Chapter 11

Saturday morning, Lee woke before anyone else in the house. He quietly padded down to the kitchen and got a pot of coffee started. He looked at the clock on the wall and groaned when he realized it was only six-thirty in the morning. He scratched his head before he sighed and headed to the front door to get the newspaper. Once he collected the paper, he turned to head back into the kitchen. He glanced up the stairs, at the darkened hallway, and stopped. He dropped the paper onto the bottom step and ascended the stairs to the second level. He silently moved down the hallway, to the end where the empty nursery sat. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Soon… soon this room will be filled with furniture and baby things…" Lee whispered. He scrubbed his face with one hand and stared at the tape outlines on the floor. "Two cribs… two dressers… a changing table… and soon… two tiny little people that will depend on me to keep them safe. I just hope I don't let them down," he whispered softly.

"I don't think that will ever happen," Dotty's voice drifted into the room from the doorway.

Lee spun around to face her, his heart hammered in his chest. "Dotty, you scared me. I'm sorry if I woke you."

Dotty smiled at her son-in-law, "You didn't wake me. The wonderful smell of coffee did." She stepped further into the room and put her hand on Lee's arm. "Lee, if I can just say something… I don't want you to think I was eavesdropping. The door was open and I was just coming to close it… but I couldn't help overhear you."

"Um, yeah," Lee stammered. He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "I was just… just…"

"Just talking it out. Lee, it's okay to be scared. You should have seen Amanda and Joe before Philip was born. They were so worried everything was going to go wrong but when they brought him home, they saw there was nothing to be worried about. I mean, you always worry about something. After all, that's part of being a parent, but it's going to be just fine. Take my word for it," Dotty assured him.

Lee sighed sheepishly, "I'm just not sure how I'm going to do it. I don't want to let Amanda down."

"Lee Stetson, don't you dare think for one second you're gonna let my daughter down!" Dotty admonished him. "You've been a wonderful husband and stepfather to the boys since last summer and I know you well enough to know you're not the type of man to just willingly let anyone down. Those babies are going to be so lucky to have you for a father."

Lee gave Dotty a tentative smile then blinked several times before he said, "Thanks, Dotty. I guess I needed to hear that." He glanced around the room at the pale blue walls and smiled wider as an idea formulated in his mind. "Hey, can I ask you to help me with a surprise for Amanda today?" he asked.

Dotty put her arms around Lee and gave him a solid hug as she stated, "Of course! Just tell me what you need me to do."

Lee dropped his arm across Dotty's shoulders and led her into the hallway. He stopped long enough to close the door behind them and quietly guided Dotty to the kitchen. He poured two mugs of coffee and as he handed Dotty her mug, he asked, "Can you take Amanda out for a few hours? I think I'm going to recruit the boys to help me out with something."

"Sure, what should I do?" Dotty questioned, intrigued by his sudden change of mood.

Lee winked at Dotty, his hazel eyes flashing playfully as he said, "How about a girls day… you know, get your nails done, do some shopping, go to the movies maybe? Just the two of you."

"Shopping? Movies? How long do you want me to keep her out?" Dotty's eyes widened.

"Four, five hours should be enough. I'll even pay for everything. Please," Lee begged, his hazel eyes pleading.

Dotty studied his face before she agreed, "Of course. I'm not sure what you have in mind but I hope it's worth it."

Lee grabbed her hand, squeezed it before kissing her knuckles. "Thanks, Dotty! You're a huge help!"

Dotty pulled her hand away and rested it against her chest as she smiled. "Well, I'm not really sure what I just agreed to but if that look in your eyes is any indication, Amanda is going to be so happy."

"I hope so. Now, I just need to head into the office and make a quick phone call, so if Amanda wakes up before I'm out, don't say anything to her just yet. I want to see her reaction," Lee stated with a grin. He took his coffee mug and with a slight spring in his step, headed into the office where he dialed Billy's direct number.

"Melrose," Billy barked into the phone.

"Hey Billy, it's Scarecrow," Lee replied. He took a large swig of his coffee before he continued, "Listen, I need a little advice."

On the other end of the phone, Billy was also drinking his coffee. "Advice? At this time of the morning? What did you do now?" he laughed.

Lee chuckled along with Billy, "Nothing, or at least nothing I know of. No, I want to do something special for Amanda, before the babies come. Have you got any ideas?"

"Something special? Are you sure you didn't do anything wrong?" Billy teased.

"I'm serious, Billy. I've been… well… I guess I've been a little distant lately, worried about what's going to happen when the girls are born that I think I owe it to Amanda to do something nice for her to show her-" Lee rambled until Billy's laughter cut him off.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when Scarecrow admits he's worried about a baby, never mind his own!" Billy howled.

Lee groaned, "Come on, Billy, I need some help here!"

Billy chuckled loudly a few more times before he responded, "All right. Before our second daughter was born, I made sure to spend extra time with her. Candlelit dinners once a week, just the two of us."

Lee smiled, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Dotty's been going out with her ladies' group and I'm sure I could talk to Joe about taking the boys one night a week. Thanks, Billy."

"Don't thank me. Just be sure you don't slip up. Poor Amanda has so many hormones running through her, you don't know how she's bound to react," Billy reminded him.

Lee could hear footsteps on the stairs above the office, so he took this as a cue to end his conversation. "Thanks for the reminder. I gotta go. I'll see you first thing Monday morning." He hung up the phone, grabbed his coffee and stepped out into the foyer as Jamie headed into the kitchen. "Hey, Chief," Lee called to him.

"Morning, Lee," his youngest stepson replied.

"Is your brother awake yet?" Lee asked as he fell in step with Jamie.

Jamie nodded as he slipped onto one of the kitchen stools, "Yeah, I heard him in the bathroom. What's up?"

Lee grinned, his dimples deep. "Nothing much. I was just hoping I could convince you two to help me out today with a surprise for your mother, that's all."

"What kind of a surprise?" Jamie questioned.

"Just something I know she'll love and I know I won't be able to get it all done on my own," Lee admitted.

Jamie caught sight of Philip sauntering down the stairs. "Hey, Philip, Lee needs our help today. Do you have any plans?"

"Not really. I was just going to head over to Reggie's house later to hang out but what's up?" Philip asked.

"I was thinking of a surprise for your mother today. Dotty has agreed to get her out of the house for a few hours, so what do you say? You in?" Lee explained cryptically.

Philip looked at Jamie and gave a solid nod of his head as he stated, "If it's for Mom, I'm in."