Author's note: This is a story version of the script that was presented at the 40th SMK reunion in 2023. I had such fun writing this one and I hope everyone who got to see it acted out enjoyed it as well. Thank you to the cast who made it come alive and Martha Smith especially who gave us the opportunity to all the characters in action once again.

The door from the stairwell swung open with a crash and Lee burst onto the sixth floor of the hospital, slightly out of breath and looking panicked. His gaze swept the hallway before he spotted Francine standing with Jamie. He pushed his way through the crowd, past nurses, patients, and some firemen, before stopping in front of her.

"Francine! Sorry I took so long – the elevator wasn't coming fast enough, so I ran up the stairs! Where is she? Where's her room? What happened? Why are you here?"

Francine rested a hand on his arm, and gave him a bright smile.

"Okay, calm down, Lee and breathe. Everything's fine. The babies are just coming a little early that's all. And that's normal for twins, right? It's all good news."

Lee sucked in a breath as ordered and began again. "But why are you here? Why didn't she call me?"

"Because she was at the Agency dropping off some paperwork for her maternity leave when it all started moving fast and it seemed more important to get her on her way here and then call you."

Lee turned to Jamie with a quizzical expression. "Then how did you get here?"

Jamie rocked back on his heels, tilting his head up to look at his stepfather. "We were with her in the car. She was giving Phillip a driving lesson by letting him drive her to your office, but then the contractions started when we were on the Roosevelt Bridge and she thought you might be at work so we went there instead of straight to the hospital. Anyway we got parked outside IFF and then her water broke…"

Francine interrupted with a grin, "But she was in the station wagon, so at least she didn't ruin the seats in the Corvette! That's good news, right?"

Lee side-eyed her in transparent disbelief. "If you say so. But then what happened?"

Francine picked up the story. "Well, we couldn't find you, so Efraim Beaman and I drove everyone here."

Lee looked around and realized that Efraim Beaman was indeed also there, leaning on a wall and looking slightly gray. "Beaman? Why did you need Beaman?" he asked.

"Well, someone needed to drive the car – I mean, Phillip wasn't in any state to do it by then and Amanda sure couldn't."

Lee nodded. "Okay, okay, you're right – but then why didn't you drive?"

Francine rolled her eyes. "Because someone needed to be sitting in the back with Amanda in case the babies decided to come even earlier!" She paused and beamed at him. "So, there was two of us to help – and that's good news right? Because you wouldn't have wanted the boys dealing with that!"

Efraim lifted his head and gave a shaky smile. "And trust me, you wouldn't have wanted me in the back with her. I fainted at my nephew's bris!"

'What's a bris?" asked Jamie.

"Don't ask," Lee and Beaman chorused, both shuddering

Lee took another deep breath and ran his hand along the back of his neck. "So practically the entire family and half the Agency got here before I did?"

Francine chuckled. "Not half the Agency, no, but, uh…"

A cheerful voice spoke up from behind Lee. "Hey Mr. Stetson! How are you doing? Isn't it amazing? What were the odds this would happen today?"

Lee turned and stared in disbelief at Scotty Parker. It has been years since he'd recommended Scotty to their film department as a director, but he remained the wide-eyed cheerful guy he'd first met as the IFF parking lot attendant. So wide-eyed and innocent in fact that Lee was fairly certain Scotty had never figured out that he was working for an intelligence agency.

"Scotty? What the hell are you doing here? Did you actually bring every clown at IFF with you, Francine?

Francine's brows snapped together in annoyance. "Who are you calling a clown? The only reason Amanda is here is because I took charge of the whole thing!"

Lee sagged and nodded. "You're right – I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed, okay?" He looked around in confusion. "Now where is-" but before he could finish, Scotty interrupted him.

"Anyway, Miss Desmond didn't bring me! I'm here doing some filming for our Day in the Life of a Hospital series and I saw Mrs. King arrive!" He paused, and a look of confusion crossed his face. "She didn't want to talk much though."

"I can't imagine why not," said Francine sarcastically.

Scotty perked up again. "Anyway, isn't this great? I've got my camera and I could film the entire thing for you? Wouldn't that be great?"

Here was a moment of ominous silence before Lee began to speak. "Scotty, If I see you anywhere near my wife while she's having our babies, I will take your camera and put it-"

Francine interrupted before Lee could say something he regretted in front of Jamie. "Scotty, I think you better scram – Lee doesn't seem to be in a camera-friendly mood."

Scotty had finally read the room, as it were and nodded. "Yeah, maybe I'll interview those firemen instead."

Lee was still scanning the hallway for signs of his wife. "Ok, so where's Amanda? What room is she in?"

Francine waved an airy hand. "Oh, she's not in a room just yet. There's just been a slight delay but they're working on it. Anyway, when we got here, Beaman went to park the car and Phillip helped Amanda to the registration desk while Jamie and I looked for a payphone so he could call Amanda's mother and I could phone Billy to see if he'd found you yet. And here you are! And Dotty's on her way! So that's good news, right?"

Lee's expression was becoming more and more thunderous and his voice was getting louder by the second. "Why do you keep going on about things being good news? And where is Amanda? AND WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THAT RACKET?"

"Oh, that's Mom," said Jamie, as if it was obvious.

Lee went dangerously quiet. "What do you mean "That's Mom"?"

Francine sighed and put her hands on Lee's arms as if to steady him. "Well, I was hoping it would be over before we had to tell you but-"

"But what?" Lee asked, panic rising. "Is she ok? What happened?"

"She's fine, honestly!" Francine said soothingly. "And Phillip's with her, helping out. That's the good news."

Lee glared at her. "What's the bad news? What haven't you told me?"

She gave a tiny grimace. "Well, you know how you had to use the stairs to get here? That's because they're stuck in that elevator. But I'm sure they'll be out any second now!"

Lee stared at her for a moment, processing, before shouting "They're what?"

He strode across the corridor, pushing aside the crowd and began pounding on the elevator door. "Amanda? Amanda? Are you ok?"

Francine attempted to pull him aside. "Come on Lee, you're just getting in the way of the guys trying to get them out."

One of the firemen tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you Mr. Stetson? We have the elevator phone patched through to our radio if you want to talk to them."

Lee snatched the handset. "Amanda honey? Are you ok? We're going to get you out of there! Just hold on!"

Instead of Amanda though, he was answered by Phillip. "Hi Lee. Mom can't really talk right now- she's- aaargghh!" A cry of pain came down the line.

Lee tried to slow his racing heart. "Phillip? What happened? Is everything okay in there?"

Phillip's voice appeared to have gone up a few octaves as he answered. "Everything's fine – she just gripped my hand really hard in that last contraction. I think she might have broken something. No, it's okay, Mom – I was just kidding, I'm fine." Lee could hear the sound of Phillip turning away from his mother and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Lee, I wasn't really kidding. You've got to get us out of here – my fingers are going numb!"

Lee rested his head against the wall. "They're working on it, Chief. And if I have to climb down the shaft and come in the roof of that elevator, I will, don't worry."

There was a muffled sound in the background, and then, "What did you say Mom? Oh okay. Lee, she says her contractions are two minutes apart and you better start finding a way down the elevator shaft or next time she sees you, she's going to make a session with Stanley Chow seem like a walk in the park. Who's Stanley Chow, Mom?"

Lee couldn't help the small smile, despite his worry. "You tell her I'll be there as soon as I can."

Just then there was a muted encouraging cheer from the group of firemen. One of them turned to Lee. "Okay – I think we've got it. Just move back, everybody!" He stepped forward with a crowbar and applied it to the crack. "Okay, One, two three! There you go! "

The door slid open and Lee stepped forward, a huge smile lighting his face as his eyes met hers and all his worries slipped away.

He crouched down and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, Amanda!"

End note: In order to make this work as a story and not just as a scene from an episode, I did have to delete some parts including a cameo by Paul Barnes. Many thanks to Stephen Macht for delivering his lines during the Franscene at the 40th reunion with such hilarity.