Typical morning.

The alarm crashed through her dreams again, shattering that peaceful lull that she managed to find herself enjoying. In retaliation, she made sure to slam her fist down on its offending sound, silencing it once again.

There is a crack in the skylight glass.

Very faint, but it's there. It could be a spider web, but she was sure that it was a crack. She squinted at the faint, dark, crooked line that she could barely see, looming above her bed.

Her eyes strained, and the dull thud that was barely beneath the surface of her skull made itself known to her, causing her to close her dark eyes against the sunlight that was offending her senses. The screaming alarm sounded again, and with a roll to her side, her hand came resoundingly down on the button to turn it off.

With a stretch of her long legs, and a grunt, she pushed the warm covers from her body and embraced the coolness of her loft, and a hint of a smile rose onto her lips as she pulled herself from her mattress.

She looked up again at the skylight, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned. Her brow raised as her eyes searched the glass for the crack she had seen a moment earlier. She listened to her shoulders pop as she stretched, her muscles resisting the movement for a moment before she swung her arms and yawned again. Lifting her hand to her eye, she rubbed the sleepiness from her face with her palm, and padded quietly to the bathroom.

As Laura moved through her morning routines and rituals, something seemed off to her, and she couldn't quite place it. Moving through the loft, her eyes grazed the skylight once again to see if she could see the offending crack that had bothered her when she had awoken, but still it was invisible from the angle in which she stood. Her forehead wrinkled, her eyes narrowing in a curious glance, as she took one, then two steps back toward the bedroom platform, before she turned and walked toward the door.

With a heavy sigh, she rolled the door to the side, stepping out of the loft, and into another day of Los Angeles sun, traffic, and various other forms of mayhem.

For Laura Holt, a typical day.

The morning had started slightly earlier than Remington Steele had anticipated, and when he reached the front door of the agency, he was surprised that even Mildred hadn't gotten to the office yet. He checked his watch and swiftly unlocked the door, pushing his way through the glass doors.

He scowled at the early hour, though was quite happy with the bit of energy that he had been rewarded with after a good night's rest. Stepping through the office, he swung open his office door and headed directly for his desk, suitably empty of files, or anything else to distract him from his morning routine once Mildred made her appearance.

He stepped to the window, gazing outside just as he heard the door open to the office. Instead of sitting down, he decided to greet Mildred at the door, eager for his morning cup of tea and newspaper perusal. He plastered on his charming smile, his blue eyes filled with a boyish glint as he stepped full speed into the main office. "Mildred, Dear, You're right on…" His sentence was stopped as soon as he realized that it wasn't Mildred that had entered the office, and he straightened himself as he addressed the man standing just inside the door. "May I help you, sir?" Remington asked, smoothing his handkerchief, his eyebrow lifted curiously.

The other man eyed him curiously, pulling the fedora from his head, his brown hair was disheveled, and his dark eyes held the look of a weary traveler. "Mister Steele?" He said, searching the younger man's expression for a moment.

Remington immediately felt the nervous energy from the other man, his innate ability to read others with just a blink of an eye told him immediately that he needed help. Then again, he was looking for a private investigator, so of course he needed help. Remington reached his hand out for the other man's, shaking it firmly in his, he offered a kind smile. "Yes, sir, that'd be me. You're in the right place." He asked, putting a friendly hand on the other man's shoulder, he started to lead him toward his office. He thought for a moment about Laura's distaste for him latching onto a case before she had a chance to be consulted, and his lip quirked into a knowing smile. "Come on into my office, and we can discuss what I can do for you." He said, noticing Mildred stepping through the door. "Morning, Mildred." He said, offering her a quick wave.

She smiled across at him and lifted a suspicious eyebrow. "You're here awfully early, Chief." She said, noting that sheepish grin on her boss' face.

"Well, the early bird catches the worm, as they say." He said quickly. "Hold the tea and newspaper for now, Mildred… and speaking of birds, buzz me when Miss Holt gets in, will you dear?"

"Sure, Chief." She said, a hint of a laugh escaping her at his unusual energy in the early morning, she shook her head as he stepped into the office, and closed the door behind him.

It wasn't but five minutes before the glass door swung open, and Laura stepped through the doors in her typical speedy and near dramatic fashion. "Morning, Mildred." She said with a smile, glancing down at the newspaper that sit on the desk before her, she rested her hands on the desk as Mildred looked up at her.

"Morning, Miss Holt."

"Another morning sans our fearless leader?" She asked, holding up the newspaper in her hand. Her lopsided smile was bright and sunny, and she tapped the paper against the desk.

"He was actually here before both of us this morning." Mildred replied, nodding toward the door. "Not sure what he's up to exactly. He told me to hold the tea and paper, to buzz you when you got in."

"He has a client in there, doesn't he?"

"He was ushering him in just as I got here, Miss Holt. I was going to ask him, but he closed the door before I could even ask if the gentleman had an appointment."

"He thinks he's so sly, doesn't he?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. She moved swiftly toward his office, still holding the newspaper in her hands.

It wouldn't be the first time she had to rap his nose with it to get him to behave.

Remington sat at his desk, his arms folded in front of him as he listened to the man before him speak. His tale was filled with all of the drama of a dozen Hollywood movies, and still he hadn't even gotten to the man's name. His eyes were dark and kind, Remington thought they were a bit familiar but he couldn't be completely certain. He had an odd accent, perhaps eastern United States, but not the south, more around coastal Carolinas, with a tinge of New Jersey.

"So, I understand the background, sir… but what is it that you want Remington Steele Investigations to do for you?" He asked, finally able to get in a sentence. Just as he spoke the words, his buzzer rang. He lifted the phone, holding his finger in pause to the man across from him. "Yes, Mildred."

"She's here, and she's heading in your direction." She replied, hanging up her line, just as the door opened swiftly.

"I need you to help me find my daughter, Mister Steele." The man said, turning his head just as Laura stepped into the room.

Laura stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw the matching eyes staring back at her, her breath caught in her throat. "Dad?"

"Laura?" He said, thoroughly surprised at both the interruption, and the entrance of someone he had no idea he would be seeing.

"Miss Holt?" Remington said, catching her eyes as she stared at him blankly for a moment.

"I…I…" She faltered for just a quick moment, her heart pounding in her chest as violently as she had ever felt it before. "Excuse me." She said, turning on her heel, she stormed from the office quickly.

"Laura!" Both the man and Remington shouted at the same time, though the younger man was the quicker of the two. Just as he made it to the door, he put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Looks like we found her. Case closed." He said, a sheepish grin on his face. "Stay right there." He said, darting from the door in search of his partner, he watched the glass door of the agency swing closed, and Laura's retreating form. "Mildred, don't let that man out of here." He said, and with a snap of his wrist, he was out the door in search of Laura.

The other man stepped from the office, and Mildred's eyes narrowed. "You heard him…" She said, her voice as threatening as she could make it. "Have a seat and Mister Steele will be with you in a moment." She said.

The man nodded, and sat slowly on the waiting room bench, watching warily as Mildred eyed him suspiciously.