By: Amethyst
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         "Dad! Papa!" Rose Annabelle Kowalski called hopefully as she entered the small bungalow that had been her childhood home. She dropped her knapsack and small carry case by the door and called out again. "Dad? I'm home. Papa? Is anyone here?" She frowned in disappointment, they had known she was coming home for Christmas Break, yet neither man appeared to welcome her.
         At nineteen Rose was a stunning beauty to behold. Thick folds of honey colored hair that normally hung to her waist was pulled back in a neat flaxen braid down her back.  Long thick lashes accented wide cobalt blue eyes that sparkled with life and enthusiasm. Her skin was naturally china doll cream, smooth and unblemished by the usual problems of adolescence. She stood at 5'9 and a half in her bare feet and garnished a strong athletic build that caused some to refer to her as the blond Amazon. She had Ray's smile and Fraser's patience.
          She heard the subtle sound of claws on the hard wood floor coming toward her and she cast a glance at Diefenbaker, who hobbled slowly along while his son Nanook scrambled excitedly around him. Rose knelt and accepted the younger wolf's kisses, running her fingers through his dark charcoal fur. He was a wolf and shepherd mix and his fur was a Smokey gray and black, accented with flecks of gold. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, and he stood only a hair taller than his father did.
         Diefenbaker finally made it to her, old age had taken its toll on the loyal wolf and it was all he could do most times to walk about. He had lost sight in one of his eyes and his fur had started to turn gray around his eyes, mouth and tail. Although he lacked the energy that he once had, the quick wagging of his tale and the tender kisses showed his enthusiasm at seeing Rose.
         "Where's everybody, Dief?" she questioned affectionately as a knock sounded at the front door. Thinking it would be them she hurried to it and threw it open to stare into the drawn face of Maggie Mackenzie. "Aunt Maggie! I thought you would be the folks."
         "Hello, Rose." Maggie greeted solemnly. "May I come in?" Rose frowned and stepped aside to allow the older woman to enter. Maggie Mackenzie was still as blond as the day Ray and Fraser had met her, her hair still coiled up in a bun at the nape of her neck and her long Navy Regiment coat curled about her thin frame. She had a few more laugh lines then she used to and her cheeks were slightly sunken from age, but other than that she was the same.
         "Would you like some tea, Aunt Maggie?" Rose offered politely but Maggie refused and suggested they settle on the sofa in the living room as Maggie took her coat. The red Mountie uniform she wore was always pressed to perfection, the Stetson she removed showing just a few signs of wear and her  blue eyes were dark with distress. She looked as though she had not slept in days.
         "I'm not here for a visit, Rose." She stated quietly. "This is official." Rose swallowed the fear rising within her and sat primly with her hands folded in her lap and waited for Maggie to continue. She looked so much like Fraser at that point that Maggie had to blink her eyes clear before she spoke again.
         "Is it my Fathers?" Rose inquired evenly and Maggie nodded.
         "I...I knew that you were supposed to be home sometime this week but I wasn't sure when." She informed. "Joseph called and told me he had flown you in about an hour ago."
         "I always come home for Christmas Break, Aunt Maggie." Rose confirmed. "As much as I enjoy college I miss my Dad's."
         "I know honey and they miss you when you are not here." Maggie offered gently.
         "Where are they Aunt Maggie?" Roe demanded quietly and watched the older woman chew her lip.
         "They went on excursion to apprehend a criminal named Frost a little over two weeks ago." Maggie stated. "We have not heard from them since. They have made no contact with any of the RCMP outposts and our search parties have failed to locate them." She placed her hand over Rose's in comfort. "I'm sorry Rose but I...I don't think they could have survived out there this long." Rose glanced at the tears in her Aunt's eyes. "We had two terrible storms last week that would have been almost impossible for them to endure without adequate shelter."
         "You are saying that you think they are dead then?" Rose acknowledged plainly and Maggie nodded. "Where were they headed?"
         "They were headed originally for Tuckencho by way of the Shelvon Pass." Maggie informed. "That was almost ten days ago and we haven't heard from them since. They never reached Inuvuk and scout posts just outside the pass claim they saw them enter the territory but never made it to the other side. That area is too expanse for a qualified and complete search
         Rose digested this information quietly. She was sure the Mounties would continue to attempt to find her Father's but many people had died in that pass simply because it was encumbered with hidden caves, ice flows and a wide expanse of territory. If you didn't find a shelter, you would easily freeze to death because of the constant harsh winds that blew through the pass and your body would be covered by snow within minutes.  Rose knew the pass well, both her Father's had insisted she be brought up informed about her environment and it's sometimes deathly conditions, but Fraser knew it better than anyone and if he had not managed to get them out then something was terribly wrong.
         "Thank you for telling me, Aunt Maggie." She finally said. "I'd like to be alone for awhile if that is alright, but I'll expect you to keep me apprised." Maggie nodded and slowly rose. She donned her coat and hat and gave Rose a reassuring hug, then left.
         Rose's gaze wandered about the large living area, memories haunted her from every corner of this house and she welcomed them. Ray's novels were mixed in with the many other books that the family owned, all twelve of her Father's stood out specifically in their leather bound coverings, which Ray had specially ordered for their own collection. Rose had read them each a hundred times, except his current one, which she'd only read twice. She reveled in the adventures of her Father's before they had come here to Canada and apparently others treasured the idea of the crime fighting duo because each of Ray's books were on the best seller's list.
         A small trio of shelves adorned a corner of the room by the fireplace, which held three of Ray's author and literary awards, Rose's many athletic and public speaking awards, and commendations and special awards to Fraser for his and Ray's work in the community and with the RCMP. Among them was a Father's day Plaque Rose had made them in woodworking class when she was thirteen. Her first attempt at carving, which was supposed to be Diefenbaker but looked more like a horse than a wolf and a framed poem that she had written for them when she was nine.
         She felt tears sting her eyes as she started to consider that she might not see them again and she blinked them away determined. She loved both of her fathers equally and the idea of loosing either of them frightened her beyond anything she had ever felt. During their escapades, Ray and Fraser occasionally were injured, Rose accepted that it happened, but they were both strong men and always overcame any difficulties.
         She rose and wandered into their room, Nanook prancing about her feet with a watchful gaze. She stared for a long time at the king-sized bed in the center of the room where her Fathers slept.  She began envisioning the many times she had been frightened by a dream and crawled in between them, or the Christmas and Easter mornings when she would burst in to hurl herself at them in excitement. Every father's day and their individual Birthdays, since she was ten, she had served them both breakfasts in that bed.
         On Ray's side of the bed, a nightstand held a small lamp, a picture of Rose and Fraser, a smattering of change, a small stuffed moose that Fraser had bought his lover on a whim one day, and the current novel he was reading. On Fraser's side of the bed an identical table and lamp, a framed black and white picture of his parents, one of him, Ray and Rose, at her graduation, and his needs foot oil for the leather of his uniform.
         Rose fingered the comforter of the bed lovingly as she passed it to pull open the double doors to their large walk-in closet. It was easy to tell which side of the closet belonged to whom. Fraser's side was immaculately neat, his uniforms, long johns, jeans, shirts, and two of the suits he owned all hung in a tidy row, pressed to perfection. His spare Mountie boots two pairs of hiking and all weather boots a pair of black dress shoes and one pair of sneakers aligned the shelf below the rack in order of height. The shelves above held a tidy stack of sheets and extra blankets, a small square box that Rose knew contained Grandfather Robert's journals, and Fraser's spare Stetson.
         On the other side were Ray's wide selections of jackets and coats, his few dress shirts and suit slacks that he had been forced to purchase once he became a respected author and had to attend certain formal functions. A few ties were tossed around individual shirts and there was a multitude of sweaters in mostly dark, somber colors. Unlike his partner's side of the closet, these clothes were mixed together in a system only Ray himself could figure out, haphazardly, hangers hanging in all different directions, some shirts buttoned some on the verge of falling off their perch. Ray's foot ware varied as well, mostly black or brown dress or hiking boots, a few pairs of shoes and two pairs of sneakers, sat on the lower shelf, some paired some thrown on the shelf just to get them off the floor. On the top shelf there were a few different boxes, holding what Rose wasn't sure, some scarves and knit caps and some extra pairs of gloves.
         Toward the end of the closet was a gun safe that held two rifles, ammunition and cleaning supplies for Ray's nine millimeter and Fraser's service pistol. Rose knew the combination to the safe, they had given it to her when she was fourteen, after teaching her how to hold and shoot both the rifles in the cabinet, in case she needed protection when she was home alone. She opened the safe now and took out the rifle that remained; no doubt her Father's had taken the other with them, and a box of shells. She closed the safe and locked it, then brought the weapon out of the closet and placed it on the bed.
         She returned to the closet, pulled down one of Ray's scarves and caps, then selected a pair of Fraser's long Johns and one of his heavier flannel shirts and a sweater from Ray's side. She placed all these things with the rifle then moved into the connecting bathroom. She found the first aid kit, rubbing alcohol, some antiseptic cream and extra bandages, which she again dumped on the bed. Dief had entered and now settled in his corner of the bed watching her closely, understanding what she was going to do and whining because he suspected her Father's would not approve.
         "Don't give me that look." She scolded him as she started to pull of her boots, sweater and jeans. "I know what I'm doing." Dief whined again as she started to pull on the red long john's, which were only a little big on her in width, but fit her perfectly lengthwise. "Well, if it was me out there they would go and look for me, now wouldn't they?" Another low moan from the animal as he dropped his head dejectedly in his paws. "I'm a big girl Dief and I know that pass better then most. I have to try."
         She moved to the large dresser against the far wall and pulled out a pair of heavy wool socks to go over the ones she already wore, then pulled on the flannel shirt and her jeans. She retrieved Fraser's Mountie boots, because they were calf high they would be better for the snow, and with the extra socks they just about fit her. She pulled her sweater back on over the shirt, then set about loading the rifle.
         Moving to the kitchen she found the box that contained Fraser's selection of food rations and extra camping gear, which she quickly loaded into an extra back pack, along with the first aid supplies and box of shells. She dropped in a few bottles of water, a small flask of whisky that they kept there for medicinal purposes a few extra towels just in case and an extra set of clothing.
         Then she called her friend Tamaru and asked to borrow his dog sled and leads, she would let Nanook head them. She didn't tell him why she needed it and the native man didn't ask, perhaps he sensed what she was up to. Everyone by now knew that her Fathers were missing and anyone that new Rose understood she would go after them. Tamaru had said he had been taking care of the animals during this time and that he would bring Dief to his house until her return.
          The following morning at dawn, Rose had rolled some blankets a sleeping bag and a few other necessities and was waiting for Tamaru when he arrived. Together they packed the sled, included tallow for the dogs and hitched Nanook to the front lead. Rose donned her heaviest parka, pulled Ray's cap and scarf on, and as a last impulse retrieved Fraser's Stetson, which now fit her with the extra padding of the nit cap. Tamaru offered to go with her, but she refused, knowing she would need the room in the sled if either of her Father's were injured.
         With a wave to him she set off, knowing that she could make the entry of the pass by nightfall if she pushed it, and needing to be well under way before Maggie or anyone else found out she was going and tried to stop her. Having Ray's energy she was well into her journey in no time.
 

         Rose was two days into the pass when the storm hit from the North. Luckily she had recognized the signs of the ominous weather and had found a gap between the towering mountains of ice that would help protect her and the dogs from the elements about to swarm over them. She constructed her shelter quickly and efficiently, as Fraser had taught her, fed the dogs then managed to build a small fire away from the wind howling around them with her flints and some scarce pieces of wood she had collected on her way. With the imposing walls of ice on either side of her the whistling of the winds from the brewing storm became a fevered pitch.  It reminded Rose of a tale Fraser had told her once of the screaming Banshee of Ireland, who's tortured cries mean death to the person that hears them.
          "Well I'm not Irish!" she screamed back at the winds defiantly. "You have no power over me, I'm Polish and I'll take you all on!" Nanook, who had settled beside her while the other dogs rested a little further away, growled in agreement. She ruffled the loyal animal's fur affectionately. "We'll find them, won't we Nanook? We're made of stronger stuff then they think. One of our Dad's in an American detective the other's a Mountie, that's strong stock, you'd better believe it." Nanook barked agreeably as the winds continued to howl and Rose bit her lip, trying not to think of her Father's out in the storm that surrounded them. She lifted her eyes toward the darkened sky in silent prayer. Oh please help me to find them, God, I love them so much.
          Rose had always had an exceptional sixth sense, she had felt something was wrong even before she had returned home, but couldn't get a hold on what it might be. When Maggie had told her about the missing men, Rose had taken it much calmer than she would have expected, but it was simply because she knew they were not dead as everyone feared. She had a special connection to both men, but especially her biological father. Ever since she was very young she always knew when he was in danger, or distressed and it seemed he always knew when she was about to befall tragedy as well.
          When she was eight, she was out side climbing a tree that one of the local boys had dared her to scale. Although Ray had known she was outside playing in the village, she was sure he didn't now exactly where. Yet as she had started down the branch underneath her broke and she fell from almost ten feet above, only to be caught by Ray, who had miraculously appeared under the tree right as she fell.
           Another time he had told her he would pick her up after school and to not walk home, but to wait for him. The suggestion had come out of the blue, for Rose almost always walked or got a ride with a friend's mother. Still, she obeyed him, and declined Elise's offerings to ride with them. Later she had found out that Elise's mother had hit a patch of ice on the road and lost control of their car. They had smashed headlong into a large concrete barrier that had been erected to keep people from going over the side and dropped to the valley below. Elise, her mother and little brother, and their friend Janie had all been killed in the crash.
          Fraser used to tell her that when she was still just a baby, she had stopped breathing one night and he had to give her CPR. They had moved her into their room for a few months afterwards and every now and then, in the middle of the night, he said Ray would wake up suddenly and rise to check on her, finding her fever had spiked or that she had stopped breathing again. Luckily Ray needed only to shake her a little to start her breathing again. Now, she hoped that same connection would see her through to finding her Fathers, for she would not turn back until she did.
          As she prepared for bed, her thoughts turned to the two men that meant everything to her. At school, she had met a few troublemakers who were ignorant and enjoyed making rude comments about a girl who had two men raising her. She had heard all the names of course, queer, fags, homo's and others that she couldn't repeat, but she took it in stride for the most part. Sometimes her temper would get the better of her and she would end up giving a few of them a sound thrashing. Fraser had taught her to box, Ray had taught her how to fight dirty when she needed to. It took her a long time to overcome her volatile personality, which Fraser would tease was all Ray's fault for her father was the very same.
          A few times she had come home crying her eyes out over their cruel taunts, for no one could be harsher about being different then children could. It always seemed to go to extremes, for the boys jeered at her Fathers for being a couple and the girls fantasized over the two attractive men, despite their preference. Her Fathers always sat her down and made her discuss it, telling her that it didn't matter that they were both men, but that they loved each other and that with Rose they were all a family. As Rose got older, she witnessed the life of gay men in women in movies, books or sometimes in their school, especially once she enrolled in college, and for the life of her she could not find any comparison to he father.
         All the jokes and comments, the way they were often portrayed, none of it seemed remotely similar to the two men raising her. If anything her fathers were two of the most masculine males she had ever encountered or even read about. Although she was aware they had a sexual relationship, she rarely saw them engaged in any heavy activity other than kissing. Mostly it was just the tender looks, a friendly hand on the other's shoulder, the way they smiled at each other. They enjoyed doing things together and worked in a comfortable sequence to the other's movements. They still argued on occasion, enjoyed sports and action movies, hunting or fishing.  She had never seen the other even glance at another man or woman for that matter.
         They didn't really have any pet names for the other, Fraser called Ray by his name, and Ray occasionally called his lover Fraser, Frase or Benton Buddy.  That was perhaps more a habit left over from their time in Chicago, but the Mountie never seemed offended because Ray always said them with such affection, even when he was angry.  Now and then Ray would call him Ben or Ben love, but nothing more intimate, at least not when Rose was around. She knew when Ray started to use the last two, he was raring for some heavier intimacy later on, but she found this romantic not disgusting.
         Naturally she wondered about what their sex life was like, all children did, either that or they became repulsed with the idea of their parents engaging in intercourse. Perhaps it was growing up with it, or perhaps it was that the men exuded such natural love for each other that it was impossible not to cheer for their happiness. Rose always got a silent thrill when she knew her Fathers were making love in their bedroom, because she knew that she would be a part of that love afterwards and share their joy. They had chosen to raise her themselves, disregarding all the possible implications and prejudices that came with their type of family from outsiders.
          Although she maintained a good relationship with her mother, Stella was a busy woman and always had things going fast and furious. Rose actually became closer to her step Father Ray Vecchio, who showered her with attention whenever she visited and never forgot a birthday, Christmas or special occasion. The Vecchio family was a wildly provocative and affectionate bunch. All of them quick-tempered and a little eccentric yet they had welcomed Rose as one of there own.
         Her Aunt Frannie loved to take her shopping and taught her about makeup, though Rose rarely wore it except when she visited them. Nana Vecchio filled Rose's head with family stories and her stomach with fattening foods. A touch of sadness engulfed Rose, as she thought of the older woman that was so full of love for everyone, for Ma Vecchio had died three years ago after suffering through two strokes and finally a massive coronary.
         Her son Ray had taken his mother's death terribly hard and went into a deep depression for many months afterwards. Stella had tried to be comforting, but Rose felt her mother was never very good at dealing with her emotions or any one else's, so she threw herself more into work. She and Ray ended up getting a divorce less than a year later, though Rose still wrote and visited him whenever she could. She still considered him a father figure and was devoted to the Vecchio family.
         Her only living grandparent was Damien Kowalski, who occasionally called to talk to her or send her a ticket to come and visit him in Arizona. Barbara Kowalski had passed away of cancer when Rose was only ten and she remembered she and Ray flying up to be with her. Fraser elected to stay home and take care of things here, which was probably best because of ill feelings still between Damien and his son and lover. Rose had watched her father devote all his time to his Mother's care, yet the situation was tense between he and Damien.
          Only when they were out of ear shot of Barbara did Damien make his feelings known, sometimes Rose had worried that her father and grandfather might come to blows over the things they said to one another, but Ray always backed down with a resigned, defeated look in his eyes. Then, one night, Barbara had requested Fraser to come and see her, she knew the time was near and wanted him to be there. Ray had sent for the Mountie who arrived the following day, with concern marring his usually passive expression.
         Ray had lost weight, he looked as though he had not slept properly in weeks and his face was tired and drawn. Tension radiated from his partner and as he watched Ray tend to his dying mother and accept the hateful glares and despairing remarks of his father without complaint, until Fraser decided he had had enough. She had rarely seen either of her fathers angry, and only ever heard Fraser raise his voice when calling her for supper or the like, but now the heated fury in the Mountie's eyes were enough to make even Damien Kowalski shrink slightly.
         Fraser charged him with behaving reprehensibly to Ray, acknowledged that he didn't have to like the Mountie but he had better love his son. Damien refused to back down on his ideals, calling Fraser very name in the book and accusing him of turning his son's head, making him less of a man. They argued back and forth for a long time, it was the only time that Rose had ever seen the Canadian loose his temper. Damien's face was so red he looked like he might soon burst a blood vessel and Ray tried to calm both of them before things got worse and sent his daughter outside, though she had peaked in the window and could still witness the heated exchange. She remembered the conversation as if it were yesterday.

         "Dad, please calm down." Ray pleaded placing a gentle hand on his father's shoulder. "This isn't worth getting upset over, remember what the doctor said about your heart." Damien had slapped his son's hands away from him.
         "What do you care about your mother or me?" he demanded angrily. "You broke our hearts when you shacked up with your lover dere!"
         "Dad, please..." Ray tried again but Damien would have no part of his concern.
         "We had us a son who turned into a daughter." He spat. "At least you had the decency to have Rose before you ruined yer life with the devil's doings. She's the only thing dat's kept yer Mother going."
         "Barbara accepts our relationship." Fraser reminded coldly. "You are the one with the problem."
         "Don't you accuse me in my own house you god damned foreigner!" Damien exclaimed. "You've probably corrupted my grand daughter too!"
         "Dat's enough!" Ray declared finally loosing the tight rein on his temper as he stared straight into his Father's gaze and Rose was only slightly surprised at the flush that stained Damien's cheeks in the face of Ray's anger. "You can call me whatever you want and I don't give a shit, but you will not accuse Ben or Rose of being anything other than perfect, you got me?" Damien swallowed convulsively as Ray's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yer my dad and so I'll take so much from you, but you will not disrespect my mate or my daughter, is dat clear?"
         "He's changed you, Son!" Damien protested. "He's..."
         "Yer right, Dad." He admitted coolly. "Ben did change me, he allowed me to be da person I wanted to be from da start but was too damn afraid ta admit it. He loves me and I love him. He's done more for me den anyone and has accepted me despite all my faults. I'm a better person because of him and not you, or Mum, or Stella or anyone else is gonna convince me otherwise. I don't chase after other men, I don't want other men, not even remotely, all I want is Fraser. Either accept it or don't I don't care anymore, but you will not make the only worthwhile and lasting relationship I have ever had into something dirty and wrong."
         "Why can't you see it, Ray?" Damien demanded. "What you are doing is wrong, in the eyes of God, in the eyes of man it is wrong."
         "The only eyes I have to face are my own, Dad." He stated. "When I look in the mirror I no longer see a three time looser, a screwed up cop with a screwed up life with below average brains and funky hair. I see an accomplished author, a damn good cop who's making a difference, a devoted father and believe it or not a loving son." Damien lowered his eyes guiltily. " I can track an elk from fifteen miles away, or find my way without a watch, map or even a compass in the most desolate of areas. I can take down a killer with sniper rifle eighty feet away, coach a hockey team, write a book and recite every f**king penal code in two separate countries all in a day's work. You have no idea who I am any more and dat's yer choice, but you can not condemn someone you know nothin' about."
         "But..." Damien began.
         "I don't give a rats ass what man thinks about what I'm doin'." Ray hissed.  "As fer God, he can't be puttin' it down 'cause he's da one dat brought me to Fraser and gave me Rose. Now deal wit it dad, I love you and Mum, I want to be apart of yer lives, but if you can't accept me as I am dat's yer problem. Ya wanna disown me do it, yer no prize fer a father anyway, I will still be yer son and Mum will still be my mother, but we will not have this conversation again, you got me?" Damien Kowalski stared long and hard at his son, then cast an angry glance at Fraser before turning and storming out of house.
         Ray dropped into the nearest chair and hid his face in his hands as Fraser crouched beside him and draped a comforting arm over his shoulder, surprised when Ray shrugged him away.
         "Don't touch me, Fraser." He requested quietly, not catching the hurt in the Mounties's eyes, but knowing enough to soften his voice. "I...I just gotta be alone a minute, okay? C...can you watch Mum fer a bit, she...she's sleepin' but just, y'know be here if she calls?"
         "Of course, Ray." Fraser agreed straightening and moving out of the way as his lover headed for the back door. He looked after him concerned, then went to check on Barbara.
         Rose had followed her father down to the small creek that ran behind the house and settled beside him in on the grass, pulling her smaller legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees as the man beside had. Tears ran freely down his cheeks and she had to blink back her own urge to cry. She decided then that there was nothing so painful for a child to see a man that was her strength and pride weeping with sorrow. She placed her little hand over his and tried to smile up at him.
         "I love you, Daddy." She informed, hoping it would help. Ray wiped at his tears and brought her hand up to kiss it tenderly.
         "I love you too, Rose Bud." He returned softly. "Very very much."
         "I hate grandpa." She decided firmly and watched her Father shake his head.
         "Don't do dat sweetheart." He protested quietly. "He loves you very much, don't hate him." Rose liked that both her Father's always spoke to her as a grown up, they were never condescending or patronizing and she felt she understood things better because of it.
         "But he hurts you." She pressed. "He doesn't like Papa Ben so I don't like him." Ray smiled slightly; a child's logic was a formidable thing to argue with.
         "He...Grandpa just doesn't understand, honey." He explained. "I've probably disappointed him too many times for him to just get over dis. I'm never gonna be who he wants me to and dat's hard fer him to deal with."
         "But when I lost that race last year, you and Papa Ben said that no matter what I did or how many times I fail at something I would never disappoint you. You said you would be proud of me no matter what." She reasoned.
         "Dat's true." Ray agreed. "As long as you try yer best we'll always be proud of you." Rose frowned.
         "Then why isn't grandpa proud of you?" she asked.  "You do your best, you work very hard at helping people and being nice and putting bad men away."
         "Grandpa is just a different kind of person, Rose." Ray stated. "He has a different way of seeing things den da way me and Papa Ben do. Besides, we're both upest about Mum bein' sick." They sat silent for a few moments as Rose digested his explanation.
         "He made you cry." She murmured shaking her head. "When someone makes you cry how can you still like them?" Ray sighed and tried to find a way to explain things to her, Fraser was much better at this sort of thing the he was.
         "Grandpa didn't make me cry, sweetheart." He denied. "The situation did. I'm stressing a little and I guess lossin' my temper like I did just kinda tossed me over da cliff, y'know?" She shook her head, confused. "Remember when you were picked to play Mary in the school Christmas pageant?"
         Rose nodded; she had been a basket case that week. She was afraid of getting up in front of anyone, she didn't feel her singing would be good enough and she had a very important test coming up. Add to the fact that her Mother had canceled her Christmas visit yet again and she was feeling a little left out of things, she was quite upset.
         A girl that delighted in tormenting her had made a comment at school and she let it rip, tearing into her and almost got suspended for breaking the other girl's nose, but Fraser and Ray managed to talk them out of it. Rose had been more afraid and ashamed to face her fathers then of her behavior. She had cried all the way home, expecting her entire world to fall in around her and a good tongue lashing from her dad's, but instead they fixed her a cup of hot chocolate, settled her between them on the sofa and coaxed all her troubles into the open.
         "I guess you just had to let it out somewhere, then." She reasoned, using the same excuse they had given her when she had been so upset. "But I still don't like him very much."
         "You don't have to like him." Ray agreed pulling her into his embrace. "But you do gotta love him, just like I do. Promise me you'll give him a chance, okay?" Rose hugged her father and nodded.
 
 

         Rose urged the sled onward across the frozen tundra, fast enough to cover the expanding distance but slow enough for her eyes to catch anything out of the ordinary. Talk to me Dad, she pleaded mentally. Let me know where you are, help me to find you. Despite her layers of clothing, the frigid north wind and freezing temperatures penetrated her body like a thousand tiny knives digging into her flesh. Another day and a half and she would be on the other side of the pass, yet she had so far seen no sign of her Fathers.
         She had explored both sides of the pass in every direction and examined as high as the dogs or her body would carry her. Her last hope, before reaching the other side close to Tuckencho, was a series of caverns that were rumored to be on the East Side of Franklin's Mountain, though no one had ever found them. She suspected that if anyone could it would be the to men she was searching for.
         She selected a place that offered the dogs decent shelter from any approaching storms and secured her knapsack to her back before starting the dangerously slick climb upwards. In minutes, she was sweating from the exertion, though the fierce wind and numbing cold battered her body. She was only a quarter way up the Mountain when her gloved fingers slipped and she started to tumble downwards. She had nothing to anchor her to the wall of ice or slow her fall despite her attempts to grab onto something.
        Her already bruised body slammed into an upward drift about halfway down the Mountain and she attempted to catch her breath as it brought her to a sudden halt. She was careful not to move until she knew how stable the ice shelf was. She managed to peer below her and could see no sign of the dogs or sled, which meant that somehow she had become twisted around to a different side of the mountain during her descent. All that lay below was what looked to be a plain of ice flows. The wind was beating about her and throwing her off balance, despite her best efforts to remain settled and the shelf collapsed beneath her, her scream echoed for miles in every direction.
 
 

         Rose awoke to the feel of warm breath playing across her cheek and struggled to open her eyes. She was startled to find a familiar cerulean blue pair staring back.
        "Papa!" she exclaimed overjoyed as she started to rear up and threw her arms around him, but Fraser firmly pushed her back down.
         "Stay still, Rose." He ordered quietly. "I need to see if you are injured." Rose allowed his strong, but gentle hands to examine her from head to toe, until he was satisfied that she had managed to survive unscathed, other than s small cut on her head that he had already tended to with the bandages he had found in her bag.
         "Oh Papa Ben!" she declared finally allowed to embrace him. "I knew that I would find you, I knew you were alive I just knew!" Fraser helped her to her feet, his expression troubled, almost angry.
         "Are you alone?' he demanded and she nodded. "You should not have come after us, Rose. It was very foolish, you might have been seriously hurt or even killed."
         "But I had to find you, Papa." She insisted as she glanced around at the cavern they now resided in. Thick dripping stalagmites hung from various corners, the cave floor was unevenly rocky and surprisingly the air around them was warmer than she would have expected. "Where's Dad?"
         "Rose, where did you leave the dogs?" he evaded easily. "I assume you traveled by sled?" She nodded.
         "Tamaru allowed me the use of his." She explained. "He's the only one who knows I've gone."
         "You told no one else of your plans?" Fraser voiced again upset. "Rose, how will they know to search for you if you did not tell them where you were going?" Rose blinked back her tears, she hadn't thought that far ahead; she had only wanted to find her fathers.
         "I...I just wanted to help." She managed. "I...I knew they would stop me from coming." She sniffed. "I'm sorry Papa Ben, I...I just wanted to find you both." Fraser sighed heavily and pulled her into his arms.
         "I am sorry Rose." He offered gently. "I am just concerned for your safety, I have enough to worry about as it is." Rose pulled back and stared at him, his once blue black hair was streaked with a soft gray around his temples, his face had not changed an inch over the years, other than a few crow feet marks around his eyes and mouth. He now sported a beard and thin moustache, no doubt the growth of the days they had been trapped here.
         "What do you mean, Papa?' she asked concerned. "Where's Dad?" Fraser lowered his eyes and moved away from her.
         "I'll take you to him." he replied quietly, grabbing up her knap sack and balancing it over his shoulder as he moved further into the cavern. Rose followed solemnly, her heart beating wildly as fearful knots formed in her stomach. She didn't like the look in the Canadian's eyes; they were hollowed with a sadness that Rose couldn't even begin to fathom.
         "I...Is he okay, Papa?" she found herself asking as they paused by a piling of rocks settled against the far wall. Fraser gazed at her in anguish.
         "He...he didn't survive the fall." He told her. "His neck broke on impact." Rose's eyes widened in horror as she turned her gaze from his to the makeshift grave.
         "Noooooooooo!" she screamed throwing herself onto the site. "Daddy!"
 
 

         Rose bolted up in her bedroll screaming and was immediately comforted by Nanook who was lying beside her. She hugged the wolf desperately as he lapped at her face and she realized she was still in her little makeshift shelter between the two mountain walls. The storm had passed and the sun was rising over the horizon, sending a luminous brilliance across the blinding white territory around her.
         "It was a dream!" she told herself. "Just a dream, oh God, just a dream."
 She was shaking as she quickly rose to pack up her things and take down the shelter. Why hadn't she told someone else where she was going? What If she did find her Fathers and the three of them ended up being lost forever because no one would know to search for her. It had been irresponsible, but she could only think of getting out and finding them. Oh why had she done it? She stared out at the frozen tundra and pushed back tears of frustration. How could she possibly think she could navigate this damnable place any better than the men and women who's job it was to locate survivors in this environment.
         She was so involved her pity party and self educed fears that she didn't notice someone coming up behind her, until Nanook barked a greeting. Knowing the wolf was very protective of her; it had to be someone the animal knew to have gotten this close with out her loyal wolf alerting her earlier. Still, instinct prevailed and she snatched the rifle from the sled, aiming it accurately as she turned. A tall, dark complicated visitor with long raven hair and dancing Cimmerian eyes smiled at her.
         "I give up!" he teased raising his hands defensively. Rose lowered the weapon in surprised relief.
         "Tamaru!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" The native man shrugged as he leaned down to pet Nanook.
         "Thought you might need some help." He offered easily. "Besides, I have to ask yer Dads an important question and we need to find them to do that." Rose raised an eyebrow in true Fraser-like fashion.
         "You came out here to ask a question?" she repeated skeptically. "What question is worth risking your life over?' Tamaru just shrugged again and smiled.
          "It's an important question." He assured. "Besides, like you said they may be hurt and two heads, or sleds," he indicated his dogs a short distance away. "Is better then one, right?" Rose didn't know whether to deck him for doubting she could go it alone or kiss him silly for rescuing her from her own worst fears.
         "Thanks Tam." She offered instead and received yet another smile from the usually shy man. Unlike her, he wore only brown leather mucklcuks, matching hooded coat with fur lining and dark jeans and gloves. His hood was currently pushed back and the wind was whipping his long hair playfully around his handsomely chiseled features and making Rose envision a proud ancient warrior primed for the hunt.
         "So, are we going?" he asked her, reminding her she was staring at him at causing her to blush, despite his smile of approval. She nodded and they finished readying her sled.
 

         Rose told him of her dream and he suggested that they consider it carefully. He knew where the sun caverns were rumored to be and he had a good idea how to safely reach them, so that was where they headed. The story of the Sun Caves went back many generations in Tamaru's ancestry. It was said that when there was a hidden shelf in one of the mountains surrounding the pass that led to an inner sanctum of caverns which maintain a steady moist warmth inside the ice that encompass them. No one had ever reported finding them successfully, but the legend of their existence had been around for many years. If Fraser and Ray had managed to find them, they had shelter from the cold and hopefully would have survived their lengthy imprisonment.
         They tethered the sleds and erected a shelter for the animals, much like in Rose's dream, and then then tied themselves together for support and started up the Mountain. Tamaru was an experienced climber and he was careful to point out the best places for Rose to find grips to pull herself higher.
         It seemed like they had been rising for hours and Rose's earlier fear of falling as she had in her dream slowly dissipated. Their pace was steady and Tamaru knew what to look for, yet it was still a daring attempt since there was still no real proof of the cave's existence. They paused on a solid ledge for a break and a sip of water to prevent dehydration and took their first look downward.
         Rose instantly got a bad case of vertigo but Tamaru steadied her back against the rock cliff. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself enough that she could survey the scene without causing herself extra concern. From their vantage point there was not much more to see than when they were below. Miles of glaring whiteness and a few trees spattered about. The animals were bare specks below them, but seemed to be faring well, since no storm had come upon them as yet today. Something caught her eyes toward her left and she burrowed Tamaru's binoculars to get a better look.
         It was a piece of red cloth, suspended in midair about three feet below them. She gasped in excitement as she realized it looked like a scarf or cap, yet she couldn't tell what it was tethered to. Tamaru managed to swing a rope around a solid looking piece of rock that jutted out from the cliff's base and anchored their waist ropes to it.
         "I'll go first." She insisted, knowing she was lighter and Tamaru had a better chance of supporting her in the case of a fall then she would him; his weight would probably pull them both over. Tamaru secured the additional rope in harness around he waist and upper thighs, then tied it to his waist.
         "Be careful." He ordered gravely, then surprised her by pressing his lips to hers in a quick kiss. "If you fall and break your neck I will kill you myself." She smiled and allowed him to start lowering her down toward the beacon.
         She had to use one of her hands and both her feet to move along the side of the cliff and Tamaru's rope remained just slack enough to attain the extra distance. With a firm grip on the rope in her hand she warned Tamaru of her impending swing then pushed off the cliff with her legs and landed about a foot or so across from her former position.
         "This isn't gymnastics!" he called down to her grimly, the wind carrying his words away almost before she could hear them. She waved with her free hand and reached for the cloth, surprised when her hand came up against a sharp invisible barrier. Frowning, she patted the surface that had just hurt her and almost lost her grip on the rope.
         "It's a ledge!" she called up to him, hoping he heard her. "I can feel it! This must be the entrance to the caves!"
         "Can you climb on it?" he demanded as she carefully felt for the size and strength of the shelf. It spanned the length of her arm, she could feel it up to there and seemed solid enough, though it wasn't very wide, perhaps only about two feet out from the cliff.
         "I think I can, pull me up a little!" she yelled back and a few seconds later she felt the rope tighten and she was slowly inching upwards. "Stop!" she insisted as she moved to carefully lever herself onto the ledge, and flattened herself against the wall behind her. With slow deliberation she managed to uncoil the rope wrapped around her inner thighs and waist and gave it a hard tug, watching it disappear upwards at and alarming rate.
          A few minutes later Tamaru appeared beside her and she felt with her foot to see how far over she could move to give him room to climb aboard. She was careful not to look down because it seemed like they were suspended in mid air and it was very disconcerting. The shelf was a sheet of clear solid ice, yet it was not entirely slippery and they managed to stay on good footing.
         Once Tamaru was on the ledge beside her, they carefully began searching for an entrance in the wall of snow and ice behind them. Rose's hand slid through an opening finally and together they started to dig out the hidden hole. Finally it was wide enough for them to squeeze through and they eased inside, shocked at the sudden warmth that hit them. It wasn't like stepping into a room central heating or anything remotely similar, but it was several degrees warmer than the weather outside and they were relieved for the break.
         "Dad! Papa!" she called, her voice echoing through out the darkened cavern as Tamaru pulled a flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. The cave was so much like the one in Rose's dream her anxiety immediately returned and she started to worry for her Father's safety.
         "Mr. Kowalski!" Tamaru called as they moved further down the sloping cave floor. "Sgt. Fraser?" Only silence responded to their call and their pace picked up.
         "Daddy!" Rose called growing more frantic, pushing the Stetson back slightly on her head to see better. "Papa Ben! Where are you?" Suddenly they heard a weak cry.
         "Rose!" a familiar voice returned, but she had to strain to even hear the echoed call. "Here Rose!" She and Tamaru hurried forward and were met by Ray Kowalski half way down the narrow tunnel. Rose cried out in relief and threw her arms around him,  knocking the Stetson completely off, which Tamaru quickly recovered.
         "Oh Daddy!" she cried hugging him fiercely as she attempted to blink back her tears.
          She moved back to frame his handsome face with her hands, assuring herself he was real. He smiled down at her, his eyes shining with moisture and love. His hair had started turning darker as he aged and was now almost a sandy brown instead of the wheat blond it once was. It was still untamed on top, but he had grown it out just enough to sport a pony tail. He had several days' growth on his usually smooth jaw and upper lip, but it only added to his character.
         "Oh sweetheart." He murmured hugging her again. "I was beginning to think I was never gonna see you again, honey."
         "I'd never let that happen." She vowed softly. "Where's papa Ben?" She relaxed slightly when Ray's eyes brightened and his smile grew.
         "He's got a busted leg, which was why we couldn't get out." he explained. "We found dis place just before a bad storm hit, literally by accident." He grinned and took her hand. "Com'ahn, Ben always tells a better story." He finally noticed the other man and held out his hand to him. "Hey Tamaru, still chasin' after our Rose hey?" Rose blushed and Tamaru chuckled.
         "Couldn't let her go it alone, Sir." He stated. "If she found you all by herself we'd never hear the end of it." Ray laughed as Rose glared at them both, then they headed down the passageway
         Rose released Ray's hand and ran to embrace Fraser, who was propped up against a wall next to their few meager supplies, a makeshift splint had been applied to his leg and his face lit up when he saw her.
         "Oh Papa!" she declared almost throwing herself into the Mounties's arms as Ray smirked at Tamaru.
         "Excitable little thing ain't she." He teased and pulled another chuckle from the younger man. Fraser accepted her feverish kisses and laughed as she hugged him fiercely once more.
         "Are you badly hurt?" she demanded of the both worried. "You've been gone for so long. How did you get in here? Why..."
         "One thing at a time, Rose." Fraser insisted calmly, he too sported quite a few days growth and she lovingly caressed the silver flecks accenting his dark head, along his temples. "First, show me what you have in your packs, neither Ray or I have eaten properly in days." Rose flushed and quickly pulled off her knapsack to dump out the contents. Fraser was impressed with her choices and complimented her on it.
         "I have some pemmican and homemade pita bread as well." Tamaru informed as he dug into his pack. They settled around the small fire that Ray had built and shared a small meal and water now available.
          Afterwards, Rose noticed the minor scratches and wounds on both her Fathers and set about cleaning and dressing them as Fraser spun the tale of how they had ended up in the hidden caverns. Four raiders had ambushed them, most likely people working for the suspect they were after. They had managed to free the team, hoping the animals would know to run home and took cover from the gunfire that surrounded them. With only the one pack of supplies between them, they had managed to evade their captors up until they were cornered at the edge of the ice flows.
         The gunmen forced the men into a helicopter that had started to carry them over the mountains. A storm hit from no where and the helicopter pilot had trouble navigating. Ray and Fraser managed to knock out two of the criminals during the unstable ride and noticed they were directly over a large drift of snow piled up on the mountain below. Taking a chance, they grabbed their remaining pack and jumped, figuring the deep snow would easily break their fall, only they never stopped falling until they ended up inside these caverns several feet down.
         Ray had found the ice shelf about four days later and had secured his scarf to the edge, hoping someone would see it and find them. They could not climb back up the way they had come, and they could not climb down with Fraser's injury and no rope to support them.
         "I'm just so glad you are both all right." Rose sighed as she snuggled closer in Ray's arms. "If you ever worry me like this again I will never speak to either of you ever more." Ray smiled and dropped a kiss on his daughter's forehead as his hand softly smoothed her hair away from her face.
         "I love you." He murmured tenderly and she smiled contented.
         "It will be dark soon." Tamaru stated from where he sat cross legged across from them. "Tomorrow we will try to get out over the ledge." He glanced at Fraser.   "Do you think you can make it on my back, Sir?"
         "If you think you can support me." Fraser remarked. "I'm heavier than I used to be." Tamaru grinned and shrugged endearingly.
         "If I can hike with a three hundred pound caribou strapped to my back, I can certainly carry you, Sir." He assured and Fraser scowled.
         "Well, I'm not that heavy for pete's sake." He teased and Tamaru blushed.
         "Didn't you want to ask my Dads a question, Tam." Rose suddenly remembered and watched him blush even more.
         "It'll wait, Rose." He replied, missing the quiet exchange between Ray and Fraser. "We need to take care of other things first." Rose shrugged and yawned sleepily.
         "My boots look very fetching on you, Rose." Fraser commented and watched her grin sheepishly. "The hat's a little big though."
         "Other girls get to dress up in her Mother's clothes and play princess." She informed retrieving the Stetson from where she had laid it on the knapsack. "I get to dress up in my Father's and be a Mountie, who can beat it?" Ray chuckled and Fraser shook his head smiling.
 
 

         Fraser sighed and settled back against the comfortable cushions of the sofa, sipping his tea and watching Ray and Rose decorate the tall spruce in the corner of their living room as they both moved to the beat of the Christmas carols sounding around them from the stereo. Rose had inherited Ray's love of music and dance and the pair were always dancing around the house separate or together whenever Rose was home from school. Their combined energy sometimes made Fraser feel older than he was, but he enjoyed watching them so much it mattered little.
          They argued playfully over which ornaments went where as Nanook woofed his opinion. Diefenbaker was settled beside the sofa, within reach of Fraser's hand for an occasional petting.  Luckily his leg had only been fractured and not broken, but it would be another week at least before the Mountie would get the cast on his leg removed and he was getting restless sitting around all day.
         His gaze floated back toward his family and his tears filled his eyes at the love he felt for them. Sometimes he couldn't get over the turn his life had taken upon meeting Ray Kowalski, before then, although he had Ray Vecchio, Fraser's life had been filled with hard times, disastrous love affairs and a multitude of disappointments.
         Now, he had someone who loved him more than he did ever thought he deserved to be loved, a daughter who seemed to worship the very ground upon which he walked and of whom he was incredibly proud. He had a sister that was closer to him than he had been with either of any of his blood relations, other than his mother and he was still doing what he loved to do, pursuing justice. Although they had promoted him, it had been on the condition that he be allowed to continue his excursions for criminals with Ray, or he would have turned the promotion down. He truly felt there was nothing else he could want or need then what he had now.
          A knock sounded at the door and Rose quickly hung the ornament in her hand on a branch and hurried to answer it, swiftly avoiding Nanook whom was prancing at her feet excitedly.
         "The tree looks wonderful, Ray." Fraser offered as their daughter disappeared down the hall. Ray stepped back to survey their attempt and nodded.
         "Not bad." He agreed, tossing a piece of popcorn from the bowl on the table to Diefenbaker as he sauntered over to the Mountie and crouched down. "Not as great as you look though." Fraser smiled. "I ever tell you casts turn me on?"
         "Ray, everything turns you on." Fraser teased, though it was mostly the truth, Ray's enamor of him had never seemed to dim over the years, if anything his desire grew stronger. "I'll be eighty years old using a walker, with no teeth and my hair falling out and you'll say I turn you on." Ray leaned closer and smiled wickedly, his eyes filled with a special longing.
         "No teeth hmm?" he repeated mischievously. "That could make certain activities real interestin'." Fraser blushed and Ray chuckled in delight at still being able to embarrass the Mountie, after all this time.
         "You are incorrigible." Fraser scolded as Ray leaned even closer and an excited gasp of anticipation slipped between his lips.
         "If dat means horny, Ben love," he teased. "I'm all over dat. You really butter my muffin' babe." His mouth claimed Fraser's in a brief but passionate kiss and Fraser silently prayed Rose retired early tonight.
         "Papa." The object of his thoughts inquired and both men turned to address her, their eyes locking on the tall, dark haired stranger behind her. "This...this man says he needs to speak with you." Ray straightened slowly; unable to take his gaze off the youth with familiar blue eyes dimmed slightly by respectably stylish glasses and a shy crooked smile.
         "May I help you?' Fraser inquired; his voice not as steady as he liked for the resemblance of this stranger to him was alarmingly accurate. The man shifted his weight a few times, glancing at Ray, the Fraser, and then Ray again, before once more settling on the Mountie.
         "A...are you Constable B...Benton Fraser?" he stammered, pulling on his ear nervously and shuffling some more. He favored a distinct accent and his skin was a few shades darker than Fraser's naturally pale complexion.
         "I am." Fraser confirmed trying to quell the mixture of hope and fear rising inside him. This man couldn't possibly be...it wasn't possible!
         "I apologize for disturbing you during the holiday's Sir." He offered politely. "I won't take up much of your time." He stepped forward hesitantly and proffered a piece of folded paper to Fraser. "I was wondering if you knew a Victoria Metcalf." The young man watched both men pale respectively and he frowned, waiting for an answer.
         "I...yes I was aquatinted with her at one time." Fraser admitted quietly as he unfolded the paper that appeared to be a birth certificate. It was dated approximately nine months after his encounter with Victoria, a little over twenty-two years ago, and displayed the name of Micahel Benton Fraser. Mother's name, Victoria Metcaf. Father's name Benton Fraser
         "I am your biological son Sir." Micahel announced offering his hand. "I have been looking for you a little over three years now." Fraser was overwhelmed with emotion and shock, as he stared at the birth certificate then at the man's extended hand. Finally he managed to put his palm into his son's firm grip. His son! He had a son, by Victoria!
         "I...I don't know what to say." He stammered. "I...I never knew. Please believe me if I had known I...I would have searched for you, Micahel." How this young man must hate him. No doubt he felt abandoned and heaven knows what Victoria had told him.
         "I understand Sir." Micahel assured quickly as though trying to dispel any feelings of guilt the Mountie might have. "Victoria, my Mother gave me up for adoption the day I was born, because she was incarcerated at the time and they wouldn't let her keep me, or that was her claim anyway." Fraser listened for a trace of hurt or bitterness but found none in the boy's voice. "I was raised by a very nice family in New Zealand, the Hoopers. They told me I was adopted when I was about seven I guess, never made it a secret, but I loved them just the same."
         "Ah...h...have a seat Micahel." Ray finally suggested coming out of his daze and remembering his manners. "You...you wanna drink or somethin'?"
         "No thank you I'm fine." He replied as he settled in the chair opposite Fraser's position on the couch.
         "Oh, well, I do." Ray commented bewildered, a good stiff one actually. "Rose..." Rose nodded and went to fetch her father a beer from the refrigerator as he offered Micahel his hand. "I'm Ray by the way, Fraser's...er ..."
         "He is my partner, Micahel." Fraser announced as the two shook hands, he would not hide their relationship. "Though not legally Ray is also my spouse." Micahel nodded seemingly unaffected as Rose returned with Ray's beer, noticing that Micahel rose again until she was settled at Ray's feet... who had settled in the adjacent chair. "And this is our daughter Rose."
         "Pleased to meet you both." Micahel returned smiling then returned his gaze to Fraser. "So, anyway I decided to stick around there and help Pop with the farm and stuff, up until about four years ago when Ma took sick and died shortly after. Pop followed her to the grave within a couple of months."
         "I'm so sorry." Rose offered gently as her Fathers mimicked the statement.
         "Thank you, but it was expected." He insisted calmly. "Ma and Pop couldn't live without each other, they were soul mates and I figure at least they're together now."
         "How long have you known about me, Micahel?" Fraser inquired curious.
         "Well, Pop gave me a bunch of papers and things just after Ma died and that was in them." Micahel explained. "There was also a few letters that Victoria had written to my folks, I guess they were sending her pictures of me and stuff. So, anyway, the return address on the letters was for a maximum security prison in California, but it took me over a year to find her, because they had moved her back to Ottawa to serve time for other crimes she had committed here in Canada. Well, by the time I had located her she was already dead."
         "My God!" Fraser gasped in horror, though she had put him and Ray Vecchio through hell, he had never wished her dead. "H...How?"
         "She manufactured some kind of razor or knife while she was in there and slit her wrists, they didn't notice it in time to save her." Fraser lowered his eyes for a moment, trying to dispel the nausea that suddenly swarmed his stomach; he hadn't realized that he still had strong feelings for the woman that tried to destroy him, it was an unsettling revelation.
         "I am sorry Micahel." He offered kindly. "I am sure you had questions for her."
         "I did, but as bad as it sounds I didn't know her, so her death didn't effect me as badly I guess."  Micahel had never felt anything more than a remote curiouisty of  his biological mother, but he had developed a special need to find his biological Father, a need he had felt for sometime before he even knew Benton Fraser's name. "So, I asked about her, you know her cell mate, the guards, to see if she ever spoke about me or a man named Fraser." He grimaced. "Apparently that was all she talked about, more like ranting if you go by what they told me. She did mention a relative on the outside, living in Vancouver that was supposedly keeping tabs on me for her over the years so I searched her out".
            "At least you had something to go on." Fraser agreed quietly and Micahel nodded.
          "I went there and spoke to Miss Abigail Peartree, the relative Victoria mentioned." he continued. "She told me all about you being in the RCMP and that although I was born in America I was also a Canadian citizen because both my parents were from here. She told me you worked in Chicago with some fellow named Ray Vecchio, but when I searched him out they said he'd retired and moved to Florida somewhere. Well, then I tried the Canadian Consulate there and they refused to give me any information, something about security purposes." Micahel smiled again. "I had just about given up when I picked up a book called Fallen Mountie at an airport magazine and book shop. I noticed the name B. Fraser was listed as the co-author and decided to take a chance that it was you.  I called the publishing company of the book but they refused to give out any details. I finally managed to track you down by a Captain Harding Welsh, who apparently heard about my visit to the station and he found me and told me where to find you."
         "I...I don't know what to say." Fraser repeated, for he was truly at a loss. "I... don't...this is somewhat of a shock."
         "I understand that."  Micahel admitted easily, his earlier apprehensiveness had disappeared, perhaps because Fraser had not reacted badly to the news. "Listen, I'm not here asking for anything, okay? I just want you to know that. I've got plenty of money that my folks, my adopted parents left me, and I own their farm in New Zealand. I also have a degree in economics so I can make my own way in the world, even had a few job offers."
         "That's... that's wonderful." Fraser remarked a feeling of pride settling through him, obviously the Hoovers had been very good people and had raised him well. "I...how long will you be visiting? Do you have a place to stay? We have room here if..."
         "I don't want to impose." Micahel denied rising from his chair. "I just wanted to meet you." Fraser struggled to his feet, careful of his leg but afraid that his son would walk away and never return.
         "I...do you..." he began, frustrated that he couldn't say what needed to be said.   "Would you care to...um...stay for supper at least? Maybe...maybe we could talk awhile longer." The hope in Fraser's eyes was mirrored by his son's hesitant ones.
 "I...sure, okay." He agreed quietly. "If it isn't any trouble." Ray rose and tugged at his daughter for her to follow.
         "No trouble." He assured as they headed out of the room to give them some privacy. "Yer family, family's always welcome here." Micahel blinked in pleasant surprise.
         "Thank you." He returned as they disappeared from view and his gaze returned to Benton Fraser, his father. He had expected some resemblance of course, but not an almost mirror image of himself. Benton was older and a little broader than Micahel, his hair was graying around the temples and his nose was slightly narrower than the younger man was. He couldn't help thinking if he looked as good as the man before him in twenty or thirty years he would indeed be very pleased.
         "Er...I am afraid I am not very good at...ah...these kinds of situations, Micahel." Fraser admitted as he started to move and the weight of his cast threw him off balance. Micahel caught him easily before he fell and settled him back on the sofa, crouching down to smile at him.
         "I...I'd like to, well maybe be your son, Sir." He requested quiet with the fear of rejection marked clearly in his voice. "I know I'm a little older than you probably would prefer, not quite what you might have expected after finding out you had a son, but you Sir are everything I thought you would be." Fraser blushed happily and reached up to caress Micahel's cheek, noticing the way the younger man closed his eyes as if savoring the touch and committing it to memory. "My adopted folks always left a clause open in the adoption papers that if I ever wanted to claim my legal name, change it from Hoover that is, that I could, but I wanted to get your permission first, after all it is your name."
         "My son." Fraser whispered, as his eyes grew moist once again. "I have a son and you...you are beautiful, perfect actually." Micahel's blue eyes reflected his own tears as he smiled shyly. "I..I would be proud for you to accept my name, Micahel, to be a Fraser, it is who you are after all."
         "Thank you, Sir."
         "Don't...don't call me that." Fraser requested gently, unable to stop touching his son, even though he knew it was probably making the youth uncomfortable.         "You...you can call me Ben, or Fraser if you prefer."
         "May I...may I call you Father?' Micahel asked timidly and that was all it took for Fraser's tears to fall as he pulled the younger man into his arms.
         "Oh yes." He choked as Micahel returned his embrace eagerly, his entire body shaking with the relief of his Father's acceptance and a deep love that Micahel did not even attempt to understand, for a man he had just met.
         Ray pulled Rose away from the entryway and wiped his eyes as Rose retrieved a tissue for herself.
         "Looks like you got that brother ya wanted, Rose Bud." He remarked his voice thick with emotion as he pulled her into his arms.
         "But I wanted a younger brother to pick on." She teased and he laughed. Their family was complete.
 
 

         "You were reckless, Fraser!" Ray accused as he and the Mountie entered their home and greeted their daughter Rose with a tender kiss from each, before Ray continued their quarrel. "I thought age would mellow ya, not make ya worse!" Rose smiled and took both of their jackets then went to hang them in the hall closet. She was used to hearing this particular argument between her two parents, it happened every few months while they pair were on a case.
         "Ray it was a perfectly sound idea." Fraser protested mildly as Rose returned and fetched them each a hot drink, tea for Fraser and coffee for Ray. "Thank you sweetheart." Fraser added kindly as she offered him the cup.
         "Thanks Rose Bud." Ray bestowed dutifully as he received his cup, which he quickly set on the coffee table because he was still quite angry and he didn't want to end up throwing it at his partner. She smiled at them both and returned to the kitchen to check on her stew, though she could still easily hear them. "You were reckless, Fraser, admit it."
         "Ray, I was not reckless." Fraser denied as he settled in his favorite chair and sipped his tea. "I saw an opportunity to apprehend our suspect and I took it."
         "Ya almost got yer ass blown to New Jersey!" Ray exclaimed and Fraser smirked.
         "That's just silly, Ray." He returned amiably. "The direction I was facing makes it impossible for...."
         "Fraser!" his lover declared in frustration. "You jumped on a boat that was set to blow, just to catch a lousy poacher!"
         "Ray, I did not know there was a bomb on the boat." Fraser reasoned setting his cup next to Ray's on the table as Rose approached with a taster spoon of the stew for them to try. "Quite delicious, Rose." Fraser assured smiling as she gave her other father a taste.
         "Dat's great sweetheart." He complimented, before turning on Fraser again. "Ya would have known if ya paid attention!" Rose smiled and wandered back to the kitchen, thinking how very much she loved them both. "Ya can lick electrical sockets and track a man fifty miles downwind, but you couldn't figure dat a guy who uses dynamite to blow fish to da surface wouldn't rig his freakin' boat?"
         "I suspected he may have planned for that event, Ray." Fraser admitted. "But it was only a suspicion and after all how else would we have caught him, his boat was the closest one and he already had a head start on us on that Ski-doo."
         "Ya coulda just let him go." Ray suggested and Fraser gave him his best shocked look. "He was just a stupid poacher!"
         "He was a criminal, Ray." The Mountie admonished. "They must be brought to justice no matter what their crime."
         "But why do we gotta risk our lives ta do it?" Ray demanded furious. "Yer supposed ta slow down in yer old age, Fraser not speed up."
         "I refuse to consider us old, Ray." Fraser rebuked lightly. "You are still just as attractive as the day I met you, despite your age and we are both in peak physical condition."
         "Bullshit!" Ray denied glaring at him. "I don't know what da hell peak you think yer in, but I can't run marathon's no more, Frase. I never know which is gonna give first my legs, my head from lack or oxygen or my heart from you scarin' me half ta death with your stupid stunts. Chasin' bad guys, jumping outta helicopters and divin' outa speeding boats is fer da young pups fresh on da force, not two old farts like us."
         "You are only as young as you feel, Ray." Fraser implied kindly.
         "Workin' wit you I feel about ninety, Fraser." He decided as he stomped off toward their room, and Fraser chewed his lower lip to keep the smile that threatened to break from forming. Ray would really lay into him for it then.
         He stood and followed his partner into the room at a much more leisurely pace and quietly closed the door behind him. He leaned against it for a moment as he watched Ray pull off his shoulder holster and secure his weapon in the locked nightstand drawer. Ray dropped on the bed and started to haul off his boots and Fraser immediately went to help.
         "I don't need yer help." He told Fraser waving him away. "I'm not too old I can't freakin' bend over." Fraser leaned against the bedpost and regarded him amused.
         "By your account you're practically ancient, Ray." He teased his eyes lighting up with mischief when his partner shot him a dangerous glare.
         "Admit you were reckless, Fraser." He demanded as he rose to change out of his still damp jeans and shirt.
         "I was...spontaneous." Fraser offered and received another glare as Ray tossed his clothes into the hamper and reached for a fresh shirt and jeans from his dresser.
         "You were reckless." He stated firmly.
         "Impetuous." Fraser countered grinning.
         "Reckless."
         "Impulsive."
         "Reckless."
         "Reckless." Fraser finally sighed and Ray nodded as he shrugged into his jeans.
         "Thank you." He returned, turning away from the Mountie as he approached and tried to embrace him. "Don't even try ta suck up ta me, I'm pissed." Fraser smiled as he watched Ray fasten his jeans then reach for his shirt, backing up for each step that Fraser advanced toward him.
         "You are beautiful when you are angry, Ray." He remarked ideally.
         "F**k off, Fraser." He warned as the wall behind him impeded his retreat. "I'm not in da mood."
         "I thought you were always in the mood, Ray?" Fraser implied trapping the blond between his body and the wall.
         "Not when I'm mad at ya." he defied and Fraser smiled.
         "Are you still mad?" he inquired innocently, as his hands dropped to Ray's shoulders and gently began massaging them. Ray shook away the desire to melt under his touch.
         "Yes." He hissed, though he didn't sound nearly as confident as he had before. Fraser moved closer, so their bodies were pressed firmly together and his face was just inches away from Ray's.
         "And you don't want to kiss me, Ray?" he asked softly as he reached behind to pull the elastic from his partner's hair and let it flow about his fingers. Fraser had always loved Ray's hair and now that there was so much more of it he couldn't get enough of raking his hands through it's softness.  Ray swallowed nervously and tried not to respond to the Mountie's erotic touch. Damn him for being able to effect him with those beautiful freakin' eyes and incredibly sensuous hands!
         "N...no." he lied, while his entire body was quickly going on alert. Hooya Sergeant Major, we're all at attention now. Stiff and primed for your inspection, Sir. Fraser could feel Ray's arousal against his own and he pressed against him further, electing a groan from the detective.
         "Are you sure you don't want to kiss me, Ray?" he inquired as he lowered his mouth to the nape of Ray's exposed neck, for he hadn't yet donned his shirt that now hung limply in his hands.
         "You... don't fight fair, Frase." He murmured closing his eyes against the sensations that were rocketing through him.
         "Make love not war, Ray." Fraser reminded. "Isn't that one of your American sayings?"
         "Shut up and kiss me, Ben." Ray growled capturing the Mounties's sweet mouth. "Hmm, dat's da stuff." He moaned when they parted enough for a breath of air between them then resumed their kiss with an intense passion.
         "Oh Ray." Fraser sighed as Ray's hand wandered down to grasp his ass and squeezes them possessively, grinding their groins even closer. "I love you, Ray."
         "Love you, Ben." Ray whispered as they stumbled back toward the bed where they had more room to maneuver. "Always, Ben love, forever Benton."
 

         Rose smiled and pulled away from the door to return to the kitchen. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but she had a valid reason, she needed to know if supper would be served now or later. She turned the burner down on low and covered the pot, then grabbed her coat off the hook in the hall and called for Nanook to walk him over to Tamaru's, perhaps they'd find a good movie to watch, his family had cable. She would tell show them Micahel's phone call later, informing them of his plans to come for a visit next weekend.
         She glanced down at the pretty diamond cluster on her left ring finger and wiggled it slightly so the light would catch the stones and makes them sparkle. She had finally found out what Tamaru had wanted to ask her Father's, who would have thought the two of were harboring a secret love for the other. One more year and until Tam graduated college, then they would be married. Rose had graduated Valedictorian and received Canada's medal of achievement for the highest grade point average in the entire country.
          Micahel had offered his ranch in New Zealand for the ceremony, insisting on only the best for his new sister. Ray and Fraser would give her away, Francesca and Maggie would be her bridesmaids. Ray Vecchio would perform the ceremony, for he had given his life to God after his Mother's death and his second failed marriage. He seemed happier and content then any one had ever recalled seeing him being.
         Rose would tell her Fathers her special news when Micahel arrived and they were all together. She pulled the letter from her coat pocket, having already read it twice, she could hardly believe that in just four weeks she would start reserve training to enter the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, already she was planning strategies to apprehend her fist criminal. Life was good; they had come full circle.
 

The end
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