Her mother's voice broke them apart.  Even after living together for months, they felt like school children when Dotty or the boys caught them necking.  Dotty's words held a note of laughter.  "The boys and I are taking a break.  We are going out to get some lunch.  Burger and fries sound all right?"

They both nodded, their cheeks red.  When Lee opened his mouth to tell Dotty what he wanted on his, she held up her hand and shook her head.  "You've been a part of this family long enough, Lee Stetson, for me to know what you want on a burger!"  Laughing, she went back into the living room.  Amanda giggled at the stunned expression on his face.  The man was only now becoming used to being a part of a family.

Since their "wedding" last fall, Amanda had started to regret their decision to have a secret marriage.  Watching her husband interact with her boys as stepfather instead of Mom's friend had been an eye opener to her.  She realized that Lee had made the greatest sacrifice in keeping their marriage secret.  By allowing her fear of change to prevent her from marrying Lee in the open, she denied him a lot.  She kept her family and the Agency, along with the thrill of romance.  Lee, alone for most of life, had been able to spend a few stolen moments with her as his wife.  Life after "I do" remained much the same for him.

From the kitchen window, Lee watched their family get into Dotty's brand new Corvette--after driving Lee's once, she had been hooked.  "Jamie had another nightmare last night, didn't he?"  It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Amanda nodded anyway, wondering how he knew.  "I can always tell.  He has this haunted look in his eyes the next day."

Sighing heavily, she leaned her head on his shoulder.  Telling the boys had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.  It had taken her months to gather up the courage to follow through with her decision.  Even now, she could not decide if it had been the right thing to do.

Philip, the one she had expected the least trouble with, had gotten up and walked out of the room when they finished talking that day.  He did not say a word to her for almost a week.  Finally, Dotty had taken him out for a milk shake and a talk.  Whatever had been said between the two had helped him deal with his anger, but he never discussed her job with her.  Lee told her once that Philip asked him the occasional question, but he never shared what they were with her.

Jamie had been a mass of contradictions since he had been told the truth.  He found it cool that his mom was a spy, but he was also plagued by the occasional nightmare, terrified that she would be killed.  Last night, for the first time, Lee had been included in the grisly images of his subconscious.  Knowing that Lee meant to hang around had helped Jamie lower some of his barriers.  The two had been growing closer ever since Lee had moved in after their public wedding.

Amanda leaned up to give her husband a kiss.  The phone rang just before their lips met.  Lee groaned and Amanda laughed.  "I swear, we can do without a telephone," he growled as she reached for the receiver.

"Hello, Mandy," her uncle's voice greeted her.  As usually, Amanda had mixed impulses hearing his voice.  She wanted to toss down the receiver, and she wanted to talk to him.  "I won't be keeping you long, but I wanted to make a suggestion.  I saw Scarecrow earlier, and he mentioned Jamie's nightmares becoming more frequent."

Amanda looked at her husband.  He knew whom she was talking to just from the way she stood.  She did not bother to fuss at Lee for sharing a part of their life with Doctor Smyth.  She had watched their odd relationship grow over the last year.  Doctor Smyth had been rebuilding his relationship with Dotty, and who knew where his relationship with Katherine was at the moment, but Lee gave him a way of being a part of the family.  Lee was acting as the bridge between Amanda and her uncle.

"Yes, they have," she said, not wanting to share her life, but struggling to build some kind of relationship with a man who was not only related to her, but a friend to her family.

"Stress at home makes for dull agents," he quipped.

Amanda's spin stiffened.  "I'm perfectly capable--"

"I know you are, Mrs. King," he snapped, "but in this business losing focus you can mean that--"

"You are dead," she finished, knowing the truth of that statement.  Burnout in their line of work was a frequent ailment, and all too often it ended in death.  Sometimes suicide, but usually one slip ended the agent's life.  Less stress at home helped agents keep their balance at work.  A happy home life had been declared the best preventive remedy for burnout by a study that had cost the Agency several thousands of dollars.  Amanda had told Lee she could have given the same advice for a lot less money.

He exhaled, and Amanda could see him in her mind, surrounded by a haze of smoke.  To her, he was always lost in the haze.  Cold one minute.  Hot the next.  She never understood him, could never see the man that Katherine loved or that her father considered his best friend.  She tried to see past the haze, but it felt as if he kept blowing smoke, trying to dim her view.

"I'm sorry, Mandy, I did not call to start a fight.  I only wanted to offer the Agency's services in helping Jamie.  Our psychologists are some of the best in the world, as you know.  You've seen how much they have helped Dotty this past year deal with Carl's death."

She nodded, even though he could not see her.  They had helped Dotty deal with the anger and the guilt.  Amanda watched her mother bloom this last year as she finally left the past where it should be--in the past.  While she still tried new things, she no longer raced from one to another.  She no longer suffered from any headaches, and she cheerfully made left turns.

She had even gone back to working at the Agency, in a very limited capacity, acting as Mrs. Marsden's substitute.  Doctor Smyth, wearing one of his rare smiles, told Amanda that Dotty's aim was much better.

"I'll discuss it with him tonight," she answered, refusing to make the choice for him.

"Very well, then.  Dotty knows how to contact me," he informed her.  The voice on the other end was the familiar sound of the cold, arrogant boss she had first met long ago.  The smoky haze surrounded him again.  Amanda sighed as she hung up the phone.  She doubted that she would ever understand that man.

***

Lee wished he could wipe away the confusion from Amanda's eyes.  He had watched from a distance as Amanda tried to sort out her conflicting emotions about Doctor Smyth.  The man was related to her, was loved by people she loved and respected, but he continued to play the game of hot and cold with her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"  Lee asked as she hung up the receiver.

Amanda considered it before shaking her head.  "Not really.  He offered the Agency's psychology services for Jamie."

Lee's eyebrow lifted, but he made no move to hold her.  "Really?  What do you think about that?"

Laughing, she turned to look at her husband.  "Don't play shrink, Lee."

Leaning back against the sink, he looked at his feet.  "I'm sorry."

Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him.  "No, I'm sorry.  I think we should talk about with Jamie later."  She pulled away from him.  "And I think we should begin cleaning the attic before it gets too dark."

"Attic?  Uh, don't you and Dotty handle that?"

She picked up a piece paper lying on the counter.  She pointed their names written in ink next to the word "attic".  "Not this year.  Mother refuses to even look at the 'mess' up there.  She volunteered to do the bathroom, so we get the attic."  She smiled at the mild panic on his face.  "Oh, come on.  We'll have fun.  Just think--we will finally get to go through all those boxes you stuffed up there."

Lee thought of all the years of memories--or junk, as Amanda would say--in those boxes.  It would take hours to go through them, not to mention the dusting!  The air did not even move up there.  He could not think of a worse job.  Amanda was already strolling towards the stairs.  "Have you got any deep, dark secrets hidden up there, Scarecrow?  Some indiscrete box of photos perhaps?"

No, he did not have any--the photos from Milan!  He had decided to keep them as potential blackmail material against his fellow agents, but now that he was married himself, the pictures could embarrass him.  "Amanda--" he began to offer to handle the attic all by himself.  Maybe he could tell her it would be good practice for him or something.

Amanda shook her head.  With a giggle, she started running up the staircase.  He rushed after, calling, "Amanda, it's dangerous to look at someone else's photos!"

THE END

Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes:  I had this idea in my head the first time I saw the episode where Amanda gave Smyth a peck on the cheek (Santa's Got a Brand New Bag?).  That was during the original CBS run of the show!  It played around in my mind for years until I finally I had to put it down on paper. :) "Family Secrets" is the result of that 13 year-old's silly thought so long ago.  "Wouldn't it be really cool if Doctor Smyth was really Amanda's uncle, and she didn't know it?"