- Steele Trying to Get it Right
Part 4
Date: Friday, August 16, 2002
- <DLois94@aol.com>
Here you go. Sorry for the delay again.
Lydia. God Bless you. Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Steele Trying to Get It Right
Part IV
By D'Lois
dlois94@aol.com
Editor's note: This story is not part
of Debra Talley's "Brendan Universe" series of RS fanfic.
When he heard the key in the lock, the young tall man froze as
he looked over at the door. He quickly surveyed the room. He
was glad that he had been neat about his search. If Robbie were
with him, he would have turned the apartment inside out looking
for the item. His boss had made it clear that he didn't want
Steele to know he had been there. And, even though he had succeeded
with that mission, he hadn't found the item his boss was looking
for. He sighed quietly as he contemplated the consequences of
returning to his boss empty-handed. The man was so moody he wasn't
quite sure what would happen.
*****
Laura eyed the keys that were still in her hand and in the lock,
and debated what to do.
She couldn't wait for Remington to come up. By the time he got
up here, the intruder would be gone especially if he heard her
keys. And, she knew she
couldn't put the baby and herself in danger...unless...
Using her free hand Laura slowly and gently eased her hand off
the keys. She closed her eyes for a brief moment when she was
successful in not making any noise.
Laura opened her purse and dug in it for a moment. She finally
pulled out
some mace.
*****
Deciding it was better to return to his boss empty handed than
get caught in Steele's apartment, the young man looked around
for an exit. The intruder swiftly moved over to the patio doors
and vanished.
*****
Calmly she placed her right hand back on the doorknob and prepared
the mace in her left hand. Taking a deep breath, she looked down
at her swollen belly then speedily opened the door.
Laura inspected the living room before she moved further into
the room. She
could see clearly with the moonlight shining over the spacious
environment.
Cautiously, she eased over to the entrance of the dinner room
and peeked
around the corner. She tightly held the tube of mace in her hand
ready to
fire.
Not seeing anyone, Laura gazed over at the bedroom door then
vigilantly
walked over to it.
She took a silent deep breath before she peered into the room.
Her mouth was in a perfect o-shape as she peeped into their bedroom.
Ring! Ring!
Ring! Ring!
"Oh!" Laura turned and sprayed the can of mace then
realized it was the
phone.
She smiled then picked up the phone.
"Steele Residence."
No one answered, but she could hear breathing on the other end.
"Hello?"
Click.
Laura looked at the phone.
Remington walked in and turned on the light. He stared at the
phone in
Laura's hand.
"Who's calling at this hour?"
"It was a wrong number," she said doubtfully, returning
the phone to its
cradle.
*****
Remington walked out of the bathroom to find Laura sitting on
the bed
brushing her hair and staring into space.
"A penny for your thoughts."
Laura shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing."
"Laura, I know you are thinking about the case." Remington
took off his
housecoat. "Now, give."
"Do you think that was Hapgood who called?"
"When?" He pulled the sheets down.
"The phone call when we arrived home."
"I thought you said it was a wrong number."
"Perhaps." Laura eyed Remington as he walked around
the bed to her. "What
if he was checking to see if I was really in labor? Calling to
see if we
were here or at the hospital."
"Why would he care?" Remington took the brush out of
Laura's hand and placed it on the nightstand. Then he gently
pulled her up.
"Aren't you curious to why he was at the warehouse tonight?"
"Not really." Remington lied and hoped he was convincing.
"My only concern
right now is that you and Junior are safe and sound. Now, I think
you should forget about the Hapgood's case and get a good night's
sleep."
Laura allowed her husband to ease her down into the bed. She
offered him
adoring eyes as he kissed her swollen belly then tucked her in.
"We will get the answers we need tomorrow. Okay?"
"Okay." Laura yawned, feeling fatigued.
Remington returned to his side of the bed and climbed in.
*****
A sharp pain in Laura's lower back woke her as it spread to her
lower
abdomen. She groaned then glanced over at Remington, who was
sound asleep.
Taking several deep breaths, she rose and headed to the bathroom.
*****
The short and stocky man paced the floor. Robbie stared at his
boss, who was fuming because Trever had come up empty handed
at Steele's apartment.
"Boss, calm down. We'll, get another chance."
"When?" Hapgood snapped. "Steele and his wife
are home sleeping. She lied
about going into labor. The will probably come in the morning
for me."
"Boss, if they had anything, Steele's old lady would have
gone straight to
the cops." Robbie lit a cigarette. "You remember when
my old lady was
pregnant with Seth?"
"Seth is the second one."
"Naw, that's Bug." He chuckled. "Seth is the one
that kicked you when you
stopped by the house. He has his mother's spirit."
"Put out that cigarette." Hapgood snarled, remembering
the boy now. "What's your point?"
"Well, Lynn started having contractions earlier in the day.
She called the
doctor and he told her to wait till they were uncomfortable then
come to the hospital."
"So, you think Steele's wife was telling the truth."
Robbie shrugged his shoulders. "Your stepdaughter still
works at General,
right?"
"Yeah. The tart called me last week for a loan." The
man said, disgusted.
"Thought when I got rid of her Mom she would go too."
"Well, I think it's time you collect your money'sà
worth anyway." Robbie
smiled, walking over to the phone.
Hapgood frowned, then smiled at his employee as he followed his
train of
thought.
*****
"Remington," Laura called softly as she sat back down
on the bed. She heard
him moan, then he turned towards her. "Remington, are you
ready to be a
father?"
"Hmmm." Her husband answered and hugged her pillow.
"Rem-INGTON." She grabbed the edge of the mattress
and breathed calmly while she focused on her pain.
"Laura?" Remington sat upright and glanced around the
room after hearing the urgency in her voice. "Laura?"
"It's time." She tried to hide the pain while she talked
through the
contraction. She reached for the phone.
"IT'S TIME." Remington repeated, feeling as though
someone had thrown a
bucket of cold water on him.
As the contraction eased up, she felt Remington jump out of bed.
She
couldn't help but smile. He grabbed his watch and glanced at
it quickly.
She dialed a number.
"Okay. We have at least 12 hours. How far apart are the
contractions?"
Laura smiled weakly. "Dr. Kendall. Yes. I would say for
about an hour or so now. About 4 or 5 minutes now. They started
at 7. No, I didn't feel any
before then."
Remington frowned and listened to his wife. He observed that
she was
completely dressed and decided to get dressed himself.
"Okay..." Laura groaned as another contraction came.
"Oh..." She tried to
focus on the pain and what Dr. Kendall was asking her. "Okay.
Okay."
Remington ran to her side and watched her bite her lip and tighten
her grip on the phone. "Okay."
He noticed her hold on the phone eased up. She hung up the phone
and eased
up from the bed.
"When did the contractions start?" Irritation was very
evident in
Remington's voice as he helped her up.
"An hour and a half ago."
"WHAT? Laura, why didn't you wake me?"
"I wanted to take a shower. I had to pack a bag for the
hospital. You would have been nervous and..."
"What did Dr. Kendall say?" Remington cut her off knowing
she was right.
"By my voice in the contraction over the phone, he feels
I should go ahead to the hospital. He said he'll meet us there."
"What happened to 12 hours?" Laura slipped into her
shoes.
"They say normally first pregnancies take longer. Every
pregnancy is
different."
Remington was by Laura's side as she suffered another contraction.
He
quickly glanced at his watch.
*****
Ring! Ring!
Ring! Ring!
"Hello?" A sleepy masculine voice answered.
"Steele's wife is having her baby. Boss is gonna give you
another chance."
"Robbie?" Trever glanced over at the clock. 4:35 a.m.
"I will see you and
Mr. Hapgood tomorrow."
"Young Blood, you should be glad you're not fish food. Mr.
Hapgood is
freaking. Now, get back over to Steele's."
"Where is Steele?"
"According to Hapgood's stepdaughter, in General's delivery
room with his
wife. You don't have much time. Lexis says Laura is already in
the last
stage of labor."
Trever cursed.
"Tell Hapgood I'll get it tomorrow."
"Trever, if you don't want to end up like Aaron and Matt,
I'll get down over there. I saved you once, Young Blood. I can't
guarantee I can do it
again."
"Okay."
"Smart boy."
"Later."
Click.
*****
Laura moaned, then turned to find her husband sitting by her
hospital bed
holding their new baby. With half-open eyes she observed the
blue hospital
standard blanket around her son.
"How is Brendan Harrison Steele doing?" Her voice was
low and revealed how
exhausted she still was
Remington looked up with emotion-filled eyes. She couldn't tell
which they
held more. Love. Pride. Gratitude. Completeness.
"He's fine." He carefully stood, still getting comfortable
holding his son.
"How is Mummy?"
Laura smiled weakly as her husband placed her son in her arms.
Looking down at her son's angelic face, Laura couldn't help but
be proud.
Her index finger softly stroked his cheek and he stirred and
shook a little before settling in her arms again.
Remington watched as Laura opened the blanket and examined their
son. She
was so drained by the delivery; she didn't hold him long after
he was born.
"His eyes are blue." He supplied when he noticed her
staring at the
newborn's puffy eye's. He smiled remembering the nursed had explained
it was normal for newborn's eyes to appear puffy because of the
eye drops.
"All Caucasian babies' eyes are blue." Laura confirmed.
Remington lowered his head so he was right at her level.
"As Rhett said to Scarlet about Bonny's eyes, they are blue
and they will
stay blue."
Laura smirked then rolled her eyes.
"Laura, when will you learn to believe my instincts?"
She watched as Brendan opened his eyes to reveal slate blue eyes.
"Hello." She said lovingly. "I'm your Mummy."
"He knows, Laura." Remington sat on the edge of the
bed and wrapped his arm around Laura. She adjusted a little so
he could have a complete view of the baby too. They were the
picture of perfection.
"You know, even though it seems he has my eyes and hair,"
her husband touched the dark cap of soft hair that covered the
newborn's head, "I think he looks a lot like you."
"How so?" Laura yawned.
"He has your button nose." Brendan squirmed when his
father touched his nose lightly. "He has your chin."
The newborn yawned, balled his tiny fist, and closed his eyes
again.
"And he looks beautiful like his Mummy when he's asleep."
Remington felt
Laura's body relax and knew she was asleep.
*****
Trever was in Steele's apartment again. He started with the bedroom
this
time since he hadn't gotten a chance to search it before. When
he heard
someone enter, he froze as he looked over at the bedroom door.
He started
for the closet when he heard,
"Young Blood?"
tbc
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5
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