Laura took the stairs two at a time, climbing quickly and wildly to a destination that she had no clue of. Each step she took, she could hear her name on her father's lips echoing in her mind, and it pushed her all the harder to get away from it. She ascended flight after flight, and just as she stopped to catch her breath, she heard in the depths of the stairwell, her name ringing out in a deep Irish brogue.

Her lungs were burning as her chest heaved with each breath, and she gripped the banister tightly for support. Dizziness made her fall backwards slightly, closing her eyes for a moment and leaned against the wall on the landing. She could hear his heavy footsteps ascending the stairs, his voice coming nearer with each passing moment as he complained about the climb. His tone was jocular and light, though she knew that his heart was heavy with the knowledge of her burden. It was typical Mister Steele, trying to make light of a touchy subject, despite the risks it carried for his own well being.

"Alright." He said, his breath shooting from his lungs in sharp puffs as he rounded the last landing and looked up the steps at her. Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead, and dark hair was easily falling from its well groomed perch of only minutes earlier. "Alright, I give up…" He breathed. "You… just… just stay right there." He said, taking a step at a time now that she was in view, he lumbered up the stairs as he tried to catch his breath. He reached the top step and leaned against the wall, pulling his handkerchief from his pocket, he dabbed his forehead and took long cleansing breaths. He offered her the handkerchief and she shook her head, he tucked it back in his pocket and tried to control his breathing.

"How did you know I went upstairs?" She asked, swallowing the dryness of her throat, she looked at him with a worried expression.

"When I got to the elevators, they were on lower floors going up." He said between breaths.. "Using my astute sense of observation, I perceived that there was no way that you could have gotten onto the elevator before then, so I deduced that you must have taken the stairs."

"You guessed up?"

"That's right." He said, nodding his head dramatically. "I guessed up."

"Lucky guess, Mister Steele." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment. She leaned to her left and slowly sat on the steps beside her, and he followed suit, edging himself closer to her.

"Lucky, indeed." He replied, finally catching his breath.

"I'm sorry." She said, shaking her head, she felt a supportive hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer, resting her head on his shoulder again. "I just… when I saw him, I…"

"Panicked."

"Right." She nodded, staring ahead of her for a moment. She turned her head and faced Remington, and found him staring at the same spot on the landing, his head turned, and she could see the flicker of concern in his eyes.

"You're sure it's him?" Remington asked, the glare she gave him was classic Laura, and his eyes flashed innocence. He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm just saying… it could just be a coincidence. Maybe he knew your name from…a newspaper article, or…"

"I know what my father looks like, Mister Steele." She replied sharply. "What does he want?"

"That's what I found so odd." He said, running his index finger over his chin for a second. "Mm..hm… He was telling me this story about the situation he was in, about how he had gotten into some trouble with cash flow, made a loan or two with the wrong people…" Remington stopped and his forehead pinched in confusion.

"What?"

"Mm… this isn't good." He shook his head. "Mm… not good at all."

"What?" She demanded. "What isn't good. You must tell me, Mister Steele." She exclaimed, suddenly eager for his reply, he stared ahead without looking at her. It forced her to take matters into her own hand as she reached her thumb and forefinger out and squeezed his forearm.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, pulling his arm away, he rubbed it, glaring at her. "No need for violence, Laura." He said, a bit of a pout on his lips.

"What did he say, Mister Steele?" She asked, her voice lowering with his name, dropping that 'r' from his name as she frequently did when she was using her most demanding tone. "What did he say?"

"Well, he was discussing his wife. Said she'd be quite cross with him if she found out about his gambling debt."

"A wife?" Laura exclaimed, incredulous. She stood up, pacing the small space on the landing.

"And when you came barging into my office, he said that he needed me to find his daughter."

"His daughter?" She asked, the sound of her voice forceful as she stopped pacing for a moment, scrunching her face in disgust. "Me? Frances?"

"Honestly, Miss Holt… and regretfully." Remington said, cringing at his words. "I'm fairly certain that he was speaking of another daughter."

"Another daughter?" She asked, letting out a frustrated growl. "I can't believe him!" She shouted.

"Now Miss Holt…" Remington said, standing up. "Before you go blowing this all out of proportion." He said, catching the cold, deadly glare that was aimed in his direction. "Maybe… maybe there is a good explanation." He said, shrugging lightly, giving her a hopeful glance.

"A good explanation?" She asked softly, before repeating it louder and more forcefully in his face. He jumped at her anger, but immediately put his hands on her shoulders.

"Come now, Laura. We must give him the benefit of the doubt… not because he deserves it." He paused.

"Then why?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in an angry dare.

"Because otherwise, we'll just end up scaring him off. You want to know the truth, don't you? You want to know why he left, that's always been a question of yours, correct?"

She continued to glare at him, and he ran his hands up and down her arms soothingly. "Of course." She replied.

"Then let me handle it."

"Let you handle it?" She said with a humorless laugh.

"At least let me start. You can listen… inject yourself into the conversation whenever you feel comfortable enough to do so."

"Mister Steele, he already saw me."

"And we'll deal with that when we get to it, what do you say, eh?"

She scrutinized him carefully for a moment, watching the sincerity in his eyes as he waited for her response. After several moments of silence, she nodded her head. "Fine." She said, resignedly.

"Great." He grinned, leaning down to drop a kiss on her lips. "Fantastic." He took a step back and watched her look up the stairs to the next floor, and then down the flights of stairs they had climbed. "You don't mind if we take the elevator now, do you?" He asked, giving her a good natured nudge.

"That'll be fine, Mister Steele."

"Wonderful." He said, holding his hand out to usher her down to the door to the next floor. "After you, Miss Holt." He said, watching her shake her head and roll her eyes, as she started down the steps, feeling the inevitable knot in her stomach twist violently and painfully with each step.