Author's Note: Hey everybody. This is my first venture into Due South fan fiction. If the characters are OOC in any way, I have a pretty good excuse. I watched the show when I was about 5, when it originally aired, until I was about 9 when it ended, and this summer, my dad bought all the seasons DVDs off Ebay and we have been watching them ever since, enjoying every minute of Paul Gross clashing hilariously with David Marciano. I have to admit that, as much as I've tried to change my mind, Callum Rennie's Stanley 'Ray' Kowalski is not my Ray Vecchio, and never will be. There have been moments where I havfe been impressed with him, but I am just far too heavily attached to David Marciano's portrayal of Ray to ever consider Callum's portrayal to be my Ray. Sorry, that's just the truth. Hope that doesn't turn anyone off from the story.

I finally found a fitting title, which is all I've been waiting for before posting, as the story content itself was finished, needing only some editing. Please be nice in reviews, as it's my first time writing Due South fan fiction and I'm trying my very best to make it a good story. So far, in my opinion, it is. I'm going to disclaim something right now: I apologize for any geographical, etc. errors, as I am only familiar with New York City on the East Coast (I'm from North Dakota, familiarity of Chicago and other such huge cities shouldn't be expected of me.) If you readers wish to correct me, or especially, help me out with any of this, that would be much appreciated. Plus, I'm one of those people who, with every new fan fiction category I try, I get excited over like, two reviews. Also, I do a second author note at the end of many of my chapters, and they should at least be glanced at, as they may contain things like information about future updates and such, just so you know.

Thanks to Niento-Zero for being my beta, my bouncer of ideas, and my editor, too. Already, your notes and words are helping so much.

Enjoy the story.

Chapter 1 - Someone to Watch Over Me

Amanda Collins walked nervously down the street, hardly containing her anxiety. Before she'd come to Chicago for school, she'd never been to Chicago before. She had started out at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, a theatre major. 25 years old, of medium height, with brown highlighted hair and vivid green eyes, she was just finishing her first semester of graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and was on her way back to her apartment after a movie with some friends.

She'd told them to go on ahead, that she would catch up after giving her boyfriend back home, Alexander, a phone call.

But she always paced when she spoke on the phone, and in hearing his voice, she'd spaced out where she was, or how to get back.

Now she was lost and quickly getting cold and scared.

She paused by an unfamiliar alleyway, with apartment complexes right next to it, when all of a sudden, a gunshot rang out. Amanda screamed as she felt a hot, fierce pain in her side, and she fell to the ground. Hot tears of pain flooded her eyes, so she could barely see three men come out of the darkness. Ignoring her screams of pain and terror, they dragged her into the alley, stuffed a sock into her mouth so she couldn't scream, and raped her.

When the attack was over, the three men left her lying there. For several moments, she couldn't move. It was even hard to breathe. She was losing blood and afraid she would go into shock.

She did know she was going to need help, if she wasn't going to die— she didn't want to die.

Although in excruciating pain, Amanda crawled to the end of the alleyway. She managed to get to her knees and pull herself to her feet, her fingernails digging into the side of the brick building. She almost passed out in pain, but managed to remain conscious. Slowly, she walked toward the nearest apartment complex.

Three floors above her, Amanda did not know that Benton Fraser had heard the shot.

Benton Fraser looked up suddenly from playing cards with Ray Vecchio, as he heard a gunshot.

"Ray," he said, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ray asked irritably, frustrated that Ben was stalling his win of the game.

"There was a gunshot."

"Benny, this is Chicago," Ray said. "You and I can't go responding to every gunshot we hear, especially when we're off-duty, or we'd never have any peace and quiet."

"But Ray, we are the police. It's our job to respond to something like that."

"But we're off-duty, Fraser."

"Well, it was right below us, so I'm going. You can come if you want. Diefenbaker," Fraser beckoned to the wolf, who jumped up and followed him.

Ray looked around at the sound of the door closing. "Fraser!" he yelled, and he slapped down his cards. "Ugh, and I was about to win, too!"

But as usual, he ran after Fraser.

Fraser bolted down the fire escape stairs, jumping half the last flight. Then he froze, listening.

"Fraser, what's going—?" Ray began, but Fraser shushed him.

"Shh, Ray, I'm trying to listen. There's someone here," he said.

"Fraser, we heard the echo of a gunshot. In Chicago, that could be twenty blocks away," Ray whined.

Suddenly, Diefenbaker barked and started to run toward the end of the street. "No," Fraser said, "it's this way."

He followed the wolf around the corner and found Diefenbaker licking Amanda in the face. Amanda was struggling to push Diefenbaker off, her face pale from pain.

"Diefenbaker," Fraser said to the wolf, and he backed away.

Amanda looked up at Fraser and Ray through pained, scared, humiliated eyes.

"Oh, my God, what happened?" Ray asked immediately. "What's your name?"

"Amanda Collins," Amanda gasped at him.

"Ray, now is not the best time for interrogations," Fraser said. He noticed the blood on the pavement and staining Amanda's clothes. "She's been shot. She needs a hospital."

"OK, I'm calling an ambulance," Ray said, flipping out his cell phone.

"No, Ray, I believe it would be faster if we just take her ourselves, as we have no actual address of this alley to give to the EMTs," Fraser suggested.

"OK, OK, fine, let's get her to help. But no bleeding on my seats," Ray said.

Amanda shot Fraser a terrified look as he began to pick her up to carry her. She wanted to struggle and fight him off, but she was too weak, so she let him pick her up. Then, as he had her in his arms and began to walk away, she passed out.

"We have to hurry, Ray," Fraser said, looking at Ray. "And whatever you do, when we get back to your car, don't elevate her legs to treat for shock; her wound is above the waist."

Ray nodded and took off running. With Amanda unconscious in her arms, Fraser kept close behind.

Fraser chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waited in the waiting room with Ray for any news of the girl. He wondered if she had made it through the surgery. He realized he didn't know her name. He knew nothing whatsoever about her. If she died, how would he notify any of her family?

Fraser and Ray stood as a doctor came out and beckoned to them.

"Is she all right?" Fraser asked immediately.

"We think she's going to make it," the doctor said. "But as you are not family, I cannot say much to you, due to doctor-patient confidentiality, except to tell you her name was Amanda."

Fraser nodded, but Ray looked annoyed. "Even though we're the ones who rescued her, you can't tell us anything?" he demanded.

"Well, yes, that's the rule, Ray," Fraser said, looking at him, and he launched into explanation about doctor-patient confidentiality. "Doctor-patient confidentiality is a fundamental right given to every patient admitted to any hospital for any reason, guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments in the U.S. Constitution. It protects against unwarranted invasions of privacy by federal or state entities— including you and I, no matter the circumstances. An example of that would be Roe versus Wade in 1973. The patient themselves— in this case, Amanda— has to give specific consent to Doctor Storm, and as she is unconscious at the moment, she cannot, so the doctor-patient confidentiality law is still in place, and we can't do anything to change that—"

"Fraser, I know about Row versus Wade," Ray growled, glaring at him. "And you're not supposed to know about those things, you're Canadian." Fraser looked at him, very surprised at this remark. "OK, never mind, but I don't care about that law. I just want to know if we did what we did for a good reason."

"Once Amanda regains consciousness, I will ask her if I can give you, Constable, Detective Vecchio, and her parents any information," Doctor Storm said. "Not even her parents can know what happened to her until then. All I can tell you is that I will call you when she does give me permission."

Fraser and Ray sighed deeply. It was almost as though they had completely wasted the past ten minutes of their time. But they could do nothing else. All they could do was nod and Doctor Storm saw them out, and they left.

The next morning, Ray was woken early by the phone ringing. He rolled over, still half-asleep, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Detective Ray Vecchio?"

"Yeah, it is; who's this and why are you calling so early on a Saturday?" Ray asked.

"This is Doctor Victor Storm, Detective. I'm calling on behalf of Amanda Collins from Northwestern Memorial Hospital."

Ray looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 7:30. "Oh yeah, right, what about her?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up in bed.

"Well, she stabilized last night, and I thought perhaps you and Constable Fraser would like to see her and talk to her, pending an investigation," said Doctor Storm. "We've decided to transfer her early to a private room and I will ask her before you get here if I have her permission to give out information about her incident, so you and Constable Fraser know what you're dealing with and how you can help her and the investigation."

"Oh yeah, sure, we can do that," Ray said. "She's OK enough for it?"

"Well, I cannot speak for her personally, but physically, she's well enough," Doctor Storm said. "She is going to stay another 24 hours for observation, due to her LOC, but that doesn't mean you can't come talk to her. After that, she will be given pain medication, strict resting instructions, and sent discharged."

"You're not sending her all the way back to Kentucky?" Ray asked, surprised.

"No, Detective, I must insist she stays in Chicago, even though the men who attacked her are still out there," the doctor said. "Would you mind coming in? We can talk about this all more here. Her parents will be coming in this morning around ten; her boyfriend, too."

"OK, I'll call Fraser and we can be there in… an hour?" Ray said.

"Very good, Detective, see you soon," Doctor Storm said, and he hung up.

Ray dialed Fraser. "Fraser, get ready. I'm going to pick you up and we're going to Northwestern to see Amanda in an hour."

Doctor Storm met Fraser and Ray in the waiting room, and he led them to room 430. Fraser had left Diefenbaker in the car after an explanation from Ray that animals were not allowed in hospitals.

"She did give me permission to tell you, her parents, and Alexander what came of our examination. First of all, you need to know we found fluids, so there's a possibility Amanda could have been infected with HIV or a different STD," Doctor Storm said.

Fraser and Ray's hearts sank. That news would destroy Amanda.

"We're giving her medication to help prevent the infection of HIV right now," Doctor Storm said, "but there's no guarantee. We still need her to be checked for DNA and such, but her personal physical health was of the utmost importance over the investigation."

Fraser and Ray nodded.

"Oh, and it might not be best to talk to her about that just yet, if you please. If we don't, she will remain calmer. In here," Doctor Storm said, opening the door to room 430.

Amanda was sitting up in her hospital bed, playing Mario Brothers on the Nintendo set on her lap, the TV suspended above her bed. At some point in one of the levels, her character— Mario, judging by all the red— fell into a hole and she lost the game.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed irritably. Then she caught sight of Fraser, Ray, and the doctor and she blushed and sighed. "Not more cops?" she asked.

"We need to ask you what happened, Amanda, so you can make a statement," Doctor Storm said.

Amanda shrugged and immediately regretted that motion. It hurt to move like that.

Fraser stepped forward and removed his hat. "Amanda, I'm Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian Mounted Police."

"You're a mountie?" Amanda asked. She eyed his red suit. Fraser nodded. "So, uh, where's your horse?"

"Well, you see, that's a common misconception nowadays," Fraser explained. "We only ride anymore for special occasions. It's—"

"What he means is, it's hard to keep up with something that has 250 horsepower with only one," Ray interrupted, his tone sarcastic, a cheesy grin plastered on his face.

Fraser considered that for a moment, and then nodded and was silent.

"Detective Ray Vecchio, Chicago PD," Ray went on, suddenly very business-like, showing Amanda his badge. "We've come to ask you a few questions. You up for it?"

Amanda nodded. "I guess so," she said.

"Before the attack last night, where were you and where were you going?" Ray asked.

"I was walking back to my apartment with some friends," Amanda said.

"You're a student here?"

"Graduate school. I'm a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, theatre, Shakespearean concentration. I graduated from Rutgers University with a theatre performance and stage management degree."

"OK. Then what happened?"

"I called my boyfriend back home, Alexander. I told my friends to go on ahead. But I always pace when I talk on the phone, and I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I guess I got lost. It was raining and I was getting cold. But I didn't call Alex or my parents or anybody, because I didn't want them to worry. They live in Kentucky, which is pretty far from here. I don't want them to know, though, so I guess I have no one." She closed her eyes, recalling the events in her mind. She breathed deeply to keep herself calm. "It only got worse when I heard a gunshot."

"That shot hit you."

"Obviously; it was the only shot I heard."

"We checked the scene out after you were admitted and found some DNA samples that may lead us to who attacked you," Ray said. "But we also need you to go through a few tests to see if there's any DNA on you."

"It was three men. You'll find the three men that attacked me in a city of what, five million?" Amanda asked him.

"We'll do our best. We'll bring you down to the station to identify the men with a sketch artist as soon as possible," Ray said. "We want to catch these guys."

"OK."

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about the attack? Like, what happened after the guys hit you?" Ray asked. He knew what was coming.

What he didn't know was how Amanda reacted to the question. She began to panic and cry surprisingly quickly.

"Amanda?" he asked, remaining serious, while feeling sorry for her at the same time.

Amanda wiped her eyes and stifled a sob. "Then they raped me. I'm sorry," she said, looking at him, embarrassed. "It's just hard, you know? I mean, I came here to finish school. I don't goof off a lot because I want to concentrate on my studies and do well here, so I can graduate as soon as possible and be done with my education. I don't party or drink or smoke or do drugs or anything like that; I prefer to read or watch movies with friends. I never attracted unwanted attention; at least I don't think I did. Why would they do this to me? I was so damn stupid to go off on my own like that in such an unfamiliar, huge city."

"Amanda, you're not stupid," Ray said. "You've been a victim of a random act of violence, a crime. We're going to do our best to get these bastards who attacked you behind bars. Until we do, you'll be in protective custody."

"Are you going to arrest me?" Amanda asked, looking up at him and Fraser.

"No, that's not how it works," Ray said, smiling at her. "It's just protection, not arrest."

"How?" Amanda asked.

Ray turned and looked at Fraser. "Fraser is going to look after you," he said brightly.

Fraser looked at Ray. "M-me, Ray?" he stammered, surprised.

"Yes, Fraser, you, there's no use arguing. I'm going to go talk to Welsh right now and make sure he's OK with it. And I have to get through to the Dragon Lady as well, while I'm at it," Ray said, his tone of voice suddenly bright. "She'll stay with you at your place."

Fraser gulped. He'd only once ever been assigned to protect someone: the Canadian trade diplomat's daughter, who had been 16 at the time, and he hadn't had the best time of it, either.

Ray wouldn't quit looking at him with that cheesy, cheery grin plastered on his face. "Well, all right, Ray," Fraser conceded.

"Good, it's settled then," Ray said happily, smiling. "Fraser, you stay with Amanda. Maybe ask a few more questions. I'm going to go talk to Welsh. I'll be back."

Fraser and Amanda both watched Ray leave the room. Then they both looked at each other, confused.

Amanda shrugged, unconcerned, and then winced from the pain.

"You'd best take it easy," Fraser said. "I'll stay, but you're going to rest."

Amanda sighed and winced again. Her broken ribs really hurt. "OK," she gave in. "But look, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to. I'm not a child. I don't want my parents to know what happened to me, because they'll just freak out on me, but if they get notified, then they'll come here and will insist on taking care of me, even though I'm an adult and I've been living on my own for years now. Alex will worry, but he'll want to help me and protect me. I bet he'll call the University of Kentucky, where he's going to school, and tell them he's had a family emergency, so he can stay with me here until I'm better."

"That may be so, but you've still been assigned to me to protect," Fraser said. "It's not that I don't want to look after you; it's just that it was all very sudden and I hadn't had any time to… prepare anything."

"Yeah, well, welcome to Chicago," Amanda said, rolling her eyes and lying back on her pillows.

"Thank you," Fraser said, inclining his head toward her and smiling.

Amanda rolled her eyes again. "I wasn't being nice," she said bluntly.

"Ah," Fraser said, raising his eyebrows and nodding.

"Besides, I don't want to be taken care of," Amanda said. "I'll be the only person on campus with a bodyguard. I'm a grown adult, I shouldn't need something like that." Amanda sighed. "So how many other girls have you been assigned to look after?" she asked.

"Well, only one, she was quite a bit younger than you," Fraser said. He pulled up a chair next to her bed. "She was a Canadian trade diplomat's daughter."

"Oh," Amanda said. "How was that for you?"

"It wasn't very well, unfortunately; you see, she was only 16 and kept trying to get rid of me," Fraser said, sounding confused.

"Gee, I wonder why," Amanda said sarcastically. Judging by the lack of reaction from Fraser, he'd missed the sarcasm. "Did she succeed?"

"Only once, and not for long; I knew the city better than she did and I was able to find her," Fraser said.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that with me," Amanda assured him. "Not only am I injured, but although I don't like this whole situation, I think you're handsome."

Fraser blushed. "Uh, thank you," he said awkwardly.

"OK, Fraser, it's a done deal. You are now Miss Collins' official bodyguard," Ray said, as he walked through the door.

"Very good, Ray," Fraser said affirmatively. Amanda sighed again.

Chapter 2 will be posted as soon as I possibly can. I usually write RENT fan fiction stories, so to be writing Due South, like I said before, is a new thing. I know Amanda might seem a bit Mary-Sueish right now (and I would guess that it's only going to get worse before it gets better), but I would think that, if I were violated, I woudn't turn down protection and I certainly wouldn't be stable and normal for quite some time. Another thing I am going to disclaim and apologize for right now is any mistakes or unrealistic things I might do with her schooling, major, and/or concentration. I'm not a theatre major and I know nothing about graduate school, so please forgive me for any mess-ups there. Thanks.

I'm going to try my best to update regularly, but as I'm nearing freshman year mid-terms, I can make no promises. I do need to start a strategy of writing up the entire story before posting, but haven't learned that yet, LOL. Please don't forget to review. I am really hoping this story is well-received and that readers leave reviews. I love feedback and reply to anything, as I care about my readers and enjoy having discussions with them about my stories and where they are going.

I'll update again as soon as possible. Thank you kindly for reading.

Renthead07