Chapter ONE - Telling Billy

Lee Stetson rolled over in his bed and gasped. The sight of his sleeping wife and how utterly beautiful she was as she slept overtook him. He carefully pushed back one of her chocolate brown curls from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Amanda stirred and snuggled closer to him and he was more than willing to take her into his arms. He kissed her forehead and he heard her mumble " I love you Lee".

She loved him. This amazing beautiful woman loved him. Lee Stetson. He just couldn't believe that she chose him to spend the rest of her life with. They were married. He looked down at his left hand and the gold band that shone in the moonlight. Lee laid there and wondered why in the world did they really need to have a mystery marriage. Wouldn't Dotty and the boys be safer if they had him there every night? The Agency would certainly make sure they were protected. He took a deep breath and he realized what he needed to do. He just had to make sure that Amanda didn't find out. He knew that she wasn't happy with the mystery marriage either and after almost eight months of hiding it, they were both tired of the secrets. Lee sighed and held Amanda a little tighter and smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning as Amanda got ready for work, Lee silently started making plans. He had to talk to Billy first. Then Dotty. If he could get them to forgive their decisions on keeping things a secret then the rest of his plans would fall into place. He looked at the calendar. It was October first, which meant he had two days to get this all planned. October Third. The day he met Amanda. That would be the perfect day. He smiled as Amanda walked into the room all dressed for work. After her accident in California and her recovery, she was behind in her Agency training, but she didn't let that stop her. Once she was given the clear to go back to active duty, in true Amanda fashion she jumped right in. In no time she was back to being the #1 trainee in all of Beamon's classes. Lee was unbelievably proud of her. He beamed at her as she came over to him and kissed him.

"I have to go sweetheart, Beamon has us in class all day. We are working on Class A interrogations. And then tomorrow I am at Statik Aerospace again for another review. I will miss you but I will see you at the house tomorrow night for dinner, right? Family dinner?" She smiled at him with her big brown eyes sparkling at him. He loved when she rambled. Sure at first, they were a bit annoying but after a while he realized how charming they were, he learned to love them. It made Amanda…so Amanda.

He cleared his throat and kissed her back " Yes, Mrs. Stetson. I will be there for Operation Family Dinner. Tomorrow night. I already miss you." he beamed at her with all of his dimples showing. Amanda giggled and kissed him goodbye once more, grabbed her coat and purse and walked out the door. Lee took another sip of his coffee and grabbed his jacket. He headed out the door and towards the Agency. He didn't want to show up too close to Amanda. Another stupid thing he had come up with. Heaven forbid they show up to work together. He knew that the entire agency knew there was something going on with him and Amanda…but he didn't care what the gossip mill said. It would all be out in the open…soon.

Lee pulled himself out of his Corvette and slowly walked up to the Georgetown entrance. He opened the door and smiled at Mrs. Marsden. " Good Morning Mrs. Marsden, I certainly hope you are having a pleasant morning?" Mrs. Marsden grinned back at the handsome agent " Good Morning Mr. Stetson. My...my…my...you are in a good mood this morning!" Lee reached for her hand and gave it a sweet kiss. "I am Mrs. Marsden. I most definitely am! See ya later!" He winked at her and walked into the elevator. He took a deep breath as he made his way into the bullpen. The hustle and bustle of the Agency was in full force and he saw Francine in the corner barking orders at someone. He peeked into Billy's office and saw the older agent sipping his coffee. Lee took a deep breath as he heard his boss and friend yell out to him, "Scarecrow, if you need something just come in for heaven's sake!"

Lee sheepishly walked into Billy's office and closed the door. He smiled at his friend and said "Billy, I need to talk to you. Amanda doesn't know that I am here. She would probably kill me if she did but I know that I can trust you. This stupid thing that we both agreed on has gone on for eight months now and its killing us both. I want to do something for Amanda and I need some help planning it. I still have to talk to her mother but I wanted to talk to you first…."

Billy waved his hands and started laughing "Scarecrow, you are rambling. I think Amanda is rubbing off on you. You almost did that all in one breath!" The older agent chuckled and continued "Now, why don't you sit down before you fall down and tell me what you want to tell me."

Lee made a face and chuckled himself. He ran his hands through his hair and sat down. "You know, you are right. I don't know where that came from. Well, I don't know how to say it so I am just going to just say it."

Billy Melrose sat up straighter in his chair and waited for Lee Stetson to admit to something that he himself had already known for the past eight months. He was surprised that it took Lee this long to finally come clean about his and Amanda's relationship. Billy smiled at his best agent and said " Go ahead Lee, I am listening."

Lee took a deep breath and said " Amanda and I are married. We got married in February." Lee weakly smiled at his boss and friend and continued "The trip to California was our honeymoon."

Billy beamed at Lee " Well, my boy it's about damn time you admitted it!"

Lee opened his mouth to say something but Billy stopped him "Lee, the minute Amanda was shot we got the report from the sheriffs off in Las Palmas. It states in the report that Amanda was your wife….several times actually. And when I was on the phone with Sheriff Waterhouse he even called Amanda your wife and you her husband. Francine and I then did some digging and we found a copy of your marriage license registered in the Marion County Courthouse. Did you both actually think this wouldn't come up here at work? Eventually we would do background checks? So why all the secrets? You know you could have told me. I told you that your relationship was fine with me?"

Lee sighed " Billy, I can't tell you how sorry I am for not saying anything. I should have told you when Amanda was in the hospital. I was just living up to my codename. We thought if we had a mystery marriage our family wouldn't be in danger. But I now know that they would be safer with me there. Honestly Billy, I want to be home with my wife every night…with my family… where I belong."

Billy grinned at Lee " I never thought I would ever hear something like that come from you, Lee. But I am really glad to hear it. I knew putting you with Amanda was the best decision I ever made. Not just for the Agency…but for the both of you."

Lee nodded " Remember, that's why they pay you the big bucks. Thanks for not being mad at us. We really didn't want to have this big secret. I want everyone to know that Amanda is Mrs. Stetson. I love her with all of my heart, Billy. I can't imagine my life without her."

Billy stood up and went over to Lee. He reached out to shake his hand. "That's the best thing I have heard in a long time, Lee. I am very happy for both of you. Now what can I help you with?"

Lee returned Billy's handshake and he beamed at his boss " I want to marry Amanda in front of our family and friends…on the day that I met her. I need your help to pull this off."