Philip glanced around the bar from his seat in the corner. It was Friday night and in the past hour the room had become a bit crowded. His gaze finally came to rest on the woman sitting across from him and he sighed. He had asked her here so they could talk, but they had barely said five words to
each other in the hour they had been sitting here. Now there was music playing, people talking and laughing and he didn't think he would be able to hear her anyway.
Looking up from her drink, she met his gaze and smiled. Her blue eyes sparkled, amused she had caught him staring.
"What?" she asked.
He leaned towards her, his lips close to her ear. "Lizzie," he paused taking a deep breath, "wanna get outta here, go for a walk?" His breath tickled her cheek.
"Yeah" she breathed and nodded her head. Philip stood up and headed for the door, Liz followed close behind.
As soon as they stepped outside, Philip reached for Liz's hand. She felt a warmth spread through her body from his gentle touch. It felt so right just to be with him, but she had pushed him away so many times in the past. Knowing eventually he would leave her, just like everyone else had. Recently, Philip had stopped pushing back and those fears had drifted farther and farther from her mind with each time he reached for her hand or gazed deeply into her eyes and smiled that devastating smile. When he looked at her like that she felt like he would stay with her...forever.
A drop of water hitting her nose broke Liz from her thoughts. "It's raining" she exclaimed softly looking heavenward then smiling at Philip. It had been a long, dry summer.
"Do you want to go back?"
"No, I missed the rain."
Within a few minutes the soft sprinkles turned to fat drops as it began to pour. Liz raised her face to the sky, letting the rain wash over her skin. Philip laughed and spun her around.
"Dance with me," she smiled.
"Dance?" Philip laughed again, "In this weather?"
"Yes..."
Philip twirled her again, then grabbed her other hand. They waltzed on the empty sidewalk in the rain, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Philip watched Liz intently. Gosh, she's beautiful, even wet. Her dark blonde hair clung to her cheeks and neck in dark curls and her eyes shimmered in the light from the street lamps when she looked up at him. He pulled her close and their playful waltz turned into a slow embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck, they danced cheek to cheek.
"Lizabeth?" Philip whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"I wanted to talk to you tonight."
"About what?"
"About us." When she remained quiet he continued. "It's always been two steps forward, one step back with us and just when I thought we were on the right track things came to an abrupt halt." Philip pulled back to look into her eyes, needing to see what she was thinking. The tentative love he recognized in her familiar, pale blue eyes caused relief to flood through his body. Still holding her close to him, he searched deeper. Philip saw her trust, her devotion and her strength in a way he never had before and he struggled to understand what it meant. In her eyes he saw...forever.
"I love you," he whispered, overtook with emotion.
She hesitated, this was it, now or never. She was scared, but no one had ever looked at her like that before and she had never felt this way with anyone else. She was tired of being alone. She wanted someone to share her life with. Liz took a deep breath, determined to hold his intense gaze, though she wanted to duck her head.
"I love you, too."
In that moment Philip knew his days of little black books and different girlfriends each week were over for good. Just the same, her days of being a loner and never needing anyone were gone, too.
Philip pulled her tight against his body and lowered his head to hers. He kissed her softly and both their hearts skipped a beat. Moving her hands to tenderly hold his face, Liz brought his lips back to hers in a crushing kiss. Her tongue darted across his lower lip and he opened his mouth to her. He caressed her tongue with his and she moaned softly encouraging him to deepen the passionate kiss.
After what seemed like forever they broke apart, breathless. "C'mon," Philip ended their embrace but never let go of her hand. "Let's get out of the rain."
Outside the bar, now under the safety of the awning, they ran into Lee and Amanda.
"What happened to you two?" Amanda asked laughing.
"Rain." Philip answered simply, a bright smile on his face.
"What were you doing out in the rain?" Lee asked. Both he and Amanda noticed that Philip and Liz were beaming. The dark cloud that had been hanging over their heads was now gone.
"Dancing." Philip answered again, smiling at Liz.
Lee and Amanda exchanged a look. "Well, I'd ask you to join us for dinner, but I'm not sure I want to spend the evening with a couple of drowned rats," Lee joked.
"Yeah," Philip looked to Liz, "we should go, uh, change," and he turned toward the parking lot.
"See ya later," Amanda smiled knowingly.
Philip tugged on Liz's hand, pulling her along behind him.
"Bye Amanda, bye Lee," Liz waved.
"Yeah, bye." Philip and Liz once again ventured into the rain, Philip leading Liz to his car.
Lee opened the door for Amanda and followed her in. "Dancing in the rain," he smiled and shook his head.
"Finally. They took longer than we did."
Lee laughed and pulled his wife close. "Well, I hope they'll be as happy as we are."
"They will."
"How do you know that?"
Amanda thought for a moment. "Because he looks at her the same way you look at me."
"And how's that, Mrs. Stetson?"
"It's like..." Amanda paused, trying to find a way to put an emotion into words, "like, you'll love me forever."
Lee smiled and kissed her gently. "Forever, huh?"
"Forever."
The End
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Enterprises. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement of rights is intended.
Time Frame: About 10 years after the series ended.
Time Frame: About 10 years after the series ended.