NEVER MY LOVE
by matahari2
Summary: Amanda's insecurities abound - can Lee calm her fears?
Timeframe: Mid-4th season (post-engagement, pre-wedding)
Disclaimer: These great characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions, they don't belong to me, nor will I get one dime for writing this story. (See author's notes below, for additional disclaimers.) The story, however, is mine. Story to be archived at the SMK Fanfic Archive and at fanfiction.net.
Rating: PG
Feedback: Please!!! Yes!!! (Can I make it any clearer?)
Author's Notes: (1) This is a songfic based on the 1960's hit of the same name, written by Richard Addrisi and Donald Addrisi and as recorded by "The Association". I always loved this song, and it seemed to fit for this story. (2) The story makes references to events and some of the dialogue from the episodes "The First Time" (written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross- Leming), "Stemwinder Part I" (written by George Geiger and Robert W. Gilmer), "The Man Who Died Twice" (written by Cynthia Benjamin) and "Need to Know" (written by Joan Brooker and Nancy Eddo). All rights associated with these episodes belong to the original writers and the production companies. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter One - Amanda is uneasy
Amanda knew that Lee Stetson loved her. It had taken a long time and an intense crisis for him to admit it to her, but deep down, she knew.
He'd been on the run from the Agency trappers, and had come to her house to say goodbye. And then he'd told her that he'd loved her for a very long time, he was just never ready to... yes, she knew. Then he'd started to leave, and she'd said, "Now wait a minute. You can't just walk into my life, give me a package, tell me to give it to the man in the red hat, tell me that you love me and then walk right back out of my life again!" "No," he'd said, almost inaudibly. And they'd shared a passionate series of kisses before they'd taken off together. Yes. She knew.
So why was she feeling so unsettled just now? Was it Lee's 'mystery marriage' idea? Here they were, head over heels in love, and she couldn't share that joy with anyone, not even her mother. Was that it? Well then, she'd just have to deal with it somehow. She couldn't lay all the blame for that decision on Lee, after all. He'd been all gung-ho about them buying a new house together, with softball games in the back yard, and a place where they could keep horses. Amanda had reined him in and told him they had a lot to talk about before they had the family all moved in, with "2 cats and a porch swing." And then Lee's Vietnamese friend Tranh van Khai's son was kidnapped and his family was in danger. Lee had everyone's best interests at heart, didn't he? Of course he did. 'Get a grip, Amanda', she thought, as she opened the door to the IFF Georgetown foyer.
"Good morning, Mrs. Marston. The word for today is 'cauliflower'."
"Mrs. King," Mrs. Marston nodded over her reading glasses, as she handed Amanda her badge. "Mr. Stetson is upstairs in the Q Bureau. He told me to ask you to go on up there as soon as you came in."
"Yes. Well, thank you, Mrs. Marston," Amanda said, smiling to Mrs. Marston and climbing the stairs to the second floor.
As soon as she started to open the door to their office, Lee met her and swept her into his embrace for a good-morning kiss. Normally, this would have brought a cheery greeting like "Good morning, Sweetheart!", but not today. Lee could sense that she was...tense, distressed? He wasn't sure, so he pulled back slightly and asked, "'Manda, is something wrong? Are you upset or something?"
Amanda placed her hands on his shoulders, stroked his chest and smiled, saying, "Oh, no, Lee. I'm fine. I've just been a little preoccupied, I guess, you know, doing a lot of thinking about all that's happened lately. Everything's fine, really."
He wasn't buying it, not for a minute. He knew...he hoped, Amanda would talk to him when she was ready. But this wasn't like her. For the last several days she'd seemed distant, 'preoccupied', as she'd said. Why did she seem so uneasy? Well, they had work to do...
"All right, if you're sure," Lee said. "Okay, then, I guess we'd better get going. We're meeting with T. P. in Rock Creek Park in 20 minutes. Seems he has some background information for us on a ring of jet-setting jewel thieves."
"Oh really? What's that all about?" she inquired.
As Lee pulled the door to and took her hand, he said, "Let's talk about it on the way over."
They left through the Georgetown foyer and Lee helped Amanda into the low- slung Corvette. Lee proceeded to tell Amanda about their new case. "There have been a series of jewel thefts from several wealthy estates in the South of France, and in Monte Carlo as well. It's been suspected that the jewels are being fenced...sold...in this country."
"Okay. But how is this Agency business? Aren't there, like international crime investigators or something like that?" Amanda asked.
Lee smiled to himself and replied, "Oh, you mean like Interpol? Well yes, there are. But in this case, the estates where these valuable jewels were stolen also happened to be the sites of recent parties where the invited guests included foreign diplomats and highly-placed government officials. There are also some top secret documents that seem to have disappeared at about the same time, so..."
"That's where we come in." Amanda finished for him.
"Right." He turned to her and said, "Well, here we are, and as I see, T. P. is right on time."
As Lee and Amanda strolled across the park hand in hand, T. Percival Aquinas was seated on a park bench, feeding some very insistent pigeons with the leavings of his breakfast muffin. Noticing his friends' arrival, T. P. wiped the crumbs from his hands and rose to greet them. "Bonjour, Mrs. King, how lovely to see you again. Good morning, Lee. Let's walk, shall we?"
As they started down the path, Lee asked, "Well, T. P., what can you tell us about these thefts?"
"I see we're all about business this morning," T.P. said in a mild reproach. Getting on with it, he continued, "Yes, well...you see, there is a possibility that these 'items' are not being passed through the usual channels, but are being shipped to the States hidden in antique music boxes, of all things."
"Music boxes?" Amanda asked, with a puzzled look. "Couldn't those just be sent to a private address? How would we ever find them?"
"That's a perfectly logical question, Mrs. King, but you see, our thieves evidently seek to profit from all the aspects of the enterprise. The music boxes themselves are rare and have a high asking price. So our 'friends' are passing them through some of the high-end auction houses and antique stores in our own back yard, so to speak," T. P. explained. "I'd suggest a walking tour of Georgetown, the area around Wisconsin Avenue and M street...it's a lovely day for it, don't you think?"
"Yes...it certainly is. Thanks, T. P.," Lee responded.
"So long, Lee. Au revoir, Mrs. King," T. P. said in farewell, and continued on his walk.
"'Bye, T. P.," Lee and Amanda said, very nearly in unison. At that, they smiled to each other, then turned around and headed back to the 'Vette.
"Okay, Amanda...it's 10:30 now...what do you say we check out two or three of the stores on Wisconsin Avenue and then find someplace for lunch?" Lee asked.
"Oh sure, yeah, that'll be fine," Amanda answered.
But that's all she said during the drive back to Georgetown. As they neared their first destination, Lee took her hand in his, and stroked the backs of her fingers with his thumb. She gave him a weak smile, but remained silent. This definitely wasn't like her. And while Lee wanted her to open up to him, he didn't want to pressure her. Maybe she'd say something at lunch.
TO BE CONTINUED
Summary: Amanda's insecurities abound - can Lee calm her fears?
Timeframe: Mid-4th season (post-engagement, pre-wedding)
Disclaimer: These great characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions, they don't belong to me, nor will I get one dime for writing this story. (See author's notes below, for additional disclaimers.) The story, however, is mine. Story to be archived at the SMK Fanfic Archive and at fanfiction.net.
Rating: PG
Feedback: Please!!! Yes!!! (Can I make it any clearer?)
Author's Notes: (1) This is a songfic based on the 1960's hit of the same name, written by Richard Addrisi and Donald Addrisi and as recorded by "The Association". I always loved this song, and it seemed to fit for this story. (2) The story makes references to events and some of the dialogue from the episodes "The First Time" (written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross- Leming), "Stemwinder Part I" (written by George Geiger and Robert W. Gilmer), "The Man Who Died Twice" (written by Cynthia Benjamin) and "Need to Know" (written by Joan Brooker and Nancy Eddo). All rights associated with these episodes belong to the original writers and the production companies. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter One - Amanda is uneasy
Amanda knew that Lee Stetson loved her. It had taken a long time and an intense crisis for him to admit it to her, but deep down, she knew.
He'd been on the run from the Agency trappers, and had come to her house to say goodbye. And then he'd told her that he'd loved her for a very long time, he was just never ready to... yes, she knew. Then he'd started to leave, and she'd said, "Now wait a minute. You can't just walk into my life, give me a package, tell me to give it to the man in the red hat, tell me that you love me and then walk right back out of my life again!" "No," he'd said, almost inaudibly. And they'd shared a passionate series of kisses before they'd taken off together. Yes. She knew.
So why was she feeling so unsettled just now? Was it Lee's 'mystery marriage' idea? Here they were, head over heels in love, and she couldn't share that joy with anyone, not even her mother. Was that it? Well then, she'd just have to deal with it somehow. She couldn't lay all the blame for that decision on Lee, after all. He'd been all gung-ho about them buying a new house together, with softball games in the back yard, and a place where they could keep horses. Amanda had reined him in and told him they had a lot to talk about before they had the family all moved in, with "2 cats and a porch swing." And then Lee's Vietnamese friend Tranh van Khai's son was kidnapped and his family was in danger. Lee had everyone's best interests at heart, didn't he? Of course he did. 'Get a grip, Amanda', she thought, as she opened the door to the IFF Georgetown foyer.
"Good morning, Mrs. Marston. The word for today is 'cauliflower'."
"Mrs. King," Mrs. Marston nodded over her reading glasses, as she handed Amanda her badge. "Mr. Stetson is upstairs in the Q Bureau. He told me to ask you to go on up there as soon as you came in."
"Yes. Well, thank you, Mrs. Marston," Amanda said, smiling to Mrs. Marston and climbing the stairs to the second floor.
As soon as she started to open the door to their office, Lee met her and swept her into his embrace for a good-morning kiss. Normally, this would have brought a cheery greeting like "Good morning, Sweetheart!", but not today. Lee could sense that she was...tense, distressed? He wasn't sure, so he pulled back slightly and asked, "'Manda, is something wrong? Are you upset or something?"
Amanda placed her hands on his shoulders, stroked his chest and smiled, saying, "Oh, no, Lee. I'm fine. I've just been a little preoccupied, I guess, you know, doing a lot of thinking about all that's happened lately. Everything's fine, really."
He wasn't buying it, not for a minute. He knew...he hoped, Amanda would talk to him when she was ready. But this wasn't like her. For the last several days she'd seemed distant, 'preoccupied', as she'd said. Why did she seem so uneasy? Well, they had work to do...
"All right, if you're sure," Lee said. "Okay, then, I guess we'd better get going. We're meeting with T. P. in Rock Creek Park in 20 minutes. Seems he has some background information for us on a ring of jet-setting jewel thieves."
"Oh really? What's that all about?" she inquired.
As Lee pulled the door to and took her hand, he said, "Let's talk about it on the way over."
They left through the Georgetown foyer and Lee helped Amanda into the low- slung Corvette. Lee proceeded to tell Amanda about their new case. "There have been a series of jewel thefts from several wealthy estates in the South of France, and in Monte Carlo as well. It's been suspected that the jewels are being fenced...sold...in this country."
"Okay. But how is this Agency business? Aren't there, like international crime investigators or something like that?" Amanda asked.
Lee smiled to himself and replied, "Oh, you mean like Interpol? Well yes, there are. But in this case, the estates where these valuable jewels were stolen also happened to be the sites of recent parties where the invited guests included foreign diplomats and highly-placed government officials. There are also some top secret documents that seem to have disappeared at about the same time, so..."
"That's where we come in." Amanda finished for him.
"Right." He turned to her and said, "Well, here we are, and as I see, T. P. is right on time."
As Lee and Amanda strolled across the park hand in hand, T. Percival Aquinas was seated on a park bench, feeding some very insistent pigeons with the leavings of his breakfast muffin. Noticing his friends' arrival, T. P. wiped the crumbs from his hands and rose to greet them. "Bonjour, Mrs. King, how lovely to see you again. Good morning, Lee. Let's walk, shall we?"
As they started down the path, Lee asked, "Well, T. P., what can you tell us about these thefts?"
"I see we're all about business this morning," T.P. said in a mild reproach. Getting on with it, he continued, "Yes, well...you see, there is a possibility that these 'items' are not being passed through the usual channels, but are being shipped to the States hidden in antique music boxes, of all things."
"Music boxes?" Amanda asked, with a puzzled look. "Couldn't those just be sent to a private address? How would we ever find them?"
"That's a perfectly logical question, Mrs. King, but you see, our thieves evidently seek to profit from all the aspects of the enterprise. The music boxes themselves are rare and have a high asking price. So our 'friends' are passing them through some of the high-end auction houses and antique stores in our own back yard, so to speak," T. P. explained. "I'd suggest a walking tour of Georgetown, the area around Wisconsin Avenue and M street...it's a lovely day for it, don't you think?"
"Yes...it certainly is. Thanks, T. P.," Lee responded.
"So long, Lee. Au revoir, Mrs. King," T. P. said in farewell, and continued on his walk.
"'Bye, T. P.," Lee and Amanda said, very nearly in unison. At that, they smiled to each other, then turned around and headed back to the 'Vette.
"Okay, Amanda...it's 10:30 now...what do you say we check out two or three of the stores on Wisconsin Avenue and then find someplace for lunch?" Lee asked.
"Oh sure, yeah, that'll be fine," Amanda answered.
But that's all she said during the drive back to Georgetown. As they neared their first destination, Lee took her hand in his, and stroked the backs of her fingers with his thumb. She gave him a weak smile, but remained silent. This definitely wasn't like her. And while Lee wanted her to open up to him, he didn't want to pressure her. Maybe she'd say something at lunch.
TO BE CONTINUED
