CONCLUSION

Lee strode casually into the Bullpen and poured himself some coffee. He took his time adding sugar and wondered if anyone in this nest of spies would notice his wedding ring. No, not so far. Lee ambled into the conference room for his meeting. Billy rambled on, seemingly, forever. Then every agent had to update the group on their cases. Lee smiled as his mind wandered back to the past weekend.

He and Amanda had successfully completed their "mission." They had arrived in Las Vegas at about ten PM, local time. They had rented a car, and proceeded immediately to the marriage license bureau. As expected, it was open. Not just open, but crowded with all sorts of couples. There were older couples and younger couples, distinguished looking couples and more "colorful" couples.

The next step was to find a wedding chapel. They were soon rewarded when they discovered a small chapel, tucked away from the main streets, that was run by a retired minister. He conducted a brief, but dignified ceremony, where Lee and Amanda exchanged their vows and Lee's parents' rings. Sure enough, they emerged from the chapel as husband and wife in the wee hours of the morning.

They had found a room in a large hotel/casino complex. When they passed through the casino on the way to their room, they saw another couple getting married right in the middle of it all, surrounded by slot machines, and being serenaded by an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Lee had jokingly suggested that they had missed out on a great wedding idea, and Amanda had playfully slapped his arm.

Lee felt his face flush as he remembered that they had barely left their room to eat for the next two days.

"Lee. Lee!" Billy's voice brought Lee's mind back to the present. "I was asking if you would care to update the group on your "assignment" in Las Vegas?"

"Oh, yeah…well…I hit the jackpot!" Lee answered, embarrassed at being caught daydreaming.

"Well, whatever cover you were using, you had better get that ring back to Leatherneck!" Francine broke in, laughing. "You're so distracted, that you forgot to take off the wedding ring!"

"No, Francine, I get to keep this one!" Lee replied, grinning and displaying his left hand for all to see. "Like I said, I hit the jackpot on this trip!"

"No! You didn't! Who?" Francine gasped, incredulous. People were drifting out of the conference room, some offering congratulations, others simply shaking their heads.

"Who do you think?" It was Lee's turn to be disbelieving. "You know I've been seeing Amanda!"

"Well, that was a while ago, it didn't occur to me that you were still seeing her," Francine stammered. "Besides, I thought you just needed a homemade cookie fix. I never thought you would marry her."

"Thanks for being so supportive." Lee's voice trailed off, disgusted and somewhat hurt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I was just surprised. Let me start over. Congratulations, Lee!" Francine said, giving Lee a kiss on the cheek, before she too left the conference room, leaving Lee and Billy alone.

"You weren't too surprised by all this, were you, Billy?" Lee asked, smiling.

"Well, when you made two days of `check ins' from Las Vegas, I didn't need a crystal ball to get the picture! Billy laughed and clapped Lee on the shoulder. "How is Amanda?"

"Fine, mostly," Lee said slowly, leaning against the chair. "Working for the airline isn't very fulfilling, though. It's mostly routine stuff. She was actually a little disappointed that she wasn't on the hijacked plane! She misses `protecting the national interest,' too. Guarding a couple of hundred passengers at a time can't compare to the work she was doing for the agency. "

"I think you would feel the same way, too!" Billy chuckled, picking up his notes and taking a step toward the door. "One thing about this place, there's never a dull moment!"

"Billy," Lee put out a hand to stop his boss from leaving the room. "Is there any chance of getting her back on here? Amanda didn't ask me to talk to you, but you know, I really do need a partner. I need someone I can trust and who can stand to work with me."

"There aren't too many people who can do that!" Billy laughed, shaking his head. "Well, let me talk to Amanda directly about this. It sounds like she's gotten some good training with the airline; maybe we can work something out. I'll have to find a way to get it past Dr. Smyth, too." Billy added thoughtfully. "That will be the tough part, but, if this job was easy, anyone could do it!" Billy walked away, headed toward his office, a sly smile crossing his face.

Lee went upstairs to the Q-bureau, to his wreck of an office. The orderly room Amanda had left hardly six months ago was back to its original, wretched condition. Files were piled on every horizontal surface and bulging out of file cabinets and boxes. Old newspapers had collected on a corner of Lee's desk. Dust covered almost every surface, as it was surely impossible for Rag Mop to fling a duster in the room for fear of disturbing Lee's `system.'

Lee sat down at his desk and glanced around the room. His office might be a ruin, but that could be fixed. His life was in order for the first time ever, and he never felt better.

THE END.