Mother of Steele 2/5
Date: Sunday, May 20, 2007
From: "Lori Lanham" <lanhamlj@yahoo.com>
 
See notes in part one, but I did forget to say... I don't own 'em. <G>
 
Mother of Steele, Part Two
 
After putting Kate down for the night, Laura collapsed into her bed.
Remington, who had been sitting in bed reading a file, looked over at her. "Long day, Mrs. Steele?"
 
Laura nodded, and turned to curl up next to him. "I'm exhausted." She noticed his reading material. "What's that?"
 
"I was just going over the Curtis case," he told her, setting the file down on the bedside table before pulling her into his embrace.
 
Laura just smiled and laid her head down on his chest.

"It's the weekend, and you're reading case files," she said, looking up at him with a face full of amusement. "And in bed, no less."
 
"Nasty habit," he said with a grin, leaning in to kiss her.
 
"Seriously," Laura said, pulling herself up to sit next to him. "You've really stepped up. Paperwork, legwork… what happened to the man I married?" she asked with a grin.
 
"He became a father," Remington answered, seriously. "Laura, for as long as I've known you, you have carried the brunt of the responsibility in our relationship. One day last year, I was sitting at my desk, watching you. There you were, as always. You were pacing the office going through the information on a case, and I realized… you were carrying our child. I mean, I KNEW that you were carrying our child, but it struck me that you shouldn't have to do everything. I can't carry our children, but I can certainly help ease your burden at the office."
 
"Thank you," she said, resting against him. "But I don't do everything. We've been partners in every sense of the word for a very long time. As far as the office is concerned, you've become more than I ever imagined when I thought up my masculine superior. In fact, most of the time I forget that there was a time when there wasn't a Remington Steele. He's very real-he's a wonderful, strong, brave, kind and loving man who has made my life complete." She stopped speaking for a moment and looked into his face; it echoed all the love she knew was showing in hers. "I love you."
 
"And I you, Laura," he said, his throat catching with emotion. "So much."
 
"We're lucky," she said quietly. "Frances and I, I mean… we didn't have the best example of a happy marriage to look up to, but we both did pretty well for ourselves." She smiled, and kissed him. As the kiss ended, she continued her thought. "I feel so badly for Mother," she said with a sigh. "Here Frances and I are, both happy with wonderful husbands…"
 
"And she's got Roger," Remington finished the thought. Laura didn't miss the note of disdain in his voice.
 
"You got that feeling, too, huh?"

"Laura, the man is a Neanderthal. Certainly Abigail could do much better."
 
"I know," Laura answered with a sigh. "She just has bad taste in men. Makes me sorry that I tried to keep her from Daniel all those years ago."
 
A rueful smile spread across her husband's face at the mention of his father.
 
"Well," he said. "They did have that holiday in the south of France."
 
Laura nodded.
 
"It wouldn't have worked," Remington stated. "At that time, Daniel wasn't ready to settle down or give up the life, no matter what he said. And he wouldn't have hurt you by hurting your mother. He was very fond of you," he said, placing a kiss against her temple as he pulled her closer to him, "even then."
 
"Right," Laura said with a smile.
 
"No, really," Remington insisted. "If he hadn't been, he wouldn't have given you such a hard time. And all that talk about taking me back to Europe, it was just that-talk. He knew I'd never leave you. I think he was testing me and my resolve more than yours. But he did enjoy sparring with you."
 
"I wish he could have met Kate," Laura said quietly.
 
"Me too," he answered. "But we'll make sure she knows about her Grandda Daniel." Remington looked over at her as Laura giggled softly beside him. "What?"
 
"I was just thinking," she said. "When you walked into my office all those years ago, did you ever imagine we'd end up like this?"
 
"Never in a million years, Laura," he told her honestly. "But I can't imagine a life that could be better. Thank you."
 
"For what?"
 
"Everything," he told her. "For giving me a life, I suppose. But it is Mother's Day… so thank you for giving me our beautiful little girl."
 
"For that," she said, "I should be thanking you. And if I recall correctly, I have some proper thanking to do for my beautiful Tiffany necklace," she said, fingering the locket that hung around her neck.

"Ah yes," he said, kissing her. His kiss left no doubt as to what the rest of the night would hold, and Laura was looking forward to showing her husband just how much she loved him.
 
"Happy Mother's Day, Mrs. Steele."
 
*~*~*
 
"Mildred, did you get that information on Roger Winters I asked for?" Laura asked as she walked out of her office. She was looking down at the file she was reading and didn't notice her husband standing next to Mildred's desk.
 
"Investigating your mother's paramour, Laura?" he asked.
 
"There's something about him," Laura answered, and then realized what Remington had said. "And he's not her paramour," she insisted with a shudder. "Eeew."

Remington bit back a chuckle at Laura's reaction.
 
"It's not funny," Laura practically pouted. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about him. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."

Remington and Mildred exchanged looks. They had both known Laura long enough to know that wasn't a good sign. They trusted Laura's intuition.
 
"I haven't found anything yet, Hon," Mildred told her. "But I'll let you know as soon as I do."
 
Remington was concerned as he looked at his wife. He turned to Mildred as he led Laura into his office. "Hold all our calls, Mildred."
 
"Sure thing, Chief," Mildred replied as she set to work digging up information on Roger Winters.
 
Remington sat down at his desk as Laura paced the room. She tucked the file folder she was carrying under her arm, leaving her hands free for gesturing as she continued to pace.
 
"I could deal with him being a chauvinist pig," she said. "I wouldn't like it, but I could deal with it." She walked over to the desk and set the file down. "I know you think I'm overreacting," she said with a sigh. "But Mother's been through so much…" She let her thought trail off as she walked around behind the desk and leaned against it.
 
Remington reached out to take her hand. "Not at all, Laura," he said. "I trust those infallible instincts of yours. I'm sure Mildred will find something," he said, pulling her to him. "But now, Mrs. Steele," he went on, leaning in for a gentle kiss. "We've got work to do. We have to meet with Mr. Curtis in less than an hour."
 
Laura looked at her watch and realized Remington was right. They did need to be going if they were going to make their meeting on time. "Let's go," she said, walking over toward her office to get her purse. "We'll take the limo. I want to phone Maria and check on Kate. We can do it on the way."
 
*~*~*
 
"How'd the meeting go?"Mildred asked as Remington and Laura entered the offices.

"Great," Laura answered. "Mr. Curtis loved Mr. Steele's plans for securing his collection. He's going to recommend the Remington Steele agency to all his friends."
 
"That should keep us busy for a while," Mildred responded.
 
"Right," Laura responded. "Which reminds me… have you contacted the temp agency to start looking for a new receptionist? You're going to be getting your license any day now, and we'll need someone to man the phones."
 
"Laura, do you really want to use the temp agency? Remember who they sent us the last time Mildred was away," Remington began, but was interrupted by Mildred.
 
"Not to worry, Chief," she said. "We're just interviewing some of the girls at the temp agency who are looking for something full time. If that doesn't pan out, then we'll advertise. And it's a two step interview process. First they go through me and if I think they might work out, then they get a second interview with Mrs. Steele."
 
"Sounds like you girls have everything well in hand," Remington said, easing his way toward his office.

"Anything on Roger Winters, Mildred?" Laura asked.
 
"OH!" Mildred exclaimed retrieving the file she'd created. "You're not gonna believe this. This guy's got more aliases than Mr. Steele."
 
Remington gave Mildred a pained look. "Mildred, I'll have you know that, other than in the line of duty, I haven't used a name other than Remington Steele going on seven years."
 
Laura gave her husband a consoling look and patted him on the arm. "What else have you got, Mildred?" she asked.
 
"Well, under a couple of the names, he's got priors. Nothing major- petty theft, forgery. He seems to have been lying low for a while. The last arrest I could find was about five years ago in Denver."
 
"Denver?" Laura asked with interest.
 
"Laura," Remington intoned, holding out the last syllable of her name.
 
"Mildred," Laura said, "Get me Murphy Michaels on the phone."
 
*~*~*
 
"Thanks, Murph," Laura said into the phone with a smile as she looked up to see her husband walking in o her office. She waved him in. "Uh-huh, right," she said into the phone. "You, too. Okay. Bye, Murphy." She looked up at Remington as she hung up.
 
"How is Murphy?" he asked. "Well?"
 
"He's fine," she answered. "And he had some great information."
 
"Oh?" Remington said with the quirk of an eyebrow. "Did Roger swindle someone at the Coroner's office?"
 
"Not funny," she said flatly.
 
"Really?" he asked with a grin.

"Will you just let it go?" she asked, trying to remain annoyed but melting slightly at his charm.
 
"Whatever do you mean, Darling?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling.
 
"Remington," she said, standing up and walking toward him. "You know Murphy is a good guy," she reached up for a kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist.
 
"Mmm-hmm," he muttered in agreement, enfolding her in his embrace.
 
"And he's always been a good friend," she reminded him, before kissing him again.
 
"Mmm-hmm."
 
"And he's one hell of a detective," she went on, and then kissed him.
 
"Mmm-hmm."
 
"And you won," she said as she stepped out of his embrace.
 
"Won, Laura?" Remington asked, feigning confusion.
 
"You know what I mean," she told him more forcefully than she'd intended. "I don't want to see any of that old, petty competition when he gets here."
 
"Gets here?" Remington asked. "Murphy is coming to Los Angeles?"
 
"Yes," Laura answered. "He'll be here the day after tomorrow."
 
"Why?"
 
"Because he's had dealings with some of Roger's cronies," she told him. "You and Mildred are going to be busy with Mr. Curtis' collection. I'm going to need some help on this one."
 
He and Mildred were going to be busy? Remington felt his heart sink in his chest. He tried not to let his disappointment show as he backed away from Laura and made his way toward the connecting door to his office.
 
"I want to go over the plans for Mr. Curtis' security system one more time before I meet with the installation team," he said. "I'll meet you at home, later," he added quietly.
 
"Damn," Laura muttered to herself as her husband closed the door between them. It had been a long time since she'd seen that look on his face. He'd worn it a lot when they first got together. She'd seen it every time she'd purposely put him in his place, reminding him just exactly who it was that was in charge at Remington Steele Investigations. But it had been years since she'd done that. She truly considered him her partner, completely. She certainly hadn't expected that reaction to asking him to be nice to Murphy.
 
*~*~*
 
Remington reached the chair behind his desk and sat down with a thud. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew he didn't like it. He didn't like the idea of Murphy Michaels coming back to town, but it had very little to do with their ancient rivalry. Laura was right about that. He, Remington Steele, was the clear victor. He'd won Laura's heart and her hand, she had given him a beautiful daughter and together they had created the family he'd always dreamed of.
 
The disappointment he felt was more professional in nature. It hurt him to hear Laura say that Murphy was winging his way to Los Angeles because she needed help. That was his job. Remington and Laura Steele were partners. He was her back-up, not Murphy Michaels.
 
He looked down at his desk. There was more paperwork on it than there would have been in the past, but it was still as neat as a pin. He picked up the frame that set on the corner of the desk and looked down at the photo. It was one of his favorites: Laura holding a sleeping Kate in her arms. She'd been so wrapped up in her daughter that she hadn't noticed him taking the picture. "This is what it's all about old boy," he said to himself, out loud.
 
*~*~*
 
Laura was surprised to see her mother in the kitchen with Kate when she arrived at home. This would put a damper on all of her plans for the evening-both discussing the Roger Winters case and making up with her husband.
 
"Mother," Laura said, walking up to greet Abigail who was standing next to Kate's high chair. "So nice to see you," she added with a plastered on smile.
 
"Hello, Dear," Abigail returned her daughter's greeting. "I'm sorry to just drop by unannounced. But as I was telling Remington, my bridge club canceled and Roger had to go out of town on business, so I found myself at a loose end. I thought I'd stop in and see my granddaughter, maybe offer to babysit so you and Remington could go out to dinner, but he was already cooking when I arrived."
 
"Fresh salmon steaks with wild rice and a Caesar salad," Remington said, walking in from the barbeque grill on the deck. He set the plate of fish down on the counter.
 
"My favorite," Laura said, walking up to step into his arms.
 
He leaned in for a quick kiss and noticed the small pink shopping bag she was holding discreetly behind her briefcase. "Do a little shopping, Laura?" he whispered in her ear, causing her to tremble.
 
"Later, Mr. Steele," she whispered back with promise, kissing him soundly. She stepped out of his embrace and walked over to Kate, who cooed happily to see Mommy.
 
"Hi, Baby," Laura said, leaning down to kiss the baby's forehead. "Have you been a good girl for Daddy and Grandma? You keep them company while Mommy goes to change." She looked past the baby to Remington with her last words and winked at him before leaving the room.
 
*~*~*
 
Remington opened the door and stepped out on the balcony outside their bedroom. Laura was leaning on the railing and looking out over the moonlit ocean. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
 
"You've been driving me to distraction all night," he said softly, the heat of his breath against her neck causing her to tremble slightly.
 
"Did you get Kate down all right?" she asked. She felt him nod.
 
"I've been lost, wondering what you've got on under those jeans," he said softly into her ear. "And could you have found a bigger or more ill-fitting sweatshirt?"
She turned in his arms and looked up into his deep blue eyes.
 
"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Steele," she told him as she leaned in to press an inviting kiss to his lips.
 
"One that I've become all too familiar with over the years, my love," he answered.
 
"I know," she said, taking his hand in hers and leading him back into their bedroom. "And you're about to be rewarded."
to be continued....
To Part 3
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