My Meg and Ben series continues.

Title: Admissions

Author: Amanda A. Tikkanen

Category: Romance, Series, going AU

Rating: PG- keeping it clean

Pairings: Fraser/Thatcher

Spoilers: This is a sequel to "Hockey Night in Chicago", and another prequel to the other stories in that series. You can see them all on my site. That can be found at http://www.geocities.com/uberpest/fanfic.html

Archive: Yes, but ask me first so I know.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters |commence weeping|. If they were you'd better believe there would be some mass-marketing done on OFM alone. due South and the related references are property of Paul Haggis and Alliance Entertainment.

Feedback always welcome at atikkane@online.emich.edu, or, if that doesn't work (ie you get no response) try uberpest@hotmail.com I respond favorably to praise. Flames will be used to warm my room. No, take that back. My room has the heat on all year (80 degrees F+! gotta love dorms!). I'll use them to make ramen soup. :)

Thanks to all you (okay, the twelve of you) you stuck with me this far. You knew it was coming, you just had to wait for it. Well, and kick me in the butt a lot.

I said originally this was RayV, but have since mistakenly made refeneces to RayK episodes. I'm a naughty fic writer. I swing both Rays, but am saying this is AU just in case anyone is confused by my confusion.

*~*~*~*~*~

Fraser stood at perfect attention outside the Canadian Consulate, gaurding it from marauding cleanser salespersons. Or at least that's usually what he wanted everyone to believe. This particular week, however, he was on duty for an entirely different reason. Yes, he was being punished for a very stupid decision while watching a recent hockey game.

At the time he'd done it, it seemed a good idea. Ask Meg, his superior officer and of late the woman he'd been seeing, to marry him. She'd fallen asleep on his chest while watching the game, pinning him so he couldn't move. In his mind asking her to marry him wasn't that bad of a move, just meant to get her attention so he could free his arm and torso. So what if it backfired? So what if she'd actually agreed to it? So what if she didn't know she'd done it? Who was he to lie to her? He had to make sure she still wanted to go through with it.

Of course, there was always the point of using a little tact in reminding her of these occurances.

No, that was probably the worst move of them all. However it *was* odd that she didn't actually tell him she *wouldn't* marry him. He was relieved on that front.

But still, here he was, standing outside te consulate, pulling a double shift every day the past two weeks. While he was thinking, a bottle green 1971 Buik Riviera slid across the icy pavement into an illegal parking space. His best friend Ray Vecchio climbed out of the car, navigated his way over the uncleared sidewalk and stood in front of him.

"So, Benny, you wanna go get some lunch?"

Benton didn't move. Not one eyelash. Not even a blink.

"Oh man! The Dragon Lady's *still* got you doing this? Just what did you do, anyway? Must've been something big," Ray looked thoughtful for a moment. "Did you spit on a sidewalk? Seems to me that's the worst thing you could've done. Well, as a Canadian anyway. Either that or maybe littering. Canadians *hate* litter." Ray, now teasing his unresponsive friend decided to poke fun at the Mountie's personal life. "Or maaaayyyybeee, since you two have been spending so much time together, you got some weird idea only *you* would get and decided to propose. I know *I'd* be mad as all get out if you proposed to *me*. Of course, I *am* a guy, but still."

Fraser still didn't move, however his control over the blood circulating through his face slipped minutely- and he did something unthinkable.

He blushed.

Once started, the blood flow took its own mind in what was happening. Soon his ears were as red as his tunic.

Ray was taken aback for a moment before realizing he'd struck paydirt.

"You asked Thatcher to marry you? I can't believe this. Why?"

Fraser just stood there, continuing the blush. He had no intentions of answering. Actually he didn't know how to respond, Ray and Meg were not on the best of terms with one another. He wasn't gettingin between them to try to find out why.

Realizing he not going to get an answer, Ray turned to leave. "You know what, Benny? I don't want to know. Forget I ever asked."

Fraser was still standing there hours later when InspectorThatcher left the consulate for the evening. She stood close enough that he could feel her body heat on his face before speaking.

"Go ahead and take tomarrow morning off. Sleep in. We can start planning this thing this weekend." Leaning forward she kissed him gently.

'Okay,' he thought. 'Maybe it wasn't such a bad decision afterall.'