FIC: Home, 1/1, R
Title: Home
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: R for upsetting subject matter
Fandoms: due South/Battlestar Galactica crossover
Warnings: Hurt with comfort of a sort; I made myself cry with this one.
Notes: I’m not a fan of hurt and angst, but the situation I’ve set up pretty much precludes happiness at the moment. The good news is that I’m also not a fan of hopeless situations, so hang in there, and I promise things will improve. Mostly. 500 words.
ETA: There are minor BSG S3 spoilers in the comments.
~*~*~
Fraser screams.He opened his eyes and found himself back in the Territories, with a crisp, deep blue sky overhead and his father’s cabin less than twenty meters away. Ben inhaled deeply, taking in the strong smell of pine and the more subtle smell of snow.
Home. He was finally home.
D’Anna makes a minor adjustment then asks again, “What did you do to Leoben?”“Benton.”
He turned quickly and nearly fell to his knees in relief. “Dad.”
“My God, son. What have they done to you?” Bob put his arm around Ben and turned him toward the cabin.
Fraser’s eyes are closed, and he mumbles something unintelligible.By the time Bob opened the door to the cabin, Ben was crying openly and could barely hold himself up. Bob said nothing about it. Instead, he called out, “Caroline? Come quick.”
She emerged from the back room and hurried to help ease Ben into one of the room’s two armchairs. Once he was seated, Caroline knelt in front of her son.
“Ben? Sweetheart? Look at me.” Though her voice was brusque, Caroline’s hand on Ben’s cheek was gentle and soothing. When Ben opened his eyes and looked at her, she asked, “Are you ready?”
D’Anna touches the control.“Ready?” He was confused. Too many senseless questions had been directed at him, and he could no longer figure out what anyone wanted of him.
“Ready to join your father and me,” Caroline answered gently. “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
“I -”
Fraser screams.Bob was wiping down Ben’s forehead with a cool cloth when Ben opened his eyes again. Caroline held a cup of hot tea before him and said once more, “You don’t have to go back. You can stay. All you need to do is say so. Please, Ben. Please say you’ll stay here.”
Leoben walks into the alcove and pushes D’Anna into a wall. “We told you. We told you this is a matter for my brothers and me.”
“He knows something,” she says, wiping blood from her mouth. “He did something to Leoben, and I need to know what.”
“That isn’t for you to determine,” Leoben says, his face hard and implacable. “You’re to stand judgment for your actions today.”
“What? You can’t be serious.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve ignored the will of the group,” Leoben tells her. “But I can promise you this will be the last time.”Ben tried to get the words out, tried to say he wouldn’t go back to the Cylons, but his parents, the cabin - everything faded away too quickly. He wept at the loss.
Fraser wakes up naked, but not alone. Stretched behind him is a lanky body that feels as familiar as his own. For a brief moment, he thinks the last several months have been nothing but a nightmare. He turns his head and -
The form is familiar, yes, but the right arm is clean and unmarked.
He’s not home after all.
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: R for upsetting subject matter
Fandoms: due South/Battlestar Galactica crossover
Warnings: Hurt with comfort of a sort; I made myself cry with this one.
Notes: I’m not a fan of hurt and angst, but the situation I’ve set up pretty much precludes happiness at the moment. The good news is that I’m also not a fan of hopeless situations, so hang in there, and I promise things will improve. Mostly. 500 words.
ETA: There are minor BSG S3 spoilers in the comments.
~*~*~
Fraser screams.He opened his eyes and found himself back in the Territories, with a crisp, deep blue sky overhead and his father’s cabin less than twenty meters away. Ben inhaled deeply, taking in the strong smell of pine and the more subtle smell of snow.
Home. He was finally home.
D’Anna makes a minor adjustment then asks again, “What did you do to Leoben?”“Benton.”
He turned quickly and nearly fell to his knees in relief. “Dad.”
“My God, son. What have they done to you?” Bob put his arm around Ben and turned him toward the cabin.
Fraser’s eyes are closed, and he mumbles something unintelligible.By the time Bob opened the door to the cabin, Ben was crying openly and could barely hold himself up. Bob said nothing about it. Instead, he called out, “Caroline? Come quick.”
She emerged from the back room and hurried to help ease Ben into one of the room’s two armchairs. Once he was seated, Caroline knelt in front of her son.
“Ben? Sweetheart? Look at me.” Though her voice was brusque, Caroline’s hand on Ben’s cheek was gentle and soothing. When Ben opened his eyes and looked at her, she asked, “Are you ready?”
D’Anna touches the control.“Ready?” He was confused. Too many senseless questions had been directed at him, and he could no longer figure out what anyone wanted of him.
“Ready to join your father and me,” Caroline answered gently. “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
“I -”
Fraser screams.Bob was wiping down Ben’s forehead with a cool cloth when Ben opened his eyes again. Caroline held a cup of hot tea before him and said once more, “You don’t have to go back. You can stay. All you need to do is say so. Please, Ben. Please say you’ll stay here.”
Leoben walks into the alcove and pushes D’Anna into a wall. “We told you. We told you this is a matter for my brothers and me.”
“He knows something,” she says, wiping blood from her mouth. “He did something to Leoben, and I need to know what.”
“That isn’t for you to determine,” Leoben says, his face hard and implacable. “You’re to stand judgment for your actions today.”
“What? You can’t be serious.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve ignored the will of the group,” Leoben tells her. “But I can promise you this will be the last time.”Ben tried to get the words out, tried to say he wouldn’t go back to the Cylons, but his parents, the cabin - everything faded away too quickly. He wept at the loss.
Fraser wakes up naked, but not alone. Stretched behind him is a lanky body that feels as familiar as his own. For a brief moment, he thinks the last several months have been nothing but a nightmare. He turns his head and -
The form is familiar, yes, but the right arm is clean and unmarked.
He’s not home after all.