Author's Note: Just a little information in case anyone wonders why I placed Phillip and Jamie's high school graduations three years apart rather than two, it is based on Jamie's birthday being in late November of 1975 combined with the Virginia public school requirement that a child must be five by September 30th to start kindergarten. Since Jamie would not have turned five until November of 1980, he would not have been able to begin school until the fall of 1981, placing him in the class of 1994, while Phillip's birthday being in late March 1973, he would have started school in the fall of 1978, making him part of the class of 1991. While the show made it always seem as if the brothers were just two years apart, based on the dates of their birthday episodes in season one and the years that they were born given in "The Wrong Way Home," they are actually closer to three years apart, just four months shy of it. This would place them three years apart in school as well. Of course, as much as I love the show, we all know that show's writers very often couldn't keep their own timelines straight. Just wanted to add a little clarification on where my thought process is so that there is no confusion.

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After everyone had left for the day, Jamie had finished off the morning coffee made by his mother and when it had begun to help him feel a bit more alive, he took a long hot shower to shake off the remnants of his hangover, his third since his fight with Beth Thursday night. He'd tried to make amends last night, but once again, he'd let his fear get the best of him and had said some things that he didn't mean. You partially meant them, he admonished himself. You know you're not ready for this.

Once dressed and shaved for the day, he took a long look at himself in the mirror and thought that while he now looked and felt presentable, on the inside he was still in just as bad a shape as he had been when he'd come home the night before. As he reflected back on the way his date with Beth had ended, he cringed and mentally cursed himself for the way he'd bolted on her in the most cowardly fashion possible instead of dealing with the problem head on. He knew what the solution was, but wasn't sure that he had the courage to face Beth to discuss it after the way he'd spoken to her the night before.

Unable to stand looking at himself any longer, he quickly exited the bathroom that he shared with his younger brother and trotted down the hall to his room, picked up the phone and began dialing. After punching in the third digit of his girlfriend's phone number, he slammed the receiver back down, his courage failing him. He picked it up and again slammed it down in frustration with himself. He knew he needed to call her to attempt to make things right, but how was he going to do that when he didn't know for sure how to broach the subject? Would she even listen or would she just hang up on him "Just do it," He said aloud. Finally, he dialed her number in full and braced himself as he waited for her to answer. When she finally did, he said tentatively, "It-it's me, Beth. I...Um...I know we need to talk...ab-about... things. Can w-w-we meet for lunch at our normal place?" He breathed a sigh of relief when she'd agreed. "Around noon?" When she once again agreed, he replied, "Okay, I'll see you there." He was about to hang up, but then added quickly, "I love you." When she replied in kind, but with a hint of sadness in her voice and then hung up, he slammed the receiver back down again. "Damn!"

"Idiot!" he cried as he stared at the phone for a moment. He let out a deep sigh and rooted through his nightstand drawer until he found what he was looking for. He flipped open the passbook for the savings account that his parents had started for him when he was still a small child in anticipation of his college years, glanced at the balance and grimaced slightly. He knew if he did what he was thinking of doing, it wouldn't be long until one of his parents knew what was up since the account had all three names on it and both Joe and Amanda, even Lee, occasionally made deposits to it to help him with the expenses that went with being a student. He knew there'd be hell to pay once one of them found out, and while he could care less what Joe thought, he worried about his mom's reaction, especially with the way she'd reacted when Phillip had moved out. However, he was the most concerned with how Lee would react than anyone else. He knew the look of disappointment he'd see on his loving stepfather's face when he broke the news.

"God," he muttered as he slipped the bankbook into his back pocket, reached for his keys and sprinted down the stairs, his thoughts in turmoil as he imagined all the plans that he and Beth had been making for the future evaporating before his eyes.

As he reached the front door, he hastily punched in the alarm code as had become habit in that past ten years since they'd moved to the new house once the dust had settled from finding out that his mom and Lee had married in secret. He closed and locked the front door and as he made his way to the battered silver Corvette in the driveway that Lee had taught him to drive in, its keys in his hand, his mind drifted back the day that Lee had first handed over the keys to him permanently.

August 27, 1994

Jamie bounded down the stairs bright and early, anxious to start what would be a very busy day and was not surprised to find his mother was placing breakfast for the family on the table, however, was surprised to find his stepdad helping her and that the two of them were speaking in hushed tones.

"You know Phillip's going to be upset by this," Amanda said in a warning tone to him.

"Look, it's the logical choice, you know. Phillip is going to school farther away and needs to haul stuff back and forth when he comes home so the Wagoneer was the right option for him."

"Oh, I know the logic behind your decision," Amanda concurred, "I just don't want there to be a war between the two boys."

"Well, if Phillip says anything about it, we'll just explain it to him the same way."

"What are you guys talking about?' Jamie inquired looking from one to another.

"Nothing," Amanda answered quickly.

Lee clapped him on the shoulder and said more cheerfully than his usual morning self, "Hey there, college man!"

Jamie again looked from his stepfather to his mother and back again, asking a bit nervously, "W-what's going on?"

"We'll tell you a little later, Sweetheart," Amanda replied as she gently nudged him toward his regular place at the breakfast table between Phillip and Matt and continued with, "Right now, you need to eat a good hearty breakfast. You have got a very, very busy day ahead of you and you'll need your strength." He looked at his mother hesitantly. "Go on, now," she urged with a firm nod.

"Okay-ay," he said as he eyed his mother warily wondering what she was up to. As he sat down and reached for his fork to dig into the huge stack of pancakes on his plate, that was when he noticed the gift-wrapped box next to it. "What's this?"

Amanda smiled affectionately at her son as she took her seat beside Phillip at the table and answered, "Just a little something that I got you to help you get started in your college career."

Jamie hesitated in reaching for it, looking questioningly at his mother.

"It's okay, you can open it now," Lee encouraged him as he sat beside his wife.

Jamie nodded and opened the package, his eyes widening in delight when he saw what was inside, "You got me my own cell phone?" He asked in surprise as he pulled it out of the box and examined it.

"It's the top of the line too," Amanda gushed. "It's the first phone for the new orange network, the most technologically advanced mobile network. We just got these at work too."

"Mom, you can't afford this," Jamie said worriedly.

"Well, I just thought with you staying home instead of moving on campus, we could just use the money that we would have spent on room and board for you on the phone service." She then grinned at him and added, "Besides, now you won't have an excuse not to call and check in once in a while when you're out living the college life."

"Thanks, Mom, but-"

"No buts, young man. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold," she scolded.

"But-"

"Jamie, if it makes you feel any better, she got one for me too," Phillip chimed in. "Told me that when I go back to school, I'd better use it to call home once in a while."

"I want one, too," Leah pleaded.

"And me," Matt added.

"Me too," Jennie's voice said excitedly.

"Me three," Emily joined her siblings.

When the chatter at the breakfast table over cell phones rose to a roar, Lee whistled loudly to put a halt to it. When the din abruptly stopped he stated adamantly, "Absolutely not. None of you are old enough yet to take care of your own phone."

"But, Dad, I'm almost twelve," Leah pointed out.

"Your father said no," Amanda agreed with her husband, and then gave a look to the other children as well. "That's something we'll discuss down the road when you can all prove that you're responsible enough to take care of a cell phone, now cool it and eat your breakfast!"

At seeing the stern look on her mother's face, Leah changed the subject to her excitement that she'd be starting her first year of middle school the following year.

"Hey, don't get too excited. You've still got one more year of elementary school to get through," Lee reminded her.

"I know, Dad," Leah said, "But it'll be nice to be on my own in a new school where I won't be just the twins' big sister."

"Hey!" Jennie exclaimed looking insulted.

"Leah, really," Amanda admonished her.

"I don't mean it in a mean way," Leah explained, "It's just that any time anything is going on with them, I always get the blame for it because I'm the big sister and I'm supposed to set a good example."

"Boy, do I know how that goes," Phillip put in with a smirk at Jamie who stuck his tongue out at him earning him an elbow nudge from Phillip in response.

"Speaking of setting a good example," Lee scolded Jamie and Phillip. "Do you think the two of you could maybe act like the adults that you are and set a better example for your brother and sisters?"

"See? That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about and now it'll be even worse with Emily staring school this year," Leah pouted.

Lee looked to his wife for help who just laughed and responded, "Don't look at me. You were the one who wanted an even half-dozen."

"Spoken by the woman who wanted another one a couple of years ago," Lee countered.

"Oh, well, that was just a moment of temporary insanity brought on by my babies starting to leave me,' Amanda explained as she ruffled Phillip's hair affectionately.

"Aw, Mom, cut it out," Phillip grumbled good-naturedly.

"I know, I know," Amanda replied with a sigh. "You're the big man on campus now. I just can't believe you'll be graduating in December already, a whole semester early and then staring law school in January."

"The internship with the FBI for course credit that I did this summer helped with that," Phillip said.

"You just wait, Mom," Jamie crowed with a challenging look at his brother. "I'm gonna' take summer classes and get done even earlier than lame brain here. I'm already ahead of the game since I took all those AP classes for college credit last year." He then glanced at his brother. "I'm going to school for school, no chasing sorority girls."

"It wouldn't do you any good since you couldn't catch a sorority girl if you tried," Phillip fired back.

"Why would I need to when I have a real girlfriend?" Jamie countered.

"Ay, ay ay," Lee groaned with a shake of his head as the two older brothers were at it again which just set the younger children off on a competition of one-upmanship. He then looked at his wife and hissed, "Why did we think this was a good idea?"

Amanda reached for his hand and squeezed it affectionately in response as they finished their breakfast, all the while being entertained by their children.

Once breakfast was over and dishes were done, the younger children had taken off for the backyard to play, while Phillip having packed the Wagoneer the night before set off for Charlottesville. Jamie sat idly flipping through the folder full of orientation materials from Georgetown University to familiarize himself with the layout of the campus and where he was expected to be and at what times. He finally rose from the table, plucked the keys to the minivan off the table inside the front door and was about to leave when he was stopped by his mother's voice, "Jamie?"

"Before you take off, Lee wants to see you in the garage," She gestured toward the door. "And I need the keys to the van," She held out her hand.

"Mom," Jamie protested. "Don't tell me you're planning on going with me. I am a grown-up now and I-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't need your mommy holding your hand while you register for school. I got it. But you know something, you're still going to be living in my house and that means you still need to listen to what Lee and I have to say once in a while, now scoot! Go see Lee!"

"Fine," Jamie grumbled as he handed over the keys to his mother and trudged to the garage. He flung open the door in irritation to find the garage dark. "Lee?" he questioned wondering what was going on. His stepdad's name had barely left his lips when the garage door leading to the driveway was raised. He glanced around and saw Lee grinning from ear to ear leaning nonchalantly against the 'vette, the garage door opener in one hand and dangling a set of keys in the other. "What's this?"Jamie asked.

"This..." Lee rose to his full height and gestured to the car, "This is my gift to you to start you off in college."

"But I thought-" he paused as he thought of the cell phone now in his back pocket. "What about the phone?"

"That was from your mom, all her idea," Lee explained. "This...this is from me. I'll never forget the first time you saw it and asked me if you could have a ride some time back when your mom and I were still engaged..."

"But we didn't know you were engaged," Jamie reminded him.

"Yeah, I remember, but now that you're older, you understand why we kept the secrets that we did."

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

"Remember when we finally took her out to the track together, what a ball we had?" Lee leaned against the car again, a wave of nostalgia hitting him as he thought about it.

"Yeah," Jamie smiled fondly, "After I got done being such a jerk to you for trying to steal my mom away from me," he said guiltily.

"Don't sweat it, Sport," Lee said with a wave of his hand. "We got through it."

"Yeah, we did," Jamie agreed. "I think that's part of why I wanted to stay home instead of on campus. I'm...I'm excited about college, but I'm...I don't know, kinda' scared about leaving home, you know? Just not quite ready to be away from the family yet."

Lee nodded. "You know you made your mother very happy when you made that decision." Lee paused for a beat. "You've always got a home here. You know that, right?" Jamie nodded again. "Well, that's kind of what made me want to give you the 'vette. I thought that since you're staying home instead of going away to college, you'd need a good car for your commute back and forth, especially with the way DC traffic can get. Your mom and I won't always be able to drive you places or lend you the minivan since the other kids have so many activities going on once school starts."

"B-but you love this car," Jamie argued.

"No, Jamie, you don't love a car," Lee replied repeating the words he'd long ago said to Amanda after watching his Porsche go up in flames. He approached his stepson, placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I love you." He handed Jamie the keys.

"Huh," Jamie replied not quite knowing what to say. He glanced down at the keys in his hand and then back up at his stepdad and said, "Are you su-"

"Yes," Lee interrupted. "It's yours for as long as you want it. Besides, when was the last time that you saw me driving it since we got the Taurus?" He nodded toward the Ford parked beside the 'vette.

Jamie nodded as he recalled the day Lee had driven the sedan home while his mother had driven the 'vette. He and Phillip had been shooting hoops in the driveway while the two of them argued as they exited the cars. Lee had been arguing that they should have traded the 'vette in on the purchase of the more practical family vehicle while Amanda argued back that they should keep the 'vette around since Phillip and Jamie would be driving soon. Lee then challenged her that that was the reason they'd kept the Jeep instead of trading it in on the purchase of the van. It had ended with Lee telling his wife pointedly that he knew what she'd been up to when she'd snatched the keys to the 'vette from his hands at the car lot to keep him from giving it up, thinking that he'd miss it in the future. She'd then just smiled and kissed him and entered the house without saying another word. "Thanks," Jamie answered Lee finally, his voice choked with emotion.

Jamie's thoughts snapped back to the present as he pulled up to the curb beside the bank. He glanced at the suddenly ominous-looking building and heaved a deep sigh. "Just get it over with," he told himself as he forced himself to climb out of the car he'd been driving for years and had come to think of as his. Not anymore, he thought dismally as he walked into the bank and stood in line for the next available teller. Someday soon, he'd have to take a page out of Lee's book and change out the 'vette for a vehicle more suited for a family. He was hoping he could just talk Phillip into trading cars with him. He didn't think for a minute that he'd have a problem with it since, as his parents had predicted, Phillip had been green with envy that Jamie got the 'vette while he was driving the wagon. If not, he might have to make another trip like this one to the bank.

He stepped to the counter when it was his turn and said to the teller, "I'd like to make a withdrawal, please." He nervously wondered which of his parents would be the first to learn of the purchase that he was about to make and how they'd react to it as he watched the teller count out the bills in front of him.

He accepted the cash and the receipt from the teller who said pleasantly, "Thank you, Mr. King, have a nice day."

Mr. King, he thought with a shake of his head. Even though he was an adult, it wasn't often that he heard himself referred to in that manner because many people still saw him as just a college kid. He supposed that'd be something that he'd have to get used to very soon because while he was an adult, as long as he was still living at home, he hadn't yet taken on any real adult responsibility, but that was all about to change. His mind drifted back to his earlier thinking that he was primarily worried about Lee's reaction. As he slid back behind the wheel of the 'vette his stepdad had given him, he shuddered slightly as he thought of the man who'd done so much for him and also of that conversation about example-setting and just hoped that he'd be able to live up to the example of fatherhood Lee had set for him. He left the bank with not only his wallet, but also his mind heavier than before he'd entered the building.