Hi folks! These characters are not mine...still. They belong to Alliance and various copyright holders of DueSOUTH. Also, this segment is rated *PG.

SECRET PARTNERS: HOME

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by Jackee C.

Inspector Margaret Thatcher sat behind her desk staring uselessly at her word processor. She couldn't concentrate. Her mind always wandered back to the events of the past two weeks; the last week in particular. A sharp knock at the door snapped her out of her latest bit of daydreaming.

"Come in," she ordered, pretending to be engrossed in reports.

"Ma'am?" Constable Fraser called from the door.

"Yes, Constable?" she looked up, not quite meeting his eyes. When she'd walked into the Consulate that morning and he'd addressed her as Inspector without any hint of the intimacy they'd shared, she'd been hurt. She'd imagined he was still upset about keeping their relationship quiet. But now, she realized he'd been simply doing as she'd requested.

"It's nearly six, Ma'am. I was going to pick up something for Diefenbaker, would you like any thing?"

Meg looked in surprise at her watch. Had she really mooned the entire day and then some away? Boy she had it bad. "Is Ovitz still here?" she asked, saving what little work she'd done.

"Yes, Ma'am, he's...uh, waiting to see if --"

Before Ben could finish his statement, Meg punched a key on the phone and ordered Ovitz to go home. When she heard Ovitz's footsteps retreating, she broke into a smile. "How do you feel about pasta, Constable?"

"Love it," Ben replied, warmth pouring from his gaze.

"Good. Let's get out of here."

* * * *

Outside her apartment door, Meg fumbled nervously through her purse for her keys.

Ben stood silently by watching her. After a moment, he covered her hand with his. "Are you looking for these?" he asked, opening her closed palm to reveal the keys she'd held all along.

"Uh...yeah," she murmured, staring stupidly at the keys. "I just...never mind," she turned to unlock the door.

Dief bounded into the apartment ahead of the humans and immediately made an enemy. A large mass of white and caramel fur screeched in fury, nose to nose with the wolf.

Dief let out a dangerous growl, immediately in attack mode. The cat, not to be outdone snatched at the wolf, claws unsheathed.

"J.C.!" Meg exclaimed, "stop that right now!" The animal didn't listen, but pounced onto the wolf's back, screeching furiously all the while.

Diefenbaker, for his part, wasn't going to let some over grown fluff ball get the best of him. He reached his head over a shoulder and slung the cat away.

"Dief!" Fraser called when the wolf pounced.

Inspector and Constable found themselves rushing into the fray, separating the two angry animals. J.C. was shut in the bathroom and Dief was in Meg's spare bedroom. Constable and Inspector surveyed the damage.

"Look at this mess," Meg murmured as she moved to right several potted plants and to clean up at least one broken lamp. Her favorite.

"I'm terribly sorry," Ben apologized. "I don't know what came over Diefenbaker, he's usually so well mannered."

"Well, until he learns to be nice to J.C., he's persona non grata!" Meg huffed, dumping broken shards of clay into the trash with one hand, grabbing the dustbuster with the other.

"Actually, it was J.C. who started it," Ben corrected her.

"He was only protecting his territory," Meg countered. "That wolf was headed directly for his private spot!"

Ben's eyes followed to where she pointed. A brown cat cushion with the words 'Julius Caesar' stamped across the front sat to the left of the door. Apt, he thought.

"Diefenbaker," he corrected calmly.

"What?!" Meg snapped, highly irritated. It didn't help that he stood there so calmly.

"His name is Diefenbaker."

Meg turned away, and begin to fill J.C.'s bowl with cat food, silently fuming as Ben continued.

"I understand that you feel protective of J.C., but I'm sure that given a little time, the two of them can come to be friends. Perhaps even--"

"Shut up, Constable!" Meg cut him off, knowing he was right and that she was being a tad unreasonable, but not wanting to hear it just then.

"Pardon?" Ben asked.

"I said be quiet, Constable," Meg said. "That's an order." As soon as the words were out she regretted them. Wonderful job, Meg, she thought. That's the way to really alienate your lover.

Ben watched her silently for a moment as several emotions played across her face. Then, he began to undo the straps and belts of his tunic.

"What are you doing?" Meg questioned, suddenly breathless.

"Some would argue that outside of this uniform I could disregard that order," Ben said, laying the tunic aside and working on the suspenders. Next came the undershirt.

"Some would," Meg whispered as he came to a stop before her.

"And some would say that I'm obligated to your every command," he continued, pulling her closer.

"They could," she breathed.

He ducked closer still, til only millimeters separated them. "And some would say--"

"Shut up and kiss me..."

End this segment

Comments welcomed and appreciated at Jackeec@aol.com -- Let me know if you hated it, loved it or thought it was a transparent excuse to undress the Mountie.

* No animals were harmed in the writing of this segment... :-)

Story Order thus far:

Secret Partners
Secret Partners: Home
Secret Partners: Unchained Medley