Meg's Office …
Benton and Meg rode as far as the post with Maggie and Constable Hansen. Meg sat looking out the rear passenger window the whole way. The main room was empty with Wilder and Hansen on other duties. Afternoon sunlight filled Meg's office as she and Benton stepped through the doors.
"Are you alright, Inspector Thatcher, you seem shaken." Fraser asked, his voice concerned. He studied her features as she sat down behind her desk.
"Shaken, yes," Meg let a wry chuckle out as she leaned her head against her leather captain's chair.
"Understandably so, Sir." Fraser stood across the desk from her. He was glad that no one was around.
"I've seen ambush tactics like this before, Fraser, during my time with CSIS." Meg wiped her face as if to remove the bad memories.
"Where were you assigned, Inspector?" Fraser took a seat and pulled it up close to the desk.
"Iraq, before the attacks of 9/11, that's about all I'm at liberty to say." Meg aged ten years in an instant. "You can call me 'Meg', when no one's around, Fraser. I'm your superior officer in name only." She seemed to shrink in the seat.
"I take it the assignment was challenging." Fraser asked the open ended question, trying to glean more information from her. Meg met his gaze, a knowing one of her own in her dark eyes.
"More challenging than Chicago, yes. I learned valuable lessons from my time in Iraq." Chicago was a faraway dream compared to Meg's time in the dessert country, but she wasn't about to go into detail about her experiences. They were too painful.
"Would you like some lunch, Fraser? We'll go dutch." Meg suggested, trying to derail his questioning. She knew he meant well, but there had been enough questions when she'd gotten back to Canada to last her a lifetime.
"I'd love to, lead the way, Meg." Benton tried her name out, tasting the sound of it on the tip of his tongue. She liked the sound of it in his voice.
"I think we can walk, if you don't mind." Meg stood back up and grabbed her purse from the desk drawer. Fraser twirled his Stetson on the end of his finger as he followed her down the street toward a cafe' frequented by the RCMP staff.
Dinah's Cafe …
Dinah's Cafe served breakfast twenty-four hours a day and started lunch promptly at eleven. It was a small place, with no particular theme to it's décor. A wide, high mirror lined the back wall of the place. The narrow building sported booths on the left and a counter on the right. In the back, beyond the mirror sat the kitchen, a large window separated it from the counter.
"It isn't as fancy as anything in Chicago, but they're clean and the food is good." Meg said as she opened the glass door. Benton was game to try any place that his boss lady praised.
"Hello, Sabrina," Meg greeted a tall, brunette woman in her late twenties standing behind the counter.
"Inspector, good afternoon, what can I get for you?" Sabrina's blue eyes and dark curls added to her porcelain complexion had the effect of making her look like a china doll.
"I'll take an iced tea and a chicken salad." Meg hitched one hip up onto a stool then the other. The waitress jotted her order down in two phrases before turning to Fraser.
"What can I get for you?" She asked with a smile. Meg sat back and watched the interaction.
"Coffee and," Fraser paused, scanning the menu board behind her head. "a moose burger, dressed, thank you." Benton answered, his hands laced on the counter in front of him. Sabrina's eyes went to his left hand immediately. Fraser's gaze read the rest of the menu board above her head. Meg smiled, some things hadn't changed.
"I imagine living alone, you frequent this cafe." Benton turned to her, catching Meg watching him. She didn't look away as she used to when it happened.
"No, not really, I enjoy cooking, when I don't, I call George Daniels and his wife. Tootie invites me to eat with them." Meg leaned on her right hand, looking at Fraser on her left. He looked back at her unguarded. They searched each other's faces for a moment.
"Here's your order, Inspector." Sabrina slid a large bowl with grilled chicken squares in a salad of lettuce, Tommy-toe tomatoes, and cucumbers. The waitress handed her a couple packets of thousand island dressing. Meg examined the containers, squeezing them to check for puncture marks. Fraser watched her.
"Here's you coffee, Mister." Sabrina slid the steaming, dark liquid in front of him just before his late lunch.
The pair of Mounties ate quietly. They traded news of officers they'd crossed paths with in their careers. A few were dead, others retired or nearing retirement.
"Had you heard about Sergeant Frobisher?" Benton asked as he sipped his second cup of coffee.
"No, how is the Sergeant?" Meg pushed her salad bowl away, still a third full.
"Passed on, he was eighty, over eighty actually." Benton tried to remember how old his father's dear friend was at his death. That lead to a discussion about how the Sergeant had passed. Meg's eyes widened when she heard he'd died while chasing a burglar. Frobisher ran into a television track wire made of steel someone had used for a clothesline. His feet went out from beneath him and he hit the back of his head. Doctors said he never felt a thing.
"How is Miss Vecchio?" Meg hadn't raised that question, partially for fear of the answer.
"She married while I was on leave and has four boys, ages fourteen, twelve, ten and six. Francesca is doing well, she's happy." Benton thought back to the boys and how they called him 'Uncle Fraser'.
"Are you happy, Fraser?" Meg asked, knowing she was pushing their new found honesty.
"Yes, I've come to be." He looked her straight in the eye when he answered.
"Since you found Ben?" She continued to press her luck. Meg was dying to know the story behind Fraser's son.
"Yes, since Ben and since Maggie married Ray." It finally all fell into place. Fraser finally had a family.
"I'm glad to hear it." Meg stopped short of laying her hand over his.
"What about you?" Fraser asked, pushing back. It seemed strange to be asking such a personal question, but no more strange than her asking them.
"I find working here in Spencer Falls rewarding, yes." Meg answered with her best, most confident face on. Benton hated to see her close down again, especially after he had obliged her and been forthcoming.
"We should be getting back to the post, they'll think the assassin finished the job." Meg sighed.
"Sabrina, two tickets, please." Meg asked standing up. The waitress handed her the tickets.
"Have a good day, Inspector, I'll see you later." Sabrina smiled, not really looking at the lady Mountie.
"Good-bye, Sabrina, tell your husband hello for me." Meg didn't mean to needle her but she saw the blush rise on the younger woman's face.
"I will, Inspector."
Meg handed Benton the cheaper of the two tickets-hers. She pulled out the money for Benton's ticket. Sabrina saw the switch but said nothing. Meg didn't miss the knowing twinkle in the younger woman's eyes as she laid the money down on the counter.
"Sir, there's been a mistake, the chicken salad was your order." Fraser held his hand out to stop the sale.
"No, no mistake, Fraser." Meg insisted, trying to get him to quieten down.
"There's a considerable difference in price, Sir." Fraser persisted.
"Then you buy coffee in the morning, okay." Meg's cheeks burnt as she sent Fraser dire, mental messages to shut up. The lady Mountie opened the door after taking her change. Fraser was on her heels, scrambling to stuff his change in his pocket.
"Inspector Thatcher, what were you doing in there?" Fraser set his Stetson on his head and trailed her to the post.
"Nothing Fraser, nothing, just trying to say thank you for earlier today." Meg grew more embarrassed the farther they walked. Embarrassed that her flirtation had failed. If she'd been flirting with anyone else it would have worked.
"I missed something, haven't I?" Fraser stopped behind her. He hadn't been this confused since their days together in Chicago.
"No, Fraser, you haven't, I made a mistake, forget this ever happened." Meg kept on walking down the sidewalk in front of the grocery store.
"Like I was supposed to forget the train?"
She stopped in her tracks when she heard those words. Her breath caught in her chest.
"That was a long time ago, Fraser." Did he have to bring up her one moment of weakness?
"I'm not a voice mail, you can't pick and chose what to keep and what to delete." Fraser's words hit her like a sledge hammer. Meg turned on her heel and stomped back to him.
"I never meant to do that to you, Fraser. I was scared. If I hurt you, I'm sorry. I hurt myself in the process. I put my pride before everything else back then. A moment ago, I was just trying to do you a good turn, trying to," She stopped herself from saying, 'flirt'. The old walls were down and Meg didn't know how to protect herself. She felt vulnerable.
"You've just announced to the whole community that I was," Meg gritted her teeth, avoiding what she meant to say, "that there's more between us than anyone needs to know." She could have slapped herself in the face for saying it, but there it was anyway.
Fraser stood in the sidewalk, staring at his boots for a moment. When he looked back at her, Meg saw the mask she'd come to know so long ago.
"I don't want us to dance around each other anymore, Fraser." Meg said, then she turned and walked to the post, down the street. She was angry, mostly at herself, but at Fraser as well. He hadn't been any more open about his feelings back then than she had.
Meg walked into her office, closing the door behind her. Maggie, Hansen and Wilder all three watched her stomp into her office without saying a word. As expected, Fraser followed her. He still had questions but couldn't verbalize them. Maggie cocked her eyebrow in question when Benton met her gaze. He shook his head. She knew what it was about instantly.
When Fraser got to Meg's office, he saw the closed door and turned around. 'Let her hide', he thought. He knew from experience how stubborn she could be. Their moment of mutual honesty had been short lived.
Slowly, he came back into the main room and sat down across the desk from Maggie. Aurora came over to him and laid at her head on his knee. Gently, Fraser stroked her furry neck. Hansen and Wilder buried their noses in their assignments.
"Hansen and I went to investigate the equipment theft at McConaughey Mining. Whoever stole the converters knew the security lights and cameras well." Maggie started off with a neutral topic.
"Have you watched the security tape yet?" Fraser leaned on the desk.
"Let me get the television." They spent the next few hours staring at figures only a few inches tall at double speed. Both of them were ready to pull their hair out.
"Here we are." Maggie paused the tape and played it at normal speed. Benton watched as the security light near the back went off. The others stayed on, and had the whole time. Both Mounties leaned in to look closer. They saw a dark figure creep around to the front of the gate and stand there for a few minutes, fiddling with the chain. A moment later the gates swung open and the figure walked in, a hood over their head. They headed straight to the back, letting themselves inside the garage. A few minutes later the thief threw a converter over the fence. Over the next hour, four more were tossed over the fence.
"We should have the forensics team enlarge the image." Maggie suggested, rubbing her eyes. Fraser looked at his watch, "Oh dear, I was supposed to call Victoria and tell her that Ben was settled in." The Mountie lamented. As he pulled out his phone to make the call it rang.
"Hey, Dad, I just finished dinner. How was your day?" Ben started off the conversation, his voice excited.
"I've had quite an eventful day. Tell me what you've done today." Fraser redirected his son, hoping to avoid telling him about the ambush. Ben told him about his bunk mates, their names and where they were from. They all thought it was cool that his dad was a Mountie with the Chicago Consulate. None of them had been to the Windy City.
"Tell Mom I love her, will you?" Ben asked finally. He'd noticed how quiet his dad was but decided not to ask.
"I will, Ben. Take care, I love you." Fraser said the last phrase distinctly, meaning every word.
"I love you too, Dad, be careful tomorrow and tell Aunt Maggie and Inspector Thatcher hello for me, scratch Aurora's neck for me." They hung up a moment later. Maggie watched the conversation, mildly envious of her brother.
"Ben sends his regards to you and Aurora." Fraser smiled broadly. Maggie could only smile.
"I think it's time to go, our shift was over two hours ago." Maggie pointed out. They'd both lost track of time, not an unusual occurrence for either of them.
"Yes, what can be gleaned has been until forensics takes it." Fraser straightened up, his joints protesting after such a long time in a folding chair. Maggie noted the time stamp of the thief's entrance and collected her things. Aurora gladly stood up, eager to go. The she-wolf trotted to the door, urging the humans to hurry. Fraser locked the tape in the safe.
During the ride back to the cabin, both Maggie and Benton were quiet. Each of them had had an enlightening day. Fraser had been through an ambush, an escape, being asked to lunch and an argument with Meg. It was a lot for one day, even for Fraser.