Author: Lys
at TYKlys@hotmail.com
Rated: G
Pairings: None
Spoilers: The
Glimpses of Ben Series Stories
This is another story about little Ben Fraser taking
place about the time his grandparents move near to Alert.
Alliance owns them, Paul Haggis worked on their creation
and both made Due South an enjoyable place to visit. I don't own, and do not seek monetary gain from my stories. Please do not archive these stories
or use any of my original created information on a website without my
permission.
Now on with the story.
Ben grabbed the box on the floor by his bedroom door. He stood and looked around the barren room. As his eyes looked out his bedroom window for the last time he saw the trees swaying outside the glass. He held onto his box tightly and moved out to the hallway. Taking one more quick glance behind him, he pulled the door shut. Carrying the box in both hands, he listened to the silence of the children as he walked towards the kitchen. The cabin sounded hollows to the almost 8 year-old boy. He stood for a moment in the kitchen area, cocking his head and listening to the hollow nothingness that blasted his young ears. He shifted the box from one hand to the other and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. He felt his heat beating rapidly in his small chest. A sense of panic was seizing him and he was frightened that the feeling would soon be all he could feel.
Martha
Fraser stepped in to the cabin to see what was keeping her young grandson. She stood in the doorway looking around
her to see if she had missed anything. As she glanced in the corner where
the rocking chair used to sit she felt the lonely feeling of the empty
cabin draw in and hold her. She remembered all too well the many evenings
she had set in that rocker with an unresponsive child in her arms. She
was thankful those days were gone, and in a way she was glad to be leaving
this home behind her. Leaving this home might be a final link in breaking
through to little Ben and his sorrows. She wanted desperately for him
to be like other boys his age. George was as convinced as she was that
that wouldn't happen here. So they were in agreement, taking the job
offered in Alert just might be what Ben needed. It was quite all right
for two grownups to inure themselves in a quiet cabin like this, but
a boy like Ben needed people. Martha was desperately afraid that the
move was coming too late. But her eyes swept over the room in a last
goodbye and came to rest on little Ben so sorrowfully wiping his eyes. Taking
soft steps, Martha approached and knelt down beside the boy. She took
out her own handkerchief and used it to wipe his eyes. The boy stood
quietly beside her, as she looked deep into his eyes. "You'll like
Alert, Ben. Your Grandpere and
I have located a place just outside the town, but near enough for you
to make some friends your own age." The boy made no response but
merely nodded his head as he sniffled. "Ben Fraser, stop that right
now. You're
going to make me cry in a minute. Moving isn't the end of the world." "I'll
miss my swing." The boy dropped his eyes from her face. "And
all my secret places." Not to mention all the animals the boy added
in his mind. Martha
leaned back a bit from the boy. "Then
look on this as an adventure. You love to read about foreign places,
this will be a chance for you to see new things and meet new people." "Don't
want new things, Gran. I like
the old ones." "I
know you do Ben, I know you do." "Do
we really have to go?" "You
know we go where we're needed, Ben. We
don't normally stay in one place as long as we have stayed here. Our job is important Ben. People want to learn and we can help them with books and
materials for learning. That's
our job." "Will
the new cabin have trees around it? Will
I have a swing?" "Why
don't you put your box in the car and we'll talk about it on the trip. I think you're going to find lots of
new things where we're going Ben. And yes, I think we can manage a swing." Ben
obediently picked up his box and headed out to the door, he stopped there
but didn't look back as he left the cabin, never to see it again. He
stood near the car watching his Grandpere loading some of the last minute
boxes in the trailer he had hired for the move. He handed his small box to his grandfather and stood back
to look around the clearing. The
barn drew his gaze the longest and he imagined some other little boy
using his swing and his climbing rope. In his mind, he heard the dogs
and chickens and geese that normally roamed the area near the barn. They had all been sent on ahead to
the new cabin. Ben knew in his
heart that the barn was as empty as the cabin. Resignedly, with a great
deal of sighing, he climbed into the big, old car and sat in the back
seat staring straight ahead. George
and Martha stood next to each other one last time on the porch of the
cabin and looked around the grounds. George slipped his hand into Martha's
and gripped it hard. "It's
going to work out, you'll see. This is what Ben needs. We've been too
isolated here. The boy gets into mischief for sure, but he needs to learn
how to 'be' with other people. He needs people who laugh with him. He
needs other boys, other children. We're doing the right thing, I know
we are." Martha
leaned over to her husband and gently placed her hand on his face. "We're too old for all this. I had thought we might retire here." "I
know dear, but moving is the right thing to do." "Yes,
it is. I'm not arguing that fact. I just want Ben to act more alive.
He's come so far George. His little heart is breaking; this is the only
home he remembers. I think he hardly remembers Caroline. And I know,
Robert promises he will be able to visit Ben more in Alert. But Robert
can't predict the whims of the RCMP or his duties and I am afraid this
move might make the two of them more distant than they are right now." "It's
not like Robert and Caroline living on the Rat, Martha. We'll be closer
to civilization for Ben's sake. I worry sometimes that that young scamp
is going to get hurt and because we're here we won't be able to help
him. He needs what we'll have in Alert, Martha." She
nodded and pulled away. "Let's get out of here." She threw
her husband a smile and walked to the car. Climbing in she handed Ben
a large book that she had been saving for him to read or look at on the
trip. "The
Gold Rush of 1849" Ben read as he put the book in his lap. This time Martha had chosen a book
with a wonderful colorful picture on the front along with beautiful illustrations
on the inside of it. He looked up at his Grandmother and smiled. "It's
all about pioneers Ben and how people traveled across a whole continent
to find their dreams." "Did
they travel in a car like us?" "No
dear, they didn't. You'll find out as you read that some of the people
even walked from one side of the continent to the other in search of
gold." Ben's
eyes looked down at the book as he heard his Grandpere get in the car
and start up the engine. He kept
his eyes on the cover of the book until the car pulled out onto the old
country road that lead away from the only home he remembered. Traveling
to Alert was no small project and because of the trailer the Fraser's
had decided to take their time. They had notified their new employer
that they would arrive in time to set up the library and school for the
next school session. The first traveling days were long and boring, Ben
falling asleep often in the car. At times, Martha wished she could sleep
so that thoughts of their new home would leave her alone. George
had traveled to Alert when they first heard of the opening and found
them a place to live. He drove silently most of the time keeping his
thoughts about their new home private. He hadn't told Martha much more
than that he thought she would like the new place. He had been purposefully
uncommunicative about the cabins details. He hummed as he drove and listened
to the boy either reading or asking questions about the 1849 gold rush
in California. Martha answered
the child with complete answers and listened to him reading out loud
for some of the time, she was continually patient with Ben's questions. By
the time Alert reached, each of the occupants of the car was heartily
tired of traveling. Ben was bored with the scenery and Martha was hoping
she could get to the linens box easily in the trailer. George drove down
the main street of Alert to let Martha and Ben see their new town, but
it was too near dusk and there wasn't much to be seen. It looked as Martha
commented like a town that rolled its sidewalk up at night. Finally,
George pulled their car into a side road and drove down a long single
car road. The sound of crunching
stones wakened Ben and the boy climbed to his knees trying to see out
the front window. "Awake
are you Ben?" George smiled and pulled the car into a clearing much
like the one they had left behind them.
This was no small cabin that stood in front of the Fraser car,
but a full two-story cabin home. About
100 yards from the cabin stood a nice garage and barn. The sound of George's dog team howling greeted them as the
car pulled up and stopped by the front door. Martha
sat and stared. She was more than
a little surprised. This home
wasn't very far outside Alert. She'd
have actual neighbors she was sure. There
were bound to be children around for Ben to see whenever he wanted. She climbed out of the car and held
the seat forward for Ben to climb out.
The two stood together cautious about entering their new home. George climbed out of the car and walked
over to grab their hands. "Come
on. I have the key right here." "A
key?" George
smiled at his wife. "Yes,
a key." The
Fraser family climbed the steps to the biggest porch Martha had ever
seen. She could already see that
the porch faced West and she could imagine the sunsets they would see
as they sat there of an evening. She noticed the very large front window
of the house and smiled. George
unlocked the door and drew his family inside with a smile. He watched
Martha with a pleased look on his face. He'd always promised her a home,
not a cabin. He was keeping that promise. He watched Martha look at the
hallway that divided the house in two.
She glanced into the doorway at the right and saw a huge room
that must be the living room; it was filled with their side chairs and
a lovely sofa. The trailer had carried their boxes, but their furniture
had been sent on ahead and Martha knew that George had arranged for someone
to put up their bedroom furniture before they arrived. Whirling
quickly she turned to the left and entered her new kitchen. A huge window
set over the sink, a far larger window than at the old cabin. The floor was more than plain wood, it was lovely polished
and well-cared for oak flooring. There
were more cabinets and besides a stove for heating the room in the winter
there was a real stove, one that had an oven warming bin on the top.
But what Martha noticed most was the lack of a water pump on the counter. She turned and gave George a questioning
look. He nodded and said, "Yes,
really running water, in the kitchen and the bath." Martha
hugged her husband and turned back to Ben. "Perhaps you should go
up and see your room Ben." George moved away and turned on the hall
lights by the stairway. "It's
the last room on the left Ben." George said smiling at the small,
drooping boy. Ben
was tired and moved sluggishly towards the stairs not comprehending all
his grandmother had seen in their new home. He climbed the stairs slowly
not anticipating that he would like his new room. He made it to the top
and listlessly went down the hall. He found the door to the last bedroom
and turned the handle. There was enough pale twilight filtering into
the room for Ben to see his bed. That's
all his little brain registered as he crossed the floor, pulled back
the covers and climbed in to his bed. The
morning light crawled up Ben's bed covers until it hit him directly in
the face. He fretted and moved
away from it, but it finally claimed his attention. He sat up and stretched
and stifled a yawn. Swinging his feet to the floor he realized he could
smell his grandmother's coffee brewing.
He stood up to stretch and yawn and stopped. In this cabin, he
had more than a bed and a nightstand. A lovely old desk sat near one
corner, the kind of desk that had drawers and secret panels and hiding
places. Next to it was an equally
old bookcase. All his outdoor
equipment was hung on the wall, within his reach. He walked over to see his compass hanging from a string
next to his canteen. His favorite
walking stick leaned against the bookcase. On the wall over his camping
and backpacking equipment was a map. The boy walked over to see it more
clearly and realized it was a town map of Alert and the surrounding area
with a red marker drawn in a circle around what appeared to be a large,
red X. Ben's
door slid open slowly and George Fraser peeked his head around the door. He saw Ben standing in front of the
map and looking at it intently. "See
you've found your boundaries Ben."
Ben
whipped his head quickly in his grandfather's direction. "Whose
map is that, Grandpere?" George
walked over and laid a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder. He pointed a finger at the red circle. "That's your map Ben. See that X Ben? That's our house. Until you know the area around here, you're
not allowed outside the red marked area. I'll take you over it so you
know your way around, but you can't go outside the boundaries until you
know the area. Agreed?" Ben
smiled up at his grandparent and nodded enthusiastically. Maybe moving could be an adventure after all. He quickly
put his finger on the map and started asking questions.