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     �	  Father's Day 
 by nancy claycomb  

 Disclaimer: Of course none of the characters belong to me. They belong to
Alliance. Please don't sue me for using them. 

 Author's Notes: Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any comments
would be appreciated.

 

 Friday, June 16th 4:00 PM 

 "Vecchio! Kowalski! My office now!" Lieutenant Welsh bellowed into the
bullpen area from his office door. 

 Vecchio glanced towards his partner. "D'you do anything wrong?"

 "Not since... Nah, it wouldn't be that." Kowalski said practically
leaping out of his chair. "You?"

 "Fraser's the only one that ever rats on me, I don't think he's said
anything lately." Vecchio shrugged his shoulders. He put down the foam
basketball he had been playing with and slowly got out of his chair.
"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out what he wants."

 He followed Kowalski into the office and they took the seats without
being asked. Both men shuffled their feet impatiently but remained silent
while the older gentleman gathered his thoughts

 Lately, the two detectives were used to spending time in the Lieutenant's
office for both good and bad reasons. Although they were still often on
the receiving end of one of his tirades about following orders or correct
police procedure; they also had gotten a number of compliments from him
lately. Since they had started working together, they had one of the best
arrest records in the city. Between Kowalski's boundless energy and
Vecchio's attention to detail, they made a good team. Unfortunately, they
still wasted a fair amount of time arguing between themselves. Sometimes,
however, it was those arguments that would lead to their biggest case
breaks. They would start arguing back and forth over the details of the
case, and one of them would have an epiphany over something they had
missed. The entire 27th was sick and tired of their fighting, but it
seemed to work for them. Welsh only allowed their outbursts because they
were making his division look good and he hoped that after a while they
would grow out of the pattern. He was also tolerant because, despite their
arguing, he was just happy to find someone they could each work with
without killing each other.

 "We have a reliable source that tells us that something serious is going
down at Zuko's Dry Cleaning front operation." Welsh began slowly. "Seems
as though the Santangelo's are trying to move up in the world and they
want to cause Mr. Zuko to have some unfortunate accidents."

 "And that's a bad thing?" Vecchio almost spat out the words.

 "Detective Vecchio, I realize that you have a history with Mr. Zuko. But
as hard as we've tried we can't seem to make anything stick to him. This
weekend, however, we do have a chance to get something on the Santangelos,
and that is better than nothing." Welsh said understandingly.

 "This weekend, Sir?" Kowalski questioned

 "You got a problem with that, Kowalski?" Welsh challenged.

 "It's just that..." Kowalski began.

 "Detective," Welsh interrupted. "Before you give me your life story, let
me just tell you how badly the boys at the 42nd would like to get
something on the Santangelos. I would dearly love to beat them to it. You
two are my best shot."

 "It's just kinda short notice..." Kowalski started again.

 Vecchio studied his partner closely. Kowalski was always the first one to
jump on a new case. By the way the other detective was acting, Vecchio
could tell that something was up.

 "Come on Lieutenant, there must be someone else that can babysit that
place all weekend." Vecchio whined. He thought he would try on behalf of
his friend and because he didn't want to help Zuko no matter what Welsh
said. 

 "Look," Welsh lowered his voice. "Because of past circumstances with the
Santangelos, we are afraid that someone here at the station is supplying
them with information. You two are the only ones I know I can trust."

 Welsh waited for this new information to sink in, then he finally
continued. "The only words I want to hear come out of your mouths are
'yes, sir' until Monday morning. Do I make myself clear?

 "Three bags full, sir," Kowalski consented.

 "Good, good. Here is the address where you can set up shop for the
weekend." Welsh said quickly scribbling an address on a slip of paper. 

 Kowalski stood and took the paper from Walsh.

 "What about Fraser, sir?" Vecchio questioned.

 "You know detective, for the past four years I've been trying to figure
out why he keeps hanging around here. You think I could stop him for one
weekend? I'm only the person who is supposed to be in charge." Welsh
dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Go home now and get your stuff
together. I expect you to be at that address by eight tonight."

 Once they were out of Welsh's office, Kowalski glanced at the address on
the paper and then showed it to Vecchio. "Pick you up at seven thirty?
Then we can swing by and pick up Fraser if he wants to come."

 "'Course he will. It's not like he'll have anything better to do."
Vecchio said

 Vecchio paused for a moment. "What about you, anything better to do?"
Vecchio asked nonchalantly. He was still trying to figure out his
partner's earlier behavior.

 "Nah, can't think of anywhere I rather be." Kowalski brushed off the
question. He quickly straightened out some piles on his desk and sped out
of the office, leaving Vecchio in his dust.

 Friday, June 16th, 7:30 PM

 Kowalski walked in the door of the Vecchio house very nearly the time he
said that he would. He had stopped ringing the bell long ago since the
entire household now considered him one of the family. Mrs. Vecchio forced
some food packages into their arms for the weekend, insisting that they
needed to have some nutritious food as well as the junk food that they
usually took along on their stakeouts. Both Rays kissed her on the cheek
and then headed out the door to pick up Fraser. 

 Fraser and Dief were waiting by the curb when the black GTO pulled up to
the Canadian Consulate. Ray Kowalski jumped out and opened the trunk for
Fraser's bedroll and duffel bag. He let the Mountie and the wolf in the
backseat and then sped off towards the address that Welsh had given them. 

 They rode in silence for most of the trip, until Diefenbaker sniffed out
one of the food packages that Mrs. Vecchio had made especially for him. He
was relentless until Kowalski finally consented to leaving the wolf eat in
his car.

 "Just watch the interior. My dad would kill me if it gets ruined."
Kowalski said to the wolf as well as everyone else.

 "How is your father, Ray?" Fraser questioned

 Almost instantly there was an air of tension radiating from Kowalski.
"Just dandy fine as candy," he said sarcastically.

 Vecchio glanced over at his partner and then looked in the rear view
mirror and caught Fraser's eye. Vecchio shrugged his shoulders and hoped
that Fraser would be able to find out what was bugging his partner.

 Kowalski parked around the corner so his car would be out of sight from
Zuko's building. As unobtrusively as possible, the three men and the wolf
entered the apartment building. They settled into the apartment that Welsh
had set up in silence; Kowalski's bad mood seeming to set the tone for the
rest of the night. 

 Vecchio had brought a deck of cards and had hoped to con the others into
a hot game of poker. Finally, after numerous attempts, he gave up and
ended up playing solitaire at the small table in the living room area.

 Kowalski was sitting quietly on a chair listening to the Cubs game on the
small transistor he had brought along. Every now and then the others would
hear him mumble a comment about the umpire or the coach, but mostly he was
just quiet; too quiet.

 Fraser had taken first shift at the window. He glanced over periodically
at Kowalski, and was trying to formulate a plan to draw Kowalski out of
his ill tempered mood. Fraser had known Kowalski for over a year and a
half now and he knew that these moods were rare. When Kowalski was quiet
something was definitely wrong.

 "What's the score?" Fraser finally asked. He realized that it was the
conversational equal to 'how's the weather?' but he hoped that it would
start some kind of dialogue.

 "Four to three, eight to five, what's it matter? The Cubs are losing
again." Kowalski said. They haven't done anything since Rhyne Sandberg
left." 

 Fraser looked startled by Ray's answer, but at least he had answered.
"Well, actually, in all fairness, even during the time that Sandberg was
with the team..."

 "It's a baseball game, Fraser. What difference does it make." Kowalski
said running his fingers through his hair.

 "Yeah, but it's the Cubs," Vecchio said with reverence in his voice. "and
Wrigley Field. Even without Rhyne Sandberg, and Harry Carey singing 'Take
Me Out to the Ballgame, it's still the Cubs."

 "It's just a stupid game," Kowalski said pacing around the small
apartment.

 Suddenly, it dawned on Vecchio: Kowalski's dad was coming to Chicago on
Sunday for Father's Day. Ray had bought tickets to the Cubs game in
February just to make sure he could get them. Vecchio knew that Ray and
his father hadn't always gotten along and Ray had gone to a lot of trouble
making sure that this weekend would go well. 

 "Did you call your father yet?" Vecchio asked quietly.

 "Nah, I picked up the phone a few times, but I just never got around to
dialing." Kowalski said, knowing that Vecchio had figured it out. "I
figured I could do it tomorrow."

 "Don't," Vecchio said with authority. "Fraser and I can take care of
this. Go with him."

 "Ray, if you had previous plans for this weekend, you should honor those
arrangements" Fraser said.

 "Yeah and Welsh would have my hide if something happened and I wasn't
there," Kowalski said.

 "We can handle Welsh," Vecchio grinned. "I used to sneak out on my father
all of the time. I got pretty good at coming up with excuses. You got the
tickets, go to the game."

 "Sure, the yank's father gets ballgame tickets as a present for Fathers
Day," Bob Fraser said, suddenly standing next to his son. "You didn't get
me anything, did you?"

 "No, I didn't," Fraser replied.

 "Didn't what?" Vecchio looked up towards Fraser.

 "Didn't see that car out in front of the building before," Fraser said
suddenly noticing the car that had just stopped in front of the building
they were supposed to be watching. 

 "What is it?" Vecchio and Kowalski said in unison. Kowalski put his
glasses on and peered over Fraser's shoulder. Sure enough, a dark blue
sedan had stopped directly in front of Zuko's place. Three men jumped out
of the car before it sped off down the street. 

 Bob Fraser looked out the window with the other men. "You better go check
that out."

 "I was going to," Fraser said in an annoyed tone.

 "Gonna what?" It was Kowalski's turn to ask this time.

 "Go check that out, of course." Fraser said grabbing his hat off of the
table and heading for the door.

 "Not by yourself, you're not." Kowalski said chasing Fraser out the door.

 Diefenbaker was munching happily away on a bag of potato chips. He
glanced up at Ray to see if he was going to follow the other men. Finally,
Vecchio stood and turned to go after his friends. He ran right into his
father.

 "What is it with you?" his fathers ghost asked. "It's Father's Day and
you decide to honor me by helping Zuko?"

 "It's got nothin' to do with you, Pop." Vecchio said. "Believe it or not,
not everything I do in my life is to spite you. This is an assignment."

 "Is that why you became a cop? To help out scum like Zuko? You know how
long they've ruled the neighborhood." Mr. Vecchio said.

 "Yeah, Pop, I do. But right now there are even worse people down there
doing illegal things." Vecchio said. "I gotta go help my friends."

 Ray Vecchio finally sidestepped around his father and ran out the door.
Diefenbaker took on last look around the room to try to figure out what
was going on, and then took off down the steps, as well.

 Friday, June 16th 10:45 PM

 Vecchio met up with Fraser and Kowalski in the alley at the side of
Zuko's building. The building they had been watching housed a dry cleaning
business in the front that was attached to a much larger building in the
back. The larger building was one of Zuko's many warehouses around the
city which the police kept a close on. 

 The three thugs had already gained access into the building by the front
door. It was decided that Fraser and Kowalski would go in the front of the
building, while Vecchio would come around from the back to block the
criminals' escape.

 "Go get 'um, son." Bob Fraser encouraged his son as they entered the
building together.

 Fraser gave his father a sideways glance, but continued following
Kowalski down the hallway to the back of the building. They were unable to
see the three men in the large warehouse, so they decided to split up to
continue their search. 

 Meanwhile, Vecchio had picked the lock on the back door and was making
his way down the hallway into the main part of the warehouse. He had drawn
his weapon and had it positioned pointing up a few inches from his right
cheek.

 "Is this how it always is? Those two go off together and leave you to
fend for yourself?" Mr. Vecchio said sneaking up on his son.

 Ray Vecchio jumped at the sudden voice behind him. 

 "No, that's just how it happened to work out this time." Ray almost
hissed the words through his clenched teeth. "Now leave me alone, Pop, I
gotta job to do."

 "Some job, helping out criminals," his father said shuffling down the
hallway after him.

 Vecchio silently entered the main part of the building. The warehouse was
bigger than he had first suspected. There were rows of boxes piled just
high enough that each row had to be investigated individually. Vecchio
stalked from row to row coming up empty. Finally, at the end of the sixth
row, he saw two of the suspects. 

 "I don't know what you're doing here, but you definitely picked the wrong
day. It looks at though you're gonna have to be the victim of a very
unfortunate accident." The younger of the two men was saying to some
unknown person.

 The smell of gasoline filled the air as the thugs began dousing the boxes
with the flammable liquid. Silently, Vecchio shifted his position. From
the new angle he could now see that the older man was holding Fraser at
gunpoint. Vecchio stood still for a moment considering his options.

 "Don't do it," Mr. Vecchio watching his son, anticipating his move. "They
wouldn't do it for you."

 "Yeah, Pop, they would." Vecchio whispered. "Now go away!"

 "Police! Drop it!" Vecchio yelled coming into view, his gun aimed at the
older of the two men.

 The older man was the first to submit, slowly dropping his gun at his
feet. The younger, dark haired man looked a little less cooperative, but
finally consented and dropped his weapon as well. 

 "You okay, Fraser?" Vecchio asked as he frisked the suspects and cuffed
them.

 "Yes, Ray." Fraser answered. "Although, I must confess that I am feeling
a little stupid at being caught that way. I was slightly distracted at the
time I was seen."

 "I was only trying to help" Bob Fraser said innocently for only Fraser to
hear." I just suggested that now would be a good time to make your move."

 "You could have told me they were there," Fraser argued.

 "I didn't know where they were." Ray interrupted. "I just got here."

 "You pop up at the most irritating times," Fraser continued arguing with
his invisible father.

 "Hey, if I hadn't popped up you would'a been deep fried by now." Vecchio
shouted.

 "I'm sorry, Ray. I wasn't talking to you." Fraser mumbled.

 "Well, I don't see anybody else in the area," Ray grumbled

 "No, I suppose you don't," Fraser finally conceded. 

 "Looney Toones. Just like I told you before," Mr. Vecchio said tapping
his finger against his temple.

 "You stay out of it." Vecchio said.

 "You're the one who called me to come along." Fraser shot back.

 "Sometimes, I wonder how that yank ever gets his man - being nuts and
all," Bob Fraser mumbled

 "Nuttier than a fruitcake," Mr. Vecchio was still going on to his son.

 "Leave him alone!" Fraser and Vecchio both said at the same time to their
respective ghost fathers.

 They stood for a moment and quietly stared at each other. Suddenly,
Vecchio felt something cold and hard press into his neck.

 "Drop it, cop." The third thug appeared seemingly out of nowhere to get
the drop on Vecchio. With the thug's gun pressed up against his neck, Ray
had very little choice other than to drop his gun slowly to the floor.

 "I told you that Mountie was going to get you in trouble. Watch out for
yourself: that's what I always told you. But no, you got'ta jump in and
get yourself caught too." Mr. Vecchio continued to berate his son as he
shuffled off down the isle and disappeared out of sight.

 "You have an awfully funny way of getting your man, son." Bob Fraser
shook his head and walked off in the opposite direction from Mr. Vecchio.

 "Watch 'um, boss," the younger man said. "They're psychotic, they talk to
themselves."

 "Do not," Vecchio argued. He glanced around slowly to access the
situation. The first thing he noticed was the man's bright red hair. The
detective saw that the man was about his height but had a much larger
frame. He wouldn't have a chance of muscling his way out of this one. 

 "Let them go." The newcomer to the scene waved his gun in the general
direction of the two handcuffed criminals.

 For a moment Ray stood still trying to figure out his options. Luckily,
he didn't have to worry for long.

 "That ain't gonna happen," Ray Kowalski finally arrived on the scene with
his gun pointed directly at Reds. "Police, drop your weapon."

 The man slowly lowered his gun from Vecchio's neck and dropped the gun to
the floor.

 "What happened to you two?" Kowalski asked. He had been around both
Fraser and Vecchio long enough to know that one of them was hard enough to
get the drop on, let alone both of them.

 "We were kind of distracted by something," Vecchio said looking
sheepishly at Fraser.

 "Distracted? No way! Distracted is putting you keys in the frige.
This..." Kowalski waved his hands at the bad guys and the gasoline and
then ran his fingers through his hair. "This is way beyond distracted.

 "Somehow the discussion about you and your father seem to have triggered
some... eh, thoughts about my father causing my mind to temporarily wander
away from the case at hand." Fraser stammered, trying to explain his
father's interference without actually saying anything.

 "Yeah, yeah, what he said." Vecchio nodded. 

 "Well, you know what?" Kowalski said, almost bouncing up and down on his
toes. "None of it matters anymore 'cause this case is closed. Dot it, file
it and we are out'a here. Plenty of time to hear the National Anthem and
the Umpire yell 'Play Ball!'"

 Kowalski frisked the suspect and got the hancuff locked around Red's
right wrist. "Best of all, my dad doesn't even have to know how close I
came to calling him and..."

 Suddenly, Reds burst into motion before Kowalski could secure the other
hand. The big man grabbed the now empty gas can and caught Kowalski
squarely on the side of the head. The impact threw Kowalski backward into
on of the stacks of heavy boxes. The pile swayed for a split second before
it fell over on the detective covering him completely. 

 Reds took off down the isle and out of sight. Vecchio scooped his gun up
off the floor and took off after the suspect, shouting a warning and
firing a shot into the air.

 Fraser quickly began throwing the heavy boxes off his friend. Just as he
lifted the last box, Vecchio returned with the thug.

 Kowalski didn't move. There was blood coming out of his nose and more
coming from a large gash over his left eye. Vecchio shoved Reds to the
floor and quickly dialed his cell phone.

 "Officer down! This is Detective Ray Vecchio I need an ambulance. Fast!"
Ray shouted into the phone. He gave the address and then hung up and
called the district, ordering some backup to take away the three suspects.

 The ambulance arrived quickly, even though it seemed like an eternity to
Fraser and Vecchio. Ray sent Fraser along to the hospital with Kowalski
while he finished tying up things at the crime scene. Lieutenant Welsh had
heard Vecchio's call for an ambulance and he arrived on the scene very
nearly the same time as the medics. He got the basics of the bust from
Vecchio, but he soon realized that the detective's mind was no longer on
the case once Kowalski had been taken away on the stretcher. The
Lieutenant gave Vecchio the okay to leave, with the understanding that he
would fill out the proper paperwork the next day.

 Saturday, June 17th 1:35 AM

 After staying and answering what seemed like a million questions to Ray
Vecchio, he was finally allowed to leave the crime scene. He knew that he
could have been stuck there longer if it had not been for the intervention
of Lieutenant Welsh. His superior officer had come in and had taken charge
getting Vecchio off of the hook. After thanking Welsh for allowing him to
fill out the necessary paperwork later, he drove Kowalski's GTO to the
hospital where he found Fraser in the emergency room waiting room. 

 Fraser rose when he saw his friend enter the building.

 "I haven't heard anything yet, Ray," Fraser said running his thumb over
his eyebrow. 

 "What's taking so long?" Ray practically attacked the nurse on duty. 

 "As I explained to your friend, the doctor will be out as soon as he
can," the nurse said curtly. 

 "We need to know now!" Vecchio yelled at the nurse. "He's gonna be okay,
right?"

 Fraser gently but firmly led his friend away from the nurse's desk. "I'm
sure they are doing everything they can. Let them do their job."

 "He's got'ta be okay, Fraser, " Ray said quietly.

 "Ray, Ray, Ray, statistically speaking...," Fraser began.

 "Shut up, Benny," Ray interrupted.

 "Understood." Fraser said as he sat down quietly in the chair he had just
vacated.

 Vecchio paced the waiting room nervously while Fraser observed the other
occupants of the waiting room. He had spent enough time in his life
waiting around in hospitals that he had developed a way to pass the time.
His eyes went from person to person assessing their medical condition and
guessing the treatment they would receive. He was on his third diagnosis
when a familiar face, lined with concern, entered the room.

 'Ah... of course,' Fraser thought. 'Where else would Lieutenant Welsh be
when one of his men is in the hospital?'

 Vecchio immediately paced over the older man and brought him up to date
on the situation.

 Harding Welsh sat for a few moments with Fraser and Vecchio but he soon
became restless. 

 "I'll be back," he promised as he wandered off down the hallway.

 Eventually, the lieutenant returned with three steaming cups of coffee in
his hands. At least by providing caffeine to his men, he felt he was being
useful.

 Fraser thought briefly about refusing the hot liquid that was offered,
since tea was his preferred drink. The look in Lieutenant Welsh's eyes
stopped him. He realized that it was more than coffee that the older man
was offering - it was his way of offering support and comfort. It was the
one small thing that he could do to show his concern for these officers
that had become like children to him through the years.

 The three men sat in silence until the doctor finally came out of the ER.
Vecchio sprang out of his seat and ushered the doctor over to their little
corner of the waiting room.

 "Your friend is being transferred to the intensive care unit. Those boxes
that you said fell on him did quite a bit of damage. One of his ribs is
broken and his lung collapsed. He is still unconscious, and has sustained
a severe concussion." The doctor paused for a moment giving time for the
information to be processed. "I hate to sound like a cliche, but the next
twenty-four hours are going to be critical. At this point his condition
could go either way."

 "May we see him?" Fraser asked quietly.

 "Only one at a time and keep the visits short." The doctor answered. "His
body has a lot of healing to do."

 Lieutenant Welsh had been standing behind Vecchio and Fraser while the
doctor was giving his report. He put his left hand on Vecchio's shoulder
and his right on Fraser. Gently he pushed them toward the elevator.

 "You two go ahead, I'll be along in a minute," he said.

 Welsh waited by the elevator with them until the elevator doors closed.
He turned and solemnly walked to the payphone in the waiting room lobby.
He pulled out a crumpled phone number from his pocket and started to dial,
dreading the speech he was about ready to give to Ray's parents. No matter
how often he had to do this, this part never got any easier. 

 Silently for once, Bob Fraser and Mr. Vecchio stood in the corner of the
waiting room. Neither one acknowledged the others presence, each lost in
his own thoughts about the scene they had just witnessed. 

 Saturday, June 17th 5:08 AM

 Fraser was the first one to enter Ray Kowalski's room. He had offered to
let Ray Vecchio go first, as any good Canadian would; however, Ray had
declined. Fraser and Kowalski had known each other longer and Ray insisted
that Fraser go first.

 Quietly Fraser entered the room. Although he was quite used to spending
time in hospitals, the first sight of his friend lying there stunned him.
Ever since Fraser had known him, Ray had been moving, he was always in
constant motion. Feet tapping, fingers snapping or leg bouncing, some part
of him was always moving. To see him lying so still in the bed surrounded
by all of these tubes and wires was overwhelming.

 Fraser stood silently for a moment. Even though he was always willing to
share a good Inuit tale or Bob Fraser narrative, his personal feelings
were a totally different story.

 Finally, after contemplating for a moment, he was able to put his
feelings into a comprehendible sentence. It was something he had to say to
Ray Kowalski, and suddenly he wished he had said it much earlier.

 "You know, Ray. When I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers
of my father, I was totally alone here. I was unfamiliar with the area and
I didn't know the local customs of the people here in the states. When Ray
and his family took me in, I finally felt as though I belonged somewhere.
When Ray went undercover, I felt that I was lost again. I never told you,
but I seriously considered a transfer back to the territories. But then
you showed up. I'm not sure exactly how long it took, but suddenly you
became a great friend - as irreplaceable as Ray. Friends aren't easy to
come by for me. Acquaintances, sure, but I only have two real friends."
Fraser took a deep breath to continue but somehow the words got stuck in
his throat. " I stayed, I need you to."

 Fraser walked out of the room. He was unable to face anyone at the
moment, so he walked down the hallway away from Ray Vecchio in the waiting
room. Vecchio saw Fraser exit the room, and stood quietly watching him. He
left him go, knowing that Fraser wanted to be alone.

 "You were blubbering like a fool back there, I hope you realize," Bob
Fraser suddenly was walking behind his son.

 "I'd rather not discuss it right now, if you don't mind," Fraser said
sounding very tired. He slowly rubbed his thumb across his eyebrow trying
to ease some of the pressure that was building up behind his eyes.

 "It's okay son, it's not your fault. You know I blame myself for leaving
you with your grandmother all of the time I was away." The dead Mountie
said

 "You know..." Fraser look around to continue the conversation, but
suddenly his father was nowhere to be seen. 

 "He's here, he's gone - some things never change." Fraser started back
towards the waiting room. He turned just in time to see Ray Vecchio enter
Kowalski's room.

 Ray's first response was very nearly the same as Fraser's. Kowalski had
always been the most active one in the partnership. It was unusual to see
him this quiet. Vecchio, unlike Fraser never had problems talking. In his
family they talked about everything, usually in a decibel level higher
than was necessary.

 "So help me Kowalski, if you die I'm gonna call you Stanley all through
your eulogy," Vecchio said staring down at the silent figure.

 He pulled the chair out of the corner of the room and set down next to
the bed. 

 "It's funny, you know. When I first came back I didn't know what I was
gonna do. I mean let's face facts here. You and I didn't exactly hit it
off. I guess it had something to do with you being a better me that I was.
But you're okay, Kowalski. You're the only one besides Fraser that can put
up with me.

 Vecchio ran his hands over his scalp and then leaned back in the chair.
"I don't wan'na have to train a new partner. I mean, you were practically
housebroken when I got here. Benny did a good job."

 Vecchio got slowly out of the chair and headed for the door. When he
reached the hall, a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth and a twinkle
sparked in his eye. "Later, Stanley."

 As he exited the room, suddenly his father was walking behind him.

 "Better him than you, you know," his father started the conversation.

 "What is it with you, Pop. You barely had time to speak to me when you
were alive. Why do you got'ta come back and do it now?" Ray Vecchio not
even looking back at his father's spirit.

 "I'm still in purgatory," his father mumbled. "I still have to stay
around and watch you make stupid mistakes." 

 "The only stupid thing I ever did was to worry about trying to please
you. I should'a stopped listening to you long ago." Ray continued, still
not looking at his father.

 "I got'ta make you understand how to watch out for yourself. That's why
I'm still here. And seeing the way you almost threw your life away today,
I'm gonna be here awhile." Mr. Vecchio grumbled.

 "Did you ever think that maybe it is *you * that is supposed to learn
something from this extra time? Maybe it's you that got'ta get your
priorities straight."

 Ray finally turned to face his father only to realize that he was
standing alone in the hallway. 

 "What is it with you? You just drop by every so often to offer a quick
criticism and then leave again?"

 He glanced nervously up and down the empty hallway, 'Great, they're gonna
lock me up in the psych ward soon.' He grumbled to himself as he continued
walking.

 Vecchio took a few deep breaths to try to clear his mind from his
father's appearances. He finally went back to the waiting room to join
Fraser. He picked up one of the many year-old magazines and flipped
through it quickly, not even seeing the pages as they went by. After
awhile, he tossed the magazine back on the table and sat back in his
chair, interlocking his fingers behind his head. It was going to be a long
night and he might as well prepare himself for it.

 After stopping in Kowalski's room for a brief visit, Lieutenant Welsh
eventually joined the men in the waiting room. He had made the phone call
to his detective's parents, a job which, out of all his duties he hated
the most. For a moment he was extremely glad that he never had any
children of his own. He had a hard enough time dealing with his emotions
when one of his men got hurt; he didn't think that he would be able to
function if he was on the receiving end of the phone call he had just
made.

 "I called his father," Welsh said, his face purposefully devoid of
emotion. "Ray's mother is away for the weekend, but his father is driving
up right away."

 "So, his father got a phone call after all," Ray Vecchio almost laughed
at the irony of it.

 "So it would seem," Fraser replied quietly.

 Saturday, June 17th 11:00 AM

 The three men took turns visiting Kowalski's room whenever the nurse
would allow. Late the next morning a gray-haired, slightly overweight man
nervously entered the waiting room. Fraser had been the only one who had
been introduced to Mr. Kowalski previously jumped up to greet him.

 "Sir, I'm terribly sorry about this," Fraser said. As always, he was
taking the blame for something he had no control over.

 "Where is he?" Mr. Kowalski asked. He barely looked at Fraser and never
even acknowledged the other men's presence.

 "Right this way, sir," Fraser said offering to show Mr. Kowalski to his
son's room.

 "Don't bother, just tell me," Mr. Kowalski said.

 Ray Vecchio mumbled out the room number, and Mr. Kowalski was on his way.

 "Well, that didn't go as well as it could have," Lieutenant Welsh noted,
barely moving his lips.

 Mr. Kowalski practically marched into his son's room. "Didn't I tell you
that this was gonna happen? I work hard all my life so you can make
something of yourself, and you end up here, " he said, shaking his finger
at his unconscious son.

 Mr. Kowalski dropped himself into the chair that Vecchio had pulled over
earlier. He sat quietly watching his son chest slowly rise and fall.
Somehow, that steady motion lulled Mr. Kowalski into a calmer state.

 "Wait, that didn't come out exactly right. I was worried all the way
here. After your Lieutenant called, I was sick. I just wanted you to have
a nice safe desk job like your brother. But no, you got'ta go and do this
stuff." Mr. Kowalski said quietly. 

 This was like so many of the conversations that the father and son had
had in the past: very little ever got said. Mr. Kowalski fidgeted
nervously in his chair making quick jerky movements, typical of the ones
that his son normally made.

 "I saw the car down in the parking lot," He continued. "I'm not even
gonna ask which one of your friends drove it here. Me, I wouldn't let
either one of them near it. It looks pretty good from the outside, looks
like you've been taking care of it. The upholstery looked a little funny
though. You're not letting people eat in there, are you?"

 Mr. Kowalski sat back in the chair. He finally realized that he was
staying not so much for his son's sake, but mainly because if he left this
room he would have to face the three men in the waiting room. How could
they ever understand how he felt? After all, they had chosen the same
profession as his son had.

 Mr. Kowalski stayed for awhile longer, until the nurse came by to remind
him that the visits should be kept short.

 Mr. Kowalski slowly got up and started for the door. "Let's go see what
those friends of yours have to say for themselves."

 When Mr. Kowalski got to the waiting room, Fraser started to stand.
Lieutenant Welsh waved him off, indicating that he should stay where he
was. 

 "I'll take care of this," he mumbled as he walked toward the door.

 Mr. Kowalski tried to avoid the lieutenant when he walked into the small
room, but the larger man successfully blocked the doorway. 

 "I want to talk to Vecchio and Fraser," Mr. Kowalski said.

 "Mr. Kowalski, they're tired, you're tired. It's been a long night for
everyone. I'll buy you a cup of coffee and tell you everything I know."
Lieutenant Welsh said firmly. There was no way that Lieutenant Welsh was
going to let Mr. Kowalski make his men feel any worse then they already
did. 

 "I've got some things that I got'ta tell them." Ray Kowalski's dad
continued.

 "And I've got some things I have to tell you first," Welsh said sharply.
He took a deep breath and his voice was slightly gentler when he
continued. "I know that he is your son and that you are only trying to do
what is best for him; but these three individuals are my men and I have to
do what I think is best for them. Now, let's take a walk."

 Harding Welsh put his hand on Mr. Kowalski's shoulder and gently but
firmly guided him back out through the door.

 "At least that's one thing I don't have to worry about, my old man
getting a phone call" Ray said his hand trying to rub away the tension in
his neck. "'Course, I'm not one hundred percent sure he would have cared
one way or the other."

 Fraser nodded in agreement. "I've always assumed my father's only
question would have been 'did he get his man?'"

 "That would have been the important thing son." Bob Fraser said from the
other side of the room. "It's an honor to die in the service of your
country. Trust me I know."

 "Yeah, Pop would'a probably been making bets with the nurses over my
chances." Ray laughed.

 "You say that like it's a bad thing. "Mr. Vecchio said from another
corner. "There's nothing wrong with trying to turn somethin' bad into
somethin' good."

 The two spirits stood in opposite corners from each other. It was hard to
tell if they were aware of each other or if they were avoiding each other
on purpose. Each man was looking at his son trying to figure out what they
meant by their comments.

 Lieutenant Welsh and Mr. Kowalski eventually came back into the waiting
room. Ray Vecchio locked eyes with the lieutenant in a silent question.
His superior officer gave a slight nod of his head, so apparently he had
been able to have a reasonable conversation with his partner's father. 

 Vecchio gave a small sigh of relief. He knew that if anyone could talk
some sense into Mr. Kowalski it would be Welsh. Vecchio greatly admired
Welsh's ability to remain reasonable when dealing with people. Reasonable
conversations were not easy in his family. It was the one thing that
Lieutenant Welsh kept trying to teach him through the years: control the
temper and deal with the people rationally. It was an issue that came up
regularly on Vecchio's performance reviews. Vecchio was also very aware of
the fact that when Welsh blew his top with him that it was usually
warranted.

 "I want to thank you two for staying with Ray all night," Mr. Kowalski
said quietly.

 "We wouldn't be anywhere else," Vecchio said without looking up.

 "Why's that?" Mr. Kowalski said as he flopped into one of the chairs.

 "Because, if it were one of us, Ray wouldn't be anywhere else either,"
Fraser said simply.

 Lieutenant Welsh smiled at this plain truth. For some reason that he
could never understand, once these three men met, they became inseparable.
The funny part was that they were all so different. Welsh couldn't even
understand how they became friends, let alone best friends. Welsh and all
of the 27th had witnessed Vecchio and Kowalski's arguments, Kowalski and
Fraser actually had come to blows at one point in time, and it was no
secret that Vecchio and Fraser had driven each other crazy from day one.
But, somehow they seemed to make it work. They just seemed to fit and to
compliment each other's talents and abilities.

 A comfortable silence fell over the room, as the four men, two spirits
and a wolf continued their vigil.

 Saturday, June 18th 12:38 A.M.

 After waking up from his latest nap, Diefenbaker decided it was time to
go out again. Although most of the female population of the hospital were
more than willing to walk the wolf, the truth was that Fraser needed to
get out as much as the wolf. 

 Fraser had replayed the scene in the warehouse over and over again in his
mind, trying to figure out if there had been something he could have done
that would have prevented this from happening. He had known that he had
been distracted when he and Ray were captured, but he had been totally
focused when the thug had pushed Ray Kowalski into the boxes. Fraser
pondered the situation while doing some deep breathing exercises to clear
his mind. One lesson his father never got around to teaching him was that
sometimes the situation is out of your control. His father had taught him
that that if you couldn't do something by yourself then you failed.
Period. `Nuff said. End of discussion. He had learned differently since he
had come to Chicago. Although Leftenant Welsh had no official authority
over him, Fraser respected him as a superior officer. Fraser had had
numerous conversations on procedure and personal responsibility with him
during his stay in Chicago. Welsh was helping him to see that sometimes
the situation is beyond your control and it is how you deal with the
aftermath that indicates what kind of person you are.

 After a half-hour of walking and thinking of the color yellow, Fraser was
able to re-enter the hospital with a clear head and a clean conscious.
Shear exhaustion was weighing heavily on all of the men in the waiting
room; however, Diefenbaker was the only one who seemed to be able to
sleep. Every now and then Fraser and Vecchio would glance around the small
room for their other-wordly relatives, but for the time being, it appeared
as though Mr. Kowalski was the only father left in the room. Even though
it was technically now Father's Day, they didn't feel as though they could
deal with their father's presence anymore. 

 Sunday, June 18, 10:05

 Lieutenant Welsh was sitting quietly in Kowalski's room when Ray' started
his journey back to the land of the conscious. For a moment, Ray couldn't
figure out what had happened. It didn't feel like his bed, and there were
strange noises that he just couldn't figure out. He went to sit up, but
his head felt as though it weighed a ton. He ended up just sinking back
into his pillows and moaning loudly. 

 Welsh stood and moved closer to the bed when he heard the noise.
"Kowalski?"

 "What happened?" Ray asked. He tried once again to raise his head, but
when that failed he concentrated on just getting his eyes open.

 "You're in the hospital, son." Welsh said quietly. "Do you remember what
happened?"

 "We were in that warehouse..." Kowalski started. He tried to sit up once
again "Fraser and Ray, are they okay?"

 "They're fine, just sit back and relax." Welsh answered. 

 "Did we get the guys?" Kowalski asked lying back down.

 "Oh, yeah," the Lieutenant answered. "Right after you gave Vecchio and
Fraser heart attacks."

 "Good," Kowalski said closing his eyes again. "I don't think Vecchio
would help Zuko again. Orders or not. He and Fraser were acting really
freaky all night."

 "I know what you mean." Welsh agreed. "Since you've been here all they've
been doing is talking to themselves and looking over their shoulders."

 "Well that's nothing new," Ray said

 Welsh and Kowalski both laughed at the joke, and continued talking. After
a bit, the older man looked up and saw Mr. Kowalski standing at the door,
watching.

 'How come it's so easy for him?' Mr. Kowalski thought as he stood
watching his son and the Lieutenant. 'How come he can talk to my son
easier than I can?'

 "Mr. Kowalski," Welsh said acknowledging the father's presence in the
doorway. " Come in and keep and eye on him. Make sure he doesn't start
dancing or something and I'll go get the nurse."

 Mr. Kowalski took a few steps into the room, but then suddenly felt very
awkward about being here. Why was the thought of being alone with his son
so frightening? It was so much easier sitting in the room while Ray was
unconscious. Acting very much like his son, Mr. Kowalski became a blur of
nervous movement. 

 "That's okay," he said backing out of the room. "You stay here, I'll go
get the nurse."

 The nurse, as well as a doctor, arrived soon after and shooed the
Lieutenant back to the waiting room. After a thorough examination and a
few tests the nurse went to the waiting room to give the go-ahead for
brief visits. 

 Sunday, June 18th, 12:35 P.M.

 "Why don't you two go in first." Mr. Kowalski quietly suggested to Fraser
and Vecchio.

 "Sir, I believe that..." Fraser began but was soon cut off.

 "You go first," Mr. Kowalski said sharply as he left the waiting room

 Fraser exchanged a quick glance with Vecchio and then turned a
questioning eye to the Lieutenant.

 Welsh shrugged his shoulders and the rubbed his hand over his face.

 "I'll go talk to him," he sighed trying to ease their anxiety. "You two
go see Kowalski."

 For a moment Welsh was angry. In some ways, these three men were worse
than children: Why did he always feel as though it was his job to take
care of them? No one ever took care of him...

 Suddenly it dawned on him. That was why he felt he owed it to them. For
various reasons both Fraser and Vecchio both had missing fathers while
growing up just as he had had. He was about thirty five years too late,
but he wanted to make thing easier for them. After way too many years, he
had finally gotten things worked out with his own father. In both of their
cases, it was too late to set things straight with their fathers, so he
would try to help where he could. 

 He still had a chance to help out with the Kowalski family. 

 He knew that Kowalski and his father hadn't always gotten along. Ray had
never kept it a secret that his father did not want him to become a police
officer. Thinking back, his own father wasn't too thrilled when he told
him about his decision. Now, what should he do about it?

 Harding Welsh set out to find Mr. Kowalski. He didn't have to go very
far. Mr. Kowalski was standing in the hallway staring out the window,
nervously shifting from foot. 

 Little did Harding Welsh know that there were two additional fathers
standing there as well. He took a deep breath and went to stand by the
window also. 

 "He's a good man you know," Welsh began slowly. "You did a good job."

 "Maybe if I had done a better job he wouldn't be in a hospital bed right
now." Mr. Kowalski mumbled.

 "You know, I wasn't there in that warehouse, but my guess is that your
son getting hurt did have something to do with Fraser and Vecchio." Welsh
admitted.

 "Why I ought'ta.... If I could hit you with something I would." Bob
Fraser started, swinging his fist through the lieutenant. " Where's my
rifle?"

 "Careful cop or I'll have to wack you," Mr. Vecchio said at the same
time, sounding more threatening than he actually looked. He might have
been a bad father, but he still didn't appreciate anyone dragging his
family's name through the mud.

 "What, are you saying your men screwed up?" Mr. Kowalski said angrily.

 "No, no, not at all," the Lieutenant finally turned toward the other man.
"What I am saying, is that for some weird, peculiar, and very bizarre
reason, those three men would rather get hurt themselves the see the
others get hurt. Friendship like that doesn't happen often. Whatever you
think you did wrong, your son still turned into a good person and a great
friend. He likes being a cop, and whether you like it or not, your son is
a good cop, one you *should * be proud of. Somewhere along the line, you
must have done something right. It wouldn't hurt to let him know that he's
done things right, too. "

 "Good cop? There's no such thing." Mr. Vecchio argued. "He only became a
cop to spite me you know!"

 Lieutenant Welsh turned abruptly and walked down the hallway without
looking back at the other man. He just hoped that Kowalski senior wasn't
as hardheaded as Kowalski junior.

 "Well, things would have been different with his mother around" Bob
Fraser yelled down the hallway at the lieutenant's back. "Fathers aren't
supposed to do that kind of stuff. That's why I left him with his
Grandmother!"

 Mr. Kowalski stood quietly for a moment deciding on his course of action.
Slowly, turned and walked hesitantly into his son's room, the other two
fathers shuffling behind him. 

 Fraser and Vecchio stood to leave but Mr. Kowalski motioned for them to
stay. It was just as well, Diefenbaker was settled into the chair by the
window and was not planing on moving anytime soon. He was used to these
hospital stays as well.

 "Your Lieutenant was just talking to me out in the hallway," Mr. Kowalski
started slowly. "He seems to think that he can order me around like one of
his people"

 "Yeah, he's always been pretty good at giving orders." Ray Kowalski said.
"That's why they put him in charge."

 "Once in a while we even do what he tell us to," Vecchio laughed.

 "Well this one, I thought I better follow. He seems to think that you are
a good cop, you know." Mr. Kowalski said slowly, not meeting his son's
eyes.

 "Oh, whoopee, he's a good cop," Mr. Vecchio said sarcastically, his hand
on his hips. "Just what the world needs."

 Bob Fraser said gesturing towards Mr. Kowalski, from the corner of the
room. "Son, if he starts to get too "sappy" with this and then just get up
and leave."

 Ray Vecchio and Benton Fraser each sent a dirty look in their fathers'
direction, but remained silent. For once, Ray Kowalski sat still. He was
waiting for his father's comment to be followed up by one of the usual
insults.

 "He was also trying to tell me that you ended up being an okay person,"
Mr. Kowalski suddenly found the tile pattern on the floor very
interesting. "All three of you actually."

 "I'm sorry that I don't always give the impression that I am happy about
how you ended up. I just wanted you to have it easier than I did." Mr.
Kowalski said.

 "You can leave any time," Bob Fraser said rubbing his hands together and
motioning Benton towards the door. "You don't have to listen to this."

 "The bottom line is: if you're happy, I should be happy for you." Mr.
Kowalski finally said. 

 "There you have it. 'Nuff said." Fraser senior tried to interrupt. "Let's
go kill something to eat."

 "Don't ever expect me to say somethin' like that," Mr. Vecchio grumbled
from his corner of the room. "Especially on Father's Day."

 "Yeah, well happy Father's Day," Ray Vecchio said quietly through gritted
teeth.

 He did not mean to have anyone else hear his remark, but for some reason
Mr. Kowalski heard it and chose to comment on it.

 "Hey, that's right! It's Father's Day, " he proclaimed loudly. "I guess
this is just about the best one I've had in a long time."

 Kowalski nodded absently. His Dad's statement about Father's Day made him
feel like he was forgetting something. There was a something in the back
of his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. 

 "The game!!" Kowalski shouted as the thought finally came to the
forefront of his mind. He sat straight up and just as suddenly sank back
down again as a wave of dizziness over took him. 

 "Whoa, take it easy there, boy," his father said putting his had on Ray's
forehead. It was something that he had seen his wife do countless times
when the boys weren't feeling well. He wasn't sure why she did it, but
there must be a reason.

 "What time is it?" Ray asked.

 "Not quite one thirty," Fraser said glancing out the window at the sun.

 "Its one twenty two" Vecchio said, contradicting him. If you would just
look at your watch like a normal person you would know that.... Mounties."
He added as an after- thought shaking his head.

 "Watch it, yank," Bob Fraser warned.

 "You tell him, son." Mr. Vecchio countered.

 "You could still go to the game you know." Kowalski said, trying to
ignore the buzzing in his head. He could have sworn that he was hearing
voices and every now and then he thought he saw fuzzy shapes moving around
the room. The funny thing was Diefenbaker seemed to be watching the
movement of the shapes as well, cocking his head back and forth between
two corners of the room.

 "Nah, It just wouldn't be the same." Mr. Kowalski said

 "I'll go!" Both dead fathers called at once, each from his own corner off
the room.

 "Besides your mother's on her way and she'd kill me if I left you alone
here, " Mr. Kowalski continued, not knowing he had been interrupted.

 "Go to the game, Mr. Kowalski." Fraser urged. "Ray won't be alone."

 "Nah, Dief will be here to greet her." Ray Vecchio said. "I'm kidding,
all right? We'll stay here with Ray."

 "You wouldn't mind?" Mr. Kowalski asked sheepishly.

 "Nah," Ray Kowalski said closing his eyes. "One of us should have some
fun."

 "I'll be back as soon as I can." Mr. Kowalski stepped out of the door and
then turned and called down the hallway. "Hey, Lieutenant, how 'bout
coming to the game with me? No use having a perfectly good ticket go to
waste." 

 "May as well, I deserve somethin' for putting up with those three all the
time." Welsh said as he followed Mr. Kowalski toward the elevators. Slowly
he turned back around and stuck his head through the door. "Glad to have
you back with us, Detective."

 "Hey, a few innings won't hurt." Mr. Vecchio said following along behind
He stopped at the door and reached in his pocket and found his billfold.
"I wonder if any of them want to bet a few bucks on the game?" 

 "I never understood the fascination these Americans have with this game.
Maybe I'll just tag along." Bob Fraser said walking out the door. He
paused just outside the door and clapped his left hand on his thigh as he
looked down the hallway. "Come on boy." 

 A small noise slowly made its way into his usually silent world and
Diefenbaker stirred in the chair where he was taking his nap. He eyes
fluttered open and he looked up just in time to see an aged gray arctic
wolf slowly walk past the door. The old wolf yelped a bark that only one
deaf wolf living in Chicago could hear, and then followed the parade into
the elevator. 

 "Happy Father's Day," Kowalski, Vecchio, and Fraser called in unison.
Then they each quietly exhaled a sigh of relief at the welcomed silence.

  
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End Father's Day by nancy claycomb 

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