(Disclaimer: Due South and its characters are
property of Alliance Communications Corp., CBS, and CTV. Lyrics for ‘Answer To
My Prayer’ and ‘Until I Found You’ are copyrighted by Acuff/Rose
Music, Inc. No infringement is intended.
Original story and characters by Krissi Strahl. Email: [email protected]
Comments are welcome.)
Neighbors & Friends
Chapter 3
“Have
fun at your surprise, Benny,” said Ray, winking.
“Goodnight,
Ray,” said Fraser, hoping his friend would leave him alone. He was
uncomfortable enough as is without Ray picking on him.
As
Fraser walked up to his floor, he was overwhelmed by the aroma of honeysuckle
and apple blossom incense from Ash’s apartment.
^I guess she’s trying to set some kind of mood for the surprise.^ When he walked in
the door, the only light he saw came from 9 pink candles and 3 magenta candles
that were set around the main room of the apartment. “What’s all this for?” he asked.
“I
finished the songs I was writing. I
thought since they were love songs, the incense and candles would help you
relax as I sang them,” she said as the flames danced in her soft brown eyes.
“You
know me so well,” said Fraser, smiling.
“This
one’s called ‘Answer To My Prayer’. It’s kind of a soulmate
song,” said Ash as she picked up her guitar.
“Is
it about us?”
“You
tell me,” she said as started fingerpicking.
*Once in a lifetime
You find that someone else
Who knows you better
Than you even know yourself
You’re that connection
That makes my heart complete
You keep my soul in balance
You are harmony
I say the grace you say amen
We are each other’s compliment
This is a perfect love we share
You’re the answer to my prayer
You know my question
Before I even ask
I know when to let you cry
And when to make you laugh
Sometimes we say the most
When no words have been said
You even sing the songs
I hear playing in my head
I say the grace you say amen
We are each other’s compliment
This is a perfect love we share
You’re the answer to my prayer
And all that I need is all that I have
My lover, my other half
I say the grace you say amen
We are each other’s compliment
This is a perfect love we share
You’re the answer to my prayer
This is a perfect love we share
You’re the answer to my prayer*
“That
was wonderful, Ash,” said Fraser when she finished.
“You
really liked it?” she asked. There was a
hint of excitement in her voice. Fraser
nodded. “Well, this next one I wrote
about an hour after we first met. It’s
called ‘Until I Found You’.”
“I’m
sure it’s lovely too.”
*Love was only a way to hurt
Until I found you
Trust and faith were lonely words
Until I found you
I beat my heart against the wall
Until I found you
Thought I had no chance at all
Until I found you
Oh, I live my life
Never really felt alive
Kept my heart in the dark out of sight
And locked my feelings in
Empty pages and tables turning
Until I found you
I left all my bridges burning
Until I found you
Thought my heart was history
Until I found you
Never knew how to love me
Until I found you
Never saw the silver lining
Until I found you
The miracle of perfect timing
Until I found you
Oh, I live my life
Never really felt alive
Kept my heart in the dark out of sight
And locked my feelings in
Angels only lived in Heaven
Until I found you
Never rolled a lucky seven
Until I found you
Love was only a way to hurt
Until I found you
Always got what I deserved
Until I found you*
“You
really feel that way about me?” asked Fraser.
“Yes,
I do. Even what I thought I had with Tom
doesn’t compare to what I feel for you.
Like I told Granny’s spirit, what we have between us is more then love. It’s a kinship that runs deeper than even our
family bonds,” said Ash as she sat down her guitar and scooted closer to the Mountie. He seemed
more relaxed than before, but he was still nervous when she came up to
him. ^I think the spell is working. He seems to be calming down a little.^
As
the magic from the candles, incense, and music worked its way to his core,
Fraser asked, “What are you doing to me?
I suddenly feel so comfortable with you.”
She
wrapped her arm around him and placed a finger to his lips. “Shh, let’s just do
what comes natural,” she whispered. He
didn’t pull away as she kissed him.
****
“So,
tell me what happened last night and don’t spare me the details,” said Ray,
cocking an eyebrow as to say, “You dog!”
“Nothing
happened, Ray. Ash played me a few new
songs then I went home.” Fraser
conveniently left out the part about the kiss.
He thought that was a little too personal for Ray to know about.
“Something
else had to have happened. You’ve never
been this defensive, and your face is getting to be as red as you tunic.”
Fraser
felt his cheeks burning. “The goings on
of last night are between Ash and me. It is against my honor to discuss this any
further.”
“Sure, Benny.
Whatever.”
****
When
Ash, Timber, and Diefenbaker showed up at the studio that afternoon, Sami bombarded her friend with questions. “What happened last night? Did
“First
of all, he loved the songs. Secondly,
you know very well that we’re past regular boyfriend/girlfriend. We’re a little deeper then that. And what happened last night is none of your
business.” Looking at her wolf, Ash
said, “Can you believe her. I mention
that I invited
Timber
gave a half-whimper, half-growl.
“No,
I’m not telling her. I don’t care how
bad she want to know.”
Timber
looked at Ash and snorted.
“What
are you two talking about?”
“Alright,
if you have to know, we kissed.”
“And?”
“And what? We kissed, it was long and very passionate. We’re really starting to open up to each
other.”
“It’s
about time,” said Sami.
“Think
about it, Sami.
Think about why me and Benton don’t trust the
opposite sex.
“Whoa,
sorry I brought it up,” said Sami turning back to the
mixing board.
“No,
I’m sorry I snapped at you like that.
It’s just…” A tear rolled down
Ash’s cheek. Timber licked Ash’s hand to
try and comfort her.
“It’s
OK, Ash. Remember, Tom’s in prison now
and can’t hurt anybody anymore. If by
some curse he got out, I know
Moving
to a better subject, Ash said, “What would you say if I wanted to cut ‘Answer To My Prayer’ for the demo, and have
“You and Benton singing together? I think it’s perfect. Now, how can we talk him into doing it?”
“I’ll
ask when I take Dief back to him tonight. I’ll say that that we’ll record while he’s
off duty so Inspector Thatcher can’t get on his case.”
****
Later
that night, Ash walked in Fraser’s with their two wolves clicking at her
heels. “Hi Ben. Here’s Dief
back. He was such a good boy.”
“Glad
to hear it.” Fraser studied her
face. “Ash, you look like you want to
ask me something. What is it?”
Ash
just blurted it out. “Would you record
‘Answer to My Prayer’ with me?”
“Why
Ash, I would be honored to sing with you.
I see you picked our song for some reason. When do we start?”
“I
booked a few hours for tomorrow night around
“That
sounds fine. Tomorrow at
“Yep,
see you then,” said Ash as she walked out the door.
****
At
“Nope. You’re right
on time, which is pretty strange.”
“How
do you mean?”
“We’re
used to musician’s hours around here.”
She saw the puzzled look on Fraser’s face. “That means we run 15 minutes behind the rest
of the world.”
“Ah,
understood,” said Fraser.
“Hi
“Yes, Ash.”
A
man sat at the mixing board, playing with the faders, and getting the mix ready
for the night’s session. “
“Hello
Scott, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hi
“Fine. Where do you
want me?” he asked.
“It’s
your choice, Ben. I don’t really care
which booth you take,” said Ash.
“Then
I will take the one on the left.”
“Okie doke, shall we go?” she
asked as she led him to his booth. She
watched as Fraser put on the headphones and started warming up. When she got to her booth she said into the mic, “ Hey Scott, how bout me and
Benton run through the song a few times before we actually cut it? That OK with you, Ben?”
“It’s
fine with me. I need get the levels
anyway,” said Scott.
“It’s better we make our mistakes now then when the tape is
rolling,” said Fraser.
“Alright,
let’s do it,” said Ash.
They
heard the intro start and then Fraser sang, “Once in a lifetime, you find that
someone else, who knows you better, than you even know yourself.”
Then
Ash sang, “You’re that connection, that makes my heart complete, you keep my
soul in balance, you are harmony.” They
both sang the chorus, their voices blending perfectly.
Ash
sang, “You know my question, before I even ask.”
Fraser
sang, “I know when to let you cry, and when to make you laugh.”
Ash
sang, “Sometimes we say the most, when no words have been said.”
Fraser
sang, “You even sing the songs, I hear playing in my head.” Again they both sang the chorus. Then he
sang, “And all that I need is all that I have.”
Ash
sang, “My lover, my other half.” Once
again they came to the chorus.
Then
Ash sang, “This is a perfect love we share.”
They
both sang, “You’re the answer to my prayer.”
****
In
the control room, Sami watched as the last punch-in
was recorded. She was surprise at how
relaxed Fraser seemed in the studio. ^I
wonder if he done this before?^ She looked at Scott and nodded. “Ash,
Ash
and Fraser took off their headphones and walked back to the control room. Scott rewound the tapes and Sami was sitting on the couch in the corner. Diefenbaker and Timber Anne laid near the
door that led out to the lounge. “So,
how’d we sound?” asked Ash.
“Not
bad, considering
“Oh
come on, we didn’t sound that bad.
Scott, you ready for playback? I
can wait to hear it,” said Ash.
“Alright,
here it comes,” said Scott. Fraser and
Ash both mouthed their parts as the song played. Ash heard something that made her
cringe. “You can edit out the pops later,”
he said, noticing her reaction.
“Thanks
Scott, I’ll do that tomorrow when I come in to work. What do you think
“It
sounds fine to me.” Fraser looked at
Scott. “When are you mixing this for the
demo?” he asked.
“I’m
not mixing it, Ash is,” said Scott.
“Ah,
I see.” Fraser watched as Ash packed the
safety tapes into her backpack. “What
are you doing? Don’t you trust Scott to
keep the tapes until morning?”
“It’s
one of my own personal quirks,” said Ash.
“I have copies of all the ADATs I’ve ever
used. That’s why I have all those
VCR-like tapes in my living room. Helps me sleep better at night.”
“Understood,”
said Fraser. He shot a glance at the
wolves. “I think Dief
and Timber need to go out. Do you mind
if I take them?”
“Go
ahead,
Fraser
signaled for Diefenbaker and Timber to follow him as went through the lounge
out to the street. As they made their
way to the park, a strange feeling swept over Fraser. “Dad?” he asked into the night.
“No
sonny. I’m Ash’s grandmother,
Nadine.” The ghost looked Fraser
over. “You’re just like your father
said.”
“Excuse
me?”
“Your
father and I had a long talk about your relationship with Ash. He told me that you’re an honorable man that
won’t treat my Sugarcake like her old boyfriend did.”
“Sugarcake?”
“Did
Ash mention she comes from a long line of hicks?”
“Yes,
she did. Who is her old boyfriend and
what did he do to her?”
“His
name is Tom Bundy. He physically abused
her and almost killed her. As far as I
know, he’s in prison for her attempted murder.”
“She
never told me that,” said Fraser, surprised to find out Ash had such a dark
past.
“It’s
one of those things you want to keep in the past,” said Nadine as she faded
away back into the night air.
Fraser
shook his head, clearing the cobwebs of Nadine’s visit. Looking down at the wolves, he asked them,
“Ready to go home?
They
both whined and started for the apartments.