Epilogue
Leaning back, Lee propped his elbows on the weather-stained picnic table and watched his family. Who would have thought that the "great Scarecrow" would be spending a glorious spring Saturday morning with his family? Anyone who knew him three or four years ago would have laughed at such a preposterous idea. A smile crossed his face as he watched his wife and mother-in-law putting out the picnic lunch. He had attempted to help, but had been banished to the bench, "to keep an eye on everyone," as Amanda had put it when more of the food was finding its way into his mouth, than was actually being set onto the picnic tables.
His eyes moved from his wife’s perfect figure, to the basketball court where Phillip was playing with some friends from school. They were obviously trying to show off for Angie, the girl Amanda had told him Phillip had been hanging around with after school. Between the Lori’s and the Angie’s, who could keep things straight. One minute, Phillip was talking about going to the movies again, with Lori, and the next he was trying to arrange "study" dates with Angie. Lee shook his head and wondered how many times his friends had thought the same thing about him. Smiling, he watched Angie pretend to be in a deep conversation with a girlfriend, and only glance occasionally at the game. He laughed as he realized that no matter which generation you watched, the not-so-subtle games of all girls and boys to get another’s attention were all the same. Keeping his eyes on the court, he thought back to the morning they had filled Phillip in on the family secrets.
*************************
Lee entered "his" house carrying a large box of donuts and a small bag of croissants for the women in his life. As he walked through the front foyer, he felt a storm of butterflies flood his stomach as he looked at his family gathered together in the den. Opening his mouth to say something, he caught his wife’s eye. She put a finger to her lips and nodded her head towards the kitchen. Easing through the foyer with the stealth of a trained agent, he peered into the kitchen, not knowing exactly what to expect. The butterflies stopped their tirade in his stomach as he looked at the smiling face of his youngest "son" chatting on the phone.
Rising from the couch, Amanda crossed the den undetected by her partner. Reaching her husband before he had completely entered the room, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his left ear. "He’s talking to Caitlin. She called about five minutes ago."
Lee went from being surprised at the bright smile on the young boy’s face, to extremely happy as he heard Caitlin’s name mentioned. "She called him?" Amanda nodded in response. "Wow, I guess what I said to Tom last night must’ve really had an impact on him."
"I guess so." Amanda raised her head and placed a kiss on Lee’s lips. "I don’t think I’ve seen him that happy in a really long time." Taking the smaller bag from his hand, she placed her hand in his now empty one and led him towards the kitchen table. "Come on, I’m starved. Where’d you go for the donuts? Maryland?"
Lee just laughed. "No, but you wouldn’t believe the lines at the bakery on a Saturday."
Dotty and Phillip, seeing Lee and Amanda head for the table, followed suit.
Ten minutes later, Jamie was off the phone and asking if it would be okay for him to take Caitlin to the movies that night, "There’s only one catch," he mumbled.
Both Lee and Amanda looked at him questioningly. "What is it, Sweetheart?" Amanda asked, placing her hand gently on Jamie’s arm.
"Caitlin’s dad said that Lee has to go with us, so…" Jamie turned pleading eyes toward his stepfather, "Would you and Mom mind coming?"
Smiling mischievously at Jamie, and then at Amanda, Lee thought the idea over. "Well, as it turns out, I was thinking of taking my…" he stopped quickly and looked toward Phillip. "I think that can be arranged. Why don’t we have breakfast and talk more about it then? There’s something," he took Amanda’s hand in his, "that you Mother and I need to talk to you boys about, but let’s do it on full stomachs, okay?"
Jamie, knowing what the discussion was going to be about, nodded and grabbed a powdered donut.
Lee had been watching Dotty from the corner of his eye. She made herself a cup of tea and graciously thanked Lee for getting her a croissant, but that was all she had said. In fact, she had barely even looked at him since that comment. Lee knew he was going to be in for a really long wait for forgiveness. Somehow, he knew that Dotty, in some small way, blamed him for getting her daughter mixed up in a life of danger and whisking her off for a secret marriage. Hadn’t he blamed himself for the same things a million times over the last few years. Amanda had helped him get over those fears, and he knew that she would help him through this as well as help Dotty heal.
Once breakfast was over, Dotty excused herself, commenting that she had some errands to run. She said a quick "bye" to the boys, and then, headed out. She didn’t know that Jamie had already been told, nor that Amanda and Lee were about to tell Phillip the whole truth, but she knew some secrets were about to be revealed, and figured that the "family" needed some time alone.
After Dotty had gone, Phillip looked from his brother to his mom, and then to Lee. Somehow, he had a feeling that everyone else knew some big secret that he didn’t. "Mom, didn’t Lee say something about you guys needing to discuss something with us?"
Lee saw the confused look on his eldest stepson’s face. "Yeah, Sport. Your Mom and I do want to talk to you about a few things."
"Why don’t we head into the den," Amanda suggested, as she began to slide off the bench at the kitchen table. Grabbing Lee’s hand, she led them into the other room. She waited until both her boys were seated on the couch next to Lee, before taking a seat on the coffee table across from them. "Boys…Lee and I have some things to tell you, and we…"
Lee turned, so he was facing them. "What you mother is trying to say, is that we know you’ll probably be very disappointed in us, but we want you to know we had your best interests at heart." Lee addressed most of his comments to Phillip. Jamie already knew what was about to be revealed, but Lee felt his oldest stepson might take the news better if it was being told to both of them, rather than only one. No use starting an argument, about who knew what first, before Amanda and he had a chance to get the truth out on the table.
"Are you trying to tell us that you and Mom got engaged or something?" Phillip asked, looking first at his mom, then at Lee. "I mean," glancing once at Jamie, "if you got engaged and are worried that we’ll be mad because you didn’t talk to use first, heck," he smiled and faced Lee. "I can’t speak for Wormbrain here," he paused and pointed towards his brother, "but I think having you as our stepfather would be the best thing in the world."
For a brief moment, Lee was overcome with the knowledge that he really was loved and accepted. However, he had a feeling that Phillip’s compliment might be short lived. Once his oldest stepson found out the truth, and that he was the last one to know, he might decide to take it all back.
Jamie, on the other hand, had just rolled his eyes at his brother name calling. Had he not been privy to the real topic, he might have started a verbal battle with his brother, but he knew this conversation was too important.
Amanda saw the resolve in her youngest and decided to take over the conversation. "Phillip, Sweetheart, Lee becoming a part of the family is what this is about, but it’s not what you think. You see…Lee and I…last year, when we were in California…" Not quite able to get the words out, she looked towards Lee for help.
"Your Mom and I were on our honeymoon," Lee finished for her.
Phillip’s eyes traveled from his mom, to Lee, and then, settled on Jamie. The fact that his younger brother didn’t seem at all surprised by this news bothered him more than the fact that his mom and Lee had been secretly married for a year. "Jamie, did you know about this?"
Jamie nodded. "Lee kind of told me last night." Pushing his glasses up, he stared defiantly at his older brother. "Now, don’t go getting all mad. Remember, it was you who wanted to play ‘ladies’ man’ and go to the movies. If you hadn’t, you might have found out last night, too."
Phillip, who was about to protest, knew that Jamie was right, and rather than start an argument, just shrugged. "Whatever." Turning, he looked directly at his mom. "Why did you keep it a secret?" he asked, his voice sounding more hurt than angry. "I thought Lee was a great guy from the minute we met him. Why didn’t you tell us from the start that you were married? I would have been happy for you, Mom, knowing that you were marrying someone who so obviously makes you happy."
Amanda took Phillip’s hands in her own, and moved to sit between her two boys. "Lee and I had a very good reason for keeping the truth from you. Part of it had to do with the fact that you didn’t really know Lee very well."
"And I wanted to get to know you boys, and I wanted you to really get to know me, before I became a full-time part of this family," Lee explained. Standing, he began to pace the floor. After only one or two steps, he stopped and moved to sit on the portion of the coffee table Amanda had just vacated. "However, the real reason we hid the truth from you, and everyone else, was because of our jobs."
"You guys are film makers. Why would anyone knowing that you were married to each other be a problem? Is it because you’re Mom’s boss?" Phillip looked at Lee as he asked his question.
Lee laughed lightly. "I’m not really your Mom’s boss, Phillip. We’re partners, and I only have seniority over her at the office because I’ve been doing what we do for more years than she has."
"Phillip, Lee and I aren’t really film makers, either. You know how we told you that the company we work for, works with the government?" She watched as her oldest son nodded. Looking up at her husband for a brief reassurance, she, then, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she saw Lee smile, giving her the support she needed to continue, "Well, that’s not really the whole truth."
"We actually work for a place called the Agency, and we’re intelligence operatives," Lee finished.
"Intelligence operatives? I’ve heard that term used on TV, on Mission Impossible, I think" He paused and looked at the television set and it suddenly clicked. "You mean spies, like in the movies?" Phillip asked, his voice now holding a bit of enthusiasm. Turning, he looked at his mom. "You mean, you do stuff like Sabrina Duncan, you know from Charlie’s Angels? I know she was a detective and all, but they did a lot of undercover work." No longer thinking about the fact that his brother didn’t seem a bit fazed by this news, either, he was overcome with excitement. "Man, I can’t wait to tell my friends at school that my mom’s a spy."
Amanda rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. She was about to explain to both boys that it was extremely important that they keep this information to themselves, but her youngest son didn’t give her a chance.
"No, Dork Brain. Charlie’s Angels and Mission Impossible are just TV shows. If too many people know what Mom and Lee do, that could put us, as well as them, in a lot of danger. What Mom and Lee do is real, and it’s really dangerous," Jamie jumped in. Hearing himself say the word dangerous, however, made him realize just how easily he could lose his mom. That idea suddenly scared him. "Mom," his voice was quiet. "You’re careful, right?"
Lee sensing the sudden change in Jamie’s mood, put his hand on the boy’s knee and tried his best to calm his fears. "Your mom and I are always careful, and we’re partners. We watch out for each other. I won’t lie to you, our jobs can be very dangerous at times, but we do what we can to make sure that nothing bad happens to the other."
Amanda let go of her son’s hands, and wrapped an arm around each boy. "That’s right, fellas. Lee and I don’t want to lose each other, nor do we want to lose you. Right now, only you boys, your grandmother, and your father know the truth. Let’s not go bragging about our ‘cool’ jobs because what we do, isn’t ‘cool.’" She moved her hand up and tousled Phillip’s hair. "We’re trying to make the world a safer place for you boys to grow up in."
"That’s right. We love you two, and would never want anything bad to happen to either of you. That’s why we kept the marriage a secret." Lee looked from Jamie, to Phillip, before continuing. "In this business, you can make many enemies, and enemies like revenge. We did what we did to keep you boys from being used as bait to get to me, or your mom."
"We realized, recently, that being a family is the most important thing, and decided that it was time you boys knew the truth." Amanda pulled both boys to her. "We’re sorry…" A few tears came to her eyes. "So sorry that we hid the truth from you. Can you forgive us?"
Jamie leaned over and kissed his mom’s cheek. "I love you, Mom, and I know that what you did, you felt you had to do."
Phillip, listening to his brother, realized that even if he couldn’t share the news with his friends, he could still share the "coolness" of it all with his brother. "Yeah, Mom," he said, leaning over and kissing her other cheek. "It’ll be all right." Rising, he stood in front of Lee. "I guess I can forgive you for telling Jamie first, and not waiting to tell us together…on one condition."
Lee raised his eyebrow curiously. "What’s that, Phillip?" he asked.
"Promise me I won’t be the last to know if there are any more family secrets that need to be revealed."
Lee laughed, and then looked toward Jamie, and winked. "I promise to do my best."
Phillip laughed, too, and extended his hand to his stepfather. "In that case, welcome to the family, Lee." As Lee accepted the outstretched hand, Phillip asked, "So, Lee, when are you moving in?"
*************************
Smiling at the memory, he moved his gaze away from the court and over to another picnic table not far from where Amanda and Dotty were setting up lunch. Jamie and Caitlin sat there, busily looking over some book or another. Lee remembered the long talk he had had with Tom Walsh, the night they had returned Caitlin’s notebook.
He had explained to Tom that he, too, was a federal agent. Tom had been a bit worried about that fact, seeing as that was exactly what he did, and what had, in his opinion, resulted in his wife’s death. Lee, however, had done his best to convince Caitlin’s father that he understood the fears Tom might have. Lee had gone so far as to share some of his own fears about losing his family. That part had been the toughest; it had been hard enough sharing his feelings with Jamie, but it was even harder to share them with a total stranger. He’d kept telling himself that he was doing this for Jamie, and that made it a bit easier.
In the end, Tom had relented and agreed that his daughter would be quite safe in Lee’s company. Jamie couldn’t have been happier the night he and Amanda had "chaperoned" Caitlin and him at the movies; and now, Caitlin constantly joined in on many of the King/Stetson family weekend activities, such as today’s picnic.
When Jamie had first told him about Tom’s overprotective nature towards Caitlin, Lee had seen it as an opportunity to build a bond with his youngest stepson. He had never thought about Tom’s side of the situation. Thinking back on it now, Lee’s promise to Tom to keep a close eye on his daughter and not let anything happen to her, wasn’t far from the way he felt about Phillip and Jamie.
Being a part of a family had made him realize the importance of keeping loved ones safe. Heck, Amanda had taught him that, even before they were married. It’s what had made him more cautious in the field. He realized that the first time he had started worrying about himself being in danger was when he had started to realize his true feelings for Amanda. That had been shortly after Leslie, and he realized, then, that he wasn’t as eager to jump up and accept just any assignment. Truth was, he had wanted to take assignments that Amanda could join him on, not that he liked the idea of putting her in harm’s way.
It had been three months since they had come clean about their marriage. This picnic had actually been Dotty’s idea. It seemed that she had finally started to rejoin the family. Once Amanda had told Dotty the truth, Dotty had begun to go out more at night when Lee and/or Amanda were home, usually practicing her flying lessons with Captain Kurt, or meeting up with a friend or two. She had continued to do things with the boys, but she had been giving Lee and Amanda a bit of a cold shoulder. Lee usually got more of the brusque behavior than Amanda. He didn’t mind it, too much. He preferred to bear the brunt of Dotty’s resentment. He never would have been able to live with himself, if Dotty had taken out all of her hurt on Amanda.
Lee cringed as he remembered some of her comments when he’d call to say that they would be working late, "At least, now, I know you two are working, rather than in the editing room or doing who knows what." It wasn’t exactly what she said that made him feel guilty, but rather the way she said it. Her words seemed to have a bit of an edge to them; in fact, her tone was almost that of a mother admonishing a child. Amanda had explained to him that it was her way of telling him that she still loved and accepted him as a part of the family, but wasn’t quite ready to forgive him. That had made him feel somewhat better, but he still tended to walk on eggshells around her and went out of his way to do subtle, but nice things for his mother-in-law.
Both he and Amanda had made every effort to invite Dotty to join them when they went on family outings, even though they were pretty sure she would turn them down. They both felt that, one of these times, she would be ready to say, "yes." When one of them would ask if she was sure she couldn’t go with them, she would respond that, indeed, she was, and that she was simply giving them some time and space to become a family, and a true married couple.
They had accepted her excuses, but both Amanda and Lee understood that she was really giving herself time to heal. It was only recently, during the past week or so, that Dotty had started to become a more active part of the family again, and for once, things seemed to be falling back into place.
Knowing that telling the family had been their first priority, and once the boys had started after him to move in, they realized that they had to tell the Agency. After all, he had to legally change his address, at least with work, so that they could find him in an emergency, especially if it was a late night emergency. Wanting to get it over with, sooner, rather than later, they had arranged a meeting with Billy for the Monday morning following the family confessions.
Billy had been a little hurt, not quite as hurt as Dotty, but hurt just the same.
*************************
"Did I hear you correctly?" Billy Melrose asked as he looked from one agent to the other. "Did you say you’re married?"
Lee could only nod. "Yes, Sir." Amanda replied. "We’re sorry we kept it from you for so long…"
"Let me guess, this all happened back when you were taking your not-so-separate vacations to California, right?" their boss speculated as he gazed in Lee’s direction.
Rising, Lee moved to stand by the Bullpen window. Looking at his wife, he gathered strength from her reassuring smile. "Billy, we’re sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. We felt that it would better this way. We wanted to do what was best for Amanda’s family. After the whole Khai situation, we decided to keep everyone in the dark, for their protection."
Billy leaned back in his chair and sighed. He had always thought of Lee as something close to a son. He knew that putting him together with Amanda King was the best thing for Lee, but Billy had hoped that he would have been informed about such a big step in the man’s life. "You could have told me, you know."
Lee and Amanda could hear the hurt in his voice. "Sir, it took us a year to realize what a big mistake we’d made in not telling you or our family. I guess we figured if we told even you, you might be obliged to let Dr. Smyth and everyone know," Amanda replied in a voice full of emotion.
Billy saw the sorrow in her eyes. He stood from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk. Leaning against it, he gazed toward Lee. "Lee, don’t you realize I’ve been a big proponent of the two of you getting together. How many times have I put little hints out there? Heck, I even told you two during the Kalahari list fiasco that whatever your relationship was, it was fine with me."
"Billy, perhaps it was a big mistake leaving everyone in the dark, but it gave us the time…well, gave me time to really become a part of Amanda’s family. It’s been tough, but in the end, I think it’s made us realize that we really can endure anything."
"I really wish you would’ve told me, sooner," Billy mumbled, more to himself than to the two agents in the room. Standing, he walked over to Amanda. Taking her hand, he invited her to rise. When she was on her feet, he embraced her. "Congratulations. I couldn’t have asked for a better match for that young man. I’m very happy for you both."
Amanda returned the hug. "Really, Sir? You’re not mad at us?"
Billy released her, and shook his head. "I’m not mad. I’m a little hurt, but I understand your reasoning. This business is tough enough as it is, and it’s nice to have someone in your life to share it with. I’m glad you finally decided to come clean." A new question suddenly formed in his mind. Leaning back against the desk, he asked, "What made you two decide to come clean now, anyway?"
During the exchange, Lee had walked from the window, over to Billy’s desk. "It was my idea."
Billy turned to look at the man Amanda King had gotten to settle down and become part of her family. "Now, my interest is really piqued," he commented, raising an eyebrow.
Amanda sat back down in her chair, and watched as Lee sat in the chair next to hers.
"I started having these nightmares." Lee began. Fidgeting in his chair, he took a deep breath. He wasn’t looking forward to dwelling back on the reason that had started all the confessions. Amanda, sensing his discomfort, reached over and put a comforting hand on his arm. A small smile came to his lips, but quickly faded as he continued. "In them, Amanda was shot and killed. The nightmares got worse and worse after Christmas, and I began to realize that it was my subconscious telling me it was time to end the charade."
"I thought there was something bothering you. For the last month, you looked like you weren’t getting enough sleep. That sure explains a lot," Billy commented.
"Once he finally told me what was bothering him, we decided it was time to tell the family. After that, we could tell you, and get it out into the open. We wanted to start living like a real married couple."
"I’m glad you two finally came to your senses." Billy smiled as he looked from Amanda to the peaceful look on Lee’s face. Telling the truth always made him feel better, and he could only imagine how content Lee must be now that this secret was out.
"Sir, what’s going to happen to us now?" Amanda asked. Her voice held a hint of disappointment. She was sure that this would be the end of their partnership.
Lee put is hand over hers, where it still rested on his arm.
"Don’t worry, Amanda. I’ll talk to him. I know it’s against all the rules, but your partnership, from the start broke all the rules. I don’t care what it takes, but I’ll make sure that he doesn’t separate one of my best teams."
*************************
It wasn’t common practice for husbands and wives to be partners, but since Lee and Amanda had such an exemplary track record, Billy had been true to his word, and had gone to bat for them with Dr. Smyth. Dr. Smyth had made his usual nursery rhyme mumbo-jumbo speech, but in the end, he had told Billy that if they kept their married lives at home and came to work as professionals, he wouldn’t separate them.
Lee knew it would be hard to keep his hands to himself, but for the sake of their jobs, he would do his best. They would still lock the Q-Bureau door and sneak into the vault for some long kisses, especially if they had been having a really bad day and they just needed to be close to each other.
Although, once or twice, Francine had almost caught them when she had unlocked the door. On those occasions, she had found the two of them with that sheepish look that indicated that they had been caught doing something other than work. She had rolled her eyes and told them that they should start putting scarves on the door when they didn’t want to be disturbed. Her comments were accepted without rebuttal. It was their way of apologizing for not telling her their secret any earlier. They had told her the day after they had told Billy, and they were both surprised at how well she had taken the news. Lee remembered the day he had seen her leaving the park and suspected that that had prepared her for their confession.
A few days after they had told her, when she thought Lee was out of earshot, Francine had apologized to Amanda for trying to warn her about Lee. "I guess Lee isn’t the same man I dated. Looks like he was finally ready to settle down. I guess it just took the right woman. Congratulations." She had then hugged Amanda. Lee had been lurking outside the office door, feeling a little guilty for ‘spying,’ but he was glad his friend was happy for them.
It took about two days for the news to reach the rumor mills. There were apparently quite a few broken hearts in the steno pool, despite the fact that it had been over two years since Lee had even thought about finding himself a new "flavor of the week." His reputation had carried on through the years, but now, his name wouldn’t be the only one talked about around the "water coolers." Amanda, and how she had managed to catch the "great Scarecrow," would also become a hot topic of discussion. A rumble came to his chest at that thought. Truth be told, it was really the "great Scarecrow" who had been the one lucky enough to catch the amazing housewife-turned-spy.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Lee looked at Phillip, and then at Jamie, and realized that coming clean had been the best thing that they had ever done— next to actually getting married. He began to realize that he really enjoyed being a stepfather to Amanda’s boys. The same morning they had told the truth to the boys, he had also explained that he had no intention of trying to replace their dad, but just wanted to be the best stepfather he could be. He wanted to be someone they could confide in, someone to ask advise on things like girls, or who could help them with their homework, and he had promised to always do his best to be there for them. Both Jamie and Phillip appreciated that, and loved the idea of having another male in the house. They figured that it might just help them win certain battles with their mom and grandma. Something told him that life in the King household would never be dull.
Joe and Lee had even seemed to agree on a sort of middle ground, to the point where they even attempted to do things together with the boys, while Amanda and Carrie did some bonding of their own. However, Lee had no intention of making a habit of going places with both the boys and Joe. Once in a while was enough for him. Lee had to admit that Joe was an all right guy, but he tried too hard to be the boys’ friend, rather than their father, and it just seemed to rub Lee the wrong way. It was almost like Joe was trying to make up for all the years of not being around by buying things for the boys. He remembered the Oriole’s game that the four of them had attended about two weeks earlier. Joe kept offering to buy the boys O’s memorabilia. They had jumped at the offer of baseball caps, but didn’t really feel the need for anything else, and kept trying to tell their dad, nicely, that they really did not want any of the other stuff.
Lee finally had to pull Joe aside and reason with him. Lee had very nicely tried to make his wife’s ex realize that the boys didn’t want anything more from him than his time and attention. They loved him for who he was, not for the things he could buy for them. After one or two more "no thank yous" from Phillip and Jamie, Joe finally took the hint.
That had been the first of many incidents that had given him insight into why it wasn’t the best idea for Joe and him, together, to take the boys anywhere on a regular basis. They both tried too hard to please the boys, rather than actually thinking of their welfare. Lee figured that they would both do better on common ground, and Lee had decided to stick to barbecues in the backyard as bonding sessions for both Joe and him, with the boys. Lee had told Amanda, when she had thanked him for trying so hard to get along with Joe, that, although it was difficult at times, he was doing it for Phillip and Jamie. It was important that the boys see their "dads" getting along, so that they didn’t feel they had to favor one parent over the other.
Hearing his stomach grumble, Lee began to wonder just how much longer it would be until lunch was going to be ready. With the idea of food on his mind, Lee thought back to last night’s dinner with Billy, Jeannie, Francine, and her new beau, Jack something-or-other. It had been nice to have dinner with their friends without having to hide their relationship. After they had finished the main meal, Jeannie, Francine, and Amanda had excused themselves and headed off to the ladies’ room. They had gone to "girl talk" about Jack, who was an all right guy, but aside from his looks, and obvious infatuation with Francine, he wasn’t what Lee would call "Francine’s type."
No sooner had the ladies left, then Jack rose from the table and stepped outside to have a smoke. That was what had caused Lee and Billy to wonder why Francine was with a guy like Jack. Not that there was anything wrong with being a smoker, but they couldn’t figure out how Francine could stand to be with someone whose nicotine addiction could cause her clothes to smell like stale cigarette smoke. It just didn’t seem to make sense. Despite his habits, Francine seemed to be happy, and that was all that mattered right now. After the whole Jonathan mess, it was nice to see his closest friend getting back into her usual routine, and eventually, Lee knew, Francine would find someone she could settle down with.
Knowing that the ladies would be away from the table for a bit, Billy had looked intently at Lee and smiled. When Lee had asked what was on his friend’s mind, Billy had commented, "You seem happier than you have in months. I guess the nightmares are gone?" Lee had replied that they were and that it was nice not to have to lie about everything anymore. Truth was, he hadn’t had a nightmare in two months. The nightmare had recurred once during the first month after he had moved into the house on Maplewood, but it was only because Amanda had been in jeopardy during a particularly dangerous case that they had been working on. Having Amanda lying next to him, when he had awakened, had helped to chase the demons away. He had cuddled closer to his wife and fallen back to sleep easily, knowing that Amanda was still by his side, and that she wasn’t going anywhere, for a long, long time.
Lee woke from his reverie when he heard his wife calling Jamie and Caitlin over, and Dotty yelling for Phillip that lunch was ready. Standing up and stretching his arms to get the kinks out, he moved away from the picnic table and headed over to join his family. Yes, the nightmares were gone and had been replaced by the joys of publicly belonging to a family: having a mother-in-law and sons who loved him, and most importantly—waking up each morning with Amanda in his arms.
The End
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.