Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. No copyright infringement is intended

Author's Notes: This story picks up immediately where "Chicken Salad" left off

Time: Post Season 4

Neither of them said a word on the drive home. They both sat contentedly holding hands for the ride to Maplewood Dr. Their lives had just completely changed in the matter of a few hours. Quite honestly, they were still trying to take it all in. Lee quietly ran his thumb over her hand and smiled to himself. As Amanda looked out the window, she gently rubbed her stomach and smiled. A baby? A baby! It hardly seemed possible. She had often thought about how amazing it would be to have a child with Lee. He is a wonderful man and is a wonderful father to Philip and Jamie. They had talked about it but never came to a final decision. The whole topic made them both a little nervous. But yet, here they are-soon to be parents of baby Stetson.

"Penny for your thoughts", Lee said as he kissed the back of Amanda's hand.

"Oh, man. A penny? You'd be getting a great deal! I have so many thoughts running through my head right now; I don't even know how to express just one." Amanda paused and let out a sigh. "Lee, I have been thinking, though. Can we wait till tomorrow to tell Mother and the boys about the baby? I think you and I need to get our mind wrapped around it first."

Lee parked the car in front of their house.

"Personally, I think that is a great idea. Tell you what, why don't you head upstairs, get into bed and I will bring you a cup of tea. You need your rest."

Amanda did not protest one bit. He opened the car door for her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Amanda went upstairs to their bedroom and began to change her clothes. When she took off her sweater, she could see how filthy she was from being down in the records room all morning. She decided that a nice hot shower would be just what her body needed. As the warm water washed over her, she began to feel better. She stood there a while and let the crazy day wash off her while her mind swarmed with questions and excitement.

The tea kettle's whistle brought Lee out of his deep thoughts. He poured the hot water into Amanda's favorite tea cup and let the tea steep. It seemed like a hundred years ago that he was last in this kitchen, but the cereal bowls on the counter top were reminders that it was just a few short hours ago that he was having a conversation about tacos with the boys and wondering how the meeting this morning would go. He had absolutely no idea how different his life was to become by night fall.

As Lee opened the bedroom door to bring Amanda her tea, he saw her already asleep on top of the covers, hair wrapped in a towel, bathrobe barely covering her body.

"I guess she was really wiped out." He said to himself. A gentle grin spread across his face as he looked at her and whispered to himself, "My Amanda".

Lee took a sip of her tea and put it down on the night stand. He debated whether he should try and change her into dry clothes and risk waking her up, or let her sleep in the damp towel and robe. Her body was going through a lot right now. Why risk catching a cold sleeping in damp clothing? Besides, she would probably fall right back asleep if she did wake up seeing how tired she is. Lee retrieved her nightgown from the back of the bathroom door and carefully tried to take the towel off her head without waking her up. Amanda groggily opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Hey there, Dad! I guess I fell asleep"

Lee smiled at the sound of being called Dad.

"Yes you did and I would like you to go back to sleep as soon as we get you out of this damp robe. Sit up so I can grab this wet towel and help you out of your wet robe."

"Mr. Stetson, you aren't trying to take advantage of an expectant mother, are you?" She said with a sleepy yet flirtatious tone.

"Oh, believe me, Mrs. Stetson, as soon as you have gotten some rest, I would love to take advantage of you. We have a lot to celebrate!"

"Good! I will be looking forward to it." Amanda leaned in and gave Lee a tender kiss on the lips.

Lee handed her the cup of tea and took the wet towel and bathrobe to hang up in the bathroom.

Amanda slipped on her nightgown and sat up in bed, comfortably cushioned by the pillows and quietly sipped her tea. She couldn't believe that she was going to have a baby. How did she miss all the signs? Looking back, it seemed so obvious that she was pregnant. They had just been so busy at work and it had been so long since she had been pregnant. It just never even occurred to her. She was so relieved that Lee was happy about the baby. When the Dr. first told her that she was expecting, she was of course in shock and then was a little panicked at how Lee would take the news. She should have known that there was nothing to worry about. They were going to have to figure out the best way to tell the boys. She hoped that they would be excited and not be upset. Mother will be thrilled. That, Amanda was sure of.

Lee quietly slipped into bed next to her. He gently placed his hand on Amanda's stomach and smiled. He then leaned over, placed a gentle kiss on her tummy and placed his head on her hip. Amanda watched him as tears began to well up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that she even had been worried about how he was going to take the news. He is going to be an amazing father. Whoever would have thought that the rough and tough Scarecrow that never showed many emotions was now this gentle man and the absolute love of her life and father to her unborn child? This man that she now watched rubbing her stomach and sending kisses to their baby-he was without a doubt her soul mate. She never felt more happy or more at peace than she did at that moment. Amanda reached out her hand and ran her fingers through Lee's hair as he lay with his head on her hip. No words needed to be exchanged, but so much was being said.

After about 10 minutes, Lee sat up and settled in beside Amanda. He held her hand in his and kissed it and then softly kissed her lips.

"I love you, Amanda."

"I love you, too."

"How are you feeling? Can I get you anything? More tea?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm fine. I am tired but I'm fine. I am going to be tired for the next month or so I expect but that is normal."

"Amanda, I have absolutely no idea what to expect through this whole process. I want to help as much as I can but you're going to have to help me. I may not get it sometimes."

"Well, I guess you could say that I don't really know 100% what to expect either. My pregnancies with Philip and Jamie were both very different and this one had already started out very different, too. I never got dizzy with either of them but as you know, I did today. I do know that my belly is going to get very big and sometime in June, we are going to have a baby to bring home! I guess the rest, we will figure out together."

Lee began to get a worried look on his face as he rubbed Amanda's stomach some more.

"What's the matter, Lee?"

"I guess it is all starting to hit me, ya know? Wow! A baby! And a new job at the agency….telling the boys about the baby, telling your mother…..We are going to have to get a new car that can fit a car seat. I don't think the vette will work very well for that….and we should think about moving to a bigger house. But we need to find one in the same school district so the boys don't have to change schools…..and we need to take you out of the field immediately. It's going to take a few weeks before the transition is officially made from Billy to us but you can't go out in the field now in your condition."

Amanda laughed.

"Lee! You are rambling like me now! Slow down! We can talk about all of these things, but not all at once and not all today. Let's be happy it is Friday and we have the weekend to digest it all."

"You're right!" Lee sighed a sigh of relief. "You're right, Amanda. One step at a time. Why don't you lay back down and try to get some more sleep. I am going to change and go get us something for dinner." Lee began to change out of his suit into his comfortable jeans. "The boys are at Joe's for the weekend so no dinner for them. Any idea what time your mother is expected home?"

"Gee, no not at all. I didn't realize she wasn't here. I haven't talked to her at all today. We ran out of here so quickly this morning, I didn't get a chance to talk to her."

Lee began to get a bad feeling. He thought back to the cereal bowls still on the counter and the coffee pot still on when they got home. It wasn't like Dotty to leave a messy kitchen. Had she been back since this morning? Lee didn't want to worry Amanda but his gut was saying that something wasn't right.

"Ok, well I will grab her some dinner, too. Any requests?"

"Just NOT chicken salad!"

Amanda shot him a smirk as she shook her fist at him.

"ha! Umm…..no. No chicken salad. Ever! I will surprise you. Let me tuck you in and you can go back to sleep."

Lee pulled the covers up over Amanda, kissed her and quietly went downstairs.

Just as Lee got to the kitchen, the phone rang. He quickly answered it so it didn't disturb Amanda.

"Hello?"

"Lee? It's Philip. Is mom there?"

"She's not feeling very well. She's resting. What's up, sport?"

"Jamie and I forgot our overnight bags this morning. Can you bring them to us at dad's? They are already packed and by the back door. We just forgot to grab them this morning."

"Sure, no problem. I was just heading out to grab some dinner for your mother and me. Did you by any chance talk to your grandmother today?"

"Not since this morning when she was leaving to go on her walk. Why?"

"No reason, really. Just wondering where she was. Did she mention anything about going out today or tonight?"

"Nope. Not a word"

"Ok, son. I will grab your bags and be over there in about 20 minutes."

"Ok, see you then."

Lee clicked off the coffee pot and looked for a note or something that might lead him to where Dotty could be. The car was still in the driveway…..no note. Lee didn't like this. Where was Dotty?