Title: A Summer to Remember
Author: Poretto Olivia Harvard (Pansy)
MegFraser9@aol.com
Ratings: PG
Genre: Gen
Category: Humor
Pairing(s): Fraser/Female
Spoilers: None
Teaser: A little surprise at the end
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I simply borrowed them to have a little fun. I mean no harm to them and I'm not making any money out of this, so please try to resist the urge to sue me. No animal was harmed in the making of this fanfic. =) So enjoy...
This was definitely turning out to be a boring day. It was summer and Benton was looking forward to spend it with Innusiq. They'd been planning to do the 'otter thing' for quite sometimes now, Benton just couldn't wait anymore. But unfortunately, his friend was stuck doing chores in the village for the day. Parents' orders! Absolutely positively not to be disobeyed.
For a second, he considered going to the Smithbauers', but he discarded the idea knowing that the trip would be a waste of time. It's not because he didn't felt like walking the two miles journey, but because he remembered that Mark's mother wouldn't let the two of them meet, let alone, play anyway. Well, not for another week. Or maybe two? Hmm, Benton made a mental note to check his calendar later tonight. It's been a while since the 'incident', but Benton was pretty sure his friend, Mark, was still serving his sentence.
A wide grin formed on his face when he recalled what Mark did to deserve such a punishment. Well, it was his own fault and fortunately, Benton didn't have anything to do with the 'incident', otherwise he would have suffered the same fate. Being put into house arrest -- meaning grounded by parent or by grandparent in Benton's case -- was definitely not the best way to spend summer break.
Working with the dogs was his next choice. He needed the practice anyway; otherwise Innusiq's boast of taking home the Junior Dogsledding trophy would not be just a boast anymore. Among the other ten-year-olds in the village, Benton could've easily said he was the fastest one. He wasn't cocky or anything, but his grandfather had been a very hard trainer for him, and it showed in his considerably long hours of training since the first time Benton arrived at his grandparents'. He's not complaining though, in fact, he really enjoyed their time together. Benton's concerned lay mainly on Innusiq. His Inuit friend had been known to leave him in dust -- ehmm, of snow -- from time to time.
Just as soon as he let out a loud whistle, a pack of dogs hurried over to where Benton was. Wait, there's only five of them, counted Benton. O, right, grandfather must have taken some of them with him. Benton played with the dogs for a while until something dawned on him. He looked around and found what he thought was missing. The puppy! Where is she?
" Silver!" Benton shouted while taking his steps toward the barn. Maybe she's still in there. Grandfather wouldn't take her on his duty. She was way too much to handle.
Well, she's not in here, concluded Benton after looking to every corner of the barn. He stepped outside and let out another whistle. "Silver!" Benton knew that he shouldn't be too worried, because Silver did have this wandering habit. She must have learned it from her daddy, the lead dog of the troops, James.
Benton was about to whistle one more time, when he saw the furry little puppy running toward him. James, being a protective papa, was already on his way to meet the puppy halfway and escorted her back to Benton. Silver had gotten pretty close when Benton noticed that she was carrying something in her mouth.
O, no, thought Benton, not again! Silver was very happy to meet Benton that she dropped her finding in front of his feet. "O, no, Silver!" Benton let out a loud sigh, and bent down to pick it up. It was a white shawl. "I hope this is not Mrs. Gardwood's, " Benton said. He was already in enough trouble with her last month when she pounced her 'til the old woman fell on the ground in the middle of the village.
Benton observed the shawl closely. Hmm, it looks expensive. He took it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled so sweet and refreshing that he concluded that it couldn't be Mrs. Gardwood's. Benton remembered that the old woman had this distinct smell that's not too pleasant. He looked down to Silver and said, "You want to tell me where you got this?"
Well, isn't it nice, thought Candy bitterly. Her last day of vacation and her brother and sister left her out from the trip. Allen, the guide, was going to take the three of them to a spot where they could watch sea otters and Candy was really looking forward to it. Maybe they got tired waiting for her this morning and decided to just leave. Her brother and sister could barely sit still to wait for the school bus, let alone to get to an exciting adventure. Watching sea otters would have fallen under 'adventure' for them, three kids from Toronto.
Frustration showed on her face as she walked away from the cabin. Her parents had already left for to the village close by, leaving her and her siblings to their grandparents' to attend. So, unless she wanted to spend the rest of the day, letting her grandma played dress-up on her, Candy decided to go for a walk. It wasn't easy for her to convince them that she'd be okay to go by herself but she managed anyway. It's not that she didn't like her newfound grandparents; it's just that they treated her as they would treat a porcelain doll. It made her uncomfortable and almost nervous. Candy realized that it must have been the fact that they've never seen her before, but it's just a little too much for her.
Her walk hadn't been too far yet when Candy encountered a dogsled track. It must be Allen's sled, thought Candy. She remembered hearing the dogs when she was still inside this morning. A rush of jealousy crept in her when she thought about how much fun her siblings were having without her. An idea sneaked into her mind. Maybe if I followed this track, I could catch up with them, she thought. Or at least she would meet them on their way back.
This is all grandma's fault, she muttered under her breath as she set on her journey. She liked her just fine, until this morning. The old woman had her put on this really ridiculous outfit. It took her almost an hour just to have it on her and it looked awful on her. She hated it. But grandma obviously thought differently. Her eyes got all teary and she hugged her tightly. She told her that she looked just like an angel. Candy didn't want to hurt her feelings, so when she asked, Candy imitated the old woman's enthusiasm and properly thanked her. Well, it's not really that bad, she thought. The outfit just wasn't meant for her. It would've looked better on her sister, but on her, it just made her feel awkward. Plus, it made her missed her trip with Allen and her sibs. "I'm sorry, Grandma," Candy said it lowly as she walked further away from the cabin. "I'm sure you meant well."
The corner of her eyes caught a subtle movement. She quickly looked around. Paying attention to every single detail, she noticed something was moving behind a tree not too far from her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and squinted them hard.
Oh, it's just a wolf, she thought. And when it finally dawned on her, she shrieked, "A wolf?" She looked again to make sure. Well, it looks like a wolf and it's coming toward me. It's coming toward ME! She started to back away a little bit. The animal quickened its pace, closing the distance between them very fast.
Candy was just about to run when the animal got close enough for her to see that it was still in its young state. "It's still a puppy," she said in relief. But she still quite alarmed though. The wolf pup was really excited to meet her. It sniffed her for quite a bit and then started to jump around her, letting out excited whimpers with each leap. Candy smiled as she bent down to pet the little animal. It got even more riled up now that Candy was showing her interest.
Maybe I can keep it, she thought, it would be a perfect playmate for 'Duchess'. She thought about her dog that she had to leave for this vacation. She was now rolling in the snow trying to stop the pup from licking her face. A giggle left her mouth. She knew it'd be a long stretch, but she decided that it'd be worth to ask her father's permission to keep the pup. She stood up only to have the pup pounced on her and made her fall on the snow. "Hey, play nice!" she said to the pup. It gave her a look with its tilted head and whimpered innocently.
"Sorry, boy," she said still sitting down. "I didn't mean to yell at you." She took out her glove and ran her fingers on the pup's gray fur. The pup started to jump around again, urging her to play. As she tried to stand up, the pup snatched the shawl that was hanging around her neck and ran away with it.
"Hey! Come back!" She said as she began to chase it. The pup only stopped for a few seconds to glance behind to her as if challenging her to keep up. Candy was almost caught up with it when she stumbled and fell face first. She looked up as she saw the pup disappeared behind one of the trees. She immediately got up and only spent a few seconds to brush the snow from her face before picking up her pace. She wasn't about to let the pup run away with grandma's shawl. Although she didn't like it, she still didn't want to see her grandma's face when she told her that 'a wolf ate it'.
"Hey! Wait up!" Candy cried out to an empty space.
He stopped his step just a few yards from his dogs were. He had set out on a trail to return the shawl that Silver brought home to its proper owner. It was the right thing to do, of course. That's what his father and grandparents had taught him since the first time he could remember anything and he always tried hard to do as he was taught. Benton half expected to find an angry old woman cursing at him when he finally reached the end of his trail, but what stood in front of him was far from anything that he could imagine.
The little girl was quite alarmed at first when she saw a herd of wild dogs coming toward her, but as soon as she recognized the mischievous puppy that stole her shawl, she relaxed a bit. The dogs circled her curiously. The biggest one eyed her suspiciously while the others were busy sniffing her. The puppy was just too happy to find her again; it started to leap around joyfully. She reached down to stroke the pup gently. And as soon as she did that the biggest one of them approached and licked her hand. She smiled and hugged the big dog. The others followed its lead and started to offer themselves to be petted by her.
Benton stood dumpfoundly staring at her. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. Well, he had only a few female friends from the village to compare, but she looked like something or rather someone that only existed in movies or books. She was wearing all white, from her fur hat to her fur-trimmed boots. If it were not because of the dark curls that peeked under her hat framing her face, she could easily be lost in the snow surrounding her. He didn't move for a quite a while until finally the subject under his watch looked up to realize his presence. The little girl let out a little gasp when she saw him standing just a few yards from her. Benton saw the panic look in her face and decided to say something.
"Hello. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. " Naturally, that's the first thing that came into his mind.
She still had this terrified look on her. She was clutching James tightly and slowly inching her ways behind the big dog. Benton started to walk toward her. Her fear made her moved backward a couple of steps. She only stopped when she heard Benton's next word.
"Is this yours?" He said while waving a white shawl to her. Benton saw that her face eased up.
Candy looked at her shawl in the boy's hand and glanced down at the puppy. She finally guessed who the boy was. Naturally, she was frightened a first. She didn't even know it was human until he spoke to her. He was wearing a lot of animal fur on him that at first glance, she thought she'd just met a not-so-big Bigfoot or maybe a mountain gorilla, if such things exist.
"Is this yours?" Benton repeated himself when he didn't get any answer yet. By now, he was already standing in front of her. The girl still didn't give him any answer. She was just standing there meeting his gaze. He looked down for a moment and decided to try again.
"CAN - YOU - SPEAK - ?" Benton enunciated his every word just to make sure.
A faint smile formed on the girl's face. There's a trace of amusement on her voice when she finally spoke out. "Yes, that's mine."
Her sweet voice rang in Benton's head. For a minute he just stared into her big brown eyes, not saying a word.
"Can I have it back now?" She decided to ask for the shawl since the
boy didn't make a move to offer it back to her. "What?" Benton woke
up from his frozen state and followed the girl's gaze down to his hand. "Oh, your shawl! Of course. Sorry." He handed it back to her making an effort not to touch her. He was afraid that maybe his touch would make her disappeared into thin air.
"I'm sorry about Silver. She just picked up this habit of taking stuff from people she knows. Especially the one the she's particularly fond of. You should have seen our barn. You could find almost anything there. There's boots, gloves, a few hats, and also a couple of books. Lately, there are a few shawls, too. It's really funny, you know, if you think about it. Because, you see, now all those people, who were fond of her at first, didn't think kindly of her after that. I'm the one who have to take everything out on regular basis and try to return them back to their owners. Or sometimes I'd just put it on the lost and found in the village, and --- I'd probably should stop talking right now, right?" Benton saw the faint smile on the girl's face had been replaced by a wide grin. Then she nodded, still smiling, confirming that he was, in fact, rambling. He felt the need to apologize, so he did. "Sorry, I got carried away."
Before an awkward silence came between them, she decided to say something. " So, I guess Silver is the puppy's name, right?" asked her, and just at the end of the question she looked up to find Benton staring at her, -- yet again.
"Huh?" Aware that he had been caught staring, he quickly recovered. "Oh yeah, that's her."
"Her?"
"Uh-huh. I picked that name for her. Well, it's the obvious choice since she has this silvery gray fur, " explained Benton. His gaze landed on her again. This time, he was intensely trying to look behind her.
Noting Benton's sudden interest, she quickly looked behind her. Seeing nothing dangerous lurking there, she turned back to Benton and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"Something wrong? No, nothing's wrong, " answered him quickly. Maybe
a little too quickly. "I was just-- uh -- looking at your back." Obviously,
she was not buying his innocent look. She gave him this questioning look that left him very uncomfortable. Avoiding her eyes, he tried to explain himself. "It's really nothing. Really. It's silly -- hmm, I -- was just checking for -- something." He was hoping that she would let it dropped, but judging from her look now, he probably had a better chance trying to outrun an avalanche.
Blushing brightly, he finally blurted out, "I was just making sure that there's no -- stuff on your back."
"Stuff? Like bugs?"
"Well, that, too. -- And -- also, I wanted to see if you have wings or anything like that." As he said that quickly, he peered up to see her face. It had a nice shade of pink now that she found out what he was thinking. It actually matched with his at that very moment.
It took her a while before she said, "No, I don't have wings or anything else on my back." She smiled ever so slightly and brushed her hair out of her eyes. That simple event alone made Benton's heart beat a lot faster. This is really weird, thought Benton. He remembered Mark talking about girls and stuff, but he never imagined it would feel like this.
"And I don't have any tail either," added her in an amusement. "How about you?"
"Me? O, uh, I -- I -- I'm not -- I didn't mean -- " He was stammering when he finally realized that she was only teasing him. " Okay, I deserved that."
She smilingly nodded. There's a little light that was dancing around on her eyes, when she looked at him.
"Sorry, I should've introduced myself. I'm Ben, " He said offering his hand out.
She received it and gave it a gentle squished. "You can call me Candy."
"Candy? As in candy sweets?"
"Yeah, it's sort of my family's petname for me."
"Ah, I see." Benton nodded as he reluctantly released the glove-covered hand. He was secretly wishing that she'd take off her gloves first before taking his hand. He imagined it must feel nice to touch her, considering now that he was sure that she wouldn't disappeared or fly away or something.
Putting that thought aside, he decided to change the subject, "So what are you doing here?"
"Well, actually, I think I'm lost." She pointed at Silver and added, "I was following her when she decided to outrun me and disappeared."
"Where are you from?"
"Toronto. Oh, uh -- you're probably asking about where I'm staying here, right?" Candy realized her mistake and corrected her answer. "It's just outside Inuvik. My grandparents have a cabin there."
"What are their names? Maybe I know them."
Candy gave him her grandparents' name. Benton thought for a moment and then said, "They sound familiar, but I'm not sure. I do know there are only a few cabins around here and the only one that I'm not too well acquaintance with was just about three miles northwest from here. That must be where you're staying."
"Which way is that?" Candy looked around nervously. She knew that this could be trouble for her. She had been gone for three hours and it would've taken her another three hours to get to the cabin, IF she could find it. Her grandparents were probably starting to look for her now.
"Well, it's actually quite easy. If you just followed these trees, they would lead you toward the village. But you don't want to go all the way into the village. When you reached the top of the hill, you'd have to head east and you'll find the first cabin there. Now, from there you'd want to continue about two miles northeast, and -- you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, right?" Benton stopped his explanation when he saw the blank look that she was giving him. She nodded shyly. "Why don't I just walk you there?"
Ben turned out to be quite charming. Candy observed the boy that walked besides her. He's not too tall, kind of scrawny looking with dark hair peeking just on top of his collar. He had the most unbelievable pair of eyes, though. There were streaks of silver gray in his blue gaze. She liked looking into them. His smile wasn't bad either. He did, occasionally, stopped talking and smiled at her.
He introduced her to the whole troops. The dogs -- Ben finally set her straight -- were walking with them. Well, more like running around chasing each other, but more or less with the two of them. Silver wouldn't leave her side though; she was probably trying to find an opportunity to snatch her shawl again. Candy held it tight against her neck.
"Are you cold?" Benton asked with concern when he saw it.
"No, no. I'm fine." She answered to assure him. She saw an amused smile formed on Ben's face. "What?"
The thought of Candy being cold reminded him of something. Ben was grinning when he answered her. "I just remember about my friend, Mark." And then he told her about the 'incident' regarding Mark.
Apparently, Mark's mother just received some new fashion magazines and Mark was looking through them when he saw a picture of a lady walking her poodles. He thought that they looked really cool and decided to try it on his father's dogs. Fortunately, his mother caught him just as he finished shaving -- or as Mark referred it, styling -- the first dog and put a stop to it. Otherwise, Mark's mother would have to knit eight dog sweaters instead of one to cover the freezing dog. That's why he's grounded.
They were both laughing so hard by the time Ben finished his story. "That poor dog, " said Candy in the middle of her laugh.
Benton watched as she continued to laugh. Her sweet laughter filled his head, while he was drowning in the small light that was dancing in her eyes. A pair of silver-blue eyes meets a pair of brown eyes. Candy wasn't laughing anymore.
She looked away first. The pink shade streaked her cheeks once again. "Is it still far?"
"No, it's probably about one mile, more or less." Benton jerked his head forward, motioning for her to follow him. She nodded and took her place beside him. They continued their journey with more stories from Benton.
The cabin was finally within her sight. She recognized it right away. She turned around to Ben, "That's the cabin. That's my grandparents' cabin."
"Yeah, " Ben forced a smile. He was glad that Candy's home, but he just hated the fact that they were going to part. He really liked her company. She was different from anybody that he knew.
Candy recognized the stiffness in his voice and she knew what he was thinking. She wasn't sure which she liked better, him or his stories, but she felt kind of sad now that they had to say goodbye.
"Listen, Ben. Why don't you stay and have dinner with us? I'm sure my parents and grandparents won't mind. " Candy decided to make an attempt to prolong their time together.
"I would love to, but I can't. It's getting late, I have to head back home before my grandmother got worried. " Answered Ben. "In fact, if you don't mind, this is as far as I go. It's going to get dark quickly and I don't want to get caught in it. "
"Oh. " A wave of disappointment showed in her face.
"Hm, -- You know, if you don't mind -- maybe I can come over tomorrow,-- that is -- if it's okay with you." Asked Benton carefully.
Her eyes flickered as she looked down to the ground. Benton almost couldn't
hear her when she said, "I'm going home tomorrow." Home? Did she say
home? Benton's head was busy trying to figure out what she meant. Where did she say she's from again? Toronto?
"So I guess this is goodbye then." She finally said it first.
"Yeah, I guess so." Benton gulped as if he was swallowing something hard.
"Yeah."
Benton gulped again before he said, "Well, goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
He turned around and started to walk back. His dogs were already ahead by a few yards.
"Ben!" Candy cried out as she went after him. Benton stopped his steps and turned around. She stood just within an arm length in front of him and she was looking closely at him as she said, "I forgot to thank you."
"For what?"
"For helping me find my way back."
Benton shook his head, "It's was nothing. You don't have to thank me."
"No, I really should. And,.. I want you to know that I really enjoyed talking to you." She said shyly. "You're really nice and I won't forget you. "
Benton was still staring at her big brown eyes when she closed the gap between them and planted a kiss on his left cheek. She whispered "Thank you" in his ears and as she left his face, she pressed his lips lightly against her own. With that, she turned around and ran toward the cabin.
Benton was sure that he stopped breathing for a few minutes. And for the next few minutes, he just stood there watching her back. She was already quite far when he finally found his breath and whispered, "You're welcome."
When he walked home that night, it felt as if he was walking on air. It really didn't matter that he got home really late, or that he had to listen to his grandmother's lecture. Or that he still had to do his chores around the house before going to bed. And it still didn't matter that he woke up late the next morning making his plan to do 'the otter thing' with Innusiq postponed for, yet, another day. It really didn't matter, for Benton just got his first kiss.
Candy's father ran toward her as soon as he heard her voice. He was almost going crazy when he thought that his youngest daughter was missing. The only reason he stayed put was because his father-in-law convinced him that it was better for him to be here just in case Candy got home. Sure enough he was right.
"Daddy!" She hugged her father.
"I'm glad you're okay, baby. You had us all worried, you know." He said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry I got you worried.
I was just trying to find Allen, and then I got lost and then....."
"That's okay, baby. That's okay." He said as he led her toward the cabin.
Candy's mother rushed out from the cabin and took her in her embrace.
"Baby, my baby," She was crying when she put the little girl's head on her shoulder as she carried her inside. "Margaret Candace Thatcher, don't you ever scared us like that again, " whispered her as she walked into the cabin with her husband's arm around her.
"I'm so sorry, Mommy, " said Candy as she tightened her embrace. A rush of guilt crept in her. She knew how worried her parents were about her, but she couldn't help feeling grateful for getting lost. It was because of it, that she got a chance to steal her first kiss.