The flight landed in Washington shortly after eleven o'clock local time. Amanda smiled seeing her car parked and her men waiting for her. They'd called ahead and arranged for an ambulance and protective detail to collect Chris from the plane. After agreeing with Aaron to meet the next day at his Quantico office, Amanda pulled her belongings together and hurried down the stairs with Emily. Despite the rain, Lee leapt out of the car when he saw her and ran to pull her into a fierce hug. "I'm so glad you're home! I've missed you." He whispered before kissing her. Amanda kissed him back and smiled.

"I missed you too." Realising that they were all getting soaked, he offered Amanda and Emily each an arm and guided them towards the car. "Come on, ladies, I want to get you both home." Amanda let Emily sit in the front and happily took a place between Phillip and Jamie, hugging and kissing each of them. Phillip wouldn't meet her eye though his hug was long and tight.

"I'm so sorry, mom." He whispered before letting her go. Lifting his chin so he'd meet her gaze she gave him her best serious-mom look so he'd know she meant what she was about to say.

"We'll talk about all of that tomorrow but for now, I love you and there's nothing you could do that could change that. Got it?" His smile was wobbly and Amanda only caught a glimpse as he threw himself back in her arms for another hug. An instant later, he pulled back and goggled at her belly.

"Hey! You're a lot bigger than you were when you left!"

"Yeah. Wanna feel?" Taking her hand, she placed it against her hard belly. Though it wasn't a big bump yet, it was big enough to surprise Phillip. Jamie watched with interest but didn't move to join. Reaching over, Amanda took his hand and put it against the bump. Intrigued, he pressed slightly.

"How does it feel? Can you feel the babies yet?"

"I can, but only because I've been pregnant before. If I hadn't, I don't think I'd recognise the feeling for what it is. It feels a bit like my insides are full of fizzy water. You know how if you dip your finger into fizzy water little air bubbles form on your skin and you can feel when they pop?" The boys nodded. "Well, it's like that but on the inside."

"Cool!"

"Yeah." Amanda covered each son's hand with one of her own. "But you know, when I was pregnant with you guys, I couldn't have imagined how much I'd come to love you. So now, knowing that there are these two little people inside me and that someday I'll look at them and have all the love and the memories, just like I have for you guys, makes it all that much more special." Glancing up, she caught the moisture in Lee's eyes through the rear-view mirror.

"It's kind of strange." Phillip said, rubbing gently. "It's kind of like we know about these guys before they know about themselves."

"Yeah. And that'll make your relationship with them very special too." Amanda promised.

"You're old enough now that you'll really remember a lot of things that they'll be too little to really register when they're little. So when they're older, you'll probably be telling them stories about all the stuff that was going on before they were born and in the next few years." The boys smiled; delighted with this prospect and the conversation continued as Lee drove them all back to the house. Amanda was amazed at the questions her sons asked. They weren't just curious; they were looking for guidance on how to be the best possible big brothers. Just as Lee had, both boys hinted strongly that they were hoping for at least one little sister.

She belatedly realised that in all the uproar of the kidnapping by the KGB and the hurried trip to Zakir, she hadn't even had a chance to really talk to them about this major life change. In some ways, she knew that the changes were good for all of them. She was more confident, more capable, and happier and that necessarily meant that the boys were getting different opportunities and experiences than she ever could have provided before she became an agent. But they needed her to provide continuity too. There was a lot of change and Phillip's recent misbehaviour was a loud warning that she needed to focus more on parenting her sons than she'd been doing lately.

"Tell you what guys, let's have a family day on Saturday. We'll do whatever you two can agree on, within reason."

"Really?" They asked excitedly.

"Really." Amanda dropped a kiss on each boy's forehead. "I love you guys."

"We love you too, mom." Jamie said gruffly. Amanda smiled and held on to her boys until they reached the house. To her surprise, once Lee had parked the car, they immediately jumped out and helped both Amanda and Emily out of the car. Once that gallant duty was done, they collected all the packages and luggage from the back.

"Lee asked grandma if you could use her room, Mrs. Farnsworth. She said it was okay because she's in Oregon."

"Oklahoma." Lee corrected patiently.

"Oh yeah. Oklahoma. Anyway, she won't be home for at least two weeks so she said it was okay if you used her room so we'll take your bags up there. It'll be more comfortable than the foldout in the den, that's for sure!" Emily laughed in delight.

"Amanda, dear, they are unmistakably your boys my dear!" Lee chuckled and offered an arm to each woman before guiding them into the house.

"Boys, once you're done, make sure you get ready for bed sharpish. It's very late for a school night." Lee called after them.

"Sure Lee!" Amanda raised her eyebrows at her husband. Lee had obviously managed this solo parenting pretty well, despite some major challenges.

"You." Lee said turning to Amanda. "Are you hungry or thirsty?"

"No, we ate on the plane."

"Then say good night, gorgeous. You're past your bedtime too." Emily laughed at Lee's very parental tone. Amanda bit back a smile of her own and nodded meekly.

"Good night, Emily. I'm sure Lee will get you settled in."

"Thank you, Amanda."

"And you, don't stay up too late." Amanda added, rising on her tiptoes to kiss Lee. Pleased, she hurried up the stairs, only detouring to tuck in the boys before stripping out of her clothes. Foregoing a nightgown, she slid between the sheets naked, turned off the light, and waited for Lee to join her.

It didn't take long.

She heard him speak briefly to Emily and then check on the boys before he came into the room. Closing the door, he chuckled and took off his clothes before coming to sit on the side of the bed. "Uh-uh." He said, turning on the light. Pulling back the covers, he urged Amanda onto her back. Smiling, he ran his hand over her belly. Amanda felt her eyes prickle at the expression of awed joy on his face. "It's just been four days but I can see a real difference." He told her, rubbing lightly as if he could feel the baby through her skin. Deep in her body, Amanda felt their babies move closer to their father's hand. Whether they could feel an extra warmth, or recognized the familiar timbre of his voice, or if they could just detect a difference in the light through the wall of her belly; they were drawn towards Lee.

"They respond to you, you know." She told him softly, startling him. She was awed by the connection. When she'd been pregnant with the boys, it had been different. They hadn't gravitated towards Joe like this.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you hear me tell the boys that right now it feels a little bit like the tiny bubbles that form on your skin if you dip your finger in a glass of carbonated water?"

"Yeah?" Well when you're touching my belly like this, it's like all the bubbles are on the other side of my skin from your touch. They recognize you, sweetheart."

"I knew mothers could bond with babies during pregnancy but I never imagined how much love I'd feel for them already." Lee whispered. "I think I'm going crazy sometimes. I want to protect you and them from the entire world. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to any of you." Bending down to kiss Amanda's belly, Lee reached over to turn out the light before sliding into bed, moaning in pleasure as he made contact from shoulder to toe with Amanda. "I don't think I can do it, Amanda."

"Do what?"

"Stay in the field, have you in the field…" He sighed. "I was going to wait to discuss it, but I really think that accepting the job offer is the right choice for us now. I've been losing my mind worrying about you and it's crazy how much time we've spent away from the boys. I don't want to be an absentee father and I want the same kind of dedicated mom for my babies that you were for Phillip and Jamie." He sighed. "I know it's not fair to spring this on you. We've hardly had a chance to talk about it but I want us to be the best parents we can be and that just isn't compatible with being field agents." Amanda stretched forward and kissed him softly.

"I love you and I think that you're the right man for that job, and it's the right job for you now. I agree that with two babies, we need to reconsider our priorities. I don't mind being out of the field if you're going to be out of the field too." Lee let out a sigh of relief. "But sweetheart, I think that specialising on trafficking is the right choice for me. We've been great partners in the field but I think this is something I could be great at and that would be soul destroying for you. I don't think that you're cut out for dealing face-to-face with victims."

"You really are passionate about this, and I think it's the right thing for you too." Lee admitted. "I don't know how you can be so soft and gentle and loving and yet be able to do this but I can see how big a difference you're already making and how good you are at it. If you think that you'll be happy coordinating, training, and supervising specialist field agents then I can live with that. But if you are going to be in the field, I'm staying there with you. The worry of not being there to watch your back would kill me."

"You've got a deal." She agreed. "Now stop talking and make love to me, Scarecrow." Chuckling, he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top.

"Nah, I think I like this new Take Charge Amanda. You can make love to me."