dS Snippet: Accessory
Fandom/Characters: Due South; Fraser, Kowalski
Rating: G
Length: 300 words
Challenge: Written for ds_snippets challenge #43, prompt "stranger"
Notes: Thanks to my beta, nos4a2no9.
Summary: Ray and Fraser argue in the aftermath of a case.
ETA: The snippet sequel, 'End and Means', can be found here.
Cathy LeBeau started crying when they finally broke her, silent tears slipping down her angry, lined face. Her story had been the only thing keeping the DA from prosecuting, and now Jake LeBeau would go down for voluntary manslaughter.
"You gotta admire her," Ray said later, as they pulled up outside the Consulate.
"Admire?" Fraser said, shaking his head. "No. I might understand her actions, but I can't condone them."
"She was trying to protect her husband. Jake wasn't a bad guy, it was just, you know, a crime of passion. And now he'll be spending his golden years scared to drop the soap."
Fraser turned sideways in his seat, forehead wrinkling earnestly in the dim glow of the streetlights. "Mrs. LeBeau knew that her husband was guilty. Lying to corroborate his alibi was shameful, and made her an accessory after the fact."
"She loved him! Come on," Ray said, voice dropping to a near whisper, "I've seen you go to bat to protect Vecchio. Nine kilos of missing heroin? Guy Rankin? This ringing any bells?"
Fraser sat up straighter. "The situations are nothing alike. In each case, I knew that Ray was innocent. I merely acted to prevent a miscarriage of justice."
"And when Cahill came after me for Volpe's murder?" Ray asked.
"You were innocent."
"Yeah, but Fraser, what if I wasn't innocent? What would you have done?"
A car drove by, its headlights capturing Fraser. For a second he looked like a stranger, someone who belonged on the other side of the interrogation glass.
The car passed. Fraser's calm, familiar voice came out of the darkness. "I would have turned you in myself, of course."
Years later, as IA chased their own tails, Ray would remember that night as the first time Fraser lied to protect him.
Rating: G
Length: 300 words
Challenge: Written for ds_snippets challenge #43, prompt "stranger"
Notes: Thanks to my beta, nos4a2no9.
Summary: Ray and Fraser argue in the aftermath of a case.
ETA: The snippet sequel, 'End and Means', can be found here.
Cathy LeBeau started crying when they finally broke her, silent tears slipping down her angry, lined face. Her story had been the only thing keeping the DA from prosecuting, and now Jake LeBeau would go down for voluntary manslaughter.
"You gotta admire her," Ray said later, as they pulled up outside the Consulate.
"Admire?" Fraser said, shaking his head. "No. I might understand her actions, but I can't condone them."
"She was trying to protect her husband. Jake wasn't a bad guy, it was just, you know, a crime of passion. And now he'll be spending his golden years scared to drop the soap."
Fraser turned sideways in his seat, forehead wrinkling earnestly in the dim glow of the streetlights. "Mrs. LeBeau knew that her husband was guilty. Lying to corroborate his alibi was shameful, and made her an accessory after the fact."
"She loved him! Come on," Ray said, voice dropping to a near whisper, "I've seen you go to bat to protect Vecchio. Nine kilos of missing heroin? Guy Rankin? This ringing any bells?"
Fraser sat up straighter. "The situations are nothing alike. In each case, I knew that Ray was innocent. I merely acted to prevent a miscarriage of justice."
"And when Cahill came after me for Volpe's murder?" Ray asked.
"You were innocent."
"Yeah, but Fraser, what if I wasn't innocent? What would you have done?"
A car drove by, its headlights capturing Fraser. For a second he looked like a stranger, someone who belonged on the other side of the interrogation glass.
The car passed. Fraser's calm, familiar voice came out of the darkness. "I would have turned you in myself, of course."
Years later, as IA chased their own tails, Ray would remember that night as the first time Fraser lied to protect him.