Disclaimer: these charecters belong to Alliance. well most of them do the others belong to my twisted imagination.

                  My Best Friend:
                                        the New Begining

by: Andrea

The air in the room filled with the entoxicating aroma. It was so sweet and strong, yet delicate, he had no words for the sensations that his nose felt at that moment. He wished the could stop time for that moment , so it could last for a hundred more moments. But as soon as it began it ended. He had to know if it was her, if his nose was deciving him or what. But it was too late, she was gone. He put down the supplies he was about to buy and ran out the door. He searched but the woman was no where to be seen. That must have been the second irrational decision he had ever made in his entire life. His life was so filled with order that when he started to explain the events to his best friend the other man was at a total lack of words."You what?" he asked with his mouth to the floor. "I ran after her, but I could not find her." His friends eyes widened, "You? of all people? you did that?" "Well yes it was me, why would I lie to you?" He looked at his friend puzzled. "Its just I cant picture you runnin' after a girl. Why did you do it?" "It reminded me of......" his voice trailed off. He knew Ben would not tell him unless he pushed him to, "of who?". Benton Fraser closed his eyes and painfully opened them again. "it reminded me of a girl I once knew." "you mean that woman Victoria?" Ray asked. He hadn't met Victoria but he hated her. Not only for putting Ben thruogh a living hell, but for trying to make him decide between her love and his freedom. "No Ray. It wasnt Victoria, it was a girl from my childhood. I will always remember how she smelled like every flowers fragrence in the world." Ray began to smile. His friend had done some thing totaly unlike him, or the him he let every one else see. "And this girl, what is her name?" Ben half smiled, "Her name was Elizabeth. She was my best friend." Ben said so painfully. Ray knew his friend had trouble with emotions but these emotions seemed like they would come whether Ben wanted them to or not. "so what happened between you and her.?" Ben got up and paced for a while. "well as I said she was my best friend." Ray stood up and stood in Ben's path. "thats not all, I can tell, what else happened?" "Ray it would be ungentlemanly of me to.."
"Stop that gentleman crap, tell the truth." Ben waited for a second. "she and I, when we were teenagers, we...and then we decided to be friends again and thats it." Even thought his sentance was full of holes Ray could tell what he meant. "So what dose she do?" Ben sat back down.
"she is a Costable for the RCMP. I think." Ray was puzzled. Ben usually knew things for sertian. He wondered why Ben never told him about her, he usually can go on and on about his grandparents and their library or the inuit for what seemed like years. "She use to write me, but a while ago the letters stopped..." He remembered the first year they had been out here, Ben had searched the huge pile of letters and could not find what he was looking for. And when Ray asked what he was looking for he rubbed his head and mumbled 'nothing'. That must have been when the letters stopped. "You think you want to go see her?" Ben's face lit up, "Well I believe that would be alright. She'll want to meet you."
"you told her about me?"
"well yes Ray, she asked."
"why didnt you tell me about her?"
"you never asked Ray."

The phone rang surprising Maggie. She knew this would be her brother, Ben, he always called at least twice a year. he had been looking for some hand for three years with his best friend Ray and left Deif in her care. He always wanted to know how he was, and of course how she was. "Hello?"
"Hello Maggie, how are things?"
"They are good Ben. And how are you?"
"well I want to know if you could help me with something." "any thing big brother." she always got a kick out of being able to say that, and she knew Ben did too. "Do you know where Elizabeth is staying?" These words caught Maggie by suprise. "she is in Chicago, staying with her cousin and their family. But she works at...she works at the police station there, you might want to check there." "you mean the station that I think you mean?"
"yup. The station where Ray use to work at." "Thank you kindly Maggie."
"your welcome Ben. Bye"
She put the phone down. This would be intersting.

Ray looked around the bull pen. It was the same as always, the faces had changed but the place looked the same. He walked over to his old desk and looked at the name plate. It read: Dective Elizabeth McDougal, RCMP. That was the weirdest name plate he had ever seen. "Ben, over here." Ben looked down at the desk, it had no files or anything on the top of it, very unlike the rest of the dectives desks. He opened the first drawer. There were little toys and hand cuffs in the drawer, this was definetly Elizabeths desk. "You there!! if you work here you better get your ass in gear !!!" Ray could reconize Welsh's bark any where. "hey Welsh, its us, Ray and Ben." The angry man slid his glasses down his nose. "What are you doin' here, you got some inuit to save?" "Naw, we are here to see an old friend, Elizabeth McDougal, when will she be back?" Welsh stood silent for a moment, then replied, "come in my office." "Dead?" "Yeah, a week ago. We all haven't known what to do with her stuff so we left her desk the way she left it." "Did you tell her cousin?" Ben asked. Welsh looked up solemly, "She kept to herself. We didnt know who..." Ben shook his head, he should have been here he should have watched out for her, he should not have gone searching for that stupid hand, she would have been safe, he told her he would always keep her safe. "Do you have her address?"
Welsh wrote it on a piece of paper, "I am sorry Fraser, she went to Canada, she said to suprise her friend, the next thing we hear is that she is dead. And the body is never found, just this." He handed Ray a bag marked evedince, it had a bloody scarf in it. "How do you know if its...." "Ray, thats her favorite scarf. She wears it all the time." Ray looked to his friend. This was bad, he wished he could make Ben feel better about this. "Thank you kindly." Ben said as he walked out of the office and sat in the car. Staring blankly. "You ok Frase?" Ray asked as he got into the car. "No Ray, i'm not." Ray took the paper and looked down. He could not believe his eyes. "Whats her cousins name?" "She never told me, why?" "Cause we both know em."

Ray knocked cautously on the wooden door. Ma Vecchio opened it. Her eyes were flooded with tears. "I am sorry for your loss." Ray said. just then Ray Vecchio turned to see the two at the door. "Oh my. Benny! how ya been?" Ben looked up to see his old friend. "Not so good." He looked at Ben to see a tear streaming down his face. "Come on in." He said, worried for his friend. "She never said anything to either of you? Now isnt that weird." Kowalski replied. "No that was like her. She always liked the fact of knowing some thing others didnt." "Yes she did. But she always told me of her cousins and their big loving family." Ben said looking at Ma Vecchio. "She told me of you Ben, she just never said a name. I should have guessed though." "If you want to Benton, her room is just up stairs." Maria offered. "Thank you kindly Maria." Her room was just like what Ben had expected, posters of bands he didnt want to know, her clothes on and below a chair, her closet filled with any thing and every thing. Ben looked down to the floor, could this be what he thought it was? He poped it into the vcr. Ben saw his mother picking him up and showing him how to make some sort of dish. Then came in Elizabeth's mom, "hey, sorry to do this but we gotta bring the golden child into town for the week, can we leave the brat wit ya?" Ben closed his eyes, he knew she wasnt kidding. He looked down at the remote and fast forwarded the home movie for a while. He came to the spot he was looking for. "Hey Bob I think she's going to do it this time!!" he heard his mom say. She was just a baby then, this was her first steps. "come on Lizzy you can do it, I know you can!!" He heard him self yell. He was about 2 years old in this film, he watched as even his father cheered her on. She took about 5 steps then fell into Ben's arms. "I remember that moment, I was very proud." "hello dad, where have you been?" "lots of places, your mother has been introducing me to her friends." "I thought you would want to be here for this." "well I would if it were true."
"what are you talking about?"
"Son she isnt dead. You have to find her before she really is dead." "What?!" Ben said as he turned around. "I am sorry Frase, I just came up to see..." "I am sorry Francesca, I did not mean to sound cross. Congatulations on being a mother, they could not have gotten a better women for the job." She smiled, "I love them all so much. But thats not why I came up here." "Why did you then?" she paused. "What was she like growing up?" he could see the pain in her eyes, her cousin had died and she didnt really get to know her. Ben was the only one that truly knew her. "She was beautiful. She almost never did anything she didnt want to. She would be her self no matter what." "How was she after......you know."
"She was never a suvivor, she..... never let that ruin her life." She nodded and hugged the mountie, and when she did that the tears came like a flood from his eyes. He tried to remember any time he saw his friend cry, he watched as his sister just held him as he cried, saying nothing. "your friend is a girl." "he is not dad, just shut up." "only girls cry."
"you know thats probably why he never usually shows any emotions, talk like that." "If thats the case than I want to shake that man's father's hand." "Its amasing, you're dead and even now you wont shut up."

"They never found the body."started Ben," I wont believe she's dead untill.... I am going back, she might still be alive." he said looking into Francesca's eyes. "I want to go with you." she replied. "you cant Frannie." Ray said walking closer to them. "why not?"
"He's right Francesca, you have a family to take care of." "but I'll go Benny." Ray Vecchio said.
"Ray no offence, but I want to go by my self, I owe her that at least." Ray nodded in agreement.

A WEEK LATER

"Stupid canadian!!! You shouldnt have come here!!" She started to cry as she looked down at her unconscience friend. She pulled the streacher she made along as she sang songs that had no meaning. She had remembered the first time she came to Chicago and how she felt so alone for so long. Even among family she felt she had no one to talk to, Ben was the only who under stood her, and Ray was some where in the south or whatever. And she couldnt talk to him about how alone she was in a huge city. She stopped walking. She knew this pass, it was so fimaliar but could not place it. Then it hit her, she started running Due South for about 2 miles and stopped. Down the hill was a cabin and a barn, she was so excited she could not believe her eyes. "Hello!!! Any body there!! Maggie??? Deif???" she went into Ben's pack and found the key. He was so much hevier than her, she didn't exactly know how she got him into the house. She looked around and could not see a phone. She decided she wouldnt go back out there any time soon, she had been wandering the wilderness for the past 2 weeks. She made a fire and placed Ben next to it. She looked back on the past weeks and thought that this was the best ending to it, back at Ben's sister's cabin. she looked around the rooms and while in Maggie's bed room she heard a distant bark. she would know that sound from any where, it was Deif. She ran out side "Maggie!!!!!" she screamed. Deif jumped into her arms. "Do you need help?" Maggie asked trying not to laugh at her friend. With Deif on top of her licking her face she shook her head, "Naw you just can leave me here." "Every one thought the both of you were dead. I just came back from Ben's funeral. Lots of people were crying saying he shouldnt have gone after.......a dead woman." "What about you, what did you think?" "two more hours and I would have gone after you both." The two women smiled at each other. "well I just couldnt let you two die on your own, I want to join the fun." "Ohhhhh........." Ben moaned. "look its sleaping beauty." Lizzy smiled. She handed him some asprin. "Next time you try and save me, dont knock your self out." Ben nodded. "Sound advice." Deif came over and started to lick Ben in the face. "We really should call civilization, just so that guy Ray dosent decide to become a hero." "I saw him, I think he is kinda cute." "Really, is he tall dark and handsome?" "Well no but.."
"Would you two stop that. Please call Ray." The two women looked at him for amoment. "So what did he look like?" "Oh dear..." Ben said as he laid back down, this would take a long time.

Ben knocked on the Vecchio's door. He looked at Liz, he was so happy she was back in his life he didnt want her out of it again. He made up his mind, would stay in Chicago with her. He would keep her safe, he never wanted her hurt ever again. Ma Vecchio opened the door and looked up. She could not believe her eyes. She took the two of them and hugged them so tightly they could barely breath. "Who is there Ma?" asked the two Rays. "Lizzy??" Ray Vecchio hugged his cousin, "Are you ok? What happened? We thought you were dead. You know what you put Ma throught? Well are you gonna answer me??" "Breath....can't....breath." Ray finnaly let go of his cousin.
"Ray there are only a few scratches, I sort of got lost. And then the genius knocked him self out with a blow to the head. I am so sorry but funny thing , they dont have phones in that part of Canada." "Are you gonna be a smart ass till the end?"
"If I can help It"
"Frannie, Maria, every one, there is some one to see you." "I will have to make a feast." Ma Vecchio said. Benton and Elizabeth looked at each other, it was good to be home, wasnt it?? "So do I hear this right? The mountie is going back to the consolate and you, you guys want your jobs back?" Wlesh asked. They looked at each other. "Well yes, if you dont mind." Welsh looked at the two, "You get your desk, you wait for one. And you got your jobs. Now get to work before I change my mind!!" Ray K. and Elizabeth walked out of Welsh's office, "Just so we are clear on this, he had to give you your job back, right?" Ray asked. "yeah, but who am I to rain on his prade?" Ray smiled, he knew they would get along fine. "So how did it go?"
"It went horrable Maggie, we got our jobs back!!" "You poor thing."
"Ben, lets go to the conslate, I want to see who the new inspector is." Liz said taking his arm. "But you didnt see the old one?" She looked at Ben for a moment, "Ok we'll see who the new inspector is." Ben said. A smile covered his face. They were finally home.

The begining-