PART TEN - Tag

The Disney Grand Floridian Hotel, Wednesday, 5:15 pm

"Yes, Mother, I know tomorrow's a school day but I don't care. I want you to call the school in the morning and tell them Philip and Jamie won't be back in until Monday. Then I want you to get you and the boys on the next flight down here to Florida tomorrow … Yes, Mother, but I've told you, I don't care about that. I'll expect to see you down here tomorrow, by midday.…I mean it Mother….Thank you. I'll explain when you get here….It's really important to us, Mother, to Lee and to me….Tell the boys we love them and we'll see them tomorrow….Bye, Mother….I love you too, Mother. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and sat back into the sofa. Despite the lateness of the afternoon, she was wearing just a hotel bathrobe. By the time they had returned to the hotel after their debriefing with Billy, it was already ten-thirty on Wednesday morning. They'd been awake for more than thirty hours when they had crashed onto the bed and fallen asleep in their clothes. At three-thirty, Lee woke up and headed to the shower. Awakened by Lee's movement, she followed him into the bathroom and they shared a rather invigorating shower together.

As she hung up the phone, Lee leaned over the back of the sofa and placed his arms around his wife, placing his cheek against hers. "So, do you want to go out to eat?"

"I don't think so." She reached her arms up behind her to hold onto her husband. He rolled over the back of the sofa and reclined on the couch, his head in his wife's lap. "I think I'd prefer room service." She smiled down at him. "Besides, mother and the boys will be here tomorrow, and with you moving in with us, this might be our last night of privacy. I don't want to waste it in some restaurant in front of a room full of strangers. I'd rather stay here with you."

Lee sat up suddenly. "Our last night of privacy?" he spoke with mock horror in his voice. "You never told me that would be the consequence of our going public. Forget it, the deal's off. I'm staying in my apartment!"

Amanda grinned at her husband. "Oh, I think we'll be able to find a way to be alone. You can count on it."

"You'd better be right, Mrs. Stetson." He advanced on her then, taking her lips with his.

Stealing herself to have a little fun with her husband, Amanda separated herself from Lee and reached for the room service menu from the table next to the phone. Lee continued to kiss her neck and face. Amanda forced herself to appear unaffected as she asked, "So what do you want to eat?"

Reaching to take the menu from her hand, without being distracted from his original task, he managed to speak the words, "Just you."

His touches ignited a fire inside of her, and she allowed their hunger for each other to overtake everything else.

~

Adventureland, Thursday, 6:30 pm

"Pleeeeease, Lee," begged Philip and Jamie together.

"We're in DisneyWorld. You can't come to DisneyWorld and not wear a Mickey Mouse ears hat," said Philip.

Lee looked pleadingly at Amanda. "Do I have to?".

"I'm keeping out of this one, buster," she replied, smiling at how uncomfortable he obviously was.

"Pleeeeease!" the boys repeated.

Lee looked at his two stepsons, a little sheepishly, and shrugged. "When in Rome, I guess…." Then he smiled too.

Amanda turned away to hide her amusement as Lee put on the Mickey Mouse ears. Stifling a laugh, she turned back to her husband. "Boy, I can remember a time when you wouldn't even wear a Bomber's cap!" Her resolve to keep a straight face vanished and she couldn't help laughing out loud.

Lee shot her a dark look, then his dimples began to show as he joined in the family's laughter. "Well, I'll wear it now, but if word gets back to work, you know I'll get you back."

"Is that a threat, Stetson?" Amanda inquired.

"Consider it a promise."

"Scout's honor." She mock saluted him.

"It's okay, Lee," interrupted Jamie. "It'll be dark soon, then we'll let you take it off." The boys laughed again as they ran off towards Frontierland.

As Philip and Jamie disappeared into the distance, Amanda placed her hands in his and took one last look at the ears, then she looked into Lee's hazel eyes. "Welcome to the family, Lee."

Lee didn't say anything, but as he felt his wife squeeze his hands, he looked into the dark brown eyes of the woman he loved and smiled. "Ears, or no ears, this is one of the best days of my life, Amanda, and I have you to thank for it … you and the boys. Thank you."

"Aww, Lee, you've made us happy too."

"It was nice of your mother to take that Key Largo trip and give us some time alone with the boys."

"Are you kidding? You know how much she loves those Bogart-Bacall movies! When she heard of the trip to the movie location, wild horses wouldn't have kept her away. She is such a romantic."

"She's not the only one." Lee winked at her.

Amanda reached up and touched his face, then leaned forward and kissed him. Almost as quickly as she'd stepped towards him, she stepped back, smirked, and said, "Now come on, Mickey." She took his left hand in her right. "We'd better hurry up and catch up with the boys before they find some mischief to get into."

Lee shrugged and allowed his wife to lead him off in the direction of Frontierland, no longer self-conscious at all, and grinning from big ear to big ear.

~

Several hours later, the Stetson-King family returned to their hotel, tired, but happy. The Disney management had booked them all into a suite of rooms in their flagship hotel to thank them for solving the case so quietly. The boys decided to head off to bed. "Night Mom, night Lee," said Philip, as he gave his mom a hug.

"Goodnight boys, thanks for today," Lee said.

"Yeah, goodnight," Jamie spoke through a barely stifled yawn.

"Goodnight fellas! See you in the morning. Oh, and don't forget to brush your teeth. With all that cotton candy, popcorn and other healthy food you've been eating today, they'll be dropping out in no time."

"Sure Mom," Philip returned.

The boys left through the adjoining door, closing it behind them, and Amanda noticed that Lee wasn't standing anywhere near. She turned and saw him lying in the middle of their bed with his eyes closed and still wearing the ears.

"Can't stand the pace, huh, Scarecrow?"

Without opening his eyes, Lee replied, "I thought that undercover op as Sandy Newcomb took it out of me."

Amanda smiled at the memory of Lee as a football player. "Ah well, you're not as young as you used to be."

Lee opened his eyes at this remark, but didn't get up. "That's real funny, Amanda."

Amanda sat down next to him on the bed, facing him. With her left hand on his chest, she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Are you making advances to a defenseless man, Mrs. Stetson?"

"Yes, I am." Her smile broadened as she leaned forward and kissed him again.

He responded to the kiss, but it lacked the usual passion. With a sigh, he pulled away. "I don't think I have any energy left, after today." He closed his eyes. Amanda moved her hand from his chest to touch the side of his face as she leaned forward to kiss him again. Lee's dimples began to show as he smiled and said, "on the other hand, I may be sleepy, bu-" Mid-sentence, Lee became quiet and Amanda sat up and looked at her husband in astonishment. He'd fallen asleep.

As she looked down at his peaceful face, bordered by the two large, black ears, he had long forgotten he was wearing, she smiled. "Aww, the poor lamb's all tuckered out from a day of family fun. If only I had my camera … I'm sure Billy and Francine wouldn't want to miss this picture." She looked at how tranquil he seemed. Oh, well, a few minutes couldn't hurt. Shifting herself onto the bed beside him, she lay her head on his chest and her arm across his waist. She closed her eyes and within seconds, she too was asleep, both of them lying with contented expressions across their faces.

The End