Just a Lifetime Too Early

Summary: What if Lee and Amanda met much earlier?  Before Lee was ready to let someone like Amanda into his life? 

Timeframe:  Spans from before the show and through it

Disclaimer: All familiar characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions (some characters are mine).

This story, however, is mine. Please don't archive it without my permission.

Author's Notes: For ease of reading, I've used asterisks for small shifts in time and lines for long shifts.  Additionally, I've included dates as a way to keep track of just how much time has passed, but for the most part these dates are somewhat random.  If we were given more information from the show as to the timing of certain events than I'm utilizing here, please accept my apologies.  I don't recall any and currently have no access to TV or VCR where I can check my tapes and very limited access to the internet where I may be able to do searches.

Rating: PG

Feedback: All is welcome.

Chapter 1: And So It Began

August 15, 1954

The small boy sat on the swings, hardly moving the one he sat on at all.  The playground was not a place he expected to be today, he certainly was in no mood to play.  But he was waiting for his uncle to arrive and the Watersons thought it might be best if he was out while they met with his uncle.

Sitting on the swing, wishing he were back in his room playing with the toy gun his father had brought home just two days ago, the boy hardly stirred when a young girl took the swing next to him.  He wasn't even really aware that she was there, and so was startled when she asked him what was wrong.  "Nothing," he mumbled, not looking up.  He wasn't in the mood to talk.  And he couldn't explain what was wrong as he didn't understand it very well himself.  He hadn't seen his mom or dad in nearly a day and a half and he missed them.  He couldn't understand why they didn't tell him that they were going on a trip and why whenever he asked Mrs. Waterson when they were coming home she would pat him on the head, looking at him sadly, but never offer an answer.

And his uncle - he had never even met his uncle before, so why was he going to stay with him until his parents returned?  None of it made any sense and it was so confusing that when the little girl persisted, insisting that something must be wrong, he burst into tears.

He was surprised a moment later, when he got a hold of himself, to find that she was now crouching in front of him, her small hand on his leg.  "Can I help?" she asked in a small voice and Lee shook his head wordlessly.  The girl was young – at least a couple of years younger than himself, so he was surprised she could talk so well.  And she had the kindest eyes.  Looking into their brown depths, Lee started pouring his story out.  It was stilted due to the tears, and hardly well told, due to the age of the storyteller, but regardless, the girl's eyes shown with tears for him and her hand on his leg tightened as he told his story.

When he finished, she stood, and while he expected her to leave as quickly as she came, she did not.  She moved toward him instead and gave him a hug.  It was awkward and shy, but it must have been exactly what Lee needed, as he welcomed it, surrounding her small frame in arms that were not much larger than her own.

And it was in this state, the two children holding each other, that Dotty West found her daughter when she caught up.  Rambunctious as always, Amanda had raced ahead to the park, and while Dotty asked her to slow down, she just laughed when Amanda continued.  She had her entrance all planned and her admonishment of "Amanda West!" on her lips when she came across her daughter.  At first she smiled, her three-year old daughter already flirting with strange boys.  But as she got closer to the children, she saw the tear tracks on the boy's cheeks and suddenly understood.  Amanda had a strange knack for empathy far beyond a normal little girl, and so if the little boy were upset, it was not at all surprising that Amanda felt the need to give him a hug.

Spotting the adult a few feet away, Lee relaxed his arms nervously.  "Hi," he said shyly, to what he could only assume was the girl's mother.  Amanda then looked up too, and scuffling her feet on the ground softly whispered, "Sorry I ran ahead, Mommy."

Dotty knelt down by the children and ignoring Amanda's apology, looked at the small boy who moments ago had had her daughter in a tight embrace.  "What's your name?" she asked.

"Lee," he answered in a small voice, "Lee Stetson."

Before Dotty could reply, Amanda had, "I'm Amanda West and this is my mom."

Lee smiled at Amanda and then turned to Dotty, "Hello, Mrs. West"

"Hello to you, too, Lee." Dotty said and was about to ask if there was anything wrong when another voice rang out behind her.

"Lee?  Lee, your uncle's here."

December 11, 1965

Lee Stetson smiled as he returned to the base after his night out with Susie Fergusen.  Things had gone well and he was whistling happily ready to head to sleep after his late night out.

As he got into bed, he was surprised to hear the phone ring so late at night.  His uncle was out for the evening, so Lee got up to answer it.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver, and then began to try to determine who was on the other end based on the timid and forlorn "Lee?" he got in reply.  The girls who called him were generally giggly and happy, not weepy.

"Yes?" he replied, still trying to determine who the person on the other end was, when he heard a sniffle, a hiccup, and then a large breath being taken.

"It's Amanda.  Amanda West," she said as calmly as she could.

Lee could feel his whole face break out into a smile.  When he'd left he playground that day years ago, Amanda had asked for his address.  When he told her he didn't have one as he was about to move, she had insisted on giving him hers.  He hadn't known what to do with it at first.  He didn't know how to write and he doubted she knew how to read.  But when he mentioned her to his uncle's friend Barney, Barney had insisted on writing a letter to the little girl and apparently Amanda's mother helped Amanda write back.

That had been eleven years ago and while when the two children reached their teens the letters had drifted off to Christmas cards, Lee still thought of Amanda as his link to his old life – life before moving every two years, living on army bases, and tiptoeing around his uncle, trying to stay out of too much trouble.

She sniffled again, bringing Lee back to the present and said, "You gave me your number and said I could call if I wanted to talk."  Before Lee could tell her how glad he was that she had, she continued, "I needed to hear a friendly voice and so I know we haven't actually talked in more than ten years, but you were the person who came to mind."

Lee grew concerned for his old friend, and in a voice that was gravelly enough to give away his age as a boy on the verge of manhood, replied, "I'm glad you thought of me.  Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Amanda whimpered, and Lee was about to call her bluff, when she added, "Daddy is sick."

The words were simple, and nearly nonsensical.  Why would she call him just cause her father was sick?  But then, understanding came to him, and over the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"He has…" Amanda's voice trailed off in a fit of tears.  As she cried, Lee could clearly picture that day years ago when she held him while he cried for his parents and wished he could return

the favor.  "He has cancer.  The doctors said he won't last till the end of the week.  Mother is a mess." And then Amanda broke into sobs once more.

"I'll be there tomorrow," Lee said, promptly forgetting about his date with Janine Matthews the next night.  Briefly he wondered if this would be okay with his uncle, but when Amanda replied, "Really?  You'll come here?" her voice full of hope, he smiled.

"Of course."

****************************************************************************

"No way, Skip!" his uncle yelled when he asked.  "Do you know how much a last minute ticket from California to the East Coast would cost!"

Lee tried to explain the necessity, but to his uncle, Amanda was just another in a long list of girl's names that Lee uttered on a daily basis.  And as far as he was concerned, Lee did not put nearly enough effort forth in school to be given freedom to spend a small fortune just to see some silly girlfriend.

And so, Lee did not get a chance to hold Amanda while she cried over her father's grave, and it was four years more before the friends saw each other again.

To Be Continued…