dancewithme	

Standard Disclaimer: due South and it's characters belong to Alliance. I
just use them for fun. Hopefully they will return to their world unharmed
and ready for other people to play with them. 
 

WARNINGS: AU Romance Believe it or not: G! 
 
 

PAIRING: Benton Fraser/Francesca Vecchio 
 

Originally posted to RedSuitsYou@onelist.com 
 

This is a prequel of sorts. The dance is mentioned in 'Caught in the Act'.
This is in response to Frasrgrl and zzzaney...I have to do a G rated fic
that has Benton and Francesca before their relationship begins. Lol! ;-) 
 

TEASER: Francesca and Benton dance together. 
 
 Dance With Me Icecat62 
 
 

 Francesca nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. This is
stupid. Just walk over and ask him to dance. There are other people
dancing. It's not like you're going to try and do anything. Ray can't get
mad if you only dance with him. Looking around the yard, she watched her
relatives. The only one present who wasn't a Vecchio, was Fraser, and the
only thing that stopped him from being a true member of the family was his
blood. 

 Their cousin Mario was visiting from Italy and they had planned a big
picnic style family reunion while he was here. The back yard and the house
was flooded with Vecchios. Fraser with his blue eyes and pale skin stood
out like a neon sign next to the olive toned group of people. She smiled
as she spied Fraser. He was standing by himself beneath the shade of a
tree. She could tell that the hot summer sun was taking it's toll on him. 

 He held a cup in his hand and he was constantly taking sips from it. She
watched him as he brought the cup up to his brow and closed his eyes at
the contact of it's coldness. If he would take his shirt off he would be
alot cooler. Glancing around the yard again, she noted that most of the
men had their shirts off because of the heat. But she also noticed that
all of the elder Vecchio men had their shirts on, with the collars
buttoned all the way up. They also had on long slacks and polished dress
shoes. She had heard their murmured approvals about Fraser's good manners.


 Looking back at him once more she grinned. No wonder all of the older
family members like Fraser. Yes he did have impeccable manners that was
for sure. She snickered as she looked him over. He wore a pair of jeans,
his hiking boots and a crisp white button up shirt. And it was buttoned
all the way up to the collar. He had to be roasting. Fraser's manners and
attitude were that of an old man. Happily the package that they came in
wasn't. 

 She ran her eyes down his body. The closely cropped dark brown hair
gleamed in the sun. His skin was smooth and clear. I'll have to go and get
him some sunblock. He's gonna' burn. She loved looking at his wide
shoulders. Looking further down, she watched his chest taper down to a
thin, narrow waist. And the legs that were attached to the butt that she
drooled over, were lean and tight. To her delight, Fraser's shirt was
short sleeved. She stared at the play of muscles under that smooth skin as
he moved the cup back to his lips. The lips that she longed to kiss. 

 With a sigh, Francesca tried to push away a feeling of depression. As
long as she had known Fraser, he had never asked her out. It seemed like
he was terrified to be near her. Looking over at her brother Ray, she
narrowed her eyes. She believed that he was a big part of that fear. There
had been times when she thought she would see a look of interest in
Fraser's eyes. He had started to say something to her on several
occasions, but Ray always managed to show up or interrupt him. 

 She knew that if Fraser would just give her a chance, he would be hers.
Clenching her fists, Francesca took a deep breath. She watched as her Aunt
Yolanda placed a record on the old turntable. It was a slow song. Perfect
for dancing up close. Watching several older couples get up and begin to
dance, she made up her mind. Striding purposefully over to Fraser she
startled him. 

 "Would you care to dance Fraser?" He jerked slightly at the sound of her
voice, a small look of panic crossed his face. He quickly looked around to
see where Ray was. She watched as his gaze settled on Ray, who was on the
other side of the yard talking with Uncle Vito and Mario. Fraser hesitated
as he almost put his cup down. Then he looked back at Ray and he thought
better of it. "Oh come on Fraser. One small dance with me won't kill you
would it?" She looked into his eyes, trying to see if he would give her
this small moment with him. 

 Fraser looked down at Francesca's petite figure. Her tiny waist showed
between her halter top and the shorts she wore. She was smiling up at him,
but he noticed the look of sadness in her eyes. Her tone of voice had an
almost pleading quality to it that cut through to his heart. Looking over
at Ray, he knew that if he danced with her, he would more than likely be
in trouble. Ray wouldn't approve of it. But as his eyes settled once more
on hers and her voice reached his ears again, he made up his mind. 

 "Please Fraser. Just one dance. I know you're hot...I mean not hot, but
overheated...oh you know what I mean! Just one dance and I won't bother
you the rest of the night. Please?" Her heart skipped a beat as Fraser
leaned down and set his cup on the ground by the tree that they were
standing under. "O.K." He said O.K.? Yes! She held her hand out to him and
when he took it, she felt something like an electric tingle run through
her. 

 His hand covered hers. His callused palm wrapped itself around her small
smooth one. Her face must have looked upset as she realized that the song
was ending. He looked down and watched as her disappointment showed
itself. Smiling slightly, he led the startled Francesca across the yard,
still holding her hand. When they reach the table with the record player,
he asked her aunt to play another song. His eyes scanned briefly over some
of the albums and he smiled as he handed her one of them. Looking at his
choice, her aunt smiled knowingly as she placed the record on the
turntable. 

 As the music began to play, Fraser moved them out into the yard where the
other dancers had begun swaying to the music. It was a slow, old song.
Francesca couldn't remember ever hearing it before, but apparently Fraser
knew it. At first he held her stiffly away, avoiding any contact with his
body, but as the music played softly in the background, he began to relax.
She couldn't remember how it happened, but she found herself wrapped
around him. Her cheek was pressed against his chest. Her one hand was in
his and her other hand rested on the small of his back. 

 She felt his chin, lightly touching the top of her head. His free hand
was wrapped around her waist as he held her tightly to him. The heat from
his body washed over her and she could feel the warmth rising in herself.
The sound of his heartbeat was steady and soothing. It was so nice, the
both of them dancing slowly as one. 

 She bit back a feeling of disappointment as the song ended. When Fraser
didn't release her, Francesca's heart began to race. Moving slowly back
from him, she kept her hand in his. And he didn't try and pull it away
from her. He was looking intently at her. Almost like he was staring
through her. Francesca felt the unknown heat of a blush slowly make itself
know on her face. She watched Fraser as he took a shaky breath and just as
it looked like he was going to say something to her...Ray interrupted
them...again. She wanted to scream! 

 Ray walked in between them, breaking the hold of their hands. He gave
Fraser a cold look. "Hey Benny, Uncle Vito wants to meet you." Fraser
looked past Ray to stare at Francesca once more, a look of sadness passed
over his features. "Yes Ray. Thank you kindly for the dance Francesca."
"You're welcome...Benton. Anytime." Ray shot her a dirty look and began to
push Fraser away from her. Fraser looked back and gave her a sad smile as
Ray lead him away. 

 She stood for a moment in the middle of the yard, feeling another wave of
depression wash over her. She smiled slightly when she saw Fraser look
back at her, but he quickly looked away when Ray stared at him
disapprovingly. With a sigh, she walked over and sat down in a chair
beside her mother. She kept looking wistfully over at Fraser. "Francesca."
"Yes Ma." A light touch on her arm caused her to turn and look at her
mother who smiled at her. "Sometimes things can be worth the wait."
Francesca gave her mother a confused look, but she understood what her
mother was talking about when she looked back across the yard at Fraser.
"Yeah Ma. But it sure isn't nice having to wait."