(An ITCHy Story)
There's not a single series to be found in these stories, only what if's and could have been's, that give rise to some interesting thoughts, occasional angst, some surprising honesty and a lot of romance.
Fractured Steele (Post Steeled with a Kiss Pt II)
A Holt in the Heart (Takes place during and after Woman of Steele)
Threadbare Steele (Takes place during and after Steele Threads - for RS Fan 17)
Steele in Her Heart (Alternate ending to Steele of Approval - for Steele86)
Steele Going At It (Takes place after Have I Got A Steele For You - for MM33 and Elinskaja)
Steeling A Little Romance (Not tied to an episode - Merry Christmas one and all)
Steele Cold Facts (Takes during Season – for steelegogo83)
As always, I do not own characters or show. I simply borrow the characters because they've been in my heart for 35 years now.
A/N: There have long been rumors – which make a great deal of sense – that Season 3 of Remington Steele was broadcast out of the order it was meant to appear onscreen. There is a document out there, which, based on various factors, shows the final three episodes of Season 3 should have been Illustrated Steele, Diced Steele and, finally, Steele of Approval. This story follows that premise.
Title courtesy of Steelefan2018.
Steelegogo83, this one is for you.
Chapter 1
Laura heaved a sigh and stared at the bandaged ankle propped on the corner of her desk. Mr. Steele and Mildred had departed for the airport three hours before. In forty-five minutes or so, their plane should be landing in Colorado.
The plane she should have been on… had planned to be on. Hell, it was the trip she had, in fact, planned, down to the last detail.
She'd known perfectly well he was manipulating her with that little message Mildred had asked her to pass along to him.
"Seems, uh, Aspen has just received five inches of fresh powder over an eight foot packed base."
If she'd any doubt he was scheming, again, to get her alone far away from Los Angeles and the Agency, well his implied dare had said it all.
"I'd love to invite you, Laura. But I couldn't bear the disappointment."
"What makes you think you'd be disappointed?
"Past history. I mean, every time we've planned a few uninterrupted moments together, a case interferes."
"You don't think I'm capable of having fun, do you?"
"I didn't intimate that. It's just that your idea of a vacation is coming back late from lunch."
"I could shut down the Agency just like that."
"Yes, but you never would."
"I wouldn't?"
"No."
"When this case is done, I will close the office down for a week, send Mildred on a vacation and we'll hit the slopes. You want to have fun? I'll show you fun."
The problem with a dare, is that it isn't a dare if the person it's issued to has been itching for a way to make up for his little ploy to lure her away to San Francisco. So, she'd planned meticulously. Open ended, round-trip, first class tickets to Aspen. Lift tickets. Separate but equal, adjoining rooms, should it seem the time was right to cross that line.
Oh, he'd had a bit of fun with it all, at her expense, of course, reminding her at every opportunity she'd never follow through.
"Dragging your feet a bit, aren't we? Not afraid we might have to wrap this case up and you'll actually have to follow through on your vacation plans, are we?"
She'd smugly opened her purse and handed him the plane tickets, proof she'd no intention of backing out.
And still, he managed, to get another dig, another dare in.
"Open return. Impressive. But I'm afraid the jury's still out. I won't be convinced until I see you making snow angels in Aspen."
Oh, she'd planned to make him eat his words.
Then she'd taken that tumble down the stairs, twisting her ankle. Sending Mildred with him to Aspen had been a bit of mischief on her part, a little jab of her own, even. If he thought he was going to pick up snow bunnies on her dime, he had another thing coming and she'd sent Mildred along as insurance. She'd enjoyed the semi-horrified look on his face, when she'd announced Mildred would be accompanying him.
But, in the end, he'd technically gotten in the final word.
"Yes, well, another missed opportunity, Miss Holt. Looks like we're never going to get together, doesn't it?"
The words had been repeating in her head since he and Mildred had left, so much so, that she'd not gotten a bit of work done.
She pursed her lips and gave her ankle an experimental turn. Annoying, but not painful, at least not since she'd taken a half tablet of the Tylenol-3 she'd been prescribed. She thrummed her fingers on her desk. Then, with a 'may as well give it the old college try' shrug of her shoulders, she cautiously stood up, allowing half her weight to rest on the injured ankle… then three-quarters… then all of it. With a lift of her brows, she thought, Go for it. She walked to the end of her office, then back again, before plopping down in her chair and propping her ankle back up on the corner of the desk. Stroking her throat in thought, she stared at her ankle in contemplation.
This wasn't the first time she given her ankle a good twist. In she'd done so a half dozen times in the past, and only twice had her ankle swelled significantly. She had no swelling now.
Her brows furrowed as she continue to regard the injured joint.
That first shooting pain was by far the worst of the pain, but generally speaking, within half a day the continued throbbing would be reduced a dull, occasionally nagging, ache. Which would mean….
By morning, with a good, neoprene ankle brace, and the automatic support ski boots offered, skiing should be a…" She snapped her fingers, a dimple smile lighting her face.
I'll show you snow angels, Mr. Steele.
