"Now, Jennie," Dotty began as she poured tea before sitting down, "You can tell me that it's none of my business, or that it's classified… Lord knows I've heard that dreaded word come out of my daughter's mouth more times than I can count since I first learned what IFF really is and what they really do there…So, I would completely understand if you tell me to go jump in a lake, but I have to know…"
"Yes?" Jennie inquired with amusement dancing in her dark eyes at Dotty's ramble as she added milk to her tea.
"Why now? Why now when it's been nearly thirty-three years? I know from the bits that I've gathered from Amanda that part of the time, you didn't have all of your memories, but once you did, why didn't you ever try to contact Lee before, or at least give him something to let him know that you were still alive? Don't you think that's a bit cruel to come here now...now when he's finally happy?"
Jennie took a deep breath, shook her head firmly and answered, "No. It would have been much crueler to let him know that I was alive during his childhood. Lee was only five years old when…" She paused as she tried to keep her wits about her, took another deep breath and continued, "When I lost Matthew and...and only seven when I really began to regain my full memories. By that time, he was already settled with his uncle and safe. Through my contact at the CIA who kept me alive, I DID contact Bob, not directly, you understand, but enough that he would know."
"And?" Dotty probed as she sipped at her tea.
"Agent Carpenter, about a month or so later contacted me to tell me that he'd heard back from my brother-in-law and that Lee was having a very difficult time adjusting."
"So, there was more to your story about staying away than just not leading the bad guys to him?"
Jennie nodded. "Yes, of course, there was the bigger part of it during all of that once I realized how bad it was and Agent Carpenter, before the meeting with Bob took place told me that we'd been labeled as traitors while the perpetrators still roamed free, but initially, I wanted Lee with me, wanted us to be together. That was why I had arranged for contact with Robert to begin with, to set up a clandestine meeting so that I could be reunited with my son. I, of course, immediately cancelled the meeting and gave strict instructions after that not to let Lee know that I'd survived the crash."
"Wait a minute," Dotty interrupted. "So, are you saying that Bob has known all this time that you weren't killed in the crash?" Jennie slowly nodded. "But why?"
"He has his own reasons for not saying anything, I'm sure" Jennie answered in a clipped tone, not having much love for her brother-in-law's strict military code that extended into his personal life. She had a feeling just from the few things she'd heard already about Lee's upbringing, that that had also extended to her son.
Having learned from experience with her daughter and son-in-law, Dotty sensed that she wasn't going to get any further with that line of questioning and switched gears, "But what about your daughter?"
"I'd also planned for finding my her so that I could rear my children together. I planned for us to settle somewhere as far away from the intelligence community as possible. When I learned from Agent Carpenter just how far Blackthorne's arms reached, that he had infiltrated the CIA, I knew there was nowhere that he couldn't find me if he looked hard enough, especially if he knew that Lee was no longer with his uncle protected by the resources of the US military. So when I heard my daughter was settled and well cared for and that Lee was well-protected by the Air Force, I-I-I just couldn't…I couldn't jeopardize the safety of either of my children. I don't believe that Blackthorne ever knew that my daughter existed so she was safer with the family she was adopted into and..." Her voice trailed off as her sadness and the thoughts of everything she'd lost overwhelmed her again.
Jennie stared into the bottom of her teacup for a long moment as the tears she'd been trying to hold back finally began to slide down her cheeks. Dotty patted her arm consolingly causing her to look back up at the other woman. "I felt it would be unnecessarily cruel to tell my son that I was still alive. Knowing that he was already having a difficult time adjusting...knowing that I may never see him again, I couldn't do that to him, make his adjustment to life with his uncle all the more difficult...couldn't let him spend years pining for me...for something that may never be."
"But don't you see, Jennie, that is exactly what did happen," Dotty stated emphatically.
"I don't understand," Jennie replied as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I believe that a lot of Lee's turmoil, a lot of the trouble that he had in forming real relationships with people, especially women," Dotty sighed and shook her head, "I believe a lot of that stemmed from losing you so young...for pining for the mother that he never had."
"I don't believe that," Jennie replied. "Not when I see how close he is to Amanda, how deeply in love they are…"
"Now, yes, but it took them a long time to get where they are now. You've heard the story about them keeping their marriage a secret?"
"Yes, of course," Jennie answered.
"Well, I believe a lot of that came from his fear of losing Amanda...Even though he loves her desperately...the extreme nature of the job they do...it kept him in fear of losing her the way that he lost you. He said it was about protecting the children and maybe that was partially true...but I think a bigger part of that decision was blind panic at the thought of losing Amanda if it became public knowledge that he was married."
"So then why marry her at all?" Jennie questioned.
"I've asked myself that same question over and over again and the only answer that I can come up with is to prove to her that he was sincere. You see, the way that I understand it, Lee was quite the ladies' man before Amanda...flitting from one casual, frivolous relationship to another and living that way, he built himself kind of a bad reputation when it came to women."
"Yes, I heard that from one of his co-workers last night...a Miss...Desmond?"
"Yes, Miss Desmond...well, she would know...she was one of those "relationships." The point is...that I think he felt the need to prove to Amanda that she was more to him...that he was finally ready for something real...but at the same time...he loved her so much that he didn't want to risk her life...or the lives of her boys."
"He loves the boys very much too. I can see that," Jennie replied warmly.
"Yes...yes, he does," Dotty answered. "In fact-"
Dotty's statement was cut off by the slamming of the front door and Lee's voice shouting, "Don't tell me to calm down! That was the biggest waste of damn time we have ever spent on anything in all the years we've worked together!"
"I keep telling you that it wasn't a complete waste of time if you'll just cool down long enough to listen to reason," Amanda answered in her soothing motherly voice.
Dotty rose and asked, "Is everything okay?" as the pair entered the room but Amanda shook her head and gave her a let-me-deal-with-this look.
"How can you say that? Two damn hours at the hospital getting the damn runaround and another damn hour getting more runaround from the damn adoption agency!" Lee then violently yanked off his suit jacket and flung it across the kitchen counter. "Three wasted damn hours! And for what, huh?" Then mimicking a high-pitched female voice, he added in a scathing tone, "I am sorry, Mr. Stetson, but unless you're the mother or the child in question, I cannot provide you any information...adoption records are sealed."
Jennie moved toward the couple in an attempt to soothe her agitated son, but Dotty held her back with a shake of her head and mouthed, "Watch," then nodded toward Amanda.
"Well, it didn't help that you were badgering her and flashing your badge around like you were the king of the world, making threats, getting us thrown out..."
"It didn't make a damn bit of difference to that...that..."
"Sweetheart..." Amanda scolded.
Lee let out a deep sigh, raked a hand through hair and sank against the counter. "Amanda, this is my family we're talking about... How would you feel?"
"Pretty bad...I know." She then moved toward him and consolingly caressed his face with both hands. "I know this is hurting you...but we'll find the truth...okay...and we'll find your sister." She then lightly brushed her lips against his and then gestured to Jennie. "Now, the woman did say that the mother could request the records...and there she is right there...so all we have to do is..."
"NO." Lee shook his head and rose from his perch against the counter. "No, absolutely not! Someone tried to kill her last night and I am not going to let them try again. This might be just the thing to lead them straight to her!"
"I don't believe that's true, Lee," Jennie interjected. "No one ever knew that your father and I had a daughter. I gave her up under a pseudonym-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know...Jenna Davis. You think they couldn't have figured it out. Someone last night knew who Jenna Davis was! They knew you were my mother!"
"Be that as it may-"
"Forget it! You're not going!"
"I'm afraid the decision is not up to you, My Boy," Jennie countered.
"Amanda, would you-" He looked to his wife for help.
"Oh, no, Sweetheart, you're on your own on this one." She grinned at him. "I'm due at the Zakiran Embassy in an hour."
"What? You're leaving me?"
"I'm not leaving you, but I am leaving. I have a job to do..." she nodded to Jennie, "And so do you." She kissed him quickly then departed.
"Amand-" Lee began but stopped when he realized he was talking to the slamming front door. "Unbelievable." He then turned back toward his mother only to find her gone as well. "Where'd she go?" he asked of his mother-in-law.
"Oh, while you were arguing with Amanda, she said she had to run to her room to get something." Dotty answered cheerily, amusement dancing in her eyes at the flummoxed look on Lee's face.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he growled at her.
"Lee, Darling, when are you going to learn that you are surrounded by stubborn women?"
"Great," Lee muttered as Jennie re-entered the room.
"Alright, Son," Jennie said as she slammed a clip into the pistol she'd used the night before. "Will it make you happy if I take this along when we go? You saw that I know how to use it if I need to. I may have been out of the business for a long time, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten how to protect myself. Years on the run will give you those skills." Without giving her son a chance to answer, she smiled sweetly and added as she tucked the pistol away, "Now, shall we go?"
"Fine," Lee grumbled as he snatched his jacket off the counter to cover up his own pistol and the pair made their way out the door.