Interesting! A twist on the series by having Keyes stay on the good side. (Of course, I always thought that the Keyes-as-TRUE-bad-guy in "Wouldn't Die" seemed a bit out of his character.)

Of course, you've got me hooked for your next story where you will continue with Laura's con-man dad. (You WILL have another story where you continue with Laura's con-man dad, right!)

Another twist I love is giving them BOTH con-men fathers. Though, now that I think of it, you're at a point in the series where Daniel doesn't have to be Steele's father.

And the fake marriage being fake because they planned it to be such...and that they didn't want a real one...stays with the theme you built previously.

I do hope you keep writing. It's great to see new RS fic from writers that do it well. :o)

this is quite good.

as a faithful RS fan, i hated bonds of steele and all of season 5 really, because it was so out of character, esp. for RS. As you point out, he may have been desperate and tried to hide his hijinks, but he wouldnt have been flat-out mean to LH (watching while she rolled around in the mud?). Didn't seem like there was any real love, or mature relationship, between the characters. Only farce and slapstick.

Eager to see how you resolve things in a way that sticks to the whatever the writers' realities were (if necessary! readers won't mind if you stray!) and stays true to the characters.

This is getting really good. Can't wait to read the next chapter. Thanks for sharing your story!

Pardon me in my above comments for implying your story was a re-write. If I'd paid attention to your summary I'd have confirmed that you had larger goals in mind. Just a knee-jerk reaction to seeing "Bonds of Steele" in the title. It's indeed a new conception and you're off to a great start.

Each year I make a resolution not to read yet another "Bonds of Steele" re-write, that favorite of RS fanfic remodelers and do-it-yourselfers everywhere, but rules are made to be broken and I like how your "up for grabs" version is progressing so far. Investigating Keyes and doing a little B&E! Why didn't they think of this before? Quite curious to see what happens with the "Moonstone" painting puzzle, Laura's quest for "Franklin Blythe", and with the whole Bonds of Steele ball of wax.

Another WIP story I've been sucked into. Curses! ;-) I do very much hope the conclusion comes soon.

This is a good read so far. I like how you're revisioning "Bonds"...a thing that has been done by many over the years. But yours seems very different. Yet, it still has all the right elements falling into place.

As I said in my review of your other story, I'm even liking your summary/notes section. You seem to take the real life pieces and incorporate them into the stories in a creative way.

Odd as it sounds (since I'm actually *on* the RS DVDs in the Fans "extra" segment), I've not watched any of the RS DVDs (save for "my part"). Looks like I need to get to viewing, because you've pointed out a goldmine of writing tips in the commentaries.