*DISCLAIMER** Scarecrow & Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Production Company. The original portions of this story, however, are copyrighted to the author. This story is for entertainment purposes only and cannot be redistributed without the permission of the author. Situations and some dialogue have been used from the episode "Bad Timing", written by Robert W. Gilmer. No infringement of copyright is intended.
Summary: This is a slightly alternate version of the fourth season episode "Bad Timing". This story is set at the end of January, 1987.
Part Seven
Amanda pinched herself, trying to make sure this wasn't a dream. Part of her refused to believe it was really over. When the dust finally settled, she and Lee would have quite a few people to thank.
Billy Melrose had proved himself an invaluable friend tonight. Not only had he provided them with med-vans, truth serum to persuade Donek to talk and a team of specialists to concoct the antidote, but he had risked his life and his career to accompany Lee on his suicide mission.
Amanda had hoped Lee would change his mind and let her go in with him, but he wouldn't hear of it. She'd opened her mouth to protest, then realized that this was more than his usual 'wait in the car' line. These next few hours were critical. His energy had to be focused on finding Donek, not diverted to worry over her welfare.
She had resigned herself, acting instead as the mission navigator. If she couldn't be with him physically, she at least still felt connected by microphone. As it was, they almost hadn't pulled it off. The Soviets had discovered their presence at the eleventh hour, Billy taking a bullet in the leg before they could make a clean escape. Amanda knew there would be diplomatic hell to pay tomorrow.
But none of that mattered tonight. The tables had been turned on the cagey Russian and McJohn's team had the antidote. With the truth drug in his system, Donek had little choice but to divulge his secret. Instead of a hero's welcome in Moscow, all that awaited him now was a quick trip to the Gulag.
"What's taking so long?" Amanda muttered to herself as she nervously walked back and forth in front of the closed door that separated her from Lee. After Dr. McJohn had administered the first dose of the vaccine in the med-van, they had lost no time returning to the Agency hospital. Lee needed further medical treatment and Billy needed attention as well.
Francine watched as Amanda crossed her line of sight yet again. This constant pacing was beginning to grate on her frayed nerves. "Relax, Amanda," she groaned, rubbing her eyes to try and get rid of the grainy feeling. "Lee's going to be fine. They got the vaccine inside him in time."
"I'll feel better when I hear that from Dr. McJohn, Francine," Amanda snapped in frustration. She started slightly at the sound of her voice; she hadn't intended to be so curt. These days she usually let Francine's comments run right off her back. She braced herself, waiting for the inevitable retort. But Francine was strangely quiet.
She studied her fellow agent a little more closely. Francine Desmond looked as exhausted as Amanda felt. She had closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall, every once in a while nervously licking her lips.
"I'm sorry, Francine." Amanda smiled weakly as she tentatively offered the olive branch. "I guess it's been a rough twenty-four hours."
"For a lot of people," Francine stated in a low voice.
"I know," Amanda said in painful understanding. This had been a strain for Francine, too, albeit in a different way. "I guess I can't stop thinking about what could have happened," she confided in a small voice. "If we hadn't gotten that watch off him in time…"
"But we did," Francine reminded her gently. "You did. You didn't let the pressure get to you. You got to Lee in time, then helped him get Billy out. You behaved like a true professional."
Amanda thought she detected a note of praise in Francine's voice. This night had been one crazy, emotional roller-coaster ride. She started to thank her, but Billy's noisy approach cut her off. He slowly limped towards them, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. It made an odd thumping sound that echoed through the quiet hallway.
He acknowledged them both with a nod at the closed door. "Any news?"
Francine shook her head. "No. Dr. McJohn's still inside."
"How's your leg, sir?" Amanda asked solicitously.
"It's fine, Amanda. It's only a scratch. I've had worse."
Amanda nodded in silent acknowledgment. Gunshot wounds were part and parcel of the life that went on unseen within these walls. Just like this current ordeal.
"Amanda."
Billy's voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up and met the concerned eyes of her chief.
"You're exhausted," he stated kindly. "Why don't you lie down and get some rest? If you don't want to go home, I'm sure we can scare up a room for you here."
"No, that's okay, sir. I'll wait for Dr. McJohn to finish."
"All right," Billy sighed. He should have known that prying her away from her 'partner' right now was a losing proposition. He smiled to himself at that euphemism. Back in the van, after the antidote was safely inside Lee, they had reached for each other in overwhelming relief. It only took one look to know how those two really felt.
The door opened abruptly. Amanda tensed and Francine snapped to attention, both of their eyes glued to Dr. McJohn as he came through the door.
"How is he?" Billy's voice was calm, but his hand gripped his cane tightly.
"The antidote is doing its job," McJohn replied with military precision. He rifled through the reports on his clipboard. "The preliminary tests all look very good."
"That's great news," Billy answered.
"Yes, it is," Francine sighed, closing her eyes in relief.
Amanda said nothing, but took a deep breath, bracing herself against the wall for support. She suddenly felt very tired.
"He still needs twelve hours of I.V. medication, then pills for the next few days," McJohn continued. "And of course, we'll monitor with follow-up blood work. But from the way things look now, I anticipate that in ten days or so we won't be able to find any remnants of the PD-2 in his system."
"Thank you for all your help," Billy said, holding out his hand.
Dr. McJohn smiled as he accepted it. "We've been trying to find this antidote for some time. Once we had the right roadmap, modifying the Tetracycline was an easy job. I'm the one who should be thanking you." He turned his eyes to the closed door. "Both of you."
Billy Melrose shrugged in response. "It turned out well for all of us."
"Well, it's been a long night," Dr. McJohn continued. "I'm going to get some sleep." He looked pointedly over at Amanda. "That's a prescription I'd recommend for all of you." McJohn said his goodnights and quickly left.
"I second that," Billy said, looking at his two exhausted agents. "We could all benefit from a little shut eye."
"You won't get an argument from me," Francine said through her yawn.
"Amanda?" Billy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You need some rest, too."
"I'm fine, Sir. I'd rather wait until Lee's ready to go. You know, just to make sure…"
"If that's what you want, it's okay by me," Billy replied casually, responding to her implied question. He was pretty sure it would be okay with Lee, too.
"Yes, sir." Amanda hesitated a minute as she stood by the door. "Thank you for everything. Both of you." She and Francine exchanged tired smiles.
"Tell Lee I'll see him tomorrow," Billy said, quickly brushing aside her thanks.
Amanda nodded, then headed into the room.
Billy and Francine stood together for a minute in the quiet hallway, watching the door swing shut behind her. "Francine," Billy said thoughtfully, "turn off the surveillance monitors in Lee's room."
Francine raised her eyebrow accusingly.
"We have too damn little privacy in this business as it is," Billy countered. "Let's give them a little tonight."
Billy and Francine shared a conspiratorial look as they turned and slowly walked down the hall.
* * * * *
Amanda shut the door quietly behind her. Lee was stretched out on the bed, his eyes closed. She quickly glanced down at her watch as she had done automatically now for the past day and a half. It was later than she thought – almost two fifteen. She let out a deep breath. Time was no longer the enemy. Everything was going to be okay.
She slowly approached the bed. "Hi, there," she said as Lee opened his eyes.
"Hi, yourself." His face lit up in a smile as he felt her hand close around his. "I've missed you. I thought McJohn would be in here all night."
"I know. I was about to go crazy out there in the hall." She squeezed his left hand as her eyes were drawn to the I.V. slowly dripping into his other arm. "Is that very uncomfortable?"
"I've felt better," Lee confided. "But it's kind of nice to be able to feel, you know?"
"I'm sure they could give you something if you asked," she replied in concern. "Let me go find someone."
"Amanda." Lee's hand held her back. "They already offered, but I turned them down. I wanted to see you."
Amanda nodded in understanding. After the stress of the last few hours, it was good to finally be alone with him. She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, bringing his fingers to her lips for a quick kiss.
Lee sighed, reaching over to tenderly brush her cheek with his free hand. "You look exhausted."
"I feel exhausted," Amanda sighed, leaning her head against his palm.
His finger stroked soothingly over her cheek. "You should probably go home and get some rest."
"Not a chance, Stetson. I'm afraid you can't get rid of me that easily."
"No?" He shrugged at her as he smiled.
"No," she answered, leaning over to briefly kiss him. "Besides, as I recall, you promised me the whole weekend together."
"I vaguely remember something about that," he grinned. "Years ago."
"Turned out a little differently than we'd planned, though," she put in, her laughter mingling with his.
"Yeah. For thing, there were too many people around and we were both overdressed."
"You got that right," Amanda sighed, looking longingly into his eyes.
He returned her look, then suddenly scooted over. "Care to join me?" He patted the bed invitingly.
Amanda hesitated, her eyes darting around the room. Even though it was just the two of them, she couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone. But the need to feel Lee's arms around her won out and she crawled in beside him. She settled against him cautiously, careful not to disturb the I.V. attachment.
He gently stroked her back and Amanda felt the tension finally begin to leave her body. She relaxed under his touch, resting her head comfortably on his chest. As she heard his steady heartbeat, her eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from shaking. She didn't want him to misunderstand.
"Shh," he said in a soothing voice. "It's okay. I'm here."
Amanda smiled through her tears. He seemed to intuitively know exactly what she was thinking. She felt his lips brush through her hair and the tenderness of that simple gesture overwhelmed her. She buried her head in his chest, sobbing quietly as she lay against him.
Lee held her closer. His fingers continued to stroke her back, silently encouraging her to let her feelings out. He'd been waiting for her meltdown. She'd been incredibly strong throughout this nightmare. They both had.
He sighed as he thought about how close they'd come this time to losing it all. He wondered briefly how long their luck would hold, how many other Donek's were waiting out there in the shadows. He determinedly pushed that thought from his mind. He didn't want to think in terms of 'could-have-beens'. It was enough right now that they were together.
His own eyes became moist as he listened to her crying. He tried to imagine how he would have handled things if their positions had been reversed. He couldn't conceive of a life now without her in it. Selfishly, he was relieved that he wouldn't have been the one left behind.
He caressed her gently, trying to let her know with his touch that everything was okay. Eventually, her sobs subsided and he felt her breathing even out. "I love you, Amanda," he whispered in her ear, even though he knew she was sleeping. He closed his own eyes and surrendered to his fatigue.
* * * * *
Lee woke abruptly, momentarily disoriented. He glanced around the semi-darkened room, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The Agency hospital, he thought suddenly, last night's events replaying in his mind.
He looked over at his I.V. bag. It was still almost three quarters full. He guessed they'd been asleep for only a few hours. Every muscle in his body was screaming and he felt thoroughly exhausted. As he twisted around, trying to find a comfortable position on the narrow bed, he felt Amanda stir in his arms.
"Hey," he greeted as her eyes fluttered open. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."
"What time is it?" she answered groggily.
"Does it matter?"
"I guess it doesn't," she responded with a yawn. "Not anymore." She snuggled closer against him, feeling completely relaxed at last. "I didn't mean to come apart like that earlier. I guess I got a little emotional."
"It's okay," he replied gently. "You're entitled once in a while."
She exhaled softly, her fingers toying with the button on his shirt. "It's just when I start to think about what could have happened…what almost happened…"
"I know," Lee nodded. "I feel the same way. We both know the risks we take every day. That's one of the reasons I waited so long to….well, you know."
"I know," she sighed in agreement. They'd said these same words many times before. There was no need to go into it all again.
They lay together in silence for a few minutes. Lee pulled Amanda closer, his hand absently playing with her hair. This had been one hell of a weekend. He suspected that their secret relationship wasn't much of a secret anymore. At least, not where Billy and Francine were concerned. He shouldn't have embraced Amanda so openly back in the van, but at that moment he was in no emotional shape to keep up the concerned partner routine. He needed to feel her arms around him, to remind himself that they had a future after all.
He felt like their relationship had aged years in the last two days. Was it just last night that he had been standing in Amanda's kitchen feeling like an ordinary husband? He realized now that 'ordinary' was an impossibility. This latest business with the KGB had hammered that point painfully home. Sometimes he thought he was growing tired of living his life between the shadowy borders of a violent world. He could pretend all he wanted to, but the Agency would never allow them a normal life.
Okay, Lee thought sadly, so they would never be a 'typical' married couple. He could live with that. It was probably highly overrated anyway. As long as Amanda was part of the package, he could face whatever problems life or the Agency threw at them. But he didn't want to wait any longer. If nothing else, he understood now more than ever that time was too precious to waste.
"Amanda," he whispered softly in her ear. "Will you marry me?"
"Will I marry you?" she asked in a teasing voice. "I thought I'd already answered that question.
"I'm serious," he admonished in a low voice.
Amanda heard the quiet urgency in his tone. Her arms tightened around him and she gave him the only response she could.
"When?"
"Two weeks?" Lee asked hesitantly. "I think it takes about that long for the blood tests and paperwork."
"Okay," she said, her face breaking into a radiant smile. "Two weeks, then."
Lee smiled, too. He never thought he'd feel this happy lying in a hospital bed. He pulled her closer to seal their agreement with a kiss.
* * * * *
Lee smiled as they walked hand in hand through Amanda's front door. Billy had dropped them both off earlier after he had been released from the Agency hospital. Their friend had been on his way to a conference call with Dr. Smyth and two top-level presidential advisors, but he didn't seem worried. After all, they now had the antidote to the KGB's most potent biological weapon. That would go a long way towards smoothing any ruffled political feathers. Lee knew from painful experience that Dr. Smyth was first and foremost a pragmatist.
"I think we pulled that off pretty well." Amanda's voice sounded relaxed and happy as she added, "you and the boys seemed much more at ease tonight."
"We were," Lee agreed, amazed that the evening had gone so smoothly. For the first time, he didn't feel like an intruder. "Listening to Philip talk about his girlfriend takes me back…"
"I'll bet it does," she laughed, punching him playfully in the ribs.
"Ancient history now," he laughed, squeezing her hand as they came to a halt in front of his car. "Dinner was terrific. Thank you."
"I'm glad you stayed," Amanda said with a smile. "It was nice not to watch you run out the back door when Mother and the boys came in."
"I know," he grinned. "Although, I was hoping that I'd have you to myself for a while."
"Me, too. Wouldn't you know, today of all days, they would get home early?"
"Yeah. I guess we should have cleaned up that mess as soon as we got home instead of getting sidetracked on the couch."
"Probably, but the couch was much more fun," Amanda put in, her eyes sparkling. Lee's reference to her house as 'home' was not lost on her. "It's too bad we were interrupted."
"I know, we seem to have the worst possible timing," he laughed. "And I'm not sure your mother bought that explanation for the computer and the floor plans to the Russian Embassy."
"Oh, she bought it all right. I'm just going to have to come up with better story for why she can't see our documentary on Russian architecture. After all this time, I should know better than to get too creative where she's concerned."
"We'll just have to keep working on it until we get it right." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her with him as he leaned back against the car. "Remember, practice makes perfect."
"I get the feeling we aren't talking about Mother any more," Amanda teased as she melted against him.
"Yeah," Lee said as his body began to respond to her proximity. "Right now, it's safe to say your mother is the furthest thing from my mind."
She smiled as she raised her head and immediately encountered his lips. All the intensity they'd discovered on their first night together was simmering just below the surface of their kiss. She sighed again in longing.
"I know," Lee whispered, shuddering slightly as he released her. "Probably not the smartest idea. I think I should head home and take a cold shower." He kissed her again, lightly this time, adding with a laugh, "I have a feeling I'm gonna be doin' that a lot in the next two weeks."
"Me, too," Amanda teased back. "We could take them together, but I guess that would kind of defeat the purpose."
"But it would probably be a lot more enjoyable," he laughed as he broke their embrace. It felt wonderful to relax and joke with her again. "Two weeks isn't forever. Besides, we don't have much choice. Doc McJohn said it would take a good ten days to get rid of the last of the PD-2. Better safe than sorry."
"Well, February 13th won't be here soon enough to suit me," Amanda grinned. She had a sudden picture in her mind of the two of them a couple of weeks from now. They'd probably both be climbing the walls by then.
"Oooh," she grimaced as she leaned up against the car, twisting her neck to find a comfortable position.
"That still bothering you?" Lee asked.
"A little. I must have pulled something last night."
"Not the best sleeping arrangements, I'm afraid." He stretched his own neck as he tried to work out the kinks. He leaned over to kiss her cheek, adding in a sexy voice, "I definitely promise better accommodations on our honeymoon."
"As long as you're around to go on a honeymoon, we can sleep on a rock for all I care," she responded, her arms tenderly enfolding him.
"Don't worry. That's one trip I have no intention of missing."
They stood that way for a few minutes, holding each other as they listened to the sounds of the night. Not really wanting to say goodnight, but knowing they had to. Lee made the first move, kissing her on the top of her head.
"One of these days, we'll have to stop saying goodbye at the car like this," he joked quietly, thinking back to the other night. "It's beginning to become a habit."
"One I'll be happy to break," Amanda whispered as she gave him a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"You bet," he said as he brushed his lips over hers one final time. He walked around the car, inserting the key and turning the lock.
"Hey, Scarecrow."
He looked up as her voice called him back. She stood on the curb, her lips curving up in a mysterious smile.
"Do me a favor, will you?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Anything," he replied automatically.
"Go straight home tonight. No midnight walks, okay?"
He laughed as he got into the car. The next twelve days were going to crawl by. But at least he'd still be around at the end of them. He gave the corvette some gas, watching her retreating form in the rearview mirror as he pulled away.
The End
