Disclaimer: Due South and all its characters belong to Alliance. I make no money from any of this.

A/N: This is the last part of what I guess could be called 'The Cabin Scenes'. There is more to come in the story though,so stay tuned.

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Outside, Fraser allowed the cold to numb the fire burning inside of him. So many unfamiliar emotions coursed through his body – anger, pain, hate, want – that he found it hard to think. How could she do this to him, again? He guessed he should have been prepared this time, he should have known that this was how she would react. Get even the slightest bit close to the person inside and she would push him away, harder and faster than ever before. But this was different, this was not some measly kiss on a train. That, he could attribute to the stress of the situation, she thought it was a mistake and he had accepted that, almost. But this time, there had been no train, no unconscious Mounties, no terrorists or nuclear threats to deal with. No, this time it had simply been them, together like he had wanted so much before. And yet she still pushed him away, turned around and said "thanks, but now I'm leaving." His face burned with the shame of being used again, whilst his heart twisted with the pain that she had inflicted with that single sentence: "I still have to go."

The anger boiled through him again. If she wanted to go, that was fine. In fact, he would help her pack. The sooner she was out of his life, the better. He needed to get over her, the way he had gotten over Victoria. The thought of her name only succeeded in raising more painful memories. Why did he let them do this to him? As soon as he thought he had found someone to love, someone who might just love him back, they'd push him to the ground and kick dirt in his face. He should never have left his home, at least out here the solitude was chosen. It had never before felt so forced upon him as it did at this moment. He wanted to walk into that cabin and demand that she reconsider, make her see that they could get through this, but inside he knew that that would only drive her further away. Fraser sank down to the ground, his head in his hands, trying desperately to fight the tears that were now burning the backs of his eyes.

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Meg was sat on the couch, in a very similar position to the man outside. Her head was buried in her arms as she fought to control the sobs that threatened to overcome her. She could taste the salt tears that ran gently down her cheeks, as the look in his eyes just before he had left haunted her thoughts. She'd never before seen a look so raw painted so clearly on his face. The pain and anger so evident in his eyes had frozen her to the spot as the door had slammed behind him. Every ounce of trust that she had only moments before witnessed had gone, to be replaced with a look so filled with hate that it had transformed his face completely. The naïve innocence had gone, leaving in its place a person who had been betrayed too many times to simply allow the hurt to roll off his back once again. Every hurt that she had ever inflicted on him came screaming back at her, filling her head until she could take it no more. Pushing her hands against her ears, desperately trying to block out the sounds of the voices reminding her of every horrible thing she had ever done to him, Meg closed her eyes, as the tears dripped down her face once more with renewed energy.

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Back outside, Fraser sat staring across the snow at the landscape. Diefenbaker had slipped out of the cabin and now lay with his head in his companion's lap, enjoying the absent-minded way Fraser was scratching him behind the ears. Fraser's mind was drifting, remembering the moment he had first walked into his new Superior's office, only to be told he was fired. This was followed by a more mutual understanding, and what he had thought was a change in feelings between them, leading eventually to those incidents on the train and inside the cabin.

Deciding that he could not simply avoid her for the rest of her stay, Fraser made up his mind that, as confrontation was obviously not going to work, he would have to try a different tact. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, ignoring the whine from Diefenbaker who had been disturbed from a peaceful slumber, and turned to re-enter the cabin.

Moving toward the entrance, Fraser paused, hearing her voice float through the open window.

"Yes, he's still here…No, I told him everything…Mike please, I trust him, but I think it's time I left, it's not fair to stay here. I thought the plans would be finalised by now." The reply was inaudible, even to Fraser's keen ears.

"I'm not being impatient." Meg's voice rose a notch. "This isn't exactly easy for me, you know." There was another, longer pause as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "I just thought it would be over by now…I know Mike, I'm sorry…OK, I will. Goodbye."

The silence that followed was permeated only with the sound on Meg's slight movements within the cabin, undoubtedly packing up the satellite phone, Fraser thought. His head dropped and he leant back against the outside wall of the cabin. She trusted him, she'd said as much, but she was now desperate to get out of the country, to run to wherever it was she was going. Fraser felt his heart contract at the thought. If she still trusted him, then maybe it was not all ruined. But did he trust her, a small voice inside his head asked. Could he afford to risk his heart to her again, knowing she would more than likely push him away? Could he afford not to, knowing she would leave and he would never see her again? The questions swirled around his brain, confusing his thoughts further. All he knew was he had to tell her how he felt, if there was any chance she would stay, he needed her to know.

Walking in through the front door, Fraser found Meg sat back on the sofa, her knees pulled up to her chest, her eyes lost in the flickering of the fire.

"Meg." Fraser's voice was soft, as though he was afraid to disturb her. After a few moments, the sound of his voice made its way into the depths of her brain, and she turned her head to face him. Fraser was shocked to see the redness of her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Ben," she whispered, her eyes opening wide at the sight of him standing there. "I'm sorry, please don't be angry."

At the sound of her soft voice and the pain evident in her tone, any remnant of anger fled from his body. He moved towards her, kneeling down in front of the sofa, his hands reaching up to brush away the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm not angry."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…" Meg began, but Fraser cut her off.

"It doesn't matter, I understand."

Meg's eyes searched his face, looking for answers to the questions she could never ask him out loud. Not finding what she was looking for, Meg turned back towards the fire, letting the rhythmic flickering of the flames calm the confusion she felt inside.

Fraser sensed the change in her body, the resigned calm replacing the desperate anguish that he had walked in to find. He moved to a position on the sofa next to her, facing the fire also.

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"When are you leaving?" The subject was broached softly. A part of him did not want to know, wanted to go on pretending that they could stay in their own little world forever, but the practical part of him told him that the phone call she had just made had pushed everything along that little bit faster.

"The documents are ready, so it just the transport details left."

"You don't have to go."

"Fraser…" her voice held a warning, telling him not to keep going over this.

"No, please hear me out. There's no reason why you can't stay here. At least until we collect some information, get some evidence to keep you safe."

"Except that there is no evidence, Fraser. I've tried, Matt tried, and look where that got us. He's dead and I'm running for my life, so I'm sorry but no, it's not worth the risk."

Fraser was silent for a long while after that. Every scenario he came up with to keep her safe required her to stay, which he now knew she was not going to do, not for anything or anyone. Well, if she wouldn't stay with him…

"Let me come with you." He hadn't meant to say that out loud. He hadn't even meant to think it. Her head snapped round to look at him.

"What?"

"Let me come with you." His voice was more sure now. "If you won't stay, then I want to go too."

"Fraser, I can't ask that of you."

"You haven't." Meg's eyes turned away. What he was offering was too much. He had too much here: friends, a home, everything she didn't. He would never be happy running away, he'd proven that enough times already today. The slight glimmer of hope that had risen inside of her at his words promptly flickered and died, as the practicalities of what he was suggesting overcame her want.

"It's not practical. It wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"What about your friends, what do you think they would do if you just disappeared? And the RCMP, do you think you could just leave? What about all the people who need your help here? And that's not even thinking about things like a passport, documentation to get you in and out of the country. Think about it Fraser. You disappear within weeks of my death, who do you think is suddenly going to be investigated, huh? You. You and everyone close to you, and suddenly all you've succeeded in doing is placing the search firmly on yourself. It would only make things worse, not better."

Fraser knew she was right, deep down, but that didn't stop him wanting to go with her. "If I just had a little time. I could tell Ray I had decided to stay here, take leave from the RCMP. I can't see Ottawa minding if I didn't come back."

"No, Fraser. As good an idea as this may seem to you right now, what happens in a couple of months, when you are tired of looking over your shoulder? Tired of living your life as someone else? This is no holiday, it's not something you can return from when you've had enough, and trust me, Fraser, there will come a point when you have had enough."

"What happens when you've had enough? Do you get to come back, or do you start again somewhere else."

"We're not talking about me, Fraser. We're talking about you giving up everything and never getting it back. Do you really think you could do that and guarantee that you won't ever resent me for it? Because I don't think anyone could do that, not even you." Meg's voice was heavy with regret. The image of running away with him, of spending the long lonely nights in a place foreign to her, cuddled up in his arms, had felt so real. Meg pictured herself reaching out for the dream, only to have it shatter at her touch.

"I love you."

"Ben…"

"You should know that, even if you leave, I won't stop loving you. And if you tell me that you'll come back, I'll wait for you."

Meg paused before answering. There was nothing she would rather do than tell him to wait, to have the knowledge that, at some point, she could come back to him, and he would still love her. But that was even more unfair on him than leaving in the first place. She took a deep breath.

"I'm not coming back, Fraser."

Her words fell like lead in his heart. His head dropped and he stared at the floor, willing her words to change, to hold some hope. At that point, he was startled to hear the telephone ring. Meg reached over to grab the handset where it lay in its case.

"Mike, hi…Yes, I'm ready…OK, I can do that. It will take me a couple of hours to reach the post, but I should be there by dark…No, I don't anticipate any problems there…Yes, I understand… And Mike, thank you."

As she hung up the phone, she looked across at Fraser. He was still staring at the floor, his gaze distant and lost.

"Fraser…"

"You're going now?"

"Yeah, there's a pilot not too far away who's agreed to take me, no questions asked."

"So that's it."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go, now."

"Where?"

Meg paused. She had known he would ask her, and had already decided that it would be easier on him not to know. Plus, there was no guarantee where she started off was where she would stay, in fact, it would be more sensible to move on a quickly as possible, at least at the start.

"I can't tell you that, Fraser. I really am sorry." When he didn't reply, Meg moved to where her bag was already mainly packed. Picking up the few possessions that had been removed from the pack, she quickly stored them in her single piece of luggage. Slipping into her boots, she looked towards the man still sitting on the sofa. He hadn't moved all the time she had been packing.

"Fraser." Her voice spurred him into action. He leaped up and, grabbing his coat, he turned towards her. She knew what he was thinking, but she knew that,if he came, she would not want to get on that plane. Their eyes met, and he could see her thoughts written plainly on her face. Moving towards her, he captured her hand in his.

"Please." He tried to gather her in towards him, but she pulled away.

"I can't do it, Fraser. Please don't make me." Her eyes welled with tears, as his pleaded with her to stay, to let him go too, anything but this.

She made to move towards the door, but Fraser stopped her at the last moment, pulling her towards him, pressing his lips against hers. She returned the kiss that was so full of the passion, the heartache, the total sense of loss they were both feeling, until she could no longer bare it. Pulling away gently, she let her hand travel softly down his cheek, before finally turning away and walking through the door.

Fraser watched her leave, feeling as though his heart had left with her. He sank down onto the floor where he was standing, letting the tears that he had worked so hard to keep in finally fall.

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A/N: Hands up all those who thought Meg wouldn't leave. Oh well, I guess you will just have to keep reading to find out if she comes back. (Yep, I'm evil and I know it!).