Captive Free
by![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
primrose
Foromphale23
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Bob Fraser/Caroline Pinsent Fraser
Rating: PG
Thanks so much to peacey for looking this over and liking it.
Disclaimer: This story is a labour of love. I make no money by writing it. I have no affiliation with Alliance Atlantis or anyone else connected to due South.
I am also not Paul Haggis, who created Bob, Caroline, and Buck, nor am I Paul Gross, who wrote "All The Queen's Horses". Really, I'd know if I were.
Save me,
Save me from you
But pave me
the way to you
Lead me upon, the captive free
Gracious and tame, like love can be
--k.d. lang
July 1, 1958
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Canada
Perfect, Caroline thought.
Never one to exaggerate, she rarely used such a word, but in this case none other applied. There was no better description for a day like today. The church, the sunshine, the warm breeze on her face. Grandma Pinsent's wedding dress. The groomsmen, resplendent in white gloves and red serge. The awestruck, trembling way Robert repeated his wedding vows and the sparkle in his blue eyes whenever he looked at her.
Even the date was perfect. She'd laughed when Robert first suggested getting married on Canada Day (he called it 'Dominion Day' because it was the official name and he was like that); she wanted their wedding date to be special, not shared with an entire country. She told him he was letting his patriotism interfere with their wedding plans. But he was determined in the way only a Fraser could be, and after a lot of useless protests, she finally gave in. She figured that when all was said and done it might even turn out to be a good idea. After all, what woman in her right mind wouldn't want fireworks on her wedding day?
Some would question whether a woman in her right mind would consent to marry Robert Fraser in the first place; some even said so outright. He was a bean-counter, they insisted. Too devoted to his job for his own good. His history with women was nonexistent.
She ignored them. Her Robert was a good man with a solid sense of duty and a wicked sense of humour. His smile would light up a room, and sometimes the words that came out of his mouth made her blush, but he never apologized and she never expected it. That he would be so open with her meant he trusted her, loved her as much as she loved him, and that was just fine. And if she was his first, so be it. He was hers, after all. And it's not like she hadn't thought about it.
________________________
To be honest, she really doesn't think much of Buck Frobisher's new partner. She finds him smug, overly concerned with minutiae, and completely bullheaded where the RCMP is concerned. In other words, Constable Robert Fraser is the consummate Mountie. Not to mention the fact that even off-hours he's always pulling Buck away somewhere. Right or wrong, she blames this newcomer, this interloper, for taking Buck from her. She can't blame Buck, after all, she's known him since they both were children.
She isn't sure, but she thinks Buck might be showing signs that he wants to court her. She doesn't know what she thinks about that, and Robert Fraser hanging around all the time doesn't help matters any (Buck calls him "Bob", but Caroline thinks he seems more like a Robert, not that she's really thought about it).
They ask her along sometimes, and she usually goes, maybe to a pub after their shift or around someone's kitchen table on a Saturday night. Caroline isn't possessive, really she isn't (and it isn't like she and Buck are officially a couple or anything), but she still feels shut out when Robert's around. He and Buck sing songs she doesn't know and reminisce about events she's never lived through, and they're always competing with each other over this thing or that. She wonders if they might sometimes compete over her, but that's just silly. Buck Frobisher might want to court her, but Robert Fraser certainly doesn't, and even if he did (and what a ridiculous thought that is), she wouldn't want him in the first place, no matter how beautiful his smile was, or how blue his eyes.
It's weeks later before she realizes that they are competing for her. It's more obvious every time she sees them. "It's my turn to buy Caroline a soda," one might say, and the other would argue that no, it's his turn. They'll bicker back and forth, sometimes even getting the waitress involved. By that time, Caroline has usually gone to the bar and bought her own soda.
When Robert brings her flowers on her birthday she doesn't know what to think. She takes the bouquet with a "thank you kindly" and a peck on his cheek, and avoids his eyes (and Buck's) for the rest of the month.
On a cold night at the end of April Caroline is snatched from her bed by a deranged man who takes her, blindfolded, to a remote cabin up near Old Crow. She thinks he wants to kill her but she doesn't know why, doesn't even know who he is. She can't figure out a word of his ranting. He's flat-out crazy, she thinks. He's also crazy enough, thank God, to untie her when they get to the cabin. No sooner is the last rope untied and she's headed out the door at a gallop, trying to ignore the pain in her legs from being kept in one position too long.
The road she came in on must be on the other side of the cabin. There's a narrow ravine on this side that separates the cabin from the mountains; the only way across is by way of a rope bridge that spans it. Caroline figures she's halfway to dead already, but she'd rather die out here than go back inside to a lunatic who might decide to rape or torture her and then kill her. She runs toward the bridge because there's nowhere else to run.
She has no shoes and no coat and the wind knifes through her sweater but she keeps running because now that she's closer to the bridge she can see two figures on the other side.
Mounties. She'd know Mounties anywhere.
The narrow bridge rocks back and forth in the wind. She slows down and reaches for the rope railing, and that's when the lunatic catches up and grabs her, trying to pull her onto the bridge. He's raving, yelling, making no sense, and she's screaming and kicking. There's no way he can get her over that bridge without the both of them getting killed. She thinks he's either too crazy to know this, or maybe he just doesn't care.
One of the Mounties is aiming a rifle directly at them. "Caroline! Get down if you can!"
Oh, dear Lord, it's Buck.
"I'm trying!" she calls back, and goes immediately still and silent, trying to shock her captor into loosening his grip. He does, and she drops to the ground. Running isn't an option: he's too fast and she's shoeless, so she waits.
Buck's aim is good, but not good enough. The bullet barely misses, but it misses all the same. The lunatic starts yelling again and grabs for Caroline but she rolls away in time, wrapping her arms tightly around a fir sapling that's growing close to the ravine.
She saw two Mounties. She doesn't hope that the other one is a good shot. What she's praying is that Robert Fraser is a damn miracle worker.
It seems like forever before the next shot comes, and when it does she thinks she must be hearing things, because she thinks she hears it ricochet off not one but two trees, including the one she's holding onto like a lifeline. Her captor's insane ravings are cut off mid-yell as the bullet hits its mark. She looks up to see him clutching his leg. He tries to regain his balance, but can't do it with one leg, and ends up pitching head-first into the ravine.
It takes a few minutes for Robert and Buck to make it over the bridge, and it's only then that she feels safe enough to give in to the panic she's held back through the whole ordeal. Buck throws his coat over her, and then she's crying and shaking and pouring herself into Robert Fraser's arms.
She has to stay in hospital overnight. Buck and Robert are by her side until the doctor tells them she'll be fine, there's no frostbite or other damage. Buck leaves after that, squeezing Robert's shoulder and whispering something too low for her to hear. He has an odd look on his face that she's never seen before.
She dozes a little and wakes up with Robert's hand in hers. "Welcome back," he says. His smile is brilliant, and his eyes look like forever.
Robert is promoted to Corporal two weeks later.
On the first of June he asks Caroline to marry him. She says yes without a second thought.
________________________
Close to midnight, after the dancing and the cake and Buck Frobisher's drunken toast, Caroline and Robert Fraser watched the sunset from the porch of their borrowed cabin just outside of town.
"Happy Canada Day, Corporal," said Caroline, sliding an arm around her husband.
"Dominion Day, Caroline. Just because something's popular doesn't make it right, you know."
"I know, dear." Robert Fraser was as insufferable as a stubborn old mule. She loved him utterly.
"I heard there's going to be fireworks on Parliament Hill tonight," he told her. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "First time ever."
"Hmm," she answered thoughtfully, and looked up at him. The breeze had shifted, picked up a little, and now it ruffled his hair so it tangled and curled at the ends. She knew he'd have it cut soon ("Regulations, Caroline"), but she'd talked him into letting it grow a bit for the wedding. It was the wildest she'd ever seen it. She tucked the image away; she had friends who were Mountie wives. She knew she'd need to bring it out again another day.
"Maybe we should have been married in Ottawa instead."
He kissed her gently: forehead, cheeks, mouth. "I don't think so," he replied, his voice low and soft in the twilight. "Seems to me we can make our own fireworks. Show those city people a thing or two."
All day Caroline had managed to keep from crying. Robert's parents were practical, serious people who didn't hold stock in tears. They seemed to like her, but she wasn't about to give them any reason to change their minds, especially not on her wedding day. Now it was just the two of them, Caroline and Robert. The next generation of Frasers. They had nothing to prove to anyone.
"I think that's a fine idea, Corporal Fraser." Her face was wet when he kissed her again, and that was all right because he was opening the door and ushering her inside. Everything was just fine.
by
primroseFor
omphale23Fandom: due South
Pairing: Bob Fraser/Caroline Pinsent Fraser
Rating: PG
Thanks so much to peacey for looking this over and liking it.
Disclaimer: This story is a labour of love. I make no money by writing it. I have no affiliation with Alliance Atlantis or anyone else connected to due South.
I am also not Paul Haggis, who created Bob, Caroline, and Buck, nor am I Paul Gross, who wrote "All The Queen's Horses". Really, I'd know if I were.
Save me,
Save me from you
But pave me
the way to you
Lead me upon, the captive free
Gracious and tame, like love can be
--k.d. lang
July 1, 1958
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Canada
Perfect, Caroline thought.
Never one to exaggerate, she rarely used such a word, but in this case none other applied. There was no better description for a day like today. The church, the sunshine, the warm breeze on her face. Grandma Pinsent's wedding dress. The groomsmen, resplendent in white gloves and red serge. The awestruck, trembling way Robert repeated his wedding vows and the sparkle in his blue eyes whenever he looked at her.
Even the date was perfect. She'd laughed when Robert first suggested getting married on Canada Day (he called it 'Dominion Day' because it was the official name and he was like that); she wanted their wedding date to be special, not shared with an entire country. She told him he was letting his patriotism interfere with their wedding plans. But he was determined in the way only a Fraser could be, and after a lot of useless protests, she finally gave in. She figured that when all was said and done it might even turn out to be a good idea. After all, what woman in her right mind wouldn't want fireworks on her wedding day?
Some would question whether a woman in her right mind would consent to marry Robert Fraser in the first place; some even said so outright. He was a bean-counter, they insisted. Too devoted to his job for his own good. His history with women was nonexistent.
She ignored them. Her Robert was a good man with a solid sense of duty and a wicked sense of humour. His smile would light up a room, and sometimes the words that came out of his mouth made her blush, but he never apologized and she never expected it. That he would be so open with her meant he trusted her, loved her as much as she loved him, and that was just fine. And if she was his first, so be it. He was hers, after all. And it's not like she hadn't thought about it.
________________________
To be honest, she really doesn't think much of Buck Frobisher's new partner. She finds him smug, overly concerned with minutiae, and completely bullheaded where the RCMP is concerned. In other words, Constable Robert Fraser is the consummate Mountie. Not to mention the fact that even off-hours he's always pulling Buck away somewhere. Right or wrong, she blames this newcomer, this interloper, for taking Buck from her. She can't blame Buck, after all, she's known him since they both were children.
She isn't sure, but she thinks Buck might be showing signs that he wants to court her. She doesn't know what she thinks about that, and Robert Fraser hanging around all the time doesn't help matters any (Buck calls him "Bob", but Caroline thinks he seems more like a Robert, not that she's really thought about it).
They ask her along sometimes, and she usually goes, maybe to a pub after their shift or around someone's kitchen table on a Saturday night. Caroline isn't possessive, really she isn't (and it isn't like she and Buck are officially a couple or anything), but she still feels shut out when Robert's around. He and Buck sing songs she doesn't know and reminisce about events she's never lived through, and they're always competing with each other over this thing or that. She wonders if they might sometimes compete over her, but that's just silly. Buck Frobisher might want to court her, but Robert Fraser certainly doesn't, and even if he did (and what a ridiculous thought that is), she wouldn't want him in the first place, no matter how beautiful his smile was, or how blue his eyes.
It's weeks later before she realizes that they are competing for her. It's more obvious every time she sees them. "It's my turn to buy Caroline a soda," one might say, and the other would argue that no, it's his turn. They'll bicker back and forth, sometimes even getting the waitress involved. By that time, Caroline has usually gone to the bar and bought her own soda.
When Robert brings her flowers on her birthday she doesn't know what to think. She takes the bouquet with a "thank you kindly" and a peck on his cheek, and avoids his eyes (and Buck's) for the rest of the month.
On a cold night at the end of April Caroline is snatched from her bed by a deranged man who takes her, blindfolded, to a remote cabin up near Old Crow. She thinks he wants to kill her but she doesn't know why, doesn't even know who he is. She can't figure out a word of his ranting. He's flat-out crazy, she thinks. He's also crazy enough, thank God, to untie her when they get to the cabin. No sooner is the last rope untied and she's headed out the door at a gallop, trying to ignore the pain in her legs from being kept in one position too long.
The road she came in on must be on the other side of the cabin. There's a narrow ravine on this side that separates the cabin from the mountains; the only way across is by way of a rope bridge that spans it. Caroline figures she's halfway to dead already, but she'd rather die out here than go back inside to a lunatic who might decide to rape or torture her and then kill her. She runs toward the bridge because there's nowhere else to run.
She has no shoes and no coat and the wind knifes through her sweater but she keeps running because now that she's closer to the bridge she can see two figures on the other side.
Mounties. She'd know Mounties anywhere.
The narrow bridge rocks back and forth in the wind. She slows down and reaches for the rope railing, and that's when the lunatic catches up and grabs her, trying to pull her onto the bridge. He's raving, yelling, making no sense, and she's screaming and kicking. There's no way he can get her over that bridge without the both of them getting killed. She thinks he's either too crazy to know this, or maybe he just doesn't care.
One of the Mounties is aiming a rifle directly at them. "Caroline! Get down if you can!"
Oh, dear Lord, it's Buck.
"I'm trying!" she calls back, and goes immediately still and silent, trying to shock her captor into loosening his grip. He does, and she drops to the ground. Running isn't an option: he's too fast and she's shoeless, so she waits.
Buck's aim is good, but not good enough. The bullet barely misses, but it misses all the same. The lunatic starts yelling again and grabs for Caroline but she rolls away in time, wrapping her arms tightly around a fir sapling that's growing close to the ravine.
She saw two Mounties. She doesn't hope that the other one is a good shot. What she's praying is that Robert Fraser is a damn miracle worker.
It seems like forever before the next shot comes, and when it does she thinks she must be hearing things, because she thinks she hears it ricochet off not one but two trees, including the one she's holding onto like a lifeline. Her captor's insane ravings are cut off mid-yell as the bullet hits its mark. She looks up to see him clutching his leg. He tries to regain his balance, but can't do it with one leg, and ends up pitching head-first into the ravine.
It takes a few minutes for Robert and Buck to make it over the bridge, and it's only then that she feels safe enough to give in to the panic she's held back through the whole ordeal. Buck throws his coat over her, and then she's crying and shaking and pouring herself into Robert Fraser's arms.
She has to stay in hospital overnight. Buck and Robert are by her side until the doctor tells them she'll be fine, there's no frostbite or other damage. Buck leaves after that, squeezing Robert's shoulder and whispering something too low for her to hear. He has an odd look on his face that she's never seen before.
She dozes a little and wakes up with Robert's hand in hers. "Welcome back," he says. His smile is brilliant, and his eyes look like forever.
Robert is promoted to Corporal two weeks later.
On the first of June he asks Caroline to marry him. She says yes without a second thought.
________________________
Close to midnight, after the dancing and the cake and Buck Frobisher's drunken toast, Caroline and Robert Fraser watched the sunset from the porch of their borrowed cabin just outside of town.
"Happy Canada Day, Corporal," said Caroline, sliding an arm around her husband.
"Dominion Day, Caroline. Just because something's popular doesn't make it right, you know."
"I know, dear." Robert Fraser was as insufferable as a stubborn old mule. She loved him utterly.
"I heard there's going to be fireworks on Parliament Hill tonight," he told her. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her. "First time ever."
"Hmm," she answered thoughtfully, and looked up at him. The breeze had shifted, picked up a little, and now it ruffled his hair so it tangled and curled at the ends. She knew he'd have it cut soon ("Regulations, Caroline"), but she'd talked him into letting it grow a bit for the wedding. It was the wildest she'd ever seen it. She tucked the image away; she had friends who were Mountie wives. She knew she'd need to bring it out again another day.
"Maybe we should have been married in Ottawa instead."
He kissed her gently: forehead, cheeks, mouth. "I don't think so," he replied, his voice low and soft in the twilight. "Seems to me we can make our own fireworks. Show those city people a thing or two."
All day Caroline had managed to keep from crying. Robert's parents were practical, serious people who didn't hold stock in tears. They seemed to like her, but she wasn't about to give them any reason to change their minds, especially not on her wedding day. Now it was just the two of them, Caroline and Robert. The next generation of Frasers. They had nothing to prove to anyone.
"I think that's a fine idea, Corporal Fraser." Her face was wet when he kissed her again, and that was all right because he was opening the door and ushering her inside. Everything was just fine.