Laura stretched, glancing at the clock on the table beside Remington's bed. Five a.m. It was nearly time to wake him. She smiled as she recalled their return to his apartment, as she had tucked him into bed and pulled a chair close. "Aren't you going to get some sleep?" he'd asked. "Someone has to stay awake and keep an eye on you, remember?" she reminded him. She'd placed a hand on his forehead, only to have him enclose it with his and retain hold of it for some time. Once he released it, Laura had remained in the chair, watching him. If he wasn't better by the morning, she was going to hold him to his word about the doctor. As she sat forward, preparing to wake him, the feel of something in her pocket made her pause. Slowly she pulled out the black velvet box and opened it again. Daniel had been right. It was lovely. And expensive. She wondered when the Agency would receive the bill for this. Of course, she'd waited for some time to get a bill for that piano at her loft. It had never arrived. And she'd never asked him about it, never even really thanked him properly for the gift. And she wondered too how long ago he had purchased the ring. Not long, she imagined. She had been in the safe a little over a week ago, and the ring hadn't been there then. She was surprised that it had been there tonight. The idea that it might be Terrance O'Malley's was easily dismissed. What use would O'Malley have for a marquis cut diamond engagement ring? No, it had been in the safe with the money, and O'Malley hadn't been able to resist taking it. "What have you got there?" Remington asked, causing Laura to close the case quickly and put it back into her pocket, hoping that he hadn't been able to see the box in the dark room. "I thought you were asleep," she told him, ignoring his question. "I was. What were you looking at?" "Nothing important," she said, reaching over to touch his forehead. "How are you feeling?" "My headache's not as bad," he told her, bringing her hand down to his lips, using that connection to draw her over to the bed beside him, to use his other hand against the back of her neck to bring her lips to his. "You need to be resting, Remington," she insisted. "Not -" "Being with you is the best possible medicine, Laura," he informed her, his hands sliding downward - dipping into her pocket and coming up with the ring case. "Hey!" Laura said, making a grab for it. "That's not fair!" "Uh uh," he admonished, reaching over to turn on the light before opening the case. "I wasn't ready for you to see this just yet. I wanted the mood to be perfect, the setting just right." "Evidently O'Malley tried to steal it when he took the money from the safe. When did you put it in there? I didn't notice it when we put the money in there-" "You didn't put the money into the safe, remember?" he said, blue eyes glittering. "I did." "That's right. Mildred called me to the telephone - and the person had hung up by the time I answered. Does she know about the ring?" "I simply told her that there was something in the safe that I didn't want you to see." He ran a long finger over the cool stone. "I bought it a week ago- I told you that I'd been thinking about the future for some time, remember?" "I know, but - I never realized - never suspected that -" "That I planned to ask you to marry me? I thought I did that earlier. At the loft." "You did," Laura confirmed. "Thank goodness. For a moment there, I was afraid I'd dreamed that as a result of my head injury." He pulled her closer. "And I didn't dream that you said yes, did I?" Laura smiled, touching her lips to his. "No. You didn't dream it." "Good," he said, taking her left hand again and slipping the ring onto the third finger. "There. Now, it's where it belongs," he decided, kissing her fingers. It fit perfectly. "How did you know my ring size?" Laura asked. "Remember the rings we used in the Malcolm Marcall case?" "The Pepplers," she recalled, smiling at the memory. "Yes, I remember." "I used that one, since I knew it fit." "I see." She laughed softly. "Mind letting me in on the joke?" he asked. "Daniel. He came all the way here to try and get us together - and you were already ahead of him." "Yes. Daniel. That's something that I wish I had dreamed up." "You're very fond of him, aren't you?" "It's rather difficult to explain, really." "Not to me," Laura said. When Remington frowned, she said, "He's a father figure. You never knew your real father, so when Daniel took you in -" His frown deepened. "What's wrong?" "Something I said to Daniel earlier. At the office. While you were out talking to the police, I think." "You told me that you snapped at him-" "Yes. He was going on about my seeing a doctor -I told him he wasn't my father and to drop it." His gaze became distant. "His expression - reminded me of another time- right after he took me in. He was trying to teach me manners- not an easy task for a boy who's lived most of his life on the streets - and I lost my patience with him. Told him he wasn't my old man and to just bugger off. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but he looked as if I'd struck him. He had that same look last night." "He was concerned about you," Laura reminded him. She dropped a kiss to his lips. "Get some more sleep. I'll wake you in another few hours -" She tried to move away, but his arm remained around her. "Remington-" "You're not going anywhere," he told her. "You need some sleep as well. One of us had to be rested to face Mrs. Hughes tomorrow. Or later today, as it were." He pulled her head to his shoulder. "Now go to sleep." "I could use a few minutes, I suppose," she admitted, trying to hide a yawn. Smiling, she said, "This isn't exactly the way I thought things would go last night." "Me either. But we'll have other nights," he said, lifting his hand to turn off the light again. "Lots more." "Ummm," Laura agreed, feeling him rest his cheek against her hair. She tried to stay awake, intending to get up as soon as he slept, but the feel of his breathing, the sound of his heartbeat, was like a lullaby. She felt safe, warm, in his arms. "Good night," she murmured. "Night, love," he said, pulling her even closer. ********** Laura woke to the sound of the telephone ringing, and reached out to where her telephone always lay near her bed. It wasn't there. She sat up, blinking, trying to get her bearings. She was in Remington's bed- alone - she realized, wondering where he was as she picked up the telephone. "Hello?" "Good morning, Laura. And how is the patient doing this morning?" Daniel asked in a bright, cheery voice that didn't fool Laura for one moment. "At the moment, I don't have any idea," she told him. "What do you mean?" She heard noises from the bath - water running. "I think he's taking a shower. Which means he's probably feeling better." "Good. Do you think he'll be in the office today? I have to tell him something." She didn't like the tone of his voice. "What do you have to tell him?" "That I've decided to go back to London after all," Daniel said, sighing deeply. "And before you say anything, Laura-" "You bet I'll say something," Laura said, then glanced at the door. "Hold on. I don't want to talk in here. He might hear something. Let me change telephones." She laid the receiver on the table, then went to the living room, closing the door behind her before going on to the kitchen. "Now, Daniel-" "I can't tell him, Laura. He's no where near ready to hear the truth." "You have to tell him, Daniel. If you leave it too long, and he never finds out-" "It might be better if he doesn't." "For who?" Laura demanded to know. "You? Or Remington?" ********** Remington opened the bedroom door slightly, expecting to find Laura still asleep in his bed. But she wasn't there, and the door to the living room was closed. He went to the dresser to get some socks, then frowned as he saw the telephone was off the hook. Lifting it carefully, he heard Laura say, "Leaving won't solve the problem, Daniel." Daniel was going to leave? Remington questioned silently. Why? "I'm a coward, my dear. I can't face him -" "So you're just going to let him go on wondering about -" "No. I've left a letter with my London solicitor. Once I'm dead, he'll send the letter to Harry. Everything is in there." Remington frowned. What were they talking about? What could Daniel have to tell him that could only be said in a letter? What could he have to say that make him so afraid to tell? "Daniel, either you tell him, - or I will." "Laura- we agreed that you wouldn't pressure me about this-" "All bets are off after last night. He told me about what happened at the office, while I was out-" Remington sat down on the edge of the bed as his legs gave out. They couldn't be talking about what he thought they were talking about. He had to see Daniel. Face to face. Returning the receiver to the table quietly, he quickly finished dressing, then opened the door cautiously. Laura wasn't in the room, and he could hear her voice from the kitchen, speaking in low tones so not to be overheard easily. With the ease born of his years as a thief, he opened the front door and slipped out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. "Well, Daniel? What's it going to be?" "You've left me with little choice, Laura. I'll come to the office later today and have a talk with Harry," he told her. "I would prefer to have you close by, just in case -" "Do I have your word?" she asked. She could hear his frustrated sigh. "Yes. You have my word." "I'll see you later, then," Laura told him. "Good bye." The shower wasn't running when she returned to the bedroom, and she smiled as she opened the door. "You must be feeling - " the room was empty. "Better," she finished, glancing into the bath, noting that the room was still warm from steam. "Remington?" she called softly as her gaze fell on the telephone. Had she placed the receiver at that angle? she wondered. No. She hadn't. Which could only mean one thing: Remington had overheard her conversation with Daniel and had left the apartment. "Damn!" she muttered, rushing to the front door, not surprised to find it unlocked. The hallway was empty. Returning to the apartment, she grabbed her purse and locked the door behind her, hoping to avert a disaster. ********** Mildred was waiting for the elevator when it opened and Laura rushed past her, getting almost to the doors before Mildred called out. "Miss Holt!" "Mildred," Laura said, stopping in her headlong flight. "What are you doing here?" "Daniel called me last night and told me what O'Malley tried to do. I thought I'd come over and see how Mr. Steele was doing," she said, following Laura from the building. "I saw Mr. Steele leaving in your car just as I arrived," she explained, "so I thought I'd come up and see if you needed a lift -" "Yes, Mildred," Laura told her, heading toward the woman's car, dragging Mildred with her. "I do." Mildred went around to get behind the steering wheel. "Where to?" she asked. "Your place?" "The Bonaventure, Mildred." "You're going to see Daniel?" "Remington is on his way to see Daniel," Laura told her. "And don't pretend that you don't know what that means, Mildred, because I saw the looks you and Daniel exchanged last night." "Oh, Miss Holt-" "We'll discuss it on the way, Mildred. Right now, drive." ********** Daniel Chalmers sat staring at the pocket watch in his hands, trying to find some answer to his dilemma. How was he ever going to tell Harry the truth? he asked himself. No matter what Laura said - a knock at the door barely interrupted his thoughts. He was expecting the breakfast he'd ordered from room service- although now he doubted he had the appetite to eat a bite. As he moved toward the door, he absently pushed the button on the watch, opening the cover and setting the mechanism into action which played the first seven notes of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". "Come in," he said, then froze. It wasn't his breakfast. "Harry." Those blue eyes - so much like his mother's - were fixed on the watch in Daniel's hand. Daniel closed the watch, but kept it tightly his his clenched fist, putting on as bright a smile as he could master. "Harry, my boy. Come in, come in. This is a surprise," he said, closing the door as his son took four steps into the room and stopped. "You're looking much better than you did last night. I must say that I was quite worried -" His voice trailed off as he met Harry's gaze. The younger man was staring at him, and the look chilled Daniel to the very center of his being. "I don't know you at all, do I, Daniel?" Remington asked in a cold voice that was filled with all the hurt and fears he'd suffered as a child. "Of course you do, Harry," Daniel insisted. "You probably know me better than -" "No," Remington said, rejecting the idea. "If that were true, then I would have known the truth, wouldn't I?" "And what truth is that, Harry? That I pulled you off the streets of London -" "Where I shouldn't have been to begin with," Remington pointed out, his features reminding Daniel of a cold marble statue of an avenging angel he'd once seen. Why couldn't he recall the name of the work? Or the artisan who had created it? Things like that usually came so easily.
"Laura told you?"
"No. Laura didn't tell me a damned thing. I overheard your telephone conversation." He indicated the watch. "You stole the watch, didn't you?" Remington accused. "Harry - I wanted you to have it," Daniel insisted, holding the watch out to him. "A small- token -" "A token?" Remington repeated in disbelief. "A token, Daniel? Of what? Of a father who abandoned his son to be passed from pillar to post?! Always wondering what his name really was?! Growing up wondering what he'd done that was so terrible that even his parents hadn't wanted him?!" Daniel stood there, letting him rant, hoping he would get all of his anger out so they could talk. So he could explain. Or try to, at any rate. Remington deliberately stepped back, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Daniel, but it's too little, too late. I don't need your bloody token - and I don't need you." He turned and was gone, the sound of the door closing loud in the quiet room. Daniel sat heavily in the chair behind him, the watch falling to the carpeted floor, the case opening and filling the room with light, tinkling music. ********** "Park here, Mildred," Laura said, already opening the door. "Miss Holt-" Mildred began, watching the entry way. "Mildred, we've been over this-" "But- " "Mildred, we don't have time-" "Mr Steele's leaving," Mildred said, pointing Laura's attention to the queue ahead of them. Laura could tell by the way Remington moved that he was past angry, he was furious. He flung the door of the Rabbit open and got inside, and Laura winced at the way he slammed it closed. Laura grabbed Mildred's keys. "You go upstairs, Mildred," she said, opening the driver's door. "Make sure Daniel doesn't leave. I don't care what you have to do, just keep him here." "You got it, hon," Mildred said as the car pulled away. "Good luck!" She turned and headed toward the building to check on Daniel. ********** Daniel placed some clothes into the suitcase on his bed, then went to gather another handful. There was a knock on the door, and, thinking that perhaps Harry had calmed down, Daniel went to open it. "Mildred?" "Miss Holt's gone after Mr. Steele," she told him. "Can I come in?" "I was just-" She entered the suite anyway, glancing toward the bedroom with the open suitcase visible. "Miss Holt was right. She said you would try to leave." "What reason do I have to stay, Mildred? Harry made it quite clear-" "He's upset, Daniel. Not that I blame him, mind you, but the last thing you need to do is run back to London with your tail between your legs. Give Miss Holt a chance to talk to him. Once he calms down -" She picked up the watch, closing it, and handed it to him. Daniel sat down. "I shouldn't have stayed, I suppose. Shouldn't have come to Los Angeles at all." "Would it have been any better if he'd found out later?" Mildred asked, taking the chair across from him. "After you were gone?" "At least I wouldn't have to face his anger. His hatred." "And he would always regret not having found out earlier," Mildred pointed out. "Just give him some time, Daniel. Some space. And I don't mean that you should leave." Another knock on the door, and Mildred saw the way he looked hopefully in that direction as she moved to open it. This time, it was the bellhop. "I have Mr. Chalmers' breakfast," he announced. ********** Remington parked the car in the turn out and got out as Laura brought Mildred's car to a stop beside him. "Just leave me alone, Laura," he said angrily. "I'm not in any mood to talk right at the moment." He'd made her tail miles back, tried his best to shake her - and hadn't been able to. "Fine!" Laura told him. "You don't have to say a word. Just listen." He shook his head and turned toward the beach beyond the turn around. There was a set of flagstone steps that led down beside the house, directly to an expanse of sand. When he realized that Laura was right behind him, Remington sank down onto the sand. "All right. I'll listen." Laura sat beside him. "I'm sorry," she said simply. "For what?" "That you found out the way you did. But Daniel was going to tell you-" He looked out at the waves. "Humph. Only because you practically blackmailed him into it. I wondered what other little secret you and he were trying to keep. I never dreamed - Mildred knows too, doesn't she?" "She guessed," Laura admitted. "Everyone saw it coming but me." "Because you weren't looking in that direction," Laura said. "You never considered that Daniel was anything more than-" "Than a friend? A friend would have told me the truth years ago, Laura. I've known him for almost twenty years, and suddenly I realize that I haven't really known him at all." "Why? Because he decided to take the easy way out? What would your reaction have been if he'd told you the truth right after he found you? Would you have stayed with him, or -" "Then? I probably would have -" he shook his head. "It was a long time ago, Laura. He's had ample opportunity to tell me since then. I mean, what was all that with the Earl last year? He knew that I thought the Earl was my father - that I had the pocket watch- and he didn't say a word." "Maybe the time was never right. Yes, you were willing to accept the Earl as you father, but accepting Daniel, after all those years of thinking of him as a friend and mentor was something else entirely. Besides, he never denied being your father, did he?" "No, but he never admitted to it, either. And a lie is still a lie, even if by omission." Laura had to smile slightly at that comment. He'd come a long way, her Remington Steele, since he'd entered her life intending to steal the gems she'd been hired to protect. "You have to let him explain, Remington." "Explain? Explain? I'd be just as happy never to have to see him again." "You don't mean that," Laura insisted, placing a hand on his arm. "I think, as much as he tries to deny it, that he came here intending to tell you the truth. But his courage failed him, and he would have left without saying a word if I hadn't interfered." She wasn't getting through to him. She could tell by the set expression on his handsome face. She turned to look at the waves herself. "I guess you're right. He's not worth all this, is he? I mean, what did he do? Besides playing Fagin to your Artful Dodger?" She was relieved when he smiled, placing a hand over hers. "What kind of father teaches his son how to become a consummate con man and thief?" she asked. "The kind who doesn't know any other way himself," Remington reminded her. "He gave me the tools to survive, Laura. He taught me so much more than how to run a con or plan a robbery." His features were softening as the memories broke through his anger. "He taught me how to be a gentleman, how to talk, - so many things - " He put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. "Oh, Laura. I wish I knew what to do. Daniel - Daniel's been there for me more times than I can count. But-" She kissed him, then pulled back. "You have to make this decision, Remington. He can explain everything -" "Has he told you-?" "No. And even if he had, I think Daniel's the one that needs to answer your questions, not me." She rested her forehead against his. "He's a tired, sick man, Remington, who only wants to spend the rest of his life with his son." She rose to her feet, and Remington frowned up at her. "Where are you going?" "I have to get to the office," she said. "Mrs. Hughes is due at ten-thirty. Daniel will be at the office - in case you decide you want to talk to him. If you decide that you'd rather not see him, give me a call and he'll be on the first plane back to London." He grabbed her hand. "I love you, Laura," he said. "And I love you," she returned, bending to give him another kiss before walking back to Mildred's car. She opened the door, her gaze on the man who sat there, the turbulence of the ocean a mirror for the turbulence in his heart. Getting inside, she glanced at the house once more, finally seeing the "For Sale" sign in front of it. Making a mental note of the number, she started the car and turned it back toward town. It was Remington's decision now. All they could do was wait. To Be Continued ---
