Dotty stopped short at seeing the scene in front of her and said, "Amanda, what's going on here?"

Lee and Amanda glanced worriedly at each other both wondering how they were going to explain this to her mother.

"Mother, what are you doing here?"Amanda said.

"I live here, remember," Dotty said with a wary glance at Candice, then Leah, "The question is, what are they doing here and while we're on the subject, who are they?"

"Um...I...well..."Amanda stammered.

Lee rose from his seat to rescue his wife, placing a hand on Dotty's shoulder, "Uh...Listen, Dotty, why don't we go have a talk and I'll explain everything," he said with a nod toward the back door.

"Do you want me to come with you?"Amanda asked.

"No," Lee said. "This is my deal. It's up to me." He grabbed for his coffee cup as he and Dotty headed out the door that she'd just entered and into the back yard, Lee perching on the edge of the picnic table. "So...uh...There's something that I need to tell you and...Uh..."

"Let me," Dotty said holding up a hand to shut him up. "That little girl in there is yours, isn't she?"

Lee looked at her in surprise and said, "How did you-"

Dotty interrupted him again by saying, "It's obvious by the awkwardness in the room when I walked in. Aside from that, she has your eyes."

"Yes, she does," Lee said. He was silent for a moment and said, "Look, I want you to k now that this wasn't something that I was hiding from Amanda. I...I..." Lee stopped realizing that no matter how he explained it, it was still going to sound bad to his mother-in-law. He awkwardly sipped at his coffee while he tried to think of what to say to her.

"You didn't know. I get that," Dotty said as she watched Lee and how nervously he was fiddling with his coffee cup drawing attention to the wedding ring he wore. She then glanced backward to the house and said, "So, I'm guessing that woman in there is the child's mother."

"Yeah, she is. She and I dated five years ago and she...uh..." He paused again as he tried to figure out how to explain to her what happened without revealing the truth about the agency. "...She sort of...took off for a while."

"With your child," Dotty said.

"Look, Dotty, I never even knew that she was pregnant, that Leah even existed until yesterday. If I have, I would have taken responsibility for her a long time ago."

"Of course, you would have, Lee. That's the kind of man that you are," Dotty replied, then having found the perfect opportunity to let him know she'd noticed his ring, added, "I mean, I see what a wonderful stepfather you've been to Phillip and Jamie, I know that you'd have been an equally wonderful father to Leah."

Dotty's words had an immediate impact on Lee as he nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee and sputtered, "S-s-stepfather."

'Yes, Lee, stepfather," Dotty said firmly. "You are married to my daughter. That makes you a stepfather to my grandchildren."

Lee gaped at Dotty, surprised by her matter-of-fact comment and said in bewilderment, "You don't seem surprised."

"Not at all," Dotty said. "I've known since Amanda was shot.'

"What?"

"Oh, please, you didn't think that I was dumb enough to buy that tall tale about IFF calling you to let you know what had happened to Amanda, did you? I know for a fact that the hospital would never have called her place of employment before contacting her next of kin, which is you. I also know that they didn't' need to contact you at all because you were already there. Then there was that Dr. Neely, when Amanda woke up asking me where my son-in-law was. I mean, it didn't take much for me to put the pieces together. I already knew before you two left town that contrary to Amanda's assertion that she just needed to get away for a while, that she was really going on a romantic getaway with you. Of course, until I got there, I had no idea that it was supposed to be not just a romantic getaway, but your honeymoon." When Lee continued to silently gape her in surprise, she went on. "Don't look so surprised. I knew the first day that I met you that you were in love with my daughter. I just never could figure out why you and Amanda felt the need to hide it. Why do you think I've been dropping so many hints about the two of you settling down? I've been trying to get you to come clean with me."

"So, why are you telling me all of this now? Why not months ago?" Lee questioned finally finding his voice again.

"Well, I figured if you were keeping your marriage a secret, you must have a good reason for it and that when you felt the time was right, you'd admit to it. When I saw you were wearing your ring..." she said with a nod to his left hand that still tightly clenched his cup, "...I just thought that you'd decided to stop hiding it."

"We have," Lee said still shaking his head at the idea that his mother-in-law had known about their marriage almost from the beginning. "We were planning on telling everyone at the party on Saturday."

"Oh, right, the party," Dotty said. "So, may I ask the reason for the sudden change?" She glanced at her son-in-law wondering if he knew what she'd figured out days ago.

"We've been talking about it for a while. It's been really hard on both of us to be married, but living apart. To be honest, Candice showing up out of nowhere with my kid is what pushed us that direction more than anything."

"Let me guess, she's trying to rekindle the old flame and is sure that because she's the mother of your child that she has that right?"

"In a nutshell," Lee said with a sigh, but at the same time was amazed at Dotty's intuitiveness. He could see that Amanda came by that naturally. "We thought if we let her know that we're married, she'd get the hint that that can never happen, but she's persistent."

"Well, if you're really serious about Amanda, you'll just have to try again," Dotty said firmly.

"What do you mean, if I'm serious about Amanda? I wouldn't have married her if I weren't' serious about her," Lee said looking affronted.

"But you married her in secret and kept it secret. That makes me wonder if you weren't quite ready to give up your bachelor pad and your single life," Dotty said pointedly.

"That's not it at all, Dotty. I committed to Amanda for life," Lee said.

"Well, so did Joe King and you know how that worked out," Dotty said bitterly.

"I'm not Joe," Lee said hotly slamming his coffee cup down in annoyance. "I'm not the guy who wants all the benefits of marriage with none of the responsibility. When I said that I was going to stand by Amanda for better or for worse, that's exactly what I meant. This crap we're going through now is just one of the "for worse" parts, but I have no doubt that we'll get through the same way that we've gotten through everything else that life has thrown our way. I mean, come on, if we could survive her being nearly fatally shot on our honeymoon and come out stronger for it, having a kid I never knew about should be a piece of cake. This whole thing has even got us talking about having a kid together." He smiled as he thought of the happy dream he'd had the night before of Amanda telling him that she was pregnant with his baby.

"Oh?"Dotty said curiously. Clearly he didn't know what she knew, thought being a bachelor, maybe he didn't recognize the signs the way that she did.

"Yeah," Lee said. "Spending time with Leah and trying to get to know her has been rough, but it's made me think that I want to do this right. You know, be there from the start and there's no one in the world that I want to be the mother of my children that Amanda."

"So, this other woman?" Dotty said with a backward glance to the house.

"Means nothing to me," Lee confirmed to put Dotty's mind at ease when he saw the look of worry cross her face. "Don't get me wrong, I fully intend to live up to my responsibility to that little girl in there, but that doesn't go hand in hand with any kind of personal relationship with her mother."

"Good," Dotty said with a firm nod. "I'm very glad to hear that, Lee. My daughter loves you so much and after the heartbreak Joe put her through...I...Well, I'd just hate to see her go through something like that again."

"I promise you that she won't," Lee said softly. "Listen, we should get back in there. Amanda and I have a lot to do at the office today and Candice needs to be in the hospital." He rose from his perch, grabbed his cup, and used his free hand to guide Dotty toward the house.

Dotty nodded and said, "I noticed the crutches. What happened there?"

"Car wreck," Lee said simply. As they entered the house, he noticed that Amanda was no longer at the table. "Where's Amanda?"

"She went upstairs to get dressed," Candice said as she sipped at her coffee.

"And she's looking for a dolly for me to play with," Leah said exuberantly as she bounced up and down in her seat.

"You're her mother, I assume?" Candice said eying the older woman warily.

"Yes, and Lee's mother-in-law," Dotty said firmly.

"Oh, right. I should introduce you," Lee said. "Dotty West, Candice Davenport."

"It's very nice to meet you, Candice," Dotty said politely.

"Humph," was Candice's only response as it was clear that Lee had told her about the secret marriage and contrary to being angry about it, she seemed happy and supportive, in spite of the secrecy, giving Amanda one more ally.

"You know what, I should go help Amanda," Dotty said as she hurried toward the stairs. She soon found her daughter in the attic, now dressed for the day. "You know, you should really be careful up here."

"Mother, I've lived in this house for over ten years. I know my way around the attic," Amanda said as she rooted through boxes, her back to her mother.

"I know, but it's just so cluttered up here and in your condition, you really shouldn't be sucking in all this dust," Dotty said with a stern motherly look.

Amanda whipped her head around abruptly, gaped at her mother and said, "What do you mean, in my condition?"

"Oh, please, Amanda, I figured out days ago that you're pregnant, just like I figured out months ago that you and lee are married. The question is, why haven't you told Lee? It's very clear to me that he hasn't got the first clue that you're carrying his child."

Amanda stared at her mother in shock. "You know?"

"Amanda, you're not a very clever liar when it comes to matters of the heart. I've known since your thwarted honeymoon that you and Lee eloped."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"Amanda questioned.

"I was just waiting for you to tell me yourself," Dotty said. "What I want to know is why haven't you told Lee about your pregnancy?" I assumed that was why you went to his apartment yesterday."

"I did," Amanda said with a nod, "but then Candice showed up there to tell him about Leah and...He...he's been so thrown by learning that he has a daughter that he never knew about that I...I...I just couldn't. I needed to give him some time to deal with his child." She turned back to her task and again turned her back to her mother.

"And what about your child?" Dotty asked as she began to search through boxes with her. "That woman downstairs never told him that he was going to be a father and now you're doing the same thing. Don't you think you're being a little unfair to him in not giving him the opportunity to share this joyous news with you? I mean, the way he talked when I spoke to him, nothing would make him happier than to have a child with a woman he actually loves."

"I know, Mother, and I will tell him. I've tried to tell him a couple of times now and things just keep happening to prevent it."

"Aha," Dotty said in triumph causing Amanda to turn her direction again. "Look what I found."

"Perfect," Amanda said as she took the well-worn rag doll from her mother's hands.

"Amanda, tell him and soon, okay?"

"Yes, Mother, I will," Amanda said as they exited the attic together, then descended the stairs and stepped into the kitchen to find Lee clearing the breakfast dishes from the table.

"Look at you," Dotty said with a smile. "You're getting to be quite handy around the house. It'll be nice when the two of you can truly settle down like a normal married couple."

Lee smiled at that thought as he continued his task while Amanda approached Leah, knelt beside her chair and said, "Leah, I'd like you to meet Lois-Ann. She was my favorite doll when I was a little girl."

"Really?"Leah said in delight as she took the doll eagerly from Amanda.

"You know, since I don't have any little girls to give this to, I think you should have her," Amanda said with a smile.

"Oh, boy!" Leah said excitedly. "I never had a doll of my own before. Thank you, 'Manda." She then hugged Amanda tightly.

"You're welcome, Sweetie," Amanda said while Candice scowled at her.

Dotty looked at Candice curiously and said, "She never had a doll before?"

Candice looked at Dotty in surprise. Clearly, Lee hadn't told her everything. She then glanced at Amanda who had a warning look on her face. "Well, we've never been in the same place for very long. I've had to travel a lot...for work...so, we always had to travel light."

"Listen, Francine's going to be here soon," Lee said before Dotty could get too inquisitive as they still haven't dropped the agency bomb yet. He nodded to Amanda. "You should get Leah dressed. I'll finish up in here."

"I can get her dressed," Candice said as she made a move to get up.

"No, Candice," Lee said sternly. "Leah's things are upstairs and you're not very mobile right now. Just let Amanda take care of her."

"Fine," Candice said with a pout, knowing she couldn't argue with that logic, but hating that it meant that Lee's wife would be spending more time with her daughter. She frowned as she watched Amanda scoop Leah into her arms and hustle her up the stairs.

"She is a very sweet little girl," Dotty commented. "What is she, about three?"

"Four," Candice corrected. "She'll be five in October."

"Let me help you with that," Dotty said as she watched Lee making dishwater.

"Thanks, Dotty," Lee said.

"So, how exactly did you and Amanda plan to break the news to the boys about your marriage?"

"We just thought that after the party on Saturday, we'd all sit down and have a family meeting."

"Party?" Candice inquired. "There's a party?"

"Yes," Dotty answered. "I've been planning a party for Lee's birthday on Saturday since his birthday falls mid-week. Oh, wait," she said as a thought occurred to her. "Today is your actual birthday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Lee said. "It's not that big a deal though, just another day."

"Nonsense," Dotty said as she jumped in and began drying the dishes after he washed them. "You should come back by here tonight and we'll have a nice dinner for you."

"Dotty, I appreciate the thought, but that's really not necessary. You're doing this party thing and that's more than enough. Besides, it wouldn't be the same without the boys here."

"Well, I talked to Joe and he's going to give up his Saturday with them to bring them here for the party, at least."

"Good, I can't wait to see them. They've only been gone a couple of days and I miss them already," Lee said as he washed the last dish and handed it to Dotty, then moved toward the table to wipe it down. Candice snorted at hearing this. "You have something to say, Candice?" He said coolly.

"I just find it fascinating that you care so much about two kids who aren't even yours, yet you don't seem to give a crap about your own daughter."

"Who said I don't?"

"Well, you're bound and determined to take her away from me, letting her do everything for her when I'm her mother."

"Okay, first, I'm not trying to take anything away from you, second, Amanda is my wife and as such, I want her to get to know my daughter."

"Our daughter," Candice corrected.

Lee ignored her comment and said, "And third, since you bolted from the hospital before you were healthy enough to do so, you're in no condition to look after her and finally, if I didn't give a crap about her, I wouldn't care where she stayed or who was looking after her. You and I both know that there are a lot worse places she could be than here with a woman who's already proven that she's an amazing mother."

"Spare me yet another glorious epic tale of how wonderful Amanda is," Candice retorted.

"Deal with it, Candice. She's my wife and you've got a lot of damn nerve talking about her as if she's public enemy number one when she was nice enough to open her home to you, in spite of the hateful things you've been saying to her. You need to realize that all these little barbs you keep slinging at her aren't exactly going to win you any points with me. I love my wife and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. That's why I married her." The doorbell rang as Lee finished his rant to Candice. "I got it," he said as he headed toward the front door, violently tossing the dishcloth into the sink as he passed by it.

Dotty glanced at the blond still seated at the table and was unable to hide her amusement at Lee's words to her. Amanda descended the stairs with Leah, just as Lee and Francine walked into the room, "So, he's finally gonna' make an honest woman of you, huh?" Lee was saying.

"Yeah," Francine said with a happy smile as she showed off her new ring. "He gave me this last night."

"Congratulations, Francine," Amanda said as she hugged her. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Amanda," Francine replied as she released her friend, "You about ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just need to grab my purse," she said as she snagged it from the kitchen counter. "Do you mind if we make a stop on the way? I want to pick up a couple of things to keep Leah occupied at the office while I work."

"Sure," Francine said.

"Amanda, I'll see you at the office after I get Candice settled back at the hospital."

"Okay, Sweetheart," Amanda said as she gave him a quick kiss then headed out the door with Leah and Francine.

Once they were outside, Francine asked, "So, did you tell him yet?"