Close, But No Steele
Episode 2

Laura punched the pillow again, trying to find a comfortable position. She'd never realized how *un*comfortable the bloody thing was. Of course, when she'd picked it out for the office conference area, she'd never envisioned having to actually *sleep* on it.

Sighing, she rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Mistake. Not only could she see the ceiling, but a beam of light from outside had made its way through the vertical blinds at the window to illuminate one of the photographs of Remington hanging on the wall. Even in black and white the man was gorgeous, that she couldn't deny.

He was generous to a fault- how many times had he surprised her with little gifts- flowers, bracelets, tickets to the ballet - with no reason but that he thought she'd like it? He was tender, and sweet- a wonderful, giving lover- why the hell couldn't she just accept that? Put aside her "bloody little inhibitions" as he called them?

And why did he want to suddenly change things? Hadn't things been going well over the last three years? Being lovers had seemed to make them better partners at work at well- perhaps because the tension was gone, she thought. They always seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to a case. When things would get rough, they would look at each other and some how know precisely what the other was thinking. It had saved their lives on more than one occasion during the last few years.

"How much longer is it gonna take for you to trust me, eh?" she heard him ask again, and closed her eyes at the pain she had heard in his voice. It had been hidden by his anger and disappointment, but it had been there.

"I do trust you, Harry," she said into the dark, silent room, looking at that black and white photo taken soon after he'd become Remington Steele. She trusted him enough to put her life in his hands time and time again. She trusted him with the Agency. So why couldn't she trust him with her heart?

She heard something in the reception area and went totally still. Surely Remington hadn't tracked her down here. She'd even parked the car a block away in a paid parking garage so he wouldn't find her car in the garage here. Sitting up, she looked around the room, trying to decide where she could hide.

***

Daniel was pleased with how easily he had picked the lock on the glass door into the office, considering how out of practice he was. As he paused, he heard scurrying sounds from behind Harry's office door and smiled. So Mildred's hunch had played out. Slowly, he continued toward the door, then paused as another sound reached his ears. He grasped the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open, but his eyes- now accustomed to the darkness, were on the closed door to Laura's office nearby. As he opened Harry's door, he thought he heard an odd echoing of the sound, and smiled as Laura's office door opened and she poked a head out. "Hello, my dear," Daniel said in a smooth tone. "So this is where you disappered to."

"Daniel?" she asked, looking at him in surpirse. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. You weren't planning on trying to sneak out when I opened the other door, were you, my dear?"

"No," Laura denied quickly. Too quickly, perhaps?

"You thought I was Harry, didn't you?"

"I had no idea who you were," Laura tried to say, moving back into her shadowed office toward the desk. "I as here trying to catch up on some paperwork-"

"In the dark?" Daniel asked, surveying the spotless surface of the desk. "Where is it?"

"The paperwork that you were- trying to catch up on."

"Oh." Laura looked around the room. "It's- around here- somewhere," she said. "So what brings you down here at this time of the morning?" she asked, peering at her wristwatch in a beam of light. "It's nearly three."

Daniel placed his hands in his pockets, watching her. "I think we both know why I'm here, Laura," he said quietly.

Their eyes met in the dark room before Laura turned and went through the open connecting door into Remington's office. Going to the window, she looked through the blinds. "Did he send you?"

"That's not quite Harry's style- sending someone else to do his job. He would have come himself. When I looked in on him before I left, he was sleeping. A bit- restlessly, but sleeping, nonetheless."

"This doesn't concern you, Daniel," Laura began, but Daniel cut her off, causing her to turn at last to look at him, her hands resting on the leather chair before her.

"I'm afraid it does. Harry is my son. And he's in pain at the moment. You're the cause of that pain. So I think that does make it my business."

"I'm sorry, Daniel, but-"

"I'm sorry isn't quite going to resolve this little impasse, I'm afraid." He watched her again in silence before asking, "Is it- because he's my son?" Daniel asked.

Laura looked stunned by the question- and surprised. "No. No, that's not the reason," she insisted pacing across the room.

"Then why? Why refuse his proposal of marriage? He's good enough for you to have willingly shared his bed for the last three years, good enough that you and he are probably the two best private detectives in California, if not the country- and he does love you, Laura. I know he probably hasn't said the words, but-"

"I know," she nodded, taking a deep breath as she sat down on the sofa. "I know. It's just-"

"This is about your father, isn't it?" Daniel asked.

Laura looked up at him. "What do you know about that? I haven't even told Remington everything-"

"I've spent a bit of time with your mother, remember?" Daniel reminded her. "Before she realized that my- attention was elsewhere, she told me all about how her husband simply- up and left the three of you one day- just, walked away without a backward glance."

"He did look back," Laura said, her eyes losing their focus as though she were seeing it all again. "I watched him go from the top of the stairs," she said in a voice that reminded Daniel of a lost little girl. "When the door closed behind him, I ran down them and went outside, calling for him to come back. To wait for me. He stopped- just for a second- as he started to get into the taxi and looked at me- and then got into the taxi and drove away. I chased that damn taxi for a block before I tripped on a rock and fell, crying unable to stop him from leaving me."

He sat beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders, offering her as much comfort as he could. "You and he were close, weren't you?"

"I always thought so. But when he looked at me- it was like he was looking at a stranger. And I never understood why."

"And you're afraid that Harry will do the same thing," Daniel surmised, and was surprised when Laura shook her head. "Before he met you, I might have agreed, but he's changed-"

"It's not Harry that I'm afraid of," she admitted in a low voice. "It's me."

"You?"

"Mother- Mother's always said that I'm just like him. What if- she's right? What if *I* just- take off one day? Run into something I can't handle and decide it's easier to run away instead of facing it?"

"Isn't that what you're doing now?" Daniel asked. "What you've been doing from the moment Harry stormed his way into your life? Running from your feelings? From the problem? Perhaps not to the same extent your father went to, but - Take it from someone who spent most of his life running, Laura. It's much easier to stop running than to keep doing it."

"Like you and Remington have done?" she asked him.

"Something like that. I must admit, it's rather nice knowing that I don't have to worry about where I'm going to sleep tomorrow night- or next week. Or that Harry is going to somehow discover that I'm his father. These last three years have been very special-." He drew a deep breath, letting it catch in what he hoped was just the right spot and winced ever so slightly. When Laura looked at him with concern, he knew that he'd succeeded. "I'm glad that Harry's settled down. But I'd be even- happier if I knew that you and he were- really together. Not just bouncing from the house in Malibu to your loft, but together. Harry needs that-stability. I think you do to, if you would just admit it."

"Daniel, is there something wrong?" she asked, taking his hands in hers.

"Wrong?" he asked, "Of course not," he insisted, then winced ever so slightly.

"There is something," Laura declared. "You're in pain."

"It's- nothing," Daniel insisted, and then winced again. "Could I- trouble you to get me a glass of water, please, Laura?" he asked, reaching into his pocket.

"Of course," she said, rising from the sofa and moving away. Daniel pulled the small vial from his pocket and removed a tablet, returning the bottle to his pocket as she returned from the bathroom with the glass of water. "Here you are." She sat down in the chair to watch as he took the tablet. "What's wrong, Daniel?"

"Just- a little- problem with my heart," he told her. "Harry doesn't know- and I don't want him to know just yet."

"You have to tell him-"

"And have him treating me like an invalid? I think not. He'd take me to every specialist in the state and get the same diagnosis from all of them."

"Is it- serious?"

"It could be- eventually," Daniel told her with a fatalistic shrug. "Who knows?"

"How long have you known about this?"

"Not very long. But it's the main reason I was so delighted when Harry told me what he was planning to do tonight. Being able to see you and he settled that way would make all the difference-" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. *Careful* Daniel admonished himself. *Don't oversell the mark.*

"How do I know you're not running a con on me?" Laura asked.

"I'd be more than glad to give you the name of the doctor who diagnosed the problem," he offered, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out his wallet. "You can speak to him if that will reassure you that I'm telling you the truth." He held out a business card toward her, and then drew another breath, letting it catch in the same spot. "But I insist that Harry be kept out of this for the time being. I'll tell him when I feel the time is right. Not before."

Laura studied him, and Daniel knew that she was trying to decide whether or not to trust him. Finally, she shook her head. "I don't want the card. It's too easy for me to call you on this if you're pulling a fast one. I'll- talk to Remington tomorrow, okay?" she offered. "Mind you- I'm not promising anything- but I'll agree to discuss it."

"Thank you." He patted her hand. "And you'll keep my - secret?"

Laura nodded. "For now. But don't wait too long. He has a right to know."

Daniel nodded in silent agreement, feeling quite pleased with himself for having pulled it off. He allowed his breathing to ease a bit, as if the medication had taken effect. "Why don't we get you to your own bed?" he suggested. "This sofa doesn't look as though it's very comfortable."

"It's not," Laura confirmed with a wry grin. "My car's down the street- How did you get here?" she asked him as they started toward the doors.

"I borrowed Harry's car," he confessed, holding up the key to Remington's prized Porsche 911 Turbo as Laura locked the office doors behind them.

Laura's eyes widened. "You'd better hope he doesn't find out you took it. He barely lets *me* drive it."

"Because you can't drive a stick shift," Daniel pointed out. "I can. But I wouldn't have taken it if I'd remembered to fill the gas tank on my car after I dropped Mildred off."

"Does Mildred know about-?" Laura asked.

"No. I thought it best not to worry her either. She's not very good at keeping a secret from Harry, I'm afraid. You wouldn't have known but for the fact I was here when I had to take my medication."

As they parted downstairs, Daniel gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. "So you'll be by tomorrow- later today?" he amended.

"I will. After I get some rest. Will you be okay driving back to Malibu?"

"I think so," he assured her, placing a hand to his chest. "It's eased up now, thanks to the medication."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

***

Daniel unlocked the black sports car as he took the bottle of pills out of his pocket. Not bad for a two dollar bottle and some sugar pills, he thought, tossing it into the air and catching it with a soft laugh. "Ah, Daniel. You haven't lost it after all," he said as he got into the car and started the engine. Once Laura and Harry were safely and irrevocably wed, he'd tell her the truth. But until then, he might as well enjoy having her sympathy. Because he had a feeling that once she knew she'd been hoodwinked, she was quite likely to rip him apart with her bare hands. He put the car into motion, shifting easily, ignoring the twinge of pain in his chest as simply residual play-acting. Sometimes he got too far into a part for his own good.

***

When he got home, he checked to make sure Harry was still asleep, then dialed Mildred's number again. He wasn't surprised that she answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Mildred. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Are you kidding? I haven't slept a wink since you called earlier."

"You were right. Laura went to the office."

"Then you've seen her?"

"I have indeed. She was en route to her loft when last we spoke. She's agreed to come over to talk to Harry about things."

"She has? What changed her mind?"

"She and I just had a little chat, that's all. My powers of persuasion must have convinced her," he said, frowning when he had another twinge of pain and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Daniel? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said at last, taking a deep breath as the pain eased slightly. "Or I will be after I get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks for calling, Daniel."

"I had a feeling that you'd be unable to sleep until you knew she was all right. Good night."

"What's left of it," Mildred said. "Night, Daniel."

Daniel hung up the telephone, placing a hand to his chest again. It was indigestion, that's all. He was simply going to have to cut back on the spices at dinner. There *had* been a tad too much oregano in the sauce this evening. Perhaps he should have accepted that second glass of wine. Indigestion. "Nothing more than that," he said, getting ready for bed. As he lay down, he found himself wondering who he was trying to convince. The empty room- or himself.

 

To Be Continued---

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Original Content © Nancy Eddy, 2001