Disclaimer: Due South and all its characters belong to Alliance.

A/N: Well, here it is - the absolute final chapter. Those of you who have actually stuck through to the end - I hope you have enjoyed it. Those of you who haven't, well, I hope you enjoyed the bit you did read!

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3 Months Later

Constable Benton Fraser walked out of the courtroom, breathing in the cold winter air of Ottawa. He looked towards the sky, noticing that it looked as though a fresh fall of snow would come later in the day. He liked the snow. It was never as pure or as white as the snow in the Yukon, but it was better than nothing.

It was finally over. The case had been fast-tracked, rushed through the courts by a judge who didn't want to risk any evidence being corrupted over time. When he and Meg had arrived in Ottawa, they'd taken her straight away and hidden her. She was to be the link that tied all the different pieces of the case together, but the prosecution wanted the element of surprise so she had to remain hidden for just a little while longer. He'd barely seen her, except in secret meetings Mike had managed to set up for them, or in the court during the trial. She had been fantastic, as he knew she would be. His own testimony had explained how he had managed to track down the evidence, but the moment Meg had taken the stand, he knew that it would be her testimony that would put these people away. Her recollection was incredible. She remembered every detail she was asked for and explained everything in a clear level voice, even when the subject of the threats on her and Matt was brought up. She had been the one to get the unanimous guilty verdict, and Fraser found he had never been so proud of her than he was at that moment.

Finally, Fraser's thoughts turned towards Chicago. Ray would be waiting for him, eager to hear the details of the case that had kept his friend occupied for so long. He had tried to explain, tried to tell him about Meg, but somehow the words would not come. He wasn't ready to face the repercussions of his secret yet, knowing Ray would be angry. After Victoria, he had promised never to keep something like that from Ray again. Fraser smiled ruefully, wondering if, in Ray's eyes, keeping a relationship with a supposed dead person secret was worse than having a relationship with a criminal.

Suddenly Fraser felt a pair of hands slide around his waste. Smiling down at the woman in his arms, he felt a happiness settle over him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"So, Constable." Meg voice was light. "What are we going to do now we are finally free?"

"Well, I was thinking about some dinner, maybe a gentle stroll through the snow, and then back to my hotel for dessert."

Meg grinned. "Dessert?" He answered her smile with one of his own.

"Uh huh."

"Well, I do fancy something sweet. In fact, you know, I think I could go straight for dessert."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Fraser laughed, pulling her close and kissing those lips which he'd so missed.

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Lying together on the large hotel bed, Fraser broached the subject he had been thinking about earlier.

"You know, we're going to have to go back to Chicago, tell Ray at some point."

Meg slapped his chest lightly. "You're ruining the mood, Ben. And besides, he's your friend, you tell him."

Fraser laughed. "Hey, I thought we were in this together."

"Yes, well. Maybe if I show up, he'll faint from the shock and hit his head on something and then we can just claim we told him and he won't remember anything different."

"Meg!"

"What? It's an idea."

"Hmm."

"What's that supposed to mean."

Fraser grinned. "It means, I fancy seconds on dessert." Pulling her towards him and kissing her hard, suppressing her giggles, Fraser drew the covers over their heads. They would deal with whatever was to come later. Ray would accept their relationship and, given a little bit of time, he might even be happy for them.

As for Meg, well, he had no intention of ever letting her go again, so she was just going to have to get used to being looked after. Lying there in bed, he realised that he had never heard her laugh before. Deciding that it was possibly the nicest sound he had ever heard, he vowed to do everything in his power to make her happy for the rest of their lives.

The End