Title: Heaven Help the Lonely Ones
Chapter 2: There
in the Dark
Disclosure:
Warner Brothers Television Distribution and Shoot The Moon Productions owns
these characters, as well as to the writers, and actors who created and
portrayed them. I'll put them back when
I'm done playing… the story and characters
not owned by Shoot the Moon or WB are mine… all mine…
The song "Body Language
(There in the Dark)" was written by Peter Cetera and Patrick Leonard, copyright
1988, and appears on 'One More Story' by Peter Cetera
Lyrics are set
off, centered, in italics, or otherwise marked.
Author: WhizGidget :D
Written: April 10 – 11, 2001
Rating: PG
Archive: At the
smkfanfic list; at fanfiction.net, and I'd be honored to be elsewhere, just
email me and let me know where (astolzman@yahoo.com)
Timing/Summary: A
few nights in Lee's life. Before
Arlington, before the train station, long before Amanda. Let's say very early 80s.
Author's
Note: This is short, and fluffy, but
it's no marshmallow. If you don't like
the idea of Lee on the prowl (even if Amanda didn't exist in his life at that
point) don't read this.
My ego loves
praise. The realist in me needs
truthful comments (good and bad). And
flames will be used to torch old paperwork in my office…
Moment by moment, day after day
Trying your best to forget
It's all behind you, it's part of the past
You've got no time for regrets
Time to start over with somebody new
You've got nothing more to lose
It had been a
rough day overall for Scarecrow. He'd
been chased by KGB agents, given a hard time by his section chief, Billy
Melrose, annoyed to boiling point by Francine Desmond, an old girlfriend and
his section chief's assistant. And
there were many other things too numerous to want to recall. He started paging through one of his little
black books, hoping to find a good time waiting in the pages, but nothing was
appealing to him. His day was close to
over, but the night was just about to start. Giving up on the books, he decided to head home, shower, and head for a
nightclub to see what he could see.
Out for the evening, dressed for the kill
Leaving your troubles behind
Dangerous places, dangerous times
Leave with the first one you find
Live for the moment, who cares if it's
right
Who needs tomorrow? You've got tonight
Stetson looked at
himself in the mirror, pretty pleased with what he saw. Fine tailored suit, not a hair out of place,
freshly shaven – what woman could resist? Certainly not anyone he had already dated, but they didn't appeal to him
tonight. He was hoping to find somebody
new. Someone who could give a name to
that something that was missing in his life.
Billy had tried
to convince him that he needed some stability in his life – he can't live in
the bars forever – and that was a potential security risk. Every agent's life was picked over with a
fine toothcomb, but this agent still persisted in haunting the bars. He refused to be convinced that he'd ever
find happiness behind a picket fence with a wife and kids. He didn't even have a partner, although
Billy was threatening to team him off with some new guy, Aaron or Eric, or
something like that. It didn't
matter. Somehow Scarecrow would find a
way to get his way and work with whomever suited him best at the moment.
Lee Stetson was a
loner, and was better off that way. He'd lived that way since he was a little kid being shuffled from one
military base to another, and that's the way it was going to be.
Except at night,
when the shadows came out to play, Lee wanted a warm bed. Preferably warming with someone else in
it. The problem was, as Billy Melrose
saw it, is that it's a different someone all the time, and sometimes it's not
even Scarecrow's own bed.
He pulled up to
the bar and parked his Porsche, before checking his hair in the mirror just one
last time. He walked in, confident,
wondering what he'd find this night. His eyes settled on a pretty brunette at the bar, wearing a short red
dress that should have been illegal. Everything about her said, "come and get me, I'm available." And that's just what Lee needed.
She noticed him
immediately as he headed her way. Tall,
sandy hair, incredibly gorgeous and well built. She wondered if he was that well built under the clothes. He carried himself confidently, and she knew
that her barstool was his destination. She turned her back on the guy she'd been talking with, relaxed her
posture back into the bar, and smiled up at him as he approached.
There in the dark, under covers of love
Body language is taking you somewhere you
shouldn't go
First name the last thing that you need to
know
He opened his
eyes, as it was still dark out, the unfamiliar room lit only by the light from
the adjoining bathroom. He could make
out the red dress thrown casually on the chair across the room, and his clothes
were strewn about as well. He got up
carefully so as not to disturb the woman sleeping there, and look around for
something to write a note on. As he
dressed, he realized that there was no point – they hadn't bothered exchanging
names last night, or if they had, he certainly didn't remember hers. If she had half the headache he had, she
wasn't going to remember much either.
He looked around
one last time to be sure nothing was left behind, and made his way out of her
apartment. He had to go home and check
his messages and make sure that there weren't any problems that he would have to
face when he got into the office later that morning.
In the morning, you're out on the street
Now's not the time for regrets
Some things are done for the thrill of it
all
Some things you'll never forget
Live for the moment, who cares if it's
right
Who needs tomorrow, you've got tonight
It was shaping up
to be another stellar day in the life of the Scarecrow. When he'd gotten home and called in, there
were messages stacked up from Billy to call him. He'd meant to sit down for a few minutes and ended up falling
asleep and not strolling into the bullpen until well after 10.
After getting
chewed out for what seemed like an eternity over his attendance and need for
structure in his life, Lee headed back to his desk. He pulled out another of his black books, looking for whatever it
was that was missing in his life. He
didn't find it in this particular volume.
Maybe he'd find
it tonight at Nedlinger's.
The End