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Billy waited for the agents to finish jotting down their notes from the last item on the day's briefing before beaming at everyone and saying, "There's actually one more item on the agenda today. As some of you may recall, a few of our agents did work above and beyond the call of duty last year during that near-miss with the attempted contamination of the local water supply."
There were nods and a few claps from the assembled agents.
"And since the wheels of justice grind very slowly, it has taken some time for the various bits of paperwork to make their way through the many layers of administration, but today I am pleased to announce-" He paused and his smile grew even brighter. "That I have here a notification that Lee Stetson, Amanda King, and Francine Desmond will be awarded a special medal of merit for their contribution in protecting the population of the DC area." He paused again at the flutter of chatter of excitement and calls of congratulation to simmer down before going on. "A medal that will be given to them at a ceremony in two weeks time… at the White House."
The applause and hoots of appreciation increased as their colleagues took in the expression of complete amazement that was apparent on all three faces. Duffy was the first on his feet to reach his hand across the table to a stunned pair of agents. "Congratulations, Scarecrow. 'Bout time someone did something nice for you around here." He then extended his hand to Amanda. "And you too, Amanda. Congratulations – it's well deserved."
He turned to Francine who was in the chair next to his and held out his hand. "And, Francine, this is incredible news and I know what you're thinking and I also know everyone here will agree with me on this – no, there is absolutely not enough money in petty cash for you to buy a new outfit for the occasion."
Gales of laughter swept the room and Francine attempted to look affronted, but couldn't make it last, her lips twitching as she acknowledged the bullseye hit.
"But seriously," Duffy went on. "Congratulations to you, too. The three of you are such a good team. And you make the rest of us look good."
There were murmured noises of agreement from everyone, as the trio tried not to look embarrassed at the compliment.
"We just did our job," muttered Lee. "Same as you guys do every day."
"Well then, accept this one on behalf of all of us," said Duffy cheerfully. "And maybe bring us back some of those red, white and blue jelly beans they always talk about."
"It's a deal," grinned Lee.
"If the three of you could stay behind for a moment, I'll give you the details," said Billy.
With much handshaking and congratulatory comments, the rest of the agents filed out of the room, leaving Billy and his favorite set of agents behind.
"This is for real?" asked Lee.
"Of course it's for real," smiled Billy. "Do you see April 1st on the calendar?"
"Oh my gosh," murmured Amanda.
"I really do need to find something to wear," said Francine thoughtfully.
Billy rolled his eyes at her but pressed on. "The ceremony will be at the White House on the 18th in the afternoon, but it will be the Vice President presenting them to you." He gave a chuckle. "Apparently his tenure at the CIA means he likes the opportunity to thank agents personally." He looked at each of the three of them in turn. "I've been directed to tell you that you may each bring up to two guests, but they will need to be security cleared. As much as the powers-that-be want to reward you, the reason for it is still classified – that water contamination thing was a little too close to succeeding for the public to find out about."
"Oh." Amanda sounded slightly deflated. She met Lee's look with a small shrug of resignation. "I can't invite Mother or the boys. Even if it wasn't classified, how would I explain it?"
Lee grimaced. "No, I guess you can't." He reached out and took her hand to give it a squeeze. "But I'll be there, and so will Francine."
"And me," said Billy. "But there must be someone you could invite, Amanda? This is a big occasion."
"Well, I don't know..." Amanda began thoughtfully. "Maybe…" she trailed off, her brow furrowed. "Maybe Joe?" She turned to Billy, thus missing Lee blenching slightly. "Do you think that would be alright, Sir? I don't know exactly what kind of clearance he has, but he does know what I do and he's kept that secret. And really, I don't have anyone else that could go."
"I'm sure that would be fine, Amanda," Billy answered.
"Well, you don't have to invite anyone," said Lee. "I won't have anyone with me either. I mean, the three of you are already invited and I don't have anyone else who'd even want to go."
"Lee!" Amanda turned on him with a shocked expression. "Of course you have someone! You have to invite your uncle!"
"I do?" said Lee, taken aback by her vehemence. "No, I don't! He wouldn't want to come all this way for this."
"Of course he would!" She poked him in the arm. "He'll be so proud of you, of course he'd want to be there! A trip to the White House to see you honored?" She threw her hands in the air at Lee's doubtful expression. "If you don't invite him as your guest, I'll invite him as mine, and then think how ridiculous that will look!"
Lee held up his hands in laughing surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll invite him, but don't be disappointed when he turns me down."
"My parents are going to go out of their mind," said Francine. "If you think I'm going to be a nightmare trying to decide what to wear, be grateful you're not going to be anywhere near my mother." She sniffed at Billy and Lee's laughter. "It's not fair – you two could show up wearing any old suit and no one would say a thing."
"Oh, I think Jeannie will have a few things to say about what I wear," grinned Billy. "And Lee, I'm sure someone will do the same for you," he added in a teasing tone.
"I'll be sure to get some advice," said Lee, refusing to rise to the bait – or to look at Amanda. He paused and gave a low whistle. "The White House – I can't believe it."
"And just think - this time we're even invited!" quipped Amanda.
Lee was watching Amanda across the room as she chatted with the Vice President and his wife when his uncle walked up and handed him a drink.
"Congratulations, Skip. And thank you again for inviting me." He reached out and touched the medal on Lee's chest. "Your parents would have been very proud. And so am I."
"Thank you," said Lee, sipping at the scotch. "I'm glad you could make it."
Colonel Clayton gave a bark of laughter. "Nice of you to say so – I know Amanda probably put you up to it."
"What? No! I mean – I-" Lee stammered to a halt as his uncle raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd want to come all this way," he muttered.
"Well, you thought wrong," replied his uncle. "A chance to see you get honored the way you deserve? Wouldn't have missed it for anything." He smiled knowingly at Lee's look of disbelief. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I know I give you a hard time about how you suits get your fingers in everything, but you do good work, you and Amanda both. The fact that most people will never know the things you do to protect them is a crying shame."
Lee blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, really," said his uncle gruffly. "The military gets parades and national holidays, but what you do isn't any less important. And don't think I've forgotten how you saved me a few years back. If you hadn't sniffed out Patterson as the lying piece of garbage he was, I'd probably be in prison and even more of my airmen would likely be dead." He lifted his glass in a toast. "You do good work, Skip."
"Thank you," said Lee, inadequately, he thought, in the face of his uncle's compliments.
"So, Amanda's date seems nice." His uncle hid a smile in his glass as Lee's eyes narrowed.
"He's not her date," he said, stiffening. "Joe's her ex-husband, and one of the few people she could invite because of it being classified."
"They seem very close for exes," said his uncle, unable to resist teasing his nephew. "The way she's holding onto his arm like that."
Lee glared across the room at Amanda who was indeed clutching Joe's arm as if to tether herself to the ground as the Vice President smiled at her. The Second Lady gave a long laugh at whatever story Amanda was telling and then Joe added a comment that had everyone laughing again.
"It's nice," his uncle went on. "The way they're still friends even after a divorce. Good for the kids, I imagine."
"Yes," Lee replied curtly, then deflated slightly. "Yeah, Joe's been really great, stepping in a lot when she needed him, and with our work, that happens a lot."
"You like him?"
"I do, actually," Lee sighed. "He's a really good guy."
"And yet if looks could kill, he'd be dead on the floor right now. Worried much, Skip? Think she might figure out she's missing out on something?"
Lee turned a narrow gaze on his uncle who chortled into his glass again. "No, I'm not worried," he answered. "I just-" he waved his glass in the general direction of Amanda and Joe, "I just don't get it. They divorced, but they're still so close."
The Colonel took a sip from his glass. "Seems to me like you don't have to get it, you just have to accept it."
Lee made a noncommittal noise and continued to watch his wife laughing it up with the Second Couple.
"Do you remember that lunch we had in '82?" his uncle asked unexpectedly.
Lee flinched slightly. "Yes, Sir."
"You brought a date to that one too. You always bring a date, thank God – keeps us from having to talk to each other."
Lee opened his mouth to contradict him, but then realizing he was right, closed it again.
"It was Francine that time, wasn't it?" his uncle pointed unobtrusively toward Francine who was chatting with her parents, two people who couldn't have looked more excited or more proud of their daughter. Francine caught Lee's eye and smiled broadly, obviously having the best day of her life.
"Yeah, I think it was," Lee answered. He glanced up at the ceiling, doing the math. "We were dating then."
"Really?" his uncle stared at him. "You actually dated her? It wasn't just a fake thing, like when you brought Amanda?"
"No, we really dated," said Lee, nonplussed. "I did actually date people."
Colonel Clayton gave a quick smile at his nephew's slip-up. "Such a pretty girl. And smart too. You can forgive me for being surprised at finding out you were smart enough to date her."
Lee rolled his eyes and continued to watch Amanda.
"So why did you break up with her?" his uncle asked.
"Break up with who?" asked Lee, confused.
"Francine." Now it was his uncle's turn to roll his eyes. "That pretty and smart girl we were just discussing? You two still seem close. Have I been missing something? Are you still dating?"
"No!" Lee recoiled. "We're just friends now. Very good friends."
"I see." His uncle glanced at Francine, then at Amanda, then back at Lee. "Does Amanda know you dated her?"
"Of course," said Lee, stiffly.
"And she doesn't mind?" asked the Colonel.
"Why would she mind? It was years ago," Lee answered.
"So, she doesn't mind that you work, day in and day out, with one of your ex-girlfriends, an incredibly beautiful, incredibly smart woman that you're still 'very good friends' with, but you're spending your day at the White House glaring at the ex she sees every so often when he comes by to pick up the boys?"
Lee swallowed heavily, unable to come up with a response to this extremely accurate description of how he was being an idiot.
"I just hope that when Amanda finally sees the light and breaks up with you, you're lucky enough to keep her friendship the way Joe has," his uncle delivered his final shot.
"Now wait just a damn minute," said Lee, finally getting his voice back. "Amanda and I are not going to break up!"
"So, you're together, then?" his uncle asked gleefully.
The masseter muscle in Lee's cheek was getting a workout as he ground his teeth. "We're together, yes," he admitted.
"Good," said the Colonel. "Now work on keeping her."
"That's not going to be a problem," Lee retorted.
"It will be if you keep up that dog in the manger act around Joe King when he doesn't deserve it." He paused to let that sink in. "Skip, you're a smart man. That woman obviously adores you and you're just wasting energy worrying about what used to be."
Lee stared at him, struck silent by the realization of how right his uncle was.
One of the Vice President's aides approached them. "Mr. Stetson, Colonel, the Vice President and his wife would like to meet your guest."
Lee took a deep breath and the Colonel clapped his shoulder with a firm hand. "Here we go, Skip."
They walked towards the Second Couple, passing Amanda and Joe, the latter of whom gave Lee a wink as he passed.
"Ah, Mr. Stetson, or should I call you Scarecrow?" teased the Vice President in greeting.
"I guess you get to call me whatever you like," answered Lee, disarmed by the warm smile. "Mr. Vice-President, this is my uncle, Colonel Robert Clayton."
The Colonel, already ramrod stiff, straightened further, and sketched off a salute. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir."
"Likewise," drawled the Vice President. "Always good to meet a fellow pilot."
The Second Lady chimed in. "I gather you raised your nephew after the loss of his parents, Colonel Clayton? You must be very proud of him."
"I did, yes," confirmed the Colonel. "And I am."
"Dragged me up is more like it," said Lee in a joking tone. "I was a pretty awful kid."
"Well, he seems to have done a fine job of it," she smiled. "Here you are today after all."
"That's true," Lee smiled. "But I have my partner to thank for that too."
"Funny," quipped the Vice President, "She said the same about you. You make a good team."
Lee nodded. "I'm not going to disagree with you on that, Sir."
"They worked on solving the case against you as well, didn't they, Colonel?" the Vice President's gaze switched to Lee's uncle.
"They did indeed," agreed the Colonel. "I have a lot to be grateful for in that department."
"It was a terrible situation," agreed the Vice President. "It's so much worse when you're betrayed by someone you thought was a friend."
"That's absolutely true, Sir," responded Colonel Clayton in a grave tone. "Lucky for me I had family on my side."
"Family is very important," agreed the Second Lady. "It's so interesting that Mrs. King manages to do this work while also raising two young boys."
"She's very capable," agreed Lee.
"She gives a lot of credit to her mother and her ex-husband," she nodded in agreement. "Such a nice man, I thought. So, as you say, family is important. But I understand you're still single, Mr. Stetson," she continued. "Do you see that changing any time soon?"
"Ah, I, ah, well," stammered Lee. "I mean, I'd like it to…"
"Stop teasing the man, Bar," said the Vice President, smiling. "I'm sure he's capable of sorting out his own love life without an Executive Order."
"I suppose you're right, Dear." Her eyes twinkled. "But if you were looking, be sure to look at that lovely Mrs. King. She's certainly looking at you."
Lee blushed furiously while his uncle gave a loud snort of laughter.
The Second Lady leaned in. "Oh yes, it's that obvious."
Colonel Clayton coughed out a laugh at hearing his words of a few moments ago repeated by someone else.
The Vice President, meanwhile, put his hand to his brow and exclaimed, "Oh good Lord! Mr. Stetson, it's been good to meet you, and thank you again for what you did to stop that terrorist, but if you'd like to escape my wife and her attempts to manage your life, I won't blame you. And Colonel Clayton, it was a real pleasure to meet you. Thank you both for your service." He held out his hand and shook hands with both of them, before the aide led them away.
Lee and his uncle walked over to join Amanda and Joe. They were laughing about something, but, Lee noted, Amanda was no longer holding his arm. She looked up as they approached and the smile on her face somehow became more bright, more loving and, somehow, he knew she had just had that extra little skip in the heartbeat at seeing him, because he had just had it too.
"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Did you survive meeting the Second Lady?"
"It was… interesting," he admitted, with a grin.
"She certainly had Amanda's number on the romance front," joked Joe, as Amanda blushed furiously. "She's a very perceptive woman – maybe the Agency should recruit her next."
"I suspect she'll be too busy being First Lady soon enough," said the Colonel.
"True enough," laughed Joe. "What a terrible waste."
Amanda moved to stand closer to Lee, sliding her hand around his arm and giving it a light squeeze. "I still can't believe we're here! In the White House!" she exclaimed.
"Well, you deserved it," said Joe. "You both do."
"Thank you, Sweetheart," said Amanda. "I'm glad you could come today."
"Wouldn't have missed it," said Joe, giving her a warm smile.
Francine appeared beside them, smiling broadly. "Well, isn't this cozy?" she commented. "A regular family affair." She turned to her parents to introduce them. "Mom, Dad, this is Amanda King, and her ex-husband Joe King, and of course you remember Lee. Amanda, these are my parents, Helen and Francis Desmond."
"Call me Frank," said her father, shaking hands with everyone. "And I'm delighted to put a name to the face, Mrs. King. Frankie here talks about you all the time, singing your praises."
"She does?" queried Amanda, turning to smile at a red-faced Francine. "I had no idea Frankie felt that way about me."
"We never know if she's just teasing us or not. Tell me, did you really take out a mobster with a cookie sheet?" asked Helen, leaning in with a fascinated expression.
"It was a dish tray, and yes she did," said Lee, laughing. "She's also been known to use a car door with deadly accuracy. And tree branches and tires and at least one frying pan, if memory serves correctly."
"I may have told a few stories," said Francine, airily, "suggesting that you were among the better recruits we'd managed to get in the last few years." She gave a theatrical sniff. "Certainly better than most of the men."
"I'm just glad I didn't know how handy she was with a weapon before we divorced," Joe chuckled. "You know, I told Amanda once that whatever she was doing different after we broke up suited her and today really put the bow on that. You should be very proud, all three of you."
"Hear, hear," echoed Francine's parents and the Colonel.
He glanced at his watch. "But, as wonderful as it was to be here today, I do need to go pick up my wife at the airport, so I guess I better find my way out of here. Can't believe how much I missed her and she's only been gone two weeks!"
"Love will do that to you," laughed Amanda. "Give her my best and I'll see you on Friday when you pick up the boys," she went on, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Remember not to mention this to them."
"I won't," he promised, "but I know they'd be proud of you too. And of you too, Lee. I hope you get to tell them someday."
"Thanks, Joe," Lee answered, reddening slightly in the face of such obvious sincerity.
Joe nodded, shook hands with the Colonel and then headed for the door, pausing by the aide who gestured to follow him out.
"So your ex-husband has already remarried, Mrs. King?" asked Francine's mother. "Pity – he's a lawyer, you know," she remarked pointedly to Francine who rolled her eyes.
"Yes, but at a government non-profit," said Lee. "Francine could do much better."
"Almost anyone would be better than that idiot, Jonathan Stone," growled her father. "Good thing that snake has never shown up again or I wouldn't be held responsible for my actions!"
Francine gave Lee and Amanda a hunted look, silently begging them not to mention that brief reappearance of her ex-fiancé a few months before.
"There's a lovely man I met while we were waiting for the ceremony to start," said Helen, her gaze sweeping the room. "He's a doctor." Francine rolled her eyes again. "British, so polite and charming. I think he said his name was David, but I didn't catch his last name." She gave a little noise of disappointment. "Oh, I think he's already left."
"I'm sure Frankie can manage on her own, Helen," said her father. He gave Lee a look. "You dated her for a while, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Lee, then added smoothly "and she can do a lot better than me too."
"So true," murmured Amanda, smiling into her drink, and earning a mock injured look from her husband. She turned to Helen. "I'm sure Francine will find someone who will make her happy, but it's going to have to be somebody pretty special to deserve her. After all, he'll need to be very supportive when she's running the Agency in a few years."
"Thank you, Amanda," said Francine, her tone slightly tinged with surprise.
"Well, I need Lee's ex to be just as happy as mine is," Amanda teased. "It makes our life easier."
Frank put his arm around Francine's shoulder and gave her a hug. "You know, Princess, it's wonderful to know your friends think you're just as amazing as your mother and I do. And I bet they're right – you're going to be running that place, just you see, and you don't need a man for that."
"It's true she's going to do great things," said her mother, "But I'm just saying you can be happier with a husband than without. Just think how nice it is for women like the Queen of England or Margaret Thatcher to have someone to share their problems with over the breakfast table."
Francine and her father exchanged a smile over her mother's singlemindedness. "Well, Dad, on that note, shall we leave before Mom finds some up-and-coming congressman to fix me up with?"
Frank laughed and put his arm around her. "Oh, Princess, as if your mother would settle for anything less than a senator!" He reached out a hand to shake again. "It really was a pleasure to meet all of you."
"And you too," said Amanda. "Safe travels home."
"I'm glad they could come today," said Lee, as they watched the trio walk over to Billy to say goodbye. "It's good for Francine to see that they're really proud of her."
"I'm glad we could all have someone with us today," Amanda responded. "It's been a wonderful thing to share. Although I do feel bad that Joe has to keep it a secret from Carrie. I mean, I can't even imagine having to keep secrets like that from you."
"You're really happy for him," said Lee. "Him and Carrie."
"Well, of course I am," said Amanda. "He's special to me and I want him to be happy."
"I was just saying to Skip that it's good to see how well you get along with your ex-husband," said the Colonel.
"He's a good guy," agreed Amanda, "and it was nice he was here for the boys." Off Lee's look, she went on. "I mean, since they couldn't come, it's nice to know that someone related was here as the next best thing." She tucked her hand in Lee's arm and gave it a quick squeeze. "I mean, the only person I needed here was you, but like I said, it's a wonderful thing to share, isn't it?" She caught Lee's eye and gave a nod towards his uncle.
"Yeah, it is," he agreed. "I'm glad you made the trip, Sir."
"Like I said, wouldn't have missed it," said his uncle gruffly. "Can I buy you both dinner to celebrate?"
"That's not necessary," Lee began, before feeling Amanda squeeze his arm again, "but it would be very nice," he finished.
"Good," said his uncle. "Now if you can just wait a moment, I just saw an old friend over there I want to say hello to. He's pretty high up in the Pentagon now, but I could tell you some pretty hair-raising stories from his early days in the Air Force."
They both laughed as the Colonel headed across the room.
"I'm so glad he could be here today," said Amanda, turning to Lee with a loving look. "He's so proud. I bet he's gone over there just so he can boast about you."
"I never would have believed it, but I think you're right," Lee grinned. "And I'm glad you invited Joe." He caught her look of surprise and grimaced. "I know it's dumb for me to be jealous of him when we're" he lowered his voice and whispered theatrically, "married, but I'm happy you had family here today to be proud of you too."
"Thank you, Sweetheart," said Amanda.
Lee turned and took her hands in his. "You know, Joe was a very lucky man to have had you in his life, and I'm an even luckier man to have you in mine now," he said.
"Awww, you're just saying that because the Second Lady put you up to it, aren't you?" teased Amanda. "She's very keen to get us together for some reason."
Lee let out a laugh. "You know I'm not," he replied. "But being here today with my uncle and Billy and seeing Francine with her parents, it's really hit home about what family means. They're so happy for us, you know? It's still something I'm getting used to."
"I knew you'd come around eventually," said Amanda, squeezing his fingers.
"So, I was thinking," he forged on. "Maybe I need a clean slate, or at least some practice. Why don't you see if Joe and Carrie want to meet for dinner sometime, just the four of us? We could do it at my apartment, you two can tell me and Carrie old stories and we could all get to know each other better?"
"That's wonderful idea!" Amanda exclaimed. "I think Carrie is still a little shy around me, so it would be nice to have some quiet time to get to know each other. Just don't charm her too much," she went on, her dark eyes sparkling with humor, "Remember, you're all mine."
"And you're all mine," he answered, his voice deepening with affection. "And the boys'. And your mother's. And much as I hate to say it, maybe even still Joe's a little bit."
She looked at him quizzically. "It doesn't really still bother you, does it?"
"Nah," he grinned. "After all, we're just one big happy family, right?"
"We are," she confirmed, linking her arm through his. "Now let's go get your uncle and put that into practice."
"Oh, Amanda."