- Scene of Steele
- by Melissa
- Laura leaned back in the chair of
the new house. New house, new husband and new lives. She had
asked the doctor to check the tests three times but she still
didn't believe it. She couldn't possibly be pregnant already.
It was impossible.
Not impossible, she thought, remembering her high school biology.
But not convenient at all. Sure she and Remington were married,
and they were deeply in love. At least she was. Although she
refused to admit it, Laura still feared that he was going to
disappear. This very morning he had gone jogging early. When
Laura woke up and couldn't feel him next to her she burst into
hysterics.
Maybe it was just hormones. Yes, that must have been it. Hormones.
Laura bit her bottom lip until she realized she was close to
drawing blood. The truth was that she was afraid to trust Remington
completely. There was a part of her screaming out "Don't
do it... don't do it or he'll leave." It didn't make any
sense at all. If he had put up with her for five years without
leaving, he wouldn't run away just because she allowed herself
to surrender completely.
But fear is irrational by nature. And that's what this was. Fear.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It had
been a madhouse since they moved in. Estelle Becker, although
officially off the case, suggested that the marriage would be
under less scrutiny if the Steele's made some sort of financial
commitment to the union. Ever since they had moved into the five
bedroom brick home in Brentwood the neighbors had been stopping
by with casseroles and Jell-O molds. Some because of suburban
etiquette, but most came to catch a glimpse of the great Remington
Steele and his assistant/wife.
Laura pulled the door open and stared out at the yard. She stepped
out and looked around, trying to keep her eye open for anything
suspicious. She let this mystery go for now, she had bigger things
on her mind. Like a baby. She remembered fondly the way Remington
had always been so good with children. Laura secretly feared
that she'd do something wrong and send them to therapy for life.
After all, her own role model for mothering wasn't that great.
And how would she ever begin to explain how she had met their
father. And what happened when they had to make a family tree
for school. She suddenly dreaded the prospect of explaining to
them that their father was a fraud, and she was the biggest liar
on the face of the earth.
That wasn't for years though, and hopefully those problems would
seem simpler over the years. Right now she just had to figure
out how on earth to tell Remington the news. The ink was just
dry on their real wedding papers...how would he take to being
a father. Laura heard the front door open and the familiar footsteps
of her husband. She took a deep breath and turned to him.
"What on earth is that," she said, staring at the huge
tree that Remington was dragging into the house.
"Christmas tree my dear," he said simply, "I could
never really get the apartment decorated for the season. Never
enough room, or enough time for that matter. But now I have this
house, and you to help me get this up."
Laura focused her cool and logical brown eyes on him and smiled
softly. With no prodding or even hints he had gone and made her
dreams of domestic bliss come true. They were a real couple.
Just decorating their house like anybody else. No bullets flying
and no international intrigue. It was all so simple, all so nice.
And of course she started to cry. Laura hated herself for sobbing
so suddenly but it all just seemed so perfect. She wasn't crying
out of joy exactly; or even out of fear. But only out of regret
for all the time that her worries had wasted, and realizing how
close she had come to loosing it all.
Remington leaned the tree against the wall and put his arms around
Laura, gently rubbing his hand up and down her back. After she
stopped sobbing he looked into her eyes, his own filled with
confusion. "Are you upset at me, or is it just some hatred
of trees?"
"I love the tree," she exclaimed, "and I love
you." Remington pulled off his coat and went out to the
garage to find the tree stand. Laura wiped the smudged makeup
from under her eyes and picked up his coat, taking it to the
other room.
As she picked it up a small box fell out of the pocket. She stared
at it for a moment, afraid to even touch it. Finally curiosity
got the better of her and she lifted it to her. Laura slowly
opened it as her breath caught in her throat.
"Laura" Remington said from the other room, "I
have to wonder why the Christmas decorations are in a box labeled
Books." He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. "You
found that?"
Laura swallowed, unable to take her eyes off the ring. "Is
it for me?" she asked meekly.
Steele couldn't help but chuckle. "Laura, for the greatest
logical mind if the 20th century you can be rather daft sometimes."
He sat down the box and pulled the velvet box from her trembling
hands. Deftly sliding it on her finger he smiled with satisfaction.
"Do you like it?"
"It's not real, is it?" The blue stones sparkled more
than she remembered. It was only her third time being in their
presence, but they always seemed more beautiful than the one
before.
"It's real. Royal Lavulite. A small piece anyway."
The blue stone reminded Laura of her husband's twinkling blue
eyes. "It's the stone that brought us together."
"You didn't steal it, did you?"
"Practically." He sat against the couch and explained.
"An old friend of mine came across it. He offered it to
me for what he paid a fraction of what it's really worth. It
all just came together. It was meant to be."
"I'm pregnant."
Remington's face was expressionless as the news sank in. He started
to speak but words refused to come out. Finally he just sighed
and let a smile pass over his face. "If it's a girl"
he finally said, "we should name it Scarlett. And if it's
a boy we'll name it Rhett."
"Over my dead body. What about Sherlock for a boy and Kinsey
for a girl?"
"Luke and Leia?" he suggested.
"Pete and Repete." she said, before giggling. She kissed
him passionately, taking him by surprise.
"What was that for?' he asked.
"For being here," she said, "and for being you."
The End?
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