- Who Wants to
Steele You?
- Part Four
- Written by
Ulrike Gubelt, 1998,
1999, and 2000
Six months later, 1st of September, 1988; Los Angeles, early
in the morning, in front of the Steele house
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in LA. The air was fresh
and Laura Steele, who stood on the veranda in front of their
house, took a deep breath. Her stomach started to calm down again.
She would've preferred to stay in bed and watch her sleeping
husband, but she felt so sick and had to go for a walk.
Moments like this were quite rare in her life. Idly absorbed
in thought. She sighed. No, she wasn't complaining. Although
being a successful P.I. and a good mother at the same time wasn't
easy... she was happy. Maybe a little bit stressed, but happy!
She never would complain about being the wife of such a wonderful
husband and mother to such a beautiful daughter.
<One moment! The last time I felt like this... Oh, no... Certainly
I just caught Harry's flu! Damn it! Not today!> She had to
go to this 'fantastic' family gathering her mother suggested
because of the new family member - Jenna's child Paul! He really
was a cute boy, but she would've preferred to spend the weekend
with her ill husband instead of listening to her mother about
all the mistakes she's doing with Danielle... for instance still
going to work.
A loud " bang" in front of her feet brought her back
from her thoughts. Laura jerked back. "Good morning Mrs.
Steele!" the newspaper boy called to her. Laura greeted
him, took the newspaper and went inside the house.
She heard noises from the kitchen. Danielle was crying angrily.
She went to the kitchen door and watched the scene, smiling.
Danielle sat in her high chair, her spoon in her hand, while
her dad was bent over a vapor bath, his head hidden under a towel.
"Just a moment. Daddy is coming...." he whispered with
a hoarse voice.
Laura laughed, went to her daughter and stroked the black hair.
"You late risers are finally up?" Danny smiled at her
mother, sure to get breakfast now.
Harry just grumbled. Laura took the plate with Danny's food and
started feeding her. He couldn't see Laura but he just enjoyed
hearing her. He heard Laura laugh and sighed as he thought about
the next two days when he wouldn't hear this wonderful sound.
He raised the towel and looked at his two ladies. Laura wiped
a blob of Danielle's pulp from her cheek.
"Danny, that's your meal! You don't need to feed me!"
Danny laughed, and so did Harry.
Laura looked at him and said "That's your daughter! Only
nine months old and yet so rude!"
"I don't see the problem, Laura. I think it's very nice
of her to share her meal with you!" He grinned at her and
Laura nodded. "By the way, you look as if you needed something
to eat... What's wrong with you?" His smile disappeared
and was replaced by a worried look as Laura sighed.
"Oh, it's nothing... I just felt sick earlier, but it's
much better now. Probably just caught your flu!"
"So you can go to Abigail's?"
"Yes, I think so!" Harry sighed. When Laura noticed
his disappointed look she went to him and took the towel from
his head to put it around his neck. "You just have to say
that I should stay and nurse you, and I will..."
Harry rose from his chair and threw the towel around her neck.
"No, Abigail is waiting for you and Danny. You haven't been
there for at least four weeks, and she only moved to San Diego
just to be near her grandchildren."
Laura sighed because she knew what he was thinking but not saying:
'I wish I could visit my family!'
"Besides, it's just two days. You go and have fun with your
family, and I'll go to bed..."
"You're sure?"
He kissed her cheek and answered, "yes, just promise to
be back tomorrow evening."
Laura smiled. "I promise!"
"Well, I guess you better hurry up a bit or there will be
only one and a half days for me to wait." Laura looked at
her watch and was about to answer, but there was a loud noise
behind her, and Harry and Laura looked at their daughter in shock.
"Oh boy!" Harry said, but Laura was more displeased.
"Oh no, this is not my day!"
Danny, who had thrown her dish from the table and was covered
with baby food all over her body, laughed joyfully, so that Laura
and Harry had to laugh, too. Harry went over to his daughter,
lifted her up to his arms and said: "Don't worry Laura,
I'll change her and you take a seat and eat your breakfast!"
Laura felt suddenly sick again. " No, I."
"Laura, it's a long way to Abigail. Please." Laura
tried to smile.
"Okay, I'll try." She sat down and watched Remington
and Danny leaving the room. She looked like him more and more
each day. She smiled but when she noticed the breakfast that
was standing in front of her she fought not to vomit!
<No! No food this morning!> Last time she reacted to food
like this was when she was pregnant! Could it be? Of course it
could! she told herself.
She heard Remington say "There might be a son further down
the road!" Laura smiled as she remembered. <This would
be wonderful!>
Laura sat in the chair for several moments to reflect but then
she concluded that her sickness was just the beginnings of the
flu! She rose and started to clean the mess at the table.
"Here we are again!" Harry said when he entered the
room with Danny on his arms. He noticed her cleaning the dishes
and asked, "You didn't eat, did you?" He watched her
worriedly.
"No, but I drank..." she lied to him.
<Last time I saw her like this...> he thought, <maybe
she's...that would be great!> He watched her inquiringly but
didn't know how to ask her. Probably it was just what she said
- this damn flu - and she would laugh at him! Laura recognized
his look and went over to her husband.
"What?" she asked.
"I... I just...." he couldn't answer because he'd begun
to sneeze.
Laura caressed his cheek and took Danny from his arm " My
poor Harry!" She kissed his cheek and ordered "You
go to bed now... immediately!"
"No, I..." He sneezed once more.
"Listen, Danny and I are leaving and you do as I told you!"
"Yes, Mummy!"
Laura rolled her eyes. "But before I do so I'll walk you
out first!"
Laura gave up. "Okay, let's go!"
In front of the house a car stopped and the driver watched the
house. It was Tony.
<Okay, here we are. She'll be happy to see you... Don't worry.
She must have changed her mind after one and a half years. She'll
go with me, and we'll be happy! She will, won't she? Sure...
at least in half a year this con-man will leave her... And she
knows that... so why shouldn't she leave him first... with the
man she really loves?>
He smiled, but then he noticed somebody leaving the house. He
cowered in the car. It was Laura carrying a baby! He had heard
about their child. Of course he wasn't happy, but he had told
himself that a child wouldn't destroy their future! They would
have at least two or three children of their own, and he would
overcome the fact that the oldest wasn't his child... But now
that he saw them it was different! He was jealous! And then he
noticed someone else! Someone he hated deeply!
<God, this bastard! He made her pregnant although he'll leave
in a few months! He will leave, won't he?> He froze when Laura
kissed Remington and he bent to kiss his daughter.
<They seem to be happy! Damn!> But on the hand she was
pale, he perceived with satisfaction. When Laura drove off he
waited until Remington was back in the house and followed her
car.
She drove to the highway, singing a song for Danielle. But suddenly
she had to stop singing because she felt sick again. She stopped
the car and jumped out to vomit.
Tony who watched her pitifully from a short distance.<So she's
really ill! Don't worry Laura. I'm coming to help you get away
from this con man!>
Laura got back into her car and smiled at Danielle.
"Miss Steele, I don't think today's a good day for a visit
with grandmother! I'm not 100 percent sure, but I feel like.
Probably there will be a little sister or a little brother for
you quite soon."
Danny smiled at her mother. Laura started the car again. "We're
going to Ken's, and then we'll go home, okay? Of course, we'll
call your grandma first!"
Tony followed the car to the parking lot of a hospital. He was
really afraid now. <God, what had this man done to Laura!>
He parked his car and followed Laura inside. But Laura was too
fast, so that he lost her at one corner. <Had she gone left
to Gynecology or right to Cardiology?> He thought a moment
and then turned right.
Laura recognized Ken from afar and shouted, "Ken?"
He turned and watched Laura running to him. "God, Laura...
What's the problem? Something wrong with her?" he pointed
worriedly at Danny.
"No, no... she's in the best health. Getting more cheeky
everyday..." Laura smiled. "This visit is about me."
"You? What's the problem?"
"I know you're doing these sorts of tests only on weekdays,
but."
"You mean pregnancy tests?" Laura nodded smiling.
"I just want to know."
"You don't need to tell me more! I remember last time. In
your business you need to know as soon as possible, otherwise
you're in the next hail of bullets, right?" Laura laughed
and said, "one might say so!" Ken laughed ,too, then
they went to his office.
Tony just turned around the corner when Laura entered the office.
He stood and watched the door. A nurse went inside and left again
a few minutes later. He ran to her. "Excuse me..."
"Yes, sir?"
"My... my name is Steele, Remington Steele."
"Ah, Mr. Steele. Your wife is still in...."
"I know. Could you please tell me if it looks bad..."
The nurse watched him asking for a moment and then smiled. "That
depends..." Now it was Tony's turn to look puzzled.
"It depends onwhether you've already thought about expanding
your nursery or installing a new one?"
Now he got the point! She was pregnant again. He felt as if he
were losing ground.
"Sir, please. Take a seat!" The nurse guided him to
a chair nearby. She talked to him, but Tony didn't listen. <That's
impossible! Isn't a child a sign of a happy marriage? Oh, how
he hated Steele, the baby on Laura's arm and most of all the
child under her heart - the sign of their love! And therefore
he almost hated Laura!
"Ah! There comes your wife!" he heard the nurse saying.
He rose and went over to her. She was still talking with the
doc.
"And promise me to take a period of rest... This time it
is even more important than last time!" "I promise,
Ken!" "Good. See you soon."
"Bye!" she gave him a kiss on his cheek and turned,
but then she met up with a man. "Excuse---Tony?" Laura
looked at him surprised.
"Laura? What good luck!"
<Good luck?> Laura thought. She was not very comfortable
in this situation. Last time she saw Tony she told him to go
to hell, because he hired Murphy to investigate Harry and herself.
But maybe it really was just a chance meeting. She tried to smile.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I visited a friend of mine."
"In Gynecology?" Laura asked suspiciously.
"No, Cardiology. You know I must have taken the wrong way
out. But I'm glad I did! Otherwise I wouldn't have met you!"
He smiled at her, but when he noticed that Laura didn't he decided
to change the topic.
"So this is your child?" he pointed at Danny.
"Yes, this is our daughter, Danielle!"
<Oh no!> She didn't want to talk with him any longer. She
wanted to go home to Harry and tell him the news. Tony was the
only thing that held her back. She tried to smile again. "I'm
sorry ,Tony... but I'm a little late. Maybe I can phone you and
we can talk another day." she suggested.
<Oh no, not this way, girl!> Tony thought. "Sure.
But I would be really glad if you could show me the way through
this hospital jungle first..." He smiled and Laura smiled
too, thinking of their way through the Mexican jungle.
"Okay. Let's go!" They started and Laura thought that
he might have forgotten his feelings for her.
"May I take your daughter for a moment?"
<That was a good sign, wasn't it? He even wanted to hold Remington's
child.> Laura smiled and handed Danielle over to him.
But Danielle started crying. <This little monster looks a
lot like her father,>he thought.
Laura took her back in her arms and apologized.
"I'm sorry. Normally she's not that shy.... Probably she's
ill, too."
"Never mind!"
When they were near the exit Laura stopped and said "Here
we are, you archaeologist...." She smiled but when she heard
his question her smile faded.
"Are you still happy with him?"
<Here we go again!> Laura thought. She looked at him angrily.
"What do you mean, Tony?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wondered... I mean two years are over
very soon and I thought."
"You thought he might have left me and you could comfort
me, right?"
"Yes!"
Laura moaned. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but he's still
here. We're are in love. I'm pregnant again, Tony! We're a real
family. Do you get the point? I don't need you!" Laura turned
furiously and ran to her car.
For a moment Tony just stood to let the pain of Laura's words
dissipate.
"But I need you!" he said to himself and ran after
her. In front of her car he caught her and turned her around.
"Tony, what." Laura became silent when she saw his
gun, pointed at her stomach.
"You're not going away that easily this time!" Tony
said, a silly smile across his lips.
Danny, already in the car, started to cry. Laura looked at her.
"You don't want to leave your daughter so early, do you?
Now do what I tell you! Get into the car. We're going on a little
trip!"
To be continued
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