"Steele Waters Run Deep" PAX(ed) Scene
Date: Thursday, January 10, 2002

By: Frannie Piper

This fic answers 2 questions about SWRD I had after watching the ep air on PAX(e) this week:

1 - Who paid their fees if their client was the bad guy?
2 - Why was Laura's blouse unbottoned during the tag? I had never noticed it before when I saw the ep, so it get me thinking...

(permission to archive)

"Steele Waters Run Deep" PAX(ed) Scene

"What's all this?" Laura asked as she walked into Steele's apartment. She set her purse on an end table and approached the chilling champagne by the fireplace.

Steele was relaxed. His suit jacket and tie were gone, and his dark chest hair peeked from the open collar of his dress shirt. "A celebration," he answered, "for the successful conclusion of our case."

"And for my saving your hide?" she asked, removing her jacket and placing it on a chair.

"Uh, that too," he answered quickly, producing two crystal champagne flutes for Laura to hold.

She took them, and he worked on removing the cork from the bottle of champagne.

"Do you plan on doing this every time we solve a case?"

POP! The cork removed from the bottle, Steele began to fill the flutes Laura held out for him.

"Spend an evening with you?" Steele asks. "It would be presumptuous of me to assume...."

"I meant the champagne," Laura interrupted with a half smile.

"I just thought that the successful completion of my first case called for something special," he explained, taking one of the flutes from her.

"Your first case?"

"Albie did come to me."

Laura decided not to pursue the pending argument. She sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Yes, that's true. And your locating the missing money and the computer programs will go a long way in proving what he and the others did to avoid the takeover."

Steele smiled in appreciation as he sat next to her.

"To George Kaplan," he raised his glass in salute. He touched her glass with his, and they both took a sip of champagne.

"It's funny," she said setting her glass on the coffee table, "Albie and the others ran into the same problem I did."

"What's that?"

"Suddenly, their fictitious man walked and talked."

Steele chuckled at the similarity between Albie's and Laura's situation as he placed his glass alongside Laura's. "True," he admitted, placing his hand behind her ear and bringing her closer to him, "but hopefully, I won't be your undoing."

He kissed her softly and gently.

"I hope not," Laura answered breathlessly, as she leaned in for a deeper kiss, one in which their lips parted briefly and tongues met cautiously.

"Unless," he continued, looking into her eyes, "you'd like me to be."

Laura's head began to spin as he kissed her deeply again. Her arms would not heed her head's warning to stop, and they went around his neck. As he began to plant kisses along her jaw line and down her neck, a sigh escaped from her lips, and she leaned her head back. As his lips neared the edge of her high collared blouse, his fingers slowly and cautiously unfastened the first, and then the second button. Surprised and encouraged by Laura's silence, he continued down her neck with his lips. His breath was warm on her skin, and before Laura stopped to think, her fingers began to work the buttons of his white dress shirt. Steele matched Laura's effort continuing down the row of buttons on her blouse as their lips met again.

RING! RING! The phone on the end table pierced the silence.

Begrudgingly, Steele parted their kiss slightly. "I suppose I should get that," he managed to say.

"Probably."

RING! RING!

Steele sighed heavily as he untangled himself and reached across the floor to retrieve the handset.

"Steele here." He ran his hand through his dark hair in obvious frustration.

Laura stifled a laugh and simply smiled at him as she retrieved her champagne from the coffee table and took a sip.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Richardson," Steele said confidently as he shot Laura a questioning look.

"The Gruff and Reston board member," Laura supplied in a whisper.

"Well, that's very generous of the Board," Steele continues. "Yes, Mr. Richardson, thank you very much."

During a long pause, and Steele retrieves his glass and takes a sip of champagne.

"Well," Steele continues looking at Laura and smiling, "I have a most excellent staff."

She nods and returns his gesture with a knowing smile.

"Yes, Mr. Richardson, good evening." Steele returned the handset and sat down again by Laura's side in front of the fireplace.

"The Gruff and Reston Board want to insure us that they will pick up our fees for the case in gratitude of the embarrassment we saved them," Steele explained.

Laura smiled and nodded in understanding.

[RETURN TO BEGINNING OF EPISODE TAG]

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