"Pop, are you ready?" Detective Peter Caine had been excited about the camping trip that he and his father had planned. No worries for mystery cases, shadow assassins and the like, only a weekend with his father in the wilderness. It had been some time since he was free to spend some quality time with Caine and Peter was really looking forward to this trip. He also wanted to make up to him following the incident last week where he had yelled at his father to get out of his life. Though he had apologised, he still felt that it just wasn't enough.

"What are you thinking, my son?" Kwai Chang Caine asked his son, who was lost deep in thought.

"Nothing. Just that I really am looking forward to this trip." Peter looked at his father then continued. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," answered Caine as he picked up his things and followed Peter down to his car.

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"Hey Blair! What's taking you so long?" Detective Jim Ellison yelled. "I'm leaving without you if you don't hurry up!" He shouted to his partner, guide and friend, Blair Sandburg.

"I'm coming! Can't you even wait for a sec?" Sandburg replied as he walked out of his room with his backpack held loosely in his left hand.

Both of them had been pretty excited about the weekend that they had planned, away from the city and the cases that they have been working on. It had been a while since any of them had a vacation and they were planing to take full advantage of the weekend just to relax.

"All set and ready?" asked Ellison.

"Yep!"

They loaded their stuff in Jim's truck and headed towards their destination, Parksview Nature Reserve.

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"I don't even know how I let you to talk me into a camping trip!" said Detective Ray Vecchio, "Benny, the vacation I had in mind was on some sunny beach with women in bikinis running all around me, not some camping trip in the wild feeding mosquitoes!"

"Ray, trust me. You'll enjoy it," replied his friend Constable Benton Fraser, RCMP, as he packed his things in the trunk of Ray's car. "Besides, we'll be staying in a cabin and I assure you that there won't be any mosquitoes in Parksview Nature Reserve."

Ray threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender and got into the driver's seat. "I don't even know why I argue anymore," he muttered under his breath as Fraser and Diefenbaker, Fraser's wolf, got into the car.

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Peter Caine got out of the car and stretched his body. After a long while, they had finally reached their destination, Parksview Nature Reserve.

"So which one's ours?" Peter asked, referring to the four cabins in front of them.

"I believe the Park Ranger said that it is the first on the right," answered Caine as he walked toward the cabin nearest the river.

As father and son finished unpacking their things in the cabin, Caine decided to take a walk in the mountains across the river.

"Hold on, Pop. I'll go with you," said Peter.

Caine smiled as he walked out of the cabin with his son.

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"Wow! Cool car!" Blair can't help exclaiming as he saw the blue Stealth parked in front of the cabin.

"It's a Stealth, Chief, not just any car," said Jim in the driver's seat as they parked in front of the second cabin from the left.

They got out of the car and transferred their things into the cabin that Captain Simon Banks had loaned them for the weekend.

"I didn't know that Simon owns a cabin so far away from Cascade," Blair said as he dumped his backpack on the cabin floor.

"He said some aunt of his left it for him in her will," replied Jim as he closed the door. "Not bad," he commented as he surveyed his surroundings.

The living room had a comfortable looking couch and a fireplace, the kitchen seemed to be loaded with modern equipment, and the two rooms in the cabin looked quite comfortable too.

About half an hour later, Jim gave up trying to persuade Blair to go fishing with him. As he left the cabin, his Sentinel hearing could already pick up the steady heartbeat of his sleeping friend.

*Boy that kid must be tired,* he thought as he walked towards the river.

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"Which one?" asked Ray as he drove onto the road that led to the cabins.

"I believe Elaine said it's the second one to the right," answered Fraser.

"You sure it's not the second to the left?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what Elaine said. Besides, the second cabin on the left is occupied."

Ray parked his car in front of the cabin and Fraser began unpacking their things into the cabin.

** **

Fifteen minutes later, Fraser walked towards the river with his fishing equipment while Ray slept in the cabin, exhausted after the long drive. Fraser stopped as he spotted a familiar blue Stealth, which was hidden from their point of view from their cabin by a truck parked beside it.

*What a coincidence,* he thought as he continued his way to the river. *I'll tell Ray later that Peter is here."*

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On the mountainside, Caine and Peter were walking side by side. Caine was looking for some herbs that he might be able to bring home. He knelt down beside the stream as he saw something interesting that caught his eye. When he turned around, he found Peter deep in thought, a troubled expression on his face.

"What is troubling you, my son?" he asked.

"Nothing," lied Peter.

"Do not lie to me, Peter. What is it?"

"Pop, I . . ." Peter suddenly found the ground very interesting as he stared down, avoiding his father's eyes. "I . . . I'm very sorry for what I said to you last week. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that . . ."

Before he could finish, Caine cut him off. "You have already apologised and there is no need for you to do so again." Caine knew that his son was feeling guilty, but what he didn't know was that after Caine had forgiven him, the guilt in Peter was still so strong.

"But . . ."

"I understand how you feel. Let go of the past and embrace the future. I have never blamed you for what happened. It is I who has to say I am sorry. I should have known that you are able to take care of yourself and solve your own problems. I just could not let go of you, my son."

"Father . . . " Peter did not know what to say, so he hugged his father. *I love you,* Peter said in his mind.

*I love you, too, my son,* Caine replied, picking up Peter's thoughts.

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Jim turned around as he heard someone walking up behind him.

"Hello. Benton Fraser," he said as he extended his hand.

"Jim Ellison," the other replied as he took the hand offered to him.

As they talked and got acquainted, Jim Ellison found himself spending the rest of the afternoon fishing and trading camping tales with Benton Fraser.

"You're a very good fisherman," commented Fraser as they headed back towards their cabin with only two fish in tow.

"Let's just say I always have an instinct where the fish will be, "replied Ellison cryptically carrying a bucket full of fish. He hesitated about telling Fraser about how he could see the fish with his Sentinel vision.

Just then a white wolf with a dead rabbit in his mouth appeared right in front of them. Ellison stopped and eyed the wolf, thinking of ways to get to safety without upsetting the animal.

"Don't be alarmed. It's just Diefenbaker. I was wondering where he was the whole afternoon" Fraser walked towards the wolf, much to Ellison's suprise.

"You own a wolf?" Jim said, amazed that anyone would own such an animal.

"Well, I don't know if it's legal to own a wolf but in this case Diefenbaker chose to stay with me." Fraser reached down and scratched Diefenbarker behind the ears. "I've tried to sent him back but he doesn't want to go."

Jim just shook his head.

"Hey Benny! You caught us any dinner?" Ray called out to his friend as he walked towards the group standing only a few steps away from the cabin. "Who's your friend here?"

"Jim Ellison," said Jim as he introduced himself.

"Ray Vecchio," said Ray as he took the hand offered to him.

They just completed the introduction when Jim heard someone approaching. Diefenbaker must have heard it too as he quickly put the dead rabbit down and ran towards the source.

"What's wrong with him?" asked a puzzled Ray.

His question was answered as Peter and Caine appeared around the corner with Diefenbaker leading them.

"Peter? Caine? What are you doing here?" exclaimed Ray as he saw them.

"I believe that was my question Ray. I thought you hated camping," answered Peter. "Wait, let me guess. Fraser here talked you into this and now you are regretting every moment you're spending here."

"You got the picture."

"Jim? What's taking you so long? I'm starving," said Blair as he walked towards the group. He saw that Ellison wasn't alone. "Hi."

Another round of introduction took place before everyone knew each other. During that time Diefenbaker had pick up the rabbit and sat watching as the humans talk. Realising that they wouldn't stop for some time, he began chewing on the rabbit.

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That night Jim invited everyone over for supper since he and Blair couldn't possibly finish all the fish that he had caught that afternoon. Fraser had volunteered to help clean and prepare them. Before dinner was ready, Jim Ellison had grown to like Fraser.

After dinner they sat around and talked.

"So Jim, what do you do for a living?" asked Peter.

"I'm a Detective at the Cascade Police Department."

"What?" he added as he noticed the stunned faces of Ray, Peter and Fraser.

"Don't tell me you guys are wanted criminals?" said Blair. "Are you?" he added worriedly.

"No, we are not," answered Caine. "I believe that they are suprised to hear that Jim is also a police detective."

"Also?" Jim and Blair asked their guests simultaneously.

"Ray's a detective with the Chicago PD and Peter's a detective with the 101st Precinct, in Sloanville," said Fraser as he recovered his composure.

"This is weird," said Blair as he shook his head in disbelief. "Three detectives from three different cities across the country sitting in the same living room!"

"This wouldn't even hit one on my weird scale if you've seen half of what I've seen in my life," Peter finally said.

"Yeah," agreed Ray.

"So what have you seen that's so weird?" Jim asked out of a budding curiosity about his new friends.

"Well, I don't think you'll believe this, but there was this case where the prime suspect turned himself into a snake," Peter said offhandedly.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't believe you."

"Anyway, I was sent undercover on my last case as a French-Canadian hockey player . . ."

The three detectives went on talking about their the less weirder and more believable cases while the priest, the anthropologist and the Mountie kept themselves busy debating about some obscure culture that had vanished a few thousand years ago. Their discussions carried on long into the night before they finally went their own ways.

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Two days later, everybody was preparing to leave, and were saying their good byes outside of their cabins.

"This is the first vacation I had in quite some time with no trouble coming up in the middle of it," said Ray.

"Yeah," agreed Peter and Jim at the same time.

"It'd really be stupid to mess around with the three best detectives and their partners," Blair said, unable to keep from smiling. "Besides, it felt good to get away for a while without anyone trying to kill you."

"You got that right kid! They wouldn't want to mess with us if they ruined our vacation," said Ray. "We'd kick their butts so hard they wouldn't even know what hit them!"

Everybody laughed, shook hands, exchanged promised to keep in touch and then they said their good byes and departed for home.

THE END

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