(no subject)

[cathybites]

I'd written and re-written this story about four times, trying to work out exactly how I wanted it to go.  This is the original beginning for the story, when it was going to be from Fraser's POV and a little more lighthearted.  In the end, that didn't work out for me but I still like it a lot, so.

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It has been almost ten years since Benton Fraser last saw his father, walking off hand-in-hand with his mother into the hereafter.  He had thought that would be it, no more visits offering oftentimes unwanted parental advice, so when he wakes up one chilly March morning to find his father standing out in the snow, staring out at the horizon and looking troubled, Fraser is certain that, yes, his mind has finally snapped.

"Dad?" he asks as he trudges through the snow. 

"Something's amiss, son," his dad says, eyes flickering towards Fraser for an instant before returning to gaze out over the land.

"I thought you were...you left and..."  A thousand different emotions are at war within him - joy, sadness, confusion, fear, hope.  He settles for annoyance when his dad rolls his eyes and says, "For God's sake, finish your sentences.  You sound addlebrained."

"What are you doing here?"  He sets the bucket of food he has been carrying down and sticks his hands in his coat pockets.  Looking around, he notices his dad is alone and his voice grows soft and quiet as he asks, "Is Mom okay?"

His dad waves off his concern.  "She's fine.  Well, as fine as one can be when one's dead."  Before Fraser can say anything to that, his father continues.  "No, I just came here to let you know that something is amiss."

Fraser sighs and rubs at his face.  "Yes, you said that already.  Is there something in particular?  Or did you just feel like dropping by?"  He's starting to remember why having his father around tended to give him headaches.

"No need to get snippy," Bob says with a slightly offended air.  "I can't say what exactly it is, but a lot of folks seem to be getting restless.  I think," and his face and tone grows more serious, "that you may be in grave danger." 

Fraser blinks at the warning, only to see that his father has disappeared as quickly as usual.  Waiting a moment to see if he would return, he picks the bucket back up and makes his way to the shed to feed the dogs, deciding to mull over the conversation later with Ray.

When he returns to the cabin, though, Ray greets him at the door, all sleep-warm and smiling wide, and his father's visit is forgotten until much, much later.