“Mother!”

“Hello, dear."

Where is Agnes?

“I sent her for some refreshments, Amanda. She kept on saying, ‘Tell me
why we’re doing this again?’ I thought that the poor dear was losing her mind
until Mildred admitted that they went out for an early supper and had a few.
Honestly, Amanda!”

Lee led Amanda over to the couch and wrapped her in his arms.

Amanda lifted her head from his chest and kissed him. "Dinner was amazing tonight. Thank you."

"You're welcome" Lee said as he pulled her closer. "I love making dinner for you. What do you say you stay here with me tonight?"

"As much as I would love to, we have a very early day tomorrow. Plus the boys are leaving with Joe after school to spend the weekend, so I would really like to see them in the morning to say goodbye. I'm sorry." Amanda said sadly. She hated when she had to let him down like this.

"I understand Amanda." Lee told her. "I just hate having to let you go every night and wake up alone in my bed. Tell me why we're doing this again?"

"Well," Amanda said, "we agreed it would be the best way to keep our family safe, but lately I've been doing a lot of thinking and we need to talk about telling everyone. I don't want to live like this anymore."

"Ok then, we will discuss the best way to come clean and when the boys come home from their weekend we tell them and your mother." Lee led her to the door and hugged her tightly. "Only a few more nights and we never have to leave each other. I can't wait to be a family Amanda."

Amanda happily agreed. "Neither can I Lee."

A Little Baby Experience

ooo000ooo


I looked down at the beautiful scrap of humanity that was lying in my arms, quietly sucking away at her bottle. She was so serene, so calm. Who’d have thought this was the same baby that almost screamed the neighborhood down only fifteen minutes ago, just because she was hungry.

Sitting in the rocker holding her in my arms, I could feel the quietness of the night enclosing us as if in a cocoon. It was just her and I, the two a.m. feed, and the silence.

The nursery wasn’t quite finished. There were still some things that needed to be assembled, but it was still a lovely room.

My tiny companion decided she had eaten enough so I draped a cloth diaper over my shoulder and held her against me. Gently I patted her tiny back until I heard her hiccupping burp. What I didn’t know was, that little sound was going to herald an avalanche.

I could feel the wetness on my shoulder almost immediately. I thought babies were supposed to know instinctively when they’d eaten enough. Obviously this little angel had been asleep when they were giving that lecture in the womb. She’d regurgitated what seemed like a half a bottle of milk on my shoulder and down my back. Ugh!

Luckily the cloth diaper had caught the bulk of it. Bringing my precious bundle back down to nestle in the crook of my arm, I pulled the cloth off my shoulder and chucked it on the floor. Awkwardly I stood up and went to the dresser to grab another diaper, sitting down again a little too heavily. Angel suddenly opened her eyes and then screwed them shut again. Her little face started to turn red.

Tony chose that moment to come into the nursery to find out how we were doing. Seeing the wet patch on my gown, he grimaced. “Somebody eat too much?”

I laughed quietly. “Yes, and now I think the other end is working.”

Tony joined me in my laughter as he leaned over the side of the rocker to stroke Angel’s little red cheek.

“I guess if you dealt with one end then it’s my turn to clean the other.”

I handed the now very smelly baby over to him and settled back to watch him take her over to the changing table. Opening up the press studs on her pajamas, he pulled on the tabs of the diaper. He wrinkled his nose as he started to clean Angel and put on a clean diaper.

Fastening the legs on her onesie, he glanced over at me. “Tell me why we’re doing this again?”

“Because, dearest husband, we promised to look after little Angel Marie so that Lee and Amanda could have a night off.” I got up as fast as my very expanding stomach would let me. Being seven months pregnant did not make standing up and sitting down the easiest of things to do. “And it’ll give us a little practice for when this little one arrives.” I rubbed my abdomen in a circle.

Tony walked back over to me with Angel securely tucked in his arm. Putting an arm around my shoulders, he pulled me to him and kissed my temple. “You know what? I can’t wait!”

The End

Cooking Lessons


Seeing the perfect parking spot, Lee pulled the silver Corvette into it even though he knew Amanda was going to complain about having to walk all the way across the parking lot just so he could have an end spot. He didn’t care; it was his baby, and while being shot at was not uncommon, he could at least do his part to assist in limiting the amount of accidental dings to his car. He put the car in park and, placing his hand on the ignition key, hesitated. Leaving the car running, he turned towards his wife, his expression clearly showing the apprehension he felt. “Tell me why we’re doing this again?”

Amanda let out a long sigh. “Lee, you’ve been trying to get out of this dinner for a week now.” Glancing at her husband, she caught the slight shake of his head, and raised her eyebrow. “Don’t try and play innocent. I know you have. First you offered to drive Mother to the airport when you knew very well that Captain Kurt was going to take her. Then you even called Mr. Melrose, don’t give me that look, I know you did. I heard you on the phone, asking him if there were any new cases that needed to be taken care of… on a Saturday no less. And finally you tried to con one of the boys into going to the park to shoot some hoops this afternoon, which didn’t work because they’d already made other plans.”

“What I don’t understand is why. You were the one who agreed to go in the first place, when Francine invited us three weeks ago.” Amanda placed her hand gently on his arm. “Now I think it’s time you told me why you suddenly changed your mind, don’t you?”

Lee shrugged. “Let’s just say I have my reasons, and leave it at that, okay?”

Amanda shook her head. “Unh uh buddy. Not good enough.” Her expression turned serious. “Unless you have a really good reason, you’re going to turn the car off and come upstairs with me. Francine’s been working very hard on this dinner party.”

Lee turned the car off, but made no attempt to remove his seatbelt. Instead he leaned back against the head rest and closed his eyes. “You’re going to think I’m being ridiculous.”

“Sweetheart, just tell me. It’ll be easier if you just share your concerns with me.” Amanda ran her hand soothingly up and down his arm.

“Okay.” Lee opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. Her loving expression gave him the courage he needed to confide in her. “I know that Francine’s been working really hard to make tonight perfect. I also know just how hard. I overheard her telling you that she’d been taking cooking lessons.” He looked away from his wife, knowing how much she hated it when he eavesdropped on her conversations. Especially after the last time when he’d only heard half of the conversation. He had totally gotten the wrong idea after hearing only half of her phone call; a call she had taken into another room and had drawn the wrong conclusion that she was having an affair. The whole situation turned out to be totally innocent; apparently she’d been discussing room colors with one of the PTA mothers.

Amanda rolled her eyes, but chose not to discuss the fact that he’d been listening in on a private conversation. That topic was a losing battle. Her husband was a spy and some habits were extremely hard to break. “So what does Francine taking cooking lessons have to do with you not wanting to go to the party? I’d think that you’d be glad to be eating something edible, rather than overcooked.”

Lee opened his eyes and glanced back over at his wife. “Because I almost died the last time Francine took cooking lessons.”

Amanda stared at her husband, her expression curious, and then suddenly everything became extremely clear and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Lee, that was five years ago. Francine learned her lesson. She won’t ever take private lessons again. She’s been taking night cooking classes over at Georgetown.”

“Still the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” Lee grinned slightly at his own choice of words. “No pun intended.”

Amanda sighed and smiled. She knew there was only one way to get her husband out of the car and to the dinner party; she just hoped Francine didn’t kill her for breaking a confidence. “If I let you in on a little secret, will you promise to get out of the car?”

Lee glanced at his wife skeptically. “Depends on what the secret is.”

Removing her hand from Lee’s arm, Amanda placed it in her lap and shook her head. “No deal. Either you agree or,” she reached over and took the keys out of the ignition where Lee had left them and placed them in her purse, “you can stay here all night, and starve.”

Although trying to get the keys back from his wife might be fun, Lee knew that, even though she was smiling now, her patience with him was wearing thin. “Fine, I promise to come upstairs.”

“You also have to promise not to let on to Francine that you know.” Amanda stared at him with a look that dared him to argue with her. “I mean it. You can’t breathe a word of this to anyone, ever.”

The look his wife was giving him was the same one she gave to the boys when she meant business, and he knew better than to go against her, which really piqued Lee’s interest. Whatever Francine had told her, had to be good. “I promise,” he replied, his expression sincere.

“Francine called me earlier, while you were in the shower. She ended up burning dinner. She was frantic. I told her not to panic, that she should just order from somewhere and then stick everything into cookware and make it look like she cooked it.” Amanda reached for her door handle. “So there, you don’t have to worry about meeting your demise tonight.”

Lee had to admit, knowing that Francine didn’t cook the food meant that she couldn’t have secretly poisoned him, but that still didn’t make his worries go away completely. “Fine she didn’t cook it, but that still doesn’t mean the whole idea of Francine taking cooking lessons will stop me from looking over my shoulder.”

Shaking her head, Amanda opened her car door and climbed out of the car. “That’s something you do every day, regardless of whether Francine takes cooking lessons or not. But you have something now you didn’t have before…”

Lee looked over towards the open door. “What’s that?”

Amanda leaned her head back inside. “Me. Now come on, before we’re late and give her a reason to really want to kill us.” She stood back up and closed her door.

Lee sighed and got out of the ’Vette. Locking his door from the inside, he shut it and followed after his wife. “By the way, where did she order dinner from?”

Amanda laughed. “If you behave tonight and don’t say anything, I’ll tell you on the way home.”

Lee put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “You’re right. I do have you, and with you to watch my back, just like you did that day five years ago, there really isn’t anything to worry about.”

“Exactly.” Amanda leaned her head back a little and glanced down. “And a great view it is too!”

The End

Hurricane Dotty

"So, today we have a two o'clock with the wedding coordinator, a
three o'clock with the florist, a three-thirty with the bakery, and
we need to squeeze in a visit with the reception hall manager at some
point. Tomorrow is Amanda's appointment with the seamstress for the
final alterations to her gown, and Lee, you have to go and have your
final fitting for your tux." Dotty informed them.

"I already have a tux, Dotty." Lee mentioned in monotone as he tried
to remain calm. He could feel his nerves beginning to fray and his
patience wearing thin.

"Lee, you know we selected a special tux for you with coordinating
colors that go with the overall color theme we selected for the
wedding," Dotty patiently reminded him as she continued making notes
in her wedding planner's date book.

Lee leaned in close to Amanda and whispered in her ear, while making
sure Dotty wouldn't hear, "Tell me why we're doing this again…"

Since he and Amanda had announced their "engagement" for the benefit
of their family and friends, Dotty had been in wedding planner
overdrive. He truly loved being a part of this family, but
nevertheless all this wedding micromanagement was beginning to grate
on his last nerve. These minor details and plans were all overkill
in his book because it was just supposed to be a small, simple
ceremony for family and close friends. He didn't see why they needed
to have all this hullabaloo when all they really needed to do was
just repeat their vows in front of the minister from Dotty's and
Amanda's church. Then it would be "official", and they could finally
live together with their family as husband and wife. Surely Amanda
could see this had all gotten out of hand, couldn't she?

"Just go with the flow, Lee." Amanda whispered back giving him a
sympathetic look. "I promise I'll make it up to you later,
sweetheart."

Lee smiled at the thought of how she was going to make all of this up
to him.

"Hey, you two, is there something would like to share with me? Do
you have another idea for the wedding or reception?" Dotty innocently
asked.

"No, mother, Lee was just commenting on what a great job you're doing
of organizing the wedding," Amanda said as she looked
conspiratorially over at Lee.

"Awww, thanks Lee. You both deserve a beautiful day that you will
never forget, and that's what I aim to give you. So let's get going
then. We have a lot to do." Dotty said as she headed out the door.

Amanda hugged Lee and said, "Thank you, sweetheart, for going along
with all this. I know it isn't easy for you."

Lee kissed her briefly, then grabbed the keys to the Jeep and smiled
as he said, "Hurricane Dotty strikes again! We'd better get out
there or she'll have our heads!"

~~~~END~~~~

"Ok, Phillip, you do remember, what we had to buy, no? Or shall I
ask mom to wrote you a list?"

"Shut up wormbrain! I know all, but come on, this place is huge!"

"Yes, it is, but we helped mom, so many times with the groceries and
we will manage, to find all those ingredients. I'm sorry I didn't
hear the name of that dish quiet well, but I was kind of
eavesdropping, and I couldn't ask Lee for the correct name.
All I heard was he enjoyed the make out they did in the kitchen last
week when we were at dad's house and granny was with Cpt. Kurt.
So I took all the cooking books I found in the house and at the
library and search for two days for a dish with a similar name "Make
out."

"At first, I couldn't find it, and I thought I heard wrong, and they
weren't talking about food, but they did it in the kitchen, and there
we cook! So it had to be there something.
At last Bingo! in an Oriental Cooking book, I found it "Chicken Make
out" it has some weired ingredients, must be something Lee learned to
do when he stayed with his uncle."

After an hour of searching the two boys, found all the ingredients,
the recipe needed and hurried home, they had only two hours before their
parents would be home.

"OK, wormbrain, tell me why we're doing this again!” Said a very
nervous Phillip!

"I would tell you, why. Because he loves us, because he always has
time for us to play, to help at homework, to answer at all our
questions. Because he loves mom and makes her happy, because of her
laugh and sparkling eyes and because granny is content too, that's
why!"

"You are right, Jamie, now tell me again how I have to cut this
chicken?"

Lee stood in front of the bedroom mirror fumbling to tie his bow tie.
Tonight, he was all thumbs. He didn't know how he'd let himself get talked into
this. Yes, he did. Amanda. He could never say no to her. Especially when she
looked at him with pleading in those deep chocolate eyes. He let out a defeated
sigh and pulled the tie open again.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the ends of the black silk and started to
make the knot once again. The bathroom door opened and he turned to see his
wife, dressed in nothing but a sexy slip, step into the bedroom. His eyes held
hers. "Tell me why we're doing this again. I'm sure we can find something
else to do tonight." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She stepped into the blue gown she'd chosen to wear tonight and glided
across the bedroom to stand in front of him. She caressed his cheek. "We are doing
this because he's your uncle. And it's an important day for him. It's not
everyday he gets promoted to Brigadier General." She turned her back to him.
"Zip me up, please."

He placed soft kisses up her spine dragging the zipper behind his lips. He
reached the nape of her neck and brushed her hair aside before kissing the
sweet spot there. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her tight
against his body. His lips nestled the sensitive skin behind her ear and whispered
all the ways he wanted to spend the quite night at home in her ear.

She let out a soft moan of pleasure then turned in his arms. She kissed him
deeply. He couldn't breathe. It took a moment for him to realize it wasn't
her kiss that made him breathless. The little minx was slowly strangling him
with his untied tie. He broke the kiss and she took a small step back.

She smiled and winked at him, still holding the ends of his tie. "There'll
be plenty of time left for that later, but only if you behave yourself."

"With an incentive like that, you can bet I'll be on my best behavior." He
slipped the silk from her hands and measured the ends of his tie against his
shirt front.

"Here, let me do that."

He dropped his arms to his side and stood ruler straight while Amanda deftly
knotted his bow tie. He slid into his jacket and tucked Amanda's hand in
his. He couldn't wait for the formal ceremony to end so that he could peel her
out of that dress and start his own celebration.

End

The Competition

Amanda trekked through the woods following Francine. Why in the
world had she let Francine talk her into this hair-brained scheme?
She was going to make a fool of herself. She knew it.

"Tell me why we're doing this again?"

Francine stopped and turned around. "Because the guys do this every
year." She threw her hands up in the air. "One of them will say
they're a better shot than the other and the next thing you know
they've set up this contest. For once they're going to find out
women can be great marksman too."

"Why don't they use the target range at the Agency?"

"Because they don't want to incur the wrath of Smyth. They'd tried
it the first time and when he found out he said anyone participating
would be sent on an assignment to Hell. So they changed the location
to the place out here in the woods. All this little pissing contest
gets them is bragging rights for the next year that they're the best
with a gun. It's like men comparing their `packages' to see whose is
bigger."

"They don't do that. Do they?" Amanda couldn't fathom Lee comparing
the size of other men's `packages' with his own.

Francine rolled her eyes. "They check out the competition just like
women do. They just won't admit it. I'll bet if they're in the
bathroom together they'll slyly glance over to see if the person next
to them has something bigger in there. Don't tell me you've never
looked at one of Lee's old bimbos and compared her body to yours.
Now lets get a move on, we're going to show them that men aren't the
only ones with balls." Francine began walking along the well worn
path.

Okay so maybe Francine was right in a round about way. How many
times had she compared herself to one of the women from Lee's past?
She'd lost count, but she hadn't done that since the day he told her
he loved her. Those three little words had stopped her comparisons.
Maybe men did the same thing. They were extremely competitive. Look
at sports. Stop that. Stop trying to figure out men. She should
know better, they were complex creatures.

Sounds of male laughter filtered through the trees. They were
getting closer. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Even though
Francine told her she'd improved one hundred percent she still
doubted it. Especially, when she'd be shooting in front of
everyone. It was different on the range with only her and Francine.
Or even when she and Lee practiced. There wasn't an audience to make
her nerves go haywire.

They entered the clearing and Amanda saw Lee, Leatherneck, Fred,
Ephraim and numerous other agents huddling around a table checking
out various weapons. Lee hurried over to Amanda and pulled her
aside. "What are you doing here? I told you I'd see you later this
afternoon." He ground out in a hushed voice.

Amanda became slightly miffed at his tone and she could feel the
testosterone in the air. Just like that the butterflies fled and she
was infused with steel determination. "Who says this contest has to
be men only?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Francine and I
have every right to be here."


"Yes we do." Francine added as she came up to stand next to
Amanda. "In fact, I'm the one who told her about this little contest
and we," she pointed at her and Amanda, "decided we wanted to
participate."

Lee looked from Amanda to Francine and back to Amanda and held his
hands up. "You're right."

She could tell by his eyes that he really meant what he was saying
and regretted snapping at her. But she wasn't going to let him off
that easy. "Besides we came to see who has the biggest." Amanda
smirked.

"The biggest what?"

She looked at Francine who nodded her head. "The biggest dick."

Lee's face turned ten shades of red. "Ladies first." He stammered.

Amanda stood ramrod straight and walked over to the table with the
weapons. She picked up a handgun, pivoted, aimed at the wooden
target twenty-five yards away, and fired.

All the men gawked in disbelief.

She'd hit the bull's eyes point blank center.

This from the woman who'd had a negative score the first time she'd
ever gone to target practice. She laid the gun down on the table,
crossed her arms and grinned. She'd done it. If she'd taken her
time, her hand would've shook and she'd have missed it entirely. But
this way, firing fast and not thinking about it was what enabled her
to become a more accurate marksman. Not that she could do it every
time, but at least she did hit the target more often than not then.

Lee pulled Amanda into his arms. "Nice dick."

The End

Even if in the other parts of the city the lights and noise were in
full swing in the suburbs the silence and peace were overwhelming. The
houses and backyards were submerged in darkness and the occupants deep
in the dreaming land.

The white house in Maplewood Drive 4247 wasn't different, but if
someone would have approached the gazebo they would have seen and heard two
people whispering while waiting for a third to appear.

Kurt's strangled voice raise a little above a dog barking through
chattering teeth. "Tell me why we're doing this again?"

"Why?" replied the second chattering one, Lee's. " Because you wanted
those opera tickets for Dotty, a gift for taking the flying license,
because you choose a show who play with " No more tickets" label since
last year, and because it is fair that you wait with me in the cold
for Auggie to come with the tickets so if I catch a cold you would had
one too."

"Right! Thank you Lee, but please, for the next time when our ladies
deserve a gift just kick me, before I open my mouth. This way we can
talk and decide together, because I hate this Cold!"

" Deal! Now Auggie, where the hell are you, I strongly hope you have
those tickets ......or else!"

Tradition

Michael sat at a table in the corner of the dimly lit room, nursing his
third drink--soft drink. The acrid smell of stale beer and tobacco made his eyes
and nose run. He looked around the room at the mix of humans and aliens that
had come together to defeat the Shadows.

It was an odd mixture. Spices that were mortal enemies were sitting together
downing one drink after another. But that was the power of John Sheridan.
The man they were here to honor.

"Tell me why we're doing this again?" Lennier stood in front of him.

"It's an earth custom called a Bachelor Party. On the night before a man
marries, his friends take him out, get him drunk, and celebrate his last day as
a free-man. There are usually some erotic movies and dancers, but we promised
the President we would keep the party somewhat tamed."

Lennier opened his mouth, most likely to ask a question, but was cut off by
the arrival of the guest of honor.

Londo stood on top of the bar and shouted, "Everyone is here now, let us
begin the celebration."

Cheers and laughter could be heard coming from the tavern, and the party
lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Leaving just an hour to recover
before the wedding ceremonies started.

End

"Having fun yet?"

"No," said the opponent slightly out of breath. The two men fought until
they were tied up for the umpteenth time. "Tell me why we're doing this
again?"

"Because you need the practice," said the other man pushing the opponent out
of the tie up.

"Well, that's obvious," the opponent said rolling his eyes. The two men
prowled one another with their pikes.

"Besides...." the other started trying to get his opponent off guard. "This
will help you in the future."

"The future?'"

"With Earth."

"Earth?" questioned Captain Sheridan. Caught off guard Sheridan had lowered
his pike and Marcus got a good shoot into the captain's chest knocking
the him to the floor. He looked up stunned. "How's that?"

"You can't let your guard down," Marcus said approaching him giving out a
hand to help him up which Sheridan accepted. "Especially with people whom
you consider your friend." Sheridan nodded in agreement.

"Want to go again? You're going to need all the help you can get to at
least make a good showing fighting Delenn."

Sheridan smirked at his comment. "Yeah. I need all the help I can get to
pass this ritual."

Marcus laughed at the captain. "It doesn't matter if you win or lose.
Whoever wins gets to decide whether to continue the relationship or not and
I don't think Delenn would dump you even if you lose. But you don't want to
look like a wimp do you?"

The last statement stirred Sheridan up. "Bring it on!" he hollered getting
into a serious fighting stance. Marcus knew he in for a hell of a fight the
rest of the afternoon.

End