The Christmas Coup

Part 1

Amanda wants two things for Christmas; to vanquish Lee's dislike of all things Christmas and to make him feel like a part of the family. Will she come up with a plan that allows her to get both?

This story immediately follows the tag in Santa's Got a Brand New Bag. Special thanks to Janet for picking up my grammar errors and a few differences in vocabulary from the show vs what I would have said.

Lee wasn't sure what he expected when Amanda invited him to spend Christmas with her family, but with every minute that passed, he was given a new experience to store away for later. The food was warm and delicious and nothing like the dry turkey, lumpy potatoes and sour cranberry sauce they served in the mess hall growing up. But neither was like the food served in five-star hotels or the chips and dip he might have eaten had he been alone in his apartment. The food he was eating this Christmas Eve consisted of meat that was tender and juicy, potatoes that were creamy and not from a box and beans that were fresh and flavorful.

There were differences in the sounds flowing around him also. He had experiences with mess halls that were so loud you could barely hear yourself think, filled with a combination of noises including everything from swear words to the clanging of the dishes. A television or two was always present, each blaring different American football games and surrounded by men and women cheering for their team and competing with noise from the football games, you could always find a radio blaring Christmas Songs. Nothing was muted or subtle but set at a decibel level meant to rival a sonic blast.

Which could have explained why when he was old enough to choose his surroundings for Christmas Eve or Day, he had gone in the opposite direction. The loud music and general rumble of everyone talking at once had been replaced by soft, muted music if he was in public or a football game, turned not too soft nor too loud, if he stayed home. Two extremes, but enough of each that they were considered the norm in his memory bank.

Before Amanda had come into his life, he hadn't delved too far into his memories to see if there were any Christmas ones from when his parents were alive, but being with the woman he loved, surrounded by her family, he couldn't stop the feelings of familiarity that periodically washed over him when he least expected it. The smell of the cooking goose that hung in the air when they walked into the house. The scent of apples, cinnamon and spice that tantalized his nose. The crisp smell of winter mixed with smoke when the boys came in from outdoors. And the scent of pine, which was either from the tree or the burning wood.

It wasn't just the smells that caused the familiar feelings to wash over him either. There was an inexplicable something in the air. Some might call it a feeling. Others might call it an essence. But whatever word was used to describe what could be sensed, but not felt, it didn't seem to matter. It was the just knowing, that made it so. The love and caring that served to make the time together magical. Lee shook his head slightly, thinking how wrong he had been when he thought that Amanda's family would be asking why he was there. There had been no truth to that statement at all, as they had gone out of their way to give him a sense of belonging. And he did, to a point...just the intensity of his feelings were sometimes a little...

"Lee," Amanda softy called his name, pulling him from his reverie, "Are you okay?"

He squeezed her fingers, "I'm fine." He took a last bite, "This is delicious, by the way."

"Oh, well, I'm happy Mother had Aunt Lillian to help with the meal." She picked up their plates, "Do you want a piece of pie now?"

"I can wait." He pointed to the boys, who were back under the tree still trying to figure out what they were getting. "It seems the boys are a little anxious."

Amanda shook her head, "You know, one year, I didn't put their names on the packages, just numbers. Drove them crazy." She laughed at the memory.

"Numbers?" Lee questioned, "Do I ask why?"

"Oh, it's silly, really," she hastened to clarify. "But I thought if they didn't know which gifts theirs were, they wouldn't get under the tree and snoop."

"And did it work?" He laughed at her ingenuity.

"No," she smiled at the memory, "they still snooped. I'm going to take these in the kitchen. Need anything?"

"No, I'm good." He stood up to follow, "Do you need some help?"

"No," she smiled, "I'll be right back."

Lee watched her walk away, before slowly sinking back down onto the couch. There was something familiar, and almost normal about kids snooping under a tree, but how did he know that? He certainly hadn't had normal Christmases, but then his inner voice faded and suddenly, he heard what could have been his mother's voice, "Young Man, stay away from those gifts. You still have a few days until Christmas." Was that a memory, he wondered, or something he had read in the diary his mother had written? And if it was a memory, why now? Was it being in the middle of a family Christmas that had triggered it?

"Time to unwrap presents!" Phillip whooped, leaping over the arm of the couch to land on the cushion Amanda had just vacated.

"Yeah," Jamie picked up a box from under the tree, shaking it to see what was inside.

Lee had been briefly taken aback when Phillip landed on the couch beside him, but used to watching them from afar, he knew it wouldn't be long before Amanda said something, easily redirecting their attention. He didn't have to wait, as with a few words, they were quiet, and she had given them instructions for moving the coffee table to make more room next to the tree.

Remembering that the gifts he had brought for the family were still in the car, Lee stood and quickly made his way to the front door. "Lee," Amanda's concerned voice halted him just before he even opened the door. "You're not leaving, are you?"

~~~smk~~~

His lips turned up into the smile that always took her breath, "No. " he assured her, holding his hand out for her to take, pulling her closer, once she did, "I was just running out to the car to get the gifts."

"Okay." She picked up his tie, sliding her fingers to the tip, already thinking of her plans for later "Grab your weekend bag while you're out there."

A twinkle appeared in his eyes and she was pretty sure she had an idea of which direction his thoughts had turned, "I can do that." He kissed her cheek, "I'll be right back."

While Amanda watched Lee run out to his car, her mind was on the pensive expression he'd worn while they were eating. She could safely say that his thoughts hadn't been unhappy ones because periodically his lips turned up into a smile. But what could have been on his mind? Could he have been thinking of some of the diary entries his mother had written about? Memories of the happy Christmases they shared before he lost them?

Her life had changed since that morning at the train station when a look in a stranger's eyes had started her on a journey. She was stronger, more confident, more willing to take a chance than she had been that cool October morning. But Lee had undergone change also. He had let go of his inability to trust, of his need to be a loner and had accepted her...and her family into his life. The walls he had built around his heart had come tumbling down piece by piece, until finally he had opened it up to love. Her hope was that with patience and love, his reticence to embrace the holiday would be replaced with a need to explore and create new memories as they worked toward building a future.

"Be careful," she cautioned him as his dress shoe slipped off the top step. "Get in here. It's freezing out there."

He nuzzled his cold nose against the soft skin of her neck humming, "Baby, it's cold outside." The combination of his cold skin and hot breath sent the ever-present zing zipping down her spine.

"Mom," Jamie bounded up the steps from the family room. "Are you about ready?"

She took the bag of gifts from Lee and handed them to her son, "Set these next to the couch so Lee can pass them out later, alright?"

"Thank you, Mr. Stetson!" His smile was infectious and big enough that the light glinted off his braces as he grabbed the bag and darted back down the steps.

"Are you ready?" Amanda asked Lee, taking his weekend bag and dropping it in the corner of the dining room.

"Almost," he whispered, wrapping one large hand around her neck bringing her lips close, kissing her quickly but thoroughly. "Now, I'm ready."

She wiped her lipstick off his bottom lip, and smoothed her hands down his lapels, "Your jacket is wet. Want to leave it here?"

After removing his suit coat and hanging it on the back of the chair, Amanda took Lee's hand to lead him back into the family room.

"Oh, hello, Aunt Lillian," she greeted the woman, whom they met coming down the stairs, a large box in her arms. "Here, let me take that."

"Thank you," Lillian smiled, her eyes going directly to Lee.

Her aunt resembled her mother, in not only looks but mannerisms, but was more outrageous and she would be lying if she didn't admit that having both around worried her a little, "I'd like you to meet Lee Stetson."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms—" Lee began...

Before he could finish, Lillian linked her arm through his and batted her eyelashes, "Just call me Aunt Lillian," she practically simpered.

~~~smk~~~

Lee sent Amanda a 'help me' look as he was led away, and when her only response was a quiet giggle, he filed it away making plans to pay her back the next time they went to Birchwood.

As they moved into the family room, he had to admit that he found it amusing the way Lillian manipulated everyone with just a few words. Joe was seated on the couch, but she pushed him onto a chair and seated Lee on the couch with her on one side, Amanda on the other and instructed Dotty to sit on the arm of the couch next to Amanda. "Are you comfortable?" She patted his arm, sending a conspiratorial smile toward Dotty.

"Ready, fellas?" Amanda didn't even acknowledge her aunt's behavior, steering the attention away from him and onto the presents.

As he watched the boys unwrap their presents, it made him have feelings, some of which he would have been hard-pressed to give a name. One, he did understand was that of anxiousness, worrying that someone had given the same gifts he had brought. He couldn't shake the innate, almost irrational fear, that he might come across looking bad when compared to Joe.

Amusement was another feeling he could name as he couldn't help but smirk when he realized Jamie had given him and Joe the exact same scarf. Amanda met his grin, her expression saying clearly that she'd noticed too. "How can you worry about not getting along with the boys?" she murmured for his ears only. "Jamie is exactly like you." Her statement gave him pause but with the merriment continuing around him, he filed it away to think on later.

When it was time to open the large box, Lillian had been carrying downstairs, she laid it on Amanda's lap, winking at him. With a little trepidation, he watched Amanda slowly remove and look inside, an expression of wonderment crossing her face. His breath caught in his throat as he somehow recognized the pattern of the object she had been given. How could that be?

She gently lifted the blanket from the box, exclaiming over the shades of blue woven around the whites. "It's beautiful, Aunt Lillian. Thank you." She leaned over him, kissing her aunt on the cheek.

Lee gently touched the blanket, running his finger around one of the circles meant to represent a wedding ring. In his mind's eye, he could see a quilt with the same pattern on it, but where this one was white with shades of blue, the one he could see was black, with multicolored rings. Why could he see it so clearly? Why did he suddenly have a lump in his throat?

Amanda's dark eyes met his, Are you okay? they seemed to say.

I'm fine, he tried to answer, squeezing her hand to further assure her. He was fine and even though he still felt as if he were swallowing around a lump, his heart didn't feel heavy. In fact, it felt at peace.

Amanda, once again, pushed the attention away from him by saying, "Mother, your turn," and Dotty was given a box to open.

Her unwrapping style was a combination of 'let's open it as fast as we can' like the boys seem to favor and her daughter's style, which was let's see how much of this paper we can preserve. As she tore into it, he relaxed slightly, until she finished, and then a plethora of emotions washed over him simultaneously.

Shame.

Disgust.

Gratitude.

The box held a bright pink sweatshirt, with lighter pink letters on the front that said Foxy Grandma. Suddenly, a scene of him sitting in almost the same position, holding up a shirt that said Hot Mama and repeating it in such a derogatory manner, played in his head. How could he have been so cruel to Amanda, he asked himself for the thousandth time? The answer hadn't changed. It was fear. While he hadn't known exactly what he was afraid of then, he knew that with a word, or a touch, or a deed, Amanda was able to tie him into knots. Now, though, he was able to look at it and see that there had been some deep-seated awareness from the beginning that told him she would shatter his world. What that something had failed to show him was that when his world was put back together, it would be better than he ever could have imagined. He couldn't begin to thank her for all the times she had forgiven him and pushed back. Because of her, he was here...with her. Unconsciously, he joined their hands, sliding his thumb back and forth across the back of her fingers, wishing they were alone, as he really wanted a kiss. Her eyes met his, a tiny smile playing along her lips, and he knew...knew that she could read his mind.

Phillip handed him a flat package stopping his thoughts from traveling too far down that forbidden road while her family was awake. "For me?" he asked, and even he could hear a different tone in his voice as compared to the surly one from a few days ago. Was her influence so great that she was changing his feelings for Christmas too? If not, then why was he feeling anticipation about discovering what was in the gift?

"Open it!" Both boys yelled.

"Now, Lee," Dotty began. "If you have it already, that's okay because we can take it back. I don't believe you have it though. Amanda said..."

Lee let her ramble while he opened the present. "Mrs, er, Dotty," he quickly amended. "This is great." He smiled at her and flipped over the album cover to read the list of songs. "George Benson can be very relaxing after a hectic week. I'm sure we'll, I mean I'll enjoy this. Thank you, again."

He was handed several more presents and in addition to the scarf from Jamie, he received a new belt from Phillip, a bottle of scotch from Joe, and a new bottle of cologne from Amanda. "I thought you said you left my present at work," he teased her.

"I did," she confirmed. "I just didn't say it was your only present."

Lee side-eyed her as he opened the bottle, splashing a small amount of the musky fragrance on his arm. "Do you like it?" He held his arm up to her nose. The smile she usually saved just for him would have been enough but when a sexy growl from deep inside escaped, a tingling awareness started deep inside. Down boy, he warned his traitorous body.

When it was time for him to pass out the gifts he had finally settled on, he was surprised to find he had sweaty palms. He didn't experience sweaty palms when staring death in the face or defusing a bomb but giving gifts, especially ones he had chosen himself? That made him sweat.

Amanda had helped him choose gifts for the adults and except for sending her a look when he and Joe gave each other the same gift, he wasn't concerned about them. Lillian would love the several skeins of yarn she had requested for a specific project, and even Dotty's gift hadn't been too scary to pass out because he knew it was a romance novel she couldn't wait to read. It was the boys' gifts that made his heart pound, because while Amanda had pointed him in a certain direction, he was the one who chose them. If they didn't like what he bought, that was on him.

Holding both packages aloft, he took a deep breath, "Phillip, Jamie, your mother tossed out a few suggestions, but after choosing and discarding, I finally settled on two. The problem is that I couldn't decide on which gift belonged to which boy, as I think you'll both like them. So...once they're opened, I hope you will share. Okay, call it." he grinned as both boys took their time looking back and forth between the boxes.

Phillip yelled, "The small one.

At the same time that Jamie yelled, "The long one."

"That was easy," he breathed a small sigh of relief that part had gone well. Handing a box to each boy, his heart raced even faster, worried that they wouldn't like them.

In order for each boy to have his turn as the center of attention, Jamie as the youngest was unwrapping first. He had chosen the bigger box, which held the newest version of the game Clue. Lee knew there was already a copy in the house, but Amanda had told him it had been in the family for years, and some of the pieces were missing. Even with her assurances that they would like the game, it didn't stop him from watching Jamie's face as he ripped off the paper. He was looking for a lip curl, a frown, anything that might indicate he was disappointed. When the corners of young boy's lips lifted, Lee let out the breath he had inadvertently been holding. "Thanks a lot." Jamie flipped over the box to look at the pictures of the weapons, "Can we play tonight?"

"I'd like that." Lee promised, exchanging smiles with Amanda. "Your turn, Phillip." Lee moved his attention to the older boy, who was ready to unwrap his present.

Lee watched Phillip unwrap the computer game, nervous, but not as nervous about its reception as he had been about the board game. He knew the boys enjoyed playing video games and was hoping that Flight Simulator, where they were able to fly their own airplanes would be a hit.

"Wow!" Phillip exclaimed. "This looks awesome. Thanks!"

Joe pointed to the box both boys were bent close together studying, "I looked for that game, Lee, but couldn't find any in stock."

Lee sent Amanda a grin, "We found it at the Justin's Toys, at the Georgetown Mall. It was the last one left." He admitted.

Amanda nudged Lee's arm, "You didn't tell them how you practically wrestled one mother to the floor to get the last box." She laughed as a look of chagrin crossed his face.

"Now, wait a minute," he countered. "She let me have it." He flashed his dimples, knowing where she was going with her story.

"Oh, I know," her finger trailed down the groove in his cheek. "You flashed these and she handed it over."

Their eyes locked and with her teasing tone, he knew she wasn't serious, but for just a split second, he worried that she might have thought he had resorted to his old ways. He wanted to say more, but the longer their eyes clashed the more he wanted to kiss her. He took a deep breath...

"Lee got the game for the boys, didn't he? That's what matters." Dotty defended him, effectively breaking the spell that he had been falling under.

"Well, I for one am glad." Phillip yelled, succeeding in pulling the attention back to him.

While the chatter went on around him, Lee glanced in the bag at his feet, one lone gift inside. Should he? It had been a spur of the moment purchase when Amanda stepped away to call home, but maybe she would think it was stupid and he should just give her the one at his apartment.

"Is that all?" Dotty stood up, holding her gifts in her arms. "Anyone for hot chocolate?" Before he could stop her, she had picked up the bag, holding the last gift and frowned, pulling it from the bag, "You forgot one. Amanda, this is for you."

"I thought you said mine was at your apartment?" Amanda raised a brow as she took the gift from her mother.

"I said gift," he copied her line. "I didn't say I only bought you one."

She studied him several seconds, before slowly peeling the paper apart and lifting the lid to reveal the contents inside. He heard her breath catch as her eyes came up to meet his. "Oh, Lee." she sighed, her eyes glistening with emotion.

"You like it?" he asked hesitantly, a full smile blooming on his face when she nodded.

"It's perfect. Thank you." She quickly kissed his cheek, but her eyes promised much more when they were alone.

Lillian pushed up from the couch, stopping to look down at the gift. "It's lovely, Dear, but what does it mean?"

Inside the box was a red, oversized coffee mug, with large rounded letters on it that read, JUST WALK WITH ME. "Just a private thing between Lee and me, Aunt Lillian. But you are right. It is lovely."

Lee took a deep breath and slipped his arm along the back of the sofa, relaxed for the first time all evening. The boys were looking at their presents and talking with Joe and Dotty and her sister had disappeared into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. Amanda angled her body toward him, leaning her head back against his arm. "Now, tell me why that blanket brought such a strong reaction," she called him on what had transpired earlier.

He wasn't even sure if what he thought was even right, but looked away, picking at some invisible thread on the sofa. "I don't know how to explain this," he began, "but when I saw the quilt, the image of another one filled my mind." He shook his head, "It was the oddest thing, but...how can that be?"

"Your parents' bed, maybe?" She took his hand, "the diary?"

Lee smiled, "Maybe, I..."

"Can we play Clue now?" Jamie interrupted.

"Duty calls," Lee kissed her fingertips and stood to go play Clue, trying to remember if he had ever played the game before.

~~~smk~~~

Dotty stood in front of the stove, slowly stirring the milk as it heated for the hot chocolate, but her gaze was on her daughter and the man who had captured her heart.

"Dotty, you're right," Lillian whispered, "He is a looker."

"I told you so." Dotty reached for some mugs, "Did you see that look they exchanged? It was so," she waved her hand around, "help me out here."

"Steamy," Lillian fanned herself. "And did you notice,"

Dotty interrupted, "How they finish each other's sentences?"

Lillian nodded again, "Exactly. And how,"

"They're always touching each other?" Dotty finished for her. "What do you think JUST WALK WITH ME means?"

Lillian tapped her lip, contemplating the meaning behind the three words, "Could be code for sharing his life, or walking down an aisle."

"True," Dotty agreed. "Think the present at his apartment is a ring?"

"Well," Lillian smiled, "I did my part by giving her that wedding ring quilt, just as you requested."

"And did you see Lee's face?" Dotty asked, "Somehow he knew the meaning."

"Yes, he did." Lillian agreed. "Now what?"

"Well," Dotty grinned conspiratorially, "I've got a little something set aside."

Lillian smiled, rubbing her hands together, "I can't wait."