Disclaimer: I don't own the situations or characters portrayed herein. I'm just playing with them for a while.

A Relative Situation

She had breezed in, brimming with life and receipts; such a contrast with the dread that had been filling his heart ever since he'd heard the words "court martial" and "Colonel Robert Clayton" together.

And then she'd trotted out the perfume story (which was, to be clear, perfectly legitimate), and Francine had gotten in her week's allotment of digs in one minute, and then she had gone and filled his mind with the tantalizing idea of Amanda wearing Les Trois Nuits, all of which combined to put him in a very bad mood.

Oh my gosh, I'm starting to sound like Amanda.

And then his uncle had called, and now here he was, trying to weasel his way out of the traditional "I haven't seen you for years, Skip! Here's what's wrong with your life" dinner.

And he was failing miserably.

"Uh, gee, I can't. I mean, I'd love to, but uh—you see, I've got a date that night, and, um—"

He watched Amanda's face fall a little. Oh, was she disappointed?

He decided to try something.

"And, uh, well, my girlfriend and I are having some troubles—"

Amanda's eyes widened. Aha!

"— and she's really jealous of m-our time together."

So she wasn't still seeing the Topping man.

"Uh, no sir; you've never met her. Is she new? Uh, well, actually we have been seeing each other for some time now."

Her head was drifting lower and lower, and he felt lower still.

She thought it was true. He might have been trying to make her jealous with Randi, but this wasn't fair.

And into his mind there flashed a brilliant solution.

Let her know he was lying, and win his uncle's respect in one fell swoop.

"Amanda. Amanda King, sir."

Her head flew back up and she looked straight into his eyes, disbelief and relief fighting for control.

If Amanda were ever to really understand him, she needed to meet his uncle.

If it were three more years in between phone calls and dinners, who knew if Amanda would be free next time.

Of all the people who had come and gone in his life, Amanda was the one he trusted most, apart from Billy and possibly Francine.

Of all the women he had actually dated, he'd never let any meet the colonel.

Even though he wasn't dating Amanda, it still felt right for the colonel to meet the other person in his life who he considered family.

He found, to his utter astonishment, that he actually wanted the colonel to meet her, and vice versa.

So he agreed to it, and now—

"Amanda, I need you to do a little favor for me."

"So I gathered." But her voice wasn't reproachful, and that gave him just the tiniest bit of hope.

Of course, he then had to explain his reasoning, and he may have explained it in the worst possible way, including the words "and I'm stuck".

"Aw, Lee, look, I'm — really, I'm flattered that you thought to ask me."

"Oh, good. I was desperate."

Why did he always have to self-sabotage so completely?

"Oh, thank you so much," she said acidly, still in her soft and gentle voice.

"Uh, no. I didn't mean it that way. I mean, if you come along, it'll make things a lot easier."

He hated himself for knowing her weak spot and exploiting it like this.

"Sure, all right."

"You'll do it?"

"Sure, yeah, I'd love to meet your uncle."

A knot of worry that he didn't know he had loosened in his throat.

"Good," he breathed.

She was the first woman he had ever let his uncle meet.

The Perspective of Colonel Robert Clayton

They weren't dating. That much was obvious at once. He'd heard the rumors of his nephew's exploits, and she wasn't his type. Not only that, but he'd described his girlfriend as jealous and problematic, before giving him a name.

This woman was anything but jealous and problematic. She was winsome and delightful, wholesome and gentle. She was exactly the sort of woman Lee's mother had been.

No, they weren't dating - because Lee didn't know yet that she most definitely was his type.

Clearly he respected her. He valued her good opinion of him, and he listened to her ideas and her thoughts. She was obviously a close friend, especially for a man who avoided having friends at all.

Perhaps most telling of all was the way he spoke to her.

Robert Clayton could remember how his half-brother, Lee's father, had spoken to his wife. It was a softer, more caressing tone than his usual businesslike one.

Lee had the same trick of having several different voices.

One was for lying. Robert was quite familiar with this one. He'd heard it on the phone with the girlfriend excuse.

One was for withholding information. He was also familiar with that.

One was for projecting an image of strength, which was his usual tone.

And one, that he had never heard from him before, was his real tone. Softer, gentler. A little higher, much warmer. Both more earnest, and more honest. His father's family voice.

He'd heard it for the first time when Lee said "Amanda" over the phone, and he heard it now, while they discussed his living arrangements for the next day or so.

She was a good influence on him.

It was clear to him that, while his nephew had no idea how much this woman meant to him, she was by far the most important person in his life.

He loved her - really loved her.

He just didn't know it yet.