Chapter Text
Countryside Steele
Wednesday, May 24, 1987: What Comes Next.
Laura woke to brightness filtering through the shutters in the room. Her eyes felt grainy from lack of sleep, and she was slightly confused where she was. Her legs were being pinned down by a heavy weight, and she was being held tightly around her waist. Trying to roll slightly to her left, the memories of last night flooded her brain. She smiled, realizing why she couldn't move. Remington was curled up around her, his legs over hers, his arm holding her protectively, even in his sleep. Last night was their first night together, their relationship finally consummated.
Gently sliding her legs from under his, she did her best not to move him. She didn't want him awake just yet. She loved this time in the morning. The quiet moments before the hustle and bustle of the day began. Finally free of the blankets, Laura realized the room was colder than she thought. That man is hot… Laura blushed at the thought. It wasn't just his handsome looks, his boyish, toothy grin, or those incredible blue eyes. As he slept, his body emanated more heat than the fireplace opposite their bed. Pulling a blanket off the end of the bed, she wrapped it around herself and walked over to the large windows that lined the wall of their bedroom in Ashford Castle.
Looking out, she could see the mist over the water of the lough in the distance. Although the sun was hidden behind the thin clouds, the outside was still bright; the mist creating a calming effect over the land and water it covered. The grass and rolling hills were very green, despite the cool air. Behind her, Laura heard movement on the bed, but did not turn around. Remington was not a morning person in the few years she had known him, so she figured he was just rolling over.
Remington rolled over, his hands searching for the warm body that was beside him minutes before. Finding nothing but empty space, he opened his eyes to scan the room, finding Laura standing beside the windows, looking out. Quietly, he got up, pulled his robe around him, and walked over to her.
In the sky, Laura watched several Jackdaw birds swooping through the air, darting from one spot on the roof to another in a tree. Completely mesmerized by their aerial acrobats, she didn't notice Remington coming up behind her. As he slid his arms around her, she jumped slightly, but continued to watch the show outside.
"Mmmm, good morning, Mrs. Steele," Remington said, as he hugged her. "Sleep well?" He dropped his head to her shoulder, gently kissing her neck.
Laura simply smiled, still looking out the window. "You're up early."
"Well, it appears my bride has left our bed too early this morning. I got cold."
"Cold? Your internal furnace should have taken care of that," she replied, laughing, remembering how much body heat he was emitting just a few minutes before.
"Well, I must need my flame to be stoked," he said with a smirk as he put his chin on her shoulder.
"Hmmm, we'll have to work on that." Laura leaned her head to the side so their heads were now touching. She got quiet again, just watching the birds.
"A penny for your thoughts, Mrs. Steele?" Remington asked, perplexed by his wife's silence.
"So where do we go from here?" she asked, her tone serious.
"From here, I assume you mean us? Now that we've crossed that line, had our magical moment…" he began.
"Moments…" Laura corrected him.
"And what wonderful moments they were, Mrs. Steele. Wonderful moments indeed." Remington smiled as he brought his arms completely around her body to hug her closer.
Laura turned completely to face him. "But what comes next? Do we just go back to work and pretend to be, as you put it before, 'the happiest married couple in America'? Or do we try to make this work? For real?" Laura was not usually emotional, but at this moment, she was fighting back her tears.
"I don't know, Laura, what do we do? I don't trust your friend Antony and his promise to keep INS off our back. So we go home, go back to work and figure out our lives. But one thing I do know is whatever we decide, I know my life needs you in it. Not just for the next two years but for as far into the future as we can see ourselves," Remington said, gently caressing her chin as he spoke.
Leaning into his hand, Laura asked: "Where do we begin?"
Remington leaned forward "Here," he said with a kiss on her forehead. "And here," another kiss, this time on her cheek. "And most definitely here." He began a slow, sensual kiss on her lips.
She didn't want to ruin the moment, but Laura was still anxious for some kind of answer, some direction as to what they were to do once they were back home in Los Angeles. "Mr. Steele, the task at hand, please. We can … finish this … in just a min…". Now she was having a hard time concentrating as his kisses began a path behind her ear and down her neck.
"Laura, we can discuss anything you wish, after I complete my new morning ritual," Remington continued to trail kisses across her collarbones.
"And what ritual would that be?" Laura could barely breathe, never mind even consider what he might be thinking.
"Making love to my beautiful wife," he simply stated. Sweeping her up into his arms, much like he had done last night on the staircase, Remington carried Laura back to their bed.
He laid her on the bed, removed his robe, and removed the blanket she still had wrapped around her. Looking up into his desire-filled blue eyes, Laura realized she wasn't going to get any solid answers to her questions. The answers aren't going anywhere for a while. Tossing the blanket aside, Remington climbed onto the bed beside her and pulled up the blankets, as the room was still chilly.
"Mr. Steele, I thought we were going to stoke your furnace?" Laura joked.
"No need to be uncomfortably chilly as we build the fires, Mrs. Steele," Remington quipped.
Just as Remington began kissing Laura's neck again, there was a rather insistent knock on their door.
"Bloody hell!" was Remington's reply.
"I'm sorry, boss, it's just me. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Mildred asked, as she opened the door.
"You are Mildred but it's too late for that now," Laura replied as she sat up, pulling the blankets up to cover herself.
"Oh, oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… Oh, it… it can….," Mildred continued to stutter as she tried to both cover her eyes and hide behind the door at the same time.
"What is it, Mildred? Just spit it out." Remington was almost fuming, but at the same time amused at how flustered she was.
"Well, Boss, Mrs. Steele, I found some information on international marriages I thought might be helpful, just in case that low-life Roselli tries to pull anything," Mildred said from behind the door.
"Really? And how do you think it will help our current situation, Mildred?" Laura asked, interested now.
"Laura, do you think we can have this discussion over breakfast, perhaps? When we are properly attired, maybe?" Remington was still annoyed.
"No time like the present. Right, Mr. Steele?" Laura piped. "Let's have breakfast and see what Mildred has to say. We can always resume where we left off after breakfast."
Remington was not happy. He looked at her and decided the old adage "Happy Wife, Happy Life" was going to have to take precedence right now.
"Ok, ok, breakfast it is. Mildred, will you kindly rouse Mickeline to see if we can get our morning meal started?" Remington conceded.
"Will do, Boss!" Mildred stated as she closed the door. They could hear her footsteps on the stairs, heading down toward the kitchen.
"Well, who gets the shower first?" Laura asked with a smile.
"We could conserve water and shower together," Remington suggested, one eyebrow raised.
"Well, well, Mr. Steele, I think you have just found an alternative solution to our problem." Laura grinned.
"And what problem is that again?" Remington tested.
"How we can complete your new morning ritual and shower," She teased.
"Lau-ra…. Are you suggesting…." Remington tilted his head, smiling.
"Only if you can catch me," Laura teased as she quickly climbed off the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom door.
Remington followed suit, catching her just as she stepped into the bathroom. Laughing, he carried her, closing the door behind them.