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Ray Vecchio glanced at his watch then back at the front door. He broke into a grin as his son stepped through the entrance. He started to lift his hand to get Oscar's attention when the Mountie stepped in right behind him. And like a sea change, Ray's grin faltered and his hand fell. There is a fluidity and grace in the way people who are in true partnership move together. It attracts the attention of those around them, sometimes eliciting envy, sometimes admiration. Outsiders can't help but look and those in sync can't help but be what they are. As Ray watched his son and the Mountie, almost against his will his brain flipped right out of excited parent and into cop. And things started to click into place like tumblers in a lock. What were the chances that the only two people that Ray Vecchio knew in Montreal would be in the same neighborhood, in the same caf, at the same time? And were they wearing the same sweater but in different colors?

Ray was only in this particular caf because as far as he could tell from the GPS in the rental it was only a few blocks from Oscar's apartment. As potential reasons tripped with lightening speed through his mind and were discarded, Ray could only seem to settle on one thing. Because as he and Jersey had already discussed ad nauseam, at least that's what Ray had thought at the time, what else could a boy be hiding about his boyfriend if his parents had no problem with gender or race.

The bewildered father suddenly stood and edged around his table. His hand came up as if to ward off an approaching horror, but it was too late. There was no way for Ray Vecchio to unsee what he had seen, unknow what he was pretty certain he knew.

The adrenaline that propelled Oscar out of his apartment at a run was starting to ebb. This was it. The moment that in four months he still hadn't figured out a way to handle. And it wasn't like he and Benton spent a lot of time talking about his pop. He thought that there would be more time. He'd sort of tried to lay a foundation in his e-mails. To let his family know that he was happy, but with a retired cop and a yenta for parents he should have known he wasn't going to get away with the non gender specific game for too much longer. He knew that he'd get called on it eventually. He hadn't expected one of them or either of them to show up in person. He hoped it was only one of them. The last thing he and Benton needed was to get double-teamed.

It didn't take the Mountie and Vecchio's son long to cross the space. Given that he'd initially come to see Oscar, Ray could not take his eyes off Fraser. And despite his nerves, the Mountie's eyes did not waver from those of his ex-husband, from those of his lover's father.

"Pop, I can -"

"I need to speak to Benton." The ice in Ray's voice was unmistakable. It wasn't a request so much as an order.

"Please, just let me talk to you for a second, " Oscar tried not to let it sound like he was begging to stay out past curfew. It was on the tip of Ray's tongue to say this is adult business, but his son was an adult wasn't he? A relationship, the retired cop's brain tried to seize up to prevent that thought from completing, but it was too late. His son was involved in some kind of relationship with the Mountie. Unless Fraser had found a way to discard all that he carried, sharing that weight would grow anyone up quickly.

Ray had comforted himself in the intervening years with the idea that despite the intensity of their connection, he and the Mountie had maybe only been transitional relationships for each other. Ray had been the Mountie's first serious relationship since the Victoria debacle. And the Mountie had been his first serious "I'm into guys " relationship. They'd worked some things out with each other, they worked some things out on each other. The ex-cop's ten years with his current husband had not been marked by any of the angst or emotional upheaval that his relationship and comparatively short marriage to the Mountie had been. Jersey had never made him bleed the way that the Mountie had.

Ray's eyes held his ex's. Benton met his gaze and Ray could see both a familiar stubborn resolve, a hint of resignation and more than a flicker of something else that Ray allowed his mind to resist. Conversation around them had dropped an octave as some of the people at the nearby tables couldn't help but cast furtive glances in their direction.

"I need to speak to Benton alone," he repeated. In his periphery Oscar twitched, then turned to the Mountie. Benton's gaze shifted to the younger man. Oscar's body blocked his father's view, but Ray could tell from the slight movement of the Mountie's shoulder that he was touching Oscar. Probably low, on his stomach. That thought disoriented Ray for a moment. And he clenched his fist against the urge to step between them and slap the Mountie's hand away. And it threw him a little more that he couldn't tell if the impulse came from a sense of fatherly protection or jealousy.

It only took a few seconds for the lovers to communicate what they were going to do. Oscar tilted his head slightly and looked at Benton through a dark fringe of lashes and nodded his head slightly. "D'accord, " he whispered. A ghost of a smile traced Benton's lips and then Oscar turned to look at Ray again. He stared unwavering into his father's eyes then stepped forward and hugged him. His eyes still on the Mountie, Ray returned the embrace. Oscar whispered, "This is on me don't - " But Ray pulled away from his son. If he'd needed any indication how deep Oscar was in, there it was. Oscar was exhibiting the same instincts of others before him, Ray chief among them. His son was trying to protect the Mountie in a situation where the Mountie should have known better. Like the father before him the Mountie had gotten the son on the roof of a too tall building.

"Don't you have a class or something today? " Oscar nodded. The original plan for the day involved spending the morning making love with Benton before heading off to UQAM. Oscar felt his cheeks burning and tried to not look like Ray had come across him jerking off.

"Yeah I have a cultural seminar in a few hours."

"Alright. Then maybe you should call your dad. He's tired of talking to your voicemail." Ray glanced at his watch. "I think he's at the Grill now."

Oscar's eyes got wide. And Ray understood immediately. "If he asks tell him that I will call him tonight. Do not tell him anything else."

"Okay, okay."

Benton's hand itched to caress the smooth planes of Oscar's face. He hadn't been able to do what Oscar had done with Ray. Without creating a disturbance in the caf and still showing respect, the young man managed to show Ray the conviction of his choice. In the last months, as his career was coming to a close Benton had begun to wonder what his life would have been like if he'd had that kind of courage in his early twenties.

Certainly, he had courage of a piece. He could go to toe with any lawbreaking miscreant, he'd found the courage to turn Victoria in, but the courage to voice doubts about whether he would actually be happy in service to the RCMP never found a home. And only now at the conclusion of almost thirty years of service, he could honestly say when asked that he would not miss it. He was more than ready to take up the mantle of civilian life, especially since instead of the solitary life he'd anticipated, he would begin his post RCMP career with the son of a man he'd loved with all of his heart. Probably still loved to some degree. But it was the son who'd stopped his final slide into darkness. It was the son that had made him hopeful for the first time in a long while. And despite Oscar's relationship to Ray, there was no real `baggage' between the two of them. There was no legacy of hurt, betrayal or duty for them to overcome.

Ray Vecchio and Benton Fraser both watched mutely as Oscar left the caf. Right at the door the young man turned and looked at them both with a plea in his eyes and whatever he saw from each of them allowed him to step out onto the sidewalk. Once he cleared the door, Ray spoke first.

"You holed up around here somewhere?"

"Yes, I am staying at the training hotel."

"I beg your pardon."

"The hotel is a comprehensive training hotel for those interested in careers in the guest services industry. It's quite a fine program."

Ray was already moving toward the front of the caf as he muttered under his breath, "Like I give a good goddamn."

***********************

It would have been a little like old times, Ray driving, Benton riding hyper vigilant in the passenger seat were it not for the near stifling tension and the fact the car was a German import. Every ounce of Ray's attention was focused on obeying the traffic laws. In their shared past it might have pleased Benton, but now he understood it was Ray's calculated attempt to keep himself from exploding.

It didn't escape the Mountie's notice how easily they fit into some aspects of their old partnership. He could read Ray's body language, knew that Ray was hovering somewhere between seething and ballistic but still when they'd gotten to the car, Ray went to the passenger side and opened Benny's door first. The same way he had for most of their marriage. Often that had been followed by impromptu making out on the passenger side of the car, which in the first year of their marriage made them late for work and a variety of family engagements on more than one occasion. He took a moment to study Ray's profile. He'd been so stunned when Ray first called to him in the caf that he hadn't really taken the time to look at his former husband. And he found that Ray was still as breathtaking as ever.

Underneath the anger rolling off him, Benton could see that Ray was well cared for. Certainly there were a few more age lines and the remaining peach fuzz on his head was mostly grey. But the tell tale signs of a hard lived life were nowhere to be found. Lines of deep worry and concentration that Benton now realized had been a regular part of Ray's face when they were together were absent. Though walking away all those years before nearly killed him, it had obviously been the right decision. Ray had a life that suited him. Joseph Alta had loved Ray better than Benton had. He would endeavor not to let that inequity occur in his new relationship.

Benton focused his attention out of the passenger window. He wished that he'd made proper preparation for this meeting, but he and Oscar had been so caught up in the surprise of each other that they hadn't talked about the man that was important to both of them. They did talk about the future. Oscar expressed a real interest in the Inuit culture and language which warmed Benton's heart. He also seemed excited to see the cabin that Benton had continued to maintain over the years. And the idea of having an adventure in a place that was important to Benton lit his young man's eyes in the way it hadn't anyone elses before him.

Once at the hotel, Ray tossed the keys to the valet without comment. And followed the Mountie into the lobby. Everyone they passed seemed to know Fraser and he in turn seemed to know everyone by name or by some ailment they'd recently overcome. Ray could see him actively resisting the urge to stop and introduce him. Instead, they maintained a brisk clip to the elevator. Through some providence their elevator was unoccupied and it went to straight to the Mountie's floor without stopping. Ray was immensely grateful. He didn't think that he could handle a round of letting every Tom, Dick and Harry precede them. The display in the lobby let Ray know that Fraser, the annoyingly courteous, remained intact. You think he could be courteous enough not to fuck my son, blazed through Ray's brain.

***************** The Mountie moved across the suite gracefully and pulled a bottle of water out of the mini-bar. He held a second bottle in Ray's direction. "I think I'm gonna need something a little stronger than that." There was just the slightest tightening in Benton's jaw. "By all means," he said as he stepped aside so that Ray could see the full range of selection. Reaching in, Ray selected a beer he'd never heard of and settled on the faux Victorian couch. Benton sipped his water and stared out of the suite's large floor to ceiling window.

"Are you carrying a firearm?"

Benton hadn't noticed it when he first sat with Ray at the caf, but once in the car he thought he detected the outline of a shoulder holster. Quite a few of the newer models were sleeker, a bit more contoured to blend with the line of a suit, but Benton thought he'd seen something. In the elevator, the way Ray stood made him almost one hundred percent certain.

Pulling the glock out of his holster, Ray put it in plain view on the table in front of the couch.

"You never know when you might run into a crazed caribou." Or a crazed Mountie. The attempt at levity did not completely disguise the edge in Ray's voice. Both men let the resulting silence play. Benton continued to stare out of the window, unsure of how to start. Ray contemplated his beer label.

The father was the first to break the silence.

+"Christ, he was twelve when you met him Benny." The sudden confused anguish in Ray's voice unloosened Benton Fraser's tongue. He turned on Ray fast, his blue eyes dark and flashing.

"I can assure you that nothing untoward occurred at Francesca's wedding. As you say he was a child."

Benton understood what it must look like, that Ray was thinking what a father would think and given the double jeopardy of the situation of father and ex-lover Fraser knew he should be grateful that Ray hadn't put another bullet in his back.

"I know you're not a pedophile, I'm not .... I need you to break this down for me. He's my kid. And I need to understand what the hell is going on here. What the hell are you doing?"

"He is in fact of age Ray. By several years actually."

"Goddammit Fraser!"

"I merely meant Ray that for the purpose of this discussion, it would be helpful...it might facilitate this situation if you could try to think of him as an adult."

"Do you have any children Fraser?"

"You know that I do not, Ray."

"What I know is that you're fucking my son. You have sex with the child that my husband and I raised."

Benton paled. "It isn't that. It's...I had that with someone for a number of years, before Oscar. That's not what this is. Oscar and I, your son and I.....

And despite the fact that the Mountie no longer had any of his tells from before, right there in his eyes was all the tell that Ray needed. He stared hard and let himself see the other thing he resisted in the caf. Ray did know a lot about the Mountie. He knew what he looked like when he loved, when he was in love. That hadn't changed in ten years. "Oh God, Fraser you're in love with my kid.

"I -. " Fraser started, but he was cut off. "I need everything Benny, the where, the when, the how. You gotta break it down for me. Use small words."

"I...the first contact I had with Oscar, after the wedding, I believe he was sixteen."

Ray inhaled sharply and impaled Fraser with his emerald daggers, but kept silent.

"After the dissolution of our marriage, Tony, Junior and I kept in touch via e-mail. He would keep me apprised of his successes in school and his various activities. Occasionally one of his notes would have something about his parents, his siblings, your mother or Frannie. But primarily they were about his studies. And in one of those messages he included a question from his cousin Oscar. As I understood it his cousin was doing a type of research paper and wanted information on Canada. At first I was unable to place this particular cousin. When I realized, I was more than happy to answer his questions."

A smile lit up Benton's face and Ray's hand clenched around his beer.

"I replied with the URLs of several helpful sites and other reference material. The e- mails continued in that vein, always a part of Tony, Jr.'s, always academically themed. And after that there were other academic inquiries about the RCMP, the anti-terrorist task force. These spanned a period of about a year then they stopped. And I truly gave no more thought to him, except to hope that he was well and that his studies were successful. Four months ago, I received ane-mail directly from Oscar telling me that he would be studying in Montreal. He asked to meet me for dinner. I suppose perhaps he found out from Tony, Junior that I was in Montreal. I didn't see that there would be any harm in meeting him."

Benton stopped as if that was all there was to say. As if to say the rest was self-evident. There was no way to tactfully tell a father that his son was the aggressor. And that when the full realization of Oscar's intentions dawned on Benton, he had made no effort to stop the advances. He'd unashamedly basked in the attention.

"I need to hear the rest of it." Fraser took a small sip from his bottle of water and considered.

"We had dinner," he began slowly as he tried to feel his way through the rest of the story.

"And he told me about his time at University. About his immersion program. I talked about my retirement, about my childhood in the territories. As we talked, I realized that it was turning into something of a date."

Again the smile touched Fraser's face.

"I was in the company of a vibrant intelligent man who seemed genuinely interested in me, who wanted to spend time with me. He seemed to have no preconceived notions about who I was."

"There's interest and then there's interest Benny. There are tons of people who would be willing to help you get your rocks off. You don't need Oscar."

Ray was as offended by his own vulgarity as Fraser, but he wanted to keep the Mountie off balance. An off balance Fraser prevaricated less.

"If I take your meaning, that's quite true. As I mentioned earlier I was involved in a sexual relationship with a fellow RCMP officer when I met Oscar. Though it's not something I believe could be helped at the time, it's also not something that I'm necessarily proud of. I ended that liaison before....before. "

Ray opened his beer and took a long pull. How is this my life he wondered? Fraser had found yet another way to complicate the lives of the people that knew him. Getting up from the couch, the father moved so that he and his ex were standing toe to toe. Staring into the eyes of the man he'd once loved more than anything, once protected above all others. He was still angry at Fraser but that was tempered by his knowledge of the man, by the look in the eyes that stared back at him now. By the eyes that had looked at him in the caf.

"No bullshit Fraser. I need you to look me in the eye and tell me this has nothing to do with me. You tell me you haven't, you haven't taken a page out of Victoria's book. Wait ten years then strike with a vengeance. Cause if you're going through my son...."

Fraser was gratified that he felt no stirrings at this proximity to Ray. Certainly they had been close in the caf, but first a table then Oscar had been between them, in the car and in the lift but this was the closest they had been to each other since that day on the porch.

While waiting for Oscar to join him at the caf, Fraser understood that this confrontation was going to be at hand. He feared it would bring two things - possible murderous anger in Ray and a discovery that he, Benton Fraser was still decidedly unwell.

He'd been afraid that he would find his desire for Ray undiminished. That he would somehow betray the son as he had the father. But this close, staring into the shimmering green of Ray's eyes confirmed what Benton thought he already knew. Though he hoped to salvage his friendship with Ray, Oscar was the man he wanted now. He did not let his gaze falter.

" Even though there are no biological markers to indicate his relationship to you, there are certainly those born of nurture. I would be lying if I said that there weren't some things about him that echo you. Or seem to. For example he seems to share your appreciation for fine clothing but it occurred to me that perhaps that's something he acquired from your husband. As I recall he too was rather a fine dresser. Oscar's style is less formal but his taste is impeccable. He doesn't seem as attached to his clothing as you were on occasion. He has a self- confidence that mirrors yours, but it's not borne of the streets. It's his. It's not a law enforcement officer's confidence, it's that of someone who was raised secure and happy. And I suspect that has as much to do with Joseph Alta, since Joseph has been in his life since he was born. I'm not sure if this is what you want to hear, I don't even know if I am explaining it correctly. I guess the best thing I can say is that being with Oscar has to do with me. And him. Only us. I love him." Fraser finished quietly and waited.

Ray took a little step back and took his turn looking out of the window.

" "God, Fraser you suck at this. This is the thing, you're really not good at. And I don't believe you really know. All this time I don't think you get it. I don't think you realize. Victoria, me, Stan...your RCMP fuck buddy. And now my son. And it would be funny if what's left behind wasn't so ugly."

The Mountie's eyes dropped to the intricately patterned carpet. There was really no defense that he could offer. His track record was less than sterling. It was as Ray said, he did `suck' at intimate relationships. But he and Ray had had five good years and might have had more were it not for the weight of their combined emotional baggage.

"I'm sorry it was most assuredly not my wish to hurt you Ray. It's definitely not my intention to hurt Oscar. The last ten years have been...I'd like to think that' I'm no longer the same man that destroyed our marriage."

"And you're testing that theory on a twenty-two year old boy? It's pretty much Parenting 101," Ray said softly, "that if I come down against this, it'll set his mind harder on it, so I need you to think. Remember what you were doing around his age. Remember the decisions you made. I believe you that this isn't some kind of payback, but....You want me to think of him as an adult and I do. I understand that a young man's got to go out on his own. Make his own way. But is he ready for your brand of adult, your degree of adulthood Fraser? Are you going to be the one that he regrets? Are you going to be the one that fucks him up, the way Victoria fucked you up when you were just a kid."

Fraser inhaled sharply.

"Yeah, Fraser. I really, really need you to think about that. You're not an easy man to walk away from. And I don't think that my son has the strength to do it. He doesn't even know what's hit him. Not really."

Ray blew out a loud sigh.

" I'm going to see my son like I intended. I'm gonna listen to what he has to say. If this goes sideways, and I don't mean normal relationship," and the word was like glass scraping his tongue, "ups and downs. If it turns out that you're using Oscar, I'll come after you. Jersey will probably want to kill you anyway, but I'll hunt you down if I have to and it won't be pretty." His eyes drifted to the unholstered glock for emphasis.

"Understood."

Ray nodded and reached for his gun.

End Part 3

Part 4 - Ray talks to his son and listens.