Eddie's Return
"Did Eddie tell you about Buck?"
"You are going to see him again, aren't you?"
Laura dodged Steele's questioning as she slipped documents into her satchel.
"Who?"
"Eddie!"
"We have unfinished business."
The briefcase has been feeling heavy since Laura suffered a shoulder injury crashing into a tree on the ski slopes at Whistler Mountain.
"Are you going to tell me what that business is?"
She stopped and turned around to give Steele a quick peck on the lips.
"See you later."
With that, Laura swung around and headed straight out the glass doors of Remington Steele Investigations.
"That woman…"
"Who? Laura?"
Preoccupied with watching Laura leave, Steele had not noticed Mildred Krebs behind him holding a stack of files.
"Yes. Laura."
"Give her a break boss, the guy is her ex-fiance, after all."
Steele's scowl changed to one of bewilderment.
"I knew they had history. I didn't realize it was that big."
"It took me a while to remember where else I had seen him before. The time Miss Holt and I went out to dinner, a couple of weeks ago, to celebrate my becoming a full operative."
"I don't know, Miss Holt. If I take a vacation now, it will leave you and Mr. Steele in a lurch."
"Go on. Visit your sister in Seattle. You could even travel to somewhere exotic. I hear the Caribbean is really nice this time of year."
Laura raised her wine glass ready to toast her friend and trusted colleague.
"You deserve to be pampered."
"Aw!"
"Cheers…"
Mildred grew concerned when Laura's expression suddenly blanched.
"What is it, hun? You look as if you've seen a ghost."
"Excuse me, Mildred."
Laura stood up and walked away from their table.
Mildred followed her gaze and watched as Laura quickly cross the room onto the dance floor, where she clapped a gentleman on the back to get his attention. He turned in mild surprise as the two soon fell into step, swaying timely to Someone to Watch Over Me.
Holding her close, the man gave Laura a kiss. She returned the kiss with tenderness.
She had lots of questions.
"Eddie?
"Is it really you?
"I am not dreaming, am I?
"Where have you been?"
Not believing he was really there, Laura sought a need for his embrace.
"How are you walking again?"
"I had undergone an experimental treatment. Had a series of operations done to repair my spine."
"You left so suddenly."
"I am sorry about that. I pushed you away. It's something I've regretted ever since."
Laura averted his gaze for a moment as tears started to sting her eyes.
"All this time, you've been…"
Eddie swallowed a lump in his throat.
"Finding the courage to come back here to face you again."
Laura looked deeply into his hazel eyes.
"But ten years is a long time?"
"It hasn't changed how I feel. I haven't stopped thinking about you. You do remember how much I loved you."
"Eddie-"
Eddie kissed Laura's forehead.
"Can you ever forgive a pig-headed fool?"
"Eddie-"
"What?"
"I'm married."
Eddie gasped.
"What? Who's the lucky fella?"
"Remington Steele."
"Remington Steele… Wait a minute. Isn't that your titular agency head?"
"Yes."
"It's not that guy you hired to play him is it?"
Laura shook her head emphatically.
"No. You don't know him."
"In that case, I would really like to."
Laura's eyes widened in surprise.
"That can be arranged. I'll have to make something up. In case, he gets jealous."
Laura broke away from the intimate contact.
"Look. I have to go. Mildred must be wondering what happened to me."
How real can a marriage be to someone with a false identity? Perhaps he still had a chance, mused Eddie.
"Eddie."
There is hope yet.
"Yes?"
"Your ring."
"You kept it?"
"I'm going to give it back to you."
No.
Laura made her way back to her table with a wistful expression.
"An old boyfriend?", asked Mildred.
"You could say that," she sighed, as she wiped a tear rolling down her face, "I was going to marry him."
Laura was back at their apartment two hours pass dinner time. After grabbing a light snack from the kitchen, she got dressed for bed. Steele was already sitting on the bed in his pyjamas, when she emerged from the bath ensuite.
Steele put down the National Geographic he was flipping through.
"Let's have the bad news."
Laura could barely contained her amusement at his predictable behaviour.
"Eddie wants me back."
Steele put on his most serious tone.
"Did you tell him that you were unavailable?"
Laura sat down on edge of bed.
"I did. But-"
"But what?"
She pulled down the covers and slid between the sheets.
"He wants a second chance. If I don't give it to him, he threatened to expose you. Unless-"
Steele leaned closer to Laura's face.
"Unless what?"
She laid back, steepling her fingers.
"Unless, I agreed to see him again."
"For how long?"
"Until he is convinced that you and I truly belong together."
"Well. I can live with that."
Laura turned to Steele in surprise.
"You don't mind having him around?"
"No. You and I, we are a team. We'll just have to make room for him at the agency."
"Good. Let's just hope we can prove it."
With a smirk, Steele got up and left the bedroom.
"Where are you going?"
He returned shortly with a coffee urn and two cups.
"You said you would tell me all about you and Eddie."
"Mr. Steele, that will take all night."
"It's OK. I've made coffee."
Laura rubbed at a tense spot on her forehead, while Steele settled next to her attentively.
"The year was 1978. No, it was 1979."
I had just left Havenhurst. A week after opening up my own shop, Eddie Barris walked back into my world. We had no trouble rekindling the one night of romance we started back in Acapulco.
He was a great morale booster, as I was not doing really well on the business front. Nobody hired me. That's when we started spending a lot of time together. I loved him. That much was certain. And he adored me.
At my lowest point, Eddie suggested I create a fictitious figurehead, to front my agency.
We were at the beach when he surprised me with a proposal.
"Oh, Eddie!"
"Read the inscription."
Etched on the inside of the diamond solitaire was Forever Eddie & Laura.
That moment, I was the happiest woman on Earth.
However, the joy was short-lived. The accident happened the day we had our first surfing lesson. Eddie was not a strong swimmer. The wave hit us both hard. When I awoke on the beach, rescuers were already working on Eddie.
Eddie had suffered a spinal fracture. He took it real hard. The chances of him walking again were slim. He would not even let me see him.
"The day he was to be released, I went to the hospital to pick him up. He had already gone. No note saying where he went. That was 10 years ago."
"I'm so sorry," Steele said, "But how does Buck fit into all this?"
"Buck? Well. He was why we were at the beach. Buck, that blond Adonis of the sandy shore, was the lifeguard we knew. The new agency would need a front man. We were going to considered him for Remington Steele."
As the narrative came to a close, Laura yawned and settled under the covers.
"So heroic! So tanned! Heh heh. So macho!", was the last thing Laura said before drifting to sleep.
Steele was left with some thoughts to ponder.
Laura and the blond Steele. Buck?
One week later...
When Steele and Eddie found Laura, she was sitting on the shoulder of the road, crying over the burnt license plate, as her vehicle went up in smoke. With a cut brake line, there was no way to survive the drop over the cliff. She had jumped before the car careened off the road, into the canyon below, followed by an explosion. Laura walked away unscathed, but she was clearly distraught.
They looked over the precipice as flames lap up the Rabbit below.
Eddie was the first to reach out to Laura, who immediately crumbled into his arms.
"Oh. There, there, don't cry."
Eddie gave Steele a knowing smile.
"You know, Laura loved in that car."
"You don't mean... "
"Yup. Right in the back seat."
How will gentlemen behave to vie for the affections of one woman? Which lover will be successful in winning her heart? Let the showdown begin!
Author's Note:
Much thanks to MissMy80sShows for helping me with the first and second chapters and specially for the moral support. It takes a lot to re-imagine Michael Gleason's 5th season vision. Having watched many of Stephanie Zimbalist screen work, I felt inspired to create more mystery behind Laura Holt.
I am going to continue with Eddie being a permanent fixture in this story. He and Steele will discover Laura together, including her pass conquests.
Steele learns from Eddie, Laura's insecurities and how to tap into her emotional core.
Eddie learns from Steele, Laura's strength of character.