Standard Disclaimer: due South and it's characters belong to Alliance. I just use them for fun. Hopefully they will return to their world unharmed and ready for other people to play with them.

WARNINGS: AU Cursing Humor NC-17

PAIRING (S): Meg Thatcher/Ben Fraser

TEASER: Meg and Ben play together. :)

SPOILER: Slight ATQH reference.

Ice Queen

Special thanks to my beta readers at DSIS. MegFraser, Lucky13, zzzaney and Frasrgrl! Without them...this thing would be a mess!

Originally posted to RedSuitsYou@onelist.com - August 1999

Inspector Margaret Thatcher sat at her desk finishing up the last of the reports for the day. She was tired, her eyes itched and her back ached. But it was Friday night and this was her time. No more reports. No more calls. No more duties. Once she stepped out of her office and into her car the evening was hers to do with as she pleased.

She packed up her Powerbook and proceeded to slip her shoes back on. *Even my feet ache.* Walking out the door of her office she spied Constable's Fraser and Turnbull in an animated discussion. *Turnbull and Fraser talking together? As if they were friends? This is quite strange.* The moment they saw her they both stopped. It was almost as if they had been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar.

"Good evening Sir." "Constable's Fraser and Turnbull greeted her. Normally Turnbull or Fraser would have offered to escort her out to her car, but now they both seemed eager for her to leave. Her eyes narrowed. *What are they up to?* She smiled pleasantly at Fraser. "And what do you have planned for this evening?" She looked directly at Fraser so there would be no mistaking who she was talking to.

Fraser seemed to fidget under her curious gaze. "Uh. Nothing much, Sir. I plan to spend my evening...practicing some things." *He didn't give me a straight answer.* She now turned her eyes to Turnbull. "And you?" "I am going to go home and watch the Leaf kick the sh...uh...I mean I'm going to watch the Leafs play the Black Hawks. Sir." *At least someone isn't hiding something from me.*

"That's nice. I hope the both of you enjoy your weekend and I will see you seven A.M. sharp, Monday morning." They said their good nights and as she shut the door she was certain she heard Turnbull say something to Fraser about 'don't forget your cup'. *Now what was that all about?* Shaking her head she walked to her car and got in.

"Oh my God Meg! You have got to remember to wash your equipment this week. You are rank!" She laughed at herself and rolled the windows of her car down. Gone was the strict R.C.M.P. officer. In her place was the weekend warrior. Meg Thatcher:Ice Queen was now in control.

Thatcher walked into her apartment and tossed the keys and Gucci purse onto a chair and she headed for the bedroom. She kicked her high heeled pumps off, sending them flying across the floor, to savor the feel of the thick carpet against her aching feet. Stripping off her dress she hung it up. Now was her favorite thing to do after a hard day at work. Peeling off her pantyhose she sighed with relief. *Whoever made those damn things should be shot!* She waded them up into a ball and tossed them into a corner of her room where four other pairs of nylons lay in a taupe pile. She would have to remember to soak them tomorrow.

She unhooked her bra and scratched under her breasts. It felt so good to be free. She sighed and stretched a few times. She finished dressing by putting on cotton crew socks, a well worn pair of jeans and a baggy R.C.M.P. sweatshirt. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, fastening it with a hair band and dug out a battered old pair of sneakers and laced them up. *How I wish I could wear sneakers to work everyday.*

She smiled at the memory of Fraser in full uniform with his sneakers on. His boots had been stolen and he was trying to hide the fact, unsuccessfully, that he had on sneakers. He had looked so cute standing there that it had taken all of her control and discipline to not reach over and ruffle his hair. Instead she had reprimanded him and said that he would have to pay for new boots. Lucky for him someone had found them and returned his beloved boots.

She gave herself a mental pinch. *Quit thinking about him. It doesn't matter how cute he is. Or how nice he is. Or how his face gets that dimple when he smiles. Stop it Meg! You need to concentrate. You have a game tonight.* The problem was that she had been thinking about Fraser way too much lately. She had even gotten into the habit of watching him at the consulate when he wasn't looking. Today, seeing him bending over to pick up a dropped file, had almost caused her to choke on her sandwich. Why in the hell did he have to look so good? Forget him. Forget the consulate. You have tonight all to yourself to relax.

She went about making herself a light dinner of pasta, a salad and a piece of bread. Sitting at the counter in the kitchen she ate her meal while reading the current issue of The Hockey News. Even though she was relaxed, she could feel the undercurrent of excitement building in her both physically and mentally. She had a game tonight! It wasn't a pro game like the Leafs and the Hawks game that Turnbull was going to watch, but to her it was just as important.

Her team, the Wolves, was nothing more than a recreational team. Most of the players were over the age of twenty-five and it was a non-check league. When you had a job to go to the next day no one really wanted to take the chance of ending up with the type of injuries that resulted from full check ice hockey. Who could afford the medical bills or time off from work? It would be a lot different if they were in high school or college. But they weren't. They were business people, parents, doctors and in her case an officer in the R.C.M.P. She smiled when she thought about it. It may have been non-check, but there was still the occasional hit and heavy contact that she enjoyed. *I may be smaller than most of them, but I have better balance. There's nothing like a surprise attack in the corner to wake an opponent up.*

Once done with the meal, she rinsed off her plate and shoved it into the dishwasher. It was almost full. Two weeks worth of dishes sat waiting to be cleaned. *I guess I should turn it on tomorrow if I want a clean bowl for my cereal Monday morning.*

Flopping down on the couch in the livingroom she channel surfed. Only one hour before I need to leave. Wiggling her foot nervously, she found the station that carried the Leafs verses Hawks game. The pregame show was on. Another smile came to her face as she thought about Turnbull. He was probably parked in front of his television with his Maple Leafs jersey on, preparing to cheer on his beloved team. *He almost cursed today. Turnbull almost said the word shit!* A giggle escaped her. Only a hockey game could cause such a passionate response from the normally bland Turnbull.

Her thought's went back to tonight's game. *I have to get Don to go in deeper in the zone. And Jack needs to quit dropping into the slot.* Her line was solid. She played center because of her quick hands, fast skating and more importantly, because she used her head. Don liked to hang back and cherry pick.He always waited at the blueline for her outlet pass. Jack...he liked to crash the net, and the goalie and anyone else in his path. Because of Jack, she and Don had become proficient at penalty killing.

She spent the next forty-five minutes getting up and down from the couch trying to rid herself of the pregame jitters. Sitting on the floor she stretched. Finally she had enough of the waiting. *Oh hell!* Clicking the television off, she grabbed her purse and keys from the chair and went out to her car.

Thatcher was always early to the games and the first one hanging out at the rink. She knew the nickname that her teammates called her. To her face it was Thatcher, but behind her back it was Rat. She had found out that she was called the Rat for two reasons. Rink Rat was the obvious one. The other was due to the way she would scurry all over the ice. The only one who would say it to her face was Don. Everyone else figured she would punch them if they said it. Her temper was one thing they all knew about.

Grinning she thought that the name suited her. *I guess it's better than Andy's nickname.* Scro. It had taken her forever to find out how Andy got his name and when she found out what it was, that was the last time she ever called him by it. Scro. Scrotum. They called Andy, Scro because he had big balls. *Leave it to men to think of disgusting names like that.* But she had to laugh in spite of it all. What a name to be tagged with!

Pulling her car into the parking lot, she grabbed her sticks and hefted her bag over her shoulder. When she entered the rink she was surprised to see her linemate and team captain Don, waiting for her in the lobby. She immediately knew something was wrong. "What's wrong? Is the game canceled?" "I wish it were that. Jack fell over his kid's bike today and his ankle snapped like a twig. Marge called and said he has pins and everything, the whole nine yards. He'll be out the whole season." "Damn." "Yeah, my feelings exactly. This really sucks. But don't worry, I found this guy last week at open hockey. Said he had only recently gotten back into the game, but he's fast. I took his name so I could find him a team to play on. So I figured we're his team now. All he needs is some ice time and I'm sure he'll fit in.

"Wait a minute. You found a replacement for Jack?" "Yeah. Sorry I didn't get a chance to call you first, but I had to act fast. It was a real bitch getting a hold of him too, but he said he was definitely interested in playing with us. When I told him we were called the Wolves, he said it was 'quite appropriate' that he would play for us." Don grinned at her and Thatcher made a face. "He sounds a bit weird. Did you tell him to get here early so that we could go over a few things?" "Yup. Here he comes now."

She turned to meet her new linemate and froze. *No! No! No!* Was God punishing her? What had she done to deserve this? The only place she had to relax and totally be herself was no longer there. The figure walking towards her faltered, almost stopping, and then he continued walking towards her with a big smile on his face. *Fraser!*

*When in the hell did he start playing hockey? Shouldn't he be off with Vecchio meddling in Chicago crimes?* Closing her eyes she tried to calm herself. Upon opening them she saw Fraser setting his equipment bag down and shaking Don's hand. "Boy, I'm glad you could make it. I'd like to introduce you to Meg Thatcher. She our center so you had better pay close attention to her. Thatcher cringed. *That's all I need. Fraser paying close attention to me.* "Thatcher this is Ben Fraser." Fraser cocked his head to the side as he reached out to shake her hand. It appeared that she didn't want him to let Don know that she already knew him, but he wasn't about to lie. "Yes I know...Thatcher already. We work together." She shot Fraser a dirty look as Don looked at the both of them. "Hey, what a small world. I would have guessed it sooner or later though. You're dressed like twins."

Don started laughing and it was all she could do to not tell Fraser to get the hell out of her rink. But the problem was, it wasn't her rink. Don invited him to join the team and she would only end up being labeled a bitch if she told Fraser to leave now. Looking Fraser over she saw that Don was right. Except for their jackets they had on identical clothing. *How embarrassing.*

As she and Don proceeded to tell him about tonight's game and what to expect, Fraser rested his chin on the butt end of his sticks. She could see how amused he was by the situation. "That's all I can think of. We'll play it by ear once the game starts. I gotta go and get ready 'cause once the rest of the guys get here it'll be crowded in there. Follow me to the 'pit of hell' known as our locker room." Fraser moved to pick up his gear when she stopped him.

"I need to go over a few with him, Don. You go ahead." Don gave her a grin and walked away. Her own smile faded as she turned back to Fraser. "Why are you here?" He looked at her puzzled. "To play hockey. Don said that he needed a winger." She clenched her fists. He knew what she had meant. "You don't tell them a thing. I am not your commanding officer. I am not 'sir'. Call me Thatcher while you're here. And more importantly don't get too comfortable playing with this team." "I don't understand Sir...Thatcher." "Fraser...I really don't want to spend 'my' free time associating with anyone from work. This is 'my' time. This is 'my' team. I hope you aren't offended, but please, after this game is over tell Don that you can't play for us. Give him any excuse that you can think of."

She could see the hurt in his eyes. Basically she told him to get the hell away from her. He picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Understood." She watched him until he walked into the locker room. *Why me? Why do I have to go through this? Now I have to feel guilty for hurting his feelings. But what did he expect? Oh hi, Ben! Welcome to the team! Thanks for ruining my only release from the R.C.M.P.* With an angry sigh she picked up her bag and sticks and went to get changed.

Stepping onto the ice, Thatcher was greeted by Don. As they skated leisurely around the rink, he tapped her shins with his stick. "So what's the matter Thatcher? You got a problem with Trigger?" "Trigger?" Don grinned at her. "Yeah Trigger. Ben. They already tagged him with a nickname." She looked to where Fraser was snapping off lightning fast wrist shots. *Not bad. I guess that's how he earned his name.*

"No, I don't have a problem with him." "Are you sure? He did say he works with you. Does he, you know, harass you at work or anything like that?" She stopped and Don stopped along side of her. "No. It's nothing like that. Why?" "Look Rat. You're always the first one out here and now that he's here your ass was almost the last one out on the ice. What gives?" "I said it's nothing." "Well...if the nothing turns into a something I'll tell him we can't use him on the team. Deal?" She nodded her head yes and skated away from him.

As she skated around the ice she picked up a puck and weaved around an imaginary opponent. The cold air against her face, the sound of her blades cutting into the ice and the sound of the puck against her stick were the only things that she heard. Everything else simply faded away. *God, I love this game!*

With a joyful smile she took off down the ice, heading straight towards her netminder. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent a low shot past his glove. "Got ya' Dougie!" Her smile faded as she skated past Fraser who had been watching her. She shot him another dirty look and went to the other side of the rink to begin their circle drill to warm up Dougie.

All through the drill she watched to see how Fraser was doing. He didn't look half bad for someone who had said he just got back into the game. When had he ever played? For some reason she could never picture Fraser playing a team sport. He was such a loner. Dog sledding would suit him better. But it appeared that her teammates were welcoming him with open arms. *Of course they will, Meg you idiot. They don't know that he's your junior officer. They don't know that you want him.* God forbid anyone would pick up on the fact that she was attracted to Fraser. They would be all over her so fast it would make her wish she were a figure skater. She made an involuntary gagging noise. *Figure skating. Gag!*

The buzzer went off and they all skated to the bench. Don gathered them around him. "O.K. guys. Jack's out for the season, so we have Ben here taking his place." Thatcher heard Greg, one of her defenseman, nicker like a horse and all of the guys started laughing. All except for Fraser who turned beet red and quickly looked away from her when she glanced his way. *What was that all about* "Remember guys, it's only a game." There was more laughter, only this time it was louder and sarcastic. They placed their gloved hands on Don's as he yelled, "Let's go Wolves!"

As she, Don and Fraser sat on the bench, she again looked at Fraser who avoided direct eye contact with her. *Hum. What's his problem? Did someone say something to him? Oh boy, here I go. Playing protect the Mountie's feelings.* With a grin she yelled over to Fraser. "Hey Trigger! What's the matter?" Fraser's head jerked around to look at her and he again turned a deep red. He was staring at her mortified. She watched as he stood up and made his way further down the bench and sat down again, refusing to look back at her. There were snickers all over the bench and a few players looked her way.

Don was leaning back against the bench laughing his ass off. Thatcher nudged him with her stick. "Am I missing something?" Don looked at her and tried talking. He held his hand up, motioning for her to wait. She again glanced down the bench at Fraser who was hunched over looking at the floor. Don finally leaned over to her. "Yeah you missed something Rat. Do you know why they call him Trigger?" "Sure. I saw his wrist shot in warm up. It's fast and accurate like a gun. He's pulling the trigger so to speak when he shoots."

Don fell back laughing again. He was just about to speak to her when he jumped up. "Line change!" Thatcher and Don jumped the boards, followed by Fraser who had been pushed into action by one of the other players. As she picked up the puck, she spotted Fraser wide open on the left wing side. With a snap of her wrist, she sent the puck flying to him. It bounced off of his stick, but he quickly recovered and shouldered his way past the defenseman and passed the puck to Don, who tipped it at the net. The goalie snatched it up for a glove save.

"Nice pass Fraser!" Thatcher looked over at him as they set up for the face off. He still wouldn't look at her. As their shift went on she forgot all about Fraser and concentrated on putting the puck in the net. As soon as they changed lines she found herself next to Don as usual, but again Fraser stayed as far down the bench as he could get from her. She tapped Don again.

"O.K. Why?" "Why what?" She indicated Fraser at the other end of the bench. Don started laughing once more. "He works with you?" "Yes." Don sniggered. "He's Trigger 'cause he's got a big dick. You know, like Trigger, Roy Roger's horse. And you yelled it right at him!" Thatcher felt her own face growing hot. *Oh my God!* She looked down the bench at Fraser who was looking very unhappy from her angle. *No wonder he won't look at me.*

"You're kidding me, right?" Don smiled. "About the nickname? No. Is he hung like a horse? He's got a good sized one, but it's not the size of a horse." Don laughed again, but he immediately stopped when he noticed that she wasn't laughing with him and she was as red as Fraser was a few minutes ago. Don's eyes went wide. "Oh this is good!" "What?" Don shook his head and laughed at her, talking loud enough so that half the bench could hear him. "The Rat has the hots for Trigger!"

Several faces leaned forward and she saw Fraser looking over when he heard his new name being used. She punched Don, who laughed even harder. "Let me rephrase that. She loves him!" The laughter on the bench got louder, drawing the attention of the opposing team. "Go to hell Don!" She got up and jumped the boards for their line change. Once their shift was over she sat down and ignored Don.

"Oh come on Rat! I'm teasing you. Hell, I thought you were a dyke! And all this time you were saving yourself for Trigger down there. Does he even know that you like him?" She glared at Don who smiled at her. "Nope. He must be clueless." Again she ignored him. Don stood up on the bench. "Yo, Trigger!" She saw Fraser visibly flinch as he turned slowly to look at Don. "My name is Ben." "Yeah whatever Trigger. Are you married?"

Fraser stared at Don and then looked down at Thatcher who quickly turned her head. "No I am not." "Are you a packer?" "A what?" "A fag. Do you do it with guys?" For the third time Fraser turned red. "No." He turned away from Don and moved to stand at the very end of the bench. Thatcher attacked Don the moment he sat down.

"That was uncalled for!" "Hey, he's good to go Rat. He's not married and he's not gay. You're not married and you're not a dyke. Go for it!" She glared at him again. "It's not that simple!" He smiled at her. "Yes it is. He's a guy, you're a girl. He's the plug, you're the socket. It's as simple as it gets." "I am his commanding officer!" She spoke it through gritted teeth and Don imitated her. "Then command him to fuck your brains out Rat 'cause it's obvious you want him to!"

He laughed again as he jumped over the boards. *God damn him!* The moment they were back on the bench he started in on her. "So Rat. How long do you think he'll last?" "What?" "Do you think he'll be a quickie or a stayer?" "You are a real bastard Don!" "You want him Rat. Say it and I'll leave you alone." She ignored him. "Oh baby you want him worse than you want to win this game. Come on, say it Rat." Don leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Say you want to fuck Trigger and I won't say another word." She turned to him and practically shouted it in his face. "O.K. I want to fuck Trigger, now shut the hell up!"

There was complete silence on the bench as all the helmets turned first her way and then towards Fraser.She saw the shock on his face and again his embarrassment. The buzzer went off signaling the end if the period. Fraser grabbed his sticks, hopped over the boards and skated over to the door and left the ice. She turned back to Don. "Now look what you've done!" "Me!? No way Rat. You're the one who loves Trigger. And if you want to win this game, you had better go and get him back on the bench."

Thatcher was getting pissed. "Me?" Greg leaned over the boards and grinned at her. "Yeah. Go get him. If one of us goes in there he might go ballistic and hit us. He won't hit you. He likes you." "You are all a bunch of morons!" Don put his feet up on the boards. "If you love your team more than him, then prove it. Go bring him back."

She shoved Don's feet out of the way and skated off the ice to find Fraser. "This is so stupid. I should let him go. It would solve all of my problems here." *Yeah Meg. It would solve your problems here, but what happens Monday morning when you have to face him at work. Take care of it now before it gets too out of hand.* She snorted. *All right it's out of hand now. But at least try and fix it.*

She walked across the black rubber matting and headed for the men's locker room. Peeking around the corner of the entrance, she prayed that Fraser hadn't stripped off his equipment yet. But another sick part of her secretly wished she would 'accidentally' walk in on him, finding him buck naked. She found him sitting on the bench by his bag. His head was down, resting in his hands, he made a pretty forlorn figure in the room all by himself. "Fraser." He ignored her as she stepped into the locker room. *What a sty.* Walking over various pieces of clothing and bags she stopped and stood looking down at him.

She spoke in a gentle tone, it wouldn't do any good to yell at him. "Fraser. Come back to the bench and finish the game. There's two more periods left." "No thank you, I'm leaving." "No. You're coming back to the bench." He looked up at her, his eyes red, almost on the verge of tears. "Why? So you can humiliate me further? If you hadn't wanted me to play today, why didn't you just tell me, instead of doing all of that?" "You think I did that to you on purpose?" He looked back down at the floor as he ran a hand through his sweaty hair. In a small voice that was almost a whisper he answered her. "Yes."

Unsnapping her helmet, Thatcher pulled it off and dropped it on the floor next to his. She sat down on the bench beside him. "Do you honestly think I would ever do something like that to you?" She was shocked by his answer and the bitterness in his voice. As he spoke he looked directly into her eyes, the words stabbing her through the heart. "You would do anything to push me away from you, even order me to forget..." He didn't finish what he was going to say and he didn't need to. She knew exactly what he meant - the kiss on the train that they had shared.

Pulling the jersey over his head, he tossed it onto another player's equipment bag. "I'm not going to stay. You won't have to worry about me ruining 'your' time with 'your' team." His voice grew softer as he spoke sadly. "All I wanted to do was to play hockey. When Don asked me to join, I thought about how much fun it was to be on a team." He sighed. "When I saw you I was startled at first, but then I thought maybe this would be an opportunity to get to know you better. That maybe we could be...friends. I am sorry I ruined your evening. I won't do it again."

She felt like screaming. Of all the people in the world that she had to be attracted to, why did it have to be him? Why her junior officer? And why did he have to be so Goddamn sensitive? *You know why, Meg. Take a good look at him, you idiot. That's why.* "Fraser...Ben. You haven't ruined anything. It's...this is my one release from my duties. I don't have to be Inspector Thatcher here. I'm just Thatcher, a center playing for the Wolves." *Oh go ahead and tell him about 'your' nickname.*

"I know you're a little upset over the nickname they've given you." He didn't answer her, but his change in coloring blared out his answer. "If it makes you feel any better I have one too. It's Rat." His brow knitted in concentration. "Rat?" He looked over at her, well actually he was looking her over, the intensity of his gaze making her decidedly uncomfortable. Shaking his head, he looked at her totally confused. "I don't understand, Sir." "Rink rat. Also because of the way I 'scurry' around the ice." He smiled slightly at that comment.

"You know, your name could be alot worse. Did you hear what they call Andy?" He nodded yes. "Scro?" "Do you know what it means?" "No." She found herself getting embarrassed. *It's a body part Meg. Don't be embarrassed. Act your age.* "Scrotum. Because his...well you get the picture. They had to tell me why he was called that and Don told me about yours..." Her voice trailed off and Fraser turned his head away from her, clearly embarrassed. "So Trigger isn't that bad of a name. If you think about it, it's something of a compliment." *Oh that's nice! Tell him he should feel better because the other guys think his dick is big. Way to go Meg.* Fraser cleared his throat. "They are...exaggerating." With a wicked grin she replied, "I wouldn't know." *I can't believe you said that to him! Change the subject and do it fast. Maybe he wasn't paying attention to what you said.*

"If you don't come back and finish the game, they'll tear me apart." He looked at her surprised. "They would hurt you?" Leaning back against the wall she started laughing. "No! God, you can be so literal! If you think being called Trigger is bad...they would never let up on me. I'll be the butt of all of their jokes." Standing up she walked over and grabbed his jersey and threw it in his face. "I'm not leaving until you come back and play. And if we don't go out there soon...they'll think we're in here doing something we shouldn't be doing." She smiled at him to try and let him know that it was a joke, but Fraser still got flustered. As he pulled on his jersey, it hit her. She did want to do 'it' with him. And by the way he was acting, she was sure he wouldn't say no to her.

*This is not good Meg. This is why you shouldn't associate with Fraser off duty. It's too tempting.* Thatcher quickly reached for her helmet at the same time as Fraser reached for his, their faces only inches apart. They stayed in that position for a few seconds. *Kiss him Meg. Just do it.* She leaned forward slightly. *NO!* Jumping back, she pulled her helmet on and snapped the straps into place, her heart pounding in her chest. Now it was her turn to be flustered as Fraser stared at her as he put his own helmet on. *God those eyes of his. Damn him!* She looked over at the chalkboard. *Look anywhere, but don't look at him.* "We should go." "Yes, Sir." "Don't call me sir." "O.K....Rat."

Her head snapped up and she saw the amusement in his eyes. *So he wants to tease now.* "Let's go win this game...Trigger." He smiled back at her as he turned a nice shade of pink. *Calm down Meg. Remember who you are and who he is.* Walking back to the rink, they stood at the door behind the goalie, waiting for a stoppage of play to get back onto the ice. *Not bad Meg. You didn't molest him and you got him to come back. Things will get better. Maybe now Don will lighten up a little.* At the first whistle she saw Don skating over to them to open the door. And he had the biggest shit eating grin on his face that she had ever seen. The chances of Don letting up on tormenting them was obvious. Looking at Fraser, she could see his apprehension building. *Shit!*

"It's about time you two! What were you doing in there Rat? Checking Trigger out to see if it was true?" He laughed and skated over to the faceoff circle. Thatcher tapped Fraser in the ass with her stick, startling him. "Let's go Fraser." She could hear him muttering under his breath as they stepped back onto the ice, "Americans." *I see he finds them as exasperating as I do.*

Taking the faceoff, she elbowed her way past the opposing center and slid the puck neatly back to the point. Greg's stick cranked up and met the puck. It never reached the net, because one of the opposing teams wingers blocked the shot and took off down the ice with the puck. *Shit!* Thatcher wheeled around and tore after him. Before she could catch up to the player, Fraser appeared and knocked him off the puck, sending him to the ice like a ton of bricks. The referee's arm went up and the whistle was blown.

She yelled out, "What?! You have got to be kidding me?" The ref signaled interference, pointed at Fraser and then at the penalty box. She skated up to the ref. "What kind of call is that? He bumped him." "Don't argue Thatcher. Interference, two minutes." Fuming she skated over to Don. "That was a lame call." Don grinned at her. "A little over protective are we? It was a good call. I think you're letting your feelings for Trigger get in the way. Snap out of it!"

Fraser sat calmly in the penalty box. He hadn't even protested the call. *I'd expect that much from him. He wouldn't argue to save his life. That's the 'last' time I stick up for him!* She and Don killed Fraser's penalty and when he came back to the bench she turned to him. "What was that all about?" "Excuse me Si...Rat?" He was teasing her , but she was no longer in the mood for it. "If you're going to play this game, then play it. Don't take any more stupid penalties. 'I' would like to win this game." Fraser gave her a blank look and then faced the ice, remaining still and quiet.

*Oh great! Now he's going to pout.* The next thing she knew she was lying on her back with Fraser almost on top of her. He pushed away and grabbed her arm pulling her back onto the bench. "What is wrong with you Fraser?!" Don smiled over at her. "Sorry Rat. Greg and Randy pushed me into Trigger. I guess he wasn't ready for it and he hit you." Leaning over Fraser she could see her two defenseman horsing around on the bench. "Knock it off! Get your heads out of your asses and into the game!"

Glancing to her left, she found that she had leaned across Fraser and her glove was in a most inappropriate area. He sat stiffly, as if he were afraid to move. As she withdrew her glove she could have sworn that he had been holding his breath. "Sorry." She turned back to the game. Don, as always caught the exchange and nudged Fraser. "How'd it feel?" "Pardon?" "How'd it feel to have Rat grope you on the bench?" Fraser looked over at Thatcher, opened his mouth to speak, then he shut it and faced towards the ice once more.

"Hey, Rat." Thatcher closed her eyes. *Please, please, please, do not let me hit him.* "Did you feel enough of Trigger to see if it's true?" She jumped across Fraser and grabbed Don by the front of his jersey. "Knock..it..off!" She shoved him back and then glanced to her left. This time her knee was resting in the spot where her glove recently vacated. Looking at Fraser she felt her face growing hot. "Uh, sorry. Excuse me."

She tried moving, but somehow her skate blade had become caught in his jersey. He reached to untangle it, but she was almost in a panic now. *Get off his lap!* Shifting heavily, she pushed up and heard a loud 'ooff' sound. Fraser doubled over and as he did it he shoved her off of himself and onto the floor. It would have been comical if it had been anyone else, but as she looked up at him from her position on the floor, she watched Fraser trying to control himself. "Sorry Fraser." He gave her a weak smile and a strangled, "It's O.K." came out.

Don grabbed her under the arms and lifted her back up. Sitting back on the bench she nudged Fraser with her glove. "Are you all right?" "Yes." He slowly straighten up and moved a few inches away from her. Don was laughing as usual. "If you keep this up Rat, you two won't be able to have any post game sex tonight." She was surprised at Fraser's reaction to the comment as he yelled at Don. "That is enough!" Don sniggered and turned away from Fraser. "Line change!"

The three of them jumped over the boards and flew across the ice. Fraser intercepted a pass from the opposing center and charged down the ice. Thatcher trailed in behind Fraser, as he entered the zone. It appeared that he was going to take a shot, but he drop passed it to Thatcher who let off a quick wrist shot. "Yes!" With a skip she circled around the net in celebration of her goal, expecting to be greeted by Fraser and Don.

When she turned she saw Fraser laying on the ice, up against the boards, in obvious pain. Right next to him, Don was punching the shit out of the other team's defenseman. "Oh boy!" *Hold back Meg. Don't be stupid and be third man in.* She skated toward Don and was soon joined by the rest of her teammates on the ice. They milled about and a few pushes and choice words were thrown about. With a smile she noted that it took the ref and the linesman to pull Don off of the other player.

Don was livid. "What kind of cheap shit is that?! You stupid fuck, you could have killed him!" *Fraser! I forgot all about him!* She turned and looked at Fraser. Greg was kneeling by him, leaning over his prostrate figure. She knew that he was all right when Greg started laughing and patted him on the shoulder. She moved over to them. "What happened?" Greg looked at her and grinned as she knelt down beside him to get a better look at Fraser. "He got speared. Right in the gut. Sorta knocked the wind out of him." Greg stood up and skated over to where Don was still arguing with the ref.

*What a mess.* Leaning down she rested a hand on his shoulder and looked at his face. *He looks a bit paler than normal.* "Are you O.K.?" His eyes were closed and he was having trouble breathing, but he choked out a reply. "I'm fine." He slowly rolled over onto his side and struggled to stand. With some help from Thatcher, he got back on his skates.

"You don't look O.K. You can't even stand up straight." "I will be fine." *It looks more like he got it in the groin. If he got hit there, they'll have a field day with him in the locker room.* She helped him over to the bench, where he sat and rested his head on the boards. The commotion on the ice was finally under control. "I'll be back, don't move." Fraser looked up and grinned painfully. "I believe I will be here when you get back."

Thatcher skated over to the penalty box where Don was still arguing with the referee. "Five minutes? I should have gotten an award for that. He could have killed him!" The ref shook his head. "You're lucky I haven't kicked you out of the game. Get in the box." "This is a bunch of bu..." She grabbed Don and spun him around. "Don't argue. Five minutes isn't bad considering. That piece of crap is out for the rest of the game. Don't be a fool." Don nodded his head and stepped into the penalty box.

Skating back to the bench, she relayed the information. "Stan, you double shift with me and Fraser." "No problem, Thatcher." Moving down the bench she sat next to Fraser who was finally sitting up straighter. He winced as he stretched and held his lower side. "Groin?" With an embarrassed expression he nodded yes. She smiled at him. "Direct hit?" This time she got a smile from him. "Close but...I am intact." She chuckled and turned to watch the game. *I can't believe I'm sitting here talking to Fraser about his...neither region.*

In what only seemed moments to her, Don was back on the bench. He flopped next to Fraser and elbowed him. "Hey Trigger. You still able to have kids?" Instead of getting angry or embarrassed he actually grinned at Don. "Yes, I believe that I shall be able to keep the family name alive." "That's good. I thought that jerk got you bad. Man, my balls hurt just thinking about it." Don faked a wince and clutched at himself. Fraser shook his head and looked down at his skates.

"Hey Rat! Did you hear that? Trigger and you can still have kids." She opened her mouth to say something to Don about her not having any kids with Fraser, when she noticed that Fraser had frozen, waiting for her response. *Close call Meg. You almost pushed the knife into the hilt on that one.* She had almost blurted out that there would be a chance in hell of Fraser ever getting her pregnant. If she had said that...as sensitive as he was, the damage could have been irreparable. She caught him looking at her and he quickly looked back at the ice. *Does he see me that way? Being the mother of his children?*

The game went on and she found it was harder to concentrate on the game. She kept getting an image of herself pregnant, waddling onto the ice. With a shake of her head, she tried ridding herself of the picture. Fraser skated over to her at the faceoff circle. "Are you all right?" He looked worried. Overprotective. Sweet. *Get your mind back in the game Meg, not on him! You are so pathetic, mooning over him like this.*

She snapped at him. "Yes, I'm fine! Get back into position." He gave her a hurt look and skated backwards, settling into his side of the circle. Her anger at the entire situation showed itself in her style of play. The puck was dropped and she chased the opposing center into the corner, throwing her shoulder into him. The sound of his body hitting the boards was loud and heavy. She grabbed the puck and heard the whistle being blown. *Now what!?*

"Two minutes, Number sixteen. Checking." "What?! That wasn't a check! I barely touched him!" "Don't argue Thatcher." "You have got to be out of your mind! You wouldn't know a check..." Her tirade was cut off by Fraser who skated in between her and the referee. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her toward the penalty box. She yanked away from him. "What do you think you're doing?!" "Preventing an additional penalty. We can not afford to lose you. Two minutes is enough."

She turned her back on Fraser, skated to the box and stepped in. She went to slam the door and Fraser who had followed her, reached out to stop it. "That is enough. Sit and serve your time." He skated over to Don, where they talked briefly before Fraser went to the bench and Stan came out to take his place on the penalty killing unit.

As she sat in the box, she shot Fraser a dirty look. *He has some nerve doing that to me. Who does he think he is? He isn't even a member of this team!* Once her penalty was over she was again on the bench sitting next to Fraser and Don. "Hey Rat." "What?!" "Geez, calm down. If you get another penalty, your ass is mine." Fraser shot a look at Don, which Thatcher didn't miss. *Does he think Don is going to hit me? Oh please!* "This game is too close for you to be pulling shit like that with the ref. If Trigger hadn't cut in you'd be out for more than two minutes. Instead of being pissed at him, you should be kissing his ass." Don leered at her. "Or maybe in his case you'd want to kiss something else." "Go to hell!" Don laughed and turned his back on her to talk to another player.

She looked up and saw Fraser had a slight smirk on his face. "And what do you find so amusing?" This time he smiled at her, catching her completely off guard with his comment. "You really laid into that guy in the corner. It was a nice check." She felt flustered again. *God, you would have thought he told you have a nice ass. He's complimenting you on your playing ability.* "Uh...thanks."

As the period went on, the play of the game became more intense. But each time she came to the bench she kept finding herself sneaking peeks at Fraser. He was sweaty and breathing hard. And all she could think of was him sweating and breathing hard while he was making love to her. The images of him kissing her, touching her intimately were too distracting. *This is bad Meg. You have it way too bad for him.* Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. *Focus on the game.*

Don had backed off on his relentless teasing of Fraser and he was beginning to relax. It showed in his play, because he wasn't making so many mistakes and he was talking more. The fact that Fraser was talking at all was a good sign. She had to bite back a laugh when he jumped up from the bench when Stan almost scored. He really was into the game and she could tell that he was now enjoying himself. This Fraser was not the one that she saw at the consulate. This Fraser was...happy. *This is the first time I've ever seen him happy.* The thought made 'her' feel sad. Fraser really didn't have much in his life to be happy about.

She looked up at the clock. *Five minutes. We have five minutes and the win is ours. And our goalie will have a shu...don't even think it. You'll jinx the goalie.* They took their shift and were back on the bench again. Don hit Fraser and then reached past him to hit Thatcher. "Rat, Trigger, we need to play really tight this last shift. No matter what...do not let the puck reach the net. If you have to lay down in front of the shot, do it!" "Understood." 'You got it, Don."

These were the type of games that Meg Thatcher thrived on. The last minute, down to the wire, choking your throat off kinda games. When many players folded under pressure, she shined. Her years in the R.C.M.P. gave her an edge that none of the other players had. She could handle the stress and the responsiblilties placed on her by the team. Compared to her job duties as an Inspector, this stuff was a piece of cake.

There were only two minutes left to play, the score was still one to nothing. Her line was now out, ready to protect the win. Looking to her left, she nodded at Fraser. At first she had been leery about him playing the final minutes of the game, but she wasn't about to pull him off her line at the last minute and replace him. He had worked well with Don and herself the entire game. Why change it now?

The ref dropped the puck and she was able to back pass it to the corner where Greg took possession of the puck. He set up behind the net. Looking for an outlet pass he stopped and turned back, trying to waste some time. Greg was smart. He wouldn't just dump the puck to get it out of the zone. Spotting Don open, Greg snapped a pass to him.

Thatcher quickly followed up the ice, trying to get clear of the opposing center, but he was clinging to her worse than a staticy dress. Everyone knew her in the league, and they also knew how deadly she could be in the final minutes of a game. She was the leading scorer for third period goals so far this season, and that meant she would have to be shadowed like nobodies business.

Don had the puck taken away and the opposing player circled around and headed back to her zone. *Crap! Got to stop him!* She could feel a stick wrapping around her waist, pulling her so she couldn't move forward. "Let go you stupid jerk!" With a jab of her stick she heard the player hooking her grunt and let go. Taking a quick look, she hadn't been caught by the ref, she continued up the ice.

A look at the clock showed less than sixty seconds left in the game. Things always seemed to slow down when the play was this hectic. Greg had gotten caught up on the boards, and Fraser had dropped back to cover his position. *Please let him know how to play defense!* Thatcher watched as the winger wound up for a slap shot just as he passed the blue line. It was a low one. To her relief, Fraser did exactly as Don instructed him to do. He dropped down to the ice, blocking the shot with his chest.

Thatcher jumped on the puck and dug her skates into the ice, throwing up a shower of snow and just as quick, she ran on her skates, heading back to the opposing team's zone. Her mind was set. Goal. Get a goal. She could hear her teammates screaming from the bench as she skated down the ice. Darting around a winger, she skated toward the netminder.

*Yes! He's leaving the entire left corner open! Fool!* With a snap of her wrist the puck flew through the air. As it hit the back of the net, she jumped up, stabbing her fist above her head. "She shoots, she scores!" She screamed it at the opposing team's goalie, knowing that it was bad sportsmanship, but she loved to rub it in their faces that her team was the best. *Ah who cares! Let them bitch! We won!*

"All right, Rat!" Don skated up to her and enveloped her in a tight hug, rubbing her helmet roughly with his glove. "Good job!" Greg and Randy came up and gave her high fives. Fraser skated up to her. He didn't touch her, but he had the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen. "Nicely done...Rat." She grinned and hit him in the shoulder. "Good block...Trigger!" He shook his head and chuckled as he skated over to the face off circle. With only fifteen seconds left in the game, there wasn't much of a chance of the other team making a come back. All they had to do was keep the puck out of their zone.

She won the face off and Randy took the puck back into their zone, wasting time as he skated behind their net. The buzzer finally sounded as his pass off of the glass bounced into the center ice. With a lot of back thumping and head butts, they lined up at center ice and did the customary hand shake. She noticed the occasional glare or muttered comment about 'the dyke', but she ignored them. *What a bunch of sore losers.*

She skated back to the bench to pick up her sticks and water bottle. Fraser was standing with Don, looking rather dejected as he was about to speak. *Oh shit! I forgot!* "So Trigger, can you make next Saturday's game at nine?" Fraser glanced at Thatcher and turned back to Don. Just as he was about to speak she moved to stand next to Fraser. "Yeah, he can make it Don. I'll make sure there's nothing scheduled." "Hey that's good. See you both next week. Good game Rat. Not bad for your first time, Trigger." Don grinned at them and skated away and headed toward the locker rooms.

Fraser turned to Thatcher and looked at her. His head was cocked to the side. She could tell that he was thoroughly confused by what she had just done. *He should be confused. I tell him to not play with us and now I'm bringing him back. This is going to be difficult, but we can make it work. As long as I don't get involved with him, things should be fine.*

He took his helmet off and stared at her. *Why did he have to do that?!* His hair was totally soaked with sweat, but it wasn't matted. It curled. His hair was curly, giving him that innocent, little boy look that drove her completely up the wall. And his cheeks were flushed a nice colour pink from all of the exertion. How was she supposed to talk to him like a sane person, when all she wanted to do was rip his equipment off and have her way with him on the bench?

"Excuse me, but I don't understand?" "I changed my mind. I guess it won't be so bad if we played on the same team. Don and the rest of the players like you and I think you make a pretty good line mate." She watched the flush turn to a darker blush. *He can never take a compliment.* "We usually go out for a bite to eat, so if you hurry up and get changed we could maybe talk about next weeks game. The team we're going to play is pretty tough."

Fraser tucked his head down slightly, smiling shyly. "That would be...nice." *Why does he have to do that?! Does he know what that does to me? Stop it!* She moved ahead of him and heard him skating behind her. They stepped off of the ice and onto the rubber matting. Fraser gave her a small grin and headed toward the locker room. As he pulled against the door it didn't open. She watched him try a second time.

She walked over to the door with a smile on her face. "There playing with you Fraser." "What do you mean?" "They locked the door as a joke." She took a gloved hand and pounded on the door. "Hey Don! Open up! He needs to get changed!" She could hear the laughter in the locker room and her blood ran cold. *No. Don't even think it. They wouldn't dare!*

Don's voice yelled out from the other side of the door. "No way Rat! Besides, his equipment is in 'your' locker room. We thought you two might want to 'discuss' the game together!" She could hear the cat calls and whistles. "Don! Open the fucking door! This isn't funny!" She pounded on it with her fists. "Open up!"

She turned and saw Fraser. He looked like he was going to pass out. *What in the hell am I supposed to do. I don't need this! His stuff had better not be in my locker room!* "Come on!" She walked angrily away from him and stopped when she noticed that Fraser wasn't following her. Turning back she yelled at him. "Are you deaf!? I said come on!" He took a faltering step and then slowly followed her into the women's locker room.

As she opened the door to the locker room she prayed that Fraser's equipment bag wouldn't be there. *They have to be joking. They wouldn't pull something as sick as this.* Looking in the room she felt like crying. *Those fucking bastards!* There sat Fraser's bag next to hers. His leather jacket was hanging beside her suede one. One of the players was sick enough to set her underwear next to his boxers.

Without a word she walked calmly into the room. *I can't let him think this is bothering me. He'll freak!* She went across the room and grabbed Fraser's bag, picked it up and set it on the opposite side of the room. Fraser finally came in. He looked like a lost kid at the mall. He saw her drop his bag, his eyes went wide and he turned a bright red. "I...I will wait...until you get changed. Then I will come back."

Thatcher sighed. *Why in the hell didn't I think about that?* "You are quite right Fraser. I'll try to shower as fast as I can. Maybe we could go get something to eat afterwards. Without the team. I don't think they deserve our company after this stunt." The relief in his face was evident, as was the surprise at her suggesting they go eat dinner together. He smiled at her and turned to leave the room.

Pushing against the door, he stopped. She watched him shove the door once more. Then he slammed his shoulder into it. He turned back to her, but he didn't look her in the eyes. "It appears that they have locked the door somehow." "What?!" She stomped over to the door and shoved at it. "It is no use. I have already tried." "Don't just stand there Fraser! Help me!" He came back to the door and put all of his weight against it. The door wasn't going to open for them, no matter what.

She could hear laughter outside. "Goddamn it! This is not funny! Open the fucking door you bastards!" "Excuse me...Sir." She wheeled around and yelled at Fraser. "Don't fucking call me Sir! Jesus Christ Fraser, my name is Meg!" Fraser looked like he had been slapped. "Excuse me...Meg. Could you please refrain from screaming obscenities. And my name is Ben." "What?" "If I am to call you Meg, then I expect you to call me Ben." "Oh...sorry."

She pulled her helmet off and threw it across the room. "I can 'not' believe they did this to me!" "Excuse me, but they have done 'this' to me as well." "Oh no. You don't understand. Don is doing this to me. He thinks I want you. That's why he's locked you in here with me." Fraser looked rather uncomfortable, but at the same time he also looked curious. "Do you?" She stared at him. *What is he talking about?* "Do I what?" He hesitated, biting his lip. "Do you want me?"

She could only stare back at him. She could feel her face turning red. "Why would you think I wanted you? You're my junior officer. Why would I have anything to do with you?" *Oh my God. He actually looks disappointed.* "Just...the way you have been acting on the bench. And some of the...comments that you have made." "You think I want to...you believe that you and I should..." He was looking rather nervous by now and he walked over to where his bag was and he sat down on the bench.

"I would never...I mean...well Fraser...Ben...you know that we could never...it would be against regulations." He kept his head down. "Yes Sir...Meg. Understood." *Crap. What now?* "Well, I guess since we're stuck here we should figure a way to get showered and changed." "And what do you propose?" He finally looked up at her, his face void of all expression. He had his duty face on. No emotion, all business.

"I guess we could strip off all our equipment and then whatever we can take off without...showing too much and then the other person will have to avert their eyes. You should get your shower first. You'll probably be quicker than me, because you don't have as much hair as I do. To wash...on your head...you know what I mean." "Yes, I do."

She walked over to her bag and took her jersey off. "Well, get started. The sooner we get done the sooner we can figure a way out of here. They'll have to let us out before they all leave." "I would hope that they would not leave us here all night." "They better not."

She watched as Fraser removed his jersey, and then his elbow pads. He then placed his helmet, gloves and elbow pads in his bag. Then the chest protector came off. She hadn't noticed before that he didn't wear a t-shirt underneath his chest protector. He knelt down and placed it into his bag. She was practically drooling. *Will you look at that! He's smooth. Not a hair anywhere. I bet he feels really nice.*

*Uh oh.* Fraser had turned to look at her. She looked away guiltily. She hadn't removed anything else. She was so busy gawking at him, that she forgot all about getting undressed. She peeked back up at Fraser who was still looking at her. She shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry. I was...curious as to why you pack your stuff as you take it off." *Nice lie Meg. But he's not that stupid.*

"I pack as I...undress so I do not leave a mess. It's easier than shoving it all in at one time." "Oh." As he stood back up she saw him wince slightly. "Are you all right...Ben?" "Yes. I believe I am. It's...well the area where I was speared is rather...painful." At that she jumped up. Fraser admitting he was in pain meant that he was really hurting.

"Let me see." "Excuse me?" "I said let me see." "But I...you don't need to see...I am quite all right." "Oh don't be such a baby! Let me see. If you're really hurt, we're going to the hospital and not out to dinner." "I am 'not' a baby..it's just..." "Fraser! Pull you're pants down and let me see!" *That did not sound right.* His face turned a bright red. "You know what I mean. We're both adults here and I'm checking an injury. I'm not going to attack you. Now drop your pants."

With shaking fingers, Fraser undid the buckle of his hockey pants and pushed them down to his knees. Thatcher stared at him. There was more to look at than she thought. He didn't have on any shorts like she thought he would have. *Don't look at him. Do not let him know you are embarrassed. Just check him out and get the hell away from him.

She knelt down and ran her hand lightly over his lower abdomen, watching him pull back at her touch. "If you don't hold still, I won't be able to see if anything's wrong. Now when I push, tell me if anything hurts. O.K.?" "Yes." She put her hand flat against his stomach and pushed softly. *Damn he is tight. Nice abdomen Fraser. I guess you work out some.* She resisted the urge to run her hands up his chest. That would be a little too much like she was groping him.

Letting her hands slide down she kept pressing on him as she moved further down, until she reached the area that was obviously bruised. As she pressed against his lower groin, she heard his sharp intake of breath. The bruising was already dark and obviously it was rather painful. "You're going to be a little stiff." She heard Fraser stifling a chuckle.

Looking up at him, she caught him trying to regain his composure. He looked both embarrassed and amused. And there was something else in the way he looked that she couldn't place. Her own face began to turn red as she finally got the reason for his state. Here she was, alone in a locker room, kneeling in front of him, with her hands on his groin. And the only things that he had on were his jock, garter belt and hockey socks. His pants were down around his skates.

She jerked her hands off of him as though she had been burnt. Climbing to her feet she moved to the other side of the locker room. "You are sick." He flushed slightly and tucked his head down, but he wore a small grin. "I apologize. But...I am." *Did he just admit that he's...no! He would never...is he? Does he have a...just because I was touching him?*

"You mean you have...you're..." Fraser gave her an embarrassed nod. "I am sorry. I think that you should...shower first. I am not...well I can't..." He shrugged his shoulders. "I am sorry." He closed his eyes and looked down at the floor. "But I didn't even touch...you." He looked back at her, swallowing nervously. "You do not have to touch me...it doesn't matter where you...I..well..." He looked away again.

*Damn. He got all worked up over that? I'd like to see what he would be like if I just went ahead and grabbed it.* "I think you should get a shower. A cold one. It might help a little." "Uh...yes. Could you please...do not..." "I know. Don't look at you. O.K. I won't look at you. Now get in the shower." She tucked her head down so that her hair hung in her face. But from her angle she could still see him. Just a bit.

He sat down and undid his skates and then pulled his pants off. Unhooking the garter belt, he pulled off his socks. From her angle she could see that the only remaining thing left for Fraser to remove was his jock. She moved her head down a little more as he looked up to see if she were peeking. "Do not look...Meg." "Oh I'm not...Ben."

He bent down and pulled the jock off and as quick as lightning he grabbed a towel off of his bag and wrapped it around his waist. *Damn! I didn't get to see shit!* "Is it safe to look?" "No!" She peeked through her hair. *Oh yeah. He definitely liked me touching him. He was on his way to a nice sized erection judging by the straining his body is doing to the towel.* She snickered and she saw him look at her. Was he smiling. "No peeking. You said you wouldn't look." "Hey...you didn't expect me to not try did you?" *Oh that's nice Meg. Let him know you want to see the goods.*

She heard him walk into the shower and turn it on. As she leaned forward he yelled out of the shower. "No peeking Meg!" She jumped back and started laughing. "I'm not going to look!" *Well. Maybe just a little.* She stood up and took her chest protector off. Then she started pulling the velcro straps of her elbow pads. She leaned forward.

*Oh my...would you look at that.* Fraser was standing in the shower, his back turned to her. And what a nice backside view it was. She felt her heart beat picking up. *Nice ass Ben. Nice legs, nice back, nice shoulders. You are definitely going to waste not using 'that' body for anything.* He wasn't soaping up yet, he was just letting the water run off of him. *Ah! Cold shower.* She quickly removed the rest of her equipment and wrapped a towel around herself.

Leaning forward she looked in on him again. He had finally started showering. He had lathered his hair up and turned to rinse it. *Whoa! Hello Trigger!* She stared at him. Don was right. He wasn't the size of a horse, but damn he was rather nice. She felt herself moving slowly toward the shower, as if she were being pulled. She let her eyes travel the length of his entire body. Pale white skin, dark wet hair on his head and his crotch. Just enough under his arms. He was one fine Canadian specimen.

With a jolt she saw his eyes staring into hers. *Oops. You've been caught.* He was clearly startled and flustered at the same time. He looked around as if he were trying to escape and when she walked into the shower and hung her towel next to his, his mouth dropped open. Walking over to him she grabbed the bar of soap. "I thought that maybe you would like me to help soap your back."

She stood with the bar of soap in her hand, looking at Fraser questioningly. He had tried, rather unsuccessfully she noted, to cover himself with his hands. *God! How red can he get? I hope he isn't having a heart attack!* He was looking at the soap and then over to her towel and finally at the shower entrance. He looked everywhere, except at her body. "Is this...part of the joke?" He gestured at her with one hand, as he backed slightly away, only to be stopped by the wall. As soon as he touched the cold tiling he jumped forward and then inched his way along it, moving as far away from her as possible.

"What do you mean, part of the joke?" He gave her a side ways glance that was filled with confusion. "You had said that you didn't want me. That it was...going against regulations and protocol. Why this?" *Oh. Now I get it. He thinks this is all a joke on him. He is so insecure it is not even funny. What in the hell ever happened to him, to make him think like this?*

"Fraser...Ben. This is a bar of soap. This is a shower. I thought that maybe we could...shower together. It's not like I'm asking you to service me or anything." "Service you?" She saw his brow knit up and then he laughed. "What's so funny?" "Servicing you...Trigger." "Huh?" She thought for a moment. "Oh you are so sick!" "If you figured out what I was thinking, then that makes you as sick as I." "Point taken. Now come over here and let me soap your back. I promise I won't do anything bad to you." *It will all feel good if you get that tight, little ass of yours over here!*

Fraser walked slowly towards her, still trying to keep himself covered. And she also noticed that he was again gaining the erection that he had recently lost in his cold shower. She decided to spare him the embarrassment of having it spring up at her when she pulled his hands away. When he was within arms reach, she went to touch his shoulder to turn him around. He moved back slightly again.

"Oh come on! Just turn around." He gave her one last nervous look and turned his back to her. This side had nothing covered up she noticed with a pleased smile. "Do you have a wash cloth by any chance Ben?" He cleared his throat. "No." "Oh well. I guess my hands will do." "Wait...do not..." He tried to turn around, but she place a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. "If you turn around I might see some more of what you're hiding." He froze in place. "Understood."

She snickered and began rubbing the soap between the palms of her hands. "Don't think I couldn't see it Ben. Your hands aren't 'that' big." "I am sorry." "I'm not." Placing a hand on his shoulder she began to rub him, lathering him up. Between the soap, the water and his smooth skin, it was so soft and silky that she felt like biting him on the neck as she lathered him. *Bite him Meg. What would it hurt?*

Moving forward she leaned into him and bit him gently on the neck. He tensed up, but he didn't move away. *He's yours to do with as you please. And boy is he going to be one pleased man.* She continued running her hands and the bar of soap over his back and then moving lower she ran her hands over his butt. He clenched his muscles when she let her hand roam a bit too close on his inner thigh.

His arms were held tightly to his sides and she had to almost force her hands through. Wrapping her arms around his waist she pressed herself against his back. The only response she got from Fraser was a tight gasp. With a wicked grin that he couldn't see she began kissing his shoulder and softly biting him, as she ran the soap over his chest. She felt a hand covering her own as she continued her ministrations. He was finally beginning to relax.

She felt his body leaning back into hers. His breathing had increased quite a bit since she had started working on his chest. And as she moved further down south, she could feel every muscle tense up. Taking her hands off of his skin, she rubbed the soap between her hands. "Can you hold the soap for me?" She felt him take the bar of soap. *That takes care of one hand. Now I have to get the other.*

Running her hands lightly over his stomach, she didn't have to wait long for him to grab one of hers as she moved to go lower. But his other hand was occupied by the soap. Moving down further, her hand brushed against his erection and he tried to pull away from her. "Sssh. It's O.K. Ben. I'm not going to hurt you." She spoke in a light, breathy whisper. And his response came out in a jagged reply. "This...this isn't...I..." "Sssh. We're off duty. We're two Wolves remember."

She was rewarded with a small chuckle from him. "And what is so funny this time.?" "Wolves. The big, bad wolf...he tried to...eat her." "Oh you are a nasty one Ben Fraser. And here I thought you were a nice, polite fellow." This was enough of a distraction for her to tighten her grip around his waist. She reached down and grabbed his erection and began to slowly work her hand up and down his length. "My...what a big dick you have, said the Wolf to little red riding Fraser." His sharp intake of breath at her touch was followed by laughter, and then a soft moan as he leaned back into her and thrust himself against her hand.

"I guess you don't mind me soaping you anymore, do you?" He had taken his fingers and laced them with hers. She heard the bar of soap dropping to the floor and his other hand covered the one that was slowly stroking him. She tightened her grip and increased her movements. *He's going to explode soon.* To her surprise and satisfaction he stopped her hand and twisted around in her embrace.

The erection that she had been holding was now pushing hotly against her stomach. She found herself staring into two dark blue eyes. *God he wants me! I don't know Meg. Should you really do this?* Her thoughts were torn away as he leaned in and kissed her passionately, crushing his body against hers. This wasn't like the kiss they had shared before. It was more heated. More insistent. She knew that there would be no turning back now. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

As he kissed her she felt his tongue against her lips. Opening her mouth, his tongue thrust in. This time she was the one to moan. His hand roamed down her back and clutched her ass, pulling her tightly against him. He pulled away from their kiss to trail kisses down her neck. Sucking hard against her skin. Biting her softly as he moved down. A hand found a breast and he slowly kneaded it, gently running his fingers over a nipple and then pinching it softly.

She felt his body dip slightly and then her eyes that had been half closed in a dreamy state, flew open. She felt his hot, throbbing erection between her legs, gently rubbing against her, but not penetrating her. Looking into his face she saw that the shy, unsure person that she had begun this with, had change into someone she hadn't expected. He looked down at her with a slightly feral grin. "What do you want Meg?" She felt him slowly sliding himself between her legs. "Do you want this? Or would you prefer this?" He stopped moving and began rubbing his fingers over her sex.

"I...I want...both!" She bit back a laugh as his eyebrows went up. "Both? At the same time?" She nodded and smiled back at him. *Let's see him manage that!* He stared down at her smiling, and then continued moving himself between her legs. "I believe that I can...be of service now." He pushed her away from him and she gasped in disappointment. But as he led her back into the locker room she knew he wasn't ending what she had begun.

He looked around the spartan room and then at the rubber matting beneath his feet. He made a face. "Would you...?" He gestured towards the floor. Laughing she shook her head no. "There is no way in hell you'll get me to lie down on that!" "I won't either. We have a dilemma. And the bench is rather hard." She giggled. "And so are you." She watched as he flushed slightly. *How in the hell can he be embarrassed after what he just did?*

A smile came across his face. "I have solved all of our problems." He stood behind her and walked her slowly over to the wall. "Since I am...Trigger...and I am now going to service you...this would seem the only way to do it." "Wait a minute." She looked over her shoulder at him. "This is 'doggie style' Ben. I have never seen it referred to as 'horsy style'." He smiled wickedly at her. "If I recall you had at one time tried for a place with the Musical Ride. Have you not ever seen the horses...being mated?" She shook her head yes and choked back her laughter. "You never cease to amaze me Ben." "Let us hope not."

She felt his hands running slowly up and down the length of her back. Light caresses went across her shoulders. Then his body pressed up against her as he kissed her on the back of her neck, pressing his erection against her backside. As he reached around her and cupped both breasts, she moaned in frustration. *What is he waiting for?* She gasped as his fingers slid over her sex, gently stroking against her. "You are a tease Ben." "No, I am giving you what you requested."

She felt a finger slip inside her as he continued to kiss her back. Pushing back against, him she heard a low throaty laugh. "Do you want me Meg?" Squirming against his hand she let out a strangled, "Yes." He continued to touch her as he spoke. Rubbing her and then pushing two fingers in her, he stopped. Thatcher's small gasp mingled with Fraser's heavy breathing.

"Meg. I hope you are not offended..but I...well...I am going to need to get..." "Get what Ben? What ever it is get it and hurry up!" He moved off of her and reached into his jacket to pull out a well worn leather wallet. Flipping it open he pulled out a condom. With a sheepish grin he walked back to her. "May I ask, what are you doing carrying a condom around?" He tucked his head down shyly. *Jesus, don't do that!* She felt like she was about to have an orgasm watching him look like that. Here he was, with an erection that stood up straight as a flag pole, looking at her like he was an embarrassed school boy. Talk about a turn on!

"I...well after I had....with Victoria. Well Ray severely reprimanded me. He had said...well he didn't say..." Thatcher grinned at him. "You mean Ray Vecchio chewed you out for having unprotected sex and now you keep one with you?" He gave her a chagrined look. "Yes." "I never thought that someone like Detective Vecchio would ever think of using a condom." She looked at the one that Fraser held in his hand. "What type is it?"

He shook his head and looked down at the floor as he presented it to her. "A Lucky 13. Nice choice." Walking away from him, she opened her purse and brought out an identical green foil coin. "Now we have two. Just in case." As she stood in front of him she set the condoms down on the bench. "May I?" Fraser gave her a confused look. "Can I do the honors." "Oh. Yes, please do." Looking around she decided on a course of action. *Let see how he handles a little stress first.*

Picking one condom back up she looked at the floor in disgust. *Oh well, I can always finish my shower.* She knelt down in front of Fraser and peeked up at him. He was giving her a funny look. *He doesn't trust me. Smart man.* Without a warning she grabbed his erection and began sucking at him. Taking the tip of his penis in her mouth she ran her tongue over it. His shocked gasp was rather loud and he pulled back away from her. "Ben what is the matter with you?!"

"Don't! Don't do that!" "Why? Don't you like it?" "The problem is I like it...too much." "Ohhhh. So if I do that we can't..." "Yes. I would prefer to..." "You would rather fuck my brains out than cum in my mouth?" The shocked look on his face was priceless. "I would not say it quite like that...but yes. I would rather...make love to you." She looked closely at him. *He said make love. Does he really love me or is it just sex? God! I don't know myself. The bad part is I don't care. Either way, I want him.*

"O.K. Ben. Maybe the next time we can do it my way." He gave her another look. *Good going. You've just told him you'll do it with him again.* "Come here." He moved to her and she grabbed him. He was so hot and hard. She couldn't resist doing it. Letting him go she opened the coin and moved to roll the condom on, but she gave him a fast lick, laughing as he jerked away from her again. "You are very bad, Meg." "Come here." He stepped back to her and she rolled it on.

The moment the condom was on him, he grabbed her roughly, turned her away from him and pushed her back to the wall. "Are we done playing games Meg?" "Yes." She could feel herself tensing up as she felt his erection pushing against her. He slid himself between her legs, hearing her frustrated sigh. "It is not funny when it's you who is being teased." "Enough Ben. Now."

Her demand had the desired effect and she felt him part her lips, and the head of his cock slowly pushed into her. Leaning over her once more he nibbled at her ear and then he nickered, causing her to laugh. Her laugh was quickly cut off with a strangled moan as he shoved himself deeply into her. The fingers of one of his hands wound tightly through her hair and she heard him breathing deeply as he stayed still.

His erection throbbed within her, but he refused to move. She ground herself against him, trying to get Fraser to do something, but he only laughed softly into her neck. "What is wrong Meg? Do you want it so badly, that you can't wait? Tell me what you want." His voice was low, almost threatening and she felt a small sliver of fear run down her spine. His whole demeanor wasn't what she had expected. Taking a deep breath she whispered her request. "I want you to make love to me."

His hand slowly released it's tight grip on her hair and his arms wrapped themselves around her waist. She felt light kisses being placed over her back and instead of the hard, painful thrusts that she had been preparing herself for, he began to gently push into her. Every touch was light, every stroke was smooth and soft. His hands released their gentle embrace around her waist only to run over her back.

His voice was low and seductive as he called her name. "My Meg, my Meg you are so beautiful. I love you so." A part of her mind registered what he had said. He loved her. But another part admitted to herself...she loved him as well. Things were going to be rather complicated in her life because of this. But as he continued moving against her the only thoughts that she had were ones of lust. It felt good to forget who she was. Everything came down to this primal act. And it felt damn good.

*I want to kiss him. I need to!* Pulling away from Fraser she moved so that he slid from her. Twisting around she locked her arms around him, crushing her mouth to his. Their tongues touched and she sucked his in, enjoying the sweet taste of him. He pulled away from her slightly, smiling gently at her. "You said that you wanted everything." "Yes." He dropped down again, but this time he didn't slide against her, he pushed back into her. Thrusting gently and then his hand joined in, softly caressing her. She let her head fall back only to feel his lips against her neck. He bit her lightly and then his tongue licked a path up her jaw line. "Then you shall have it."

As her orgasm built she let her weight go totally back, her only support was his one arm around her waist. He watched her face and she saw him smile again. His thrusting became more urgent and heated. The small moan in the back of her throat became a yell that echoed off of the walls of the locker room. "Oh God, yes Ben! Yes!" Clutching her hands against his shoulders, her body spasmed and jerked and then she saw his face, with the same look of ecstasy that she knew was on hers own. He didn't scream out as she had, but a deep moan escaped him as she felt him shove hard against her, then he pushed against her once more. She could feel the pulsations of his cock within her.

As he stopped, he stared back at her. The look in his eyes was almost a question. "Meg, do you have...do you feel anything for me?" Her breathing was still heavy and she felt almost light headed. Giddy. But she knew what he was asking her. Did she love him? And she asked herself the question as he held her tightly, still within her. *Do I love him?* Looking back at the questioning blue eyes she searched her own feelings. And as much as it scared her she knew the answer. "Yes Ben, I do have feelings for you. I love you."

Those three simple words brought a smile to his face that she thought that she would never see. He hugged her tightly as he buried his face into her hair. "I love you too Meg." They held one another for a few moments more and then he backed away from her. He looked at her slightly embarrassed once more, as he pulled the condom off. "I guess we should finish our shower." "Yes, then maybe we could go to dinner?" He smiled again and nodded yes. "Dinner would be nice."

As they stood under the running water and finally rid themselves of the dirt and sweat from the game and their lovemaking, Meg caught Fraser looking at her. He was smiling once more and shaking his head. "What now?" "I am sorry Meg. But most couples go to dinner first and then they...make love." "Well, I guess we'll have to take care of that tonight. Can you do that?" "Yes I can." "Good. Now soap my back."

They finished getting dressed and tried the door. It was unlocked. Walking out of the locker room they found Don standing by the doors of the rink entrance. "Jesus! You two take the longest shower I have ever seen!" Both Meg and Ben turned a bright red and Don laughed at them. "So was it any good?!" "Shut up Don!" They both yelled at him at the same time. Then they laughed. "You two are loonie. Are you coming to dinner or what? The guys said they would wait to order." Thatcher looked at Fraser. "Do you want to eat with the team or do you want to go somewhere else?" "Aw come on Rat. Eat with us! We have to talk about next weeks game." Fraser smiled at her. "I think we could eat with them, that is if you would like to." "On one condition. If you say one nasty thing to us, you pay for our meals." Don smiled back at her. "Deal." As they walked out to the parking lot Don shouted over to her. "What are you gonna order? I might need to stop at the ATM for more money!"