Last Chance Rated PG-15
After a few minutes of uncomfortable
silence, the manager walked up. "Are you sure?" It was Lt.
Welsh that spoke this time. Ben approached the information booth on
the first floor of the hospital. Back at Ben's apartment, Victoria sat at the table while Ben put on a pot of tea. She sat quietly for a while and then spoke the words that were on both their minds. "Ray isn't going to be happy about this." There. She had said it. Ben stiffened slightly as he considered her words. "He'll come around" he said and fervently hoped it was true. "Ben, I don't want to come between you and him again." "You wont" he quietly replied "this is between Ray and myself to work out." Victoria placed her elbows on the table and closing her eyes, rested her head in her hands. It had been a very long day and her strength was just about gone. She felt strong hands lift her into the air and place her gently onto the bed. Only then did she open her eyes. Ben was looking at her with anxious concern in his eyes. He took he shoes off and pulled the blankets up to her chest. Victoria held her hand up and motioned for Ben to sit on the edge of the bed. "I guess this is one of those 'worse' times I was telling you about." Victoria whispered as she gave a small smile. Ben smiled lovenly down at her as he took her hand in his. "For better or worse" he quipped. She caught on and added "in weakness and strength" "Happiness and sorrow" Ben said as he brushed a strand of her hair back. Victoria was barely audible now "till death do us part". A tear rolled down the side of her face as she closed her eyes and fell into a much needed sleep. Ben stayed on the edge of the bed for a long time making sure her breathing was normal, and then he stayed even longer to fill his eyes with the sight of her. The whistle of the tea pot finally drew his attention and he hurries to the kitchen to remove it before it disturbed her. Not really feeling like tea anymore, Ben took off his outer clothes and changed into his long john bottoms. Carefully, he moved Victoria over and settled in beside her. Her back was spooned against his chest and he breathed deep allowing himself to commit every single detail of her to his memory again. Ben laid there for hours thinking of how Ray would react, how long he would still have her in his life before she would be taken from him again, a lot of things. He knew when he walked through the door to Victoria's room he majorly altered his life. Even Diefenbaker refused to stay with him when he found out what Ben was planning. Ben hadn't seen the wolf all day and wondered who he ended up staying with. Kissing the back of Victoria's neck, he vowed he would do everything in his power to find a way to save her. Sometime during the night, he finally drifted off into a fitful sleep. ** Victoria woke feeling nauseous and reaching for the glass of water she normally kept on her night stand was dismayed to only feel air. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn't at home. The memory of last night flooded her and she glanced at the sleeping form beside her. She knew what he was going to be going through when he decided to stay with her and more than anything didn't want him to have to choose between his friends and herself. It was one thing for them to be civil to her but she knew how protective they were of him. Carefully she managed to get out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She mused to herself how this apartment he had wasn't much better than the last one. She was glad this one at least had a full bath in it. She shut the door to the bathroom and hoped she could keep the noise down so Ben wouldn't wake. Victoria leaned over the toilet and wiped her mouth with some tissue and then rinsed her mouth out as best she could with water then mouthwash. She couldn't help but notice how she was throwing up a lot more lately and tried to ignore the implications. Finally she straightened her hair and clothes and walked back into the room. Ben was still asleep and Victoria couldn't help herself. He looked so cute lying there she had to lean over and give him a kiss. The movement of the bed caught Ben's attention and when he felt lips brush gently against his own he opened his eyes. "Victoria." Ben's brow furrowed and he started to sit up "are you all right?" She gave him a small laugh and pushed him back down. "I'm fine Ben, I didn't mean to startle you." "What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting." He said as he pulled her down to him and wrapped his arms around her. She gave him another small kiss "I
*do* have a job to do you know, and as I recall, so do
you." Victoria placed her fingers on his lips to stop his protests. "It's just the way it is Ben. I don't want to spend what time I have left sitting in some room watching the world through a window. Besides," she added "the bills don't pay themselves." "Give me a minute and I'll go with you" "I'm going to need to go back to my place to get changed first." ** Ben was shocked to see her apartment. Ever since she had been back he had avoided her and didn't even know where she was staying. It was nicer than his but it was sparcly furnished. As if reading his mind Victoria spoke. "Since I wasn't going to be here long I didn't put a whole lot into fixing the place up. I just couldn't see the reason really-- Ben, are you ok?" He was standing there pale and she
guided him over to the couch. "What's wrong?" "I've had a lot of time to think about everything Ben. Believe me when I say I don't want to die but what else am I supposed to do?" Her voice grew quiet and she continued looking at something in her memory. "For a long time after I found out I was devastated. I couldn't believe that I was going to leave this world and I had nothing to show for myself. I never had a chance to really live. All the years I spent in prison, then when I got out, doing what I did to you and Ray. I shut down. I decided not to eat, and tried to end my life a lot sooner. The next thing I know I'm being released on parol and I think to myself, here's my chance. I can do something now before it's too late. And that's why I came back. One of the people I was in prison with--Krista--she told me that everyone die's, but not everyone really lives. That stuck with me for a long time. So now I am doing my best to squeeze a whole lifetime of living into what? Days? Hours? It doesn't matter. As long as I do my best." Ben couldn't believe the change in Victoria and his heart swelled thinking of how much he loved her. If she could put aside the fact that her time was limited then he wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. Victoria kissed his cheek "I'm going to get a shower now." When she left the room he called the consulate and left a message saying he wouldn't be coming into work today. ** Ben and Victoria walked into the 27th and more than a few people stopped what they were doing to stare. Victoria turned to face Ben after seeing the looks they were receiving. "Thanks for walking me to work Ben, but I think it would be best if you go. I don't want to start any problems." She looked around the bullpen and was relieved not to see Ray. "I called into work today, told them I wouldn't be coming in." "Why?" She asked anxiously. Didn't he know the reaction his friends were going to have? She didn't think he was that naive. He leaned closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, slightly rubbing them and said quietly "they will find out sooner or later Victoria." He looked around at the people who had tried to act like they went back to work while glancing at the two of them "besides, it looks to me like they already know." She sighed and sat down at the desk she and Frannie share. "Hi everyone" Ben looked up to see Elaine walk in. He thought of how much she had learned and grew since she became a police officer. For the past eight months, she had been a detective and was transferred back to the 27th. "Hello Elaine" Ben said as he gave her a smile. "Hi" Victoria added. "Have either of you seen my wayward partner around this morning?" They both shook their heads no and turned when the doors to the bullpen opened. "Well there you are!" Elaine said in an exasperated tone. Kowalski gave her a smart aleck look and handed her a bag "well I would have been on time if I didn't hafta stop and pick you up your bagels." Elaine laughed "hey, when you make a bet, you otta be prepared to lose!" Ben looked at his two friends confused "what bet?" Kowalski fidgeted and looked down, " it was nothing" "I wouldn't say *that* now" Stan looked over at his partner silently pleading for her to let it drop. "Oh all right!" Elaine said in a huff. Stan relaxed and headed off to his desk. When he left she leaned over to Ben and Victoria "I'll tell you later" she said with a sly smile and left to follow him. While Victoria went to work Ben headed over to Ray's desk deciding to wait for him. It was unlike the Italian to be late for work. He looked back towards the door relieved when he heard the familiar voice. "....and when your done that, I want you to start on these..." Ben heard Ray say to Victoria and when he walked around the corner he saw his friend hand her a hugh stack of files. "I expect them by 3 o'clock." Ben looked horrified! There was no way anyone would be able to get all that work done by this afternoon. He started to say something but the look on Victoria's face stopped him. She looked back over at Ray who was standing there smugly "no problem" and she put the files on her desk beside the other pile she had to do. "Hey Benny! There you are." Ray said as he walked towards his friend "did something happen with you and Dief?" Ben looked back over at Victoria one last time before following his friend around the corner. "Why do you say that Ray?" He sat down as he flipped through his messages, "he showed up at the house yesterday morning and refused to leave. Been there ever since." "I'm sorry Ray, I hope he wasn't too much of a bother." "Naw, Ma's been doting on him" Ray leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk "so, what's going on?" The Detective's instincts didn't miss anything and he knew something wasn't right with his friend. "Nothing" "Uh-huh" Ray knew that since Victoria started working there Fraser never visited him at work unless it was really important. Then, he normally waited until she was out of the bullpen Ben started to fidget and decided he may as well get it over with "is there somewhere we can go to talk?" He didn't want Ray to be around Victoria when he told him the news. "Vecchio!" Both men looked over at the Lt. "In my office now." "Yes sir-- Benny, we'll pick this up another time." While Ray was in the Lt.'s office he sought out Elaine. "Hi Fraser" "May I ask you something Elaine?" She put the file down she was studying and looked up at him. She could tell something was bothering the tall Mountie. "What's up?" "I was just wondering" he said as he looked over at Victoria engrossed in the files. "Does Ray always give her that much work?" She followed his glance and it clicked for her. 'It was inevitable' she thought, after he asked her about Victoria yesterday. "Actually, I think he's going a little easier on her now that he found out she's dying. Normally he would give her twice as much." Ben blanched. All this time he had no idea Ray was treating Victoria like that. And the worst part was he was using his job as a way to make her miserable. "Listen Fraser" Elaine continued. "Don't go making trouble for her. She knows she has to ride this out and if you say anything it will just make it worse on her." They were interrupted by the Lt.'s door opening . Ray walked towards them grabbing his coat on the way out "we got a lead on Pitman. An anonymous tip says he's planning on coming back to Chicago next week. Let's go." He said to Ben. "Are you sure Ray? He is wanted for killing two police officers from the 23rd. Why would he come back?" "How should I know Fraser? Let's just hope this isn't a wild goose chase. I would love to nail that Bastard." As they headed out the squad room Ray didn't see the looks Ben and Victoria gave each other. ** Ray sat in the riv sipping from a coffee cup intently looking at the door to a run down apartment building. Ben didn't know how to bring the subject up about him and Victoria now that he knew how Ray was treating her. Would it make everything worse on her? "All right Benny-spit it out." Ray said in an annoyed tone. "Spit what out Ray?" "You have been sitting here for the past two hours and have barely said ten words. What's bothering you?" Ben took a deep breath and looked over at his friend. "I noticed the files you gave to Victoria earlier." Ray was surprised to say the least that Ben would bring her up "so?" "Don't you think that's a little excessive? I mean, to have all that done by three o'clock, she would have to work straight through and that still may not be enough time." "Hey" Ray's tone was defensive "she doesn't have to work here, she can go to any other district to do her community service. Has she been complaining about the work?" "No, no... She hasn't mentioned anything as far as I know. I just thought it was...well. Some people who don't know you as well as I do might assume you were using your position to satisfy a personal grudge against her." Ben rubbed his earlobe as he spoke and didn't make direct eye contact with his friend. "And what if I was Fraser?" Ray's tone was even and low. "It's not like she wouldn't deserve it." Ben noticed a man coming out of the building. "Is that our man?" Ray looked over at the man who was quickly leaving the building. "Damn! Lets go." ** Ben walked around half of Chicago that day trying to sort out all the feelings going through him. He knew Ray would find out sooner or later-- probably sooner-- and he didn't know what his friend would do to Victoria then. The next week would be fairly busy with setting up the sting operation. The source was confirmed and in a few days Pitman would be back in the city. When Ben returned to the 27th around six o'clock, Victoria was still sitting at the desk working on files. "Hi" he said quietly. Mostly everyone else in the room had left for the day and he pulled a chair up to her desk. She looked up and gave him a small smile. "Hi" "Did you even bother to eat today?" She paused as if to remember before answering "I wanted to get this done." She nodded towards the pile which was considerably lower. "Why don't you finish it up
tomorrow? We can go home and I'll make a nice
dinner." "What are you doing?" He looked up at her with that innocent look he was so good at "helping". "You don't have to do that Ben,
this is my job not yours." "Thank you" she reached over and gave him a hug then started on the paperwork again. Together they had the files finished in no time. Ben decided to call a cab for them so Victoria didn't have to walk despite her protests, and as promised he cooked them a wonderful dinner. ** The next day Ben was in his office catching up on his own paper work when Dief walked into the office followed close behind by Ray. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." He had directed the question to both of them. Ray shut the door and looked hard at Ben. "Fraser, what the hell do you
think your doing? Are you really that stupid?" "What do you mean Ray?" "Ray, I wanted to tell you
yesterday...." "Ray" "You don't understand Ray," Ben walked over to his friend he was practically pleading "she has changed. I didn't want to believe it at first but she has. The past two days with her have been..." Ray slammed Ben up against the wall "two days? You've been with her for two days? Is that why Dief isn't staying with you?" His tone was hard and he was glaring at Ben so intently that Ben had to look down. "It was his choice" "Well, for once I can say the wolf has got more sense than yourself." Ray let him go and walked over to the door. "I don't ever want to see you again Fraser, we're through you got it?" Ray walked out of the office and Ben stood looking at the spot his friend just occupied. He knew it was no use in running after him, his mind was made up. Dief looked up at him and gave a short bark, then followed Ray out the door. Dejected, Ben sat back down in his chair and buried his head in his hands. He just lost his two best friends. ** Everyone was gathered in the Lt.'s
office going over the sting. Harding Welsh looked around
the room at everyone and pointed to a board "this is
where our suspect is going to set up the buy. Huey,
Dewey, I want you two here at the end of the alley.
Besbriss and Kowalski, I want you guys on this roof
across the alley, I want to know if anyone-- and I mean
anyone--- comes down the street in our direction." "Vecchio, I want you and Fraser to already be in the alley way before our man shows up. You's will be here" he pointed to another spot on the board "you'll only have one chance to get this guy and I don't need to remind you he is a cop killer, he wont think twice of taking out any of you. So be careful." Welsh looked around the room "where is the mountie anyway?" Ray shifted nervously, "he wont be here lieutenant, it's just me." Welsh's eyebrows shot up at that but
now was not the time to ask questions, they had a cop
killer to bring in. "All right, take Smyser with
you." Harding looked at his watch, "we got two hours before he's supposed to show, let's get moving." They filed out of the office and Welsh leaned back in his chair wondering what happened between the two. It wasn't like the Mountie to leave in the middle of an investigation. It only took him a minute to decide and picking up the phone, dialed the number for the consulate. ** Everyone was positioned around the
alley as planned and having checked their communications
devices, were waiting patiently for Pitman to show.
Elaine's voice came over the frequency "heads up
everyone, we got movement coming in from the west." "That's our man guys be ready. Vecchio- you in position?" "I got a clear path" came the reply. "Wait for my signal" it seemed an eternity passed and the anxiety building in the cops was reaching an unbearable level. As the figures moved closer to the door. "Now!" Welsh yelled into the headset and everyone moved from their position. After yelling "police freeze!" they were ducking back behind the nearest object as gunfire erupted. One of the gunmen was taken out rather quickly by Huey and the other two were putting up quite a fight. From his vantage point on the roof behind Pitman, Fraser saw the whole scene. He edged closer to the corner and when Pitman stopped to reload his gun, made his move and leapt onto the unprepared man's back. Vecchio had managed to take out the second gunman and from the roofs vantage point, Kowalski yelled into the headset "Hold your fire! Hold your fire! It's Fraser! Fraser's out there!" He was struggling with the cop killer and the man had managed to get an advantage on him. Ben was pinned to the ground and Pitman was choking him. Everyone rushed from their position and grabbing the unarmed man, managed to restrain and handcuff him. Fraser laid there gasping for a few minutes, the bruises on his neck were already starting to show. Stan ran up to him "Fraser, are you ok?" He knelt down by the still prone form. "What were you thinking? You could of got yourself killed!" Ben managed to get his breathing somewhat back to normal and took the proffered hand Stan gave to help him up. Welsh and Elaine walked up. "Are you ok Fraser?" "I'm fine Elaine" his voice was hoarse. "Was anyone hurt?" "Only you Constable" replied
Welsh "good job." The Lt. Interrupted before Ben could
reply "I asked him to come Detective. He was
familiar with the case and just because the two of you
had some type of a falling out doesn't me I'm gonna let
that interfere with work, you got that?" Harding turned to Ben "Constable,
I want you to come down to the station and file a report.
Kowalski, give him a ride ok?" "I'm gonna catch a ride with
Huey" she knew they were gonna need sometime to
talk. She walked over to Ben and gave him a hug. Quietly
she whispered in his ear "I will always be your
friend no matter what" Stan stared at the dashboard of the Gto and waited for Ben to speak. When it became apparent he wasn't going to start he spoke up. "Ray's pretty upset about you and
Victoria." He glanced at the mountie and looked down "is she worth it?" Ben drew a sharp intake of breath
"she's the only woman I have ever loved. I betrayed
her and she betrayed me. This is our chance to start
over. To make things right. Ray doesn't understand
that." "Yeah, whatever" he said coughing slightly and adjusted himself while starting the motor. Ben knew he was never good at expressing feelings and smiled slightly at the man's reaction. Back at the district, Pitman was put in holding and everyone was basking in the biggest take down they had in months. Vecchio and Huey were arguing over who's collar it was and who was going to get the chance to interrogate the man. Finally after fifteen minutes of that, Welsh decided to let both of them talk to Pitman. He shook his head as he went into the office. Sometimes they could be just like children. Victoria saw Ben walk into the bullpen and gave him a big smile. She was glad to see he hadn't been hurt. He walked up to her. "Hi" she said as she saw him approach He gave her a small kiss on the cheek
"how are you feeling?" "Ah--hum!" They were interrupted by a throat clearing loudly, Ben stepped back as Ray approached the two. "I need the file on Pitman now" he said as he gave Ben an evil look and pushed past the mountie. "Bring it to interrogation room one." After he left Victoria looked up at the
pain she saw in Ben's eyes. "Oh Ben, I'm so
sorry." A uniformed officer was bringing the scum bag down the hall towards the interrogation room when he suddenly slammed the cop against the wall and grabbed his gun. Even with his hands cuffed he managed to get a pretty good hold on it and Victoria stood there no more that five feet from the man frozen. Someone yelled "GUN!" And everyone erupted in chaos as officers drew their pieces and took cover. Ray picked that moment to run out of room one and was almost face to face with the man. He didn't even have time to draw his weapon before the man had the gun pointed at him. Ben heard the commotion and ran into the hallway to see the woman he loved and his best friend standing precariously close to the cop killer and he also noticed there was no place for them to hide his stomach lurched as he tried to think of a solution. Ray looked hard at the man "your not going to get away with this Pitman, you pull that trigger and they'll kill you" "Then you'll go with me." A movement from the end of the hall caught his attention and while keeping the gun trained on Ray, he looked over to see Ben walk out into the middle of the hall. Ray yelled down to him "get back Benny" Pitman looked around wildly "you
better do like he said or I'll kill him" He actually snorted and looked over at Victoria who had up until this point managed to not draw attention to herself. "You-- come here." "I told you to stay back!" The man spat at the approaching figure. If only Ben could keep the man's attention drawn on him perhaps his friends could get away. "Put the gun down" he tried
to keep his voice calm "you dont want to do
this" "NO!" Victoria screamed as she threw herself between Ray and the bullet. "VICTORIA!" Ben called out as bullets from nearby guns brought down and killed the man. Victoria fell against Ray and they both fell to the floor from of the impact. She was in Ray's lap and he was screaming for someone to call an ambulance. Ben was by her side in two seconds. "Victoria! Oh God" he said through his tears as he tried to stop the blood flowing from her wound. "Why? Why did you do that?" Ray was sitting there in shock. She saved his life. After everything she did to him and put him through. He looked down at the woman and tried to help his friend stop the bleeding. There was no way she was going to die because on him, Damn her! Why did she have to go and do that anyway. "Ben... " she said in barely a whisper trying to get his attention "Ben.." "Shhh, love save your strength, you'll be ok." She shook her head no as a spurt of blood came from her mouth. "I love you Ben." She looked up at Ray and handed him the file that was still in her hand. Oddly she felt no pain but she knew she had to fix what she started and she was running out of time. Ray stared down at her. "Why did you do it?" His voice was full of disbelief, and anger. How dare she do something good and selfless. He had been right all these months treating her like a piece of shit and how dare she go and do something like this? He didn't want to think that he might have been wrong. "I owed you." She managed to choke out "please, we're even now." She took his hand and reached over to Ben for his. It took great effort but she managed to place them together on top of her chest. "This ends now." She said looking up at the two faces, her eyes were starting to glaze over "promise me" she begged looking up at Ray "your all he has. Please, promise me." Ray looked over at his friend who was still trying to stop the bleeding with his free hand. Tears were running freely down his face and he was begging her not to leave him. In that instant he made up his mind and looked back down at Victoria. "I promise. I'll always be there
for him." "I fixed it Ben" He buried his head in her neck "yes you did" "I have always loved you" her struggle to breath stopped and Ben looked up. "NO!" He screamed. "Victoria, don't leave me, please don't leave me!" He cradled the limp form in his arms and rocked back and forth. "Oh God! Why?!" Ray was crying as much as his friend now and he wrapped his arms around Ben as his friends anguish tore him apart. The crowd that had gathered in the hallway didn't make a sound as the two men hunkered on the floor with the limp form. Off in the distance the sirens of an ambulance could be heard. THE END Comments always welcome. zzzaney@att.net |
