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

WARNINGS: AU PG13 Holiday Romance

PAIRING: Benton Fraser/Francesca Vecchio

TEASER: Francesca has a secret admirer.

Originally posted to RedSuitsYou@onelist.com

Be Mine

Fraser sat at Ray's desk observing Francesca as she sat at her desk. She was polishing her nails with great care, the tip of her tongue was held between her teeth as she dipped the brush in the red polish and began to apply it to another nail. He sat fascinated, watching the entire procedure. When she was done with her nails, she held them up to her red glossy lips. Puckering her mouth up, she gently blew on them as she waved her fingers before her face.

This time his eyes stared at her lips. Red and shiny, full and luscious. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he turned his head away from the enticing scene. Looking at the manila folder before him, he tried to concentrate on the case that he and Ray were working on. Observing Francesca only lead to feelings of frustration and regret. Each time he would get the nerve to ask her out, he would remember Ray's reaction from when he had thought that he and Francesca were 'involved'. His musings were interrupted by Ray coming back to the desk.

"What's the matter Benny?" "Excuse me?" "Why the long face?" "I was thinking..." Ray held a hand up. "I don't even want to know." Closing his mouth, he resigned himself to the fact that his thoughts concerning Francesca were not beneficial to his well being. He spent the remainder of the afternoon helping Ray track down information. They interviewed suspects and checked out a crime scene. By the time they had returned to the precinct, Francesca's desk was empty. She had gone home hours ago.

Finding himself feeling disappointed at her absence told Fraser a lot about how he felt. He had to admit that he liked it when she would flirt and tease with him. He enjoyed her attentions even if she did embarrass the hell out of him at times. The dawning realization of his feelings helped Fraser make a decision. Valentine's Day was only five days away. Hopefully he would be able to convey to her, just how much she really did mean to him and possibly avoid any negative reactions from Ray.

Day One...

Francesca sat at her desk and let out a sigh. Valentine's Day was only a few measly days away and she knew exactly how she would spend it. Alone...again. The object of her affections sat across the room at her brothers desk. Like a Valentine card, he was decked out in red. Her fingers itched to unwrap that red package and see what was beneath the cool exterior. Taking another long look at Fraser, she sighed again and prepared to start her day.

Opening a drawer, she smiled. "What's this?" A small package neatly wrapped in plain brown shipping paper was resting on top of her make up. Taking it out, she hefted it's weight. She carefully undid the package and opened the plain white box. Nestled in it was a red heart shaped box of Godiva chocolate truffles. Her favorite. A small card was beneath the candy box with a note typed on it. *Francesca...you are as sweet as this small token of my affections.*

She couldn't help feeling a little thrill of excitement run through her as she flipped the card over, looking for a name. After she rechecked the box, she grinned. No name was anywhere to be found. She had a secret admirer. Casting a quick glance across the room, she shook her head. No it couldn't be Fraser. He could care less about her.

Day Two...

As Francesca settled down at her desk, she smiled. The good mood from yesterdays surprise had carried over into today. She opened the drawers of her desk slowly, hoping to find another note or gift. She was disappointed when she found nothing. As the day went on, she reasoned with herself. *It's probably Dewey pulling a joke on me.* Just as she was about to go to lunch, she got a call to come to the front desk. A brown wrapped box was sitting on the counter. This time it was long and narrow. A card with her name was taped to it.

She quickly tore the paper off and lifted the lid of the plain white box. Inside lay a single red rose. Another typed card lay in the box. *Francesca...you share your beauty with this rose.* And like the note from the previous day, it was unsigned. Talking the flower from the box, she sniffed it's delicate fragrance. The clerk on duty at the desk grinned at her.

"Who's it from Frannie?" Francesca handed the card over to the woman. "I got Godiva chocolate truffles yesterday." "Ooohhh! You have a secret admirer. Aren't you the lucky one. Do you have any idea who it might be?" She shook her head no and grinned. "Not a clue." "Oh this is too good. You have to keep me posted on your mystery man!"

Francesca walked back to her desk, humming a happy tune. She grabbed an old vase and filled it with water and placed the red rose in it. Sitting down, she sat staring at the rose, forgetting all about lunch.

Day Three...

Francesca watched Fraser and Ray walk into the bullpen. Actually she watched Fraser's. She could have cared less about her brother being there. Today Fraser wore his brown uniform. The jacket was tightly belted around his narrow waist making his shoulders look broader than normal. *Yummy.*

Turning her gaze from Fraser, she looked at the rose on her desk and the half eaten box of truffles, she began to get excited. There hadn't been a new gift yet, but she had figured out that her secret admirer was giving her a gift each day until Valentine's Day. She waited patiently all morning, but no gift appeared. When lunch came, she began to get edgy. *Well, I'm not skipping lunch today.*

When she came back to her desk after lunch, there was another small box sitting on her desk blotter, wrapped in the same plain brown paper. Grabbing the box, she held it above her head. "Did anyone see who put this here?!" Several people turned to look at her and the object in her hand, all shaking their heads no. She watched as Huey and Dewey made their way to her desk. *Maybe now I'll get some answers.*

Dewey spoke as he looked at her desk, noting the rose and the heart shaped candy box. "What's with the box, the candy and the flower?" "Someone's been sendin me stuff." She grinned at them. Just telling someone her news made her happy. "But I don't know who's sendin it to me." Huey chuckled. "A secret admirer?" "Uh huh." Flopping in her chair, she opened the new box. It contained a small bottle of her favorite perfume, Passion. Like always there was a card in the box. *Francesca...like this perfume's name, so I have hidden from you.* Whoever was sending her the gifts knew her.

She glanced around the bullpen. What man here was her secret admirer? Someone would have seen a stranger at her desk. It had to be someone who worked at the precinct. Dewey was grinning stupidly at her. *Eeeewww! Not him! Please God, not Dewey!* Looking across the room, she saw Ray and Fraser coming back from lunch. *Fraser?* Dewey yelled over to Ray.

"Hey Ray! Frannie has a secret lover boy!" Francesca cringed and unnoticed by anyone else, so did Fraser. Ray stormed over to her desk with Fraser following slowly behind him. "What's goin on Frannie?" "Nothin is 'goin on'. I've been getting these little presents." Ray's eyes narrowed and Fraser looked curiously at her. "What kind of presents are we talkin about?" She showed them the gifts and the notes. "O.K., that's it! Some screwball is sendin you crap." "Ray this isn't crap! Fraser will you tell him this stuff isn't crap?" Fraser gave Ray a serious look. "Ray, these gifts are not...crap."

Ray laughed humorously. "Oh great Benny, this is all I need! Ya know, you're as bad as she is." Francesca rolled her eyes. "Ray, it's Valentine's Day. Why can't someone actually like me enough to send me things?" Ray snorted. "Oh please Frannie. What are you expectin? You think Prince Charmin is gonna walk in here and say he loves you?" She crossed her arms across her chest, feeling unshed tears stinging her eyes. "No, but I can hope some nice guy will want to take me out to dinner."

Ray laughed at her. "Yeah right, Frannie. Some weirdo is gonna come in here, take you out to dinner and then expect somethin from you. Is that what you want?" "You are sick Ray!" To her surprise Fraser stuck up for her. "Ray, why do you feel this individual sending her the gifts is a weirdo?" Ray smirked and flung a hand at her. "Cause he wants a date with her." "Go to hell Ray!" She turned and walked away from them, hearing Fraser admonish Ray. "Was that really necessary Ray?"

Day Four...

Setting her purse down on her desk, Francesca smiled brightly. Another small package wrapped in the now familiar brown paper sat on her keyboard. Snatching it up, she quickly undid the wrapping. Opening the box, she picked out a silver heart shaped pin from it's cotton bedding. Reading the card, she felt giddy. *Francesca...you hold my heart in your hands.* She hooked the pin to her shirt, touching it reverently with her fingertips. Maybe this person wouldn't be the man of her dreams, but it couldn't hurt to at least find out who they were and go out with them once if he asked her.

Day Five...

Walking slowly toward her desk, Francesca strained to see if there was a final package awaiting her. With a small shriek of glee, she skipped over to her desk and grabbed the thin, brown wrapped package. Tearing the paper open, she smiled like a child on Christmas morning. It was a beautiful ornate Valentine. It appeared to be hand drawn. The only words on the outside of the card were 'Will you be mine?' written in a fancy delicate script. The note glued to the inside of the card was typed on the same kind of stiff paper as all the other notes. *If I asked this of you, what would you say?*

She flipped the card over and looked at the brown wrapping. Nothing asking her out, nothing saying meet me some where. *What is this?!* It was the biggest disappointment of her life. Well, maybe not the biggest, but at least recently. The day dragged on and she didn't receive a package, a phone call, no prince came into the bullpen to sweep her off her feet. By the time she went home and sat at the dinner table, she was so depressed that even seeing Fraser sitting across the table from her couldn't lighten her mood. And Ray had to be ignorant to her and rub it in.

"So Frannie, did your 'secret admirer' profess his undying love to you?" He snickered and nudged Fraser with an elbow. "She dreams too much Benny." Fraser looked directly at Francesca as he spoke. "Sometimes dreams are all we have Ray. And on occasions they do come true." She gave him a weak smile. He was being nice to her again. Humoring her. She felt like crying. Ray shook his head and laughed. "Ya know you 'are' just like her. Always looking for something that isn't there." Francesca blinked back tears of anger at Ray and disappointment of not at least knowing who had gotten her hopes up just to send them crashing back to the ground again. She unconsciously ran her fingers over the silver heart shaped pin, not even seeing Fraser watch her do it.

When dinner was over, she volunteered to clear the table and do the dishes. *What else am I gonna do anyway?* Fraser, being the ever helpful Mountie, offered to help her, drawning a nasty look from Ray. She and Fraser stood in silence next to each other in the kitchen. She washed them, while he dried. When she finished, she rinsed her hands off and dried them. She watched Fraser as he stretched up to place the last plate in the cabinet. She felt a bit of her disappointment fade as she looked him over.

He wore jeans and a dark blue cable knit sweater that accented his eyes. *Nice.* Fraser looked over at her , seeing her frank gaze. He blushed slightly and quickly looked away. *Good goin Frannie. You scared him again.* To her surprise, he didn't rush out of the kitchen. Instead he took a step closer and looked 'her' over. It was Francesca's turn to be flustered. He was standing only a foot away from her. When he spoke, it was in a soft voice. "If I asked this of you, what would you say?"

Her head snapped up from where she was staring at his booted feet, to look him straight in the eye. Her heart began racing. "You?! It's you?" She stared at him in shock as he nervously shifted from foot to foot. "Francesca?" He now appeared uneasy. "It's you?" Her voice squeaked slightly. He nodded his head yes. "Oh my God...it's you." She finally smiled at him, watching a relieved look come over his features. He seemed to instantly relax the moment she smiled at him.

He took another step closer so that they were almost touching. "Will you be mine?" She wanted to scream it, but she kept her reply calm. "Yes." She felt his warm calloused hand gently lace fingers with her own. Ever so slowly, she was drawn into his embrace. She held onto him tightly, afraid that this was still just a dream. Laughing she brought a hand up to wipe away tears. Laying her head against his chest, she smiled. "Dreams do come true, don't they Frase?" "Yes they do."

"Frase? How did you get all of those things on my desk without anyone seein you do it?" He chuckled. "If I told you, it would ruin some of the magic." She pulled back a bit and was pleased when he wouldn't release his hold on her. Looking into his eyes, she could see that he was still nervous, but he wasn't going to be running anymore. "Does Ray know that you're the mystery man?" Fraser bit his lip, trying not to laugh. "No...he has no idea at all." "You know he's gonna be pissed at you." This time Fraser smiled. "Yes, I know. But I think it won't last very long."

He kept smiling as he looked down at her. She knew what he wanted to do, but she also knew he wouldn't make the first move. Taking his head between her hands, she drew him down for a kiss. It was soft and gentle. Not a passionate kiss like the ones she had always dreamed about, but one filled with promise and hope. Releasing him, she smiled. "Do ya wanna go and tell Ray now or later?" "Now would be better." He took her by the hand and they walked out of the kitchen to go and inform Ray of who Frannie's secret admirer happened to be.