"Leave me alone, Wormbrain" grumbled Phillip as Jamie shook him awake.

"Phillip! You gotta wake up!" Jamie hissed at him.

"No, I don't," said Phillip. "It's still dark out and we don't have school tomorrow." He rolled over again, groaning when Jamie punched him in the back.

"Lee's here! And he's in Mom's room!"

That did get his brother's attention. Phillip rolled back and stared up at Jamie with the knowing smirk of an almost 15-year-old. "Well, James, when a man and a woman really love each other…"

"Ugh! Shut up!" Jamie slapped his hand down on his brother's chest. "That's not what I mean!"

It was obvious to Phillip that he wasn't going to get any sleep any time soon. "Okay, so what do you mean?"

"Something woke me up and I had to use the john… and when I went down the hall, they were in her room talking."

"Just talking?"

"Yes, just talking! But the thing is - I heard him – he asked her to marry him and she said yes."

Phillip sat up, completely alert now. "He did? And she did?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously? They're going to get married? Jeez, it's about time!"

"Yeah, but…"

"But what? Come on – you can't still think Lee's not awesome! They've been dating for like ever and I told you weeks ago that he said he wanted to be a dad one day – they were going to have to get married some time!"

"Well, it's just… it was like not at all romantic. I mean, don't girls expect you to get down on one knee and ask properly with a ring and stuff?"

Phillip sighed. "Well, what do you mean by not romantic? How can asking a girl to marry you not be romantic?"

"They were joking about how she'd picked up his dry cleaning and he said he loved her and would she marry him and she said 'sure'."

"Well, now you're just shitting me. No way did Mom just said 'sure'!" Phillip objected.

Jamie scrunched up his face while he thought. "Okay, not exactly like that… she said she'd picked up his suit and Lee said I love you, will you marry me and Mom just kissed him and said "Oh yeah, I will" or something like that."

Phillip gave that some thought. "Okay, so maybe because she's been married before, it doesn't have to be all romantic?"

"Well, Lee hasn't been married before!" said Jamie hotly.

"Not that we know of," Phillip reminded him.

"Oh yeah." Jamie considered that for a moment. "Nah, he doesn't talk a ton about himself but he'd have said if he'd been married. Wouldn't he?" he finished, uncertain.

"Probably," said Phillip.

They both lapsed into silence for a moment, thinking about that very un-romantic proposal.

"What if…?" Jamie stopped as if he didn't want to say it out loud.

"What if, what?"

"What if… we just had to do that health class about – "He stopped and took a deep breath. "Sex. And the teacher was giving us this big lecture about not making girls… well, what if he just asked her so she'd… you know?"

Phillip's mouth dropped open in shock; that hadn't occurred to him. "He wouldn't, would he?" he said out loud. "I mean, Lee's a nice guy."

"Well, we're nice but the teacher still had to tell us that was wrong," Jamie pointed out. "And Lee changed schools all the time growing up. Maybe no one ever told him."

Phillip pushed back his blankets and climbed out of his bed. "Well, let's go and ask him if he meant it." He marched out of the door and headed down the hall, Jamie following him, until, just as they approached their mother's door, it suddenly shut with an audible click and the sound of the lock being turned.

"Now what?" whispered Jamie. "Are you going to knock?"

Phillip visibly blanched. "No, I'm not going to knock!" he shout-whispered back.

"So what do we do?"

Phillip pivoted and headed back to their room. "We set an alarm and get up early to talk to him and make sure he meant it."

Jamie was chasing him back down the hallway. "We're not even supposed to know! How are we supposed to ask him when he doesn't know I heard him?"

"If they're really getting married, then they'd want us to know first, right? So we get up early and then if they don't say anything, we'll-"

"We'll what? Challenge him to a duel?" scoffed Jamie.

"I don't know. I'll think of something," muttered Phillip as he set the alarm. "Just go to sleep."

With a last huff, Jamie climbed into bed and stopped talking. But neither boy fell back asleep for a long time after that.

"So you're going to be at the Pentagon all day again?" Amanda asked as she and Lee made their way downstairs in the dark of a winter morning.

"Yeah probably," yawned Lee as he followed her. It didn't matter how much of a sunny morning person his wife was, it was still not his favorite time of day.

"Well then, you're going to eat a good breakfast and you're going to like it, because I know you have a fine-tuned loathing for anything approaching mess food and you're not going to eat properly all day if you're stuck there."

"Yes, Dear," he said meekly, even as he stepped closer to wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face in her hair as they crossed the room.

Amanda was laughing softly as she stepped into the kitchen. "Okay, Big Fella, you put on the coffee and I'll start…OH MY GOSH!" she finished with a quiet shriek. She had stopped dead, then been almost knocked off-balance by Lee who hadn't stopped walking when she did.

"What?" he said, lifting his head and finding himself staring straight at Phillip and Jamie who were sitting at the kitchen table, with identical serious expressions. "Oh my God," he semi-echoed.

"Morning, Mom. Morning, Lee," said Phillip. Jamie said nothing, just continued to stare solemnly at them, light glinting off his glasses.

"Oh! Uh, good morning, Sweetheart," Amanda managed to find her voice first. "Why are you two up so early? You don't have school, remember?"

"We just couldn't sleep, I guess," Jamie finally spoke. "So what are you doing here so early, Lee?"

"I…uh… well, I had something to pick up here on my way to the Pentagon," Lee said, feebly. "Your mom picked up my dry cleaning yesterday when I was working all day and I… needed it."

"And it was upstairs?" asked Phillip. "That's funny. Because I remember Mom hanging it on the hook by the back door when she came in, so she'd remember to take it to work this morning."

"Well, no, it wasn't upstairs, I just went upstairs to change into it, so that I didn't bother Aunt Lillian by using the bathroom down here!" Lee finished triumphantly.

"That's the only reason you came all the way over here?"

"Yep." Lee was flailing now. "Just needed my lucky suit."

There was a long silence while the boys stared at him, then at each other, before nodding and turning back to look at the adults.

"Actually it's good you're here," said Phillip. "Because we need you to do us a favor."

"What kind of favor?" asked Amanda, her maternal Spidey-senses on full alert.

"We need Lee to give us a ride to the mall tonight to do our Christmas shopping."

"Well, I can do that," said Amanda. "Or your grandmother."

"You know Grandma doesn't like trying to park the car when it's busy at the mall," scoffed Jamie. "And we want to get your present, so you can't be there either."

Lee and Amanda exchanged a long look – it seemed like a pretty reasonable request but they both knew something else was going on.

"Okay, I think I can do that, if I don't get stuck with the, uh, filming crew," agreed Lee. "How about I come for dinner and we go out after?"

"That'll be good," said Phillip. He gave off a huge yawn. "Well, I'm tired again. I'm going back to bed. See you later, Lee."

"Yeah, me too," said Jamie, standing up. "Have a good day at work, Mom."

Amanda and Lee watched quietly as the boys trailed out of the room and back upstairs.

"What the hell was that?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure yet," answered Amanda. "But something's up with them."

"Well, I've seen that look before and it was usually on the faces of fathers whose daughters I was trying to date," said Lee. "Why do I feel less like I'm taking them to the mall, and more like they're taking me to the woodshed?"

Amanda gave one of her deep rumbling laughs. "I'm sure you can handle it, Sweetheart."

"You can't come with us and protect me?" he asked, starting to laugh along with her.

"No, you're on your own," she answered, pulling him closer for a long kiss.

"Morning, Amanda. Morning, Lee," said Aunt Lillian from directly behind them, grinning as they leapt apart with muffled yelps. "Sheesh – I can't believe you two haven't even stopped making out long enough yet to put the coffee on." She sailed past them and began to put water in the coffee maker. "I sure hope it's not always going to be this noisy this early around here or I'm going to go find myself a nice quiet hotel room instead."

"Are mornings in your house always going to be like this?" muttered Lee into Amanda's ear. "Because I don't think my heart can take it."

"No," said Amanda in a voice tinged with doubt. "I'm sure it's just Christmas that's making everyone a little crazy."

"Great," answered Lee. "Another reason to love Christmas."

"Come on, Lee," said Jamie, tugging his sleeve. "We already have some ideas for Mom for Christmas."

Lee was looking slightly terrorized. He had spent most of his adult life managing to avoid suburban malls at this time of year and, despite years of Agency training, he was feeling overwhelmed by the sensory overload of lights, decorations and a seething mass of people.

"Okay, lead on," he managed to say.

The boys led him directly to a jewellery store. "Um, I think this stuff might be out of your price range, guys," he said.

"Maybe, but I bet it's not out of yours," Jamie pointed out.

"Wait – are you trying to get me to buy something expensive for your mother and say it was from you two? Because she'll know perfectly well who paid for it," Lee said. "And that'll take away from her appreciating it."

The boys exchanged an eye-rolling look. "Of course, we're not. We just want to make sure you get her something good," said Phillip.

"What makes you think I haven't already bought her something?" asked Lee, genuinely curious.

"Because you're a guy and guys always wait until the last minute. You didn't even have anything for her last year," Jamie pointed out.

"Yes, I did," Lee contradicted him. "I just forgot it at the office."

"Exactly – just like a guy. And we're here to make sure you don't do that again," said Phillip, firmly. He grabbed his arm and dragged him over to a display case. "Now, how about something like this?"

Lee looked down and realized he was standing in front of a display of engagement rings. "Oh, I don't know, guys," he croaked. "I don't think she'd like any of these."

"Oh come on," scoffed Phillip. "What girl doesn't like jewellery?"

Lee glanced at Jamie who was watching him with a troubled expression. "Okay, you two, what's really going on here?" he asked, his suspicions confirmed when the boys shuffled their feet and exchanged sideways looks. "Okay, come on – we're going to go find somewhere quiet in this godforsaken North Pole nightmare and you can tell me all about it."

They ended up in the food court. It wasn't particularly quiet, but at least they could nurse the milkshakes Lee bought them as they sat around one of the little metal tables.

"Spill it, recruits," he ordered in a passable imitation of his uncle.

"I heard you," said Jamie. "Last night in Mom's room." He rushed on as Lee went pale. "Just when you were talking, I mean. I was on my way to the bathroom and I heard you ask her to marry you."

Lee thought furiously, trying to recall what he and Amanda had talked about. It seemed unlikely Jamie could have heard anything like that.

"She said something about your dry cleaning and you said you loved her and asked her to marry you," Jamie pressed on. "But it didn't sound like you really meant it," he added sadly.

Lee stared at him nonplussed. "I didn't," he said without thinking and watched as his stepsons' eyes widened in unison. "No, I don't mean that! I mean…" Oh God, where's Amanda when I need her? "I mean, we were kind of joking around but you didn't really think I'd ask her like that, did you?"

"Well, it did seem kinda unromantic," conceded Jamie. "But you've been dating for like a year! Dad met and married Carrie in less than six months!" His expression got more wretched. "We were worried you were just, you know…"

"No, I don't know," said Lee, feeling all at sea again.

"He was worried you were just saying that so that Mom would let you stay the night in her room," Phillip bulldozed his way back into the conversation.

Lee stared in horror at the boys opposite, Jamie in particular who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here and was now staring fixedly at the tabletop. "Oh God, no." He reached over and grabbed Jamie's wrist. "Jamie, look at me." He waited until Jamie looked up, checked to make sure Phillip was looking at him too and then said, "I am crazy in love with your mother and I plan on staying married to her for the rest of my life. Once we, uhhh, get married, I mean." He cleared his throat and went on. "We were joking around because we've already talked about getting married, but we're still working out stuff like timing and we didn't want to get you or your grandmother excited until we knew how we were going to do it."

Both boys began to look relieved. "So you already proposed? Properly? Like down on one knee and everything?" asked Jamie.

Lee thought back to that moment in Addi Birol's prison. "Yes, down on one knee and everything," he said, truthfully. "And she said we were the luckiest two people in the world – and she's right, because we have you and your grandmother and each other. Okay?"

The boys nodded, finally starting to smile.

"Now, the thing is – you can't say anything about this to your grandmother, okay? Your mom wants to be the one to tell her, and until we get some stuff worked out at IFF to do with employees marrying each other and a few other things, she can't. So promise me – not a word."

In unison, the boys made a zipping motion across their mouth and held up two fingers in a Scout promise, then broke out into broad delighted grins. "So you're really going to be our step-dad?" asked Jamie.

"If you want me," Lee grinned back.

They pretended to think about it, even going as far as having a fake whispered conference behind their hands, before putting on solemn expressions. "After much consideration… yes, we want you," said Phillip.

"Phew," laughed Lee. "So now what? We can't go home empty-handed. Do you really need help getting presents for your mom?"

"Kinda," admitted Jamie. "I don't know what to get her. I thought maybe a scarf?"

"No, not a scarf," Lee managed to contain his laughter, just barely. "Come on, let's go see what we can find. I won't pay for it but I'll co-sign a loan for anything reasonable."

"What does that mean?" asked Jamie.

"It means he'll pony up some extra money if you need it, but not for something expensive. Right, Pops?"

"Right," Lee grinned at Phillip. "And you know what? My uncle and I used to have a tradition – okay, not a tradition because it was really just him being clueless – but we used to go out and he'd let me pick out my own present and get that for me. So how about we make that our tradition too and then I don't end up getting you something you hate."

"Really?" queried Phillip with excitement.

"Really – but within reason," cautioned Lee. "Your mother will have my head if I get you something too expensive. Tell you what – you point stuff out that you like and I'll pick it up later so that it's a surprise to see what you get."

"Like a Santa list for grown-ups," quipped Jamie.

"Exactly," agreed Lee.

"Come on, Wormbrain," crowed Phillip. "Let's start in the sports store!"

"No, we start with getting your mother something," Lee said in a commanding tone.

"She likes sports!" said Phillip, with a hopeful expression.

"She likes Woodward and Lothrop's better," pointed out Lee. He stood up and pointed dramatically down the mall. "So get going – first we brave the perfume counter and the accessories department like real men, then we shop for ourselves."

The boys grinned and darted off ahead as Lee moved to drop the empty milkshake cups in the trash before following them, shaking his head.

So this is what Dotty meant about how traditions start, he thought, followed immediately by How am I going to explain this to Amanda?

Jamie turned to call back to him, with a teasing grin, "You coming, Pops?" Lee laughed and nodded, picking up his pace to catch up with the boys who were bouncing on their toes with excitement, just like their mother so often did.

Their mother… No, he decided, their mother definitely didn't need to know all the details about this particular misunderstanding… Bomber fathers can keep secrets too, right?