Later
that evening, Daniel and Mildred were sitting on the deck behind
the cottage, long after the sun sank beneath the distant horizon.
Noting his distracted air, Mildred reached over and touched his
hand. "Penny for your thoughts."
He covered her hand with his. "Just thinking how lucky I am. I've been given another chance- I just hope I have the time to make things right this time."
Mildred's fingers turned to clasp Daniel's. "You will."
"I know I've told you how grateful I am for everything you've done, Mildred, but-"
"I don't want your gratitude, Daniel," she said.
"I know. But at the moment, I'm hesitant to offer anything more, my dear."
"Daniel, you made it through telling Mr. Steele the truth today with no problems. I'm beginning to think that you just enjoy all the extra attention that you're getting," she told him with a teasing smile.
"Ah, you're onto me, I'm afraid," Daniel replied, watching as Laura and Remington appeared on the beach below. "Let's go inside, shall we?"
***
"Would you rather I go back inside?" Laura asked when Remington sat there quietly in the sand, gazing out toward the dark sea. "Leave you alone with your thoughts?"
Remington shook his head and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. "No. I'm sorry. I haven't been very good company this evening, have I?"
"It's understandable," Laura said, playing with a button on his shirt. "It's not every day you find out your real name."
He shook his head. "Harrison James Connell."
"Do you mind that I still prefer Remington Steele?"
"No. So do I, truth be told." He laughed softly, pulling her head against his chest. "Truth. I've had an overabundance of that today, haven't I?"
"I didn't thank you for telling Mr. Davis that he could either work with me or find another Agency."
"I hesitated to do it, really. Last time I tried to intervene that way I was soundly berated for being over protective."
"I'm not the same woman that I was then," Laura reminded him.
"The new, improved Laura Holt," Remington recalled, nodding. "I just got tired of listening to Davis constantly belittling your ideas."
"It was sweet of you. Unnecessary, but sweet."
"Ah, there's my Laura."
The silence fell between them again, but this time it was companionable, and Laura no longer felt shut out as she had earlier. "I've been- thinking about what you asked me the night before Mr. Davis' party," she said at last. She felt his breath catch.
"To what- specifically- are you referring?" Remington asked, trying to breathe normally.
"I seem to remember your proposing marriage," Laura said.
"And I remember that you said no."
"Perhaps I was a bit- hasty," she said, and Remington looked down into her face.
"Really? And was there any- one thing that brought about this- blinding revelation?"
"Just- something Daniel told me."
"And what was that?"
"That no one knows what the future might bring. There are no guarantees. We're in a very- dangerous profession, you and I. On an almost daily basis, we deal with killers, desperate people who might react violently when cornered."
"I can't say that I disagree with that," Remington said.
"If things had gone differently at that party, either one of us could have been killed by the Rochet Brothers. We almost lost Daniel. All of my life, I've tried to plan things out, to look at the big picture. But as a result, I managed to miss a few of the small details." She looked up at him. "I don't want to wake up one morning and find out that I wasted time that I could have spent with you."
"Make each day count, eh, Miss Holt?"
"Precisely, Mr. Steele," she replied, then laughed.
"And so you made a leap from that to deciding that marriage might not be so bad after all, is that it?"
"Something like that. Daniel lost Deirdre because he thought they had time. He lost you for fourteen years- I don't want to risk losing you."
"So. If I were to ask again-?"
"Why not try and find out?" Laura suggested.
"What? Me, ask Laura Holt, independent woman of the 80's to marry me?" he teased gently. "I asked once, Laura. I'm not sure my ego could stand another refusal."
Laura looked at him, then took a deep breath. "Okay, then, I'll ask. So, Mr. Steele, you, uh, wanna get married?"
Remington pretended to consider the question, then smiled. "I thought you'd never ask, Miss Holt," he said, laughing as he pulled her into his arms for a long kiss . . .
The End