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The Energy of Sun Rays

Billy: Ring of Truth

It had occurred to him that he didn't need to stand away from Amanda's family anymore. But that wasn't a pleasant thought, because of the reason: Dotty West wasn't there to berate him, ask questions he couldn't answer, or extol her daughter's virtues.

Billy had come to like the woman during their interactions while Scarecrow and Amanda were on the run during the Stemwinder incident. She'd reminded him of nearly everything he liked about her daughter: the curiosity, the drive, the determination to make things right even when they were topsy-turvy. He'd hoped, one day, to at least be able to give her a compliment about her abilities as a parent. Perhaps, they'd even be able to speak civilly. Unfortunately, though, that was never going to happen. He found himself mourning that a bit.

He stood with Francine and a couple of other people from the Agency, people who had come to like Amanda and who wanted to pay their respects after this awful tragedy. It was another one of those near-perfect days that often happened in October: warm, but not hot, with clear blue skies and low humidity. The sun was bright, but not so high as to cause a glare as it reflected off of the two caskets that would soon be lowered into the ground.

All of them were wearing dark, somber colors. The death of a child was always especially tragic. And nobody should ever have to arrange two funerals instead of one.

They kept their distance, as was appropriate for co-workers. In the distance, Billy could see Scarecrow and Amanda. He was also able to identify Amanda's ex-husband and his new wife, as well as an adolescent boy with blond hair and glasses: Amanda's younger son. He fidgeted periodically, clearly unhappy about the fact that his mother was determined not to let go of his hand. It was understandable, he thought, and on both sides: he was the only child she had left, but he was too old to need a parent's physical control.

Scarecrow — Lee, Billy corrected himself mentally, since they weren't at the Agency — noticed the fidgeting too, and said something to Amanda, tightening the arm he had around her. They were both in unadorned, unbroken black. He hadn't even known that Lee owned a black dress shirt; it had never appeared at the office.

With a long, shuddering sigh that he could clearly see even at this distance, Amanda let go of the child's hand. She turned slightly to respond to whatever Lee had said to her, changing the angle of his hand and momentarily causing the sunlight to flash off his wedding ring. Although his eyes weren't red and puffy the way hers were, he could see long lines of grief on his senior operative's face. This one was hitting them as hard as he'd imagined it would.

Then Billy's mind stuttered to a stop. Wedding ring?

He looked again, closer this time. No, he hadn't imagined it: Lee Stetson was indeed wearing a wedding ring. So was Amanda King. The engagement ring she wore next to it was periodically catching the sun's rays, reflecting them with a sharp, bright energy that sharply contrasted with the circumstances.

What in the world? They weren't on a case or otherwise undercover; in fact, they were in plain sight of family and friends, not to mention people from the Agency. When Lee had changed his insurance beneficiary earlier this year, he'd listed Amanda as his partner, not his wife. She had used the same word to describe him when she changed her beneficiary shortly after returning from disability leave.

Of course, he mused, marriage was a type of partnership. But shouldn't this have been caught when they'd run Amanda through a routine security check update after she came back from disability leave? The check had uncovered the fact that they'd gone to California together last February — Lee hadn't "flown out the minute he heard" about the shooting — but Billy had chalked that little fib up to them trying to keep their relationship off the record. Apparently, though, the check had missed the exact nature of said relationship.

The next time they did a round of routine security checks, he'd need to make sure Scarecrow was on the list. He also supposed that he could simply ask, as Lee was due back in the office on Monday, but there was no guarantee of getting an honest answer.

It might, however, lead to an amusing scene. Goodness knew they could all use one right now. Taking a deep breath, Billy re-focused his attention on the funeral service.

He'd meant to depart quietly with the others from the Agency, leaving Lee and Amanda alone with their family and friends, but Jeannie had lingered afterward. "I've met both of them already. They'll be glad to know we were here, Bill," she'd said, overruling his quiet protests. "And they can use all the support they can get."

When they finally worked their way up to the couple, Jeannie drew Lee into a hug, going up on her toes to whisper something into his ear. As he put his arms around her, returning the embrace, Billy got the opportunity for a clear, close view of the man's left hand. There was no mistaking it: the plain gold band, worn on the fourth finger, was definitely a wedding ring.

As he withdrew from the embrace, Billy saw that Lee had seen him notice the ring. But he offered no comment as they shook hands and Jeannie moved on to hug Amanda. "Thanks for being here. We appreciate it."

"Of course, son." Was that a hint of defiance in Lee's expression? "We wouldn't have missed this."

There was a tap on his office door first thing Monday morning. After Billy called out an acknowledgment, an exhausted-looking Lee came in. He held a large mug of coffee in his left hand, which still had the ring on it, and sat down without any further invitation. "I saw that look. You need an explanation."

"Yes. I do."

Lee closed his eyes. "February 13th."

Billy had guessed as much, once he'd gotten home and had some time to think. "So that was why the two of you were so anxious to get out of there after we collared Felicia McMasters. I'd wondered." He paused. "It's pretty bad luck to be late to your own wedding. Did you make it on time?"

At that, the younger man opened his eyes again. "Yeah," he answered. "Just barely, though."

"Good. That's good, Lee. I'm happy for both of you."

A small, cautious smile appeared. "Thanks."

"All right then, now I want you to tell me why you didn't disclose this up front. You both know we run routine re-clearances on our employees. Didn't you think that it would be uncovered sooner or later? Why was it such a big secret to begin with?"

"Amanda's family."

"You'll have to do better than that, Scarecrow, because it doesn't make any sense."

He took a long sip of coffee before answering. "Remember the Chinese Trade Fair case? Tranh Van Khai?"

"What about it?" Then something came back to his recall. "Wait a minute. You were looking at real estate listings right around then. Were the two of you already engaged?"

"Yeah, and we were planning to make an announcement, but…" he trailed off. "They went after Khai's family even after he faked his own death, Billy! I couldn't do that to Amanda's mother and chil —" he cut himself off as his voice broke slightly, taking a breath before he continued. "We had to keep them safe. She agreed with me."

"That has to be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard you say!" Lee's eyes widened, but Billy wasn't done. "What on earth could've made either of you think that not being there constituted protection? If anything, leaving them unprotected like that, is an open invitation to anyone who might go after Amanda's family in order to get to one or both of you!" He paused. "Do you really think anyone in this or any other agency doesn't know you're both partners and friends, or couldn't figure it out pretty easily? And you'd better tell me what is so damned funny about this, Scarecrow, because I have no idea why you're laughing!"

Lee shook his head. "You sounded like Amanda's ex-husband. He said the same thing to me right after we got home from the hospital."

"Well, it's nice to know that someone in your lives can think clearly!" But Billy's exasperation had spent itself. It hadn't really been all that strong to begin with, anyway. "I suppose that's why you've decided to come clean about it now."

"Something like that, yeah. But there's also the matter of the Agency policy." The defiance began to creep back into Lee's eyes. "You said it yourself, after the P-2 incident. We're one of the most efficient teams you have, and our numbers prove it. Amanda and I talked about it a while back. Neither one of us is ready to give that up."

With a sigh, he sat back in his chair. "You don't have to. I had started to suspect something had changed between the two of you, as far back as that mess with Sinclair and Blackthorne. So I checked, and as long as one of you isn't reporting to the other one, the Agency can allow it. Which is part of the reason I put her back under my direct supervision as part of your disciplinary action."

Lee swallowed. "Then I guess I need to tell you now. I don't buy the car accident theory."

"Honestly, I don't either. But you're going to need to work that with your own time and resources. And I mean that, Scarecrow. Announcing this marriage is going to put you even further into the spotlight than you already are." He held up a hand. "Which is a good thing. You're even going to have to allow us to throw you a shower or a party or something, once the timing is better. But it could also get you the wrong sorts of attention from…well, you know."

His lips thinned. "Yeah, I know. At the same time, though, it's — it's something of a relief to stop keeping extra secrets. We already have enough in the line of duty, as it is."

"So there's nothing else you're holding back, now?"

"No."

Although he hadn't noticed its absence, Billy now recognized that he hadn't heard that particular ring of truth in the younger man's voice for quite a while. That, alone, made the statement believable.

Author's Notes:

(1) Big thanks go to SMK-Land dot com for its transcripts, which kept me straight as I drafted this chapter.

(2) This fic adheres to the standard fanonical assertion that, chronologically, the events of "Unfinished Business" occurred before those of "Stemwinder." Also, Lee's misbehavior during the former episode was well past the point where he could have avoided disciplinary action.