Disclaimer: strictly not for profit, all characters belong to somebody else, etc.

Author's Notes: thanks to China Shop for beta reading.

Story Notes: written for 2009 ds seekrit santa

The day started simply enough, but quickly turned into a tangle of crime and confusion. After hours of sorting through different viewpoints and different opinions of what had happened at the mall, Fraser and Ray left the 2-7 satisfied that they'd solved their latest strange case. They drifted across the street to the cop-hangout cafe. This late in the day, the cafe was sparsely populated, and Fraser waved to the waitress behind the counter as they seated themselves at a table by the window. When she came by, they ordered their usual burgers, with a coffee for Ray and a hot tea for Fraser.

Ray hunched over the table, staring moodily into his coffee cup. Fraser thought he understood why his friend was so downcast, and he was eager to cheer him up. Leaning forward, he placed his hand on Ray's forearm to get his friend's attention.

"Really, Ray, all any of us can do is to judge a situation through the prism of our own lives. Your view was quite logical based on your experience."

Ray snorted. "Yeah, logical. And wrong."

"As a detective, you develop theories, test them against the evidence, and adjust them as necessary. You do this all the time. Why does it particularly bother you today?"

Ray's reply was blunt. "It doesn't."

Disconcerted, Fraser took a moment to consider, then said, "You expressed some discontent about it earlier. I'm glad that it doesn't bother you anymore. Why are you so distant now, Ray?"

"I was thinking about the case before." Ray seemed to come to a decision. He straightened up, shoulders back and chin forward. "Now I can't think about anything but what came after, and the more I think about it, the more it bugs me. The Dragon Lady is nobody I'd cuddle up with, but she's sharp, you know? That's the one thing you can count on with her, and it's a good thing. And she counts on you too. People who work together need to be able to count on each other. That trick you pulled makes me wonder about trusting you. You just don't go around fiddling with people's brains without permission. That's basic. Butt heads, yeah, not go sneakity sneak. It seriously weirded me out, Frase. It's the most dishonest thing I've ever seen from you."

Fraser was stunned. " I assure you that I meant no harm, Ray. My use of post-hypnotic suggestion in no way compromised Inspector Thatcher's mental acuity or the integrity of her decision making. I simply wished to expedite our dinner together. It was a long and difficult day for all of us..."

"Uh uh, that's not it." Ray broke in. "If you respect someone, you let them argue even if you'd rather not hear it, or you tell them straight out that you're fed up with listening and you do what you're going to do. What you don't do is act like he's your puppet and you're pulling the strings. That isn't respectful, or honest, and it's not buddies."

"'He', Ray? I thought we were discussing Inspector Thatcher."

"Yeah, right. But if you'd do it to her, you'd do it to me, or to anybody, wouldn't you? You always have to get your way, okay, but I thought it was because you could explain things and stuff, but maybe it isn't. Maybe it's really that you're just tricking me into going along with what you want. How would I know?"

"Ray..."

But Ray jumped in before Fraser could speak. "You just don't get it, Frase! It's like breaking and entering, but into someone's head instead of their house." Ray's voice rose, and he raked his fingers through his hair in agitation. "It's all about trust. How can I trust you now?"

That question was like a punch to Fraser's gut. "Ray, you're my partner. Your trust means everything to me. I need to make this right."

Ray's finger's jabbed the air as he spoke. "I don't know if you can. If you want to try then first thing, you can show me that you understand why I'm upset." Jab. "You can go to Thatcher and admit to what you did." Jab. "You can stop acting like we're all idiots and you're our keeper."

"What are you talking about? I don't do that!" Even as the words came out of his mouth, Fraser remembered planting a suggestion in Ray's mind while his friend was hypnotized. Through his shame, he heard his friends next words.

"Oh yeah, you do. Okay, so you're the smart one, but still, that's just condi-, just mani-, just crappy, Fraser. And making someone stop acting like they want to act so they can act like you want them to act is especially crappy." Ray's voice reached a crescendo as he slammed his hands down on the table with his last word.

The waitress approached the table. "Look guys, maybe I should wrap up your food for you. You seem too worked up to enjoy it here."

Ray stood and handed her a twenty dollar bill. "Don't worry about it. I'm done. Keep the change." He strode to the door without another word.

The apology was on Fraser's lips automatically. "I'm sorry if we made a spectacle here, Denise", he said over his shoulder as he headed for the door behind Ray. He jogged across the street and was soon keeping stride with his partner. When they reached Ray's car, Fraser blocked Ray's access to the door.

"Ray. please stop. You're right. I'm sorry."

Ray crossed his arms and stood silently. Fraser continued, "May I use your phone to call Inspector Thatcher?"

Ray pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it over. Fraser dialed a phone number, and after three rings, Inspector Thatcher's voice come faintly across the space between Ray and Fraser.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at home, Inspector." Fraser faltered slightly, but a glance at Ray's unyielding posture inspired him to continue. "I think you should know that something happened during your time under hypnosis today. In addition to assisting your recollection of the events at the mall, I planted a suggestion in your subconscious that you react in a certain way when I said a certain word. This suggestion wears off in a short period of time and should not cause you any concern, but it was highly inappropriate of me and I needed to let you know."

The sound of Thatcher's voice was quite a bit less faint as she responded with a flood of indignation. Fraser explained the nature of his suggestion, and Thatcher made a few pointed suggestions of her own. After several apologies from him and quite a few threats from her, the call ended with an agreement that a longer discussion regarding disciplinary action would take place when they both returned to the consulate the next day.

Fraser sighed deeply, his eyes closed, heavy hearted. He opened his eyes to see Ray still standing before him. Ray said, "Good start. You listened to me."

"Well of course I did Ray."

Then Ray smiled. "Man, she's really going to kick your ass."

"I'm afraid so, Ray", Fraser said.

"You deserve it, though, so that's cool."

"As you say, Ray."