Recuperative Steele -Adult
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2002

Nancy Eddy <nancye@flash.net>

Recuperative Steele
by Krebbie

Rating: Adult- not sure if it qualifies for NC-17, but there is some sex

Standard disclaimers. You all know the drill there.

Synopsis: Laura and Remington spend a few days alone after her accident,
nothing on their minds except each other...

---

Recuperative Steele
by Krebbie

After Remington placed Laura gently on the hotel room bed, he tipped the bell hop who had opened the door for them, closing the door behind the young man. "Thank you, thank you," he said. Turning back to Laura, who still looked as if she'd been through a war zone with her scratched face and bruises, he started tucking her in. "Comfy?" he asked, glad now that he had managed to reassure Mildred, Frances, and especially Abigail so that they wouldn't come rushing to London to help take care of her. This was something he wanted to do on his own. If she'd let him. "Is there anything you need? Anything at all. I'll get it."

"Yes," Laura said. "There is one thing you can get for me," she confirmed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed expectantly. "What? Tell me."

"For you to stop treating me like an invalid," she told him. Remington went
still. "Dr. Philemon said that I was fine. That I just needed a few days of
quiet and rest and I'd be good as new. He didn't say that I couldn't walk from the front door of the hotel to the elevators or from the elevator to our room," she pointed out. "I won't break."

"I know, Laura, but I'm just being cautious. I almost lost you."

She reached out to touch his hand. "But you didn't."

"And you've no idea how grateful I am," Remington said, bending to give her a gentle kiss which Laura refused to let end the same way. Raising up, he
looked at her. "Laura- I don't think the doctor had this in mind-"

"He said I could do whatever I felt up to doing," she said, and grinned as her hand drifted down to lightly brush against his fabric covered hip. "What's the matter? Don't think that you're *up* to it, Rem?" she teased, squeezing the flesh lightly.

Remington closed his eyes for a moment and then renewed the kiss, this time
giving as good as he got, as Laura pushed his jacket from his shoulders and
tried to loosen his tie, almost choking him in the process.

"Laura!" he gasped, pulling back to lower the knot on the tie and pull the end free. Laura didn't give him a chance to unfasten any buttons as she tore the shirt apart, sending buttons everywhere. "This trip to London's becoming
terribly expense," he noted between kisses as Laura tossed his shirt across
the room. His trousers and shorts quickly followed, as did Laura's clothing,
until they were skin against skin.

Remington rolled them over so that Laura was on top, aware that her bruises
from the impact of Gregory's car and the road were still painful. As she
lowered herself onto him, Remington closed his eyes again, trying to pace
himself. But when Laura began to move, he knew it was a lost cause. Raising
himself onto his arms, he sat up, meeting her thrust for thrust, sucking and
kissing her breasts as they rose and fell. Laura's arms went around him, her
lips finding his as he brought a hand around to touch her.

Her breaths were coming in short gasps now, and he knew she was close.
"That's it, love," he told her. "That's it. Ride it out. That's it-"

Suddenly Laura threw her head back and cried out her release, calling his
name- the name she'd given him- as she did.

Remington followed her immediately, pulling her tightly against him, crying
her name over and over again.

At last they fell onto the sheets, still entwined, Laura's head resting on his hair covered chest. She lifted her head finally to look at him. "See? I told you I wouldn't break."

Remington caressed her shoulder and back as she lay there on top of him. "I
missed this over the last few days."

"So did I," she confessed as he rolled them over onto their sides, his arm
around her, keeping her close.

Laura laughed softly. "Why is it that we can never seem to go away together
without getting involved in a case?"

"We keep making one *tiny* mistake," Remington told her.

"What mistake might that be?"

"We leave the hotel room."

"Ah," Laura said. "That's what we've been doing wrong."

"For the next three days, you and I are not going to venture any further than this room-" he smiled at her. "And possibly this bed."

Laura snuggled against him, content for once to let him call the shots.
"Sounds heavenly," she sighed.

"Just you, me-" he picked something up from the bedside table, "and room
service." He dropped the menu. "We'll need to keep up your strength. You're
recuperating, after all."

"Hmm," Laura moaned softly, then looked up at him. "What about Mildred? And
Frances? And- Mother?"

"As far as they know, Remington Steele checked out of the hotel early this
morning."

Laura looked around. "Then how-?"

"I registered us under another name. And there's only one person who might
*possibly* be able to guess that I'd use it. But I promised Mildred we'd
check in at least once a day to reassure her that you're well and things are
fine."

"You do seem to have everything all planned, don't you?"

"I- gave it my best shot," he told her with another smile and caught his
breath as Laura's fingers closed around him.

"And what name did you use? Richard Blaine?" she asked.

"Mildred knows all of the names on my old passports, Laura," he reminded her. "Those would be the first names she'd use to find us."

"Then what name did you use?" she asked.

"Harrison Chalmers."

"Harrison Chalmers," she repeated slowly.

"It's how Daniel always thought of me. Not the Harrison, of course. But
Mildred will look for Harry- might slow her down a bit. Uh, Laura-"

She smiled. "Yes- Harry?" she questioned, placing a feather light kiss along
his jaw as her hand continued to work its magic.

"Was there something you wanted?" he asked.

Laura stopped, and rolled from the bed. "A shower," she told him, and turned
toward the bathroom.

Remington lay on the bed, watching her move away, enjoying the view immensely. He heard her turn on the water, and then she was in the door again, posed seductively against the frame.

"Care to join me?"

He grinned. "I thought you'd never ask," he said, rising from the bed to
follow her back into the bathroom.

****

He closed the door behind the bell-hop, surveying the food cart with delight. He'd managed to work up quite an appetite, thanks to Laura- who was at that moment on the telephone with Mildred. He picked up the bottle of champagne and began removing the cork.

"Yes, Mildred . . . Yes, they caught Gregory an hour after he hit me . . .
Getting on a flight back to Russia . . . So we're perfectly safe-"

"POP!"

Laura jumped slightly, and then said into the phone, "That was just Remington opening the champagne," she assured the nervous woman. "I'm fine. Just a little bruised and sore, that's all. But luckily I have a personal masseur to relieve the little aches and pains," she said, and Remington smiled as he heard Mildred's embarrassment through the line as he handed Laura a glass of champagne. "We'll be home in three days- " she frowned. "He did? . . . Well, what's the number? I'll call-"

Remington grabbed the telephone from her hand and put it to his ear. "Mildred- no business . . . I know." He spatted Laura's hand away as she tried to grab the phone again. "Tell Mr. Cavendish that we'll see him the moment we get back to Los Angeles. Until then, we're unavailable. . . . No arguments, Mildred." He met Laura's glare as he continued. "The doctors said that Laura needed three days of recuperation. That means no chasing down murderers or blackmailers or . . . Good. We'll call tomorrow. Good-bye, Mildred."

Laura sat there, looking furious. "Do you have any idea how big the Cavendish account is?"

"It's not big enough to risk your recovery for is it, luv?" Remington asked
gently, leaning forward to give her a gentle, teasing kiss.

Laura sighed. "I guess I haven't quite gotten the hang of doing nothing, have I?"

His lips curved into an indulgent smiled. "Stick with me. I'll have you up to snuff in no time." He accepted her kiss, then indicated the cart. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Famished," she said, starting to get up.

But Remington pulled her back, settling her against he pillows. "Allow me," he told her, going over to pull the cart closer to the bed. He placed a napkin over his arm and examined the contents. "Let's see. What would milady like? We have - "

"How about one of everything?" Laura suggested, running a finger up his arm.

Remington paused for a moment, looking at her. "One of everything," he
repeated, picking up a plate. "Hmm. I think we can mange that, if that's what Madame wants." He placed a few items on the plate and then picked up a fork. "Some quiche, perhaps?" he suggested, holding the fork near her lips.

Laura opened her mouth and captured the fork and quiche, her eyes locked with his. She moaned as he pulled the fork from her mouth. "Delicious," she
declared. "you're going to spoil me," she warned as he cut another piece of
the quiche with the fork.

"That's the whole idea," he replied. "You don't let me do it often. So I
might as well take the opportunity to do it now."

"Aren't you going to eat?" Laura asked, swallowing the quiche.

He took a bite and nodded. "You're right. It is good."

She held out her glass to be refilled. "More bubbly, please." While he
poured, she stretched, wincing. "I need a massage," she told him.

"Just as soon as we finish this," he said, handing her the champagne and
another bite of the quiche. "I think there are some chocolate truffles as
well- ."

Laura sighed. "I'm in heaven," she declared.

****

Remington slipped out of bed, leaving Laura to get some much needed sleep. As he went toward the window, his leg brushed something laying on a table, and knocked it to the floor. The clasp on Laura's purse opened, scattering the contents all over the carpet.

He stopped, glancing toward the bed, in case the soft rattle had disturbed
her. She never moved a muscle, and Remington released his breath as he
kneeled to retrieve the items. Her wallet, a comb, lipstick, address book and note pad- as his fingers fell upon the last item, Remington went still again. The round plastic clamshell case looked like a compact, but he knew that it was Laura's birth control pills.

Opening the case, he counted, and then did a little math in his head. She
hadn't taken one for the last two days. Not since the accident. And they'd
made love- he sat down as he tried to remember how many times they had come
together since returning to the hotel two days ago. He finally gave it up.
He'd lost track of how many times . . .

"What're you doing?" he heard Laura ask in a sleepy voice.

Remington kept the packet in his hand as he returned to the bed. "Nothing,"
he told her. "Go back to sleep."

Laura shook her head, running a hand down his side. "I'm not sleepy anymore." She pulled herself up against he pillows beside him, pressing kisses to his tight jaw, then stopped and looked at him. "What's wrong, Rem?" she asked.

"Have you ever thought about- the future, Laura?" he asked.

"The future?" she repeated. "Of course. But I'm surprised that you ask. I
thought you were the big advocate of living each day as it comes?"

"People change," he told her, feeling the hard plastic in his hand. "Laura, I know we've never discussed it, but- do you want children?"

"Do you?" she countered.

"I asked first."

"I suppose, some day, when the time is right," she said slowly, her gaze
focused on his chest. "Children would be- okay. If you want them, that is-"

Remington pulled her closer. "I have to admit that the idea of being a father terrifies the bloody hell out of me. I haven't had a very good role model in that area. But I also know that-" he lifted her chin to look at her as he continued, "that having a child with you would make me the happiest man in the world. Just the thought of a little girl with your eyes and smile-"

Laura smiled, and moved toward him, then stopped as something occurred to her. "Ohmigod," she said and started looking around. "Where's my purse?" she asked.

"Why?" Remington questioned, turning on the light as she scrambled out of the bed, dragging half of the covers with her.

"I have to find something," she said, picking the purse up from the table and starting to open it.

Remington held up the clamshell. "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked.

Laura froze, her brown eyes locked on the object in his hand. She came toward him, her hand out, and opened the package to count.

"You're two off. Starting with the day after the accident."

Laura sank down onto the bed beside him. "Two days." She was obviously trying to make the same count that he had given up on, Remington decided.

He nodded, watching her carefully. "Would it be so terrible if you were?" he
asked.

"We're not ready for this," she insisted. "It would change things."

"Laura," he said, placing a hand to her head and pulling her hair away to look at her. "We'll never be totally ready. If you are, then we'll deal with it. Unless you'd rather-"

She looked at him, her eyes widening as she realized what he was talking
about. "No. I'd never- unless- you-"

"Oh, no. No. You know what, I find myself hoping that you are. Oh, I know,
it won't be easy. For you more than anyone else. But we'll manage. Just as we always do. As long as we're together, we I believe we can do anything." He smiled. "Even spend three days with no interruptions if we set our minds to it," he pointed out and was relieved to see a smile starting to appear on her face. "No, you won't be able to chase down the bad guys for awhile, you'll have to learn to trust me to handle some of the things you're used to
handling- but they'll be handled."

"And- after?" she said. "What then?"

"We'll handle that as it comes," he told her.

Laura shook her head, still smiling. "There's my take each day as it comes
Remington," she told him. "I knew he was still in there- somewhere."

"Come here," Remington said, holding out his arms to her. Laura moved into
them, laying beside him. "I love you, Laura. That's never going to change.
And I can't think of anything I'd like more than to have a family with you.
To have the things I didn't have as child."

"One family coming up," Laura told him, tossing the pills across the room as
she rolled over on top of him to give him a long kiss.

When it ended, Remington asked, "How many children do you think we should
have? I'd like a large family myself. Three or four-"

"Four?!" Laura grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head, threatening to
smother him as she laughed.

When Remington finally pulled it away, he said, "Okay, okay. We'll start with one, eh?"

"I think we can manage that, Mr. Steele," Laura murmured, turning off the
light.

The End

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