*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.

"No Place Like Home"

Author:  Mary

Rating:  R

Date Written: November, 2001 – March, 2002

Summary:  Family, football and fun – just another normal college 'Parents Weekend'. Of course, who said Lee and Amanda were normal?

A filler story for the 'With Or Without You' universe, this sequel to 'Rites of Passage' is set in October, 1991 – Phillip King's freshman year in college.  This story is a 'stand-alone', but it references incidents from 'With Or Without You' and 'Where The Road Goes'.

~I~

"There he is!" Amanda cried as she walked briskly across the quad.  "Phillip, over here."

Lee shifted their luggage to one side, placing his free arm tightly around his wife's waist. "Cool it, Mom," he advised, giving her a loving squeeze. "You don't want to spoil his image."

Amanda smiled self-consciously, leaning into Lee's embrace. "I keep forgetting he's not my baby anymore."

"He's not even close." Lee watched as his tall, lanky stepson quickly closed the distance between them. "Look at him; I think he's grown a foot. Must be all that healthy college food," he added with a laugh.

"Hey, Mom, Lee," Phillip said as he jogged up. "It's great to see you guys." He slapped Lee on the back, then turned to give his mother a hug. "Gee, Mom, you're so skinny."

"Yeah, I should hope so, since the last time you saw me . . ." she pulled away to give her eldest a closer inspection. Lee was right, she thought wistfully. He did look different. Taller.  Bigger.  Grown-up.

Phillip smiled sheepishly, the little boy inside clearly visible again. "So, how is my new baby sister?" he asked, taking one of the bags from Lee as he led them towards the Campus Inn. "Jamie says she looks just like you, Mom."

"Well, she has dark hair, but I'm not holding my breath. I fully expect it to fall out and come in blonde."

"She'd still be absolutely beautiful," Lee said fondly.

Amanda laughed as she reached for his hand. "Yeah, six weeks old and Jenny already has her daddy wrapped very securely around her little finger."

"Takes after her mother," Lee whispered, entwining his pinky finger with Amanda's. Turning to Phillip, he added in a louder voice, "She really is a little angel. Good as gold."

She gave her husband a playful nudge. "That's because whenever *he* sees her, she's sleeping peacefully. It's a totally different picture at three in the morning. I hope your poor grandmother survives the weekend."

"She handled things pretty well when Jamie and I were little. No matter what we came up with, she still managed to stay one step ahead . . ." Catching his mother's raised eyebrow, Phillip immediately changed course. "Uh, on second thought, maybe Grandma does deserve a medal," he added with an embarrassed laugh.

Lee grinned. "I don't know about a medal, but I believe a trip to Elizabeth Arden was mentioned."

"Seems like a pretty fair trade for all that sleep deprivation," Amanda laughed.

"Apparently Jenny still has her days and nights mixed up," Lee explained as they entered the lobby.  "Hopefully that little problem will be ironed out by the time you come home for Thanksgiving."

"Oh, I think I can take it," Phillip replied stoically as they made their way through the crowd of parents and students.  "After three months in 'Animal Hall', a little noise isn't going to phase me."

"Animal Hall?"

"Yeah," he grinned. "My dorm's, uh, nickname."

Amanda smiled dryly. "Do I want to hear why they call it that?"

"Well," Phillip began, "I guess a few years ago, this group of guys who lived there had this pig, and. . ."

"That's okay, Phillip," Amanda interrupted with a laugh. "There are some things in life a mother doesn't need to know. If you guys will excuse me, I'll just go check us in."

The two men exchanged a grin as she made her way to the desk, and Phillip added matter-of-factly, "Gee, compared to some of your exploits, it was really kinda tame."

"I think she's in denial," Lee joked. "I'm not sure your mother wants to acknowledge that she has a child old enough to have colorful stories of his own."

Phillip gave his mother an appraising look. "She really does look great. Everything really went okay? With the baby, I mean? I hated leaving for school right before she was born. Jamie said . . ."

"Everything went absolutely fine," Lee reassured him. Laying a comforting arm on his stepson's shoulder, he guided him to a more private spot by the far wall.  "It wasn't anything like last time, Phillip."

He nodded, giving Lee a bashful grin. "It's not like I was really worried or anything . . ."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Lee stated as the boy's words trailed off. "I was plenty worried." As Phillip made a show of studying the brochures in the display rack, he added, "But your mother. . . she was absolutely certain, right from the start, that everything would be fine. And, as usual, she was right."

"She's always right," Phillip laughed, glancing at his mother with undisguised admiration. "How does she do that?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Leaning against the wall, Lee let his eyes wander over to his remarkable wife. Phillip was right; she really did look incredible.  True, she didn't resemble the flamboyant, well-coiffed beauties he'd once been drawn to, but her dark hair fell in soft waves that perfectly framed her face, and her jeans accentuated her slim figure so well she could almost be mistaken for a college student herself. Her softer, almost effortless beauty was so much more alluring.

Why had it taken him so long to realize it?  Other men had certainly noticed, and still did, he thought with a touch of annoyance.  Just like that idiot at the front desk she was talking to right now.  Stifling his irritation, he turned to Phillip.

"How's college life treating you?" he asked, one eye still on his wife and her all too obvious admirer. "Any girlfriends to report?"

Phillip grinned. "I'm keeping my options open. There is this one girl, but, well, she's really just a friend."

"Better watch your back, Phillip," Lee told him with a teasing grin. "That's the most dangerous kind of female."

"No, really, it's not like that. Debbie's a sophomore, and she's into all that theater stuff. She's the lead in the play we're going to see tonight," he informed his stepfather with a more than a hint of pride.

"Oh, yeah? She any good?"

Phillip's lips curved up in a cryptic smile. "I don't know yet."

"I meant in the play, Chief," Lee laughed, giving his stepson a friendly nudge.

"Oh, so did I," Phillip returned, echoing his laugh. "I just haven't had a chance to see it."

"We're all set," Amanda interrupted, stopping short as she caught sight of their faces. "What's so funny?"

Phillip raised an eyebrow as Lee gave a hearty laugh. "Uh, nothing, dear." Taking the key from her hand, he deftly changed the subject. "What took you so long?"

"There was some sort of confusion about the room," she replied, giving him a wilting look. "I thought you were going to confirm the reservation last week."

"I did." Noting his wife's expression, he added, "I, uh, think."

"Lee, you told me you'd taken care of it."

"That might have been the day La Rue pitched his semi-annual fit about expense accounts," he said with a sheepish smile.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "At least they finally managed to scrounge us up a room."

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself while they looked," Lee observed. Nodding at the tall man who had left the front desk to talk to a group of parents, he added testily, "Who's your new best friend?"

"Jim? Why, he was just trying to be helpful," Amanda said innocently, noting her husband's expression. It was gratifying to see that after almost four years of marriage and two children, Lee's jealous tendencies were still healthily intact.

"Just what the world needs," Lee grumbled. "'Helpful' desk clerks."

"He's a very nice man," she added, struggling to hide her smile. "And he's not really the desk clerk. He actually owns the hotel, and I believe he's a professor here as well."

"Yeah, that's my freshman advisor, Professor Walters," Phillip informed them. "He's a really great guy."

"So it would seem," Lee grimaced.

Amanda shook her head, giving her husband a playful slap in the midsection. "Now," she said, turning to Phillip with a grin, "what's the plan for the evening?"

Phillip smiled. "Um, there's a buffet at the dining hall, but I made reservations at a restaurant in town. I thought that might be more fun."

"Not to mention more appetizing," Lee put in.

"Yeah, the food service here is kind of . . . institutional," Phillip stated with a laugh. "It's bad enough we have to eat it tomorrow for the banquet."

"Are your dad and Carrie going to be joining us for dinner?" Amanda asked.

Phillip frowned slightly. "No, Dad called yesterday.  He had to work this afternoon, so they won't be here until late."

"That's a shame," Amanda sympathized. "I know Carrie was looking forward to the play tonight."

"It's okay," Phillip replied philosophically. "Gives us more time together."

Lee and Amanda exchanged a look. Her son seemed more relieved than upset about Joe's late arrival. Perhaps Phillip's disagreement with his dad during orientation weekend went deeper than either of them had let on.

"What time is dinner?" Lee inquired, breaking the slightly awkward silence that had sprung up between them.

Phillip glanced at his watch. "About an hour."

"Okay," Lee nodded, retrieving their suitcase. "We'll get changed and meet you down here in, say, forty-five minutes?"

Phillip smiled. "That should be fine. It'll give me just enough time to wish Debbie good luck for tonight." Waving, he headed out the door.

"Debbie?" Amanda exclaimed as they headed towards the elevator.

Lee rolled his eyes. "Come on, " he urged, his finger on the 'up' button. "I'll explain while we change."