Disclaimer: This story is based on characters copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. It is meant for enjoyment purposes only, I retain the right to the plot and not the characters. All characters in this story are fictional. Please do not distribute without the consent of the above author.
 
 

There was a loud pounding on his door. It took him a few seconds before he realized it wasn’t a dream. He looked over at Amanda who was still asleep next to him, then glanced briefly at his alarm clock; it wasn’t even six a.m. yet. Mumbling a few choice swear words he got up, grabbed his robe and headed towards his front door.

Looking through his peephole he was surprised to see Billy looking impatient on the other side of the door. He quickly unlocked the door and let him in.

"Billy, do you have any idea what time it is? Not to mention, I am NOT on the active duty roster this weekend," Lee complained, yawning.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do know what time it is. You’re lucky I didn’t wake you up sooner. Is Amanda here?" he asked in a forthright manner

Lee looked at Billy with surprise. They had been married for several months, but Billy wasn’t aware of their marriage. At least Lee didn’t think he was. Swallowing hard, Lee stammered. "Wh, what would Amanda be doing here at this hour?"

Billy sighed heavily. "Lee, if she’s not here, then we better call her. I need to talk to the both of you - now."

Lee still didn’t want to admit to his boss that Amanda was asleep in his bedroom. "Billy, I’d rather not wake her up at this hour, what exactly is going on?"

Billy nodded. He had a feeling when he had gotten this information at four this morning, that Lee wouldn’t come right out and admit to it unless he had to. Billy pulled out an article from his suit jacket. Looking at it one more time he shook his head and handed it to Lee.

"We got a tip from a reliable source this morning. I’ve called the newspaper myself, it’s been confirmed. Legal is currently working on an injunction, but without that, this article is to be featured in Monday’s Post," Billy explained with an uncomfortable grimace.

Lee was still trying to chase the cobwebs from his head. He blinked a couple of times before he could focus on the words. He read them slowly, at first not believing what he saw in front of him. But from the look on Billy’s face and noting the hour of the day, this wasn’t a joke. In front of him was an article on the sad state of espionage in the United States. The article tackled quite a few blunders that had occurred recently, not just attacking The Agency, but the FBI, CIA and NSA. The story centered on the use of civilians, and even went as far as to name some civilians and even chronicled his recent marriage to Amanda.

Lee was visibly stunned. He took a few wobbly steps back and plopped down heavily on his sofa. His mind was racing. He knew the press well enough that stopping this article from being published was a long shot at best. He looked over at Billy who had sat down on a chair nearby. He was somewhat relieved that Billy wasn’t angry with him for hiding his marriage to Amanda, the look on Billy’s face was one of concern.

"We both know that to name you and Amanda in the paper like this would be a major hindrance for you both to continue doing your jobs. Every spy in town will read this. You can kiss your anonymity goodbye," Billy replied shaking his head.

Lee nodded his head in agreement. It could be a disastrous to his career. He looked over his shoulder towards his bedroom door, then reluctantly stood up.

"I’ll get Amanda up," Lee answered hesitantly, and headed back into his bedroom and closed the door.

"Amanda," he whispered softly.

She stirred slightly.

"Amanda," he repeated, as he sat down on the edge of the bed. His hand gently touching her shoulder.

She opened her eyes, then smiled up at him. "What are you doing up so early? I thought we were going to sleep in this morning," she complained daintily.

"We’ve got company," he answered nervously. "Billy’s here. He needs to talk to us."

"You told him I was here? At this hour?" she asked, her eyes now wide open with surprise.

"I didn’t have to, he knew you were here."

"Lee, what’s going on?" she asked with concern. Billy shouldn’t know she was here, it could only mean one thing…

"It will all make sense in a few minutes," he replied in a comforting tone, trying not to get her upset.

"I’ll be out in a few minutes, let me get dressed at least."

Lee nodded; it wasn’t a bad idea at all. Talking with your boss in your bathrobe left a lot to be desired. Lee grabbed a pair of jeans and threw on a shirt. He peeked into his bathroom where Amanda was washing up.

"You know you look beautiful when you first get up in the morning," Lee whispered as he stood behind her and kissed the nape of her neck.

"I take it from your tone, that it’s not good news," Amanda queried.

He evaded her question. "Let me go start some coffee."

He went back into his living room. "She’ll be right out, how about some coffee?

Billy nodded. "I could certainly use another cup."

Lee got the coffee started and then looked back at Billy. "So no fatherly lecture? I thought you’d be upset when you found out."

Billy smiled. "Upset that you and Amanda got married?" he shook his head. "A little hurt that I wasn’t invited to the wedding, or that you didn’t feel you could confide in me. But I think I understand your reasoning. Her family doesn’t know either, do they?"

"No. They know we’re dating and the boys are getting more comfortable with me, but they don’t know we’re married. When Chi’s son was kidnapped, Amanda and I had second thoughts about…" Lee paused then continued. "But, Billy, despite all the things that could go wrong, I, I love her, so..."

"Believe me, I understand," Billy smiled as he got up and headed for Lee’s kitchen. "I’ve known that for a while."

"Matchmaker," Lee teased. "If Dotty and the boys read about this in the paper, before we have a chance to explain…"

"It’s going to be a mess."

"What’s going to be a mess?" Amanda asked as she entered the room, now fully dressed.

"Good morning, Amanda," Billy greeted her.

"Good morning, sir," Amanda replied. "So what about this mess?"

Lee sighed; Amanda never was one to hesitate. Always plunging forward.

"Coffee?" Lee offered a mug to Billy and Amanda.

"Thanks," Billy and Amanda replied.

"So what’s going on?" Amanda asked again.

Lee took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. Billy followed at a distance.

"There’s going to be a feature in Monday’s paper about some of the more recent setbacks that the intelligence community has suffered. They’re centering the article on how often we are using civilians the last few years," Lee began to explain.

Amanda listened intently, but didn’t exactly understand the gravity of the situation yet; she hadn’t been considered a civilian for almost a year now. "But all the agencies have been using civilians for years now, for couriers, typing. It’s cheaper, it makes good sense considering they keep cutting the budget."

"Yes, but that’s not what the article is focusing on," Lee explained.

"So what exactly is the article focusing on?" she demanded, knowing Billy didn’t wake them up at the crack of dawn to read another reporters negative views on counterespionage.

"Not only have they’ve named names, they’ve chronicled our marriage as a prime example of how ‘out of control’ things have gotten – a divorced housewife with two kids turned spy."

"What?"

Lee handed her the article that Billy had brought over. She quickly started to read it. Her hand started shaking, she looked up at Lee, shaking her head.

"Can’t we stop them?"

"Legal is working on it, but no guarantees," Billy answered quickly.

"So what can we do?" Amanda asked anxiously.

"Nothing, it’s out of our hands," Lee replied in disgust.

"They can ruin our lives with this article. We can’t work in this town once they plaster our names all over the newspaper; we might as well rent a billboard. What are we going to tell mother and the boys? She reads the Post. Billy, this isn’t the way I wanted everyone to find out that Lee and I were married."

"I know, Amanda," Billy sympathized. "Like I said, Legal is working on an injunction. There’s not a whole lot that we can do."

"There has got to be something we can do. We could talk to whoever wrote this thing, Walter Freidman, or the editor. Surely, they would understand."

"Amanda, they’re not going to listen to reason, the press is just looking for headlines," Lee reminded her.

"Lee, it’s the best chance we have," Amanda pleaded.

"Amanda, Lee is right. I suggest you might want to tell your family before they read about it in the paper," Billy concurred.

"Oh, sure, Joe’s got the boys down at Kings Dominion this weekend. I’ll just hop in the car, drag them out of the line for the roller coaster and tell them that their mother is a spy and she’s been married for the last four months!" Amanda retorted, her voice getting louder and louder.

"If he’s out of town with the boys it will give you a little more time before you have to break the news to them," Billy suggested wistfully.

Lee was shaking his head. "Come on, Billy, Joe’s a lawyer, he’s going to read the damn paper, if not in the morning, later in the day."

"Let Legal handle it," Billy reiterated as he stood up. "I’ll keep you both informed with any news. But I wouldn’t count on it being good news. We don’t have much time."

"Thanks for coming over, Billy," Lee said as he walked him to the door.

"I guess a belated congratulations is in order – I’m very happy for you both," Billy said as he reached the door.

Amanda and Lee both smiled, "Thank you, sir." Amanda answered; Billy nodded and walked out the door.

End Part 1

* * * *

Part 2

Lee knew Amanda couldn’t sit on her hands and wait anymore than he could. They had to try to convince Walter Freidman not to publish the story. A couple of hours later, they were knocking at the door to his apartment. A sleepy Walter Freidman came to the door.

"Mr. Freidman?" Amanda asked pleasantly.

"Yes," he answered.

"I’m Amanda Stetson, we’ve never met, but I think you know me."

Walter looked at her quizzically. The name was familiar, but he was tired, he couldn’t place her name. "Look, I’m really sorry, but I’m not interested in buying anything. Now if you don’t mind, it’s early and I want to go back to bed."

"We’re not selling anything, and we do mind," Lee said as the reporter tried to close the door on them. Lee stuck his foot in and blocked it. He reached into his jacket and got out his government ID. He opened it up and showed it to Walter. "Does the name ring any bells now?"

Walter smiled. "Yeah, Stetson, you’re the hotshot agent who married the housewife. I’m impressed, that article hasn’t even gone to press yet. Maybe I’ll finally get the recognition I deserve?" he answered smartly.

"The article as it stand now, should never get printed and you know it. Do you have any idea how many lives you can ruin with that article? You’ve named at least half a dozen civilians, not to mention a few agents, do you really want to get them killed?" Lee growled angrily at him.

Walter tried to close the door again, but Lee pushed the door open and he and Amanda barged in.

"You’re not going to change my mind; the public deserves to know the truth. I stand behind that article; it’s accurate," Walter said.

"Yes, of course it’s accurate. Most of the agencies you mentioned have been using civilian help for years now to cope with inadequate budgets," Amanda reminded him.

"So maybe it’ll help get their budgets increased. But we shouldn’t have civilians running around with top secret materials," Walter snapped.

"Did you ever think of how many people you can hurt with that article? You quite nicely chronicled my marriage to Mr. Stetson for all the world to see. The only problem is that until this morning, nobody knew we were married. We kept it a secret to protect my two sons from the potential threats out there. Exposure could get them kidnapped…or even killed!"

"Lady, you should have thought about that before you got mixed up in that business and Mr. Hotshot here."

"You, son of a b…" Lee yelled as he was about to throw a punch.

"Lee!" Amanda interrupted sharply. Lee looked at her; took a deep breath and tried to regain his dwindling composure.

"Temper, temper!" Walter chuckled, amused by the whole matter.

"Lee Stetson is one of the best agents the Agency has. If you publish that article, it could ruin his career or at the very least he’ll end up behind a desk somewhere. That alone could endanger national security. Is that article really worth that much to you?" Amanda pleaded.

"Mrs. Stetson, this article could be Pulitzer Prize material," he answered smugly. "It’s a shot at the big league, no more contributing reporter line. This could be worth a byline in one of the nations’ most prestigious newspapers."

"Mr. Freidman, I’m begging you, please pull the article; you don’t know the potential damage you could cause to the intelligence community, the other civilians you have named, not to mention my family."

"I’m sorry, lady. But it’s about time the intelligence community stopped using innocent civilians. Let the professionals do their jobs, go back home with your kids and your station wagon," the young reporter laughed.

Amanda stood there with her mouth wide open. She couldn’t believe someone could be so short sighted.

"Come on, Amanda, you’re wasting your breath. Let’s hope this kid can sleep nights next time there is a national security threat. Good day, Mr. Freidman, I hope you can live with your decision. Pulitzer Prize material? You better go back to sleep because it would only happen in your dreams," Lee scoffed at the young reporter. He reached out for Amanda’s hand, turned and left.

* * * * *

"You OK?" Lee asked as he started the car.

"Yeah, I’m fine," Amanda answered a little too quickly.

"Amanda, he’s a brash young kid."

"Lee, he just about told me that I should be home, barefoot and pregnant. Each civilian out there has gone through very stringent background checks. Does he mention that? Of course not!" she answered for him and continued on without letting him interject. "It’s taken me four years to get where I am today; I’ve worked really hard getting here, and I’m good at what I do. But that doesn’t matter to him, does it? There’s no way to stop him, he’s going to ruin everything…"

"The day isn’t over yet," Lee reminded her.

"Legal?" she said with a huff. "You and I both know that’s a long shot at best. They might get the story shelved for a few days, but he’ll print it, or leak to someone else who will. We’re going to have to tell mother and the boys."

"We’ll go see the editor. Maybe we’ll have better luck with his conscience. That kid’s just looking for an easy ride to the top," Lee suggested as he put a comforting hand on hers.

She smiled over at him.

"It’s going to be all right," he said, hoping it sounded more confident than he felt.

* * * *

They waited in the editor’s cluttered office. It was a few minutes later when an older, balding man appeared at the door, his bifocals on the edge of his nose, looking quite surprised to find someone in his office.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"Hopefully yes, Mr. Johnson?" Amanda asked.

He nodded and she eagerly continued on.

"My name is Amanda King, this is Lee Stetson. We came to talk to you about an article that you’re planning to print in Monday’s paper."

"Which one might that be?" he asked unknowingly.

"The one called ‘Civilian Workforce’, by Walter Freidman," Lee added quickly, hoping that this conversation would go better than the one earlier in the morning.

"Ah, Stetson and King! I knew the name rang a bell, you’re the agent who married the housewife, aren’t you?" he asked looking at Lee and pointing over to Amanda.

"Yeah, now what’s it going to take to squash that story?" Lee asked impatiently.

"Squash it? That’s not going to happen. I like a story that gets my readers interested, and this one hasn’t even been published yet," the editor smiled brightly.

"Sir, I don’t think you realize how damaging that story can be if it’s printed. Innocent people could get killed. It would have a devastating affect on Mr. Stetson’s career, it will upset my family terribly, not to mention national security could be in serious jeopardy," Amanda appealed to him.

"Mrs. King, I think you’re being a little melodramatic. It’s a good story; it has merit. The government is allowing untrained professionals access to classified materials, permitting them to run around DC as couriers. National security could very well be at stake if that article ISN’T published!" the editor replied bluntly.

"Mr. Johnson, this story could hurt a lot of people. You’ve named civilians in that article, these are not just nameless faces, they’re good people trying to do what they can for their country," Amanda begged. She looked up at his face, it was unyielding. "Mr. Johnson, my family isn’t even aware that I’m married to Mr. Stetson, we’ve kept it from them to keep them out of harms way – at the very least this could be detrimental to the relationship between my sons and my husband at worst it could get them all killed."

"Mrs. King, I mean Stetson, I sympathize with your current predicament."

"So you’ll pull the article?" Amanda gasped in delight.

He shook his head. "I’m sorry, but that article will be in Monday’s paper. Look on the bright side, at least you’ve been forewarned. Now if you’ll be kind enough to leave, I do have a lot of work to do."

Lee shook his head, reached for Amanda’s elbow and escorted her out of the editor’s office. He hadn’t expected this meeting to end any differently, but he knew they had to try. He was worried, not only about the affect it would have on his career, Amanda was right, it could be devastating. But he was extremely concerned about the boys and the relationship they had forged. Things had finally started to go smoothly with Jamie, but this could definitely cause some major repercussions.

* * * * *

They got back to his apartment; Amanda hadn’t said a word since they left the editor’s office. Lee didn’t know what to say; he understood her concern, this certainly wasn’t the way he wanted her family to find out about their marriage.

"How about something to eat?" Lee suggested, hoping to break the strain.

"How can you think of eating at a time like this?" she answered back. She started pacing nervously in Lee’s living room.

"Amanda, we didn’t have breakfast, you’re the one who’s always telling me how important breakfast is. Not eating isn’t going to change anything. It’s only going to make things worse," Lee lectured.

She nodded. She knew he was right, but that didn’t change the sinking feeling she was getting. Her stomach was tied up in knots. What was she going to tell the boys and her mother? The truth of course, but after four years of keeping the truth from them, this certainly wasn’t going to be easy. She sat down on the sofa, her head falling down into her hands.

Lee watched the scene from the kitchen. A hopeless feeling was overwhelming him as well. But watching Amanda was hurting him more than anything was. He quickly walked over and sat down next to her. Pulling her close to him, his lips kissing her forehead. He wanted so much to be able to make all this go away, but despite everything, it wasn’t within his grasp.

"I’m really sorry about all this," Lee faltered.

"Lee, this isn’t your fault, it’s nobody’s fault. That kid reporter’s just trying to make a living. He just isn’t old enough to realize how many lives he can hurt with that article," Amanda replied softly.

"So what do you want to do first? Tell your mother or the boys?" Lee asked, knowing they couldn’t put off the inevitable much longer.

"How about neither? Mother went to Atlantic City with Captain Curt. She’ll be back tonight. The boys are with Joe at King’s Dominion for the weekend," she explained. She wasn’t ready to tell any of them, not like this.

"King’s Dominion is less than two hours from here," he reminded her.

"I know," she responded dejectedly.

"We eat a light lunch, then drive on down to see the boys – we can wait for them at their hotel. You know where they’re staying?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Joe always leaves me detailed plans of where he’ll be and when. They’re staying at a Holiday Inn nearby."

"OK, then that settles it. We’ll tell the boys today, your mother tonight or in the morning and it will be done and over with before the newspaper comes out Monday morning." Lee stated authoritatively.

She smiled wanly at his decisiveness, took a deep breath and nodded her assent.

"It won’t be so bad," Lee encouraged. "Once they hear the whole story, they’ll understand."

"I hope you’re right," Amanda murmured, unconvinced.

End Part 2

* * * *

Part 3

After lunch they started the drive down I-95 to Kings Dominion. It was a pleasant early summer day, warm and sunny with white puffy clouds dotting the deep blue sky. Despite the calm weather, Lee thought about the upcoming conversation and couldn’t help but think things would end up stormy at best. He attempted to engage Amanda in small talk to take her mind off of things, but his lackluster effort failed and he turned on the radio instead.

They arrived at the hotel. Amanda sat in the car uneasily.

"I don’t see Joe’s car," she announced with some relief.

Lee looked down at his watch. "They’re probably still at the park, it’s still kind of early. Why don’t we wait for them at the bar?"

She looked away. "Just what are we going to tell them?"

"The truth," Lee answered simply.

"All of it?"

"Better hearing it from us than the Post."

"I know you’re right, I always thought they’d be older when we told them."

"Amanda, they’re not little boys anymore. When I first met you, Phillip was nine and Jamie was seven. They’ve grown up quite a bit. Granted, I would have preferred the boys were older, maybe in college before they found out we were agents, but I’m kind of relieved too. Let’s look on the bright side; after all this is out in the open, we can live together as husband and wife. Billy knows; it will be all over the Agency by Monday’s roll call. We don’t have to go sneaking around anymore."

"You’re right," she choked out. "I’m just scared."

"I know, but things will work out. It might take some time, but it will all work out," Lee answered reassuringly, putting his hand comforting on hers.

With that said, they got out of the car and went into the hotel, left a message with the front desk and waited for Joe and the boys.

*** ***

Joe and the boys finally walked into the lobby. As Amanda expected, Joe went to the front desk to check for messages. She and Lee waited in the bar and watched while Joe sent the boys up to the room. He sauntered into the bar prudently, not quite understanding the cryptic message from Amanda. He quickly saw Lee and Amanda, neither of them looked very happy; in fact they both looked quite worn out.

"Amanda, Lee, what’s wrong? Your mother?" he asked immediately.

Amanda swallowed hard. "No, nothing like that. I wanted to talk to you before we talked to the boys."

"What’s this all about? Another problem with the Agency?" he questioned nervously, remembering the Stemwinder incident all too clearly.

"Sort of," Amanda admitted disconsolately.

"You two aren’t on the run again?" he asked in a somber tone, looking around the room apprehensively.

"No, it’s nothing like that." Lee motioned for him to have a seat and waited for him to join them at the table. The momentary silence was deafening. "Would you like a drink?" Lee asked.

Joe shook his head no and Lee finally began.

"There’s going to be an article in the paper on Monday about the intelligence community. Unfortunately, Amanda and I have been named in the story. After it’s printed it will be impossible to keep the truth from the boys and Dotty about what we really do for a living," Lee explained, while holding Amanda’s hand tightly in support.

"I see," Joe nodded.

"That’s not all of it, Joe," Amanda continued. "The newspaper went as far as to chronicle our relationship."

Joe shrugged, not understanding. "The boys know you and Lee are involved, I don’t think that should be such a problem. They’ll be a little shocked about your profession; I know I was when I came back from Africa."

Amanda looked over to Lee, then back to Joe and finally down at her drink on the table. "Joe, we haven’t been entirely honest with you about our relationship. We had planned to, but then you and Carrie got engaged, and one thing led to another…"

"Amanda," Joe interrupted. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"Lee and I have been married since February. The boys don’t know, the Agency didn’t even know until they got a look at the article. We’re not sure how well the boys are going to take to the fact that we’ve been hiding this from them for four months," Amanda sighed heavily.

"Oh, boy!" Joe replied sighing heavily as he leaned back on his chair and contemplated the situation. Finally he asked. "Do you want me to be there when you tell them?"

" If you wouldn’t mind, yes. We think they might need your support, I’m not sure how they’re going to react. They both like Lee, but this is a lot for them to handle."

"You can say that again," Joe agreed. "How about you give me a few minutes upstairs with the boys, then you two can come up. We’re in room 249," Joe suggested as he got up.

"We’ll see you in a few minutes," Amanda said clearing her throat.

* * * * *

Lee held Amanda’s hand tightly as they got off the elevator and walked the short distance down the corridor to room 249. Looking over at Amanda she nodded as Lee knocked on the door.

Joe opened it quickly; both boys were sitting on the edge of the bed, not quite sure what was going on.

"Hi, mom, Lee," both boys greeted as they entered the room, but both of their voices had an odd ring to it, they knew something was up. Joe had told them that they wanted to speak to them but wouldn’t say why. And from the look on their dad’s face there was definitely reason to be concerned.

Amanda went over and kissed both boys quickly. Looking at her sons as only a mother could, wondering when and how they had grown up so quickly. Lee was right they were no longer little boys. She kept telling herself that the boys would understand.

Lee pulled up a couple of chairs a few feet from where the boys were sitting. Amanda sat down in the one, he sat in the other.

Jamie finally asked. "What’s wrong?"

Lee started. "Your mom and I need to talk to you about some things. We’re sorry to intrude on your weekend with your dad, but it just couldn’t wait."

The boys looked at them both with curious glances, their eyes wide open but they were quiet like church mice.

"I’m not sure exactly where to start, it’s long and complicated and I don’t really want to go into all the details right now," Amanda rambled.

"MOM!" Phillip complained.

"OK, you both know Lee and I work for IFF. But IFF isn’t actually a film company. IFF is a cover for a government agency that has its roots in counterintelligence. Do you fellas understand what I’m saying?" Amanda queried.

"Mom, it sounds like your trying to tell us you’re spies?" Phillip gasped.

Lee nodded his head, reached over for Amanda’s hand and continued on with the explanation. "I met your mother by accident about four years ago. Since then she has helped me out quite a bit. Then last year, when we had that problem with the Agency, or as you know it, IFF, I realized how much I really cared about her," Lee explained, thinking back to the Stemwinder incident last year.

"You’ve known each other for how long?" Phillip interrupted with trepidation.

"We met back in 1983," Amanda concurred with what Lee had just told him. "We’ve kept our working together a secret because of the risks our jobs can potentially have. You two were both young and we were concerned about your safety. We still are," she sighed.

"Did something happen again? I mean why did you drive all the way down here to tell us this?" Phillip asked, Jamie’s silence continued.

Amanda looked away, biting her lip and closing her eyes. After she took a deep breath, she turned her attention back to her sons. "There’s going to be an article in the newspaper, which is detailing how civilians often help out the intelligence community. That’s how I got involved in all this in the first place, as a civilian: doing typing for Lee, courier assignments. The article named several people by name, most of them civilians, but they’ve also named Lee and me. So we wanted you to hear it from us – first."

"My mom’s a spy! I don’t believe it?" Phillip repeated with a shocked look on his face.

"She’s very good at what she does too. I can’t imagine my life without her," Lee started, knowing they had to finish what they came to tell the boys. "Which brings us to one other fact that we’d like to share with you."

"There’s more?" Phillip asked eagerly, sitting on the edge of the bed with anticipation.

Lee smiled at his interest. "I love your mother very much, I think both of you boys know that. In fact I asked her to marry me quite some time ago. But because of our jobs, and our concern for your safety, we never said anything to you. But your mother did me the honor of marrying me in February."

"You’re married?" Jamie broke his silence with an angry roar.

Amanda and Lee were both startled by his outburst.

"Yes, sweetheart." Amanda replied, reaching out for her younger son.

He pulled away. Just staring at them both with pained eyes. Phillip looked shocked as well, but was certainly taking the whole matter a little better than his younger brother.

"But you don’t live together," Phillip commented.

"Is that all you can say?" Jamie balked at his brother. "They’ve been lying to us for years now and that’s all you have to say? We’re not babies. I don’t believe you two," Jamie yelled. Then looking at Lee he said with disgust. "I thought you were my friend, but friends don’t lie to each other. I trusted you…" Jamie yelled as he ran for the door, pushing Joe out of the way.

"Jamie, wait!" Amanda yelled as she started after him.

Joe shook his head, no. "Amanda, give him some time, he needs time to comprehend all this. He’ll come around."

The room was filled with an uneasy air. Nobody knew quite what to say.

"You really should have told us sooner," Phillip concurred in a quiet voice. "We’d would never do anything to hurt you or Lee, mom."

"I’m sorry, Phillip, we never meant to hurt either of you, it’s just to me, you two will always be my little boys. You’re both growing up so fast. We were trying to protect you from things that could happen," Amanda answered with tears in her eyes.

Phillip stood up. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?" he asked with hurt deeply meshed in his voice.

"No, that’s everything," Lee replied with a heavy sigh.

"I’m going to see if I can find Jamie. Is that OK with you, dad?" Phillip said looking at Joe, ignoring his mother and Lee.

Joe nodded his assent and Phillip headed out the door.

*** ***

Lee dropped Amanda back at the house to wait for her mother to come home. Lee argued that they should tell her together, but after the debacle with the boys, Amanda thought it would be better to tell her mother alone. As each car drove down the street, Amanda raced to the front window, peering out to see if it was her mother. The waiting was taking its toll on her already frazzled nerves. She tried scenario after scenario on how she was going to tell her mother the truth about her and Lee. But each one seemed more unbelievable than the next. Finally the door opened and Dotty walked in.

"Amanda? I didn’t expect to see you home this early," Dotty said in surprise. "I thought you’d be out with Lee tonight."

"I, um, we spent the day together. I wanted to talk to you, so I, um came home early," Amanda answered nervously. Her stomach doing somersaults.

"Talk to me? Amanda, is everything all right? You’re looking kind of pale."

Amanda smiled faintly. "Mother, can you please sit down with me. I really need to talk to you."

Dotty nodded and sat down on the sofa next to her daughter. "Did you and Lee have a fight?" she asked with concern.

"No, mother. But this is about Lee."

Dotty’s eyes lit up. She smiled brightly. "Did he…"

Amanda interrupted, knowing where her mother was going with this conversation. "Mother, please, not another word! This is really hard as it is, and I don’t know where to start, and I know this is going to come out all wrong. Promise me you won’t interrupt."

"I promise, Amanda, but it can’t be that bad. Just start from the beginning," Dotty suggested.

"That’s part of the problem mother, the beginning was over four years ago," Amanda replied as she fidgeted with her hands nervously. "That’s when I first met Lee. I ran into him one day at the train station, after I dropped off Dean."

"Amanda…"

"Mother, you promised."

Dotty nodded silently.

"You were suspicious even back then, all those crazy lies I told you. I’m really sorry, but I had to, to protect you and the boys." Amanda got up and started to pace the room. She could see her mother’s bewildered look on her face.

"Mother, Lee works for the government, not as a film producer, but as a counterintelligence agent."

"He’s a spy? And you just found out?" Dotty gasped.

"Yes and no. I’ve known from the beginning, or shortly thereafter that he was a spy. I’ve worked with him for the last four years, first as a part time civilian, and now as his full fledged partner."

"Amanda, have you been drinking today?" Dotty asked, not at all believing the wild tale about her daughter.

"Mother, I’m not drunk, and you promised to hear me out."

"You’re not done yet!" she gasped.

"Mother! You’re not making this any easier on me."

"Amanda, you just told me that your boyfriend is a spy and that you are too. And you expect me to be quiet?" Dotty argued impatiently.

"Mother, Lee isn’t just my boyfriend, we were married in February, just before we went out to California." Amanda blurted it out quickly.

"YOU TWO ARE MARRIED?" Dotty yelled furiously, as she got up off the sofa, turning towards Amanda.

"Yes, mother," Amanda answered in barely a whisper as she shuffled her feet nervously on the floor, not looking at her mother.

"I’ve been asking, hinting, suggesting that you two should get engaged. But all this time you were already married?" Dotty retorted in a huff.

Amanda nodded uncomfortably. Then looking at her irate mother whispered in a barely audible tone. "I thought you’d be happy for us."

"Happy? If you had told me after you decided to elope, I would have been thrilled. What I don’t understand is that my daughter - my only child - doesn’t trust me enough to confide in me when she’s going to get married. You’ve hid this from me for FOUR MONTHS?"

"Mother, it was safer that way," Amanda tried to explain.

"Safer? You’re not making any sense? What does getting married to Lee have to do with being safe? Spies are allowed to marry, he’s not the Pope!" Dotty continued on her tirade.

"Mother, you don’t understand…"

"You’re right, I don’t understand!" Dotty shouted.

"Mother, the newspaper is doing a feature article on civilians in the workforce. They’re naming names: mine, Lee’s and a few other unlucky people. It’s all going to be in Monday’s paper."

"So you’re only telling me this now to warn me that I’m going to read it in the paper?"

"Well, yes – no!" Amanda cried out in frustration as she sat down heavily on the chair. "Mother, Lee and I have wanted to tell you for some time now, but…"

"But you didn’t trust me? That’s it isn’t it? You think I’m a blabbermouth," Dotty answered for her, hurt written all over her face.

"NO, mother. It’s just we thought it would be safer if you didn’t know the particulars about Lee's and my secret life. If anyone ever questioned you, you could honestly answer you knew nothing," Amanda answered with veracity, tears filling her eyes knowing how betrayed her mother felt.

"I could understand you not telling the boys," Dotty said with anger. "But not telling your own mother…" Dotty shook her head and stormed up the stairs.

"Mother, please!" Amanda cried in despair.

"Go cry on your husband’s shoulders, Amanda. I can’t be trusted," Dotty yelled down the stairs just before her door slammed loudly.

Amanda winced. This day just kept getting worse and worse. She expected her mother to be shocked, but never this upset with her.

"Mother…" she called again, as she walked to the base of the stairs. But Dotty didn’t answer her. In fact she heard her mother crank up the volume to her TV set so she wouldn’t have to answer Amanda at all.

End Part 3

*** ***

Part 4

When Amanda walked in the door of Lee’s apartment he knew things hadn’t gone well. She looked like hell – she was tired and pale and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"I take it that your mother didn’t take the news any better than the boys?"

"I knew she’d be upset. She has every right to be. I’ve lied to her about my job for four years, and lied to her about our relationship for months. She’s never going to forgive me for all this," Amanda cried as Lee pulled her into his arms.

"It’s going to blow over, it’s just going to take some time. That’s all. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy; but it’s still better than them finding out by reading it in the newspaper or one of the boys’ friends at school," Lee said in a comforting tone.

"What if they don’t forgive me? What if…"

Lee interrupted her. "I bet it blows over before the month's out. Amanda, the boys love you. They’re shocked and hurt, but they’ll get over it. As for your mother, she’ll come around; she likes me," he teased, trying to get her to smile.

"How could she not like you?" Amanda smiled, knowing he was doing his best to cheer her up

*** ***

Lee awoke again to the sound of knocking at his door. Amanda had finally fallen asleep, but it had been a long late night. He didn’t need to look at his alarm clock to know it was mid morning, the sun was peering through his bedroom curtains. He grabbed his robe and headed towards his front door. Again, it was Billy on the other side.

"Morning, Billy," Lee whispered, mindful to keep his voice down, not wanting to wake Amanda.

"Morning, Lee. Long night?" Billy asked, noticing the bags under his eyes.

"Yeah, we didn’t get to sleep until late," Lee advised. "I’m not sure who took the news worse, Dotty or Jamie. Yesterday was pretty rough for her."

"From the looks of things, it was pretty rough on you too," Billy noted.

"I’ve had better days with the KGB," Lee kidded half-heartedly. But the day had been equally difficult on him. "So what brings you here so early in the morning? Certainly not my coffee."

"I’d hardly call nine o’clock in the morning early. I came as soon as I got some news from Legal. I knew you’d want to know."

"So what’s the news?" Lee asked eagerly.

"It’s a mixed bag. The newspaper is still going to print the article in Monday’s paper. But they’ve been forced to change all your names."

Lee smiled brightly. "That’s good news! I’ll have to send Legal a bottle of champagne."

Billy shook his head. "You’ll need to send the bottle to the Vice President. Seems his god daughter works as a civilian courier for the CIA."

"You’re kidding me?" Lee asked with surprise.

"I’m on the level. So the names have all been changed – to protect the identities and families of all concerned."

"Well that’s certainly a relief, Billy," Lee grinned, widely. "Thanks, thanks for coming over and telling me. I’ll let Amanda know when she gets up."

Billy grinned back at Lee. He was quite pleased with the turn of events. "You know, there will still be a lot of people in the intelligence community who will figure out who’s who anyway. Not to mention, most people at the Agency will know…"

"Trust me, Billy, it’s more of a relief that it’s all finally out in the open."

"See you tomorrow," Billy said as he patted Lee on the back and headed out the door.
 

Amanda had heard voices and was in the process of getting dressed when Lee came back into the bedroom.

"You’re up," Lee commented.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"Billy just left," Lee advised.

"What now?" she asked with a frown, turning away from him as he entered the room. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Actually, some good news," Lee smiled with a look of relief on his face. He crossed the room and turned her to face him. "The newspaper has agreed to change the names of the people in the article. Seems that the Vice President’s god daughter happens to work as a civilian for the CIA."

"You mean we went through all that yesterday for nothing?" Amanda winced sharply.

"I wouldn’t call it for nothing," Lee answered as he pulled her into an embrace.

Amanda pushed him away. "Lee, my mother’s not talking to me, Phillip’s pretty upset and Jamie -- I don’t think Jamie will ever forgive us."

"Amanda, our secret life is out in the open, we can live together – no more sneaking around, no more telling lies to cover why you’re leaving the house at midnight."

"My mother and the boys are furious at us. You don’t really think you can move in now?" she yelled with a look of exasperation on her face.

"It will blow over, I tell you." Lee reached his arms around her to pull her to him again, but she backed away, she was overtired and her emotions quite raw. She wasn't thinking clearly.

"Yeah, right after the boys move in with Joe and mother finds an apartment. This whole thing might have cost me my family," she countered apprehensively.

"So I’ll lay low for a while until things calm down, then…"

"You don’t understand, they’re my family!" she reiterated sharply.

"I thought I was part of your family too," Lee reminded her, the hurt noticeable in his voice.

"You are, but in a different way," she answered, hurt and confused herself.

"In the shadows?" he asked shaking his head. "I don’t want to live like that anymore. I’d like to wake up next to my wife more often than every other weekend," Lee answered crossly, his patience wearing thin from the emotional roller coaster he too was riding.

"So this is my fault now?" Amanda yelled back, she too was letting her emotions get the best of her.

"No, of course not, you’re just being irrational." Lee answered, trying to calm down and again reaching out for her.

"I’m not being irrational, I’m being realistic," she said as she pulled away. "Just leave me alone," she yelled as she slammed the bedroom door and then the front door moments later.

"Damn!" Lee yelled as the second door slammed harshly.

** *** **

It was mid afternoon when there was a knock at the door. Lee quickly headed for the door, opening it without even looking through the peephole.

"Amanda!" he rushed as he opened the door, but his face fell quickly when Dotty appeared on the other side. "Dotty? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to Amanda; she never came home last night," Dotty explained, her eyebrows rising slightly. "So I assumed she was here."

"She was, she ran out of here hours ago, we had an argument," Lee explained with concern.

"Can I come in?" Dotty asked.

"Sure," Lee shrugged, stepping aside and motioning her to enter.

"I guess Amanda told you what happened at the house last night?" Dotty questioned.

"She told me that you didn’t take things well," Lee said a little bit annoyed and noticeably detached.

"I was hurt and angry. But after a good nights sleep I think I understand why she did what she did. I’m not saying that I think she was right for doing it – because I still don’t. But I do understand," Dotty confessed in a comforting tone.

"Dotty, at first she was told by me and my superior not to divulge her relationship with the Agency. Once she was offered a full time job, well, she was really in too deep to just come home and say, ‘by the way – I’m working with The Agency as a spy’. So if you’re mad at anyone it should be me for getting her mixed up in this business in the first place," Lee explained with frustration as he paced his living room.

Dotty smiled over at Lee. "I can’t be mad at you, she’s in love with you," Dotty shrugged. "I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to her. I’ve known for some time now that she was involved with somebody from work." Then Dotty glanced slyly at Lee and added. "A mother knows these things."

"Well since you and Amanda seem to have this intuition thing, maybe you could tell me where I can find her? She left here hours ago, I thought she'd come back on her own…" Lee asked nervously.

"Well, she’s not at the house, and she’s not here, but my guess is that you already have an idea where she is," Dotty hinted.

"She's at the Memorial!" Lee shouted, kissed Dotty on the cheek and ran out of his apartment without even so much as a goodbye to his mother-in-law.

Dotty shook her head. "So much for a long talk with my son-in-law," she laughed as she sat back on his couch and looked around the room trying to get more than a glimpse of who her son-in-law really was.

*** *** ***

Lee headed over to the Jefferson Memorial. With the throngs of summer visitors it was quite crowded. He finally stopped a park ranger.

"Excuse me, have you seen this woman?" Lee asked showing him a picture of Amanda.

The ranger looked at the picture and pointed up where the statue of Jefferson stood. "I think you'll find her up there. She been sitting up there for hours."

"Thanks, thank you very much," Lee answered excitedly as he took off at almost a run up the stairs. As he reached the top, he noticed her sitting on the marble bench, watching the planes take off and land at the airport across the way. He came and sat down beside her.

"It seems that I keep hurting the people closest to me. I said some things back at your apartment that I didn’t mean. I’m tired and on edge, but I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m sorry," Amanda confessed whole-heartedly.

"I’ll accept your apology if you’ll accept mine. I know how difficult this whole situation has been on you. We’ll take everything day by day with the boys."

Amanda nodded her agreement. "Mother too. It might be kind of rough going with her for a while. But in a couple of weeks…"

Lee interrupted her. "Amanda, your mother understands."

Amanda nodded in agreement. "She’ll come around."

"No, Amanda, you don’t understand. Your mother came to the apartment this afternoon. She wanted to talk to you. She said she understands – she doesn’t agree with you, I mean our decision to keep our marriage a secret, but she said after sleeping on it, she understood our decision."

"Mother came to your apartment?" Amanda asked with astonishment.

Lee nodded with a smile. "One for our side. With her help, I’m pretty sure we’ll have Phillip on our side in a few days."

"Jamie," Amanda croaked out, with a saddened face.

"He’s going to be the tough one. But we’ve known that from the start," Lee reminded her.

"That really could take some time. I’m just worried that he’ll try to shut us both out," Amanda whispered in dismay.

"Let’s take things one day at a time." Lee looked at his watch. "For starters, how about we go find your mother and I’ll take you both out to dinner?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Amanda kidded.

Lee brushed her face softly with his fingers. With a smile in his voice he replied. "Yes, I’m sure."

End Part 4

*** ***

Part 5

It was almost dark on Sunday night when Joe turned onto Maplewood Drive. Jamie saw Lee’s Corvette parked out front.

"Great! I suppose he moved in already too!" Jamie groaned theatrically.

"Jamie, enough!" Joe demanded with growing impatience. He had had enough of Jamie’s complaining since he had come back to the hotel room shortly after Amanda and Lee had left. He had given his son some slack but it wouldn’t help him to continue to brood over things that wouldn’t change.

Jamie looked at his father with surprise, not expecting him to be so stern suddenly.

"You knew didn’t you?" Jamie lashed out at his dad.

"That your mother was an agent? Yes. She and Lee helped get me out of hot water when I came back from Estoccia. If it wasn’t for the two of them, I could have very well been extradited to Estoccia to stand trial for a murder I didn’t commit."

"What do you mean, dad?" Phillip asked curiously.

"Think back a few years. Think about the day in the gym, at the middle school when I got back to town. That guy tried to grab the two of you to get to me. I had evidence that he was embezzling money that was meant to buy food for the starving people in Estoccia. There was a murder over there, which they tried to pin on me. I was in big trouble because I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Mom and Lee helped you out?" Jamie asked meekly.

"Yes, they did. You should be very proud of your mom and Lee. It was Lee in the gym that morning who subdued that vengeful man. If it wasn’t for them, things could have turned out differently – for you two as well as for me. Desperate people can do desperate things, including going after the people you love to get what they want. Do you understand?" Joe asked looking briefly at Phillip and then determinedly at Jamie.

Phillip nodded. "That’s why mom and Lee didn’t tell us they were spies and why they got married secretly. To keep us from being ‘used’."

"Exactly," Joe smiled, impressed by his older son’s understanding. "Jamie, I know you feel betrayed by your mom and Lee. But they did what they did out of their love for you – nothing more, nothing less."

"I guess," Jamie whispered with emotion.

"Just give Lee a fair chance, OK. And go easy on your mom," Joe suggested.

"Dad’s right, Jamie. Mom and Lee had their reasons I’m sure. We probably don’t know the half of what they do on a daily basis," Phillip said, feeling very proud of his mom.

"OK," Jamie answered quietly.

"Great. Now come on, I’m sure your mom has seen the car by now. She’s probably beside herself with worry," Joe said as he got up and out of the car. The boys grabbed their bags and headed up the walk behind their dad.

* * * * * *

Amanda saw the car pull up outside and nervously waited for the boys to come in.

"What’s going on out there?" Amanda asked out loud as she paced in front of the window. "What if they ask to live with Joe? What would he say?" she continued her barrage of questions, not directed at Lee specifically.

"Amanda, calm down. We’ll know in a few minutes. I really think things will blow over with time. The boys love you and want to be with you," Lee tried to put her at ease. Part of him wished that Dotty hadn’t excused herself to go upstairs. Right now he could use an ally, or at least someone to help keep Amanda distracted.

Finally the door opened up and Joe walked in followed quickly by Phillip and Jamie.

"OK, guys. Upstairs and put your clothes where they belong, and make sure you hang your bathing suits in the bathroom," Joe ordered, they nodded and obeyed without question.

"Hi, fellas, Joe," Amanda and Lee both said as they watched the boys head upstairs.

Joe looked at an extremely anxious Amanda and an equally uptight Lee. "Relax, it’s going to be OK," Joe advised once the boys were upstairs.

"How are they – really?" Amanda asked, swallowing hard.

"Phillip’s taking this remarkably well. Jamie’s still on edge, but we had a talk in the car. He’s starting to see things more realistically. I told him about how you two helped me out when I got back from Estoccia. That’s got him thinking – I could tell by the look in his eyes."

"Joe, how can we thank you?" Lee asked.

Joe looked up the stairs then back down to Amanda and Lee. "Let’s call things even – huh? I think I’ve owed the two of you for quite some time."

Amanda hugged Joe. "Thanks, Joe."

The boys came back downstairs and shortly thereafter Joe headed home. For a few seconds things were silent and tense. Finally Lee spoke.

"Maybe I’m wrong, but when your mother found out I was a spy, she had a lot of questions for me. Now I’m not guaranteeing either of you that I can answer all your questions, but I’d like to try. Maybe clear the air a little," Lee said with sincerity.

They all talked for several hours. Sometimes Lee explained things, sometimes Amanda. They explained phrases like "need to know" and "national security" that meant there would be times they would have to keep things 'secret'. Phillip asked most of the questions but in the end, Jamie was asking questions as well. Lee and Amanda defined some ground rules to them. What they could and couldn’t do and say to friends or strangers. With this newfound understanding of their mother and stepfather the rift that had been driven between them only yesterday was already starting to heal.

Amanda finally looked at her watch not realizing how late it had gotten. "Boys, enough for tonight. You have a lifetime to ask questions. We have to go to work tomorrow and Lee needs to get home."

"Isn’t this his home too, mom?" Phillip asked pointedly.

Lee chuckled and looked at Amanda conspicuously.

"Well, yes it is," Amanda answered uncomfortably.

"I think what your mom’s trying to say is, with everything that just happened, we didn’t want to crowd you…"

"You love my mom, don’t you, Lee?" Phillip asked.

"Of course," he answered without hesitation.

"You want to live here don’t you?" Phillip continued.

"Well, yeah," Lee admitted, blushing slightly.

Phillip shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Jamie, who was enjoying Lee being on the hot seat. "Adults. And they say kids are hard to understand."

"Goodnight, mom, Lee," Phillip grinned as he headed towards the stairs.

Jamie dawdled in the family room with Lee. Watching as his brother headed upstairs. When he was finally alone in the room with them he asked.

"Mom, Lee, I think I understand why you kept all these secrets. But no more lies, agreed?" Jamie said, not as a question but a demand.

Amanda felt her heart being tugged on by her youngest son. With little control over her voice and tears in her eyes, she answered. "No more lies, I promise."

"We promise," Lee corrected.

Jamie extended his hand to Lee, who shook it to seal the promise with a gentleman’s agreement. Then he went over and hugged his mother and whispered something into her ear which made her smile. She whispered back to him and he nodded.

"I guess I’ll see you two in the morning then," Jamie said with a smile as he too headed up the stairs.

"I think Phillip’s got a future as an interrogator. He goes right for the jugular," Lee teased with obvious relief that the evening had gone quite well after all.

"Now don’t go saying things like that," Amanda answered sharply, shuddering at the thought of either boys following in their footsteps.

"So what did Jamie say to you?" Lee questioned.

"It was private," Amanda answered quietly.

"Hey, I thought no more secrets," Lee reminded him.

"Actually, we agreed to no more lies. I think there will always be some secrets; don't you agree?" Amanda asked looking over at Lee.

Lee smiled at her and nodded. He closed the distance between them and pulled her into a comfortable embrace. "Agreed. But seriously, I would like nothing more than to spend the night here, tonight and tomorrow night – you get the idea. But are they really ready for that?" he asked looking up the stairs.

"I’m very proud of my sons tonight. So often I think of them as little boys, but they’re not. They’re on the verge of becoming young men. I underestimate them; I think it’s time we become husband and wife full time. I think it’s time we enjoy some of the perks that come with marriage. You certainly handled the tough stuff this weekend like an old pro," Amanda complimented Lee.

"I was only following your example. You’re a great teacher," Lee replied.

"So are you," Amanda replied kissing him slightly on the cheek.

"So shall we?" Lee asked, holding his wife protectively against him and looking up the stairs.

"I couldn’t think of anything I would enjoy more," Amanda answered as they headed arm in arm up the stairs.

* * * * * * *

Francine sat in the bullpen at her desk with a copy of Monday’s Post. Holding her croissant in hand she was beginning to laugh at the article she was reading. Lee walked on by stopping briefly at her desk.

"What’s so funny?" he asked innocently.

"This is just too hilarious. There’s an article about the various government security agencies and their use of civilian employees," Francine began to explain.

"Yeah, so what’s so funny?" Lee asked.

"Well, seems like you’re not the only spy in town who solicited the assistance of a divorced housewife. In fact, this nut went so far as to marry the woman."

"You don’t say?" Lee answered, unable to hide his smile.

"You know if I didn’t know you any better, I swear this could be you and Amanda."

"Maybe it is," Lee suggested.

"Oh come on, Lee. You marry Amanda King? That’s incredible. She’s a housewife from Arlington."

"And where exactly did that article say this other housewife was from, Francine?" Lee asked with a knowing grin as he continued into the conference room.

Francine looked down at the article once again, then quickly up, but Lee was gone. She thought to herself, ‘It couldn’t be? No way. Lee Stetson married to a housewife in Arlington?’ She watched as Lee sat down in the conference room next to Amanda, his hand resting comfortably on her shoulder. They both smiled at each other in such a familiar way.

Francine sat back in her chair, then her eyes flew open - wide. "Scarecrow!" Francine exclaimed as she headed for the conference room….

The end

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