Hailey's Comet    Hailey's Comet by Triest Wright Tim Woyma

 Author's disclaimer: All characters and story threads from the television
show 
"dueSOUTH" are property of Alliance productions. The Inuit Midsummer Rites

are stricly a fiment of my imagination and are by no means meant to offend

the native peoples. "Weakness in me." Is the property of Joan Armatradang 
& company, and "Fare thee well" was a little song I saw on "Fly away
home." 
I have no idea who it belongs too but again, it's not mine and I don't
mean 
to make anything off of it but feedback.

 Author's notes: Set a year before and a year after Fraser's stay in
Chicago

  

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 April 25, 1993
 "MUSH! Hey...hey hey hey, come on girls MUSH!!!" Hailey called urging the
dogs on
 with all her might. Her lungs ached miserably from the biting cold and
she couldn't
 remember when she'd lost the feeling in her hands, feet, and nose. She
teetered on the
 verge of collapse, but the peristant barking from the sleds behind her
kept her going with
 a primal instinct to survive. They were heading towards a recently opened
rift in the ice field. *Not far now Hail don't loose your nerve.* Suddenly
 the dark figure of a boulder appeared in the distance, and a smile worked
it's way across
 her face as she eased up on the sled. "Easy now girls easy!!!" The sled
started to bank to
 the right when all at once the lead dog fell. "MINEKA!!!" She called,
desperately trying to keep things under control. The harsh rasp
 of the sled runners sent a chill through Hailey as she realized what was
happening. *It's
 iced over.* In an instant she forgot about anything but trying to stop,
until a gunshot
 sounded behind her. Firey pain ripped through her leg, the force causing
her to loose her
 footing and fall back onto the ice. The sound of wicked laughter filled
the air and gripped Hailey with terror until the world
 went black.   * * The echo of a single shot reverberated over the Arctic
landscape. Constable Fraser rushed his sled dogs faster, approaching the
rift from a right angle to the direction the chase had been heading. As he
crested a hill, he could see a sprawled dog sled, and another rapidly
approaching. As he closed the distance between them, the second sled began
to slow down. The reduced speed allowed the Constable to close the
distance even faster, and soon he was in shouting distance of the men.
Fraser pulled his service revolver out of one of the fur-lined pockets of
his dark blue parka, and smiled agreeably as he saw that the warmth kept
the action from freezing. He slowed the sled to further quiet his
approach. "RCMP! Stop where you are!" The man turned and pulled hard on
the reins, sending his dogs leaping forward. *Oh no you don't.* He thought
as he started his sled to follow, but stopped abruptly as his eyes
followed telltale spots of red against the white of the snow. *Oh dear...*
They curved in a semi-circle to a small figure lying still on the
shimmering ice. The mountie pulled his sled alongside the figure, slipped
off, and knelt down. The woman lay on her side, wrapped in the thick
clothing so needed for survival in the north. He carefully rolled her on
her back and gently removed the scarf that was freezing to her face from
the vapor in her breath. *Wow...she's...snap out of it, Fraser. Stick to
the matter at hand.* She had small, delicate features, yet seemed to
convey an underlying strength about her. He moved down to her leg and
carefully examined the injury. Even through the multiple layers of thick
cloth, he could see that the bullet had missed all major blood vessels and
bones. Seeing that the short arctic-spring day was rapidly darkening, he
gently lifted her and settled her in his sled. He then proceeded to hook
her dogs to his team, and turned the entire mass of dog and human towards
the west. In that direction was the outpost he shared with a small
contingency of Mounties, though with the twilight falling he doubted he
could traverse the distance in time.  * * Fraser tried to move his sled as
fast as he could without jostling it too much. After almost an hour of
moving across the frozen land, a small cabin complete with outbuildings
came into view. With memories of his last visit, he moved with skill to
the bedroom and settled the woman into the warm wool blankets before
returning to the sled. He moved what he needed into the cabin, and put the
two dog teams into the small barn-style outbuilding. After starting fires
in each of the four rooms he returned to the bedroom and proceeded to
remove the woman's clothing one piece at a time. Besides a struggle,
nothing showed much as to the identity of the girl; nor the means of her
involvement to her pursuers. She had light brown hair and dark expressive
brown eyes, her frame was small, though she had a unmistakinably feminine
figure, and of course a strong build. Fraser then moved to the now rather
messy wound with a sigh. He cleaned it with painstaking care and inspected
it more closely. The bullet made a clean path through her calf muscle just
behind and below the knee. *Good thing she's asleep.* He thought as he
dredged it with iodine and completed the job with tight bandaging. The
room was now comfortably warm and the Mountie, oblivious of anything but
his duty, finished removing her wet clothing and replaced them with a
spare shirt of his own. With a smile he settled her back into the blankets
and taking a seat by the fire, began to record the events of the day in
his log-book....  * * The crackle of pitch burning in a fire was the first
thing Hailey heard as she re-gained consciousness. The smell and
environment led her to believe it was just another lazy morning at home,
until the ache in her head made itself known and she realized she was
wearing a man's shirt. The events of the previous day came back with
lightning speed and she did a quick scan of the room; resting her eyes on
the man sitting by the fire. The tan shirt and suspenders told the story
and she smiled weakly. "Thank you." "You're very welcome." he stood and
lit the gas lantern above the bed, handing her a steaming cup of something
that made Hailey's nose curl. "What is this? And who are you?" "I'm
Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That is a native
brew of lichen, wintergreen, and some wildflowers that numbs pain
receptors." As the dim light from the lantern illuminated his face Hailey
caught her breath. He was handsome, no breathtakingly handsome. She stared
in silence for a minute, but the pain in her leg didn't let her swoon for
long. "Here's to the natives," she said lifting the steaming mug and
draining it in a gulp, grimacing in the process. "Ooooooo that's nasty
stuff." "Interesting weather for running for your safety, isn't it?" They
both looked at the window at the dusting of snow against the black of the
night sky. "I suppose it's just great." She replied, nonplused. "Now what
lucky star was I was born under that lead you to find me?" "Despite many
cultures having beliefs to that effect, it was merely a case of being in
the right place at the right time." She smiled and extended her hand. "I'm
Hailey Winters, Wildlife Artist, Biologist, and fierce humanitarian....."
With a deep breath she leaned forward to get a look at her injury. "Did it
hit anything vital?" He shook her hand. "No, nothing vital. You're lucky
that your assailant wasn't the best shot, very lucky." "Either that or
your just a superhero." The girl said smiling. "How did you know I was in
trouble?" "I heard you, actually." She nodded her eyes darkening and
flashing with anger. "Sons of hairless mothers ambushed me while I was
trying to free a baby wolf from one of their traps. I managed to knock off
three of them and had to run. Had I had the ammo I would have cut the
other two down right in their tracks." The Mountie chuckled. "I don't
doubt you would have Ma'am." "I suppose the other two got away." "Yes but
not for long, I've been tracking them for some time." "Oh? So what happens
next?" "Next comes getting you to the nearest detachment. You may have
information that could prove vital to this case." "I probably do, what's
in that stuff extra strength Nitol?" She said yawning and struggling to
keep her eyes open. "That would be the moose-root. It has a side effect of
being a powerful sleeping agent." She never heard the end of his sentence,
she was out cold.  * * The snowstorm continued to build and by dawn the
next morning everything was covered in a good 18 centimeters of snow. As a
lull formed in the storm Fraser decided it would be best to get moving
before the worst of it hit. He wrapped Hailey, who was still out like a
rock, up firmly and settled her into the sled continuing as he did the day
before to the small detachment about 10 Kilometers south by southeast.	*
* Fraser's back!' Bonnie called to the rest of the contingency as she
grabbed her parka and ran out to meet him. The snow was falling at full
force again and visibility had dropped to barely 4 meters. "Fraser are you
allright?!" "Yes, I'm fine. But this lady needs help." He gestured to the
sled, and the two Mounties carried Hailey inside. Bonnie shook the snow
from her coat and hung it up, then did the same with Fraser. "What
happened....oh my gosh your like ice go sit in front of the fire!" The
older woman fretted ushering him to the pot-bellied stove in the corner.
"Sufficed to say, I found the poachers. And her along with them." The
Mounties all crowded around, even Inspector Fitzgerald. The jostling
efficiently woke Hailey to ten pairs of prying eyes and an intense wave of
clostraphobia. "Allright this is not Exhibit A at the museum of natural
history, let's move it along people." Most of the Mounties grumbled and
returned to whatever they had been doing before, the lucky few paperwork,
but mostly just trying to entertain themselves in this remote northern
detachment. "Who is she?" Fitzgerald asked Fraser who was slowly thawing
out in front of the stove. "Hailey Winters." She answered for him.
"Wildlife Artist, biologist, and fierce humanitarian. I was trying to
rescue one of the poacher's victims when I was ambushed by a party of
them. I picked off three but ran out of ammunition and was forced to run.
While trying to lead them to that newly opened rift in the ice field, I
hit a patch of ice and got shot at the same time. I lost control of my
sled and suffered a fall which knocked me out. Next thing I knew I was in
some trapper's cabin with a Mountie, a headache, and a whole lot of
explaining to do. I think you can figure it out from there." Fraser looked
back up at Inp. Fitzgerald. "That about sums it up, sir." "Shot?!" Andy,
the local doctor interjected. "Where? How? What's the degree of the
injury?" He said as he poked and prodded Hailey. "Right leg just below the
knee, Andy. It's not bad, the shot missed all major blood vessels and
bones." Ben answered. Andy removed the bandage and took a look at it. "Not
bad, just a few stitches and some soreness and you'll be good as new in a
week." "Good, I hate being an inv-AL-id." Hailey said as the doc numbed
the area. Bonnie couldn't stand it anymore, she had to know. "So tell us
hat happened! What did you see?" Hailey chuckled. "Now why would I tell
you that? So you can take the information, fix me up, and ditch me like
garbage in your wake? I think not, if you guys want cooperation from me
you're going to have to let me help with the investigation. I was born
here, and I love this place more than anything. It doesn't settle well
that some scum is raping the wildlife. Which I might add is nearly 60%
endangered." The Inspector sighed. Just what he needed, another
self-righteous, big-headed Greenpeace freak out to save the world on their
own. "I'll have to run that past Ottawa." "Yeah and I was born yesterday.
What'll it be inspector? Free information from a vital witness or do you
wanna pick it out of me?" He sighed. "Fine. Give us the information, and
I'll see what I can do." "As I said before I'm a biologist. Microbiologist
actually. I work for a research program studying the micro-organisms in
arctic and sub-arctic climates. The area where the Katanooska glacier
meets the forest is a very sudden flux in environment and the species of
small life have adapted accordingly. In that I was also born and raised
here I was the best candidate for the area....." Fraser listened intently,
and when she finished, began his own version. Taking out a small notebook,
he proceeded from where he entered this picture. "I was tracking the
poachers at the time, approximately 4 kilometers from the crime scene.
While checking what appeared to be the remains of a bear trap when I heard
what I took to be gunshots. I immediately set my sled on the course I
judged the shot came from, though not directly from where I heard it, sir.
You know in the flat Arctic lands sounds have a tendency to alter their
direction, making them seem to come from a direction other than their true
bearing. This is due..." A loud noise emanating from the inspector's
throat brought Fraser back on topic. " Well that's not important, as I
proceeded I saw what appeared to be two sleds moving rapidly across the
ice field. As I neared, I declared myself to be a member of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and then halted my pursuit to assist Ms. Winters.
From there accounts are of course, identical." "So you didn't see the
crime scene?" Hailey asked surprised. "Not the same one you did, though I
did inspect the one that had been cleared approximately 45 minutes
earlier. Many of the same signs you described were around." "Naturally
both will be fully examined after the storm clears. Let's hope the two
that got away didn't go back to erase their tracks." Fitz interjected,
bringing the conversation back under control. "Well, regardless, I did
collect enough evidence at the site I inspected to guarantee you there are
more such traps in the area." Andy finished with his last bandage and
fastened it with a contented sigh. "There we go, you'll have to stay off
it for a couple days though while the muscle heals." He disappeared into a
back room. "I think we have some old crutches in here...oh yup here they
are." While stepping back into the main room he re-set the handles to fit
under Hailey's arms. "There ya go. Just right." She stood gently a little
unsure of herself and suddenly she felt dizzy...very dizzy... "Whoooaaaa."
She whimpered as she fainted right into Fraser's lap. He looked up
slightly embarrassed. "This would....uh, be a side-effect of the
moose-root."  * * The storm was well clear by the next morning, and the
two head mounties were preparing to recover the bodies. So was Hailey,
gaining control over the crutches quickly as she worked her way out to
where the final preparations were underway. "Fraser."  

 He stopped and looked her direction. "Yes? Is there something I can help
you with?"
 "Yes....I....just wanted to......to thank you. For.....saving my life."
Though she couldn't see it, Fitz was smiling behind her. "There's no need
to thank me. I was merely doing my job." She was making him uneasy,
 but he attempted to take it in stride.
 "Doesn't matter I just want you to know that someday I'll repay you,
that's a promise." She
 turned and almost smacked into Fitzgerald who still had a grin on his
face. "Whoa there careful."
 Hailey nodded his way with a smile before returning to the main building.
"She's a pretty one." Fitz said with a smile in his voice. Fraser looked
up at him. "Hmm?"
 "That Hailey, she's quite...attractive." "If you say so, sir."
 Fitz shook his head and the two Mounties headed off. * * *
 The men in red didn't return for a good three days. In the meantime
Hailey found out in
 depth how the RCMP works and the details of the case. The two Mounties
pulled up in
 late afternoon on the 29th, and the detachment immediately prepared for
proper
 preparation of the bodies, evidence processing, and note taking.
"Anything groundbreaking?" Bonnie, the quizzical one of the group, asked
as soon as the
 two men walked in the door.
 "Nothing we haven't seen before, except this." Fitz pulled out an old
Inuit necklace which
 was only created in tribute to someone who had done a great favor to the
village. Hailey
 froze, and made a small sound as the blood drained from her face.
"Daddy...." 

 "Nothing we haven't seen before, except this." Fitz pulled out an old
Inuit necklace which
 was only created in tribute to someone who had done a great favor to the
village. Hailey
 froze, and made a small sound as the blood drained from her face.
"Daddy...." 

 No one spoke, but every eye turned to Hailey in a silent unspoken
question. "I'm sorry it's just...my father had something almost exactly
like that. But it's impossible.
 Was there anything else?"
 "Not that we could find, but there was quite a bit of snowfall." The
detachment quickly buckled down to work, leaving Hailey to her thoughts.
Suddenly
 she grabbed her coat and hobbled out the door without a word. "Follow
her." Fitz told Fraser in a non-open-for-argument tone. "Yes sir." Fraser
set down the box he was carrying and followed her footsteps to where she
was sitting just below the detachment, staring blankly at the
 expanse of snow as her shoulders moved with silent sobs. He approached
slowly, almost silently causing her not to turn around until he was very
 close. "Are you allright, Ms. Winters?" She jumped at the sound of his
voice. "Yes." He moved around her so that he stood just in her periphrial
vison. "Are you sure?"
 "Just...reliving a lot of bad memories." He spoke very softly. "I
understand."
 "Have you ever had a secret you've buried for years and almost forgot
about yourself until
 all of a sudden something sparks it alive and you can't stop yourself
from re-living what
 you fought so desperately to forget?" Her words ran together and where
phrased badly but
 she didn't care.
 "Of course. Most everyone does. I remember one time..." He quickly
stopped himself
 from going off on a tangent.
 She sank into the snow and hugged her knees. "Well, Ms. Winters, would
you like to talk about what's wrong? Sometimes a heartache
 hurts more if you hide it."
 "I don't suppose I have much of a choice." He came closer, and put his
hand on her shoulder. "It's going to have to, sooner or later."
 She took a deep breath before starting her story. "My father worked up
here as a doctor
 specializing in the Glaucoma amoung the inuits. As I got older I started
going with him
 on his trips to learn about where I lived, and to get out of my mother's
hair. He was a
 great teacher and I was a quick learner, so by twelve I could easily take
care of myself."
 Fraser sat down beside her and listened intently as she delved into the
tale.
 "In January of that year we were coming back home after a visit to
Iniuektuck. We where getting bunked in by an ice storm when we heard a
baby wolf crying. We investigated, naturally, my dad was as fanatical when
it came to the
 humanities as I. It was caught in a trap that was set in almost the exact
same way as the
 ones we are investigating now. The difference was this time a man was
allready
 there." She paused, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Then daddy went
into a rage
 and stooped to draw his gun, but the other man fired before he could get
it." Pools of
 water glistened along her eyelid and her voice began to quiet. "I guess
he didn't see me
 since I was wrapped in the sled. Dad slumped down and fell into the snow.
I was frozen
 with fear at first, but then I remembered the bear knife I carried with
me at all times. I
 unsheathed it with as little movement as possible as the man walked
towards the sled. He
 kicked dad and then laughed."
 The tears won the battle, and glistened off her cheeks in the moonlight.
Fraser, unsure of
 what to do, set his hand on hers as she finished her narrative. "It was
such an evil laugh. It broke something in me and I lashed out, striking
him across
 the face with the knife. In a quick movement I kicked him between the
legs and pushed
 him backward, jumping on the sled and making the dogs move. The man made
no move
 to follow me but I didn't take any chances and raced home. Not far before
I got to our
 cabin I stopped, realizing he wasn't going to follow. I was still in
shock so all I could think about what what I'd tell mother. She loved
 my dad dearly, and it would have killed her if she knew he died
protecting a wolf cub.
 The understanding that my father would never come back didn't even
register. I stayed
 out the rest of the night. Walking to keep myself warm, and finally
decided to tell her that
 he fell through thin ice over the river. I followed through with that
story to this day, never hinting to anyone what really
 happened, even when my mom died two years ago. For an instant the mountie
thought of possible charges of witholding evidence, but her age saved her
from the law. "The necklace Fitz had was one my Father was wearing the
night he died. I can't deny
 the similiarities anymore. The man who killed my father is the one we are
after now."
 Fraser thought frantically for something to say but the proximity of her
body to his and
 her quiet sobs kept his mind occupied with controlling himself. Three
times he opened
 his mouth to speak but shut it before anything came out. Finally as he
realized her story's
 implications on the case he commented, "Well, I can certainly see why you
shot to kill..."
 By this point Hailey had herself under control and could speak in a
normal voice again.
 "I'm sorry for losing control like that...just a lot of backed up emotion
I guess." She
 looked up into his understanding blue eyes and was caught like a deer in
the headlights.
 Ben was very much in the same predicament. *Not again Ben don't, you
hardly know
 her.....* he thought of what it was like to put Victoria in prison, he
recited the RCMP
 rules on fraternization to himself, but it was no use. The way her hair
fell forward across
 her face had him hipnotized.
 *No Hailey don't...stop...* Her mind screamed as her body moved
forward.... *Stop stop
 STOP STOP STOP!!! Your just asking for trouble he's a mountie HE"S A
MOUNTIE DON"T DO IT AGAIN!* But her heart was well separated from her
mind. Her eyes drifted closed and their lips brushed just barely across
each other. As their lips touched he smelled her perfume, spicy yet
uniquely feminine, he couldn't
 place what exactly it was but it rose something within him. His hands
wrapped about her
 waist and he pressed closer, deepening the kiss. Hailey caught her breath
but didn't pull away, it was too late for that. She'd jumped the
 cliff and now she'd have to suffer the landing. Her lips parted unbidden
as her arms slid
 about his neck.
 Fraser gripped her small frame tighter as he turned his head to the side.
All sense of
 reality far far away.
 A cold blast of arctic wind froze them back to their senses. Hailey
shivered and they
 broke apart, blushing and apologizing at the same time. "No really
Ben,i'm sorry." She
 said holding his arm. "I don't know what came over me but it was totally
unappropriate."
 An uncomfortable silence settled between them, and Fraser sighed as he
looked into the darkening horizon. "I think it's best we get back. You'll
need to give a
 full deposition on what happened."
 She interrupted her mental curses to agree and they covered the space
back the
 detachment in silence.
 Ben opened the door for her and they stepped into the warmth of the
outpost. "I'll be
 right back." He said as he realized the Inspector was probably in his
office processing
 evidence.
 Fraser dissapeared into a corner when the two men returned, and Fitz said
gently. "Start
 wherever you'd like."
 With a deep breath Hailey began, "Ever heard of Marshall Winters?" Fitz
thought for a moment. "I think he was a doctor around here back in the
seventies."
 "Yes, he was my father. And if you look up the file on him you'll find
that he died in
 seventy nine..." She proceeded to tell her story, minus the tears this
time and little up on
 the details. The Inspector listened transfixed as he catalogued the
evidence in his mind.
 After she finished he sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Sir, perhaps we should
contact the courthouse in Whitehorse. We'll need formal charges
 of murder." Fraser suggested after she'd finished her narrative. "I'll
send Rickman in the morning. Is there any way you can draw up some sort of
sketch
 or did you notice any distinguishing physical features we can run through
the database in
 Dawson?" He said in Hailey's direction. "He'll have a rather nasty scar
along the right side of his face, I might have taken out the
 eye too. But i'll take my shot at the sketch. It should save time and
elinimate the
 probablility for mistakes."
 "Allright get on it, Bonnie I want all the evidence and the murder charge
packed up by
 morning. Send him with a supplies list too, we're low on ammunition after
the fiasco last
 week. I want him out before the sun is up tomorrow. I've got a feeling
we're running out
 of time."
 While the ever efficient and obedient mounted police buckled down to
their work. Hailey
 found a quiet place in the shed where her team was being housed and
immersed herself
 in the past.
 * * *
 It was well into the night before she returned to the main building. All
was quiet save the
 soft thump of her crutches. *Thank heaven i'm getting rid of these
tomorrow." A soft
 light eminated from one of the rooms. Curious, she peeked through the
slightly open
 door. Fraser was listening intently to the old radio on the desk. She
sighed and leaned
 against the doorframe watching him. She didn't know how long she'd been
standing there
 staring when he turned and spoke.
 "Is something wrong?"
 "Oh....Oh no nothing at all." She stuttered backing back into the hallway
and scurrying to
 her room.
 Fraser had to restrain his instinct to follow her seeing as he was, for
all intents and
 purposes, tied to his work.
 * * *
 As always the detachment was up and running at dawn keeping Hailey up
with it.
 She headed straight for the coffee in that she hadn't slept well. Her
dreams had been haunted by sea blue eyes and images of her father. Andy,
who was back
 after his local checkup rounds, met her there. "You ready to get rid of
those crutches?" "Am I ever. I've never been one to wallow in a sickbed."
He laughed. 'I'm sure your not. If you would care to come back to my room
i'll take a look
 at it."
 "Sure." She said allready heading in that direction, and plopped down on
the bed with a
 thump.
 He gently rolled up the leg of her woolies exposing a trim ankle and
muscular calf. "I heard aobut your dad. That must have been hard keeping
something that
 tramatizing to yourself for so long."
 "Aw, well it's really not that hard when your doing it to protect someone
you love."
 He removed the last bandage and touched around it tenderly. "Looks like
it's healing
 perfectly. It's going to be sore as all get out for awhile, but I think
you can safely put your
 weight on it. It will just feel like the worst charlie horse you've ever
had times a
 hundred."
 "Fantastic, that means I can still save my lab tests." He showed her how
to wrap it to relieve a little of the pressure, and she set off to find
the
 inspector. He was in his office immursed in a report causing Hailey to
tenatively knock at
 the door. "Inspector; may I have a word with you?" Fitz nodded and
gestured for her to sit. She did, gratefully. Andy had been right when he
compared it to a charlie horse times a
 hundred. But she was a woman, she could handle it, she could handle
anything if she
 didn't have to walk with crutches.
 "What can I help you with?"
 "I left quite a few tests running back home when this whole thing blew
up. They can go
 for a week on backup power and without supervision, but after that I will
loose a month
 or more worth of time and maybe even the cure to the plague of the
twentieth century. Is
 there any way you can spare a mountie to escort me back? I don't feel
safe going alone."
 "No you certainly are not going to leave this place alone." He scratched
his beard as he
 thought. "Rickman shouldn't be back for three days minimum. Nothing
should be
 happening before then. I'll send you with Fraser." Hailey's eyes widened.
"Fraser?......"
 "Is there something wrong with that?"
 "No, but doesn't he have anything....better to do?" "Yes he does, but you
must realize that most of these men haven't seen a a white female
 in months. It's not that I don't have faith in my men, but you never know
what the
 influence of raging male hormones can do to a mind. Fraser
is..well...different."
 "Different or just missing a few screws?" The inspector laughed.
"Whatever it is, it makes him a heck of a good mountie and one of the most
trustworthy men i've ever served with." "I understand, can we leave as
soon as possible?" There was a rap at the door at the same
 time.
 "Yes, who is it?"
 "Constable Fraser, sir."
 "Well speak of the devil, come in!"
 Hailey was allready in her feet and passed him quickly with a muttered
"Morning."
 "Good morning, Ms. Winters." Fraser stopped in front of the Inspector,
and came to
 attention.
 "Well, Fraser, anything to report?"
 "No sir. Nothing new at least. The bodies have been flown to Whitehorse
for autopsy and
 storage. The crime scenes have all been photographed, and the developed
photographs
 are being inspected for further clues. Beyond that there are no new
developments, sir."
 "Good, then you won't mind escorting Mrs. Winters to her cabin and back."
Fraser nearly choked. "Uhh...uhh....yes sir. I can do that. When do we
leave?"
 "Now, I'm sure she'll have things ready before we are done here."
"Well.....in that case....uhh....I'm ready to leave right away. Is there
anything else, sir?"
 "Just take care of her for me, Fraser." This seemed an odd request to
Ben, but he responded the only way he could. "Yes sir, I
 will."
 "Dismissed."
 * * *
 It didn't take long for Hailey to get her sled ready, and she was working
on hitching up
 Fraser's team when he came out of the outpost. She smiled trying to ease
her nerves. "I'm
 sorry about the bother but I just don't see an alternative." "It's no
bother, really."
 "I also think things will be a little easier if we pretend
what.....happened yesterday didn't
 happen."
 "Agreed."
 ""Very Well." She said jumping behind her sled and whistling, Fraser
followed, suit and
 they where underway.
 * * *
 The first day passed in silence beyond the necessary trivialities. They
were both perfectly
 content immersed in their own worlds. As they set up camp for the night
Hailey breached
 the gap and they began talking. Telling stories and finding common ground
in their love
 for the wilderness and views on life. It wasn't long before they found
that they had more
 similarities than differences. As the night wore on the conversation got
deeper. Hailey
 found herself telling him about
 her mountie fiance who decided to tell her he was gay four days before
the wedding. Ben
 also cracked the combination to his safe and told her about Victoria and
his Mother.
 The next day passed without incident. The Winters cabin was boarded up
and prepared
 for public use and the experiements where either terminated or moved to
secure boxes in
 the sleds.
 At approximately noon the third day Hailey spotted smoke in the distance,
it was in the
 same direction of the detachment and far too large to be a simple
campfire. Fraser noticed it too and they urged their dogs on a little
faster and reached the clearing a little after dark. They eased to a stop
sensing something was
 wrong. The lights from the detachment where usually visible from that
distance but
 tonight there where none.
 "Odd..." Fraser looked over at Hailey. "Something's amiss here." She gave
him a look as if to say 'thanks for the obvious,' and both stepped off
their sleds,
 moving slowly towards the lonley group of buildings. They cleared the
trees and stepped out into the clearing, Hailey gasped as she took in the
 scene before her. "Oh my god."
 The detachment was now reduced to smoldering ruins. An eerie pallor had
settled over
 the area, along with an evil vibe that shook Hailey to the core. Out of
habit she went to
 draw her gun, and of course found it not there. With a backwards glance
at Ben she
 started forward. They split up, circling the buildings. She moved slowly
over the ice
 surrounding the main building, guided by the dim light that radiated from
the still
 smoking embers. As she moved to the
 back a putrid smell filled the air and she gagged momentarily before
realizing what it was. "Fraser, you might want to come look at this." He
was at her side in an instant and followed her gaze to a pile of roundish
rubble that
 extended a little above the rest of the charred remains. "Oh dear..."
"How many people are regularly assigned here?" "Sixteen."
 "Sweet mother in heaven..." At the same moment they heard a stick snap in
the forest.
 Fraser drew his gun and Hailey again went for her safety net, with a
curse she stepped
 behind him for some sort of protection as he yelled, "RCMP Identify
yourself!" 

 "Don't shoot Frase it's us, O'Toole and Ferrer." The two Mounties came
out of the brush
 and made their way across the ice towards them. "What happened?" Hailey
asked as she eased from behind her human shield. "We were ambushed from
all sides. Toolie and I were already in the woods here talking
 when we heard snowmobiles. Before a minute had passed the clearing was
crawling with
 men. They stormed the main building and there were gunshots. They
searched it I
 suppose, and then proceeded to torch the place as you can see. While this
was happening
 we saw someone we thought we recognized hanging out back behind the
crowd. Toolie
 thought he looked familiar so we launched a small sortie to recover him,
sure enough it
 was Rickman. He gave us some story saying he was ambushed by Oshlavic,
the poacher
 we are
 after, and forced to give up the information since he's got his wife. We
didn't know
 whether or not to believe it so we tied him up to a tree back there." "So
you two are the only survivors?" Fraser asked. "Yes, us and you."
 Fraser looked back at the ruins of the detachment. Twelve Mounties,
twelve dead
 Mounties. Fraser couldn't recall any time in RCMP history, dating back to
1874, when 12
 Mounties had died in one day.
 "I'm not sure if they got out an SOS before the radio room was taken
over, I suppose we'll
 know by tonight or tomorrow." Ferrer followed Fraser's gaze. "It's a day
for the record
 books, that's for sure, and a morbid one at that." "Quite, has there been
any sign of the poachers since they attacked?" The 2 men shook
 their heads. "In that case, we wait."
 So they did, though none got much in the way of sleep. Guilt weighed
heavily on each of
 the five minds and Hailey was no exception. Had she kept her mouth shut
and her rage to
 herself she wouldn't have twelve souls on her conscience. But her
father's advice kept her
 from sinking in her guilt. "You're human and you make mistakes. But the
difference
 between a good man and a bad man is the good one will look at what he did
wrong and not make that mistake again." The next thing she
 remembered were dogs barking and an unfamiliar man's voice. Fraser looked
up, then stood up, and walked to greet the rescue party. "Hello dad."
 "Hello son."
 The younger Fraser turned to Hailey. "Ms. Winters, this is Sergeant
Robert Fraser,
 RCMP."
 "Dad? *THE* Robert Fraser? Oh I am truly and idiot." She rolled out of
her blankets and
 stood up shaking the older man's hand. "It's an honor to meet you sir."
"And you, Ms...?"
 "Hailey Winters, Wildlife Artist, Biologist, and fierce humanitarian."
"Well, Ms. Winters, it seems you've found your way into quite a pickle
haven't you?" He
 looked over to Cst. Fraser, and shortly thereafter, began listening to
the story told in
 Hailey's typical rapid-fire way.
 "...and so here we are. Witness to the worst RCMP disaster in it's
history." "Yes, I can see, and no sign of the bad guys...anywhere." "There
is him." Hailey said kicking Rickman. Sgt. Fraser looked down at the man
in contempt. "Doesn't count as human; selling out his
 fellow Mounties."
 The accused wouldn't look at them and for some reason Hailey felt a
streak of sympathy.
 *Where did that come from?* "Here." She said undoing the handkerchief
serving as a gag. "Let's see what he has to say." "Oshlavic's got my wife.
I had to cooperate or he'd kill her." He said with something
 bordering on panic in his voice.
 "Explain yourself, now." It wasn't clear who said it, but the tone of
voice suggested
 authority and demanded cooperation.
 "They ambushed me before I got to Dawson, said they had my wife. If I
didn't talk they where going to kill both of us." "Then why didn't you try
to double-cross them?" "If I was in cahoots with them then why did I have
to kill my captors so I could warn the
 detachment? Why was I wandering back here in the forest and not in the
midst of the
 takeover? Besides they ransacked the sled so they knew a good part of
what was going
 on."
 By now nobody was willing to talk to him, though his point did not fail
to rest heavily on
 the brains of all assembled.
 "I now know enough to sufficiently clean out their operation....." While
unsure if he could be trusted, everyone turned back to face him. "I know
where they are."
 "If you would care to share that information with the rest of us..."
"What? Is it just to hell with procedure here?" "He's right." One of the
Mounties who had survived the attack spoke up. "We have proper
 procedures to follow, and we should follow them." "Oh BS." Hailey piped
up. "He can say it twice for heavens sake." "She's right you know,
Rickman. Now buck up and tell us where they are." He looked at them in
solemn silence, thinking. Hailey grabbed his arm and twisted it
 behind him "Out with it!" The four Mounties looked at the pained
expression on his face
 but not one made a move to help him.
 "In the ice field, there is a cavern that was fitted out to serve as the
hideaway." He
 squeaked
 "Be more specific."
 "It's a place where rock carved out the ice. You can't see it from the
surface."
 Hailey pulled harder. "It was reinforced so the movements of the glacier
wouldn't make it
 collapse. I don't know how long it's been there, but it looked pretty
old." "A location. Give it to us."
 "163 by 67 degrees, about 30 kilometers northwest from here. For god's
sake lady let me go!" She did, but by no means nicely. "Please, don't
treat me like a
 prisoner. The people who died were my friends too, and their death is on
my shoulders.
 Isn't that punishment enough?"
 The four Mounties found it hard to believe that one of their own would
betray them in such cold blood. After a long silence Bob spoke up. "All
right, you don't
 have to be trussed up, but we're watching you. One funny move and your a
dead man.
 Well let the judge in Dawson decide your fate." "Thank you sir!" Rickman
stated with honest gratitude. "Well the 67 is a bit of a trip." The
sergeant looked around, four Mounties and a
 biologist, not exactly an adequate force in stopping a major black market
poaching ring.
 He mentioned this to the rest of the group and they agreed to head back
to Dawson to
 regroup.
 Hailey looked around, three sleds, six people. "So who goes with who?"
The Mounties mulled over this rather simple question and it was decided
that Rickman
 would go with Sgt. Fraser, O'Toole and Ferrer would work together, and
Fraser would
 stay with Hailey.
 Hailey didn't put up much of an argument when Fraser insisted he lead her
sled. The
 events of the week was catching up with her, and it didn't look very good
for a lady to be
 driving a man. The group moved in silence and before long she was sound
asleep, not to
 wake until they stopped for the night.
 * * *
 She woke slowly; and as the various Mounties noticed, they all greeted
her with a "Have
 a good sleep?" or some similar triviality. With a yawn she crawled out of
the sled and
 winced as the various kinks in her body stretched themselves out.
"Fantastic." was the
 sarcastic reply. "Time for bed again right?" "Yes. Hope you can sleep,
it's a long day tomorrow." "Thanks, but I think I'm going to take a walk
first." She turned so she was facing only the
 two Fraser's and mouthed, "One of you come with me." Neither moved at
first to follow. The elder Fraser looked at the younger, and pointed to
 Hailey. "Well, go. Go get your woman."
 He caught up with her quickly as they circled the camp and she started
talking as if she didn't notice he was there. "I'm in no mood for sleep
now, and I still
 don't trust Rickman's story. If he's lying I'm sure he'll try to get away
tonight. Especially
 if the rest of you are sound asleep, what's a woman gonna do to stop him
right?"
 "She could wake everyone up."
 She chuckled. "Or just take care of the problem herself, you forget
easily what kind of an
 aim I have. It's not every girl that can survive up here alone. What I'm
getting at is I'm
 going to fake sleep and if he tries to pull anything I'll be ready."
"Understood."
 She turned to look at him in the soft moonlight and sighed. Why where all
the good ones
 impossible to reach? "Very well then."
 He headed back towards camp, then suddenly turned and kissed her on the
cheek while
 slipping her his pistol. "Be Careful." he whispered before finishing his
way back.
 The night passed quietly and Hailey found an odd serenity in watching Ben
sleep. The
 silence became deafening and Hailey amused herself with watching the
changing shapes
 of the northern lights and counting the hours as the north star moved
across the sky.
 Around three a lone wolf howled in the distance, sending shivers up her
spine; wolves
 had always given her the creeps. Suddenly there was a rustling of covers.
Careful to not
 move, she watched as Rickman
 rolled out of his bag, and moving with catlike stealth he shouldered his
pack while
 backing out of the camp. Hailey drew the concealed pistol under her parka
and hissed to
 Fraser. Suddenly Rickman turned and made to run, but she was up in a
second after him
 yelling "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
 This only succeeded in making him run faster. With a deep breath and a
split second aim
 she shot him in the leg causing him to fall in much the same fashion she
had a week
 earlier.
 The scream and the gunshot woke everyone, and in less than a minute the
moaning man
 was surrounded by four freshly awoken Mounties with guns drawn. Hailey
walked up to
 him, her jaw set hard. "Here let me put you out of your misery." She spat
as she pistol
 whipped him in the temple, knocking him unconscious. "What absolute
scum." Murmurs of agreement followed from the assembled Mounties. Rickman
was tied up and
 handcuffed into a sleeping bag well away from the fire, complete with O'
Toole standing
 guard over him.
 * * *
 They started again at six and the day passed much as it had before.
Rickman stayed
 unconscious, and in fact would until much later that night. They arrived
in the RCMP
 headquarters for the northern Yukon around dinner time and once again,
Hailey was
 sound asleep. In that night was rapidly approaching the teams where first
priority, and
 after they were settled in for the night the convoy of people headed into
the RCMP
 building. The story spread like wildfire and before an hour had passed
the mood at headquarters was as dismal as fall rain. All evidence was
 processed, and accounts taken, but it wasn't until the next day before
everything was
 sorted out. A meeting was then called including all senior staff and
important witnesses.
 This included Hailey.
 "We've dug out of Rickman the exact entrances into the hideout, and in
correspondence with a map of the Katanooska glacier overhead you can see
what we are
 dealing with." Superintendent Thronson, the superior officer of the post
announced. The
 picture was displayed in the front of the room, and when overlaid it
looked like a slice of
 Swiss cheese. The room sighed in unison, but before a minute had passed
the discussion
 started.
 "I'm thinking we'll get them out like gophers." "You mean smoke 'em out?"
 "Sort of yes, two to five Mounties at each entrance depending on the size
and importance
 of each particular hole, and in sequence we fire tear gas into the
compound. Catch and
 arrest those who run out and those who don't will be blind, upon which we
go in and
 finish the job."
 "I think we should get helos from Whitehorse. That's awfully tough
terrain to sneak in."
 "My thinking exactly Sergeant, we'll parachute down." "Or they could land
the helos."
 "It would give them too much warning." Hailey countered, digesting the
plan and liking it
 more all the time. "The place would be empty before we started." "Not if
they landed right at the entrances." "That's a thought." Thronson voiced
bringing the conversation back under control.
 "We could do both, there are approximately 16 entrances, I don't think we
can spare that
 kind of aircraft. But if we landed one at these eight spots and
parachuted the rest at these
 less used entrances I think that might just work." There where a few more
suggestions and arguments, and after everyone had their say it
 appeared they had a plan. "Now on to less enjoyable topics. A party was
sent out this
 morning to pick out what evidence they can from the former detachment and
bring back
 any human remains. In the meantime we'll be working out the details of
the operation,
 which includes analyzing each Mountie's particular skills in
correspondence to which
 position they will man. Any further questions comments or suggestions?"
Again, the table broke up into small discussions, but there where no
qualms of any sort.
 "Very well then, dismissed." The meeting broke up and slowly people
drifted out of the
 conference room. Though Hailey did the opposite, twisting her way through
the sea of
 brown uniforms to the Super's desk.
 "Can I help you?" He asked as he noticed her. "Yes, I've lived on and
around the glacier for a good part of my life therefore I know it pretty
well. I can help describe the terrain around each particular
 entrance." She spouted, aggression hiding her nervousness as she pointed
at the map.
 "For instance here." Her finger rested at one of the lesser entrances
towards the back side
 of the ice field. "Just about twenty meters off that is a hidden
crevasse, if you get over
 that it leads into a gorge in the side of the mountain here that's
treacherous." She studied it a little more. "Hummm, almost
 every spot has some major obstacle around or near it, Oshlavic planned
his compound
 well."
 "I see." Thronson replied, a little taken aback by the woman's abrupt
nature, but her argument held weight. "Could you provide a sketch or
description of the
 terrain surrounding each entrance? It is not a well documented area."
"Certainly Sir, I'll get right on it." And so she did, working well into
the night. It was
 painstaking work, pulling things from her mind she didn't know she had. A
grandfather
 clock in the corner of the office struck two as she finished her last
report. With a yawn
 and a stretch she left the neat stack of paper on the desk before heading
to her bunk to
 make best of the rest of the night.
 "We've called up reserves, pulled out every man we possibly can, and we
are still two
 short. Two that we cannot work without." Thronson raved. "What about
pulling two off uniform patrol?" Fraser replied; the two were conversing
 after a long study of Hailey's report.
 "I've exhausted that supply, as is we're praying the citizens play nice
for a few days."
 "What about members from another detachment?" "Either taken or too far
away."
 "What about Ms. Winters?"
 Hailey just happened to be walking down that hall at this point, and
froze dead in her
 tracks.
 "The biologist?"
 "Yes sir."
 "What are you suggesting constable?"
 "Well, sir, we do need another person. And she is a highly-qualified
guide." "She's also a female civilian." "Sir, civilian guides have been
used in the service of the RCMP since 1874." "Not forthright foolhardy
little young ladies with no previous training of any sort."
 Hailey made a face at the door. *Chauvinist pig.* "Well, sir, women have
served the RCMP with distinction since 1976, with a great
 number coming into harm's way while serving. There should be no problem
with Ms.
 Winters serving as a guide."
 "Great Scott! This is an extremely dangerous operation, and we are
dealing with a
 conflict of interest considering her relations with the suspect." "Sir,
these men are responsible for the deaths of 12 Mounties. Every member has
a
 similar "relation to the suspect". She may be a little more forward than
we are
 accustomed to, but she's handled herself in a commendable manner through
numerous
 dangerous situations."
 As much as it grated against his better judgment, Ben's argument began to
make sense.
 "And if she doesn't?"
 At this point Hailey couldn't stand it anymore and flew into the room in
a huff. "Oh for
 god's sake you pompous old ass. We are in a desperate situation and
you're willing to let
 your prejudices jeopardize an operation. I know people in Ottawa and I
can spread this
 though the force like a red wind."
 "You are out of line Miss. Winters!"
 "No more than you! With all do respect *sir* I do not have to answer to
you until you
 make me a part of this operation." Her words echoed through a good part
of the building;
 causing gasps, snickers, and to the poor man caught in the middle of the
mess, a
 prominent blush.
 The two challengers stared each other down as if playing the child's game
of "don't
 blink." "What'll it be Thronson, a burr forever in your saddle or the
respect of a
 subordinate?"
 The super's expression matched that of a raging bull, clashing strangely
with his tone of
 voice. "Very well, But you will be treated no different than the rest of
the men, and tested
 accordingly."
 "Understood, I apologize for the name calling. Don't challenge my ability
and I promise
 it won't happen again." Hailey replied, a smile spreading across her
face. "Dismissed, both of you."
 Fraser made a hasty getaway, traversing the hall as fast as he could move
without looking
 like he was trying to move fast.
 "I remember when your mother told my superior what she thought about
him." "Dad, I really don't want to hear about it." "Nearly lost my job. Oh
well I suppose you really wouldn't be interested. So she's going
 with us?"
 "Yes."
 "Ben...Ben wait...." The two men stopped and turned to face the subject
in question.
 "Thank you, that meant a lot."
 "Not a problem." Ben replied with a smile. "Right, well I better
go.....get ready....for....the tests....yes....bye!" she turned and
 skedaddled out of the hall as fast as she could move. "Goodbye, Hailey."
 "Hummmmm. Good birthing hips, nice chest, pretty face too. When's the
wedding?"
 Fraser turned to face the other man. "Excuse me?" "You heard me son,
she's a perfect specimen, when are you two going to tie the knot?"
 "I wasn't planning to marry Ms. Winters at this time. Unless you know
something I don't, dad."
 "What? Is it that vamp you met at Fortitude Pass?" "She's in prison dad."
 "Exactly, and you put her there. Now you've got to stop licking your
wounds and get on
 with life. I want to see a grandchild before I go." "Now you're just
being melodramatic. You have at least 30 good years left in you."
 Fraser Sr. shook his head in exasperation. "Sometimes you behoove me
son." "And sometimes you just confuse me, dad." "I'll see you tonight."
 "Tonight." The two Mounties parted ways. * * *
 The next few days passed in a blur to most everyone at the Dawson Police
Station. Hailey
 was taken through a maze of basic tests, all of which she passed with
good or exceptional
 ratings. After much deliberation among the big wigs, it was decided that
she and Fraser
 would man the entrance on the far north side of the hideout. In that
Hailey knew the
 terrain the best, and Fraser had the best tracking skills they made a
logical pair. That is,
 to those who didn't know
 what was happening behind closed doors. It was evening, and the two were
feeding their teams together. "You ready to go?" Hailey
 asked.
 "Not quite, this one's got a thorn in it's paw." "Okay, I'm going to head
back then."
 Fraser followed her a few minutes later and as he closed the barn door he
met a small
 ball of white which plastered itself smack between his eyes. He wiped the
snow from his
 eyes to see Hailey doubled over with laughter. "Oh <tee hee hee> you
should see <hee hee hee> the look <hee> on your face! <ha ha ha
 haaaa>!"
 "Oh yea?" He scooped up a quantity of snow, and formed it into a
medium-sized sphere. He had to duck a few more snowballs coming at him,
but he was
 finally able to volley one back. It hit her square in the chest, and sent
her falling
 backwards.
 She flopped into the bank like a dead otter and stayed that way, not so
much as batting an
 eye.
 Fraser walked Towards her slowly, cautious of a deception of some sort.
His manner was
 deliberate and precise, as if her were approaching a suspect. She moaned
"Jeeeeeez Fraser you've got an arm." He took another step forward. "Thank
you kindly." She tried to sit up then fell back into the snow. "Ahhhh I
think I pulled something."
 He came close enough to offer his hand to help her up. She took it,
quickly yanking him onto his back in the snow with her, then flipped on
top
 of him, holding back his shoulders. "Pinned ya." He didn't throw her off,
but made a comment of how she had been rather sneaky and underhanded. Then
grabbed a little snow with his free hand flipping it in her
 face and making his escape in the process. She jumped back wiping the wet
from her eyes with a huge smile. It disappeared as she realized where the
game would end. With a sigh she stood and headed back to the station.
Tears pricked dangerously close to the surface, and as she sensed him
 following her she started to speed up. The walk became a run as they
broke through her
 mental barrier, and didn't stop until she was in her bunk. Fraser
overheard her muffled sobs, but didn't understand where they where coming
from.
 Assuming their squabble brought up a bad memory, he decided to let her be
and
 continued on past to his room.
 * * *
 The funeral was a solemn affair. After the bodies where properly honored
and the final
 rights had been administered, the remains where sent to their respective
homes for burial.
 The nerve gas had arrived from Whitehorse, and the helos' would be there
in the
 morning. Every detail of the operation had been run through and rehearsed
by the force,
 much to the subordinate's complaint in that they'd allready gone over it
so many times they where blue in the face. All together the operation
would
 include 65 RCMP, one guide, and 16 pilots. The tear gas was packaged in
the form of a
 timed bomb so the Mounties wouldn't have to manually detonate them, and
the parachute teams where fitted accordingly. * * *
 "Have you ever done this before?" Ferrer asked Hailey, shouting to be
heard over the
 drone of the chopper.
 "Are you kidding me? No one lives up here that hasn't bounced out of a
bush plane!"
 "Okay now remember, legs bent, arms straight, drop your seat a little,
and OUT YOU
 GO!" He gave her a little push and she somersaulted out of the chopper.
In a second she'd adjusted to the vertigo of weightlessness and started
counting.
 "Five...four...three...two...now!" With a quick jerk she pulled the jump
cord which caused
 her to wince as the harness pressed against more tender parts of her
anatomy. A brief
 brownout caused her to shudder as the blood shot to her legs. The white
snow appeared close by now and she brought up her legs for landing, though
flat on her back with a muffled "umph." It was now spring and the snow
 had lost it's powdery feel, which was a good thing in the long run, but
not so good a thing
 for Hailey at that moment. She sat up trying to catch her breath as she
released her chute,
 turning to ball it up so it couldn't be seen from the air.
 "You allright?"
 The air slowly re-filled her lungs and she croaked. "Fine friggen tastic.
Too far back,
 always too far back. I've never made a landing I haven't ended up that
way." "Tuck and roll, Hailey. Tuck, roll, and you'll land just fine." They
scanned the terrain of black rock and white snow. "Look for the peak
that's shaped
 like a pine, angle 180 degrees." she spoke as she moved. "...and one,
two, there she is!"
 Her eyes pointed at a depression in the snow that glittered a little more
than the rest.
 "Countdown to detonation in T minus 5 minutes." The voice in their radio
whispered.
 Fraser removed his pack and pulled out a bottle that looked like a fire
extinguisher, he set
 it in front of him and crouched, signaling for Hailey to do the same.
Then they waited
 tediously as the little radio transmitter in their ears counted down the
time. At T minus 16
 seconds every member of the 66 man team ran to their entrance. One or two
men opened the heavy doors while another hurtled the
 little bombs deep within the tunnel beneath. Then everyone ran for cover
as a series of
 small explosions ripped through the hideout and the numbing chemical
began to work its
 magic.
 Fraser and Hailey moved back a safe distance away and settled into a
ready but
 comfortable position to wait. They listened through their transmitters at
an occasional
 command or exclamation of victory. So far no defeats, after the first
five minutes
 everything had calmed down as the tear gas started to infiltrate the main
chambers. The
 remote couple's nerves ran taught as the silence began to scream when all
of a sudden a
 cry shot through the transmitter, and through their soul.
 "Officer down! Repeat: officer down off entrance 15, sudden ambush by
single heavily armed man. It's Oshlavic. Repeat: it's Oshlavic, requesting
immediate
 backup."
 It was Ferrer, and he wasn't through before Hailey and Fraser answered
together "Roger 15, this is 16 where on our way." "Injury not mortal,
suspect due north northeast on foot and armed. Proceed with caution
 16. Good luck."
 "Understood, over and out." The pair turned accordingly and followed the
tell-tale
 footprints in the snow. It seemed too easy for the first three or four
minutes until they
 entered the mountains and the snow turned to ice. Fraser was now forced
to track almost
 invisible scratches in the whitish glass. The uphill going was slow but
unlike Oshlavic their boots where fashioned with cleets and they where
gaining on the suspect.
 "Where is he going?" Hailey asked herself, forehead ridged in
concentration, she paused
 for a moment. "Oh dear....he's heading straight for a ridge of cliffs and
ravines." She
 paused for a moment thinking. "He's expecting us to come up behind him
following his
 trail, but there is a way over the edge of that bend. It drops a little
then comes back up
 right where I'm positive Oshlavic is
 waiting for us. If we catch him by surprise in that direction I think
we'll manage to
 overtake him."
 "Agreed, lead the way."
 Hailey did, with determined purpose. Sure enough as they scaled the hill
leading to the
 ridge they heard him shuffling. In an instant the two were over the hill,
guns drawn and
 ready to make an arrest.
 "Give it up Oshlavic, you've got no where to go." Fraser voiced. "No but
you do." The madman replied.
 Out of the corner of her eye Hailey saw him reach for something black and
shiny.
 "NOOOOO!" She screamed as she dove in front of Fraser, firing a volley of
shots as she
 moved. The first bullet hit her in the middle of the chest and the second
tore through her
 abdomen. She twisted mid-air and landed flat on her back with a sickening
thud.
 Fraser was on his rather unreliable RCMP-issue portable radio quickly.
"Officer down, officer down." He called firmly but calmly. He heard her
croak as she
 tried to gain her breath and quickly turned her around, pulling her up on
her knees to let
 natural air pressure help the lungs re-inflate. After what seemed like an
eternity Hailey
 could make a sound, though all she managed was a short whimpering moan.
An overwhelming tide of rage swept through Ben, but he stifled it before
it hampered his
 thought, and he gently pulled her into a sitting position. A small red
stain was starting to
 show in the left lower section of her coat around three inches in from
the side. Deftly
 working through the layers of clothing he found the wound. It was not
larger than a centimeter in diameter, nor bleeding at an excessive or
dangerous rate, but he couldn't see what was happening inside. He tore a
 section from one of his pockets and pressed it to the wound to staunch
what he could of
 the bleeding. Then he picked her up.
 Hailey remained conscious and gritting her teeth to the pain, spoke. "You
ate your
 wheaties this morning."
 The Mountie hardly heard her as he surveyed the surrounding terrain. "I'm
going to have
 to set you down for a minute." She nodded her head in response. Fraser
then proceeded to
 tear apart their packs, fashioning a sort of sled/stretcher out of the
stabilizing bars and
 nylon.
 "All right Hailey your going to have to help me with this." He picked her
up and settled
 her into the contraption. "Hold on to the bars here so you don't slide
out." She did as he commanded with wide eyes. He took a deep breath,
grabbed hold of the
 two bars at the top, and eased out onto the ice. Once safely in the
middle, he carefully
 removed his cleets, calling for Hailey to hold on as they started sliding
down the hill.
 The next ten minutes were the worst ten of Hailey's life. They careened
at breakneck
 speed down the small ice flow. Each imperfection in the ground felt like
she was rolling
 over a boulder, and the cold air and pressure in her chest made breathing
almost
 impossible. She started to think she wasn't going to make it when the
sled thunked as it hit soft snow. Fraser dug his heels in so they wouldn't
flip
 forward, easing the makeshift sled to a stop. With painstaking care he
picked her up and
 started walking.
 "It's hurts Ben." She muttered frozen with fear cold and pain. "Just a
little further, don't let go on me." She clutched his coat with a death
grip as they trudged those fateful last meters. Ben
 never stopped talking, though his words started to run together in her
ears and she could
 no longer make out his face. Her eyelids felt heavy...so very
heavy...then there where
 more voices and she was being put down. She could feel hands on her and
just make out
 the drone of a helicopter as her mind shut down. * * *
 Hailey woke to bright lights, beeping machines, and a steady drone of
voices she couldn't
 understand. Within seconds a wave of pain gripped her midsection and she
felt an
 uncontrollable urge to hurl. It passed none too soon and the voices
started to come
 through, at first a deep female tone: "The first bullet lodged in the
upper part of her
 breastbone and we had to remove a little of the surrounding cartilage to
efficiently
 dislodge it. The second tore through her left side, damaging the kidney
beyond repair.
 Pending any unforeseen complications she'll make a full recovery and may
be released in
 five to six weeks. Full recovery besides a missing kidney that is." Then
that of a young man she recognized: "I see, when is she expected to come
out of the
 anesthesia?" It was Benton.
 "Actually right about now, would you like to see her?" "Yes, if it is
possible."
 "Certainly, right this way."
 Hailey tried to pull herself up into a little more presentable position,
but as she moved
 excrutiating bands of pain shot through her stomach and chest causing her
to quickly
 abandon the effort. The door to her room slowly swung open and two
figures stepped
 inside. Hailey focused her bleary eyes on the taller figure and smiled as
his features came
 into focus.
 "How are you doing, Ms. Winters?"
 "Well besides the fact that I feel like I've been hit by a train, I'm
perfectly well, thank you." Her voice was hoarse and raspy. He smiled.
"Don't worry, that will pass in a day or two." "I remember you taking me
on that sorry excuse for a thrill ride...voices I couldn't
 understand...but...that's it...what happened?" "You passed out, most
likely from pain, shock, and blood loss. A team was already
 working on O'Toole so they immediately moved to you. After they
stabilized the injuries,
 you where loaded onto one of the helicopters and taken to the Main
Hospital here in
 Dawson. You were hit..."
 "I know I know I heard you talking in the hall. How successful was the
operation?"
 "Besides the loss of an extra kidney, very." She tried to chuckle but
winced instead. "No I mean the takedown, did we get them all?"
 "Yes....Yes, we got them all." He saw no need to bring up the fact the
ringleader Had neither been captured nor accounted for. "Good."
 "It is. You did a good job out there, Hailey." She smiled. "Thank you,
Benton. You didn't do so bad yourself, when I felt that thing tear
 though me I was sure I was a dead man...er...woman." He smiled a bit.
"Well, you shouldn't have. I wasn't about ready to loose you."
 "O'Toolle was the only other casualty?" "Yes."
 "That's good."
 An awkward silence settled between them. The all too familiar ache
started to build
 within her again and she looked toward the window. "Yes. It's very good.
Cst. O'Toolle is making great progress. He should be back on duty in
 a few weeks. He was lucky."
 "Yeah."
 He was quiet for a minute, nervously handling his Stetson. "I'm going to
have to go to the
 North Butterfield Detachment for the time being. It will be a while
before my old
 detachment is ready to be back in business." She looked at him like she'd
been shot, again. It took a minute to find her voice and when
 she did it was quiet and dis-attached. "How long?" "I'm not sure, but
it's not far. A day's travel, no more." "Oh...when do you leave?"
 "Tonight."
 She swallowed. *Never a happy ending.* "Good luck then, Fraser." "Oh, I
don't need luck."
 As if on cue a Mountie Hailey didn't know knocked gingerly on the door.
"Constable, it's
 time to go."
 "Very well, Corporal. Well, I will see you when I get some time to come
back down this
 way."
 "Goodbye Ben. I'll be here."
 "Goodbye Hailey."
 * * *
 The weeks passed agonizingly slow. Hailey fell into a destructive bout of
depression
 which ate at her heart like an infection. It didn't effect her recovery,
though, her body had
 always been stronger than her mind. The snow melted slowly turning the
small city as
 gray and dingy as her spirits. Day melded into day until she'd lost rack
of time, until her
 doctor announced she would be ready for release in a week. Fraser had
finally been relieved at North Butterfield, and as his first matter of
business he
 returned to Dawson and the hospital. He entered what had been Hailey's
rather sterile
 prison for the past few weeks and watched her for a minute as she packed
her belongings.
 "Hello Hailey."
 She whirled around with a soft gasp. "Fraser...." "Hello." He walked into
the room, and stood near the door. "Feeling better?" She quickly
recuperated herself, a professional cool taking the edge off her voice and
 tender emotions. "Oh yes, quite."
 "That's good. You're being released today." It was phrased as a question,
but sounded
 more like a statement.
 "Mhumm, I'm getting out of prison!"
 He couldn't help laughing. "So it seems, so it seems. Do you know where
you are going to
 go, or for that matter, what you are going to do now?" She'd given the
subject extensive thought but wasn't quite ready to tell him her plans.
 "Not really, no I was just going to regroup at my cabin for awhile."
"That's a good plan. As good as any, in any case." "I take it the
detachment is running again?" "Not just yet, but they are almost done, or
so I've been told. Since I'm no longer needed
 in North Butterfield I've been given something of a short leave to spend
doing whatever I
 see fit to spend my time doing."
 "And that would be?"
 "Well, I haven't really decided." He paused a moment. "The Inuit
Midsummer Rites are
 coming up."
 "It's that time of year."
 "It is. And there's going to be quite a party, so I hear." "Always is."
*what is he getting at?*
 "Perhaps you'd like to accompany me? A little 'get-out-of-prison'
celebration?" 

 She nearly fainted right there. "W...with...you?" "Yes, with me."
 "To a celebration of fertility and renewal?" "Yes. Unless you have
something else to do." She debated with herself for a moment before making
her decision. "Why not? We are
 two adults perfectly capable of keeping ourselves in check. I'd love to."
"Well...good. It's settled then."
 "I've just got some paperwork to handle and I'll be out of here. I'll
meet you at
 headquarters okay?"
 "Very well then."
 * * *
 In that the thaw of summer had turned the countryside to marsh, it was
decided that horseback would be the most sensible means of travel. The
pair left at
 daybreak the next day and arrived at Iniuektuck with an open armed
greeting. "Wow, they've really gone all out this year." Hailey commented
as they walked through the village.
 "Indeed, they have." Ben replied, a little surprised at her change of
attitude. She had been virtually silent during the five day trip. "Shall
we." He said taking
 her hand as they walked into the ceremony ring. * * *
 Hailey giggled as they watched another couple disappear into a shack.
"Benyyyyyyy we're going to be the *only* ones not getting any act-TION,
tonight."
 "Mhumm." He replied rather distractedly. An occasional sound coming from
the various scattered buildings didn't help Hailey keep
 herself under control. She leaned against his shoulder as the tribal
music started up again.
 He turned and looked at her, their eyes locked, searching for what they
couldn't say
 aloud. Suddenly Hailey whispered, "Ben...kiss me." The presence of her
warm body against his, the effect of the vodka on his mind, and the
 general mood that had settled over the village was too much for the
strongest of men and,
 again, he gave in. Sliding his hand along her side and cupping her jaw
gently he placed
 his lips to hers, noting for a second time how well they fit together.
This spurred the tiniest of moans from Hailey who turned as she slid her
hands around his
 shoulders bringing their bodies together. She clutched the firm muscle
under her fingers
 and turned her head to the side, tentatively caressing his lips with her
tongue.
 He slid his hands along her waist pressing her firmly against him as his
tongue invaded
 her mouth. He continued to kiss her with lonely passion until she pulled
away, which
 didn't deter him, but rather directed him to move to her neck. "Ben." She
whimpered....
 "Yes?"
 "Ben...take me inside..."
 He didn't break his rhythm as he picked her up and carried her into their
cabin. He set her
 back on her feet gently, and returned his interest to her lips. She was
in absolute bliss but her body craved to go further...to make it
real....complete. "I
 want you...to...to...make love to me Benton...." He held back, looking at
her. Even in his drunken warped state of mind something said "No".
 Hailey sensed his hesitation and undid the first few buttons to his
shirt, kissing the hollow
 there tenderly. "Please...." she said again in a breathy voice, brushing
her fingers along
 the back of his neck with a feathers touch. It sent him over the edge and
with an indescribable sound he encompassed her body and
 soul, pressing her back on the bed.
 * * *
 Hailey snuggled against the warm body beside her as she slowly came back
from the
 dream world. The fuzz in her mind slowly lifted, but only to be replaced
by the telltale
 throb of a hangover. *Oh my god what happened?* She gingerly opened her
eyes to see
 Ben sleeping soundly, and very nude beside her. She sat up abruptly as
the truth made
 itself known in her head, she slept with Constable Fraser. *How? Why?
What???* Her
 mind spun with questions as she picked her clothes off the floor. *That's
right, our drinks
 where spiked.* Suddenly it
 was perfectly clear. Two very lonely people, drunk and slightly attracted
to each other,
 *Slightly, maybe just on his end.* Together at a glorified sex fest, what
did she think was
 going to happen?
 She stepped out into the bracing summer air and took a deep breath. No it
wasn't because
 he loved her, it was because of circumstances. A sob worked it's way from
her heart and
 she covered her face with her hands. She couldn't stay, she couldn't face
him when he
 woke. It was time to carry out her plan, no matter how painful it would
be. It didn't take long to saddle her horse, and when she re-entered the
cabin Fraser was still
 sleeping peacefully. With a shaky hand she picked up his log book and a
pencil, and
 began writing.
 Dearest Ben,
 I'm so very sorry about what happened last night. I lost control of
myself and took
 advantage of you, and I'll never forgive myself for it. On account of the
circumstances, I
 thought it best that I leave this to words so I can get it all out
straight. I love you Benton,
 and I suppose I always will. But in the same respect I know that we
cannot be together.
 There would eventually be children, and either they would have to deal
with a constantly absent father, or I would have to tear you from
 the life you love. I cannot do either, so I know it is time for us to
part ways.
 I'll always carry a part of you with me, no matter what happens, you'll
always be in my
 heart.
 Goodbye, good luck, and take care of yourself my love. Hailey Winters
 With a shuddering breath she tore the sheet from it's binding and folded
it in half
 stepping back towards the bed. Tears slid unhindered down her cheeks as
she pulled an
 ivory trinket from her neck and set it on the note. Slowly, tenderly, she
kissed the
 sleeping man's forehead and whispered "Goodbye Benton." With a deep
breath she turned and left the cabin feeling very much like a shell devoid
of sprit,
 will, and the energy of life. With a set jaw she spurred her horse to the
South, and into a
 new life of lonliness, desolation, and solitude. It's Present Day,
approximately seven years later. After Fraser's botched expedition to
 find The Hand of Franklin he was transferred to Vancouver, British
Columbia. Upon
 arrival his first order of business was to check in with the Police
Station... 

 Hailey stepped into an office marked with Inspector Jenkins' name.
"Here's the result of
 those vacuumings we found on the abandoned Buick." "Anything worth
reading?"
 "Not much, but there were some metal shavings that might prove
interesting when the
 ballistics report comes in."
 "Thank you, Constable."
 "Your welcome sir." She spoke over her shoulder as she continued down the
hallway. Her watch started beeping and she sighed as she turned it off.
*So much to
 do, so little time.*
 Changing her course, she headed to the front office and abruptly froze.
"Thank you kindly ma'am."
 *No it can't be, you're playing tricks on yourself again.* She started
forward again,
 rounding the corner cautiously, afraid of what she'd see. "Ben!" She
cried as her fears where confirmed. Fraser was taken far aback.
"Hailey...?....Constable Winters...." The inflection of his
 voice made his statement come out as a question. They stood stone still,
staring at each other as if in shock. Time had taken it's toll but age
 suited him. There were occasional gray flecks in his midnight black hair,
and a few
 wrinkles that hadn't been there before. Neither knew just how long they
stood gawking
 until the receptionist spoke:
 "Um, excuse me Sir but you need to sign this..." "Oh, I'm sorry." Fraser
said, snapping back to reality. "Just here, it's gives us access to your
file." As he briefly scanned the document and signed it Hailey again found
her tongue. "What
 brought you here?"
 In as few words as possible Fraser told her of his Father's death and
subsequent transfer to the Consulate in Chicago, his reasons for leaving,
and second
 transfer to Vancouver.
 "Oh my, the Sergeant's dead? I'm sorry." Fraser didn't respond before the
doors to the station burst open and a small child ran into
 the room on a path straight for Hailey. "Mom! Mom! Jason want's me to
sleep over tonight. Can I pleaaaaasssseeeee!" "Whoa whoa cool it little
man. Is he waiting?" "Yes!"
 "Well first I want you to meet Constable Benton Fraser." The child turned
and stuck out
 his hand in a very adult like manner, Fraser shook it with wide eyes.
"Pleased to meet you sir." He turned back to Hailey. "Now can I go?" "Yes
Ashton, I'll call you later okay?" "Okay thanks!" and the head of sandy
brown hair bobbed back out of sight. "Well what do you think Constable?"
 "A fine young man. When did you get married?" "I didn't, he's yours."
 Fraser just looked at her for a second. He opened his mouth as if to say
something, but
 nothing came out. Another moment of silence, and he fell straight back,
hitting the
 linoleum floor with a dull 'thump'.
 Hailey waited with her arms folded a minute. When Fraser didn't wake she
disappeared
 into the mess room just off the waiting area. Returning with a cup of
water she proceeded
 to splash it on his face.
 Fraser came to very slowly. When he was more or less fully awake, he
lifted his head off
 the floor. "He....he's....."
 "Yes, he's yours."
 His head simply fell back to the floor. His eyes fixed, staring at the
ceiling.
 Unbeknownst to the others, Inspector Jenkins had been watching the whole
thing. "Well
 Hailey looks like you've got your hands full. Go ahead and take the rest
of the day off, I
 think you two need some time to talk."
 She looked at him in horror.
 "That's an order, Constable."
 "Understood." She answered quietly, standing again. The implications of
everything
 started to sink in causing her frustration to build, this was not helped
by Fraser's shock
 scene on the floor. "Oh for heavens sake get up and act like a man." She
snapped, kicking
 him
 gently.
 He woke slowly, and this time was able to maintain his consciousness.
Neither Mountie moved, until the stillness began to make Hailey think
she'd go crazy. In
 a snit she started to leave, bidding him to follow. He did as if in a
stupor, and remained that way until Hailey finished driving to a point
 overlooking the bay.
 Fraser didn't speak, and nervously rubbed the edges of his Stetson as she
put the car into
 park and killed the engine. She sighed deeply and pressed her forehead to
the steering
 wheel.
 "A child..." This he said more to himself then anyone. "Why didn't you
tell me...?"
 At this, Hailey snapped. Seven years of pent up rage, pain, and anger
came forth like a
 spewing volcano. "For the same goddamn reason I left you in the first
place. The only
 thing you see, feel, think, or hear is your job. I can't do this, I
can't. I can't face this again.
 Do you have any idea what I've been through these past seven years? The
sheer and unadulterated hell you've put me through? No I suppose you
wouldn't, your heart's so caged up in ice you wouldn't feel it if god
 himself touched you." Her voice started to crack. "I loved you so much
Ben, it consumed
 me like a monster. It took every ounce of grit I had to face each day as
it came. But
 I was strong, oh I could do it, I could pull through. You know Hailey,
she can do
 anything." Tears now streamed down her cheeks. "I don't know if I can do
it again, no I
 know I can't do it again. I just
 can't...I can't." She whispered hitting the steering wheel to emphasize
her point.
 For almost ten minutes they both sat, the only sound being Hailey's quiet
sobs. Finally,
 Fraser spoke without thinking, still in a great deal of shock. "Can you
drop me off at the hotel?"
 She started the car in silence, drove to his hotel in silence, and they
parted in silence. Fraser watched the red tail-lights disappear into the
rain and
 stepped into the lobby of his hotel. In the background he could hear the
strains from a
 piano and a deep voice. Sighing in frustration he turned and walked back
into the rain.
 "I'm not the sort of person who falls, in and quickly out of love. But to
you I gave my attention right from the start. I had a lover, who loved me,
how could I break such a heart? Yet still you gained my attention...
 Why do you come here? When you know I've got troubles enough. Why do you
call me? When you know I can't answer the phone. Make me lie and I don't
want to.
 Make me feel like some kind of love-stricken fool. You make me stay when
I shouldn't of; I was so strong your all the weakness in me."
 * * *
 Trying to keep her mind in check Hailey flipped on her radio as she drove
home. Simple
 piano chords and a deep female voice filled the cab of her car, and her
eyes with tears.
 The words hit her heart and they played over and over again in her mind
as she tried to
 keep tears at bay and get a little sleep. "Feeling guilty, worried,
waking from tormented sleep. This old love has me down, and the new love
comes deep. If I choose not, I'll loose all. One of you has to fall. But I
need you, and you....
 Why do you come here? When you know I've got troubles enough. Why do you
call me? When you know I can't answer the phone. Make me lie and I don't
want to.
 Make someone fell like a love-stricken fool. You make me stay when I
shouldn't of; I was so strong your all the weakness in me."
 Hailey threw off the covers with a sob. Walking to the window and
watching the rain
 pour down the lone pane of glass. So much pain, why was there always so
much pain?
 "Why do you come here, and pretend to be just passing by. Well I need to
see you. And I need to hold you. I need...." "You ben." Her mind finished
the thought, interrupted suddenly by a knock at the door.
 She looked through blurry eyes at the red numbers on her alarm clock.
11:45 *what on
 earth?*
 The knock sounded again.
 "I'm coming!" Composing herself quickly she opened the door to see a
dripping wet and haunted Fraser. "Leave me alone!" She cried as she
slammed the door
 back shut.
 He stopped it with his foot and stepped inside. "No. No, please go
away....go away." She whispered stepping back from him. "Hailey...Hailey
I'm sorry." He said in a voice that trembled with emotion. The
constriction in her heart wouldn't let her speak but she continued to
shake her head
 in protest.
 "Hailey..." he whispered taking hold of her hands and pulling them from
her face,
 replacing them with his own as he turned it up to him. "I never said I
didn't love you."
 She stared at him and they began to drift together as if moving by
magnetic attraction. He
 turned his head to the side and their lips found their place together
again. If it was a dream she didn't...couldn't let it end; and proceeded
to play it out for all it was
 worth. The two Mounties remained locked in the passionate kiss until
Hailey, who was
 now feeling water soak through her own clothing, broke away from his
grip. "You're
 soaked."
 "It's raining." Rather obvious, but it was the first thing that came to
his mind.
 "Let me help you dry off..."
 "Yes, that would be best. I wouldn't want to catch my death from cold wet
clothes now
 would I?"
 She grinned and hit him with a violent kiss as she expertly began to
undress him...
 * * *
 Hailey woke a couple hours later, nestled in the crook of his arm. *Oh my
it's not a
 dream.* She thought as she watched the slow rise and fall of his chest
She d idn't drool for
 long before the cold wet nose of her geriatric malamute nuzzled her arm.
"Min, You
 thirsty sweetie?" Careful not to wake him, she untangled herself from the
sheets and
 grabbed her robe. With a smile of utter contentment she proceeded to
clean up the
 aftermath of their tryst, which included throwing his uniform into the
washer. The dog
 whined again and she
 disappeared into the kitchen for a midnight snack. An hour later her
dryer buzzed, and Hailey proceeded to press the wrinkles out of his and
 her uniform at the ironing board. She hummed a nameless tune to herself
as she worked
 and refused to think of what would happen when he woke. But Ben was
awake, and watching her in the doorway. He spent a few minutes watching
 what was tantamount to a scene of perfect domestic tranquillity. He
wanted to say
 something, or do something, but didn't want to disrupt the quiet. The
humming stopped as she the hair on her neck began to raise. Slowly, she
turned and
 laughed. "OH, Ben, don't do that you scared me!" He smiled at her.
"Sorry, didn't mean to." "Did Min wake you up?"
 "No... not at all."
 "Well...your uniform was a mess and I knew you had to work tomorrow so I
thought..."
 "Don't worry about the uniform. It'll be fine..." He spoke as he walked
towards her and
 kissed her tenderly.
 "Mmmmm." She mumbled, relaxing a little causing the table to rock and the
Iron to fall
 face-down onto the carpet. "Ahhh!" She cried, quickly picking it up. He
pulled her back from the iron-shaped burn. "Careful, don't touch it. It's
incredibly hot,
 and you won't be able to get the plastic off your skin." She giggled. "Oh
Ben I've missed you so." "I've missed you too, Hailey. He brought up the
sheet he was covering himself with and wrapped them both in it, resting
his chin on her hair. Hailey was quiet for a minute before quietly saying.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you as
 soon as I knew but I just didn't have
 the courage. It was my fault, I practically seduced you that night, and
you didn't need to
 be held down by a wife and child, and I knew you would feel obligated to
stay with me..."
 He placed his index finger vertically across her lips, holding them
closed. "Shh....you
 don't need to apologize to me." Suddenly he stooped and picked her up,
carrying them
 back towards the bedroom.
 * * *
 They were perfectly content in their silent worlds as Hailey expertly
maneuvered the morning traffic. "Ahhhhh stupid me. I've got to check on
old Annie." She
 cried suddenly as she dodged out of traffic. Fraser grabbed onto the
dashboard and the door handle as she turned suddenly. "You do realize that
U turns are illegal inside city limits." "U turn? What U turn? I didn't do
a U turn." She said with a mischievous grin. He couldn't help smiling
though he tried to stay serious. "That, that just now, a U-turn.
 Highly illegal in city limits."
 "What, you going to write me a ticket Constable?" "Well, if you do it
again, I just might." She was tempted, oh so tempted....But her Good
Samaritan project called and she was
 going to be late picking up Ashton.
 Fraser's eyebrows raised as they pulled into a dingy back street ally and
stopped. "I'll be
 right back." She told him as she pulled some stuff from the back seat and
disappeared
 into a broken down brick
 building.
 Fraser waited quietly until he heard the distinctive ring of gunshots. He
looked around for
 a phone, CB, or radio but found none and was out of the car in a second.
He entered the
 building cautiously, sidearm drawn. The inside was stripped down to the
metal framing
 and a rickety wood staircase lead to the dimly lit upper level. He heard
a bump up above
 and Hailey scream "Ben!!!"
 He took the stairs two at a time and as he passed through a number of
small rooms, he kept his gun low and ready, following the last sound of
her voice. He
 found her in large barren windowless room, struggling in vain against a
large man with a
 scar along the side of his face. He held a knife to her throat and his
hand over her mouth.
 As she saw him she made a final valiant attempt to save her love's life.
Wrenching the
 hand from her mouth she called, "Don't, Ben it's a..." the door closed
behind him
 enclosing the room in darkness. Her voice, small with defeat finished her
sentence.
 "Trap."
 "Oh dear..."
 He found her in large barren windowless room, struggling in vain against
a large man with a scar along the side of his face. He held a knife to her
throat and his hand over her mouth. As she saw him she made a final
valiant
 attempt to save her love's life. Wrenching the hand from her mouth she
called, "Don't, Ben it's a..." the door closed behind him enclosing the
room in darkness. Her voice, small with defeat finished her sentence.
"Trap."
 "Oh dear..."
 Hailey woke slowly, the thrum a plane engine working in harmony with the
throb in her head. She hurt, that was the only way to describe it.
Everything
 about her hurt. Snippets of what happened flipped through her mind, and
for a moment she considered ending it there. *No, don't let them win. You
are stronger...it was just a show of dominance.....Ben...* Her eyes flew
open searching the hull of the plane for a familiar face. It was there,
etched with such a look of guilt and pain it nearly caused Hailey to cry
out.
 She stifled it before it gave her away and instead hissed "Ben." He
looked her direction, "Hi Hailey," and forced a smile. He knew they both
needed some sort of reassurance, and a smile, no matter how forced, would
have to suffice.
 "Hi." She replied in a shaky voice as she took in her surroundings. "Are
you allright?"
 "Yes." She said as she moved into a sitting position with a grimace.
"Just...sore."
 "That's understandable. Other then that, you're allright, right?" "Yes
I'll be okay." There was a pause. "I learned long ago how to separate body
from mind, besides women have a built in mechanism for coping with rape." 

 "Do you have any idea how to get out of this?" "Well, jumping out of the
plane is an option. There are two parachutes by the aft hatch. According
to my timing, someone comes back about every five minutes to check on us.
We'd have to move fast." "Right..." She looked throughout the compartment.
"How long until he comes back this time?"
 "About 16 seconds."
 She flopped down instantly. Fraser did the same, and true to his word a
few seconds later the door to the compartment opened, followed by heavy
footsteps.. He kicked Hailey, then Fraser, satisfied that they were still
asleep, he turned and walked back to the cockpit. Hailey peeked while he
had his back turned and stifled a gasp as he shut the door. "My god it's
Rickman!"
 "Yes, I know. He's been back here four times. Seeing as they work on a
rotating basis, I'd say there are about 5 men up there who are doing
nothing but checking on us."
 "Let's go then!" She said standing up and thanking heaven they had the
decency to re-dress her after they where done. As quietly as possible they
donned the parachutes. "Let's strip the place, who knows what's here but
I'm sure we'll be able to use it." Fraser nodded and they pushed the bags
and boxes they could towards the hatch. Fraser carefully undid it, and
with a quick push they emptied the compartment. Then, as the door to the
cockpit opened, they looked at each other and jumped.
 Hailey followed the typical routine for skydiving and remembered to tuck
towards the end. She landed securely on her feet, and with a sigh, sank
down and covered her face with her hands. Fraser landed not too far away,
and after gathering his parachute made his way toward her. "Tuck, roll,
and land, just like I said." He smiled. "Yeah. Fraser may I ask you a
question?" "Shoot."
 "Why didn't you try and find me seven years ago? Why did you just let me
go?"
 He was silent for a minute or two. "I'm not really sure. I was younger
then,
 more naive...and I suppose, like you, I just didn't have the courage. "
"I thought it was just because you didn't love me." "No....no, of course
not..." They stood in silence for a moment, a moment of looking deep into
each other's eyes, as if trying to understand each other.
 Suddenly Fraser snapped back to common sense. "We need to get under
cover. They are likely to circle back to find out where we landed, then
they will mark down the exact location and send people after us." The two
quickly rolled
 Hailey's red parachute, which would have acted as a beacon to the plane,
and scurried away from the field where they landed. The contents of the
plane compartment where scattered at random through the forest. It took a
better part of two hours to gather it together and make some sort of a
survival kit.
 "Do you have any idea where we are?" She asked after they'd sorted
through the things.
 He looked over a small map they'd recovered. "Well, judging from our
approximate direction, estimated speed, and the duration of our flight I'd
say we're about here." They were on the northern edge of a small mountain
range hugging the Columbia coast. The nearest marked town was
approximately 60 miles Southeast, as the crow flies. "And in all
 likeliness we will come across some sort of homestead before we actually
get there." His optimism behooved Hailey but she just nodded her head
thinking of
 just how comforting a deep hot bath would be at that moment. "God have
mercy."
 "Now, I recall seeing a group of small buildings approximately 10 minutes
before we jumped." He thought for a second. "That would put it
approximately 30 miles that way." He gestured in the opposite direction.
Her eyes lit up. "Let's go then." The two packed everything they needed
into
 the two small backpacks they'd located, then buried or hid the rest. Once
there
 was no sign of their time there, they began moving quickly over the
mountain 

 before them, towards the homestead that lay only 30 miles from where they
stood.
 The going was slow and exhausting and as they began to pull way from the
denser pines it was dark, and Hailey simply could go no further. "Well, if
you're too tired, we'll have to stop and rest a while." She sat with a
thud. "I've been in the city too long." He gave a small laugh. "We did
cover almost 20 miles. That's quite respectable on foot."
 "Thanks." She replied, yawning as she pulled various hard items from her
bag. She took a deep breath and laid down, using it as a sort of pillow.
She winced as she put pressure on the bruises that covered her body,
closed her eyes though a vivid flashback and curled up against the cold.
Fraser sat down next to her, and after a moment, she reached out
 to pull herself closer to the only warmth she could find. He watched her
shiver for a few minutes, then slipped off his Service Order uniform
jacket and covered her with it.
 "We are stopping for the night right?"
 "Yes, we're stopping for the night."
 "Thanks."
 "You're welcome." It had been a rather difficult choice to stop. It would
allow their kidnappers time to close the distance. The smarter thing would
have been to carry her, but she needed rest that could only be attained
 through a good night's sleep.
 "You should get some sleep too. I don't think we need to worry about
Oshlavic following us, it's too much work and this forest is too dense for
him to see us from above."
 His mind raced with reasons why he should stay awake, but it boiled down
to the fact that she was right. "You're right. We should both get some
sleep. We have a long walk to finish tomorrow." She instinctively snuggled
against him, and as memories of that morning began to fill his now idle
mind, he slid his arm protectively around her and kissed her gently on the
cheek. Through most of the night Fraser sat awake, holding Hailey. He
dozed off occasionally, but when he woke he'd scold himself for letting
his guard down.
 * * *
 The first nightmare hit around midnight, Hailey started screaming and
pushing away from Fraser viciously "Stop...please." She begged the monster
in her dream.
 Fraser wasn't sure what to do, so following his instincts he held her
tightly
 and tried his best to wake her up. Suddenly remembering something his
grandmother did he pulled a hair from the back of her neck, causing her to
jerk suddenly awake.
 "Ben, Ben is that you?"
 "Yes, Hailey, It's me, and just me. You're safe." She clung to him for
dear life. "They had me again.... they where using me again."
 "And for the last time." He knew he was right in his earlier suspicions.
It would have been in the best interests of both for them if they had
continued moving, instead of stopping for the night. She squeezed her eyes
shut and pressed her forehead into his shoulder as if trying to block out
the world. A shuddering sob escaped her lips as her will to not
acknowledge what had happened broke. He held her tightly, not letting her
escape. "It's OK, you're safe with me." She couldn't speak as her body
released it's stress in tears. No words were exchanged, and the sounds of
her tears blotted out the sounds of nature.
 Stealing occasional glimpses at his watch, he watched time go by. Five
minutes, ten minutes, twenty, a half hour. The sobs eventually quieted to
an occasional sniffle as she cried herself to sleep. He released his grip
on her and settled her back into a natural sleeping position.
 * * *
 "Humm, mmm, what? what did you say?"
 "It's morning. Time to get back on the trail." "Oh...oh right." She
yawned and shook. "Gee golly what a wonderful night!" "Did you...uh, sleep
well?"
 "Oh yes, wonderfully." The statement oozed sarcasm. She stood up stiffly
and pulled her hopelessly tangled hair out of her face into something that
would
 stay out of the way. "To put it frankly, being a girl sucks." "I wouldn't
know about that." As she got ready, he packed the few things they had back
into the bags.
 "No you wouldn't." She said with a smile. "Let's go Paul Bunyan." He
chuckled, and they set off in the general direction of the homestead that
was their final goal.
 The downhill stretch was treacherous, and both lost their footing more
than once. Towards noon they saw a thin trail of smoke in the distance. It
buoyed their spirits and the last mile went in a breeze, they came out at
the edge of a large fenced in field with a man expertly guiding a horse
through
 it's various exercises. The Mounties climbed the fence, and approached
the man.
 "Hello there. My name is Constable Fraser, RCMP, and this is Constable
Winters. Could we get some assistance from you?" The man looked at the two
with a high raised eyebrow.
 "You two look like you've been through the wash cycle. How can I help
you?" "Do you have some sort of communication to the nearest RCMP
detachment? Phone, short-wave radio?" At this time, the homesteader's wife
came out into the field, and approached Hailey.
 "Oh, my poor girl. You're filthy. Come, let's get you cleaned up." The
thought of warm water overrode Hailey's sense of independence and she let
the
 lady lead her upstairs without complaint or correction. As Hailey was led
upstairs, Fraser found the phone. Thankful, there was a large map next to
the phone, and Fraser spent a few minutes figuring their exact location.
When he had, he picked up the phone, and called the nearest RCMP
detachment(the number was thankfully among the list of numbers by the
phone). After working it out with the senior NCO on the other end of the
line, Fraser thanked them kindly, and hung up. After Hailey had gotten
cleaned up, Fraser replaced her in the bathroom, while the homesteader
wife washed their Service Order uniforms, which by now had gotten rather
dirty. It wasn't until late that evening that a 4-wheel drive 'Buffalo
Cab' made its
 way to the homestead. Neither Mountie had ever been quite so happy to see
the RCMP vehicle, whose door carried the heraldic emblem of the RCMP, with
its
 prominent buffalo head. Fraser and Hailey left whatever was of value with
the homesteaders, and left the small clearing. Over the next 30 hours,
they slowly, but surely, made their way back to Vancouver. As they reached
the city limits Hailey finally spoke. "You know Ash knows he has a father.
I always told him that he had a very important and demanding job and when
he was the right age you would come for him."
 "And then you left it up to chance that I'd arrive when the time was
right?" "No I planned to find you. No matter how I feel, Ashton deserves
to know who his father is."
 "Well, I agree. But when were you going to try and find me?" "When he was
self contained and not as much work, I was thinking around eight."
 "Ah, I see."
 "I've recorded and kept a lot of his babyhood too so you didn't totally
miss that."
 "Well...that was very thoughtful of you." They pulled into the parking
lot for the station at just that moment and were almost instantly swamped
with people. They quickly parted though, letting the Mounties out of the
car. Flashing lights and swarms of questions made it impossible to hear
each other
 speak. lead by a few Mounties from the station they were escorted into
the building.
 "Good grief what's going on?"
 "I haven't a clue."
 Suddenly Hailey rocked back as a little figure attacked her from the
side. "Mom!"
 "Ash!" She called, recouping quickly and stooping to hug him back. They
stayed that way for a good five minutes, neither finding the right words
to say. Finally she pulled back.
 "Ash remember what I told you about your dad coming back someday when
you're older?"
 Fraser didn't know what to say, or even if he should say anything just
yet. This was a mother/son moment.
 "Yeah"
 "Well he's here. Constable Fraser is your father." "Oh...." He was
silent, totally stunned. "Maybe you should rest a bit with Sarah." Hailey
looked to her aunt with pleading eyes.
 "Yes I'll take care of him." The elderly woman who in all reality was
Hailey's saint cooed. From there Hailey, Fraser, and Inspector Jenkins
made their way to a prepared interrogation room. "From what we can tell,
Oshlavic and Rickman planned the takeover six years ago. The fur business
was starting to lag and their operation was leaking. So they figured how
to clean it out..." "That makes sense. That's why he lead us to that
ridge, he must have had someone waiting for him down below." Hailey
interjected. "A get-away vehicle...Sound planning on his part. This man is
nobody's fool." Fraser agreed.
 "Which is why we are now in a very sticky situation. It's not like we
don't have the evidence to convict him, it's a matter of finding him,
which is virtually impossible. This leaves our only option..." "We need to
find a way to lure him into our hands." again, Hailey interjected. 

 "Therein lies the question. Now you two are in very real danger so
protection officers have been arranged..."
 "Very well, sir. The other officers will have to keep a very low profile,
of course."
 "Of course, and you'll also need to give your separate statements. And
we'll have to do it tonight as you know..." "Yes we know." The two replied
in unison. Though both dreaded the task they knew it had to be done. They
where placed in separate rooms and the questioning began. Hailey told her
story slowly, and in immaculate detail. More than once she had to stop to
keep control of herself, but she got through it in good time. Fraser sat
in the opposite interrogation room, and proceeded to give his statement.
Their accounts matched up perfectly, with no deviations whatsoever.
 "Raped....man...some people are evil." The constable who questioned
Fraser commented as they left the room. Though Fraser didn't show it on
the outside, a slight tremor in his voice and something in his stance
showed that he wasn't taking it with a grain of salt. "Yes....quite. And
the sooner he goes to prison, the safer everyone is." 

 Hailey came out about ten minutes later. Looking white as a sheet and
shaking ever so slightly.
 "How are you holding up, Hailey?"
 "As long as I never have to reiterate that story again I'll be perfectly
fine, thank you."
 "Ah, I see." On the outside he looked perfectly normal, but his eyes
burrowed
 into Hailey's with as much comfort as he could send. They were then
greeted by their bodyguards, two tall serious looking men who
 gave Hailey an urge to run. They where guided to a decoy car behind the
building where she found Ash sound asleep. "Poor guy." She cooed as she
took her place next to him. Two rooms had been arranged in a little known
hotel in the very heart of the city. It had been laced with alarms and
security fit for a diplomat. Throughout
 a silent meal Hailey fought and dreaded the thought of sleeping alone,
but her
 sensitive nature wouldn't allow her personal interests to override Ben's
sense
 of honor. After they finished eating they were lead to their separate
rooms.
 There was an awkward silence, broken by Hailey as always. "Well I guess
it's goodnight."
 "Good night Hailey." Fraser opened his door, and turned back to her. "If
you need anything, you know where I am." He gave her the same 'It's going
to be okay.' Look before closing the door.   * * As the week passed they
settled into a frustrating rhythm of life. Each Day was spent searching
dead ends at the police station, and each night a new hotel. Fear gripped
every aspect of their lives and they couldn't find a moment alone
together. The stress continued to build until one night over dinner Hailey
was struck with an idea. "Oh my, I just remembered something. I can't
believe I didn't think of this before! Come on." She said grabbing
Fraser's hand. "We've got to get to the station." They quickly left the
restaurant stepping into the unmarked police car they where using. "What
did you forget?" She waved him off. "Just take us to the station." "Right
away." They began driving, using a speed that allowed rapid movement, but
still not drawing attention to themselves. Once there, Hailey hit the
doors like a whirlwind. "Jenkins! I've got it! In the interrogation room
now!" The inspector came from his office ready to give her a full dressing
down for disrespect but one look at her expression caused him to obey,
quickly. Fraser followed them in, and closed the door. "Living like this
is insane and I can't stand it anymore. Something has got to break and I
think I know how to make that happen. We've established that Oshlavic is
no longer in touch with his contacts in Russia, and isn't running his own
trade ring. So what is he after now? A bitter old codger in his
retirement...what's his purpose in life?" "Well Cst. Winters, if we knew
that, we wouldn't be waiting for you to tell us." The Inspector was still
upset at being given orders from a subordinate. "Revenge. It's eating him
alive. Why else would the murderer of twelve Mounties come back from the
dead?" "Perhaps a nice retirement condo in Kitchner. What makes you so
sure this is what's going on?" "Look at it from a common sense angle. I
took away his eye, scarred him for life, ruined his name in Russia, and
brought down his business. Is there any other way you can explain why he
kidnapped me? Fraser was just a kink in his plan. Like I said in my
statement he nearly shot one of his henchmen when they found out he was
with me." "That is true, sir." Fraser piped in. The Inspector was silent
for a moment. "Well, thank you, Cst. Winters, for bringing this to my
attention. But it still doesn't help us get our man, does it?" "You see
that's where you're wrong. Revenge is one of the most intense of human
emotions. It can distort your perception causing you to make errors you
wouldn't under normal circumstances. What I'm getting at is I want to use
his lust to see me in pain against him." "If you're proposing what I think
you're proposing, first of all, it's asinine, crazy, suicidal, and stupid.
Second, no officer in his or her right mind, from myself all they way up
to the Commissioner in Ottawa would approve." "What are you proposing? We
continue to live this godforsaken excuse for a life? Jumping from hotel to
hotel until we run out of rooms in Vancouver and then move to another.
What makes you think he's not going to eventually find a glitch in the
system? Witness protection is bull and we both know it. I'd rather die
trying to take down this man than live forever looking over my shoulder.
To put it frankly *sir* fear sucks." "Cst. Winters! Watch your tongue, or
I'll have you up on charges of insubordination. This operation is already
costing the RCMP thousands of dollars in overtime pay every week, to try
and catch a man who may or may *not* still be in this *hemisphere!* " "Oh
he's here all right, I can feel it. He won't give up until I'm six feet
under but your pride won't let you admit that. Now would you take your
Prozac and listen to me?" "Constable! Keep yourself in check! You're
addressing an officer. One more remark like that, and so help me..." He
paused for a second, and tried to calm down. "You have 5 minutes to tell
me your plan." He looked down at his watch. "To people who are used to
living completely alone, having your every move monitored by someone or
another is absolutely maddening. There is nothing more natural then a
protectee wanting to get a breath of fresh air. I'm thinking I can start
complaining about the lack of privacy and stability. This will result in
the protection agency letting us stay at the same place for say oh...three
or four days. Leaving it unprotected a few times during that period. On
the fourth day we discreetly check for bugs, and if there is one we
proceed. I'll tell Fraser one night how I want to be alone with him, we
need to talk, and set up a time when we'll both skip the security. I get
to the place and Fraser doesn't show up causing me to wait. I'll also be
laced with a radio transmitter and satellite location button. So, when
Oshlavic attempts to kidnap me again we'll be ready....and should things
go awry in some way you'll know where he's taking me." "Crazy. Completely
crazy. And what's more, I will not allow any officer under me to take part
in that plan. Crazy." "You got any better ideas? He's not going to kill me
until he gets me in his compound, he made that perfectly clear." "Oh, so
know you know his plans? I'm still not buying it, Constable. It's too
risky." "I'm not exactly thrilled about it either but we both know we
don't have a choice." "I still don't like it." "If you're worried about
funds approval this is going to cost a whole lot less than three lives in
witness protection. Not to mention the loss of a very skilled officer."
She commented further, gesturing towards Fraser. "You've had your 5
minutes, and I still think it's a God-awful stupid plan. But I'll run it
past Division Headquarters. They still won't approve it, but at least
it'll shut you up. It will shut you up, won't it?" "I won't shut up until
this is solved but go ahead, and hopefully they can look past their little
authority complex and realize that they have no choice." He stood up
suddenly. "That's it, Constable! I'm going to have you written up on
charges!" "Oh look who sat on a bee." "You're just digging yourself in
deeper, you know." She knew perfectly well, but her pride wasn't about to
let that show. She opened her mouth to retort... Fraser spoke quickly
before either other Mountie could have the chance. "Perhaps, sir, Cst.
Winters should write up her proposal to send to Division HQ." "I wouldn't
have a problem with that, in fact I'd rather enjoy talking to some one
with a nickel's worth of sense." "Fine, very well. Go." He quickly left;
he had a report of his own to write. "Oh crap!" She exclaimed suddenly.
"Inspector wait! You have to keep this under your hat, one hint of it gets
out and it puts us all in even more dire straights. Come to think of it I
can't write it down or say it over the phone either...I'm going to have to
talk to division face to face..." "I will, Cst. Winters. And I suggest,
for your own good, that you keep your distance from me for the next 120
minutes." "Only to pleased." was her retort as she brushed past him into
the hall. Fraser held back a bit. "You'll have to forgive her, sir. She's
a bit on edge." The Inspector just shook his head, and headed into his
office. "Frase, you coming?" Her voice echoed from down the hall. "Yea."
He half-walked, half-ran down the hall after her. She was already cooling
down by the time they got outside and sighed loudly. "Hailey, you need to
be more careful. You may have just gotten yourself into as much trouble as
you're already in." "You wouldn't know Ben, you don't have a temper. But
that was the result of a year of back up hostility. He's been against me
since I showed up a fresh rookie from Regina. I had to pull a lot of
strings to get in, being a single mom and all, and I guess he's never
forgiven me." She giggled. "Who knows maybe it will be me who's next
looking for a job at an American consulate." "You'd look fetching on
sentry duty." He said with a smile as he held the door for her. She
plopped in without a reply, and when he took his place in the driver's
seat she laid against his shoulder. "Sometimes I hate myself." "You
shouldn't, Hailey. It's just a temper." "Yeah......" "So don't beat
yourself up about it." "Never mind, let's go." She said with a sigh moving
back to her seat. As they drove back to the hotel the high she'd been
running on wore off and depression settled back in it's place. Another
night alone...she was finally with the one she loved and she couldn't as
much as kiss him. She slid her hand over the middle of the seat and
interlaced her fingers with his. "I miss you, Ben." He noted for the first
time how small her hand was in comparison with his. "I know, Hailey. I
know." "Are you ever going to make us public?" He seriously hadn't thought
much about it. "Once this whole situation is over..." "And if this doesn't
work?" "It will." "Always the optimist." He merely smiled. Her worry was
in vain, for as she opened the door to her room she saw that it was
connected to Fraser's room by a private door. With a smile she put little
Ash to bed and dissapeared into the bathroom for her nightly routine.  * *
After she was sure the room was asleep, Hailey slipped out of bed and, as
quietly as possible, unlocked the door between their rooms and slipped
inside. She moved silently across the floor watching him sleep for a
minute before sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn't wake up. She
leaned over, resting her weight on her forearms and kissed him tenderly.
He woke slowly. "Hailey, you should be asleep." She didn't answer but to
kiss him harder. He pulled back slightly, just enough so that he could
speak. "Hailey..." "Shhhhhh." She whispered as she moved her hand along
his arm and up through his hair, kissing him again. "Hailey..." "It's okay
no one knows...." "Isn't Ashton in the next room?" "Yes, but He sleeps
like a rock." "But still..." "What? If this was another couple, there
would be no way we could protect him from that." "But he know this is my
room." "Oh for god's sake Ben." She exclaimed in a harsh whisper. Hitting
him on the shoulder lightly. "Hailey don't be mad, it just isn't the
right...time." She stood up and went for the door. "Hailey..." "Fraser
unless you've got something really good to say right now go back to bed
and leave me alone." She stood in front of him, arms crossed and jaw set
in hurt anger. "Well...uhh...you see....uhh..." He searched for something,
anything, to say. Another minute or two went by in silence broken by the
occasional stutter. She turned with a smirk and went to leave. He was out
of bed in a second and grabbed her arm just as she turned the knob,
turning her around and crushing his lips against hers. "what's that
supposed to..." He cut her off with another kiss, pressing her against the
door. "It's an apology." "Your a wicked man Ben." she replied with a voice
filled with humor. He'd been called a number of things in his life; wicked
was never one. As she had before, she shut off his sense of reality. He
couldn't ever remember feeling like this with a woman before, and he
couldn't place the emotion. With Victoria it had been a searing desperate
passion, with others it was more a release of physical need, but with
Hailey it was like stitching up a hole in his soul. She completed him,
made him a man, and perhaps the most important, she proved that he could
indeed love again. He stooped a little picking her up and set her gently
on the bed. Pulling away for a moment to let his eyes roam, taking her in,
before moving his lips to the little hollow below her neck....	* * The
meeting at division head went much the same as it had with Inspector
Jenkins, but after much grandstanding and finagling Hailey convinced them
to follow through with her plan. The plan immediately went into action,
and Hailey began complaining about the lack of privacy. A room was
scheduled for an extended stay, and sure enough three days later their
room was littered with bugs, all of course non RCMP and untraceable. As
they went to follow their typical nightly routine Hailey made her change
in plan, whispering to Ben to come into the room with her. He followed
suit, carefully closing the door behind him. "We need to talk, privately,
without the rest of the world listening." "Understood." "I've figured out
a way to skip the security. Tomorrow we are supposed to spend the day at
that abandoned building off Henley Street, our bodyguards will be letting
up since the place is practically it's own prison. I know how to get out
without being seen, especially after I've undergone
my...err...transformation." He smiled. "So that's the plan? We'll finally
be by ourselves?" "During the chaos while people are trying to find me.
Stray to the wharf and look for a platinum blonde in turquoise. I'll be
hiding in plain sight." His eyebrows raised. "Tricky." She smiled back.
"I've learned a few things in my 36 years." "So it seems." It was very
difficult to keep their manner light. inside Hailey was churning with
fear. He could see that she was nervous, or perhaps scared, but she
remained up beat, and he did his best to do the same. "Well, go before we
look suspicious." "Understood." He kissed her silently, and slid through
the door to his room. * * * The plan was carried through without a glitch.
Fraser, Inspector Jenkins, and a circle of the people involved in the
setup, watched tensely from their positions around the wharf or at their
computer screens. One hour passed, two, three, nothing. On the fourth hour
the inspector called it off and Ben came out from his hiding place in one
of the buildings. He walked around for a short time, looking for Hailey in
disguise. Suddenly a short haired curly blonde wearing a turquoise
miniskirt that had an uncanny resemblance to some of the girls he'd seen
in Chicago was at his side. "Where the hell have you been?" "Sorry. I've
been looking for you." She stifled a laugh. 'Coudn't recognize me eh?"
"No. You truly are a master of disguise." "Well down to business. When are
you going to make us public?" "As I said before, once this has all been
taken care of." "Why? Why wait so long?" "Because it's too risky now.
Hopefully, we won't have to live like this much longer." Hailey's mind
rushed to make some sort of conversation that would make all this trouble
seem worth it. Luckily one of the special agents recognized their distress
and came from his car as if he was following Fraser and just found them.
"You two need to come back with me." Fraser looked at the man, then back
at Hailey. "Well, we tried." They arrived at the police station about 45
minutes later, upon which Hailey removed her wig. She dreaded each step,
her pride had depended on this mission working and it hadn't. Maybe she
really should start looking for jobs in the states....Every pair of eyes
in the room stared at her with a look between pity and disgust. "I'm going
to wash this crap off my face before I break out." She told Fraser and
disappeared into the ladies bathroom. She bent over the sink letting the
hot water run when suddenly a hand came over her mouth and she felt cold
steel against her neck. "Thought you could get away with it didn't you?
Thought you could get away from me." She moved to scream but the metal
pressed harder, she could feel it just starting to nick her skin. With
tears of panic in her eyes she relaxed and started praying as she looked
in the mirror before her. The long scar and white hair tipped her off to
her captor. She didn't fight him as he led her to the window and somehow
made it slide open. With a less than gentle shove he pushed her out into
an alley and pulled away for a fraction of a second to shove her into a
waiting car. In that moment she screamed at the top of her lungs. The door
slammed shut, shutting out her scream. And rubber lay to pavement as the
nameless driver hit the gas.... "Thought you could get away with it didn't
you? Thought you could getaway	

 from me." She moved to scream but the metal pressed harder, she could
feel it just starting to nick her skin. With tears of panic in her eyes
she relaxed and started praying as she looked in the mirror before her.
The long
 scar and white hair tipped her off to her captor. She didn't fight him as
he
 led her to the window and somehow made it slide open. With a less than
gentle shove he pushed her out into an alley and pulled away for a
fraction of a second to shove her into a waiting car. In that moment she
screamed at the top of her lungs. The door slammed shut, shutting out her
scream. And rubber lay to pavement as the nameless driver hit the gas....
 * * *
 Fraser heard both the scream and the car speeding away. He ran out
theside 

 door, and caught a brief glimpse of the car and license plate. Since the
car was too far away to pursue on foot, he turned instead to the parking
lot of the police station. A Constable on Uniform Patrol was getting ready
to pull out just as Fraser hit the blacktop. He practically flew into the
passenger side door, and ordered the Constable to proceed in the direction
that Hailey's kidnapper had driven. As the marked car sped through the
streets of Vancouver, Fraser used the radio to give a description of the
car, the license plate, and the general direction of the chase. Within
minutes the entire Vancouver police unit was aware of the situation, and
every Buffalo Cab in the city was watching for the car, knowing that one
of their own was in it. Before a few minutes had passed everyone realized
the trail was cold. Fraser let a rare curse along with most the staff back
at the station. Suddenly a man stationed at one of the many tracking
computers yelled, "The tracking device! She's still got her tracking
device on!" He flipped up the computer screen and sure enough, a small red
blip was flashing along Interstate Five. The news ripped through the
airwaves, causing Fraser's nameless chauffeur to gun the gas in that
direction. * * *
 Hailey heard and smelled the ocean as the car finally came to a stop. She
was now blindfolded, gagged, and trussed up very much like a thanksgiving
 turkey. The door opened and rough hands pulled her from the car, again
she felt a cold blade of steel against her throat. Robbed of her sense of
sight she strained her ears to make out her location. A funny hoot much
like that of a whale sounded almost in unison with the break of the surf.
It took her a minute for the memory it sparked to fully take shape, but
when it did a terror consumed her. *The blowholes.* "So tell me Miss
Hailey, how good of a swimmer are you?" She felt herself being picked up,
turned over, and a hard shoulder settle in
 her very bruised stomach. Her captor started moving as Hailey frantically
thought of a way to save herself. Something cold clamped about her ankles
and a wet mist start to stick to her skin. "You know, you've given me
quite a struggle the past few days." Suddenly she heard the all too
familiar drone of a helicopter, and a large hand start to fondle her body
again. "So pretty, such a waste. It really is a pity you had to go all
good on me Hailey." The chopper got louder as he let her off his shoulder.
She thought she heard another car but couldn't be sure. Tears now streamed
down her face as she begged him silently to spare her.
 Suddenly he tore off her blindfold and undid the binds to her hands as he
violently pushed her backwards. "Have a good sleep!" She fell at a free
fall into the blackness below, taking the deepest breath she could as her
body slid into the freezing water. The sirens of the police car alerted
Oshlavic, and he turned to run. Before he could reach the waiting ladder
of his escape craft the car skidded to a stop between the Russian and the
chopper. Fraser was out of the car in a second and roughly grabbed him by
the collar. "Where is she?" The enraged Mountie slammed him against the
back of
 the car. "What did you do with her you son of a bitch!!!" The man pointed
off the cliff and was promptly thrown to the ground. As Fraser ran, he
yelled to the Constable in the carto arrest the man. A moment later, a
single gunshot rang out. Fraser stopped, and whirled to see the Constable
lowering his service revolver. The Russian lay flat on the ground,
bleeding from a wound to the chest. "He tried to run." The Constable said
calmly. Fraser didn't give it another moment's thought and without
hesitationjumped
 from the cliff.
 The freezing water punched the air from Hailey's lungs at first until the
 next current pushed her up. The water felt like a thousand knives being
driven into her skin. She managed another breath before she was slammed
against the rock at the back of the cavern. This happened a third time
before she realized she would have to swim her way out of there. On the
next
 rush she started swimming as best she could with her bound legs, using
the receding current to her advantage. She barely cleared the rocks before
the wave returned and slammed her viciously against the opening to the
 blowhole. This pattern of swim/slam continued until she moved to
calmerwater.
 At this point she was teetering on the edge of physical and mental
breakdown. She contemplated giving up; she just didn't have the strength
to fight her way to shore. Then out of no where, she heard Fraser call for
her. At first she thought it was just her imagination but it sounded
again. "HAILEY!"
 Like a drunkard waking from a stupor she called back to him with all the
force she could muster. She was slowly being pushed toward shore by the
current and thought she could feel something solid beneath her feet. "This
way Ben, over here."
 He barely made out her voice as she called to him. He turned towards the
 direction of her voice and swam to her. The going was far easier and by
the time he reached her she was fully on shore, just an occasional wave
brushing up around her. She shivered violently and held her eyes shut
tightly. As tenderly as possible he pulled her completely from the water
and checked her pulse. It was a little weak but most definitely there.
 "Hailey, can you hear me? If you can, squeeze my hand." He placed his
hand in hers remembering First Aid training at Depot Division. The last of
the 5 senses to shut down before a person entered profound and total
unconsciousness was hearing.
 She squeezed it gently. "C....c...cold..." "Yes, it's very cold." He
himself was shivering as he surveyed their position. The cliff was on
their left and shadowed them from the sun. People swarmed at the top like
insects. He couldn't see a path back up to ground level, but the beach
they were resting on continued around a bend, and
 if nothing else into the sun. With a mustering of courage and strength he
picked her up and carried her in that direction. Within minutes after
Fraser jumped from the cliff the place was swarming with RCMP and the
media. Search and Rescue had been deployed and every proper precaution was
taken to keep the crime scene pure. But that task was becoming
increasingly difficult to Constable Trevor as News Choppers started to
come their direction. With a curse he looked again into the ocean where
his childhood hero had jumped. Something moving in the corner of his eye
caught his attention. "There they are sir!" he called to Inspector Jenkins
who was conversing with head of
 Vancouver Search and Rescue. "Right out there, on the beach." Sure
enough, a figure was carrying another in the opposite direction of the
cliff. "He's heading for the lee side of the shore." The young constable
hadn't finished his sentance before Jenkins and the other man began
 shouting orders and moving a discreet operation to the other side of
thebeach.
 During the short walk to the sunny side of the beach, Hailey felt the
overwhelming urge to sleep. Fraser knew better and did whatever it took to
keep her awake.
 They rounded the bend where they were practically accosted by rescue
officials and RCMP officers. The attention made Hailey dizzy, and she
quickly barked: "I'm perfectly fine, just cold, tired, and very much in
need
 of some private peace and quiet."
 As if to prove her point Fraser set her down and let her stand by
herself. By will and a deep sense of independence she stood dead straight.
She looked at Jenkins with pleading eyes and for once it seemed that he
understood. "Very well. I'm sure Fraser is quite capable of helping you.
You will still be under surveillance though so don't get any crazy ideas."
"Certainly not sir." Fraser replied, relieved he didn't have to argue the
situation. "We'll be expecting you two to give your full statements
tomorrow." "We'll be there sir."
 The inspector nodded, turned to say something to the Rescue operator who
in turn nodded his head. With a few quick orders the operation was called
off and the ambulance and two jeeps headed back to headquarters. Deeming
that she was safe to move, Fraser picked her up, and carried her up to the
public parking lot. An inconspicuous RCMP vehicle lay waiting, and
 he placed Hailey on the back seat, lying down. Climbing into the
passenger side, he ordered the Constable, who he now knew was called
Trevor, to pull away slowly, so that their departure wouldn't be noticed.
After a few miles of deceptive driving the Constable suggested a secured
hotel they'd stayed in
 a week or so beforehand. Fraser agreed that it was the safest guess and
they
 proceeded in that direction.
 With a thank you kindly he picked up the now soundly sleeping Hailey and
carried her to her room. Their bags where already there waiting. He
mentally thanked the unknown Constable for calling in what was going on
and having one of the dispatchers send an off-duty officer to bring them
theirbags.
 After placing Hailey on the bed, his first order of business was to start


 the bath running at an almost unbearably hot temperature. As the water
ran, he went next door to
 his room to change out of his salt-encrusted clothes. Unfortunately, the
constable who had moved the bags had, in his hurry grabbed nothing more
than the bags. Since most of his clothes where now in a closet on the
other side of town, he pulled on a Service Order uniform. More out of
habit than anything he went for the brown jacket, stopping on a second
thought to hang it in the closet, leaving him in shirtsleeves. Next, he
placed the 'Do Not Disturb' card on the handles of both doors, closed the
bolts and
 took both phones off the hook. He knew Hailey needed rest without knocks
on the door or ringing phones.
 He then returned to the bathroom looking through Hailey's things for some
 kind of soap. He was confronted by an impossibly large variety of small
bottles. Soaps, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, Fraser was
completely baffled and shoved all the bottles back into the small bag from
which they came. He found a bar of RCMP-issue soap in his room, which he
knew and understood. Placing the bar of soap on the edge of the bathtub,
he saw that he had everything he needed except something to wash. He left
the bathroom and quietly went to where Hailey lay. By now, the liberal
coating of salt she'd received had dried completely, leaving a chalky,
white film over her and her clothes. He tried to brush some of it off her
face, but the vast majority of it clung to her skin. He knew it would be a
fight to get her cleaned off. He went to remove her jacket, but the salt
had jammed the zipper making it difficult to pull. After a bit of a
struggle, the zipper cooperated. The one piece strapless mini dress that
made up the rest of her gaudy outfit came off with relative ease. He drew
in his breath as he uncovered her pale skin which was now littered with
bruises, old and new. He swallowed a knot of rage and removed the
 rest of her clothing. The oblivious mountie then picked her up, and
carried her into the bathroom, setting her into the steaming water gently.
She remained sound asleep as he picked up the bar of soap, and set to
work. By the time he'd finished scrubbing off the last vestiges of sea
salt, the bath water was saturated with salt and dirt. Fraser tried a
quick experiment by dropping his tuning fork into the water. Instead of
sinking, it
 floated. After retrieving the fork, he pulled Hailey out of the water,
and dried her off; wondering how on earth women could stand messing with
so much hair. Then again not everyone had Hailey's hair. Still brooding on
the subject Fraser carried her into the bedroom, and set her down on one
of the beds. He quickly crossed to the radiator and retrieved the bathrobe
he'd draped over
 it. He slid the rather warm terry cloth over her shoulders and tied the
belt, then tucked her under the blankets from both beds with a gentle kiss
on
 the cheek. * * *
 She woke approximately six hours later with a slight moan. Fraser, who
had only recently returned from a bout of errands, leaned over her. "Hello
Hailey. How're you feeling?" She blinked her eyes. "Sick." "That's
understandable. Hungry?"
 "Not really, I think I swallowed too much sea water." He moved a large,
covered bowl on a small table so that it rested in front of her and lifted
the cover revealing a large, steaming bowl of soup. Her mouth immediately
started watering. "Check that I'm starving." "Well, what else do you want?
I can get room service to bring up whatever you need."
 "No nothing, this will do quite well." She said as she pushed herself up
then realized what he'd done. She giggled. "That must have been
enjoyable."
 "Hmm?" He was concentrating on making his call, blatantly ignoring
Hailey's request to the opposite. "Cleaning me up." "Oh...yes." He blushed
a bit, quickly finished on the phone, and hung up.
 She smiled. "Oh this definitely hits the spot." "I thought you'd enjoy
something warm to eat." "You always seem to know what I want don't you?"
"Well, I don't know about that. But I did know you'd probably want soup." 

 Without warning she heard a whine and the bed shook as a large white wolf
 bounced up on it and nuzzled her arm.
 "Diefenbaker, get down. Hailey needs rest." "Diefenbaker?" She rubbed the
dog's neck, taking a liking to himimmediately.
 "Yes, this is Diefenbaker. He's been in Chicago for the past few months.
He
 was staying with some friends there." She extended her hand and shook the
wolf's paw. "Pleasure to meet you." He whined and licked her face. "He's
duly pleased as well." "I can tell." She said between laughs. He smiled.
"Dief, get down. She's trying to eat." The wolf grudgingly obliged and
skulked into a corner. "He's beautiful, you pick him up in the
territories?" "Yes, 336 km north of Whitehorse."
 "Ah....So is Oshlavic?..." She couldn't finish the sentence, or swallow
her soup. "Dead? Quite."
 She half smiled and closed her eyes, suddenly losing her appetite. "Are
you ok?" Fraser looked at her concerned "Yes....Just...I've never felt
such terror as I did yesterday." "I understand." "Somehow I doubt that,
but I know you try." "I do. Try, that is." A knock at the door announced
the arrival of room service.
 "Hold on." He stood, went to the door, and quickly returned with another
tray. She looked at the tray with eyes of a child at Christmas. "Will this
do? You said you were hungry, but you didn't tell me what you wanted."
 She removed the lid to find a steaming plate of sweet and sour chicken.
"Oh yes I think it will do." He smiled. "I thought it would." "Is Ash all
right?"
 "Yes, he's fine. He's staying with your aunt." They continued talking
about seemingly insignificant things until Hailey was done. "Dief." She
called to the wolf who was looking out the window, and who coincidentally
ignored her. She called again a little louder... "He's deaf, Hailey."
"Deaf???"
 "Though sometimes I'm not entirely sure." "He obeyed before...." "He may
or may not be able to read lips. It he can, he's self-taught, though."
This resulted in the characteristically Canadian. "Hmmm" "Exactly." He
responded, as though she'd spoke a coherent sentence. "On April 23, 1967.
Ninety-seven Kilometers north of Distruction Bay two men stood on a rope
bridge which spanned a canyon. On the other side of that bridge a young
woman lie in the clutches of a deviant. They had two cartridges between
them and one rifle. They knew it was an impossible shot, but they also
knew whoever made that shot would secure the love of that woman. The first
man tried and failed, the second tried and won the shooting match. The man
and the woman would go on to become my parents and this." He
 fished in one of his pockets and pulled out a platinum band set at the
top with a trio of diamonds. "has been used to secure the marriages of
that and other Fraser families three generations back." He stooped to one
 knee. "I'd be honored if you would be the fourth." He hadn't finished his
sentence before she'd answered with an enthusiastic yes.
 Fraser lifted her hand and gently slid the ring on her finger. She
admired it for a moment before he stooped to gently kiss her being careful
not to jostle her in any way.
 She returned the kiss, and pressed her forehead to his lips with
acontented
 sigh. * * *
 So it was that six weeks later the service set to join Miss Hailey
Madeline Winters and Constable Benton Fraser in marriage was scheduled in
a small church there in Vancouver. The guest list included names such as
Sergeant Buck Forbisher, Raymond Vecchio, and Elaine Besbriss. October 14,
1999, 8:37 a.m. Pacific Time. "Benny!" A familiar voice echoed through the
crowded gate Fraser turned quickly to
 a voice he hadn't heard in what seemed like ages. "Ray!" Sure enough, a
now all but completely bald Raymond Vecchio stood before him. "Frase you
look fantastic!"
 "So do you!" Fraser threw his arms around his best friend. "How've
youbeen?" 

 "Great considering I just got thrown out on my ass. Stella is beyond
reasoning."
 "I heard. I'm sorry Ray. There's no need to apologize, you're always
welcome." Both men understood the duel meaning to the Mountie's
laststatement.
 "Yeah but it still wasn't the best timing. Man I still can't believe you,
 Benton Fraser, Mr. I don't know women exist, is getting married." Fraser
looked down at the boots he'd spent half the night polishing and ironing.
"Yeah, it's actually happening." Ray chuckled and slapped his friend onthe
 shoulder. "Benny got his groove back." Fraser laughed. "You're not the
first to say that, you know." The two men began walking. "Well, it will
take us approximately 40 minutes to get your bags and clear Customs, 1
hour 30 minutes to the tuxedo shop, less any delays due to traffic..."
 Meanwhile in the first rate apartment uptown Hailey was yelling into her
phone. "What do you mean he's got chicken pox!!!!" "I'm sorry Hailey but
he's got all the right signs, a slight fever, red itchy dots, I bet he
caught it at that play land you took him to a week ago."
 Hailey cursed vehemently. "Who's going to take his place????" Dief barked
behind her. "Oh lord it never ends..." Suddenly her phone beeped. "Hang on
Sha I got another call."
 She went to take the phone from where it was cradled on her neck and
realized her polish was still wet, with another curse set the phone from
her neck on the counter, pressed the "call waiting" button with her nose,
and put
 her ear to the receiver. "Hello?" "Hailey?" "Yeah Paul this is her,
what's wrong?" She recognized the voice as that of her sort of adopted
uncle Paul.
 "Umm...sweetie I don't know how to tell you this but I'm in the hospital
right now." "What? How?!! What happened?" "Well, you know that little desk
I keep by my chair?" "That one I've told you your going to break your neck
on?" "Yeah that's it, I kind of tripped over it in the dark last night and
sprained my ankle..." This tore a moan from Hailey as she sank forward,
banging her forehead against the counter. "Okay Paul I'll take care of it,
take care of yourself." Sure that her nails where now dry, she dialed the
number to her cell phone which Fraser was
 carrying. The small phone began beeping, causing Fraser to shift his
Stetson
 between arms and search his deep pockets for the noisy machine. Ray
raised his eyebrows, but was quickly informed that the phone was Hailey's
and it was probably her calling. "Hello?" "I hope your morning is going
better than mine." There was a loud honk on
 the other end, then a yell from a voice she didn't recognize. "That
really wasn't necessary, Ray." "Maybe not..." she countered. Fraser
climbed into the driver's seat of Hailey's car, and carefullypulled
 out of the airport loading zone.
 "So far, my day has been fine, but it sounds as if yours hasn't been?"
"Yeah, first can Dief carry a pillow? And second, do you know any older
father like gentleman I can borrow for an afternoon?" "I believe he can,
and there's always Sgt. Frobisher." "Buck?" Her mind was filled with
images of her fiance's friend having a digestive problem while they walked
down the aisle. "He'll be fine, just as long as he watches what he eats."
Ray busted out laughing.
 "Lord have mercy, his room number is on the list you left me this morning


 right?" "Yes, it is. Perhaps you should give him a call..." "Yeah I'm on
it. How's Ray?"
 Fraser turned to the subject in question. "Hailey wants to know how
youare." 

 "Yeah I'm just fine." He leaned out the window. "Pull the head from the 

 ass THEN drive!"
 "He's fine. No, he's not yelling at you Hailey." He leaned over. "You
weren't yelling at her, were you?" "No." "No, he wasn't yelling at you."
"Yeah, okay I'm going to call Buck then and figure out what I can do with
 Dief, let's *pray* nothing else goes wrong." "Yes, let's." He leaned over
to Ray. "Hailey says pray for good luck." "Oh I'll do that, we'll need
it." He replied as they looked at the bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of
them. "Oh...dear."
 * * *
 At last, the organist belted out the wedding march only an hour late. One
 thing after another had plagued the parties involved until they where
seriously contemplating calling it off. That was until Sgt. Frobisher
suggest transporting the bride to the church via horseback. The rest of
the wedding proceeded without a glitch, even Dief maneuvering a delicate
silk pillow in his jaws to utter perfection. * * *
 Fraser stepped out of the courthouse and onto the curb hailing a cab. As
 was his custom at this time of day. The first passed without a moments
hesitation but the second stopped. With his usual courtesy he opened the
door to ask if they accepted dogs. He wasn't halfway through his sentence
before he was suddenly shoved into the car and it peeled away. He rolled
over
 quickly, ready for a fight when his eyes came upon an all too familiar
face. "Hello Victoria..."
 * * *
 The next thing he knew Fraser was waking up to unfamiliar bird calls. As
he opened his eyes he took in the room, obviously feminenly decorated. He
then realized he was completely nude and in an extremely soft bed with
another figure.
 That figure rolled over about at the same time as his realization and
touched his face gently. "Welcome home Ben." "Oh dear...hello Victoria."
His first instinct was to pull away from this woman whom he'd finally
gotten out of his life. But here he was, with her again. Wait
 where was
 here? "Where are we Victoria?"
 "Peru, Ben."
 "You brought me to Peru?"
 "Yes, Ben."
 "Why?"
 "It's the only place we won't be followed." She touched his cheek pulling
his face toward
 her and
 kissed him very gently. "Oh how I've missed you.." "Yes, you spent quite
a bit of time on my mind as well." It wasn't a lie. She
 had weighed heavily on his mind, but not in a good way. She slid her arm
around his chest and pressed her forehead to his chin. "It doesn't matter
now, what's past is past now we're together that's all that matters."
 "Victoria, you do know that I'm married now, don't you?" He'd finally put
everything she'd done behind him; he didn't need her sending him back to
square one.
 She snarled. "To that doormat, she didn't even have the guts to tell you
when she had your kid. It doesn't matter your gone." She snapped her
fingers. "Poof, your out of her life." "But I was very happy with her."
 Something flashed through her eyes bordering on an animal like rage and
vicious hate. "I
 don't
 ever want to hear her name mentioned in this place again is that
understood?"
 He would have protested, but he had no idea if she had any weapons
around, and didn't want to find out the hard way. "Yes, it is." He thanked
his lucky stars once again for his ability to keep his voice more or less
free of emotion.
 She curled against him. "Welcome to retirement Ben, I'm sure you'll learn
to enjoy it."
 "Again, I don't want to retire. I love the RCMP." He was trying his best
to resist her without being too overt.
 "You didn't leave me much of a choice, Mr. Do good." "You could have let
me live my life."
 She rolled away, it was obvious she wasn't going to get anywhere just
yet. The other woman still weighed too heavily on his mind. "Yes and you
could have let
 me live
 mine." She said as she stood and put on her robe. "The bathroom is to
your left." She
 headed to
 the door, turning just before she closed it. "And don't think about
leaving, I'm watching you.....constantly."
 After she left, he grabbed the robe hanging next to the bed, and put it
on while still under the sheets. He wasn't sure if she was watching him,
but he wasn't going to risk it. He got out off the bed, and began looking
around the room. With an painstaking eye he went over the large window.
Then passed his hand
 about
 a centimeter from the glass. The hair on the back of his hand stood on
end. *It's wired...*
 He
 then looked through the closet. Male clothes, but not the red serge he
last remembered
 wearing.
 This caused him to search the room, finding his uniform-boots and all
hidden under a
 large pile
 of clothes near the bed. He assumed she'd destroy the uniform, along with
his identification, as soon as possible. Bearing this in mind he
 hid the
 uniform under the bed, after all he'd need it if he was to escape. Fraser
hadn't returned to a standing position before the door squeaked open with
Victoria
 standing in the threshold, one hand behind her and shaking her head. "I
told you Fraser
 I'm watching you. Give it to me."
 "Give what to you?" He said standing well away from the bed and looking
at her with the best innocent Mountie face he could muster. "The uniform,
now."
 "Sorry, don't have it."
 She moved ever so slightly and something clicked behind her. "It's under
the bed, don't play stupid with me."
 "There's nothing under the bed." He walked over to the bed, and lifted
the sheets, so that she could see under it. There was nothing but floor,
and dust. But no uniform. Somehow, he'd managed to outsmart her, and she
wasn't pleased.
 Her jaw set in a hard line and her eyes flashed. She spoke slowly, with
forced control.
 "Strip the
 bed slowly, one part at a time."
 He did as she said, and eventually the bed was completely bare, even the
mattress had been moved; with no sign of the uniform. She silently cursed
herself for not burning the accursed red wool with the rest of the
 evidence. "The night-stands."
 He opened every drawer, and moved them away from the wall. Nothing.
Victoria was now furious and drew the gun she was concealing behind her
back. They proceeded to comb through everything in the room. Fraser
getting more and more
 confident and Victoria's temper flaring. Suddenly she froze, her eyes
narrowing with rage. "The clothes you bastard." He kept the same innocent
look on his face, even though he knew she knew, and removed the clothes
one by one. Sure enough, the now
 very
 wrinkled red, blue, yellow, and brown lay at the bottom. Her eyes filled
with tears as she lowered her weapon. "Why Ben why? Why do you do
 this to
 us?" Her voice quavered with broken emotion. "Because this isn't my life
Victoria. My life is 7100 kilometers north of here."
 She fled the room, slamming the door behind her. She held back her tears
until she'd
 found her
 way to her hidden observation room where she let her pain go as she
stared at the many
 monitors in front of her, Ben moving silently in one of them. Once sure
she was gone, Fraser picked up the uniform and proceeded to search the
room
 for a
 hiding place. An air conditioning vent lay behind one of the night-stands
and as quickly
 as
 possible he slid the clothing into the small opening. Sliding the
furniture back into place.
 Victoria watched this as slowly something in her heart died, he'd never
give up. But what really hurt was what had made her think he would have
changed?
 She watched as he went about his normal morning routine as her heart
hardened. A
 knock
 sounded at the door, pulling her from her destructive brood. Fraser
looked out his window and saw a young boy waiting outside the door.
Victoria
 took the
 basket he was carrying and disappeared back into the house, yet the boy
continued to
 wait.
 When the youth looked at him, Fraser gestured for the boy to come beneath
the window.
 He
 spoke softly in Spanish. "I need your help. It's an emergency." "What is
it?"
 "I need you to get something to Lima for me. Stay right there." Fraser
hurried and found a piece of paper and a pen. He quickly penned in his
situation, and folded the paper labeling it "Canadian Embassy, Lima,
Peru". He then rolled it into a tiny tube and flipped it carefully out the
window. The boy
 took it as
 Fraser told him to make sure it got to Lima along with the address of the
little house.
 The boy looked hesitantly at the note, but when Fraser promised that
there would be a reward, the boy pocketed it, and ran back to the door
where Victoria was impatiently calling him to collect his money. Fraser
watched the youth, his only hope, disappear around the corner. * * *
 Hailey and Ray stepped from the department store both swamped with bags
and laughing hysterically. "Scotch-guarded at birth??? Oh that is
priceless!!!" Suddenly Dief ran into her side barking like crazy. Her
smile vanished in an instant. "What? Dief what is it?" The dog whined and
pulled at her coat with his teeth. Instinctively Hailey looked for Fraser,
not finding him. "Where's Ben?" Dief whined louder and started growling a
little as he pulled at Hailey's
 sleeve.
 Ray was already on his cell.
 "Is Fraser there? And you haven't seen him? Thank you." He quickly dialed
another
 number.
 "Is Fraser around? When did he leave? Thank you." The seasoned Yank
turned back to
 her.
 "He's not at your place or at the station, he never came back from the
courthouse.."
 The wolf started growling and was now practically pulling her off her
feet. "I'm going to follow Dief, you go to the courthouse. I'll call you
in fifteen minutes."
 Ray was already on his way to the Riv he'd driven clear across the
continent, complaining
 all the
 way about the mileage.
 Hailey watched him tear from the parking lot and looked back at Dief,
only then did she
 notice
 something
 on his nose. With a closer look she realized it was some sort of yellow
enamel paint. She fished her pockets for tape or something to remove it
with and
 found a piece of gum. Careful not to get too much hair with it she
wrapped it in it's wrapper and continued following Dief. * * *
 Twenty-three blocks and a serious stitch in her side later, she found
herself in front of the
 courthouse. The wolf started doing circles in an area just off the
sidewalk. Hailey bit her lip as she examined the deep tire marks in the
snow...just then
 her phone buzzed. "Hailey it's Ray, no sign of him anywhere, the
station's got a crew
 coming out there right now."
 Hailey cried out a little as a crushing weight settled on her chest. "I
think I know where he was taken...or left from. Meet me at headquarters as
soon as you can."
 "Alright I'll be there in five, and Hailey don't go all crazy on me.
Fraser's a tough guy..."
 "I'm the last person you need to tell that Ray, I'll see you in a
minute." She slammed down the receiver and headed to the police station. A
party was sent out to get what they could from the scene Dief marked out.
After careful examination of the tires, measurement between wheel base
etc. it was apparent that the car was a Lincoln Continental. The paint
chips Hailey retrieved from Diefenbaker's nose were traced with the same
pigment and base as that in automotive paint, and the yellow pretty much
sealed the deal. It was a taxi, that didn't help much until an aide came
up with a stolen car report from earlier that day. A taxi had been ripped
at approximately 4:15 P.M. that afternoon about 25 blocks north of the
courthouse.
 The kid was brought in for questioning and he ran a basic profile of the
prep. He said it was a middle aged lady with long curly black hair and
blue eyes, about 165 centimeters tall, thin. Ray was immediately alerted,
but didn't mention
 the connection to Hailey, hoping he might be wrong. The information was
plugged into
 a database and the kid started looking through mug shots, after about an
hour he gave a thumbs up. "That's her, I'm positive." Ray cursed as he saw
the face and
 Hailey followed suit as she read the name under the caption: Victoria
Metcalf.
 * * *
 Back in Peru relations had continued to deteriorate. A week after the
kidnapping Victoria
 came into the room with a new determined purpose, and smothered him with
a less than
 gentle kiss.
 "Hello Victoria." He didn't get up, but he rolled away from her in the
bed. He'd spent the last 7 days living with the devil, and it was
beginning to get
 to him.
 She stripped her clothes and settled under the covers with him, sliding
her fingers along his chest seductively and kissing him again. He brushed
her hand away. "No, Victoria." "Yes, Ben." She replied with an edge to her
voice as her hand ventured lower.
 He grabbed the intrusive hand and pushed it away forcefully. "No
Victoria." He stood,
 and walked across the room.
 "Why, what's holding you back?"
 "Because I'm in love. With someone else. It's taken me the past four
years to get
 over you, Victoria."
 Something broke deep within her soul at that moment, "I've consumed
 your life?!? My *every* waking, and sleeping moment is consumed with you
and has been since I met you in that godforsaken pass. All I've tried to
do is
 bring us together..." She stood and walked towards him. "But you've made
it more than clear that that will never happen." She'd stopped directly
before him, her voice now cold and wicked in a way he'd never heard
before. "Goodbye, Benton. Now and forever." A low rumble of thunder echoed
through the
 jungle as she
 stalked from the room, followed by the pattering of raindrops. * * *
 Before a day had passed the FBI had taken the case out of the RCMP's
hands, and Hailey along with it. She begged pleaded and borrowed for them
to let her help but as usual the hard-nosed Americans had little sympathy.
So she and Ray waited, minutes became hours which in turn became days with
no word from Quantico. Then on Wednesday of the next week, five days after
the kidnapping news ripped through the Canadian phone lines. A mysterious
message was delivered at the Canadian Consulate in Lima, complete with the
signature of one Constable Benton Fraser and an address to a residence up
around the amazon basin. "It's his way to contact us." Hailey said with
conviction. "We have to go to him." Of course the yanks intervened but
this time it was simply too much for Hailey to be shoved at the sidelines
again. She grandstanded the three officers in Vancouver for hours until
she finally broke their resolve and let her go with them. After another
three hours of grandstanding she convinced them to buy another of her
schemes. And so it was put into action.
 December 18, 1999
 Hailey cursed as another bug landed on her arm. She couldn't remember
when she last felt completely dry. She carefully picked her way over the
dirt trail that lead deeper and deeper into the jungle. As it got dark it
started raining making the path muddy and slick. More than once Hailey
fell, but she couldn't..wouldn't give up. About two hours after nightfall
she came into a small clearing with a white house nestled against the
jungle in the back. With a deep breath she approached the house and
knocked on the door.
 Immediately following her knock she heard a door slam behind the house.
Following her instincts she investigated and just barely caught a glimpse
of curly black hair against a white shirt, and immediately set out to
pursue. Ben laid down in bed, wondering what the night would bring. Not
long after he began to doze, he heard a door slam. He bolted out of bed,
and to the window. It didn't take him long to see what the commotion was
about. Below the precipice, he saw a familiar face run past. Hailey, she
was here for him,
 and he was going to be ready. He quickly pulled on his serge and crept
down the hall.
 One whole wall was compromised of windows. They where double paned and ,
causing
 him to kick 4 or 5 times before breaking enough glass to get through. He
landed on the
 ground hard, but quickly recuperated and began chasing the place in the
dense forest of
 leaves where he last saw Hailey.
 And so the trio continued, the two pursuers never managing to catch up
with the one before them. The rain made the slight trail slick and
dangerous to tread, and the need for silence made maneuvering between the
trees and grass most difficult. Slowly and steadily they made the
exhausting trek up the hill. Hailey started to wonder if it was worth it
when she heard a woman's cry. Forgetting about stealth she crashed through
the brush, halting abruptly when she realized half the trail was washed
away from the rain. Her eyes followed down the wash to where Victoria lay
on her side, obviously in pain. Hailey forgot about anything but the
Mountie instinct to help, and herself slid down the muddy slope. At the
bottom she realized she couldn't exactly get to Victoria's position
without loosing her footing. "Victoria take my hand!" She called into the
rain. The subject looked at Hailey with disbelief. "Why would you want to
help me?"
 "Because you're in trouble, and I know why you did what you did. Loving
Ben is like a disease that takes away all rational thought. Now take my
hand and let us bury our differences." She did, and as Hailey pulled her
up Victoria pulled something from her side and made
 a quick upwards thrust.
 Hailey froze for a moment, then bent over with a scream of pain letting
Victoria go. The two women were counterbalancing each other, so when
Hailey released
 the hold it sent Victoria flying back against a tree, and Hailey in the
opposite direction.
 She landed on her back, not moving.
 Hailey!" Fraser ran down the hill, slipping a number of times, but never
allowing it to slow him down.
 She was dizzy with pain and started to black out when she heard the voice
she always seemed to hear when she faced death. "Ben?" He finally got to
her as she spoke. "Yes, Hailey, I'm here." He looked down at her stomach,
seeing the wound he dropped to his knees and instinctively
 started applying pressure to it.
 "She...she....."
 "Stabbed you. I can see that."
 "After I tried to help her." Her voice was weakening but it still held a
strength and anger in it.
 What she said sounded very familiar. "Shh...don't talk. You're expending
energy."
 She'd been hurt countless times before but it had never felt like this,
the path the knife had taken ached with a screaming searing pain and she
felt oddly sick in a way she couldn't explain. The energy loss shook her
up too. Suddenly she felt as if she was falling backwards though she was
laying on the ground. Panic started to arrest her as she realized what was
happening...."I don't think it matters now." "Of course it does. You'll
need your energy once you get to the hospital."
 "I'm not going to get to the hospital." She was going to die, it hit her
like a ton of bricks and a thousand things flew through her mind as she
thought of everything she'd left unsaid. Suddenly a peace slid over her
and she smiled. "I love you Ben." "I know you do. But be quiet. You're
wasting energy and body heat."
 "Let me talk while I can."
 "Why, you'll have plenty of time to talk later." "Stop it."
 "Stop what?" In the distance, sirens were heard, though in the jungle,
sounds could carry for miles.
 She didn't have the energy to argue. "Don't feel alone, no matter where
you are I'll always be around you. Even if you can't see me." "Don't talk
like that..." He didn't want to admit that she was right. "You're...you're
wasting energy....and...and body heat." "Don't lie Ben, it doesn't suit
you."
 "I'm not lying."
 She coughed as the bitter taste of blood filled her mouth. "Take care of
Ash, and yourself."
 "Listen to me. You can't give up now. Help's almost here." She'd give
anything for him to be right. Though she could no longer make out his face
the anguish in his voice tore her soul in two. "I'm sorry." Her voice
cracked even though it was barely audible. "So......sorry...........Ben."
A breeze drifted through the rain as her body went limp and eyes closed
for the last time. "No...no...don't stop fighting now, Hailey. Help's
almost here.....keep.....keep fighting." His voice broke as a single tear
escaped his eye to be
 dissolved in the rain soaking his face. He continued applying pressure,
though he knew
 she was gone.
 The small force of FBI, RCMP, and local law enforcement arrived to their
position on the hill about a half hour later. Fraser sat as if frozen in
time, not
 willing to let a moment go. A couple agents started down the wash but Ray
stopped them. "No, let me do this." He slipped down the mud, cursing as he
ruined yet another suit. At the bottom he drew in his breath as he took in
the scene. Heart squeezing in empathy for his friend and bursting with
rage at the forces
 that be. He was silent for a moment before putting his hand on his
friend's shoulder. "I'm
 sorry Frase."
 Fraser barely heard or noticed his friend. "Hmm." "I'm sorry."
 "Hmm."
 "She's gone Benny." he didn't want to say the ugly truth, but if he knew
Ben as he did he would never get up from that place unless someone brought
him back
 to reality.
 "Can you just....just leave me alone for a little while." "Yeah, I'll
ward off the feds. Take as long as you need." "Thank you Ray...thank you
kindly."
 * * *
 Three days later the case was all but solved, funeral arrangements made,
and everyone was back in Vancouver. The night before the scheduled viewing
Fraser, who had been virtually silent since returning to Vancouver, and
Ray stopped at the medical examiner's office for the results of the
 autopsy.
 "You ready?" Ray asked as they pulled into the dingy parking lot. Ben
straitened his lanyard. "I suppose so." He opened the door, and stepped
out.
 They walking in somber silence to the front desk. The receptionist, who
knew them both faintly asked. "How can I help you two this evening?"
 "We're here to see Cst. Hailey Fraser." "Oh, of course. She's in room
two, Let me buzz you in." She hit a button and they stepped through a back
door leading to the cold sterile autopsy chambers. The doc met them in the
hall. "You don't need to see her if you wouldn't like, I can give you the
results verbally." "The ends are the same, regardless of the means." "I'd
suggest you don't then. The knife was a six inch serrated pocket knife of
sorts that tore through her intestines severing several major blood
 vessels, namely the aorta which caused her to bleed out rapidly and
eventually the cause
 of death. Otherwise she was in perfect
 health." He paused. "You were her husband right?" He asked in Fraser's
direction.
 "Yes sir."
 "I wish I didn't have to tell you this but you have a right to know, she
was three to four weeks pregnant." Fraser blanched to match the color of
his lanyard, but didn't say a word.
 Ray closed his eyes and pinched his nose. "Good god." "It is horrible. A
beautiful woman cut down in the prime of her life like that, and carrying
a baby. With the second victim, as was suspected, cause was a broken
 neck and death instantaneous."
 Fraser felt no emotion at all. Not sadness. Not anger. Not anything.
"Thank you sir." Ray replied. "Let's go Frase." He headed for the door,
turning and waiting for the Mountie.
 Fraser looked down at his Stetson, and then back at the door to the exam
room. After a moment, he put the hat on, and walked out the door. "Where
you going to spend the night?"
 "Home."
 Ray turned the Riv in the appropriate direction and they headed off. Most
of the trip
 passed in silence until Fraser suddenly spoke. "I should have saved her.
If I'd run faster, I'd have stopped Victoria." "Don't ever say that again
Fraser. There was nothing anyone could have done, it was out of our
hands."
 "If I hadn't put on my uniform, I'd have had the time." Of course, he
wouldn't have been able to kick the window out without his boots, but he
was trying to rationalize what had happened. "Stop it Fraser. Right now."
 "You know I never actually told her I loved her." "She knew."
 "I never said it aloud...I'm not so sure...she always questioned
herself...and sometimes
 she'd look at me..." His sentence broke off into silence, of which Ray
didn't interrupt.
 The Riv rolled into the driveway in front of what used to be Hailey's
apartment and Ray killed the engine. "You know I did the same thing with
Irene. Always
 thought if I'd been just a little faster, if I'd shut up....It really
screwed me up for
 awhile. Don't go down the same road."
 "I won't, Ray. Don't worry about me."
 * * *
 The sun warmed the cool sea-breeze that was coming off the waterfront a
mile or so
 away. Save the occasional cry of a gull, the cemetery was deathly quiet
as the solemn
 funeral procession proceeded in the early evening light. From it's
earliest days, the RCMP has been steeped in tradition, much derived from
the
 military.. A hallmark of an RCMP funeral is that everything is done
backwards. The
 funeral march moved slowly moved along the road to show their disdain at
having to part
 with a fallen Mountie. The seven members that comprised the firing party
carried their
 rifles backwards, with the barrel aiming at the ground as sign of shame
for the weapons
 that cause death. Behind the firing party came the gun carriage carrying
a single,
 flag-draped coffin. Normally carried head first, the casket was turned
around to give the
 deceased one last look at her friends and loved ones. Next came a horse
that had been retired from the Musical Ride. The horse wore a saddle
draped in a black cloth, with a pair of RCMP-issue riding boots reversed
in the stirrups. Next came the Mounties of the Vancouver detachment.
Again, a reverse from the norm, the Constables and Corporals led the
division, with the Inspector taking up the very end of the procession. The
party lined up
 around the headstone, no grave was dug since it was Hailey's wish to be
cremated and her
 ashes to be spread over the glacier on which she was born. "Let me return
to the land that
 bore me." As the detachment congregated a constable broke ranks from the
small throng
 and took his place near the small podium beside the preacher. A hush
settled over the
 crowd as he began to speak.
 "Hailey Winters-Fraser was many things in her life. She was a loving
mother, a devoted
 wife and friend, a Mountie in thought and action, and a caring human
being until the very end. For 6 years, she raised our young son alone,
somehow balancing in a
 career as a member of the force. Every day she'd wake up, get young
Ashton ready for the day, and then she'd be off to preserve the right. Yet
she still always managed to be there for Ash in the evening. Never
 once did being a mother inhibit her job in the RCMP, and never did the
RCMP inhibit her duty as a mother. A delicate balancing act, which she
quite successfully mastered. She was a loving and devoted wife to me, as
well as a friend. In this she did
 her best to make sure that everything ran smoothly, and always around
when I needed her
 help in any way. Her devotion was so strong, she managed to convince her
superiors to
 go after me in South America with nothing more than a rough address on a
piece of scrap
 paper. More than this she was a friend to all. There was never a person
she didn't try to
 help at one point or another. Her compassion for suffering, man or
animal, was deep and
 complete.
 Not only was she a fervent conservationist, she was also a Constable in
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She was the first single parent to work
her way
 through Depot Division, facing obstacles with stubborn diligence and went
on to prove
 herself as a worthy wearer of the red serge. Her skills, especially in
the forensic sciences
 were a major
 asset to crime-fighting, and she was cited time and again for her quick
and logical thinking as for her bravery in the line of duty. She did, in
fact, always "get her man".
 Finally, she was human. As has been stated, she was a number of things;
friend, lover,
 mother, Mountie. But perhaps the legacy we will all remember her by was
the core of
 compassion from which she lived. Her lifelong goal was to alleviate
suffering 

 for all living things and would help anyone who needed her, regardless of
who they were,
 or what they had done. In this she was truly was a humanitarian. It was
once said that 'for those who protect life, it takes on a meaning unknown
to those who are protected.' Hailey lived with passion and conviction,
therefore
 she lived life to it's fullest."
 His last words echoed against the stone faces of the Vancouver
detachment. The priest
 took the pulpit, administering the last rites. Members of the firing
party fired their
 mourning shots amist the lone trumpeter, and after the party had passed
by the casket.
 Each administering a final word of goodbye, the funeral was over. * * *
 Fraser fished through the deep pockets of his trousers, and found the key
to the apartment, opened the door, and walked in. Ash following a short
but safe distance behind, still silent as he had been since he discovered
his mother would
 never return.
 The neighbor girl who had been working as their full time
baby-sitter/housekeeper of late
 met him. "Oh Hello Constable, I was just heading out." Fraser pulled a
bill out of his hat, and handed it to the girl, who promptly left with a
"thank you kindly". He then turned to the boy but before he could
 open his mouth Ash breezed by him and disappeared into the bathroom.
Fraser put his hat down on the table, and looked around as he waited.
Hailey permeated the place, every crack and crevasse bore something that
reminded him
 of her. He made a mental note to start looking for another apartment when
Ash
 emerged in pajamas and sprinted to his room. Fraser made to follow but he
slammed the
 door in the Mountie's face, followed by the squeak of the bed springs as
he put
 himself to bed yet again.
 Ben calmly opened the door, and stepped in. Ash had his back towards him,
pretending to be sleeping. With up-most care Fraser crossed the room and
sat on
 the edge of the bed, causing the boy to curl his legs away. "Ashton..."
As he began
 to speak, Fraser realized that he had no idea what to say "You know, my
mother
 died when I was very young, too."
 The boy opened his eyes and looked in Fraser's direction. "Yes, it's
true." Fraser thought of how to phrase his next sentence. "She was
 killed by a criminal my Father was trying to arrest." Ash looked at him
with seething hatred and hurled a book from his bedstead at Ben.
 Fraser moved to avoid it, but a second book glanced off his temple as he
leaned back. "Ashton!"
 Hot tears spilled over his cheeks.
 "Don't throw books! They're for reading, not for hurting people!" Out of
sheer defiance he threw another.
 Fraser caught it, and set it down on the floor. "Now you stop that right
now!"
 He graduated to the autographed baseball and it flew wide of Fraser,
crashing into a self portrait of Hailey across the room, shattering the
glass.
 "If you throw one more thing, so help me!" Fraser had no idea what he
would do, but his father had always thrown similarly worded threats at
him. The crash of the glass and the picture Hailey had drawn for him when
she couldn't
 be there pulled Ash from his tantrum, but not his rage. With a whimper he
curled into a fetal position with his back turned to Fraser. Fraser stood,
and walked quietly to where the carpet was covered in glass. He picked up
some of the larger pieces, and went to throw them away in the garbage can
beside Ashton's desk. Cutting his hand in the process he let out a rare
curse, and quickly left the room. Proceeding to the bathroom in search of
 a bandage. As he rummaged through the medicine cabinets he was confronted
by a forest of bottles. *Hailey's things.* He found the gauze bandage, and
wrapped it
 tightly around his hand. As he tied it off a bottle of lotion fell from
the cabinet hitting
 him on the shoulder. *I won't be needing any of this in the near future.*
He then
 proceeded to grab handfuls of bottles from the counter top and medicine
cabinets, and shove them underneath the sink. An unmarked bottle sat at
the top and tossed it with the rest. It fell out,
 and he bent over to pick it up. As he did, he saw something taped to the
door of the
 cabinet. It was a key labeled 'Ash's Closet', he peeled it off
recognizing the
 handwriting as Hailey's. Taking the key in his hand, he walked though the
apartment and looked at each closet. None had locks, until he got to the
basement.
 There, in the corner, was a small storage closet that was in fact,
locked. Fraser tried
 the key, and the door opened.
 The closet was lined with shelves, the first three were full of
videotapes, the next three photo albums, at the bottom a series of books,
and a box of diaries at the very bottom. Taped to the backside of the door
was a catalogued list of everything. It's number, name, date, and what
photo album book and diary it corresponded to. Fraser looked over
everything. Baby things of Ashton's, mainly. Except for the diaries, those
were Hailey's. He took the first tape, chronologically, and
 put it into the VCR.
 The screen glowed blue at first but quickly flipped into picture. A
newborn baby lay in a bassinets, tightly bundled and smiling. Hailey's
voice filled the room and it was as if Fraser was transported back in
time. "It's April first,
 1994. Ashton Winters was born approximately five hours ago at 10:45 A.M.
Pacific
 Standard Time...."
 Fraser watched the tape in silence. Most of it was shots of new-born
Ashton in the nursery. The tape did have the occasional shot of Hailey,
though. It was shot
 before Hailey spent time at Depot Division, and it showed in ways only
another Mountie would know. She looked 6 years younger, and tired, which
made sense, seeing as what she'd just gone through. It wasn't until the
latter end of the tape when she addressed Fraser directly. "I see so much
of you in him Ben. Even though he's too young to talk or walk he has a
spirit about him, it's calming yet captivating and enfolds you in it like
a warm blanket. I knew from the moment he was born I couldn't live without
him, just as I knew I couldn't live without you...." It was like she'd
come back to haunt him. It would be like having Fraser Sr..
 come back to bother him, only many times worse. He hit 'Stop' and began
crying. Hearing her talk to him in such pain, was just too much to take
too early.
 "Let it out son, it's the only way you'll heal." His head snapped out of
his hands to turn to the voice. He hadn't heard it since that day years
ago when he confronted Muldoon. "Dad?" Sure enough, the figure of Bob
Fraser stood at Ben's side, holding his Stetson in the crook of his arm.
"Yes it would so appear that the forces that be have
 sent me back."
 "It would appear so, dad. After all, you're standing right next to me."
"So I am."
 "And *why* exactly are you here?"
 "Don't know, they don't tell you anything here. Possibly the events of
late, I was just d
 discussing it over
 dinner with your mother. It would appear that our family has been hit
with some kind of curse."
 "You don't seriously believe in curses, do you dad?" "No, but it's a good
theory. Personally I think it's just a chance for things to happen right."
 "How so? The woman I loved is gone, and I have a son to raise on my own
who I hardly know. Not to mention the fact that he resents me for getting
his mother killed."
 "You've always been a better man than me son. You've proved that more
than once. The challenge is, can you deal with the problems and not bury
them so they fester and come out at the wrong places, and with the wrong
people."
 "So that they don't adversely effect another young life." The sergeant
nodded his head. "Your starting down the same path, you have to stop
yourself before it's too late." "I know."
 "Look to Ashton for support and in turn he will with you. Don't bury the
pain but let it out however you see fit. But above all don't run from the
problem....you can never escape grief." "Dad, that may be some of the best
advice you've ever given me. The most coherent, at least."
 The dead man chuckled.
 "Have you...uhh, seen her?"
 "No I'm afraid not."
 "Oh...I...uh, I see."
 Then as suddenly as he appeared he was gone; leaving Fraser again alone
with his thoughts.
 *I've forgot how annoying that popping he does. He pops in, he pops out.*


 His musings where interrupted by a little voice behind his chair. "Dad?"
Fraser turned suddenly to see Ashton. His first instinct was to ask why he
wasn't sleeping, but he thought better. "Yes, Ashton?" "Your sad."
 "Yes, Ashton, I am. I think we both are." "Don't be."
 "Well, it's only natural to be sad. It's an emotion." "Mom is with us
though, I saw her."
 "Did you?"
 "Just now, She said not to feel sad because she's watching us, and
helping us though we can't tell she is."
 Fraser couldn't help smiling. "Well, Ashton, that's been known to happen
before. People coming back to visit, that is." "So don't be sad."
 "Well, like I said. It's only natural to be sad. But it passes." "Okay.."
 "You know, it's late. I think you'd better get off to bed." "Okay,
goodnight." Ash replied and started to walk out of the room, though before
he made it to the door. With a brief hesitation he turned suddenly and
 hugged Fraser. Then ran up the stairs as fast as his little legs could
move him.
 Fraser just stood there. *Maybe I can do this.* * * *
 Ben spent a good part of the next day organizing his trip to the
territories. Hailey's body
 would be completely cremated by the next day and he planned to spread her
ashes as
 soon as possible. As a last matter of business he thumbed through the
rolodex on what
 was once Hailey's desk looking for a number. A small noise escaped from
Ash, who was
 busying himself with a set of ivory toys; a gift from one of Hailey's
Inuit friends many
 years back. The child's face was etched in concentration and he was
talking quietly to
 himself. A smile stretched across Fraser's face as he realized this
perfect scene of
 childhood tranquillity and innocence was partially because of him. With a
quick change
 of mind he spoke. "Ash, did your mother ever take you to the place where
she was born?"
 "No." Though out of his silent grief, he still didn't talk much. But then
again he'd never
 been an extremely talkative child.
 "Would you like to?"
 "Yes."
 "Well then, you can go with me tomorrow." Ash said merely. "Thank you."
But his eyes shone with a new vitality. * * *
 *Yes Ray we're coming.* Fraser thought as his friend laid on the horn yet
again. "You
 shut off the light to your room right?" "Yes."
 "And you remembered your toothbrush?"
 "Yes."
 "Very well then, shall we go?"
 He slid through the doorway and headed down the hall before the taller
figure. The two
 walked in silence down the hallway leading out of the building, as they
approached the
 exit doors the younger lifted his hand to the older, who paused a moment
before turning
 his Stetson clad head down, and with a smile took the small out-stretched
hand in his
 own. Stepping through the doors onto the sidewalk. Neither male heard
sensed or saw the figure of a woman behind them as she said. "Good
 luck my boys, good luck."
 Fare thee well, my own true love.
 Farewell for awhile, I'm going away.
 But I'll be back...though I'd go ten thousand miles. Ten thousand miles
or more,
 The rocks may melt,
 And the sea may burn,
 If I should not return.
 Oh don't you see, that lonesome dove.
 Sitting on an Ivy tree. He's looking for His own true love, as I may
leave for awhile. Oh come he back, that lonesome dove.
 And spend awhile with me.
 If I had a friend upon this earth.
 You've been a friend to me.
 Fare thee well, my own true love.
 Farewell for awhile, I'm going away.
 But I'll be back...though I'd go ten thousand miles. Ten thousand miles
or more,
 The rocks may melt,
 And the sea may burn,
 If I should not return.
 THE END