"Amanda, dear," Dotty said, as she was making dinner in the kitchen, "Is Lee going to be here for dinner tonight?"

"Yes, mother," Amanda said from the couch in the living room. "He had a few things he had to take care of at work, but he'll be here in time for dinner."

Dotty noticed that Lee and Amanda had been spending quite a bit of time together lately, and she was wondering just how serious it was getting between the two of them. Was it serious enough that Lee would ask her to marry him someday soon? She smiled hoping this was so, Lee really seemed to make Amanda happy.

"Mother," Amanda said, walking into the kitchen jolting Dotty back to reality, "what are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing," Dotty said suspiciously.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"No, dear," Dotty said smiling at her daughter. Maybe she could pry some information out of Amanda now. The boys were upstairs doing their homework and Lee wasn't there yet.

Amanda was standing next to her mother trying to figure out what she had just been thinking about.

"So, you and Lee sure have been spending quite a bit of time together lately."

'Oh, so this is what she was thinking about,' Amanda thought before answering her Mother. "Yes, Mother, we have." Amanda already knew where this conversation was leading. It was the old marriage speech.

"I was just wondering how serious it is between the two of you?"

Amanda noticed the twinkle in Dotty's eyes when she asked this. "What are you trying to get at Mother?" Amanda asked.

Quite bluntly Dotty asked, "Are there wedding bells in your future with Lee?"

"Mo-ther," Amanda said rolling her eyes. "I don't know." If her mother only knew she was already Mrs. Amanda Stetson. Her Mother would not be happy to know that she had been married without her or the boys being there, but for now it had to be like this. She wished that she could shout to the world that she was Mrs. Amanda Stetson. She loved Lee so much and wanted the world to know. Her Mother's voice jolted her back to reality.

"You can't blame a Mother for trying," Dotty stated.

Dotty was just about to ask Amanda another question, when simultaneously the door bell rang and the boys came bouncing down the stairs. 'Saved by the bell and the boys,' Amanda thought to herself.

The boys were talking at once.

"Is dinner ready?" Jamie asked.

"Is Lee going to be here tonight?" Phillip asked hopefully.

"Dinner is almost ready, and, yes, Lee is going to be here tonight. In fact that is probably him at the door," Amanda said.

Amanda walked over to the door. She opened it and there was her husband standing there with a bottle of white wine.

"Hi," Lee said as he walked in the door.

"Hi," Amanda said smiling.

Lee gave his wife a kiss on the lips. He sure wished he could tell his friends and their family that they were married. He loved her so much, she meant the world to him and he was tired of hiding that. Lee started to kiss her a little more passionately. Amanda gently pushed him away.

"Lee, the boys and my Mother are right there in the kitchen."

"So, they know we have something going on, they just don't realize how much of something," Lee said smiling.

"Yes, but I don't want the boys to see you kissing their mother like that," she said, even though she knew she really did want to continue kissing him like that.

"All right, All right, I'll lay off for now, but you will be in trouble later," Lee stated with a broad smile on his face. He winked at her and gave her one more quick kiss on the lips. It was amazing how one little look from him could still make her heart race.

"I'm looking forward to it," she teased, as they walked toward the kitchen.

"Hi, Lee," Dotty said as he and Amanda walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, Dotty, and how are you tonight?" he asked as he handed her the bottle of wine.

"Oh, I'm just fine," Dotty replied.

"Hey, guys," Lee said to Phillip and Jamie.

"Hi, Lee, I'm glad you're here," Phillip said.

?Me too, Phillip, Me too," he said catching a quick glance at his wife.

Dotty looked up at Lee when he said that. He had a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye and was looking at Amanda in the most loving way. 'Maybe he will ask Amanda to marry him soon,' Dotty thought. He seemed as happy as she did.

"Hi, Mr. Stetson," Jamie said.

Jamie still hadn't taken to Lee, so he was still calling him Mr. Stetson.

"You can call me Lee, Jamie."

Jamie just gave him an uncomfortable smile, but didn't say anything.

Lee knew that Jamie was still not quite sure what to make of him. Phillip and Lee got along fine. Jamie was jealous of Lee, and although Amanda had talked to him, he had still not warmed up to Lee. Lee hoped he would warm up to him soon, as he was now Jamie's stepdad, although Jamie was not aware of it.

******************************************

After a nice dinner everyone was in the living room. Amanda and Dotty were sitting on the couch, each with a glass of wine. Phillip had talked Lee into playing his new video game with him on his Atari 6400, so they were sitting on the floor.

Jamie was sitting close behind, eyeing the two of them playing and seeing how much fun Phillip was having with Lee.

Amanda was enjoying watching Lee spend time with her son. She was happy that at least Phillip liked Lee and got along well with him.

"Um, Mr. Stetson," came Jamie's voice from behind, "can I play too?"

"Sure you can," Lee said. He was just about to give up his joystick to Jamie, when Phillip said, "It's ok, Lee, I'll stop playing so he can play.? Phillip handed Jamie his joystick.

Lee of course let Jamie win the game, which made Jamie happy. They played a few more games and Lee let Jamie win every time.

"Hey, mom, look, I beat Mr. Stetson THREE times," Jamie said smiling.

Lee turned around and winked at Amanda. She smiled.

"That's great, sweetheart," she said.

"We should play more often, Mr. Stetson," Jamie said.

"Yes, we should," Lee stated.

"All right, fella's," Amanda said, "bedtime."

"Oh, come on mom, we're not babies anymore," Phillip retorted firmly.

"I know that, sweetheart, but you have to get up early for school tomorrow and it's getting late."

"Oh, all right," Phillip said unhappily.

Amanda stood up and hugged her sons.

"?Night, fella's," she said.

"?Night, mom, ?night, Grandma, ?night, Lee," Phillip said.

"Yeah, ?night everyone...?night, Lee,? Jamie stammered.

Lee smiled a broad smile and said, "?Night boys."

They ran upstairs.

Dotty said, "I'm tired myself, I think I'm going to go to bed too."

They all exchanged good nights once again.

Lee got off the floor and sat on the couch with his wife. "Hey did you hear that, Jamie called me Lee?"

"I knew he'd come around eventually, he just needed a little more time."

"So I finally have you all to myself," Lee said as he put his arms around Amanda.

"Yes, you do, Mr. Stetson," Amanda joked.

Lee kissed Amanda tenderly. "I wish I could stay here with you all night," he said as Amanda snuggled into his arms. Although neither of them wanted to admit it, their secret marriage was hard on their relationship and on each of them. They couldn't live together like a normal married couple and they couldn't do all the things that married couples did.

'Someday,' Amanda thought, but didn't realize she had said it out loud.

"Someday what?" Lee asked.

"Nothing," Amanda said sighing.

Lee moved from the position he was in and looked Amanda in the eyes. "Amanda, what's wrong?"

Amanda gave a long sigh and was silent for a moment. She looked at Lee for a moment and then finally said, "I wish we didn't have to hide our marriage."

"I know," he said, "me too, but for the safety of our family, it has to be like this."

Amanda looked at him. "You just said OUR family," she said smiling.

"Amanda, I mean it, you, the boys and your mother are my family, you are the only real family I have."

"I'm so happy to hear you say that," she said. Although he seemed to be adjusting just fine, sometimes she wondered if he really was adjusting. Hearing him say that made her feel better. She kissed him.

Lee whispered softly in her ear, "Amanda, I want to make love to you right now." He started to kiss her neck.

The feel of his lips on her neck was very hard to resist, he still had this affect on her after a little over 4 � years.

"I want to make love to you too, but the boys and my mother are right upstairs, we can't."

"I know, I know," Lee said, disappointed.

They sat in silence for a while in each other?s arms, both wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Finally Lee kissed Amanda again and then said, "Well, I guess I had better get going, or I won't leave at all." He didn't want to leave, but he knew he wouldn?t leave if he didn?t go now.

"Okay," Amanda said, not wanting him to leave either.

They both got up from the couch and stretched. Amanda walked him to the door.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," she said smiling.

He kissed her one last time before leaving the house. Amanda closed the door, still feeling his kiss lingering on her lips. She walked upstairs to get ready for bed with a smile on her face, thinking of her husband. Even though he couldn't be here with her physically, he was still close to her heart and she knew she'd have sweet dreams.

***************************************

?Darn it,? Amanda said as she tried to start the Jeep Wagoneer for the fourth time. The engine sounded like it wanted to turn over, but just didn?t have quite enough juice to do so. At this point she knew the car wasn?t going to start. She could call Triple A, but then she would have to wait for who knows how long for them to show up. She looked at her watch. It was seven forty five in the morning. She was sure Lee hadn?t left for the agency yet. She could probably catch him and get a ride to the agency with him. Normally she didn?t leave this early for work, but she had an early day and had promised Billy she would be in early to finish some filing. The boys had a minimum day at school, and Amanda had promised them lunch, then a movie. She had already cleared it with Billy a few days ago. She felt as if she hadn?t been spending enough quality time with her sons. It seemed her life consisted only of the agency these days, along with little bits of time with her husband. Suddenly she realized that she wouldn?t have a car to pick the boys up in. The boys were already at school. They had taken the bus. She?d have to figure something out, as the boys were expecting her to pick them up. She got out of the car after trying to start it one more time and went back inside. Her mother sleepily came down the stairs in her robe.

?I thought you had to get to work early today,? Dotty said still half asleep.

?I do mother, but the car won?t start. It?s probably a dead battery or something,? Amanda said in a frustrated voice.

?How are you going to get to work??

?I am going to call Lee and hope he hasn?t left yet,? Amanda said.

She picked up the phone and dialed Lee?s phone number. ?Hello,? came the hurried voice of Lee.

?Hi, it?s me.?

?Hey,? Lee said smiling. He loved hearing her voice first thing in the morning. It always made his day.

?I was wondering if you could come pick me up this morning. The car won?t start and I don?t have time to wait for Triple A to come out.?

?Of course,? Lee said smiling, ?any excuse to spend extra time with my lovely wife.?

Amanda smiled; she loved it when he made little comments like that.

?Give me about ten minutes,? he said.

?Sure,? Amanda said.

**********************************

About ten minutes later Lee was pulling up in Amanda?s driveway. ??Bye, mother,? Amanda said as she ran outside to greet him.

?Do you want me to check the car over??

?No,? Amanda said. ?I?m already late. How about after work, okay??

?Sure,? Lee replied.

Lee walked around to the passenger?s side of the car and opened the Corvette door for Amanda. Then he walked around to the driver?s side of the car, got in and they drove away.

?Hey, isn?t today the day you are supposed to pick up the boys early from school?? Lee asked.

?Yes, we were going to have lunch and go to a movie. I don?t know how I am going to get to the school,? Amanda stated in a concerned tone of voice. ?I guess I can call the school and leave a message for the boys to take the bus home from school instead, although they will be very disappointed.?

?Amanda,? Lee said smiling, ?you know you can use my car to pick them up. We?re married now. Married couples use each other?s cars when things like this happen. I don?t think I?ll be leaving the agency this afternoon; I'm working on the report from our last case. If I do need to go somewhere, I?ll just use a car from the motor pool.?

?Are you sure, sweetheart? What are you going to tell Billy and Francine? I don?t think, ?Billy she?s using my car because we?re married now? will work." She wanted to spend the time with her kids and she knew Lee probably would let her borrow the car if she asked, but she didn?t want to cause any suspicion at the agency. Billy knew they were dating, but not that they were married.

?Yes, I?m sure,? Lee said laughing at his wife?s concern. ?Billy knows we have a relationship. It won?t look suspicious.?

?All right, if you say so,? Amanda said nervously.

?You?ve driven my car before. I want you to have that quality time with the boys. After your lunch and movie, you can drop the boys off with your mother and bring my car back to the agency. Maybe then we can have a little quality time of our own tonight at MY apartment,? Lee teased, smiling his half smile that Amanda loved so much.

Amanda smiled. She could never resist him and when she had to, it was really difficult. ?I?d like that,? she teased back. It had been a while since they had had any real quality time together. He was always at her house and they spent time together after everyone went to bed, but it wasn?t the same as spending real quality time together. They hadn?t made love in a while either. Amanda smiled at the thought of being in Lee?s strong arms again.

?All right,? Amanda said as she realized they were already pulling into the agency, ?I should be back no later than four thirty. The boys are going to love this. It will be a tight fit for them, but we'll manage. They love your car.? Amanda wanted to see what his reaction to this would be, so she had purposefully thrown that last comment in. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, trying not to laugh.

Lee?s eyes suddenly showed concern. He swallowed nervously. He hadn?t even thought about that yet. He knew she was going to be picking the boys up in his car, but it just hadn?t occurred to him that they would actually be in his car. ?Um, make sure that they are extremely careful in my car. Don?t let them touch anything that they shouldn?t touch, okay? You know how I feel about my car, Amanda.?

?Yeah, I do. Sometimes I think you love that car more than you love me,? Amanda said jokingly.

?Never,? Lee said, as he pulled the ?Vette into it's parking space. ?Remember what I said when my Porsche went over the cliff?? In unison they both said, ?Oh, Amanda, you don?t love a car, but you sure do get really attached to one.? They both laughed as they got out of the car.

Lee grabbed Amanda?s hand and pulled her towards him. ?Anyway, you know I could never love anyone or anything more than I love you.? With that said, he kissed her one more time before they walked into the agency.

**************************************

Amanda looked at her watch. It was eleven forty five in the morning. She had completely lost track of time while doing her filing in the vault. The boys got out of school at noon. She came out of the vault and closed the door. Lee was sitting at his desk, concentrating quite intensely on a piece of paper in a folder he was looking at. Amanda walked up behind him, put her arms around his shoulders and put her chin on top of his head. Lee jumped. He had been concentrating so hard that he hadn?t heard her come up behind him and she had scared him.

?Nervous?? Amanda teased.

?No, I guess I was concentrating so hard on this file, that I was in my own little world for a while.?

?Yeah, I kind of noticed,? Amanda said smiling, ?I?ve got to go, I?m running late.?

?All right,? Lee said. They each had copies of each other?s car and house keys, so there was no need for him to give her his keys.

Lee got up from his chair and turned around to kiss his wife good-bye. Right as he was kissing her, Francine walked in the door. 'I?ve got to remember to lock that door,' Lee thought to himself.

Francine shot Lee and Amanda a quick glare. Amanda had told Francine that she and Lee had broken up a few months ago. Francine could see that was obviously a lie.

?Billy needs to see you in his office right now,? Francine said to Lee in an annoyed tone of voice.

?All right,? Lee said smiling his most charming smile at Francine. Francine just groaned and walked out the door. Although she was with Jonathon, it still irked her that Lee and Amanda were together. She couldn?t quite pin point why either. It was probably the fact that she wasn?t too fond of Amanda.

As soon as Francine was gone, Lee turned around and kissed Amanda again. ?Oh, great,? Amanda groaned, ?We?re never going to live that one down. You know I told her we broke up a few months ago.?

?Yeah, I know,? Lee said. ?You only told her that so that she?d stop making her little snide remarks though. I don?t care if she knows anymore.?

?All right,? Amanda said, ?but be prepared for her little remarks.?

?She doesn?t scare me, I can handle her,? Lee said smiling.

?Well, I?ve got to get out of here. The boys are going to be wondering where I am.?

?Be good to my car,? Lee said winking at her.

?You know I will be, sweetheart,? Amanda said smiling.

************************************

Amanda cheerfully left the agency in Lee?s car, not seeing the dark blue Oldsmobile that began to follow her as she pulled out of the agency parking lot. Amanda?s thoughts were on the day and night ahead of her. She was looking forward to spending the afternoon with her boys and spending the evening with her husband. After their day, she was going to leave the boys with her mother, and she and Lee were going to have a nice evening alone as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson. Right after Amanda had walked out of the Q-bureau and into the hallway, Lee had opened the door and told her to her to be prepared, because he had a special evening planned for the two of them.

Amanda realized she was wrapped up in her own thoughts and hadn?t even been paying attention to the road. She focused on her driving. She looked in her rear view mirror, because she she hadn?t looked in it for a while. She caught a glimpse of something strange. She saw a dark blue Oldsmobile screech to a halt in the middle of the street and then make a quick left turn onto a side street, nearly hitting a car in the process. 'Goodness,' Amanda thought to herself, 'people are in such a hurry these days.'

Amanda continued driving and became wrapped up in her own thoughts again. Suddenly the dark blue Oldsmobile came off another side street, cut Amanda off and screeched to a halt directly in front of her. She slammed on the breaks of the Corvette. She realized that she didn?t have enough room to stop and was going to hit the Oldsmobile anyway. She turned the steering wheel to the left, to try and swerve and not hit the Oldsmobile. Amanda jerked the wheel too much to the left and overcorrected. This threw her right into the line of oncoming traffic. Luckily she managed not to hit any of the cars next to her, as they all swerved out of the way. The Corvette was still moving, in a spinning like motion. She turned the steering wheel toward the right to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. All she managed to do was make the car straighten out so it was head on with oncoming traffic. The car finally came to a complete stop. Amanda looked up to see a car rapidly approaching. The approaching car seemed to be going awfully fast to her. She stepped on the gas to get the car out of the way of the oncoming traffic, which was almost upon her. In the excitement of everything she forgot to push the clutch in. The car stalled. Amanda panicked as she looked up to see the car that was approaching trying to swerve. The owner of the car was not able to make the car swerve enough to avoid hitting her. The car hit the Corvette head on and it went spinning again. Although Amanda had been wearing her seat belt, her head snapped forward and she hit her head very hard on the windshield. The windshield broke, cutting her, leaving a deep gash in her forhead. Her head fell back and hit the Corvette seat. The impact of that caused her head to snap forward again, hitting the steering wheel quite hard. The last thoughts that went through Amanda's mind were of her boys, mother and Lee.