Author's webpage: http://victoria.tc.ca/~wy236/fic.html

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, they belong to Alliance and their respective creators.

Your Not-So-Secret Admirer

Francesca Vecchio stared across the precinct at her brother and his Mountie partner. She had just come to a realization. //No wonder Fraser's not interested in me// she thought. /I'm the wrong Vecchio. He wants Ray!//

She wasn't terribly surprised. Fraser had never given her any reason to believe his feelings for her were more than brotherly, matter how hard she'd tried.. And except for that crazy Victoria woman she'd heard about from Ray, he never seemed interested in any woman. From the first day her brother had brought his friend home for dinner, their mutual care and concern had been obvious. She remembered watching Fraser dive in to Lake Michigan to rescue Ray from a submerged car, and the tenderness with which he had carried Ray from the water and wrapped him in a blanket. Frankly, she'd been a bit envious. She was pretty sure from watching them together that Ray felt the same way about Fraser as Fraser did about him, but neither of them actually seemed aware of the other's feelings.

Diefenbaker stuck his nose in her hand, searching for treats. She gave him a potato chip and scratched his ears. "Dief," she said, "are male wolves as thick as male humans are?"

About a week after Frannie made her realization, Ray once again brought Fraser home for dinner. She was friendly to the Mountie but not overly flirtatious. She had begun to realize how uncomfortable her attentions made him as well as how they made her brother feel. She just wished she could knock their heads together and say, "Okay, you two, you're obviously in love with each other, so admit it already!" When Fraser insisted on helping her with the dishes, she made an attempt to bring him out. "Frayz," she said, "you like my brother, don't you? I mean, you uh, you care for him."

"Of course I care for him, Francesca. He's my best friend."

"No, I mean, you *care* for him," she tried again.

"I already told you I do, Francesca. What else do you mean?"

Frannie sighed. "Never mind, Frayz. Forget it." She tossed the dish towel on to the towel rack and went to tend to her niece, Gina. "Gina," she said to the infant, "I hope when you grow up you have better luck figuring out men than I do. That is, unless you decide you like women better, I guess." In the psychology class she'd been taking at the community college they had discussed homosexuality, and Frannie had learned about heterosexism - the assumption that everyone is heterosexual. She was making a conscious effort not to make that assumption anymore. It seemed odd to think that her niece could grow up to be a lesbian, but no more odd than the realization that her brother was gay, or maybe bisexual. She could hear Ray arguing good-naturedly with his Canadian partner about some case they were working on. She glanced into the kitchen where she saw Ray animatedly talking to Fraser, moving his hands around and once in awhile touching the Mountie on his arm or shoulder. //Just tell him you love him and be done with it// she wanted to scream at her brother. She sighed. It looked like those two were going to need some help. While the thought of losing Fraser stung, she knew he wasn't interested in her, and she loved her brother and wanted him to be happy. If being with Fraser made him happy, Frannie would just have to play matchmaker.

The next day, Francesca went to the precinct to talk to Elaine. At first the civilian aide was skeptical. "Ray and Fraser? Francesca, you're insane." Frannie sighed. She knew that Elaine Besbriss had it just as bad as she had when it came to Fraser. "Elaine," she said patiently, "you're in the Academy. They teach you about observing people, right? Just watch those two for a few days and see what you think. If you really don't see it, I won't ask you to help me. But if you do...well, Ray's birthday is coming up. I have a plan for him and Frayz. I could use your help. At least think about it? Please?"

"All right," said Elaine, skeptically. "But I still think you're insane."

"Thank you, Elaine! I really appreciate it. Don't tell them I was here, okay?" and Frannie hurried off before Ray or Fraser arrived and saw her talking to Elaine.

Elaine did as she had promised and spent the next few days observing Constable Fraser and Detective Vecchio. And she began to realize that Frannie was right. Now that she looked for them, she could see the signs. It was just little things, but taken together they added up. Ray called his partner "Benny" when everyone else called him "Fraser." When Ray did use his partner's last name, he constantly mis-pronounced it, but Ben never corrected him. When they were together they always seemed to be touching each other - Fraser would put his hand on Ray's back, Ray would put his arm around Fraser's shoulders. Not to mention the fact that the Mountie seemed to accompany Ray everywhere. Elaine remembered when Benton had been in the hospital after Ray had accidentally shot him. She'd had to go and physically fetch the detective from his partner's hospital room a few times when he was needed at the precinct.

After making certain that neither Fraser nor Ray was within earshot, Elaine picked up the phone and dialed the Vecchio home number. "Okay, Frannie," she said. "What's your plan?"

Francesca explained what she had in mind. She had planned to take Ray to one of his favourite restaurants, Cecconi's, for a birthday dinner. Now she planned to use the money to treat both him and Fraser to dinner, courtesy of a "secret admirer." Since she wasn't a very good typist, she wanted Elaine to produce two "secret admirer" notes on her word processor, claiming that if each man showed up to the restaurant at a certain time on a certain date, he would meet his 'admirer.' They had to be careful that neither of them discussed the notes with the other. Frannie would make a reservation in a secluded booth for two under an assumed name. Her friend Suzanne was a waitress at Cecconi's and Frannie would make certain that the reservation was in her area. After all, she needed a spy to tell her how the plan worked. If things worked the way Frannie wanted them to, Ray and Fraser would confess their feelings to each other. She hoped.

She also hoped that Fraser wouldn't think it was a trick to get him to meet her, Frannie. Well, Fraser had to know she couldn't type. She asked Elaine to make the language in the note fairly formal, not like something that came out of "Sword of Desire." Now she had to make sure she kept Ray and Fraser apart so that neither of them had a chance to discuss the notes. She'd have to make sure the note said to keep the meeting a secret. Boy, this was getting complicated. Fixing up her girl friends was never this nerve-wracking. There was also the possibility that the men would see it as some kind of joke and either leave, or eat the dinner anyway but not discuss their feelings. Okay, she would include another note, and give it to Suzanne to deliver when the guys were at the restaurant. She'd reveal her little subterfuge and tell them *exactly* why they were there. They'd either fall into each other's arms or hunt her down and kill her. Or both.

The next day she met Elaine and went over the notes. Each went something like this:

"Dear (Detective Vecchio/Constable Fraser):

You probably have no idea who I am, but I have been loving you from a distance for a very long time. I have finally decided to reveal my identity to you. Please meet me at Cecconi's restaurant at 8:00 tonight. Reservations have been made for the two of us in the name of 'Smith.' Please do not discuss this note with anyone. I want this to be our secret. You may be surprised when you discover who I really am. Or perhaps you knew it all along. Either way, all will be revealed tonight.

A Bientot,

Your soon-to-be-no-longer-secret admirer. "

Francesca practically squealed as she hugged her friend. "That's perfect, Elaine! I never realized you were such a romantic."

Elaine blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, you'd be surprised. Underneath this uniform beats the heart of a true Renaissance woman."

Frannie didn't know what a Renaissance woman was, but she smiled at Elaine's blush. "Really? I wonder what else is underneath that uniform." Oops. How had she let *that* slip out. Elaine would probably smack her now.

But the Civilian Aide smiled at her and said, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Francesca could hardly believe her ears. Was Elaine actually flirting with her?

She met Elaine's gaze as directly as she could and willed herself not to blush. "Actually, I would."

In response, Elaine moved toward her, reached an arm around the back of Francesca's neck, and kissed her. Frannie was thrilled and scared. She hadn't kissed another woman since junior high, when she and her girlfriends used to "practice kissing" on each other. "Elaine," she whispered, "um, don't take this wrong, I definitely like this, but we're at the precinct!"

Elaine reluctantly backed away. She looked at the floor. "Sorry, Frannie," she said.

"Don't be sorry! I enjoyed it just as much as you did...at least, I hope you did."

"Yeah. I did." But Elaine still wouldn't look at her.

"Elaine Besbriss, you better not be ashamed of kissing me, because I want you to do a lot more of it - just not here and not now."

"You sure, Frannie?"

"I am damn sure! But right now you and I both have work to do. Can I meet you here later?"

Elaine smiled at her. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Frannie looked around to make sure they were alone in the break room, then quickly kissed Elaine. "Good," she said. "I'll see you tonight - if my brother hasn't strangled me by then."

The 'big night' had finally arrived. Francesca and Elaine were enjoying their own romantic dinner in a secluded corner of Cecconi's. Suzanne would tell them when Ray and Benny arrived.

"So, um, Elaine," said Frannie, a bit nervously. "Have you, uh, always liked women, or is this something new?"

"Both," said Elaine. "I've always...liked women, I just never did anything about it. Until now."

"Yeah? Me too," responded Frannie. "God, I can't believe I'm so nervous. I wonder what my Ma would think - I'm on a date with you, and Ray is on a date with Fraser."

"You Vecchios are full of surprises," Elaine teased, squeezing Frannie's hand under the table. "It's okay to be nervous. Neither of us has a lot of experience dating other women. It's not like I'm going to jump you across the table."

Francesca put on a disappointed look. "You're not? Damn, I was hoping I'd get lucky."

Elaine threw a napkin across the table at her. Both women laughed and the tension dissipated

Meanwhile, in another corner of the restaurant....

Fraser stared in surprise as his partner arrived at the table. "Ray? What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Benny. I got a note asking me to meet someone here," said Ray.

"As did I - a secret admirer."

"So, does this mean you're my secret admirer, then, Benny?" Ray asked teasingly.

"Well, now that you mention it, Ray....I didn't send you any note, but I have admired you for a long time."

"Admired me?" asked Ray in bewilderment. "Admired how?"

Benny looked serious. "I am in love with you, Ray."

Ray turned pale. "How...how long, Benny?" he asked in a soft voice, barely above a whisper.

"For a very long time. Since we worked on finding my father's killers. do not expect you to feel the same way about me, though. " Fraser suddenly looked frightened. "Perhaps I should leave - "

Ray grabbed his partner's arm as the Mountie started to get up. "Stay right there, Benny," he said firmly.

The Canadian tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Ray?"

"I love you, too, Benny."

"You - you do?"

"Yes. Very much. I was just scared to admit it - everything I grew up with says that it's wrong to love another man. But I don't care. I love you and I can't deny it anymore."

The two men leaned across the table at the same time and kissed.

"Well it's about time." A familiar voice interrupted them.

"Frannie!" groaned Ray. "What are you doing here?" Then he noticed that Elaine was with her. Not only with her, but holding her hand.

Elaine smiled mischeviously. "You two have been set up," she announced. "By a master setter- upper. Looks like it worked."

"Francesca," said Fraser. "Are you responsible for the letters, for getting myself and Ray here together?"

"With some help from my sweetie, here," replied Frannie, squeezing Elaine's shoulder. "Happy birthday, Bro."

" 'Sweetie' ?" asked Ray, completely confused.

"Did I tell you that you could call me 'sweetie' ?" Elaine demanded, mock-angrily.

"Well, you are my sweetie, aren't you?" teased Francesca.

"Well, okay, but you're the only one who can call me that, Francesca Vecchio."

"I'd better be," answered Frannie, and kissed Elaine.

"Okay, will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Ray finally asked.

Francesca smiled at her brother. "Elaine and I are together. Like you and Fraser are together."

"What, is it genetic or something?" exclaimed Ray.

"Could be, Ray," replied Elaine thoughtfully.

"But who cares?" asked Frannie.

Elaine nudged her girlfriend. "Let's leave these two lovebirds alone, Fran. We have plans, remember?"

"How could I forget? 'Bye, guys. And congratulations."

"The same to you ladies. Goodbye," Fraser responded.

Elaine and Francesca departed, still holding hands. Ray and Fraser ate their dinner, taking time to kiss in between bites when no one was around to see them.

And later that night, two very happy men made love for the first time. As did two very happy women.

EN