Author's Note: This is it. The conclusion. I hope you all like it. I want to thank everyone who has been reading this for all of the support and for the amazing reviews.

Epilogue

It had been a month since the revelation to everyone that the infamous Scarecrow had finally made a permanent commitment to his partner. If anyone would have told Francine four years ago when Amanda King had first accidentally stumbled into the intelligence community that she, Francine Desmond, would be here, now doing what she was doing, she'd have told them to have their heads examined.

She stood in front of the full length mirror in Amanda's bedroom and gazed appreciatively at the off-the-shoulder, knee-length emerald green dress Amanda had chosen. She really didn't have bad taste. She glanced over at Amanda who was sitting her vanity in the midst of having her hair fussed over by her mother.

"Mother, stop," Amanda said. "My hair's fine. It's just going to get messed up anyway."

"Well, you can hardly blame me," Dotty said. "It's not every day my little girl gets married."

"Except you're forgetting one thing. Lee and I are already married," Amanda pointed out. "He's been living here for the last month, remember?"

"I'm well aware of that, Amanda. My room is right next to yours, after all, and these walls are very thin," Dotty said with a mischievous grin.

"Mother, really," Amanda said blushing slightly.

"Not that I can blame you, mind you. Lee is a very attractive man. Makes me wish I was thirty years younger," Dotty teased.

"You oughtta see some of the trouble they get into at work," Francine said as she stepped away from the mirror. "I can't count the number of times I've walked into their office to find them...ahem...not working."

"No need to go telling on us, Francine. Speaking of which, Mother, I have half a mind to tell Curt on you for making eyes at my husband," Amanda teased back.

"Oh, I'm not making eyes at your husband. I was just teasing. Besides, he'd never notice even if I did. It's very clear that man only has eyes for you, which is why this is so important. The two of you should be able to really celebrate your marriage."

"We can do that just fine without going through all of this," Amanda said as she stood indicating the white dress she was wearing. "I'm only doing this because you insisted on it."

"You can't tell me that Lee didn't want this too. He's been high as a kite ever since we started planning this. I think he regrets not having a real wedding. You may have been married before but he hasn't. He should be able to have that."

"Your mom's kind of got a point. I've known Lee for twelve years and it's not very often that die-hard bachelors like him decide to settle down. You should celebrate this. It's nothing short of miraculous that you were able to snag the most un-snaggable bachelor on the planet," Francine said as she picked up the gauzy white veil from Amanda's bed. "You look like you're ready for this."

"Yeah," she said. Dotty and Francine together helped Amanda put on her veil and pin it in place. "Francine, what's this?" Amanda asked as she reached for her left hand and fingered the diamond ring there.

"Oh, what this old thing?" Francine said with a bright smile. When Amanda just looked at her in exasperation. "Jonathan gave it to me last night. I wasn't going to say anything yet because I didn't want to steal your thunder on your big day."

"You're not stealing anything. My big day was actually over four months ago," Amanda said with a glance at her mother before turning back to Francine. She hugged her tightly and said, "Congratulations! I'm very happy for you. You just better set a date soon and make sure he doesn't stand you up again."

"Already working on it," Francine said still smiling.

"Good," Amanda said as she stood and walked to the mirror to appraise her appearance. "So, do I look ok?"

"You look absolutely beautiful," Dotty said with happy tears in her eyes as she hugged her daughter.

"Oh, Mother," Amanda said. "Don't cry."

Sensing that some mother-daughter time was needed, Francine said, "I should go see how your groom is fairing." She made her way out of the room and down the hall to Phillip and Jamie's room where the guys were getting dressed. She knocked lightly and when she didn't hear anything, she cautiously opened the door. "Everybody decent?"

"Come on in, Francine," she heard Billy's booming voice reply.

She entered the room fully to see Lee and Billy finishing getting dressed while Lee helped Jamie with his tie.

"There you go, Sport," Lee said with a smile to his younger stepson.

"Thanks, Lee," Jamie said with a smile. "And thanks for making Mom so happy."

"She makes me pretty happy too." Francine watched the interaction and smiled at how easily Lee seemed to have adapted to family life.

"I'm gonna' miss you guys while you're gone," Jamie said.

"No, you won't. You're on summer vacation now and you're gonna' have such a great time with your dad, you won't even have time to notice we're gone. Before you know it, the week will be over and we'll be back."

"A week?"Francine questioned. "I thought you were finally cashing in that two weeks Dr. Smyth promised you after that whole Dubinsky thing. Especially since he was nice enough to let Amanda take the time off with you."

"We are, but we're only taking a week for a second honeymoon. The second week, we're taking a family vacation."

"Are you really going to take us to Disney World?"Phillip asked.

"We sure are, Chief," he said. "The plans are all made. A week from now, we'll all be in Florida."

"That is so cool!" Francine couldn't help but laugh at his exuberance.

"Hey, guys, I think your mom and your grandma are just about ready," Francine said to the boys.

"Why don't you guys head on down the hall and I'll see you out there," Lee said as he reached for the jacket of his tux and pulled it on.

"Now, you've got your tie all crooked," Francine said as she stepped in to straighten it for him.

"Thanks, Francine," he said.

"Can't have you looking all lopsided on your big day," she said with a smile.

"Speaking of big days, when did this happen?" he said with a nod to the diamond ring on her left hand.

"Last night," she said with a grin. "We were talking about him being my date to your wedding and then he said he wanted to start talking about having one of our own."

"You just better drag his ass to the altar fast before he has a chance to get cold feet again," Lee teased.

"Hey!" she said slapping playfully at him.

"He makes a good point, Francine," Billy said with a chuckle.

"You know Amanda said just about the same thing," Francine said.

"All I can say is that he'd better make you happy or I'm gonna' have to kick his ass," Lee said.

"I could say the same about you and Amanda," Francine said.

"No need to worry about kicking Amanda's ass. She already makes me happier that I can put into words."

"Who said anything about kicking Amanda's ass? You'd better take damn good care of her or you're going to have me to deal with."

"I think you better look out, Scarecrow," Billy said with a bemused expression. "Francine seems to have really taken to her maid of honor duties."

"I still sometimes wonder why she asked me," Francine said as she thought back to the last four years and how they'd started out sniping at each other, but had come to form something of a friendship even if it was a bit awkward at times.

"Francine, I think you know why," Lee said.

"Yeah," She said. They had all agreed that it would be best for everyone concerned if no one be let in on the fact that Francine had known about their marriage all along. Amanda had floored her when she'd asked her to be her maid of honor as she and Lee renewed their vows in front of their family and friends. "I'm just hoping she'll be willing to return the favor later this summer."

"I'm sure she will if you ask her," Billy said then glanced at his watch. "Well, Scarecrow, it's just about that time. We should get down there."

"And I should get back to Amanda," Francine said before slugging Lee playfully on the arm. "Seeya' down there."

Francine made her way back down the hall to the room Lee and Amanda now shared to find Amanda was alone. "Hey, are you just about ready?"

"Yeah," Amanda said fidgeting with the bodice of her dress.

"You ok?" Francine asked worriedly.

"Just a little nervous about this dress," Amanda said as she pulled at the top of it.

"What are you worried about? You look amazing and Magda did a fabulous job on your dress." She looked at the dress Amanda was so worried about and couldn't see a thing wrong. The satin off-the-shoulder bodice and natural waist with flowing skirt perfectly suited Amanda's figure and showed off her curves in all the right places.

"Yes, she did and the dress is beautiful, but I think maybe I should have gone with something with a higher neckline," she said still fidgeting nervously.

"Amanda, stop," Francine said as she forcibly turned Amanda around to face her grabbing her hands. "I get what you're worried about and trust me, you can't see it."

"Are you sure?"Amanda asked worry evident in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. See for yourself," she said as she turned Amanda back around to face the mirror. "Look. No scar. You told Magda you wanted to make sure that the scar from your shooting wouldn't show and she did a perfect job of designing a dress just for you that would make sure of it. Trust me, I know a little something about fashion. While we're on the subject, I want to thank you for not making me wear something hideous."

Amanda laughed and said, "Well, I wanted you to have something that would be flattering to you, too and something you could wear again, not just a useless dress that would hang in your closet forever and never see the light of day again. Not like this one. A wedding dress is pretty much something that you only wear one time and then you put it away."

"Not necessarily," Francine said. "Maybe you and Lee will have a daughter someday that you can pass it on to." Amanda turned to face her with a surprised look on her face. "Don't tell me you never thought about it. You and Lee having kids together, I mean."

"Oh, I've thought about it. I think about every time that we...make love, but we've never actually talked about it. Not in any kind of real way, just in a what-if kind of way."

"Well, maybe you should, now that you're going to have a second chance at a honeymoon. What better time to start? I mean, it's not like either of you are getting any younger," she teased.

"Yeah, maybe we should," Amanda said squeezing Francine's hand. "Thank you so much, Francine...for everything."

"I fully expect to be repaid when I get married," she teased not quite sure how to ask Amanda what she really wanted to ask.

"Sure, whatever you need," Amanda said sincerely.

"What I need is someone to help me plan, help me decide on a dress, a location, flowers, caterers, photographer..." she hesitated. God, why is it so hard to spit out the words? Just do it, Desmond, she scolded herself."What I need is a maid of honor, or I guess since you're married, it would be matron of honor."

"I'd be honored, Francine," Amanda said with a smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We can talk about it more when Lee and I get back."

"Well, we should get you down there so we can get you on your way then," Francine said. She poked her head out the door and glanced down the hall to find that the boys' room was now empty. "Ok, let's go."

They stepped out into the hall together and made their way down the stairs and were met by Phillip and Jamie who had just returned from walking their grandmother down the aisle and helping her to her seat.

"You ready, Mom?" Phillip said.

"I guess I'm next," Francine said as she picked up Amanda's bouquet from the kitchen counter and handed it to her before grabbing the smaller one for herself.

"We'll be right behind you," Amanda said as Francine stepped out the back door.

She took a deep breath before plunging on, making her slow march down the runner laid out in the backyard toward the gazebo where Lee was waiting for his bride. She took her place opposite Billy as the familiar bridal march started and the seated guests stood. She couldn't help but tear up as she watched Amanda walking toward them flanked by one son on each side. She glanced at Lee who had the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face before turning back to watch Amanda proceed down the makeshift aisle until she reached her groom.

The minister began his "dearly beloved" bit and when he asked who gave her to be married, both boys beamed with pride and said, "We do," in unison before releasing their mother, each placing a kiss on her cheek and then joining their grandmother. She had to admit that Dotty had had a really good idea in suggesting that the boys together walk their mother down the aisle to give her away. In a way, it was like they were giving her their blessing to bring Lee into their family. It was a beautiful moment.

She watched in silence as Lee and Amanda said their vows and exchanged rings for the second time. When the minister told Lee to kiss his bride. She found herself tearing up again as this wasn't like the fiery, passionate kisses she'd walked in on numerous times. This was a kiss of pure love, tenderness and hope for the future.

When their kiss ended and the minister introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, she couldn't help cheering along with the rest of their guests. In fact, she felt like she was cheering louder than anyone. As she watched them walk back down the aisle together, she caught the eye of her fiancé' and gave him a look to let him know that would soon be them. Billy linked his arm with hers so they could make their own journey back down the aisle, her eyes never leaving Jonathan's, her smile never fading.

Once the ceremony was done, she found herself back up at the gazebo to have wedding party pictures taken. When they were done with her and the photographer had wanted to snap shots of just the bride and groom, she stepped down, then turned to watch the two of them. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" Jonathan murmured in her ear.

"You may have mentioned it, but a girl can never hear it too many times," she replied as she turned just enough to kiss him softly. "I hope you realize we're going to be doing this very, very soon. I'm not letting you get away again."

"Good," he said with a smile. "I see how happy they are and that's what I want for us."

"Glad to hear it," she said. While she'd never admit it to anyone, she'd worried that asking him to be her date for the wedding would cause him to panic and send him running again. She was thrilled that he seemed more committed than ever to do things right this time.

The photographer had paused in his picture taking and stepped aside for a moment as if contemplating what he wanted to do next. Lee looked at her and Jonathan together with an arched eyebrow. She smiled at him to let him know everything was ok just as the photographer said, "Ok, I'd like to get the bride alone."

"So would I," Lee quipped setting the watching crowd laughing and earning him a playful smack on the arm from his wife. He kissed Amanda soundly before stepping down from the gazebo and giving his bride a wink. Francine couldn't help smiling at the happiness her friends had found and hope for just as much happiness for herself.

Just as Francine thought this, out of nowhere Amanda's bouquet came sailing through the air at her landing right in her hands. She looked down at it, wondering what had possessed her to do that when the bouquet toss usually came at the end of the reception. Of course, Lee and Amanda hadn't done anything by normal traditional standards anyway so she guessed it shouldn't really surprise her. She looked up at Amanda with a smile and found her smiling back. Amanda nodded her head at her and Jonathan just before giving her a wink.