Jennifer sat staring at her daughter-in-law, not knowing what to think. She'd never met anyone like this woman before. "Why do you care so much about this? Why can't you just let it go?"

"Because I know how important this is to Lee. I don't want to see him hurt again."

"That's exactly why I must stay away from him. Seeing me again and knowing that I've lied to him all these years is just going to hurt him."

"You may think you're doing what's best for Lee, but I think you're wrong."

"No. He was always a sensitive boy. This would devastate him."

"You only remember the boy he used to be. You don't know anything about the kind of man he became. He's strong. Sure, he'll probably be angry at first, but I know Lee better than anyone does and I know that family is the most important thing to him. He's not going to turn his back on you, no matter what."

"I can't. I just can't." She turned away from Amanda. She'd made up her mind. She wasn't going to be bullied.

Amanda was getting irritated. She was used to getting just what she wanted and she wasn't about to back down. "I see. Well, if you won't do it for Lee, then do it for your grandchildren. At least give my children the opportunity to get to know their grandmother." Jennifer turned back to her, her eyes again filling with tears. Amanda reached into her purse, pulled out a picture of all four children together, and handed it to Jennifer. "Look at those little angels. Are you honestly going to tell me that you don't want to be a part of their lives?" Jennifer looked longingly at the photograph in her hand and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. She knew that Amanda had won.

"All right. You win. Let's go."

"Great!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the agency, Lee had dozed off on the couch in the Q bureau, looking at the old CIA folder on his father. He woke with a start and cried out for his mother as he'd done the previous morning when he woke up. Francine came running into the room, wondering what was going on.

"Lee? Are you ok? I was just down the hall and I heard you yelling."

"I...I just dozed off on the couch here and I fell off and hit my head." He said rubbing his head for effect.

"It sounded like you were yelling 'Mommy.'"

"Nope. Francine, I think you might need a checkup or something. You seem to be hearing things." He said, as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Sure. No problem."

"Ok." She said, still unsure."

"I'm fine, really. Go on back to whatever you were doing."

"Ok." she said as she left.

Lee stood up and started pacing. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A short while later, Amanda and Jennifer were walking in the Stetsons' front door.

"Hi, Sweetheart," Dotty called. "You're home early." She came down the stairs with Matthew in her arms.

"I wanted to bring someone with me to meet the kids."

"Well, Jennie's asleep, but this little angel is wide awake." Dotty walked toward the living room with the baby. Amanda and Jennifer followed.

Jennifer smiled as she looked at Matthew. So, this is my grandson, she thought. He looks just like Lee did when he was a baby.

"So who's your friend?" Dotty asked, breaking Jennifer out of her thoughts.

"Jenna Davis" Jennifer said. She noticed Amanda shaking her head.

"Tell her the truth." Amanda scolded her mother-in-law.

"Just like that? I suppose you'd have me tell Lee the truth right away too?" Amanda shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't imagine spending thirty years away from her children and not wanting them to know who she was.

Dotty was getting really curious now. "Is this one of your spy friends, Amanda?" Amanda walked over to her mother and picked up her infant son. She knew what she was about to tell Dotty was going to be a shock and she didn't want to see her drop the baby.

"Mother, this is Jennifer Stetson. She's Lee's mother.

Dotty sat looking at Jennifer, not knowing what to think. "I don't understand." she said. "How is this possible? I thought Lee's parents were both dead."

"I almost was dead." Jennifer said. "It took me a long time to recover and when I did, it took me even longer to remember what had happened to me and what my life was like before. I didn't regain my full memory until two years after the accident."

"Does Lee know about this?" Dotty queried looking at her daughter in concern.

Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Not yet. I just found out myself an hour ago. I think we need to figure out a way to break the news gently. He's been hurt so much and he's so happy with the kids and me. It's taken me forever to get him to trust people and this is going to be one more thing to make him trust people even less. I don't want to drop this in his lap without preparing him for it somehow. It's going to be a blow to him as it is. I mean, after all this is hardly the kind of the you just want to just blurt out."

Jennifer was amused by her daughter-in-law's rambling. She couldn't figure out how she could say so much without stopping to catch her breath. "I agree with Amanda. I think this it's best if this is something that Lee is introduced to gradually. I know he's going to resent me as it is, I just don't want him to throw me out without having a chance to explain everything to him. He was so little when his father and I were in that accident."

"With all due respect, Jennifer, you and I both know that that car wreck was no accident. It was planned to get you and your husband out of the way. I've seen enough of those kind of accidents since I've been with The Agency to know better."

Dotty was silent. For the first time in her life, she was utterly speechless. Amanda went to her, hoping to explain things a little better. "You see Mother, this is why Lee and I felt the need to keep our marriage a secret. The life of a spy isn't something that goes too well with family life. Lee's parents were taken from him when he was a small child. We didn't want the same thing to happen to the boys."

Dotty nodded then spoke. "But you are going to tell him the truth?"

"Yes, of course. As soon as I figure out the best way to do it."

"I mean you should know as well as anyone what keeping secrets does in the long run."

"Yes," Amanda replied. She knew all too well what could happen. Sometimes she still wondered if her mother had forgiven her for keeping her marriage to Lee a secret. "Don't worry, Mother. Everything will be fine. I'm sure of it."

Later, that afternoon, Amanda wasn't so sure. She was fidgeting nervously as she was preparing dinner for the family. Jennifer had spent an enjoyable day getting to know Amanda and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of her family.

"Didn't you say the two older boys got out of school a while ago? Shouldn't they have been here by now?" she asked, looking at her watch.

"They've spent the past few days with their father, so it'll take them a little longer. He lives outside of their school district so he'll have to pick them up from school, then take them back to his house to collect their things and bring them back here."

"I see," she stated a little surprised.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I just assumed when you told me you'd been married before that you were widowed. I didn't realize you were divorced."

Amanda didn't quite know what to say to that. "I hope you're not thinking less of me now that you know I'm divorced."

"Not at all, Amanda. It just surprised me, that's all." She'd only just started to get to know her daughter-un-law, but couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't instantly fall in love with her. She could already see that she had the warmest and giving heart of anyone she'd ever met.

"Believe me, it's not as if Joe and I didn't try to make things work. We did. Our lives just went in different directions. He was traveling all the time with work, I was at home with the boys, and we kind of grew apart. I'll be honest with you, he wasn't the greatest of husbands, but he's a good father to Phillip and Jamie. I usually don't like him to have them on school nights though, but last night was kind of a special occasion. Lee and I wanted to spend a little time alone."

"I can tell you're a good mother. You care very much about your children. They're lucky to have you."

"Well, thank you." Amanda said, flattered by the compliment. "I just try to do the best I can. I feel a little guilty about going back to work and leaving them with my mother, but I really miss The Agency. I've spent a good portion of the last five years there."

"I understand." Jennifer replied. "I've actually missed working all these years. I've felt so isolated from everything I've ever known."

"I don't know how you managed to keep your sanity. I don't know what I'd do if I were away from my children that long. Sometimes it's hard enough to away from them just during the workday."

"Not a day went by that I didn't think of Lee and wonder what he was doing, although I never thought he would choose to follow in our footsteps."

"He told me once that that was all he ever wanted to do. I know it made him feel better a couple of years ago when he finally caught Blackthorn and was able to clear you and his father of any wrongdoing. It had been torturing him for years. He went through hell trying to remember the details of the night you were killed, but he was so young."

"I wish to God we'd never gone out to see Blackthorn that night: then my boy never would've had to struggle."

"Don't think that way. It's probably better this way. He's a stronger person for the life he led. He's a wonderful husband, a loving father and a fine agent. In fact he's the one who trained me."

Their conversation was interrupted by Lee's voice from the front door calling" Daddy's home." Jennie Stetson felt her heart leap at hearing the voice so similar to her own husband's echoing the same words he said everyday when returning home.

Amanda took a deep breath and braced herself. This wasn't going to be easy.