstretched and rubbed at the stinging on his leg with his right.
"Oh, Lee, I'm *so* sorry," she cried sincerely before the first wave of laughter left her body. Her arm across his shoulders, she hunched over with him, moving them to the sink.
"Amanda, this is *not* funny!" he stated in a tight voice.
"Oh, Lee. Yes it is. An agent always has to be aware..." she repeated through her laughter as her hand reached down to carefully bring his to the cool water.
He closed his eyes as he sighed in relief at the instant comfort. When he opened them again, he looked in confusion out the window he was facing. "Ah, Amanda? Why are Billy and Francine standing out in the rain?"
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed running over to her door and flinging it open. "Sir! Francine! Come on in here before you catch your deaths of cold!" she commanded in a motherly tone. The two complied almost immediately, shutting the door behind them. Francine set down her purse and the folder of information they had brought to go over. Amanda left them standing there to rush into the laundry room to find them something to dry off with.
When Amanda had left him to go usher Billy and Francine inside, Lee's hand had drifted out from under the comforting wash of cool water and immediately began to burn. He thrust it back under the steady stream while angrily eyeing the broken mug and puddle of now innocuous water as if trying to find some way to do it even more harm for the wound it had inflicted.
Billy and Francine had by now shaken off their shock at surprising Lee and the 'dance' they had witnessed and were laughing openly, at what they knew to be great expense to their lives. Amanda could hear their laughter as she rummaged through the laundry waiting to be folded and found two clean towels. She silently prayed that they would let it go soon or Lee would surely find some way to make them pay. Her included. After all, she had laughed first.
Lee turned his unhappy gaze from the floor to their now silent but still smiling faces. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh, you think this is funny do you?" He looked surprisingly calm as he stood leaning over the sink, allowing his hand to soak. "Fine, fine, laugh now, but I warn you," he said as he unthinkingly removed his hand to point at them for emphasis, forgetting the burning pain that would accompany that removal, "aaagggghhh!" Their laughter started up again at his poor attempt of a threat.
"Lee!" Amanda admonished in concern, as she all but threw the towels at Billy and Francine in her rush to get over to him, "You've got to keep your hand in the water. Oooohhh, that looks bad." The burn on Lee's hand, which looked to be at least 2nd if not 3rd degree, was already blistering and was obviously extremely painful. Amanda held his injured hand in place under the water with one of her own while comfortingly rubbing his arm with her other hand to calm him down. Billy and Francine watched in wonder as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let the scowl leave his face. He opened his eyes to smile thankfully at Amanda before turning his attention back to the other two in the room. Smiling calmly he said, "You'll get yours."
Francine, knowing when to quit, thought a change of subject would be wise, "Amanda, do you think you have something we could..." her voice trailed off as she indicated their sopping clothes.
"Uh, yes," agreed Billy, "I don't want to ruin your furniture Amanda, just because we couldn't get out of the rain fast enough."
"Oh, yes," she replied looking over her shoulder at them. "Yes, of course. Sure I can...yeah, I think I...yeah, I'll go find you something," she replied all the while furiously trying to think of what she could offer them to wear while she dried their wet clothes. "Now, Lee," she began as though talking to a child, "I want you to keep your hand under the water till I get back, do you understand?"
He nodded as he rolled his eyes at her tone, "Yes, Amanda, I understand."
"Good," she said patting him on the shoulder, "now, I'll be right back," she paused as she looked again at her two wet friends, "right back."
As she hurried up the steps to her bedroom to find her robe for Francine, she suddenly remembered it had been part of a science experiment gone wrong and was in the laundry room waiting to be washed. She changed course and went instead into her mother's room to grab the spare robe she wouldn't have taken to New York and then into Philip and Jaime's room to get one of theirs. Still not entirely sure who would wear what and how it would work out, she was almost to the door when she heard a 'clunk' behind her.
She stood paused in mid-step, eyes wide, body paralyzed with fear. Suddenly she felt eyes on her. A second passed, she heard nothing more. Felt no one approach her. From below, she heard Lee call out to her, "Amanda? You okay?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and thought, 'I just need to get back down there. Please let me get back down to Lee.' Before what little courage she mustered at the sound of his voice could fail her, she whirled around to face her attacker.
****************
Below, Lee still held his hand under the running water, per Amanda's parting instructions. His hand looked awful and was beginning to feel worse even under the constant cool stream of water. Billy had gone into the den to remove his wet clothing while he waited for Amanda to bring him something dry. Francine had taken the laundry room. While they waited for her to turn up, each began to wonder what was taking her so long.
****************
Amanda's eyes wildly scanned the room. Nothing. No one there. Her shoulders slumped forward as a sound somewhere between a sigh and a sob escaped her lips. Tightly clutching the robes in one hand, she bent to retrieve the thick dictionary she had caused to fall. Shaking her head at her nervousness, she backed out of the room before turning off the light and hurrying to the safety she knew was below.
A moment after she'd gone, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room, allowing the man hiding behind the curtain a clear view into the hallway. As he slowly moved toward it, he brought a hand to his face to slowly peel back the mask that had concealed his identity for so long.
****************
"What was that sound Amanda?" Lee asked as she came back into the room. He noticed her notice the lack of people in her kitchen and supplied, "Francine's in the laundry room and Billy's in the den." He watched her hurry toward the laundry room and toss a robe in before heading to the den just as Billy's voice rang out, "Anything will do, Amanda, really."
"I'm glad you feel that way, sir, because that's all I could find," she answered as she stood, head turned, eyes squeezed shut, holding out her hand to Billy's groping one. He finally caught hold of the robe as he said, "I'm sure it will be just fine, Amanda."
She hurried back over to Lee, who was now facing the opposite direction, in order to track her movement. Just as she reached him, the 'clunk' from upstairs came again. Amanda jumped and cursed, "Damn, dictionary!"
"Amanda?" Lee questioned, "Are you okay?" In answer she simply leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. As she felt his right arm come around her back pulling her closer, she breathed a sigh of relief and felt a calm surround her.
"I am now," came her muffled reply.
"What was that sound?" he asked, still somewhat puzzled as to her odd behavior.
"I knocked a book down and I must not have put it back very well," she answered stepping back and pulling her hair off her face. "It just caught me off guard is all and I - well I guess I kinda panicked," she explained.
"Oh," he nodded as understanding dawned. "Well, you're safe now," he said, looking down into her eyes as his right hand soothingly caressed her shoulder.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused them to lock eyes as a voice called out, "Is she? Huh, yes, well now that *I'm* here."
Lee looked to the stranger entering the room with a gun in hand preparing to demand his identity when a suddenly very pale and shaky Amanda breathed in a near whisper, "Joe."
Lee looked from her to the man slowly advancing on them. Quickly connecting the name to her ex-husband and realizing he was looking at Joe King and therefore, Philip James, he noted that he did indeed see a resemblance between the two men now that he was actively looking for it. And what was that? Bits of plastic hanging off his face, as though he'd removed a mask? Knowing only that he had to protect Amanda at all cost, he moved her behind him, the action pulling his hand from the water. He immediately became aware of an extreme burning but knew he had to ignore it until he was able to diffuse this crisis. James might not realize it but they were not as defenseless as they seemed. Lee was indeed armed and though he couldn't make a grab for his gun at present, he would be alert to the first opportunity. Also in their favor was the fact that Billy and Francine were nearby and no doubt armed as well and very aware of what was going on in the kitchen. He just had to keep him distracted and away from Amanda.
"You know, I kept wondering when you'd come looking for me, I was waiting for you," he told Lee, "but you disappointed me Scarecrow. You're just not the living legend they make you out to be. I mean look at you, incapacitated by hot water." James began laughing as he gestured to the injury with his gun. Suddenly sobering he said, "Killing you should be fun though. I hope you'll at least put up a *little* bit of a fight. Hi sweetheart," he continued, looking around Lee's shoulder to Amanda, "bet you're glad to see me. Don't worry, hon, this'll all be over soon. I'm just gonna kill Stetson here so we won't have to worry about him coming after us and then we can get outta here."
Amanda was again gripped by a paralyzing fear as she realized her worst fear was coming true. She stood numbly, both hands on Lee's back, a death grip on his shirt. She felt his muscles tense under her hands as he prepared to move. 'Let go, Amanda,' she told herself, 'let go.' Just as she was finally able to get her hands to follow her minds command, Lee launched himself at the other man.
"Amanda, run!" he ordered her.
At that same moment a flash of lightening lit the kitchen even more brightly than it already was before a deafening crash of thunder followed it, shaking the house and it's occupants. They were suddenly plunged into darkness. Amanda saw the gun fire in the darkness and instinctively ducked, praying that Lee had not been hit.
Lee landed on James in the total darkness and took advantage of the momentary confusion of the other man. He began punching him, but James grabbed his injured hand and bit down on the wound, causing Lee to cry out. James then knocked Lee to the ground and began pummeling him with all the strength he could muster. "She's MY wife! Not your partner! Stay away from her!" the crazed man yelled.
Amanda realized she had to do something before Lee was seriously injured. She grabbed the kettle from the stove and swung it sideways at her ex-husband's head. The weight of the water however, caused her to swing wide and what could have been a painful blow, just glanced off the side of his head.
"OW!" he yelled, "Don't do that, Amanda!" And he shoved her back into the kitchen sink.
Lee heard her surprised cry as she fell and the sound gave him the needed strength to throw the other man off his body and knock him into a cabinet. With the gun knocked away in the fight, the two men were left to in a fight to the death with their bare hands. Until, in a bright flash of light, the sound of a single bullet firing was heard, and then nothing.
Amanda's shaky voice emerged from the darkness, "Lee? Are you okay?"
She heard him moving toward her and reached out for him. As she came in contact with him, her body's reaction to his touch was confirmed by the sound of his voice. "Amanda..." he breathed, gripping her hand tightly.
She screamed as she recognized the touch and voice of Joe King. Suddenly she heard a dull thud and felt his grip slacken as he fell to the floor. At that moment light was restored to the kitchen and she found herself looking into the somewhat glazed eyes of her partner.
"An...agent...always..." he managed before falling unconscious to the floor. Before she could stoop to grab him, another shocking sight accosted her eyes. There, still holding his gun in a defensive posture was Billy Melrose, dressed in the old ill-fitting peach and flowered maternity robe her mother still held onto for emergencies. Standing next to him was Francine in Philip's, much too short, red plaid robe. Amanda's final coherent thought as she let her body slide down the cabinet behind her was, 'Lee was right....they did get theirs.'
****************
Only moments later, her home was full of agents. "Where did they come from?" a stunned Amanda asked.
"While you were upstairs, Billy called to have teams put in place," Francine explained as she and Amanda struggled to lift Lee's unconscious body from the kitchen floor.
"Ah, Francine," Billy began as he hurried over to her, "maybe you should let someone a little more appropriately dressed do that." Francine immediately jumped to a standing position and smoothed the barely long enough robe over her backside, all the while turning three shades of red.
"Well," she began, clearing her throat, "I'll just go put our clothes in the dryer."
Amanda and Billy looked at each other and began laughing. The sound was enough to rouse Lee who opened his eyes to see his boss wrapped in what could only be explained as mumu gone wrong. "Ohhhh," he groaned, "I *must* be dead."
Billy laughed again as he said, "You're not dead, Scarecrow, but if this is the punishment I get for laughing at you earlier, believe me, it will *never* happen again! Help him, will you Amanda, I've got to go organize things."
Lee's head was getting clearer by the second and so was the stinging pain in his hand. "Aaaahhhh, damn, that hurts!" he growled. Then forgetting all else for the moment he sat straight up and pulled Amanda in front of him. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened? Is he-"
Amanda placed her hand over his mouth to silence him. "Shhhh," she said, "I'm fine. In fact, better than I've ever been. Joe's..." she looked up at the passing agent for any word. He silently shook his head in response. She turned her eyes back to Lee and said, "Joe's dead."
"I'm sorry, Amanda, I didn't mean to-"
"No, Lee," she cut him off, shaking her head, "Billy shot him." Then taking a breath she said as an afterthought, "You only hit him with the tea kettle."
"Oh, okay," he responded as she moved to help him up. Cradling his left hand he leaned on her as she led him to the couch. "You should be out of the way here," she said easing him back, "I'm gonna go get some help. Just hang on."
He nodded and closed his eyes as his body responded to the pain by passing out.
*****King Residence 9:30pm******
Amanda sighed as she once again attempted to fathom the events of the last two weeks. Her mother and sons would be arriving home tonight and she was looking forward to the reunion.
Words could not express the joy she felt at finally being able to put that ugly part of her life behind her, once and for all. And now she truly had. The last existing pieces, she had found in the folder Francine had brought to her house the night it all ended. The pictures of her bruised and battered body. She had pulled them from the file and burned them before anyone had noticed them missing.
After thinking long and hard, she had decided to tell the boys their father had been killed while on a mercy mission in the country he was now serving in. Sometimes, she realized, the lies were necessary to protect the innocent. And as cruel as she felt thinking it, she was grateful for the thought that they shouldn't take the news too harshly considering Philip hadn't seen his father since he was a baby and Jamie had never seen him.
She smiled as she thought of how supportive her friends had been. Billy had had the cleanup crew work overtime and by the time they left, all evidence of a struggle was gone, the damage from the one stray bullet repaired. Francine had offered kindness and support of a true friend when she'd explained all they'd uncovered about Joe and Julie's past. And Lee. She laughed as she remembered. Lee had been unconscious well into the next day. But after he had awakened, his friendship and kind words had meant the most of all. Never all those years ago would she have imagined how her life would turn out. But as she lived it each day she was more and more thankful that it had brought her to where she was.
A knock on her window brought her back to the present. She left her spot behind the kitchen counter and went to let Lee in. "Hi," she smiled.
"Hi," he smiled back, his dimples working overtime. "I, uh, just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Good, fine," she was still smiling, "Mother and the boys will be home tonight."
"Yeah, yeah, I remember," he nodded still smiling at her. "Listen, I can't stay, I...just wanted to bring you these." He pulled a bouguet of flowers from behind his back.
"Oh, Lee," she breathed, "they're lovely, thank you."
He smiled and shrugged, "You're welcome. Just my way of saying thanks for all your help while my hand heals," he said, holding up the injured appendage.
The sound of the front door opening and thundering feet and calls of 'we're home, we're home', interrupted any further conversation. Lee leaned down to kiss her softly on the cheek before winking at her and pulling the door closed behind him whispering, "See you tomorrow."
Amanda stood smiling at the back door as her family came running into the room. Family. She suddenly remembered a phrase her father used to use. The ties that bind. All this time she had thought it meant the family relation. Now she realized, it wasn't the actual family. It was the things that kept a family together. Love, friendship. And for Amanda King, those things were embodied in Lee Stetson. Without either of them realizing it, he had become the tie that bound her family together. She smiled broadly as the realization overtook her. Raising her eyes from the flowers in her hand to the darkness outside, she vowed in her heart to one day bring him, fully, into the light of her family.
As her eyes caught a flash of movement in the darkness, she was grabbed from behind in a bear hug. "Whoah," she cried, "hey fellas, did ya miss me?"
"Mom! Are we glad to see you!"
"We had a great time!"
"Oh, Amanda, how did things go dear? I'll have you know my magnets worked wonders! Oh my, darling, what lovely flowers......"
****************
Lee stood just inside the shadows watching the happy reunion. Smiling. Things had changed between him and Amanda over the past two weeks. Changed for the better. He smiled wider as he turned away, realizing that he might someday like to be on the inside of a reunion like that. Someday.....
****************
The End