Steele Dreaming

by Tanya Reed

Disclaimer: By now, you know I don't lay any claim to Remington Steele.

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Lettie rolled over, bumping into the back of her older sister. The movement pushed her awake, and her eyes popped open. Excitement tingled all over her body as she realized that this was it. She had been waiting for what seemed like years; finally, it was here! Filled with anticipation, she gave Grace a shove. When this got no reaction, she raised herself on her elbow and started shaking Grace's shoulder.

The older girl moaned, and Lettie said, "Wake up! Wake up! It's time."

Grace opened her eyes and sat up. A crooked grin came to her face as she saw the sun shining through the curtain. Lettie turned around and proceeded to shake the small form on her other side .

"Sam, wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

The smallest of the Steeles opened her eyes. "Christmas?"

"Yes, Christmas. Get up."

Lettie gave her a shove, and the little girl tumbled out of the bed. Grace protested, "Be careful, Lettie. You'll hurt her."

Lettie just crawled off of the bed through the empty space that had been occupied by Sam seconds before. The little girl got up, and Lettie took her sister's tiny hand. Grace, suddenly overcome by her sister's infectious excitement, bounded out of bed, black hair flying. The three of them grinned at each other and entered the hallway.

Filled, almost to bursting it seemed, with impatience, they raced toward their parents' door. Lettie reached it first, and she threw it open.

"Mom! Dad!" she yelled, echoed by Grace.

Lettie let go of Sam's hand and ran to the bed. Her father's eyes were closed, and his left hand hung over the side of the mattress. He was snoring lightly.

"Dad!"

One blue eye opened and he looked at her. For a second, his mind whirled. Who was this short, freckled person standing there with her brown hair disheveled and with Laura's best look of impatience in her deep brown eyes? Then he came fully awake. This was his Lettie, and it was Christmas day. That realization came about one second before a tiny body landed on his back. Little arms wrapped around him, and a kiss was planted on his cheek.

"Mornin' Daddy!"

Remington reached behind him with the hand that had been hanging off of the bed. With it, he grabbed a little girl, who laughed as he rolled her over his body to give her a bear hug.

"Good morning, angel."

Lettie shook his arm, still tightly wrapped around his youngest daughter. "Get up, Dad. It's Christmas!"

"Christmas?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"You know, Daddy. It's when families get together and love each other. Oh, and you get presents," Sam informed him.

"Oh, that sounds vaguely familiar."

"He knows, Sam," Lettie said crossly, "He just doesn't want to get up."

Grace rolled her eyes and sat at the bottom of the bed, near her father's feet. "It doesn't matter. Mom's not up yet."

"What's going on?" came a weak voice, full of sleep.

Grace crawled over her father's legs and in between him and her mother. "It's Christmas morning."

"Christmas morning…already?" Laura asked with a serious face.

She watched Grace, sitting there with impatience coming from her like a tangible substance, yet trying to seem more patient than her sister. Laura couldn't keep her serious face, and it wasn't long before a smile burst over it. She reached up and hugged Grace. Remington rolled on his back with Sam still in his arms. He grinned at his wife.

"Doesn't anybody want to hug me?" Lettie asked.

Remington uncurled his long right arm from around Sam. "Come here."

Lettie jumped onto the bed and snuggled next to her father. He hugged her tightly and kissed her tanned forehead. A contented sigh escaped from her. To Lettie, there was no one more perfect in the world than her father, and nowhere she'd rather be than by his side.

After a few seconds, Laura said, "Did someone say something about Christmas morning?"

At her words, the bed erupted in an explosion of little bodies. They all started talking at once and tugging at their parents to make them get up. Laura laughed and tried to comply. Sam jumped her way at that moment, and Laura let out a little shriek as the two of them slid out of her side of the bed.

"You all right, dear?" Remington asked.

Laura was still laughing, but she managed a breathless, "Yes," over Sam's giggles.

"Will, kids, it seems as though your mother's up."

He got out of bed, and Laura got up off of the floor. Together, the five of them made their way down the stairs.

"Look!" Sam cried as soon as the big picture window became visible.

"It's snowing!" Lettie squealed.

"Snow on Christmas," Laura said, giving her husband a sideways look. "Imagine that."

Remington grinned. "This is the way it's supposed to be, Laura."

"The tree. Look at the tree!" Grace said then, and the snow was forgotten.

All three girls screamed in delight as they ran down the rest of the stairs and to the tree that was almost dwarfed by the presents surrounding it.

"Oh, wow!"

Laura's eyes shone as she saw the look of wonder on her children's faces. She hooked her arm around Remington's waist and leaned against him.

"Here, this one's Sam's. She gets to open the first one; she's the littlest," Grace stated.

The Steeles watched their youngest child open the first present. Her sisters watched too, dying with impatience, but still waiting for her before they started ripping through the presents.

"It's from me and Lettie," Grace told her. "We bought it."

Sam opened her present slowly. She was never one to rush, plus she had trouble with the tape. The other two watched her eagerly, forgetting their own presents for the moment. They wanted Sam to love the present they had picked out for her.

It was a doll, plain, simple. It didn't cry; it didn't pee; it didn't crawl, but it had big blue eyes and pigtails. Sam's eyes lit up with happiness when she saw it. Quickly, she hugged the doll to her chest.

Grace reached out and grabbed a hold of Lettie's hand and squeezed it. She whispered, "She likes it."

Laura noticed that her husband was very still. She snuck a peek at his face to see why. Something gripped her heart as she saw the look. He was gazing at his children, a rapt look on his face. There was something there. Something she had only seen three times before. And there were tears in his eyes.

On impulse, Laura reached up and kissed his cheek. Remington turned to her. Softly, he took her face in his hand and kissed her forehead.

"Laura, I…"

"Shhh," she said, putting a finger to his lips.

"I'm next! I'm next!" came Lettie's voice. "This one's from Santa. I bet it's that microscope I wanted."

The outside door banged, and they could hear more voices. Laura wrinkled her nose at Remington, letting him loose.

"Laura?"

"They're in the living room, Abigail. They probably haven't even opened their presents yet."

"You can tell they don't have teenagers," another woman's voice added.

"Such a long drive to get here. Why do they do this every year?"

"Gramma!" Sam cried.

As she did, six figures appeared in the living room doorway. One was an older woman, with white hair and a smile. When Sam saw her, she ran to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. The old woman's smile grew broader.

"Frances," Laura said, "You're early."

"Well," Frances replied, coming in to hug her, "The kids got finished early, and Mother wanted to come over as soon as possible because of the long drive."

After a moment of indecision, Lettie and Grace left their presents to run over and hug their grandmother. Everyone started talking at once, and Frances had to stop an argument between her two older children. Not that they were children anymore. Danny had grown into a very large young man. He was in college and going to graduate in the fall. Mindy was a small woman and very pretty. She was nineteen and even thinking about marriage. Today, they were children; it was Christmas.

Laura rolled her eyes, glancing at Remington. "What a family we've got."

"Yes, it is ours, isn't it?" there was a strange note in his voice.

Concerned, Laura asked, "Are you all right?"

Remington took Laura's hand. He squeezed it gently, looking in her eyes. Warmth filled her as he said, "Do you know how happy you've made me?"