Author's website: http://www.tuktoyaktuk.net/innusiq/

Disclaimer:

Author's Notes: Comments are welcome.

Story Notes:

From Our House to Yours
By: Jenny Hill

Snow was falling gently over the city of Chicago. It was the first real snow of the season that threatened to blanket the city and its inhabitants under inches if not a foot of snow before the day's end. The weathermen of Chicago had been predicting this storm for days now and sure enough, it was finally here and for once, the meteorologists were telling the truth.

Ray watched the steadily falling snow, which occasionally was swirled into a dancing frenzy when the wind gusted, manipulating the multitude of flakes into a mesmerizing spectacle. It was beautiful and for as much as he voiced his opinion of hating the cold and snow and ice, Ray couldn't help but admit that the site outside was beautiful if not breathtaking.

The snow made the holiday spirit grow stronger. It made the holiday spirit that much more real. There were only two weeks left before Christmas and he had been lacking in the supposed "holiday spirit" until this morning when he was greeted by the sparkling white precipitation. It wouldn't be Christmas without a little snow and anyway, he did live in Chicago where snow was a yearly promise and it would be silly for anyone living in the city to wish it never came.

Ray turned his back on the show Mother Nature was providing and moved to take a seat across from where Fraser sat at the desk in the Mountie's small office. It was Saturday morning and all was quiet in the Consulate. As much as Ray hated seeing Fraser working on a day he should be relaxing, he understood that Fraser was needed and that it was Fraser's duty to be present if Inspector Thatcher was going to pull off yet another Consulate gathering. It would be another glamorous party where all the glory would be given to his superior officer yet all the work was being done by her subordinate.

Fraser was an over worked and under appreciated member of the R.C.M.P but he didn't see himself as such. As long as the work being done kept him content, Ray would over look that gross misjudgment. He did it for Fraser's benefit only because the man didn't see the error of his country's way or at least Fraser ignored the errors, knowing what he did was for the better of the country as a whole and its people he served.

Ray sighed quietly as he watched Fraser busy at work in his "secretarial" duties. It was odd watching him work in his civilian clothes, which consisted of worn jeans, flannel shirt and hiking boots. If Inspector Thatcher were here, he was certain Fraser would be blushing and stammering at his less than appropriate attire but to Ray, the clothing of choice was very appropriate. He never looked bad in anything and much to Fraser's chagrin, Ray was quite certain Inspector Thatcher agreed with him 100%. Even when Fraser was in disguise as a woman he still looked darn good.

Fraser was oblivious to Ray's ogling but Ray wasn't offended. He knew that the sooner Fraser got his work done the sooner they could get out of there and actually begin to enjoy the weekend ahead. If he was lucky, they could be free by lunch.

Ray pulled his chair closer to the desk and began working on his own task he brought along to keep him busy. Pulling out of blank sheet of paper, Ray began writing.

No more than five minutes had passed before it was virtually impossible for Fraser to ignore Ray's frustration.

Fraser looked up from his own paperwork and watched Ray write, scrutinize over what he had written and then scribble over the information, obviously not pleased. Ray repeated the cycle two more times before crinkling up the paper and reaching for another blank sheet. It was then that Ray realized he had Fraser's attention.

"I'm sorry Benny. Am I bothering you?"

"No Ray," Fraser responded while shaking his head. "But you do seem to be a bit troubled. Is it anything I can help you with?"

Fraser was genuinely concerned thinking there was a serious problem at hand.

"Nah . . . well . . . maybe . . ." Ray replied, indecisive of whether he should bother Fraser with such a trivial matter.

Fraser sat back in his chair, disengaging his concentration from his own work and giving Ray his full attention.

Ray looked down at the crinkled piece of paper and the other papers lying about with the same scratched out scribbles before looking back up at Fraser.

"Ya see, I don't know which one to use," Ray said in explanation, hoping Fraser would understand.

"Which one to use?" Fraser questioned at a loss for what Ray was talking about.

"Yeah . . . here, wait a second," Ray said, as he started writing on the blank sheet before him, repeating what he had previously written. When he was done writing, Ray handed the paper to Fraser.

"See . . . I don't know which one to use."

Fraser studied the sheet before him and where before there was confusion over what Ray's dilemma was, his eyes now softened and were smiling even though the smile didn't reach his lips.

"I see," Fraser commented while reading over what Ray was trying to decide between.

"It's not as easy as it looks now, is it?"

Fraser didn't answer at first, taking a few extra moments to view over the choices Ray offered.

"No, I would have to agree that it is a more difficult decision than one would think."

After another moment of silence, Ray piped in. "So, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Fraser asked looking up at Ray.

"Yeah, this isn't just me here, ya know. This is you too."

Fraser looked back down at the paper and after thinking a moment, he picked up his pen, wrote something or more added to what Ray had already written and circled the item in question. When he was finished, he handed the paper back to Ray who snatched it hastily, curious as to what Fraser had written.

The distress in Ray's body language relaxed as he read over their combined effort. A noise from the door distracted Ray's attention and when he looked up, he smiled at their visitor.

Fraser too turned towards the door and smiled, knowing he had made the right decision for the three of them.

Diefenbaker stood in the doorway of Fraser's office and barked his dislike of being cooped up in the Consulate yet another day when he should be out in the park enjoying his "free" day or even better, at home sleeping next to the radiator.

"I'm sorry," Fraser apologized to the wolf. "I promise we won't be much longer."

Diefenbaker grumbled a warning that the promise had better be kept. He quickly turned, leaving the two humans to their work while he looked for a warm place to nap.

Fraser and Ray turned to look at each other and laughed.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you," Ray commented as he picked up his pen, returning to his task in more uplifted spirits than before.

Fraser chuckled quietly to himself and returned to his own Consulate duties so that they could get out of there as soon as possible. As much as he felt obligated to complete his work he equally wanted to take Ray back to their shared apartment, bolt the door and not emerge until Monday morning.

The morning progressed smoothly and before long both Fraser and Ray found themselves packing up and bundling up to head out into the cold and go home.

"Hey Benny?" Ray asked as they walked towards the front door of the Consulate.

"Yes Ray?" Fraser responded, continuing to move towards leaving.

"Do you mind if we stop at the Post Office before we go home? I kinda thought since I got these done that I should get them in the mail before I forget," Ray said, indicating the stack of red envelopes he now carried as they exited the building.

"That is fine Ray. Do you want to pick lunch up too while we are out?"

"Yeah, that actually sounds like a wise decision seeing how it looks like Mother Nature here is giving us a beating today," Ray stating as he finally took in how much snow had fallen since they arrived that morning and also seeing that it was still snowing.

Fraser locked the Consulate door behind them and turned to follow Ray and Diefenbaker to the Riv, which was blanketed by two inches of snow. He couldn't help but smirk at the rant Ray was going through as he approached the vehicle, unlocked the doors and pulled out an ice scraper, seeing as he had to dig his baby out of the snow before they could actually get moving.

Fraser allowed Diefenbaker into the back seat of the Riv before moving to help Ray unbury his car.

Elaine wrapped her burgundy, fleece robe around her as she made a mad dash from her front door to the mailbox and back before any neighbors caught her out in her pajamas. She really didn't care to be seen in them but she also wasn't ready to actually get dressed for the day. It was her day off and when the weather outside was frightful, it was best to stay inside, in pajamas, wrapped up in a blanket, sipping hot chocolate while reading a good book and those were her plans for the day.

Kicking off the boots she hastily put on due to the snow still covering the ground with more promised for the day to come, Elaine began flipping through her mail sorting out bills and junk mail from her Christmas cards. Placing the "junk" on her kitchen counter, she carried the cards with her to the living room. Once she was settled, curled up on the couch as planned, Elaine opened the few cards she had received.

The first card was from her cousin Mary in Buffalo. She hadn't seen Mary in years but even though life had separated them, they always caught each other up on their lives in each year's Christmas card. The letter enclosed was long so Elaine put it aside for later, once she had that nice cup of hot chocolate to relax with.

The second card was from her brother John, who still lived in Chicago with his wife and three kids. This year all three children signed their own names to the cards and Elaine couldn't stop the wide grin that spread across her face. She loved her nieces and nephew very much and the gesture added a more personal touch to the holiday greeting.

The third card wasn't from a family member of sorts or at least not a blood related family member. After opening the envelope and pulling the card out, Elaine looked over the front of the card with awe. The front of the card held a photograph of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree and one that she recognized from the tree trimming party she attended the weekend after Thanksgiving. Underneath the tree was a sleeping half wolf. Across the top was written, "Happy Holidays"

Elaine laughed out loud over them actually catching Diefenbaker under the tree as such but then thinking back, it probably wasn't "that" hard to catch him there in the first place. Inside the card was written, "From our house to yours" and it was signed, "Merry Christmas! With Love, Ray, Benny and Dief."

The End. Happy Holidays everyone!

End From Our House to Yours by Innusiq: Joymakers@neo.rr.com

Author and story notes above.