Beating the Blues

Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is the property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. This story was written for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: I know it's been a while since I have written a solo SMK story, so here is a little ditty I hope you enjoy. It will be a two-shot written post-series. The second part will be posted on Friday, May, 8th. Much thanks to my beta Tracey Arcieri who has always been in my corner and my partner in crime. Hope this finds everyone healthy and not too stressed out. This has been a hard time for everyone and to anyone that has suffered any personal losses due to COVID-19, God Bless you all. Please keep praying for all the first responders, medical personnel, and essential workers.

P.S. If anyone enjoys Criminal Minds, I am in the process of posting a new story in that fandom, as well. I am a true-blue Derek and Penelope fan, so all my stories revolve around them. Drop on by and let me know what you think if you like.

Chapter 1

It had been eight weeks since the birth of the newest member of the Stetson family. Emily Dorothea Stetson weighed in at 7lbs 7ozs and was 21 inches long. She had her father's eyes, dimples, and what little hair she had was his hair color. She definitely possessed Amanda's nose, smile, and her mother's disposition. She was beautiful and well-loved.

Since Emily's birth, the whole family had been ecstatic. Even though Lee was nervous as hell, he stepped into the role of fatherhood with gusto. He wanted to be there for all the feedings, diaper changes, but his most favorite time was rocking her to sleep while he sang lullabies to her. He amazed both Amanda and Dotty on how well he did and how involved he wanted to be. Amanda was both relieved and happy that Lee took his fatherly duties so seriously. Amanda and Dotty couldn't help but notice how opposite he was of Joe after the births of Philip and Jamie. Joe was so wrapped up in his work, he didn't spend nearly any time with the boys as infants.

The first eight weeks flew by without any major incidents and everyone was enjoying themselves helping with Emily. Even the boys were excited about their baby sister and wanted to help out as much as possible with school still in session. Although Emily was mostly a happy baby, she did experience colic for a few weeks, which meant not much sleep for the entire family. Not to mention the fact, that Emily insisted they she be fed exactly every two hours like clockwork. With that schedule, the house was awake almost constantly, which didn't help to keep them from almost going insane. By the time she'd passed that stage, all their nerves were definitely frayed.

Even with all the help, Amanda was receiving, and the joys of watching Emily becoming stronger and more aware, Amanda was unhappy. She tried to hide her insecurities and her blues from everyone. The boys hadn't picked up on much of anything, but both Lee and Dotty noticed the changes in Amanda.

They both couldn't help but worry about her. Whenever one of them tried to bring up the subject with Amanda, she would just brush it off and tell them everything was fine and not to worry, that she was fine, which, of course, made them worry even more. Lee couldn't understand where the problem was stemming from. He wracked his brain to determine if he had done something wrong until he finally confided in Dotty. Dotty told him that everything would eventually work itself out. She tried to explain to him that sometimes women get the baby blues after giving birth. He just needed to be patient and be there for Amanda when she was ready to talk about it.

Lee tried to wait patiently while he continued to give her as much love and attention as he could. He'd become exasperated as time continued on. The more he tried, the more frustrated she got telling him she was fine until finally, she was barely talking to him anymore. He'd never seen her withdraw from him like this, not even after Birol kidnapped her.

Lee pondered and pondered, and tried to come up with some kind of a solution that would get her to open up to him again. He became so desperate that he'd called Billy and asked to meet him at Nedlinger's for a beer and some advice. Billy readily agreed and they met up one night when Billy was on his way home from work. After explaining the situation to Billy, Lee was a bit relieved to find out that Jeannie experienced something similar to what Amanda was going through. So, armed with the advice that his friend had extolled upon him, Lee headed home a little more hopeful, Lee knew he needed Dotty's help with a plan he'd hatched.

As soon as Lee got home, he'd checked in on both Amanda and Emily and found them both sleeping peacefully. After kissing them both, he headed downstairs to find Dotty. He found her in the den, relaxing on the couch. She was curled up with one of her romance novels in her lap. After they exchanged pleasantries, Lee asked her if he could talk to her on the patio. He figured there would be less of a chance of being overheard. Dotty agreed, poured them both a cup of tea, and they both headed outside.

Once outside, he laid out his plan to her and hoped she would agree to help. Lee was thrilled that Dotty accepted his plans with open arms. Dotty graciously offered to help him pack a picnic lunch for the both of them and assured him not to worry. She was more than capable and willing to watch the baby and the boys during their time away. He thanked her profusely and promised her anything she wanted. Dotty just kept repeating he didn't owe her a thing, especially if it brought her Amanda back to them. They hugged and said their goodnights and both of them headed off to get some sleep.

The next day brought about the usual hustle and bustle of the morning. The family sat down for a quick breakfast before the boys headed off to school for the day. During their meal, Lee carefully broached the subject with Amanda about the two of them getting out of the house for several hours. He hinted their plans might include a beautiful picnic for just the two of them. Dotty and the boys all joined in trying to convince Amanda that it was a great idea. Amanda hemmed and hawed for a while about how she couldn't leave the baby for an afternoon. She finally sullenly acquiesced just to stop the constant cajoling from all of them.

While Amanda drove the boys to school, Dotty and Lee began their preparations. They started the task of gathering items for the picnic basket. While they were packing the basket, Amanda returned home and offered to help. Dotty quickly shooed her out of the kitchen and told her to go take a shower, wash her hair, and put on a little makeup for the day's adventure ahead of them.

In the meantime, the picnic basket was almost full. It contained potato salad, cutup vegetables, fresh chicken salad on whole wheat bread, fruit salad, cookies, water, silverware, plates, two wine glasses, and a bottle of Amanda's favorite wine.

By the time Amanda made it downstairs and was ready to go, the car was all packed up with the picnic basket, a nice soft blanket, a portable cassette player, and a tape of Amanda's favorite songs. Lee ran upstairs and quickly showered, shaved, and changed into some comfortable jeans and one of his casual shirts.

It was nearly eleven o'clock by the time the Vette rolled out the driveway. Amanda was still feeling down and a little annoyed that Lee refused to give her any hints as to where they were going. His only response was, "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride."

After driving for about an hour, Lee pulled the Vette into a small park. After picking out the most secluded picnic spot they could find, Lee and Amanda unloaded the picnic basket, blanket, and portable cassette player. Lee laid out the blanket and then placed the basket at the edge of the blanket. He popped Amanda's tape in and pushed play. He helped Amanda sit down before taking a seat right next to her. Lee pulled out the bottle of wine, uncorked it and poured them each a glass. As he handed one to her, he announced out, "A toast, to my beautiful wife."

Amanda looked past him blankly but didn't make an effort to raise her glass. Lee held his glass high and waited several more seconds for her to join him but she didn't.

He stared into her sad eyes, reached for her glass, and then placed them down onto a small tree trunk that was close by. He took hold of her hands and squeezed them lovingly.

With begging eyes, he spoke out. "Ohhh, Amanda! Please talk to me and tell me what's wrong. I'm so worried about you and I love you so much, Honey!'

Amanda bowed her head down and shook her head no. She couldn't even look at him and hated to see the look of disappointment on his face.

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