The Cats Out of the Bag
Part l
Monday morning dawned with a hint of sunlight casting a soft glow on the sleeping figure in bed. The alarm clock screeched its awakening ring and penetrated the sleeping world of Amanda King. She reached a hand out to shut off the alarm with its shrill beep…beep…beep. Turning it off, she sat up in bed and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Recalling the previous three days, a sparkle came to Amanda’s eyes and a huge smile lit her face. She and Lee Stetson, her secret husband and partner in espionage, had just completed a case the following Thursday, that had kept them from spending hardly anytime alone together, for over a week.
As they were finishing the final case report, Billy Melrose, had called the Q-Bureau to request their assistance in retrieving fifty files from the Dead File Room. Compensating them for adding this extra burden on them, Billy had taken them off the duty roster for twenty-four hours. Combined with both of them being off duty for the weekend, they then had three full days to spend together, which they both planned to take full advantage of for much needed time together and with their family.
Thursday night after dropping off the files, they left the Agency to start a three-day weekend, Amanda recalled, with a smile how they spent those three days.
Walking out the Agency, Lee guided Amanda with a hand placed at the small of her back to the ‘Vette parked in the Agency parking garage. “Amanda, where would you like to go for dinner?” he asked as he opened the door and helped her into the car. Closing the door, he walked around to the driver’s side and got in. “Well, Mrs. Stetson, have you decided where you would like to have dinner?” he said as he put the key in the ignition and started the engine.
Leaning over, planting small kisses along the side of his neck, Amanda whispered into his ear, “What I really want is to got back to your apartment, have a light dinner, play some soft music and spend the night making love to you.”
Lee moaned from the sensation of Amanda’s lips along his neck. “You know there is nothing to eat at my apartment. I haven’t had time to restock the refrigerator since we were so busy on our last case. If we’re lucky, I might have a loaf of bread and a jar of jam,” Lee chuckled, caressing Amanda’s hand.
“Why don’t we stop at the Chinese restaurant and get some take-out? No cooking… no mess to clean up…the sooner we can get to pleasuring each other the better,” Amanda replied, running her hand up the inside of Lee’s thigh.
Lee groaned, “Mrs. Stetson I like the way you negotiate,” as he drove off.
Entering the apartment Amanda placed the bags of Chinese take-out on the dining room table. Lee went into the kitchen to get plates and silverware. “Amanda did you call your mother to let her know you won’t be home tonight?” he questioned as he put the silverware on the table.
“I called mother earlier this evening when you were in the men’s room. I knew we were going to finish tonight, so I called and told her I would be in the editing room all night. I don’t think she is going to buy all these excuses for much longer.” Amanda walked over to Lee and put her arms around his neck placing her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “I’m really getting tired of all the lies and sneaking around that we have to do, I wish we could just come out and tell everyone the truth,” she replied as she looked deeply into his eyes.
“I could kick myself in the butt for ever having suggested the idea of a mystery marriage in the first place. I know it was to keep our family safe, but anyone with a lick of sense would know where to come looking for me. I spend all my free time with you and the boys; anyone can see that we are involved. All I want is to wake up beside my wife every morning, to say good morning to my mother-in-law and stepsons, to be with them and you everyday for the rest of my life. For us to be a family,” Lee said holding her tightly to him.
Amanda returned the hug, “We really need to talk about this whole secret marriage idea sometime soon, it’s starting to take a toll on us and everyone around us.”
“I know we need to figure out how to tell everyone, it’s just that I don’t want to lose you as my partner. I don’t want to work in the field with anyone else, but we can’t go on living this way much longer,” Lee said as his lips met hers in a passionate kiss.
“I agree I don’t want to be split up as partners, but I do think we need to discuss telling mother and the boys about our marriage first. They already think you are my boyfriend.
You and the boys have been spending a lot of time together; we need to think of way out of this mystery marriage. Then we can discuss what to do regarding the Agency. Before we do any of that, I would like to eat some dinner and get reacquainted with my husband, everything else can wait,” she said as she grabbed a plate and started fill it with food.
As Amanda was fixing the dinner plates, Lee was opening a bottle of wine. He poured two glasses and placed one before Amanda, as he sat down across the table from her. He took his glass in hand and raised it, “to becoming reacquainted,” he said with a wink.
“To making love all night,” Amanda replied raising her glass to his.
The lights were off, soft music was playing in the background and a soft glow surrounded the couple nestled on cushions in front of the fireplace.
Amanda was snuggled in Lee’s arms drinking another glass of wine, when Lee reached over and took the glass from her hand and placed it on the table. “I believe someone earlier made a suggestion about making love all night,” he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned her back so that she was lying down on the cushions.
Amanda felt Lee’s hot kisses along her neck, sending shockwaves of pleasure over her entire body. His lips were upon hers, softly teasing. Within moments the kisses deepened as she felt the tip of his tongue demanding entrance, which she gladly granted and their tongues meet in feverish ardor. Amanda moaned with pleasure as she felt Lee’s hand cup her breast and tease her nipples.
“Amanda,” Lee said as he looked at her with passion filled eyes, “I want to feel your naked body against mine,” and started unbuttoning her shirt.
Amanda felt her shirt come off, seconds later she was completely naked. Taking his earlobe between her lips, she huskily whispered, “I think one of us is overdressed here.”
Amanda took the palm of her hand and rubbed it up and down his erection and started to unzip his jeans.
Lee felt himself harden even more as Amanda quickly stripped his clothes off.
Moments later Amanda felt Lee’s tongue flicking one of her nipples and one hand sliding up the inside of her thigh to press on her mound. “Lee” Amanda said as she reached between them and closed her hand around his erection, gently stroking him,” I want to feel you inside me.”
“The very place I want to be,” he said as their lovemaking burned hotter than the fireplace.
Several hours later after becoming reacquainted, several times, they feel asleep in each other’s arms. Lee and Amanda spent Friday getting his kitchen restocked and making love.
Saturday they spent the day with Dotty and the boys going to the movies and playing goofy golf, and Sunday they had a picnic in Rock Creek Park.
After returning home from the picnic, Lee helped Amanda put away everything; they played a game of Monopoly with Phillip and Jamie.
“Amanda, you do realize that we never had a chance to talk about telling everyone about our secret?” he said as they walked arm in arm to the ‘Vette.
“I know Lee, we are going to have to make time in the near future to figure out how we are going to tell everyone about us, we need to decide when and where, I do know I want mother and the boys to be the first to know, we need to make a decision about what we are going to do if the Agency splits us up, ” Amanda rambled on.
Lee stood beside the ‘Vette, ‘how does she say all that without taking a breath?’ he thought to himself. “Soon, we need to do this soon Amanda, I’ll pick you up for work at 8:30 in morning, I love you,” he said as they kissed goodnight.
Part 2
Amanda came downstairs after showering and getting dressed. Lee was due to pick her up in an hour. After getting Phillip and Jamie off to school and Dotty off to an early hair appointment at the beauty salon, Amanda sat down to eat a light breakfast, and thought about how they were going to end this charade.
Meanwhile, Billy Melrose sat in his office early Monday morning turning the videotape over and over in his hands. ‘It sure was lucky I went to the control room Thursday evening, otherwise this little jewel here would have been all over the Agency by Friday morning,’ he thought to himself. ‘Now how do I let on that I know Lee and Amanda are married?’ he wondered as he drank a cup of coffee and ate a donut. ‘They must have a good reason for wanting to keep everything secret, I just wish they had come to me, I may have been able to help them. I have to think of something to let them know that their marriage is fine by me; hell I even pushed Amanda on Scarecrow for all those assignments. I’m glad he finally saw the light, that Amanda is the best thing to happen to him. She’s made him a better man and a better agent by being in his life. Now how do I let on that I know their secret?’ he wondered, as he got up from his desk to get a refill of coffee and another donut.
Lee and Amanda entered the Agency foyer, “good morning Mrs. Marsten,” Amanda greeted the receptionist, who gave them their security badges. Putting their badges on they then walked up the staircase to the Q-Bureau. Since no major case was pending, they were planning on spending the day getting the vault in order.
Down in his office Billy Melrose, suddenly let out a loud chuckle, “by George I think I have the perfect solution to my little problem here.” He got up from his desk picking up the videotape and walking out to the bullpen. “Francine, I have to see Lee and Amanda in the Q-Bureau I won’t be long if anyone needs me,” he told his assistant Francine Desmond. “Billy don’t forget your 10:00 am meeting,” Francine replied as the left the bullpen.
Entering the Q-Bureau Billy found Lee sitting at his desk looking over a case file. “Lee, where is Amanda, I have a small job I need her help with?” he inquired of one half of his best team.
Before Lee could answer Billy, Amanda called out from the vault where she had been putting away files. “I’m right here sir, what is it you need me to do?” she asked as she exited the vault.
Billy smiled to himself, “I have a videotape that I need transcribed, the video picture is no good, and the audio is jumbled. Since there are no major open cases, I thought you might want to see if you can make some sense out of it for me,” he replied.
The Q-Bureau did not have any video recording equipment; Amanda wondered where she would be able to do the transcription work. “Sir, I would be happy to try and make sense of it for, but where would I be able to view it?” she asked taking the tape from Billy.
“I have a meeting in a half hour that will probably take up most of the morning, if you want to use the recorder in my office you are welcome to,” Billy grinned as he turned to leave. Opening the door he turned around, “Lee, you might want to give Amanda a hand with the recorder it has so many complicated buttons on it, I wouldn’t want anything to happen. I’m told it’s the only copy we have.”
“Sure Billy no problem, I’d be glad to help Amanda,” Lee told his section chief; curious as to why a back up copy had not been made.
“Well then I’ll leave everything up to you two,” Billy chuckled as he left the Q-Bureau and went on to his meeting.
Lee and Amanda used the elevator in the Georgetown foyer to make their way down to the bullpen to Billy’s office. There was very little activity in the bullpen, as everyone was working in the field or at meetings.
Entering Billy’s office Lee took the tape from Amanda and put it in the recorder.
Amanda sat down at Billy’s desk so that she could transcribe the tape. Lee finished setting up the recorder and pushed the play button, then sat on the edge of Billy’s desk.
The video started and the picture came on, the screen was a brown splotch, nothing could be seen. Suddenly the audio portion of the tape started. Amanda heard Lee’s voice come from the recorder, “wake up Sleeping Beauty” and her own reply “has my Prince Charming come to rescue”.... Lee jumped off the desk and hurried to the recorder to push the stop button.
“OH MY GOSH!” Amanda exclaimed.
Lee made a quick glance to the door to make sure it was closed and heaved a sigh of relief that it was. “Amanda I think we have a problem here,” Lee murmured as he ran his hand through his hair and started pacing the floor of Billy’s office.
“Lee, we have to know exactly what is on this tape, thank goodness Billy said there was only one copy. How did he get it? How many people have heard it? What are we going to? I can’t believe this happening! This is not the way I wanted Billy to find out about our marriage. What can he think of us, he is like a father to you, and I never wanted him to find out this way?” Amanda rambled on and on.
“I know, I should have thought of way to tell him about us. Now we have a lot of damage control to do. But first I think we need to get out of here and back to my apartment,” he said as he grabbed the tape from the recorder.
No sooner had they entered the apartment there was a knock on the door. Lee went to the door and looked through the peephole. “Its Billy,” he told Amanda as he opened the door.
Lee stood at the doorway running he hand through his hair. “Well Scarecrow aren’t you going to invite me in?” Billy asked.
“Come in Billy,” Lee said with a gulp.
Billy walked into the apartment. Amanda was sitting at the dining room table, her hands folded in front of her on the table, starring down at them. Lee followed Billy into the dining room. “ Why don’t we all have a seat,” Billy said as he sat down in a chair across from Amanda.
Amanda looked up at Billy having trouble meeting his eyes. “Sir, I know we have a lot to explain.”
Lee sat in a chair next to Amanda, “No, it was my idea, I should do the explaining. Billy do you remember the case when Khai’s son was kidnapped?”
Billy looked at Lee “Yes I remember.”
Lee grabbed Amanda’s hand to hold, “after we closed the case, I realized that it could have been Phillip or Jamie in danger. I didn’t want to bring any kind of retaliation into a relationship that could affect Amanda or her family. We also don’t want to be split up as partners, so I came up with the plan to keep everything secret.”
“But I went along with it, I was scared also,” Amanda said as she squeezed Lee’s hand. “Plus there were other things to consider besides our jobs. Lee had just met mother and the boys. We thought it would be a good idea for them to get to know him better before we sprang our relationship on them. They don’t know how long I’ve known Lee,” Amanda said looking up at Billy.
Billy looked at Lee and Amanda from across the table, “I understand your concerns, I just wish you had come to me with them. I might have been able to put some of your worries to rest. Every agent has to be careful in his or her private life. Anything could happen. Would it not be safer to be in the same house so that you can protect each other and your family, instead of miles apart?”
“We’ve begun to realize that ourselves Billy. We have wanted to bring everything out in the open, but we weren’t sure how to tell everyone,” Lee replied.
Wringing her hands together, “yes sir, trying to juggle work, home and a marriage has started to take a toll on us, we are tired of sneaking around. We just don’t know how to tell everyone.”
Billy looked at both Lee and Amanda, “well why don’t you start by telling everything to me? I have been known to keep secrets in my day.”
“Well sir, Lee and I started dating and getting to know each other on a personal basis for a little while back. When I was kidnapped by Addi Birol and Lee rescued me, he also asked me to marry him,” Amanda started.
“Then when Khai’s son was kidnapped I came up with the idea of a mystery marriage,” Lee continued.
“Well when did the happy event occur?” Billy asked questioningly.
“February l3th,” Amanda and Lee told him at the same time.
Billy looked up surprised, “Then the trip to California was your honeymoon?”
Lee gazed into Amanda’s eyes, “yes, I almost lost her Billy. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to her, no one would have known that I was her husband.”
“Let me get this straight, one of the reasons you haven’t come out in the open is that you are both afraid of being split up as partners? Right? If I can figure a way to keep the two of you together that will be one less hurdle you have to jump over.”
Lee put his arm around Amanda’s shoulders, “yes, that would make things easier for us to try and figure out how to tell Amanda’s family.”
Billy stood up from the table, “I need to go, I’ll try to think of some idea on how to keep the two of you together, it may take me some time. I don’t think anyone else at the Agency has an inkling of what is happening, so lets keep this just between the three of us for the time being.”
Lee rose from the table and walked over to Billy, “I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on everything got complicated, I hope you can forgive me.”
Billy gave Lee a bear hug, “there is nothing to forgive, and you know I think of you like a son.”
Amanda smiled, getting up from the table she walked over to the two men, “sir, I want to thank you for all the you have done and will do for us.”
Billy put his arms around Amanda, “Amanda, you are like a daughter to me also, do you think you could call me Billy, at least in the private?”
“Yes si… I mean Billy.”
Billy started walking towards the door, “oh by the way, that videotape, you can keep it. It is the only copy. When I went to the Control Room the other night, I heard your voices. When I overheard what was said I had to do something. I almost erased it, actually I had pushed the erase button, but at the last second changed my mind and hit stop. Marriage is hard enough without adding the element of it being a secret. So I took the tape and replaced it with another one, they will never know it’s missing. I thought about it all weekend. I needed to let you know, but I didn’t want to come right out and ask, so I arranged this little scenario.”
Lee opened the door, “thanks Billy,” as he put his hand out for a handshake.
“I almost forgot Congratulations you two,” as he shook Lee’s hand and kissed Amanda on the cheek. “I hope you have a long and healthy life. If any two people were meant to be together, it is you two. Now I will see the both of you in the morning,” Billy said as he left the apartment.
Lee closed the door and turned to Amanda, “if anyone can find a way to keep our partnership in tact, its Billy.” Guiding her into the living room, “Now we have to find a way to tell your mother and the boys,” as he started pacing back and forth, running a hand through his hair.
Amanda grabbed Lee to stop his pacing, putting her hands around his neck. Pulling his head down she softly placed a butterfly kiss on his lips. “I have no idea what to say to them, but we will figure it out together.”
Sitting on the couch cuddling, they spent the remainder of the evening trying to come up with believable ideas.
The End
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to WB and Shoot the Moon Productions. No infringement is intended. This is written for entertainment purposes only.
Thanks: Thank you Pam and Jess for all of your help, encouragement and betaing.
Thanks: Thank you Pam and Jess for all of your help, encouragement and betaing.