T
he first thing Fraser saw when he deplaned in Chicago was Ray Vecchio
waiting at the gate, a smug-looking Diefenbaker at his side. Dief was
wearing a harness of the kind habitually worn by the drug-sniffing police
dogs that patrolled the airport. "Hey,
when did Dief get a badge?" Ray whispered in Fraser's ear.
Fraser
waved to Ray Vecchio across the velvet ropes separating them, tilting
his head slightly to the side to answer Ray. "Unless Im very
much mistaken, never," he said. "Ive told him a thousand
times hes not eligible."
First
off, one of the very very worst things about writing this story
was the continual struggle to make it clear which Ray I was talking
about at which part. Pretty much all of the drama and humor in
this story depends on the situation- RayK as a ghost that RayV
cannot hear or see, but other people can.
Another
thing I struggled with was having RayK laugh at things that I thought
were funny. As Ces said, "Ray's turning into Ed McMahon."
As
they passed the last flight attendant, Dief scrambled to his feet, barking
excitedly, and ran straight to Ray Kowalski, circling him and sniffing,
glancing between him and Fraser.
"Whats
with him?" Ray Vecchio said, looking at Dief, who was lying on
his back as Rays nearly-invisible hands gave him an enthusiastic
belly rub.
"Well,
I dont know, Ray," Fraser said, mildly. "Perhaps it's
the carpet; there's a chemical compound in the adhesive used to install
industrial carpeting that smells very like decomposing meat. Of course,
humans dislike the odor, but it's very attractive to canines."
Strangely
enough, I re-wrote this paragraph like five times. I just couldn't
seem to get the pretexty bit right. Sometimes it's the oddest
things that hang you up.
Ray
Vecchio was watching him with obvious concern. "Forget the wolf,
Benny, come here," he said, and swept Fraser up in a brief, warm
hug. "You look better," he said, drawing back to look at him.
"Im glad, Benny."
"Thank
you," Fraser said. He glanced down at Ray, half-expecting to hear
a mocking comment, but Ray just smiled a little, shaking his head as
he ruffled the fur behind Dief's ears.
"So,
Benny," Ray Vecchio said. "You're gonna come eat with us tonight,
right?" He slung an arm around Fraser's shoulders and started walking
with him towards the baggage claim; Ray followed, Dief at his side.
"Say
yes, Fraser," Ray said. Fraser looked back at him, startled. "What?"
"Eat,
Benny," said Ray Vecchio. "Food. I know they have it in Canada,
I've been there, remember?"
And
here we have the first of many, many instances where both Rays
are talking to Fraser at once and he tries to answer them both
without making RayV suspicious.
"He's
worried about you," said Ray. "Go eat with him, it'll make
him feel better. Plus, he's got Zippy, right? You'd have to go there
anyway to pick him up."
"You
have to come by the house anyway," said Ray Vecchio. "I've
still got Sta-- your turtle."
I
actually went several rounds in beta with Ces over the turtle's
name. I wanted to name him Heinrich, in tribute to that one XF
ep where Mulder says he has a dog named that, and it was supposed
to be a geeky joke on RayK's part, but Ces maintained that it
wasn't in character and eventually I gave in. She's probably
right about Ray, but I still think a turtle named Heinrich would
be funny.
"Ah,"
said Fraser. "Right you are, Ray."
See,
and there he's answering them both! Oh, the cleverness of me.
(Not really.)
They
picked up Fraser's bag, which was, for once, one of the first ones unloaded,
and followed Ray Vecchio to where he'd parked his car- yet another Riviera
that he'd acquired, with characteristic optimism, in Florida.
"Isn't
it illegal to park here, Ray?" Fraser asked mildly, putting his
luggage in the trunk.
"No
parking space is illegal when you've got official police business,"
said Vecchio.
"I'd
hardly call this official police business," Fraser said.
"Sure
it is," said Ray, coming-- somewhat surprisingly-- to Vecchio's
defense. "Look, he's got a police dog and everything." He
sighed. "That was one of my favorite things about being a cop,
you know. The parking was great."
"You're
not helping," Fraser muttered.
"Sure
I'm helping. I'm picking up an official liaison of the Chicago Police
Department," Vecchio said, getting into the car. "That's official
enough."
Fraser
eyed Ray, who had climbed into the back seat with Diefenbaker. He hoped
his father wouldn't decide to start following him on cases again; the
back of the Riv was getting downright crowded.
With
an effort, he wrested his attention from such speculation and returned
it to the matter at hand. "And I suppose that Diefenbaker's new
rank in the K-9 Corps is official, as well?"
Vecchio
smirked. "Why, yes, Benny, as a matter of fact it is."
"How
on earth did that come about?"
"Welsh
pulled some strings," Vecchio said. "He said Dief does more
around there than any of the other dogs-- hell, he does more than some
of the cops, not to name names or anything-- and if you can be
an official liaison, so can he."
Dief
barked.
"I
never said you didn't have the skills," Fraser corrected.
"I merely said you didn't have the discipline. You don't
catch the other dogs begging for scraps in the break room, do you?"
"You
just don't see 'em," Ray Kowalksi said, catching Dief by the muzzle
and shaking him affectionately. "The K-9 guys hang out downstairs
most of the time. They think those dogs walk on water down there."
Dief
yipped.
"Yeah,
well I know better," Ray said firmly, stilling Dief's face and
looking him in the eye. "So don't be getting delusions of grandeur
or nothing."
"You
pay and pay and pay," Fraser said, turning to stare resolutely
out the front window.
They
drove in silence for a while, and then Ray Vecchio took a deep breath,
as though gathering his courage. "So, your sister's a real nice
lady," he said.
Fraser
blinked. "You called Maggie?"
"I
just-- I wanted to make sure you got there OK." Ray kept his eyes
fixed on the road. "She said you were going to be fine. That I
shouldn't worry."
"Maggie
is a very perceptive woman."
"So
this isn't going to be one of those things where you go around acting
normal for six weeks and then go apeshit in the middle of the bullpen
one day and have to be taken away on a gurney, is it?" Vecchio
shot him a nervous look. "Cause I don't think I can stand the suspense."
This
is one of the places where I have to admit to a favorite line,
tacky though it might be. I love this moment, not least because
the idea of Fraser going apeshit in the bullpen is so unlikely
as to be funny just by itself, but also because of Vecchio's
real concern for Fraser underneath the humor.
Fraser
leaned back slightly into the cool pressure of Ray Kowalski's hand,
which was cupping the back of his neck. "No, Ray," he said.
"This isn't going to be like that."
Vecchio
pulled into his driveway, sighing. "Well, anyway," he said.
"The car's in Mrs. Devane's garage across the street, we can pick
it up after dinner."
"That
should be fine, Ray," Fraser said, holding open the door of the
Riv for Ray and Dief.
The
house was, as always, brightly lit and cheerful, but was considerably
more quiet than it had been in the past; Fraser remembered Ray mentioning
that his sister Maria and her family were in the process of buying a
home of their own, and supposed that they must have moved already.
"Ma
and Frannie are at a thing at church," Ray Vecchio said. "Jumble
sale or something. It's just us tonight." He hung up his coat.
"I'm gonna go see if Stella needs anything." He went towards
the kitchen, leaving Fraser in the process of hanging up his own coat.
"Wow,
Stella's cooking," Ray said. "She must like you more than
I thought."
Dief
yowled.
"You're
right," Fraser said. "It does smell delicious."
Ray
looked wistful. "I miss smelling stuff," he said. "Of
course, working with you, not being able to smell things is probably
a good thing, but still, it don't feel right."
"Can
you not smell at all?" Fraser asked, curiously.
"Not
the same," Ray said. "It's hard to describe. Senses are...
different."
I
actually spent a long time working out the behind-the-scenes
logistics of ghosthood in this universe, including this bit about
senses. A lot of it isn't used in any of the stories so far,
though more
of
it
will
be
once
they start having ghostly sex. Ahem.
They
started walking down the hallway. "In what way?" Fraser asked.
"You obviously see and hear. Or am I being overly simplistic?"
"It's
like seeing and hearing," Ray said, shaking his head. "Only
it's not, because I'm not physical anymore, so obviously I'm not absorbing
sound waves or whatever." They entered the dining room. "It's
more like-- you know when you're not looking behind you but you still
know somebody's there? Kind of like that."
"What
about--" Fraser was interrupted by a loud crash behind him. He
turned to see Stella Vecchio, the shattered remains of dinner at her
feet, staring white-faced over his shoulder at Ray.
"Stella?"
Ray Vecchio hurried into the room, setting a steaming dish down on the
table. "Are you OK? What happened?"
She
looked at her husband, and then back at Ray, who looked nearly as shocked
as she did. "I--I feel--" She pressed a hand to her temple.
"Excuse me," she said, and turned sharply, nearly running
to leave the room.
This
is where it starts getting difficult to handle. Stella was probably
the trickiest, because I've written her a lot less and so had
to both figure out how she'd NORMALLY react and figure out how
she'd react in, well, this situation.
A
moment later, they heard the bathroom door slam.
"Oh,
God, Fraser, I didn't know she'd be able to see me," Ray said;
he was, if possible, even paler than usual. "I have to talk to
her--" and he vanished.
Fraser
looked from the floor to Ray Vecchio's puzzled face. "Oh, dear."
He
knelt, and started to pick pieces of ceramic out of the steaming mess,
careful of the sharp edges.
A
muffled shriek came from the bathroom. Fraser winced; really, Ray would
have to learn more tact. He hadn't made much noticible progress so far
in his existence, but what was the afterlife, after all, but a second
chance?
This
is supposed to be the shriek when Ray pops into the bathroom
right in front of Stella. It took many, many rewrites of that
paragraph before I was satisfied that people would know that's
what I meant.
Ray
Vecchio, eyes wide, hurried out into the hall. With a sigh, Fraser got
to his feet and followed.
Vecchio
was standing outside of the small bathroom across the hall from the
dining room, talking to Stella through the closed door. "I'm fine,"
Stella was saying in a high-pitched, wavering voice. Fraser could faintly
hear Ray Kowalski trying to be soothing, but he doubted that Ray's efforts
would be very effective, given the circumstances.
Stella's
voice rose. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Ray
Vecchio stared at the closed door. "I just wanted to make sure
you were OK, babe, I heard you scream, I was worried."
"Not--
dammit. Ray, please, could you just-- go clean up the dining
room or something. I'll be out in a minute. I'm fine."
Here's
more of the talking-at-cross-purposes thing, this time with Stella.
RayV is, yet again, the only one who doesn't know what's going
on. Poor RayV.
Fraser
took Ray's arm gently and steered him back towards the dining room.
"What
just happened here, Benny?" Vecchio asked, looking entirely baffled.
"I
think--" Fraser cleared his throat. "I think perhaps she was
taken by surprise."
"Yeah,
you think?" Ray made a vague, complicated geture indicating the
shattered dish, the bathroom, and the neat heap of broken crockery that
Fraser had made on a napkin. "Just-- what the hell has she got
to be surprised about? She knew you were coming, and besides, that wouldn't
explain why she..." he waved his hand at the doorway.
I
love trying to envision Ray's gesture there. Heh.
"Perhaps
the meal was intended to be a surprise," Fraser said, glancing
down. "Meatloaf is one of my favorites, after all."
Ray
looked at him skeptically. "And seeing you freaks her out so much
she drops dinner and runs to the bathroom?"
"It's
not unheard of," Fraser said. "I remember the cook at Ma McGinty's
Family Restaurant in Moose Jaw once dropped an entire soup tureen when
I walked in the door; it took her a full half-hour to recover from the
shock." He looked at the floor, where the remains of Stella's meatloaf
steamed gently. "Of course, I was carrying the carcass of a walrus
at the time-- Ray, have you got a dustpan?"
I
re-wrote this bit many times, because it wasn't quite working
but I was UTTERLY determined to keep in the walrus joke. Because
walruses are funny. Walri? Anyway.
Ray
ignored his request, pacing back and forth in front of the door into
the kitchen. "I don't believe this."
"Well,
it was a very small walrus, of course."
"Meatloaf
surprise. That's ridiculous. I'm gonna go check on her again."
"Ray,
she may not want to be disturbed--"
Stella's
voice rose, sounding agitated. Fraser couldn't make out any words, but
her tone was unmistakable.
And
familiar.
"Who
is she talking to?" Ray started towards the hall.
Fraser
rose hurriedly, trying to get between Ray and the door. "She's
probably talking on her cellular phone--"
"In
the bathroom?"
Two
bangs, a slam, and Ray Kowalski came storming through the closed door,
passing clean through Vecchio, who shuddered, stepping back just in
time to narrowly miss being hit in the face by the door as Stella flung
it open, stalking through after Ray Kowalski. Her eye makeup was smudged,
her lips pressed together, her posture stiff and tight; she looked furious,
and Fraser was suddenly very glad that Ray was already dead.
And
here begins the single most difficult passage I've ever written.
I went through at least four iterations of beta and ended up
having to print the thing out and highlight everybody's dialogue
and actions in their own color of highlighter so I could make
sure the patterns were right and that any two of the conversational
threads would make sense together without any of the others.
It was haaaard. </whine> But I'm proud of the way it turned out.
"Oh,
of course!" she yelled. "Just walk away, pretend there's nothing
wrong!"
Ray
Kowalski wheeled to face her. "What is your problem, Stella?"
It seemed to be costing him an effort to maintain his vehemence; Fraser
worried that if he got any more worked up, he might wink out of existence
altogether. "I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to--"
"You
told me to go!" Ray Vecchio said, throwing up his arms in frustration.
"Forgive me for doing what you asked, I didn't mean to insult you
by respecting your wishes or anything--"
"You
never mean to! That's exactly it! God, Ray, you always
do this--"
Fraser
looked at Stella in dismay. "Surely such generalities aren't--"
"Do
what?" interrupted Vecchio. "Worry about you--"
"--die?"
Ray stepped closer to Stella, clenching his fists. "Hang around
and haunt your bathroom, is that what I always--"
"Do
stuff like this!" Stella flung out an arm; her pointing
finger passed through Ray's head, but neither of them seemed to notice.
"You're always somewhere you're not supposed to be, you
never know when to leave things alone--"
"You
looked like you were about to pass out!" Vecchio said. "Forgive
me for the mortal sin of being concerned about you--"
"I'm
glad Ray didn't leave me alone," Fraser said, trying desperately
to defuse the conversation. "His support has been invaluable."
He stepped between Stella and Ray Kowalski; he felt compelled to protect
Ray from Stella's wrath, which was quite irrational, really, considering
the circumstances.
"I
left things alone!" Ray yelled, dodging Fraser to face Stella.
"I left everything alone, you don't get more alone
than dead--"
"Well,
that obviously didn't make a difference, did it? You seem to be coping
just fine--"
"Yes,
well, we all deal with trauma differently," said Fraser, a little
too loudly.
"Stella!"
Ray Vecchio looked shocked. "We are glad Fraser's-- you're
not making any sense!"
"It's
not my fault, dammit, Stella, I didn't know you'd be able to
see me--"
"Oh,
well that's even better! Maybe I should be glad I can
see you, at least now you can't start following me around again. I'm
still a lawyer--"
"Surely,"
Fraser said desperately, "litigation won't be necessary."
"--and
I don't have to put up with this!"
"Oh,
yeah, it's horrible," Vecchio said, his face red with frustration.
"God forbid I should worry about my own wife--"
"I
mean, you were my wife, Stella, I was worried about you--"
Fraser
raised his voice. "The jurisdictional issues alone--"
Heh.
Poor Fraser is fighting a losing battle here.
"That
doesn't give you the right--"
"Stella!"
Ray Vecchio had finally taken her by the shoulders and turned her bodily
to face him. "What the hell is going on here?"
Stella's
eyes widened. She looked from Fraser to Ray Kowalski, and then finally
to Ray Vecchio, and shut her eyes for a moment, visibly gathering her
composure.
"Nothing,
Ray," she said. She glanced at Dief, who looked up from the ruins
of the meatloaf, his muzzle smeared with ketchup.
"Whatever
happened to not speaking ill of the dead?" Ray Kowalski demanded.
"Isn't that like a rule or something? I coulda sworn my mum used
to say that."
Fraser
cleared his throat. "Perhaps it would be better if we rescheduled
dinner for another night."
"None
of the other rules seem to apply," Ray grumbled. Fraser
and Stella ignored him.
"Yes,
Constable," Stella said evenly. "I think that would be a good
idea."
"Maybe,"
Ray Vecchio suggested, "a night when everyone is sane."
"Besides,
I hate your meatloaf," Ray muttered, glaring at her over Fraser's
shoulder.
"Nothing
is wrong with my meatloaf," she hissed out of the corner
of her mouth.
"Other
than it's on the floor," Ray Vecchio muttered.
"Just
because I don't make it the way your mother did--"
"Yeah,
Ma has this funny thing where she always serves food on plates."
Fraser
cast a pleading glance at Stella. "It certainly smells delicious,"
he said. "Apart, of course, from being on the floor, and really,
I must apologize for Diefenbaker..."
"Don't
apologize," Ray Kowalski muttered. "He's the only one who'd
eat it."
Stella
glared at Ray over Fraser's shoulder. "I can't do this," she
said. "I'm sorry, Fraser, I didn't want things to turn out this
way, I just--"
"I
understand," he said. "It's been a very difficult time for
everyone, I think, and I'm afraid I've brought back..." He coughed,
and had to stop himself from looking over his shoulder. "Well.
Call it bad memories."
Stella
looked at Ray again, her eyes suddenly bright. "Not... not all
bad," she said, and cleared her throat. "But I-- please. I
need some time... alone." Obligingly, Ray Kowalski vanished, with
a sigh that could be heard in this world and the next.
"Of
course," Fraser said. Ray Vecchio now looked hopelessly confused;
Fraser took his arm, gently drawing him out of the dining room. "Perhaps
you can show me where the turtle is, Ray."
"Yeah,
okay. Sure. Whatever." Ray had packed up all of the various accoutrements
he'd needed for Zippy and Dief, and had them sitting on the floor next
to the turtle tank. "I'm gonna bring the car around, Benny,"
he said, one hand already on the door. "Can you get this stuff?"
"Yes,
thank you kindly." Fraser gathered up the tank and bags quickly,
hoping to get safely to the car before Ray Kowalski decided he needed
a final word with Stella. It wasn't the most courteous way to take his
leave, but in certain circumstances discretion was the better part of
valor. The night air was clear and cold; Fraser remembered the last
time he'd left the Vecchio house, and shuddered. Ray Kowalski was sitting
on the front steps.
"Hey,
you OK?" Ray got up and came to stand beside him, resting his hand
on Fraser's shoulder; he'd made himself solid so that Fraser could feel
him.
"Yeah."
Fraser watched Ray Vecchio pull up in the GTO, the car's finish gleaming
like ink in the streetlight. "It's just... this was easier in Canada."
This
is the line I used as the summary of the story, and I think it
sums it up pretty well. The Unfinished Business series falls
into two arcs; the first arc, of Fraser's grief at Ray's death
and Ray's struggle to a) come back as a ghost and b) make himself
solid at will so that he can touch Fraser. Now they're back in
Chicago and they have a whole new set of problems to deal with
in order to settle in to their new life. (These problems will
be addressed in subsequent stories in the series.)
"It
was just us," Ray said. "Here, we got a different set of problems.
More people to worry about. Stella-- God, that was a mess."
"Perhaps,"
Fraser observed, "you should have refrained from insulting her
meatloaf. It's not as though you were going to be eating it."
Ray
sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said. "It's just-- she knows
all my buttons, you know? Even you can't wind me up quicker than she
can."
"I
imagine," Fraser said, "that the converse is also true."
"Yeah,
you're about right. All those years and the one thing we got out of
it was the ability to piss each other off."
Ray
Vecchio got out of the GTO and tossed Fraser the keys. "Here, Benny,"
he said. Ray Kowalski, despite his agitation, greeted the return of
his car with delight, and immediately wandered over to the front of
it, sticking his head through the hood to check out the engine.
This
little bit of business was a direct result of Ces wanting me
to take more advantage of the opportunities for physical comedy
in Ray's ghostlitude. The part where Stella flings her arm through
his head is another.
Ray
Vecchio helped Fraser secure his luggage and the turtle tank, and then
leaned against the car with a sigh. "I'm really sorry about all
this, Benny," he said. "I don't know what's wrong with her,
you know she's not usually like this."
Here's
some excerpts from the beta session- well, one of the many, many
beta sessions- for this part:
<Ces> and if Stella
tells Fraser to get Ray out of the house--sure, he'd pull Ray
V
<
Ces> who's finding his marriage falling apart suddenly
<
LauraKaye> poor RayV
<
Ces> and gets relationship advice from Fraser on the curb
<
Ces> prompted by Ray K
<
Ces> Ray K: Buy her begonias. she likes begonias.
<
Ces> Fraser; You could buy her begonias.
<
Ces> Ray V; BEgonia's huh?
<
Ces> Fraser; Women can be, erm, very emotional.
<
LauraKaye> ahahahahahaHAHA. Poor Fraser.
<
Ces> Ray K: Psychotic bitches from hell hating you into the
GRAVE, Fraser--
<
Ces> Fraser: Erm, very emotional indeed.
I
didn't actually use the "psychotic bitches from hell" line, but
I still think it's hilarious.
"No,
of course I realize that, Ray," Fraser said. "And it's completely
natural for her to have been upset, under the circumstances. I wasn't
offended."
"You
keep saying that, Benny, but I just don't see it," Ray said, shaking
his head. "You don't freak out like that just because you see your
ex's best friend, who you knew was coming over for dinner, in
your own dining room. Doesn't make sense."
"Tell
him she's got PMS," Ray suggested, emerging from the GTO's interior
to join the conversation.
"Ray!"
Fraser exclaimed, scolding before he could help it. "That's terribly
insensitive."
"How
is that insensitive, Benny? She's acting crazy!"
"He'd
probably believe it," Ray Kowalski said. "Men always say that
when women act kooky."
"That
doesn't make it right," Fraser said reprovingly.
"I
know, I know." Vecchio looked back at the house with a sigh. "I
dunno, maybe she's got PMS or something."
"See,
I told you," Ray said, quirking a grin. "Even dead
I know guys better than you do."
"Ray.
Ray--" Fraser looked helplessly between them, and then turned resolutely
towards Ray Vecchio. "Ray, you've got to make allowances,"
he said. "As much as Stella loves you, she did love Ray as well,
and they had known each other since they were children. It can't have
been easy for her-- everyone feels sympathy for a widow, but often people
aren't very supportive of grief for an estranged spouse."
More
beta outtakes:
<Cesca> in fact
* Cesca grins
<
Cesca> If it were me, I'd have Fraser be a wise ass and say
something like
<
Cesca> (to Ray V): "You have to be kind to her. This
has been such a difficult time--and much as she loves you, she
loved her ex-husband as well, so really, understanding is warranted" blah
something
<
Cesca> because see,
<
Cesca> that's a message to two two two Rays at once.
<
Cesca> RayV? She loves you, relax, be nice to her.
<
Cesca> RayK: Calm down, it's gonna be fine.
<
Cesca> Etc
<
Cesca> "As her ex-husband's partner, I may have, um--brought
back unhappy memories for her." The unhappy memory in question
was currently pacing the sidewalk behind them, muttering.
Ray
Vecchio sighed. "I get what you're saying, Benny, but it just doesn't
seem to explain her flipping out like that."
"Ray."
Fraser's voice was gentle. "Imagine how you would feel should such
a thing happen to Angie."
Ray's
face tightened, and he nodded.
"Buy
her daisies," Ray Kowalski suggested. "She likes daisies.
And those little bitty rosebushes that you grow in the windowsill."
"Ray
says-- said," Fraser caught himself. "That is, Ray told me
once that Stella liked daisies."
"And
the little roses," Ray Kowalski prompted.
"Also
miniature rosebushes," Fraser said. "In pots."
"Not
the long-stemmed roses? Angie used to like those," Ray Vecchio
said. "Red ones."
"And
she carries tension in her lower back. When you see her kinda wiggle
her shoulders when she thinks nobody's looking? Rub her back that night,
she'll fall right to sleep."
I
have a note in the draft here that says "*galoshes?" and I have
NO IDEA why.
"The
potted ones last longer, I imagine," Fraser said. "Also, my
experience in such matters is admittedly limited, but it seems to me
that small acts of consideration such as a backrub would be appreciated."
Ray
poked him. "Tell Vecchio about the shoulder thing, Fraser."
"In
addition," Fraser said, feeling a bit like a ventriloquist's dummy,
"people often give subconscious cues when they're feeling tense.
Stella may well have such a habit... perhaps she moves her shoulders
when her back aches, for instance."
Vecchio
blinked at him. "You know, Benny, I think I've seen her do that,
now that you mention it," he said. "You got any more good
advice in that head of yours?"
"She
likes strawberry sorbet," Ray Kowalski said.
"She
likes strawberry sorbet," Fraser said.
Ray
smiled. "Thanks, Benny," he said. "Guess it's a good
thing for me you've got that crazy memory, huh?"
This
part only works because of Vecchio's seemingly unlimited capacity
for accepting the strangest things as just another aspect of
Fraser's Fraserness. This comes in very handy when writing in
this universe.
"Er...
yes, Ray," Fraser said. Ray Kowalski grinned. "Let's go home,"
he said.
Ray
leaned over and kissed him at the first red light, flaring to near-invisibility;
Fraser could feel the rasp of his stubble. "Hey, guess what?"
he said, perking up a bit.
"What?"
"Your
dad says he'll help me build a cabin in your closet."
The
interaction between RayK and Bob is another thing I really like
about this universe. I just think they're funny together. A Lot
of it owes a debt to Ces' story "The Bodyguard" and the scene
where Ray is bundled into the closet and ends up in Bob's cabin.
"The
closet in my office?" He reached out, and felt his hand taken in
a firm, cool grip.
"Nah,"
Ray said. "I'm thinking the one in our bedroom would be more fun."
Fraser
smiled, and squeezed Ray's hand. "That sounds like a great idea,
Ray."
"It's
a walk-in closet," Ray said. "It's got plenty of room."
"You
only need enough room to stand."
There
is a whole TON of background stuff worked out for this universe
on the way the closet thing works. Hours and hours in chat talking
it out with people. So far, this is the most of it that made
it into the fic. *G*
"I
know," Ray said. "Bob told me. But I want you to be comfortable
there."
"I
will be," said Fraser, "I am." He glanced over at Ray,
a shimmering outline with a solid, callused hand, and knew that it was
true.
~~~
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