Title: Taking a Chance on Love

Author: Rita (dittypiddler)

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Brothers. No infringement intended.

Rating: G

Summary: Will Lee and Amanda take a chance on love one more time?

Thanks to Miriam, and the fabulous MEAP Team, for helping improve this ditty.

Timeframe: Late third season.

Feedback: Always.

"No, I don’t have any plans for this weekend." Amanda King ran more hot water in the kitchen sink and braced herself for another lecture from her mother.

"Darling, there’s more to life than working and raising children." Her mother handed her a stack of plates. "It’s not like you haven’t had any nice men interested in you. There was Dean, of course. A very reliable man. He loved you and the boys. And he had a good job. That’s important. I still don’t understand why you stopped seeing him. He wanted to marry you, you know."

"Yes, I know." Amanda sighed. Bad enough that her mother had practically chased her down the aisle when she was seeing Dean--did she have to keep praising him years later?

Apparently she did. "I know exactly what you’re thinking. This isn’t the first time I’ve lectured you, and it won’t be the last. Mothers are supposed to lecture their children."

Amanda tried to channel her irritation by vigorously scrubbing the casserole dish. "I stopped seeing Dean because I wasn’t ready to get married again. It wasn’t fair to keep him hoping for something that just wasn’t going to happen. Besides, I wasn’t in love with Dean. I was very fond of him, but I wasn’t in love with him."

"I see. Well, in that case, you were right to break up with Dean. I didn’t raise you to lead a man on. So you certainly did the right thing."

"I’m glad you understand." Amanda searched her mind for some new topic, but was distracted by a faint rustling in the bushes under the kitchen window. Was that Lee?

"But that doesn’t mean you should enter a convent. Now what about that nice Mr. Stevens or that absolutely gorgeous Mr. Thompson? They’re both unattached and very interested in you unless I miss my guess."

Drat. Her mother could be as tenacious as the Ferguson’s dog with a bone. "Mo-ther. I’m just not ready."

"And just when will you be ready? I know you think I’m trying to marry you off to any man under sixty, but I’m really not. I just don’t want to see you alone during the best years of your life." She sounded impatient. "It’s been more than three years since the divorce."

"I know how long it’s been." To the day. After all, the divorce had been the most difficult thing Amanda had ever faced. She had lost her confidence after admitting that she and Joe had failed. If she couldn’t save her marriage, what good was she for anything? Only meeting Lee and working for the Agency had restored her faith in herself.

Mother stopped drying the dishes and put her hands on her hips. She looked Amanda straight in the eye. "You’re scared, missy," she declared. "You’re just plain scared."

Amanda had heard enough. The fragile control she usually managed to maintain with her mother finally snapped. She dropped the pan she was washing into the sink with a splash. "You’re darn right I’m scared! I think I have a right to be scared. One failed marriage is enough for anybody. At least, it is for me. I barely survived the first time. Do you think I want to go through that again? Well, I DON’T."

Mother stared at her, wide-eyed.

Amanda drew a ragged breath and lowered her voice. "I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know you’re only thinking of me. It’s just not that easy. Besides, I have Phillip and Jamie to think about. I can’t afford to make a mistake."

"Of course, dear." Her mother smoothed the dishtowel in her hands. "I don’t mean to push you. I just want you to be happy. You’re a beautiful woman with so much to give. You can’t be afraid to let yourself love again."

"I know, and I am happy. Maybe I will get married again someday, and maybe I won’t. Either way it’ll be my choice. And if it happens, it’ll be to the right man this time. Okay?"

"All right." Mother shrugged and hung up the damp towel. "I certainly would never try to tell you how to live your life. You know I never pry."

"Of course not." Amanda tried to hide her smile. Her mother did nothing but pry. Unfortunately, the only man she cared about didn’t feel the same way about her and probably never would.

"Well, dear, I’m going upstairs and read for a while before bed." She kissed Amanda on the cheek. "Goodnight. I love you." She paused on her way out the door, looking over her shoulder. "Try to think about what I said, dear. No one should be alone his or her whole life. Believe me, I know."

Amanda listened to the gurgle of water draining from the sink and waited to see if Lee’s head would pop up in the window. No, it must have been the Ferguson’s dog or the wind that she’d heard outside. She shouldn’t let herself get her hopes up about seeing Lee; when he didn’t materialize, she only felt more alone.

She sighed and flicked off the kitchen light.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee got to his feet, wincing at the cramp in his leg, and edged along the side of the house. First he’d been irritated, wondering whether Dotty West would ever stop talking, and then amused by the conversation he’d overheard through the kitchen window.

But Amanda’s outburst had not been amusing. Amazing that Amanda might be just as scared as he was. Amanda King, afraid to love? She was the most caring person he had ever known. Lee wondered, not for the first time, just what had gone wrong with her marriage. Whatever it was, he couldn’t believe Amanda had been at fault.

He remembered the first time he had asked Amanda about her marriage, when they played a married couple in the Betsy Ross Estates. Amanda drove him to distraction back then, but she did seem to be the "perfect" wife. Not that he knew what a perfect wife should be. His only interest in women was their abilities in the bedroom. Still, he was impressed with Amanda’s domestic skills and her seemingly boundless energy. He was pretty thoughtless in asking Amanda why she had left her husband. Her answer shocked him: "I didn’t. He left me." Mumbling something about the laundry, she had left the room, leaving him baffled.

With Dotty West now on her way upstairs, Lee could make his presence known to Amanda, but he decided against it. She might guess that he’d been eavesdropping and, frankly, he couldn’t think of a good excuse for being there.

Instead of tapping on Amanda’s window, he made his way back to his car. All the way home, he couldn’t stop thinking about Dotty’s words. No one should be alone his whole life.

Why not? He was a loner, and he liked it that way. Didn’t he? Wasn’t it better to have no ties and nobody to worry about except himself?

Except he did have someone else to worry about--Amanda. Ever since she’d come barreling into his life, changing everything.

Now he wasn’t sure if his unattached lifestyle was what he wanted anymore. When he allowed himself to think about it, he realized that Lee Stetson was a lonely man.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda gave her pillow another vicious punch. She just couldn’t sleep. Try as she might to ignore them, her mother’s words kept echoing in her mind.

"Gosh darn it, Mother!" Her mother had an annoying habit of being right most of the time.

Amanda had to admit she was lonely. Strange, when she was always surrounded by people. But she knew something was missing in her life.

Did she dare take the chance of being hurt again? She would be taking a very big chance in falling in love with a man like Lee Stetson. ‘Oh shoot, Amanda. You’re already head over heels in love with the man, and you may as well admit it.’ She knew Lee cared about her, but would he ever love her the way she needed to be loved?

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee abandoned his quest for sleep. Maybe a drink would help him relax. He went into the living room, poured himself a double Scotch, and sprawled on the couch.

He never thought an Arlington housewife would interrupt his slumber. Except for Dorothy, Lee couldn’t remember ever losing sleep over a woman. Sipping his drink, he thought about Dorothy. She had been special. What course would his life have taken if Dorothy had lived? They had been a lot alike. When she died in his arms, he had decided that loving someone was just too risky. It hurt too much to lose them.

Maybe not letting yourself love someone had its own risks.

He wasn’t the same man he had been ten years ago or even three years ago. Somewhere along the way a man who wanted more out of life had replaced the reckless Scarecrow. Maybe when he met someone else special. Amanda.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee took another swallow of coffee and rubbed his eyes. After a sleepless night, he was tempted to put his head down on his desk and close his eyes. But at the sound of the Q Bureau door opening, he made himself sit up straight.

"Good morning." Amanda greeted him with a distinct lack of her usual cheerfulness.

"Morning." Amanda looked as tired as he felt. Maybe the exchange with her mother was still bothering her. Of course, he couldn’t ask her about it, or she would know he had been snooping. If she only knew that her mother’s words had kept him awake all night. He chuckled to himself, thinking of her reaction.

"What’s so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about something." Thinking that you look beautiful. Amanda’s beauty came as much from within as without. He had never known any woman who could make him feel so good with just a smile or a touch.

"So what’s on the agenda today?"

"Not much. Just the usual filing and paperwork. We should be able to get out of here early." He wondered if she had any plans for tonight.

"Good. I could use an easy day for a change."

Feeling awkward, Lee cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah." Amanda stared at the stack of file folders on his desk. "Nothing’s going on with me. Nothing at all."

Lee tried to concentrate on finishing a report, but his eyes were repeatedly and irresistibly drawn to Amanda. The swirl of her skirt around her long legs as she carried folders into the vault. The soft shimmer of her hair, and the stray curl that she brushed away from her dark eyes. The curve of her cheek, and the delicate beauty of her features.

When she brought over some of his notes, so he could translate a particularly illegible passage, and stood close by, he thought he’d never been so acutely aware of a woman. He took a deep breath; Amanda always smelled so good. Like sunshine and lilacs and sugar cookies.

"Oh, Langley." She gave a throaty laugh and placed her hand on his. "I thought it was ‘lovely.’ You’d think I could read your handwriting by now."

Lee’s mouth went dry, and he felt nervous as a schoolboy. "Listen . . ." He was absurdly grateful that his voice didn’t crack. "If you didn’t have any plans, I was wondering if you’d have dinner. With me."

Amanda looked up and gave him a dazzling smile. "I’d like that. I’d like that a lot." She reached for the phone. "I need to call Mother and tell her to make dinner for the boys. Somehow I don’t think she’ll mind."

The End