Author: VetteGirlScrcrw2

K, kiddies, repeat with me now, Scarecrow & Mrs. King and all things associated with, belong to Warner and Shoot the Moon and anybody else that holds a hand in that particular cookie jar.

No harm is intended by taking our characters out, dusting them off, and letting them see the light of day, as it were (especially since nobody in or around the above mentioned cookie jar feels the need to let them out for recess. GRUMBLE, grumble.)

Yes, it’s a dirty job, but some of us have to do it. No guts, no glory, no Scarecrow.

Well, ok, I love amnesia-related situations, especially for SMK. Oh, and Next Generation too, but that’s a completely different fandom.

Amnesia, ooh! (Rubbing hands together in wicked delight!) What a way to have fun with a character. However, you know what they say? Double your pleasure!

I hope you enjoy!

The cabin was nestled in the woods, desolate, and far removed from civilization. There were no vehicles parked nor were there any signs of life around the structure. To the untrained eye, it would appear as if it were deserted and had been for awhile, perhaps all summer. Now that fall had settled in around them, the lonely structure was surrounded by the blazing colors of the changing leaves and a crispness pervaded the air, despite the warm sunshine.

Lonely.

Uninhabited.

Except that it was not. Inside the building were two individuals, a man, and a woman. They were each located in a different bedroom, as the cabin boasted two of them. Despite the outward appearance, the place was quite comfortable inside. It was also the place were the reawakening of two people was just beginning. The last effects of the experimental drugs injected into both of them were subsiding and both were gradually emerging back into the land of the living.

She awoke in one room, he in another.

She slowly rose and sat on the bed, feeling as though she had tangled with a large truck and come out upon the losing side.

He felt as though he had been on a several-day drinking spree.

They stumbled upon each other in the hallway. She screamed and jumped back, flattening herself against the wall. He rubbed his head wearily, obviously confused.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh no buster, who are you?" she returned.

"Ah, well, I don’t know," he replied weakly.

"What do you mean you don’t know?" her voice was rising now.

He shrugged and gave her a silly grin. "Uhm, I don’t seem to recall my name. Now, who are you?"

"Oh...... my....... gosh," she whispered as she allowed herself to slowly slide down the wall to the floor.

"Lady, hey! Lady," the strange man called to her.

When she looked up at him, her dark eyes showed confusion and perhaps even a little fear.

"I don’t know who I am either."

"Oh," he said as though it were no big deal. "Oh," he said again.

For a few moments, both of them remained silent.

"Do you remember anything?" she questioned him hesitantly.

He shook his head. "Nope, you?"

She shook her head. "Ah, no."

"Great," he replied as he raked his hands through his hair and took note of the wide-eyed expression on the woman’s pretty face.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Oh my gosh."

He watched as she brought her knees up to her chest and lowered her head. He took in the frazzled appearance of the ponytail that captured her chestnut hair. For some odd reason, he had an overwhelming urge to free her hair and play with it. That thought quickly made him shake his head.

When she did not say anything or seem to be in any hurry to rejoin their conversation, he knelt down on the floor beside her.

"Lady," he said.

She slowly raised her face and looked at him. "Do you think I have a name?" She sighed before continuing. "I mean, of course I have a name. We all do. I just don’t remember it, why don’t I remember it?"

He shrugged. "Well, if its any consolation, I don’t seem to recall mine either."

She gave him a very weak smile. "That doesn’t help."

"Look, I don’t know what happened, but there’s probably a clue here." He suddenly grinned. "Of course, we probably have drivers licenses, right?"

"Yeah," she seemed to brighten up at that thought. "Sure."

He reached into his pockets but quickly came up empty. ‘Hmm, I don’t seem to have a wallet."

She frowned.

"Come on," he said as he extended his hand to her and helped her stand back up. "I’m sure our identifications are here somewhere, right? Let’s go take a look."

A quick search of the bedrooms they had both been in revealed nothing.

"Maybe in another room?" she asked hopefully.

They quickly made their way out to what appeared to be a combination living and dining room. There, sitting on a table, were both a wallet and a purse. Quickly they scoured through them.

The man smiled when he found his license. "Hey, my name’s Lee, Lee Stetson."

She was still rummaging through the various assortment of items in her purse.

"Oh!" she squealed. "I’m Amanda, Amanda King."

"Great, I don’t have to call you hey lady anymore," he said.

They both giggled.

"Says here I live in Arlington."

"Georgetown."

"Anything else?" he asked.

She shook her head. "That’s the only thing in here, besides makeup and stuff. No credit cards, no pictures, nothing."

"Same here, well except for some cash."

"Gives us something to go on, right?"

He nodded at her. "Yeah. Look, let’s find a phone."

"Sure. We can always call directory assistance and get our numbers."

After a brief search they realized the cabin had no phone.

She left out another sigh, then sat down on the couch.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked.

"No, nada." He sat down beside her, careful to leave a respectable amount of distance between them. "You?"

"Well, I think I was dreaming, before I woke up. I’m not sure I’m remembering the dream right though."

"Well, what do you think you remember?"

"Something about a clown, I think his name was Potato Chip."

"Potato Chip?" he shook his head sadly. "Lady, are ya sure you don’t have any bumps on your head?"

"No, I’m positive of that. Although I do feel like, I don’t know, really odd, kinda like I was drinking, except I don’t think I drink."

"That’s exactly how I feel."

"You don’t remember anything?" she asked him. "No dreams before you woke up?"

"No, ah, Amanda," he left her name slide of his tongue, liking the way it sounded. "No, I don’t."

"Well Mr. Stetson, I think it might be safe to say, we’re in a mess."

"Hmm, mmm. Hey, speaking of potato chips, I wonder if there’s any food here?"

He made his way over to the fridge and she watched him in silent curiosity. He was good looking, tall, very nicely built. Stop that, she told herself. You don’t know anything about this man. For all you know, he could be a murderer.

"Whatda you know!" he exclaimed. "The things stocked. Apparently we aren’t going to starve."

"We’ve got food but no clue as to what the heck is happening?"

"I don’t know about you, but my stomach doesn’t care right now. I see food, I’m going to eat. Want anything?"

"I want my mother," she began.

"Your mother?" he asked incredulously. Why on earth would someone her age want her mother?

Amanda shrugged. "I don’t know, I don’t know anything. I just think that, well, I know this sounds funny, but I think I have a mother. Maybe we’re close? I don’t know."

He quickly moved beside her and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Don’t panic, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation to all of this. We might think better on a full stomach."

She gave him a brave nod. "Maybe."

"That’s my girl. Come on, help me decide what we’re going to eat, ok? Trust me?"

Not knowing what else she could do, she followed him to the fridge.

They managed to work together in companionable silence in the kitchenette, preparing sandwiches and soup. After they had eaten, they began to clean up the dishes. As they stood at the sink, she washing, and he rinsing and placing them in the drainer so that they could dry, both remained silent. Then Lee accidentally tipped the glass he had been rinsing back towards Amanda, successfully soaking a lower portion of the sweater she was wearing.

"I’m sorry," he told her.

"No, its all right, really," she assured him. "I’ll just take the sweater off, I’ve got a shirt on underneath."

He watched her as she slipped out of the red sweater to reveal a short-sleeved white shirt underneath. That’s when he saw them.

"Amanda, let me see your arm," he ordered.

Hesitantly she allowed him to take her arm and she watched with mixed emotion as his fingers gently traced the red marks and faint bruises that were now visible.

"Needle marks," he said knowingly.

"You mean drugs?" she asked in a fearful tone.

"I’m not sure, I mean, maybe." He raked his fingers yet again through his hair, a habit that had not gone unnoticed by her.

"Do you think I," she could barely bring herself to say the words, "do I?"

He shook his head. "No, of course not."

"How can you say that?" her lower lip trembled as she asked. "For all we know you’re a drug dealer, we could be murderers or bank robbers, we may not even know each other. I don’t know anything about you and you don’t know anything about me, except our addresses."

Lee knew they had far too few facts to work with but something inside him told him that this woman could not possibly be a drug user. She didn’t fit the profile. Then Lee began wondering exactly how he knew that the marks were from a needle and why would he know anything about an addict’s profile. Stetson began to wonder exactly what type of man he was.

She was staring down at her arm, in total disbelief and with a good bit of healthy fear mixed in. Somehow, she did not believe that she would be the type to do drugs, but then what did she know? There were lots of celebrities who paraded themselves around in the media presenting one type of persona when in fact it was all a ruse, just like that Mrs. Welch.

"Mrs. Welch," Amanda murmured aloud.

"Huh?" Lee asked.

"I think she had a cooking show," Amanda slowly said. "Or she did."

Lee shook his head. "And that would be connected to these marks on your arm how?"

"I don’t know, it just suddenly popped into my head!" she had raised her voice when she spoke back to him, an obvious sign that she was more affected by this than she was trying to let on. What this Mrs. Welch had to do with any of it baffled her; the whole situation baffled her. She had no idea who she was, other than a name on a driver’s license that may or may not be real. She had no idea why she was in this cabin with this man, had no recollections of getting here, and she was just a bit frightened.

"Hey," he said soothingly as he pulled her into his arms, "I’m sure it will be all right."

For a time they stood there, each lost in their own thoughts. He thought about how pretty she was, if she were married, did she have anybody special in her life, and why would anybody want to hurt her? Just the thought of whoever had done this to her made him want to hunt them down and see that they received their fair punishment for such a crime.

She was thinking how right it felt to be in his arms, how her body had just seemed to snuggle right up to him as though it were the most natural thing in the world, as if they had done it for a lifetime.

"Oh," she whispered, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"What?"

"You can let go now," she hastily said.

"Oh, sorry Amanda," he apologized with feeling as he pulled away from her. He still did not release complete physical contact from her though. He kept his hands on her shoulders. "You ok?"

She nodded. "I’ll be fine, once you tell me who I am and why I’m here with you, wherever here is," she gestured with her hand around the room.

"That, Amanda, seems to be the million dollar question."

Evening was settling down around the two individuals, each whom had remained silent, alone in their thoughts of confusion. Amanda had been going through the cabin, searching for anything that might lead them to a clue to their identities. Lee had gone outside, surveying the area, also in the hope that something might come up to clear this entire mess up. So far, he had found nothing.

Now he stood outside, watching the remainder of the daylight rapidly slip away. The sky was a mix of descending orange light and ominous dark purple and black, clouds quickly beginning to fill the sky’s expanse above them. The night air was bringing with it a bitter wind and Lee would not be at all surprised if they awoke in the morning to an angry winter storm.

Shivering, he returned to the cabin, where he found Amanda sitting on the couch, staring into the fireplace.

"Hey lady," he called over to her.

"Oh no," she cried aloud, "you’ve forgotten my name?"

Lee held up a hand and grinned at her. "Whoa, no! You looked a little sad, I thought I might tease you, you know, make you smile."

"Oh," she said, suddenly feeling a bit sheepish at her sudden panic.

Lee set down beside her, placing his hands on knees, all the while commanding them not to give in to the reactions his body was having at being so close to her. There was something about this woman that invoked odd but pleasant feelings. He felt it best not to just blindly react to emotion until they both knew exactly what was going on.

"Find anything?" she asked him, desperately hoping that he’d say yes, but already instinctively knowing what he was going to tell her.

"Well, I can tell you we’re in a pretty rural area, high up on a mountain. I couldn’t even see a major road, just what looks like a logging road perhaps. The major electrical line is pretty far down too; I’m amazed we even have a connection up here. And, to make matters worse, I think there’s a major storm brewing, we may lose that electric connection if the winds are bad enough."

"Oh no," she said.

Noting the look of panic in her face, he tried to reassure her. He patted her knee gently.

"Amanda, even if we lose the electric, the place has more than enough firewood out there. Even if we did run out, I am quite capable of chopping more. You’ve seen the food stock; we aren’t going to run out anytime soon. Now I don’t think the fireplace will heat the whole cabin but this room should stay nice and toasty."

She nodded. "Ok, that sounds fine if we wanted to stay here, which I don’t."

"I know," he said glumly. "Unfortunately there’s no sign of any type of vehicle, not even a horse."

Amanda raised a worried brow at that. "A horse? You’d ride a horse down the mountain?"

"If we had one, yes. Not with this storm coming, but if the weather were clear, yeah. Why, are you afraid of horses?"

Amanda shrugged. "How do I know?"

"Come on Amanda, you just get up on it and ride, no big deal."

She shook her head. "I’m glad there’s not a horse."

Lee suddenly laughed. "Despite what those driver licenses say, you must be a city girl and I must be a country cowpoke."

Amanda glanced at him. It was certainly true that he filled out those tight blue denims quite nicely. They looked like they suited him. She suddenly had a very hard time trying to picture him in a three-piece suit, all business professional. Nah, she decided she preferred the outdoor image of him better.

Lee, in the meantime, was doing his own glancing at Amanda. Sure, she looked wholesome enough in those tight jeans that covered her slender figure like a second skin. Not to mention the fact that she had looked all-patriotic, what with the red sweater and white shirt mixed with the blue jeans. Her hair was just shoulder length, falling in layered waves of brown now that she had removed the ponytail.

They both realized they had been staring at one another for far too long and she turned away while Lee cleared his throat nervously.

"You know, just in case we do lose the electric, you might want to consider taking a shower tonight. The bathroom seems pretty well stocked too."

"Yeah," she replied quick as she stood up. "I think I will."

Suddenly Amanda could not get out of the room and away from his presence quickly enough.

Lee watched her go with a twinge of regret. He listened to the bathroom door close behind her and eventually the sound of the running water. He blew out a puff of air and raked his hands yet again through his hair.

"Who the hell am I?" he voiced aloud. "And who is she?"

He stood up and began to pace the room, thinking through the events of the last few hours.

"Ok, so I don’t have a lot but it’s probably best to work with what I know, right?"

He continued pacing and speaking aloud.

"I know, or I think I know, my name is Lee. Her name is Amanda. Neither one of us remembers getting here, or anything else. Zip on personal background."

He glanced down at his hands. He did not have a wedding ring and there seemed to be no indication that he had worn one anytime recently, so he was going to assume he was currently single. Amanda wasn’t wearing one either, although she did have two other rings on, so he was going to assume the same thing in her case, though he couldn’t fathom why a woman as beautiful as Amanda was not married.

"Two single people in a cabin, in the mountains. Hmm, I wonder if there’s anything between us?"

Lee shook his head. He had not seen anything in the way of personal belongings in the room he awoken up in, other than a leather jacket. If they were together and had planned a romantic getaway, wouldn’t they have brought luggage?

"This doesn’t add up," he grumbled.

Then there were the needle marks on Amanda’s arm. He had not the heart to tell her he discovered similar marks on his arms not that long ago.

Amanda stood under the hot water, willing herself to relax despite the predicament they had found themselves in. Here she was, in a cabin with a strange man and no memory as to how she had gotten here. And what a man, she thought to herself. He was total hunk, not that she felt she should notice that type of thing, but she had.

"Besides, he can’t be all that bad," she said aloud. Of course, he couldn’t be. He hadn’t tried to be anything but helpful. He didn’t have any memories either; he seemed to be as perplexed as she.

She reviewed mentally what little they did know. It was not much.

Other than an odd dream about a clown and the vague feeling that she was probably going to be in hot water with her mother, whom she had no memory of, Amanda couldn’t put her finger on any part of her past.

As she had undressed before getting in the shower, she had taken note of the jewelry she had been wearing; hoping it would give her a clue. Other than two rings, her watch, a gold chain bracelet, the exquisite heart pendant, and her earrings, there was nothing that gave her any tangible clues. She could assume she was not married, but then again, just because she was not wearing either an engagement ring or a wedding band, that did not mean anything.

The heart necklace itself was confusing. It seemed in direct contrast to the rest of her jewelry. The other pieces were simple, and while not cheap pieces, she didn’t necessarily think they boasted astronomically high price tags. The heart pendant was brilliant, each diamond sparkling beautifully. Oddly, Amanda felt a strong emotional attachment to the piece. Somebody special had given it to her, of that she was certain. Who, she had no idea.

So, how then did she come to be in this remote cabin with such a gorgeous piece of beefcake? And why was she with him? She had noted early on that he did not wear a wedding band, as well as noting that there were no faded tan lines indicating that he ever wore a ring on that finger. She had noticed his watch, in particular the brand, definitely high priced. And his clothes, while casual, seemed to speak sophistication. There was something about this Lee Stetson; was he all that he appeared to be?

She finished her shower and climbed out, weary from the thoughts. Perhaps a good night of sleep and, hopefully, when morning broke they might awake with the answers to all the questions.

Amanda only wondered if they would be the sort of answers they wanted to learn.

The good night of sleep theory crashed right out the window around twelve-thirty a.m., the same time an ominous roll of thunder caused Amanda King to nearly jump out of the unfamiliar bed she had fallen asleep on.

"Gosh," she mumbled as she willed her racing heart to calm.

The sound of rain hitting the roof of the cabin was almost deafening. With a resigned moan, she crawled out from under the warm blankets and walked to the window.

The world outside was dark and wet, causing Amanda to wonder if this was the type of scenario that had greeted Noah and his clan as they had boarded the ark lifetimes ago.

Deciding that sleep would not return any time soon, she retrieved her jeans from where she had laid them neatly over a chair and shimmied back into them. Then she made her way out the hallway into the large room that served as both dining and living room for the cabin. She came to an abrupt stop as she spied the sleeping form of Lee Stetson sprawled out on the couch, snoring softly.

A smile came to her face as she watched his face illuminated by the light of the dying fire. Such a handsome face, almost boyish, as he peacefully slept through the storm. Amanda thought that she could stay there for hours and watch him. How did any man have a right to be so drop-dead gorgeous?

She quietly made her way to the kitchenette area and opened the refrigerator, deciding that she needed a drink. It seemed odd, even to her, that most of the items seemed to be fresh, as if they had just been bought. Not that she was exactly sure of the date, but the items that did bear expirations dates had seemed quite fresh when she and Lee had sorted through them earlier in the day.

Another indicator that perhaps they had come to this cabin together? On the other hand, perhaps, she thought, they had been brought here together.

Perplexed, she poured a glass of milk for herself, and stood there sipping slowly as she thought.

Had somebody else brought them here then? It might make sense, given the lack of any vehicle. Even if she and Lee were romantically involved, that still did not explain the lack of personal belongings nor the marks on her arms.

Unless, oh! Now wait a minute Amanda, that’s totally preposterous. Or was it? She could not push the notion out of her head once it had surfaced. Perhaps someone bad had brought them here. Why, and for what reason?

Oh dear, what had they stumbled into?

Another loud clap of thunder echoed around them and the lights flickered off then back on. Amanda shivered as the notion of being in the cabin with no electricity flitted through her mind.

As if on cue, Lee stirred. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, scrubbing his face with his palms.

"Amanda," he said as he noticed her.

"Hi," she said as he watched him eye her curiously. She shrugged as she held up her glass of milk. "I couldn’t sleep."

"Oh." He sat there for a minute, listening to the rainfall and the thunder crash. To him it seemed as if the air in the cabin had turned cooler.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked as he rose.

"I suppose," she replied as she watched his tall form amble over to the fireplace to tend the fire. In no time at all he had the flames burning brightly.

"Best if I keep an eye on that, especially with this storm."

Amanda nodded.

"Do you want something? I could you fix you something, coffee, hot chocolate," she offered.

Lee smiled. "You know, hot chocolate sounds good." Then with a hint in his voice, he added, "I saw marshmallows in the cabinet too."

At first Amanda did not respond to his comment, then she turned around to face him, an odd look on her face.

"I like marshmallows, don’t I?" she asked him with a contemplating look on her face.

He watched in amusement as she tilted her head to one side and did a very cute thing with her lips, skimming her teeth over the bottom one as she reflected on this.

"Maybe?" he replied. "I think so."

"No, I’m pretty sure I do."

Amanda returned to the act of making the hot beverage for them while Lee took the time to walk the cabin, looking out all the windows and checking the front and back doors. She noticed that he especially paid attention to the locks, double checking them all.

Once the chocolate was ready she fixed two cups, complete with fluffy little clouds floating on top, and they sat together in mutual silence on the couch.

"Lee," Amanda spoke, unable to bear the silence no longer. "Maybe we should talk, you know, about what we know. They say two heads are better than one, and so, I was thinking, if we both put our heads together, maybe we can come up with a reasonable explanation as to why we think we’re here and how we think we can get out of here."

Lee stared at her. How had she managed to say all of that with one breath?

"Sounds good." He set his cup of chocolate down. "What do we know so far?"

"We know our names."

"Right."

"We know our addresses."

"Yes."

"Lee," Amanda began slowly, "I think somebody brought us here, I don’t think we came here on our own. Please, don’t get the wrong idea, I mean, you are cute, but it doesn’t seem as if we came here together for a, well, you know."

Puzzled that she had left the statement unfinished, he questioned her, "You know what?"

"A you know."

"No, Amanda, I don’t know. A you know what?"

Amanda shook her head. "You know," she tried again. "Like, like, oh like we’re having a thing, together."

Suddenly Lee chuckled, now understanding completely what this beautiful woman was trying to get out. If he’d had any doubts about Amanda’s character before hand, and he really hadn’t, he now knew for certain that this gorgeous young woman wasn’t capable of harming a flea, much less doing drugs or participating in anything else unsavory.

"Amanda," he said gently, placing his hand on her knee, "if you mean to imply that the two of us were romantically involved, then I understand your meaning. Not that we probably are, I mean, you know, we might be two completely total strangers."

"Right."

"And I agree with you, I’ve already thought about that. I really do believe we were both brought here, probably against our will, which would explain our bruises and other assorted marks."

"Our?" Comprehension dawned on Amanda. "You too?" she murmured sadly.

Lee nodded. "Yeah, me too. I’m sorry Amanda, I didn’t want to tell you, I didn’t want to upset you any more than you had to be."

"You should have told me!"

"Maybe I should have. But let’s get back on topic, shall we? Now, neither one of us thinks we came here willingly. Question is, who brought us here and why did they do this to us?"

She made a face as she spun things around in her mind. "Lee, think about our addresses."

"Yeah, I’m thinking. Don’t recall anything special."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Lee! Look, I’m just thinking that you live in Georgetown, I live in Arlington, we live in the Washington DC area. Now, don’t you think it might stand to reason, I mean, it’s a very good possibility that we both have government jobs of some sort. Maybe we ran into something that we shouldn’t have."

He nodded. "Good point Amanda. I’d agree, the odds are high enough that one, if not both of us, could be work in the government."

He took a sip of his hot chocolate before continuing. "So, names, addresses, possible government employees. Let’s run with that, what kind of career do you think you have?"

Amanda looked at him, "You know I don’t know the answer."

"Amanda, go with your feeling, a gut instinct. If you had a government job, what kind of job do you think it would be?"

"Hmm," she thought a bit. "Lee, I think I might be a good typist. And I think computers would be fascinating. Answering phones would probably bore me, so I don’t think I’m a receptionist."

"Computers, typing, of course. Amanda, maybe you work in an information department, data entry, or," Lee’s face suddenly lit up.

"Yeah," he drew the word out slowly. "Manda, government reports, access to a lot of highly classified data."

"What did you just call me?"

"Manda," he said. "Why? I thought you liked it," he suddenly paused, then voiced his next words very slowly. "I thought...you liked it.....when...I called you that."

Her brown eyes met his hazel ones, each seeming to question the other without saying a word and not quite finding the answers.

"Come on Amanda, admit it, we have to know each other."

He turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don’t you think?"

"I’m not so sure," she said. How would she admit to him that she had this feeling of being safe when he was near, that she would trust him with her very life, or how she really wished he would hold her in his arms. How could she tell him that his touch, right now even, was causing her heart to do strange bouncy rhythms?

"Come on Amanda, I knew you liked marshmallows, I called you a nickname and you reacted."

"Coincidence," she told him. "I’m sure we’re not involved, we probably don’t even know each other. A lot of people like marshmallows in their hot chocolate and geez, how hard would it be to slip from using Amanda to Manda, hmm? " She shook her head. "Not involved, nah."

Lee shrugged. "Fine, we’re not involved. But we might still work together. The odds say so Amanda, otherwise, why would we be here, together?"

"Fine," she assented. "Names, addresses, probable government employees who might work for the same company. That’s still not much Lee."

"It’s more than we had when we first woke up here."

Amanda yawned, despite the fact that she hadn’t wanted to.

"Speaking of waking up, you’re tired," he said. "There’s flashlights in the cupboard over there, let me get you one just in case the power goes out."

He stood up and proceeded to retrieve one for her. She smiled when she accepted it.

"Look, you go on ahead to bed, I’ll wash the dishes up, ok?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"Well, goodnight Amanda," he told her.

"Goodnight Lee," she told him before she turned and went back to the bedroom, pushing the door until it stood ajar just a bit.

"We’re not involved," she told herself as she climbed back in under the covers. "Nope, not, absolutely not possible. Purely professional."

After she had snuggled deeper into the bed and closed her eyes, she spoke again.

"Yeah, right, Amanda, purely professional. That’s about as believable as you being a spy."

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Morning came to the mountain and Lee Stetson was the first to wake up. He sat up, stretched, and rose from the couch to peer out the window. The site that greeted him did not surprise him. Heavy snowfall created what could have been an almost magical scene, other different circumstances.

It certainly did not surprise him, he had heard the rain turn over to sleet around two or so. He had suspected the temperature was going to continue to drop, but he had not anticipated this heavy of a snowfall. Visibility was practically down to zero and a good eight inches or more seemed to have fallen already, with no end in sight.

It was obvious they were not going to try to hike out of here and down the mountain today.

Lee had the cabin to himself for another forty-five minutes as Amanda continued sleeping. He should not have even known that fact but she had left the door ajar a bit during the night. A quick peek in had given him a glimpse of her beautiful form, curled up in the safe haven of the warm blankets of her bed. Taking advantage of the quiet, he showered, made coffee, and discovered a few more clothing items in a box in the hall closet.

Once Amanda got up, he was going to extend the invitation of clothes washing before the electricity went out on them. She could tool about in one of the oversized flannel shirts and sweatpants that had been stored.

He selected one of the smaller sized flannel shirts for her as well as a pair of sweatpants. Then Lee rummaged through the fridge, deciding he was in the mood for an omelet.

The smell of coffee and food being cooked tickled Amanda’s nose, rousing her out of sleep. She sat up and stretched, taking in the unfamiliar bedroom. She slipped out of the bed, letting her feet touch the hardwood floor. A moment or two spent in the bathroom, and then she followed her nose to find Lee humming to himself as he cooked.

"Smells good," she said.

He turned to her and smiled. "Good morning sleepy head."

"Have you been up long?"

"A little bit. Hey, check outside," he told her as he slipped slices of bread into the toaster.

Amanda ventured to the window and looked out. "Oh my gosh, it looks like a blizzard."

Lee laughed. "Not quite, but still a pretty decent winter storm."

"That’s an awful lot of snow," she noted.

"Yeah, I’d say we’ve got nearly a foot or so by now."

Amanda came to stand by him at the stove. "Can I help?"

"Nope, almost done. Oh, I was thinking if you want to wash your clothes, I found a box of flannels and sweats in the closet. I laid out a set of the smallest size for you. Considering we stand a chance of losing the power before the end of the day, I thought you might appreciate it."

"Yeah," she said. "Let me change, I’ll be right back."

By the time she had returned, Lee had the small table set and was pouring orange juice into the glasses. He looked up at her and grinned. She had tied the bottom of the long black and white flannel shirt around her waist and she had rolled the waist over a few times on the sweatpants. Even with the oversized clothing, he still thought she looked adorable.

"Are you sure you want breakfast?" she asked him.

Lee gave her an odd look. "Amanda, it’s almost eleven. That’s late enough in the day to make this justifiable."

"Beats day old donuts and stale coffee," they both said in unison.

"Oh," she said.

"Yeah," he said.

Lee chuckled. "Well, enough of that, let’s get your clothes in the washer, shall we? Toast is almost done."

Lee opened the lid on the compact unit and reached for Amanda’s clothing. She started to hand him the small pile, then suddenly pulled away as his hands accepted them.

"Amanda, what’s the matter?"

Not looking him in the face, she slowly retrieved first her white top, then her white bra from the pile. Her fingers had to brush against his as she untangled the lacy undergarment from the pile. The spark of electricity that surged between them felt like enough to power the DC metroplex for at least week. Neither of them could ignore it.

"I, uh, don’t mix white with darks," she stammered.

He nodded. "I see."

"Might fade," she shrugged as she said it.

"Might," he replied.

"I can hand wash them," she continued.

"You could," he said as he dropped her jeans, sweater, and black bikini underwear in the washer. With a rigid determination he tried to ignore the last item, tried very hard to wipe away the image of Amanda standing there before him in nothing but those little scraps of fabric.

He dropped the lid back into place and turned the machine on. Then he turned to find that she had slipped away.

"Damn," he murmured.

When she returned, a few moments later, both of them had regained some composure. Breakfast started in silence, until Amanda spoke.

"You know, last night you never answered the question."

"What question?"

"What type of job do you think you have?"

Lee shrugged. "I’m not sure. I thought about it last night. You know how we keep having these little things pop out at us, these little flashes? Well, I keep having them, but they make no sense Amanda."

"As bad as Potato Chip the clown?" she said with a smile.

With that comment, the remaining tension between them faded away.

"That’s Pretzel the clown, not Potato Chip," Lee informed her with an almost frightening certainty.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I threatened to have the IRS back investigate him if he didn’t show up to the party."

"Huh?" Amanda said. "What party?"

Lee thought about that for a minute, then he shook his head. "Damn Amanda, I can’t get my finger on it. It’s like it’s there, right in front of me, and then wham, gone."

"Lee, calm down. If you try to force it, it won’t work. I guess we’ll just have to let things come to us in their own good time."

"How can you be so patient?" he asked before he swallowed the remainder of his juice.

"Practice?" Even Amanda did not sound so sure of her answer. Then she suddenly laughed.

"What’s so funny?"

"I’m just wondering, hypothetically speaking here, if we do know each other and we do work together, what kind of place is it and why were we having a party with Potato Chip, I mean, Pretzel the Clown?"

Lee laughed too. "I don’t know Amanda, must be some darned crazy people."

"Wait a minute, you said you think you threatened to have the IRS investigate him. Don’t you think that means you have some clout somewhere?"

"Yeah, maybe. What am I? Who am I?" he asked.

Amanda’s eyes took on a funny look, almost as though she were seeing something else played out before her.

"Who are you? What are you?" she asked. "I remember asking you that, in my kitchen."

"Your kitchen? Are you sure?"

"Of course, I’m sure. I don’t know why, I don’t know when. But I did, I’m positive."

"Hi, I’m Lee Stetson, of Georgetown. I’m not afraid of horses, unlike some people sitting here and I won’t mention any names," he risked taking a glance at Amanda who was rolling her dark eyes at him before continuing.

"I can get the IRS to knock on your front door and make your life a living hell. I attend parties with a clown named after a snack food, and I’ve been in your kitchen. Boy Amanda, what a life summary, huh?"

"You can cook, and you can do laundry too," she added, her dark eyes twinkling with mischief before she burst into laughter. "You’re multi-talented, big guy."

"Hey," he warned her but she just smiled.

"If we’re gonna be stranded together, we might as well make the best of it, right?"

"Yeah," Lee agreed.

Evening was drawing down upon the tiny cabin as the snow continued to fall. They had passed the time playing cards with a worn out deck found in Lee’s bedroom. By late afternoon they had lost the electricity, brought in more firewood, and moved some of the perishable food items outside into the deep freeze situated on the tiny back porch. Lee had found a supply of lanterns and candles and Amanda had brought out several of the blankets and comforters as it became apparent they would be sleeping in the main room of the cabin.

They had feasted on canned tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches, courtesy of the fireplace. Now they sat on the furry rug, in front of the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa, and talking. Surprisingly, for two people with very little memory, they had found a lot to converse about.

Sometimes they shared the brief snatches of memory that each had been experiencing, or tried to remember lyrics to songs or jokes. Anything to stimulate the gray matter, Lee had suggested.

"I still don’t understand this amnesia stuff," Amanda mumbled. "I mean, I can recall every character on every key of a keyboard, I can sing you the theme song to Gilligan’s Island."

"Please don’t, not again," Lee chuckled.

She slapped his knee playfully and pulled the blanked around her shoulders a little tighter.

"And you," she guffawed loudly, "you just bored me to death citing advantages and disadvantages over purchasing foreign and domestic vehicles. As if I ever plan to own a Vette anyhow. I bet I’ve never even driven one."

Lee shrugged. "You never know. Maybe we can purchase one together."

"Just because you’ve been in my kitchen once, and you think we work together buster, doesn’t mean we’re going to buy a car together. You know, in reality, we might not get along. We might not even be friends."

Then Amanda leaned a little bit closer to him and whispered in the most conspiratorial tone she could muster. "We might despise each other, Stetson."

Lee laughed as he set his drink down. "Me, despise you? Come on Amanda, I bet we’ve been friends forever. Who knows, maybe we grew up together?"

"Puh-lease," Amanda groaned in mock despair.

"Don’t discount it," he said. Then he leaned over and touched her cheek. "Besides, I’m betting the farm that there are a lot more words that more accurately describe us than despise."

Amanda inhaled softly at his touch. "Like what?" she questioned softly.

Lee’s fingers glided along her jaw line and then back down her throat, coming to a rest on her collarbone. Amanda shivered at his touch.

"Cold?" he questioned her.

"No," she shook her head. Amanda was anything but cold.

Time seemed to stand still as the two of them looked at each other. Both questioned the emotions that they were feeling and acknowledged the unresolved issues of their current state. To proceed, acting out on their emotions without that knowledge might open even more issues that would need dealt with later. Not proceeding, however, might not even be an option anymore.

Amanda tentatively moved one hand to rest on his shoulder, then the other. Her fingers moved in a gentle caressing movement until, eventually, one hand had crept behind his neck and fingers began moving through his hair. Somehow, she knew exactly where to stroke to elicit a response from him. When he reacted, it did not startle her.

She had managed, just by working her fingers up into his hair and gently playing, to arouse a desire from deep within and Lee could no more hold back from reacting than a person could cease breathing on their own. He tugged her close to him, the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders slipping to the floor behind her.

When they finally kissed, it was as if the entire universe ceased to exist. There was nothing in that moment but the two of them. Softly, at first, and then he urgently parted her lips with his tongue and soon hers had joined him in a dance of delicious satisfaction. Amanda moaned softly and Lee reacted by pulling her down onto the floor, to lie on top of him as he gave in to the urge that had been haunting him almost from the first moment he’d set eyes on her yesterday.

The sweet taste of chocolate mingled with his unique flavor and Amanda knew she was hopelessly lost to this hunk of a man. For one recklessly insane moment, she did not care if the final outcome revealed that they did, indeed, despise one another. He was simply breathtaking, delicious, and she wanted him, as badly as she certainly knew he wanted her.

Lee’s lips moved from Amanda’s to her neck and back again as they wantonly ravished each other. Her skin was soft and he breathed in her scent as he nuzzled her neck. God, he hoped that their real life resembled this because he did not think he could take it if turned out he could not have her. Must have her, absolutely had to, he knew.

His hands slipped their way up the back of her shirt, creeping upward and caressing her. He knew she had no bra on, knew it was hanging to dry along with the rest of their own clothing. The knowledge that the flannel shirt she wore was the only thing between her skin and his burned at him. It had to go.

He rolled and maneuvered them, now lying atop of her. Fingers began toying with her buttons, starting at the bottom and working upward. Her fingers had joined him in this endeavor, between needy kisses that left them mindless. They might not remember who the heck they were, but one thing was perfectly clear. They had ignited a fire, a blazing inferno that begged to be extinguished. There was only one way to put out such a blaze.

CRASH!

Amanda and Lee both jumped at the deafening noise that came from outside.

"What the hell?" he groaned aloud. Quickly he stood up. "Amanda, stay here." His tone was authoritative, a man used to being in charge and being obeyed.

He moved cautiously to the front door of the cabin and put his ear to the door. Hearing nothing but the faint wind from outside, he hesitantly began to open it. Then he glanced out the door. Eventually, he had opened the door in its entirety and stood shaking his head.

The mystery noise was the remnants of a tree lying in the front yard; the weight of the snow had sent it toppling to the snow covered ground.

"Lee," Amanda’s voice called from behind him.

"It’s nothing Manda. A tree fell over."

He realized she had moved to stand behind him and laughed. "Do you ever do as your told?"

He turned and came back in the doorway, taking note of the expression on her lovely face.

"Somebody has to watch your back," she told him automatically, then frowned even as she finished the statement.

Lee shut the door and locked it behind them. He motioned her to return to the living room. They both sat down and looked at one another, then spoke at the same time.

"Lee," she began.

"Amanda," he began.

"You first," she said.

"Fine. Look, about what just happened."

She gave him a small smile. "I know, it was nothing."

"Manda," he started to say, but she hushed him quickly.

"Look, I understand. We don’t really know enough to, well, you know, get involved like this. So, we can pretend like nothing happened, you know, we just got caught up in the moment or something. Our emotions were on overload."

He touched her cheek. "You don’t really buy that, do you?"

"Not exactly, but, maybe, for now, I will. We have to Lee. I mean, for all we know you've got a wife and four kids."

Lee laughed. "Oh God, no. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me that I drive a mini-van and coach little league."

She smiled at him; a warm and reassuring smile. "Look, I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going anywhere. If things work out ok, well, we’ve got something to look forward to, right?"

"Exactly," he nodded in agreement. He lifted his glass to her and grinned.

"Here’s to knowing you," he said.

She lifted her glass to his. "And maybe getting to know each other better, once we get back to wherever we belong."

"Look, I’m going to tend to the fireplace, you want to wash the cups? Then we can get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow we can see about getting out of here."

Amanda nodded. It was the sensible thing to do, after all. It was logical. It would keep them out of trouble, and preserve some manner of dignity for them, lest things turn out much differently than both of them were now hoping. It was the right decision, for now.

Amanda glanced out the window, taking note of all the snow that had fallen. Lee was probably right in his estimation of eighteen to twenty inches. She briefly wondered if the weatherman had been right on the amount to fall. Lee’s presence behind her intruded upon her thoughts.

"It’s just flakes now. I think the storm is over," she said.

"Probably."

She turned to him. "Do you want to try and hike down the mountain this afternoon?"

"I don’t know. Something tells me to just sit tight today."

"Really? And what scientific data are you basing that theory on Stetson?"

"The fact that this cabin is pretty warm compared to the temperature out there. The fact that there’s some pretty good grub here, and the fact that I’m in the company of a very pretty woman. A man couldn’t want much more."

"You’re so full of it," she teased.

"You love me and you know it," he returned as he moved to hold her.

Amanda snorted and slipped out of his reach, just as his arms would have snatched her.

"More like I tolerate you," she said as she bounced down onto the couch. "And for the life of me, I don’t know why."

"You’re still sore because I beat you in the last hand of poker."

"You cheated."

"I did not."

"Lee Stetson, pulling cards out of the deck while I was nice enough to make you hot chocolate and then hiding them under your leg definitely qualifies as cheating."

"Just be glad we weren’t playing strip poker."

"In your dreams," she retorted. She tugged the blanket on the couch up over her long legs and glared at him.

"Clout, let’s get real. Heck you probably have had the IRS knocking at your door," she mumbled.

Lee laughed as he sat down beside her and welcomed the fact that she allowed him to snuggle with her. "Cry baby," he whispered in her ear.

"Worm head," she said as he wrapped her in his arms.

"Temper, temper Amanda," he said as he kissed her lightly. They had volleyed like this throughout the morning and all through lunch, enjoying every minute of it.

"I do not have a temper," she declared haughtily.

"Need I remind you of who threatened to hide the remaining bags of marshmallows?"

"Pin brain," she murmured as she closed her eyes.

"Sleepy?" he asked her.

"Yes. Some crazed idiot believing he could sing this morning woke me up."

"Hey I’m not the one who furnished the place. I’d have at least included a clock radio."

"Hush," she commanded him.

Lee looked at her, as she once again closed her dark eyes. It was obvious that she wanted to nap and he was rapidly finding it hard to deny Amanda King anything. So he closed his eyes as well and snuggled closer to her, content to hold her and sleep the winter afternoon away.

"Man in the red hat," she murmured in her sleep.

Lee opened his eyes and looked at Amanda. She was nestled in the crook of his arm, eyes closed.

"Manda," he whispered.

"Give it to the man in the red hat," she murmured again.

Lee shook her gently. "Amanda, wake up."

"I can’t. Do you know how many men in red hats are on that train?"

Lee sighed. "Amanda King, wake up," he told her loudly.

Her dark eyes popped open at that command. "What?" she asked.

"You were talking in your sleep," he answered.

"What did I say?"

"Something about men in red hats," he told her.

"Oh."

Almost in unison, they moved to sit up. Lee reached out and brushed her dark hair out of her face. Then his fingers lightly skimmed her cheek, coming to rest under her chin. She gazed at him with still sleepy eyes and smiled.

"You’re adorable," he told her.

"What do you want Stetson?" she asked softly, her senses suddenly on alert.

"This," he told her. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

A brief and gentle kiss, but it packed enough wallop to render Amanda defenseless. She returned it with one of her own, equally powerful.

When they parted, she volleyed a question. "Do you remember anything about a train and a package?"

"Should I?" he asked.

"I’m not sure."

"Well," he ventured his own inquiry, "since we’re playing twenty questions again, do you know anything about the Bombers?"

"Are they a rock group?" she asked.

"I don’t think so. I dreamed about a pin. I think it said the Bombers on it."

Amanda shrugged and looked down at the blanket, toying nervously with loose threads on it. "I wonder if we’re ever going to remember anything."

"Hey, of course we will, trust me."

She raised her eyes to him. "I always have," she replied.

The look in her eyes revealed to him that Amanda King more than trusted him. Lee Stetson wished desperately that he could remember everything about her and whatever life they had shared together before waking up in this cabin without memories. He would hate to have lost something as precious as time spent with her.

"Amanda," he murmured huskily.

"Yes," she answered. She knew she trusted him, was pretty certain she had for a very long time. Amanda also knew, without any doubt, that she was head over heels in love with this Lee Stetson. It felt so right, he felt so right.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, one that melted her into a pool of liquid heat. Amanda was thankful that they were already seated for she knew her legs would have buckled had they been standing.

Lee drew her down on top of him as he lay down on he couch. He could think of no better way to spend the remainder of a cold afternoon or a bleary evening than making love to Amanda.

Just as his hands had slipped up under her shirt and had begun to caress her back, it happened.

Again.

Like always.

The anticipated interruption.

The noise seemed to be coming straight at them, and then to hover over them.

"What the?" he began.

"It sounds like a helicopter," she said.

Quickly the two of them jumped off the couch, fingers flying to straighten their clothes.

Lee moved to the front window and pushed back the curtain. He watched as the helicopter landed in the front yard and a dark skinned man exited the chopper, followed by a blonde woman.

"Lee!" the man bellowed out.

"Amanda," the woman’s voice followed.

Lee cautiously opened the door as the two strangers came up to them.

"Lee, Amanda, are you guys all right?" the strange man asked.

Lee and Amanda looked at each other, then back at the man and the blonde-haired woman behind him.

"Do we know you?" they echoed together.

"Oh boy," Billy and Francine groaned at the same time.

"So, let me get this straight," Lee said from his seat on the couch, Amanda sitting next to him.

"Amanda and I were on a stakeout and this Huffines and DeBright managed to get us, drug us, and bring us here. All because they wanted to use Federal agents as guinea pigs for an experimental drug that they planned on selling to the highest international bidder."

"Only the drug doesn’t work as planned, because it doesn’t block the long-term memory totally," Amanda added.

"Which is why Amanda and I kept recalling little flashes."

Francine nodded at both of them. "Exactly. And because DeBright’s goons decided to go on a booze run before the storm hit and crashed at the bottom of the mountain, Huffines and DeBright didn’t realize you and Amanda were sitting up here, alone. By the time they realized it, the storm had moved in and they couldn’t get up the mountain."

Billy continued, "And the police had already been tipped off when they found your and Amanda’s Federal Id’s in the car, along with your credit cards and Amanda’s pictures from her billfold."

"By the time the storm was clearing, we had brought them all in for questioning, and the case was pretty much closed. Now all that’s left is to get you two back down to DC, and let your memories return over the next few days."

"They will return, won’t they?" Amanda asked.

Francine nodded. "Dr. McJohn assures us they will. They did for all of the other test subjects Amanda."

"Sir, can I ask one more question?"

"Certainly Amanda," Billy smiled fondly at her. "What is it?"

She pointed to Lee with an amused look on her face. "Does he own a farm?"

By the following afternoon, Lee and Amanda had been flown from the mountain, which they had been informed had been in Canada, back to DC. A night spent at the Agency hospital, along with a myriad of medical tests that Lee had vehemently protested against and some long conversations with Billy and Francine had prompted most of their memories.

Dr. McJohn had given them both a clean bill of health

Billy murmurs under his breath, "Well that’s better than years."

"What Billy?"

"Oh, nothing. Look you two; I’m sure you’ve been through enough for the week, how about a nice long weekend? See the both of you on Monday?"

Both Lee and Amanda looked at each other with widening smiles.

"Thank you sir," Amanda replied.

"Gee, thanks Billy."

With a slight wave, Billy walked out of the room, leaving the two agents alone.

"Long weekend, gee what do we do?" Lee asked.

"Mother’s got her whole weekend planned out, Captain Kurt. The boys are with Joe. Delivery pizza?"

"Beer?" Lee added.

"Rent a movie?"

"Getting to know you better," they both said together.

"Deal," Amanda replied as Lee took her hand and led her out of the room, both looking forward to a normal weekend.

Francine watched the two of them as walked towards the elevator, together. Lee’s hand had already moved to the habitual spot of resting against Amanda’s back and the two of them were already laughing over something. Lately the two of them had seemed quite chummy, Desmond thought. And, even if she didn’t think the two of them had anything in common, she had to admit they did look darling together.