Author's note: Ok, so here's is the beginning of the continuation of "The Honeymoon's Over," which I decided to cut off after it got to 50 chapters and continue in a second installment just due to the length of it. If you haven't read it, I recommend reading it first or this will make no sense to you. This picks up after they've come home from the wedding reception and will carry on from there and how Lee and Amanda adjust to their new life together in starting their second month of marriage, making plans for their new baby, house shopping, etc. I hope you all enjoy. Thanks to those who patiently followed, read and reviewed all 50 chapters of the first installment.

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Colonel Robert Clayton shifted nervously in the den of the house on Maplewood Drive as he watched Dotty working in the kitchen. "You know, I don't want to put you out. I could stay in a hotel tonight. I shouldn't be intruding on your family life here."

"Nonsense," Dotty said. "This is you nephew's home just as much as it is my daughter's. Besides, Amanda would never hear of it. I don't know if you know this but that daughter of mine is very determined when she sets her mind on something and she made it very clear that since you can't move into your barracks tomorrow that you stay with family tonight. I have to say that I'm inclined to agree with her. I know that Lee has been the only family you've had for a long time, but you're a part of this family now and in this family, we look after each other."

"I've always believed family should look after each other. I'd never have taken Lee in when he was a child if I didn't."

"Good," Amanda said as she descended the stairs and stepped into the room her arms laden with blankets and pillows. "It's the least we can do since you were brought here unexpectedly to help us celebrate our marriage." She began to make up the couch for the Colonel to sleep on.

"And the new addition to the family," He said with a pointed glance at Amanda.

"Well, that wasn't part of the party planning," Dotty said. "It was just intended to be a wedding reception until Lee's tantrum; Although, I'm very glad that it's all out in the open. I never thought you should be hiding your pregnancy. It's something you should celebrate."

"We weren't exactly hiding it, Mother," Amanda replied. "We just weren't telling everyone about it yet until we knew that everything was ok. I told you that already. I also told you that the rumors at the agency are already bad enough without adding more on top of it."

"Well, the rumor mill's going to have plenty to talk about after tonight," Lee said as he entered the room.

"And since we're on the forced "Administrative leave' for the next week, that's going to give them a whole week to talk about it too."

"Yeah, thanks to me and my big mouth," Lee grumbled.

"It's ok, Sweetheart," Amanda said soothingly as she turned to face her husband. "We knew it wouldn't stay hidden forever." She gave him a quick kiss then turned back to her task.

Lee stepped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator pulling out the milk and a glass from the cupboard. He glanced at Dotty and asked, "What is this you're doing here?"

"This is the top layer of your wedding cake," Dotty said. "It's traditional to freeze it until your first wedding anniversary so I'm wrapping it up for you to keep it from getting freezer-burned."

"Ok," Lee said dubiously as he poured the milk, capped the jug and put it away, and then reached for the prescription bottle that sat on the top of the fridge.

"It's best to humor her, Sweetheart," Amanda said.

"Well, if some of the gossips have their way, we won't make it to our first anniversary. Did you hear Jeffries tonight?"

"No, but I did hear Beaman gloating like crazy over winning the baby pool," Amanda said.

"What was that all about anyway?" The Colonel asked.

"Oh, well, everyone at the agency was so shocked when we came back from our trip and announced that we'd gotten married that they started placing bets on how long we'd last," Amanda explained.

"Then Efraim started this pool on how long it was going to be before we announced that we were expecting," Lee chimed in a bitter tone in his voice. "Some of our co-workers are having a hard time believing that I married Amanda simply because I fell in love with her and that there had to be some hidden reason behind it."

"Oh," Robert said realization dawning. "No wonder you were so pissed at me when I jumped to the same conclusion."

"I don't know why I expected anything different," Lee said. "I mean, it's not like anybody's wrong about the bad reputation I built for myself."

"There you go, Colonel, you're all set," Amanda said.

"Now, Amanda, I told you to call me Bob," Robert Clayton said.

"Of course...Bob," Amanda replied with a warm smile as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Here you go," Lee said as he handed her the glass of milk and the pills he'd extracted from the prescription bottle. "Don't forget to take your vitamins. We gotta' keep that baby healthy." He slipped his arms around her and lightly caressed her abdomen.

"Thank you," she said as she took the pills chasing them with the milk. "So, what exactly did Jeffries have to say?"

"Well, since Efraim won his bet tonight, now he's increased the stakes on his. And while you were being swept around the dance floor by Harry, then Paul, and whoever else you danced with tonight, I heard him and Fielder talking about how it won't be long before I'll be bored with you and making the rounds in the steno pool again," Lee said in irritation.

"Well, I'll just have to make sure you never get bored with me," she said with a devilish grin.

"I told them that I don't believe there's a chance in hell of that ever happening, and then Fielder made a crack about you and how the quiet ones are always the hot tamales in the bedroom."

"He didn't," Amanda said in mock horror with a chuckle as she sipped at her milk. "So, what did you say then?"

"I told him that our private life was none of his damn business," Lee said.

"No, you didn't," She said with a knowing smile. "You made some smart-alecky comment and you know I'll hear about it so you might as well tell what it was."

Colonel Clayton chuckled at seeing his nephew squirm and had to applaud Amanda's ability to see through his bull. "Ok, what I told him before telling him to mind his own business is that he didn't know what a hot tamale was and neither did I before I married you," Lee answered as he brushed her hair back from her face a kissed her softly.

She kissed him back then asked, "Are the boys asleep?"

"Yes, finally, after a lot of protesting and a lot of chattering, they finally dropped off," Lee said. "I had to remind them several times that they needed to get some sleep since we've got a busy day tomorrow, but they're both out like a light now."

"Good," Amanda said with a nod as she drained the last of her milk and took her glass to the sink to rinse it out. "Then I say it's time to turn in for the night ourselves," she said with a sultry smile

"I couldn't agree more," Lee said returning her smile as he reached for his wife's hand.

"Good-night, Mother, Good-night, Co..." Amanda began but then corrected herself, "...Bob," as she and Lee ascended the stairs toward their bedroom hand in hand.

After they'd left, Dotty said, "I'll be out of your way in just a minute so you can go to sleep."

"Oh, no hurry, Mrs. West," Robert replied. "I'm not sure I could go straight to sleep after tonight anyway. It's a lot to take in."

"I know what you mean," Dotty replied.

"Well, you've had time to adjust to this. I only learned about this tonight. I thought I was arriving to an actual wedding reception following a wedding. Imagine how surprised I was when I got there to find out from one of their friends they were married a month ago and that they got married in secret." He sighed and asked, "You wouldn't have anything stronger to drink than milk in there, would you?", as he stepped into the kitchen.

"There's a bottle of scotch on top of the fridge and ice in the freezer, glasses in the cupboard to the left of the refrigerator. Feel free to help yourself."

"Thank you," He said as he poured himself a nightcap. He was silent for a moment as he stared down at the amber liquid in the glass, then took a healthy swig of it, before asking, "So, what's your opinion on all of this? My nephew and your daughter?"

"You know, before I answer that question, I could use one of those myself," Dotty said with a backward nod at his glass. "Do you mind? I've got my hands full at the moment."

"Not at all," He replied as he poured a second glass for Dotty while she continued to wrap the top tier of the wedding cake in layer after layer of plastic wrap.

"That's a lot of plastic wrap," He commented watching what she was doing as he set her drink on the counter beside her and leaned against the counter.

"Just trying to protect it, since it's going to be in the freezer for the next eleven months," Dotty said. She sighed as she paused in her task, took a sip of her drink than said, "It's going to take a whole lot more than Saran wrap to protect my daughter, though."

"So, it's not just me then," Robert said thoughtfully. "You're worried about them too...about this sudden marriage. I mean, I know they've been together two years, but to just hear about their marriage without ever even hearing they were engaged..."

Dotty took a deep breath, unsure if she should tell him the truth or not. She'd heard Lee and Amanda's conversation about how they'd initially lied to the man, telling him they were a couple when they weren't. She turned from him to put the cake away then turned back to take another sip of her drink, deciding she'd better not take the chance since his relationship with Lee already seemed fragile. "Not about their marriage, no," she answered honestly. "Why don't we sit?" She said indicating the table in the corner as she walked that way and took a seat with a weary sigh, Colonel Clayton following her lead and sitting across from her. "I have no doubt that if my daughter is willing to say "I do" for a second time after the hurt she suffered in her first marriage, that she's going to do everything she can to make it work. She was so terrified of making another commitment like that after the way Joe King treated her that I never thought she'd ever allow herself to find happiness again. With Lee, she finally let her guard down enough to let him in, to open herself up to love again. I've seen them together and I know that Lee loves her with all his heart. I see it in the way he looks at her, like he can't live without her."

"So, you've not worried that their marriage won't last?"

"No, I am worried that their marriage won't last, but not for the reason that you are. I'm not a bit worried that their marriage will end due to divorce. I'm worried that it will end due to death. What they do is so dangerous and every day when I see them off to work, I wonder if this is the day that I'll get a call to tell me that one or both of them won't be coming home. That's why I worked so hard to put this celebration together for them. I wanted them to have some semblance of something normal that a newlywed couple should have."

"Have you talked to them about it?"He inquired.

Dotty nodded. "I have. I've talked to them until I'm blue in the face and it does no good. Amanda just keeps trying to tell me that it's not as big a deal as I'm making it out to be, but I can't help the way I feel. My only daughter was shot and nearly died and now she's just killed someone and they both act like it's just another day on the job. You should see Lee's report on Amanda's shooting. It's so business-like, so cold, so impersonal, just details of facts and events. It doesn't begin to convey the pain or horror that he and I went through in watching Amanda fight for every breath. While I was watching her struggling to recover, I also watched him struggling, saw the worry and the pain on his face at seeing her suffering. That's when it really struck me just how deeply in love with her he is, but you can't tell any of that by the report he filed on it. It just sounds like one agent investigating the shooting of another agent, case closed."

"Well, I imagine that he can't put any of his personal feelings in an official report," Robert replied.

"That's exactly what he said when I asked him about it," Dotty replied.

"Listen, Mrs. West..." He began.

"Dotty," she said interrupting him. "If I'm gonna' pour my heart out here, we might as well be on a first name basis."

"Then, you should call me Bob," He replied. He sighed and said, "Dotty, what I was going to say is that you shouldn't worry about them on the job. From what I understand from my friend, Barney, the shooting in California had nothing to do with their jobs."

"That's what I keep hearing," Dotty said doubtfully. "I met your friend, Barney, when I was out there, after I knew the whole truth, he said the same thing and so did his friend, Gus. He even apologized to me for getting Amanda involved."

"It's true, but not only that. You should know that I've seen them in the field together first-hand and they are quite the team. I've been a military man my whole adult life and I don't think I've ever seen a team that worked together nearly as well as they do."

"How did you happen to see them in the field together?"

The Colonel launched into the story of his near court-martial and how Lee and Amanda had worked together to unravel the mystery surrounding it and uncovered the frame job against him. "They cleared my name and brought the real culprits to justice. Don't ever tell Lee I said this, but I was never as proud of him as I was in that moment."

"Why wouldn't you want him to know that? If you're proud of your child, you should always let them know that. I mean, I know Lee's not actually your son, but he might as well be. You're the closest thing he's got to a father. I bet he would love to know how you really feel about him. The way he talks about you, it seems that he feels he's been nothing but a disappointment to you."

"Honestly, I don't think he'd believe me if I did tell him. We've butted heads so often over the years, I get the feeling that he'd just take it as sarcasm and we'd be fighting again."

"Don't let him. You have to find a way to let him know that you're sincere. I think he would appreciate it."

"Maybe you should take a little of your own advice."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when the party tonight was starting to wind down, I couldn't help overhearing a part of your conversation with their boss tonight, that Dr. Smyth, when he was talking about the case they just wrapped up and how they saved the life of a general. I saw the look of pride in your eyes when he was praising your daughter's bravery. Even though her job scares you, you should still let her know that you're proud of her accomplishments. She really is a damn fine agent. I've seen it myself. She's insightful, resourceful and has more courage than any soldier I've ever seen. If it weren't for her, I'd have been court-martialed and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Dotty smiled a little and said, "Maybe you're right. I just...with all this new stuff that I'm learning about Amanda...I feel...well, I feel like I just don't know her at all anymore. She's had this whole life separate from me and the boys that I haven't been included in."

"Well, I think the same goes for me and Lee. He's pretty much kept me out of his personal life since he's been an adult, mostly I think because I've never approved of the kind of girls he dated. He always went for the frivolous party girls that were out for a good time, nowhere near worthy of him. I even told him when I first met Amanda that his taste was improving and I believe I was right then. She's done something to him that's changed him profoundly. I saw something in him tonight that I never thought I'd ever see, a sense of purpose, as if he finally has something worth living for. For years, with the way that he was, I felt like he was just hiding from life."

"From what I heard from Billy and Francine, I think he was," Dotty concurred. "I think Amanda was too. She was so broken by her divorce, by feeling that she wasn't enough to keep her husband home, that she cut herself off from anyone that might make her take a real risk with her heart. She was dating this man for a while, wonderful man who loved her and wanted to marry her, he embraced Phillip and Jamie whole-heartedly, but when it came right down to it, she was just trying to play it safe with him, knowing he'd never be the type to leave. Eventually, though she admitted that she couldn't love him and cut him loose. I only recently learned that she'd already met Lee by that time. I think meeting him is what made her realize that she could never be happy with Dean and I now that that's what made her take a real risk with her heart again."

"Then it's good that they found each other," Robert said as he contemplated the events of the night. "Maybe the two of them have just what the other was looking for."

"You're probably right," Dotty said. "I just wish I knew how to get over this fear of the hazardous nature of their job."

"Who says you have to get over it?" he replied. "There's nothing wrong with worrying about your child. You just can't let it overwhelm you. You gave me some advice. Now, let me give you some. Just be happy for Amanda, for her marriage, for your new grandchild, be proud of her in the job she does because she really does do it well, as does my nephew. Of course, you're going to worry about her. You wouldn't be a good mother if you didn't, but think about it this way. The job that they do helps to make the world a safer place for your grandchildren to grow up in."

"Maybe," she said.

"There's no maybe about it. Let me tell you something. Fourteen years ago when Lee told me he'd been recruited by Harry Thornton, he and I had the worst fight of our life. I told him in no uncertain terms that there was no way in hell I was going to let him take that job. Of course, he fought me on it. He was not quite twenty-three and told me, very loudly, I might add, that he as an adult and it was none of my business what he did with his life. That resulted in a knock-down drag-out screaming match and he took the job anyway and we didn't speak for another two years after that."

"Wow," Dotty said. "So, you didn't approve of his career choice either?"

"No. but here's the thing I never told Lee. The reason that I didn't want him to take the job was because I was terrified that he'd end up the same way as his parents. He damn near did just before I took him in. When Matt and Jennie died, he went to live with my mother and he'd been there not quite two years when there was an attack on my mother trying to get to him as revenge on Matt and Jennie, I think. I never did know for sure. They never caught who did it. I don't think he ever knew about it, he was so young. That's when we decided it would be better for me to take him to protect him. We believed that no one would dare try to come after him on an Air Force base. Lee was only five when his parents were killed so he didn't know what really happened to them, just that mommy and daddy were gone. I did. I was the one called on to identify the bodies of my brother and his wife. The fire from the car wreck was so bad that..." He paused as his voice became hoarse with emotion. "...the only way I was able to identify them was by their wedding bands and the inscription on the inside of them. I was the best man at my brother's wedding the day he married Jennie and helped them plan the whole thing. I remember how he worried that their rings wouldn't be done on time because of the special engraving they'd requested, but it was important to him to have something special for the woman he loved. I never saw Matt as happy as I did that day. He loved Jennie so much, and then when Lee was born a little over a year later, I worried endlessly for their family. It's not right that I had to bury my little brother, that Lee grew up without knowing how much his parents loved him, how much they loved each other."

"Maybe that's just one more thing you should tell him."

"Maybe," he said contemplatively. "I don't know. When he was growing up and he'd ask about his parents, I just could never bring myself to talk about it. It was too painful. I tried to raise him like I trained my recruits so he'd be tough. I knew once he was out of my care, someone down the road may try again to hurt him and I wanted him to be able to defend himself. I couldn't let anything happen to him with the memory of my brother hanging over my head. I'll never forget the first time that I saw Matt holding his newborn son, the look of joy in his eyes...it was...it was beautiful. I don't know if Lee ever told you this or if he even realizes it, but he's the spitting image of his father. He's so like my brother and not just in his looks. He has the same spirit, the same attitude. I think that's part of the reason that I never really let myself get to close to him, especially once he started playing James Bond. I have worried every day since he took that job that I'd one day get the same call that I did in 1955 asking me to identify the body of my nephew the way I did with my brother." He paused as he took another sip of his drink. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that the worry is something you never get over. I've been living with it for fourteen years now and it never gets any easier. Nevertheless, I really do think that with Amanda by his side, I can worry a little less. She's been good for him."

"I have to admit, he's been good for her too," Dotty acknowledged.

"It's getting late," He said as he drained the last of his scotch. "I should probably let you get some sleep."

"Well, with the way the two of them were looking at each other before they went to bed, I doubt I'll be getting too much sleep with my room being right next to theirs," she said with a grin.

He chuckled and said, "Probably not."

"Thanks for the chat," she said sincerely as she trotted up the stairs her head filled with new information about her son-in-law and a new perspective on her daughter's career.