Monday, March 16, 1987 5:00 PM

An elated Lee and Amanda walked into the house just behind two very excited boys who were chattering animatedly about the new house and what they wanted to do once they had their own rooms and no longer had to share.

"Now, just slow down a second, Fellas," Amanda said. "Don't get too excited just yet. The house isn't ours yet. We've only made an offer on it. That doesn't mean that the current owners will accept that offer."

Lee clasped Amanda's hand, knowing by the look on her face that in speaking the words they were both thinking out loud, she was trying to keep herself from getting too excited as well. "Your mom's right, " He agreed. "Why don't you guys get started on your homework while we wait for your dad to get here," He suggested.

"Yeah, that's assuming he shows up," Jamie grumbled, the excitement of the new house now hampered by thoughts of his wayward father.

"He'll show," Lee said with more confidence that he felt. "Now, go on."

Both boys obeyed, carrying their backpacks into the den and settling down at the coffee table to work on their homework while the newlyweds stepped into the kitchen. "Do you really think he'll keep his promise to them tonight?"Amanda asked her husband dubiously.

"God, I hope so. This may sound selfish, but I'd like to see him keep his promise to take them out to dinner tonight, if for no other reason, than to at least make things easier for me." As he said this, he picked up a pile of mail sitting on the counter and began idly thumbing through it to distract himself from his vile thoughts of how much he'd love to throttle Joe King.

"Easier on you? How do you figure?"" Amanda queried.

Lee looked up from his task to find his wife staring at him, arms crossed, an expectant look on her face.

"You're kidding, right?" When Amanda just kept the same look on her face, He sighed and said, "Come on, Amanda, you know as well as I do that every time he breaks a promise to the boys, it makes it that much harder for me to get close to them, makes it harder for them to trust me."

"Lee, come on, you know that's not true, not anymore. Phillip and Jamie adore you," Amanda said. "No matter what Joe does or doesn't do, that's no reason that your relationship with them shouldn't continue to progress just the way it has been."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you weren't the one who got a basketball chucked at your gut," Lee said as he busied himself with the task at hand, sorting through the mail.

Amanda, sensing that he didn't want to talk about it anymore, decided to let it go for now. She glanced around and said, "I wonder where Mother is."

"Probably still running her errands," Lee said. "You'll notice that my car wasn't in the driveway when we came home."

"Errands?" Amanda questioned. "In your car?"

"Mm-hmm," Lee said not looking up from the pile in his hands. "She asked me this morning if she could borrow my car to run some errands since we needed the wagon to haul the kids around."

"And you let my mother, the queen of nervous drivers, borrow your precious sports car?" Amanda said incredulously.

"What's the big deal?" he said as he finally looked up. "Her driving has improved a lot lately. Besides, if she can fly a plane, I'm sure she can handled the 'vette." He looked down again at the envelopes in his hands.

"O-ka-ay," Amanda said skeptically.

"Oh, I don't believe this," Lee said with a scowl as his eyes fell on a thick square envelope amid the bills and flyers. He dropped the rest of the mail back onto the countertop, ripped open the envelope, pulling out the contents glared at it.

"What is it," Amanda asked as she sidled up next to him to look over his shoulder to see what had gotten him riled up.

"Look at this," Lee said as he handed it to her. "Hasn't she gotten the message yet that I'm off the market?"

Amanda chuckled in amusement as she stared at the party invitation now in her hands, glanced at it and the envelope it had come in, saying, "Well, she did address it to both of us." She showed him the envelope.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better," Lee said with an arched eyebrow. "You know what will happen. She'll use every trick in the book to try to get me alone or she'll take the opportunity to try to drag you down. I'm not about to let either happen." He then took the invitation from his wife's hands and was about to throw it in the trash can when Amanda took it back from him.

"Uh-uh," she said firmly. "We'll just have to make sure that I never leave your side."

Lee looked at his wife skeptically and said, "You're not saying that you seriously want to go to this thing?"

"Why not? It's been a while since we've been to a party together that wasn't work-related," Amanda said.

"Are you forgetting about the party that was just thrown in our honor," Lee said. "That was just three days ago."

"Okay, yes, but I meant someone else's party. I think this will be the perfect opportunity to present a united front and show that...that..." She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the boys, deciding she'd better not take that sentence where she'd started it with her children within earshot.

"That what?" Lee said, his eyes dancing in amusement, his look challenging her to finish her sentence.

"Well, we both know just what Elisa Danton is," Amanda said. "I think if we go to this party, it'll be a great chance to show her once and for all that we're together for life." She then glanced back at the envelope, held up the front of it toward him, "Besides, it's the first thing we've gotten in the mail addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Lee Stetson."

Lee couldn't help smiling at that portion of the envelope as it was nice to see that even though, she'd done her damndest to get him back in her bed, she'd still addressed it to both of them. That was at least some acknowledgement that he was married now. He took the invitation from her hands, glanced at the envelope for a moment, before setting it aside, then sliding his hands to his wife's waist. "Well, that part is kind of nice to see." He kissed her softly, then said, "You know it's funny, I never thought, even in my wildest dreams, that there would ever be a Mrs. Lee Stetson. I keep thinking back to that day when you were asking me if there was ever a Mrs. spy or little spies. I was horrified by the thought at the time and look at me now, not only do I have a Mrs. spy, but two little spies on the way." He lightly ran his thumbs over her abdomen, still feeling awed by the fact that she was carrying his children.

"And two bigger spies in there," Amanda said with a slight backward not toward the den. She then slid her arms up his chest to rest her hands on his shoulders and said, "You sure all of this isn't too much for you."

"I admit, it's a little overwhelming, but in a good way," he answered honestly as he pulled her closer.

"How so?" Amanda questioned.

"It's...um...definitely daunting having an instant family, but it's also awe-inspiring. I have never felt more at home in my life. I feel as if I finally have what I've been missing, what I've been searching for my whole life and I wouldn't change a minute of it, no matter what fate may throw at us next."

"Good," Amanda said with an inviting nod of her head to urge him closer.

Just as Lee was leaning in to kiss his wife, they heard the front door open, "Mother," Amanda said with a sigh, at the same time, Lee said, "Your mother." They both turned to find not Dotty, but Joe and Carrie crossing the landing leading into the den.

Joe fixed them both with an icy glare and said in a clipped tone, "Why do I feel like I'm interrupting something again," at the guilty looks on both of their faces.

"Joe, Honey," Carrie said sweetly, linking her hand tightly with his. "That's not really any of our business. Remember what we talked about last night?"

"The hell it isn't," Joe said tersely. "If it affects my kids, it is my business."

"Joe, nothing's affecting the kids in any kind of negative way," Lee said finding himself once again having to hold his tempter in check.

"No? You don't think seeing the two of you making out all over the place is setting a bad example for them?"

"Jealous?" Lee fired back as he wrapped his arms tightly around his wife.

"Lee, don't," Amanda said as she ran her hand up his arm to calm him.

"No," Joe answered with a nod toward his ex-wife. "Why should I be? I told you last night that all that was over."

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way," Lee said with a devilish grin before adding, "I only meant that maybe your new marriage isn't as...satisfying as ours is,"

"Stop it, both of you," Amanda scolded them both. "This macho pissing contest of yours isn't going to do anybody any good and it will only serve to make things worse." She then turned toward the den and said, "Fellas, your dad's here. Put your homework up for now." While Phillip and Jamie did what they were told, she turned back to Joe and said, "Now, listen, make sure you have them home by eight o'clock so they have time to finish their homework and be in bed by their normal bedtime of nine-thirty. They've got school in the morning."

"Yeah, fine," Joe said.

"I mean it, Joe," Amanda said sternly. "I mean, I think it's great that you're wanting to spend more time with them, but I also meant what I said last night. I don't want the routine that we're trying to establish for them disrupted."

"I get it," Joe said and then turned to the boys who had just completed their task and said with a smile, "You fellas ready to go?"

"Yeah," They both said happily, tickled that their father had actually shown up this time.

"Fellas, behave for your dad, okay?" Amanda said as she extracted herself from her husband's grasp to kiss them both before they left with Joe and Carrie.

At the sound of the front door closing, followed by Amanda letting out a deep sigh, Lee slipped his arms around her and said, "Hey, don't let it get to you."

"Look who's talking," Amanda said in an irritated voice pulling away from him. "You've been letting it get to you ever since Joe showed up here last night."

"Do you blame me? I mean, come on, you saw how he was acting, just marching in here like he owned he whole damn place and worse, acting like he owns you."

"Oh, now, come on, you know that's not true," Amanda argued. "I told you last night that you have no reason to be jealous of Joe. I also told you that any romantic feelings that I had for him are long gone."

"Yeah, I know what you told me, Amanda, but I also know what I saw last night. I haven't been a spy for fourteen years without honing my observation skills and what I saw last night..." He took a deep breath before continuing, "When I saw you sitting there crying over what you lost...grieving over your shattered dreams... The pain I felt...it...it was like a knife in the gut and far worse than any bullet wound and I've had a few of both over the years."

"Lee, don't, please," Amanda pleaded. "I told you that it wasn't about Joe or any feelings that I have for him. I know this is hard for you to understand because you're not a parent-"

"You coulda' fooled me," Lee said cutting her off as he folded his arms tightly across his chest, clenching his jaw in an attempt to mask the hurt that her statement had just caused him. "What do you think I've been doing all this time with the boys?"

"I'm not saying that you haven't been there for the boys. You know that's not what I meant. I think it's wonderful how you've jumped right in and been there for him and in just the short time that we've been married, you've been a better father and been there for them more than Joe ever has been, but the reality is that you're not their father." When Lee opened his mouth to say something else, she held up one finger to stop him. "Here me out...please." When Lee closed him mouth and stood stock-still, she continued, "It's kind of like walking into a movie theater halfway through the film. You get an idea of what's going on once you start watching, but you missed out on what led to those events. Your speech last night about what a great mother I am was sweet and all, but you have no idea how hard it's been. You don't have your own kids yet, so you have no idea what it's like to be there from the beginning watching your children grow and change, seeing them developing their own little personalities, all the plans you make for them, the dreams you have for them, only to see those dreams turn into nightmares. You can't possible understand what I went through, what I'm going through now seeing Joe hurt them over and over again."

"So, help me understand," Lee said. "You preach endlessly about the boys being honest and open and God knows, you're bitched at me for years about opening up more, but whenever I've asked you about your divorce and your past, you've clammed up more than any spy we've ever captured."

"So, what does that mean? Are you going to interrogate me now?" When Lee just gave her a stern look, she said, "Look, the reason I don't like to talk about it is because it was a very painful part of my life and I don't want to focus on the hurt. I don't want to live in the past. I want to live for the future and that's what I told Joe when he first came back and I meant it."

"But don't you see, Amanda, your past is affecting our future," Lee said. "I don't care what Joe says or how much, he protests, I think Carrie was right in what she said. He's still in love with you and he's bitter as hell that you married me."

"No, Lee, I don't believe that's true. He'd never have married Carrie if he didn't love her."

"I love you, Amanda, but you're wrong. I think Carrie is just him settling for what he can get, knowing that he can't have what he wants. You said yourself that he asked you if you wanted to go back after we wrapped up that Estoccian mess."

"And I told him no," Amanda reminded him.

"I know you did, but that doesn't mean that his feelings have changed. In fact, I think that day that he invited you out to lunch to tell you that he was getting married was his pathetic attempt to make you jealous."

"Well, if that's what it was, it didn't work. There's nothing there for me to be jealous of," Amanda said. "I don't know what else I can say to convince you of that. I married you because I'm in love with you. I'm carrying your children, it was you I was making love with last night, it's you I want to spend the rest of my life with. Even if you're right and Joe is still in love with me, it doesn't matter to me because there's nothing that he could ever say or do that would make me want to go back to him, nothing." She approached her husband, gently tugging at his arms to get him to relax. When he finally uncrossed his arms, she once again ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders, gently pressed her lips to his and said, "Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," Lee said in a softer tone as he slid his arms to her waist. "I..um...I just don't know how to deal with this. I...this is new to me. I've been in countless relationships, but I never..." He looked into her eyes and continued, "My past relationships have always been fleeting and I...I've never been this in love with anyone, never been this happy before and it...it terrifies me to think that it could end."

"You have to stop thinking like that," Amanda replied. "I need you to just have a little more faith in me...in us. Look at how much we've overcome together already and how much stronger we are for it and our future is only going to get better." She then tugged on the back of his neck to pull him in for a kiss. sliding her hands up into his hair and urging him closer.

Lee slid one of his hands to his wife's back, pulling her against him as she teased his lips with her tongue, the other hand tangling in her hair as he deepened the kiss, probing her mouth with his own tongue, moaning against her. He leaned into her, soon pressing her back against the island. He then lowered his hands to cup her bottom and lifted her up onto the countertop, sliding his hands under her skirt, before pulling his mouth from hers, lowering it to her neck, quickly finding the tender pulse point there.

"Lee," Amanda hissed through her heavy breathing as she felt her husband's hands on her bare thighs, before he moved the upward to work the buttons on her blouse loose, his mouth on her, the vibrations of his low moans against her skin, adding fuel to the fire of her desire for him.

As they passion for each other intensified, Amanda reaching for her husband's belt and working it loose, they were interrupted by a loud, "Ahem," from the other side of the counter.

"Shit," Lee said as he stopped what he was doing abruptly and glanced up to see his mother-in-law standing there with grocery bags in her arms, looking at them with amusement dancing in her eyes. Lee quickly re-buckled his belt while Amanda scrambled to button her blouse and hopped down from the counter. Lee blushed furiously at being caught by his mother-in-law, mauling her daughter. He cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Uh...Here...uh, Let me help you with those," with a nod to the grocery bags in Dotty's arms.

"Oh, no thank you, Lee," Dotty said as she set the bags down. "I think you've got more pressing matters to deal with," unable to conceal the grin on her face at Lee's obvious embarrassment at giving into his newlywed urges.

"Mother, seriously, we should help you," Amanda said as she approached her mother.

"You missed a button," Dotty said with a nod to her daughter's haphazardly buttoned blouse.

"Oh," Amanda said as she glanced down at her lopsided blouse and worked to straighten it as she stammered, "I...uh...that is...we...Mother, this really isn't what it looks like,"

"Of course, it is and I understand if perfectly," Dotty said as she began to unpack the groceries from the bags she'd brought in. "The two of you are still newlyweds, after all." In an attempt to steer the conversation to safer territory, she said, "So, how did the house-shopping go?"

"Oh, well we found a place and made an offer," Lee said. "It's just what we were looking for, 6 bedrooms, 4 and half baths, separate family room like we've got now, a nice big back yard for the kids."

"And it's right here in Arlington, so it the boys won't even have to change school districts," Amanda said.

"Sounds perfect, but pricey," Dotty said an edge of worry in her voice.

"It is a little pricey, but with the check my uncle gave us combined with what we've already got saved, and the fact that we've both got pay raises coming on our next pay, I think we can swing it," Lee said.

"Plus, we'll have whatever we make from the sale of this house," Amanda pointed out.

"Yes, but you never know how long it could take to sell this one," Dotty pointed out. "Plus, whatever you sell this house for will have to be split with Joe. If you remember that in your divorce settlement, while you kept the house, there was a clause in it that if you ever sold it, he got half of the proceeds of it since you bought it together."

"Yes, Mother, we're aware of that," Amanda said with a sigh at her mother brining up the touchy subject that had just caused her brief argument with her husband. "I was there and I remember exactly what I agreed to when we signed the divorce papers."

"Okay, Darling, it's your decision," Dotty said. "You know me, I'm not one to meddle."

Lee couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, and you might be interested to know that we'll have plenty of room for you to still stay with us and be far enough away that we won't keep you up at night anymore," he teased. "And you'll have your own private bathroom for those long bubble baths you like so much."

"Oh, well, that's nice, but you know, I should-" Dotty began.

"Don't even finish that thought, Mother. We've already had this conversation," Amanda said. "You're a part of this family and you're not moving somewhere else if you're not comfortable with it."

"Amanda, that is not what I was going to say. Now, if you'll allow me to finish, what I was going to say is that, I should do my part to chip in on the new house," Dotty finished.

"Mother, that's not necessary," Amanda protested. "You do enough just by helping us look out for the boys."

"Yes, it is," Dotty said. "If I'm going to live there with you, I should do my part to help with the expenses."

"No, Dotty, really," Lee said. "It's our responsibility to look after our family and like Amanda said, that family includes you."

"I won't take no for an answer," Dotty said. "You will let me help out or I'm not moving with you and that's final. Besides, you can just look at is as the wedding present that I haven't gotten you yet."

Lee chuckled at his mother-in-law's determination and said, "Well, I guess that's that," conceding defeat as he held his hands up in surrender.

"Good," Dotty said with a firm nod. "Now, that that's settled, let's get dinner started."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday, March 16, 1987 9:00 PM

Lee and Amanda both fidgeted nervously as they paced bath and forth across the den. "Where the hell are they? Joe was supposed to have the boys back here an hour ago!"Lee shouted as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Look, you just have to calm down," Amanda said. "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for him being late bringing them home and once he gets here, it'll all make perfect sense." As the words were out of her mouth, she wondered if she was saying them for Lee's benefit or for her own as she was also seething with anger at Joe blatantly disregarding her explicit instructions to bring the boys home at a specific time.

"I don't wanna' calm down! You told him what time to bring the boys home and he ignored you! Now, we don't know where the hell they are, if they're safe...if they're..." Before he could finish his thought, they heard the front door being flung open and the boys thundering footsteps as they barreled inside excitedly. When Joe and Carrie entered the room behind them, Lee bellowed, "Just where the hell have you been?"