Disclaimer:

Remington Steele and its characters are owned by MTM. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

Set after Season 4. Bonds of Steele and Season 5 don't exist in my universe.

Steele & Education

Chapter 1

The smell was too tempting just to ignore it even in dreams. She opened her eyes in slow motion just to find a pair of blue ones lovingly staring at her. The light in the room told her the sun was just beginning to show up in the sky.

"Hi," she told him. "It's very early …Why are you awake? Am I still dreaming…?" She was barely able to put the words together.

He didn't say a word. He just kept staring at her, tracing a finger up her left cheek, and brushing back a few strands of hair near her ear. Still in silence, in a slow move he turned to his nightstand, and grabbed the aromatic cup of coffee waiting for her from there.

"Well, it seems like I am not dreaming anymore." She rearranged herself. "A delicious smell and an amazing view, that's what I call a good start." She got up from the bed with a smile, and leaning against the headboard, took the coffee in her hands. After having a sip she asked him, "And what is the ulterior motive to this special treatment I am receiving this morning?"

He was still in silence, peacefully staring at her. After a while, he spoke, "I was afraid to be dreaming as well, so I kept my voice off just to lengthen the moment. You look beautiful this morning and I didn't want to break the spell."

She sipped another drink of her coffee, and leaving the cup on her nightstand she stared at his eyes. "You would never have a chance to break the spell, because you are a part of it." She turned herself towards him, and taking his face in her hands she gave him a sweet good morning kiss. It was brief, but just perfect to tell him that it wasn't a dream. The smile that lightened his face was enough to tell her that she had been successful in her attempt. "See? The spell is not broken! It's a lovely day, the morning is still young, we are still in bed, neither of us needs to be dreaming anymore, and a journey full of excitement is ahead of us." She ended her words raising her eyebrows.

In a very bold move, he caught her from the waist, and pulled her down to the bed, his lips inches from hers. "Did I hear the word excitement? I feel I can be a part of that word too," he whispered. He started his demonstration then, about how fond of the word he was, and how the day would start just as she wanted…Maybe just as he wanted too: with a lot of excitement…

It was a wonderful February day. The morning was still fresh, but the sun was already warming their flesh. They decided to drive the Auburn instead of calling Fred, and while feeling the delightful breeze against their faces, both of them felt satisfied with the decision.

They were stopped at Robertson Blvd near Century City waiting for the green light, when Mr. Steele asked his first work question of the week. "Perhaps you would like to enlighten me on what our first appointment of the week is about Miss Holt? I heard you were talking with Mildred about a School Director on Friday?" he asked.

"Well, I don't have too much information yet, but it seems that our client owns a school, directed it, and she wants to talk with us personally to tell us what is bothering her," she answered. Giving a look at him she said, "You never cease to surprise me! How is it that if you heard us talking on Friday, you managed to control your intrigue about the new case until today?"

"Don't be surprised Miss Holt. Even if I didn't have the chance to enjoy a regular California school, I know that you never have to speak about duty or school on a Friday night date. It would spoil the magic of the spell," he said as he looked at her.

"We are back to the spell word again, are we?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Ah, Miss Holt…Don't get confused with semantics. I am truly aware that I must keep that word out of our duty conversations. As we recently had the chance to enjoy the meaning of the word in our early private moments, I would not dare to introduce it into our professional world. It's very dangerous to mix business with pleasure. I'm trying to follow my favorite teacher's advice." He looked at her, winking his eye.

"I'm sure you are, Mr. Steele," she told him punching his arm as a warning while hiding her smile.