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As he piloted the silvery blue Jet Ranger over the barren New Mexico desert, Al Calavicci wondered for the umpteenth time just how Sam had managed to talk him into this trip. One glance at the figure in the passenger seat of the helicopter, at the childlike expression of anticipation on his friend's face, and he had his answer.

"You're gonna love the ranch, Al," Sam told him, not for the first time since he started lobbying the older man to accompany him on this familial visit.

"Sure I will, kid," Al replied, not even attempting to mask the doubt in his voice.

Sam looked toward his friend and sighed. "Come on, Al. It's almost a new year... 1995, and if everything goes as planned, by the end of this year, we'll have tested the accelerator and proven our theory."

"It's your theory, kid," Al reminded him. "I'm just the administrator. You're the resident genius."

"Yeah, sure." Sam shook his head. "But all the overblown theories and ground breaking ideas in the universe aren't worth a thing if you can't prove them. Without you, Project Quantum Leap would never have happened. You got us before the Senate committee, you convince them to approve the budget every year, even when we haven't shown any results, and you keep the place running. Quantum Leap is as much your project as it is mine." He stopped, obviously realizing he was embarrassing his friend. He turned his gaze out the windshield and suppressed a grin. "Besides, someone has to keep me in line."

"Well, it's a tough job, kid, but..." Al shrugged, smiling to himself. Sam knew him too well. Al wasn't comfortable with all the mushy stuff. Sam knew that and always gave his friend an out when things were starting to get a little too serious. Al would never admit it, but a part of him envied Sam's ability to allow his feelings to show. Over the years, Al had built too many walls in an effort to hide his emotions. It was that sense of self-preservation that also made him worry about his friend's vulnerability, especially since Al wasn't sure he could continue to perform miracles to keep his friend's dream afloat. Sam didn't realize just how shaky the ground was under their funding, and Al didn't have the heart to tell him. Not yet.

Enough of this, Al thought, resolving to deal with that issue at a later date. "So, which one of those cousins you're always talking about are we going to visit?"

Sam turned his smile on once more as he answered. "Andy. He and his family just took over management of the ranch after Uncle Jake died a few months ago."

"You guys close?"

Sam shook his head sadly. "The Becketts rarely made it to the annual reunions. Indiana is a long way from New Mexico and there was always too much work on the farm and too little money. Andy's one of four of my cousins just a little older than me who grew up together, spent a lot of summers on the ranch and became more like brothers than cousins. I missed that. Whenever I'm around them, I always feel just a little like a fifth wheel. It's nothing intentional. In fact, they always seem to bend over backwards to try and include me, it's just that all that history together is missing. In spite of all that, they're a great family." He laughed. "In more ways than one. The size alone would cause Ziggy to hiccup!"

"Are they all geniuses like you and Skip?" Al asked, remembering how surprised he'd been to find out that his old buddy from NASA, Skip Carmichael, was Sam's cousin. On the surface they seemed to be such opposites. Sam was always so serious; Skip was a practical joker. They did share one trait, however: they were both dreamers, with the gray matter to back it up, who had to fight for their dreams to be accepted. Skip had finally made it to the moon and proven his theory; Sam was still working on his.

"Can you stop with the genius thing?" Sam complained. "Everyone has something that makes him or her special. Skip and I are both good in physics, that's all."

"What about this Andy? What's he good at?"

"If you ask my wife, she'd probably say I'm good at makin' babies. Right now, we're waitin' on our fifth!" Andy Travis responded. Sam had related his conversation with Al as the three men walked across the field where Al landed the helicopter. It was a few minutes hike from the ranch house, but as close as the ex-astronaut dared set down because of the backwash from the Jet Ranger's engines. The day was mild for December, the sun still high in the sky. The New Mexico temperature wouldn't descend until nightfall.

"Five children?" Al whistled. "How do you keep up with 'em all?"

Sam leaned in to his friend and whispered, but not so softly his cousin couldn't hear, "Look who's talking! How do you keep track of your five ex-wives?"

Al raised his eyebrow as he noted the twinkle in Sam's eye. "By the monthly alimony payments," he grumbled.

Andy noted the exchange and stifled a chuckle. "As far as the kids go," he answered, "I manage somehow. Cait and I agreed right from the start that we wanted a whole troop. She's wonderful with them. She somehow manages to make each one of 'em feel special."

"Where is Cait?" Sam asked.

"I got her to lie down and take a nap this afternoon. Heaven knows she won't want to go to bed early tonight, what with all the company."

"All the company?" Al was growing more and more certain this had been a bad idea.

"Yeah," Andy replied. "Cait's brother and his family are flying in from L.A. later this afternoon. She doesn't get to see Remington very often and I know how much she misses him."

"Remington? What kind of a name is that?" Al wondered. Sam and Andy looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"You'll see," Sam told him. "I think we can safely say that Remington is as unique as his name."

"That's for sure," Andy agreed with a laugh. "But I'll tell you, Sam, I can never repay him for what he did last spring. If it hadn't been for Remington and Robert McCall, we would've lost Cait."

"What happened?" Al inquired.

Andy suddenly looked sheepish, as if he'd just said something he shouldn't have. Al was beginning to feel very much an outsider with this tight-knit family of Sam's when he glanced toward his friend and noticed a puzzled expression on his face. Apparently, whatever it was Andy was talking about, Sam was just as much in the dark as Al.

"We... uh... had some trouble," Andy mumbled. "Cait was, sort of... missing."

"Missing?" Sam cried in surprise. "What happened?"

"Well..." Andy looked increasingly more uncomfortable. "It's kind of a long story and it gets kinda complicated. Let's just say everything worked out okay." He looked at Sam pleadingly and his cousin took the hint.

"Okay, Andy. I guess if you respect the fact I can't talk about my work, I have to respect your privacy."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Sam." Andy looked miserable. "I just..."

Sam put his arm across the shorter man's shoulders. "Don't sweat it, Cuz. The last thing I remember you saying was that Cait's brother was coming."

"Yeah," Al chimed in. "Gillette."

Sam and Andy both looked at Al and burst out laughing.

"Norelco?" Al tried again, then shook his head. "Well, it was some kind of razor, wasn't it?"

The cousins were still trying to recover from laughing as they climbed the steps up to the ranch house door.

While Andy and Sam sat in the large family room and caught up on family gossip, Al wandered around, looking at all the photos that adorned the walls and wondered how anyone could keep up with a family this big. The largest wall was covered with a series of posed pictures, each of which contained enough people to populate a small town.

As he played his gaze from one to the other, it became obvious these were taken over consecutive years, probably at the annual reunion Sam had told him about. Only rarely was he able to locate his friend in the shot, but he easily found Andy and Skip, and could trace them back over the years to when they were just children. As youngsters, they always appeared to be in a group with two other boys who had to be Murphy and Lee, the other cousins Sam told him about.

Here and there, scattered among the group shots and on the other walls were more photos of individual members of the Michaels clan, old and young, portraits and more candid shots, that showed groups of men sitting around talking over coffee, women in the kitchen preparing the meals, children on horseback, and several action shots of the family playing basketball. Al lingered over one of these as he recognized his friend as an adolescent, leaping high in the air for a basket. Blocking his shot was an older boy, almost a man, that Al didn't recognize.

"That was the first time I got to play here." Sam's voice just behind him almost made the older man jump. "Just after Tom died. I guess Dad made more of an effort to get us out here after that."

Al noticed the melancholy expression on his friend's face. "I take it from all these pictures that basketball is something of a family tradition?"

Sam smiled. "You could say that. Even though we didn't make it out here, we always heard about the big games." He smiled softly. "Tom used to brag how we'd show 'em all up if we were there."

"Did you make this shot?" Al pointed at the photo.

Sam shook his head. "Naw, Steven blocked me out. Tom would've made it though." A far away look in Sam's eyes showed just how much the scientist was affected by the loss of his brother.

"What you don't see is where they both ended up afterwards," Andy added as he joined them. "They both fell in a heap on the ground and I made the basket."

Sam laughed at the recollection. "I remember Steven was pretty mad at the younger... not to mention shorter... contingent of cousins winning the game."

"Aw, Steven was always a hosepail back then," Andy informed them, then with a wink at Sam, "still is, sometimes."

"Who's Steven?" Al wanted to know.

"Murphy's older brother," Sam answered.

"This is Murphy, right?" Al indicated a photo next to the basketball picture containing four teenaged boys.

"Yeah." Andy nodded. "And this is Lee and Skip and me." He pointed to each face in turn.

"The four musketeers," Sam chuckled, but Al picked up on the hint of regret coloring his tone. "You guys were always inseparable."

"Wish you coulda been here more, Sam." Andy cuffed his taller cousin. "We always missed you in the games when you weren't. You were the best shooter we ever had, even better than Murphy."

"Now, I'm not sure I'd go that far." Sam laughed modestly.

"You guys talking basketball again?" came a voice from the direction of the stairs and Al turned with the other two men to find himself staring at the woman who stood there. She was obviously very pregnant, but that didn't detract from her beauty, perhaps, it even contributed. Her hair was long and dark, hanging well below her shoulders, and she had a smile that lit up her eyes... blue eyes, Al noted. Very, very blue. There was something naggingly familiar about those blue eyes.

"Cait!" Sam moved immediately across the room to embrace his cousin-in-law. After a quick hug, he pushed back and stared down at her stomach. "There's a lot more of you than I remember," he remarked.

"Oh, you!" the woman feigned a punch to Sam's jaw. "Quit making with the wise cracks and introduce me to your friend." She nodded toward Al.

"Admiral Albert Calavicci, this is Andy's wife, Caitlin."

"I'm glad you could come, Admiral." Her voice held the barest hint of Ireland and she offered her hand.

"Glad to be here." He grasped her hand gently and brought it to his lips. "But my friends call me Al."

Cait chuckled. "And mine call me Cait."

"Lovely name for a lovely lady." He grinned.

Sam cleared his throat. "Al, she's taken," he whispered.

"Yeah." Andy slipped a possessive arm around his wife's waist. "She's all mine."

Al shrugged and offered a cocky smile.

"Don't mind Al. Flirting is second nature to him."

"Oh, I don't mind. The fact that anyone would want to flirt with me in this condition is quite flattering."

"No, Al's right. You've never been lovelier." Andy kissed her cheek.

"I agree," Sam added.

"Well, I'll say this for you, Andy, you've certainly got good taste," Al chimed in.

"Enough of this." Cait moved past the men and sank slowly into an overstuffed chair. "Whew, I certainly don't feel very pretty."

Andy sat on the chair arm, his face concerned. "You okay, honey?".

"Oh, I'm just fine. At least I will be when junior here decides to put in an appearance."

"How long until you're due?" Sam asked.

"Couple of weeks," she told him. "But it can't be too soon for me. I don't think I got this big with the twins."

"Twins?" Al marveled.

"Yeah." Andy looked up at him with pride. "Shane and Shawna are three."

"Then there's Danny who's, what... five now?" Sam paused for confirmation.

"Yes, he just had his birthday, and our oldest, Trina, is six," Cait concluded as she reached for a photo on the coffee table and handed it to Al.

"Where are they now?"

"Upstairs, playing," Cait replied. "Don't worry, they'll be down soon."

"Nice family," he commented as he studied the faces. "Gonna be any more?"

"As many as we can get," Andy laughed.

"Spoken like a man who doesn't have to carry them around for nine months," Cait grunted as she elbowed her husband playfully.

"Well, you certainly have the room for them here." Al looked around the ranch.

"Isn't it great?" Andy stood up and walked to the window and looked out. "Lots of room for them to run and play and learn to ride. Lots of fresh air. And this place is gonna start paying for itself soon. I promised Nicky and Scott that and I'm gonna see to it."

"Gonna open up as a dude ranch?" Al asked.

"Something like that. A place for families to come and have a good time. That's what we want for the old place. Next summer we start on the second bunk house. Out there, behind the original one, we're putting up some out buildings... you know, storage, tools, a new tack room."

"You must be good friends with the local loan officer," Al commented.

Andy laughed. "Capital is no problem. Scott's father isn't exactly poor and Nicky has so much money from his grandfather he doesn't know what to do with it! But they'll get the whole investment back. That's for sure. We're gettin' some great new stock in this spring. We're gonna raise the finest horses in New Mexico."

Al looked from Andy to Cait and saw the pride in her husband shining from her face. These people were supremely happy, there was no doubt about it. He saw Sam had noticed it too. The physicist was proud of his family, and rightly so.

Andy suddenly squinted, straining to see something in the distance. "Looks like a car's coming up the road," he remarked. Sam joined him at the window. "Don't recognize it."

Cait started to push herself up and Al, ever the gentleman, gave her a hand. "Let me see," she requested as she ducked between the two men. There was eager anticipation on the woman's face as she peered out the window. The car came to a stop and the back door opened, spilling out two children who made a bee line for the front door. A pretty brunette woman stepped out of the passenger seat and called to them and they moved back toward the car grudgingly.

"It's Laura and Rem and the kids!" Cait cried in excitement as she pushed past the men and headed for the door. Suddenly a sound akin to thunder caused the pictures in the staircase wall to shake as four little bodies, all shouting and excited, rushed down the stairs and followed their mother out the door.

"Kids! Stop running in the house!" Andy called as he trailed after his brood.

"Someone has arrived," Al murmured to Sam.

"Looks like." He indicated for Al to proceed him out the door after the Travises. By the time they got outside, the children, Cait and Andy's four and the two from the car, were all jumping and hugging and laughing and talking at once. The driver's side door opened and out stepped a tall, lanky dark-haired man who looked like he belonged anyplace but on a ranch. Maybe it was the Armani suit, but Al just knew this guy was more at home with the big city types. He also had no doubt, with one look at the guy's face, especially his eyes, that this was Caitlin's brother.

"I take it that's Gillette," he commented to Sam.

"Remington," Sam corrected.

"Oh, yeah." Al snapped his fingers. "I'll try to remember that." He scowled a bit as he studied the man. "Ya know, Sam, the only Remington I ever heard of was a high cost P.I. in L.A." He felt his eyebrows raise at the look on Sam's face. "Aw, Sam... you're not gonna tell me this is that same nozzle?"

Sam's face grew reproachful. "Al... not all private investigators are nozzles."

"All the ones I've run into are," Al groused.

Sam shook his head. "Take my word, Remington's an okay guy."

Al refrained from commenting. He merely watched the reunion between Cait and her brother and wondered how he'd ended up having to spend time in the boonies with a professional snoop. He wasn't even sure Sam knew just how much he hated the breed... a dislike brought about by personal experience and five divorces. He turned his attention back to Caitlin as she ran up to greet her brother.

"Oh, Rem!" Cait threw herself happily into Remington's arms. "I can't believe you're really here."

"Neither can we, little sister." He stepped back to take a good look at her. "You certainly are looking abundantly happy."

"Emphasis on the abundant!" Cait laughed, then turned as her sister-in-law came round the car. "Laura! Oh, I'm so glad to see you. How was the flight?"

"Bumpy," Laura laughed, "but we managed."

"Weren't the kids scared?" Cait asked.

Laura shook her head. "Remington had them playing a game. They were going 'blub, blub' with each bump and bouncing on their seats. They couldn't get enough. He had them convinced it was like a ride at Disneyland."

"I bet the other passengers loved that!" Andy remarked.

"On the contrary, Andrew." Remington smiled at his brother-in-law. "I think they found it comfortably distracting."

"Yeah, right." Laura shook her head.

"And who do we have here?" Remington moved toward Sam. "Dr. Beckett, isn't it? Good to see you again."

"Nice seeing you too, Remington," Sam greeted. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Admiral Calavicci. Al, this is the renowned private investigator, Remington Steele, and his wife and associate, Laura Holt."

"Are all the pretty ladies in this family taken?" Al inquired as he shook hands with Steele, but his eyes lingered on Laura.

"Afraid so, old sport." Remington squeezed the hand a little harder before letting go. "At least these two are." He slid an arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her up on the side opposite of Cait. "There are several attractive young ladies over there, but I'm afraid it will be a few years before they'll be available." He nodded toward the children.

"Mom, can we go play out back?" Trina Travis called out.

"Alright, but don't go too far from the house," Cait cautioned. "And keep an eye on the twins."

Al looked after the children as they disappeared from site. "Those little girls are going to be heartbreakers," he remarked.

"You might be a little old for them by then, Al," Sam warned.

Al looked at his friend with surprise. "Are you kidding? I'll just be hitting my prime."

Remington narrowed his eyes at the older man as he regarded him with interest. "Don't worry, Rem, Al's harmless," Cait whispered to her brother.

"Mmmm," was all Steele responded.

"Come on inside," Andy invited. "I'm sure you could use a drink to cut some of that dust from the road."

"Wonderful idea, Andy," Laura agreed. "We can get the bags later."

"Yeah, we can all get to know each other." Al grinned at the uncomfortable expression on the detective's face. "Hey, Steele." He laid an arm across Remington's shoulder, eliciting a suspicious look from the man. "What kind of razor do you use?"

After the long plane ride, plus being in the car for over an hour, Katie Laura squealed with delight as she ran through the open meadow, chasing after her cousins. The horses had wisely drifted to the other end of the field, giving the children ample room to run and play. Katie was the oldest and could still outrun the others, though Danny and Brian were starting to give her some competition. After a time though, they all stopped, out of breath.

Katie pulled at the top button of her sweater, warmed up from all the activity. "Whew," she breathed. "I'm glad we're finally here. It was so boring in the car."

Trina laughed. "Well, it's not boring here. There's lots to do."

"I wanna ride a horse," Brian stated. "When can we do that?"

"Oh, any ol' time," Danny boasted.

"Uh-uh," Shawna corrected him with a shake of her blonde head. "Not wifout Daddy or Mommy."

Danny stuck out his tongue at her.

Katie had wandered over to lean against the white wooden fence and caught sight of a group of half-finished buildings. "What's over there?" she asked.

Trina came up beside her. "Buncha stuff," she answered. "They're building some new sheds."

"Let's go see," Katie suggested excitedly and ducked under the fence. The rest of the children followed her.

"Our daddy says we can't play here," Trina informed her cousins as they stood facing the row of buildings.

"Can't I even look inside?" Katie wanted to know. "I won't touch anything."

"Course you can," Danny assured her. "Daddy only said not to play here. He never said we couldn't look."

Trina looked unconvinced but Katie ignored her and went ahead and pushed open one of the doors. It was dark inside and the row of tables and benches looked shadowy and intriguing. She started to take a step inside when she felt somebody tug on her arm. She turned to find Trina there, her face agitated.

"C'mon, Katie. Let's go play something else."

Katie glanced back at the rest of her companions. They all looked like they'd rather be somewhere else. She shot one more glance inside the dark shed then sighed and turned around.

"Okay. Let's go play in the hayloft."

Trina smiled, very much relieved. Katie followed her toward the big red barn, but couldn't help looking back over her shoulder.

"Another helping, Admiral?" Katie Travis asked as she leveraged another piece of pie onto the spatula. She and Andy's father had arrived shortly after the Steeles and she and Cait had immediately disappeared into the kitchen, refusing any offered help.

"Yes, ma'am," Al replied. "But you gotta call me Al."

"Okay, Al." Katie smiled, depositing the slice on Al's extended plate. She turned back toward her son and winked. Al noticed. He supposed that meant he had Andy's mother's mark of approval. Maybe that shouldn't mean anything to him, but somehow it did. Maybe hanging around Sam's family wouldn't be so bad after all.

One thing Al had to admit, he hadn't eaten this well in a long time. Caitlin and her mother-in-law had prepared enough food to feed an army, and the people gathered 'round the table seemed to be consuming it like starving troops.

"I'll take one too." Andy's father held out his own plate to his wife.

"I must admit, Admiral, you do have good taste in pies. This is excellent, Mrs. Travis," Remington Steele added.

"Thank you, Remington, but I didn't make the pie." She looked sidelong toward her daughter-in-law with obvious affection and pride. "Cait did."

"Good Lord!" Steele offered his sister a surprised expression. "You really have grown domestic, haven't you, little sister?"

Cait laughed. "Yes, I guess I have, but it wasn't hard. It was Mom's recipe." She nodded at Katie. "But you don't need to worry, Rem. I'll never be the gourmet cook you are."

"You can keep your gourmet, if you ask me," Al commented. "This is real food." He pretended not to look, but he managed to catch the irritated expression on Steele's face and it pleased him to no end. He wasn't sure why, but he enjoyed baiting the man. Then again, he considered, maybe he did know why. Steele seemed like such a pompous, arrogant ass, Al just couldn't resist trying to bring him down a peg or two.

"Remington is really an excellent cook, Admiral," Laura took up for her husband, placing her hand on his. "His duck à l'orange is as good as any I've ever had, but he also makes a pot roast that's to die for."

"I can vouch for that," Andy agreed, smiling at his brother-in-law, who managed a hint of a smile in return.

"Well," Steele began as he tossed his napkin on the table. "Since I've been complimented on my culinary skill, and since I wasn't allowed to help prepare tonight's repast, I insist on doing the dishes."

"That isn't necessary, Rem," Cait protested.

"No, I said I insist and that's final. Point me to the sink."

"He really does the dishes very well too," Laura informed them with a laugh. "I'd better get these kids to bed." She turned to the table set a little apart from the adults where the children had been eating and was met with a chorus of no's. "Yes, kids, it's time."

"I think your Aunt Laura's right, gang," Andy said to his own brood. "Let's go."

"Aw, Daddy," whined Trina. "Why can't we stay up a little longer?"

"Because you need your beauty sleep," Cait replied, getting up from the table with some difficulty.

"I'll take 'em up," Andy offered. "You shouldn't climb those stairs any more than you have to. Go visit with Remington. Laura and I'll see to the kids."

"And that leaves the rest of us to the parlor for a little more visiting," Katie declared as she helped Steele clear the plates.

The visiting turned out to be a little too family oriented for Al. Sam and his aunt and uncle were catching up on all the recent happenings, and when Andy and Laura came down from tucking in the kids, they seemed to have no problem joining in. The longer he sat there, the more outside this group Al felt. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he excused himself to go outside and have a cigar. Sam offered him a concerned glance, but Al just smiled and waved him off. The last thing he wanted to do was spoil his friend's visit with his family. He stepped out into the cool New Mexico night air and took a deep breath.

There were plenty of rooms in the old house that each child could have had his or her own place but they'd wanted to buddy up so Caitlin had shuffled them around and put Katie Laura and Trina in the girls' room, put the twins together in the boy's and bunked Danny and Brian in one of the unused guest rooms... at least that's where they had all been tucked in. Not long after the last goodnights had been said, Katie Laura and Trina had slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the hall to meet up with Danny and Brian.

As the adults visited downstairs, the four young cousins, all too excited to sleep, were sitting in the closet, trying their best not to giggle and give themselves away. Their only light came from Danny's small flashlight, usually kept in his nightstand.

At seven and a half, Katie Laura was feeling every bit the leader of her younger cousins. It had been her idea to sneak out of bed and meet like this and now she felt she ought to come up with something for them to do besides just sit here in the dark and laugh at each other.

"You wanna tell ghost stories?" she asked in an eager whisper.

Her brother, three years her junior, shook an emphatic brown head. "No," he stated loudly and the other children quickly hushed him. "No," he repeated in a quieter voice. "That's too scary."

"Aw, you're just a baby," Katie accused.

"That's okay," Danny spoke up. "We don't need to tell any ol' stories." He was only six months older than Brian and had been a little anxious himself.

"Our mom's gonna have a baby pretty soon," Trina announced. "I know how babies get borned," she added proudly.

"Everybody knows that," Katie scoffed, though she wasn't really clear on the matter herself. She thought for a minute, then she brightened. "Hey, did I tell you our dad built us a play house in our back yard?"

Trina shook her head. "A real one?"

Katie nodded, then paused. "Well... an almost real one. It's big enough for me an' Brian and all my stuffed animals."

"Stuffed animals... yuck!" Danny declared. "That's a girl's house."

"Yeah," Brian echoed, though Katie knew he played in it equally as much as she did.

"A fort would be better," Danny added. "Hey," he began excitedly. "That new shed would make a great fort!"

"It sure would," Katie Laura agreed.

"Danny," Trina interrupted responsibly, "you know Daddy said we can't play in there."

"Only 'cause of the workers," Danny reasoned. "He didn't want us to get in their way." He thought for a moment. "If we go out there now, nobody'll know."

"I don't know..." Trina drawled hesitantly.

"It'll be fun," Katie urged her younger cousin. "We can sneak down the stairs and go out through the front door, then around back." She giggled. "Nobody'll ever see us."

"What about Brian?" Trina was still looking to cover every angle. "He'll be too noisy."

"No I won't," Brian argued.

His sister turned to him, a smile on her face. "I got the right job for you, Bri. You can be the guard."

"What's a guard do?" Brian asked suspiciously.

"A guard makes sure nobody comes upstairs to look for us. You get to stay here in the bedroom and if you hear anybody coming, you call out the window for us... only not so loud that everybody hears you, okay?" Brian nodded his agreement.

"Okay." Katie's eyes shown with excitement as she set about to organize their secret mission.

Al still stood in one corner of the long porch. He'd finished his cigar, but had elected to remain out here and enjoy the crisp night air. Though he knew at this altitude they had snow occasionally, the colder weather usually held off until January or February. Right now the air was just brisk enough to fill your lungs with that pleasant, clean feeling. He stared up at the starry night. He didn't usually take any time to enjoy the scenery the locale provided. Work on the Project kept him pretty busy and it was nice to be able to just stand here and smell the roses, so to speak.

The screen door squeaked open and Al glanced over to see Remington and Cait come walking out onto the porch. The Los Angeles detective had a hold of his sister's elbow and steered her over to sit on the swing, then settled down beside her. Obviously the pair was not aware of Al's presence. He stayed silently in the shadows, trying not to intrude, though he felt a bit like a voyeur as he couldn't help but hear their conversation.

"I'm so glad you could take the time to come out," Cait was saying. "Once this place get's under way, it's going to be hard for us to get away."

"I'm glad too," Remington told her. "Of course, you're much closer than you used to be and I can see this place agrees with you." He leaned back in the swing and stretched a long arm around his sister's shoulders. She leaned against him peacefully.

"It's so much easier on Andy here," she said softly. "I've seen all that worry about money go right out of him."

"What about you?" he asked. "How do you like living out here among the country folk?"

"Oh, Rem..." Cait sighed. "I love it here. It's almost like stepping back a few decades in time... like I got to start over again. I needed that... especially after last spring."

Al's ear picked up at that. It was the second reference to something happening to this family that hadn't been pleasant for any of them.

"It's still hard for me to believe that Rudy showed up like that," Cait went on. "I thought I'd put all that business behind me."

"It's behind you now, Luv," Steele assured her.

"Is it?" Cait's voice was almost childlike and Al's heart went out to her. Even without knowing all the details, it was all he could do to keep from telling her things would be all right.

"I don't know, Rem," she continued. "I keep thinking about the kids. I know they're too little right now, but when they're older... how do I explain to them that their mother used to be a hooker."

If his cigar had been in his mouth, Al would have dropped it. He realized his jaw was hanging open in astonishment at the same time it finally clicked in his brain why Caitlin looked so damn familiar. He slowly clamped his mouth shut.

"I don't know why they even have to know," Steele stated, obviously trying to reason with his sister. "It's a part of your life that has nothing to do with them."

Cait shook her head. "Sometimes I think it does. Just look at what happened before. It took quite some time for our lives to get back to normal. It took Andy a couple of months to stop panicking if he woke up at night and I wasn't in bed... the twins still have nightmares about me being gone." She sighed. "It breaks my heart every time they wake up crying."

They were quiet a moment and Al could hear the loud chirping of the crickets in the nearby grass. From off in the distance a horse whinnied. Finally Steele's voice broke the silence.

"I think the best thing to do is to move forward," he advised. "Take it from me, always looking over your shoulder... wondering who or what from your past is going to show up at your doorstep... that's no way to live. You have to focus on what lies ahead of you." Al saw him place a brotherly hand on Cait's rounded stomach. "I'd say you have rather a lot to occupy you in that direction, little sister."

"You sound just like Andy." She laughed lightly. "He tells me not to borrow trouble."

"He's a smart man, that husband of yours," Steele informed her. "You should listen to him."

"I usually do."

They fell silent again and Al wondered how he was going to get back inside without them knowing he was out here. Obviously what they'd been discussing was a private matter, not meant for strangers, even friends of family, to be a part of. He didn't have long to worry however. Before too much time had passed, Steele stirred out of the swing. He rose up and stretched the length of his long frame.

"I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. I think I'll go back inside." He turned to his sister. "You coming?"

"In a minute," Cait told him. "I love sitting out here... it's so quiet." She reached out and squeezed her brother's hand. "You go on. Tell Laura goodnight for me."

Steele bent down and kissed the top of Cait's head, then disappeared inside. Al watched as Caitlin leaned back in the swing and closed her eyes, the faint trace of a smile on her face. She really was beautiful and he wondered what had happened to her that she'd ended up on the streets... and how she'd managed to pull herself out of it. He knew very few working girls ever left their profession. He glanced around the ranch. She'd certainly come a long way from where she'd started out and he was happy for her. That was probably why it had taken so long for him to recognize her. He was also glad she obviously hadn't remembered him. There would be no call to dredge up unpleasant reminders of her past.

He noticed that she still had her eyes closed and he figured now would be the best time to slip away without being seen. Trying not to make any noise, Al ducked under the rail and slipped off the porch. In the dark it would be easy to move around to the front of the house unseen and go inside that way.

He made the trip without mishap, only stopping once when he thought he heard movement in some of the bushes. He listened intently for a moment, then dismissed it as nothing and continued on his way.

Caitlin opened her eyes, realizing she must've dozed off for a moment. As much as she tried to persuade Andy otherwise, she really was tired and supposed she'd have to go to bed. Though she'd never had any problems carrying any of her children, this pregnancy seemed to have taken more effort than the others. Maybe it was her age, maybe because it was her fourth time through it... maybe it was just the energy it took to care for four small children besides. She smiled to herself. Maybe she just forgot each time how taxing these last few weeks could be. Whatever the cause, she knew she could hardly wait until the baby arrived.

She pushed herself up out of the swing, feeling every bit like a whale. She stood at the rail for a moment, surveying the landscape. She'd meant what she said to her brother. She did love it here. She loved the fresh air and the nearby mountains... being so close to Andy's family and having her children be near their grandparents... having so much open space for the kids to play in.

She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. Speaking of her children... She shook her head and smiled as she saw three small bodies dash across the yard and disappear behind the bunkhouse. Well, night time shenanigans was one thing, but being outside like this could be dangerous. She stepped down off the porch and walked quietly across the grass.

It took only a few moments to reach the old bunkhouse. As she moved around back, she noticed a light coming from one of the half-finished out buildings. Her mouth drew into a tight line. They'd told the kids repeatedly not to play out here. She sighed and wondered what it was about children that drew them to the very things they'd been forbidden to do.

She approached quietly and she could hear the whispered giggles from inside. Shaking her head, she pushed the door open. In the middle of all the tables and benches, three very guilty faces turned up to see who had found them.

"Katrina Lynn, may I ask what you're doing out here?" Cait demanded sternly. "And you too, young man," she directed at Danny. Between her own two, she could see Katie Laura trying her best to appear invisible. "Katie, I'm sure your mother and father wouldn't care to have you out here either."

"Mom... we were just..." Danny began.

Caitlin shook her head. "I don't care what you were doing. We've told you over and over how dangerous this place is." She gestured to the many bottles and containers stored on the tables. "The workers keep lots of chemicals in here, besides all their tools and equipment." She placed her hands on her hips and gave the children a disapproving scowl. "I'm really disappointed... especially in you two." She indicated Trina and Danny. "It was up to you to tell your cousin you weren't allowed to play here."

"Well, we did... kind of," Trina stammered, then fell silent.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Cait," Katie Laura said quietly. "We didn't mean to do anything wrong."

"Me too, Mom," Trina added, her face truly repentant. "We won't do it again."

Cait turned to Danny. He glanced up at her, as if trying to see exactly how mad she was. Cait had to work hard at not smiling. Though only five years old, her son was an expert at being able to talk his way out of trouble. This time however, he must've realized she really was upset, for he assumed a meek look and mumbled his own apology.

"Sorry, Mommy... really." He looked up at her apprehensively. "Are you gonna tell Daddy?"

Cait sighed and shook her head slowly. "No... I don't think we need to do that. Just don't let me catch you near here again."

"Oh, no, Aunt Cait. We won't," Katie Laura assured her solemnly.

"We promise, Mom," Trina assured her eagerly. "Don't we, Danny?"

Danny nodded. "I promise, Mom."

"All right, then." Cait planted her hands on her hips. "Go on back to the house and get to bed. We won't mention it again."

All three children breathed out relieved sighs as they scampered past her and headed for the house. Cait stood in the doorway and watched them as they ran back across the grassy yard. She shook her head and hoped they really had learned not to come out here. She would have to talk to Andy about putting a lock on the door.

She turned and reached for the work light. It was in the middle of the table and she wondered how the kids had managed to turn it on in the first place. She couldn't reach it and took another step closer, suddenly coming in contact with the short stool obviously put there for a child to climb up on. Not expecting it, she stumbled over it. She was off balance and her swollen stomach didn't help. She felt herself falling and instinctively grabbed at the table, knocking over several bottles as she did so. She couldn't catch herself and she felt her head impact the edge of the table with a jarring thud as she did so. All in the same instant she felt a jolt of pain, heard the distant shattering of glass and then hit the ground, knocking the breath from her. The last thing she remembered was praying the baby wasn't hurt before everything went black.

"Where is that damn thing?" Al asked himself as he searched the porch for his lighter. He had been concentrating so hard on getting back inside without disturbing Cait, he'd forgotten the silver lighter Sam had given him and he wasn't about to lose it. He had already retraced his steps, but it was hard to see in the dark corner where he'd been hiding earlier. "Shit!" he exclaimed at his continued lack of luck.

"Hello?" came the cultured voice that could only belong to Remington Steele. Al was tempted to repeat his last expletive at being caught. "Is that you, Admiral?"

"Yeah, just me," Al replied. He could see the questioning expression on the detective's face even in the dim porch light and he knew that he couldn't get away with some off the wall excuse. "I lost my lighter around here someplace," he admitted.

"Snuck away for a smoke, eh?" Steele asked.

"Yeah, a while ago." Al tried to make it sound longer than it was, but Steele's gaze narrowed again.

"I see." The younger man nodded his head, obviously suspicious.

"Well, are you gonna help me find it or keep asking silly questions?" Al regretted his outburst the minute he said it. If anything would confirm Steele's suspicions that his conversation with his sister might have been overheard, that would. Al decided to try and divert the conversation. "What are you doin' out here anyway? You smoke too?"

"I was looking for Cait. I left her out here a while ago and she hasn't come back in. I thought she might have fallen asleep."

"She's probably already gone to bed," Al reasoned.

Steele shook his head. "She hasn't said goodnight to everyone yet."

"Well, she isn't here." Al motioned around him. "Maybe she's out for a walk." He cast a glance across the yard and was about to turn his attention back to Steele when he caught a glimpse of movement in the sky over the bunkhouse. "What's that?" He squinted his eyes to try and get a better look. Steele stepped to the rail to look in the direction indicated. Before he could make out what Al was talking about, the older man realized what he was seeing. "That's smoke!"

"Good Lord!" Steele exclaimed. "Get the others!" he ordered as he bounded off the porch and ran across the yard. Al turned immediately and made for the door, already shouting Sam's name.

As he came around the corner of the bunkhouse, Steele could not only see, but smell the white smoke that was billowing out the open door of the storage shed.

"Cait!" he cried as he worked his way closer, his eyes beginning to sting. He pressed forward, passing through another thick cloud of acrid smoke which began to burn his nose and throat. He grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and put it to his face to filter the fumes. He finally got close enough to get a look inside. His worst fears were realized as he made out the unmistakable form of his sister lying unconscious on the floor of the small building.

Wasting no time or breath on futile shouts, he pushed the door fully open and made for Cait. Dropping the handkerchief, he scooped her up in his arms--no mean feat in her condition--and turned back toward the door. By this time, the smoke's assault on his eyes had made him barely able to see the way out and he used his foot to feel his way through the door. Breathing was becoming difficult, and his uncontrollable coughing was sapping the strength he desperately needed to carry his sister to safety. He was on the verge of collapse when he heard someone call his name. The next thing he knew, someone was lifting Cait from his arms. Free of his burden, and his reason to push himself, he dropped to his knees as the strong coughing spasm overcame him at last, dimly aware he'd made it outside.

"Oh my God!" Andy cried as he and Sam carefully eased Cait's limp form to the ground. "Cait?" Andy called, stroking his wife's face with a trembling hand. He was so focused on his wife that he barely realized someone had hold of his arm and was shaking him to get his attention. When he looked up, he realized it was Sam.

"Andy, we have to get her away from the smoke. Come on, let's get her into the house."

"Sam?" Andy looked up at his cousin, fear written on his boyish features.

"Come on," Sam repeated as he started lifting the unconscious mother. Andy shook himself mentally and reached out to help.

"Steele?" Al crouched next to the detective who was on his knees, barely holding himself upright as he fought to control the coughing.

"Remington!"

Laura had been upstairs checking on the children and had obviously heard the commotion outside. Al looked up as she slid to the ground at her husband's side.

"We've gotta do something about this fire," Clayton warned. "There doesn't appear to be much flame, just a lotta smoke.

"Be careful," Sam cautioned over his shoulder as he and Andy started toward the house with Cait. "Whatever's burning is putting off toxic fumes. Try not to breath the smoke and protect your eyes!"

"Can you make it to the house?" Al asked Steele.

"We'll get him there," Katie Travis assured him. She grabbed the detective's left arm as Laura took hold of his right. Al gave them a hand getting him to his feet and with an arm draped over each woman's shoulders, they started for the ranch house.

"There's a hose just over here," Clayton called as Al joined him. "I'm not sure if it'll reach."

Al shook his head. "We can't afford to use water. Those are chemicals burning in there. We don't know what water would do to them." He looked around frantically and saw a large pile of dirt that had been excavated for the foundation of the new buildings. Grabbing up a horse blanket that was draped over the fence nearby, and tossing it to Clayton, he grabbed a bucket and started scooping up dirt. "Get that blanket wet!" he instructed. Pulling out his own handkerchief, he reached over into the flow from the hose and got it wet before tying it around the lower half of his face.

"Here," Clayton handed him the blanket, heavy with water, and he draped it over his head and shoulders. "Be careful," the older man admonished as Al caught up the bucket and started for the shed. The smoke seemed to be thinning out by itself as he reached the door. He could feel the stinging in his eyes as he spotted the pile of smoldering rags on the concrete floor in the corner of the shed. Lying on top and around them were the remains of several broken bottles and a mechanic's lantern with a broken bulb. That explained the cause of the fire, if you could call it a fire. Quickly he dumped the contents of his bucket on the pile and almost immediately the smoke output diminished noticeably. He backed out and found Clayton had already filled another bucket. He traded the empty container for the full one and dumped it on the pile.

"I think that's got it," Al told his companion as he watched the smoke all but stop. "We'd better keep an eye on it, but it looks like it's out."

Clayton held out the still running hose. "Better wash off that smoke, son."

Al had to fight against the absurd impulse to laugh at anyone calling him "son" at his age. He threw off the blanket and held his hands under the running water, splashing off his face and neck, then rinsing his burning eyes. As he did so, he thought about Steele and how much worse the detective's exposure to the toxic smoke had been. The way his own eyes were watering, he could well imagine what Cait's brother had felt.

"You'd better wash off too," Al advised Clayton. "I'm gonna check on the people in the house."

"I'll keep an eye on the shed," Clayton told him. "Just to make sure it's out."

Al nodded as he started for the house at a half-run. For the first time, he had a moment to think and he surprised himself at how personally concerned he felt about the injuries to Cait and even Steele. From what he'd heard on the porch earlier, he had decided that maybe he'd misjudged the man.

Al walked into the main room of the ranch house and felt as if he'd entered a war zone. Cait was lying, still unconscious, on the sofa, her head cushioned on Andy's lap. As her husband sponged her face with a damp wash cloth, Katie stood next to him holding a basin of water. Sam was kneeling next to Cait, his ear pressed against her stomach, eyes narrowed in obvious concentration. Across the room, Laura Holt was trying to wash off her husband's face and keep him calm and having a difficult time as he was frantically demanding to know what was going on with his sister. Between Andy's almost sobbing his wife's name over and over, Steele's loud demands for information and Laura's and Katie's respective calming assurances, Al wondered how Sam could hear anything. Someone had to take charge. By temperament and experience, Al just naturally stepped in.

"Quiet everybody!" he barked. "Sam needs to be able to hear." The sudden cessation of all noise was rather unnerving. Sam gave him a brief grateful smile, which Al acknowledged with a nod. Andy was hardly able to keep himself quiet and opened his mouth to ask what Sam was hearing, but his mother laid her hand on his arm and he bit back the question until Sam raised his head.

"What?" the worried cowboy asked his cousin.

"The baby seems alright for now, but I don't like the sound of Cait's breathing. She has a serious bump on the head and we don't know for sure how long she was exposed to those fumes. We've got to get her to a hospital immediately." He glanced over at Steele. "Remington too." He looked at Al. "Do we have any way of knowing what chemicals were involved?"

Al shook his head. "If Andy has a list of what was in the shed, we can narrow it down, but there were several broken bottles. They must have all mixed together and were ignited when the lamp broke."

"We keep an inventory," Andy confirmed. "Cait has all that information stored on disk."

"Great." Al nodded. "You get the disk and we can upload from the link in the chopper straight into Ziggy and she can run all the parameters."

"Ziggy?" Laura questioned.

"The project computer," Sam replied. Al frowned, realizing he had started this, but Sam was about to divulge classified information to his family, two of whom were private investigators.

"It's kind of a joke." Al laughed, hoping he didn't sound as strained to the others as he did to his own ears. "We just call it 'she.' It's really just a souped up adding machine."

"Al." Sam shook his head at his friend. "This is my family. If I tell them I can't tell them, they'll accept that."

As confusing as that sounded, even to Al, everyone seemed to understand and agree. Al looked around the room and saw hesitation only at one quarter. Laura's innate investigator's curiosity was struggling with family loyalty, but in only a few seconds, the later won out and her features relaxed into acknowledgment. This was, indeed, some family, Al realized. The Steeles were only in-laws, and yet they seemed to be welcomed and to consider themselves as integral parts of the whole. In the back of his mind, Al thought there was something there for him to ponder, but now was not the time. There were things to be done. Once again he returned to his "admiral" mode.

"Okay. I assume the closest hospital with adequate facilities for this would be in Santa Fe." He looked at Andy who nodded agreement. "And the fastest way to get there will be in the chopper. There isn't enough room for everyone, so I propose Sam and I take Cait and Remington and get them to the hospital. We can have Ziggy do the chemical analyses on the way. Everyone else can follow by car. Someone will have to stay with the kids."

Katie nodded. "I will, of course," she volunteered, "on the condition you promise to call me as soon as you know anything."

"I will, Mom," Andy assured her.

"Fine, then let's get moving."

"I need to bandage Remington's eyes before we leave. We can't afford to get any dust in to worsen the irritation." Sam rose and started tending to the detective.

"For God's sake, Sam," Steele protested, "don't worry about me. I'll be alright. We have to get Cait to the hospital as quickly as possible."

"Andy has to find the disk. This won't take a second," Sam reasoned, "if you'll hold still, that is."

Steele started to reply, but thought better of it as Laura squeezed the hand she held tightly in hers. "We're going to take care of both of you," she told him firmly.

"Where are the keys to that truck out there?" Al asked.

"On the hall table," Katie informed him.

"I'm going to pull it up to the door. We'll load Cait and Remington in it to them transport to the chopper. Now let's move it, people."

Al was gratified to see that everyone seemed to be responding to his assumption of authority. Sam even spared him a quick look of appreciation as he finished bandaging Steele's eyes. Now, all he had to do was get them to the hospital.

"This is a priority Gold Four, Gooshie," Al explained over the scrambled radio link to the project headquarters. "Have Ziggy extrapolate all variant combinations and assign probabilities based on the symptoms and the observed characteristics of the toxin."

"Yes, Admiral," came the instant reply. "But we haven't completed loading all the medical data banks yet."

"Use my clearance and tap into the Hippocrates Network through Walter Reed Hospital. On my authority, Gooshie," he emphasized, anticipating the programmer's indecision.

"Yes, Sir." Though his voice showed a little hesitation, Al had no doubt that Gooshie would do what he had been told. Of course, it might require a little damage control later to explain why he'd used the top secret designation of the Pentagon's medical archive and database in front of civilians, but Al had gotten around the bureaucracy before and he knew he could manage again. Besides, this was important.

"Al, she's having trouble breathing. Pass me the emergency oxygen supply," Sam called from the back seat where he'd been monitoring Cait for the last five minutes since they had taken off.

Al reached under the panel to the side of his seat and pulled out the small tank and passed it back to his friend.

"How long to the hospital?" Sam asked.

"ETA ten minutes," Al informed him.

Al chanced a glance at Steele who was strapped into the passenger seat. Ever since they had taken off, he'd been uncharacteristically quiet. Al knew from the way the detective was breathing that he was in serious pain, but he was keeping it to himself so that the attention would be paid to his sister. Al had to concede that he had been wrong about the man. It was obvious he cared a great deal for his sister. Al understood that feeling. He also understood what it was like to lose a sister that you loved with all your heart. He'd lived with Trudy's death most of his life and he realized now that he didn't want Steele to have to live with that kind of pain. Strange how he found himself relating to the one person in this extended family of Sam's he had thought the worst of. Funny how he was beginning to really feel what he'd missed by not being a part of a close family.

He turned his attention back to the panorama before him, with a quick glance at the instruments. "I'd better let them know we're coming before we get there." He changed the frequency on the radio and hailed the Santa Fe tower, asking for a patch through to the hospital. Of course, he reached a low level flunky who had no authority to authorize anything. That was fine with Al--he'd eat him alive!

"What's wrong?" Sam demanded as Al clicked off the radio and let loose with a string of expletives.

"Aw, the little bastard says their helipad isn't equipped to handle a chopper of this weight. I told him he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's checking with his boss, or his boss's boss or some damn person."

"What'll we do?" Steele asked.

"We're landing," Al answered firmly. "Hell, I know what this baby weighs and if that damned helipad can't support this much weight, it isn't even up to minimum standard."

At that moment the radio came back to life. It seemed the answer was negative. They were not being granted permission. The hospital administrator suggested they use the parking lot across the street from the hospital and an ambulance would meet them there.

"Damn!" Sam suddenly shouted, and something about his tone of voice told both Al and Remington that he wasn't responding to the administrator's words. "She's not breathing!" He pulled Cait's mask away, tilting her head back and placing his own mouth over hers. After a couple of breaths, he pulled back to check. "Come on, Cait, come on," he urged, then went back to the mouth-to-mouth.

The radio crackled to life again. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but as I've explained to you..."

"Listen, Bozo, I don't give a damn what you've explained to me. Let me explain something to you. This helicopter will be on your rooftop in two minutes and you will be unloading two patients, one of whom is in extremely critical condition. I will do a quick touch and go, so there won't be any excess strain on your puny little roof, but I am not wasting valuable time by landing in any goddamned parking lot. So you haul ass and get a trauma team up there to meet us, or by God, I'll see that you never get another penny of federal funding for your miserable little hospital operations. And don't think for a minute that I can't carry through on that. Out." He tossed the microphone at the console. "Hang on, guys, we're going in."

He wasn't too surprised when he received no response from Sam. He was still giving Cait mouth-to-mouth. He did hear something from Steele, but it was so low he couldn't make out what the man was saying. He was about to ask him to speak up when he realized the sounds he was hearing were softly whispered prayers. Al spared a quick glance heavenward. He didn't have a lot of faith in God, not since his childhood, but he figured a quick apology for his recent language in that general directly couldn't hurt.

Al slowed the helicopter as he made his approach. As he got within sight of the hospital roof, it was gratifying to see the white-clad figures of the trauma team he'd demanded awaiting their arrival. He had to smile to himself. He still had the ability to strike fear into the hearts of officious bureaucrats!

The landing itself was no easy feat. The crosswinds on the rooftop were a bit of a challenge, especially since Al wasn't just landing the Jet Ranger. To keep the helicopter's full weight off the building, Al was basically holding the helicopter in place with the landing rails on the roof, but with the rotor engines still supporting part of the weight. He could barely spare his attention to watch the medical personnel as they first assisted Remington and then carried Cait off the aircraft. His eyes did meet Sam's just as the younger man was climbing out. With the noise of the rotors, Al couldn't hear him, but his meaning was crystal clear as he looked at his friend with a mixture of pride and affection and mouthed, "Thanks, Al." Al smiled in return, then watched as Sam was the last one to clear the helipad.

Al took the helicopter up and away from the roof. He circled the building until he located the almost vacant parking lot the hospital administrator had wanted him to land on. Well, he would land on it, but he had accomplished what he had needed to. Cait was getting medical attention now, but was it already too late?

At that moment, the radio called for his attention, Gooshie's voice pulling him out of his reverie. "Admiral, Ziggy had completed his analysis of the inventory list supplied by Mr. Travis and, with the symptom ology you and Dr. Beckett described, he's come up with a combination of solvents that have a very high probability of meeting the criteria. He's downloading the raw data along with the recommended course of treatment for anyone exposed into the hospital computer right now with instructions to transmit the data to the emergency room physician in charge of the case."

Al chuckled to himself, imagining the look on the emergency room personnel's faces when their own computer supplied them with an unsolicited, highly detailed report on not only what was wrong with their patients, but what to do about it! "Great work, Gooshie. Have Ziggy standby in case we need anything else. Out." By the time he'd signed off, he had put the Jet Ranger down on the isolated asphalt lot. Obviously he'd pissed the administrator off pretty good because there was no one here to give him a ride over to the hospital. It didn't bother him, however. It wouldn't take him long to hike back. There was no real reason to hurry now. Once he got to the hospital, he knew he'd be doing one of his all time least favorite things: waiting.

By the time Al arrived at the Emergency Room it was hard to tell anything had happened. The waiting area was fairly quiet and Al wondered where they'd taken Caitlin and Steele. He looked around for Sam but didn't find him anywhere. He wandered up to the admitting desk, hoping he wouldn't get the run around.

The young woman sitting there looked Native American and she gave Al a pleasant enough smile as he approached her.

"Some friends of mine were just brought in here," he began. "Travis and Steele... we brought 'em in by helicopter."

"You the pilot?" The nurse's brown eyes sparkled. Al nodded and her smiled widened. "That was sure something the way you just bowled everybody over," she commented appreciatively.

Al inclined his head slightly. "What can I say? It was an emergency." He leaned closer. "Listen, Honey. I'm kinda worried about my friends. What can you tell me?"

"Well, it was sure crazy in here for a while," she informed him. "The one guy... the tall, cute one... he was giving the doctors a real hard time. Kept wanting to go with his sister. He only calmed down when they told him your doctor friend was with her."

Al could well imagine the chaos Steele had created. He was also relieved to know Sam was still with Cait. "So how are they?" he asked.

The nurse shook her head. "I don't know... really. You'll have to wait for the doctors to come out."

Al sighed. It wasn't like he hadn't expected it. He gave the girl a grateful smile and shuffled over to the waiting area. He glanced up at the clock. The rest of the family should be here shortly. It wasn't that far of a drive from the ranch. He plopped down in one of the hard, plastic chairs and let out a weary sigh. This was going to be the worst part... waiting around to hear the news, good or bad.

With nothing else to occupy them, his thoughts wandered back to Sam's family. He knew he wasn't exactly an expert on what made a happy family. His own had been pretty dysfunctional before it was in vogue to be that way... hell, he thought... before anyone even knew the term. He did know that what he'd witnessed in his brief stay at the ranch was something to be cherished... a family that really cared about each other. And more than that... their kindness and charity had the ability to reach out and encompass others. He'd seen that with the Steeles and their easy acceptance into the clan, and with the way the family had welcomed him, no questions asked. In return, Al found himself genuinely caring for these people... people he'd only known as Sam's relatives just the day before.

He leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands and letting them hang loose between his legs. Caitlin had to be all right. It just wouldn't be fair for someone who'd overcome the kind of obstacles she had in her life to suddenly be cut down when she'd finally found the happiness she'd been looking for.

A commotion at the ER entrance caused him to glance up and he saw Andy and Laura rushing in. They never even stopped at the desk. Spotting Al, they came right over to him, both their faces seeking answers. He stood, wishing he had some he could give them.

"Where's your dad?" he asked before they could say anything.

Andy jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Parking the truck. He dropped us off." He fixed Al with a pleading look. "How's Cait?" His fear and panic was sounding loud and clear in his voice.

Al shook his head. "I wish I knew. Sam's with her, though. He'll take care of her." He put a hand on Andy's shoulder. "She'll be fine... I know she will." He hoped to God his words of comfort would turn out to be the truth.

"What about Remington," Laura inquired softly. "Have they said anything about him?"

Al shook his head again. "I'm sorry. They haven't told me squat."

Laura sat down and Al took the seat next to her, reaching over to take her hand. She glanced up at him questioningly. "What he did tonight took a lot of guts. He saved his sister's life."

Laura gave him a grateful smile and he felt her squeeze his hand. Embarrassed, he glanced back up at Andy. He was pacing restlessly, his hands jammed into the back pockets of his jeans. Al wished there was something he could say to help make this easier but he knew mere words now would be meaningless. The only thing that would help Andy would be to see his wife and know she was going to pull through.

After a few minutes, Clayton came in and walked over to join the group. Al watched him place a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. Andy stopped his pacing momentarily and glanced up at his father.

"Nothin' yet," he reported dully. Clayton nodded and took a seat, joining the rest of them in the waiting game.

Before too much time had passed, a young doctor in jeans and a lab coat walked into the waiting area, heading straight for Laura.

"Mrs. Steele?"

Laura sat up straight. "Yes."

The doctor came over and introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Flanders. I've been treating your husband."

"Is he okay?" Laura asked in concern.

The doctor nodded. "He will be. His throat was pretty badly irritated but there was no damage to his lungs. It's his eyes that worried us the most. We're fairly sure they'll be okay, but we'd like to keep him here for observation... just to make sure." He paused a moment, glancing at the rest of the family. "He's still pretty agitated... keeps asking about his sister. We're bringing him out now and I'd appreciate it if you could help us get him settled in his room."

Laura nodded silently and got up just as Al saw Steele being brought out in a wheelchair. His eyes were covered with bandages. The orderly pushed him over toward the group as Laura reached him and took his hand. He turned his face towards her.

"Laura?" he rasped out. His voice was low and hoarse. "How's Caitlin? They won't tell me anything." Talking brought on a fit of coughing and it took a few moments for him to recover.

"Try not to speak," Laura told him firmly. "You need to rest your voice. As soon as we find out something, we'll tell you," she promised.

"How am I supposed to lie around and rest when I don't even know if my sister's alive or not." He began coughing again.

Al glanced over at Andy and could tell that Steele's frantic questions weren't helping his brother-in-law's anxiety about his wife. Al moved over to the other side of the wheelchair and bent down close to Steele's ear.

"I know you're worried," he said in a low voice. "But Cait'll be fine if you just keep doing what you were doing in the chopper."

Steele's face turned up towards Al and the admiral could see understanding there, even with the man's eyes bandaged. He fell silent. Al stood back up and motioned the orderly to proceed. Steele was wheeled down the hall, Laura walking beside him. Al shot another glance up at the ceiling, hoping there really was somebody up there listening.

It had to have been hours now that they'd been sitting here waiting and the chairs had long ago ceased to provide any kind of comfort. Al had alternated between sitting and standing, with occasional trips to the coffee machine. Clayton had dozed off sitting up and Al felt sorry for the elderly man. It couldn't be easy on his old bones to have to sleep that way. Andy had paced the length of the waiting room and back most of the night, but was now slumped in a chair, his hands clasped together with his chin resting on them. He was staring at nothing, his thoughts obviously far away.

Al finished the last dregs of his umpteenth cup of coffee and tossed the cup away, then came over and sat down next to Andy. Through most of the night his father had been at his side, sometimes offering reassuring words, sometimes not saying anything at all, just laying an encouraging hand on his son's shoulder. To Al, it seemed they didn't need words between them and he wondered what life might have been like for him and Trudy if they'd had that kind of relationship with their own father. He knew you couldn't change anything by wishing, but it was an intriguing thought nonetheless. Now, with the older man worn out and asleep, Al tried to provide his own encouragement.

"I know it's hard to wait," he began, "but when they tell you she's all right, it'll all be worth it."

Andy took a deep breath and slowly turned his head, as if returning from a long distance. He met Al's gaze and shook his head, his hazel eyes full of anguish.

"The hardest part is knowing I wasn't there when she needed me," he said raggedly. "God, it seems like I never am." He turned his eyes to stare out at nothing again. "All I wanted to do was take care of her and I'm sure as hell not doin' a very good job."

It didn't take much to figure out he was talking about the incident last spring when Cait was missing. Though Al didn't have all the facts, he could tell a case of the guilts when he heard it... misplaced guilt it seemed as well, from what he could piece together.

"I don't know if this'll help much," he said quietly, "but it seems to me you're doing a damn fine job." Andy glanced over at him questioningly and Al nodded for emphasis. "I know you don't know me all that well, but believe me... I know what I'm talking about. I know what it's like to feel alone in the world like Cait was. You've done more for her by just loving her and giving her a home and family... all the things she never had."

Andy gave him a curious look, as if wondering how he knew all those things, but then he shrugged. "Maybe... but what good is that if I can't keep her from being hurt?"

Al knew that question referred to more than just tonight's accident. He recalled Cait's word's to her brother about how her whole family had been affected by her past. He wasn't usually good at this sort of thing but for some reason he wanted desperately to try and get through to Andy and put his mind to rest.

"Hell, I don't think anybody has that power," he stated. "That's part of what life is all about... hurting and having somebody there to help the hurt go away." He jabbed his finger at Andy's chest. "That's what you do for Cait. You're there to help the hurt go away. That's what love is, my friend... caring more for somebody else than you do for yourself and to do what you can to keep them safe and happy... but when that's not possible, you're there to help them through it."

Al heard someone clear their throat and he turned to see Sam standing there. He felt his face flush, knowing his friend had heard his little speech, but Sam merely gave him a knowing smile, then walked over to meet his cousin... his face somber. Andy stood up, his face anxious. Clayton woke up and rose to stand beside his son.

"Well?" Andy demanded.

"They want to deliver the baby," Sam informed him evenly.

"What?" Andy grabbed hold of Sam's arm. "Why?"

"It'll be easier for both of them that way," Sam explained. "Cait's having difficulty breathing and the baby needs more oxygen than she can give it. If they take it now, they can treat both of them more effectively." Andy started to move but Sam grabbed his arm and halted him in his tracks. "You can't go in," he informed his cousin reluctantly.

Andy's eyes narrowed. "Why the hell not?" he demanded. "I've been there for all the kids. I'm not missing this one."

Sam shook his head, his face weary. "Because of all the complications," he explained. "There's just too much at stake here. Cait hasn't shown any signs of regaining consciousness. Things could get a little hairy."

"Then I'm sure as hell gonna be there with her," Andy declared angrily. Clayton tried to soothe him but he shook off his father's arm. "No way, Dad. They can't keep me out."

"Now, Son," Clayton began. "If it's better for Cait..."

"No!" Andy shouted. "She needs me."

"Andy, listen to me," Sam told him firmly. "It's not better for Cait this time. You need to stay out here for now."

Al reached out to take hold of Andy's arm. "Listen to him, kid. He knows what's best."

Andy turned entreating eyes on all of them, then looked back at his cousin. "Sammie..." he pleaded. "I gotta be in there."

Sam shook his head slowly and Al saw tears in his friend's eyes. He wished he could spare them all this pain. Then Clayton spoke up again, putting an arm around his son's shoulders.

"Son..." His deep voice gentle, but firm. "Sam knows what he talkin' about. You better stay here. But..." He turned his eyes back to his nephew. "You're a doctor, Samuel. Maybe they'd let you stay with her. Having you there would be a comfort for Andy, I know."

Andy lifted his head and his eyes filled with hope. "Could you do that, Sam? Could you be with her?"

Sam's eyes moved around the group, then he nodded. "Yeah," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "I can do that."

Al watched his friend walk back down the hall and disappear through the double doors. He, Andy and Clayton were once more alone in the waiting room.

Although it was just about the last thing he wanted to do, Al sat down once more after just a few minutes of stretching and easing his numb backside. If it were up to him, he'd be pacing just as much as Andy had, but he realized he needed to project some calmness, so he forced himself to try and relax. Andy's father had gone around the corner to the pay phones to call his wife and let her know what was happening... or at least as much as they knew. Andy had finally given in to his impatience and gone up to the counter to talk to the girl Al had spoken with earlier. It was pointless, Al knew, but it occupied the frazzled man for a few minutes and the admitting clerk obviously was experienced with dealing with distraught relatives. She had been talking to Andy for several minutes. Maybe she had found some way to distract his thoughts. Al hoped so.

Funny, but without Andy's constant pacing, Al was having a harder time sitting still. Watching Andy had somehow satisfied, at least to a degree, his own impatience, but now, with Andy stationary for the moment, Al had to fight against the urge to jump up again. In the midst of his struggle, Andy turned from the desk and started back toward him. Al schooled his features into what he hoped was a reassuring expression as Sam's cousin sat down next to him.

"Find out anything?" Al asked, already pretty sure of the answer. He couldn't hide his surprise at Andy's answer.

"As a matter of fact, I did," the younger man replied. "The girl was telling me a very interesting story about a helicopter pilot who really shook things up around here tonight." Al blushed scarlet. "She said she'd never seen the administrator so flustered. I get the feeling a lot of the staff got a kick out of it."

Al shrugged. "I'm not exactly the soul of tact when it comes to starched collared idiots," he admitted, then a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Really shook the guy up, huh?"

"According to the clerk, he was fit to be tied. She said he lost all his hot air when one of the doctors told him that you were an ex-astronaut and he'd heard you were in real big at the Pentagon."

Al chuckled softly as he pictured the man's reactions after he bulldozed him over the radio. "Guess the weasel decided I could follow through with my threats."

"Yeah, she told me about that. She said they weren't gonna let you land at the hospital until you put the fear of God into... the weasel." He looked down at his hands for a second then looked directly at Al. "She also told me that Cait wasn't breathing when she got here."

Al sighed. He hadn't mentioned that, and since the doctors had obviously gotten past that immediate problem, he didn't want to worry Andy any more. "It wasn't for long," he assured the younger man, "and Sam was giving her mouth-to-mouth all the time."

"I know, the clerk told me. But she said if you hadn't come right on in to the helipad and got Cait here as fast as you did, she probably wouldn't have made it. I want you to know how much I appreciate that, and everything else you've done to help us tonight. I can never..."

"Hey, kid," Al interrupted. "Don't sweat it."

"But I really want to thank you for..."

Al held up his hands to stop Andy again. "One thing Sam probably hasn't told you about me: I embarrass real easy. And you don't have to thank someone for doing what comes naturally. I'm used to runnin' the show and throwing my weight around. It's a real kick in the butt!"

Andy regarded the man next to him for several seconds, then offered a hint of a smile and nodded. "Okay, I'll let up on you. But I have to warn you of something. You just got yourself adopted into the family and there's no turning back now, you might as well get used to it."

A curious warmth began to spread through Al, the kind of feeling he hadn't had with anyone but Sam for a long time. But, he realized, it all came from the same source: this family. And now, it seemed, he had been included. It amazed him that the thought seemed to be so pleasant. He let out a little laugh and shook his head. "Do you know what you're letting yourselves in for?"

Andy nodded. "We're kinda used to people with a lot of... character in our family."

Suddenly Al just couldn't resist any longer, he reached out and ruffled Andy's hair.

"Aw, come on, Al, cut it out!" Andy complained, and Al just laughed again. When he looked up, he saw Clayton approaching them once more. This vigil was definitely taking it's toll on Andy's father.

"Do you think it might be a good idea if your dad went back to stay with your mother for the rest of the night?" he suggested quietly. Andy looked up at his father and realized what Al was getting at. He stood up and met him halfway across the lobby, placing a hand on his shoulder and speaking quietly to him. As Al watched, Clayton shook his head. The older man wasn't ready to give in so soon, it seemed. While Al was trying to decide if he should put in his two cents worth, the sound of a man coughing and Laura's voice coming from down the hall turned their attention in that direction.

With an arm around her husband's waist and his arm draped over her shoulders, she was slowly guiding him, his eyes still bandaged, toward the waiting room. Al sighed. He should have known Steele wouldn't be kept out of it for long. He stood and took a step toward the couple.

"Need a hand?" he offered.

"No, we're doing fine, Admiral," Laura assured him.

"After what we've all been through this evening, and are likely to continue to endure, I think we should be on a first name basis," Steele told her. "Don't you agree, Al?"

"Sure, Remington," Al replied.

"See, old man, you got it right that time." Steele almost smiled for the first time since the whole ordeal began, then he succumbed to a fit of coughing which passed quickly. His expression, however, became more serious. "Is there any word?"

"Not yet," Al told them. "Sam's in there with them. He'll let us know as soon as something happens."

"I know," the detective replied as Laura eased him down onto one of the chairs. "I'm just not very good at waiting." Although he sounded calmer than he had been, Al could sense the frantic worry just below the surface.

"Well, you've come to the right place," Al told him. "We got a club here of people who aren't very good at waiting."

"Andrew?" Steele called.

"I'm here, Remington," Andy answered immediately, moving to his brother-in-law's side.

"How are you holding up, mate?"

"I'm a basket case," Andy admitted, clutching his hands together to try and still their trembling. "I can't lose her, Remington. I just can't."

Steele didn't answer as he was obviously struggling to control his own emotions. Laura placed a hand over her husband's and reached out with the other to grasp both of Andy's.

"We just have to hold on to the belief that she's going to be alright. It takes a lot to knock out a Steele. I ought to know." She squeezed Remington's hand. "Cait is a very strong woman, Andy. She's proven that often enough. More often than anyone should be asked to, but she's a survivor, just like her brother. Hold on to that and don't let all your fears eat you up. Believe me, I've been there. Cait will come through this and so will your baby."

Andy nodded and turned away. Neither he nor Steele said anything. Laura sighed, unsure if she'd accomplished anything, then she saw Al give her an almost imperceptible thumbs up gesture and it made her feel a little better.

Al jerked awake with a start, feeling the kink starting in his neck from falling asleep in the hard chair. He rubbed at the painful knot, wondering how he'd managed to doze at all. Glancing around the room he noticed everything was pretty much the same. Andy was sitting beside him, leaning forward with his head resting in his hands. Clayton was on Andy's other side, staring at an old issue of Field and Stream. Across from them, Remington sat quietly. He wasn't asleep. Al could tell, even without seeing his eyes. The man's body was tense and alert. Beside him, Laura held onto his arm, her head resting on his shoulder. The entire room was quiet... the only sounds those of Steele's occasional bouts of coughing and the muted voices of the passing doctors and nurses. Al glanced up at the clock... Three a.m. God, how long had they been here already?

The sound of the doors opening caused everyone to look up expectantly. Al caught sight of Sam walking through them. He was wearing surgical greens and Al wondered distractedly when he'd changed. His friend looked worn out but his face wore a tired smile as he approached.

Andy jumped to his feet as Sam came over. "Well?" he demanded anxiously.

"It's a boy," Sam announced, "and he's doing just great."

Andy closed his eyes and breathed out a heavy sigh. Al echoed it with one of his own.

"They want to watch him," Sam informed them. "But he looked pretty healthy to me... came out wailing."

"And Caitlin?"

Al could tell Andy had been almost afraid to ask and by the way Sam's smile faded, he knew that fear was justified.

"We don't know yet," Sam answered quietly. "She came through the C-section okay, but she's still in a coma."

Andy sank back into his chair as if he just couldn't hold up his own weight anymore. Sam stooped down and took his cousin's arm.

"Listen to me, Andy," he said earnestly. "Her vitals signs are all strong. The biggest problem is trying to determine if the toxins she inhaled caused any damage to her brain... and we won't know that until she wakes up."

If she wakes up, Al knew Sam had purposefully avoided saying. He'd seen enough head trauma in 'Nam to know some people just never came out of comas.

Andy looked up and met his cousin's eyes. "Can I see her now?" His voice was pleading.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. That'd be okay, I think. C'mon, I'll take you."

Andy got up and followed Sam. In a moment they both were lost from view.

"Damn!" came the soft curse and Al turned to see Remington standing with Laura at his side.

Al had to give the man credit. It was obvious he'd wanted to see his sister, but had graciously backed off to let Andy have this time alone with her.

"It's not fair," Steele stated angrily. "She doesn't deserve this."

Laura slipped her hand around his waist. "There's nothing more we can do," she said softly. "Why don't you let me take you back to your room so you can rest?"

Al watched the man's fists clench and unclench and then he seemed to sag in defeat. Laura was right. There was nothing any of them could do now. The detective didn't argue as his wife guided him out of the waiting area, but Al knew the man would be getting very little rest tonight. He watched the two of them head down the corridor, leaving only Al and Clayton left to occupy the waiting room.

Al turned to Andy's father. The older man seemed to have aged another ten years tonight, but they probably all had.

"I guess it's just you and me now, holding down the fort."

Clayton nodded slowly. "I better go call Katie... let her know she's a grandmother again... and everything else that's happenin'."

Al nodded and watched him man walk slowly down the hall toward the group of pay phones. He didn't envy the man this call.

Al was alone now. With nothing left for him to do here, Clayton had decided to head on back to the ranch and be with his wife and grandchildren. He'd made Al promise to let Andy know he'd be back tomorrow. Al shot another glance up at the clock on the wall. Hell, it was already tomorrow.

"Hey, Al."

He turned at Sam's weary greeting and watched as his friend shuffled over to plop down beside him and lean his head back... his eyes closed.

"Geeze, Sam, you look beat all to hell."

Sam opened one eye. "I am," he admitted dully. He leaned forward and rubbed at his tired eyes. "Now I remember why I decided not to practice medicine."

"You're damn good at it, Sam, believe me," Al told him emphatically, then smiled to try and lighten his friend's mood. "Put Marcus Welby to shame."

Sam smiled wryly. "I wish the good doctor was here now. He always managed to make things turn out right."

Al sobered. "Is it that bad?"

Sam shook his head and leaned it back against the wall again, staring up at the ceiling. "I really don't know, Al. It's one of the worst parts of being a doctor... when you've done all you can do and you just have to wait around like the rest of the family." He glanced over at Al. "This one really is up to Cait. She has to wake up."

Al remained silent, deep in thought. It was probably damn frustrating for any doctor to have to sit around and do nothing... doubly so for Sam. Al knew his friend's basic nature was to help people. There was nothing that he hated worse than sitting by while others suffered. He reached out and patted Sam on the arm.

"Listen, kid... you did what you could. This is a great family you got here and they all know what you did for Cait tonight."

Sam's face took on an almost angry expression. "That really won't matter much if Cait doesn't make it. God, if only I could just go back and..." He stopped, his voice full of emotion.

He didn't have to finish the sentence. Al knew what he meant. It was, after all the motivating force behind Sam's obsession with time travel... to make things right. Al knew that even if Sam was reluctant to admit to it. He squeezed Sam's arm a little tighter.

"I know, kid... I know."

The morning sun was beginning to creep through the blinds and cast alternating bands of light and darkness on the wall of the small intensive care unit room, putting an end to probably the worst night in Andy Travis' life.

There were things to be thankful for. Only an hour earlier, the ophthalmologist had examined Remington's eyes and told the detective and his wife that he saw no evidence of permanent damage. They would be sensitive for a couple of weeks and his vision would be blurry at first, but should clear up in a few days. With an admonishment to consult with a local specialist when he returned to Los Angeles, the doctor had promised him if he got a few hours sleep, he would be released later in the day. It was good news, but as much as Andy cared about and respected his brother-in-law, it was not the good news that he most desperately wanted to hear.

Another ray of sunshine in his life had come when one of the nurses had told him the pediatrician had pronounced his son perfectly fine. It seemed the little boy had suffered no ill effects from the ordeal that still had his mother lying in a coma. Maybe if she knew that, Andy thought. Maybe she would fight a little harder to come out of her own darkness that had shown no sign of being dispelled by the dawn.

Now, as the sun moved behind a cloud, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "Cait, honey, can you hear me? I need you to hear me, sweetheart." He took a slow, trembling breath. "We have a fine, healthy boy, honey. Almost eight pounds. And he's perfect, Cait. Got all the fingers and toes, everything in the right place. Got a good set of lungs too. You shoulda heard him wailin' when they were tryin' to give him a bath." The smile on his face was a melancholy one which lasted only a moment, then his eyes filled with tears. "He needs you, Cait," he sobbed, grasping her hand even tighter in both of his and bringing it to his face. "We all need you." Tears rolled down his face as he squeezed his eyes closed and pressed the palm of Cait's hand against his moist cheek. "I need you." The last was spoken in a barely audible whisper, but the emotion behind it was wrenched from the very depths of his soul. "I can't make it without you, Cait. You gotta know that. You gotta know how much I love you." The tears continued to flow from Andy's eyes, collecting between the fingers of Cait's hand. One errant drop rolled down the back of her hand, and as it did, her fingers moved.

Andy's eyes flew open as he pulled the hand away to look at it. He hadn't imagined it, had he? Did he want this so badly that he had only thought it had happened?

"Cait? Can you hear me?" he asked, not even daring to breathe as he waited for the answer. He didn't have to wait long. The fingers moved again. This time, he not only felt them flex, he saw the movement with his own eyes. "That's it, honey," he encouraged. "Come back to me. Come all the way back." One more time the fingers moved, almost as if Cait was trying to take hold of Andy's hand. The sun chose that moment to break through the clouds and Andy couldn't keep from laughing at the absurdity of it all. And yet, as corny as it might seem, at that moment, he knew Cait was going to be alright. She had heard him. She knew he was here and she was coming back to him. She was coming home.

Sleep had come to Al in small segments, each one interrupted almost at the very moment full unconsciousness was about to envelop him. After a protracted debate, he had finally convinced Sam to take the couch and grab an hour or so of sleep. The younger man had been out almost before he'd finished stretching out. Al had tried to make do with two of the very uncomfortable chairs, the one he was sitting in pulled into a corner so he could recline his head, and the second for his legs. One of the nurses had provided him with a pillow, but every time he dropped off, the pillow seemed to dislodge, thus waking him up. Finally, exhaustion had won out and he'd managed to make it into a deep sleep.

"Dr. Beckett?" The voice belonged to one of the lovely nurses that at any other time would have been a distraction to the skirt-chasing admiral. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to see the pretty, young thing bent over Sam, gently shaking his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. As Al maneuvered his stiff and half numb legs to the floor, Sam rolled over, stretched and looked up at the nurse. "Mr. Travis sent me to tell you he thinks his wife is beginning to come out of the coma. He wanted me to get you." Her expression offered an apology for having to wake him, but Sam didn't seem to notice. He immediately pushed himself off the sofa.

"Is she awake?" he asked.

"No, but there has been some movement, and Mr. Travis believes she can hear him. He said she tried to squeeze his hand."

Sam stood up and stretched again. "Have you called Dr. Roberts?"

"Yes, he'll be here shortly, but Mr. Travis seemed a bit anxious."

Sam rolled his eyes at Al, both of them knowing "a bit anxious" was a definite understatement. "Tell him I'll be right there. I need to throw a little water on my face," he said, dispatching the girl on her way.

"It's a good sign, isn't it, Sam?" Al asked.

Sam smiled. "A very good sign. We won't be out of the woods until the neurologist can run some tests, but the fact that she's coming out of the coma this soon is more than encouraging."

Al could almost see the weight lift from his friend's shoulders. As Sam started toward the men's room, Al suddenly had a thought.

"Sam?" The younger man turned back. "You think it would be alright if I tell Remington and Laura? I know how worried they are. You don't think it would be premature, do you?"

Sam shook his head. "No, I think that's a great idea, just make sure they understand that we still have to run some tests to make sure there's been no permanent damage."

"You got it!" Al nodded. Suddenly, he wasn't nearly as tired as he had been just a few minutes before. He was almost running as he headed down the hallway toward the detective's room. Sam spared a moment to watch his friend, amusement playing across his boyish features, before returning to his own task.

The coming of the dawn had brought with it a new problem for Remington Steele. His eyes, now unbandaged, were very sensitive to the light. Laura had closed the blinds, which had helped, but not completely alleviated the situation. Recognizing all the signs that her husband was developing a pretty bad headache, she had a quick word with one of the nurses and a few minutes later, the girl had reappeared with a pair of dark glasses. Thus, when Al appeared at the man's room door, he was met with the sight of the great detective dressed in an unflattering hospital gown and robe, lying on the bed and trying to look at him through shades. He immediately started to chuckle.

"Gone Hollywood, Gillette?" he asked, trying to maintain a straight face.

Steele huffed. "Just making a fashion statement, my dear Admiral. Something I'm sure someone with your taste in clothing cannot appreciate."

"Back to normal, I see." Al smiled, not about to take offense, especially since he recognized the amused undertone in Steele's still hoarse voice. "And so, it seems, is your sister."

Steele almost flew off the bed to stand before Al. "What's happened?"

"According to Andy, she heard him talking to her and squeezed his hand. Sam says this is good, but not to be too hasty about celebrating until they can run some tests."

"That's wonderful!" Laura moved around the bed to join the two men.

Steele nodded, seeming almost afraid to believe what he was hearing. Slowly, a smile of relief began to play at the corners of his mouth. "Do you think I could see her?" he asked at length.

"Why don't I go check?" Al practically beamed as he reached for the door.

"Al?"

"Yeah, Rem?"

"Thanks for coming to tell us." The sincerity in Steele's voice caught Al off guard, but he recovered quickly.

"No sweat. I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared out the door.

Laura stepped up next to her husband, put a hand on his arm and smiled up at him. "Feeling better?"

The expression he turned to her was more relaxed than she'd seen since this whole ordeal began. "Thank you, my love," he whispered as he placed his hand over hers.

"For what?"

"For being here, for inventing Remington Steele in the first place, and for being foolish enough to fall in love with me."

She tilted her head as she looked up at him. "I didn't invent Remington Steele, you did. And I couldn't help falling in love with you, Mr. Steele."

He lowered his lips to hers and delivered a gentle kiss, then gathered her in his arms and held on for all he was worth.

"Andrew?" Steele whispered as he peeked around the door to Cait's room. Andy motioned him to come in and the detective moved to the chair on the side of his sister's bed opposite Andy. He reached out and placed his hand over Cait's, gazing at her pale face for some time before looking back at his brother-in-law. "Any new developments?"

"She's been moving more. It started with her fingers, but in the last few minutes, she's begun to move her head just a little. The doctor said it may take a while for her to really wake up. I've just been sitting here talking to her like an idiot to give her something to focus on."

"You think she can hear you?" Steele was almost afraid to believe.

"Yeah, I know she can," Andy replied. He turned to look at his wife. "Cait? Cait, Remington's here. Can you hear me?" Steele suddenly moved his hand in surprise as he felt the fingers under his move. "See?" Andy grinned.

"Al said we still have to be cautious," the detective warned.

"I know, that's what Sam and Dr. Roberts said too, but she's going to be alright, Remington, I know that. I can't explain why; I just know she's gonna be just fine." As he finished speaking, he had turned to smile down at his wife. The depth of love reflected in his brother-in-law's face warmed Steele's heart. If Andy was right, and they could just get through this crisis... There was still a lot of hurt in Cait's life to be made up for. Certainly if anyone deserved to live happily ever after it was his little sister. His own gaze had traveled once more to Cait's face and he hadn't noticed that he was under Andy's scrutiny.

"I think I'll step out and stretch my legs a bit," Andy told him as he stood up. "Give you a little time to talk to Cait alone."

Steele nodded appreciatively as he headed out the door.

"Here's looking at you, kid," Steele whispered close to Cait's ear. "Remember when I first taught you to appreciate Bogart? You were stuck on all those musicals. Not that there's anything wrong with Rodgers and Hammerstein. Funny how we both found comfort in the movies. Gives a whole new meaning to 'escape from reality', doesn't it?" He ran the tips of his fingers along her temple and into her hair. "Remember when we first found each other? That instant connection? It was such a revelation to find someone else in the world so much like me. As much as I love Laura, there are some things she can never understand about me as well as you do. Sometimes, Luv, I really miss you. But then I see how happy you are here with Andrew and the children, and I couldn't be happier for you. Now, you've just got to wake up, Luv. I really need to hear your voice and know you're going to be alright."

For several more minutes, Steele kept talking in the hopes that the sound of his voice would bring his sister back. He noticed many of the things Andy had mentioned. Her fingers seemed to respond to certain things he said, there was noticeable movement beneath her eyelids, and occasionally her head would move minutely. She was definitely out of the coma and working her way back through layers of sleep to consciousness. After a while, he heard the door open behind him and turned to find Andy and Sam returning.

"Any progress?" Sam inquired.

"I think so," Remington reported. "She's definitely trying to wake up."

Andy sank into his chair once more and took her hand. "All she needs is a little encouragement."

Sam stepped up next to Steele. "How are you feeling, Remington?"

"Oh, I'll be fine." He waved away the question.

Sam's gaze narrowed on the detective. "From the sound of your voice, I'd say you haven't exactly been resting it."

"You know me, Sam," Steele retorted. "I'm never at a loss for words."

"Uh-huh." Sam sounded skeptical. "How about the eyes? Any pain?"

"Just a little headache, Doctor Beckett. The dark glasses help a lot."

Sam was about to make another comment when Andy's excited voice drew their attention back to the occupant of the bed.

"Cait?" he called insistently, stroking her face as he leaned closer. Her head was moving slightly back and forth followed by a soft moan. "Cait, it's Andy. I'm here. Wake up, honey." A louder moan was followed by more movement, then her eyes began to flutter, trying to open. "Atta girl!" Andy encouraged. Steele dropped into the chair he had recently vacated and took hold of his sister's hand once more.

"Caitlin, open your eyes," he whispered intently. As if in response to the softly issued command, Cait's eyes opened, still blinking to try and focus. The first face she fixed upon was her husband's.

"Andy?" Her voice was just a hoarse whisper and the effort to speak sent her into a coughing spasm.

"Here." Sam passed Andy a glass of water. He then supported his wife's head as he brought the glass to her lips. She only took a few sips, then nodded her head. Andy lowered her head back to the pillow, moving his fingers once again to stroke her forehead.

"Better?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Cait, try not to talk too much," Sam advised as he leaned into her frame of view. "Your nasal passages and your throat are very irritated right now. Talking will just make you cough and you need to conserve your strength."

She nodded to her husband's cousin, then looked back at Andy and mouthed something without sound.

"What happened?" Andy repeated what he believed she was trying to say. As she nodded, he began to laugh with shear relief. "You just scared twenty years off our lives, that's all. But everything is fine now. Everything."

In response to a squeeze of her left hand she turned to see her brother for the first time, her lips forming his name.

"Yes, Luv. I'm here too. And Andrew is right. Now that we have you back, all is well." Her hand wandered up to the dark glasses, her eyes questioning. "Nothing to worry about," he smiled. "My eyes are a little sensitive right now, but the doctor says they're going to be just fine." She shook her head, still confused. "Do you remember what happened to you?" Steele asked.

"Fell... hit head," she breathed.

Steele looked at his brother-in-law, and Cait followed his gaze.

"When you turned over the table," Andy explained, "some of the bottles broke. Then the work light fell and the bulb busted and the rags in the corner caught fire. Remington pulled you out. We were all pretty worried, but everything's fine now," he repeated.

Her hand moved to her now flattened stomach and her eyes grew wide as she looked back at her husband. "The baby?"

Andy's face lit up. "We got ourselves another boy and he checked out just fine."

"Fingers... toes... everything in the right place," she whispered and Andy realized it wasn't a question.

"You did hear me!" he cried excitedly. She nodded, then turned back to Remington.

"Here's looking..."

"...at you, kid," he finished for her, bringing her hand to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on her fingers.

"I've sent for Dr. Roberts," Sam told them as he moved back to the bed. The other three occupants of the room hadn't even noticed he'd stepped away. "We'll need to run some tests just to make sure you check out as well as your son, but I don't think there'll be any problems." He grinned at Cait. "Welcome back, cousin."

"Sam." She returned the smile.

"If it hadn't been for Sam and his friend Al, things might not have turned out so well," Remington informed her.

"We owe you a lot, Cuz," Andy agreed.

Sam shrugged. "What's family for?"

He was saved any further protestations of modesty when Dr. Roberts arrived with a nurse, a technician and a cart full of equipment.

"Well, I hear our patient has decided to rejoin us." He looked around the room for a moment. "I'm afraid you gentlemen will need to wait outside for a while. We need to check this little lady out."

Cait clutched Andy's hand tighter in an effort to keep him from leaving. "It's alright, honey," he assured her. "We won't go far, just down the hall so we can tell the rest of the family the good news. And Sam will be here with you." He looked up for confirmation and received a nod from his cousin. He then leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "I love you," he whispered before stepping away from the bed.

Steele took his turn and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "We'll be back soon, Luv," he told her, his eyes lingering on her face. The unspoken understanding passed between them brought fresh tears to Remington's eyes at the thought of what he'd almost lost. He was glad for the sunglasses as he flashed Cait a smile. Then he moved to join Andy at the door.

Cait watched them leave, then looked up at Sam left standing beside her. "Okay, young lady, it's time to see if you can pass all the tests." Wordlessly, she reached for his hand and gripped it firmly. "That's a good start," he told her as the technician moved in to connect her to his ominous looking equipment.

Funny how different things could look in the space of so short a time. Al was still sitting in a hard chair... waiting, but with the news of Cait's prospective recovery, what had seemed a sterile and dreary place last night, now appeared bright and cheery. He chuckled, knowing nothing in the room had changed. It was the good news that the morning had ushered in that changed all their perspectives.

Beside him, Laura glanced up at the sound of his quiet laugh. Her eyes were questioning and he shook his head.

"Don't mind me. I'm a little punch drunk."

"I know what you mean," Laura told him and then had to stifle a yawn. They both broke out in laughter that was mostly from the release in tension.

After a few moments, after they'd both recovered, Al shook his head. "I guess it got a little scary last night."

Laura nodded solemnly. "If Cait hadn't made it..." She paused, as if reluctant to even put the terrible possibility into words. Al reached over and placed a comforting hand on hers. She looked up, a trifle embarrassed.

"That didn't happen though," Al assured her. "We can be grateful for that."

"I understand that's due in a large part to you," she told him with a grateful smile.

Al waved her thanks aside. "Now... don't go getting all sloppy on me," he insisted gruffly. "I just did the driving. Sam's the one who saved her life."

Laura nodded absently; her face held a far-away look. "It's strange to think about now, but I can remember when Cait first showed up in our lives... I was jealous of her. Pretty stupid of me, but I was. It had taken so long for Remington and I to work out our relationship... to commit to each other... and then Cait came along and there was this instant bond between them. I just didn't understand for a while." She glanced over at Al self-consciously. "I don't even know why I telling you this."

Al shrugged. "'Cause I'm here and I'm listening. And because you needed to get that off your chest."

Laura studied him for a moment and Al squirmed a bit under her scrutiny. Then she smiled again. "I think you're a fraud, Admiral," she declared.

Al's eyebrows lifted at her perceptiveness. "I'll trust you not to tell anybody," he said with a wink.

Laura laughed lightly and Al noted what a musical sound that was. Too bad she was married already. He sighed. All the really nice ones were, he supposed.

"I promise," Laura told him. "But I don't think I'm the only one who has you figured out. This family has claimed you and I can assure you, that's a life long commitment."

"Was it that way for you?"

Laura smiled. "You don't even know the half of it," she stated. "I've known the Michaels even before I met Remington or Caitlin." That was news to Al. He's just assumed she'd married into the clan. "Murphy and I met about twenty years ago." She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe how long it had been, then gave Al a knowing look. "Just believe me... when this family adopts you, they mean it."

"I'm glad," Al said, more seriously than he'd meant to. But he was serious. For someone who'd never had much family to speak of, the thought of being a part of this close-knit group suddenly seemed extremely appealing. He could certainly understand how Caitlin must've felt when she'd found them.

"There's Remington and Andy," Laura announced, bringing Al's attention back to the here and now.

The two men came walking down the hall, both wearing huge grins on their faces that told more than any words could have.

"She's awake!" Andy informed them, his whole countenance beaming. "She's awake and she knows us."

"That's wonderful," Laura exclaimed, giving first Andy and then her husband a warm embrace.

"That's great news," Al chimed in, slapping Andy on the shoulder.

"They're running a few tests," Remington added, still holding on to his wife. "But she seems just fine." He tuned to Al. Even behind the dark glasses, his eyes were penetrating. "I want to thank you again, Al. If it hadn't been for you..."

"Yeah, man," Andy agreed whole-heartedly. "I owe everything to you."

All three pairs of eyes were on him and Al felt himself flushing uncomfortably. Before he could say anything, he felt Andy grab his hand to shake it, then he pulled Al into an affectionate embrace.

"Aw... geeze," Al muttered, knowing his face was probably beet red by now. He managed to extricate himself from Andy's hold. "I didn't do anything," he protested. "It was Sam. He's the one who saved her."

"We owe both of you," Remington stated happily, reaching out to shake Al's hand energetically.

Al was just as pleased that the man restrained himself a little more than Andy had. He wasn't sure he'd be able to live through another hug like the last one. As he stood, trying to gather himself back together, he happened to catch Laura's eye... and he didn't miss the knowing twinkle there.

Cait still felt a little groggy. She's floated in and out of it a bit while the doctors ran their tests, knowing that Sam was here in the room with her to take care of her and Andy and Remington were not far either. Now, with the tests done and all the doctors gone for the moment, there was one thing she wanted to do and no one had bothered to even ask her about it. She'd considered buzzing the nurse, but so far hadn't gotten the energy to reach to the button.

The door to her room suddenly opened and she smiled when she saw Andy poke his head in.

"Hi, Hon," he greeted. He needed a shave and there were dark circles under his eyes, telling her of the harrowing night he'd spent by her side, but he was grinning widely as he came in and perched on the side of her bed.

"Hi," she croaked. It was such an effort to talk and the doctors had told her not to do it more than necessary. But she considered this a definite necessity. "Andy... I..."

He held a finger to her lips. "No questions," he reminded her. "There's somebody outside who's been waiting to see you."

He turned towards the door and Cait let her gaze follow his, wondering who might be out there. In a moment the door opened again, this time a nurse entered. Cait's eyes opened wide as she saw what the woman was wheeling in. A clear plastic bassinet containing a small, tightly wrapped little bundle.

"Here you are, Mrs. Travis," the nurse told her. "This young man's been pretty impatient to meet you."

Cait grabbed hold of Andy's hand. He turned toward her, his face beaming. She tried to speak but he shook his head.

"No talking, remember?" He reached into the bed and picked up the baby, the years of practice giving him ease in handling the newborn. He cuddled the infant a moment, then brought the baby over to Cait, placing him in her eager arms.

She took him gratefully, wondering how Andy knew this was what she needed more than anything.

"He's beautiful," she breathed, taking him all in and marveling yet one more time at the miracle of birth. Though this was their fifth child, the joy she felt was every bit as much as with the first one. She glanced back ut Andy. "But how..."

Andy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "How could I not know?" he asked with a laugh. Then he grew serious and bent down to be near her, his eyes locked on hers. "Caitlin... you're a part of me. I know you like I know myself." He smiled again. "I knew you'd be having fits till you got to see him."

She smiled at Andy gratefully and nodded her head. She only wished her arms didn't feel so weak. The baby was laying on her chest, his little head rooting around and he was starting to make small, snuffling sounds. Her smile widened. She knew what that meant.

"He wants to eat," she said hoarsely and glanced up at Andy in concern. "I don't know if I can hold him."

Andy scratched his head a moment then he brightened. "Here, let me take him a minute." He scooped up the baby in one arm. Then he carefully sat down alongside her and handed their son over. "You get him started," he told her. "I'll help you hold him." He reached behind her and pulled at the string tie on her hospital gown. In a few moments, Cait had the baby situated. Andy settled closer, one arm stretched around her shoulders. The other under her arms, helping support the feeding infant.

"How's that?"

Cait smiled and leaned her head against Andy's, glad of his nearness. They sat that way in comfortable silence for a while and Cait almost felt herself drifting back to sleep. She opened her eyes again though, when she felt Andy lift his head.

"I guess we have to decide on this little guys' name." He glanced over at her. "You still set on Robert?"

Cait smiled tentatively and nodded. She knew Andy didn't really like it, but she so wanted to do it as a tribute to McCall, whom she owed so much.

Andy grimaced. "I just hate the thought of anybody calling him Bobby."

"What about Rob?" Cait asked. "Or Robbie?"

Andy shook his head. "That's Murphy's dad's name."

Cait thought for a time, watching Andy's face and knowing he hated crossing her. Finally he sighed and gave her a smile.

"I guess I can live with Robert," he conceded. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "What about the middle? We never did talk about that."

Cait shook her head. She'd been so concerned with the first name, a middle one hadn't even occurred to her. Andy rubbed at his stubbled chin.

"You know, we owe Sam a big one now too. Damn near as much as McCall. You like Samuel?"

Cait shook her head slightly. Robert Samuel didn't sound right to her. "What's Sam's middle name?" she whispered.

"James," Andy responded automatically. "Hmmm... Robert James... not too bad.

Cait liked it too, but she waited for Andy to decide how he felt. As she watched his reaction, his face suddenly lit up.

"Hey," he exclaimed. "I got it. We know he's gonna get pegged with Bobby. Why not just anticipate? We'll call him B.J. for Bobby James." He turned to Cait, his eyes hopeful.

She smiled and nodded approval. Her eyes moved from Andy's happy face down to the baby's sleepy one. He was so tiny and perfect... with his pudgy little nose to his wispy brown hair. Her smile grew bigger. B.J.... the name seemed to fit him somehow.

"Hello, B.J.," she greeted the baby softly. "Welcome to our family."

Al yawned sleepily. The long vigil was fast catching up with him. He ran a hand over his face, knowing he must look a mess. Hell, they all did. He glanced over at Sam. Poor kid... he looked dead on his feet, but his weary face wore a smile. Laura and Remington were sitting a few seats down, talking quietly between themselves. Al sighed. Things had turned out okay after all, he supposed. The night could've definitely ended worse for all of them.

The hospital was much busier this morning but Al still was able to make out the sound of children and he glanced up to see Katie and Clayton walking towards them, all the kids in tow. Andy's father looked a lot better than he had last night and Al was glad the older man had been able to get a least a few hours of sleep.

"Daddy! Mommy!" The Steele children had caught sight of their parents and rushed toward them.

Al watched, grinning at the reunion as hugs and kisses were shared all around. He turned when he felt a tug on his pant leg. Looking down, he saw little Shawna standing there, her big blue eyes questioning.

"Where's my baby brother?" she demanded and Al reached down to scoop her up and give her a big hug.

"He's with your mommy, Cupcake," he told her. "I'm sure you can see him in a minute."

"Andy called us," Katie Travis informed them. "He said it was okay to bring the kids on down. Thought it would be good for Cait to see them."

"I think he's right there," Steele agreed. "Best medicine in the whole world." He gave his daughter another kiss on her cheek.

It was then that Al noticed the older children didn't seem all that happy. Instead of basking in her father's attention, Katie Laura looked distressed about something. Trina and Danny also looked extremely anxious. Only Brian and the twins seemed blissfully unaware of whatever trouble was in the air. Finally Katie turned to her father, her face downcast.

"Daddy... I need to talk to you."

"What is it, Sweetling?" From Steele's voice, Al knew the detective had also taken notice.

Katie glanced over at her cousins, then back at her parents... her gaze moving between her mother and father. "We... um, last night... me and Trina and Danny... we sneaked out of the house and went to play outside."

"You did?" Steele's voice was even, waiting to hear the rest of the story.

Trina moved over closer to her uncle. She nodded her dark head glumly. "We went to play in the new shed."

"Aunt Cait found us out there and told us to go back to bed," Katie continued. "That must be when she hurt herself."

It was suddenly clear to Al what Caitlin had been doing out in the storage shed. He shook his head. Poor kids. They'd had to go through the whole night wondering about what had happened. He figured they must be feeling pretty awful about now. He watched Remington, wondering how the man would handle it.

"Did you know you weren't supposed to be out there?" Laura asked calmly.

Katie nodded her head. "Yes," she whispered. "We're sorry." Trina sniffled and nodded too.

Steele glanced over at Danny. Up till now the boy had stood apart, letting the girls do the explaining. His eyes were locked on the ground and Al could tell the kid felt terrible.

"Danny?" Steele prompted quietly.

Danny finally looked up, his blue eyes filled with tears. "It's all my fault," he confessed, his voice quavering. "My mommy got hurt and it's all my fault."

Steele reached out a hand and brought his nephew closer. The boy collapsed against his uncle's chest and sobbed. The girls were crying now too, silent tears streaming down their faces. Laura took Katie and pulled her down onto her lap, letting her daughter rest her head against her shoulder. Remington wrapped his free arm around Trina and had her sit down beside him.

He let them cry for a few minutes, knowing it would help more than anything else. Then he took Danny by the shoulders and pushed the boy back so he could see his face.

"Now listen to me... all of you." He let his gaze include the girls as well. "Caitlin is going to be fine and so is the baby. We all had a scare but it's okay now." He paused a moment then continued in a firm but gentle voice. "I don't want any of you to blame yourselves. You just made a mistake... that's all. Everybody makes mistakes. The secret is to learn from them and not to keep making the same mistakes over again."

As Al listened to him talk quietly to the children, telling them why it was that parents make rules for their children, how it's only because they love them and don't want them to be hurt, he suddenly became of aware of Sam standing next to him. He glanced at his friend and wondered at the knowing grin on the younger man's face.

Sam also had been listening to Remington's words. He knew that Steele, much like Al, had never had a very happy childhood or any kind of family life. Yet somehow Remington had managed to become a wonderful and caring father. Sam knew if life had turned out differently, Al would have been that same kind of father. He'd just never been given the chance.

As if he knew what Sam was thinking, Al suddenly spoke up brightly.

"Who's up for some ice cream?" All the kids jumped up, their hands waving excitedly. "Okay... let's go. My treat." He herded the kids out ahead of him. Katie and Clayton followed, willing to help him keep track of so many rambunctious little bodies.

Sam watched him go, not quite losing the smile on his face.

The sun was growing lower in the sky to the west as the helicopter made its way south, returning home. Funny, Al thought, he wasn't as anxious to get back to the project as he had thought he would be. Could it be it had only been a couple of days since they'd left? It seemed a lifetime ago. In some ways it had been. Somehow Al knew his life would never quite be the same again since he had become a member of Sam's family.

He glanced over at the passenger seat to find Sam snoozing. Despite the fact they'd managed to get in almost twelve hours of needed sleep before they left the ranch, the younger man was still exhausted. As always, Sam took upon himself the responsibility of looking after everyone around him before thinking of himself. It was even more so when it came to his family. After this visit, Al understood his best friend even better.

His thoughts drifted back over the last few days... faces, events, emotions. The image that filled his mind was the gathering in Cait's room just before they'd left. Everyone had crowded into the room where the new mother and her baby had been moved upon leaving the intensive care unit. Andy had been the master of ceremonies, presiding over the rest of the family as they all admired the newest addition to the family. The other children had all looked on with the kind of wonder on their faces that only the innocent can attain as they stared at the little bundle in her mother's arms. Looking on, Remington Steele's face revealed his relief at the way everything had turned out, and standing nearby, Andy's parents took in the scene before them with obvious pride in their family.

From his vantage point standing next to Al, Sam's expressive features showed some of that same pride, mixed with relief and perhaps a little touch of sadness. Al understood that feeling. If he were outside himself, he would probably read his own mood as envious, but tempered with a feeling of acceptance into this circle of love. At the center of the group, the focal point of all this emotion was Caitlin and little B.J.

There was, of course, another round of thank yous... to Sam, to Remington and, to his constant embarrassment, to Al. Most of his new friends allowed him to shrug off their gratitude, learning already not to press and not to be put off by Al's inability to put voice to his feelings. Cait, however, would not be put off. She reached out her hand for Al, drawing him closer. He took her hand and squeezed it in response to her whispered expression of thanks, then she drew him down and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

As Al remembered her expression, one filled with joy and contentment, he remembered back to the first time he'd seen her. It had been in New York several years ago. He and a few friends of his had gone to one of the endless stream of parties to which the famous astronaut was always invited. His fifth marriage was just about to end and he was on a particularly self-destructive cycle. There had been girls at the party, most of them underdressed, with heavy makeup to cover the years of life in the world's oldest profession. One of these girls, a little piece of fluff named Cherry, had been his "companion" for the evening. Funny, he couldn't even remember what she looked like, just the high-pitched laugh that responded to every joke he told her. The girl who was with her, the one who disappeared before the end of the evening with his friend Buzz, had stuck in his mind. She didn't look worn like the others, and there was a sadness in her blue eyes that had stayed with him. He didn't remember what name she had used then; it wasn't Caitlin, he was certain, but it had been the same young woman. He was glad she didn't remember him; he was glad he hadn't been the one she took to her bed that night. That was another life for both of them. What was past was past.

"What are you grinnin' about?" Sam's voice intruded on his thoughts. As he glanced at the curious expression on his friend's face, Al had the uneasy feeling that he had been under observation for more than just a couple of seconds.

"Just thinkin'," Al replied.

Sam regarded him in silence for a couple of minutes, then chuckled. "You know, now that you're a member of the family, you'll be expected at the next reunion, if not before."

Al rolled his eyes. "If you don't mind, Sam, I think I'll find a more restful way to spend my next vacation time. Maybe wrestling alligators along the Amazon."

Sam shook his head. "Well, you just remember that once you've been made a member of the family, you're in for life." He leaned back, hands behind his head and closed his eyes again, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

Al smiled to himself, still a little surprised to realize he didn't mind that life sentence in the least.

Epilogue

Al rubbed his tired eyes and leaned back in his chair. Every test they'd run had come up negative. The project staff, composed of some pretty impressive physicists and computer engineers, had been working 'round the clock and still hadn't come up with any answers. It had been two months... two months with Sam bouncing back and forth in time, and they were no closer to finding a way to get him back than they had been the night he'd stepped into the accelerator and vanished.

Al had gone through a lot of emotions since then: fear and frustration, anger and resentment, guilt and pain. In the end, he had put all of that aside because Sam needed him. He'd been doing whatever it took in order to keep Sam safe, physically and emotionally, and at the same time, keep the project open and searching for a way to bring him home. It didn't matter what the emotional toll was on the project administrator and official observer, whatever the cost, he'd pay it.

So lost in thought was he that he almost jumped out of his skin when his phone rang. It was the private line, the one that didn't go through the switchboard. It had been Sam's line; now only Al took calls on it and only from a select few people who were all very close to the absent scientist. Warily, Al lifted the receiver and tried for an upbeat, "Hello."

"Al?" the voice at the other end was as hesitant as Al felt, and he recognized it immediately.

"Hi, Cait." Al tried to sound cheery. "What's up at the ranch?" His eyes went to the small double picture frame on his desk. The image on the right was a photo of a laughing B.J., only a few months old, a combination of his parents features blended into one perfectly adorable child. The photo on the left side of the frame was a family picture of Cait and Andy and all five of their offspring.

"Al, we've been a little worried about Sam. I know you said he was just too tied up with work to make the reunion, but he hasn't even called. Is everything alright?"

Al closed his eyes and tried to marshal his thoughts to come up with a response that would ease the minds of Sam's family. Sam's family... the thought brought back, unbidden, the young scientist's image on that terrible night Cait had been hurt. Al, this is my family. If I tell them I can't tell them, they'll accept that.

"No, honey, everything is not alright, but we're gonna make it okay," he assured her. "Don't go worrying about Sam. He's fine, he's just... It's something I can't talk about. Sam isn't... available right now, but believe me, he's gonna be able to come see you real soon."

"Al?" Her voice was full of concern.

"Cait, I just can't tell you anything more. I shouldn't be telling you anything at all, but I don't want you to worry."

"You'll do the worrying for all of us, is that how it works?" she asked.

He sighed and hung his head. She was far too perceptive. "Cait..."

She interrupted him. "It's okay, Al. I know how much you love Sam and if you say he's okay, I believe you."

"He's fine, honest, Cait," he assured her. "I was just with him this morning. I..." He faltered, unsure what else he could add that wouldn't either give away too much or worry them more.

"It's okay, Al," she told him. "We trust you, you know that."

"Thanks, sweetie," he replied. "How are Andy and the kids?"

"We're all just great and the ranch is coming along wonderfully."

"I'll have to come see for myself sometime... as soon as I can," he hedged.

"Al, are you alright?" The concern in her voice touched the admiral so deeply he found it difficult to respond.

"I'm... I'm okay, Cait," he managed.

"We love you, too. Come when you can and call if you ever need anything, okay?"

"You guys are great," Al replied.

"We're family, Al. Give Sam our love."

"Will do. Kiss the kids for me, and give 'em an extra helping of ice cream."

She chuckled. "Alright. Bye, Al."

"Bye, sweetheart." He held the receiver for a moment before returning it to its cradle. Taking a deep breath, he stood up with purpose and headed for the door. It was time to go back to work and bring Sam home.