"So, the plans are all set," Lee told his wife with a grin as he hung up the phone a few hours later.

"Good," she smiled back as she crossed the Q Bureau to lean on the edge of his desk facing him and then leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "But did I hear you correctly on the phone? You booked a 4-bedroom cabin?"

"Yep," he nodded.

"But why? It's just going to be us and the boys, so we really only need 3 bedrooms."

"Well, the trip is still a couple of weeks away and even though your mom already made her own plans, anything could happen between now and then. She and Curt could have a fight or she could decide she'd miss all of you too much or something. If she did, then we'd have that extra room for her so that I could still keep my promise to the boys that they could have their own rooms on this trip and not have to share for a change."

"Awww...that's a sweet thought." She leaned in to give him a soft kiss. "See? You don't need a baby to be a good dad."

"I thought we weren't talking about that until after the holidays," he challenged her. "But since you brought it up, I've been thinking about this adoption thing you mentioned and I have to wonder, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of us having a kid of our own?"

"If we adopted, the child would be ours, maybe not by blood, but legally they would be. It'd be no different than you doing all the stuff you do for the boys."

"That's kind of my point, Amanda; I want it to be different. Don't you see that? I came along a little late in the game to be a real father to the boys. Don't get me wrong, I love them as if they were my own, but I missed out on so much with them and I would really like to have the chance to experience fatherhood from the beginning; you know, watch them grow up, be there to teach them stuff and do all the stuff a father is supposed to do. You spent so many years being both mother and father to Phillip and Jamie, I kinda' feel like they don't really need a father-figure anymore like they did when they were younger. Aside from that, they also have Joe coming around a lot more now that he's back in D.C. permanently."

"Lee, you were there for the boys a lot, even before you met them. You were the one who got Pretzel the Clown for Jamie's eighth birthday and the Captain Galaxy for Phillip's eleventh and you were there the first time Phillip got his heart broken by a girl and even though they didn't meet you until last year, you did watch them grow up...at least partially."

"But I don't want to be a partial father," he protested. "Besides, didn't you tell me once when we were dating and you finally came clean with all the stuff about your divorce that as much as you love the boys, you still wished you'd had a little girl too? Why shouldn't we try to give you that little girl you've always wanted?"

"Okay, yes, I did say that, but I thought-" Her words were cut off by his lips on hers as he slid his hands to her waist.

"Then there's the fact that we could have a hell of a lot of fun trying," he crooned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her, but then she let out a sigh and rested her hands on his chest. "Look, I've told you what I need and that's time to think. Until I have that time to think, my answer has to be 'no' because if I don't really want another baby and I were to do it just because you want it, how would that be fair to our child? You wouldn't want that, would you; for your child to have a mother that never really wanted it, but only did so to make you happy while making herself unhappy?"

"I just..." He pulled back from her and blew out a long breath as he tried to figure out how to say what was on his mind. "When I asked you to marry me, I just never imagined that you wouldn't want to have a baby with me."

"Lee, please...just give me some time to process this, okay?" she pleaded with him. "I know I brought it up this time, but it wasn't my intention to really open that can of worms again when I was really just teasing you, you know, like we always do with each other. You asked if I'd consider it and if you want me to actually do that, you need to ease up and give me time to think because there really is a lot to consider and not just for me, but for our whole family. I mean, have you even thought about how this might affect the boys adding a new baby to our family? Then there's the fact that this house is already overcrowded as it is. Where the hell would be put a baby?"

"That's why I wanted us to buy a bigger house, remember? Aside from that, you already know that I'm not entirely comfortable living in house you once shared with your ex."

"And that's just silly if you want my honest opinion. In all the years you've been coming around even before we were a real couple, you've probably spent as much time in it as he has, if not more."

"Okay, well, how would you feel if I'd asked you to move into one of my old apartments where I'd romanced other women? Don't you remember that was why I changed apartments last year? I wanted a fresh start with you, but it doesn't seem that you want that with me."

"Oh, Lee, Sweetheart," she lightly caressed his face to comfort him. "Of course I do. Why do you think I was the one who pushed to get our marriage out in the open and for you to get to know Mother and the boys?"

"So you could integrate me into your life with them." He shrugged off her touch, and stepped around to the front of the desk where he could have some more space and began pacing at a furious rate before he continued, "But dammit, Amanda, I have changed so much in my life for you, adjusted everything I ever thought I wanted to be with you and it seems like this is just one more thing I have to give up. When are you going to be willing to change things or compromise for me?"

She stood at the front of his desk with her arms folded tightly across her chest and glared at him. "You think I haven't?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Do you know all the ways I have turned my life upside-down for you?"

"Name one. All I see is that you've done your damndest to turn me into your notion of a normal person, yet you've stayed the same. You're still the same old PTA-meeting-attending, bake-sale-organizing, charity-fundraising, Little League-coaching Amanda King that you always were. The only difference is that your name has changed and now you've dragged me into all those things with you."

"Dragged?" She shot him an affronted look. "Well, you don't have to go to those things, you know. I was perfectly happy doing it all alone just as I have for years. I just thought you'd want to be involved since you're involved in the boys' lives and you saying it bugs you now makes no sense when you say you want to be a father. Have you failed to notice just how many fathers attend those school or afterschool things? If those things bother you, then we definitely shouldn't even be thinking about having another child."

"Amanda, that's not what I-"

She held up one finger with a firm shake of her head, halting him in his tracks as she approached him. "And another thing, I have changed a lot in the years I've known you. You're not the only one who's adjusted a lot. Do you think I was running around getting shot at or blown up or being chased by the KGB before I met you? Or that I went to embassy parties and hobnobbed with the idle rich before you? That's not to mention that I have worked really hard to get over my aversion to guns for you, so I can be a better partner to you."

"Okay, yes, but that's all work-related stuff, Amanda. I'm talking about in our personal life. What have you done or changed for me other than making room for me in your closet? Same house, same routine and when I even suggest doing something differently you give me this...this look...this scolding look as if I'm one of your children and tell me 'that's not how we do things' like last night when I brought up the idea of this trip. You know, I have tried and tried to do things your way to make you happy, but you're so damned stubborn and set in your ways that you don't even want to consider doing things any other way than how you want it."

"Well, I'm sorry that our household routine is so boring for you, but when you have children, that's how things are done. They need routine and stability in their lives. While we're on the subject, that was why I gave you that look last night. You can't just make plans for the boys and me without discussing it with us first, especially not a big thing like taking them away from their home for Christmas." She let out a little snort. "You know, I never would have believed it, but I think Francine was right all those months ago when she said it wouldn't work between us; you're really not ready for family life."

"Oh, no, don't you dare start in with that crap. I think I've done pretty well with all the family stuff here, but that's my point, Amanda. I have bent over backwards to adapt to all these changes, but you're not willing to bend at all. Everything is still always your way, including us having another kid. I just brought up the idea hoping that we could talk about it, but just like you did last year when I wanted to start making plans for our future, you shot me down without even thinking about it. It makes me wonder if you really want to be with me at all or if you just wanted someone you could bend to your will since you never could with Joe."

"How dare you?" she snapped, a ball of fury now. "You know damn well why Joe and I got divorced and it wasn't all on me!"

"No? I read his account of it, remember? He sure as hell had a lot to say on the subject of just how goddamn stubborn you are."

"Listen, I said I would think about it, didn't I? I agreed to going house shopping, didn't I? But if you're going to act like a child about the whole thing, maybe it's best that we don't even consider it. I already had one experience with a man who wanted kids, but wasn't really ready to be a father and I can't go through that again."

"So, now you're comparing me to Joe again," he accused. "You don't trust me not to do what he did to you."

"I never said that. You brought Joe into this conversation, not me." She took a deep breath and in a calmer tone, said, "I just want you to try to see things from my point of view here. Don't you understand how scary the idea of having another baby is for me? It's probably as scary for me as the idea of settling down and trying to live a normal life was for you. I told you I would consider it, but there's is so much more involved here than just me getting off the pill and trying to get pregnant. Having a baby is a huge responsibility."

"You act like you think I don't know that," he complained.

"Do you? When you were up all night club-hopping in your twenties, I was up all night with a screaming baby, when you were sitting in the singles bars looking for your next mark, I was sitting in emergency rooms when the boys were sick. Even more recently, when you were out blowing your money on rare bottles of wine or artwork for your apartment, I was worried about how I was going to keep a roof over our heads on just a part-time job."

"You know that you don't have to worry about the money stuff anymore. Why do you think I went to all the trouble of having Edna put together all my benefits stuff at the Agency? I wanted to be sure that before I asked you to marry me, I could afford to take care of a family. I didn't want you or the boys to ever have to struggle again. Plus, I was thinking ahead a bit...thinking of this...the idea of having another kid."

Amanda nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'm sorry. I guess it didn't really hit me that you were thinking that far ahead even then. I was really dense in overlooking all the things you were doing and not realizing that that was why you were doing it and that's why all of this has come has such a big shock to me. You said you didn't think I was willing to adapt for you, but if you want me to do that you need do what you promised and give me some time to think about this."

He reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, okay." He walked toward her and reached for her hand. "But just not too much time, huh? Neither of us is getting any younger."

"I know and that's...well, that's part of what has me concerned about all of this. Like we talked about this morning, I'm a lot older now than I was when I had the boys, but I promise, I'll think seriously about it, okay?" She brushed a soft kiss against his lips.

He nodded. "Okay. And I'll think about the adoption thing."

"See? We're compromising already." She kissed him again.

Lee pulled her closer to deepen the kiss just as the door was opened by Francine with a "Is it safe to-" She shook her head as she saw them quickly break apart and remarked with a grin, "Apparently not. Sorry."

"Oh, Francine, I'm the one who should be sorry. I completely forgot about our lunch date today."

"That's why I was coming up here," the blonde replied. "But if you made other plans..." She gestured to Lee and his attempts to wipe Amanda's lipstick off his face.

"No, I didn't. Let me just grab my purse and we'll go." She nodded to Lee. "See ya' later."