Disclaimer: I do not own the characters just the story. I hope you enjoy.

It is a start of a new year and what a year it will be. I hope you enjoy it, this is only the beginning.

Beginnings, Endings, and Something in Between

January 17, 1990: Matthew and Jennifer Stetson's 2nd Birthday

Francine walked into Lee's office to remind him of the time by pointing her finger at her watch and then running it across her throat to indicate his immanent death if he didn't leave the office at that moment. He pointed to the phone with an exasperated look on his face. He had been trying to get out of the office for 48 hours. Finally, shouting into the phone with fluent Italian he slammed the phone down and looked at Francine and said, "For the next 24 hours this is your problem; that is with only a death threat to the President."

"I know, Lee, it will be fine. Now you need to get home before you find yourself divorced. Tell Amanda that we will be by this weekend to bring our presents and see the twins." With that she threw Lee his jacket and as he walked out the door she walked over and tossed him his car keys.

Thirty minutes later he was running into the kitchen through the back door hoping that he hadn't missed much. The only thing he seemed to accomplish was making the two teenagers in the kitchen jump four feet off the ground and two feet apart. Stopping in his tracks long enough to realize that it wasn't the two teenagers he would expect he would find he said, "We will talk about this later, where is Amanda?"

Philip looked at his Dad and said, "Mom is changing the twins and muttering something about needing a new section chief at work."

Nodding his head as he began to loosen his tie he went toward the stairs saying in as cheerful voice as he could, "Amanda, I'm here what do you need help with?"

Amanda met him at the top of the stairs and said, "I need for you to be here when you say you are going to be here and call if you aren't going to be. Since you went into the office, for just a brief meeting, I have had to deal with 2 two year olds, fighting, one hormonal teenager that thinks I have no idea what it is like to be young and in love, and one teenager that gets testy because he has to run errands for me in the Jeep when his Dad took the cool car. Now I believe that we have just enough time to get you cleaned and changed before people start to arrive."

Lee went to kiss her and if as on cue Jennie started to scream. "Boy, I'm never going to get the timing right on kissing you." Lee went to check on his daughter and found out the nature of why she was crying. Apparently her brother threw his ball at her and hit her in the eye.

"Matthew, you don't hit a girl and you don't hit your sister. Now you go to the time out chair."

"No!" Matt said placing his tiny hands on his waist and he knew that his son looked just like he did when he was standing his own ground. Lee raised his eyebrow at Matt and said, "I said go to your chair young man; if you don't then you don't get any of your presents or cake." Lee pointed to the blue chair in the corner next to his bed and Matt just looked at him and refused to move.

"Matthew Lee Stetson, I said now!" The raised tone in his voice did nothing to help his cause. Lee was at a standoff with a two year old. "Can someone please come and get Jennie for me?" Lee yelled out into the hallway. Amanda walked in and picked Jennie up and noticed her eye. "What happened?"

"He hit her with his ball and he is refusing to go to his time out chair and so I think it is time for him to be reminded of who the parent is around here."

Amanda took Jennie and as they walked from the room Matt went to run after his mother while Lee stopped him with his arm holding him from escaping. "No, Matt, you can't leave until you sit in time out chair for hitting your sister."

"No."

"Yes."

"Big meanie."

"Yes I am the big meanie, but if you hadn't hit your sister than you wouldn't be in big trouble. Now go sit in your chair."

"No!" Matt said as he stomped his foot down and with Lee being on his level looked his Dad in the eyes. Lee could see the tears forming in his sons eyes and his heart began to falter, but he held his own and picked Matt up and placed him in the chair. As Lee sat him down Matt took the opportunity to kick his Dad in the knee making a string of curses escape Lee's mouth.

Dotty and Curt walked in the front door to hear Lee cussing and Matt screaming and Amanda putting an ice pack on Jennie's eye. "Oh, dear, what is going on?"

"Matt hit his sister with his ball and Lee is trying to get him in the time out chair. Doesn't sound like it is going to well for him; would you two like something to drink?"

"Aren't you going to check on them?"

"No, Mother Lee can handle this."

"Mom, Matt can be brutal are you sure you want Dad to handle this alone?" Philip asked.

Amanda turned to look at her oldest child and said, "Lee is a trained federal agent, I think he can handle one two year old." As soon as those words were out of her mouth she heard her youngest son scream at the top of his lungs and bang on his bedroom door.

Amanda went to the stairs to see Lee walk into their bedroom. She went into their room and looked at her husband and said, "Lee is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine our son is just learning a very valuable lesson. I don't respond to temper tantrums. So when he is done screaming and kicking and throwing things he can go to his own party."

"Lee, your serious aren't you? You're going to keep him from his own birthday party?" She was looking at him in disbelief.

"Yes I am. I told you I would handle this and you have to let me. Now please go downstairs and we will hopefully be down in a few minutes."

Amanda walked out unable to believe what she was hearing. Lee walked back to Matt and Jennie's room and sat outside the door. Matt wasn't screaming any longer but he was still banging on the door. As Lee sat there Jamie came out of his room and asked, "How mad is mom at you right now?"

"I am probably on the couch for a while; go on down, Jamie."

Lee opened the door after about five minutes of silence and found Matt sitting in his chair and pouting. Lee walked over and did what Amanda did after she sat them in time out. "Matt, do you know why Daddy wanted you to sit in the time out chair?"

"I was bad boy?"

"No, you are not a bad boy, you hit your sister and Mommy and Daddy can't let you do that. Do you understand?"

He nodded and said, "Jennie cried; sorry."

Lee hugged his son and said, "You tell her you are sorry and give her a kiss and hug; now let's go to your birthday party." Matt grabbed his Dad's hand and they went down the stairs smiling to the guests and Amanda. "I heard you over the room monitor, good move Stetson." She put her arms around her husband and gave him a quick kiss on the lips as Matt walked over to his sister and hugged and kissed her. Jennie hugged her brother back and like everything else the twins did they did it together.

The party was full of laughter as the twins opened their presents and Amanda and Lee both got cake smashed in their face. Katie pushing Philip's face into a bowl of ice cream with Jamie and Brittany snapping photos of all of it. Billy and his wife had even been able to make it.

Katie asked Jamie in a moment of peace, "Hey, I thought Lee said Joe and Carrie were coming."

"Well, you know Joe," was all Jamie said before walking Brittany out as her parents came and picked her up. Jamie asked Brittany's dad if it would be okay if she came over the next day to study for a test. He told him that Lee would be home with them and could bring her home before dinner and her father said that it would be fine as long as Lee or Amanda would be home.