Let the Bells Chime.

Chapter 1

"So, what would you like to do for dinner tonight?" Amanda asked as she played with Lee's hair, lightly running her fingers through it.

It was late Saturday afternoon, and they were lounging in Lee's apartment after Dotty insisted they needed their own alone time and told Amanda she didn't want to see hide nor hair of her until Sunday night.

"I'm not sure, what would you like to do? Take out? We can go out, or we can swing by the market and pick up a few things," Lee responded as he flipped through the newspaper in his hands.

After their first successful week of working Lee into their daily routines, Amanda had to admit, having alone time felt nice. He had eaten dinner with them each night and stayed over on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday night he was working on a last minute surveillance stakeout with Francine. By the time the surveillance crew gave up, it was after two in the morning and Lee didn't want to take the chance of waking the boys so he headed back to his apartment instead. Friday night became a repeat of Thursday's stakeout, only this time it payed off; they were able to catch the suspect before he planted the bomb meant to destroy a newly elected Congress man's car. Unfortunately, that also meant a long night of interrogation. The sun was just beginning to dawn as Lee crawled into the empty bed in his apartment. Amanda woke him just after eleven when she stopped by to check on him.

Lee sighed and leaned into Amanda's hand, which was still playing with his hair. "You keep doing that I'm going to be too comfortable to want to eat," he admitted, still feeling the after effects of the long nights and too little sleep to make up for it.

Eyeing Lee, Amanda made a decision. "Take out then, but from where? Thai food or pizza? My treat," she said smiling.

"Thai food sounds perfect so you choose the place," Lee answered, closing his eyes and relaxing back against the couch.

"Sweetheart, you're still tired, you should go lay down and rest. I can do a few things around here," Amanda said as Lee yawned.

"No, if I sleep now, I won't sleep tonight," Lee said between yawn again. Leaning forward, he put the paper on the coffee table, then picked up the cup of coffee that had long since become cold and taking a sip, he grimaced at the taste. "I'm going to make more coffee though, you want some?" he asked.

"No, thank you, Sweetheart. You know, it was awful nice of Mother to take care of the boys this weekend," Amanda said as Lee walked toward the kitchen.

"I'm going to thank her when I see her. Honestly, after the last few days, I'm enjoying the quiet. Not that I don't love being in your house with the boys, it's just… I must be getting too old for this," Lee lamented.

Amanda laughed, "I know what you mean. They are boys and sometimes I think they forget how loud they can be. Especially since Philip has found those new bands…. Guns N' Roses, I think is one of them and Stone Temple… something. I don't remember. It all sounds like noise to me."

From the kitchen, Amanda could hear Lee laughing. "I think the Colonel said something like that when I was his age too," he called out. "Maybe if we decide to move, we can soundproof his room," he added.

Amanda smiled and for the next few minutes she was quiet, thinking about the possibilities of them moving. "Do you think we can talk about that? I know you want to include the boys and Mother in the process but maybe we should talk first," she said as Lee entered the room again with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Lee asked as he sat back down beside her on the couch. He tapped his lap to indicate he wanted her closer so she swung her legs over his.

"Well, for starters, where do you want to start looking for houses? I mean, I would like to find something in the same school district so the boys won't have to change schools mid-year if that's possible," Amanda began.

"Sounds reasonable. What else?" Lee said as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, we'll have to figure out a budget. I don't want to overspend just because it has more space. I mean, the boys are going to be going off to college in just a few years so we don't need anything too big. It will only be us and Mother…" Amanda continued but Lee stopped her.

"Sooo does that mean what I think it means?" he asked tentatively.

"Does what mean what?" Amanda asked confused.

Lee didn't know how to ask the question, so he simply said, "Charlie?"

"Charlie? What do you… oh…" Amanda stopped when she had remembered their conversation about having a baby. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, I've been so wrapped up in helping plan our wedding and being home and getting you settled with the boys… You're right… we do need a bigger place," she said as she reached up to touch his shoulder.

Lee smiled at Amanda then said, "I am going to miss this place a little, though."

"Why's that? You haven't been here that long. You barely even know your neighbors," Amanda commented.

"Well, there are a lot of memories in this place," Lee teased.

Amanda just laughed, "You mean all those girls with names that end in I?"

Lee shook his head and said "No, none of them have been here, remember? Only you. We've had some… interesting… evenings here, just the two of us."

Amanda narrowed her eyes trying to figure out what he was talking about. She still wasn't sure when she said, "We'll need to decide what to do with all our furniture. What to keep, what to put in storage."

"Well, I definitely want to keep this couch. We have a lot of great memories on this couch," Lee winked at her as he teased her again, only this time he was smiling so big, his dimples deep.

"You mean that night… when we… on this couch," Amanda bit her bottom lip as she spoke softly remembering.

"That night… wait… which night are you thinking of?" Lee stopped.

"You remember. THAT night. When we… you know… on the couch," Amanda started blushing.

Lee turned his head slightly, grinning. "Well, what about that night in the dining room? Or the kitchen?" he asked.

"But the night on the couch, that was the first time…" Amanda's voice was barely a whisper.

Lee began laughing loudly as he pulled her forward to kiss her, "That was the first time you jumped me if I remember correctly."

"Ohhh ho ho, I jumped you? I did nothing of the sort. You practically attacked me after Billy left and told us we could have an extra day before we got ready to go to Pinetop," Amanda said defiantly as she sat back, slightly out of reach.

"But you were the one that started doing that …. that… thing you do," Lee said as he shook his finger at her.

"What thing? Lee, what are you talking about?" Amanda asked her eyes wide.

Lee slid his hand beside her head, pulling her forward and said, "That thing," just before he kissed her. Amanda kissed him back, moaning lightly when their lips separated. "Yeah, that," Lee said again for good measure.

Amanda moved her legs off Lee's so she could move and straddle him where he sat. Leaning forward she kissed his lips first, lightly. Slowly she sprinkled kisses across his cheek toward his ear where she whispered, "Maybe we need a re-enactment of that night, just so we don't forget what happened."

Lee swallowed hard before saying, "That is exactly what you did and you know it."