Seeing the taillights of the Jeep disappear down the street, they stepped back in and shut the door behind them. Rubbing his hands together, Lee offered, "Well, they’re gone." He turned to Amanda, shrugged his shoulders and asked, "What now?"

Obviously more uncomfortable then she should have been, Amanda shrugged in turn and just shook her head. " I guess we have a lot to talk about…"

"Yeah," Lee inclined his head toward her and agreed. "Or we could talk about it tomorrow? They’ll be gone all weekend." He grinned suggestively and wiggled his eyebrows are her.

Arching her eyebrows at him, Amanda asked, "And just what did you intend to do tonight, Scarecrow?"

"Oh, well, I can think of a few things…"

"I bet you can… I just bet you can." She laughed at him and walked into his embrace. "But we have to talk, Lee. We have to deal with what’s happened."

"Yeah, I guess so." He released her from his arms and they sat at the dining room table. "So, where do we start?"

"I don’t know Lee. How about at the beginning?" She reached out and traced one finger over his hand. "I messed up. I froze and I let you be taken. All of this could have been prevented if I had only…."

"If only… if only… we could do this for the rest of our lives and still not get anywhere. You had no way of stopping Forrester from taking me, Amanda. I was out of your sight and out of your reach. If you want to play the ‘what if’ game, how about what if I had only checked in with you before coming home? What if we had taken the family out to break this news to them like we planned at first? I changed those plans; remember? If we’re going to do this, I am as much to blame as you…" His voice rose and he thumped their joined hands down on the table lightly. Shaking his head, he looked her in the face and softly whispered, "It’s no one’s fault that I was taken from you and our family. No one but Forrester and Marsh. And they’re not going to be a problem anymore."

Sighing shakily, Amanda stared at him for long minutes then nodded. "I guess you’re right."

"Of course I’m right." Lee grinned impudently.

"But this works two ways, you know. I know you Lee Stetson and you aren’t going to be able to forget what happened at that cabin… what was done to you and what you were forced to do." Her face remained serious and she held eye contact with him. The morning sun floated in through the window and bounced on the polished surface of the table between them. Dust motes flew in the air as she waited for his response.

Finally he nodded and swallowed hard. "I know that, in theory, there is no way I could have withstood those treatments and lived for much longer. I also know, in my head, that I was not in control of that situation and that no one could have withstood any longer than I did… but it doesn’t make it any easier." He pulled his hands free and scrubbed them over his face. He stood and began to pace, agitatedly. "Ahhh…. Amanda….. sometimes, it seems so clear! I know… I know that I did the best that was humanly possible. But then, I have to wonder… when did I break? Was it the same day that you started to look for me? What if I had held out a little bit longer?"

"Now who’s playing the ‘what if’ game?" Standing, she joined him and stopped his pacing.

Wryly, he smiled. "Yeah… I guess the best game plan is one day at a time, huh? Neither of us was to blame, not ultimately. We’ve both changed… but we can deal with it, as long as we try, right?"

"Right!" She smiled gently and reached up to caress his cheek. Stepping into his arms, she leaned her head on his chest and breathed contentedly.

Resting his head against her hair, he inhaled her scent and ran his hands over her back and shoulders. "You know, Amanda… in the long run, none of it matters."

"How can you say that, Lee?" She backed up a step and stared at him a bit incredulously. "We’ve come so close to losing everything twice now."

Sighing Lee nodded and pulled her to sit on the couch with him. "Amanda… I know how close we came to losing each other. Each time I think of it, it scares the hell out of me. You and the boys and Dotty are my life. But, underneath… I’m still Scarecrow. I may not have the same stuffing as always… but I’m still an agent and I still can’t imagine my life being any other way than that of an agent. It’s what I’m good at… Amanda… it’s what I am." He thought briefly and added softly, "It’s what you are, too. You’re a damn good agent and you have been for a long time now."

"Lee, I know that…. I’d never ask you to give up the agency…." Her voice trailed off as her body tensed. "I know… I can’t give up the agency either." She stared off into the distance.

He felt the change and looked down at the top of her head. "So, what are we talking about now?" He gripped her hands in his and urgently asked again, "What’s going through your head?" He bent just enough to see her face, eye-to-eye.

"I’ve changed, Lee. I’m not the woman you left… and I’m sure not that same woman you proposed to or even fell in love with. I guess I’m just worried that you can’t love me… this me…" She squeezed his hands back and finally looked him full in the face.

"Are you kidding me?" Lee smiled and freed his hands to cup her face. "There is no way I could not love you, no matter what. Sometimes I feel like we were born to be in love and together. My life wasn’t complete until I found you and realized what I had."

"There have been so many changes in our lives." She reminded him. Then she smiled and pressed her lips to his.

He nodded against her mouth, lifting his lips and backing up enough to whisper, "Look what we’ve already come through, Mrs. Stetson… we’ll make it. I know it."

"Lee, please…" She pressed her lips to his again. "Make love to me."

"I thought you’d never ask." He pressed her against the couch and applied his lips to hers more determinedly. Their mouths opened and moved together, slowly and softly. After long moments, the kiss became more urgent. Lips demanded and tongues dueled for control of the erotic dance. Panting, they broke and moved for the bedroom. Stopping often to kiss and nibble on the way, they paused at the top of the staircase and leaned against the wall.

Lee’s nimble fingers slid her buttons free and parted the soft cotton of her shirt. His lips skimmed over her throat and dipped into the curve of her shoulder and her neck. Suckling gently, he heard her moan of pleasure and smiled against her flesh. She may have changed, but her body still knew his touch. He moved on down the curve of her breast and lightly mouthed her engorged nipple through the lace and satin of her bra.

He started suddenly when her hand fisted in his hair and pulled with enough force to bring their eyes level. "Lee…" Her voice breathed out his name. Her tone relayed both her need and her love. Nodding curtly once again, he scooped her into his arms and walked quickly into their bedroom. Breathlessly shoving the door open and crossing the threshold, he quickly made his way to the bed and deposited his wife onto the coverlet.

She propped up on her elbows and grinned as he removed his clothing. First his socks, then his pants and boxers fell to the floor in a heap. Soon he reached for the hem of the tee-shirt and began to pull it over his head. As his face emerged, he sought her eyes immediately. Her grin was gone and she swallowed hard as she took in his still bruised torso. Rising to her knees, she reached for him, pulled him close and buried her face in his abdomen. He felt moisture on his skin and realized she was crying, silently. "Amanda … don’t… please don’t cry."

She shook her head violently and muttered, "Not crying."

He put one finger to her chin, raised her face and brushed away the single tear that remained. "It doesn’t matter, remember…? It’s over and we have another chance."

"Right." She gulped again and straightened her shoulders. "Where were we?" She asked in a still slightly watery voice.

"Just about here." Lee reached for her own dangling shirt and pushed if completely off. He urged her unresisting body to a lying position. His fingers made quick work of her jeans and pulled them off her long legs in one smooth motion. She lay before him, clad only in white lacy underwear. "Oh, God… you’re beautiful." He stretched out next to her and began to explore her body with his hands.

Becoming reacquainted with familiar erogenous zones came easily. His fingers quickly loosened and removed the bra from her chest. His mouth moved expertly over her nipples and the creamy white skin around them. Faltering only once, as he encountered a raised mass of scar tissue on her leg, he relearned his wife and her body. He moved his hand over the hard knot where a knife had torn into her flesh and soothed away her sudden tenseness. Bending to kiss the spot, he came back and whispered in her ear, "A new start, remember?"

Cupping and massaging her breasts, he teased the nipples to a tight arousal. While nuzzling the firm flesh with his mouth, he hooked one finger in the waist of her panties and pulled them down and away. Running his hands back up her inner leg and thigh, he hovered over her fuzz-covered mound and lightly stirred the wiry hairs with the palm of his hand. She spread her legs and arched into his hand, bringing his palm into contact with her heated core.

Abandoning his attentions to her upper body, he leaned back, watching her face intently as he tenderly combed his fingers through the light brown hair. Finding the hidden nubbin, he circled it carefully and watched as her face tightened then relaxed as she accepted the pleasure he sought to give her. Moving further in, he broached her depths and stroked into the wetness he found there. Pushing his finger deep inside her, he manipulated it in circles within her and watched her writhe and buck against him. Reaching for her mouth, he kissed her deeply while continuing to work her flesh with his hand.

He felt her shift and suddenly she straddled him and he looked up into her glowing face. Grinning at her move, he asked, "Getting impatient?"

She grinned back and scooted down his legs further. Gripping his shaft in her hands, she circled the smooth length of him and worked her hands up and down slowly. "Just thought I’d take matters into my own hands."

"Really?"

She nodded and started to dip her head to taste his flesh.

Knowing he’d never last if she did that, he groaned and pulled her back up to him by her arms. He raised his knees and pushed her into position. She smiled, satisfied and shifted her hips to accommodate his entrance. His tip probed her wet flesh and she sighed at the initial contact. Reaching between them, she held him into place and sank down onto his hardness. She took him into her all at once and groaned at the delicious invasion.

Bracing his legs on the mattress, he pushed into her further then pulled away only push into her depths again. Leaning back slightly, she closed her eyes and rode him. Bracing her hands on his chest, she began to rock her hips in time with his and soon they moved simultaneously, as if they were one being…. as if they’d never been apart.

They climbed and reached their peaks as one… as if they had always been and always would be… together.

THE END!