Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The Scarecrow and Mrs. King series and its characters belong to Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. The plot of this story, however, is mine all mine! There are scenes taken from the episode, "Unfinished Business," written by Lynne Kelsey. No infringement is intended.
Author's notes: "Unfinished Business" was originally supposed to air before "Stemwinder" on CBS. This story follows the cannon that "Unfinished Business" did air before "Stemwinder." This story begins right before Amanda is supposed to bring Lee out of his hypnotic state. This story does not follow cannon in other aspects as well.
I'd also like to thank my three wonderful beta readers, my mom, BriarRose and Pam. Thank you for all of your valuable input on this story! I couldn't have done it without any of you!
Feedback: Any feedback (except for flaming of course) is welcome.
"When I count to three, you'll wake up and you'll feel refreshed and good as if you'd had a long night's sleep. Feeling all right?"
"Uh huh, I'm fine," Lee said in a child-like voice, nodding his head and smiling, while still laying on the bed in his hypnotic state.
"Do you have time for just one more question?" Amanda asked. She paused, then decided against asking Lee the question she was going to ask. She was just about to say never mind when Lee said, "Sure." She hadn't expected that. What did she do now? She knew she shouldn't ask the question that had been plaguing her mind so often recently. It wasn't fair of her to compromise Lee like this, while he was in another state of mind. It wasn't something that she would normally do, but he was under the hypnotic effects of the drug, and she actually had the courage to ask, and he would tell her the truth. One little question couldn't hurt, right? She suddenly heard Lee moan, pulling her out of her reverie. She began tentatively, "Lee, can I ask you a question, a question that's not related to your parents?"
"Sure, you can ask me anything," he said in a sleepy voice.
Amanda stared at him for just a moment, trying to make sure he really was in a hypnotic state still. "I can ask you anything?" Amanda asked, reiterating his previous response.
"Anything," Lee said.
Amanda took a deep breath. "Well, um, it's about us," Amanda paused. "We've known each other for a long time. I know we haven't been dating for very long, but we have known each other for a long time." Amanda knew she was beating around the bush, she just didn't think she could go on. Maybe she didn't really want to know the answer to her question. What if it wasn't what she wanted to hear? She didn't know if she could handle that. "Amanda, my Amanda," she heard Lee mumble.
Hearing him say that, she decided to take a chance. Without thinking, she blurted out her question. "Lee, are you in love with me?" She was shocked at her own bluntness.
A soft smile played across Lee's lips. "Yes," he said, drawing out the word.
Amanda's heart skipped a beat. He did love her.
He then continued, his voice still heavy with sleep, "Very much so. I have been for a very long time. I've just been scared to tell you. Love is a scary thing for me." He paused for a moment. "Especially being in love with you."
"Why is being in love with me scary?" Amanda asked curiously.
"Because, Amanda, I could lose you, like I lost my parents and everybody else I've ever loved in my life. I always reasoned that if I didn't tell you, I couldn't lose you."
"Oh, Lee," Amanda said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "that would never happen." She reached her hand out and caressed his cheek.
Lee smiled, "My Amanda."
Amanda suddenly realized he'd been in this hypnotic state far too long. Although she could stay here all day questioning him on their relationship, they had important business to attend to. A thought flitted through her mind. She knew that most people remembered everything when they woke up from hypnosis. She wasn't so sure she wanted him to remember the fact that she had used his current mental state to her advantage. He had so much to deal with right now, and the last thing he needed was the implications of telling her he loved her before he was actually ready to do so.
She was really starting to feel guilty about doing this. She didn't know a whole lot about hypnosis, except that the brain was susceptible to suggestions, and the manual didn't say if that were true with the drug-induced hypnotic state Lee was in now. She had heard that sometimes during hypnosis, the person who was under could be made to not remember certain things upon waking. She certainly hoped that would work in this case. She inwardly scolded herself for not thinking about the consequences that went along with asking her question.
"Okay," Amanda began, not exactly sure what she was doing. "Remember, when I count to three you will wake up pleasantly refreshed, and you will remember only the things that are related to your parents and this case. One, two, three."
Lee opened his eyes slowly. He looked around and then stared at Amanda for a moment. "The room in the basement," he said as he quickly sat up.
"Hey, wait a minute, you can't get up," Amanda said, pushing Lee back down on the bed. "You've got almost 20 CC's of this stuff in you, now the manual says you have to stay down for twelve hours. Now come on."
"You just help me, or I'm gonna do this on my own."
Amanda stared at him firmly; she knew him and she knew he would do this with or without her. "Fine," she stated firmly, "but I don't like it." She suddenly realized he hadn't said anything about the question she had asked him while he was under hypnosis. What she said must have worked.
With Amanda's help, Lee slowly got up.
"I'm gonna go wash up. I'll be right back," Lee said, standing up and walking unsteadily to the bathroom.
Amanda fell back on the bed. His answer to her question hadn't really sunk in until that moment. She smiled. Lee loved her, he really loved her. She put her hand to her chest, right where her heart was beating wildly and sighed. Now that she knew the truth, she could wait as long as it took for him to be able to look into her eyes and admit his love. She had been wondering if their relationship would ever go any further, if he could ever fall in love again, given his past. Now she knew the truth and it made her more confident in their relationship.
In the bathroom, Lee turned the faucet on and splashed the cold water onto his face. He turned the faucet off and looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled. Amanda loved him. He knew she did. She wouldn't have asked him if he loved her while he was under the drug's hypnotic influence if she didn't. He had been debating since they first started dating if he should tell her he loved her. He had known it long before they even began dating. He never felt it was the right time, though; he never felt ready to tell her. After he awakened, he had realized what he had done. In a sense, it had almost made him feel better to finally get it off his chest, even if he hadn't been able to control his words at the time. He had decided to comply with Amanda's request and pretend that he didn't remember that portion of their conversation. He figured she really didn't want him to know that she had asked him that while he was under or she wouldn't have asked him not to remember it. Knowing Amanda, she probably felt guilty for compromising him in that way. For the time being, it was better this way. Right now they had to concentrate on and finish this case for the sake of his parents. Now that he knew that she loved him, though, maybe he would have enough courage to tell her after the case was over. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. He smiled again before leaving the bathroom to get back to his unfinished business. He wasn't sure what his future held, but he was sure happy that Amanda would be a part of it. He knew their future would be a good one.
END