A brief addition to the Canyon Series - follows on from a Cop, A Mountie and a Dory. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Sher for keeping me at it.

Disclaimer: This story is written for the private entertainment of fans. The author makes no claims on the characters or their portrayal by the creation of this story. Fraser, Vecchio, et.al. belong to Alliance; Cat Madden belongs to me; the McKenzies and friends belong to SL Haas and is used with permission.

No infringement of any copyrights held by CBS, Alliance, CTV or any other copyright holders of DUE SOUTH is intended. This story is not published for profit, and the author does not give permission for this story to be reproduced for profit.

Canyon Interlude

By Carol Trendall

(Copyright October 1999)

In the midst of a heat-induced crime-wave that had the Moose Jaw RCMP chasing their tails, Sergeant Cathy Madden had little to smile about. But two phone calls a week apart changed her mood drastically and put the smile back on her face. The events that happened afterwards would change the lives of several people forever.

"Ben, I think it's great that you're finally doing this Grand Canyon trip." Cat smiled into the phone, her voice changing slightly so that someone who didn't know her as well as Ben did would not have noticed. "I know you've wanted to do this for a long time." Did he think she had forgotten the plans he had told her of to one day make this trip with Phil?

"Yes. Yes, I have," Benton Fraser replied, ignoring the change in her tone and pretending he did not know what Cat alluded to.

Cat continued, "And I'm so glad that Ray is going with you." She meant it, too. Ray would make sure he was OK. "But I must say I never thought you could talk Ray into camping out."

Ben suddenly laughed and Cat was instantly relieved. It was the freest sound she had heard from his lips in many months. His growing withdrawal from the world was a constant source of concern, but now he seemed almost ... happy.

Maybe Ray had helped more than she realised. She would call him to thank him.

Ben interrupted Cat's thoughts. "The brochure from BakTrak convinced Ray that the trip would be 'in complete comfort'."

There was silence for a moment. "BakTrak?" Cat finally squeaked out.

"Yes." Ben's voice grew excited. "It's a company that specialises in this sort of trip. It's funny that I hadn't heard of them before, the office is just two blocks away." His voice became bemused and Cat could almost see his tilted head and confused frown. "Strangely, Diefenbaker led me there. He rushed off one afternoon and when I finally caught up with him he was outside the building that houses BakTrak. He'd even managed to procure a brochure from somewhere."

Cat started to laugh. "Oh, Ben," she stammered between chuckles. "Dief is such a smart animal."

"Yes, he is Cat," he agreed, frowning further as Cat continued to laugh.

Did Phil know Ben was on one of her trips? Cat wondered. The only way to find out was to ask.

* * *

"Good afternoon, BakTrak. This is Mark Kehr speaking."

"Hi, Mark, it's Cathy Madden."

"Hi, Cathy. Haven't heard from you in a while," Mark said, with ill-concealed pleasure.

"No, it's been a pretty bad summer up here," Cat answered honestly. "How are things with you guys? Busy?"

Mark let out a huff of air. "So busy, I haven't had time to scratch myself. I just got back from a trip to the Great Barrier Reef."

The reason for the call was momentarily forgotten as she shared her friend's excitement. "Mark, that's great. I know you've always wanted to go there."

"Yeah, I have. Now, thanks to Phil, I finally got my chance." His joy was clear.

Switching to a more serious tone she said, "So do you think she can spare five minutes to talk to me?"

"Well, I'm sure Phil would love to make time for you, but this time she's out on a trip."

"A trip?" Cat asked, wondering if fate could be so kind.

"Yeah, the guide for the Grand Canyon trip that went out yesterday took ill at the last minute and Phil flew straight out to take over."

"She's leading the Grand Canyon trip?" Cat tried to keep the glee from her voice. This was too good.

"Well, she did design it, Cathy."

Cat roared with laughter. She had her answer. "Oh, Mark, this is the best news I've had in a long, long time."

* * *

TJ swore out loud and reached for the phone in the dark, wondering why every time he wanted an early night someone wanted to speak to him. Holding the phone between his ear and his pillow, he hoped the greeting he mumbled was intelligible.

"TJ, it's Cat. What the hell are you doing in bed so early?"

He groaned. "My day started at 4am, I didn't get food until 6 o'clock tonight and I had half a bottle of red with dinner."

"Bad day, huh?"

"Uh huh." He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. "Now you know I fantasise about hearing your voice when I'm in bed, Cat, but why are you calling me so late?"

Cat smiled at TJ's flirtation. It had become standard practice for them and they both knew there was nothing more to it. "Do you know where Phil is right at this moment?" she asked elusively.

"Well not exactly where she is, but, yes." TJ yawned and scratched absently at his chest.

"Where is she?"

Something in Cat's tone made TJ instantly anxious, recalling the kidnapping that brought her into his life. "What's this about, Cat? Has something happened?"

"Just tell me where she is, TJ." Cat's voice was even and gave away nothing.

He sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, concerned that he was unable to read Cat's voice. "Well as far as I know she's somewhere in the middle of the Grand Canyon."

"Yes, she is." Again, Cat's voice gave away nothing.

Relief that Cat wasn't phoning with bad news hit TJ and he was suddenly irritated at the direction this conversation was taking. He rested his forehead on his knees, his long hair falling forward. Taking a deep breath, he let out his frustration and spoke softly, but made no attempt to hide his annoyance at being woken up.

"Well, if you know that why the fuck are you calling me?"

Completely disregarding TJ's pissed off tone she said, "Guess where Ben is right now."

Growing more annoyed, TJ pushed his hair back and sighed, speaking into his knees. "I have no idea, Cat. What's this about?"

"Ben's in the Grand Canyon."

The implications of Cat's statement was like a shock of cold water bringing him instantly awake and sitting upright. "The Grand Canyon?"

Cat grinned into the phone. "On Phil's trip."

"There are dozens of tours in the Canyon. How do you know it's Phil's trip?"

"Ben told me he booked his with BakTrak. I called today to speak to Phil and maybe see if she knew and Mark told me she'd flown out to take over from some guy who got sick."

"Well, well, well," TJ mused. "Fate definitely wants those two together."

Suddenly amused, he threw back his head and roared with laughter. It seemed being awakened from a deep sleep was worth it, after all.

* * *

Lloyd Hope climbed down from the Forest Reserve jeep and strolled towards the small log cabin that served as ranger station in Canada's Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve. Although not even midday, it was hot and his long braid hung heavy on his sweaty back. He wished they had air-conditioning.

His friend and colleague, Mitch Carson, appeared in the doorway beckoning to him.

"Cathy's on the phone," the other ranger told him as he stepped onto the verandah.

Heat instantly forgotten, Lloyd raced inside and grabbed the phone from the desk.

"Hi," he whispered, sliding into a chair and cradling the phone gently against his shoulder.

The voice on the other end was low and smoky. "Hi yourself."

"I hope you're not calling to tell me you can't make it again this weekend."

Cat laughed. "My roster has been fucked up so many times lately and I've worked so many extra shifts that I think everyone knows better than to ask me to work this weekend. Nothing's going to stop me. I'll be there with bells on."

"Or off ...." Lloyd's voice trailed off suggestively.

"Or off," Cat agreed.

"So to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of this call?"

"I learned something interesting yesterday. Did you know Phil is in the Grand Canyon?"

"No, I haven't spoken to her in over a week. I'm not surprised, though, she still sometimes leads trips."

"So I hear," Cat said speculatively. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, delighting in spinning out her news. "But what you don't know is that Ben is on the same trip."

Instantly alert, Lloyd leaned forward in his chair. "Ben's on a trip with Phil? How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't know the details, but the guy leading the trip got sick at the last minute and Phil apparently flew straight out to take over."

"Whoa," Lloyd said, shaking his head. "Phil must have known. She likes to know who the team is before she meets them."

"Well if she didn't, she sure as hell knows by now."

The irony hit Lloyd suddenly and a bark of laughter escaped his lips. He found he could not respond to anything Cat said after that. He was too busy laughing.

* * *

"Cat, I got your message. Is everything OK?" Constable Rebecca Fraser leaned in the doorway of her kitchen, unbuttoning her uniform shirt as she spoke.

Cat reclined in the hammock Lloyd had installed during Ben's last visit and smiled into the cool evening air. "Things are great, Becka. Just great."

"Your voice sounded funny. I thought maybe something had happened to Benny." She let her shirt hang open, enjoying the cool breeze against her skin.

"Oh, something's happened to him all right." Cat tilted her head back and stared up at the evening sky, searching for stars. Hadn't Ben once told her something about Castor and Pollux?

"I don't understand." Becka's confusion was clear in her voice. She stepped to the refrigerator and reached inside for the milk.

"Ben's in the Grand Canyon right now. I didn't know if you knew that."

Becka downed a slug of milk from the bottle. "Last time I talked with him he said he was taking a vacation. I told him I was glad because he certainly needed it."

"Well it seems he took your advice, Becka. The BakTrak brochure you gave him must have hit home. He's on a BakTrak tour with Ray."

"Oh my god," Becka cried, slamming the milk bottle onto the counter. "I wonder if Phil knows?"

A smug grin pulled at Cat's lips. "Well, since she is leading this trip I think it's highly likely that Phil knows."

"Phil's leading the trip?" Becka shouted. "I can't believe it. After all you and I have done to get those two together, it's happened without us!"

"Yeah! Great isn't it!"

"I'll say!" Becka laughed until the tears ran.

* * *

Sheila noticed the visitor first. She chirped at him from her place on the kitchen bench where she liked to watch her human prepare food. Cat, with her attention focussed on the risotto she stirred on the stove, didn't realise she had company and thought the feline spoke to her.

"I keep telling you, Sheila, that this is rice. You know you don't like it."

"Now you're doing it! Does everyone I know talk to their pets as if they expect an answer."

At the sound of the familiar deep voice, Cat spun on her heels, flinging risotto and vegetable pieces from her spoon across the floor.

"Jesus Christ, Bob," she said, clutching the wooden spoon to her chest. "I didn't think you'd ever show your face around here again."

"I hardly think you've had time to notice. You've been otherwise occupied since I saw you last." He waggled a finger at her and tried to pull a stool from under the bench then abandoned the idea after the third attempt. "I haven't had time to check this Hope fellow out yet, but I'm told he was the right choice."

"Yeah, well if I hadn't met Lloyd I'd be pretty pissed at you for sending me on that wild goose chase to Chicago. You knew there was nothing I could do for Ben and Phil."

Bob laughed. "On the contrary, Cathy. It looks like you've done plenty. You managed to get them on the same Grand Canyon trip."

"I had nothing to do with that. It was Becka, not me." She stopped and then turned quizzical eyes to her friend. "And how do you know about that?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. I spoke to Benton today."

"You spoke to Ben? Has he seen Phil?" Cat stepped towards the apparition.

"What's happening down there?"

Bob chuckled. "Well, it looks like this is going to be an interesting trip.

You know, Ray was ..." He raised a finger and stopped in midsentence, tilting his head as if listening to something in the distance.

"What is it?"

Holding his finger to his lips, Bob silenced Cat and listened further. He snapped his head around to face her again.

"I have to go - Caroline is calling me and I'm already in enough trouble for interfering."

"Interfering? With what?"

"Can't talk now, I have to go. At least we got things underway with Benton and Phil...." his voice trailed off and suddenly he was gone.

"Jesus, Bob ...." Cat muttered affectionately under her breath as she stared at the place he had just left.

Shaking her head, she crouched down and swiped up the globs of rice and vegetables she had flung across the floor. "Where's Dief when you need him," she mumbled then returned to the task of making dinner.

Watching from the counter top, Sheila twitched her tail disapprovingly, tossed her head and leapt onto the table then out the window. Didn't humans know cats don't eat rice?

When the risotto was done, Cat piled a heap into a bowl and carried it out to the verandah where she ate in silence, contemplating the events of the past two days. Bob was right, her mission was accomplished, even though she had no hand in it. Despite her best intentions and numerous attempts Ben and Phil had found their way back to each other without her help. What did it matter? At least they were hopefully on their way to some sort of reconciliation.

Pushing her empty plate aside, Cat rose and flung herself onto the nearest hammock, a sense of complete satisfaction filling her heart. After licking the bowl on the table, Bella joined her and they both lay back and enjoyed the cool of the evening, revelling in a task well done. It didn't take long, though, for Cat to begin to wonder about where she would redirect the energy she had put into getting Ben and Phil together. It took even less time for her to come up with an answer.

Ray and Casey.

A wicked smile curled at the corners of her mouth. Her arrangement with Trevor to work on the two of them from different directions had been low key so far.

Now was the time to swing into action. She yawned with the exertions of the day's tasks but her weariness did not stop a new plot forming in the back of her mind. She had a new mission now.

To be continued ....

Second Chances (Book 3 of the Ben & Phil Saga)

1. On a Collision Course--Redux by Cassandra Hope

2. Second Chances by Cassandra Hope

3. A Cop, A Mountie, and a Dory by Cassandra Hope

4. Canyon Interlude by Carol Trendall