A/N: Didn't want to leave you hanging for too long - LOL! The muses took this chapter somewhere I wasn't expecting - but I like where it ended up. I want to say upfront that I have nothing against Joe King - he made his choice - and Amanda belongs with Lee, right? Anyway, I did always feel kind of weird about the actor choice since the show used the same actor who played a bad guy that tried to kill Amanda in S2 'Murder between friends' - and then in S3 the same actor comes back to play Joe King. Weird, right?
"Therefore you, Lee Stetson, are also a spy."
"Mother, that's-"
Lee placed one of his hands over mine and I fell silent, letting him take the lead. "How did you figure us out?"
Dotty visibly preened under the attention. "Well, it wasn't that hard really – I mean, you should have heard some of Amanda's excuses – she really was never very good at lying – even as a child, her father and I-"
"Mo-ther, please!" I clenched my teeth.
"I'd like to take credit for figuring it out, but you told me the truth yourself, Darling-"
Lee turned to me in surprise as my mouth fell open in shock. "I never told you I was – oh my gosh! The nuclear device in Washington – when I hustled you and the boys off to Vermont on the early train - you said you didn't believe me!"
"I had a lot of time to think about things on the train ride and I put the pieces together-" Dotty shrugged. "It still sounded ridiculous – but the more I thought about it, the more your crazy stories and long hours and disappearing acts began to make sense-"
Lee held up his hand. "Hold it, ladies!" He turned to me. "Are you telling me you told your mother the truth about your job two and a half years ago?"
I nodded meekly.
"And you just neglected to inform me or Billy about it – I think that was need to know, Amanda-"
"Lee, she didn't believe me! I didn't want to lie to her anymore, so I told her the truth about why I was hustling her and the boys out of Washington at the crack of dawn, and she told me not to lie to her the one time I was actually telling her the truth! When I got to Uncle Herman's house the next day, she never brought it up again – so I kept up with the cover stories because I thought my secret life was still secret."
Dotty reached across the coffee table and grabbed Lee's hand in hers. "Don't be mad at Amanda, Lee. I never breathed a word to her that I had figured things out. I continued to pretend to believe her stories, knowing that she was telling me lies to keep me and the boys safe – though it was very hard at times, especially when she ran away with you and then when she got shot on her vacation – which I can only assume was another job-"
Lee shook his head and squeezed his mother-in-law's hand. "No, Dotty. That was strictly a vacation, for both of us. I was meeting an old friend who was in trouble and Amanda was waiting in the car. If she'd gone inside with me-" He swallowed, the emotion overwhelming him again as the vision of Amanda bleeding out in the passenger seat of the rental car rose in his mind's eye.
"Stop!" I whispered the word in his ear as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "It wasn't your fault."
Dotty moved to sit beside him, wrapping the two of us in a big group hug. "That was the worst day of my life too, Lee, when I got the phone call from you saying my baby girl had been shot. The only thing that eased my mind a little was knowing she had you there, holding her hand, willing her to live." She moved out of the hug, but stayed on the couch, leaning back on the cushions.
He turned his head and gave me a weak smile as our lips met in a short kiss before he turned back to Dotty. "I've kicked myself so many times over the years for getting your daughter involved in such a dangerous business. In the beginning, I was pretty cold to Amanda whenever we worked together. Looking back, I can see I was trying to push her away in an attempt to get her to quit-"
Dotty laughed and locked eyes with me. "He didn't know you very well yet, did he?" She turned back to Lee. "I could have told you that won't work – my daughter is like a terrier dog when she wants something – she just sinks her teeth in and holds on tighter the more you try to shake her off."
He smiled, his dimples popping out in his face, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it didn't take me too long to see that. And now, it's too late," he reached out and laced his fingers through mine. "I need her like I need air to breathe."
Dotty arched an eyebrow. "Which brings me back to my original question – what are you two waiting for?"
Lee and I exchanged glances and I waited for his signal – after all, I had spilled the beans about our jobs without his knowledge and I wasn't going to do the same regarding our marriage. He reached into his pocket, and I opened my mouth to start explaining, when we heard the front door open and slam against the wall.
"Jamie! Come back here!" Joe shouted. "I want to talk to you!"
My younger son burst into the room, breaking up our private conversation. I was on my feet in an instant, crossing to his side, taking in his emotion-filled eyes and stormy expression.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I asked as I reached out for him, but my twelve-year-old son dodged my grip and flopped into a chair.
"Nothing. Hey, Lee. Is the pizza here yet?"
Lee's eyebrows rose as his gaze briefly met mine even as he answered Jamie's question. "No, we were waiting for you guys to get home – thought we could pick out the toppings together – where's Philip?"
Jamie shrugged and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Probably still outside talking to Dad-"
Philip ran into the living room with Joe following behind at a more relaxed pace.
"Hey, Lee!" Philip rushed over to Lee and high fived him. "Good to see you! Maybe you can talk some sense into Junior here-"
"Philip, this isn't really any of Lee's business-" Joe protested.
My fourteen-year-old son perched on the arm of the couch next to Lee. "Why not? He's Mom's boyfriend – and Jamie isn't talking to you or me – maybe he'll talk to Lee about it."
I held up my hands. "Okay, what's going on here? I can see that Jamie is upset – Joe, will you please clue me in?"
"Amanda, can I talk to you and Jamie for a minute outside, please," Joe pleaded.
"Of course," I nodded and took a step towards the back door, but Jamie's voice stopped me in my tracks.
"I don't want to talk to you right now, Dad."
"Jamie!" I gasped as I turned back to Joe, who was standing next to me with slumped shoulders. "What on earth happened this weekend?"
"Amanda, I don't really want to talk about it in front of everyone."
"Everyone?" I repeated. "You mean mother and Lee?"
Joe nodded stiffly.
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Well, mother has been helping me raise our boys ever since you left for Africa, Joe. And Lee is part of this family now, so if you can't say what you need to say in front of them, then-" I shrugged my shoulders and brushed past him to check on Jamie.
"Dad's going back to Estoccia!" Philip announced.
I whirled and faced my ex. "You're what?"
"It's not a sure thing-" Joe spread out his hands.
"Yeah, right," Jamie muttered under his breath.
"The prime minister and I have been talking about me coming back – that's all."
Jamie leapt to his feet. "You're flying back there next week!"
I shook my head sadly, feeling the pain radiating off my son. "Jamie, sweetheart, how do you know this?"
"I heard him on the phone just before we left his apartment – booking his flight – I guess a year of being my dad is all he can take!" Jamie pushed past Joe and ran out the back door, slamming it behind him.
"Jamie!" Joe shouted and prepared to follow him, but I reached out and grabbed his arm.
"No, I'll go."
"Amanda, I never meant to-"
I sighed. "I know, Joe. I'll talk to Jamie and call you later."
He looked into my eyes, trying to get a read on how I was feeling. "Are you upset with me too?"
"We're not married anymore – this isn't about me. This is about Jamie – and Philip, though he's better at hiding his emotions. Go home. I'll call you."
I fully expected Jamie to have retreated to his treehouse sanctuary when I stepped outside, and I was bracing myself for the climb. I didn't mind heights as a general rule, it was that rickety ladder on the old tree that I wasn't sure could hold my weight that had me nervous. So, I was relieved to see my son slumped at the picnic table when I came out – though I had no disillusions that he would sprint for the treehouse if he heard my approach. I employed all my agency training and snuck up on him from his right side. He didn't see me until it was too late, and I grabbed him in a bear hug as he stood up to run.
"Not so fast, buster. We're going to sit down and have a nice chat here on solid ground, not up there in your precarious treehouse."
He grunted against my chest as I held onto him and walked him over to the gazebo, only releasing him when we were sitting side by side on the bench.
"Talk to me, Jamie. Why are you so upset?"
He looked up at me, blinking behind his glasses. "Dad's leaving again – isn't that enough?"
I reached out and chucked a finger under his chin, something that I'd done since he was very little but now it made him squirm away from me. "He'll be back-"
"To stay?" he shrugged. "I guess I thought that this time he'd – it doesn't matter. Dad leaves, that's what he does."
I blew out a soft breath. "Jamie, your dad has a very important job – he can't ignore what he feels called to do – the people over there need him-"
"What about me and Philip? We need him too."
I put my arm around him. "I know – and your dad loves both of you very much-"
Jamie snorted. "Yeah, he has a funny way of showing it. Before this year, I hadn't seen him since I was seven – that's five years, Mom! Who doesn't see their kid for five years?"
I swallowed, stalling for time as the right words to comfort my son weren't forthcoming. Joe had done his best to keep in touch via phone calls and sending presents for the boys' birthdays since we'd made the decision to live separately – but he hadn't been back to Washington to visit in over five years – and his sons had grown up so much in that amount of time. He'd been home for over a year, and it had been so nice for the boys to have their father around – and I knew that it was something they were getting used to but now it seemed he was seriously considering going back and losing out on more time with them. Didn't he realize how much time he'd already lost, time that he'd never get back?
Jamie was still talking, and I snapped out of my reverie to focus on his words.
"I mean, I guess I should be used to it by now. It's been you and grandma and Philip and me forever – everyone else leaves. Dad, Dean – no guy ever hangs around here."
"I will."
My head snapped up to see Lee and Philip standing in the doorway of the gazebo. Philip was hanging his head, shuffling his feet, but Lee was gazing at both of us with a soft smile on his face. I nudged Jamie so that he looked up at Lee.
"Huh? What?" he said.
Lee laid a hand on Philip's shoulder, giving him a push so that he stepped inside. Both of them sat down on the bench across from Jamie and me. "I overheard you telling your mom that no guy has ever hung around – and I'm saying that I will. I'm in this for the long haul. I know I can never replace your dad, and I don't intend to try. But I'd like you and me and Philip to be friends – family even. I want you both to know that you can count on me to stick around."
Philip scuffed his shoe on the ground. "No offense. Lee, but what makes you different? How do we know that you'll stick around when our own dad never has?"
I saw Lee struggling to find the right words and I nodded, sending him silent encouragement to open up to the boys like he had with Mother earlier in the afternoon.
He cleared his throat.
"Because when I met your mother, I found what I've been looking for my entire life – a home."
Jamie's brows knit in confusion. "I don't get it – you grew up with your uncle, the Colonel, didn't you?"
Lee nodded.
"Well, didn't you guys live in a house?"
Lee chuckled. "Not really, no. We traveled all over the world – to different Air Force bases – lived in different bunk houses – and I was always the new kid in school – in a brand-new place with strange people who didn't even speak English most of the time."
"Man, that stinks," Philip groaned.
"Yeah, it did," Lee acknowledged his words. "I missed my parents terribly – they were killed in a car crash when I was five-"
Jamie gasped. "You never told us about that-"
Lee cleared his throat. "It's still hard for me to talk about, Sport."
"Sorry, Lee."
"I can still remember what it felt like to have a home with them – and I've been trying to get back to that safe place ever since. Your mother – she saw the broken little boy inside of me – and welcomed me into her life – and yours too. It took me awhile to admit that's what I wanted because I'd built so many walls, and I was scared to let anyone in because they might leave and never come back. Once I conquered those fears, I realized that I'd found what I'd been looking for my whole life – a home."
My eyes were swimming with tears, and I desperately wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around him and kiss him until I ran out of air. I was so proud of him. He'd finally opened up and let the boys see the real 'Lee Stetson' – the man that I had fallen in love with – the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with – the man that I was proud to have as their stepfather, even if they were unaware of that fact, for now.
Philip and Jamie were sharing puzzled looks, and Jamie finally spoke in a stage whisper to his brother.
"Do you understand what he's talking about?"
Philip shrugged. "I think it's more mushy grown-up stuff."
I laughed as a tear escaped and Lee lifted his hand, wiping it away, letting his thumb linger on my skin, as the boys rolled their eyes.
"Okay, bottom line," Lee stated as he dropped his hand back to his lap. "I'm committed to this family for the long haul and I'm not going anywhere. I'm in love with your mother and one day, when I have everyone's blessing, I'm going to ask her to marry me –"
Both of the boys let out whoops of delight and Dotty flew into the gazebo.
"What? What did I miss?"
"Lee's gonna marry Mom!" Jamie announced as he threw his arms around my waist.
"Well, it's about time!" Dotty exclaimed.
"Philip?" Lee asked, his voice a bit hesitant.
Philip shrugged, trying to hide his grin. "I don't know why you haven't asked her already –"
"Oh you!" Lee reached out, tousling his hair as Philip bear hugged him.
"Do you have a ring?" Jamie demanded.
"Uh, ye- yeah," Lee stammered, digging in his pocket, bringing out my diamond solitaire ring. "Right here-"
"Ask her!" Philip and Jamie cried together.
"Fellas-" I admonished softly. "I don't think this was how Lee planned to ask me-"
"Your mother's right," Dotty agreed. "I know his plan didn't include having all of us here to watch – so let's give them some privacy."
Jamie huffed out a breath and released my waist as he stood and walked over to his grandmother's side, where she placed an arm around both of her grandson's shoulders, preparing to walk away with them.
But Lee had dropped to his knees in front of me and suddenly we were the only two people in the gazebo as he held my ring up in front of my eyes, his dimples popping out on his cheeks.
"Amanda King, you are the best, the bravest, the smartest, the most beautiful woman I have ever known-"
I interrupted him, the declaration coming out of my mouth as easily now as it had in our locked room six months ago. "I love you."
His grin deepened. "Then will you marry me?"
My eyes flooded with tears, just like the first time he proposed – but I was feeling none of the terror Addi Birol invoked with his threats to sell me to the Libyans this time around. This time we were surrounded by our family, and I was feeling so full of joy it was overwhelming.
"Will I marry you?" I repeated softly, reaching forward and cupping his face. "Oh yeah, I'll marry you. We're still the luckiest two people on the face of the earth."
Lee chuckled as he slid the ring on my finger and pulled me to my feet. Our lips met as I felt the arms of my family go around us and squeeze. I pulled away, laughing, to see that Lee was trying to hold in his amusement as well.
"Forever interrupted," I whispered in his ear.
"Can we eat now?" Philip demanded.
Lee laughed. "How about we grill up some burgers – Amanda, you have ground beef in the fridge, don't you?"
I nodded.
"Great, I'll fire up the grill if you and Dotty get the fixings ready-"
"Lee can cook?" Philip inquired.
I wrapped my hands around Lee's waist and rested my head on his shoulder. "Lee's a great cook, sweetheart."
"Is that true or are you just being nice – like when Dad or Philip cooks?" Jamie asked.
"Jamie!" I scolded and Dotty laughed.
"Boys, I can recommend Lee's cooking – his steaks are the best I've ever had," Dotty reassured them.
"Yes!" The boys high fived each other.
"Maybe Lee can give Dad some pointers – if he sticks around long enough," Philip suggested.
"Boys, do not compare your dad and Lee – it's not a competition-" I called after them as they ran out of the gazebo to play basketball before dinner.
Mother looked at us with a soft smile. "Why don't you help Lee with the grill? I'll get started in the kitchen-" she backed away, leaving me alone with my fiancé/husband.
I wound my arms around his neck. "Well, Mr. Stetson, we've backed ourselves into a corner now-"
He captured me by the waist and pulled me into his body. "Is that a problem, Mrs. Stetson? I thought we were ready to end our mystery-"
"I'm just thinking about the fact that mother knows about the Agency – and that you publicly proposed to me – which means we will need to tell everyone at work about our marriage and I didn't think we were ready to do that-"
He covered my mouth with his and I moaned, letting myself get lost in the feelings that kissing Lee created in me. Those feelings had been present almost from the beginning – I had had stars in my eyes for the dimpled agent with the chip on his shoulder and walls around his heart from the start. Little by little I wore his walls down and we became partners as well as best friends – and along the way I knew that my crush had turned into deeper feelings. Feelings that I hadn't felt for a man since Joe. Feelings that I definitely hadn't had for Dean the weatherman. As my feelings morphed into love, I kept silent, dreaming of being with him, but never even daring to hope that I would have a chance because Scarecrow would never be interested in a housewife from Arlington, with two kids and a mortgage. And then one day after another close brush with death for both of us, he broke a date with a beautiful woman and took me to dinner instead.
After that, everything changed between us.
Lee broke away from my lips and leaned his forehead against mine. "If I don't stop now, Amanda, not only will the burgers never get cooked, your neighbors and the boys will get quite the show-"
I slapped his chest and pulled out of his arms. "You aren't worried?"
He sighed. "I have a fifteen-year security review coming up in six months. Dr. Smyth and the Agency will find our marriage certificate if we don't disclose before then-"
I crossed my arms. "Were you going to share this information with me?"
"Yes – but we still had six months to talk about our options, so I didn't think it was a pressing concern. I was more worried about you going back in the field and how to keep you safe-"
"Don't change the subject!" I held up a finger, not noticing which hand it was until my diamond flashed in the sunlight.
Lee grinned.
"What?"
"It sure is nice to see that ring on your finger where it belongs."
I stared down at the diamond, a slight smile tugging at my lips. "I always wanted to wear your ring out in the open, in front of our family, Lee. You know that, right?"
He moved quickly, cupping my face, tilting my head so that our eyes locked. "I do."
I rolled my eyes at his weak attempt at a joke.
"This is going to work out, Amanda. I don't know how just yet – but you and me – the boys and your mother – I meant what I said earlier – you're my home. I won't give this up now that I have it. I love you."
My eyes fluttered shut as he brushed his lips across mine, once – twice – three times. He was just kissing me for the fourth time, opening my lips with his tongue and deepening the contact when I heard running footsteps and then Philip exclaimed:
"Gosh, are you two still sucking face?"
"Yeah, mom, let go of Lee so he can cook the burgers! We're starving!" Jamie whined.
Lee pulled away with a chuckle, keeping his hands on my waist as I tried to regain my balance as his kisses had left me light-headed.
"To be continued," he breathed in my ear as he turned to the boys. "All right, Fellas, lead me to the grill!"
A/N: Remember, this story takes place after Lee gives Jamie the camera - and in this story he's spent the past two months building relationships with both boys.
Coming up: One last romantic night for Lee and Amanda before work interrupts yet again and in the morning, Amanda gets a surprise visitor. Want it? Drop me a line in reviews!
