Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The Scarecrow and Mrs. King TV series and its characters belong to Warner Brother’s and Shoot The Moon Productions. The plot of this story, however, is mine all mine!! No infringement is intended. This story may not be redistributed in any way without the author’s consent.
Archive: At my website, fanfiction.net and smkfanfic archive. All others please ask first.
Feedback: YES!!! I want all types of feedback; Good, constructive criticism (and I really mean that), etc.
Author’s notes: This story was originally posted on this list about a month ago as “The Gift.” Due to certain circumstances, it has been revised and parts of it have been rewritten.
I’d like to give a big thank you to my beta readers; my mom, BriarRose and Pam. I couldn’t have done it without you guys! I’d also like to give a big thank you to GW! You know why, GW!!
“So, do you think you’ll be able to get away a little later and come to my apartment, so I can give you your Christmas present?” Lee asked Amanda as they sat alone on the couch in her family room.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Amanda said, “but remember, your present is back at the Q-bureau.”
“And as I said before, I already have my present,” Lee said smiling as he leaned in for a kiss. He brushed his lips against Amanda’s and again reeled at how a simple kiss from her could affect him so much. They pulled away reluctantly.
“We’d better eat our dinner before it gets cold,” Amanda said.
“Yeah, we should,” Lee said.
At that moment, everybody came back into the living room at once. Lee and Amanda ate as the hustle and bustle of her family went on around them.
When they had finished, Amanda took the empty plates to the sink.
She rinsed them off, then went back and sat next to Lee on the couch,
waiting for everything to die down so they could go to his apartment.
An hour later, Amanda found herself in Lee’s apartment, sitting on the couch, while Lee went into the kitchen and poured them each a glass of wine. When he came back, he gave her one of the glasses and sat next to her on the couch.
She took a small sip, put the glass on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes and relaxing. A moment later, she felt soft, warm lips on hers. “Mmmm,” she moaned.
“So, Mrs. King, soon to be Mrs. Stetson, would you like your gift now, since that *is* the reason I brought you back here?” he asked, smiling as he winked at her.
“Sure,” Amanda began, “but after this…”She reached over and kissed him. “It’s not like I get to spend a lot of alone time with my fiancé,” she said as she pulled away.
They leaned in and kissed one another for a moment more. When they pulled away, Amanda cuddled into Lee’s arms. They stayed that way for a few more minutes, relishing the feeling of being in each other’s arms. Lee finally patted Amanda on the arm. “I’ll be right back.”
He got up and walked into his bedroom. A moment later, he returned
with a package in his hand. Amanda noted that it looked exactly like
the other boxes of scarves that he had purchased earlier in the day, when
they had done some Christmas shopping together. Her heart sank.
Was he giving her another scarf this year? She thought that maybe
because they were
engaged, this year she’d actually get something different.
He sat down next to her and handed her the package, smiling. She
looked up at him and smiled, then looked down at the package and began
to unwrap it and open the box. When she had the box open, she saw
that there was another
wrapped box inside that box. She looked up at Lee quizzically.
He just shrugged. She unwrapped the next box and opened it, only
to find another wrapped box in side of that one. Thoroughly confused,
she looked up at Lee again.
He noted her response and smiled again. His plan was working perfectly.
In answer to Amanda’s confused look, trying not laugh or smile, Lee said, “I don’t know how that happened. Really.”
Amanda just smiled in response. She went back to her task at hand. Two more times she opened boxes, only to find empty, wrapped boxes inside of them, until she came to a very small, neatly wrapped box
She slowly opened it and gasped at what she saw. Lying in the box was a beautiful necklace. The chain was white gold platinum, but what had caught her attention were the small diamonds nestled in the chain, each in its own gold square template. The diamonds formed a v-shape, four on each side, both sides meeting a diamond at the tip of the v.
“Lee, oh, my gosh,” she said breathlessly as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up at him. “It’s beautiful, thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lee took the box from her and silently leaned in close, putting the necklace around her neck and clasping it shut. He leaned back and looked at her. “It looks beautiful on you. You’re what makes it beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said again. She brought her fingers to the diamonds, caressing them.
“I couldn’t get my fiancé just a normal present this Christmas.
I had to get her something special to show her just how much I love her
and just how important she is to me. She’s taught me so much about
life and love. She taught me how to love again when I didn’t think
I’d ever be able to and has changed me into the man I am today. I
don’t know what I’d be without her
or what I’d do without her.”
Amanda’s tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. She was momentarily speechless. His words touched her. They were so honest and heartfelt.
“Oh, Lee, I love you so much. You make me so happy. I’m so grateful I found you. That day at the train station was fate. It’s a fate that I cherish and hold close to my heart everyday.”
Lee leaned in and kissed her gently, but passionately. She responded in the same manner. Finally, they pulled away.
"Well, did I surprise you? I wanted to catch you off guard."
“Well, that you did. Really, Lee, I love it. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
“A special present for a special woman. Everyone else got scarves this year, as usual, except for my Amanda,” he finished.
She looked up at him and smiled. He pulled her into his arms and she put her head on his chest. Both were lost in thought about the love they felt for one another and their upcoming future as man and wife. They knew it wouldn’t be easy having a secret marriage, but they had each other. Together, they could make it through anything.
END