Cohabitation 3: Shower Power

by Adia

"Turns out Fraser was just dancin' with Turnbull to practice. I guess
they really got into it. You know those Mounties." Stan gave a wide-eyed
look to Frannie standing next to him, "Guess he was still tryin' to keep
it a surprise for the Ice Queen."
Frannie took another bite of her hot-dog, "So how'd The Ball go?"
"Don't know. Fraser got home real late last night, I was already
asleep." Stan shrugged and balled up his tin foil hot-dog wrapper. As
they passed a trash can he tossed the wrapper into it and got his keys
out. Just one more block and they'd be back to his apartment.
Frannie had come over earlier that morning and dropped off all her
luggage in the GTO then they'd gotten hot-dogs from a street vendor for
breakfast. Considering their behavior at the beginning of the week Welsh
had been all too eager to give them Friday off. He was the only one at
the station who had any idea of what was going on between them though he
never mentioned it out loud. Of course they covered with the story that
they had a funeral to go to in New York. A long lost Italian Aunt that
only Frannie and Ray (now Stan) were close to. Convenient.
They rode up together in the elevator and slipped into his apartment.
Fraser was gone, surprisingly. Then Stan remembered Fraser mentioning
something to him about going this morning and getting Dief from that
obedience school thing. Francesca plopped down on the sofa and crossed
her legs. Stan mumbled to himself. Something about thanking God for
creating mini-skirts, "I'm gonna go take a shower then we can hit the
road."
"Don't drowned yourself there bro." Frannie tossed a much-missed snippy
remark at him.
Kowalski pulled his shirt off over his head and closed the bathroom door
after remarking, "Yer a laugh riot, Vecchio." He had taken lately to
calling her by her last name for fun since their last names now
currently matched.
Frannie set her feet up on the coffee table and listened as the water
started running in the other room. Wondering just what he might do if
she decided to join him. Shaking her head as if to shake the thought out
of her mind she noticed the little jar of turtle feed. She snatched it
up and sprinkled some out into her hand. Getting up and heading for the
turtle she passed by the bathroom. Coming from inside she could hear
Stan's voice. To her amazement he was singing. At first the words were
intangible, probably muffled by all the steam of the shower but the
longer she listened the more she heard. With her ear pressed firmly to
the door she heard Stan sing, "Tell me why, I love you like I do. Tell
me who, can start my heart as much as you..."
For a moment she lifted her ear from the door, "Where have I heard that
before?" Her question didn't last long before she placed her ear to the
door again and heard Stanley's upbeat voice.
"Tell me all your secrets and I'll tell you most of mine..." Obviously
this singing in the shower was something he did often. Since he seemed
so comfortable with it.
A few more words were muffled before she heard, "I don't have the
answers. I don't have a plan. All I have is you so darlin' help my
understand..." Francesca stood by the door cautiously. Enjoying every
second of it. It seemed so exhilarating at the moment. The thought that
she was getting a glimpse of Stan's personal life. What he was really
like.
She wasn't sure weather it was the air and the door muffling him or more
just Stan mumbling because he didn't know the rest of the words, "You
can whisper in my ear..."
Finally when the chorus came Stanley chimed loudly, "Let's take
eachother's hand as we jump into the final frontier. Mad about you baby,
I'm mad about you, oh yeah, I'm mad about yooou!" Frannie couldn't help
the grin that spread across her face. She was about to laugh when she
heard the door knob turn. She jumped back away from the door afraid it
might be Stan but realized too late that the water was still running.
Soon enough she saw the front door open.
A fluffy white wolf came running in, tearing through the apartment and
jumping up onto the cushiony couch. After pawing around for a split
second Deif settled in and rested his head on his paws. The big red
Mountie followed Deif.
Frannie whirled around quickly and sprinkled the turtle food into the
turtles tank. Brushing her hands together and smiling nervously, "Hi
Frase."
"Good morning Francesca." Fraser gave her a faint nod and shut the door.
Seeming to be not interested in the least about why she was there. He
looked almost sad.
"What's wrong Frase?" Frannie sat back down on the couch next to Deif.
Fraser bowed his head, "Nothing Francesca."
She persisted, "No, there's something wrong. I know it. There has to
something wrong."
"It's of no importance." Fraser kept his knees locked.
Frannie eyed him curiously. What in the world could possibly have caused
Fraser's gloominess. He hasn't been this depressed since Vecchio left.
She motioned her hand to the chair sitting to the right of the couch,
"Have a seat Frase. You can talk to me about it."
Fraser sat down in the chair stiffly. He shook his head and scratched
the area just above his eyebrow. After a long pause he finally set his
Stetson on the coffee table and sighed. Knowing Francesca wasn't going
to let this go anytime soon, "I'm not feeling well."
"How'd it go last night?" Frannie tried to cover her concern by busying
herself with pushing back the cuticles on her long nails.
"Well. Last night went very well." He nodded and looked away.
"Then what's got you so down." Francesca avoided eye contact. It seemed
easier for him to talk when she wasn't looking him in the eye. It seemed
to put him at ease, the less you push the more he lets you in.
There was a long silence. Finally his lips moved and his voice filled
with a rich sadness. A heaviness when he whispered, "I'm just... well...
I'm feeling very... lonely." Fraser had almost choked out the words.
In an instant Frannie's eyes lifted off her distraction and straight to
him. Those big blue eyes filled with such sorrow made tears burn behind
her eyes.
Her eyes were on his when he said, "Things went well last night with the
Inspector. But it was afterwards when I came back here that I realized I
was alone. And I realized how much I miss having someone with me.
Standing beside me. Supporting me. I miss the way things used to be."
Suddenly Fraser broke eye contact and stared away into the distance.
Before Frannie could react he blurted, "I'm very sorry Francesca. I
shouldn't be going on like this. Please forgive me."
It was then that she felt her heart leap forward from her chest. She
knew things obviously weren't the same for Fraser as they once had been.
But she had no idea it was causing him so much pain. Such anguish.
Causing him to bury his feelings internally. Frannie herself had always
been such a verbal processor. Her whole family had been. It was
difficult for her to comprehend what strength it would take to keep such
feelings buried deep inside. His apology only made her more concerned.
The way he spoke, "I shouldn't be telling you this."
"No, Fraser, you should. You have to tell someone. I know it's hard when
you don't have anyone to talk to." Though with her large family she
didn't know exactly how hard it was to have no one to converse with, but
she knew the feeling of having to keep a secret. It was hard not being
able to share with anyone the way she feels about Kowalski. It was a
good thing they had finally gotten together because if they hadn't
Frannie wasn't sure how much longer she could have kept her feelings to
herself and that would have been deathly destructive. Keeping a secret
this way, sharing it only with the one she loves, made it seem much more
fun. More exciting. Still, she continued her attempt to help Fraser,
"You know you can talk to me. I can understand how hard it's been for
you since he left."
Fraser leaned down setting his elbows on his knees the dropped his head
into his hands. Helplessly. It was starting to puzzle Frannie as to why
he didn't seem to want to know why she was there. So she decided to
offer up an excuse before he started asking. Plus, she felt terribly
sorry for him, "Um.. you know Frase, the reason I'm here is that Ray and
I are going to New York. We've got a funeral of an aunt or something
like that." She waved her hand dismissively and leaned forward to place
a hand on Fraser's knee, "You can join us if you'd like. Maybe it will
help you not feel so lonely."
Fraser lifted his head up, "Oh, thank you Francesca, but I couldn't
possibly."
"Yes, you could. You're coming with us. Period. End of discussion."
Frannie made up her mind, moved up off the couch and headed back towards
the kitchen.
He let out a sigh, then looked up to her, "Francesca?"
"Mm-hmm?" She grabbed a jar of instant tea out of the tall cupboard. Her
shirt riding up as she stretched to reach the jar. The disadvantages of
being not so tall.
"Francesca?" He repeated, obviously he wanted her undivided attention.
Once she'd fetched the jar she turned to him and set the jar on the
counter, "Yes, Fraser?"
He smiled at her warmly, "Thank you kindly, Francesca."
Those words brought a soft smile to her face and for a split second her
heart fluttered but it quickly passed, "You're very welcome." She
whispered and turned back to making tea. There had been a time when
Fraser doing something like that, or even paying attention to her for
that matter, would have made her practically faint. But there were
things that happened. Things she had learned to accept. That Fraser
could never be hers. Not the way she wanted him. Which was fine. It
didn't even matter one bit to her now. She knew she couldn't change
Fraser and she didn't want to. She was in love with Stan and that was
all she wanted. He was someone she didn't need to change. Someone she
didn't want to change. Someone she could love just the way he was. And
she did. Incomparably.
Fraser sat back down and Deif whined, "What's wrong boy?"
Deif whined again and it dawned on Fraser, "Ah, yes. I'll go get that
right now." The man who ran the obedience school had suggested to Fraser
that he treat Deif more often because he was a very good wolf, very well
disciplined but that treating him with junk food wasn't a good idea. The
snacks Deif was used to stealing would one day catch up to him, as it
does with humans, so it would be better for Dief to be rewarded for his
good work by healthy snacks made specifically for dogs.
Momentarily Francesca turned around and mumbled, "Huh?" Then turned back
to the stove. Thinking Fraser might have been saying something to her.
Her thoughts far away from where she was boiling water for tea.
Fraser remembered reading the label of the jar of dog treats. It
recommended keeping them in a cool dry place. He couldn't think of a
better place to keep them appropriately than in the bathroom medicine
cabinet. Fraser rose out of his chair to go retrieve them.
Soon the water was steaming and Frannie was pouring it into three mugs.
Two with instant coffee and one with a packet of what she hoped was
Fraser's favorite "bark" tea. Then the moment she set the mugs on the
coffee table she heard it.
The loud high pitched scream. Two voices. Yelling wordlessly. Just two,
"Aaaaah!"'s coming for the bathroom. Then it dawned on her. She realized
that Fraser had left the room and entered the bathroom where Stanley was
showering. She moved her head so that her ear was pointed in the
direction of the bathroom, once the screaming finished she distinctly
noticed that the water was shut off. That left her knowing there was a
pretty good chance that Stanley had been just stepping out of the shower
as Fraser had entered the room.
She fought to suppress giggles that bubbled up inside. It was too funny
to resist. Laughter burst from her as she cautiously stepped closer to
the door. Without hesitation the door swung open wildly and Kowalski
burst through, stomped to his bedroom with a towel around his waist and
threw the door shut behind him. A tad bit pissed.
Soon enough Fraser slowly retreated from the bathroom holding the can of
dog snacks in his hand. His eyes were glued to the ground and his cheeks
were red, "I didn't see a thing." He slowly approached the door to
Stan's room and whispered through it, "I really didn't see anything,
Ray. I'm very sorry. I didn't know you were in there."
There was a long silence before Fraser moved back to the living room.
Frannie was now sitting on the couch next to Deif. Calmly trying to keep
a straight face, "Sorry Frase, I should have warned you."
They both sipped their drinks in silence and Fraser tossed a treat to
Deif who was happily resting on the soft cushions of the couch. Before
long Stanley emerge, fully clothed, from his room. Fraser kept his eyes
glued to the ground. Kowalski had dressed in a long sleeved blue
sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. His blond hair standing on end. Spiky
not just from the water but from the events of the last ten minutes. He
sat next to Frannie and folded one of his arms across his chest as he
drank a long sip of coffee.
Silence filled the room but Fraser quickly broke it, "I'm sorry Ray."
"'S okay." Stan nodded dismissively and held onto his coffee cup tightly
with both hands now.
Frannie grinned broadly. Almost having to bite her lips from remarking
about how envious she was of Fraser getting to see Kowalski nude and
all. Once again, Fraser was a lucky man according to Frannie. After many
moments had passed in silence Fraser stood up, "Thank you kindly for the
tea, Francesca. If it wouldn't be too much trouble would it be all right
if I went back to the Consulate momentarily to gather my things? This
trip to the umm..." he searched for the word, "Big Apple," he whispered
unsurely but then continued his sentence in complete self-confidence,
"sounds very exciting. I can't wait." With Frannie's quick nod Fraser
placed his Stetson on his head and left the apartment Dief following
close behind. He hadn't even noticed Francesca's hand on Stanley's knee
trying to calm him as Fraser gave word of his decision to join them for
the weekend.
After the door was shut Frannie slowly turned back to Stan, "You are so
cute..." she slathered on the compliments and flirts hoping to help
soften the blow. She softly lowered her lips and pressed them to his.
Her attempt was in vain. Just after she broke away he gave her an
unhappy look, "Frannie?"
Coyly she sang, "Whaaatie?"
"Tell me what Fraser was saying was just one of his delusions. Tell me
you didn't invite him." Stanley set his coffee down and raised an
eyebrow.
Francesca scooted around on the couch and leaned her back against his
chest. She turned her head to look out the window, "Beautiful day isn't
it?"
"Frannie..."
She moved her neck to look up into his eyes then batted her eyelashes.
She could clearly see it wasn't working and it wasn't going to work. She
sighed heavily then sat back up to face him, "Fine. I invited him. Is it
really that horrible?"
Stan looked at her blankly, "After how 'aquatinted' Fraser and I got
while I stepped out of the shower, I'd have to say yes Frannie. Yes,
this is going to be bad. Bad, bad, bad, nothing but bad."
"Raaayyy." She whined out his name, "He's lonely! He needs friends right
now, okay? I couldn't stand to watch him like that. He's so sad. We
couldn't just leave him here all alone all weekend long, could we?" She
commanded it as more of a demanding statement rather than a question.
Kowalski arched an eyebrow as a challenge. Slowly he gave in with an
exhausted sigh as though he had been in a sever battle of wills with
Frannie, which was not too far from the truth, "Okay. Fine, he can come
with us."
Frannie smiled brightly and threw her arms around Stanley knocking him
back on the couch, "Thank you!" She moved over slightly to lay on top of
him, completely covering him. She ran her hands beneath him and slid
them under his shirt. The cool clean skin on his back making her fingers
search along for more. Her eyes glittering, "I'll make it up to you,"
she kissed the soft area just below his ear lightly, "I promise."
He wrapped his arms around Francesca as they lay there in the middle of
his empty apartment, just the two of them, and he closed his eyes. A
slow warm smile spread across Stanley's face, "I'm looking forward to it
already."

The End
(~MDK~)
November 1998
Disclaimer: Them there characters I be usin' in my here storay belong to
them folk there at Alliance and whateva uther compnies that own them
there characters and no copyright infringement was meant to Paul Riser
(or anyone else who owns Mad About You) by using the theme song.