The dolphin chattered. "Sorry, Flipper. Never learned Dolphin," Remington muttered, turning to survey the boat.
"Remington!" Laura warned. "Look out!" But her warning came too late. Tony's arm was around Remington's neck, and he was holding a dangerous looking knife.
"Let him go, Tony," Laura said, suddenly realizing that she was still holding the gun in her hand. She raised it slowly. "I said, let him go."
"You won't risk hitting him," Tony told her. "I should have known you were playing me. You've been playing me all along. Using me to make him jealous or something."
"No. It was all a mistake, Tony. A terrible mistake. Don't make it worse by killing Remington."
"You can't threaten someone who has nothing left, Laura," Tony told her. "And that's me. Give me the gun and I'll let him go."
"I don't trust you. You'll kill him-"
"I could," Tony admitted, the knife touching Remington's neck, causing Remington to flinch slightly. A drop of blood appeared. "Wouldn't take much. A flick of the wrist-"
"You kill him, I'll kill you," Laura promised.
"Like I said. I got nothing more to lose. At least I'll die knowing that you and he won't be together."
"And let his child grow up without a father?" Laura reminded him. "The way he did? The way YOU did?"
"I had a father," Tony insisted.
"A stepfather who hated you," she said. "Do you really want to condemn another child to that life?"
Suddenly they were in the midst of a hurricane, it seemed, as the wind picked up and noise filled the air. Tony glanced at the forgotten transmitter, then at the helicopter above them. His distraction was enough for Remington to pull the hand with the knife away from his throat and knock it across the deck. He sent a fist into Tony's stomach, and the man doubled over, collapsing onto the planking, coughing and moaning in pain.
"Now, mate. Have we had enough games, or do you want to play some more?" he asked, out of breath, as Laura joined him to hand him the gun. She used Tony's handkerchief to wipe the trickle of blood from Remington's neck. "let's find some rope and tie him up, eh?" he suggested, keeping the gun trained on Tony, who was laying on the deck, staring up at Jackson's disappointed face.
"Damn," Tony muttered, then closed his eyes. It was over.
***
Several hours later, Remington lounged on the deck of Mark's beach house, nursing his sunburned face. "At least you'll get a tan out of the fiasco," Laura commented, coming from the house to join him. She sat down across from him, looking out over the water.
"After I peel like a bloody tomato," he replied, wincing as his lips cracked, and he reached for the lip balm that Eileen had given him before leaving with Mildred and Agent Jackson.
Laura laughed softly, putting her head back.
"I'm glad my pain amuses you," he commented.
"I wasn't-" she assured him. "I was just wondering if we're ever going to be able to go anywhere without being interrupted by murder and mayhem."
"It does seem to follow us about, doesn't it?"
"All too frequently," she agreed.
Remington studied her for a moment, then held out his hand. "Come here." He pulled her into his lap, grateful for the cool satin of her robe against his sunburned face. "Have I told you how much I love you, Laura?"
"Oh, once or twice," she said, smiling at him.
"Well, I'm telling you again. What you did out there today-"
"I did it because I love you," she reminded him.
His hand spread over her stomach. "Do you really think that you might be-?"
"It's possible," she told him. "Neither of us paid much attention to- well, you know, in Ireland, and-"
"And how would you feel about it if it's true?"
"You first," she said, watching him warily.
"You're afraid that I'll feel trapped," he guessed. "That I won't be here for you."
"I do seem to recall your once saying something about having tried to avoid-"
"That was a lifetime ago, Laura," Remington reminded her, touching a finger to her lips to silence her. "I was another person then. I would never desert a child of mine. Especially if you were the mother of that child. I would think that you'd know that."
"I do," she said, snuggling closer.
"Your turn," he reminded her.
"I'm not going to pretend that it won't be difficult- trying to raise a child and keep working- but as long as-"
"As long as we do it together, we'll manage," Remington finished for her.
"As we always do, Mr. Steele," she agreed. "Eileen said that she was going to start looking for a house for us-"
"Can you trust her to do that?"
"I think so. I really think she's got an ulterior motive, though."
"And what might that be?"
"The sooner we find another place, the sooner she can move into the condo," Laura told him. She searched his face, seeing the resemblance between mother and son. "She's a lot stronger than I gave her credit for being, isn't she?"
"Yes. I can see why Daniel fell in love with her. She reminds me of you in a lot of ways. Or you remind me of her. Not sure which."
"Thank you for not going after Tony again when you found out what he'd done to her."
He almost had, Remington thought. But the sight of his cousin, shackled, being placed into an ambulance, a broken man in spirit and body, had made him keep his temper. Instead, he had given Eileen a hug and gotten an assurance that she was fine.
"Well, it was close," he told her. Patting her on the bottom, he said, "Come on. Let's go find something to eat."
"You're not up to cooking tonight," she insisted.
"I was talking about going out. Unless you're too tired?" She shook her head. "Go change into something suitable for a romantic evening, then."
"I'm going to take a shower first. Promise you won't go anywhere?" she asked, half serious.
"Never without you," he promised. Once she went into the bath, he returned to the bedroom and changed, but couldn't find his socks. Finally he realized that they were still in his suitcase and put it on the bed, wondering why Laura hadn't unpacked the case the previous evening. His hands fell on some paper, and he frowned, pulling it free. The letter from his grandfather.
The name "Remington Steele" was written in a clear, concise hand on the cream stationary, and feeling a tightening in his chest, Remington sat down. He tore the end of the envelope loose, then slowly pulled the papers from inside.
***
Laura came from the shower to find him sitting on the bed, papers in hand. She realized that he'd found the letter, and from his posture, he'd read it. She slowly crossed to place a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.
He nodded, then laughed quietly. "He was a frightened, bitter old man. Terrified of losing the only thing in the entire world he cared about. And the longer his lie went on, the more impossible it became for him to extricate himself and everyone else from it."
Laura sat down, rubbing his back in gentle circles, knowing that he needed to breathe normally, to relax a little. "You sound as if you've forgiven him."
"I think I might- in time. He asked me to take care of Mother for him. That he knew that nothing could ever make up for all those lost years, but that we should try our best. And I think- I think he truly did regret losing track of me- and that I'd gone through all the things I went through before and after that. Dear God, Laura. During that time I was in Ireland, looking for whoever sent me the watch, I was only a few miles from where I was born, and I never knew it. I've never been one to dwell on 'what ifs'. Too many traps there."
"But you can't help but wonder- what if he'd found me? What if he hadn't signed me away like he did? What if-?" She shrugged. "Well, for one thing, you and I probably wouldn't have met."
He looked at her. "Oh, I don't believe that. Somehow, someway, we would have found each other."
"Kismet, Mr. Steele?"
"Indeed, Mrs. Steele," he said, his lips nearly on hers. "Indeed." As their lips met, he winced. "Ouch." When Laura giggled, Remington pulled back slightly. "Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead," he said, and proceeded to kiss her thoroughly. They finally lay back on the bed, Laura's head on his chest, his hand tangled in her damp hair. "Oh, Laura. The day I met you was the luckiest day of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't give thanks for your being a part of my life."
"Hey, you're not the only one who's grateful, you know. I'm grateful that I found you today."
"You mean that *I* found you," he modified.
"We found each other," Laura said.
"Acceptable," he agreed "Now. About dinner-" he gave her another kiss. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I guess it was all that swimming-"
Laura got up and started putting on her dress as he found his dinner jacket. "I could go for some food myself," she agreed. Turning, she presented her back to him, and he effortlessly zipped her up. "Thank you." She grabbed her shoes as he stood watching her. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing. It always amazes me how you manage to look so ravishing with so little effort."
"You do say the sweetest things," Laura sighed, holding out his jacket for him. "You're not so bad yourself," she told him, brushing away a tiny speck of lint from the white jacket. "You know what I'm hungry for?" she asked as he gave his hair a brush and winced at his red face.
"What? Ice cream and pickles is the traditional craving, isn't it?"
Laura tapped him on the shoulder playfully. "I didn't mention craving, did I?"
"All right, what are you hungry for?" he asked dutifully as they moved toward the front door.
"Sushi. There's this wonderful Japanese restaurant on the pier-"
"Sushi? Fish?" Remington questioned, wincing again. "Laura, I don't think I can do that after-"
"You're the one who reminded me that your new friend isn't a fish, remember?" she said.
"I know, Laura, but- SUSHI?" he said as he closed the front door behind them.
***
When they arrived at the office Monday morning, Mildred met them with a welcoming smile, then winced upon seeing Remington's face. "That looks painful," she told him.
"It is, Mildred," Remington confirmed. "Coffee?" he asked.
"On your desk, with the morning paper," she assured him. Once he was in his office, she nodded in that direction as she asked Laura, "Is he okay?"
"He'll be fine," Laura reassured her. "I've already made a doctor's appointment for him. Did you clear the calendar for the afternoon like I asked?"
"Took some doing, since Mr. Garret's already been put off twice, but yes, I did. Are you going to the doctor too, Mrs. Steele?" she asked.
"Yes, Mildred. I have an appointment as well. What about the appointment with Estelle Becker?"
"You're due at her office at three," Mildred confirmed.
"Have there been any calls?" Laura asked, going into her office and looking for her own coffee cup. It wasn't where Mildred usually left it. "Mildred, where's my coffee?"
"Oh, well, Eileen and I were talking last night- and well, are you aware that there's a report about how bad caffeine is for expectant mothers?"
"Mildred," Laura said in her best "I'm the boss" tone.
"It's on the way, Mrs. Steele," Mildred said, hustling to the coffee room.
Laura picked up a folder and opened the connecting door into Remington's office. "You're going to have to talk to Mildred and your mother about interfering," she said.
"Hmm," he mumbled from behind the paper. "You know, there's a very interesting article here. About a trained dolphin that escaped from its pen Friday evening. The owners were about to give up finding it again- but it was there when they woke up yesterday morning."
Laura shook her head. "You're making that up," she insisted as she came around to read over his shoulder.
"Right here," he said, pointing to the article as Mildred entered, carrying Laura's mug. Laura took the paper from him.
"Here you go, hon," she said, putting the cup on the desk. "You asked about calls- Agent Jackson called this morning."
Remington paused, his bone china cup held in mid air between the saucer and his mouth. "Don't tell me that Antony escaped again."
"Oh, no. Not this time. In fact, he says that Tony seems to have suffered a total breakdown. Doesn't recognize anyone or anything. They think it may have something to do with that Walters creep. Some kind of command he might have given Tony to make this happen if something happened to Walters."
"Does my mother know?" Remington asked. He had talked to Eileen on the telephone for an hour after they returned home the previous evening, and he had finally agreed to accept the terms of her late father's will.
"Yes. They called her, too. I spoke to her just a few minutes ago," she said quickly, as he reached for the telephone. "She said she'd be by around lunchtime. I think she was going to look at houses this morning."
"Hmm," Remington acknowledged, glancing at Laura. "What time is our first client due to arrive, Mildred?" he asked.
She glanced at her watch. "Any minute."
"Thank you. Do we have any aspirin?"
"I'll bring you some," she told him.
He looked at Laura. "Well?"
"You're right. No wonder he- I mean she helped you. It was what she'd been trained to do. Amazing."
"Almost as amazing as you," he told her, pulling her into his lap.
"Mr. Steele, what if a client-?"
"He can find his own girl," Remington told her, giving her a kiss. "This one's taken."