This is part of a series regarding the adventures of Fraser and Thatcher at Disney World.

Comments: tomato_3@excite.com

"DISNEY WORLD! You are going to Mouseland!?! Oh this is great! You know, if you wear your uniform they are liable to think you are part of the Disney staff. If you go the MGM park, they'll liable to think that you are some escapee from a Nelson Eddy movie. God only knows what trouble you could get into." Ray doubled over in laughter, barely able to maintain control of his car. Fraser had been attempting to explain why he was asking if Ray could watch Diefenbaker for him while he was gone. It was not going well.

"Well Ray, according to our orders, we are not to wear uniforms for the duration of the seminar. This is -"

"Our orders? Who's orders are 'our orders'?" Ray was more than a little intrigued. Fraser knew that his discomfort had just begun. There was, however, no way to avoid the inevitable roasting he was going to receive from his friend.

"Ah, well, Inspector Thatcher and I will be attending the seminar. The RCMP Education & Training Directorate is requiring that all consulate liaisons and deputies attend these sessions together. I do not see what is so funny, Ray." Fraser could get absolutely miffed sometimes at his friend and this was one of those times. He saw no need for the level of hysterics that Ray was exhibiting. He decided to try to ignore it.

"You and the Dragon Lady, alone, for two weeks in Mouseland. Oh come on, Benny, you have got to see the possibilities in this. I mean you and the Dragon Lady cruising through IT'S A SMALL WORLD, the boat ride from hell. I can just see the two of you doing Fantasyland, it boggles the imagination - the possibilities! I mean, let's not forget the Canada exhibit at Epcot. I would die to see you two with the little bears in Mountie uniforms. Oh, Benny, I would pay very good money to follow you two around for even one day." Ray had by now settled down to continuous chuckling, interspersed with bursts of laughter as some new aspect of this situation sprang to mind. Fraser was distinctly uncomfortable.

By this time they had arrived at the 27^th Division. Unfortunately, this coincided with Ray's next line of inquiry.

"So, Benny, where are you staying? There are loads of places all along the highway that runs outside the park, so you can pretty much pick your poison. Do you need any recommendations?" Fraser had dreaded this.

"Well Ray, the Directorate has already made reservations for the seminar attendees. They actually plan that as part of the training experience." Fraser said this in his most sincere and official manner.

~ Please, Please, Please let that be enough. ~ Fraser silently prayed. No such luck.

"Well, so where they got you. The Polynesian Village is pretty neat. Hey, Louis, didn't you go to Disney World a couple years ago? Where did you stay?" This was going from bad to worse as far as Fraser was concerned. He knew how this was going to evolve, and there was no version that he could see that would not be, well, mortifying. He now prayed that there would be a bomb scare called in, or perhaps some generally benign act of God.

"Yes, my family and I went there for a week. We stayed in the Contemporary Village. It was very nice and quite convenient, with the monorail and all. But, you know, I believe that Lt. Welsh was visiting his sister just last year and he went there, too. You should ask him what's new. They've done a lot of work on that new park, the Animal Kingdom." And before you could say "God Save the Queen" half of the squad room was standing around Vecchio's desk talking of past vacations at Disney World. Fraser had no idea it was such a popular place for Americans, and regretted not opting for boarding Diefenbaker at the vets. The only thing that made that option impossible was the realization that Diefenbaker would never forgive Fraser for denying him Mrs. Vecchio's cooking.

"So, you going to Orlando, Vecchio?" Finally someone asked the obvious question that Fraser had hoped wouldn't be asked.

"Na, Benny and the Dragon Lady are going to some training seminar. So, Benny, where you staying?" Ray asked, ignorant of the can of worms he was opening.

"Well, I believe the accommodations are somehow associated with the Animal Kingdom." While Fraser had a very hard time lying - he actually had to rehearse it when it became necessary, he was not above delaying tactics. They just rarely worked for very long with Ray.

"Hey, the Animal Kingdom, pretty neat. Although, I don't remember hotels being in that part, only apartments and . . . ." The expression on Fraser's face told all. He was just no good at lying to a direct question. He stared at the apple sitting on Ray's desk, willing his face to cool down. He'd tried zen meditation and biofeedback to try to control his awful blushing. Nothing had worked.

"Benny, Benny, Benny. Tell me it isn't true. Tell me that they do not have you shacked up with the Dragon Lady in the Animal Kingdom!" Ray had an unholy gleam in his eye, knowing that his reading of the situation was guaranteed to be delightfully inaccurate. Fraser stared at him, aghast at the interpretation.

"Ray, I have to protest. That is absolutely untrue. Inspector Thatcher is my superior officer and --"

"Yeah, Yeah, I know, and anything between the two of you would be inappropriate. Yeah, I know, Benny, I've heard it all before. Remember that we've been down this road more than once. I didn't believe you then, and I sure don't believe you now! But hey, who am I to argue with the divine dictates of the RCMP Education and Training Directorate. They must know what they're doing, throwing you two together in hot, steamy, central Florida, alone, unsupervised, together. . . . Wow, makes me all warm just thinking about it." The grin on Ray's face was something out of Fraser's worst dreams, which was saying quite a lot. Fraser's face had reached the desired shade of crimson that Ray always strove for, but rarely achieved. This was very good.

The rest of the squad sniggered and walked away, having enjoyed the spectacle of the stolid and serious Mountie being roasted for going away with his forbidding, but very attractive boss. The office pool would definitely reflect this new opportunity. The stakes had been pretty steady for several months, so the betting was sure to pop now. The general sense was that the Fraser-Thatcher Pool was potentially much more lucrative than the Bulls Pool could be without Jordan on the bench.

Francesca Vecchio had been a destabilizing influence for quite a while there, causing the odds to seesaw for close to a year. However, she'd finally accepted that nothing was going to happen with that Mountie and had been dating Constable Turnbull for several months, much to both Vecchio and Fraser's discomfort, Turnbull being, well, Turnbull. With Francesca out of the picture, the pool focus had shifted to not "IF" but "WHEN" Fraser and Thatcher would finally get it on. The trip to Florida significantly upped the ante. The time frames would have to be recomputed over the narrower window of 14 days. Thank God Detective Lewis had statistics in college, or they would have never been able to figure it out.

There was also the side pool, conducted by the guys from Vice, that focused on the suspicion that Thatcher would be a proponent of Bondage and Discipline. While there was ample evidence that she was willing to discipline Fraser, to date it had consisted of sentry duty at the consulate as far as anyone knew. The Violent Crimes Division staff refused to participate in the B&D Pool. What Fraser and Thatcher did in the privacy of where ever they might do what everyone figured they would do, eventually, did not concern their associates. It was a measure of the Vice Division mentality that they had even established that pool.

Fraser, of course, knew nothing about any of this. The subjects of the investigation are always the last to know.

"Sure Benny, I'll watch Dief while you are away getting an education with the Dragon Lady." Dropping his voice down to almost a whisper, Ray leaned toward Fraser, the gleam still very apparent in his eyes.

"But before you go, I think it might be advisable to stop by the drug store and pick up some 'training aids.' Fraser realizing Ray's intended meaning managed to actually achieve a whole new shade of red on the 'Mountie Blush Scale of Embarrassment', a truly notable achievement in Ray's opinion.

"You are going to let me read your 'After Action Report', I hope, Benny."

~ Oh, God. ~ Fraser's mind could not even begin to grasp what was in store for him.

To be continued.