Disclaimer: So not mine. Making no money. I have five bottles of beer and one microwave dinner to my name.

Author's Notes: As always, thanks goes to the brilliant Tora. Without her the quality to comma ratio would be way off.

1. Ray's Acclimation Period (Or Lack Thereof)

When Fraser first started planning their adventure he thought everything out very carefully. He tried to imagine every scenario, every complication. After all, proper preparation would prevent poor performance. And the trip wouldn't just be him. No, Ray would also be under his care, Ray to whom the environment was almost totally foreign. His friend would be counting on him for survival. It wasn't just a matter of 'could Benton Fraser do this and survive?' He would have to factor in Ray's initial inexperience as well.

Not that he didn't think Ray could handle himself, in fact Fraser was sure that with time Ray would become quite skilled in arctic survival. However, Fraser needed to plan on an acclimation period. It would take Ray a while to get used to the conditions, to the physical and mental strain an undertaking like this would bring with it.

So, Fraser prepared himself for a few weeks of helping Ray along, teaching him the basics.

However, it quickly became apparent that Ray needed no such help. In fact, he showed no trepidation at all. Making camp the first night, Fraser made a point of showing and explaining to Ray the most basic points of setting up a campsite. Ray watched and listened, and then started to pitch in without a word.

Oh he didn't pretend to be knowledgeable where he clearly wasn't, but he did know what jobs he could do and he did them. As he was quick to point out to Fraser, "How hard is it to melt snow for dinner?"

Ray showed no signs of the exhaustion one would expect from someone not accustomed to such conditions. If possible, he seemed to have even more energy than he did in Chicago. He didn't want to help Fraser set up the tent and help Fraser settle the dogs; he wanted to set up the tent while Fraser settled the dogs.

Any notions Fraser had of having to carry Ray along at first were quickly dispelled and replaced with the realization the Ray's unbridled enthusiasm was not only exhausting, but infectious.

2. Ray Talks. A Lot.

The exhaustion Fraser had expected from Ray at first also consisted of the ceasing of anything beyond the most basic communication. To be honest, he expected very little from Ray the first few days except for grunts and the occasional complaint of cold or soreness. Arctic survival was hard work, and even Fraser found himself appallingly exhausted the first week out. Apparently he was softer than he thought, or even worse, he was starting to feel the natural effects of aging.

Regardless, Fraser expected idle chitchat to be all but nonexistent for the first few days. And after that there was always the chance Ray would find the quiet of Fraser's home unsettling and talk in the manner of those desperate to fill the silence. However, neither of those turned out to be the case.

Ray just talked. He kept up a monologue of stories and anecdotes about his life and experiences, and Fraser was surprised to learn how few of them he'd actually heard before.

At the very beginning, all of Ray's stories lead to the same place - Stella. Shortly before leaving on their adventure, Fraser had received a call from Ray Vecchio. When he broke the news to Ray of his old partner's engagement to Stella, he'd expected more of a reaction. Instead, Ray was quiet for a few moments and then responded with a "Huh, yeah, I can see that," after which he never really brought it up again.

Well, not directly. Shortly after they pulled out on the sled, Buck Frobisher saluting them, Ray's discourse had started. But it hadn't been the discourse of a broken man desperate for the love of a woman who had long since moved on. No, instead Fraser found himself listening as Ray recounted stories with something akin to fondness for an old friend.

In the morning it was, "We were pretty young, we'd only known each other a month or so, but we decided we'd had enough of our parents so we were going to run away, right? We packed a bunch of stuff and headed to the park. We figured if we ran away, our parents would be so desperate to get us back that they'd let us stay up extra late each night and maybe eat dessert before dinner. Typical kid stuff. Anyway we go to this park that was down the street from Stel's place. Only we don't last more than an hour cause the sun goes down and the bugs come out. Now Stella, she hates bugs..."

And later before bed, "For some reason, Stella got it into her head that we were going to bake a cake to take to my parents for Christmas. Now, I can cook okay, just like the basics and stuff. But I'm not so hot on baking. One time I think I made chocolate chip cookies from the recipe on the back of the Nestle package, but that's about the extent of my experience. And Stella, Stella hates cooking. See, she's the kind of person that can pretty much be good at anything she sets her mind to. But for some reason cooking was something Stella never mastered, and not from a lack of trying. It used to really get to her too. I mean, she wasn't too bad, like the food was edible, if you put enough salt or ketchup on it. But she wasn't great at it, so she'd never do it. Had to be the best at everything, that was my Stel. So anyway, we decide to make this cake. Which turned out to be the worst decision ever. We almost burned down the whole apartment building. It took us hours to scrub cake batter and flour off of all the surfaces. We were laughing so hard the whole time that we'd have to take breaks and sit on the floor just to catch our breaths."

No, these weren't the stories of a broken hearted ex-husband; they were the stories of someone finally able to reclaim his past.

After the Stella stories ran out, Ray started in on other stories. From his childhood, from his experience on the force, ranging all the way up to a few days before they had left tracking Muldoon.

"You were busy doing some Canadian thing, so I figured I'd just grab some food on my own. So there I was in the middle of that diner I love, and who should walk up to the counter but Axel Rose! You know, the guy form Guns 'n' Roses? I swear to god it was him."

When Fraser had thought about the adventure, he had pictured himself telling stories to Ray. Both those Ray had dubbed "Inuit stories" as well as stories from his own experience. He intended to tell Ray these stories in an effort to teach about the rules that were important for survival.

In many ways, Ray's stories accomplished the same thing.

3. Ray's Confession of Love

"So I'm taking my morning piss, right?" Ray started as they were packing the sled for the day. "And I'm there thinking about how weird everything is, you know?"

"Weird, Ray?"

"Yeah you know, our lives and everything. Like, before I knew you things were pretty run of the mill. Divorced cop, kind of lonely, hates his job, maybe drinks a little too much. And then you come into my life and it's like Bam! Cop with crazy Mountie partner, who rides motorcycles through windows and drives flaming cars into lakes. I mean come on."

"What are you saying Ray?"

"I'm saying your appearance in my life was the incip..insit...insisting incident."

"Inciting?"

"Yeah, the inciting incident. Seriously, look at our lives. The stuff we do just isn't normal. I mean, if this stuff happened to normal people, the world would be crazy, right?"

"Well Ray I..."

"Just hear me out, okay? So then I started to think about how our lives must look like to people on the outside. I was thinking about the weird things we've done, and the crazy criminals we've faced. And then I started thinking about us, you know? I started thinking, if our lives are crazy, maybe we're a little crazy too? Cause for every bizarre situation we've found ourselves in, we've pretty much taken an equally bizarre way out, right? So then I was thinking, if I were an outsider, watching these two, what would I think? I started out by thinking about your behavior towards me. And that's when it hit me, if I were like, a casual outside observer, who wasn't living this whole crazy mess, then I'd probably think you were just a little bit in love with me."

"Ray..."

"Nah, just wait okay? So then I thought about me. What would someone think about my behavior? And like, that added up even faster. Any sane person would probably think I was a little bit in love with you. Cause I mean, I've had partners before. I've even had partners I've gotten along well with. Don't look so shocked, I have. And I've gotten along well with these guys, but I never jumped through a skylight for them, and they never kissed me to keep me from drowning..."

"Now Ray, how many times do I have to tell you, that was standard - "

"Yeah, yeah I get it. So I thought about it a little more and then I was like "Huh, looks like people are right." But that's crazy, right? Falling in love with your partner. Even if you discount the whole, uh, sexuality thing. So I thought about it some more, and I figure, since our lives are pretty crazy, what's a little more crazy going to hurt?"

"A little more crazy?"

"Yeah, you know, we start acting on this love thing we've got goin'. Maybe get a little cabin somewhere, a few dogs. Maybe I can do some kind of reverse liasoning. So what do you say? Wanna zip our sleeping bags together?"

"Ray..." More strangled this time.

"What am I saying? You've probably just only realized this too. I should give you time to deal with it, figure things out, come to terms on your own time....

"Fraser, we just packed the sled, why are you unpacking...oh, oh. Okay. Here, let me help you."

Needless to say, it was not what he had originally pictured when he allowed himself to fantasize about the moment.

Perhaps a subtle caress in a joined sleeping bag? But since when was Ray subtle?

Maybe a whispered confession on a moonless night? He should know by now that when Ray did something with his heart, he did it with gusto.

And maybe it wasn't all hearts and flowers, but what did he really expect when he fell in love with Ray Kowalski?

So in the end, perhaps proper preparation did sometimes prevent poor performance. But through the course of their adventure together, Fraser had come to understand that at least where Ray was concerned it was hard to ever be properly prepared.