"I can't believe you broke it!" The young man whined.

"I said I was sorry. What else do you want me to do?" Snapped his elder.

"Fix it?" He snapped.

"Lee Stetson, get over it!" The colonel yelled.

12 year old Lee Stetson sulked to his room looking at his favorite comb, now with a missing tooth.

Lee Stetson couldn't believe he had been so careless, but in all fairness no one was supposed to come home until tomorrow. So young Phillip King wasn't the only one who was in for a shock when he entered his mother's bedroom without knocking. His younger Brother Jaime came in right on his heels and stopped so short his eyeglasses fell off. Lee and Amanda quickly covered their bodies with the sheet and bedspread but not before both boys had gained an eyeful. Phillip turned to make a hasty retreat and slammed into his brother, who was glued to the spot. Twelve year old Jaime kept seeing the contraption Lee's Penis was in and mistook it for some sort of weird splint.

Dotty who had lagged behind to pay the cab driver was just about to approach Amanda's room when she heard Jaime squeak out, "Mom, I can't believe you broke it!"

Mobile Waters



Leatherneck's POV

This has me beat.

I can construct all kinds of electronic contraptions and gizmos out of bits of wire and old circuit boards like a veritable MacGyver but I can't figure out how to put together a simple crib mobile. If only the instructions weren't in 'Chinglish' then I might be able to understand them.

Looking around the room at what we've accomplished together, it gives me such a feeling of achievement; more than anything I've ever done at the Agency. Soon the proof of our love will be sleeping in that crib. Our baby girl will want for nothing; she'll be the most loved little girl in the world.

I guess I'd better make another attempt to put this whirligig together.

Francine's POV

I dragged myself up the stairs holding a pile of laundry awkwardly in my arms; awkwardly because my over-extended belly made everything difficult to do these days. It's weird but I actually loved being pregnant, but I was now in my forty-first week and enough was enough! I know that forty-two weeks is considered 'term' but I've been ready to have this baby since my thirty-sixth week.

I was putting away the linens when I heard muttering coming from the nursery. Tony and I had worked hard over the past months to get the room just right. As soon as we knew we were going to have a girl, we started choosing furniture and colors. Tony had always loved to draw and he'd drawn a lovely Disney mural on one wall using all of the Winnie the Pooh characters. We'd spent hours up here together, painting the characters in bright colors. More often than not though, those painting sessions ended up being sessions of a whole other type of activity. Did I mention that I loved being pregnant?

Standing in the doorway of my daughter's future bedroom, I watched the man I never thought I'd ever fall in love with but now found I couldn't live without. I smiled, a small satisfied smile, as I watched him struggling with the mobile that I'd picked up the other day. It always amazes me how he can make the most intricate and complicated electronic devices from scratch for field use at the Agency, but when it comes to simple every day articles he's stumped.

I shifted my weight; something felt 'off' today. I rubbed my back as I suddenly developed an ache low down on my spine. I watched the way Tony's hair fell forward over his forehead as he concentrated on putting together the mobile and I longed to smooth it back and kiss him. With that thought in my mind I moved into the room only to be attacked by the most horrendous pain which felt like it shot out from my navel and surrounded my abdomen. I screamed and panted until the pain passed.

Leatherneck's POV

I knew she was there, in the doorway, watching me. I also knew she wanted to come in here and take over putting this thing together. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of showing me, once again, how incompetent I can be with normal everyday things around the house. God I love that woman. I felt a small smile grace my face as I heard her step into the room, the moment she reaches me I'm so going to kiss her until she's dizzy. My smile froze as I heard her scream and the arm of the mobile in my hand snapped with a loud crack.

Turning to look at my wife, I saw she had sunk down against the bureau, her fisted hands supporting herself on the floor, her knuckles white and she was panting.

I knelt down beside her and looked into those big blue eyes that were now filled with pain and fear. Gently kissing her forehead, I said, "Breathe through it baby, breathe. When it's over we'll get you ready to go to the hospital." I couldn't believe how relaxed I sounded, because inside I was in turmoil. This is it. I'm going to be a dad.

Franny looked at me and then looked down at my hand. I was still clutching the pieces of plastic from the mobile that I'd snapped in two when I'd heard her scream.

The contraction was obviously passing because she was totally focused on the mobile that I'd been working on, "I can't believe you broke it! You've been trying to put it together for ages and now it's broken."

I was kneeling next to her on the floor and I felt my knees getting warm. Looking down I realized they were soaked. "Looks like the mobile's not the only thing that broke around here! Let's get you cleaned up and changed so I can take you to the hospital to have our daughter." Kissing her lingeringly on the lips I helped her up and realized that we were about to start the next adventure in our already adventuresome lives.

End

The silence of the house in Maplewood Drive was complete, or at least it seems as the first impression, but as you climb the stairs whispers can be heard from the room occupied by the youngest members of the family -Phillip and Jamie.

"Phillip, you shouldn't take the package mother left on the counter!"

"Aww Jamie, did you forgot the neat car we found last year in the package supposedly to be for aunt Lillian?"

"Do you think they would use the same trick, as last year, it will be too easy."

"Yes, I think, Mom will think , that we wouldn't fall for that again, so, she wrapped a package for Aunt Minnie this year, but we are smart, are we?"

"Ok, I think you are right."

"Oh course I am, wormbrain. Now let's see, the package is too small for the car we saw at the store, but....maybe just the right size for a some of the cool Nintendo games we played at the Arcade."

Phillip tried to open as slow as he could the brown paper-another clue in his mind, that the package was a trap, if it was a real package the foil would have been red or green or other girlish color, and with a bow, don't forget the bow.

"What's that?" Came the strangled whisper, from Jamie's mouth.

"It seem, a music box, remember at Laura's birthday, when she annoyed everyone with the "classic piece" played by the music box she get from an aunt, uncle, grandmother or..."

"Yes, yes, well I hope that the song is something more cool then that stuff."

Phillip lifted gently the lid, but no music, could be heard.

"I can't believe you broke it!” the angry voice of Jamie sound loudly in the silent night.

"Shush, be quiet, do you want one of them here, and NOW! You know mom has a light sleep!"

"Ok, ok but you broke it. I heard a thud when you took it from the counter."

"No, I didn't drop it, that was my foot in direct collision with the stool."

"Then why, this piece of....don't sing?"

End

"I can't believe you broke it!" Lee said with his hand grasping at his chest while looking at her with oh so beautiful, but sad hazel eyes. "You broke my heart, Amanda."

"Oh Lee, be serious!" Amanda admonished, "I did no such thing!"

"I saw the way you were looking at him, A-man-da." Lee said drawing out her name in the way he always did when he was really irritated with her.

"Who, Lee?" Amanda demanded. "Who do you think I was looking at???"

"Why Indiana Jones himself, you know Harrison Ford! I saw the way you were undressing him with your eyes throughout the whole movie." Lee exclaimed to Amanda as they were cutting their way through the crowd of people exiting the multiplex.

"I would certainly be doing no such thing, especially with the boys sitting right there in the same theater with us. And Lee Stetson, I can't believe you are acting so jealous over a movie star! How ridiculous! Besides you are the only one I want to be undressing, and not just with my eyes!" Amanda said with a reassuring wink just as Philip and Jamie caught up with them.

"Wow, Mom and Lee, that was the best movie ever! Thanks for bringing us to see it!" exclaimed the boys in unison as the foursome made their way through the parking lot.

End

Amanda King watched with trepidation as the man squatted to the floor. She breathed deeply when he rose, clutching something as shimmering as the stark white walls behind him.

She managed to find her voice, "I can't believe that you broke it!"

"It is not broken." Addi Birol smirked. "But I find a certain satisfaction in it's symbolism. Your heart is broken. Scarecrow will try to put the pieces back together but his heart will in turn be broken. He will fail and I will be watching as you destroy yourselves."

Birol put the pendant in his pocket and left the room.

Amanda closed her eyes and envisioned Lee. She had known for some time that they were soulmates and she was a stronger woman and agent for it. She only had to bide some time before he would find her. . .

"I can't believe you broke it!" Lee looked at his wife and shook his head.

She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then she picked her head up and continued, "But, it wasn't may fault. I felt someone grab me from behind, and I just reacted. How was I supposed to know you were coming home early?"

"I guess you're right. I shouldn't have snuck up behind you." He gently kissed her cheek. "Next time I let you know its me. I wouldn't want a repeat of today."

"Nor would I." She picked up his suit jacket and draped it over her arm. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Good idea, but you're going to have to explain to Billy why my arm is broken."

End

"I can't believe you broke it!" Jamie exclaimed as he stared at the dining room window, which now sported a baseball-sized hole. "I told you playing ball in the house was a bad idea. Mom is going to kill us."

"Would you just shut up for a second, worm brain, so I can think?" Philip asked in frustration.

"Think! What's there to think about?? The window's broken, and we're gonna be in big trouble `cause we can't fix it." Jamie lamented.

"No, but maybe we can hide it for a while or something. With the curtain closed, I bet mom and grandma won't even notice the hole." Philip suggested.

"Close the curtain...oh, that's your brilliant idea." Jamie replied in utter disbelief.

"Yeah and it'll work. We'll be at dad's place this weekend, and with the curtain closed mom won't find it `til she does the cleaning on Saturday. We'll be gone, so she can't blame us. It'll work, trust
me." Philip explained as he quickly closed the curtains.

"I'm telling you it's not going to work!" Jamie argued.

"Well, unless you have a better idea, this is our only chance. So just keep your mouth shut, dorkus!" Philip warned.

"My idea is to be honest and just tell mom what happened, but I don't want to lose my allowance for the next month. So let's hope this works…I'm not holding my breath, though. Let's at least go upstairs so we're away from the scene of the crime" Jamie suggested.

"Boys in the kitchen…NOW!" they heard Amanda yell before they had even reached the foot of the stairs.

"Oh man, we're in for it now." Philip complained as they ran into the kitchen.

"I found your baseball lying in the driveway when I got home. It was next to the broken glass from the dining room window. Philip, I can't believe you really thought I wouldn't notice it if you just closed the curtain. And don't call your brother a worm brain!" Amanda said in an irritated tone.

"You heard us? What are you a spy or something?" Philip asked, realizing that his plan was a bust from the start.

"Nope, just a mom who knows you boys too well. Now, start cleaning up that glass while I call the repairman. Oh and Jamie was right about you guys losing your allowance for a month." Amanda replied, as she laughed to herself over Philip's comment about her being spy. 'If he only knew…' she thought.

End

~~~~WHACK~~~~ ~~~~~CRASHHH~~~~~~

"Oh, man! I can't believe you broke it. Worm brain, you broke Lee's windshield! You're gonna get it now..." Philip told Jamie gleefully, as reality began to sink in for Jamie.

"Why are you acting so happy about it, Philip?? You were playing ball, too. It's just as much your fault as it is mine. Lee is going to kill us when he sees it. He loves this car." Jamie said dejectedly. "I guess we should just go tell him now and get it over with."

"No way, Jamie! YOU can go tell him now. It was your fault—you're the one who hit the ball into Lee's windshield, not me." Philip said confidently.

Just as Philip finished that sentence, the boys heard Lee say from right behind them, "Is there something you boys would like to tell me??"

Philip and Jamie turned around slowly and faced Lee.

"Lee, Jamie here broke your windshield with the baseball." Philip explained.

"Jamie, is that true?" Lee asked.

"Yes, sir. But it was an accident." Jamie said with his head down.

"Must have been a pretty good line drive you hit to get such a clean break, Jamie! Looks as though you've been practicing your batting skills lately!" Lee exclaimed proudly. "Look son, I know it was an accident, so don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. At least you didn't damage the paint job—the glass is an easy fix." If they only knew how many times that windshield had been replaced due to having bullet holes in it, Lee thought with a smile.

End

Amanda King entered her fiancé’s apartment with a slight bit of trepidation. Lee had left her house a few hours earlier, right after the Christmas Eve festivities had died down and Joe had finally left. She smiled at the fact that for someone who didn’t want to go to her house in the first place, he sure stayed the longest. He had made her promise to sneak out of her own house after everyone had gone to bed, but not before midnight, so that they could exchange their Christmas presents.

Amanda had tried to get him to just come over in the morning, but he had insisted they celebrate Christmas alone, and he wanted to be the first one she celebrated the holidays with this year. He had promised that he would have her home in time, before the boys had woke up and were ready to open the packages that ‘Santa’ had left the night before.

Amanda knew that he knew that her boys were old enough now that the mystery behind Santa was no longer a secret. However, she had agreed, because truthfully, the idea of celebrating Christmas with the Agency’s biggest humbug was something of a treat.

So, with excitement about exchanging gifts with her soon-to-be husband, Amanda had stopped by the Q-Bureau to pick up the gift she’d left there. She couldn’t wait for Lee to open it. She had actually bought this gift a few months back, not long after the incident with Thomas Blackthorne.

Entering the apartment, Amanda looked around and was amazed at what she saw. The apartment was decorated with bits of green and red everywhere, including a small Christmas tree, complete with tinsel and red and green Christmas balls. She turned around and as she closed the door, a bit of green above her head caught her eye: Mistletoe.

Suddenly a pair of strong arms enveloped her and she turned around. “Merry Christmas, Lee.” The only response she got was a long passionate kiss from her fiancé.

“If this is what I have to look forward to at Christmas ever year, then I don’t think I’ll ever put my name down on the duty roster again.” Lee whispered as he reluctantly removed his lips from his fiancée’s.

Amanda wrapped her arms around his neck and replied by giving him another, lingering kiss.

“If we keep this up, we’ll never exchange our gifts and I really can’t wait to give you yours.” Lee commented as he removed his arms from around Amanda’s waist and removing her somewhat heavier than normal purse and placing it on the table by the door, began helping her out of her coat. “What do you have in there anyway?” He asked, nodding towards her bag, as he hung her coat on the coat rack.

Amanda smiled. “Just something I picked up from the Agency on the way over here.”

“Amanda,” Lee stared at his fiancée with wide eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t bring work with you?”

Amanda laughed. “Of course not silly. Remember I told you I’d left my gift for you in the Q-Bureau.”

Lee let out a long breath. “Of course. You had me worried there for a moment.” He smiled as he turned and began walking towards the tree.

Amanda opened her purse and pulled out Lee’s gift, and then followed him into the other room. She couldn’t help but smile at the fact that someone who moaned about Christmas was suddenly even more in the spirit than she was. He was almost like a little kid on Christmas morning, which made her even more excited for him to open her gift to him.

Lee sat down on the floor and patted the space beside him. As soon as Amanda had joined him, he reached under the tree and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box, and passed it eagerly to his fiancée. “I have a confession, I didn’t wrap it.”

Amanda smiled as she stared at the package in wonder. It was way too big to hold a scarf, and she eagerly began tearing off the paper. With the paper removed, she opened the box and discovered a layer of tissue paper with a gold envelope on top. She glanced up curiously at Lee. “You didn’t wrap this yourself?”

Lee chuckled at the very confused expression on his fiancée’s face; an expression that only Amanda could pull off. “I asked the lady at the gift wrap counter to place that in before she wrapped it.”

Knowing that her husband wasn’t much into Christmas, Amanda had to believe that Lee really hadn’t wrapped the gift himself, otherwise, she had a feeling that there would have been about thirty pieces of tape and mis-matched lines. Removing the envelope, she gingerly opened it and pulled out the card. The front had a single red rose, and nothing else. Lifting the front, she read the hand written inscription.

I’ve never been very good with buying gifts, but I knew that I had to do something special for the woman who owns my heart. So, I got us tickets to a night at the Kennedy Center, reminiscent of our very first date, even though at the time, we would never have admitted that it was really a date. The tickets are for New Year’s Eve, and I plan on ringing the New Year in with the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with.

With all my heart…
… and all my love,

Lee


Wiping the tears of love from her eyes, Amanda gazed up at Lee. For the first time in a very long time, she found herself speechless.

Lee leaned forward and whispered, “I meant every word,” he then placed a kiss at the corner of one eye, wiping away that tear and then repeated the gesture on the other. Once he had cleared away the tears, he kissed her gently on the lips. “Now, open the rest.”

Amanda placed the card on the floor beside her, then began removing the tissue paper. Underneath the red, she found a beautiful navy blue, velvet dress. Lifting it out of the box, she realized just how elegant it was, and her eyes fell on the designer label. “Oh Lee, I love it, but this is too expensive…”

Lee gently laid a finger on her lips. “Hush. It’s something I know you’d never buy for yourself, and when I saw it on the mannequin, I knew it had to belong to you.”

“Thank you,” Amanda leaned forward and kissed him, with all the love and gratitude she felt. Feeling her fiancé responding, and when Lee placed a hand on either side of her face, she pulled away. “I still have to give you your gift.”

Lee leaned back and tried to hide his eagerness, but was failing miserably. It’d been a long time since he had a real honest to goodness Christmas present. Not that the sweater from Dotty hadn’t been nice, there was just something wonderful about opening a present from someone who knew you, really, knew you.

Amanda watched anxiously as Lee ripped off the paper, and then as he tore off the box lid, she gazed up at his face, eager to see his reaction.

Lee pulled aside the tissue paper and suddenly felt like he was five years old again. Inside the box was something he hadn’t seen in years. Pulling out the cowboy vest, he gingerly ran his finger over the ‘Official Roy Roger’s Sheriff Badge.’ Looking back in the box, he laid the vest aside and picking up the toy pop gun, glanced up at Amanda. “How? Where?”

“Well obviously the vest isn’t authentic, but it was the closest to what Roy wore that I could find. I mean, they didn’t make the Roy Roger’s outfits in adult sizes.” Amanda couldn’t contain her grin at Lee’s reaction. It wasn’t often that she, the queen of flustered, actually managed to fluster the mighty Scarecrow. “The badge and gun I found at an antique store.”

“But how did you know? I only remember mentioning the cap gun to you like two days ago?” Lee had taken his eyes off of his fiancée, and was now running his fingers affectionately over the handle of the toy gun.

“Actually, it wasn’t long after you started sharing memories with me of your parents. You told me about how you loved to play cowboy.” Amanda smiled as Lee gazed up at her with amazement. Shrugging, she continued, “Anyway, I happened to be with on a shopping trip with Mother, and she needed to go to an antique store. The minute I saw it, I just knew I had to get it for you.”

Lee leaned forward and, with the gun still in his hand, wrapped his arms around his fiancée. “Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas, Lee.” Amanda returned the embrace. “How about I let you play with that for awhile, I want to go try on my dress… make sure it fits.”

Lee grinned. “Oh trust me, it’ll fit, but go ahead and try it on. I’m dying to see you in it.” Removing his arms from around Amanda, he watched as she picked up the box with the dress and then made her way towards the bedroom. Eager to see her in the dress, and knowing that if she looked even half as good as he expected her to, which was about three hundred times better than the mannequin, that dress wasn’t going to stay on for long.

Not wanting his thoughts to travel down the wrong path too quickly, Lee placed the gun on the floor and picked up the vest. Slipping his arms into the sleeve holes, he picked the gun back up and then rose to his feet. Walking over to the mirror in the front hall, he stood in front of it, admiring the badge. The only thing missing was the cowboy hat, but staring at himself, he suddenly felt like a kid again. Stepping back, he aimed the gun at the image in the mirror and shot off a few rounds. “Gotcha sucka’!”

“I should hope you got him. Even if you weren’t Agency trained, to miss at that close a range would just be sad.”

Startled, Lee dropped the gun on the floor and turned to stare, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at his fiancée. Then, as he took in the sight of her in the gown, his shock turned to awe. “I was wrong. That dress wasn’t just perfect, it was made for you. You look beautiful.” He took a step towards Amanda and then, hearing and feeling the crunch at his feet, he stopped and quickly took a step back.

Amanda followed Lee’s gaze to his feet. There, where Lee’s foot had just been was what remained of the cap gun. Rushing forward, she joined Lee as he knelt down. “Oh, Lee. I can’t believe you broke it.” Her tone wasn’t mad, or angry, it was merely disappointed, and not for herself, but for her fiancée. She reached out her hand and laid it over his arm. “It might take awhile, but I’m sure I can track down another one.”

Seeing the look of disappointment on Amanda’s face, Lee gave a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel bad Amanda…”

“But I didn’t get you anything else…” Amanda began to protest.

Lee shook his head. “They always say it’s the thought that counts, and I’ll remember this as the best present I’ve gotten in a long time. Besides, to be truthful, this one lasted a lot longer than my first one. That one I’d barely gotten out of the box before it fell apart. The cap guns Bernie makes… made, last a hell of a lot longer.” He pointed to the remnants of his Christmas present, “It’s one of the reasons these didn’t stay on the market for long.” Picking up the pieces, he stood back up. With his empty hand, he reached out and helped his fiancée to her feet as well.

“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?” Amanda asked a bit dubiously.

Lee shook his head. “Honestly, I’m not.” Placing the pieces on the table under the mirror, he turned to look at his fiancée, “I loved the gesture, and I might even be able to glue that back together. It doesn’t look too smashed.” Running his finger along the neckline of her dress which rested very nicely, just above the vee of her breasts, his eyes grew dark. “And you’re very wrong about not getting me another present.”

“I was?” Amanda swallowed hard. The mere touch of Lee’s fingers on her bare skin always sent warm heat rushing through her.

Lee nodded as he bent just enough to slip one arm around her shoulders, and another under her legs. “I have you, and there’s no other present I want to unwrap more.” Before she could respond, he captured her lips passionately, and carried her towards the bedroom to ring in Christmas just the way they both deserved.


The End

"I can't believe you broke it."

"Broke what?"

"Your marriage vows."

"What?!?!"

"You just admitted it."

"Not ours. Not any."

"No? What about til death do you part? You got a divorce. You ended your marriage early. You've broken them before. How do I know you won't do it again?" Delenn stormed turning on her right side facing the wall giving her husband good look at her backside.

"That was a long time ago. I'm a lot older and wiser now. Besides the second set was broken for me. Not by me or my wife." Delenn had to admit John was right about his second wife. It took him awhile to open up to her and when he finally did a shell of his wife appeared complicating matters.

John was lying flat on his back looking up at the ceiling frustrated and sighing. He really messed up not telling Delenn about his first wife but it was so long ago and lasted such a short period of time that quite frankly sometimes he almost forgot about it. He supposed he should have told her
before they got married but there were some many other things going on he didn't want to add to it. He really wasn't sure what he could do at the moment to rectify the situation. He thought about all the things he'd been through. The only constant and beautiful thing in his life the last five years was his loving wife lying on the other side of the bed giving him the cold treatment. He knew he messed up and would own up to it and talk things out with her.

"Delenn…" he began still staring at the ceiling. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me and Elizabeth. It was long time ago. We really did and still do care for one another, but soon realized that we weren't meant to be husband and wife but just good friends. We were so much alike that we got on each other's nerves and couldn't get along with one another. Our marriage only lasted a few months and outside of our immediate families no one was the wiser. We both made a mistake and weren't proud of it, but we accepted it and moved on with our lives. It is part of my past that I rarely if ever think about." He had to try to make her understand that he didn't mean to keep things from her for her to relate to him. He turned his head towards her even if all he saw was her back. "Are you going to tell me there's nothing you've even done that you haven't told me about?" Delenn's back stiffened at that comment. She never had and wasn't sure if she'd ever tell him about her roll in the Earth Minbar war.

"What about the fact that Anna was still alive and you didn't tell me? Is this any worse?" he demanded. John turned his head back and sighed he didn't think he was getting anywhere with him. Then Delenn slowly turned and faced her husband.

"No," she whipsered softly. "It's not," each of them moving closer to one another. John took his wife into his loving arms feeling the warmth and love between them.

"When I was between life and death on Zhadum, Lorien asked me what I wanted. I wanted more than anything to be back on Babylon 5 with you. That's what I wanted but I didn't think that was possible. But he made that possible, even if it was just for a little while," he said hugging her close. "Life's to short Delenn, especially mine. Let's not let 'anything' get between us all right?" She nodded her head in his chest and tried to snuggle even close to him if possible.

John kissed her on the top of the head. "Good night Delenn. I love you."

She lifted her head so she was face to face to him. "I love you too, John," she declared looking him in the eyes and at his smiling shiny face. Their lips met briefly in a soft slow kiss before situating comfortably in each others arms for a good nights sleep.

End