Exiled Hearts
A Due South FanFic
Characters are the property of Alliance Atlantis
"We counted all our reasons, excuses that we made
We found ourselves some treasure, and threw it all away"
-George Ezra-
1.
Meg Thatcher kept her eyes glued to the window as the plane circled in its final descent to Mauritius' SSR International Airport. It was not what she was expecting. Meg was used to snow, blinding in its vivid brightness, but this was an entirely different kind of bright. The island was mostly green surrounded by crystalline waters in variegated shades of tropical blue. Her eyes were not used to the assault of colour.
Shifting her weight, the dull throb of pain in her knee reminded Meg why she had endured 20 hours in the air with a 3 hour layover in London. A car accident during a chase through the streets of Vancouver had landed Meg in hospital for a month with several injuries, the worst of which was her knee. Even though she had had surgery to reconstruct it, her knee would never be the same again.
Despite her protests, her superior officer insisted she take a sabbatical of a few months before returning to an admin role. This was a career-limiting position to be in, as Meg was incredibly driven and had risen through the ranks of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from a young age.
In an irrational decision, Meg booked herself on a flight to the furthest place she could think of from Canada that would have nothing that reminded her of home.
Aside from the fact that they spoke French, you could not get any further from Canada than Mauritius.
Meg fingered the brace that supported her knee and pushed any feelings of regret aside. She would deal with real life in two months time, but now she welcomed the opportunity to simply just be.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the lovely island of Mauritius! The weather outside is a balmy 32 degrees with clear skies. Please wait until the plane has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt lights are off…"
Meg sighed and resigned to waiting for everyone else to disembark. Somehow, this felt like the story of her life.
By the time Meg arrived at the Tranquille Beach Resort, it was well after midday and her journey has started to catch up with her. She was looking forward to shedding her shoes and sipping on some beverage served in a coconut.
Leaning on her cane while the hotel staff completed the admin for her check-in, Meg looked around the reception area. It was decorated with a definite tropical flair. The circular reception desk sat in the middle of the entrance area and a decorative water feature trickled a steady stream of water into an indoor pool that wound under a bridge that lead to an outside dining area. Beyond the thatched deck, Meg could just make out the sliver of the resort's private beach.
As she turned back to the helpful concierge, a familiar figure walking through the entrance drew her eye. Her heart felt like it literally stopped in her chest as her mind battled to believe what she was seeing.
His tall frame with his dignified manner was unmistakable, though Benton Fraser had certainly changed in the fifteen years she had seem him last. Gone were the red serge and the standard issue stetson, replaced by jeans, a t-shirt with a logo and a baseball cap that sat slightly askew on his head. His skin, normally so pale, has a deep tan and lines crinkled the corners of his eyes and mouth, making him look even more good natured if that was even possible. His hair was now streaked with grey, but Meg had no doubt in her mind that it was him.
Fraser's attention was on a couple that he was escorting into the hotel. His deep voice rumbled across the lobby to her as he lectured them on the dangers of hiking in restricted areas. The girl was gazing up at him adoringly, even though her face was tear stained and the guy simply looked irritated about it all.
Suddenly Fraser's gaze lifted and his eyes fell on her, as if he somehow knew she was standing there. The surprise and disbelief on his face must surely have mirrored her own.
He said something to the couple and strode toward her and Meg suddenly felt self conscious about how she looked clutching her cane with her hair in dire need of a cut pulled into a sloppy ponytail.
"Hello," he said hesitantly.
"Fraser." Her awkwardness turned her unnecessarily curt. "I… what on earth are you doing here?"
He pointed at the name badge on his shirt. "I prefer to be called Ben now. I work for Mauritius Fire and Rescue."
Meg decided to ignore the uselessness of this information. It was nothing she couldn't have figured out herself simply by looking at his yellow t-shirt. "Seriously Fraser. I came here to… get away! And now you've ruined that." Biting back anything else stupid she might say to him, Meg looked down at her feet instead.
"Ah… I see…" there was a hint of hurt in his voice that frustrated her. Did he not understand what she had gone through? Both with the more recent accident and the implication it had on her career as well as their parting all those years ago. "If I may just ask one thing?"
"Ask away, Fraser." Meg sighed.
He stepped a little closer to her. "I have been here for close on ten years. You are, ah… a part of a life I thought I had left well behind me. It would mean a lot if you would have dinner with me one evening."
"Dinner?"
"Well, yes. Tomorrow? I will pick you up, of course." Fraser was looking at her earnestly.
Conflicted, Meg hesitated. But there was something in his eyes that was impossible to say no to, made even more challenging by old feelings stirring in her. "Ok, Alright. It is not like I have any plans beyond taking it easy."
Fraser lifted a corner of his mouth in a small smile. "Thank you. I shall see you tomorrow at six? If I may suggest that you procure some swimwear?" With that, he lifted a finger to his cap in greeting and strode briskly away.
Of all the places in the world he could be, the man who had managed to break into walls she had erected around her heart was here.
