Lee let out a slight groan as he helped Amanda load things into the back of the station wagon. "I don't know why you go to all this trouble for people at the office," he commented with a slight nod to the tall stack of holiday cookie trays in his hands as they walked from the house to the open liftgate of the station wagon. "When did you even have time to bake all these?"

"Well, I can get a lot done when I don't have you around distracting me," she teased.

"But I thought you were sick," he argued. "Wasn't that the whole reason I was stuck with Francine all weekend?"

"Oh, I was sick, but I started feeling better the night you called me and said you were coming home. By the morning I was feeling so much better that I even worked a few hours to catch up on some of the stuff I'd gotten behind on and-"

"And poke your nose into my friendship with Francine," he inserted.

"That too," she nodded, "But since I only worked a few hours and I really was feeling better and everyone around the office was talking about today's party, it hit me that I hadn't done the baking I usually do for the office Christmas party and since people will be expecting me to bring in cookies like I've done the past two years, I realized I needed to get busy so I spent the whole rest of the day baking because I didn't want to disappoint anyone."

"Amanda, no one is going to be disappointed if you don't bring in cookies," he replied as he set the stack down and gestured to a different pile that had already made it to the car. "And that pile of pies in addition to the cookies? What's that about?"

"Oh, that wasn't me. That was Mother," Amanda explained as she bent to neatly arrange the pile of gifts she'd bought for their co-workers, taking great care to position them in such a way that they wouldn't slide around and be damaged during the drive to the Agency. "She did those on Saturday when I was camped out on the sofa to rest...you know, in case I didn't feel up to doing my usual stuff. Pecan pie is her specialty at Christmastime."

Lee shook his head in wonderment. "So, your mother made pies for our office party? Why?"

Having completed her task, Amanda cocked her head to the side and gave him a puzzled look. "Are you really complaining about my mother trying to help out? I mean, she is going to be your mother-in-law and I have a feeling with everything we've got coming down the line, we're going to need all the help we can get from her." She lightly patted her belly as she spoke.

"No, Amanda, it's not a complaint, I promise. I just don't get why she'd care about having baked goods for you to take to a party that she's not even invited to."

"Well, just because you may not care about people that you may not be directly involved with doesn't mean others don't, especially around the holidays. I mean, it's why people volunteer more at this time of year than any other; at soup kitchens and helping with things like Toys for Tots drives or you know, Salvation Army Santas on every street corner."

"I completely understand wanting to help the less fortunate, especially around Christmas, but that's not really what this is."

"Well, then look at it this way; it's not really any different than Jeanie making her fruitcakes for the office party every year, is it? She makes those for Billy to take to the party because she cares about him, even if she can't go to the party for security reasons."

"Okay, okay. Point taken," Lee conceded. He knew when he was defeated, but still he had questions regarding her exuberance for the holiday that he had never found much joy in. He gestured to the stack of brightly-wrapped gifts she'd just put in the car. "I get the baked goods, but do you really think anyone is going to notice if you didn't get them a Christmas present?"

"Lee, I know these things don't mean much to you, but they do mean something to the people we do them for."

"Speaking of which, we need to swing by my place to pick up my gifts," he reminded her.

"You mean your 'one-size-fits-all' scarf you always get for everyone?" She made a sour face. "I think they'll notice my gifts more than yours."

"What's wrong with a scarf? It's something everyone can use."

"It's just so impersonal," Amanda huffed impatiently as she slammed the liftgate closed. She was growing weary of his determination not to enjoy the festivities before they were even there. "It's especially so when you get them for everyone on your list. While it might be something everyone can use, it might not be something everyone wants and it shows that you didn't really put any thought into tailoring a gift just to what the specific person might actually like. I believe in special gifts for special people. Like this ring..." she fiddled with the ring she now wore. "You could have gone out and bought me some flashy expensive ring that I would have hated just because it might make an impression, but this..." She smiled at it as the diamond sparkled in the morning sunlight. "This is special because it belonged to your mother. That shows that you put your heart into it."

"Well, no one else is getting a ring from me. That's for damn sure," he retorted dryly.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "It's not about the ring and you know it. It's about the thought behind it. You knew that this particular ring would mean something to me because it means something to you and that makes it the most special gift in the world."

"Okay, but still, with the gang at the office, I really don't think anyone's going to really care what gift either of us got them, especially not once we make our announcement. They'll be way too focused on that."

She frowned as his words registered in her mind, wondering how that was going to go. She could just hear the office grapevine now. "You're probably not wrong about that."

He took her hands in his and in a soothing tone, said, "Hey, it doesn't matter what they think, okay? What really matters is us and our family. If the busybodies at work can't handle it, screw them." He softly brushed his lips against hers and smiled affectionately. "Right?"

She smiled back. "You're right, but I guess we won't know how they'll react until we get there."

"Yeah, we'd better get going," he agreed with a nod.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they finally arrived at the IFF building, Lee shook his head and sighed, "We're going to need a forklift to get all this stuff inside."

"Oh, we are not," she scoffed as she reached into the backseat to pick up a large canvas tote bag and scrambled out of the car. By the time Lee got out of the car himself, she was already piling her gifts into the bag.

"Uh...Amanda, why didn't you just use the bag to transport the gifts in the first place?"

"Because I didn't want to take a change that it would tip over on the drive," she answered. "Some of these things are fragile and I didn't want to risk anything getting broken." She finished loading up the bag and continued, "Now, your gifts are already in bags, so I can carry all the gifts if you get the other stuff." She nodded to the baked goods. "You can just stack the pies on top of the cookies and carry them all at once. Problem solved."

"But won't that smash the cookies?" he questioned uncertainly.

"Not for the short amount of time you'll be carrying them. Trust me. I've done this more times than I can count for school bake sales and such."

"Okay-ay," he replied disbelievingly as he followed her instructions.

Once he had the desserts in hand, Amanda set down the bags to close the back of the wagon and then in a determined stance, picked them back up again, "See? Now, we're all set."

"If you say so," he responded doubtfully. While she may have been right about the best way to carry everything inside, he wasn't at all sure he was set on everything else though, especially once they dropped their bomb.

Sensing his thoughts, she planted a firm kiss on his lips. "Hey, it's going to be fine. Like you said, if they can't handle it..."

"Screw 'em," he nodded. "You're right. Let's do this."

"You got it."

They strolled up the walk together, but then paused when they got to the door, trying to figure out the best way to open it with both their hands full. Amanda was just about to set the bags of gifts down again, when the door was opened from the other side by Francine, who held the door open for them as she said, "I saw you on the monitor and you looked like you could use a hand."

"Thanks," Amanda responded politely. "So, how come you're up here and not downstairs at the party?"

"Beaman again?" Lee chimed in with a grin. When Francine nodded, he asked, "What is it this time? Swiss Alps again?"

Francine shook her head. "Worse. So far, he's already tried to give me his car - as if I would ever drive a Buick," she snorted. "And he's insisted that I run off to Greece with him to raise goats."

Amanda frowned and shot Lee a worried look. "I guess that means someone's already spiked the punch?" How was she going to keep the gossip at bay if her co-workers noticed she wasn't drinking? She knew they'd eventually figure out that she was pregnant, but she wasn't quite ready to announce that part of the equation yet.

"Ohhh, right," the blonde acknowledged. "You can't drink."

"Ix-nay, Francine," Lee hissed with a nod to Mrs. Marston who was watching the scene with a look of amusement on her face.

"I only meant because of the meds you've been taking since you got sick," Francine quickly covered her faux pas. "But you can relax. Leatherneck knew it would inevitably happen, so he made sure there was a backup bowl of punch for those who don't want to get blitzed."

"Oh, good." Amanda breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll tell you what. I'll steer you in the right direction if you help me keep Efraim at bay," she offered.

"I don't know, Francine," Lee teased. "He's been pretty sweet on you for awhile. Maybe you should take a shot at goat herding with him. Amanda, Sound of Music is your favorite movie, right? Didn't it work out for the lonely goatherd in that?"

Amanda rolled her eyes, but couldn't help laughing. "Yes, but that was just in the puppet show."

"Well, as big as Beaman's crush on Francine is, he'd be a good puppet for her. Isn't that how you like your men? Kept on a string and willing to move whatever way you direct them?"

"Okay, you can stop anytime now," the younger agent scolded. "Especially if you want my help. Besides..." She nodded to his armload of baked goods. "I notice someone else's strings being pulled right now."

"Speaking of which, Francine," Amanda chimed in to change the subject. "Do you mind grabbing one of those cookie trays to leave here on Mrs. Marston's desk for people coming in while I dig out her Christmas presents since Lee has his hands full?"

Without waiting for an answer, Amanda set down the bags and extracted the matron's gifts, the one she'd bought her from one bag and Lee's traditional scarf from another.

"Thank you, Mrs. King," Mrs. Marston replied as she took the packages from her. "On that note, you just missed Dr. Smyth making his annual rounds with his gift certificates." She produced two envelopes and handed them to Amanda along with her and Lee's IDs. "Since Mr. Stetson does have his hands full, I'll trust you'll pass his along." She gave a slight nod to the ring Amanda now wore.

"Talk about impersonal gifts," Lee muttered to his fiancée with a twinge of merriment in his eyes.

"Okay, come on," Amanda said determinedly as she picked up the bags once more. "Let's get down there." She smiled cordially at the Agency's resident guard dog. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Marston."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Mrs. King," the older woman replied. "And congratulations," she added as the other three stepped into the elevator and disappeared.

"What did she mean by 'congratulations'?" Lee questioned worriedly as the elevator made its descent.

"Don't you ever notice anything?" Amanda looked at him incredulously. "She spotted my ring when I gave her her presents."

"Oh, so you actually did it!" Francine squealed. "Let me see it!" she added excitedly as she reached for Amanda's left hand causing her to drop the bag that held the scarves from Lee.

"You've already seen it, Francine," Lee huffed.

"Wait." Amanda shot a surprised look at Francine. "What? You saw it before I did?"

"But it's different seeing it in the box versus actually seeing her wearing it," Francine explained. "And yes, Amanda, I've already seen it. After you left Lee and me alone yesterday, we really talked." She smiled and released Amanda's hand. "It's beautiful. Congratulations to both of you."

Lee noticed the sincerity in her tone and questioned skeptically, "You really mean that?"

"I really do. I'm glad to see it. After we talked yesterday, I thought for sure you'd chicken out."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," he snarked.

"If you can't be honest with your friends..." Francine began, but then trailed off.

"Wait," Amanda repeated. "You thought he'd chicken out?"

"Oh, I-" She blew out a long breath. "Well, not on the proposing thing," she amended. "When I talked to him, he said you'd already discusses getting married and you'd turned him down and then I basically told him he was an idiot for not telling you how he really feels about you first. That part is what I thought he'd chicken out on and I also figured that if he did, you still would have turned him down. I know I would have."

"Oh, I see," Amanda nodded, but was still somewhat skeptical.

"Really, Amanda, I'm happy for you both, I swear. I only meant I know what a jerk this guy can be when he gets into his retreat mode."

Amanda burst out laughing at that, her mind reflecting back on the conversation she and Lee had had regarding his behavior after their night in the swamp. "Boy, do I know that feeling. Thank you for being supportive, Francine."

"Yeah. I'm just worried about how the rest of the office is going to react," Lee uttered nervously. "And for that matter, how we're going to tell them in the first place."

"Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Francine informed him. "Didn't you see Mrs. Marston reaching for the phone as the elevator doors were closing?"

"Oh no," he groaned.

"We-ell, maybe it's better this way," Amanda pointed out in a more positive tone as she picked up the bag she'd dropped. "Now, we don't have to worry about what we're going to say to people."

"No, just what they might say to us," Lee countered dismally.

"We're about to find out just what that is." Amanda nodded to the doors opening before them.

When Lee hesitated on getting out, she and Francine together nudged him forward. They made their way toward the bullpen, Francine opening the doors for them as she more-cheerily-than-normal sang, "Hey, everyone! Santa Amanda is here! And she brought her amazing Christmas cookies!"

A discordant chorus of "Congratulations!" and "Merry Christmas" greeted them as they fully entered the glass enclosure.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Amanda replied and immediately began handing out gifts while Lee took the desserts to the food table and then quickly rejoined his fiancée.

Billy joined the trio and smirked. "It's about damn time! Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you, Sir," Amanda responded at the same time, Lee said, "Thanks, Billy," finally relaxing for the first time since they'd left the house.

"I'd better get back to manning the food table," the older man told them with a nod to people already attacking Amanda's homemade desserts.

"I'll join you," Francine interjected. "I'm just dying for some of Amanda's cookies before they're all gone."

Once the bags of gifts were emptied, Lee slipped his arms around Amanda from behind just as a smattering of 'thank yous' were being uttered as the gifts were opened, some perfunctory in the case of Lee's scarves and others genuine in Amanda's more thoughtful gifts. Amanda rested her arms atop his and gloated a bit, "See? Special gifts for special people."

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. You gave me the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten in my life," he crooned in her ear as he lightly stroked her stomach.

"You're wrong. That's a gift we gave each other."

"You're right, but the point remains the same. It's been a long time since I've been able to enjoy Christmas like this and it's all because of you and our swamp thing."

"Which swamp thing would that be; what happened between us in the swamp or is that what we're still calling the baby?"

"Both," he answered with a warm smile. "Because we wouldn't have one without the other."

Just as Amanda was about to reply, Francine returned with two glasses of punch. "The Shirley Temple version, as promised," she informed them.

While reluctant to let go of each other, the pair took the offered glasses as Francine hurried back to the food to guard her post. With an impish grin, Lee said, "I'd say this calls for a toast. To swamp things."

Amanda laughed and replied, "To swamp things, it is. And a Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he responded as they sipped their drinks. They shared a sweet, lingering kiss, neither caring any longer that they were being scrutinized by their coworkers and oblivious to the whoops around them.

"And to many more...together," Amanda added when the kiss ended as she linked her free hand with his. "Now, come on, let's go really join the party and celebrate."