Chapter Thirteen - 4247 Maplewood Dr.

Amanda King smiled as she sniffed at the flower arrangement sitting on the counter. Lee had a beautiful bouquet of roses of different colors delivered to her. He had a card attached that read...

Amanda…I look forward to spending time with the family - getting to know everyone better. Remember that I love you. Lee. Amanda was so wrapped in her thoughts about the flowers and her future with Lee that she didn't hear Phillip walk into the kitchen.

"When is Mr. Stetson getting here Mom?" Phillip asked

Amanda looked over at her son and sighed as she said "Oh sweetheart…he should be here soon. I know that he was really excited about finally meeting you. He's a little nervous so could you be a little easy on him? He hasn't had a lot of experience with kids…okay?" Amanda had a dreamy look on her face and Phillip smiled as he answered his mom.

"He really makes you happy, doesn't he?"

Amanda chuckled "What makes you think that Sweetheart?" Phillip sat down on the barstool that was under the counter. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I have just noticed this past year you just seem a lot happier. It makes me happy knowing that you are…that's all." Amanda smiled at her oldest and reached over to hug him. He let her indulge in the hug and she said "Thank you sweetheart. That means a lot to me to hear you say that. Lee is very important to me and I really want you to like him."

"Well if he drives that really rad car that's parked in front of the house then Phillip will definitely like him!" said Jamie King as he shuffled into the kitchen. Amanda looked up at her youngest son and said "Lee just pulled up?" Jamie nodded. "I was looking out the window to see if I could see him and he's been sitting outside in his car for like the past ten minutes. I think he's afraid to get out of the car!"

Phillip jumped off the stool and headed towards the front door yelling "What kind of car does he drive Mom?" Before Amanda could stop him Phillip opened the front door and yelled. "Holy cow Mom! Mr. Stetson drives a Corvette! All right! That's a totally rad car! I sure hope he takes me for a ride in it!"

"Phillip Thomas King don't you even think about running out there! I mean it." Amanda made her way to the front door and shooed Phillip away from drooling over Lee's car. She saw Lee watching her and she smiled. She waved for him to come in and he nodded. She watched as he pulled himself out of the sports car and reached back in to retrieve a bag. He closed the driver's side door and took a deep breath. This is so new to him. I think it's sweet that he is nervous. He just needs to be Lee and I know that the boys will love him. She herself took a deep breath as she realized her secret life and her normal life were about to collide and merge into one. She gave Lee her best smile and reached for his hand. He beamed at her and took her small hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"Hey beautiful. I missed you." He leaned towards her and gave her a sweet chaste kiss. Amanda said "Hey there Big Fella. Are you ready for this?" Lee squeezed her hand once more and nodded. They walked into the house and Amanda closed the door.

The Agency - Billy's Office

"Billy, just wanted to let you know that Duffy and Thompson are in position and they just checked in. Everything looks good and they will check in again at eight thirty." Francine leaned her head into her boss' office. She noticed that he was sitting at his desk but not really doing anything. She slowly walked in and stood in front of his desk and called his name. "Billy? Did you hear me?
Billy Melrose looked up at Francine and shook his head. "Sorry Francine, what was that you said about Duffy?"

Francine chuckled and said "He made his check in and everything looked good. He will check in again at eight thirty. I have passed it over to the night duty officer and they will let you know if anything changes."

Billy gave her a small smile and looked back down at the growing stack of papers on his desk. He sighed and said "I swear I don't think I will ever get this desk cleaned off again!" Francine laughed and said "I know what you mean. Being in the Q Bureau this past week since Lee and Amanda have been on their little lover's getaway has made me appreciate not being up there all of the time! I can't even begin to tell you about that crazy filing system Amanda has for everything!" She deliberately made the comment about Lee and Amanda and patiently waited to see if Billy noticed what she had said.

He smirked at her and said "Lover's getaway? Are you sure that's what it was? Lee was ordered to rest by Dr. Scardelli. I had Amanda watch him because we all know what a horrible patient Lee can be." Francine raised her eyebrow at him and he continued " But I can see by the look on your face you have something to tell me. So spill it Desmond. I know that you are dying to tell someone."

Francine took a seat in one of the chairs and laughed. "Oh Billy. I literally walked into them! At the park. They are a couple…well it's more than that."

Billy laughed "So Lee finally figured out that Amanda is his whole world and told her how he really feels about her, huh?"

Francine looked at her boss. She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have a feeling that you already knew about this?"

Billy waved her off. "I suspected Francine. I noticed how close they were becoming. They need one another. They bring out the best in each other. I am glad they finally had the nerve to say something. I was beginning to think it would never happen!"

Francine laughed. "I guess I always saw it as well…but I just didn't think that Lee would admit it. She really is good for him. He's become a better agent because of Amanda."

Billy stared at her with a smirk on his face. "Careful Francine. That almost sounds like a compliment towards Amanda."

Francine rolled her eyes. "I know. If anyone asks. I never said it. But I have a newfound appreciation for our little happy homemaker. She's more than that. I don't know how she did it but she tamed our Scarecrow." She sighed and turned towards the door. She stopped before walking out and continued. "I really am happy for them and I told Lee that."

Billy nodded as Francine walked out of the bullpen. He thought to himself how putting the lone wolf spy and the housewife from Arlington together was the best decision he ever made.

4247 Maplewood Drive

Amanda led Lee into the kitchen where Phillip and Jamie King were waiting for them. Lee took a deep breath as he saw the two boys staring and smiling at him. Amanda smiled at them and said "Fellas, This is Lee Stetson. Lee, these are my boys, Phillip and Jamie." To Amanda's surprise both boys stood up and went to shake Lee's hand. Phillip spoke up first. " I'm Phillip. That's Jamie. It's nice to meet you Mr. Stetson. That's a really rad car you have." Lee chuckled and said "It's good to finally meet you Phillip. Maybe one day I could take both of you for a ride in it." He glanced over at Amanda and added "That is if it's okay with your Mom."

Amanda smiled at the men in her life and said "I think we could arrange a time for you to do that." Phillip and Jamie looked at one another and grinned. Amanda asked Lee if he would like something to drink. He was about to answer when Dotty West came in from the patio. She called out to the boys ``Boys, could you bring out the hamburgers? The grill is ready." She walked into the kitchen and saw Lee standing there next to Amanda and the boys.

"OH! Mr. Stetson! I didn't know that you were here already! How wonderful! Maybe you could help the boys with cooking the hamburgers and spend some time with them as Amanda and I get everything else ready!"

Lee chuckled to himself as he listened to Dotty go off on one of her rambles. He now knew where Amanda got her gift of gab from. Dotty West was an expert at rambling. Lee glanced over at Amanda who was smiling at him. She shooed him out the door with the boys and Lee suddenly found himself out on the patio with Amanda's sons. They were both beaming at him and waiting for him to say something. Lee took a deep breath and smiled back at them.

"Well fellas, what do you say we grill up some burgers?"

Phillip and Jamie both said "All right!" and Lee followed them to the grill. Lee's nerves settled and he chuckled to himself. Maybe the night would go better than he thought it would.