DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs. King are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. The author as for pure entertainment purposes copyrights this story.

AUTHOR: angelsslave

DATE: July 2002

RATING: P.G

TIMELINE: I place this story during Season Three's `We're Off To See The Wizard'

SYNOPSIS: Past love painful, new romance budding…these are what tell this little tale of woe. Lee takes us on a roller coaster of emotions – Amanda goes along for the ride…there to break his fall.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: There are many, many poignant episodes in this series that I love and that hedge towards the budding romance between Lee and Amanda. To me this episode brought not only closure to his past, but a door opening slightly - to reveal a hint to his future. I have based this story around the great episode written by: Whitney Wherret-Roberson, dialogue with special thanks.

This story is in flashbacks through Amanda's eyes, as she watches her partner struggle with his emotions; deal with his feelings - finding comfort in her strength.

SUMMARY: this is part one of `Hope, Love and Eternity' we get a chance to see a very vulnerable Lee and a very strong Amanda – break down all walls and barriers to find the answers to forgotten truths.

SONG: I absolutely love, adore, sob, break my heart over this one…I think it fits perfectly with the story, tell me what you think? Savage Garden – Crash and Burn …To me that's what he does.

FLASHBACKS: indicated with ***

ARCHIVE: Fan Fiction. Net, The Kruchev List, Smkfanfic…anywhere else please ask permission.

FEEDBACK: hehe, of course!

MRS. KING AND THE SCARECROW

`I believe you can't appreciate real love `til you've been burned' –
Savage Garden ~ `Affirmation'

Part One.

`When you feel all alone,
And the world has turned it's back on you!
Give me a moment please – to tame your wild, wild heart.
I know you feel,
Like the walls are closing in on you!
It's hard to find relief – and people can be so cold.
When darkness is at your door,
And you feel like you can't take anymore…'


She placed six roses in a cream porcelain vase and set them on her dresser, inhaling their fragrance and touching the soft red petals with a smile on her face that would last for weeks.

Amanda King sighed softly as she turned away form the vase and began undressing out of her skirt and blouse, preparing for a long soak in a jasmine scented bath. She had been stressed tight like a drum for days; human emotion can do that sort of thing – particularly when it's not totally your own that's been stressed out.

She had watched her partner Lee Stetson go through every single emotion in thirty-six hours, that one human could possible go through in a lifetime. From shock, to happiness, pain to betrayal, hurt to revenge and back again. In the two years she had been partnered to him at the Agency she had never encountered such raw emotion from him, sure there where times when some cases had gone sour and they had, had to deal with some hairy situations because of it. But this time had been personal!

SMK

Checking her water was at the right temperature, she turned off the taps and slipping out of her peach robe - gingerly climbed into the warm fragrance with a deep satisfied groan of contentment – sinking deep right up to her neck. She allowed the water and heat to weave their magic wand on the kinks in her shoulders as she closed her eyes, baying her body to relax. Feeling she had come to a fork in the road of her life had her frown slightly, or was it crossroads?

Either way she was at a destination in her life that was very scary and yet exciting at the same time. Lee had offered out a glimpse of his life and she had taken it greedily, in the only way she knew how…to listen, to be there, to clean up the pieces and put the dustpan away. She had done it many, many times with Phillip and Jamie even her own mother had come to her when good had gone bad with her life. But Lee Stetson? – never in a million years did she think it was possible for him to open up and admit his feelings to her, his fears, his longings.

Sure he knew all about her, she had no secrets she could hide without him knowing…well maybe a few, but she certainly wasn't telling. But she known nothing about him, other than that his parents were dead and he had been brought up my his Uncle on various Naval bases until he was old enough to venture out on his own. So as she soaked in her deep porcelain tub, her mind unlocked the door to her overloaded brain and the past few days unfolded out in front of her.

***

It had started out as it usually does with the killing of six female agents, all pretty, all young, all had been killed within the year… all had dated Lee Stetson one way or the other. The latest one had been Pamela Dinsmore in London, England.

Lee had been called into Billy Melrose's office following the disturbing scenario – he was supposed to have been having dinner with Pamela later that evening. Francine Desmond was also there with a few reported leads from Interpol; Lee was baffled as he stood worrying his hair, "Why these women mm? They worked all over the world – what's the connection?"

Billy Melrose looked up at his young agent with a mix of fatherly protection and a worried bosses frown, "Well there does seem to be the one thing that links them all together…you!"

"Me?"

Francine informed him that Interpol where also conducting an investigation on similar murders in Europe, as she brought up on the screen two other faces,

"Emily Johnson and Stacey Smith…Oh my god!"

He sat down heavily on the chair opposite Billy's desk, shock registering on his handsome face – which was right about then that Amanda approached the door and knocked, Billy beckoned her in with his usual wave of his hand.

"Hello everybody, hello Sir good morning…" She looked at the scene in front of her and sensed she had interrupted something, "You're busy?"

Billy not wanting to chase her, but knew Lee needed a bit of time to get over his shock, "You're meeting's in the conference room – Francine!" Amanda apologized for interrupting whatever she had interrupted and followed Francine out.

He had called an emergency meeting of all his female staff following the recent death and it's connection, that's why Amanda had been called in, in short notice. Sitting back down on his chair he looked over at his top agent. Lee was sure there had to be another connection other than him, there had been – four out of the six women had all worked for the `Oz Network' this caught his attention, "Oz?"

A smile beginning to show on his face of remembrance, "Has anyone talked to Paul Barnes?"

Billy nodded his head, "He's flying in from London today, supposedly for his annual review…" He chewed the inside of his lip as he carefully chose his next words, "There's talk of trouble…says he's tired, burned out. They may even take Oz away from him!"

But Lee was still smiling at the fond memories he had of his trainer and dear friend, "You know it was ten years ago I worked with Paul?"

"I know I read the file, another female agent was killed then…codename Dorothy?"

Lee felt like a glass of cold water had been poured over him, as an icy chill spread up his spine. His face clouded over and his hazel eyes darkened with pain. "Yeah, she was the first close friend I…ever lost that way!"

Billy had watched Lee, and felt the depth of his emotion that ran deep like an old wound had suddenly opened, "Maybe Francine should handle this for you?"

Lee shook his head, his decision already made, "NO, no…this has anything to do with me, I wanna know WHAT and WHY?"

***

In the conference room all the female agents and personnel where seated as Billy went over the reasons behind the meeting. All off them had either worked with Lee over the past year or had dated him. Amanda looked around all the familiar faces in the room, sub-consciously wondering which was which – knowing it wasn't really any of her business, why should she care? Lee was standing no more that a few feet away form her, she cold feel him so close. But his face was void of all expression –like the lights where on but nobody was home.

Billy concluded the meeting with his instructions that, `He wanted reports on strange phone calls, contacts file a report
with either himself or Lee up in the new Q – Room' With that he dismissed everyone, hoping that it was just an isolated
incident.

Later that morning Amanda and Francine ambushed Lee and outside the Agency, both wanting to help him anyway they could. They knew it was hard for him right now; after all he was their co-worker and friend.

Both had come up with the suggestion, well actually it had been Amanda's idea - because Lee had been left with the arduous task of having to contact all the women who couldn't make it to the meeting, she had thought that if they all got on the telephone – it could possibly be done in half an hour. It sounded like a plan…the only drawback was that Billy had asked Lee to also contact his non-agency friends. Francine didn't find that too bad in fact she was more than willing to oblige – offering the suggestion that Lee give them his black book and both she and Amanda would start dialing.

Lee would look back on this one-day and laugh - he just knew he would, but the embarrassing feeling tingeing his cheeks he just knew - he wouldn't.

"Books!"

Amanda brown eyes widened with a mixture of shock and curiosity – making Lee feel like a prize chump,
"Books?"

`Ground open up and swallow me now!'

"I have four of them!"

He gave Amanda an apologetic look, years ago he would have been proud to boast he had known that many women – heck he would have shouted it from the roof-tops. But over the last few months, well over the last two years his attention and all his time had been used up in the company of only one woman – Amanda King.

Amanda responded to his look endearing as it was by shaking her head, to try and convey that it didn't matter – `Oh but it did! It did!'

Francine on the other hand had found it the most amusing as she laughed in her usual manner, "I should have known…okay I'll just clear up my desk and we'll jump on it this afternoon."

Lee thanked her as she left the two of them alone by the hotdog stand they had been standing at. Still shocked over the amount of books her friend had in his possession…but wasn't going to let him know, Amanda tried to convey to him that everything was going to be okay – but Lee wasn't listening. Instead he had caught a reflection on the steel paneling of the cart of a familiar face behind him. A face from his past…holding flowers.

He turned but she was gone, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and all his senses where on full alert,
`It couldn't be, it just couldn't?'

Amanda stood behind him looking in the same direction as he was, "What is it?"

Lee shook his head, not quite believing it himself, "I dunno…I just saw s-someone I knew…like a-an old friend?"

She looked again, but still didn't see anyone and shrugged her shoulders – maybe she had missed it. Lee felt the cold steel rush of human pain and needed to catch his breath…alone.

"Come on Amanda, let me walk you to your car!"

SMK

`Let me be the one you call,
If you jump – I'll break your fall,
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night.
If you need to fall apart?
I can mend a broken heart,
If you need to crash – then crash and burn
You're not alone…'

Amanda had felt her heart tighten as she remembered the look on his face as he turned to look behind him; it had been a mixture of hope and disbelief in the young face of a man that had once been in love. Who was it he had thought he'd seen? And why did that feeling provoke so much pain behind his beautiful eyes. She went through the motions of soaping and cleansing finally as her bath water had decided to take on a nippier side, she climbed out into one of her favorite soft
downy towels and padded into her bedroom.

A life that had once been so uncomplicated had become nothing but a maze of twists and turns…pulling her this way and that. She wasn't complaining - it was like a thrill seeking ride that she just didn't want to get off. But sometimes the ride was not so good; sometimes it was bumpier than usual and in the case of having to deal with the repercussions of Lee Stetson's love life and what it left behind was nothing but a bitter taste that was hard to swallow.

Using her scented lotion she rubbed her body vigorously with it, casting her mind back once again – looking at it like `Alice through the looking glass' – (okay wrong children's classic but bear with me will you)

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