Lee and Amanda were sitting on Lee’s couch in his apartment. Amanda was staring at him, speechless. He had just told her everything, starting with how they had met and elaborating on certain cases, such as The Mongoose case, since that was the case that had started this whole mess to begin with. He ended with admitting that they had been secretly married for the past eight months, and explained why they were keeping it a secret. She couldn’t believe it. She was a spy who was secretly married to another spy, who was also her partner. She didn’t know what to say. This was an awful lot of information all at once, and it seemed so unreal.

“Are you all right, Amanda?” Lee asked anxiously after she hadn’t responded for a few moments.

“This is all so much...” Amanda’s words trailed off. “I have to get out of here,” Amanda said suddenly standing up.

“Let’s go for a walk in the park,” Lee suggested.

“No, I have to be alone right now.” She got up and started for the door.

“Amanda,” Lee started.

“I have to get out of here,” Amanda said again.

Lee decided not to push the issue. He had just given her a lot of information all at once, 'probably too much' he thought. He should have told her in little intervals, not all at once. He admonished himself for doing so.

Amanda walked out the door without so much as a good-bye. Lee put his face in his hands. He hoped he hadn’t just pushed Amanda over the edge.

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

Amanda was at home making coffee. The boys were still at school and Dotty had left a note saying she was at the grocery store. Amanda couldn’t believe everything Lee had told her. She couldn’t believe her family knew none of it. She was happy no one was at home when she had got here. She needed time to think. Just then her mother opened the door and walked in the house with a few bags full of groceries. Amanda didn’t even go help her. She was in her own world. It took Dotty three times of saying her name to bring her back to reality.

“Are you all right, dear?” Dotty asked.

“Yes, mother, I was just thinking.”

“Anything you’d like to talk about?”

Amanda didn’t think, she just spoke. Her voice took on a soft faraway tone. “Lee and I did a lot of talking today, and one of the things he told me is that we are secretly married.”

“What!” Dotty exclaimed bringing Amanda out of her fantasy world. Had she really just told her mother that? “That is absurd. You guys aren’t married. He was probably just teasing you Amanda.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Amanda said as she got up to take the canister of coffee back where it belonged, knowing that wasn't so. Amanda suddenly stopped and dropped the canister of coffee and said, “Oh, my gosh.” She stood still as coffee grounds went all over the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Dotty asked, concerned.

“Um, nothing mother,” Amanda said, still not moving. In her mind she had seen herself and Lee Stetson standing in front of what appeared to be the Justice Of The Peace. She was saying her vows to Lee Stetson. There were no on-lookers; it was just the two of them. She was wearing a white suit dress and Lee was wearing a nice suit. She remembered the feelings of love and happiness. She couldn’t be sure whether her mind was playing tricks on her or not, but the memory seemed so real. It had to be, she wouldn’t have remembered the specific details if her mind was just playing tricks on her. She was really married to Lee Stetson. She couldn’t remember anything else about it, except for the scene that had just played in her mind. She wondered why that was her first re-gained memory. She finally reached down, picked up the coffee canister and cleaned up the mess. Her mother was looking at her quite strangely. She just smiled at her mother; she knew she couldn’t tell her about this memory.

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

During the next week, Amanda had bits and pieces of her memories come back. The thing that was frustrating was that she never had a full memory. It was just bits and pieces of certain memories. She figured though that she should at least be grateful for that. She had been spending a little more time with Lee. Ever since she had told him that she remembered that they were married, he seemed happier. He was coming over and calling more. They had even gone out to dinner the other night, at a place called Emilio’s, which Lee said they frequented. She wanted to spend time with him, get to know him and explore their relationship. On that particular day she was going to meet Lee for lunch. She still hadn’t started working for the agency again. She and Lee had both thought it was too soon. Amanda pulled into the agency parking lot. She parked, got out of the car and walked into the agency.

“Hello Mrs. Marsten,” Amanda said. She stopped. “Hey something else I remember,” she said cheerfully as she got on the elevator. She got off the elevator and walked into the bullpen. She went to Billy’s office door and knocked. Billy motioned her in.

“Hello sir,” Amanda said.

“Hello Amanda,” Billy said.

“Where is Lee?” Amanda asked.

“Oh, he’s in the Q-bureau,” Billy said.

“The what bureau?” Amanda asked.

“The Q-bureau. It’s upstairs, let me show you where it is.”

Billy led Amanda upstairs to the Q-bureau and then went back to his office. Amanda knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Lee said in a frustrated voice. “It’s unrepairable? I’ve had it there for two in half weeks and you’re just now telling me this?” Amanda heard Lee say into the phone as she walked in. “Well...wait...fine,” Lee said as he slammed down the phone.

“Everything all right?” Amanda asked.

“Yeah, that was the mechanic. My ‘Vette is unrepairable. I’ve already lost one car, I really didn’t want to lose another one,” Lee said in a frustrated tone of voice.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda said softly, putting her head down. Lee had told her about the accident.

“Hey, Amanda, I’m sorry,” Lee said walking over to her, realizing he had made her feel bad. “I was attached to my car, yes, but my car being totaled is not as important to me as you being alive is.”

“Lee, that’s really sweet,” Amanda said smiling.

“I can always replace a car, you I can’t.”

Amanda blushed at his sentiment. Lee noticed and changed the topic. “Hey, soon, I’m going to buy a new car, and turn this car in that I’ve been using from the motor pool. When I do that, maybe you can help me pick out the new car.”

“Sure,” Amanda said.

“Ready to go?” Lee asked.

“Yeah,” Amanda said.

Lee suddenly reached over and gave Amanda a quick kiss on the lips. He had wanted to do that for a long time and couldn’t stop himself.

Amanda was surprised at the electricity she felt at Lee’s kiss. Shivers ran up and down her spine. When he pulled away, all Amanda could do was stare at him. She wanted to kiss him again. The feeling it gave her felt good. She leaned into him, put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. She kissed him a little more passionately and a little longer than he had kissed her.

Lee was surprised by her gesture. He was even more surprised at the passion of her kiss. They hadn’t kissed once since she had been in the accident. Lee’s arms found their way around her waist. After they pulled away, it was Lee’s turn to stare at her. Amanda still had her arms around his neck and he still had his arms around her waist. They stared at each other for a moment in silence. Finally Lee broke the silence and said, “Let’s go.” They walked out of the agency, each in their own worlds, thinking about each other.

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

Amanda was walking back to her car by herself after her lunch with Lee. She was happily thinking about him. Although she didn’t remember specifics about their relationship, except that they were married, she could definitely see why she wanted to be with him and marry him. Her emotions were in a whirlwind. She felt like a high school girl who had just found out that the boy she had a crush on, had a crush on her too. She felt giddy. She was so much in her own world that she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her. Suddenly she felt someone grab her from behind and put a chloroform filled rag over her mouth. She struggled for a moment and then blacked out.

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

Amanda woke up in a familiar position. She was handcuffed to the same chair and in the same room as before. “Not again,” Amanda mumbled out loud. "What does he want with me this time?" Amanda’s question was about to be answered. The Mongoose opened the door. He sauntered in and Amanda looked up at him.

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” The Mongoose said.

“You know, Lee is going to find me. My car is still at the agency and he’ll realize that when he leaves,” she said proud of herself for standing up to him.

“For an agent, you really are gullible. That is the plan my dear. I made sure there was a sighting of me here today, when an agent was snooping around. I also made sure that your car is in plain sight at the agency where Stetson can see it. He’ll of course come to rescue you, but he’ll have no back up this time. I can torture him like I had planned in the first place.”

“How do you know he won’t have back up?” Amanda asked confidently.

“Because my dear, last time the other agents knew about him coming to this warehouse. This time they won’t. You see, I have eyes and ears everywhere. I can find out anything at any time I want. Stetson is going to be staying late at the agency tonight to finish some paper work. He’ll be leaving pretty late and none of his good friends will be at the agency, so he won't have anyone to tell when he finds out about you. He’s a smart man, he’ll see your car and put two and two together. I’m assuming the only thing he’ll care about at that point is rescuing you, so I’m counting on him not even thinking, just doing.”

“Lee will find a way out,” Amanda said not believing she was actually standing up to this man. The Mongoose just laughed.

“Oh, Mrs. King, what an optimist you are.”

“Well,” Amanda started, “I...”

The Mongoose cut her off. “Shut up,” he said in a very menacing tone that made Amanda jump. “There is no way out, and Stetson is not the only one who is going to be tortured here, you will be too. Your torture is going to be watching your husband being tortured. Yes, I know that you and Mr. Stetson are married. Remember, eyes and ears everywhere.”

Amanda looked at him wide eyed.

“You stepped over your boundaries by standing up to me,” The Mongoose said as he glared at Amanda. He finally turned around and left slamming the door behind him.

Amanda had mixed emotions about Lee finding her. On one hand, she really did want Lee to come and save the day, as he had before. On the other hand, The Mongoose really seemed to mean business this time. She still felt that deep connection that she had felt with him the moment she had laid eyes on him in this room before. She was really starting to care about him too. She didn’t want to see him get hurt. In silence, tears fell from her eyes as she wrestled with her emotions.

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

Lee looked at his watch. It was almost nine o’clock at night. He rubbed his eyes. He was still at the agency doing paper work. He was really tired. He was almost finished. He decided to leave the rest for tomorrow. The only other people still at the agency was the night crew. He put on his sports jacket, walked out of the Q-bureau, locking the door behind him and began walking to his car. Thoughts of Amanda’s kiss came back to him. That second kiss had been quite passionate. Although he had kissed his wife like that before, the last time they kissed like that was before the accident. It made him feel good that she wanted to kiss him like that. He smiled. He looked up and saw a familiar car in the parking lot. He stopped dead in his tracks. It was Amanda’s car. Had she come back to surprise him? He looked around, but didn’t see her. “Amanda,” he called, not really expecting an answer, but hoping for one nonetheless. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this. “Amanda,” he called again louder and more desperately. He didn't think she'd gone into the agency, because he would have seen her, but he decided to go ask the man who had taken Mrs. Marten's place on post anyway. He walked back into the agency. He asked the man on post if anyone had come in recently, specifically a woman with brown hair about down to her shoulders. "No," the man said, "the last time someone came in here was an hour ago, and he was on the night crew." Lee thanked him and walked back out to the parking lot. He began to wonder why on earth her car would be here. He looked around again. Where was she? Suddenly like a ton of bricks it hit him. He remembered Francine’s words about there being a sighting of The Mongoose at the warehouse. “He has her again,” Lee said out loud to himself. Lee realized that this was all a ploy to get to him. He wasn’t about to let Amanda rot away in that hellhole with The Mongoose. “All right, you’ll get what you want,” Lee said as he rushed to the car, started it and sped away.

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

Lee pulled up in front of the familiar warehouse. He got out of his car, drew his gun and walked to the door. It was open, just as he had suspected. He walked in and looked around. He saw no one. He started to walk towards the room where he and Amanda had been held the last time. He made sure to pay close attention to his surroundings, as to not have a repeat performance of what happened last time he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly Lee saw The Mongoose out of the corner of his eye. He turned to him with his gun aimed at him. “Well, Scarecrow, I have you just where I want you.”

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

Amanda was looking around the room trying to find a way out. Even if she did find a way out, there wasn’t much she could do handcuffed to this chair. From outside the door she heard the Mongoose say, ”Drop it Stetson.” Her heart skipped a beat, Lee was here. She heard a gun drop to the floor and figured it must be Lee’s.

“You’re not going to get away with this,” Amanda heard Lee say.

“Shut up Stetson,” The Mongoose said.

Amanda heard a struggle and then silence. The door opened and The Mongoose and his associate dragged an unconscious Lee into the room. This situation was all too familiar to her. The Mongoose and his associate walked out of the room. Amanda tried to wake up Lee.

“Lee,” she said. No response. “Lee,” she said again louder. Still no response. He was out cold.

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

Fifteen minutes later Lee came to. He was tied up to a chair. He looked over to see Amanda staring at him. “You okay?” he asked her.

“Yes, and you?”

“My head is pounding, but I’ll be okay. We’ve got to get out of here.”

“How, Lee?”

“Well, if I can get out of these ropes, we’ll take it from there.” Lee fiddled with the ropes. They were really tight. Just as felt he was loosening them, The Mongoose walked in.

“You’re awake, Stetson. Now it is my turn to have revenge on you while your wife watches.”

The Mongoose wasted no time. He walked straight up to Lee and slapped him in the face. Lee just laughed in his face. This made The Mongoose furious. “How dare you Stetson, after what you did to me.” The Mongoose pulled his right fist back and hit Lee squarely in the left jaw. Lee let out a groan and Amanda cringed. “That’s what you get for messing with me, Scarecrow,” he said in a menacing tone of voice. “This one’s for putting me behind bars.” The Mongoose then proceeded to punch Lee in the stomach. Lee once again groaned and doubled over as far as he could being tied up. Amanda started crying. “You stop that right now,” The Mongoose said as he walked over to her and grabbed her arm fiercely. He was out of control and even he knew it.

“Leave her alone. Do whatever you will to me, but leave her out of this,” Lee said in a pain stricken voice.

“Maybe your torture should be to watch me torture your wife,” The Mongoose laughed.

“No,” Lee said wracking his brain to get The Mongoose’s attention back on him.

The Mongoose slapped Amanda in the face for the second time since they had met. Amanda kept silent.

“Don’t you ever touch her again,” Lee yelled.

“What will you do if I do?” The Mongoose asked.

“Make sure you rot in jail for the rest of your natural life,” Lee seethed.

That was all The Mongoose needed to turn his attention back to Lee. He spun around and walked over to Lee. He took another swing at Lee and continued to do so.

Amanda looked on horrified as The Mongoose continued to strike Lee.

Lee groaned in pain. There was nothing he could do, he couldn’t defend himself, as he was tied up.

The Mongoose stopped striking Lee, took out his gun and toyed with it for a moment. “I’m not quite sure whether I want to kill you or not, I would still like to torture you, but killing you would be fun too.” He aimed the gun at Lee and took off the safety. He put his finger on the trigger while Lee closed his eyes. “I love you Amanda,” Lee whispered. The Mongoose laughed, put the safety back on and put his gun away. He was just getting ready to strike Lee again, when Amanda screamed, “NO, LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Lee and The Mongoose both looked at Amanda, startled. “Leave him alone,” she said in a softer voice as she started to cry. Many of her memories had just flooded back into her mind all at once. The last four years and eight months came pouring into her mind, along with memories of her family, Joe, everything. She remembered everything about her relationship with Lee. She remembered how long it had taken them to acknowledge their feelings for one another and everything about their secret marriage. Most of all, she remembered how much she loved him. “Just leave him alone,” Amanda said, crying and rocking back and forth as much as she could being handcuffed to a chair. The Mongoose just stared at her. 'She's completely lost it,' he thought.

Although Lee was in a tremendous amount of pain, he was worried about Amanda. He had never seen her like this. It took a lot to make her cry and she didn’t break that easily.

Amanda was crying for many reasons. She was crying for what The Mongoose was doing to Lee. She was crying for this whole experience she had put Lee through with having amnesia. She was crying because she could feel her love for Lee for the first time in two in a half weeks, and it was a tremendous feeling. She was also crying because watching Lee being physically tortured was more than she could handle. It had sent her over the edge.

The Mongoose’s associate walked in. “We’ve got trouble,” he said.

“What is it?” The Mongoose asked.

"There’s an agent staking out the warehouse, he doesn’t know that I saw him.”

"This is not the end,” The Mongoose said. “I’ll be back.” With that he and his associate left the room.

“Are you okay?” Amanda asked trying to regain her composure.

“I’ll be all right. Are you all right?” Lee asked in a concerned tone.

She looked at him, lost her composure and started crying again. “I’m so sorry,” Amanda whispered.

“Sorry for what?” Lee asked confused.

“Sorry for putting you through all of this. I remember everything about you, about us, about the agency, everything.” She knew she was rambling, but couldn’t help it. “Oh, Lee, I’m so sorry, oh, I love you so much.”

“Hey, Amanda, it’s all right. Having amnesia was not your fault. The important thing is that you have your memory back,” Lee said gently.

“I know, but what I put you through...Oh, Lee, you were so great during all of this. I love you, I always have and I always will.”

Lee was touched by her words. “I love you too Amanda, I love you too.” Lee wished he could hold her. Suddenly he snapped back into reality. “Amanda, we’ve got to get out of here.” Lee started playing with the ropes that bound him again. After about fifteen minutes he had them undone. “Okay, when The Mongoose comes back, I’m going to pretend like I’m still tied up and then surprise attack him.” Lee moved a little bit, and groaned.

“Are you all right?” Amanda asked.

“Yeah, my stomach just hurts. Okay, just go along with me when The Mongoose comes back, okay?”

“All right,” Amanda said in a shaky voice.

“Amanda, really, it’s all right,” Lee said in a reassuring tone of voice. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Amanda smiled at Lee. He had been so great through this whole mess. It made her love him even more. She wanted so much to hold him in her arms right now. The Mongoose interrupted her thoughts. He walked in confidently.

Lee had his hands behind his back, pretending that they were still tied. He pretended to be in more pain than he really was. He moaned.

“Had enough Stetson?” The Mongoose asked sarcastically.

“Yes,” Lee said moaning again.

“Well, I haven’t,” The Mongoose said chillingly. He walked towards Lee and started to take a swing at him, but was startled when Lee’s hands shot out from behind his back.

“Not so fast,” Lee said blocking his punch. Lee stood up and blocked another punch that was coming his way. In blocking The Mongoose’s punch, Lee grabbed his left arm, twisting it up behind his back. Lee quickly reached in The Mongoose’s pocket, grabbed his gun and threw it on the ground. “You’re going back to jail buddy,” Lee said. He tightened his grip on The Mongoose’s arm and walked over to Amanda. With one hand he held onto The Mongoose, with the other hand he produced a lock pick out of his pocket. “Good thing I always carry one of these things with me in case of an emergency situation,” Lee said to Amanda, smiling. Just then The Mongoose’s free right hand came around and struck Lee in the face. Lee was unprepared and let go of The Mongoose’s left arm and stumbled backwards. He quickly put the lock pick back into his pocket, so he wouldn’t lose it. The Mongoose came at Lee again and Lee punched him in the stomach. He doubled over and moaned. Lee went over to grab his arm again. He struck Lee in the stomach. Lee doubled over in pain for a brief second, but stood right back up despite the pain. Lee caught the Mongoose’s left arm again and twisted it behind his back again. With one hand tightly gripped on The Mongoose’s left arm, that was twisted up behind his back, Lee took the lock pick out of his pocket again with his other hand and attempted to pick the lock on his wife’s handcuffs. It took a few minutes, but he finally got it and managed to take one cuff off her. She took the other cuff off herself. Lee took the handcuffs from Amanda. He put one cuff on The Mongoose's left wrist and then grabbed his right wrist and put the other cuff on. The Mongoose hadn’t attempted anything else with Lee because he was in too much pain. Lee turned The Mongoose around roughly. “It looks like your handcuffs came in pretty handy,” Lee said. The Mongoose glared at Lee.

Just then The Mongoose’s associate walked in the room. He surveyed his surroundings, turned around and ran. “Amanda, stay here,” Lee said as he ran after The Mongoose’s associate. In moments Lee tackled him, brought him back into the small room and tied him up to the chair with the ropes he had been tied up with previously. Lee then walked over to The Mongoose, told Amanda to get up from the chair she was in and then pushed The Mongoose into that chair. Lee quickly undid his handcuffs and then handcuffed him to the chair so he couldn’t get away.

“Come, on, let’s go call Billy,” Lee said taking Amanda’s hand and leading her out of the room, closing the door behind him. Amanda noticed the blood and the bruises that were beginning to form on Lee’s face from the fight. 'Oh, my poor Lee,' she thought.

Before Lee could walk any further, Amanda threw herself into his arms holding onto to him for dear life. Lee embraced her back. They stood in each other’s arms for a few moments in silence. “Come on,” Lee finally said, taking her hand. They found a pay phone near by and called Billy at home, waking him up and telling him the situation. Lee got a lecture from Billy that he should have called for back up. When Lee got off the phone, he looked at Amanda. She touched the bruises on his face and he winced. “Sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” he said. He was quite happy she had her memory back. “Let’s let Billy and the other agents deal with this,” Lee said, “We’ve already been through so much.” He grabbed Amanda’s hand and led her back to the car. They got in and sped away.

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

“Would you like breakfast in bed, Mrs. Stetson?” Lee asked as he carried a tray with two plates full of eggs and bacon, two glasses of orange juice, two cups of coffee and a red rose for Amanda.

Amanda sat up groggily in Lee’s bed, yawned and stretched. She looked at the clock. “Ten o’clock in the morning,” she shrieked, “I never sleep in this late. Weren’t we supposed to be at work hours ago? Oh, gosh, Mother and the boys will be so worried.”

“Calm down Amanda,” Lee laughed. “Billy called early this morning to tell us that The Mongoose and his associate are behind bars, and to tell us to take a couple of days off. Well, actually you’ve already had two in a half weeks off, so maybe you should go back to work today,” Lee said teasingly. Amanda glared at him. “I called your mother this morning, to tell her that you were fine and to tell her I had kidnapped you for the day.”

Amanda laughed. “Thanks, Lee, for taking care of everything, and also for everything you did for me the past two and a half weeks.”

“You’re welcome,” Lee said finally walking back over to the bed with the tray, putting it on Amanda’s lap and getting back into bed with her. Instead of going home last night, Amanda had opted to spend the night at her husband’s apartment, in his arms. As Lee picked up his plate off the tray and started to eat his breakfast, he stared intently at Amanda. He wanted to voice his thoughts, but didn’t know how Amanda would feel about what he had to say. He had done some serious thinking while watching her sleep the previous night. Amanda interrupted his thoughts.

“Penny for your thoughts sweetheart,” Amanda said gently.

Lee smiled. “I’m happy you have your memory back.”

“Me too,” she said. She could tell there was more, but decided not to push.

“Amanda,” Lee started nervously as he put his breakfast plate back on the tray, took Amanda’s plate out of her hand as well and put it back on the tray. He put the tray on the floor, “It was a living nightmare for me when you had amnesia.”

Amanda put her head down. “I know Lee, I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Lee grabbed both of Amanda’s hands. “I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad, so please don’t.” He paused before continuing. “Amanda, I don’t ever want to go through something like this again.” Lee paused again, collecting his thoughts.

“Go on sweetheart,” Amanda said encouragingly.

“I sort of told Billy about our marriage. I was really stressed, tired and frustrated. I let it slip without realizing what I had said. It actually felt really good to tell someone that I was a married man.” Lee realized he was having a really hard time just getting to the point. He looked Amanda right in the eyes, still holding her hands. “This whole situation has made me realize that I don’t want to hide our marriage anymore. I don’t want to have to ever go through anything like this again. It would be so much easier if everyone just knew we were married. Maybe we could even get married in front of family and friends, you know, have a real wedding.” Lee knew he was the one who had just rambled on for a change, and smiled.

Amanda had tears shining in her eyes. This was something she was going to bring up to Lee before the accident. She felt the same way. “Oh, Lee, I would love that, you could move in with us, until we can find a house of our own, and you wouldn’t have to leave anymore at night. We could go to sleep together every night and live like a normal family.”

Lee laughed at the word normal. Never had that word sounded so inviting to him as it did now, although he knew they would never be one hundred percent normal. He hugged Amanda. “I would love that,” he said and kissed her quite passionately. They both broke away breathless. Lee smiled. “We have nowhere to be today and we don’t have to get up for anyone or anything, Mrs. Stetson,” Lee said as he started kissing Amanda’s neck. “You’re right Mr. Stetson,” Amanda said as they fell back on the bed in another passionate kiss.

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

Francine’s jaw dropped to the ground. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All around her there was cheering and clapping. She was speechless.

Lee walked up to Francine, “what, don’t I get a congratulations, Francine?”

Francine looked up at Lee. “Married...to Amanda...eight months?” Francine stammered. Amanda walked up beside Lee. Lee was enjoying the look on Francine’s face, and put his arm around Amanda. Amanda smiled sweetly at Francine. Francine groaned and walked away.

“That was classic,” Lee said, as he and Amanda laughed. “Are we ready to do this all over again, with your, I mean, our family?”

“Yes,” Amanda said.

"Billy, we’re going to go,” Lee said after everybody had cleared out of Billy’s office.

“Hey, you two, congratulations,” Billy said.

“Thanks, Billy,” Lee said. He and Amanda walked out of the agency hand and hand.

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

Lee pulled up to Amanda’s house in his shiny new 1987 silver Corvette Sting Ray. He and Amanda had gone car shopping on their three days off. Lee wanted to stay with a silver Corvette. They had also done some serious talking on their three days off. They had decided that Lee would move in with her and the rest of the family in a few weeks, after everyone adjusted to the fact that they were married. Lee was really worried about how the boys would react, but Amanda told him they’d adjust just fine, given time. They had also decided they would keep Lee’s apartment as a getaway, for when they needed one, until they got their own house. They knew the boys would need time to adjust to them being married, and also moving to a new house, so they figured they would take their time in finding a new house.

Lee got out of the car, walked around to the passenger’s side and helped Amanda out. They walked into her house hand and hand. Amanda had called ahead of time to make sure everyone was home. She had told her mother that she and Lee needed to talk to the whole family. They had decided to tell them everything, including everything about the agency. Amanda had figured it was time her family knew the truth. Lee and Amanda walked into the house. Everyone was in the kitchen waiting for them. As soon as they walked in, they were bombarded with questions. “What did you have to talk to us about...tell us, tell us,” the boys were yelling.

“All right, All right,” Amanda said laughing. She figured she would get right down to business and waste no time. “Let’s all sit down at the dining room table.” Everybody sat down, and stared at Lee and Amanda. They looked at each other and smiled. Amanda grabbed Lee’s hand. “Mother, fella’s, let me tell you guys a story about a man in a red hat..."

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

Amanda was walking down the aisle of a church. She was in a wedding dress. She had a train that flowed behind her and a veil that covered her face. Standing at the alter was none other than Lee Stetson, looking dashing in his tuxedo. Amanda smiled. When she got to the alter, Lee took her hands. He smiled, looking lovingly into her eyes. She smiled back, feeling all the love she had for him coming to the surface. The wedding ceremony began. Before Amanda knew it, Lee was taking her left hand and putting a wedding band on her ring finger saying, “With this ring, I thee wed...”

Amanda was afraid she was suddenly going to wake up. She smiled and calmed down knowing that wasn't so. This time it wasn't a dream, this time it was for real.

The end