Lee was getting out of this damn hospital. He didn't care anymore. Tony told him he had talked to Joe King. Joe wouldn't tell him if Matty had made it home or not.
Lee was both annoyed with Joe but kind of respected that he didn't give out that information. This was officially the longest he had been away from his son since he rescued him almost five years ago. It had been almost two days since he woke up from surgery.

They were giving him the pain medication with pills instead of the IV. He had palmed the pills. He needed a clear head to get to DC. The pills were all sedatives and he could handle the pain. His son was worth it He would do anything for that boy.

He just needed to get out of this damn hospital. He hated hospitals. Matty was his whole world. He loved that boy more than anything. He had promised that he would never let anyone or anything hurt him again. He intended to keep that promise.

He pushed himself out of the bed and stood up. He wobbled a little and grimaced in pain. Then he walked to the closet. There was just a bag with his wallet, watch and shoes. They hadn't saved any of his other clothes. It made sense. He had been shot twice. There had been a lot of blood. If he could get to the hospital locker room. He would find clothes in there. He grabbed his wallet,watch and a little tiny plane Matty had given him when they first came over from England. It was his good luck charm.

Matty had given him that plane on the first night they had spent at the estate with his grandfather. Lee had broken down in front of his son. It was the only toy Matty had at that point and he had given it Lee to make him feel better. it had just been such a sweet gesture. Matty was so much like his mother. He knew how to calm Lee down. How to make him feel better.

Maybe he should just call Phillip or Jamie himself. No, he would talk to them once he knew Matty was alright. The phone lines weren't secure. They would know he was alive. He had Tony give them the message in the code that only the three of them knew. They would know he was coming back. Joe may be annoying but he always came through when it mattered. Lee was kind of looking forward to seeing him again too.

He stuck his head out of his hospital room to see if it was clear. He saw the night nurse go into a patient at the other end of the hall's room. He needed to move before she got back to the nurse's station.
He fought through and made it to the hospital locker room. He stole some street clothes.

It was the middle of the night, but it was Friday. Well actually Saturday morning. He could get the night tube to Heathrow. At least he had clothes now. The pants were a little short, but it wasn't too noticeable. The only person that would care would be Francine. He smiled a little thinking about the fact he was probably going to get to see her again soon. He just hoped she wouldn't slap him too hard for faking his death. Maybe he should have taken some of the pain pills he had palmed with him for when he saw her.

He was thankful that there was a London Underground station right next to the hospital. He didn't have to walk too far. He would have to walk a bit when he got to Heathrow. He didn't care. Anything to get to his son. He just needed to push through. Matty needed him.

He just needed to make it to Heathrow. Hopefully Matty hadn't taken everything out of his locker. If he did, Lee would have to call Tony to bring his passport from the estate. No, he might have to go back to the estate himself. Tony was probably going to be pissed at him for leaving the hospital. Tony was a good kid but he would try and stop him. Try to convince him to go back to the hospital But he couldn't stay there. Not when he had no idea what was going on with his son.

Lee made it to the London Underground station and got on the night tube to Heathrow. He got to Heathrow and very slowly made it to his locker. The main bag was gone but the arrival bag was still there. It looked like Matty had only taken the money and his own British passport. He had thrown the other passports in the arrival bag.

Lee had his wallet. He could just pay by credit card but he would have to make sure he used a Michael Winthrope passport to match his credit cards. His British fake passport was back at the estate. He would have to use his Canadian Michael Winthrope passport. He should have had an American one made up with that name as well but it probably wouldn't matter anymore. When he went back to the US it was only a matter of time before they realized he was really Lee Stetson and he ended up in Federal Prison for treason. He wanted Matty to be older before that happened. Lee was a little worried that Phillip and Jamie would be in danger again too. Maybe they could just to his original plan and go to New Zealand but Lee was tired of running. He wanted to just go home. He would take it one day at a time. He wanted to see his family again no matter the consequences. It had been too long. He went up to the counter and booked the first available flight to Dulles.

He then went through security and he looked at his choices on where to sit and wait for the plane. There was the bar. Scotch would help with the pain. But he needed to stay alert until he got on the plane. He just needed to get on the plane first then he would drink some Scotch for the pain.

He went and got himself some coffee. The first flight to Dulles was at 7AM. He boarded the plane. He would be in DC around 4PM eastern time. There was a layover in Dublin but he wouldn't have to get off the plane. So he didn't care. It was the first flight he could get. The fastest one to Matty.

The time past slowly but at least he had gotten first class so he could board the plane first. He ordered a Scotch and then another one. He fell asleep and dreamed about home. About the good times when Matty was a baby. That had been the happiest time of his entire life. It had been the first time he had a real home and family. He dreamed about when he had decided he didn't really want to move. When Amanda had told him she was pregnant. When they first got married. He wanted to get a new house with her in Rockville. He knew she had gotten the Maplewood house with Joe. But once he moved in with her and realized how little Joe had actually lived there and seen how happy Jamie and Phillip were growing up there. He didn't want to uproot the boys. He knew what it felt like to be the new kid all the time. They had never lived anywhere else. He had never had a real home. Spending time with the boys made him realize he didn't want to do that to them. He loved that he had a home and they had shared it with him. He wanted his own child to have what they did. A real home. Joe had never made it a home. That was all Amanda. There was so much of her in it. He wanted his child to have that. Living in the suburbs was a big adjustment for him. But she gave him her basement and let him go crazy.

He woke up to a woman saying, "Sir, I'm sorry to wake you up but we are landing soon."

Lee got off the plane and went through customs. God it was strange to be back in DC. He got a cab and took it to the park at the end of Maplewood Drive. He would have to walk a little bit. But he had gotten this far. He could make it just a little further. Matty was waiting for him.

He got to his house. God, it looked exactly the same. He smiled. The yard looked great. Dottie must still be living there because the flowers were the same except there were more of them. Lee figured it was because Phillip and Jamie were adults now. It would be so good to see her again.

He went through the back of the garage and down the hatch to the secret entrance. Climbing down the ladder was not good. He was pretty sure he popped a couple stitches. He'd worry about that later. He just needed to get into the house.

He smiled as he opened the door. The storage room was exactly the same as he left it. They hadn't changed anything. He went over and grabbed a bottle of Scotch from his old stash. He figured one more little nip for the pain would help.

He felt terrible. He decided that he was going to check the monitors and then he would lay down in the basement bedroom for a little bit. Then he would talk to Phillip or Dottie. Whomever was home.

God it felt so strange to be back home. It felt like a dream. He looked at the monitors. He was going to turn them all on at once and then decided that wasn't a good idea. It would alert whoever was home that someone was down here.

He started with the master bedroom upstairs. He turned the monitor on. He was surprised that the bedroom he shared with his wife didn't look much different. There was a bedspread he had never seen before. But other than that the furniture and everything was the same. Then he noticed there was a light on in the bathroom. The bathroom door started opening. Someone was about to come out. But then the door closed again quickly and he heard the water turn on.

Phillip must be home. That's good. He'd talk to him when he came out of the bathroom. He would give him a few minutes and talk through the microphone. Then he went and looked at his son's room on the monitor. That's where they most likely would have him. He turned the camera to that room on and was confused. It was so pink and there were dolls and girl toys everywhere. Had Phillip had a daughter?

Lee smiled at the thought. It was a little girl too. Amanda had always wanted a little girl. She would have loved having a granddaughter. He wondered if the little girl looked like Amanda. He hoped so. He couldn't wait to see Phillip's daughter. He knew how much Phillip loved Amanda too. He bet Phillip had named his daughter after her.

Maybe whoever was in the bathroom was Phillip's wife. He had to be careful if it was. She wouldn't know him. It was most likely someone he had never met before. Hopefully it was just Phillip in the bathroom. He wished he hadn't listened to Amanda and installed the cameras there as well. But Amanda had insisted it was creepy. She had been so patient with him and the craziness he added to the basement. He knew he had gone a little overboard. She usually reigned him in but she had only given him a couple of rules. Don't make the house implode or explode and he could do what he wanted. Her only other input was putting cameras in the bathroom was creepy so he hadn't. There were panic buttons and microphones in the bathrooms.

Then he turned that camera off and switched to the boy's room. That's when he saw Matty. He was fast asleep in Jamie's bed. A wave of relief flooded over Lee. He was going to have to go upstairs. He would lie down in Phillip's old bed instead of here. Why was Matty's arm in a sling though? Had he gotten hurt? Lee was watching his son sleep when he felt someone behind him. Before he could move. He felt a gun on the back of his head.

Then he heard a very familiar voice he hadn't heard in almost five years, "You have thirty seconds to explain who you are and why you are watching my son before I splatter your brains against the wall."

He must have passed out. This wasn't real. This was just a dream. It had to be. He was probably still on the plane or something.

"Amanda? It's me. Please don't splatter my brains against the wall."

He felt her lower the gun and he slowly turned around. She looked at him with pure shock. God she was more beautiful in this dream than usual.
"Lee? I must have fallen asleep."

He smiled at her. He got up. Why did standing up hurt so much in this dream?

"You aren't the one that's dreaming. I am."

She started touching his face and playing with his beard, "You feel so real. I don't know why I gave you so much hair in this dream."

God this was a good dream. It felt like she was really touching him. He could feel the electricity from her fingers on his face. God, she smelled so good. He usually couldn't smell her in his dreams. This felt so real.

"I miss you so much. Our baby's home. He's finally home." she said.

He touched her face back. She felt so real. Her skin was so soft. "Yes. This is a dream though. It has to be. Our son needs me. I have to go to him. I can't stay with you right now. I have to wake up. I promised you that I would keep him safe. That's what I'm going to do."

She made a face, "Oh my gosh. I am so stupid. It was so obvious. The silly Star Wars code. You wanted the boys to know it was really you. That you were alive. This isn't a dream. You are alive and so am I."

Lee looked at her. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Five years Lee! Five! You never checked on home in five years."

He felt horrible. "I was a mess after I thought you were gone. I thought they would be safer without me. That if the bad guys thought I was really gone they would have no reason to target my family. Matty was just so vulnerable especially after the warehouse. I'm so sorry. If Phillip or Jamie had called that number. I was monitoring that. I would've helped them myself. Come back for them anytime if they needed me."

Amanda started crying, "You could have sent a signal that Matty was alive. Even if you thought I was dead. You should have let them know he was alright."

She didn't get this upset in his dreams. Was this real? Could it really be her? She had never threatened to splatter his brains against the wall in his dreams. Was she really alive? Had he been that dumb?

He hung his head "I was going to send a message that he was safe. Just time kept passing. I was a mess in the beginning. All I cared about was our son. He was so vulnerable when we were first on the run. He had just lost his hearing. What those bastards did to him? He never talks about it but when you see his scars. They make me sick every time I see them. He was not even five years old when they took him."

He touched the side of her face her skin was so soft, "Amanda, I know. It was just easier. Home reminds me of you. Matty was just so little. I was going to get the boys to come over when he was a little older. Maybe when he had one or two more black belts. It wasn't safe. I also knew that if I saw them. It would make your dying more real."

She looked at him, "Lee, I'm not dead."

Lee looked at her, "Amanda I saw you die. Nobody could've survived that fireball."

She looked at him, "Unless they were in a sub-basement. I almost didn't. I was down there for three days before they found me. We are both really dumb. Aren't we? I just assumed the worst. I needed you to see the silver lining."

She grabbed him, pulled him to her and she kissed him hard. No dream kiss ever felt this good. Her mouth moved with his perfectly. He forgot about the pain and everything for a few minutes. He got lost in the kiss. God, he hoped this was real and he wasn't going to wake up. That she was really alive.

She put her hands on his chest underneath his jacket and broke the kiss. "Why is your chest wet? Oh my gosh you're bleeding. You better not have come back to life just to die on me again What happened? Matty thinks you are dead."

Lee spoke, "It was my own fault. I let my security guard go on vacation. It's just him now. I didn't think we really needed security anymore. My Grandfather died almost a year ago now. There's never been an incident at the house since Matty & I moved there. I got shot again."

She was staring at him, "Your Grandfather actually let you stay with him?"

Lee smiled, "Yeah, I was surprised too. I was going to take Matty to New Zealand or something. I was going to use his network instead of Barnstorm."

She put her forehead against his and her arms around him, "You changed his name to Matty. I like it. It fits him."

Lee smiled, "That's his middle name anyway. I mean just reversing his name probably wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. I just didn't want to change his name completely. Make it so it would be easier if he went home one day. People that were close to my father called him that. It fits him. He likes his name."

She smiled, "I know. That's one of the first things he told Phillip and I in Morse code."

Lee smiled, "He can sign too. It's British sign language which is different from American Sign language. He's really smart though. I'm sure he will pick up ASL in no time. We made a great kid, Amanda. You are going to love him."

She was lifting up his shirt. "I never stopped. Oh my gosh, Lee. You must have popped some stitches. You traveled here from London like this? We need to get you to the hospital."

He looked at her. "I need to see Matty first."

She nodded, "Well he has to come with us. I didn't want to take him out of the house. I should've let the boys stay here. They could've taken care of him while we went to the hospital."

He got up and went with her up the stairs. The stairs were painful. But his son was at the top of them. His wife was alive. They got to the boy's room. He went over to the bed and sat down. Then he tapped "Wake up, kid." on his forehead.

Matty opened his eyes and it took him a second to adjust. His eyes got big when he saw him. Then all of the sudden Matty just hugged him really hard. It hurt a lot. But Lee didn't care, he loved his son so much. He just needed him to loosen his grip a little "Whoa, go easy on me, kid. Not so tight. Loosen your grip just a tiny bit. I missed you too, buddy. I'm so proud of you. You were so brave."

He kissed the top of his son's head. Matty was smiling at him.

Lee stood up and a wave of dizziness hit him. Amanda came over and steadied him. She started petting his hair and felt his forehead, "You are burning up. Okay, hospital now. My car is still at the park. I'm going to go get it and pick you two up in the driveway. I am going to be so angry with you if you came back to life just to die on me again."

They waited in the driveway for Amanda to pull up the car. Matty just attached himself to Lee again but his son was gentler this time. Lee felt like crap but he felt happier than he had in years. He was with his wife and son. He hoped he was not going to wake up and all of this was a dream. He did want to know what happened to his son's arm. "What happened to your arm?"

Matty ignored his question and tapped back "How are you here? I thought you were dead."

He smiled at him. "Takes more than a couple of bullets to take me out, kid. I can't believe your mom is alive. I hope that part is not just a fever dream and I'm still on the plane."

Then Matty tapped, "You feel pretty real to me dad. You aren't dreaming. Mom is amazing. She is even better than I imagined her."

Lee kissed the top of his son's head. "Yeah, she really is. Isn't she?"
Then she pulled up the Wagoneer into the driveway. His dad and him got in the back seat.

Matty tapped on his dad, "Can you tell mom I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell her you were still alive and then died again. I didn't want to make her sad"

Lee tapped back to him, "Your mom understands kiddo. You don't have to apologize to her for that."

Amanda interjected from the driver's seat. "What is he apologizing for?"

Lee sighed. "He's apologizing for not telling you who I really was. That he did not know how."

She smiled. "Well, your right I understand. He does not need to apologize for that. I don't know how he could have. With his broken arm and fingers."

Lee spoke "What happened to him? Why is his arm broken?"

Matty looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, Dad. I screwed up. I let the bad men take me again."

Lee felt fear. Had they taken him and the agency rescued him? "Karbala got you again? Nothing is your fault, whatever happened. I'm very proud of you for being so brave and making it to your mother."

Amanda spoke. "No, it was not Karbala this time Lee. It was the Agency. Billy's been getting death threats. There was an Agency guard around Billy's home when Matty went to see him. Matty tried to run away from them. That's how he got hurt."

His dad looked mad "Damn it! I should have sent him to Francine. I didn't because she moves almost as often as I used to. And Billy's lived in the same house for almost 30 years. Who broke his arm? So, I can return the favor."

Amanda spoke. "Look Lee it was a misunderstanding. Matty fought hard and well he is so small that when he was trying to get away. He got tackled. Then Henderson interrogated him. It was all a big mess but he's home now. We are working through it."

Lee was going to kill Henderson. Nobody hurts his son. "That asshole Henderson is still at the agency? And they are letting him near kids? They let him near my kid?"

Amanda sighed. "Lee it's all worked out now for the most part. And we are about to pull into the hospital. I will tell you everything later. Let's just get you checked into the Emergency Room first"

They pulled into the Gallilee Emergency Room parking lot.

Notes:

Next chapter: Amanda's perspective of finding Lee in the basement and going to the hospital.

Couldn't decide whether to do Lee or Amanda's perspective for this chapter so you get both.