Disclaimer: Of course none of the characters belong to me. They belong to Alliance. Please don't sue me for using them.

Author's Notes: Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any comments would be appreciated.

Friday, June 16th 4:00 PM

"Vecchio! Kowalski! My office now!" Lieutenant Welsh bellowed into the bullpen area from his office door.

Vecchio glanced towards his partner. "D'you do anything wrong?"

"Not since... Nah, it wouldn't be that." Kowalski said practically leaping out of his chair. "You?"

"Fraser's the only one that ever rats on me, I don't think he's said anything lately." Vecchio shrugged his shoulders. He put down the foam basketball he had been playing with and slowly got out of his chair. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out what he wants."

He followed Kowalski into the office and they took the seats without being asked. Both men shuffled their feet impatiently but remained silent while the older gentleman gathered his thoughts

Lately, the two detectives were used to spending time in the Lieutenant's office for both good and bad reasons. Although they were still often on the receiving end of one of his tirades about following orders or correct police procedure; they also had gotten a number of compliments from him lately. Since they had started working together, they had one of the best arrest records in the city. Between Kowalski's boundless energy and Vecchio's attention to detail, they made a good team. Unfortunately, they still wasted a fair amount of time arguing between themselves. Sometimes, however, it was those arguments that would lead to their biggest case breaks. They would start arguing back and forth over the details of the case, and one of them would have an epiphany over something they had missed. The entire 27th was sick and tired of their fighting, but it seemed to work for them. Welsh only allowed their outbursts because they were making his division look good and he hoped that after a while they would grow out of the pattern. He was also tolerant because, despite their arguing, he was just happy to find someone they could each work with without killing each other.

"We have a reliable source that tells us that something serious is going down at Zuko's Dry Cleaning front operation." Welsh began slowly. "Seems as though the Santangelo's are trying to move up in the world and they want to cause Mr. Zuko to have some unfortunate accidents."

"And that's a bad thing?" Vecchio almost spat out the words.

"Detective Vecchio, I realize that you have a history with Mr. Zuko. But as hard as we've tried we can't seem to make anything stick to him. This weekend, however, we do have a chance to get something on the Santangelos, and that is better than nothing." Welsh said understandingly.

"This weekend, Sir?" Kowalski questioned

"You got a problem with that, Kowalski?" Welsh challenged.

"It's just that..." Kowalski began.

"Detective," Welsh interrupted. "Before you give me your life story, let me just tell you how badly the boys at the 42nd would like to get something on the Santangelos. I would dearly love to beat them to it. You two are my best shot."

"It's just kinda short notice..." Kowalski started again.

Vecchio studied his partner closely. Kowalski was always the first one to jump on a new case. By the way the other detective was acting, Vecchio could tell that something was up.

"Come on Lieutenant, there must be someone else that can babysit that place all weekend." Vecchio whined. He thought he would try on behalf of his friend and because he didn't want to help Zuko no matter what Welsh said.

"Look," Welsh lowered his voice. "Because of past circumstances with the Santangelos, we are afraid that someone here at the station is supplying them with information. You two are the only ones I know I can trust."

Welsh waited for this new information to sink in, then he finally continued. "The only words I want to hear come out of your mouths are 'yes, sir' until Monday morning. Do I make myself clear?

"Three bags full, sir," Kowalski consented.

"Good, good. Here is the address where you can set up shop for the weekend." Welsh said quickly scribbling an address on a slip of paper.

Kowalski stood and took the paper from Walsh.

"What about Fraser, sir?" Vecchio questioned.

"You know detective, for the past four years I've been trying to figure out why he keeps hanging around here. You think I could stop him for one weekend? I'm only the person who is supposed to be in charge." Welsh dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Go home now and get your stuff together. I expect you to be at that address by eight tonight."

Once they were out of Welsh's office, Kowalski glanced at the address on the paper and then showed it to Vecchio. "Pick you up at seven thirty? Then we can swing by and pick up Fraser if he wants to come."

"'Course he will. It's not like he'll have anything better to do." Vecchio said

Vecchio paused for a moment. "What about you, anything better to do?" Vecchio asked nonchalantly. He was still trying to figure out his partner's earlier behavior.

"Nah, can't think of anywhere I rather be." Kowalski brushed off the question. He quickly straightened out some piles on his desk and sped out of the office, leaving Vecchio in his dust.

Friday, June 16th, 7:30 PM

Kowalski walked in the door of the Vecchio house very nearly the time he said that he would. He had stopped ringing the bell long ago since the entire household now considered him one of the family. Mrs. Vecchio forced some food packages into their arms for the weekend, insisting that they needed to have some nutritious food as well as the junk food that they usually took along on their stakeouts. Both Rays kissed her on the cheek and then headed out the door to pick up Fraser.

Fraser and Dief were waiting by the curb when the black GTO pulled up to the Canadian Consulate. Ray Kowalski jumped out and opened the trunk for Fraser's bedroll and duffel bag. He let the Mountie and the wolf in the backseat and then sped off towards the address that Welsh had given them.

They rode in silence for most of the trip, until Diefenbaker sniffed out one of the food packages that Mrs. Vecchio had made especially for him. He was relentless until Kowalski finally consented to leaving the wolf eat in his car.

"Just watch the interior. My dad would kill me if it gets ruined." Kowalski said to the wolf as well as everyone else.

"How is your father, Ray?" Fraser questioned

Almost instantly there was an air of tension radiating from Kowalski. "Just dandy fine as candy," he said sarcastically.

Vecchio glanced over at his partner and then looked in the rear view mirror and caught Fraser's eye. Vecchio shrugged his shoulders and hoped that Fraser would be able to find out what was bugging his partner.

Kowalski parked around the corner so his car would be out of sight from Zuko's building. As unobtrusively as possible, the three men and the wolf entered the apartment building. They settled into the apartment that Welsh had set up in silence; Kowalski's bad mood seeming to set the tone for the rest of the night.

Vecchio had brought a deck of cards and had hoped to con the others into a hot game of poker. Finally, after numerous attempts, he gave up and ended up playing solitaire at the small table in the living room area.

Kowalski was sitting quietly on a chair listening to the Cubs game on the small transistor he had brought along. Every now and then the others would hear him mumble a comment about the umpire or the coach, but mostly he was just quiet; too quiet.

Fraser had taken first shift at the window. He glanced over periodically at Kowalski, and was trying to formulate a plan to draw Kowalski out of his ill tempered mood. Fraser had known Kowalski for over a year and a half now and he knew that these moods were rare. When Kowalski was quiet something was definitely wrong.

"What's the score?" Fraser finally asked. He realized that it was the conversational equal to 'how's the weather?' but he hoped that it would start some kind of dialogue.

"Four to three, eight to five, what's it matter? The Cubs are losing again." Kowalski said. They haven't done anything since Rhyne Sandberg left."

Fraser looked startled by Ray's answer, but at least he had answered. "Well, actually, in all fairness, even during the time that Sandberg was with the team..."

"It's a baseball game, Fraser. What difference does it make." Kowalski said running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, but it's the Cubs," Vecchio said with reverence in his voice. "and Wrigley Field. Even without Rhyne Sandberg, and Harry Carey singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame, it's still the Cubs."

"It's just a stupid game," Kowalski said pacing around the small apartment.

Suddenly, it dawned on Vecchio: Kowalski's dad was coming to Chicago on Sunday for Father's Day. Ray had bought tickets to the Cubs game in February just to make sure he could get them. Vecchio knew that Ray and his father hadn't always gotten along and Ray had gone to a lot of trouble making sure that this weekend would go well.

"Did you call your father yet?" Vecchio asked quietly.

"Nah, I picked up the phone a few times, but I just never got around to dialing." Kowalski said, knowing that Vecchio had figured it out. "I figured I could do it tomorrow."

"Don't," Vecchio said with authority. "Fraser and I can take care of this. Go with him."

"Ray, if you had previous plans for this weekend, you should honor those arrangements" Fraser said.

"Yeah and Welsh would have my hide if something happened and I wasn't there," Kowalski said.

"We can handle Welsh," Vecchio grinned. "I used to sneak out on my father all of the time. I got pretty good at coming up with excuses. You got the tickets, go to the game."

"Sure, the yank's father gets ballgame tickets as a present for Fathers Day," Bob Fraser said, suddenly standing next to his son. "You didn't get me anything, did you?"

"No, I didn't," Fraser replied.

"Didn't what?" Vecchio looked up towards Fraser.

"Didn't see that car out in front of the building before," Fraser said suddenly noticing the car that had just stopped in front of the building they were supposed to be watching.

"What is it?" Vecchio and Kowalski said in unison. Kowalski put his glasses on and peered over Fraser's shoulder. Sure enough, a dark blue sedan had stopped directly in front of Zuko's place. Three men jumped out of the car before it sped off down the street.

Bob Fraser looked out the window with the other men. "You better go check that out."

"I was going to," Fraser said in an annoyed tone.

"Gonna what?" It was Kowalski's turn to ask this time.

"Go check that out, of course." Fraser said grabbing his hat off of the table and heading for the door.

"Not by yourself, you're not." Kowalski said chasing Fraser out the door.

Diefenbaker was munching happily away on a bag of potato chips. He glanced up at Ray to see if he was going to follow the other men. Finally, Vecchio stood and turned to go after his friends. He ran right into his father.

"What is it with you?" his fathers ghost asked. "It's Father's Day and you decide to honor me by helping Zuko?"

"It's got nothin' to do with you, Pop." Vecchio said. "Believe it or not, not everything I do in my life is to spite you. This is an assignment."

"Is that why you became a cop? To help out scum like Zuko? You know how long they've ruled the neighborhood." Mr. Vecchio said.

"Yeah, Pop, I do. But right now there are even worse people down there doing illegal things." Vecchio said. "I gotta go help my friends."

Ray Vecchio finally sidestepped around his father and ran out the door. Diefenbaker took on last look around the room to try to figure out what was going on, and then took off down the steps, as well.

Friday, June 16th 10:45 PM

Vecchio met up with Fraser and Kowalski in the alley at the side of Zuko's building. The building they had been watching housed a dry cleaning business in the front that was attached to a much larger building in the back. The larger building was one of Zuko's many warehouses around the city which the police kept a close on.

The three thugs had already gained access into the building by the front door. It was decided that Fraser and Kowalski would go in the front of the building, while Vecchio would come around from the back to block the criminals' escape.

"Go get 'um, son." Bob Fraser encouraged his son as they entered the building together.

Fraser gave his father a sideways glance, but continued following Kowalski down the hallway to the back of the building. They were unable to see the three men in the large warehouse, so they decided to split up to continue their search.

Meanwhile, Vecchio had picked the lock on the back door and was making his way down the hallway into the main part of the warehouse. He had drawn his weapon and had it positioned pointing up a few inches from his right cheek.

"Is this how it always is? Those two go off together and leave you to fend for yourself?" Mr. Vecchio said sneaking up on his son.

Ray Vecchio jumped at the sudden voice behind him.

"No, that's just how it happened to work out this time." Ray almost hissed the words through his clenched teeth. "Now leave me alone, Pop, I gotta job to do."

"Some job, helping out criminals," his father said shuffling down the hallway after him.

Vecchio silently entered the main part of the building. The warehouse was bigger than he had first suspected. There were rows of boxes piled just high enough that each row had to be investigated individually. Vecchio stalked from row to row coming up empty. Finally, at the end of the sixth row, he saw two of the suspects.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but you definitely picked the wrong day. It looks at though you're gonna have to be the victim of a very unfortunate accident." The younger of the two men was saying to some unknown person.

The smell of gasoline filled the air as the thugs began dousing the boxes with the flammable liquid. Silently, Vecchio shifted his position. From the new angle he could now see that the older man was holding Fraser at gunpoint. Vecchio stood still for a moment considering his options.

"Don't do it," Mr. Vecchio watching his son, anticipating his move. "They wouldn't do it for you."

"Yeah, Pop, they would." Vecchio whispered. "Now go away!"

"Police! Drop it!" Vecchio yelled coming into view, his gun aimed at the older of the two men.

The older man was the first to submit, slowly dropping his gun at his feet. The younger, dark haired man looked a little less cooperative, but finally consented and dropped his weapon as well.

"You okay, Fraser?" Vecchio asked as he frisked the suspects and cuffed them.

"Yes, Ray." Fraser answered. "Although, I must confess that I am feeling a little stupid at being caught that way. I was slightly distracted at the time I was seen."

"I was only trying to help" Bob Fraser said innocently for only Fraser to hear." I just suggested that now would be a good time to make your move."

"You could have told me they were there," Fraser argued.

"I didn't know where they were." Ray interrupted. "I just got here."

"You pop up at the most irritating times," Fraser continued arguing with his invisible father.

"Hey, if I hadn't popped up you would'a been deep fried by now." Vecchio shouted.

"I'm sorry, Ray. I wasn't talking to you." Fraser mumbled.

"Well, I don't see anybody else in the area," Ray grumbled

"No, I suppose you don't," Fraser finally conceded.

"Looney Toones. Just like I told you before," Mr. Vecchio said tapping his finger against his temple.

"You stay out of it." Vecchio said.

"You're the one who called me to come along." Fraser shot back.

"Sometimes, I wonder how that yank ever gets his man - being nuts and all," Bob Fraser mumbled

"Nuttier than a fruitcake," Mr. Vecchio was still going on to his son.

"Leave him alone!" Fraser and Vecchio both said at the same time to their respective ghost fathers.

They stood for a moment and quietly stared at each other. Suddenly, Vecchio felt something cold and hard press into his neck.

"Drop it, cop." The third thug appeared seemingly out of nowhere to get the drop on Vecchio. With the thug's gun pressed up against his neck, Ray had very little choice other than to drop his gun slowly to the floor.

"I told you that Mountie was going to get you in trouble. Watch out for yourself: that's what I always told you. But no, you got'ta jump in and get yourself caught too." Mr. Vecchio continued to berate his son as he shuffled off down the isle and disappeared out of sight.

"You have an awfully funny way of getting your man, son." Bob Fraser shook his head and walked off in the opposite direction from Mr. Vecchio.

"Watch 'um, boss," the younger man said. "They're psychotic, they talk to themselves."

"Do not," Vecchio argued. He glanced around slowly to access the situation. The first thing he noticed was the man's bright red hair. The detective saw that the man was about his height but had a much larger frame. He wouldn't have a chance of muscling his way out of this one.

"Let them go." The newcomer to the scene waved his gun in the general direction of the two handcuffed criminals.

For a moment Ray stood still trying to figure out his options. Luckily, he didn't have to worry for long.

"That ain't gonna happen," Ray Kowalski finally arrived on the scene with his gun pointed directly at Reds. "Police, drop your weapon."

The man slowly lowered his gun from Vecchio's neck and dropped the gun to the floor.

"What happened to you two?" Kowalski asked. He had been around both Fraser and Vecchio long enough to know that one of them was hard enough to get the drop on, let alone both of them.

"We were kind of distracted by something," Vecchio said looking sheepishly at Fraser.

"Distracted? No way! Distracted is putting you keys in the frige. This..." Kowalski waved his hands at the bad guys and the gasoline and then ran his fingers through his hair. "This is way beyond distracted.

"Somehow the discussion about you and your father seem to have triggered some... eh, thoughts about my father causing my mind to temporarily wander away from the case at hand." Fraser stammered, trying to explain his father's interference without actually saying anything.

"Yeah, yeah, what he said." Vecchio nodded.

"Well, you know what?" Kowalski said, almost bouncing up and down on his toes. "None of it matters anymore 'cause this case is closed. Dot it, file it and we are out'a here. Plenty of time to hear the National Anthem and the Umpire yell 'Play Ball!'"

Kowalski frisked the suspect and got the hancuff locked around Red's right wrist. "Best of all, my dad doesn't even have to know how close I came to calling him and..."

Suddenly, Reds burst into motion before Kowalski could secure the other hand. The big man grabbed the now empty gas can and caught Kowalski squarely on the side of the head. The impact threw Kowalski backward into on of the stacks of heavy boxes. The pile swayed for a split second before it fell over on the detective covering him completely.

Reds took off down the isle and out of sight. Vecchio scooped his gun up off the floor and took off after the suspect, shouting a warning and firing a shot into the air.

Fraser quickly began throwing the heavy boxes off his friend. Just as he lifted the last box, Vecchio returned with the thug.

Kowalski didn't move. There was blood coming out of his nose and more coming from a large gash over his left eye. Vecchio shoved Reds to the floor and quickly dialed his cell phone.

"Officer down! This is Detective Ray Vecchio I need an ambulance. Fast!" Ray shouted into the phone. He gave the address and then hung up and called the district, ordering some backup to take away the three suspects.

The ambulance arrived quickly, even though it seemed like an eternity to Fraser and Vecchio. Ray sent Fraser along to the hospital with Kowalski while he finished tying up things at the crime scene. Lieutenant Welsh had heard Vecchio's call for an ambulance and he arrived on the scene very nearly the same time as the medics. He got the basics of the bust from Vecchio, but he soon realized that the detective's mind was no longer on the case once Kowalski had been taken away on the stretcher. The Lieutenant gave Vecchio the okay to leave, with the understanding that he would fill out the proper paperwork the next day.

Saturday, June 17th 1:35 AM

After staying and answering what seemed like a million questions to Ray Vecchio, he was finally allowed to leave the crime scene. He knew that he could have been stuck there longer if it had not been for the intervention of Lieutenant Welsh. His superior officer had come in and had taken charge getting Vecchio off of the hook. After thanking Welsh for allowing him to fill out the necessary paperwork later, he drove Kowalski's GTO to the hospital where he found Fraser in the emergency room waiting room.

Fraser rose when he saw his friend enter the building.

"I haven't heard anything yet, Ray," Fraser said running his thumb over his eyebrow.

"What's taking so long?" Ray practically attacked the nurse on duty.

"As I explained to your friend, the doctor will be out as soon as he can," the nurse said curtly.

"We need to know now!" Vecchio yelled at the nurse. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

Fraser gently but firmly led his friend away from the nurse's desk. "I'm sure they are doing everything they can. Let them do their job."

"He's got'ta be okay, Fraser, " Ray said quietly.

"Ray, Ray, Ray, statistically speaking...," Fraser began.

"Shut up, Benny," Ray interrupted.

"Understood." Fraser said as he sat down quietly in the chair he had just vacated.

Vecchio paced the waiting room nervously while Fraser observed the other occupants of the waiting room. He had spent enough time in his life waiting around in hospitals that he had developed a way to pass the time. His eyes went from person to person assessing their medical condition and guessing the treatment they would receive. He was on his third diagnosis when a familiar face, lined with concern, entered the room.

'Ah... of course,' Fraser thought. 'Where else would Lieutenant Welsh be when one of his men is in the hospital?'

Vecchio immediately paced over the older man and brought him up to date on the situation.

Harding Welsh sat for a few moments with Fraser and Vecchio but he soon became restless.

"I'll be back," he promised as he wandered off down the hallway.

Eventually, the lieutenant returned with three steaming cups of coffee in his hands. At least by providing caffeine to his men, he felt he was being useful.

Fraser thought briefly about refusing the hot liquid that was offered, since tea was his preferred drink. The look in Lieutenant Welsh's eyes stopped him. He realized that it was more than coffee that the older man was offering - it was his way of offering support and comfort. It was the one small thing that he could do to show his concern for these officers that had become like children to him through the years.

The three men sat in silence until the doctor finally came out of the ER. Vecchio sprang out of his seat and ushered the doctor over to their little corner of the waiting room.

"Your friend is being transferred to the intensive care unit. Those boxes that you said fell on him did quite a bit of damage. One of his ribs is broken and his lung collapsed. He is still unconscious, and has sustained a severe concussion." The doctor paused for a moment giving time for the information to be processed. "I hate to sound like a cliche, but the next twenty-four hours are going to be critical. At this point his condition could go either way."

"May we see him?" Fraser asked quietly.

"Only one at a time and keep the visits short." The doctor answered. "His body has a lot of healing to do."

Lieutenant Welsh had been standing behind Vecchio and Fraser while the doctor was giving his report. He put his left hand on Vecchio's shoulder and his right on Fraser. Gently he pushed them toward the elevator.

"You two go ahead, I'll be along in a minute," he said.

Welsh waited by the elevator with them until the elevator doors closed. He turned and solemnly walked to the payphone in the waiting room lobby. He pulled out a crumpled phone number from his pocket and started to dial, dreading the speech he was about ready to give to Ray's parents. No matter how often he had to do this, this part never got any easier.

Silently for once, Bob Fraser and Mr. Vecchio stood in the corner of the waiting room. Neither one acknowledged the others presence, each lost in his own thoughts about the scene they had just witnessed.

Saturday, June 17th 5:08 AM

Fraser was the first one to enter Ray Kowalski's room. He had offered to let Ray Vecchio go first, as any good Canadian would; however, Ray had declined. Fraser and Kowalski had known each other longer and Ray insisted that Fraser go first.

Quietly Fraser entered the room. Although he was quite used to spending time in hospitals, the first sight of his friend lying there stunned him. Ever since Fraser had known him, Ray had been moving, he was always in constant motion. Feet tapping, fingers snapping or leg bouncing, some part of him was always moving. To see him lying so still in the bed surrounded by all of these tubes and wires was overwhelming.

Fraser stood silently for a moment. Even though he was always willing to share a good Inuit tale or Bob Fraser narrative, his personal feelings were a totally different story.

Finally, after contemplating for a moment, he was able to put his feelings into a comprehendible sentence. It was something he had to say to Ray Kowalski, and suddenly he wished he had said it much earlier.

"You know, Ray. When I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father, I was totally alone here. I was unfamiliar with the area and I didn't know the local customs of the people here in the states. When Ray and his family took me in, I finally felt as though I belonged somewhere. When Ray went undercover, I felt that I was lost again. I never told you, but I seriously considered a transfer back to the territories. But then you showed up. I'm not sure exactly how long it took, but suddenly you became a great friend - as irreplaceable as Ray. Friends aren't easy to come by for me. Acquaintances, sure, but I only have two real friends." Fraser took a deep breath to continue but somehow the words got stuck in his throat. " I stayed, I need you to."

Fraser walked out of the room. He was unable to face anyone at the moment, so he walked down the hallway away from Ray Vecchio in the waiting room. Vecchio saw Fraser exit the room, and stood quietly watching him. He left him go, knowing that Fraser wanted to be alone.

"You were blubbering like a fool back there, I hope you realize," Bob Fraser suddenly was walking behind his son.

"I'd rather not discuss it right now, if you don't mind," Fraser said sounding very tired. He slowly rubbed his thumb across his eyebrow trying to ease some of the pressure that was building up behind his eyes.

"It's okay son, it's not your fault. You know I blame myself for leaving you with your grandmother all of the time I was away." The dead Mountie said

"You know..." Fraser look around to continue the conversation, but suddenly his father was nowhere to be seen.

"He's here, he's gone - some things never change." Fraser started back towards the waiting room. He turned just in time to see Ray Vecchio enter Kowalski's room.

Ray's first response was very nearly the same as Fraser's. Kowalski had always been the most active one in the partnership. It was unusual to see him this quiet. Vecchio, unlike Fraser never had problems talking. In his family they talked about everything, usually in a decibel level higher than was necessary.

"So help me Kowalski, if you die I'm gonna call you Stanley all through your eulogy," Vecchio said staring down at the silent figure.

He pulled the chair out of the corner of the room and set down next to the bed.

"It's funny, you know. When I first came back I didn't know what I was gonna do. I mean let's face facts here. You and I didn't exactly hit it off. I guess it had something to do with you being a better me that I was. But you're okay, Kowalski. You're the only one besides Fraser that can put up with me.

Vecchio ran his hands over his scalp and then leaned back in the chair. "I don't wan'na have to train a new partner. I mean, you were practically housebroken when I got here. Benny did a good job."

Vecchio got slowly out of the chair and headed for the door. When he reached the hall, a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth and a twinkle sparked in his eye. "Later, Stanley."

As he exited the room, suddenly his father was walking behind him.

"Better him than you, you know," his father started the conversation.

"What is it with you, Pop. You barely had time to speak to me when you were alive. Why do you got'ta come back and do it now?" Ray Vecchio not even looking back at his father's spirit.

"I'm still in purgatory," his father mumbled. "I still have to stay around and watch you make stupid mistakes."

"The only stupid thing I ever did was to worry about trying to please you. I should'a stopped listening to you long ago." Ray continued, still not looking at his father.

"I got'ta make you understand how to watch out for yourself. That's why I'm still here. And seeing the way you almost threw your life away today, I'm gonna be here awhile." Mr. Vecchio grumbled.

"Did you ever think that maybe it is *you * that is supposed to learn something from this extra time? Maybe it's you that got'ta get your priorities straight."

Ray finally turned to face his father only to realize that he was standing alone in the hallway.

"What is it with you? You just drop by every so often to offer a quick criticism and then leave again?"

He glanced nervously up and down the empty hallway, 'Great, they're gonna lock me up in the psych ward soon.' He grumbled to himself as he continued walking.

Vecchio took a few deep breaths to try to clear his mind from his father's appearances. He finally went back to the waiting room to join Fraser. He picked up one of the many year-old magazines and flipped through it quickly, not even seeing the pages as they went by. After awhile, he tossed the magazine back on the table and sat back in his chair, interlocking his fingers behind his head. It was going to be a long night and he might as well prepare himself for it.

After stopping in Kowalski's room for a brief visit, Lieutenant Welsh eventually joined the men in the waiting room. He had made the phone call to his detective's parents, a job which, out of all his duties he hated the most. For a moment he was extremely glad that he never had any children of his own. He had a hard enough time dealing with his emotions when one of his men got hurt; he didn't think that he would be able to function if he was on the receiving end of the phone call he had just made.

"I called his father," Welsh said, his face purposefully devoid of emotion. "Ray's mother is away for the weekend, but his father is driving up right away."

"So, his father got a phone call after all," Ray Vecchio almost laughed at the irony of it.

"So it would seem," Fraser replied quietly.

Saturday, June 17th 11:00 AM

The three men took turns visiting Kowalski's room whenever the nurse would allow. Late the next morning a gray-haired, slightly overweight man nervously entered the waiting room. Fraser had been the only one who had been introduced to Mr. Kowalski previously jumped up to greet him.

"Sir, I'm terribly sorry about this," Fraser said. As always, he was taking the blame for something he had no control over.

"Where is he?" Mr. Kowalski asked. He barely looked at Fraser and never even acknowledged the other men's presence.

"Right this way, sir," Fraser said offering to show Mr. Kowalski to his son's room.

"Don't bother, just tell me," Mr. Kowalski said.

Ray Vecchio mumbled out the room number, and Mr. Kowalski was on his way.

"Well, that didn't go as well as it could have," Lieutenant Welsh noted, barely moving his lips.

Mr. Kowalski practically marched into his son's room. "Didn't I tell you that this was gonna happen? I work hard all my life so you can make something of yourself, and you end up here, " he said, shaking his finger at his unconscious son.

Mr. Kowalski dropped himself into the chair that Vecchio had pulled over earlier. He sat quietly watching his son chest slowly rise and fall. Somehow, that steady motion lulled Mr. Kowalski into a calmer state.

"Wait, that didn't come out exactly right. I was worried all the way here. After your Lieutenant called, I was sick. I just wanted you to have a nice safe desk job like your brother. But no, you got'ta go and do this stuff." Mr. Kowalski said quietly.

This was like so many of the conversations that the father and son had had in the past: very little ever got said. Mr. Kowalski fidgeted nervously in his chair making quick jerky movements, typical of the ones that his son normally made.

"I saw the car down in the parking lot," He continued. "I'm not even gonna ask which one of your friends drove it here. Me, I wouldn't let either one of them near it. It looks pretty good from the outside, looks like you've been taking care of it. The upholstery looked a little funny though. You're not letting people eat in there, are you?"

Mr. Kowalski sat back in the chair. He finally realized that he was staying not so much for his son's sake, but mainly because if he left this room he would have to face the three men in the waiting room. How could they ever understand how he felt? After all, they had chosen the same profession as his son had.

Mr. Kowalski stayed for awhile longer, until the nurse came by to remind him that the visits should be kept short.

Mr. Kowalski slowly got up and started for the door. "Let's go see what those friends of yours have to say for themselves."

When Mr. Kowalski got to the waiting room, Fraser started to stand. Lieutenant Welsh waved him off, indicating that he should stay where he was.

"I'll take care of this," he mumbled as he walked toward the door.

Mr. Kowalski tried to avoid the lieutenant when he walked into the small room, but the larger man successfully blocked the doorway.

"I want to talk to Vecchio and Fraser," Mr. Kowalski said.

"Mr. Kowalski, they're tired, you're tired. It's been a long night for everyone. I'll buy you a cup of coffee and tell you everything I know." Lieutenant Welsh said firmly. There was no way that Lieutenant Welsh was going to let Mr. Kowalski make his men feel any worse then they already did.

"I've got some things that I got'ta tell them." Ray Kowalski's dad continued.

"And I've got some things I have to tell you first," Welsh said sharply. He took a deep breath and his voice was slightly gentler when he continued. "I know that he is your son and that you are only trying to do what is best for him; but these three individuals are my men and I have to do what I think is best for them. Now, let's take a walk."

Harding Welsh put his hand on Mr. Kowalski's shoulder and gently but firmly guided him back out through the door.

"At least that's one thing I don't have to worry about, my old man getting a phone call" Ray said his hand trying to rub away the tension in his neck. "'Course, I'm not one hundred percent sure he would have cared one way or the other."

Fraser nodded in agreement. "I've always assumed my father's only question would have been 'did he get his man?'"

"That would have been the important thing son." Bob Fraser said from the other side of the room. "It's an honor to die in the service of your country. Trust me I know."

"Yeah, Pop would'a probably been making bets with the nurses over my chances." Ray laughed.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. "Mr. Vecchio said from another corner. "There's nothing wrong with trying to turn somethin' bad into somethin' good."

The two spirits stood in opposite corners from each other. It was hard to tell if they were aware of each other or if they were avoiding each other on purpose. Each man was looking at his son trying to figure out what they meant by their comments.

Lieutenant Welsh and Mr. Kowalski eventually came back into the waiting room. Ray Vecchio locked eyes with the lieutenant in a silent question. His superior officer gave a slight nod of his head, so apparently he had been able to have a reasonable conversation with his partner's father.

Vecchio gave a small sigh of relief. He knew that if anyone could talk some sense into Mr. Kowalski it would be Welsh. Vecchio greatly admired Welsh's ability to remain reasonable when dealing with people. Reasonable conversations were not easy in his family. It was the one thing that Lieutenant Welsh kept trying to teach him through the years: control the temper and deal with the people rationally. It was an issue that came up regularly on Vecchio's performance reviews. Vecchio was also very aware of the fact that when Welsh blew his top with him that it was usually warranted.

"I want to thank you two for staying with Ray all night," Mr. Kowalski said quietly.

"We wouldn't be anywhere else," Vecchio said without looking up.

"Why's that?" Mr. Kowalski said as he flopped into one of the chairs.

"Because, if it were one of us, Ray wouldn't be anywhere else either," Fraser said simply.

Lieutenant Welsh smiled at this plain truth. For some reason that he could never understand, once these three men met, they became inseparable. The funny part was that they were all so different. Welsh couldn't even understand how they became friends, let alone best friends. Welsh and all of the 27th had witnessed Vecchio and Kowalski's arguments, Kowalski and Fraser actually had come to blows at one point in time, and it was no secret that Vecchio and Fraser had driven each other crazy from day one. But, somehow they seemed to make it work. They just seemed to fit and to compliment each other's talents and abilities.

A comfortable silence fell over the room, as the four men, two spirits and a wolf continued their vigil.

Saturday, June 18th 12:38 A.M.

After waking up from his latest nap, Diefenbaker decided it was time to go out again. Although most of the female population of the hospital were more than willing to walk the wolf, the truth was that Fraser needed to get out as much as the wolf.

Fraser had replayed the scene in the warehouse over and over again in his mind, trying to figure out if there had been something he could have done that would have prevented this from happening. He had known that he had been distracted when he and Ray were captured, but he had been totally focused when the thug had pushed Ray Kowalski into the boxes. Fraser pondered the situation while doing some deep breathing exercises to clear his mind. One lesson his father never got around to teaching him was that sometimes the situation is out of your control. His father had taught him that that if you couldn't do something by yourself then you failed. Period. `Nuff said. End of discussion. He had learned differently since he had come to Chicago. Although Leftenant Welsh had no official authority over him, Fraser respected him as a superior officer. Fraser had had numerous conversations on procedure and personal responsibility with him during his stay in Chicago. Welsh was helping him to see that sometimes the situation is beyond your control and it is how you deal with the aftermath that indicates what kind of person you are.

After a half-hour of walking and thinking of the color yellow, Fraser was able to re-enter the hospital with a clear head and a clean conscious. Shear exhaustion was weighing heavily on all of the men in the waiting room; however, Diefenbaker was the only one who seemed to be able to sleep. Every now and then Fraser and Vecchio would glance around the small room for their other-wordly relatives, but for the time being, it appeared as though Mr. Kowalski was the only father left in the room. Even though it was technically now Father's Day, they didn't feel as though they could deal with their father's presence anymore.

Sunday, June 18, 10:05

Lieutenant Welsh was sitting quietly in Kowalski's room when Ray' started his journey back to the land of the conscious. For a moment, Ray couldn't figure out what had happened. It didn't feel like his bed, and there were strange noises that he just couldn't figure out. He went to sit up, but his head felt as though it weighed a ton. He ended up just sinking back into his pillows and moaning loudly.

Welsh stood and moved closer to the bed when he heard the noise. "Kowalski?"

"What happened?" Ray asked. He tried once again to raise his head, but when that failed he concentrated on just getting his eyes open.

"You're in the hospital, son." Welsh said quietly. "Do you remember what happened?"

"We were in that warehouse..." Kowalski started. He tried to sit up once again "Fraser and Ray, are they okay?"

"They're fine, just sit back and relax." Welsh answered.

"Did we get the guys?" Kowalski asked lying back down.

"Oh, yeah," the Lieutenant answered. "Right after you gave Vecchio and Fraser heart attacks."

"Good," Kowalski said closing his eyes again. "I don't think Vecchio would help Zuko again. Orders or not. He and Fraser were acting really freaky all night."

"I know what you mean." Welsh agreed. "Since you've been here all they've been doing is talking to themselves and looking over their shoulders."

"Well that's nothing new," Ray said

Welsh and Kowalski both laughed at the joke, and continued talking. After a bit, the older man looked up and saw Mr. Kowalski standing at the door, watching.

'How come it's so easy for him?' Mr. Kowalski thought as he stood watching his son and the Lieutenant. 'How come he can talk to my son easier than I can?'

"Mr. Kowalski," Welsh said acknowledging the father's presence in the doorway. " Come in and keep and eye on him. Make sure he doesn't start dancing or something and I'll go get the nurse."

Mr. Kowalski took a few steps into the room, but then suddenly felt very awkward about being here. Why was the thought of being alone with his son so frightening? It was so much easier sitting in the room while Ray was unconscious. Acting very much like his son, Mr. Kowalski became a blur of nervous movement.

"That's okay," he said backing out of the room. "You stay here, I'll go get the nurse."

The nurse, as well as a doctor, arrived soon after and shooed the Lieutenant back to the waiting room. After a thorough examination and a few tests the nurse went to the waiting room to give the go-ahead for brief visits.

Sunday, June 18th, 12:35 P.M.

"Why don't you two go in first." Mr. Kowalski quietly suggested to Fraser and Vecchio.

"Sir, I believe that..." Fraser began but was soon cut off.

"You go first," Mr. Kowalski said sharply as he left the waiting room

Fraser exchanged a quick glance with Vecchio and then turned a questioning eye to the Lieutenant.

Welsh shrugged his shoulders and the rubbed his hand over his face.

"I'll go talk to him," he sighed trying to ease their anxiety. "You two go see Kowalski."

For a moment Welsh was angry. In some ways, these three men were worse than children: Why did he always feel as though it was his job to take care of them? No one ever took care of him...

Suddenly it dawned on him. That was why he felt he owed it to them. For various reasons both Fraser and Vecchio both had missing fathers while growing up just as he had had. He was about thirty five years too late, but he wanted to make thing easier for them. After way too many years, he had finally gotten things worked out with his own father. In both of their cases, it was too late to set things straight with their fathers, so he would try to help where he could.

He still had a chance to help out with the Kowalski family.

He knew that Kowalski and his father hadn't always gotten along. Ray had never kept it a secret that his father did not want him to become a police officer. Thinking back, his own father wasn't too thrilled when he told him about his decision. Now, what should he do about it?

Harding Welsh set out to find Mr. Kowalski. He didn't have to go very far. Mr. Kowalski was standing in the hallway staring out the window, nervously shifting from foot.

Little did Harding Welsh know that there were two additional fathers standing there as well. He took a deep breath and went to stand by the window also.

"He's a good man you know," Welsh began slowly. "You did a good job."

"Maybe if I had done a better job he wouldn't be in a hospital bed right now." Mr. Kowalski mumbled.

"You know, I wasn't there in that warehouse, but my guess is that your son getting hurt did have something to do with Fraser and Vecchio." Welsh admitted.

"Why I ought'ta.... If I could hit you with something I would." Bob Fraser started, swinging his fist through the lieutenant. " Where's my rifle?"

"Careful cop or I'll have to wack you," Mr. Vecchio said at the same time, sounding more threatening than he actually looked. He might have been a bad father, but he still didn't appreciate anyone dragging his family's name through the mud.

"What, are you saying your men screwed up?" Mr. Kowalski said angrily.

"No, no, not at all," the Lieutenant finally turned toward the other man. "What I am saying, is that for some weird, peculiar, and very bizarre reason, those three men would rather get hurt themselves the see the others get hurt. Friendship like that doesn't happen often. Whatever you think you did wrong, your son still turned into a good person and a great friend. He likes being a cop, and whether you like it or not, your son is a good cop, one you *should * be proud of. Somewhere along the line, you must have done something right. It wouldn't hurt to let him know that he's done things right, too. "

"Good cop? There's no such thing." Mr. Vecchio argued. "He only became a cop to spite me you know!"

Lieutenant Welsh turned abruptly and walked down the hallway without looking back at the other man. He just hoped that Kowalski senior wasn't as hardheaded as Kowalski junior.

"Well, things would have been different with his mother around" Bob Fraser yelled down the hallway at the lieutenant's back. "Fathers aren't supposed to do that kind of stuff. That's why I left him with his Grandmother!"

Mr. Kowalski stood quietly for a moment deciding on his course of action. Slowly, turned and walked hesitantly into his son's room, the other two fathers shuffling behind him.

Fraser and Vecchio stood to leave but Mr. Kowalski motioned for them to stay. It was just as well, Diefenbaker was settled into the chair by the window and was not planing on moving anytime soon. He was used to these hospital stays as well.

"Your Lieutenant was just talking to me out in the hallway," Mr. Kowalski started slowly. "He seems to think that he can order me around like one of his people"

"Yeah, he's always been pretty good at giving orders." Ray Kowalski said. "That's why they put him in charge."

"Once in a while we even do what he tell us to," Vecchio laughed.

"Well this one, I thought I better follow. He seems to think that you are a good cop, you know." Mr. Kowalski said slowly, not meeting his son's eyes.

"Oh, whoopee, he's a good cop," Mr. Vecchio said sarcastically, his hand on his hips. "Just what the world needs."

Bob Fraser said gesturing towards Mr. Kowalski, from the corner of the room. "Son, if he starts to get too "sappy" with this and then just get up and leave."

Ray Vecchio and Benton Fraser each sent a dirty look in their fathers' direction, but remained silent. For once, Ray Kowalski sat still. He was waiting for his father's comment to be followed up by one of the usual insults.

"He was also trying to tell me that you ended up being an okay person," Mr. Kowalski suddenly found the tile pattern on the floor very interesting. "All three of you actually."

"I'm sorry that I don't always give the impression that I am happy about how you ended up. I just wanted you to have it easier than I did." Mr. Kowalski said.

"You can leave any time," Bob Fraser said rubbing his hands together and motioning Benton towards the door. "You don't have to listen to this."

"The bottom line is: if you're happy, I should be happy for you." Mr. Kowalski finally said.

"There you have it. 'Nuff said." Fraser senior tried to interrupt. "Let's go kill something to eat."

"Don't ever expect me to say somethin' like that," Mr. Vecchio grumbled from his corner of the room. "Especially on Father's Day."

"Yeah, well happy Father's Day," Ray Vecchio said quietly through gritted teeth.

He did not mean to have anyone else hear his remark, but for some reason Mr. Kowalski heard it and chose to comment on it.

"Hey, that's right! It's Father's Day, " he proclaimed loudly. "I guess this is just about the best one I've had in a long time."

Kowalski nodded absently. His Dad's statement about Father's Day made him feel like he was forgetting something. There was a something in the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

"The game!!" Kowalski shouted as the thought finally came to the forefront of his mind. He sat straight up and just as suddenly sank back down again as a wave of dizziness over took him.

"Whoa, take it easy there, boy," his father said putting his had on Ray's forehead. It was something that he had seen his wife do countless times when the boys weren't feeling well. He wasn't sure why she did it, but there must be a reason.

"What time is it?" Ray asked.

"Not quite one thirty," Fraser said glancing out the window at the sun.

"Its one twenty two" Vecchio said, contradicting him. If you would just look at your watch like a normal person you would know that.... Mounties." He added as an after- thought shaking his head.

"Watch it, yank," Bob Fraser warned.

"You tell him, son." Mr. Vecchio countered.

"You could still go to the game you know." Kowalski said, trying to ignore the buzzing in his head. He could have sworn that he was hearing voices and every now and then he thought he saw fuzzy shapes moving around the room. The funny thing was Diefenbaker seemed to be watching the movement of the shapes as well, cocking his head back and forth between two corners of the room.

"Nah, It just wouldn't be the same." Mr. Kowalski said

"I'll go!" Both dead fathers called at once, each from his own corner off the room.

"Besides your mother's on her way and she'd kill me if I left you alone here, " Mr. Kowalski continued, not knowing he had been interrupted.

"Go to the game, Mr. Kowalski." Fraser urged. "Ray won't be alone."

"Nah, Dief will be here to greet her." Ray Vecchio said. "I'm kidding, all right? We'll stay here with Ray."

"You wouldn't mind?" Mr. Kowalski asked sheepishly.

"Nah," Ray Kowalski said closing his eyes. "One of us should have some fun."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Mr. Kowalski stepped out of the door and then turned and called down the hallway. "Hey, Lieutenant, how 'bout coming to the game with me? No use having a perfectly good ticket go to waste."

"May as well, I deserve somethin' for putting up with those three all the time." Welsh said as he followed Mr. Kowalski toward the elevators. Slowly he turned back around and stuck his head through the door. "Glad to have you back with us, Detective."

"Hey, a few innings won't hurt." Mr. Vecchio said following along behind He stopped at the door and reached in his pocket and found his billfold. "I wonder if any of them want to bet a few bucks on the game?"

"I never understood the fascination these Americans have with this game. Maybe I'll just tag along." Bob Fraser said walking out the door. He paused just outside the door and clapped his left hand on his thigh as he looked down the hallway. "Come on boy."

A small noise slowly made its way into his usually silent world and Diefenbaker stirred in the chair where he was taking his nap. He eyes fluttered open and he looked up just in time to see an aged gray arctic wolf slowly walk past the door. The old wolf yelped a bark that only one deaf wolf living in Chicago could hear, and then followed the parade into the elevator.

"Happy Father's Day," Kowalski, Vecchio, and Fraser called in unison. Then they each quietly exhaled a sigh of relief at the welcomed silence.