Author's Note: Okay, first of all, I want to say think you to all of my wonderful reviewers, those who read this story years ago on my website and those of you who are just reading it for the first time. I have replied to all the reviewers who were logged into the site to say thank you, but felt it was worth saying again. To my mystery guest reviews who keep begging for more, thank you as well. Here's the next installment. Enjoy!

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"Sir, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about," Amanda hedged as his statement about telling Lee the good news had completely caught her off-guard.

"Amanda, we've worked together for four years now. I've watched you grow and change in that time and watched Lee grow and change under your influence. I'd like to think that you and I are more than just supervisor and subordinate by now. Lee and I have been friends for quite a long time now and I want you to know that I think of you as a friend, too."

"Thank you," Amanda said deeply moved by his statement though she still eyed him warily wondering just how much he knew.

"As a friend, I want you to know that you can tell me anything. With as long as you've been here and as much as we've been through together, you should know by now that whatever you say to me in this office stays in this office," Billy said sincerely. "So, about the good news you have for Lee," he probed looking her squarely in the eye.

"Francine sure doesn't waste any time, does she?"She grumbled lowering her head to escape his gaze. She was going to murder her for spilling the beans to Billy after promising that she wouldn't say anything to anyone.

"Francine didn't tell me anything. She didn't have to. I didn't get to be head of this department by letting little details slip past me. I'm married, myself you know."

"Married?" Amanda choked out as she tried to feign innocence raising her head again and plastering on what she hoped was a clueless expression.

"Yes, married. Let's see. Since about not quite four months ago, the Nick Grant case." When Amanda still stared at him blankly, he said, "Amanda, I know the secrets of presidents and heads of states, where nuclear missile launchers are, and what every counterintelligence agency in the world is doing at any given time. Chasing a paper trail over into the next county was no big deal, not that I didn't have my suspicions before then."

Amanda gave up the pretense of acting as if she didn't know what he was talking about and asked, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I figured you and Lee must have a good reason for hiding it...and when the time was right and you were ready to tell me, you would. Since I saw you both walk in here wearing your wedding rings openly and not trying to hide them, I figured that time had come."

"Yeah, Lee thought...well, and I agreed...that with this whole situation...since Candice doesn't seem to be able to let go of the past. We thought...that...that it would help to show her that we're together...show her what we mean to each other."

Billy nodded in understanding. "I wondered about that. I thought at first that it might be for a different reason, but when I realized that Lee didn't know what I know, that there was something else going on, some other reason behind it. So when are you going to tell Lee the good news?"

Amanda fidgeted uncomfortably in the seat. "What good news, Sir?"

"Stop with the sir bit, okay? At the moment, I'm not your boss. I'm just your friend and Lee's. It's Billy, okay. And you know very well what I'm talking about. It's written all over your face."

"No, Billy...I...I...I'm sorry," Amanda stammered nervously.

"Amanda, I'm talking about the fact that you and Lee are going to have a baby." Amanda's eyes flew wide open at that. "Lee Stetson, family man. I like the sound of that," he said with a chuckle.

"I can't possibly tell him right now," Amanda said a pleading tone in her voice hoping that Billy wouldn't be the one to tell him.

"Why not? Don't you think with this thing with Candice going on that he needs to hear some good news right about now?"

"No, that's exactly why I can't tell him. He's under so much stress right now. I can't possibly add more to that."

"Have you ever considered that telling him that you, the woman he loves, is carrying his child would help ease some of that stress? I mean, this is good news, isn't it?" Billy asked a little worriedly. It hadn't occurred to him that Amanda might not be happy about being pregnant, but now he couldn't' help but wonder.

"It was..." she said her voice low as she stared down at the floor again nervously fiddling with her engagement ring. She thought of how happy she'd been, how happy she thought Lee would be until this whole thing started. She took a deep breath and said, "No, I mean, it is...It is good news." She tried to force a smile. "It's just a...a bad time with Candice here with her daughter and all."

"Amanda, I think you're blowing this whole Candice thing way out of proportion.

"Leah is his daughter. I know she is," Amanda said. "I knew it the first time I saw her. Those eyes of hers, they're Lee's. When I first learned that I'm pregnant, I was nervous, but also excited and very, very happy about giving Lee his first child, but...but Candice beat me to the punch."

"That may be, but Lee doesn't love Candice. He never did. He does love you. I see it every time I see you together. Best thing I ever did was pair the two of you up. Don't you think that that means he'll be happy about your news instead of agitated like he is about Candice's?"

"I think you're over-simplifying the situation," Amanda argued.

"No I'm not. I think you're over-complicating it. Leah may be his child, but his home is with you.'

Amanda laughed sardonically and said, "How can that be when we don't have a home together?"

"I don't mean it in the sense of a physical home. I mean, that you belong together. You are what keeps him grounded. He was drowning when you first met him and you were his lifeline. I believe you were meant to be his lifeline, just as he was meant to be yours. You were drowning too."

"No, I...I was fine," Amanda protested weakly.

"Come on, Amanda, I think we both know better. You were far from fine. You were allowing yourself to be suffocated by an unfulfilling relationship that you knew would never go anywhere in an effort to please your mother and to prove to yourself that you could move on after the heartbreak of your divorce. Can you honestly tell yourself that you were happy with the idea of spending your life with Dean Maguire?"

"Wow," Amanda said, amazed by how perceptive Billy was.

"While that relationship wasn't meant to be, I do believe that Dean served a purpose in your life. He was there when you were searching for something to complete l your life and while he wasn't the person who was meant to complete it, he was responsible for leading you to the one who was. Fate brought you to that train station that morning. Have you ever stopped to think about how many things had to fall in line perfectly for Lee to pick you out of the hundreds in that crowd that day? You see Amanda, I believe that we only have one soul mate in this life and you are Lee's and he is yours. You and Lee were meant to be."

Amanda sat there silently for a moment as she pondered Billy's words and thought about how it matched her own thoughts earlier of how her divorce and subsequent relationship with Dean had led to her meeting Lee. "You are a hopeless romantic," she said with an affectionate smile toward her boss.

"Well, in our business it's easy to become a cynic but I've got Jeannie and she does for me what you do for Lee, what the two of you do for each other."

"I guess I don't need to ask how you knew about the baby."

"Not difficult to figure out. You see, Lee's at a disadvantage what with having no real family to speak of, if he had any, he would've been able to figure it out by now too. Being a father of two girls myself, I've been through this same thing twice with Jeannie. I know all the symptoms of pregnancy very well. It also didn't hurt any that one of the rookie agents saw you and Francine at Emelio's yesterday. You passing out there was the talk around the water cooler this morning...that and the way you've been turning green and excusing yourself from meetings recently. Then there's this," Billy said as he reached behind him for a folder on his desk, "The results of your latest physical."

"Doctor Kelford told me he was going to keep that to himself," Amanda said worriedly wondering how many others in the agency might have seen it.

"Relax, Amanda," Billy said soothingly. "I didn't need doctor Kelford to tell me that you were expecting. I figured it out myself about a week ago. That's why I asked him for this and let me assure you that aside from him, I'm the only one who knows what's in it. That's your business and Lee's when you decide to tell people. That is, assuming that you tell Lee that he's going to be a father."

"He already is a father," Amanda said sadly still disappointed that she wasn't going to be the first woman to give him a child of his own. She knew she was being selfish for feeling that way when she already had two children with another man, but she couldn't help the way she felt.

"Amanda..."Billy said in a warning tone.

"Look, what do you want me to say? Lee and I never talked about having kids and he's already feeling awkward because of Leah. He's so gung-ho about revealing our marriage to everyone and that's going to come with its own set of complications when we tell my family. The boys have gotten to trust him and all of that is going to be blown as soon as we tell them that we've been keeping this huge secret from them for months. He's already under enough pressure as it is and this...," she paused as she looked down again, laying a hand on her stomach as if to shield her unborn baby from all the drama. "... This is just going to add more pressure to him, divide his loyalties."

"Amanda, what are you so afraid of? His loyalty is to you. Don't you know that?"

"Maybe it shouldn't be. He has a child with Candice, a beautiful, sweet little girl who's never had her father in her life. She deserves to have that. Take if from a single mom, I know how hard it is for kids to grow up without their dad. I wouldn't purposely inflict that on an innocent child, if I can do something to stop it."

"You sound as if you believe that Lee being a gather to his daughter has to go hand in hand with him being with Candice. Surely, having raised your boys by yourself, you don't really believe that."

"Raising my boys by myself is what makes me think that parents should raise their child together if at all possible."

"That doesn't mean that they have to be a couple to do it," Billy said, "And what about you and your unborn child? Doesn't that child have a right to be raised by both of its parents as well?"

"If I have to, I can handle it by myself, I've been doing it for years with my boys," Amanda said though the thought of is tore her apart. She wanted a family life with Lee more than anything, but not at the expense of a child who had no choice in what happened in her life.

"So, what were you planning on doing? You and Lee are married and you're having a baby. Were you just going to disappear as Candice did and never tell him that you're carrying his child? How could you possibly think of doing that to him after Candice did the same thing? You know that if you did something like that, there's no place you could disappear to for long that he wouldn't' find you."

"No, I'm not thinking of disappearing. I told you I was going to be here to support him for whatever he needs, but I don't want his judgment clouded by that fact that we're having a baby. He needs to be able to think clearly and this news would just muddle things further."

"I think you're making a mistake, Amanda," Billy said with a sigh.

"With all due respect, Sir, it's my choice and I'd appreciate it if you would respect my decision. I can't tell Lee about this baby. Not yet, not until..."

"Until what, Amanda," Billy questioned. "Until he chooses between you and Candice? Is that where you're going with this?"

"Yes," she said finally.

"Let me assure you, Amanda, that there is no choice to be made. Lee loves you. He'd have never married you if he didn't."

"I know that he loves me, but sometimes love just isn't enough to keep two people together. I learned that the hard way," Amanda said bitterly.

"Amanda, you've got to stop making yourself crazy over this. The stress you're putting on yourself isn't good for your unborn baby. If you're not going to think about telling Lee right away, then at least think about that. Don't you owe it to Lee to make sure that his child is healthy?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just...I'm just scared."

"You don't have any reason to be," Billy said. "I know Lee and I know that when it comes down to it, he'll always choose you, no matter what."

"I hope you're right," Amanda said as she once again glanced down at her left hand taking in the sight of the sparking diamond and reflecting back on the day that Lee had first placed there, the promise it held, the way they'd kissed and held each other in the office, celebrating starting their future together.

Billy caught where her gaze had gone and gently reached for her hand. "There's no hoping about it, Amanda," He said as he fingered the gold band on her finger. 'This right here says it all. He'd never have put this ring on your finger if he didn't intend for it to stay there."

"I sometimes wonder," Amanda said. "I mean, the whole mystery marriage was his idea to start with...to...to keep my boys safe. I mean, I...I agreed to it, but in the back of my mind, I sometimes wondered if he didn't have another reason behind it. I mean, I'm not glamorous or exotic like the other women he's been with..."

"And that's exactly why you're the perfect woman for him and why he couldn't love anyone else. Those glamorous, exotic women you're talking about were also vain and superficial without a teaspoon of brains. He'd never have been happy with a woman like that who couldn't possibly understand him. He is happy with you. So, is that it? You think that Lee had some ulterior motive for keeping your marriage a secret? So that he could keep you bound to him, but still be free to live his life?" He reflected back to his unplanned conversation with Elisa Danton of a few months ago and how she'd wrongly assumed that if Lee wasn't going public, he was still a free agent and how he'd promptly corrected that assumption.

"Well, now, that you mention it," Amanda said.

"Amanda, come on, you don't honestly believe that, do you?"

"I don't know, I...I'm just so confused. Why did she have to come back now? Why, when we were finally on the brink of really starting our life together? God, I hate her for doing it!"Amanda spit out. "I hate myself for feeling that way. I try to be nice to everyone, but she...the way that she just threw herself at Lee...the way that she looks at him like she wants to devour him whole...the way she dismisses me as if I'm just a fly on the wall. I just...I wish I could use my hand-to-hand training on her and make her see what's what. Does that make me a horrible person?"

Billy laughed and said, "No, that doesn't make you a horrible person. That makes you a normal jealous wife."He patted her hand and said, "Are you sure you're up to this debriefing?"

"I have to be there for Lee's sake," she said with her typical fierce determination.

"Well, just promise me that if things get too intense, you'll excuse yourself. I know from experience how added stress can make pregnancy symptoms worse and I don't want you fainting or losing your lunch in the middle of things. Dr. Smyth will be there and I don't think any of us are ready for him to know your little secret."

"Yes, Sir."

"And Amanda, please consider telling Lee before he hears it somewhere else."

"I'll tell him soon and until then I'll keep him away from the water cooler."