The first step, Remington and Laura had decided together, was to find a home. There was no point, in their eyes, on bringing back to the loft and his flat all the baby would require, only to pack it all up and move again. They'd four-and-a-half months to buy a home, close on it, then merge their two places into one and begin outfitting the nursery in anticipation of the babe.

They'd begun the weekend before, touring eleven homes in two days, finding nothing – Nothing! – that met their needs, much to Laura's frustration. They'd walk into a house with the perfect living room to house her piano along with the customary furniture, only to find the bedrooms so miniscule that Remington's queen sized bed wouldn't fit into one… let alone the king sized bed he was hankering for. Another house would feature large, spacious bedrooms, but closets the size of a shoe box and a kitchen of not much larger size. They'd found the absolutely perfect home that had met all their needs and more, but it was located far outside the city and Remington and Laura had emphatically agreed: Neither was ready for a life in suburbia.

Then, the night before, Laura had made a huge concession, realizing that they might never find what they needed in the price point she'd set: A sensible amount that would lower their overhead in case things slowed down at the Agency. They did, after all, have a baby they'd have to provide for. Reluctantly, she raised their budget by nearly a third, justifying it by explaining…

"The monthly mortgage will still be lower than what we're paying now for our two places, but we have to take in consideration both the possibility of Home Owner Association fees and annual maintenance of the home as well." She'd gone on to add, "And I think we need to reevaluate our list and decide what are absolute musts. For you, it would be a chef's kitchen." He nodded his agreement.

"For you, it would be an office."

"Yes. We have to have room for my piano." There was no way she'd even consider parting with it. It was the first gift Remington had ever given her and it had, and did, mean everything to her.

"Yes. A nursery, of course. A spacious master with ample closet space.' Her head bobbled up and down unconsciously.

"I grew up in a house with only one bathroom."

"I lived in a place or two that didn't even have an indoor loo," he joked, although – as it always was when he referenced his childhood – his smile never reached his eyes.

"So one or two bathrooms," she edited her notes.

"A formal dining room is a must for entertaining clients," he added. She placed an asterisk next to the item on their list, denoting it was a 'must-have'.

"I don't want a guest room," she said aloud while crossing that item off their list.

"But, Laura, think about when Abigail or Frances come to town—"

"That's exactly what I am thinking about. They can stay in a hotel. At least with a little bit of distance, I might not pull all my hair out before they leave."

"You might find having them near to hand after the babe is born a good thing. I'm sure they could offer all types of helpful tips."

"I may not know how to be a mother yet, but I do know I don't want to be like my mother or Frances. You know how my mother is and Frances? Do you know after the birth of each of the kids, she confined herself to bed for two weeks – two weeks! – because 'a woman needs time to recover from childbirth'?!" He held up his hands in surrender.

"No guest room," he affirmed. Not because he necessarily agreed with her, but if just the thought of her mother or sister staying in the same house with her had her this riled up, he could only imagine how anxious she'd be if they were actually there.

"I really wanted a large yard for the baby, maybe get a dog one day."

"A dog? Not a cat?"

"Having a dog should be a childhood rite. Good day, bad day, they don't care. They love you unconditionally. A parent should want that kind of bond for any child." She sighed. "But if we're being realistic it's unlikely were going to get the size of yard that I was hoping for if we stay in the city, so I think we need to amend that to playgrounds or parks nearby."

"Does that mean we're going to open ourselves up to condominiums?" That had been his first preference, but Laura's heart had been set on a house in order to get that large yard. She mulled the question.

Now, they sat in the Rabbit, following to the realtor to the sixth listing they'd see that day.

"You'd think we were asking for an eighteen bedroom, twenty-two bath castle right on Rodeo Drive," she groused, as she turned the wheel, pulling into a driveway behind their realtor.

Seeing the house before them, she had a glimmer of hope, and slowly got of the car then waited for Remington to join her.

"This is a two bedroom, two bath mid-century modern with an office and professional kitchen and it sits on three-quarters of an acre.

They'd walked the spacious home: A massive living room with more than enough room for her piano; a large, separate dining room; A professionally outfitted kitchen, complete with a six-burner gas range and sub-zero refrigerator, was open to the living room allowing conversation as meals were prepared; a spacious office across from the master; two sizeable bedrooms with generous closet space; and, the roomy bathrooms attached to each of the bedrooms. The rear wall of the home was a wall of windows, flooding the house with sunshine while the windows on the front wall of the home were elevated, providing light and privacy. The coup de gras had arrived when the realtor had swung open what they'd presumed to be a closet door to reveal a flight of stairs leading downwards. They exchanged lifted brows and began to descend.

"I didn't think there were basements in LA due to the water table," Laura mused aloud.

"A rarity these days," the realtor acknowledged, "But we happen upon one now and again. I was thinking it could work for some of the items on your wish list, plus there's an… interesting… feature."

"Oh?"

The basement was divided into two specific areas: The main room and a room beyond. The main room ran half the length of the house and could easily serve any number of purposes. She already knew what it would be for them, envisioning her barre against this wall, his easel set up in that corner, and over there, at the end of the room, a treadmill for her use on rainy days. The room beyond was what sealed the deal in her eyes, already have been set up as a screening room, replete with a large screen on one wall, a projector on the other and stadium seating between.

Remington, for his part, was bowled over, as he walked around the room, taking in each detail. When he found the cables set up to the projector, already waiting on his VCR, he'd mentally declared the room sheer perfection. In his eyes, the house had one glaring issue that perhaps outweighed all the positives: It would be a security nightmare.

The entire yard would require discrete security lighting to cast light upon the shadows, and he'd still no idea how large the back yard might be, although if the front yard had been any indication, it would be sizeable. The windows and doors would have to be armed and camera's would need to be put up on the exterior of the home. Given the hazards of their trade, if they were going to forgo a condo in a secure building, whatever home they moved to, he'd vowed, would be in a secured community and well secured, with all the bells and whistles the best of technology could provide. He'd not take a chance his family found themselves at risk when they were sound asleep in their own beds in the dead of night. Not a single chance.

"You said the basement had an interesting feature?"

"Yes, yes I did," the realtor confirmed, removing a small black box off a shelf on the opposite wall. "If you'll just pushed this." Laura examined the small remote, then with a shrug depressed the singular button, then watched, with shock, as the wall holding that shelf swung open, revealing a glass room beyond. Across the room, Remington craned his neck to get a better look and slowly approached.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it's a safe room, it is. The original owner of the house had it added after the Tate-LaBianca murders."

Remington hummed his understanding. The horrific crime had made the news worldwide.

If it was security he was concerned about… Well, he'd never imagined such as this.

"It's bullet proof, pry proof, breakproof, fireproof and waterproof," the realtor filled in. "Completely self-contained with its own air source and generator, with enough provisions to last days." The realtor reached up and plugged a six-digit code into the pad located on the wall and one of the glass walls slid back to allow entrance. Remington stepped inside.

It wasn't a large room, ten-by-ten-at best, but enough for several people to sleep comfortably. The room contained a phone, a stack of pillows and blankets, a pantry full of canned and jarred foods and cases of water. Shockingly, there was a small, private loo so that all basic needs could be met for however long one might be in there. In Remington's estimation, a safe room was just what every family never realized they needed. Laura was more skeptical.

"Lights?"

"Supplied by the generator," the realtor provided. "It's also temperature controlled."

"Don't you find this just a bit over the top?" she asked Remington, sure he'd agree.

"I was thinking the opposite, actually. It's just what a family such as ours needs." She took exception to that and scowled at him.

"A family such as ours?"

"Private detectives, Laura. Who knows how many more Veckmer's or DesCoins are out there, just waiting to take their revenge." She rolled her eyes.

"We can't live our lives looking over our shoulders, Mr. Steele," she admonished.

"No, but we can be prepared should that day arrive." Shaking her head, she walked further back into the main room. "Can we see the yard," she inquired of the man watching their conversation closely.

"Yes, of course," he agreed, turning towards the stairs.

"Remington." She needed only to say his name to draw his attention and when he saw she was preparing to leave, he hastily left the room, watching with fascination as the door closed behind him, hit the button the remove to close the wall and returned the remote to the shelf. He had to half-jog to catch up with the other two, just in time to overhear the realtor tell Laura…

"I hope you'll be pleased with the backyard. You're in for a treat."

And they were. An expansive, partially covered patio abutted a paved pool and hot tub area on its right and a verdant lawn on the left and beyond. Trees edged the fence line to provide added privacy and at the rear of the deep lawn were several large oaks, perfect for a treehouse one day. In the meantime, the substantial entertainment area would be perfect for entertaining friends and family.

It was everything Laura had hoped for and more. She approached Remington who held a hand over his mouth while considering the yard.

He was surprised when she sighed with disappointment.

"It would be perfect if it wasn't for the nursery being on the other side of the house from us."

"Mmmm, I saw that, although I think I've found a solution." Her head swiveled to look at him.

"You have?"

"The office isn't much smaller than the nursery and has a closet. We could turn it into the nursery and you could use what would have been the nursery for your office." The solution was more perfect than imagined. The baby would be close by and having her office on the other side of the house, would allow for some privacy.

"Do you like it?" she wondered.

"Security will be challenging… and costly," he forewarned.

"Exactly what security is that?" she asked warily.

"Home security, of course. We'll need discrete lighting in the yard to assure no one lurking about in the shadows, alarms on the windows and doors, cameras on the exterior and perhaps even a security gate—

"No gate," she insisted, tightlipped, recalling what Dr. Lloyd had said about bubble wrap. She'd cope with the rest – within reason – if it brought him peace of mind. It occurred to her then "We don't even know if we can afford it. Gerald hasn't told us the price yet." The couple turned in tandem to regard the realtor.

"This is what we call a pocket listing," he explained. "It won't officially go on the market until the open house on Saturday. We have some very motivated sellers. It's an estate sale and the siblings want their money ASAP. I think we could come in at sixty, seventy thousand under budget plus get any concessions you might ask for."

"Can we have a minute alone?" she requested.

"I'll just be inside." With that the realtor left them.

"I want your honest opinion," she warned, "Not what you think I want to hear. Do you like it?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and lifted his shoulders.

"I don't care where I lay my head down at night, so long as it's with you," he replied honestly. It wasn't good enough for her.

"That's not a good enough reason to purchase a home," she pointed out. "This is a big decision—"

"One with which you have all the experience, not I," he reminded her. She rolled her eyes. He was being deliberately obtuse, ceding the decision to her, wanting her to have what she wanted.

"You know what you like and don't like. What do you like about the house?"

"The kitchen is magnificent, couldn't have designed a better one myself. The living room will nicely fit your piano, the master bedroom and bath more than sufficient and I don't think I need to tell you what I think of the downstairs." No, he didn't.

"What didn't you like?"

"The lawn will require a good deal of upkeep, not to mention the pool, which I've certainly no idea how to care for, do you?"

"No, I don't," she admitted. "But if Gerard can get the house for what he believes, then we can hire a lawn care and pool company to maintain those things, plus add your security system and still come in way under budget."

"I don't care for the flooring in the main areas of the home. I'd much prefer a superior carpet for our wee one until he masters walking. I know too well how it feels to hit one's head on those hard surfaces," he noted wryly.

"So, we lay down carpet for now, and pull it up when the time comes," she dismissed the concern with a shrug.

"The main living room is ideal for entertaining," he considered aloud, "And the drive is wide enough to accommodate guest parking." Hands still in his pockets, he stared out over the backyard. "I think I would have enjoyed growing up here." A wide, dimpled grin split her face.

"So, we're buying a house?" He nodded slowly, then his smile joined hers.

"We're buying a house," he confirmed, removing his hands from his pockets to draw her near. "I think a momentous occasion should be memorialized with a kiss." She feigned resisting his overtures, even as she eased her arms around his neck.

"But Mr. Steele, Gerald will see," she mock protested.

"Perhaps he'll learn something," he whispered, as he lowered his head and covered her lips with his.