Meg's Apartment ….

Meg drove to her apartment, Calvin in the passenger seat. She contemplated starting a conversation but decided against it. Children weren't her forte.

"I know Coach wears a uniform, why don't you?" Calvin spoke quietly, brushing his thick, blond hair away from his face.

"Regulations don't require inspectors to wear a uniform, it's one of the privileges of rank. The Force actually has a much more modern uniform than the one Constable Fraser chooses to wear." Meg shook her head. "Why he insists on wearing that wool sock I'll never know." she wondered silently.

"If I told anyone I wanted to be a cop I'd get laughed at." Calvin commented dryly as he stared at passing traffic.

"It's a fine profession, there's nothing wrong with honest work. The Force has given me the chance to meet people from around the world." Meg smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, but you gotta have money for all that stuff." Calvin pointed out.

"Constable Fraser has had the same opportunities I have and he didn't grow up wealthy." Meg countered.

"Yeah, I guess so." The boy dropped the subject for the night.

Meg tidied up while Calvin finished his homework at the kitchen table. She hadn't used the guest room since moving in. The room had become somewhat of a storage room. Meg hastily threw everything in the closet and made the twin bed.

"Inspector, you don't have to go to any trouble, I can sleep on the couch." Calvin offered, standing in the doorway. He looked so young and lost to Meg. His dark green eyes and round, youthful cheeks reminded her of a cherub.

"It's no trouble, I don't mind." She straightened up, a pillow stuffed halfway into a cotton case.

"Jimmy's the only one who's ever took care of me much." The boy shrugged, looking around at the barren room. Meg hadn't even bothered to decorate.

"Constable Fraser and I are going to make certain you have someone to take care of you from now on." Meg tossed the pillow onto the bed and stepped closer to the boy. Hesitantly, she moved his shaggy bangs away from his face. For a moment she wondered, "How could you not love a little boy like this?"

"I finished my homework." Calvin retreated to something neutral, something safe.

"Alright, get in the shower and I'll check it for you, okay?" Meg offered, taking up the half dressed pillow. The boy nodded and turned.

Calvin fell asleep quickly. Meg heard him toss once or twice before becoming very still. She'd checked his homework and put all the clothes he'd packed in her washer. Each and every piece had at least one hole in it, if not more. Most of them were stiff, either from lack of washing or poor upkeep. Meg fell asleep to the sound of the dryer humming.

Seven O'clock the Next Morning ….

Meg heard a familiar knock on the front door of her apartment. Coffee in hand, she opened the door for Fraser.

"Good morning, Inspector. I trust you slept well." The Mountie greeted her, taking off his Stetson before stepping inside.

"Like a log, as usual. Calvin is in the bathroom, he'll be ready in a minute." Meg felt more than heard Fraser trail after her toward the kitchen. She wondered how he could be so silent in his high browns. Hers creaked and thudded against the floor.

"Coffee?" She asked, setting her empty mug in the sink.

"No, thank you kindly." Fraser turned her down politely.

"Hey, Coach, where's Dief?" Calvin walked into the living room as the Mountie stood at the kitchen table, looking longingly at the Inspector.

"He chose to wait on the sidewalk." Fraser snapped back to reality. "Are you ready for school?" He waited for Calvin to answer but looked to the Inspector for confirmation. She nodded silently, leaning against the kitchen counter. In a long sleeve satin blouse and tailored pencil skirt, she draped nicely against the pink marble counter and pine cabinets. Ben could smell her from ten feet away.

"Yeah, I'm ready, the Inspector double checked my homework last night." Calvin looked from the Mountie to his commanding officer. He didn't understand what he saw but knew enough not to ask.

"Right then, shall we go?" Fraser asked, setting his Stetson on his head and stepping toward the front door.

"I'll be by to pick you up after school, here's lunch money." Meg pulled her wallet from her purse on the kitchen table. Before she even thought, she ran her fingers through his hair and pressed a quick kiss against his forehead.

"Have a good day." Meg watched as Fraser and Calvin walked out her front door together. She moved to the window to see them meet Dief and start down the street. An unfamiliar pang filled her chest. She stopped watching Dief prance around Calvin's legs for a moment and concentrated on the new feeling. Longing, that's what filled her. Longing to be with them again. She wanted a child and a husband. Constable Fraser and Calvin had just walked out the door; a child in need of a mother. Meg wondered if Fraser wanted a wife. She sensed that he would be a good father, given the opportunity.

"Damn it, it could be me if things were different." Meg lamented aloud to the empty apartment.

She shook herself and gathered her purse, jacket and car keys. Sweeping a glance across the living room and kitchen before she left, Meg let out a resigned sigh. Calvin and Constable Fraser were temporary in her life.

"Damn rules." She muttered, closing the door firmly behind her.