Steele In The Know

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Remington Steele sat on the back patio of the Piper home, waiting for Donald to return from tucking the children into their beds for the night. He sighed, realizing with a smile that he had enjoyed this impromptu evening with Laura's brother in law and nieces and nephew. Perhaps there was something to be said for living a placid existence in suburbia after all, he mused as he heard the door from the house open.

"I brought some more wine," Donald said, handing one of the glasses to him.

"Thank you."

"Sorry about leaving you alone. The kids are a handful when Frances isn't here sometimes."

"That's understandable. They're good kids, though."

"I think so. They certainly think a lot of you. They wanted me to have you come up and tell them a bedtime story like you did that time you and Laura stayed with them."

Remington started to rise from his chair. "I can go-," he offered, but Donald put out a hand.

"I told them you'd tell them one next time. You're pretty good with kids for a guy who's never been a father."

"Natural talent, I guess," Remington said with a smile.

Donald nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Ever thought about it? Having a family of your own, I mean?"

"Oh, now and then."

"Don't take this wrong, Remington, but- are you and Laura serious? I mean, I don't want to pry, but, well, Frances worries a little," he laughed. "She worries A LOT."

Remington laughed as well. "I understand, Donald. You're Laura's only male relative. It's only natural that you'd want to know my- intentions toward her. Truth is, I'd like nothing more than to settle down with your sister in law. But Laura can be damned prickly at times whenever the subject of marriage comes up. Or any kind of commitment for that matter."

Donald nodded thoughtfully. "I thought so. You have to understand, Remington, that Laura's gone through a lot. Losing her father, then all that mess with Wilson Jeffries. I always told Frances that he wasn't right for Laura."

"You didn't think so?"

"Oh, no. He was too much the opposite of her father. Nine to five, everything in order- wasn't John Holt's style and it wasn't Laura's either. At least, not until Wilson did HIS disappearing act and she changed overnight from the fun loving, always laughing Laura I'd known since she was eight to the quiet, reserved Laura Holt she is now." He looked out over the dark yard, not seeing the set of swings and toys strewn in wild abandon. "I hope they've found him this time," he said softly. "For her sake more than anyone else's."

"Found who?" Remington asked, curious. "Wilson?"

"No. Her and Frances' father. John Holt."

"I wasn't aware that they'd been looking for him."

Donald looked at him. "Laura hasn't told you?"

"Laura's always been rather- reticent about her absent parent," Remington said. "I didn't want to pry." He didn't add that he hadn't wanted to ask questions about Laura's father because it would have left him open to her questions about his own past.

"Laura was devastated when he was lost. Took it harder than Abigail or Frances. She even told Abigail that it was her fault that he hadn't come back."

"Come back from where?" Remington asked, having been under the impression for the last four years that Laura didn't have any idea where her father had disappeared to.

"Vietnam."

"Laura's father was a- soldier?"

"Army. He was a Captain."

"Wait a minute. Laura always told me that she was raised here, in Los Angeles. I thought military personnel tended to move quite a bit?"

"They do- but Abigail had enough moving around by the time he got back from Korea. By that time, Frances was born, and she insisted that he quit the service, get a nine to five job that would keep the family here. So John compromised. He joined the Reserves, and got a job that he hated, - selling insurance of all things. He was good at it- I think the man would have been the best at whatever he did- but he wasn't happy. He was just going through the motions, doing what he thought best for his wife and daughters."

"How did he end up in Vietnam?"

"He went twice, actually," Donald told him. "Once in '66, when he was asked to go back on active duty because they needed experienced soldiers. Abigail wasn't happy, but she also knew that the two of them had been fighting more than they should have for years before that. She thought he'd get it out of his system, come home in a couple of years and then go back to selling insurance."

"But he didn't."

"No. He wasn't the same man when he came back- he was quieter, less prone to laugh- except at something Laura might do or say. He'd only been home a few weeks when he and Abigail started arguing again- this time about his decision to stay on active duty and to accept another tour of Vietnam."

"I doubt Abigail was pleased by that turn of events."

"You don't know the half of it. She was furious. Laura understood that he felt it was his duty to go back over there and help out. Frances got caught in the middle. She didn't want him to go, but she knew he hadn't been happy before. On the day he left the last time, I had just arrived to pick Frances up for a date when I heard the Abigail yelling again. John was standing there, in his uniform, suitcase at his feet, trying to tell his family goodbye. Abigail didn't want to hear it. She told him that if he chose to go halfway around the world to fight in a war that didn't even matter to them, he might as well not bother coming back." Remington's eyes widened and he pursed his lips. "Yeah. I thought the same thing. I don't think I'll ever forget the look in his eyes when he turned and gave Frances and Laura each a hug and then shook my hand before leaving the house. Laura ran to the window and watched him leave until she couldn't see him anymore, then told Abigail that if her father didn't come home, it would be all her fault."

"Ouch."

"His patrol was ambushed, just before he was due to come home. John's body was never found, and he was listed as Missing In Action. Laura wore one of those bracelets with his name on it for years."

"And she blamed her mother for what happened?"

"To begin with, yes. Laura barely spoke to Abigail for almost six months after they got the news. She made telephone calls to Congressmen, Senators, the Pentagon, even the President- all without Abigail's knowledge. She said she was sure he was still alive and that they could help. When Abigail found out about the calls, she made Laura go to work and pay for every one of them."

"You said she blamed her mother to begin with. She doesn't now? I mean, I've never seen any sign of resentment on Laura's part toward her mother."

"No, you wouldn't. Once Laura went away to college, she had a chance to think things through, I guess. To realize that marriage is a two way street and she couldn't lay all of the blame at her mother's door. Plus, I think she started feeling as if her father HAD deserted her. After all, he'd chosen what he saw as his duty to his country over her. Probably a defense mechanism. The more time went by without them finding him- and when the war ended he hadn't been released as a POW, she forced herself to accept that he wasn't COMING home. So she took off the bracelet and found someone the opposite of her father."

"Wilson Jeffries," Remington said.

"Exactly. But she was still too much her father's daughter to be happy with someone like that. Frances and Abigail were both upset when he left her, insisting that it was all Laura's fault, but I told her I thought it was for the best, that she'd find someone else that could love her for herself." He gave Remington a knowing look, as if to say that he thought Laura had found that someone.

Remington shook his head slowly. "She's never said a word," he told Donald. "I had no idea. I always assumed that her father simply walked out on the family."

"That's what Abigail told most people. In her mind, I guess it's the truth. Plus, you have to remember that back then, people who were in the service weren't looked on with much kindness. I had a friend who went and came back, and someone spit on him when he was leaving the airport. Abigail thought she was protecting herself and her daughters by telling that little lie."

"You said that they might have found him?" Remington asked.

"His remains, at least. The Vietnamese release the remains of American soldiers that they claim to have `found' recently from time to time. John's dogtags were with one of the bodies they sent home the last time."

Which explained Laura's sudden call to the office that morning insisting that she had something to take care of and would be back as soon as she could. When Remington had arrived at the office and gotten the message from Mildred, he'd called Laura's loft, but hadn't gotten an answer. So he'd called Frances to see if she might know what was going on, only to have Donald inform him that Frances was gone as well. Donald had invited him out to dinner that evening, and since he'd planned to have dinner with Laura, Remington had come out to Tarzana. "I see. Is Abigail with them?"

"She was meeting them in Washington," Donald confirmed. "Frances promised to call as soon as they know anything."

"Daddy?" Laurie Beth's plaintive voice called from the doorway.

"What is it, honey?" Donald asked as he and Remington both turned to look at the little girl who put him in mind of what Laura must have looked like at that age. Which in turn made him think about what a daughter of his and Laura's would look like.

"I'm thirsty."

Donald sighed and rose from his chair. "I'll be right back, Remington," he said.

"Take your time." He sat there, his thoughts in a whirl. He needed to talk to Laura. To apologize for all the terrible things he'd thought over the years about her father's desertion. Somewhere in the house he heard a telephone ring, and when it stopped, decided that Donald had answered it.

A few moments later, Donald came back out. "It was John," he told Remington. "They'll be home tomorrow- They're going to bury him here in town."

= < @ > =

Remington was with Donald when they met the flight from Washington. He saw the surprise in her eyes when she saw him, standing there uncertain of his welcome. Suddenly Laura was in his arms, and Remington held her, not caring that the terminal was filled with other people, that they were the center of attention. All that mattered was that he was here, with her, and he intended to be at her side for the rest of his life. Once John Holt's funeral was over, then Laura could begin to close the book on this chapter of her life-being the healing process. And then, he and Laura were going to have a long talk about things . . .

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