By: Jenny
Summary:Amanda and Lee stop dancing around the
subject of their relationship and learn that the oldies are the goodies.
(Around the third season, before they start dating seriously.)
Rating:PG-13
Disclaimer:Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner
Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I'm just taking them round the
dance floor once for old times sake. The lyrics contained herein do not
belong to me. I'm using them appropriately however. I believe this song
fits Lee's budding recognition of his love for Amanda perfectly.
Author's Notes:This idea popped into my head while
listening to an oldies radio station. It wouldn't go away so I wrote it
down. There's no plot to speak of, just good old- fashioned romance. I
guess it's a 'what if' type story. My friend read this but I didn't really
have it beta read. It's just a simple little tale for pleasure.
Part 1
Amanda King stood in front of her kitchen window with
the phone cradled against her shoulder, listening intently. She nodded
her head and spoke, "Oh yes Mrs. Penrose, I'd be glad to help chaperone
the class dance. It's this Friday night? At the school in the gym? OK…..
Oh Mrs. Penrose, is there a theme this year? Uh Hum, sock hop, Sadie Hawkins
sock hop. Bring a date, yes. Thank you good-bye Mrs. Penrose."
Amanda replaced the receiver on the hook and pondered the situation she found herself in now. She had no plans for Friday night. As long as work didn't interfere she was clear in that aspect. However the Sadie Hawkins bit might be a problem. The only person she cared to ask would probably run scared at the thought of a gym full of 7th graders. KGB and German terrorists were no problem but Phillip and Jamie still scared the heck out of him.
Amanda thought briefly of the look on Lee's face just last night when he dropped her off after work. The boys had run down the sidewalk toward her and Lee couldn't get out of the driveway fast enough! She turned to say good-bye and had seen such a look of mixed fear and longing that she almost asked him in for dinner. She didn't speak fast enough and the implacable mask he showed to the world came down again and he was gone. The vette pulled smoothly into the street and drove away from them.
Lately the mask slipped quite often around her. She enjoyed the glimpses of Lee Stetson, her friend, she got when the curtain did rise, and missed him quite acutely when it fell back down again and he became Scarecrow, the agent. Her musings were interrupted by a brisk tapping on the glass of her window. She focused on the view in front of her and found herself looking into Lee's gorgeous eyes. Her smile was automatic and brilliant. He responded in kind.
As always when he smiled that smile, her mind went into overdrive and she noted every detail about his appearance. His eyes appeared green against the light blue of his Oxford shirt. His hair shone in the late fall sunlight. The black leather of his jacket strained across his shoulders as he raised his hand and beckoned for her to come out. She glanced over her shoulder and not seeing her Mother she slipped out the back door and joined him in her back yard.
Automatically Lee placed his hand at the small of her back and led her to the bench just out of the line of sight of the house. As she sat, he thought about how beautiful she looked in her pink Georgetown sweatshirt. He loved seeing her in pink. He had recently discovered that he enjoyed seeing her in just about anything. She always made his day brighter just by being in it.
Of course, he blamed this strange thought on the fact that he had been so busy lately that she was the only person he spent much time alone with. Business related of course. He was just to tired at the end of the day to call up one of his girls and arrange a date, right? And the fact that he found himself at her door or window more often than really warranted was simply the Agent in him protecting his "family". Lee Stetson had almost convinced himself, but then he looked down into her brown eyes and his current thoughts fled to be replaced with visions of him pulling him into her arms and kissing her into oblivion.
Amanda King stared up at her partner of nearly 3 years and saw his eyes narrow and started to look behind her for the cause but she realized that he was focused on her and she softly spoke to get his attention, "Lee, what are doing here? Do you need something? Do we have a new case to work on?"
Scarecrow shook off the odd mood that overcame him more and more often these days and casually sat down next to Amanda. "No, nothing new. I just wanted to make sure you were OK. I mean you had a pretty close call yesterday with that knife and I just thought you might want to talk about it."
Amanda looked into his face and thought about how much he had changed in the last months. She felt her heart beat faster and she knew she must tread lightly lest she reveal too much of her emotions to him. "Oh I'm fine, really. I think I must be getting used to stuff like that."
Stetson looked at her in disbelief and shook his head, "Amanda you don't have to be brave now. It's just me and you, partners remember?"
His partner smiled ruefully and shrugged her slim shoulders. "I'm OK Lee, really. You know I'm pretty resilient. I just bounce back up and keep going."
"Yea, I know. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you. By the way, what are you doing Friday night?" Lee waited expectantly for her answer.
"Oh, I just made plans for Friday night. Do you need me for something? I can probably cancel."
"No, no, don't cancel, I just thought we might have dinner or something. You know maybe catch up on paperwork afterward." Stupid Stetson, real smooth! Lee berated himself.
Amanda thought briefly of her conversation with Phillip's teacher earlier. It was a Sadie Hawkins dance, maybe she should just ask him. All he could do was say no, right? She took a deep breath and asked quickly before she changed her mind, "Lee will you go to the dance with me?'
His face wrinkled in puzzlement as he gazed at his quirky partner. "What?"
Amanda groaned and covered her face with her hands briefly before explaining. "I just agreed to chaperone the dance at Phillip's school this Friday night. It's a Sadie Hawkins dance. The girls ask the boys for dates, not the other way around." Her face burned with mortification and she continued, "Never mind Lee. It was a dumb idea. I'll ask some one else. There are other men I can ask." She mentally tried to picture the other candidates. Her mind went blank. She silently accepted the fact that there were no other men for her. Lee Stetson was all she wanted.
The usually confident man in front of her stuttered, "There are other men? Oh I mean of course there are other men. What other men?" God he sounded jealous even to his own ears.
Amanda rose and walked toward her door. "Lee, I'm sorry I mentioned it. I'll see you Monday at work."
"Amanda, What time should I pick you up?" He shivered suddenly at the thought of all those kids in one place but stood his ground. He just couldn't stand the thought of Amanda with another man, dancing and holding her close.
Amanda looked at him and said, "Are you sure?" When he nodded she replied, "Seven o clock. She reached for the doorknob and added, "Oh it's a sock hop. You know the 5o's. Costumes are required." She quickly ducked into the house but not before she saw the dumbfounded look on Scarecrows face. She giggled and went to the attic to find her poodle skirt from her own high school sock hop. This one would be better. She was going with Lee. Maybe this time she could tell her date how she really felt. She loved him.
Outside Lee walked to his car and wondered what he was
doing making plans to go to a sock hop with Amanda King. When his heart
beat faster just thinking about holding her on the dance floor and he knew
why he was doing it. But could he tell her why? How could he tell her that
he loved her?
Part 2
Amanda King gave her ponytail one last tug and wrapped
the gauzy yellow scarf around the rubber band holding it in place. The
ends of the scarf hung down on either side of her hair and floated gently
as she walked around her bedroom picking up the last traces of her semi-frantic
rush to be ready when Lee arrived. Why was it that she always seemed to
be frantic when it came to dressing for Lee? She shrugged and looked one
more time at the mirror before heading down stairs to answer the now ringing
doorbell. She sighed, at least the poodle skirt still fit just as it had
in 11th grade.
Downstairs she was surprised to find Lee at the other side of the front door. She couldn't remember Lee ever ringing the doorbell like a normal person. She opened the door and greeted her date for the evening. At least she tried to greet him. She managed to say "Hi, Lee." But then she looked up at him and words failed her. James Dean had nothing on Lee Stetson in her book. Lee stood on her doorstep wearing tight Levi jeans, a white t shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tanned muscular arms and his black leather jacket was slung over his shoulder. He had dark glasses perched on top of his head and his face wore an insolent grin as he leaned against the doorframe. She struggled to find words to say to him.
Lee found himself in similar straits as he took in Amanda's appearance. The white sweater fit snugly across her chest and the light blue poodle skirt flowed gently around her bare legs. Her feet were covered with white bobby socks and black and white saddle oxfords. The yellow scarf in her hair played tag with her face as she stood in the slight breeze. Lee swallowed hard and slowly straightened up from his position against the door. Amanda appeared to be about 18 years old and Lee found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he had known her then.
He cleared his throat and gruffly spoke, "So are you ready?" When she responded in the affirmative he reached to help her out the door and belatedly remembered the small clear plastic box in his hand. "Oh, Amanda, this is for you."
He removed the lovely white orchid from the box and Amanda stammered, "Oh Lee, it's lovely…really you shouldn't..."
Lee hushed her with a finger to her lips and said, "I wanted to. Here give me your arm." She complied and put her right arm in Lee's warm hands. He fastened the wrist corsage to her arm, kissed her hand and smiling led her from the house and walked to the Corvette.
"Lee, what if Mother or the boys had been home? You never come to the front door. They might have seen you." Dotty had taken Jamie to his Dad's and Phillip to pick up his date and drop them off at the school, but Lee couldn't have known that. He couldn't see the driveway from his parking place across the street.
Lee shrugged, "I guess that introductions would have been in order then."
The drive to the school was short and soon they were pulling into the parking lot. Amanda waited and Lee quickly rounded the car and opened her door and assisted her out. He reached in the car, grasped her outstretched hand, and pulled her to him. She landed against him with a slight gasp.
"Oh excuse me, Lee."
Lee tightened his hold minutely. Amanda's eyes grew wide as she felt him pull her even closer. She could smell his aftershave and longed to run her fingers over his smooth jaw. He leaned in a fraction and Amanda held her breath in anticipation.
"OH, AMANDA!" The call came from across the parking lot. The pair of would be romantics groaned together. "Amanda, wait up!"
Amanda stepped away from Lee and held her hand up in greeting to Phillip's teacher, Mrs. Penrose. She was dressed similarly to Amanda and together the three adults made their way into the gym. Inside they parted and Mrs. Penrose spoke as she hurried away, "Thanks again, Amanda. Nice to meet you Mr. Stetson."
Again Amanda found herself wondering. 'Why Lee had used his real name? And he never did explain why he came to the front door tonight.'
The inside of the gym was darkened and Lee reached for Amanda's hand to help her maneuver around the crowded space. He spoke softly directly into her ear to be heard over the loud music. "Did I tell you that you're beautiful?"
Amanda shivered when she felt his hot breath against her ear and neck. She smiled innocently and shook her head. "No you didn't. Next time I won't go to so much trouble."
Lee grinned in response and replied, "It couldn't be that much trouble. You're always beautiful." He took advantage of her momentary silence and quickly suggested that they dance. Hand in hand they made their way to the dance floor and for a moment looked around at the pre-teens bungling their way through a hand jive lead by the school music teacher. Laughing they joined in and Amanda was surprised to see that Lee appeared to be enjoying himself immensely. This was certainly a new side of her partner. The fast song ended and the circle broke up as the haunting strains of a Righteous Brothers tune infiltrated the room.
Lee hesitated only briefly before pulling her into his arms and gently swaying to the music. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. He knew without a doubt that he loved her. He prayed that he would find a way to tell her tonight. He listened to the word of the Righteous Brothers and wished for a way to tell her of his feelings.
'Oh my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long lonely time
And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine
I need your love
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me
Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers sigh
Wait for me, wait for me
I'll be coming home Wait for me'
Amanda laid her hand on lee's chest and leaned close to his warmth. She laid her face against the smooth cotton of his shirt and listened to his heartbeat. She closed her eyes and listened to the words of the song. She was startled to realize that Lee was singing the words softly in her ear. His husky voice sent shivers through her body and straight to her soul.
She lifted her eyes to his and searched his face for answers to the questions that were whirling around in her head. 'Could he possibly be telling her how he felt? No of course not. He was simply enjoying the music.' She smiled softly and rested her head against his chest.
Lee stared down into her soft eyes. 'Could she know that he was trying to tell her how he felt? Surely she could feel his heart beating triple time under her hand.'
As the song continued to play, Lee looked around for some private place to speak to her. He felt like his heart would burst if he didn't speak soon.
His sharp eyes spied two short figures sneaking under the bleachers at the side of the gym. He grinned and thought that some things don't change. Boys were still sneaking under the bleachers with their girls for necking sessions. He quickly steered her from the floor and together they ducked under the risers and out of site.
"Lee, what are you doing?" Amanda was genuinely puzzled.
Lee stepped close to her and whispered, "I just wanted to be alone with you. I need to tell you something. I've been fighting this but now, tonight, listening to the words of Unchained Melody, Amanda, those words describe how I feel about you and about us. I feel like I'm coming home when I'm with you. I know that I don't deserve you. I never have. I don't deserve your friendship much less what I want from you now."
When he stopped for a calming breath she took the opportunity to speak, "Lee, I don't understand. You do deserve my friendship. You're the sweetest, most kind man I know. You always take care of me. I will always be your friend and (she took a deep calming breath herself) what ever you need from me now, well I'll do the best that I can."
"Amanda, I just need you. I need your love. I love you." He closed the remaining distance between them and clasped her body in his arms.
She drew in a surprised breath. He loved her. He loved her. Lee Stetson loved her. She relaxed in his arms and breathed her answer. "Oh Lee I need you too. I love you. I've loved you for so long."
Lee waited no longer. He lowered his face to hers and brushed his lips across hers. When she pressed closer, he opened his mouth and traced his tongue over the soft outline of her lips. She opened her mouth and granted him entrance. For long moments he explored her mouth and reveled in the feel of her in his arms. He finally pulled back and rested his forehead against hers as they each fought to catch their breath.
Lee spoke at last, "You know Amanda, I've always loved that song. I never knew why until now. I've been waiting for you for years."
Amanda, overcome with emotion, raised a shaking hand to
caress his face. "Welcome home, Lee. I'll always be yours."
Epilogue
Amanda King and Lee Stetson danced close together under
the bleachers as the final strains of the Righteous Brothers floated on
the air. Their bodies swayed gently from side to side. No words were spoken.
None were needed. For long moments after the music ended they stood close,
heads together, hands entwined.
Finally Lee pulled away fractionally. He stared deep in her eyes and nodded toward the gym floor. "We should get back." His words were low and reluctant.
Amanda agreed, "Yes, we should." Her voice was equally unconvincing.
They moved together toward the bustle of the dance floor. Just before stepping out of the protective shelter of the risers, Lee grabbed Amanda's arm and swiftly turned her into his embrace.
Immediately Amanda lifted her face and stood on her toes to fit herself against him completely. She wound her arms around his neck and lightly ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She closed her eyes and waited for his kiss.
Lee felt the light play of her nails against the flesh at the base of his skull. He felt her slim form molding against his body. He looked into her face and watched her eyelids drift down. He wrapped his arms around her waist tighter and pulled her up to his kiss. His lips crushed hers briefly, then softened and coaxed her response.
Amanda felt the change and moaned under his mouth. Just as Lee shifted his head to deepen the kiss, a bright light slanted over their faces. Brisk footsteps rang out on the hardwood gym floor. A shrill voice called out, "Now kids, you know you shouldn't be under here. What are you doing?" The voice grew nearer and was identified as Mrs. Penrose's. She stopped a short distance away and gasped audibly. "Mrs. King, Mr. Stetson, really!" The flashlight she held clattered to the floor.
Amanda groaned and rested her head briefly against Lee's shirtfront. She could feel his answering groan echoing through his chest. She attempted to explain, "Uh Mrs. Penrose, you see, well we were just talking and umm…." She looked to Lee for help. Before he could respond the strident voice of the shocked teacher cut off the explanation.
"I really think that you should just return to your duties as chaperone now Amanda. Perhaps you might pay a little more attention to them from now on!" With a sniff and a toss of her poodle skirt the educator retrieved the lost light and stalked away.
The thoroughly chastised pair returned to the rest of the gathering only to be stopped short by the shocked stares of a group of kids, with Phillip in front of the pack.
Phillip looked from his Mom to the vaguely familiar man beside her. He had known she was bringing a date, but geez. He walked closer to the adults and asked in an embarrassed whisper, "Mom what are you doing under there? Never mind I don't want to know! Just behave all right?" He returned to his friends and with one last warning glance, walked away.
Amanda and Lee looked rather sheepishly at each other. Lee shrugged his shoulders and offered, "I'm sorry?"
Amanda grinned impishly and grabbed him by the hand. "Don't be. Come on big fella, I need a glass of punch."
Lee returned, "Yes ma'am."
THE END