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; the McKenzies and friends belong to me. 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.
Rated PG
Now...to the tune of "Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!" from "The Wizard of Oz", I present for your reading pleasure:
Ichnites, Montmorillonite, and Bentonite, Oh My!
By SL Haas
(Copyright November 1996, Revised April 1999)
July 1984
"P
hil, this is the third time I've asked you to spend our day off together. What's happened? I though we had agreed to get to know each other better." The plaintive note in his voice didn't seem to have any effect on the woman sitting at the desk. Benton Fraser settled his frame on the corner and waited patiently.Phil McKenzie looked at the man sitting there and her lips curled into a lopsided smile. 'How does he do it? How can he whine so beautifully?' she asked herself. "T, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, but I do have other obligations that I have to take care of."
"What other obligations?"
"Well, when September rolls around, my classes will be starting and I'm in the process of organizing my field geology class. I've been spending my days off scoping out possible field trip localities."
"Field geology? Field trip localities?"
"Yes, field geology and field trip localities." She sighed then settled in for an explanation. "Field geology teaches, or at least tries to teach, students how to be observant and what to look for in the field--the great 'outdoors'--you know... out there." A hand waved in the general direction of the window. "It also teaches mapping techniques used in the field and how to transfer the data collected into a useable format. It takes all the 'knowledge' a student has supposedly learned in all of his other classes and gives him practical experience using it. It was, probably, the hardest class I ever took. It was also the most enjoyable. I learned more during field camp than I did during any of the courses I took before that."
"Sounds like a pretty weighty responsibility. I'm surprised that the school gave it to you."
"Why? Don't think I can handle it? I'll have you know, Fraser, that my expertise is field related and I'm damn good at what I do. I'm also pretty damn good at putting together field trips." Angered at Ben's assumption that she wasn't capable of handling the responsibility of such a course, her voice was a bit on the sharp side. Was she going to have to disabuse Ben of the female stereotyping she had faced so many times already?
Ben held his hands up in a warding-off motion. "Hold on, Phil. That's not what I meant at all. I have every confidence in your capabilities. What I meant was, I'm surprised that the school is giving such an important course to a brand-new faculty member. It seems to me that it would have been taught by someone who had been there much longer."
Phil's hackles slowly settled. "You forget, Ben. I've been there for the past six years. I've already TA'd the field course for several years. It's not exactly like I don't know what's going on."
Ben chuckled. "I surrender, Phil. Obviously the school knows your capabilities and how to best exploit them." He shook his head. Phil continually amazed him. Every time he thought he had a handle on what made her tick, she would do something or say something that threw him for a loop. His silent musings were cut short when he realized Phil had asked him a question, and he had no idea what it was. "Pardon? I'm sorry, Phil. I was miles away."
Phil propped her feet up on her desk and leaned back in her chair. Honestly, Ben could be the most aggravating man at times. "I asked you if you wanted to come with me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Did you or did you not express a wish to spend tomorrow with me?"
"Yes, but..."
"No buts. I already have plans made for tomorrow. You can come with me or not. It's up to you. However--now don't let this influence your decision--I wouldn't be adverse to sharing your company for the day."
"Put that way, how could I possible refuse? I would be delighted to accompany you wherever it is you're going."
"Good, I’ll pick you up at 4:30. We can grab a bite to eat while we're on the road."
"4:30? As in 4:30 a.m.?"
Phil nodded and a look of pure mischief hovered in the depths of her eyes. "Got to get an early start. I want to be in the canyon by 8. I'll pack a lunch for the both of us.
Be sure to bring your canteen and your backpack. You can carry some of the stuff."
Ben groaned. "Is that all I am to you, a pack animal?"
"Of course, what else would you be?" and she grinned her most provocative smile at him.
He knew what he wanted to be but couldn't tell her just yet. The time wasn't right and he didn't want to scare her again.
* * *
Ben landed lightly on his feet, then turned to stare up at Phil on the lip of the embankment.
"If you think for one minute I'm going to jump down there with you, you are sadly mistaken." Phil grimaced at him, "How do you do that? If I jumped off this embankment I'd break a leg or something." She walked along the edge searching for a way down. It had been awhile since she was last here and the slope she had negotiated a year ago was no longer there. She would have to make do with the tiny gully made by a small ephemeral stream. She scrambled down the narrow cut and soon joined Ben on the wider dry streambed below.
"I would have caught you."
"I'm sure you would, then we'd both be in trouble. No, thank you." She scanned the area then turned and headed up the streambed. Every once in awhile she would take her rock hammer and scrape the embankment walls. Not satisfied, she would continue up the streambed.
Ben trailed along behind her. What in the world was she looking for? One spot seemed to be more interesting that any of the others so far. Phil not only scraped the embankment wall but also dug a small trench at the base of the wall.
"Can I help you in some way, Phil? I feel silly just standing here watching you do whatever it is you're doing." When she turned to him, he smiled sheepishly at her. "May I ask a stupid question?"
Phil sat back on the sand and looked up at Ben as he towered over her. She pulled her cap off and wiped her brow. "Shoot. As I try to tell my students, there's no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers."
"Ah...understood. My question, then, is what is it you're looking for? If I knew what it was, maybe I could look, too?"
She gave him a considering look and waved to the rock face. "I'm looking for a facies change from siltstone to shale in this formation." Devilment sparkled in her eyes as she asked, "Think you can help me find it?" She was greeted by a blank stare. She laughed and motioned for Ben to join her on the ground. "Drop your pack and I'll show you what I'm looking for."
Ben complied and soon found himself digging at the base of the embankment. He looked on in mild disgust as Phil broke loose a small piece of rock and bit a chip off. She carefully chewed it between her teeth before offering the rock to Ben. "No way, Phil. I had a mentor when I was growing up who chewed on a lot of different things but I draw the line at chewing on rocks."
"Trust me, T. I know what I'm doing. One of the ways to tell shale from siltstone is by chewing a piece between your teeth. A siltstone is slightly gritty. Here, let me show you what I mean." She fished around among the rocks littering the streambed and selected a small one. She handed it to Ben. "This is sandstone. It's composed of sand grains cemented together. Break off a piece." Ben complied. "Feel the grains with your fingers? Good. Now, take a small piece and kind of roll it between your teeth." Seeing the look on his face, she shook her head, "It won't poison you, T. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have invited you along today."
Ben warily took the smallest piece he could manage and rolled it between his teeth. "Now what?" he mumbled around the rock fragment.
"Bite down on it slightly."
Ben did so. It was gritty, a lot like having a mouth full of sand.
"Okay, you can spit it out now." It took several attempts to get all the sand out of his mouth. A swallow from his canteen removed the last grit from his mouth. "Now, tell me what you felt as you chewed on that rock."
"I felt like a fool."
Phil chuckled. "Aside from that, T. Describe how the rock felt against your teeth and tongue."
Ben thought carefully and described the experience to Phil.
She handed him another rock. "Try this one."
Ben looked askance at her. 'I can't believe I'm tasting rocks, Quinn. You said I'd taste many things in my life. How right you were!' He obediently chewed on the second rock.
"Now tell me what's different about this rock."
"It's not as gritty, kind of slimy, and..." he grinned at Phil, "...it's grey instead of brown."
Phil rested her forehead in her hand, shook her head resignedly, and groaned, "Of course, it's grey! I'm interested in what your mouth is telling you."
"My mouth is telling me it wants to kiss you."
She heaved a sigh. "I can tell you one thing, T. I'd hate to have you in one of my classes."
"Why?" he asked as he rinsed his mouth out again.
"Aside from your obvious skepticism of acceptable field techniques, you're way too much of a distraction for my peace of mind."
"Understood..." He grinned at her. "What's next?"
Phil stood up and brushed the seat of her shorts off. "We look for the facies change from that grey siltstone to a grey shale."
"And how do you tell a shale from a siltstone?"
Phil peered intently at the rock face. Almost as an afterthought, she answered Ben's question. "A shale will feel all slimy, no grit." She paused and brushed some loose material from the rock face. Several times she plucked pieces of rock from the face and subjected them to her mouth. Finally, she turned to Ben with a big grin on her face, "Okay, Mr. Know-it-all Mountie, find the shale." She sorted through several rock chips in her hand. "Here try this. It will show you what you're looking for."
Ben chewed on the offered fragment. It was definitely slimy. It spat the residue out and looked at Phil. "You want me to find this rock in that rock face?" Phil nodded. "Phil, I'm not a geologist. I don't know what to look for."
"You know all you need to know, T. Trust yourself. Trust what your senses tell you." With that said she located a patch of shade, stretched out on the sand, and motioned for Ben to proceed.
With a deep put-upon sigh Ben turned to the rock face, picked up Phil's rock hammer, and began chipping small pieces off. He tasted each chip working methodically from bottom to top. About three-quarters of the way up he noticed a change in the texture of the rock chips. He moved back down the rock face and then back up until he was sure he could tell where the gritty material ended and the slimy stuff began.
"Not bad for a first timer, T. You're only off by about three inches. That's a lot better than most of my students." She rewarded him with a brilliant smile. Ben grinned and pulled her to him for a brief kiss. "That's another reason I'm glad you're not in any of my classes." She slowly pushed away from his arms.
"Oh dear. Are you saying you would object to me kissing you? What if I did it when no one was looking?"
Phil let out a long exasperated sigh and muttered to herself, "Trouble with a capital T!" To Ben, she said, "Come on, T. There are a couple of other things I want to check out before we head back home."
They hiked for about a mile up the dry creek bed and turned into a narrow cut. It was no more than three feet at it's widest. At times they had to climb rock piles that marked rapids or a small waterfall when water flowed in the channel.
As they climbed one such area, Phil pointed to a slab that was tilted from the horizontal. She quickly climbed on to the slab and knelt down by some pits in the surface of the rock. "Ichnites--dinosaur tracks."
Ben knelt beside her and looked at the indistinct pits on the rock. "How can you tell? They look like holes to me."
"I guess after you've seen hundreds of these, you can spot the real things from other similar features. Besides..." mischief glinted in her eyes, "...I once came here with a vertebrate paleontologist and he told me they were tracks." She smiled at him then dug in her pack for her camera.
Ben dug in his pack and produced a couple of candy bars. "I thought I would provide the snack this time. Do you like these?"
Phil took the proffered candy bar. "Kit Kats? Do they have chocolate and caramel? Need I say more?" Phil shared his grin and devoured the candy. She then dug in her pack and produced a package of dehydrated fruit. Her eyes twinkled as she passed the package to Ben. "I do occasionally eat something other than candy bars!" Ben chuckled and shared the dried fruit.
Phil passed him another plastic bag. "Gorp...great trail food. I make my own...sunflower seeds, coconut, M&Ms, pumpkin seeds, nuts, whatever strikes my fancy."
They snacked on the gorp as they continued up the narrow channel until it opened into a small basin. "There are two areas I want to check before we're ready to go. The first is just up ahead." Phil led the way out of the channel and over a low ridge and up the next. She stopped on the far side of the second ridge and dropped her pack. "We should be able to find some dinosaur bone pieces here. This is the Ralston Creek Formation and I've always had luck here. Look for rocks that are white or light grey. If it's a bone piece it will look like one." They spent over an hour collecting bone fragments. Phil kept a couple of pieces, as did Ben.
"One last stop and we can head out, T."
"Don't hurry on my account, Phil. I'm having a great time. Learning new things, too." He shook his head. "I had no idea that tasting rocks could tell you anything except what dirt tasted like." He did not notice the sudden gleam of mischief that appeared in Phil's eyes.
"Good!"
Good? What could be so good about that? He gave Phil a suspicious look but she had turned away and was scanning the slope ahead of them. Moving swiftly, she slid down the slope and made her way to a rock outcrop in the dry stream bed below. She waited patiently for Ben to catch up with her.
Somehow he wasn't too surprised when Phil handed him another piece of rock. "I guess I'm supposed to chew this one, too?"
She nodded. "This time, concentrate on the taste of the rock." He chewed the rock.
"It tastes muddy. Like dirt. What am I supposed to be tasting?"
"Nothing yet, just remember what that piece tastes like. Now try this one." She gave him another piece that looked identical to the one he held.
He spat out the residue of the first rock and began to chew the second. "This tastes the same as the first--muddy, like dirt." He rolled the rock chips around his tongue, a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Wait a minute, I can taste something like rust...iron?"
Phil's face was alight with her characteristic crooked smile. "Bingo! Another reason to taste things. Some minerals have distinctive tastes. The two shales you have there are identical except one has an iron component which the other one lacks. Another example would be halite--rock salt. Unfortunately there are no salt formations around here or I'd have you try one. Sometimes you can even taste a petroleum residue in a rock."
Ben groaned then asked, "Do you do this often, Phil? Are all geologists rock eaters? Do you have some kind of mineral deficiency? Or are you just warped like Rob says?"
Phil grinned at the reference to her brother. "Let's just say that I'm not afraid of utilizing something that may seem a bit 'warped' to someone else."
Ben cocked his head and gave her that 'are you referring to me?' look.
Phil countered with her 'I know what I'm talking about' look. "Think about it Ben, what makes food desirable? It's the taste! Taste is probably the least used sense and, as a
diagnostic tool, it is seldom used. Just think about plants. Most of the plants we eat have characteristic tastes. That's why we eat them. Believe me! I certainly don't eat squash because of the way it looks. It's the taste. Frankly, if I had to depend on looks, I wouldn't each much of anything!" Ben joined her chuckle.
She continued, "Of course you do have to exercise some caution. You don't want to taste anything poisonous. There are some poisonous rocks. In fact one of the formations we climbed through back in the hogback has arsenic in it. I guess what I'm trying to say, Ben, is: don’t turn your nose up at an investigative technique until you've tried it. It's one of the big stumbling blocks I have with new geology students." She chuckled and shook her head. "End of soap box."
* * *
They hiked for another mile or so when Phil called a halt to their progress. "Last stop! Then we hike on out of here, catch the road, and hike back to the Blazer." They were once more facing a rock face that comprised an embankment for the dry streambed they had followed. "Tell me what you see, Ben." Phil stepped back and allowed Ben to approach the rock face.
"It looks pretty much like all the other rock faces we have stopped to look at. It's grey, looks like shale?" He turned to look at Phil for confirmation. She nodded her head
and he turned back to the rock wall. "I see some lighter layers here. Are they something special?" Again he turned to look at Phil. Again she nodded.
"This is the Pierre shale. Those whitish layers are layers of volcanic ash. The glass in the ash has devitrified and turned to a clay mineral called smectite or, more properly, montmorillonite. It has a characteristic..."
"...taste to it. I know, you want me to taste it, don't you?"
Phil's grinned widened as she nodded her assent.
Ben carefully dug out a piece of the white stuff and placed it on his tongue. He was not prepared for what happened next. With a small yelp, he wrenched the piece away from his tongue and flung it away from him. Laughter reached his ears and he turned to see Phil sitting on the ground, arms clutching her sides. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"That was priceless, T. Could you do that again so I can get a picture of you?" And she was laughing again.
Ben stood over her and glared at her. Each time she looked at him, she started laughing again. Her laughter was infectious and soon Ben found himself smiling then laughing at whatever it was Phil found so funny. Slowly the laughter subsided and Phil wiped her eyes. Slightly jaundiced, Ben asked, "You mind telling why that rock did that?"
"That particular rock is composed of montmorillonite, a swelling clay."
"Swelling clay?"
"Yeah, that means it can incorporate a large amount of water into its crystal structure. It can literally suck up water like a sponge and swell up like one, too."
"So, when I put it to my tongue..."
"It began to draw the moisture away from your tongue which caused it..."
"...to adhere to my tongue like a suction cup."
"Exactly. It's a characteristic feature of bent...that kind of rock."
Ben retrieved a piece of the much-discussed rock and placed it on his tongue. Sure enough it hung there like some cancerous growth.
Phil couldn't help it, he looked so ridiculous with his tongue hanging out and a rock attached to it. She laughed again.
Ben only shook his head. It took so little to amuse Phil. Removing the rock fragment he turned to her and asked, "What's this rock called?"
Suppressed giggles met his request. "I'm sorry, T." Phil drew in copious amounts of air, struggling to overcome her laughter. "It's called..." she giggled once more, "... it's called bentonite."
The rock dropped from his hand, "You're kidding me!"
Phil was laughing again. "No, honestly, Benton. It's called bentonite." She rolled on the ground, "Oh, I hurt...it hurts...bentonite...Ben, tonight?...oh, I can't help myself... it's so funny..." Her laughter punctuated her words.
"Bentonite! Imagine that! I never knew there was a rock named after me...or was I named after the rock?" He carefully stowed a piece of the rock in his pack with the other rocks he had collected. He shook his head and grinned ruefully at Phil. He patiently waited for the laughter to cease. Somehow, he would get back at her for this. He helped her to her feet and they hiked the remaining distance back to her Blazer.
* * *
The drive home was filled with mutual reminiscing of humorous incidents from their pasts. When Phil dropped him off at his motel room he kissed her goodbye and thanked her for an enjoyable day.
"I enjoyed it too, T. I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long."
"I don't believe I have ever laughed that hard, Phil," he said in amazement. And it was the truth. There had been little opportunity for laughter that deep and thorough when he lived with his grandparents. He smiled at the face turned to him and kissed it again. ‘That's one of the reasons I love you, Philippe McKenzie,’ he thought. ‘You bring laughter and joy into my life.’
What was he going to do when he had to leave in October? He knew he would be leaving his heart with Phil. Could he leave Phil? He knew they would have to face that problem soon. But right now, he was discovering what love was all about. A love that was different from the love he felt for Cat Madden--a love that was as different as night was from day. He was happier than he could ever remember being. He smiled at Phil. "Thank you, Phil."
"For what, T?"
"For being you."
"You are so strange at times, Benton Fraser. What am I going to do with you?" She knew what she wanted, but was still fearful of being rejected by this incredible man. She knew his attraction for her couldn't last and, sooner or later, he would turn to one of the women who had made it abundantly clear that they wanted him. Why was he still interested in her?
She shook her head. No way would she allow him to get any closer to her. She didn't want the hurt that she knew was coming. But still, she was happy when she was with him. He made her feel things she had never felt before. She wasn't self-conscious with him. She felt at ease with him. She enjoyed his company. She loved him.
The realization hit her hard. It was too late to avoid the hurt coming her way. No matter what happened, she loved this Mountie. She loved Ben. She turned away before he could read it in her eyes.
Ben watched the emotions play across her face and reflect in her eyes. He saw the startled realization and the quick turning of her head. He smiled. He had been waiting for this...waiting for her to recognize what existed between them. Now they could discuss the future.
He smiled in anticipation.
To be continued (?)
Copyright November 1996 by SL Haas
Revised April 1999
Comments are welcome at
durango@ionet.net
Fraser’s Secret
(Book 1)