By the Rook By the Rook ========================================= Follows the story, Teddy's, Riv's & Memories, Story Two in the Nearer to Thee series/trilogy. ============================================================         Dewey sat beside his partner as they drove up a street that wasn't a particularly safe place for women to be. It was also a cold wet day and there was no one out on the street. With the exception of a hooker leaning against a wall. Huey pulled up a little way down the street and climbed out, hitting the roof.                 "You too. The only way you'll have any luck cultivating the ladies around here is if I introduce you to a few of them."         Dewey climbed out grumbling and followed Huey. The hooker smiled at him as he approached.         "How's my Favourite Cop?"         "Fine."         "Who's your friend?"         "His name's Dewey."         "You gonna teach him how to play the game?"         "I'll let Ray teach him the rules."         She laughed.         "It's a damn cold day to be out here, looking for action," Huey said.         "You looking for a little? Cause I'm hot."         "What's it going to cost me?"         She rubbed her finger's at him.         Huey pulled out his wallet and started pulling out notes. Only when there was nothing left in it, did she reach out to take his money. She folded it and slipped it down her bra.         "You better make it worth my while. Sweetheart."         She dragged him into a sheltered inset door way. And Dewey watched as went down on him. Dewey watched amazed as Huey's arms went out either side of the door and he started arching.         "Oh, yeah.. You still got the touch Goldie."         Dewey turned away and watched traffic go past and wondered why he let Huey talk him into coming into this part of town on such a cold wet miserable day. He'd rather be back at the nice warm station doing paper work, than standing on a street, getting drizzled on and listening to his partner get a blow job.          Finally it was over. He heard a zip being zipped and then Goldie sauntered away pulling out a compact to reapply her lipstick. Huey was leaning against a side wall in that sheltered door way, tugging on his collar trying to wipe the smile off his face as Dewey joined him.         "I should arrest you for solicitation."         "Hang around here long enough and you can arrest Vecchio for it," Huey said, and put his hands into his pockets and walked out into the rain.                  Dewey hurried after him.         "You busted Vecchio out here?"         Huey smirked and let out a whistle as they approached a window of one of the numerous apartments on the street.         Then window opened and a heavily made up face of an Italian street walker appeared as they looked around. Dewey watched her rise up to flash a highly impressive bust encased in a tiny brassiere as she leaned out the window. She smiled at Huey."         "Hey there big boy."         "You're too late.. I was already cleaned out."         "That's O.K. I take plastic.. Whatcha got?"         "That depends on what you got.. You wanna play straight, or Kinky?"         "Kinky Honey chile'"         "I'll send him around."         "You do that. I like a man who knows how to cook. Tell him I'm in the mood for Marinara."         "Meet my friend Dewey."         She looked Dewey up and down.         "He know how to play the game or what?"         "I was gonna get Ray to teach him."         She laughed then she pulled the window down and pulled the curtains. Huey sauntered off with the amazed Dewey following.         Huey tapped on the next window along and when it was opened a leather clad Dominatrix poked her head out. She looked at Huey then reached down and pulled out a soft leather cat of nine lash and dangled it back and forth as she leaned on the window sill.         "I've been a very bad girl."         "I'll send him around."         "You do that.. Or I'll have to punish you."         "Meet my friend Dewey."         "Have you been a bad boy?" she asked and flicked it at him, the soft lashes caressing his face.         "I'm outta here."         He walked away. Huey and the Dominatrix laughed.         "Obviously you haven't told him how to play the game, Jack."         "I was going to get Ray to teach him the rules."         She laughed.         "Good move.. No one play's the game like Ray. And speaking of games.."         She flicked the lash across his chest.         "I'll get Ray to drop by," he said and sauntered off after his partner.         15 minutes later he pulled the car into a street garage and slid his seat back and surprised Dewey by undoing his pants and then reaching down. He winced when we heard a tape tearing sound, then Huey pulled a very large bandage patch out from under his trousers and readjusted everything.         Turning the bandage over, Huey studied the message written on the strip of paper that had taken the place of gauze.         "What's that?"         "Something's going down on Diabolo Street," Huey said, and started the car up again and pulled out.         "What?"         Huey shrugged.         "Goldie doesn't supply me with information like that. Just the best places to be when something's going down. And whatever it is.. It's gotta be big.. It's pretty rare for her to pass on information. When she does, it's usually something pretty big. And even then, its usually Ray she passes it too. He picks her up and takes her to a hotel for the night."         "Rrrright."         "Half the time I think he does it just to get her off the street for a night."         "Uh-Hu."         "Goldie's life would be worth spit if some of the people she's snitched on discovered she was the one who passed the information onto the cops. And she's the most reliable snitch in town.. So she doesn't cough up a lot of information.. But she does come up with information that can lead to high profile busts. Or get some dealer who's moving poison off the streets."         "Ah."         "Before you came along she gave Ray the Hi there big boy and he netted himself a cop killer. Edorado Valdez. He killed six cops before Ray nabbed him. One of them was his last partner."         "So that's why he doesn't have a partner."         "The first one resigned, the second one got killed. Now he's got Fraser."         "What is the deal between those two? I mean Kowalski. He was just plain weird. And only put up with the Mountie due to the fact he was covering for Vecchio.."         "The deal is Ray's the best friend Fraser's got, and Fraser's probably the best Friend Ray has ever had. And the Vecchio family practically adopted Fraser.. Ray's his next of Kin."         "Sometimes I wonder."         "About what?"         "Wether's there's something going on between them apart from friendship."         "So what if there is. What they get up to behind closed doors is their business."         "So there *is* something going on."         "I wouldn't know. I don't care."         "Oh come on.. If they're gay.."         "What?"         "Well.. I for one won't be hanging around in the shower if he's around."         "I'm Gay."         That shut up Dewey.         "I thought you'd say that."         "You could have told me sooner."         Huey rolled his eyes.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         The address they were given turned out to be a long abandoned apartment building. The apartment looked out over nothing but a car park, and Dewey tripped on a floor board. The board came loose and clattered to the floor as he fell.         "Are you all right?" Huey asked as he helped him up.         Dewey batted him off and turned to pick up that board. He was about to put it back when he saw something under the boards.         "There's something under the floor."         Huey joined him, and they started ripping up floor boards. What they found was a full skeleton, and a gun that lay on its rib cage.         "Hey, what's this?" Huey looked up as Dewey held up a black chess piece. A Rook.         "A Rook."         "Isn't that the name of a gang in these parts?"         Huey nodded.         "The biggest organised crime gang around. They get em while they're kid's and think being part of a gang is cool.. And by the time they work out what they've joined isn't just a bunch of kids banding together. It's usually too late.. Once a Rook alway's a Rook.. It's pretty rare for someone to get out before they're in way too deep to ever get out."         He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen light torch and shone it around.         "Like Edorado. He *initated* six kids. Goldie put Ray on the right track to find the kid Edorado initiated when he killed Ray's partner."         "That's how they initiate them.. By getting them involved in a cop killing?!"         "Just the one's they think are worth wrapping a tight noose around."         He sat back on his heels.         "There's nothing else in here.. He must have been stripped.. Where did you find it?"         "The hand. There's a number here."         Huey reached out to take it and looked at the bottom and gulped.         "Huey?"         "It's been here a long time.. At least twenty years.."         "How can you tell?"         "When you're a new initiate they give you a rook with a number on it. This is a low digit number.. The kid Ray netted had a high digit number. This number is for someone who was in the gang 20 years ago. A cop called Fordam who's kid they snared almost busted up the Rooks trying to get the kid out before it was too late.. He pulled in Rooks with pieces marked with number's between 70 and 130 during that period."         "That's 135."         "Someone who was initiated to replace people who were busted during Vince's purge.."         Huey climbed to his feet.         "Maybe even Vince's kid."         "How do you know all this?"         Huey started prowling through the room looking for clues as to who might have been in the room recently.         "Watch the car. I don't like this one little bit."         Dewey moved to the window to watch the car.         "How do you know all that stuff about Fordam and the Rooks?"         "He was my first partner when I was fresh out of the academy."         "That means he wasn't a detective."         "Beat cop. He could have been a detective long before I came along, but he liked being a beat cop. And let it slide because he was obsessed with breaking the Rooks power base."         "So what happened to him?"         "He got promoted to Detective and transferred after he started bringing in the Rooks. He turned down three promotions while he was doing it... Just so he could keep it up.. It's like those street walkers... They'll tell Ray anything, just because they know him.. And trust him.. His every lady's favourite cop there. And they *are* ladies.. Or as Ray calls them LWL's."         "What's that?"         "Ladies with Libidos."         Dewey laughed.         "They know him, they know that if they need a cop, he'll take care of whatever needs taking care of, and all he wants in return is a little information. It was just the same with the people on Vince's beat, they knew and trusted him.. And the kids the Rooks were inducting knew that if they went to Vince, he'd take care of them.. He'd give any kid an even break. Talk to the judge, promise to keep an eye on them and keep them out of trouble. Half the Rooks new recruits were snatched out of their grasp, thanks to Vince.."         "Gotcha.."         Huey returned to the hole in the floor going to his hands and knees to study the boards.                 "This wasn't an accident. Someone used a crow bar on that board you tripped on.. Look at this."         Dewey returned and went down to see what Huey found.         "A coin."         Huey pulled a flick knife from his pocket and used it to pry out the coin.         "It was jammed in there to make sure the board didn't just fall back into place."         The coin went flying and Dewey snatched it out of the air and looked at it.         "It's a double header."         He handed it to Huey who looked at it.         "Vince's coin."         "What?"         "This is Vince's double header. Goldie doesn't carry coins.. It must have been there with the body.. That means.."         He snatched out his cel phone and hit the speed dial.         "Mean's what?"         "Francesca. I need a big favour.. Track down a police detective for me.. By the name of Vincent Fordam. No he's not there.. I don't know what precinct he's at.. Just track him down for me.. Use the computer.." He said giving her a badge number to work with along with all the personal details he could think of.         Then he looked at Dewey.         "Watch the car.. I don't want to go out like Louis."         Dewey scuttled over to the window. Huey rested the phone on his shoulder and shuffled around on his knees and started ripping up more boards. Dewey kept glancing from the window to Huey.         Huey let out a curse. Dewey stepped forward.         "Watch the damned car!"         Dewey stepped back.         "What did you find?"   "There's another one here."         Then Francesca was back.         "Uh-hu.. When? Uh-hu... Line of duty or.. Uh-hu.. Thanks now do me another favour."         He ripped up another board.         "Get Welsh to the phone."         Up went another board, another and another before Welsh came on.         "We've got ourselves a gang grave yard... 13 Diabolo street.. The car's parked out front.. 3 so far.."         Up went another board.         "Make that 4. Could be more.. Knowing this particular informant's track record for tipping the really big stuff going down.. There's probably a lot more.."         He kicked at the boards. Four broke off and went flying.         "Ohdeargod. There's a cop among them.. Number five's got a badge."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "How many?"         "16.."         "Hell.. I'm glad it was you Goldie tipped off and not me."         "I don't think she would have tipped you off to it."         "Goldie always tips me off."         "Not this time.. She was waiting for me. Because I would work out who's grave yard it was.. Because I was involved with the cop they created that grave yard to pay back.."         "They killed *16* people to pay back some cop!"         "We're talking about The Rooks."         "Ooooh.. Fordam, right. He almost busted the whole damn gang."         Huey nodded.         "Figures.. You been able to find him?"         "He's dead. Murdered.. Vanished, six weeks after he transferred out.. They found his body walled up in the station house when they were renovating."         "The Rooks."         "I haven't seen the file on it yet."         "Trust me.. It was the Rooks.. Probably Edorado. And he was probably the one behind that grave yard too. His last request was to see the cop who took him down. He bragged that there a lot more bodies floating around that we'd never find.. Said I'd end up in a wall like the last Cop who thought he could take down a king pin. And you and Fordam were buddies weren't you."         Huey nodded.         "Skip the file.. You don't wanna know how he died."         "He told you."         "He took great pleasure in describing every little detail of how he handled that cop, and my partner.. I almost saved them the trouble of executing him."         "You said he was probably behind the grave yard too.. What else did he tell you?"         "He admitted he'd killed a lot more people.. and then started telling me *aaaall* about how he killed them.. If ever a man got what was coming to him, it was that sadist. Gotta pen?"         Huey pulled out his note pad and pen while Ray racked his memory and started reeling off names.         "Those are just the names he gave me.. Some times he didn't name his victims.. Sometimes he did. He didn't tell me where I could find the bodies though.. Buuut.. He may have given me a hint that went right over my head at the time."         "What do you mean?"         "When I asked him.. He said I'd have a real devil of a time working out where his graveyard was. And where'd you find em?"         "13 Diabolo street."         "He's having the last laugh now."         Huey held up a wad of cash.         "Get Goldie out of town. I doubt she knew it was a damned graveyard. When they work out who tipped us off.. She'll end up in one."         Ray took the cash, pocketing it.         "Or a wall," was his parting shot as he spun and walked off.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Fraser opened his door to find Ray on his step and smiled. Then he noticed the tall almost feminine looking man behind him. A blonde, one who was checking him out in a way that made him feel less than comfortable. Which is why Fraser gave his attention to Ray instead         "Ray what can I do for you?"         "You know that spare bedroom of yours.."         He pulled a wad of cash out.         "I want to rent it off you."         Fraser waved them in and the blonde looked around.         "I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. This is Gordon.. He needs somewhere to hang out for a while."         "You just move in?" Gordon asked.         "Oh.. No.. Ray's been promising to help me find some furniture.. But.."         "You're a big boy you can find your own furniture."         "And all you'll do is complain about my taste in furniture if I don't involve you in the process of furnishing the apartment."         "He's my partner," Ray informed Gordon who was forming a few idea's about what kind of partner that was from their conversation.         "Unofficial."         "Police work kind of partner not your kind of partner. He is Dead Straight, clear?"         "Clear."         "It better be.. I don't wanna hear about you hitting on Benni.."         Fraser's eyes widened fractionally.         "He's gay.. And if you ever want some tips on going undercover as a woman again, he's the guy to ask. He's a Trannie."         "Vite or Sexual?"         "I'm just trying to get enough money for the op."         "You forget about that for now. You stay off the streets till we can get the feds to put you in the witness protection program. Capice?"         Gordon nodded.         "Good. I'll just show him the room.. It's the one on the left right?"         Fraser nodded.         "It's unfurnished."         "I'll take care of that. I'll get Huey to help me bring some stuff over from the house.. I'm pretty sure we've got enough stuff up in the attic to furnish a bedroom."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey met Ray on the porch of his house.         "You put Goldie up *Where*?!"         "Fraser's place."         "I gave you enough money to get her outta town."         "Huey.. I hate to break it to ya like this but Goldie ain't a Lady."         "And you put her up with Fraser?!"         "She's a He.. Other wise known as Gordon (Goldie)."         Huey stared at him. Ray stepped back ready to avoid a punch in the face for not mentioning it earlier but it didn't come.         "I made him cut off his hair, put him in men's clothes and made him up to change his appearance totally, he looked like a drop dead gorgeous guy instead of a woman for a change. No one woulda recognised him by the time I was through. He's safe where he is.. They're going to be putting the word out on Goldie, not Gordon. He's safe with Fraser for now.. Aren't you gonna punch me out for not telling you sooner?"         "I don't want to even know how you found out she was a he."         Ray laughed.         "It wasn't that way.. Trust me, I don't do nothing with any of the Rooks women. Thanks to Goldie I know how they play the game.."         "So how did you find out?"         "He used to be a choir boy down at my church. Still show's up for services, regular as clockwork every week.. Doesn't go to confession no more though.."         "Ooooh."         "His family would freak if they knew what he was doing."         "I bet."         "They'd freak if they knew their Boy thinks he shoulda been born a woman. He's saving up to get the op.. The money you gave me, plus what he's got should do it.. And if we lean on the Feds we should be able to get him into the witness protection program and Goldie can make a new life for herself after the op."         "And you'll lose your best snitch."         "Gordon's a Rook.. Pretty boy looks like a girl.. They always got him to do his cross dressing thing and sucker some dead straight guy, then break the news to him with lots of pretty pictures. That's how they got your old buddy Fordam to stop harassing them."         Huey stared at him.         "What guy isn't gonna be flattered if a pretty young thing like Goldie turns on the charm. He was only human."         "Did you *always* know Goldie was Gordon?"         "I thought she looked familiar. I worked it out for myself, without jumping in the sack with him to do it.. Now I gotta get some furniture over to Fraser's place for Goldie to use.. You gonna help me get it over there or what?"         "I'll help.. When you tell me how you got Goldie to tell you about Fordam and the rest."         "How I get information out of Gordon is my business. You know the rules.. Don't ask how I get any of them to start talking and I'll keep them from taking lots of pretty pictures of you getting your rocks off. And don't tell me you don't accept when they hit on you. Dewey told me all about your little trawl this morning and asked me what the deal is.."         "He thinks your gay."         "Oh he does does he.. I'll have to take him around there when I drop in on Mz Behaving and get her to give him a few lesson's in how to play the game."         Huey snickered and Ray slapped him on the back and steered him into the house.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Fraser watched Huey drive away and almost jumped when he felt Ray's breath on his neck before he felt a hand on his back.         "Huey gone?"         "He just left."         Ray dangled his car keys in Fraser's face.         "I checked the box. You're gonna need to get some food in.. Take the Riv and go shopping," Ray said steering him toward the car.         Fraser took the keys turning to stare at him. Ray pulled a list out of his pocket with some money.         "This ought to cover it. Let Gordon loose in the kitchen and you won't regret it."         Fraser took it.         "Are you trying to get rid of me?"         "Good guess. Gordon's the best snitch in the city. He's got something to tell me.. But he's not gonna start talking till your gone and we've finished dickering about what I'm wiling to pay for his information. So I figure you might as well make yourself useful."         "I don't think that's a very wise idea."         "Why?"         "He's gay."         "Yeah, so?"         "Well.. I was watching him.. Watching you and Huey while to were moving furniture. He kept saying maybe over there, just to watch your body move a certain way."         Ray laughed.         "Oh yeah, that's Goldie. Sh..He's been drooling over me since we were kids and I lost my puppy fat. Don't worry, I know how to handle him. Part of the dickering process is a lot of flirting and naughty suggestions. He is not gonna start dickering till you walk. So shoo."         "And what happens if he gets serious? You didn't see the way he was watching you."         "Look, Benni, trust me, I can handle Goldie. Just go. Goldie is the best snitch in town.. Whatever he's got is gonna be big.. Maybe even as big as the tip he gave Huey. Which is why I put him up here in the first place.. That was a doozy.. I can't wait to hear what he's got for me. So shoo."         "I'll leave Dief. He'll protect you if you need it."         "No.. Take him with you. I can handle Goldie. If he gets touchy feelie on me I'll introduce him to my favourite classic. The nutcracker suite."         Fraser smiled faintly.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray stood by the window watching the Riv with the Mountie and his wolf driving away and Gordon stepped up behind him wrapping arms around him, blowing hot air on his neck, and kissing it.         "Is he gone?" Gordon asked.         "Yeah," Ray said, breaking the hold, turning.         "I'm putting you up in a safe place and getting you into the witness protection programme.. That's got to be worth more than.."         "Oh.. But that's payment for what I gave Huey.. What I've got is just for you..and if you want it.. You've got to meet my price. Take it or leave it."         "What you got for me?"         Gordon reached around Ray to pull the curtains closed and wrapped his arms around Ray's neck.         "You know the rules," Gordon said, then kissed him.         "It better be worth it Goldie.. I don't think you've got any little tid bits left worth sharing.."         Gordon slipped around behind Ray and nuzzled the back of his neck and rubbed against him.         "This is gonna be worth it, believe me. I was there for a meeting of the Rooks.. And I mean an all members meeting in the Devils triangle. The last time that happened was when Fordam was trying to bust up the Rooks."         -Forget Doozy.. Whatever you've got to share is definitely gonna make it worth my while-         Ray let him draw him to the freshly made bed and make out. Clothes were shed and he looked up at the roof thinking how funny it was he was the one's who always seemed to get the better half of the deal as Goldie's mouth closed over his sex.         He was contentedly smiling in post orgasmic bliss when he heard the sound of a gun cocking. His eyes sprang open and he saw Gordon standing beside the bed with his own gun, aimed at his head.         "Guess what.. They know you cultivated the patch.. Every hooker on the patch had orders to get you in.. So they could get their hands on you.. A smile, the usual.. A Mickey Finn and you're waking up in the Rooks heart land..Where every man in the gang would be lining up for a shot at fucking you."         "Ohgod."         "Before they find a nice wall and brick you up in it, still breathing, it's a horrible way to die.."         "I told ya.. I'd get you into the witness protection programme," Ray growled out.         "You don't know what the Rooks can do. They could find me even in that programme.. This is the only way. They want you dead. Edororo told em how to do it, before they exed him. You and Jack.. He wants ya both dead.. Jack finding that graveyard was all part of the plan, they knew he'd send you out to get me out.. Course, this ain't the way that they want it done, I was s'posed to cuff ya up and call them to come and get you, but I ain't gonna let them do it the way they wanna do it.. This way it's quick and merciful."         "I got money.. cousins all over the world.. I can get you a ticket outta here.. They can help you make a new life for yourself in some other country. There won't be any records for the Rooks to find you," he babbled as he watched Gordon's finger tightening on the trigger.         Gordon hesitated.         "Just give me the phone, I'll start making calls right now."   That finger started tightening on the trigger again.         "I swear, Goldie I'll take care of ya.. You're one of my snitches, I always take care of my snitches.. Didn't I always take care of the ladies.. Anyone who messed with them, I took care of. Nobody messes up one of my Ladies and gets away with it.. I can make ya vanish. The Rooks'll never find ya."         "You don't have enough money to.."         "I do, I do.. I went undercover in the Mob for months.. I got paid for every day I was away, and a big fat bonus I've been saving it up.. Putting a little away each week on top of it.. I was gonna do something special with the money. Just pick up the phone and call the bank.. The cards in my wallet... You can find out how much money I got.. Just please put the gun down.. I can look after you.. No one has to die."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey rolled over and looked at his clock to the accompaniment of thuds on his door. With a little growl about middle of the night visitors he climbed out of bed, dragged on a robe and stomped through his apartment. When he peeped through the peep hole he reared back, then quickly got the door unlocked and open.         The wet, bedraggled and quite drunk Ray staggered in.         "Ray! What the hell?!"         Ray collapsed, and Huey dived for him to catch him before he hit the floor.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Yes, sir, I know sir.. But Dewey can handle that.. No sir. I'm not sick. Ray is.. He showed up on my doorstep dead drunk and collapsed on me. He's sick as a dog right now.. I'm taking care of him.. That's right, he's not coming in either.. I think he got mugged.. No wallet.. no gun.. His pockets were empty.. I couldn't find hide nor hair of his car.. Yes, sir.. I intend to find out.. But wether or not he even remembers it is another question. Like I said. He was dead drunk.... I know he doesn't drink.. But he was definitely drinking last night. I figure I can find out what happened by calling a few bars. Work out where he was and work back from that point."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better."         "No it won't," Ray said, but took the glass and sculled down the offered liquid relief anyway.         "You gonna start talking or what? Personally. I think we should be heading for the hospital to get samples so we can bust the guy that raped you.."         Ray looked up fast, then groaned and held his head.         "That's right. I know you got raped."         Ray shook his head.         "Then it happened after you got drunk."         "Noo.. Wasn't rape.. I consented to it."         "Gordon."         Ray nodded. Huey ripped out his phone.         "Don't worry.. Benni wasn't there.. And I got rid of Gordon afterwoulds."         "*How*?"         "Took him to the airport.. Got him a ticket outta the country. One of my relatives is gonna meet him, with a false passport.. And put him on another plane to another country. With 10,000 bucks in his pocket. He'll be met and they'll help him set up a new life for himself."         "He *raped* you and then you did that?!"         "I told you it wasn't rape."         "Crap. That doesn't happen when it's consensual sex between two gay man."         "I ain't gay."         "And you *consented* to being the sub with Gordon. I don't think so. You have bruises among other things."         "I didn't get em the way you think. I always knew he had the hots for me.. The only way.. I could get the information I needed to find out who killed my partner was too.. let him make love to me.. That was the price for his information.. That's why I always took Goldie to a motel.. And picked it myself.. So there wouldn't be no pictures popping up."         "You never subbed for him?"         Ray shook his head.         "That was the deal.. I'd only go so far with him.. And that wasn't part of the deal.. I wouldn't even do it to him, till last night. He told me he had some information.. And I don't get my tip till he gets what he wants.. So I got rid of Fraser.. and made out with him.. and along the way he got his hands on my gun.."         "So it was rape he threatened to shoot you if you didn't sub for him."         "No.. He was gonna shoot me because they knew.. About Goldie tipping us off.. It was a set up.. Everyone on the patch had orders to tip me off if I came their way. Or to let Goldie handle it if you came along.. One way or another they were gonna get their hands on me."         "What?!"         "If it was one of the woman who got me.. They woulda given me a Mickey Finn, and I'd have woke up in the Rooks base.. Where they'd keep me alive.. for weeks.. to torture me.. Then they were gonna brick me up in a wall at that apartment on Diabolo Street to die. Wait till you came sniffing around and get one of em to tip you off and let you find my corpse.. and a sniper would be watching and waiting for you to call it in.. Then blow your brain's out."         Huey sank down on the bed beside Ray.         "And a reporter would get a tip off about a big story and told to take a camera to the place to get pictures to splash over the paper. And the whole world would know that no cop gets away with taking down one of the Rooks king pins."         "Oh god."         "Edorado planned the whole thing in his cell.. The last person he saw was a priest.. But this priest is one of them.. He passed Edorado's last orders onto them in a big meeting, that's where Goldie found out about it. When Goldie told me the whole damned story.. I decided it was worth the price I paid..."         Then he shifted around.         "Till he got stuck into me. God.. That hurt."         "You could hardly have picked a worse person to do it with the first time.."         "It wasn't just because he's built.. God.. Once I told him I'd do whatever he wanted me to in bed.. He was all over me.. All I wanted.. was for it to be over fast.. and it was.. the first time.. He was just so excited about finally getting me where and how he wanted me.. It was over almost before it began.. But then.. He wanted me to do it to him.. And got me off.. and he got off on that.. and god.. It took forever for him to cum second time around.. and he was just.. "         Huey pulled him into his arms rocking and stroking him while Ray broke down.         "How can you do that for pleasure," Ray virtually wailed.         "Under the right circumstances. With the right person, you wouldn't ask that question.."         "It hurt.. God.. How it hurt."         "Shhh.. It's over now.. And he's gone.. He'll never be back and it won't happen again. Put it out of your mind and tell me what the plan was supposed to be if I was the one who got to Goldie first?"         Ray pulled himself together but didn't pull away.         "What happened is what they expected.. To a degree.. They expected me to get Goldie out of town.. he was supposed to do what he did.. With a difference.. He was supposed to cuff me to the bed, and call them to come and get me from wherever we ended up.. and everything else would be the same from that point on."         "And you talked him out of it."         "He was gonna shoot me.. Give me a quick death. Till I told him I could get him outta the country to make a new life.. I could see he was interested.. I never had to talk so fast in my life.. Then I had to start making calls.. And I couldn't through to some of them.. all I could do was leave messages for them to call me back.. But he was sure I couldn't do it and he cocked the gun again.. "         "That's when you suggested sex."         "It was the only thing I could think of. I needed time for them to get my message and call back to pull it off. I told him if he gave me the time and put the gun down I'd do what he wanted me to do in bed. He thought about it, then tossed the gun and said it was a deal."         "And after you got rid of him.. You went and got good and drunk, to try and dull the pain."         "It doesn't hurt no more.. Why?"         "I.. called a discrete doctor.. Who took care of things and told me to be more careful next time."         Ray blushed.         "Well it was either that or take you to the hospital."         "Noo.. That's why I came here.. He told me.. You were gay.. After I had enough booze to dull the pain.. I figured.. you'd know what to do.."         "You didn't drive out here?"         "No. I walked."         "Where's all your stuff?"         "I got mugged. Punk made me empty my pockets, grabbed everything and ran off."         "Your gun?"         "Back at Fraser's.. With my cuffs..I left it in his bathroom.. Didn' want Goldie changing his mind on the way to the airport."         "Passport?"         "Frannie's.. A bit of make up a little dye for the hair, a wig in the right hair style and he looks just like her in her passport photo. They ain't gonna find out what I did with Gordon. I made damn sure of it."         "How'd you pay for it?"         "With that big fat bonus I got for going undercover," he said with a little sigh, "I was saving it up.. A few more weeks and I would have had enough to buy ma a brand new car to get around in. But what the hell, I'm sure she'd rather have me alive and well, than a brand new car."         "When you're feeling better we'll go cruise a few car yards - get her a good second hand one instead."         "You paying?"   "You'll take it out of my hide if I don't."         "Damn right."         "Where'd you leave the Riv?"         "Back at the bar.. They took my keys."         Huey got all the details and told him to sleep the hang over off and went out to fetch the Riv. It took flashing his badge to get the barkeep to hand over the keys. When he got home, Ray was dead to the world, snoring in his bed. Huey tucked the blankets around him, got a barely comprehensible, don't cluck, ma, for it and left him to sleep it off.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Mhhm. Whatever that is, it smells good."         Huey looked around to see Ray leaning in the door way, dressed only in his draw string pants. He look much better than he had that morning.         "You're looking better. Feel up to eating?"         "Yeah.. I could smell that in the bedroom. It made my stomach growl at me."         Huey gave a faint smile and went back to his cooking. Ray looked around then walked over to the island bench and sat gingerly on a stool.         "It's starting to hurt again."         "Yeah.. Well there are a few things you have to do for a few days. I'll cover that with you before you leave."         "Can I stay here for a few days?"         Huey looked around at him.         "I don't want no one asking questions.. I'd stay with Benni.. only.. that's where it happened.. 'side's which, you live alone, and we can watch each other's back's till we see which way the Rooks'll jump next."         "You can sleep on the couch, it's a fold out futon," Huey said, then returned his attention to the food, tasting it.         Ray picked the paper on the bench up and looked over the front page while Huey added a little something more to his culinary creation.         "I see your case made the front page."         "We were going to keep it quiet. Especially seeing as how two of the remains were positively I-deed as being cops who went missing at that time."         "Say's here, Mackenzie got this scoop."         "It was leaked to her.. We were only able to I.D a dozen of the bodies. We're hoping someone will come out of the wood work to identify the rest."         "I only gave you 8 names."         "Two were the cops I mentioned. Their badges were there.. That gave us a starting point. Welsh say's Dental records positively I-Deed them.. The other two I I-deed by the rooks with their bodies. But the rest were numbers I didn't know. Whoever they were.. They were initiated after I got out."         The paper snapped down.         "You *were* initiated into the Rooks."         Huey bashed his head against the cupboard for letting that slip out.         "I thought you knew all that stuff about them cause of Fordam."         Huey bashed his head again, then gave it up and bustled around the kitchen making preparations.         "Hey.. I ain't gonna tell anyone.. That'd get you thrown off the force. Once a Rook always a Rook, they'll say."         "And if they find out you know and didn't mention it, you'd go down if it got out."         "I'm amazed it hasn't."         "It did once.. But they just ignored the claims of the informant and assumed it was the Rooks trying to take me down for helping Vince all those years ago."         "Well I won't tell em that snitch was right."         "And I won't tell anyone about Goldie."         "Now that's all settled.. Tell all."         "I was the sort of kid they recruit. Good Family, brain's.. the looks.. someone no one would ever think would be in their organisation.. They found out I was gay and had their lever.. They sent the best looking guy I ever saw after me.."         "And you took the bait."         "Hook line and bloody sinker.. You do crazy things when you're that age and in love. They got me good. Photo's the works.. I did what I was told.. And Fordam busted me. And the first thing he said was, why's a smart kid like you doing something so dumb. Then he patted me down and found my rook and dragged me in to interrogate me till I broke down and told him everything."         "How'd you ever get out of that mess?"         "It wasn't easy.. There was another guy they recruited.. At the same time.. Hiram Westbourne.. He was my best friend. Dead straight.. A brain like a steel trap and the sweetest personality.. We were sort of.. security for each other.. If one of us took off, they'd take down the other.."         "So you had to get him out at the same time."         "Vince pulled out his coin, said heads I let you go, tail's I toss you in a cell.. It was a double header.. He knew.. I told him about Hiram. Then he told me exactly what they'd do with me sooner or later.. Told me to take the heat from my parents, and get out before it happened. I went back for Hiram.. But they busted us.. That was the day I was fully initiated.. They killed some guy who messed up one of their whores. But they never just *kill* someone.. And if Edorado told you how he killed his victims, you've got a fair idea of how the average Rook hit goes down. And if the kid their initiating say's no.. They hold a gun to his head.. if that doesn't work.. They use it."         "They shot Hiram."         "No... We did what we were told.. And they kept their eye on us .. kept us in the heart land.. Devil's triangle.. Put me and Hiram into a team with Guy called Giordi.. They got him the same way they got me.. With the same guy. Giordi could forge anything.. And pick any lock.. And he did other things.. He had the mindset for it. It was all just a big adventure to him. He was their golden boy.. Between him and Peter, the Knight in charge of our team, they invented a whole new identity for me.. Cause I got busted by Vince.. and first time out.. Hiram and I split.. Went to Vince.. And went down for it. I went down for it under my new identity. The judge went easy on us, cause Vince put in the good word for us. Told him there were mitigating circumstances.. We got let off light.. I spent a year in a reformatory.. And swore I'd never go back.. "         Ray made a come here gesture. Huey approached, and Ray kept signalling him closer till he was at the bench. Then Ray struck, grabbing his shirt pulling him over the bench and *very* thoroughly kissed him. Then he pushed Huey away. Huey looked at him dazedly and touched his lips.         "What was that for?"         "Making me feel better about what I did. You just do it with out thinking.. Saying the right things."                 "Oh. Well.. I'm glad I said the right things to make you feel better.. but next time you want to say it - *Say it* with your voice instead. Huh.. I'm only human. You kiss me like that again and I'm gonna jump your bones."         Ray just looked at him. Huey back stepped. He didn't want to know what was going through Ray's head. The expression's flitting over his face made the ache in his groin that kiss had left him with worse. The way Ray's eyes ran over him, mentally stripping him, made Huey realise that Ray was actually considering the idea.         "You're not my type."         Ray gave him a very weak smile and a nod. Sipping his coffee he looked away embarrassed. Huey had read his mind and rejected the idea totally, but without denting his ego or busting his nose while he was at it.         "So how'd you end up a cop?"         "Who'd you think was waiting outside the gates when they cut me loose?"         "Fordam."         "He said, I know who you are Jack Huey. You don't have a record. I made sure of that. Your parents think you vanished cause of the photo's.. You gotta second chance, what are going to do with it."         "So your parents got the pictures."         "Oh yeah.. Within hours of our making a break for it," He gave a faint laugh, "My mother says my father just stared at one particular photo and all he ever said was.. God Damn that boy's gorgeous."         "It was Gordon, wasn't it."         Huey nodded.         "I don't know why I never worked out he and Goldie were one and the same."         "He's been taking hormones.. There's nothing fake about those breasts. You looked at her you saw a woman, not a guy."         "That must be pretty strange.."         "In some ways it made things easier."         "After they inducted us.. Peter used to clip me and Giordi around the ear and tell us to stop pining after Gordon, cause we wouldn't get anywhere with him, because he was hot for some guy from your part of town."         "Probably me.. He started hitting on me after I lost my puppy fat. I never even had to touch that guy to get him hard.. Just watching me take my clothes off and knowing I'd let him touch me up was enough to do it."         "I'm amazed it took so long for him to get a piece of you."         "He had it bad. You did crazy things for him. He controlled himself for me.. Probably working under the assumption that sooner or later I'd let him take it to the line...and that would be when I became his guy. I think he decided to get the Op just so it would happen. That's how bad he had it for me."         "He didn't just.. jump you when you said you'd do what he wanted did he?"         Ray shook his head.         "Like I said.. It wasn't the first time.. It was the second.. The first time.. he was all over me.. Telling me how good it was going be.."         Huey set a cup of coffee before him.         "So he didn't hurt you the first time."         "No."         He took the coffee and sipped at it, and looked into the cup, knowing Huey wanted details.         "He said he'd make it good.. He did.. He used something.. He didn't use it the second time.."         "So you liked what he did the first time?"         "Huey."         "You let that guy get you involved in heavy petting for I don't know how long.. You and Fraser are so tight.."         "We're just friends."         "Yeah.. so.. that doesn't mean you have to stay just friends."         Ray just stared at him. And a mental image of Fraser popped into his head. The Mountie naked, his body flushed with desire, drawing him into his arms, kissing him, their bodies moving together the way his used to move with Gordon's, the way that felt so good, not the other way. Just the very idea of it made him go hard.         "Just a thought."         The image of Fraser shattered and he had an image of Fraser kneeing him in the nuts and punching him in the face for coming on to him.         "No way no how."         "Why because he's so straight you could rule a line with him?"         "For starters."         "I was straight.. till someone showed me the other side. Someone I was in as tight with as you and Fraser are."         "Hiram?"         "No.. I told you. He was dead straight. It was another guy.. We had a mutual drool fest over Hiram. Dumped each other at the same time to go after him."         Ray chuckled at him.         "I courted him for ages.. And then my ex went in for the kill.. and who do you think Hiram comes to, to complain about it too."         Ray laughed.         "That stopped me from ever putting the moves on him."         "You said your father never said anything about the pictures.. You're parents are O.K with it?"         "They wouldn't talk to me for years. I tried going straight.. For the longest time.. What happened put me off following my inclinations.. Becoming a cop and getting my name in the paper and people telling them about seeing me with this woman or that woman made them come around. Then after Louis died.. My mother came around one day and gave me all this literature.. Lectured me about taking care of myself and told me to stop pretending I'm something I'm not and find my self a good man to settle down with."         "So now you don't pretend."         "I told Dewey the other day. He was going on about you and Fraser.. I shut him up by telling him I was gay."         "I bet his face was classic."         "All he said was, you could have told me that sooner."         Ray laughed.         "But I couldn't do that.. He had to see he was safe around me so he wouldn't get nervous about it."         "You seeing anyone?"         "No.. My mother introduced me to this *lovely* young man she met. He's just your type, she say's. She was right. But he only thought dating a cop was cool till he picked the wrong day to surprise me by dropping into the precinct."         "The day that punk almost killed me."         Huey nodded.         "Within a week of that it was over.. He said he couldn't handle it if something like that happened to me and packed his bags."         "Long curly hair, Hugo boss suit.. Looked like he could have been a male model."         "That was him."         "Cute guy. "         "I always thought so," Huey said with a smile, "So did the Modeling agency he worked for."         Ray laughed and picked up his cup again.         "Well if that's the kind of guy who does it for you, Dewey's got nothing to worry about, has he."         Huey stared at him, then grinned.         "I never even thought of that. Thanks.. I'll show him a picture of Tim tomorrow."         Ray toasted him with his cup in acknowledgment and sipped his coffee while Huey served up dinner. While Huey's back was turned, Ray put the cup down and bolted. The raging hard on the idea of being with Fraser had given him hadn't gone away and he wasn't going to let Huey catch him with a hard on.         "Ray??" He heard Huey call out.         Ray made it to the bathroom in time.         "Nature calls."         "Oh."         Ray locked the door and then sat down on the toilet intend to take care of that hard on with a very pleasant little fantasy. But then he jumped up again as pain lanced up his spine. Damn would the pain never go away. Then he looked down at him self.         -Oh well, that takes care of that-       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Ray was about to settle down for the night on the Futon when there was a knock on the door. He scrambled up and crossed the room to see who it was.         "See who it is," Huey's voice called out from the bathroom as Ray opened the door.         The moment the door was open, Fraser was in his face, and planting hands on his bare chest, shoving him back.         "Do you know how I felt when I got home and you weren't there I saw the state of that bed. And the blood."         "Oh god.. Benni.. I'm sorry I didn't think of that.. I just wanted to get out of there."         Huey stepped into the room.         "Fraser."         "I assume you took care of him. Lieutenant Welsh told me you were investigating the *mugging*."         "I really was mugged."         Fraser looked at Ray again.         "On the way here."         "I suppose it's a waste of time asking you for my key back."         "Er.. I got it.. They took my keys off me at the bar."         "Bar?! You went to a bar and got yourself drunk, didn't you?!"         Ray gave a little cringe.         "Well I hope you learned your lesson.. Getting drunk doesn't make it better. It just left you in a worse position than you were already in."         Huey moved in took Fraser's arm, spun him around and pushed him toward the door and shoved him out.         "Come back when you've worked off that temper you built up."         Then he slammed the door as Fraser spun. Ray counted to ten.         "Open the door, Huey. He'll keep it under reign now."         Huey opened it a fraction and looked out.         "Under control?"         Fraser nodded curtly and Huey let him back in. This time he came in bearing a bag he'd dropped in the hall when he'd seen it was Ray at the door. He held the bag out.         "I went around to your place and got you some clean things."         "Thanks.. Did you.."         "I told them you were protecting an important witness and would be home when you no longer had to do so."         "Thanks Benni.. I was trying to work out some excuse."         "I didn't think you'd want to go home and face awkward questions. Have you been to a doctor?"         "He's been seen too, Fraser. I took care of that."         "And that rapist? Did you take care of him too?"         Ray looked down at the floor.         "It wasn't rape Benni."         Fraser stared at him.         "That's why there's a set of cuff's hanging from one of the bed posts, which is deeply indented now, and blood and semen on the sheets."         That made Huey cross his arms and look at Ray with a look to match Fraser's. Ray squirmed.         "Er.. He did use the cuffs on me at one point... When he wanted to leave the room and make sure I didn't pull a vanishing trick on him."         "There was a *lot* of blood on that bed. Don't tell me that it was consensual."                 "He just got carried away and forget about being careful."         Fraser stared at him.         "It happens Fraser," Huey said, attracting a glare from Fraser.         "Usually to newbies. Like Ray, who don't know what to do. It doesn't mean it's rape. It just means they don't know how to handle an over excited partner.. And he already has a rather painful reminder that he got in way over his head, he can't sit or go to the toilet without pain, isn't that enough? Or do you need to rub in it his face a little more?"         Fraser reared back then had the grace to look apologetic before he studied Huey with a thoughtful look, and then turned to Ray. Reaching out he laid a hand on Ray's arm.         "Apart from the obvious.. he didn't hurt you, did he?"         "No. It was just like I said.. He's been after me a long time.. And like Huey said.. I didn't know how to handle it when he got excited. Huey took care of everything.. He knows a discrete doctor who took care of me."         "Good.. I can see you were probably about to go to bed."         "Yeah, I was."         "Then I'll leave you to get your rest.. You know where to find me.."         With that he walked out and Huey locked up behind him. Ray watched him turn off the lights and head off for the bedroom.         "Jack."         Huey stopped in the doorway.         "What you said to Fraser.."         "What about it?"         "Thanks."         "It was the truth.. I doubt you'd know the secret to stopping a guy who's totally lost it in the sack."         "I tried."         Huey leaned on the door frame and watched Ray sink down onto his knee's on the futon with a wince. Huey was sympathetic to his pain. It was one experience had made him familiar with.         Ray looked at nothing, remembering how it had been, remembering Gordon sliding over his body telling him how beautiful he was, touching him again. It did turn him on, knowing he had that much power over Gordon. His legs being parted, waiting for him to do what he'd done the first time, the wonderful feelings that had accompanied being touched in that way, before Gordon had slid into him, filling him in a way that was both familiar and alien and thrusting in and out, then back in hard, trembling over him as he came. He expected the same thing, it wasn't what he got, there was no preparation, no pleasurable touching, just the pain and shock when Gordon had thrust into him, hard and deep driving him self deep into his body.         Ray shuddered, the remembered pain echoed in his body. He'd screamed then, and Gordon had quickly covered his mouth and did it again, making his body arch and Ray felt something tear and a new pain exploded on his senses, for the first time since he'd chosen that path he'd felt fear.         "I fought him."         He was lying on his back, the other man straddling him on hands an knees ramming into him, fucking him hard, one hand over his mouth, the other holding him up, Ray's feet slid on the slick sheets trying to push away from that hard organ to end it, he tried to shove him off, then Gordon reared up, grabbed his thighs, and started withdrawing. Ray had started to relax thinking he'd gotten the message and it was over, that wasn't the end that was the beginning of his complete and utter subjugation.         He thrust back with such force Ray screamed his whole body arching off the bed. His neck arched too as he screamed, and Gordon's hands moved, one pushing his head back further while he made tiny little thrusts which increased the pain. It paralysed him long enough for Gordon to use the cuffs still on the bed head to cuff his hands.         "But it didn't stop him.. If anything.. It just seemed to excite him more."         He tried to push away with his feet, his body thrashed around on the bed. But Gordon didn't stop. He just covered his mouth.         :You're mine, all mine, no man has ever had you the way I've had you and after me, no man ever will:         "Some men are like that."         :Stop fighting me, and screaming, Ray or I'll gag you, and when I'm through with you.. I'll have your little stud too. And make you watch.:         The threat worked he stopped fighting and his throat ached from the effort of fighting the urge to scream. Then that hand fell away.         :Please stop, ohgodnoyourhurtingmegoldieyourhurtingme pleasestoppleasestop:         His face was slapped.         :Shut up:         Crying whimpering and groaning with pain.         :You're mine, say it:         He felt arms wrap around him. Felt himself being drawn against a solid male chest, smelt Huey's after shave. He was being rocked, gently stroked and clucked over.         "He said he'd do it to Fraser if I didn't stop f..fighting him." Ray said his voice breaking before he broke down and hugged Huey back.         He was drawn down to the bed and held, being stroked, and soothed till he cried himself to sleep.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey was in pain, it was the sort of pain he was familiar with a dull ache in groin that came from being aroused and not being able to do a thing about it. It was Ray who left him in that state, Ray snuggled up next to him on the futon, hugging him in a death grip as he slept.         The feel of that lithe body, so much like Timothy's. He'd forgotten how good it felt to sleep with someone at his side. It didn't help that Ray was nuzzling at him in his sleep and humping his leg. Then Ray shifted.         -Ohgod-         That beautiful body was sliding over his, moving over him, those lips were at his throat. He arched it and bit down hard on his lip to bite back the cry of pleasure.         Then that nose was nuzzling at his ear, gentle teeth nipping at it and his hot breath, his hands, oh god his hands were starting to roam.         Then he heard Ray speaking in husky Italian. He didn't understand what he was saying but he did understand something he said.         "Benni."         -Ohgod, he's dreaming about Fraser. I *knew* it-         Another babble of Italian in his ear, then Ray was sliding over his body again, worshiping it with his hands and mouth.         -Sweet lord in Heaven. I don't care if he's making love to Fraser in his mind.. Please don't wake up on me now.. Ohhhh yes.. that's the way.. a little lower..Yesssss!-                 He clawed at the sheets to keep himself from touching Ray and rousing him from his dream. As far as he was concerned this was a dream come true. Timothy was good in bed, but Ray.         -Oh sweet lord-         Ray was making his body sing in a way it had never sung before. Teaching him things about making love that he hadn't dreamed of even his wildest fantasy's. He'd never looked twice at the lithe Italian. Well that was a lie. He'd checked out his body once in the showers and found it very pleasing indeed, and decide to skip taking a shower himself that day. He didn't want to think about his abrasive and cynical colleague that way.         But oh lord he'd never be able to look at Ray the same way again without thinking about this night, this moment.         Hands sliding over his thighs.         -Please, please, please, please, GOD YES!-         He wrapped his legs around Ray, and couldn't contain the low animal growl of pleasure as Ray's sex filled him, not thrusting, sliding, slowly ever so slowly, till he felt it buried deep and throbbing to the beat of Ray's heart inside him, Ray's balls against his butt.         "You like that, don't ya Benni."         "Uh-Hu," Huey moaned.         Ray began moving over him, inside him, that lithe body moving over him, hands and mouth working over his body as his hips moved, falling into an exquisite rhythm Huey's body began to move in counter-rhythm too.         -Don't stop, Oh sweet lord, Don't stop.-         Those hands fell away, that body tensed over his and Ray's mouth ravaged his throat and shoulders.         -Oh lord.. I've died and gone to heaven-         What control, he couldn't believe it, the last time he'd been with a lover that considerate was the very first time his first lover had made love to him and introduced him to the pleasure's of being the sub for a change. The tension in Ray's body grew and his head rose. Huey looked up and saw his face, that was it. His head went back and he let out a cry of ecstasy, his body rising as the most mind blowing orgasm of his life racked his body.         When he came back to himself Ray was lying snuggled up at his side, an arm draped around him, a look of pure contentment and bliss on his face.         -Oh, yeah, you're as Gay as they come, Vecchio. You just haven't worked it out yet. I envy Fraser when you do and do something about it.-       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey slipped away when Ray slipped into the deep sleep of the thoroughly satiated. He had a hard time not falling into it himself. With shaky legs he walked away and got himself to the bathroom for a quick shower. It woke him up just enough to creep back to the lounge with the bath sponge and a towel.         He gave Ray a body bath and Ray stretched and moved around making pleased little noises. Huey rolled his eyes and completed his task and towelled Ray off. Task complete he pulled the sheets up and covered Ray, the quilt was gently drawn up and tucked around him, and he leaned over Ray to press a soft kiss to his ear.         "Sweet dreams."         Ray murmured something imcomprehensible and snuggled down deeper in the blankets.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         When Ray tapped on his door, Huey poked his head over the blankets.         "What?"         "I.. er..need your help again."         Huey sighed and threw the blankets aside. Then he remembered he was naked. He rose at the same time as Ray opened the door and looked into the room.         "I.."         Then his eyes widened. Huey ripped the quilt off the bed and covered himself.         -A great time to be caught with a morning erection-         He watched Ray gulp then retreat. After hastily dressing, Huey went in search of him and found him leaning against the wall in the bathroom, trembling and pale. The things the doctor had left behind lay on the vanity unit.         -So that's what he was talking about-         He looked up again and watched Ray's pale face turn red.         "Alright, Ray lets clear the air here.. You *were* raped. The moment you started fighting and said the word stop that's what it was. I am not about to touch you that way against your will."         -You can touch me all you like, anytime, anywhere, anyway-         "O.k. You got that into your head yet?"         Ray nodded slowly.         "You want me to take care of it for you?"         Ray held up his hands. They were trembling and shaking like the hands of a elderly man with severe arthritis.         "Uh-hu. O.K.. uh..drop your pants, then assume the position."         Ray did that and winced, shuddered and hissed through clenched teeth as Huey took care of things. When it was all over, Huey pulled his pants up and stepped back.         "All done. The pain will go away soon."         Ray remained facing the wall, his body flushed red.         "I can't go back to work like this.. I'm a wreck."         "Don't worry.. I'll take care of it.. Are you O.K to be by yourself?"         Ray wrapped arms around himself, remembering how angry Fraser had been, imagining how he'd have felt if it was his life less body with a bullet in his head he'd found in that bed instead. It chilled him to the bone how much he wished that he had been killed. And he shook his head.         "Do you want me to see if Fraser..."         "No!"         He felt something soft and fluffy draped around his shoulders and looked down to see a towelling robe. He pulled it on and tied it off, then Huey was leading him out of the bathroom.         "O.k.. we're gonna take a drive.. I'm going to take you to see a friend of mine. She's a counsellor.. Don't worry we can keep it off official records.. You don't have to say anything just listen to her. O.K.. She's been there.. She knows what she's talking about."         Ray nodded.         "Let's see if there's anything in my wardrobe that will fit you. Maybe you'll get lucky and something of Tim's got mixed up with my stuff. You're about the same size."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Dewey walked into Welsh's office as Huey completed giving him a report on the story Ray had gotten out of Gordon at such a high price.         "What's up with Vecchio? He looks like he saw a ghost, and he's shaking like a leaf in your car. I waved my hand in his face and he didn't even react."         "A sniper blew his best snitches brains out right in front of him."         Dewey and Welsh both shuddered.         "That's why he got drunk, sir. He hit the dirt and crawled out of there, and the sniper took a few shots at him. He barely got out of there alive. The sniper got away.. And they got the body before he got back."         -Now no one will ask what happened to Goldie. Not that that bastard deserves the break Ray gave him.-         "He's a wreck now reaction has well and truly set in. I was going to take him to a counsellor.. With your permission.."         Welsh nodded.         "What's the number of the consul.."         "Er.. It's not a good time to try. He and Fraser had a.. fight and I don't think Vecchio wants to see him.. I was going to call him.. but Ray said no. And I know he doesn't want to go home right now. He's probably worried about leading the Rooks to his nest. And Dewey can handle the case on his own. It's not like we're going to catch the guy who killed all those people in the Graveyard. Ray already identified their killer. Edorado."         "What?!" Dewey and Welsh chorused.         "Didn't I mention that?"         "No," They chorused.         "You just mentioned he gave you a few leads on names, you forget to mention one of those names was Edorado."         "Oh.. Well... He told me Edorado told him there were a lot more bodies out there he hadn't found yet.. And that he'd have a *devil* of a time finding them.. He was having the last laugh on him.. Giving him a clue to the graveyard that went right over Ray's head, a clue he knew Ray would remember once his little plan went into action.. That's how he was able to identify some of the victims. Edorado admitted to killing them, and even told him *how*. He had nothing to loose at that stage. You can only execute a man once. He just wanted to piss Ray off, by bragging about his sadistic killings. Edorado killed Vincent Fordam too.. admitted it to him..told him how.. And told Ray they'd kill him that way too, for having the audacity to take out their king pin."         "And would have gotten away with it, if that snitch of his hadn't warned him about their plan."         "Dewey can take care of everything from here.. With your permission I'll take care of Ray."         Welsh nodded.         "Tell him to take as much time as he needs to pull himself together."         "I'm sure he'll appreciate that, sir."              *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  The visit to the counsellor seemed to help. Ray didn't fall apart again. He was just subdued, which was almost as bad as far as Huey was concerned. It took a week, but finally Ray answered, "Yeah," to his "Are you O.K to stay by yourself?" and Huey returned to work.         When he returned home it was to the fragrant scent of Italian cooking, not to mention a spotlessly clean apartment. The dining table was set and Ray told him dinner would be served by the time he cleaned up. Huey returned to find the meal on the table and Ray sitting down, hands steepled, head resting on his hands.         Sitting quietly Huey looked his table over. Ray certainly hadn't done things by halves, there was a three course meal on offer, with Garlic bread and juice. He looked and found Ray watching him.         "Sorry, there's no wine.. I don't trust myself right now.."         "That's ok," Huey said tasting the juice and smiled, "It's my favourite anyway."         "I figured you go to that little corner shop a lot and asked them what you buy. I uh.. did the shopping too.. I went through your garbage to work out what you usually get."         -Ah, at last *Detective* Vecchio's coming back-         "So do you feel ready to return to work or..?"         Ray shook his head.         "I went back to see your friend today.. She's good."         "That's why I took you to her."         "Some kid playing on the street bumped into me when he was running from his friend.. When I turned around.. He pointed his toy gun at me and I almost went to pieces right then and there."         "That's why you went back to see her."         "You told her about the Rooks."         "Vince sent me to her.. I used to have nightmares.. About what I had to do to survive... She helped me channel everything .. Helping Vince try to bust up that gang helped a lot."         "I don't think I can handle working on any cases that involve sexual assault.. and I've got three on my desk."         "I'll take over them for you and see what I can do to make sure you don't get any more landing on your desk till you can handle that again."         "You can't do that without telling them what happened."         "I'll get a letter from her telling Welsh to keep you away from *any* violent crimes for a while. You'll end up with all the boring B's and public relation's jobs probably be stuck behind a desk for a few weeks, but it'll give you a chance to ease back into things."   "That I could handle."         "Well I'll talk to him about it in the morning."         "I was.. wondering.. after dinner, unless you got plans.. could you drive me around to the church?"         "Sure, there's nothing on TV worth staying in for any way."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey stood in the shadow's of the entrance watching the doors of the confessional open and the priest leading Ray away. He almost went after them, but squelched his impulse to do so. He had to stop treating Ray like a Mother hen treats a chick. Ray wasn't going to come out of his funk unless he came out of his shell on his own.         He didn't regret it, after over an hour Ray came out into the church proper and lit a candle, said a quite prayer and rejoined him. To Huey he looked like he'd found his peace.         "O.K?"         Ray nodded and Huey followed him out.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey returned to another three course feast the next night, and announced he'd talked to Welsh who'd announced Ray was desk bound till he got his badge back, then passed out all the remaining cases on his desk, sharing the load out among the whole team.         Ray sighed, reminded of the fact he'd lost his badge when he'd been mugged. He'd been too drunk to retain an image of the mugger. But he still remembered how it felt.         "He issued a statement about that."         "What?"         "Your badge. There was a statement issued to the press, by the Commissioner, about one of his officers being mugged while he was suffering post traumatic shock. It basically said the Mugger knows who he was and that if the badge doesn't turn up at some station along with everything else he got they will turn the city upside down looking for him. And that the only way to avoid it was to hand it in."         "I hope it works."         "Just you wait and see. It'll probably be handed it after the papers hit the street."         "I think I can handle going back to work tomorrow."         "You sure? Welsh said you could take as much time as you need."         "As long as I can hide under all the paperwork he's sure to dump on me till I'm sure I can handle it if someone pulls a gun on me, I can handle going back to work."         "Fine. You can come in with me."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey sat on the couch watching a period drama on the TV something horribly romantic with Ray on the other end of the couch. He liked having Ray around, cooking and cleaning and generally just having someone to come home too. The only thing that could have made him happier would be Ray sliding up to snuggle at his side the way Tim always did when there was something Romantic on TV         -Cest la vie-         He almost had a heart attack and sent his popcorn flying everywhere when Ray did slide up to him. He just barely restrained his reaction and looked down at Ray. The next moment his pop corn was on the floor and Ray was in his lap instead.         "Have I said thank-you? For taking care of me so good?"         Huey shook his head dumbly. He couldn't have said a word if he tried, his heart was in his throat. Ray's arms went around his neck and then he was being kissed, a soft kiss at first, then a little more firm. It was the tongue flicking his lip and the "Mmmhmm you taste good," that did it for Huey.         What followed made him thank-god he was alive. He cried out in rapture as Ray's mouth brought him to that point, and drifted in post coital bliss for a while. When he looked around, Ray was back up the other end of the couch, apparently quite engrossed in the movie, his hand wandering around in his empty bowl of popcorn. Looking down he saw the popcorn bowel in his lap, popcorn and all.         -Man is my imagination running away with me-         He picked up the bowl and rose.         "I uh.. Think I'll call it a night."         "Night."         "Remember you're coming in to work tomorrow and don't stay up all night."         "Uh-hu."         -He's engrossed alright-         Huey walked out turning out the lights as he went. After he heard the bedroom door close Ray sank back into the soft fluffy mattress and thought about what he'd done to Huey. An almost evil little smile touched his face. He hadn't thought he'd be able to clean up all that popcorn in time, but using his pillow to sweep it all under the couch and swapping bowls had been a brain storm. Huey probably thought it was just a very pleasant fantasy he'd had while his mind was wandering and that was the way Ray wanted it.         The talk with the priest had helped. He'd never expected him to tell him the bible *didn't* say anything about Homosexuality being a sin. The reading in the Vestry later and the chat had helped a lot. He no longer felt guilty about the fact he took pleasure in some of the things Gordon had done to him.         Or his nightly dreams about Fraser. Though he hadn't been dreaming about Fraser last night. It had been Huey last night. Maybe it had been set off by the fact he'd been lying on the bed, awake and restless unable to sleep when he heard Huey moaning and groaning. He'd gone in to see if he was having a nightmare to see him lying on his big bed, the blankets tossed off. He'd been naked and writhing about, and it wasn't Tim or Timothy's name he'd called out. He'd watched utterly captivated, as Huey went through his dream, calling out his name. It had left him with a pulsing erection and he'd almost crawled into that bed to do something about it.         But Huey would have had a heart attack if he'd done that so he crawled back under his blankets on the futon and tried to think about Fraser while he touched himself. But his stubborn mind kept replaying vision's of Huey's dark skin against those crisp white sheets.         -I'd have more luck with Huey than I would Fraser-         And his body seemed to think that was A.O.K. But dreams and fantasy's were one thing. Huey never dropped any hints, and he had rejected his one and only advance when he would have made love to him, just to try and drive away the memory of Gordon. Huey and Gordon couldn't be any more different if they tried.         A smile touched his lips as he remembered how Huey reacted to having his lips licked. Instant hard on. He no longer worried about Huey rejecting him. The question was, was he ready to do more. He'd timed his move just right. Huey had definitely been letting his mind wander when he slid up and kissed him.         To hell with it he thought. He'd let his mind rule. If he dreamed about Huey instead of Fraser for the next week, then Huey was going to get a big surprise.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey sat at the island bench pretending to be reading a paper while he covertly watched Ray bustling around in his kitchen. The scent of Italian cooking gave his apartment a rather tantalising fragrance.         Between dumping one set of ingredients into his bubbling pasta sauce, and the next, Ray made coffee and set a cup before Huey. He went back to his cooking, sipping his own coffee as he worked.         Huey folded up the paper and just watched him. Ray had gone shopping during his lunch break, and returned to the precinct in a rather nice Hugo Boss suit. It made Huey think of Tim. He could remember him wearing a suit just like it. But Tim was a complete dunce in the kitchen. He'd burn water if he wasn't watched like a hawk.         Ray had shed the coat, carefully, and rolled up his shirt sleeves before he started cooking. Huey's eyes fell to Ray's rump when he bent over to check whatever it was that was cooking in the stove. Huey was admiring the way that those Boss pants, that looked like they were tailor made for the Italian, hugged his buns like a lover. That thought had Huey shifting uncomfortably on his stool when he felt a familiar stirring in his groin. It was getting more familiar every time Ray bent over in those pants.         "You're going home, tomorrow."         Ray carefully closed the stove and looked around.         "You should have heard what Dewey said about your new suit."         "This.. It's not new."         "You brought it today."         "It was a gift.. From your old friend Tim. I tracked him down and had a chat to him."         Huey stared at him.         "I knew you were going to kick me out any day now. I'd feel much better if I knew there was someone else here. I thought maybe I could convince him to give you a second chance."         "And..."         "How do you feel about moving into my place for a while?"         "Translation, Tim said no way, no how."         "Basically."         "What's with the suit?"         "He called my suit so tacky. And showed me into his walk in robe. Clothes Horse heaven. That man has so many nice clothes."         "It comes with the territory. He gets free clothes when he does modeling assignments, it's part of his contract."         "Yeah he said as much, and tossed a bunch of stuff at me and told me to try it on for size.. Stirred me and said, I'd make you feel like I didn't trust you by wearing god awful suits like the one I was wearing around you."         "You always wears suits like that."         "I said, not all of us get $2000 suits thrown at us. Then he said, try it, if it fits keep it.. It fit.. and I ain't turning down a free Boss suit."         Huey chuckled at that.         "I got so many compliments on how I looked today."         "It does look good on you."         Ray returned to his cooking.         "I tried on about a dozen suits and sets before I settled on this one.. And I was on my way to the car, when I heard him call my name.. Looked up and this bag dropped down from his balcony."         "More Boss."         "Two more... The rest is his Armani collection.. He said he never wears Armani and it might as well go to someone who likes it.. I was trying some of that stuff on.. Fits like it was tailor made for me."         "You've got the same basic build."         "He's got a broader chest and shoulders."         Huey thought about it.         "High Style.. May issue."         "What?"         Huey got up and walked away. He returned with the magazine in question and flipped through it, then showed Ray a clothing spread.         "Yeah.. That's some of the stuff he gave me."         Huey flipped to the next page.         "That too."         Huey flipped.         "It's all there."         "Show me."         Ray pointed to every suit he'd received that day.         "You're gonna be the best dressed guy at the station. He gave you a wardrobe worth around 5 grand."         Ray chuckled and returned to the bench to scrape the last of his pasta sauces ingredients into the sauce.         Huey looked at the fashion spread his lover had posed in studying the fit of the suits.         "The Armani suits were a little tight around the shoulders.. But that only emphasised them on him."         "I figured he tossed them cause they didn't fit properly. No one just tosses stuff like that."         "I went with him to one of these shoots. He said, the photographer was always hitting on him. He stopped when he saw me, my badge hanging on my tie."         "That'd do it."         "There was one thing to be said about the way that guy drooled over Tim.. He always took the best shots. I remember Tim coming home with a pile of pictures that he said they *wouldn't* be using in a spread he posed for, because they thought he looked *too* hot in them."         Ray chuckled.         "Their excuse was, they wanted to sell the clothes, not the model."         "I bet there's nothing that man doesn't look good in. And that he was always telling you what to wear."         "No."         "Really??"         "The only thing he'd pull out of the wardrobe and ask me to wear was my uniform. Then he'd toss the coat, tell me to leave a button or two open.. and go looking for my cuffs."         Ray laughed at that.         "I always knew he was in the mood if I found the uniform waiting in the bathroom when I got home."         "I used to think Angie's uniform was the best thing in her wardrobe. But she'd never wear it just for me."         "Never?"         "I think the only time I ever saw her in it off duty was when we were in the desperately trying to save things stage.. Instead of taking it off as soon as she got home.. She kept it on .. Till I pounced.. Something got ripped and it was the last time she ever did it."         Huey gave a faint smile.         "I had to replace my shirt half a dozen times."         Ray snickered.         "Speaking of men in uniform. Seen Fraser?"         "Yeah, I had to go round to get my gun and cuff's back.. He rang me to remind me I left them there.. Did I mention I got my stuff back? Someone handed it in all nicely cleaned and bagged this afternoon. Right on the dead line."         "That means you got your badge back, so you'll be back on active duty."         "Uh-Hu. Speaking of which.. What did you tell Welsh?"         Huey gave him what in Fraser would be the Wide Eyed Mountie Look.         "You know what I'm talking about. *Everyone* tiptoes around me.. I want to faint in shock when even Frannie is being all sweetness and light, and is there anything you need Ray, instead of you've got two feet use them can't you see I'm busy enough as it is."         "I passed on Goldie's warning. That probably did the trick. I didn't tell him what went down, if that's what you're worried about."         "I wasn't worried about that. I just wondered what made him take it so calmly."         "He knows *something* happened. You don't hit the bottle that hard unless something bad is going down in your life. So while I was telling him about the tip I thought about how to explain it and..the way you were acting, and I told him a sniper took out Goldie in front of you.. And sent you running.. That they got the body.."         "Ah. That explains the PTS statement."         "And everything else."         "Good. About that offer to cruising the car yards with me.."         "You want to do it?"         "How about after dinner? There are a few yards still open."         "Sure."         "If we can find something nice, you can drive it over tomorrow.. When you bring your stuff over."         "I didn't say I'd stay at your place."         "Then to hell with what Dewey thinks. I'm staying put till we know while way the Rooks'll jump next."         "I'll pack a bag."         Ray smirked as he turned away, then just for the hell of it dropped something off the bench and squatted down to pick it up. He heard the paper snapping and when he looked around again. Huey was reading it again.         Ray returned to his food preparations with a smirk.           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  -This was a baaaad idea- Huey thought as he buttoned his coat to hide the evidence of the fact that watching Ray bending over *a lot* in those tailor fit trousers was turning him on.         The way he wiggled that butt when he was under the hood checking out the engine of the latest car was the final straw. Huey was glad he'd decided to forgo his shower till they got back to the apartment. He didn't know how he'd explain two in one night. Now he could head right for the shower and douse himself in cold water as soon as he got through the door without having to worry about what Ray would think.         Ray stretched out to check something out tactile and it made Huey want to groan. God, what did the man think he was made of, ice? He hadn't realised how big a turn on watching Ray checking out car's would be. But the way Ray touched those metal bodies, almost caressing them, the smiles and all that bending. It was driving him nuts.         "You almost done?"         Ray pulled out and looked at his hands. Huey pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to him to wipe his hands with. Ray used the handkerchief to close the hood.         "It's a pity I didn't bring Fraser along. I'd like to get his opinion on this car."         "I didn't think he had an opinion on cars."         "He can spot defects. You should have seen the way he helped me get Al to drop the price on my last Riv. I bet he could get these guys to drop the price to something more affordable."         "If this is the one you want."         "It's more than I'm willing too.."         "I'm the one who's paying, remember."         "Yeah.. But this costs more than half what I spent."         "Is that including the ten grand in the hand?"         "Uh..no.."         "Then let's go buy it and get out of here.. I'm sick of looking at cars already."         "It's no big deal, Huey.. I'll just Fraser to come along and check it out for me tomorrow.. Then we'll swing by here before we head for my place."         "Whatever. I am really looking forward to a *hot* bath."         "Yeah it is a bit nippy out here isn't it. I'll just go tell the sales man I need to think about it and we'll be outta here."         "I'll wait for you in the car."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey watched Ray fix the futon while he made a cup of coffee and was glad he wasn't feeling chatty. He didn't think he could handle watching Ray for much longer without pouncing on the man. Coffee made, he said good night and headed for the bedroom. He left the coffee by the bed and collected his towel and pyjama's and headed straight for the shower.         He let the cold water take care of his raging erection, he wasn't game to take care of it the normal way. The last thing he wanted was Ray hearing him getting off in the shower and working out he was grumpy because he'd been suffering a bad case of blue balls. He almost groaned as it started coming back to life when he was towelling himself down. Oh well. He'd just have to bury his face in a pillow and take care of it in a far more pleasant manner.         He headed for the bedroom, turning off lights as he went, and his jaw dropped, and his sex leapt back to hard throbbing life when he walked into his bedroom and found Ray half sitting, half lying on his bed, in his uniform, minus the coat.         -Man is my imagination working overtime or what-         "Is that a weapon in your trousers or are you just happy to see me? Cause if it's a weapon I'm just gonna have to make sure it's discharged safely."         Huey did groan.         "What the hell do you think you're doing?"         Ray sat up, rising.         "What I've been doing all day," he said moving toward Huey with fluid grace.         "Seducing you. Your Timmy told me how."         "Oh lord.. All that bending and stretching you've been doing in front of me was deliberate."         "Yeah."         "You are a god damn tease, you know that Vecchio."         "Up against the wall and assume the position Mac."         "You frisk me and that weapon's gonna go off."         Ray made him spin and assume the position and proceeded to thoroughly and slowly frisk him down from the ankles up. Huey groaned, Ray's hot breath on his back, as he worked his way up, and his hands actions were making his pulse rocket. Then Ray was making him turn around. To hell with games, Huey was ready for the fun part.         He reached out and ripped Ray's shirt open. Ray back stepped. The look that flitted across his face was enough to calm Huey down, not enough to make his body stop demanding satisfaction, but enough.         "I'm sorry.. You've been driving me insane half the day."         "S'ok. You're right.. I was a tease.. We picked that suit out cause of the way pant's hugged my butt when I moved. He said it always turned you on when he wore it."         "I can't believe you asked my old lover how to seduce me."         "Well I didn't do it till he refused to resume the relationship and move back in with you."         "I'm not going to pounce if you walk out now Ray."         "I wouldn't be here in my uniform, with my shirt ripped, now if I hadn't made up my mind to do this, Jack."         "Why?"         "I wanna know.. What it's like when done under the right circumstances with the right partner."         "I was talking about Fraser."         "Yeah.. Well.. That's never gonna happen. I used to dream about it, and you put that idea in my head..but ever since I discovered you dream about me in your sleep Fraser hasn't been the one waiting for me when I go to sleep, you have."         He stepped back up to Huey and ran his hands up his slick torso. A rivulet of sweat ran down Huey's back.         "I'm Gay.. I'm admitting it. I admitted it over a week ago and talked it all over with that priest. I could never go to Fraser.. I'd just die if he rejected me. I know that, I ain't gonna make that mistake. But I know you want me and I wanna explore what it means to be Gay. I want you to show me how it's done. I wanna know *everything* I wanna know how it feels when it's done right."         He leaned close enough to Huey for the now panting man to feel his breath on his face.         "I want you to Fuck me," Ray said with just the right amount of huskiness in his voice to make more sweat start rolling down Huey's body.         "And I want to Fuck you. Do you want me to sink into you and make you howl and squirm and feel like you're just gonna explode with pleasure?""         The sweat started pouring off Huey and with a little growl of "yes," he reached for Ray pulling him into a fierce embrace to kiss him with a passion.         One thing lead to another and soon Ray was kneeling on the bed leaning on the wall - in "the position" with his back and throat arched, shaking all over with rivulets of sweat rolling down his caramel skin as Huey prepared him for the next stage and made that task a real pleasure for the recipient.         "Wha??" Ray asked aware Huey had asked him a question but he'd been too lost in the pleasure of what his fingers were doing to hear it.         "I said.. Did Goldie use protection?"         "Oh.. Yeah.."         "Both times?"         "Yeah."         "Good.."         Then Ray forget all about the question as Huey's hands got busy again.         "Do you like that?"         "Ooooh yeeeeah," Ray breathed as Huey's hand moved over his own rampant sex and balls.         Then Huey stopped, leaving him panting for more.         "God, why'd you stop?"         "Didn't you say something about making me howl and squirm and explode with pleasure."         "Later."         Then he felt Huey's finger's slide inside again and went cross eyed as Huey found that special place deep inside.         "Have I got your attention now?"         "Uh-hu."         Huey's fingers started moving.         "This is how you are going to fuck me.. Pay real close attention."         "Oooohhh-Yeah.."         He was extremely disappointed when Huey stopped. Huey waited for him to regain some of his wits then handed him the tube of lubricant.                 "Do it to me now. The same way."         Ray obeyed, pleasing Huey as much as Huey pleased him. Ray didn't need to be told what to do next, and proved he'd been paying real close attention to what Huey had been doing to him. His hands played over Huey's sex and balls as he moved to the rhythm Huey had set. Huey arched his body tensing up. His legs going up and wrapping around Ray who stopped buried deep in him, wrapping his arms around Huey.         "Oh lord.."         "That's..goood," Huey hissed out.         "Oh Yeah.. I think I'm gonna explode."         "That's how you stop someone.. Just try and do it again."         Ray discovered that he could barely do anything.         "I get the idea, Jack."         "Touch me.. Now."         Ray's hand dropped to give Huey a little more stimulation and Huey's head fell back, turning and his mouth moved over Ray's throat and ear. He relaxed, and his legs moved to tangle with Rays. He directed him to move harder and faster. And when Huey came, Ray was only a second or two behind.         "School was never this much fun," Ray said as they lay on the bed lazily exploring each other's body later.         Huey gave a little chuckle at that. Ray's lazy explorations became outright foreplay when he noticed Huey's erection starting to return.         "Time for my next lesson," Ray said as he assumed the position against the wall again.         Huey rose up and got into some heavy duty foreplay with Ray, making him pant in Italian. He was soon howling in it as Huey used nothing but his hand and his clever fingers to drive him wild. Then Ray's breath caught in his throat and his whole body tensed up as Huey sank into him with a hard thrust.         Hands travelled over his back and chest.         "Ohgod."         "Relax.."         "Ohgod."         "Relax Ray.."         "Ohgod."         "I'm sorry.. I knew you'd tense up on me.. I wanted to get it done fast.. Just relax.."         "Oh god."         Huey almost sighed. He was so tense Huey knew every move he made would cause him pain and possibly cause as much damage as Gordon had to that vulnerable tissue. So he let his hands go to work again while he murmured away in Ray's ear till the level of tension in his body lessened.         "That feels.."         "Bad?"         "Noooo.. Strange..."         Huey smiled faintly.         "He didn't stop.. like you.. He just went for it.. But this is soo different.. I can.. feel you..," Ray gave a tension induced giggle, "I could take your pulse right now."         Huey moved sliding almost all the way out, till the head of his sex was all that remained inside. Ray's body began trembling again. Huey made him shift position a little then kissed the back of his neck and thrust back into him.         "OOHH!"         "Good?"         "Oh Yeah. Real Good."         Huey did it again.         "Oooh Yeeeaaah."         "Well..I'm glad you're enjoying it.. cause this is killing me. God you are so tight.. I can barely do this.."         "Sorry."         "You like..so Relax..and you'll like it even more."         "I'm trying."         "Breath.. In... now Ouuuuut.. that's right.. In.. Slowly.. Now.. Out... In.. Now.. Out.. Oh yes.. That's working.. In.. Out.."         On the next in, Huey was, and Ray pushed right off the wall and went into his arms.         "God.. Ray.. I tell you this... This is the last time I do it with a newbie.."         "Oh lord.. I'm sorry.. You just.. Oh lord.. Is this what it feels like for women.. Geez-us.."         "Am I hurting you?"         "Noooo.. You really hit the spot that time. *This* feels right.. For the first time.."         "Good.. Breath.. In.. Out.."         Ray did and Huey moved to the rhythm of his breathing, holding his trembling body close and resisted the impulse to do a little necking. He knew from experience that Gordon would have done it while he was fucking Ray.         Ray's throat arched and little whimpers came out of it, but they were of pleasure not pain. With every thrust Huey made, Ray gave a little Oh yeah, which got louder as he got closer to the edge. Huey was pretty close to it himself but fought it determined to make it so damned good Ray would want to do it again.         When Ray came with an exultant, "Oh God, Yesss!" Huey was right there with him. Ray's orgasm bringing him to his own.         They dropped to the bed together and after a few moment's Ray pulled away to turn and give him a very deep kiss and a cuddle.         "I think I'm gonna need a few more lessons."         Huey gave a tired little chuckle at that.         "Not tonight."         "So.. You still wanna kick me out in the morning or what?"         Huey gave a little sigh.         "Ask me again in the morning.. After your next lesson."         "Oh goodie.."         "I'm starting to see why Giordi had a thing for Italian men."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray's "next lesson" involved the shower and lots of water and soap. It also made him decide his favourite room was the bathroom.         When he finally got his shaky legs to carry him from the room, drawn out by the smell of food he found Huey setting breakfast out on the island bench.         "So, Teach, do I get an A for effort?"         Huey gave him a kiss.         "Does that mean I can stay?"         "If you can put up with me being a *very* thorough teacher."         Ray smiled wickedly.         "There's a Van Halen song that comes to mind right now."         Huey laughed, then pushed his breakfast toward him. Ray perched himself on his stool and wolfed it down. All that sex had given him an appetite. Huey perched on his stool and just watched him, picking at his own food.         "Ain't ya Hungry?"         "Hmm.. No.. Not really."         "I'm starving. Good sex always does that to me."         Huey gave a faint smile.         "Watch the flattery, or the only thing that's gonna be on this bench is you."         "I may hold you to that when we get back tonight."         "If I thought you could handle it, I'd call in sick for both of us.. Call it mutual food poisoning.."         Ray's brow raised.         "When I'm sexually active, I've got a high sex drive. Or didn't Tim warn you about it."         "He told me I better be sure.. Cause once you got started you turned into action Jackson."         "That's Timmy.."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  A "double dose of food poisoning" lasted three day's during which Huey was every bit the thorough teacher he promised to be. Ray learned pretty fast that there wasn't a room in the house he was safe in once he put on one of the suits Timothy gave him and bent over or squatted down. He also learned a variety of positions, all of which were extremely pleasurable and several new ways of applying protection. Huey drummed the P.P.B.P lesson into his head. Preparation & protection before Penetration, he told Ray after Ray turned the tables and got frisky on him again.         Their "food poisoning" lasted into a forth day when they ran out of both. Huey took Ray out with him, in his car, to introduce him to a gay friendly chemist where they could restock, and get something for the queasy stomach Ray had developed over night. And who should they bump into while they were heading for the door with their supplies discretely wrapped but Lieutenant Welsh.         Ray went bright red. Lucky for him, Welsh was in a hurry. A snap of I expect to see you both at work in the morning was the sum total of their conversation. They hurried out and Huey slapped Ray's arm as they walked away. Ray looked around and Huey pointed out Welsh's car, with a lady sitting in the passenger seat, her finger's drumming on the side of the door.         "Guess who got caught out."         Ray's laugh turned into a moan and he leaned on the window of the chemist, a hand to his stomach and Huey clucked.         "Not again."         "I got bad news for you, Jack.." Ray moaned, "I think I really got food poison.."         He didn't finish that announcement, he threw up and Huey jumped back just as Welsh walked out. Huey's movement caught his attention. When Huey saw his superior heading their way he kicked trash over the puddle and with a groan of "Oh God" Ray covered that with a new puddle a moment latter.         Welsh layed a hand on Ray's face, and forehead while Huey passed him a handkerchief. Ray's groans just got worse. He felt as if someone had reached inside and was twisting his guts around.         Welsh asked if they'd eaten anything from Huey's favourite takeaway place.         "All the time," Huey said.         "Last night," Ray groaned.         "Get him to the hospital, now," Welsh barked at Huey. "People have been dropping like flies after eating there in the last 24 hours."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         While Huey returned to work the next day, Ray didn't. He spent the next week suffering from real food poisoning. When he wasn't hanging over the bath throwing up or feeling like it, he was tucked up in bed, with a clucking Mountie tending to his every wish, except the oft expressed "go to hell" which usually followed his attempts to get Ray to eat or drink something.         Ray didn't want to see Fraser, it embarrassed him no end that Huey had called him in to play nursemaid. It went beyond embarrassment when he couldn't stand and had to be helped to bathe or go to the bath room. The way Fraser handled him was as efficient as a nurse. There were none of the little pats or strokes, or kisses on the heads Huey gave him. Just cold clinical assistance. It was like a knife in Ray's soul.         Fraser wasn't the only one Ray growled at. When Huey returned at the end of the day, Fraser deserted his "post" leaving Ray to Huey's care. That was when Ray let out all his resentment on Huey. He was thanking the lord when he started improving and didn't need to be nursed. Fraser stopped coming around and Huey clucked a lot.          When Ray finally got the all clear to return to work, it was a very grouchy detective Vecchio who stomped his way through the day.         Huey was told to shove it after he went to the trouble of going around to Ray's favourite bakery to get Jelly doughnuts for him. The coffee made Ray spit and Francesca finally got approval for her Expresso machine after Ray put a few bullets into the coffee dispenser to express his opinion of it. Ray was left bewildered as to why his sister bounced up to plant a kiss on his cheek before she bounced off again.         That took care of his grumps for about half an hour while he tried to work it out. The grumps returned when he needed to leave and went looking for Huey to borrow his car, only to discover Huey had left with Dewey. He stomped through the station muttering dire threats as to what he'd do to the dark detective when he got his hands on him.         His mood didn't improve after the car he borrowed from the pool turned out to have a problem with it's fuel injection system, the kind of problem that made the car stall, constantly.         He let Huey have it at the top of his lungs later, Huey who'd had a less than perfect day himself, roared back. Which brought Welsh out of his office to demand to know what the bellowing was about. They were told to work it out at a civilised volume and not permitted to air their grievances.         Things were just as bad at the apartment later. Huey watched Ray stomp his way through preparing the futon to sleep and had his attempt at making dinner rejected. Taking a hint he retreated to his bedroom.         Ray was somewhat less surly at breakfast the next morning and munched on dry toast and some weak tea. He became surly again when Huey once again refused to open the garage so he could get his Riv out. Ray grumbled all the way to the precinct. But Huey just threw the keys at him and told him he'd get Dewey to drive him around for the day.         Frannie got growled at and wandered off muttering, to return to set a cup of coffee down and told him to get his caffeine fix and be prepared to be *nice* if he wanted anything out of her.         Being *nice* to Frannie resulted in him being extra surly to everyone else. He stomped down a corridor which had ever so mysteriously become deserted in a big hurry when he walked into the corridor's grumbling. He was walking past his favourite closet when out came an arm and he was hauled in.         Before he had time to utter his started cry Huey's lips descended on his and he was given a toungesilectomy that made his knees go weak when Huey's talented hands got into the act too. Ray's shirt lost a button during Huey's rapid work opening it, and then that mouth moved down ward to play over Ray's chest, while his hand descended lower.         Soon Ray was pulling his head up to make a husky voiced request.         "You got any protection."         "God, no."   "Then forget it. Neither have I."         Ray went down on Huey a few seconds later. He didn't give Huey any satisfaction that way though. When he had Huey right where he wanted him, he stopped and then rose turning around and wiggled his ass at Huey. Huey growled you're such a tease and took him up on it and had to clap a hand over Ray's mouth to muffle his cries.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "So did you work thing's out with Huey?" Welsh asked.         "Yes, sir."         "And?"         "Sir?"         "Is he moving into your place? You mentioned that you were going to get him to do it, before you came down with the food poisoning.."         "Oh, that. The last place I wanna be is home. That might attract the Rooks. All that talk about getting him to move into my place was basically about getting him to agree to let me stay sir. Talking to the friend he used to share that apartment with was the right thing to do.. Now I know how to avoid irritating Huey."         "You've been anything but avoiding it."         "That was the food poisoning. You ought to try it and see what it does for your self. God, Huey had to hide my gun it was so bad I just wanted to shoot myself and get it over with. And Fraser.. Arrrgh.. Him and his Inuit stories. I just wanted to strangle him. And I wasn't feeling one hundred percent when I got back.. so I took it out on everyone else. And I was worrying about Huey telling me now I was better to get out.. But we finally had it out, he gave in and said I could stay over."         "Oh."         "Sir???"         "Why don't we step into the closet, hmmm?"         One duck into a closet later. Thankfully not the same one he'd shared with Huey earlier. Welsh got straight to the real reason he pounced on Ray.         "There's been talk around the station."         Ray gave him his version of the big eyed Mountie look.         "Talk, sir?"         "About Huey."         "What sort of talk would that be?"         "The sort that clears out the showers and toilet when he walks in."         "Oooh.. I didn't notice."         "I think it was Dewey ducking out every time he walked in that started it... When a man's gay it's his partner who works it out first.. Usually when the gay party hits on him.. Now I normally wouldn't repeat rumours. I try to ignore them. But in this case, seeing as how he's decided to let you stay, I thought you should know.."         "Weeelll.. If he is gay.. That would mean his old *Friend* was his lover.. And you didn't see that guy.. He was a male model.. I'm definitely not his type."         "Well.. If he starts hitting on you, don't say you weren't warned."         "Don't worry about me, sir. If Huey starts hitting on me, I know exactly how to handle him."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Huey laughed when Ray told him all about his talk with Welsh.         "I wonder what his face would have looked like if I told him I was the one who started hitting on you."         "Priceless no doubt."         "You don't mind.. do you?"         "Mind why should I? I came out of the closet when I told Dewey. And before you started hitting on me, I told him there was nothing going on because you're not my type. So it's up to you to decided wether or not you want to hide in it."         "I kind of like being in the closet.. Specially when you're in it."           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray's Riv stayed parked in Huey's Garage ever since Huey had hunted it down. He refused to let Ray have the keys because he considered Ray's Riv to be a rolling Bulls Eye. Two day's after Huey very effectively degrumped Ray, Huey tossed Ray the keys to his car, and told him to drive himself back to the apartment that afternoon because he'd made other arrangements.         "Lovers tiff?" Dewey asked from behind Ray's back as he unlocked Huey's car.         Ray rolled his eyes and turned, then patted his thighs.         "Why don't you come over here where we can discuss your obsession with my sex life."         Dewey scuttled off. Ray snickered.         "Yeah.. I thought you'd do that."         He turned to open the car door and fell against the car with a big fat tomato hurled with quite some force splattered against his head. He shook his head dazedly, that rotten missile had packed quite a punch. And so did the one that followed it. It hit him smack in the middle of the face when he looked around. He fell back against the car again and before he could clear his eyes half a dozen more slammed into his body, spattering the new Armani suit Huey had picked out for him that morning.         They were thrown with such precision and force that he was left writing in pain and gasping for breath on the bitumen. Rotten eggs rained down on him next, and as the last one was thrown he heard a voice declare him a pervert and a deviate before he heard foot steps running both away from the area and toward him. He heard his name called out, then there were two sets of feet heading his way.         He felt hands on his arms, heard Welsh and Dewey then it was just Welsh, as Dewey bolted, in search of his partner. Welsh wiped his face clean with his handkerchief and Ray looked up.         "Did you see who did this?"         "No," Ray squeaked, "But.. whoever it.. was.. has.. got.. one hell.. of a throwing arm.. God.. I am.. going.. to be covered in bruises."         Welsh helped him up to his feet.         "Let's get you cleaned up."         The mystery had a new twist, when Welsh went to Ray's locker, while Ray showered, the second he opened Ray's locker, Welsh was glad he'd seen it before Ray did. Apart from the fact Ray's spare clothes were unwearable, and he was splattered with a nasty surprise that reeked. There was also a poster of a black man with an impossibly long penis, with Huey's face pasted over the man's, on the door of the locker along with a KKK sign and a picture of a burning cross. The last picture was of Ray's house, with a burning cross painted on the lawn.         Welsh bellowed and a police photographer was soon taking photographs, and he went to his own locker to get clean clothes and stores to find a uniform in Ray's size.         When Ray saw his locker he went ballistic. When Dewey arrived, panting, to report that he had no idea where Huey was, Ray blew him up.         "You started this you idiot! Huey only told you he was Gay to shut you up when you started going on about the way you thought I was fucking Fraser. Well I got news for you mister. Fraser's so straight you could use him to rule a line.. We got hauled in by I.A over some woman he was sleeping with who framed him but good before you ever set foot here."   Dewey had the grace to blush.         "What about that guy Tim? He showed me his picture and said.."         "That was just to make you shut up about me staying over at his place. Showing you a picture of a man so god damn handsome you'd think I wasn't his type."         "Oh."         "He's staying at Huey's place, because they've both been targeted for death by the Rooks. His snitch told him about a plan to take them both out.. And you know what happened to his snitch. You were there when Huey told me. He doesn't like the idea of Huey being alone at the moment.."         "Good reason."         "This is the final straw.. He's moving into my place first thing.."         "In light of what's in your locker, I don't think that's a very wise idea, Vecchio."         "Any bastard tries lighting up a cross on my line, I'm going to exercise my right to protect my home and property on.. With a 45, and there ain't a judge in this city that'll toss me in the pen for it," Ray roared, before storming off.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         His temper only burned brighter, when as he was driving through a deserted part of town near Huey's apartment, a motorcycle cop using lights and his siren made him pull over. Climbing out of the car, in his uniform made the cop do a double take, then he was being made to turn around, and was about to explode again, when he heard Huey's voice telling him to assume the position.         He assumed it.         "Ohhhh.. That's so kinky."         "Turnabout's fair play."         "I didn't use a bike. And how did you get your hands on it and *that* uniform.. God if it was any tighter, you'd be splitting the seams."         "I'm not the only Gay cop in the precinct."         The frisky frisking ended abruptly as Huey worked his way up and got a good sniff.         "What the hell.. You smell like you took a bath in a sewer pit."         "You should get a whiff of Welsh. He smells even worse," Ray said turning and watching Huey pull off his mirrored bike cop shades.         "I take it the smell has killed your mood."         "Damn right it has,"         "Good.. No offence.. I'm gonna be covered in bruises by morning."         "What happened?"         "I got egged in the car park.. With rotten eggs and Tomato's.. By someone with one hell of an arm.. Welsh saw it happening when he happened to glance out his window at the right time.. Problem is he didn't see who it was.. and I got hit smack in the face with one of those tomatoes and they didn't stop coming, hard and fast till I was down on the ground.. Let me tell you.. Whoever that was, had great aim.. Each one was meant to hurt and take me down.. And once I was.. the eggs started coming."         "And no one saw anything."         "Except Welsh.. And like I said.."         "He couldn't see who was throwing them."         "The only other person out there at the time was Dewey and I know it wasn't him.. I was talking to him just before it happened. He didn't have anything on him."         "And he didn't see anything."         "Didn't even realise it was happening till he heard that bastard express his opinion of my sexual tastes."         "Oooohhh.. That's what this is about."         "It goes further than that Jack... Welsh helped me get cleaned up.. I could hardly walk for the first few minutes there.. He went to my locker to get my spare suit and .."         "That's why he stinks too.. He got the surprise that was prepared for you."         Ray nodded.         "And that wasn't the only thing in the locker."         Ray pulled the photo of his house out of his pocket and handed it over. Huey exploded into a burst of profanity that would have stripped the paint off the walls if he'd been near a painted wall.         "And there was another one.. A photo of a burning cross.. It was a KKK post card.. And there was something else there too.. but Welsh ripped it down and shredded it before I could see it."         "I got the same shit in my locker when I was dating a woman Louis introduced me too, a cousin of his, and there was a clear message on the door.. That said stick to your own kind, nigger, don' go messin' with no white women, or we'll start messin' with you. It was signed with a KKK."         "I thought that stuff only went down Mississippi way."         "You'd be surprised.. It wasn't the first time I've been KKK'd for dating a white woman.. It happened at school too.. They trashed my car and left a flaming crucifix hanging off the rear view mirror. I never dated her again. And you're going home tonight."         "You're coming with me."         "Are you insane. That would only make it worse. You would have a flaming cross on your lawn if I did that."         "Fine. Then I'm staying with you.. I announced at the top of my lungs that there was absolutely nothing going on and reamed Dewey out in the locker room with an audience.. I told him you only said you were gay to make him shut up when he was going on about Fraser. And only showed him Tim's picture to make him think I wasn't his type to keep him from making innuendo about us.. And Welsh made it clear I'm there cause of the threat from the Rooks."         "Great I come out of the closet and you shove me back in again."         "Hey, you were the one who pulled me into the closet."         Huey gave him a little poke that made Ray grimace and Huey regret it. He spent the rest of the night clucking over Ray, who was right. He did develop bruises, livid ones, on his torso and back, and his face was black and blue by morning.         Within five minutes of reporting for duty next morning, he was hauled off, stripped and photographed and when those photo's were developed they joined the file with the report on the egging and locker incident.         Everyone walked softly around him after Welsh told him he was desk bound till the bruises healed. Ray didn't argue about it, his body ached and he had a headache anyway. Dewey apologised to Huey and several other's approached Huey to express apologies. No one apologised to Ray. More than likely because they didn't want to be yelled at. They didn't realise that Ray was quiet because he had a headache, and not because he was building up a temper.         They worked it out when he smiled weakly at Fraser when he arrived to plunk himself down before Ray's desk and then start clucking when he saw the detective's face. Ray made a very loud sarcastic comment that he should probably leave cause some people thought he was sleeping with any man he was friends with and expressed their opinion's of it with underhanded attacks on his person and property.         Fraser left, with Welsh's file on the incident. Huey decided the closet wasn't a bad place to be not long after, pulling Ray in after him. He had a little kissing in mind but Ray pulled a little packet from his pocket and made it clear he wanted a lot more.         Huey took it at the very moment the door opened. Huey palmed it fast just before Francesca walked in. Looking at their flushed faces, and taking in their heavy breathing, she put her hands to her hips.         "Are you two snarling at each other again? Jack Huey you should be ashamed of your self. Ray's the one who was attacked yesterday but you're the one who's getting all the sympathy. Go find someone else to snarl at."         Huey slunk off. Ray worked on controlling the urge to strangle his sister. Frannie patted his shoulder and told him to go back to his desk and she'd fetch any little thing he wanted. Then she collected what she'd been after and left him there.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray leaned a new position that night. One that let him watch how Huey reacted to every little thing. It was a major turn on.         "I gotta remember that position."         "Oh, you like that one."         "It's very visually stimulating."   Huey smiled faintly.         "You up for a little more action Jackson?"         "Are you?"         "Oh, yeah.. But I gotta request."         "Anything your little heart desires."         "I want you to fuck me like you did in the closet that first time. In that position.. And no Latex. I don't want nothing between you and me.."         The look of pure lust that appeared on Huey's face brought an ache to Ray's groin. Huey quickly controlled it and shook his head.         "Fine then.. You know where the shower is."         Huey grinned.         "You can have it alone and cold."         "Tease."         "That's all you're gonna get till I get what I want."         He got it, after teasing Huey for three hours. Even though it left him sore and reminded him of the danger's of loosing control, he expressed the opinion that it was his favourite position.         "God.. Watching you is a bigger turn on that what you're actually doing."         "We have to do it again, when your bruises have healed. I want to watch you."         "I wanna get up early in the morning.. Set the alarm for half an hour earlier."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey discovered why the next morning. Ray served him breakfast in bed and teased him till was ready to engage in a little pursuit. Ray's path lead straight to the Garage where he finally convinced Huey to open it up. Dragging him in, Ray then rolled the door back down. When Ray made his intentions to make out in the back seat clear Huey vetoed them.         "A soft bed's one thing, the back seat's something else. You'll feel everyone of those bruises."         "Oh come on Jack.. You're not going to say no to a little action are you?"         "Time for another lesson I think."         Ray's eyes lit up wondering what interesting position Huey would dream up this time. Then he was being picked up and sat on the hood for a little careful necking. Ray's hands were very busy while Huey's remained glued to his hips to stop him sliding. Ray got Huey naked and let his finger's do the talking while their mouth's were stuck in lip lock.         When Ray wrapped his legs around him and started with the pelvic action, Huey divested him of his clothes and lifted him down to Ray's surprise. Then Huey climbed into the passenger seat and pushed it back as far as it went and patted his thigh. With a grin Ray clambered in and tried to wrap his arms around Huey's neck for a kiss, but Huey detached his arms.         "No.."         He made Ray turn around, and then with a little direction got Ray right where he wanted him.         "OOOOHHH-MI-GOD," cried Ray when he discovered just how satisfying the position Huey got him in could be.         And he kept on doing it, getting louder with every thrust Huey made. Huey laughed when it was over and Ray leaned forward to kiss the dash.         "I love this car."         Huey had absolutely no luck at getting Ray to leave the garage. He dressed quickly and scrambled into the driver's seat with the key's he'd found the hiding place of and started it up.         "Ray."         "Open the door or I'm gonna drive right through it."         "And dent your car."         "I ran into something that would cause a lot more damage with this car the day I got it.. Now open the door."         "The Rooks will be looking out for it."         "So I'll take it out and get it resprayed if I have to."         Huey sighed, he knew this was one argument he wasn't going to win.         "Allright. You can drive it again, but only if you get it resprayed."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray discovered when he said only if you get it resprayed, he meant *immediately*. Huey used his own car to force Ray to drive the car to a spray shop and the Italian was a grumpy man when he climbed out. Huey just pulled out his gun and blew out a tyre making Ray wail.         "There.. Now you can't take it anywhere till it's done."               *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray gave Huey the cold shoulder all day and Fraser a radiant smile and hovered around him, until Huey decided it was time to harass Forensics about the report on one of the sets of remains found in the Graveyard that hadn't come back. The report that is.         "Are you at each other's throats again?"         "He shot my Riv."         "What?!"         "He blew out a tire."         Fraser's hand went to his chest.         "Oh thank goodness. I thought you meant he put a bullet through the body. That would mean replacing a panel."         "You're all sympathy, Fraser."         "I thought you weren't driving it anymore."         "He's been making sure I don't.. He only let me drive it as far as a paint shop this morning, and blew out the tire. He wounded my baby."         Fraser tried not to laugh at Ray's pout.         "What are you going to do about it?"         "He's gonna pay.. I've got my own way's of torturing him when he does something really irritating."         "I assume you're getting it resprayed."         Ray pulled out a paint chip and showed it to Fraser. The first thought that popped into Fraser's head was that the shade was the exact same colour as Huey's skin, only with metallic glints.         "Huey vetoed my first choice."         "What was it?"         "A really nice shade of emerald green."         "I see."         "He said, green, is green, is green, I don't care if it's emerald, jade, lime, Jungle, Irish, clover or the exact same shade as your eyes.. You're not getting a green paint job. So I had to start looking again.. This is the only one spoke to me."         -And it's saying something interesting about those rumours that you're sharing more than just an apartment with Huey- Fraser thought.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey thought Ray had decided to forgive him for shooting the tyre when he caught Ray hovering at his shoulder later.         "Keys."         "Oh."         Huey handed them over.         "Where are you going?"   "Shopping."         "Pick up some coffee, we're running low."         "Yeah, yeah.. Anything else? I'm in a hurry here."         "You don't act it."         Ray spun on his heel and bolted.         "Now he's in a hurry," Dewey said leaning toward Huey.         "So what are you two arguing about now?"         "I blew out a tyre on his Riv. With my gun."         "And he didn't blow one through you with his.. Are you *sure* there's nothing going on between you?"         "Mea Culpa I confess, I can't keep my hands off the man, I pounce on him, anytime, anywhere.. Bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, lounge room, garage, the station..."         Huey's list went on and on until Dewey hit him with something. Huey was laughing to himself, because he'd listed every place he'd ever pounced on Ray and Dewey thought he was being sarcastic.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  "Hi Timothy."         "Detective Vecchio.. Come in.. How's Jack?"         "Living up to the name you gave him."         Timothy laughed.         "So you did go through with it?"         "Whaddya know, the uniform works fine, even when I'm wearing it. He broke into a sweat when he saw me lying on his bed with it."         Timothy laughed even harder.         "That was after I took your advice.. He was so horny by the time I got around to it, that even a cold shower couldn't put out that fire."         "I told you the suit would work."         "That one and all the rest.. I don't suppose you've got anything else in that wardrobe you wouldn't be seen dead in. Like maybe a pair of Jeans so tight they'd look like they were sprayed on."         "Why.. Yes.. I do have a pair like that, with a matching coat."         Ray smiled.         "I never wear them of course.. My agent said I had to stop wearing clothes like that.. To cultivate a more refined image to score the big money contracts. How many pairs do you want?"         "How many you got?"         "Torturing him a little?"         "Uh-hu. I want something that'll make him horny as hell the second he sees me in it. Something that clings. But it's gotta be stylish. I can't be cheap, not around the station. I'll get reamed out if I look cheap."         Timothy turned and walked away, and Ray followed.         "I've got just the thing.. Designer gear.. Clings like a second skin. Trust me, one look at you in it, and Jack'll practically explode."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Heads turned through out the precinct when Ray walked through it on his return. His denim/lyrca blend jeans clung so lovingly to his legs he'd had to forgo underwear. The silk shirt he wore matched the shade perfectly, and the simple but elegant brocade vest was a perfect contrast, the coat slung over Ray's shoulder was a perfect match for the pants and top. And bar the vest, it was all a match for Ray's eyes.         Huey was working on paper work when Ray sauntered up and then walked past on his way to his desk. He deliberately knocked his pen cup off the desk and gave a little curse. Huey looked up as Ray dropped the coat on the desk. Huey's eye's widened, then almost bugged out of his head when Ray bent over to scoop up the cup in a pose reminiscent of a Ballerina's. A leg slightly arched, the other one going out into the air, just the way Tim had coached him too.         Huey watched as Ray repeated the manoeuvre over and over scooping up his well scattered pens and pencils. By the time he was through Huey was wondering how he'd get Ray into a closet, and by god, it had to be fast.         Ray on the other hand, totally ignored him. Hanging up his coat, then easing down in to his seat to start checking the new files on his desk.         And he continued ignoring him through the remainder of the day as he moved through the station and made sure Huey couldn't catch him near any closets. It drove Huey nuts. Dewey walked up and walked backwards into Huey's chair as Ray walked away from his desk.         "Is that *Vecchio.* My god what an outfit.. You can see everything he's got in those pants. How the hell did he get into them?"         "Probably revisited the paint shop and said, I like this colour.. Spray me with it."         Dewey laughed and dropped a file on his desk.         "Yeah.. They've got the sprayed on look. Opps.. He dropped something.. This'll be fun, can he even squat down."         Huey snapped his pencil in his hands.         "No.. He's making like a Ballerina to pick it up," Dewey said then laughed.         "Sondra just walked into a file cabinet because she was too busy watching that to watch where she was going... Aha.."         "Aha what?"         "Here comes Frannie with the rest of the stuff I asked for."         Huey turned to watch Frannie stop dead to gape at her brother as he walked past. She turned and kept watching till he walked out of the room and disappeared from sight. And she wasn't the only one. There wasn't a woman in the room who wasn't joining her in that act. And there were a few men who watched too.         Frannie shook her head shuddered and hurried over to Huey and Dewey's desk.         "Don't like his new look."         "Like it.. I've never seen my brother dressed so hot in his life. A guy only dresses like that when he's out to get laid."         Dewey laughed and she dumped the files.         "So who's he seeing?"         They both shrugged. Dewey looked at Huey and poked him.         "She's right. There's no way he'd pour himself into those ball breakers unless he scored himself a hot date. So who is it?"         "Like he'd tell me."         "Oh. Right you shot his baby."         "You shot Ray's Riv?!"                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         The next day, Ray reversed the colour scheme. It was exactly the same style shirt, jeans, coat and vest, only they were in the same rich chocolate brown as the vest, and the vest was the same colour as his eyes. Huey called in sick, because there was absolutely no way he could get through another day of watching Ray parade around in those oh so tight pants and not touch.         He'd tried.. But Ray avoided him till he got home then gave him a very chilly, "You shot my baby" when Huey grabbed him the moment they got back to the apartment. Huey knew then that Ray wanted to torture him. And torture him he did. He peeled out of those clothes, and then proceeded to change into a succession of suits one after another asking Huey his opinion on every one.         Huey knew where those suits came from. Everyone came with a price tag in excess of $500 dollars an article. It was the Jeans and matching shirts that were the killer. He'd never seen Tim wear anything like it. And Ray paraded around in a rainbows worth of them. 6 different shades of Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Brown + A Black Pair, A white pair, and a Black and white pair.         And when he'd finished changing into those, Ray pulled the coupe de gras, he pulled one of his Ballerina bends, twirled around, then went down in the splits.         "You are the biggest tease on this planet."         Ray grinned then climbed up and did a Russian dance out of the room.         "Look what else Timmy taught me to do in these things."         Huey dropped back onto the bed, with a raging hard on and screamed. He heard Ray cackling with laughter in the lounge.         "You are gonna pay and pay and pay."         Of course the fact Huey called in sick meant Ray couldn't torture him at work the next day. But he had lots of fun, listening to women walk into things when he walked past because they were too busy watching his butt.         He deliberately knocked some files to the floor to give a lovely lady an eyeful and heard someone run into a file cabinet, then he heard Dief whine, and his sister dashing across the room clucking about Fraser.         Looking around he saw Fraser standing by a file cabinet, one hand on top, the other rubbing his head. Frannie zeroed in to cluck.         -Hello, he walked into a file cabinet cause he saw me in these.. Maybe Huey's right.. God.. I'd die if I hit on him and he rejected me. What if Huey's wrong. What if it was just the surprise of seeing me in this gear?-         He continued retrieving files and heard someone walk into Welsh's door. Looking around he saw Welsh rubbing his nose, fumbling with the handle.         -I'm dead.-         Welsh walked into his office, then yelled for him to get in there.         "What's with the gigolo gear?"         "It's part of my brilliant plan."         "What brilliant plan?"         "To find the cretin who bombed me and KKK'd my locker."         Welsh looked him up and down.         "There I was.. Reaming Dewey out about starting those rumours.. Next day, people start apologising to Huey, but no one apologised to me. So they must figure I'm gay anyway wether or not I'm jumping Jack's bones.. And this is me," Ray flung his arms out wide. "Coming out of the closet. To lure a homophobic racist pig out of his."         Welsh looked him up and down again.         "I asked a gay guy to help me pick out my wardrobe.. He said, this was me, and scream's Fuck me, I like it."         "Try wearing Leather instead. Chains, studs.. What ever you like.. But not *that* outfit, or the green one.. I never want to see them again. Understood?"         "Understood sir."         "Now get out of my sight."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray walked through a deserted corridor, files in his arms heading for the archives. As he walked past an adjoining corridor arms reached out for him. Files went up and papers scattered everywhere when those hands cupped and squeezed his tush. Ray jumped a good three feet, then spun around.         He saw someone in black with a cowboy hat for a moment, another guy, then that guy was spinning and bolting into the shadows.         "Masher."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Ray."         Ray jumped and spun a hand to his chest as he looked at the hat twirling Mountie who'd been lying in wait for him outside the archive.         "Fraser, don't do that to a man, you almost gave me a heart attack."         "I want to know what's going on Ray."         "On? There's nothing going on."         "You never come to see me.. I thought.. that by coming when Huey told me you were sick you would see that I was sorry about the way I reacted to what happened. But.."         "Oh, Benni.. I'm sorry.. I was just embarrassed.. I didn't mean anything when I told you to go to hell."         "Are you gay, Ray?"         Ray stared at him.         "The Lieutenant told me what happened.. I could understand you issuing a very public rant about *not* being Gay at the time.. Out of sheer self preservation.. But if you are.. If you are living with Huey because you're lovers.. I want to know."         Ray saw his sister coming over Fraser's shoulder, she was thankfully out of hearing range. But she wouldn't be for long.         "Is it the clothes Fraser? You know if it's the clothes, that's great.. That's just the look I was looking for.. Rampant Gayness.. To lure out the son of a bitch who took a shot at me in the car park and got at my locker."         He saw a look he couldn't interpret pass over Fraser's face.         "I'm only pretending to be Gay."         Then he threw his arms around Fraser's neck.         "But what the hell everyone seems to think you and me were a real close team anyway. Wanna pretend to be my main squeeze?" he said giving a little thrust of the hips against Fraser's loving the way it felt to be pressed up close to the man he'd admitted to himself was the love of his life.         -Say yes, say yes, say yes. Say it and Huey's history.. I'll teach you things about your body that you never imagined you could feel.. I'll crack that perfect mountie facade and make you howl with pleasure.. I'll spend the rest of my life letting you know you're the most precious thing in mine.-         Fraser shoved him away, then stormed off down the corridor. Ray came up against the wall a hand to his chest his heart breaking into a million little pieces.         "You're I'm so gay I'm flaming act is really good, Ray," Frannie said as she arrived.         Then she saw his face and set down her files to cluck a little.         "Did he hit your bruises? I'll hit him for that."         "I'm O.K.. Stop clucking."         -It's not my bruises that's hurting-       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Huey didn't even try to make any moves on Ray when he got home. He watched Ray drift through the apartment, too distraught to even reject Huey's little efforts towards reconciliation. He thought he might have gotten somewhere when Ray climbed into the bed, instead of setting up the Futon, but then Ray hugged a pillow and kept his back to him.         Huey took the hint and turned out the lights. Laying beside him, wide awake as Ray went off into a restless sleep. He was still awake when Ray started talking in his sleep, replaying the scene in the corridor in his sleep, then started crying and let out a positively heart breaking wail of "Benni, please.."         On one hand, Huey felt completely sympathetic, he knew how it felt to be head over heels for a dead straight man. He couldn't believe he was so wrong about Fraser, but deep down he felt a sense of smug satisfaction. Now that Ray had finally made his move on Fraser and had it rejected he didn't have to worry about Fraser stealing him away any more. Ray was his, and if things went well, would be his for a long time to come.         A little smile touched his face. He'd ring his mother in the morning and tell her he'd finally found his love mate and to start planning that Gay wedding she'd talked about wanting to arrange for him once he found a man he felt he could settle down and grow old with.         He reached out to touch Ray, but even in his sleep and in need of the comfort, Ray rejected him. With a sigh, Huey rolled over and tried to sleep. Ray would get over it, and the fact he shot at his car. Then he'd show him how much he was wanted. He went off to sleep fantasising about the way he'd ditch Dewey and take Ray as his official partner on the line and a nice romantic little dinner in a gay friendly restaurant where he'd ask Ray to be his life partner too.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray climbed out of bed in the morning, pissed off that Huey could be lying there, hugging a pillow and smiling so contentedly. Muttering I love's you in his sleep.         -Probably having a dream about Hiram-         He felt like picking up a pillow to whap him, but instead went through his draws and pulled out another pair of those spray on jeans. The black ones, they suited his mood. The blood red vest, the black silk shirt, and the silk and wool blend matching coat. Let Welsh complain. It was the only thing in his new wardrobe that reflected his mood.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Welsh didn't complain, he just gave Ray the evil eye all day. Then told him he didn't want to see that outfit again either.         "Fine," snapped Ray. "Next time, I'll be flaming gay with leather and chains. So gay that women will be saying what a pity and the men will be saying get outta my face Homo or how bout it."         "And don't come back with that attitude either. I've been giving you a lot of slack, but unless you smarten up your act, I'll sic the Police Psychologist on you and have you declared unfit for duty till you get your head sorted out."         Ray's response to that was to walk off singing "I wanna be straight," the old song by Ian Dury and the Block heads at the top of his lungs, only in his version the lyric's were somewhat different.         "Don' wanna be straight. Don' wanna be straight, I wanna be Gay an Happy and totally in your face."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray caught a taxi to the paint shop, and started patting the dash board to the primal beat of a song on the driver's tape deck. He liked it so much he offered the driver 20 bucks for his tape when he climbed out and got it.         He planned to pop it into Huey's stereo the next time he chased his dark lover around.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey met Ray at the spray shop and watched him roam around his newly sprayed car, running a hand over the slick body. Squatting, and bending to examine the car from just about every angle. He was whistling that incredible song he'd paid the cabbie to get the tape of and moving to the primal beat in his head.         Huey drooled, watching those hands, running over that metal, the colour of his own skin, imagining them running over his own skin. And that tune Ray was whistling, the way his body was moving. And the little snatches of song he broke into under his breath now and then..         "Working up an appetite, for some love now,          Working up an appetite, always learning          Working up an appetite, lust for justice          Working up an appetite, appetite."         And the way Ray's hands moved over that dark metal, stroking and caressing the car to that rhythm in his head. It was giving Huey an appetite and it wasn't justice he had a lust for. He'd worn a knee length coat and kept it buttoned up. He'd gotten off just watching Ray. That had necessitated a trip to the bathroom to clean up. He returned to watch it again, and came to the conclusion that if Ray didn't stop torturing him and soon he'd have to take a trip to the station and ask them to lock him up till Ray got into something baggy.         "O.K. Pay the guy what he wants.. There's not so much as an air bubble on it."         Huey paid the money. It was worth every dollar, just to watch Ray moving around so damn sensually, bending and stretching in those second skin pants for an hour and a half.         *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         He followed Ray's car's through the streets and out off the city to a deserted stretch of wilderness. As he climbed out of the car he decided he'd pull his gun if Ray just wanted to tease him again. Then use it on himself. He couldn't take it anymore.         Ray climbed out of the car, like a woman, and a lady at that. Rising gracefully, he then slammed the door and sprawled himself on the hood propping his head up on a hand, running his hand over the slick metal in circles.         Huey drooled.         "You want me."         "Uh-hu."         "Soooo Bad."         "Uh-hu."         "Say you're sorry."         "I'm sorry."         "Not good enough."         Huey hit the dirt and grovelled.         "O.K that's good enough," Ray said.         Huey looked up and Ray rolled over the hood and came down on the passenger side and opened the door. Huey bounded up and raced around the car. Ray climbed in, adjusting the seat.         "O.K strip.. And make it good.. and I *might* decide to stop torturing you."         Huey started stripping.         "I said make it good."         Huey started sensuously stripping. Ray grinned and unzipped those oh so tight pants freeing his sex and stroked himself while he watched. By the time Huey's pants hit the dirt he was as eager to take it to the line as Huey was.         "Come on out and let me.."         "Oh, no.. It's my turn."         "Your bruises."         Ray's suggestion about what to do with the bruises was obscene. Huey was positively firm and wouldn't budge on the point. Ray finally came out of the car, in frustration. Huey grabbed him and kissed him passionately, then lifted him onto the hood of the Riv.         "The Passenger seat's good for you," Huey said with a little growl of desire.         Ray's body splayed over the hood, and his leg's wrapped around Huey's thigh's as Huey impaled him hard and fast.         "But this is good for me."         Ray's voice rang out, over and over as Huey paid him back for two day's worth of teasing. At first Ray liked it, seeing Huey getting so Hot over him turned him right on, but as Huey's thrusts got harder, faster and deeper they hurt. Huey was out of control and Ray proved he'd learned the most important lesson Huey had taught him, with a loud roar of stop! And squeezing down on him with all his might. His legs wrapped tight around Huey to prevent him making another deep thrust and he came up arm swinging, hand flying up to slap Huey so hard his head snapped around.         Huey stopped, purely in shock. Ray dropped back down panting.         "God. The only thing missing here is the cuffs around my wrists."         That did it. Huey sex withered and Ray let out a shuddering breath of relief and unwound his legs, letting Huey withdraw. Then he slid down on distinctly shaky legs. Huey noticed he was still hard.         "Assume the position Mister."         Huey assumed it. He felt Ray's hands touching him. Heard the rip of plastic and shuddered letting out a long shuddering sigh when Ray proved he was still the worlds greatest tease by slowly oh so slowly penetrating him. The way he had when he'd made love to him in his sleep dreaming about initiating Fraser to the arts of love Ray Vecchio style.         Then Ray was wrapping arms around him letting his hands do the walking, while he nipped on Huey's ear.         "What do you say?"         "I'm ssssoooorrrrry."         "I could *Make* you sorry."         "You did that the moment.. you mentioned.. the cuffs.."         "You hurt me.. And I'm gonna hurt you.. But not that way.. You're going to enjoy this, Jack..."         Command or promise.. it didn't matter. Ray made him scream with sheer ecstasy, then withdrew, adjusting his pants, and while Huey was still trembling in post coital bliss, Ray raided Huey's pockets to find his keys. He wound down the window and closed the car door, then moved around it and over to Huey's car and took the cap off a tires valve, and jammed a twig in, then he returned to the Riv and climbed into the driver's seat. Huey reared up as Ray started the Riv and jumped back.         "Have fun getting home Jack.. By the time you get there, I'll be long gone."         With that Ray put the car into reverse and hit the accelerator. The car shoot backwards and Huey watched him spin the wheel. That sleek machine spun around, then it was roaring off in a cloud of dust.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey wasn't initiated into the Rooks without learning a thing or two. Like how to hot wire a car. Five minute's after Ray roared off, Huey was speeding after him. When the car started fish tailing, he stopped, and climbed out to check all the tires and discovered the half flat tire at the back.         With a curse he got to work on getting the tire off and replaced with the spare.         Ray didn't need much time. Just enough to stuff all his clothes into his suitcase, which was tucked into the back of the Riv. He went back up to bring down the rest in arm loads that were tossed on the back of the seat. His toiletries were next then he crossed the street to the little corner shop and brought a lipstick, and returned to leave a message on Huey's mirror.         Jack pulled in five minute's after he departed, and discovered Ray's last parting shot. Getting the locks changed. He had to shoot out the lock and kick his own door open. Ray made no attempt to hide the fact he'd emptied his drawers and side of the wardrobe. Door's hung open and empty, and hanger's dangled denuded of clothes in the open wardrobe.         And there in Crimson Lake Lipstick on his mirror was Ray's message.         Not so Dear Jack.         (Kiss Kiss kiss) This is me kissing you good bye.   Ray.           Huey sunk down on the bed and let out a howl.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Fraser opened his door to find Ray on his doorstep with a suitcase.         "Hi, Benni. Can I sleep on your couch tonight?"         Fraser's gaze ran up and down his body, taking in his Fuck me I like it clothes, then he slammed the door in Ray's face.         "Guess not."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Mrs Vecchio opened the door to find Ray there holding a case in his arms, covered in piles of expensive clothes.         "Raimondo, you're back!"         "I'm back."         She ushered him in, and gaped when he walked up the stairs. Now she knew what Frannie had meant when she said her brother was dressed like he was a male hooker. Those pants. There was only one word for the way he was dressed. Sinful.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Huey avoided his desk, till Dewey came after him.         "What's he wearing today?"         "Denim, Leather chap's, chain's, studs and an earing."         Huey pulled his gun out very carefully and held it out to his partner.         "Take this."         Dewey took it. Huey marched into the bull pen. And discovered Dewey wasn't exaggerating. Ray was standing by his desk, with Frannie. His long legs encased in oh so tight blood red denim/lycra blend jeans, tight white leather chaps, white leather biker boots, a blood red silk shirt, with a white leather vest covered in chains and studs. To top it off, he had his police cap on. The police banding, covered with a band of studs and an earing with a tiny diamond hung from his ear, and glittered in the light.         Frannie held out the files and the ones on the top of the pile slid off and hit the floor. Every woman who had paid her to drop them, plus two of the men watched as Ray retrieved the scattered papers and files. Huey walked out into the corridor then started bashing his head against a wall till Dewey dragged him away.         He might have started it up again, if he hadn't seen a face from his past, a face belonging to a man he'd thought long dead and gone. The man who meant as much to him as Fraser did to Ray. And when he saw that man, Ray ceased to exist for that moment in time.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Vecchio! My office, now."         Ray sauntered into Welsh's office, closing the door behind him, and tipped his hat back.         "You wanted me sir."         Welsh looked him up and down and dropped into his seat.         "Don't even think of saying it."         Ray just grinned.           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Everyone in the bull pen looked around at the very clear sound of Ray, screeching "WHAT?!" Then watched as he went into an explosive burst of arm waving, pacing, spinning and desk leaning. Welsh for his part seemed to be impassive.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "A Partner! I don't need a partner, I already got Fraser."         "I was under the impression that partnership bit the dust."         -Oooohhh, not only sticking the knife in, but twisting it-         "Now you've got an official partner. To take his place."         "I don't want an official partner. I don't need one. I.."         "Don't have a choice," Welsh said firmly.         Ray heard the door open, and turned hostile to see Huey enter with a tall dark handsome man of the same age and build.         "Ray, Meet Detective Hiram Westbourne, Hiram, Meet Raymond Vecchio."         -HIRAM! That's the love of Jack's life. Hmmmph. It didn't take him long to replace me.-         "A pleasure to meet you, Jack has been telling me all about you, Nice suit, LS clothing, right." Hiram said extending his black kidskin glove covered hand out to Ray.         Ray ignored him, looking at Huey.         "He transferred in from the 15th.. Just made Detective. He needs someone to show him the ropes."         "Yeah, well, you can show him, I'm sure you'll have a looooot of fun," Ray snapped and stormed out.         The three men watched him go.         "Attitude. I like Attitude. We'll get on just fine."         Welsh stared at his back. Huey looked at him.         "Ray's not very happy about this, is he, sir."         "That's an understatement."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray stomped down the corridor and got caught up in a milling crowd. He felt a hand slide over his butt and squeeze. He froze and then spun.         "Alright who groped my butt?"         Everyone looked at him. He jumped when it happened again, people snickered. He didn't notice the black clad member of the male species with the cowboy hat who kept moving around behind his back.         "Fess up, right now Mister, I need someone to do some heavy duty groping with me for an audience."         Fifteen hands went up, mostly women's though 3 were men's.         "Hands down everyone with long nails."         Half the hands dropped.         "Hands down everyone who's a woman. Or can't you tell, I'm as Gay as they come."         All but three hands went down.         "You don't look very happy to me, son," a quavery voice said, and Ray almost blushed as a lady of extremely advanced years leaned close.         He smiled for her, flashing teeth, she patted his check.         "That's better," she said, then moved away, giving his butt a pat on the way.         "Nice buns, sonny."         He did blush at that, and looked around at the three remaining hands and people moved so he could see the three men giving him hopeful looks, when their eyes weren't mentally stripping him slowly.         Ray pointed at one. The ugly lank haired biker type.         "In your dreams, mister."         That one slunk off. Ray looked at the other two. One in black and one in a business suit with a brief case, he was kind of cute, blue eyes like Benni, even looked a little like him so Ray pointed to him.         "Finish this sentence.. I wanna be your.."         "Underwear."         -Oh yeah that is just soooo original - *not*-         Ray pointed at the one in black with the Cowboy hat, tall, dark and handsome. Didn't look a bit like Fraser but he'd do in a pinch.         "You.. Finish that sentence."         "Skin. 'cause it's all over you and that's what I'd love to be."         The women shivered and Ray heard an oh yeah or three and skin is good.         -Uh-hu, you'll do just fine.-         "Name."         "Mitch."         "Be here, one hour, leather and chain's, and you can grope me a little. Come with a Harley and you can take your best shot," Ray said, then shoved through the crowd and stomped on his way, with Mitch on his tail and enjoying the view immensely while wondering where he could get a Harley at short notice.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Fraser opened his door, saw Ray's leather and chains outfit and slammed the door again.          "Welsh told me to wear it," Ray yelled at the door before he jangled off down the hall.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  "Did you see what he was wearing today?" a voice asked.         "Oh man, did I.. I don't know what closet he's been hiding in.. But I wish I'd been it."         Ray snickered as the jangles of his chains made the two gay uniformed cops discussing him jump, spin, then bolt. He continued on his way to find Mitch standing exactly where he'd told him to be, in tight leather and chains. There was even a dog collar around his neck with a chain that dangled down at crotch level.         "That Harley out front your's?"         "It is for the next hour."         "Good enough. Alright, march on through there, saunter into the bull pen, look around and ask where Vecchio's desk is. Then plant yourself in my chair. I'll be in once they've all had a good look at you. After that, play along."         Mitch scuttled off.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Once more Ray was the center of attention as he jangled through the bull pen. Mitch was seated in his chair and rose when Ray approached.         "Sorry I was late, Lover," Ray announced, then grabbed him around the back of the head and made Mitch regret wearing *tight* leather by giving him a toungsilectomy.         Things got extremely quiet and people started checking watches. Mitch's arms went around Ray to grab his butt and squeeze. A little pelvic action later, Ray pushed Mitch back into the chair and used his foot to push it back a bit, then moved around his desk.         "I just gotta grab a few things, then we're outta here."         Mitch couldn't have cared if a bomb dropped on his head at that moment. He didn't have a mind left, it had just been blown away.         Ray tucked some papers into a file and then tucked it under his arm and looked down at Mitch. He reached down to grab the end of that chain and touched him up while he was at it, then he turned, flipping the chair over his shoulder. Mitch rose and followed him, eager as a puppy.         Huey forget all about Hiram when he finished his tour of the precinct and walked back into the bull pen in time to see Ray leading a leather and chain clad member of the male species, Raimondousdroolis. Behind Huey's back, Hiram drooled.         Ray ignored them walking past with the ever so happy Mitch on his tail. Huey and Hiram both spun and followed them right out of the station and onto the stairs.         There they watched Ray climb onto a Harley and hold his hand out. Mitch reached into a tight pocket and pulled out a key and slapped it in his hand, then tucked his chain into his belt, and climbed up behind Ray, wrapping his arms around his back, sliding so close even air couldn't pass between them.         Mitch took the chance to do a little neck and ear nibbling as Ray revved the bike, then roared off down the street.         "I've created a monster," Huey muttered.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray took the bike to within a block of his house and stopped it under some trees. Climbing down he looked at the flushed and very aroused urban cowboy. Did he have blue eyes? He didn't think he'd had blue eyes before, but then in the light of the station things looked different.         -Oh, what the hell-         He gave Mitch another kiss, unzipping him at the same time and used his hand to get Mitch off. Mitch groaned appreciatively, hands clinging to Ray's vest. Looking into those definitely blue eyes Ray imagined they were Fraser's eyes he was looking into and gave Mitch a hand job he'd never forget. When it was over, Ray pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket to tidy things up and rezipped him.         "There. You got what you wanted. Now get outta here. And if I catch you hanging around the station, I'll find something to charge you with, toss you in a cell and see how you like making friends with the kind of guys who own these kinds of bikes."         With that he strode off down the street and Mitch watched him go with a lust struck sigh.             *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Ray was glad his mother was in the kitchen when he got home, because it meant he could duck up the stairs without getting caught with an erection straining against those oh so tight jeans.         He managed to make it to his room, to raid his wardrobe. Pulling out one of the stylish suits Timothy gave him, Ray made it out the door and into the bathroom. He heard his mother tapping on the door a moment later.         "Raimondo."         "Yeah, it's me. I gotta take a shower and get changed."         "Not into another one of those sinful outfits. What will people think."         -That I'm gay.-         "Don't worry Ma. Fraser won't talk to me when he sees me in that stuff. I'm gonna change into a nice suit that won't have you going "Aie Ie Ie."         "Are you going back out?"         "Yeah Ma. They gave me a new partner."         "What do you need a new partner for. You have Fraser, he's a nice boy, he takes care of you."         "Yeah. I said the same thing, but I don't have a choice, they assigned him to me and I gotta put up with baby sitting the new kid on the block till he's ready to be cut loose. I don't gotta like it though."         "Will you be home for dinner?"         "I don't know. I wanna see Fraser. I gotta see him, to tell him about my new partner. Tell you what. I'll take my phone and let you know."         "You do that, and let me see what you're wearing before you leave. You are *not* walking out of this house looking like a Gay poster boy again. What will the neighbours think."         "I told you Ma.. I dress like that for a reason, O.K. I gotta flush a bad cop out back at the station."         "Find another way."         -Not until I'm finished torturing Huey-         "Sorry Ma.. But I promise, I won't wear the Leather and Chain's again, alright."         "No. But I suppose it will have to do.. At least the other outfight you wore looked stylish."         "I've got a whole case full of clothes just like that Ma. I'll wear those instead."         He heard her walking away muttering about the neighbours and her friends thinking her nice Heterosexual son was gay and the shame, oh the shame of it.         Rolling his eyes he set his suit down looked around to make sure there was a towel then started stripping off. Once he got under the water and reached for the soap he got a good lather up and let his mind wander. Images of Huey and memories of their showers together filled his mind. His erection throbbed even harder.         He almost shut off the hot water, but then he shoved the image of Huey out of his mind and thought about Fraser. The way he walked into that file cabinet. He remembered the feel of his body against him, pushing the rejection that followed right out of his head and imagined Fraser being in the shower with him, doing all the things Huey had done and when he came it left him so weak kneed he sunk to the porcelain on his hands and knees.         Then he cried. It wasn't fair. That the only way he'd ever have Fraser was in his dreams and fantasies. And in a fit of anger, justified anger, he'd flipped off the man he could have, and there was no way to get him back. Not with the Handsome Hiram hovering around.         "God, I'm a wreck," he muttered as he pushed himself up and let the water wash his tears away.         "Pull yourself together, before Ma starts asking questions."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         -Oh, they look soooo disappointed- Ray thought as he walked through the bull pen.         His suit was a light pea green, the *real* thing, not some street tailor copy. Baggy it wasn't, but neither was it tight. It fit the way a good man's suit ought to fit, letting everyone know he had a good body hiding under that wool/silk blend suit and shirt. The vest was the same chocolate brown brocade vest he'd worn with the green outfit. He looked good and he knew it. His mother had been thrilled with his selection.         "Much better. You'll attract a nice woman in that," she'd said.         -I don't wanna nice woman- he'd thought but he hadn't been game to say that.         He could just imagine how she'd react if he'd answered, and tacked on I want Benni. He heaved a sigh, Benni had well and truly rejected him. He wanted to kick himself for that show he'd put on earlier, he doubted Huey would take him back even if he grovelled. No best friend, no lover, and a partner he didn't want. How could life get any worse.         He was yanked into a closet, and almost expected to be kissed breathless as he smelt Huey's aftershave.         -Kiss me and all I'm all yours-         His dark ex-lover closed the door and looked him over.         "Well that's much better."         "It's not for your benefit. I'm gonna be back in the Fuck me outfits tomorrow."         Huey almost groaned.         "Do you realise what everyone is saying about you?"         "Yeah, but they were saying it before you .."         "Oh no. There's a difference between saying you're probably sleeping with Fraser, to saying you'll fuck anything that moves. I heard someone saying he'd like to get you into a closet and .."         "I know there are a few gay guys here who'd like to get a piece of me."         "You better be ready for the sort of come ons you're going to get."         "I've already had my butt pinched, stroked and groped, so what else can they do? Apart from come out into the open about it and ask me out."         "You may think you're *experienced* now, Ray, but you're still a newbie. You couldn't handle it when I got excited what are you going to do if someone .."         "The same damn thing. It stopped you."         "Some guys would just get more excited about it. Some guy's like it a little rough. And you can't tell how a guy is gonna act till you take it to the line. By then it's too late, don't get revenge on me by sleeping with any guy who makes a move on you just to flaunt it in my face. Because you could end up in a worse situation than the one you're punishing me for. You could end up with a guy who'll hurt you the way Gordon did.. And that is nothing to the damage some guys can do.."         -Oh that's a laugh, considering how if I hadn't stopped you would have done as much damage-         "You should have thought about that before you fucked me so hard I hadda go see a doctor."         Sincere regret appeared on Huey's face.         "Nothing you can do can make me feel worse about that than I already do, Ray. You said you'd hurt me and you did. God.. Even Tim who's as Gay as they come didn't satisfy me as much as being with you did. I rang my mother and told her all about you."         -He told his mother about me, oh boy did I get under his skin or what-         "Just knowing I can never have that again is enough. You want to walk around in those tight pant's looking good enough to eat to torture me. Do it.. Because it is torture.. Knowing I can't touch you anymore. But please don't get yourself into more trouble than you can handle just to get back at me for what I did."         -I don't intend to-         "We still don't know what the Rooks will do now Edorado's brilliant plan for pay back failed."         -Ohgod. I forgot all about that.-         "Hiram was a Rook too.. These guys have to be watching us planning their next move. They'll see him.. And think we're planning a little payback of our own. Fordam style."         "Well maybe we should. We're cops damn it, it's our job and our duty to do everything we can to take down the Rooks."         "Vince tried. He's the only one who got close, and look what happened to him. I have seen the file. I know how he died Ray. I know what they did to him.. I don't want that to happen to me, and I sure as hell don't want to see it happen to you or Hiram."         "Well it's gonna happen isn't it. Wether we act or not. I say we act, at least we'll take some of em down before we go out in a blaze of degradation."         "No.. I've been thinking.. I know things.. Things I never even told Vince.. I know *everything*.. I *could* do what Vince couldn't.. But a few of them are always gonna slip through the net.. If I bust that gang.. I might win the battle. But I won't be alive to savour my victory. And that's why I've never even tried. I don't wanna die. Every cop who's tried taking them down has died. But they know if I go after them.. I will take them down.. And that's all I need.. To get a message out to them that if they don't let it go, I'll take em down so hard and fast they won't know what hit em."         "If you can do it, why haven't you done it?"         "Because a lot of people will die in the process. You don't know what they do to new initiates, Ray. They use brain washing.. You don't know hard it was for me to break away.. They'll fight, and they've got an armoury to protect their strong hold in the Devil's triangle. You know what happens to any patrol car that tries to pass through the area.. They'd use more than Molotov cocktails. You ever seen terminator 2. It'd be like the scene out of that movie where the Terminator was keeping the cops at Bay. I saw guys in military uniforms. They have people buried in every agency. They've got people in the Military, they've got access to Military weapons. It'd take a Military strike to take it out. And there'd be bodies everywhere and kids who's only crime was being just the sort of people the Rooks recruit would be in the front line. The *real* minds behind the crimes would get away and just start building the gang up again. And you took down the only person I *knew* for a fact was in the hierarchy. But I can still put the fear of god into them with the threat."         "So do it."         "It'll mean nothing if you don't listen to me. They'll just get some guy to make a move on you and carry out their plan regardless."         "Alright already. I never planned on sleeping around any way."         Huey relaxed.         "My mother would have a heart attack if I became a Gay Slut. Already she's making noises about my clothes. And thanks to you.. I don't think I could ever go back to the life I had."                 "So start courting Fraser."         "I put the move on him and he well and truly put me down."         -That's what I thought- Huey thought.         "I know how you feel.. O.k.. I'm gonna be here, watching Hiram wishing he wasn't so damn straight. Lusting over him the way you lust over Fraser."         -Oh ho so you put a move on him and he said no way.-         "We can't have who we really want.. but why should both of us be miserable, we'll just end up snarling and snapping at each other again and being reamed out for it, again. I'll do *anything* you ask.. if you'd forgive me. I swear it will *never* happen again."         Ray thought about it. O.K so he wanted Fraser. To hell with it, he was in love with the big lug. But his body was still in lust with Huey. Just being in the closest with him was making him glad he wasn't in tight pants again. And if Fraser couldn't return his feelings that way. Well he could do a lot worse than Huey. As Huey had pointed out.         "Alright, down on your knees."         Huey went down, hands on his thighs, head bowed in total penitence.         "I didn't say beg."         Huey looked up. Ray just raised a brow and pointed to the now quite obvious bulge in his pants. Huey took the hint fast, and unzipped his pants and freed Ray's sex, highly pleased to see he was already horny. His mouth closed over it and he did something he'd learned from Goldie, which was short for Golden throat due to the fact Goldie was the deep throat expert.         Ray's knees almost buckled and Huey's arms wrapped around his legs holding him up. He hadn't done this to anyone but Goldie, it wasn't exactly easy to fight the gag reflex, but it was an act of total desperation to keep his lover.         "Oooooh G'd."         Ray had to bite his hand to keep from crying out as Huey gave him the absolute best oral sex he'd ever had in his life. His body slid down Huey's when it was over and he wrapped his arms around him while the last tremors ran through his body.         "I had no idea.. you could do that."         "It's not easy.. And I don't like doing it. They made me do it, at the Reformatory. It's the only thing that kept me from being raped sometimes. But.. like I told you.. I'd do *anything* for you."         Ray stroked his back and kissed him.         "You always know just what to say Jack. So how do we play this?"         "That's up to you Ray. You lay down the rules, and I'll play by them."         "I'm through pretending, Jack. If I take you back.. It's gonna be out in the open and I don't care what any KKK sympathiser thinks."         He felt Huey stiffen.         "You ready to face the flack?"         With a little sigh Huey shuddered.         "I couldn't take it right now."         "O.k.. I'll wait a little longer.. But I ain't gonna hide it from my family anymore. I'm telling Ma. If she kicks me out.. I'll move back in with you, If Ma takes it O.K.. You move in with me. Oh.. And I think it's time we went back to that car yard.. Maybe that'll sweeten up my mother..and make her think it's not so bad."         "Can I make a suggestion?"   "Sure lover."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray wailed when he saw the MG he had his eye on had been sold. Then Huey slapped his arm. Ray looked around and pointed.         "Look at that baby. How many brownie points do you think that would be worth? My Mother put a smile so big on my father's face that I thought it would crack after he gave her a bright Red one of those."         Ray's eyes lit up, like a nova, when he saw the price banner across its window. The car was not only a better prestige car than the MG, it was also cheaper. He couldn't believe it. He ran to the car Huey pointed at and started checking it out.         -Oh yes! Ma would be positively ecstatic if I gave her this car. I could smash up her favourite trinkets and she'd just shrug it off for this. Please god, let it be in good shape mechanically. I need the brownie points.-         The salesman was more than willing to open the hood up and let him take a look and go into his spiel. By the time he was through, Ray was pulling off his coat and handing it to Huey. He wiggled under the car and pulled out his pocket torch to look for any problems there and couldn't find any.         -Oh man this is tooo good to be true. This car is in *perfect* condition.-         When he wiggled out the sales man dangled the keys hopefully and invited him to take it for a test drive. Ray snatched up the keys and dusted himself down, before he climbed in took it for a test drive around the block. He climbed out beside Huey.         "There is a god," he said.         Huey pulled out his check book and made the Salesman a very happy man. Once he had the papers in his mother's name in his hands Ray made Huey a happy man and kissed him soundly. The sales man didn't bat a lash and told them to tell all their friends where they got their great bargain. Unlike some people he knew Gay men had large disposable incomes. No children = equals four wheeled babies = equals money. Hetro's always haggled and tried to cut a deal, family don't you know, every cent counts.         He waved them off as Huey drove their purchase off the lot and followed a Riv that made the salesman wonder where they'd found a mint 71 model in that shade.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         When Ray got home, he gave Tony some money to take Maria out for the night, and pay for a baby sitter. That took care of them. He'd set Frannie up on a date with some guy at the station who knew he'd kill him if he messed with her. So that took care of Frannie. He packed his clothes, then slid the bags under the bed. Just in case.         His mother wailed about cooking all that food for nothing. He told her to set the table for five, because he invited someone back for dinner, and they'd be arriving soon. Then he raced back up the stairs to get dressed.         He heard her yell, announcing it was ready and the beep of a horn made him look out the window. He saw Huey climbing out of the car they'd brought for his mother and waved. A second car pulled up on the street and Huey headed for it.         Ray turned away to look at himself in the mirror. He'd selected the skin tight denim/lycra jeans, silk shirt and vest set, this one in the same shade as his skin. You couldn't get more obvious. For his mother's sake he pulled out the coat and headed out, pulling the coat on and buttoned it up as he went. It fell to mid thigh and covered up all the "enticing" bits, and there was nothing loose about it, due to the fact it had been tailor made for Timothy it was nice and comfortable in the shoulder and arm area, while hugging everything from the waist down including his thighs.         He stopped at the top of the stairs and did a squat, that was a little on the uncomfortable side, so he rose and undid a button and tried it again. That was better. He heard Huey knocking and raced down the stairs. His mother came out and looked up, her eyes widening when she saw what he was wearing.         "Aie, yie, yie.."         He rolled his eyes and stopped a few steps away.         "How do I look?"         "Is that a woman at the door? It better be."         "How do I look?"         "Well, if it's a woman, she'll love the way you look."         He came the rest of the way down and gave her a kiss on the cheek then bounded off to answer the door. Huey waved to his parents and introduced them to Ray, before they were ushered in.         "Oh," was his mother response to seeing them.         "Ma.. You remember Jack Huey. I introduced you to him years ago."         She nodded.         "These are his parents, introduce yourselves."         The introductions went ahead with Ray watching the way his mother reacted to them. The main reaction was mainly confusion and nervousness.         Dinner went well. He was definitely being checked out by Huey's parents as was his home. Nothing was said by them about his relationship with their son, on a personal level. They mentioned Huey mentioning his Detective friend and being happy to meet him. He politely accompanied them to the door while Huey sucked up to his mother by helping her clear the table.         Then Huey's father pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to his wife at her request. The envelope was passed on to Ray.         "Give that to your mother when you tell her."   "Thank-you."         He got a pat on the cheek.         "We just want our boy to find someone to settle down with who'll make him happy. It was a mistake to introduce him to Timothy."         He wondered how she knew he knew Timothy.         "Only another cop can deal with a cop's life. I'm glad he found someone he can rely on."         Then he got a little hug before she was tugged away by her Husband who told her not to embarrass the poor man and then they walked away, Huey's father throwing an arm around his wife's shoulders. Her leaning toward him, a quick kiss, and a butt pat.         -Now there goes a happy couple-         Ray closed the door after he watched them drive away and almost leaning on it in relief. It was nice to know he measured up as far as Huey's parents were concerned.         With a deep breath he rolled up his coat and shirts sleeve's then marched into the kitchen. His mother was sent packing to the lounge with a cup of coffee and told to put her feet then he and Huey cleaned up.         Ray knew what his mother was like, she'd be back, and he was ready for her, he *couldn't* come right up and tell her he *was* Gay, his throat just seized up when he tried. So he took the other route. When she walked back into the room, it was to find everything clean and Ray sitting on a bench, his legs, wound around Huey's while they were a very passionate embrace and lip lock.         They heard a thud and broke it up to look around.         "Ma!"         They broke apart. Ray jumped off the bench and raced to his mother's side, cursing himself for being such an idiot. He checked her pulse, touched her face, then started patting it, while Huey hovered.         "Come on, Ma, open your eyes."         Her eyes fluttered and she drew in a deep shuddering breath much to Ray's relief, he'd thought for a moment he'd given her a heart attack.         "Ooooh.."         Ray helped her to sit up.         "You almost gave me a heart attack," he said.         Her hand went to her own chest.         "You're not having pain's are you?" He asked his voice going up an octave in distress.         "You were..kissing that man..in my kitchen."         "Yes, Ma."         "You're Gay."         "Yes Ma."         She fainted again.         "Ma!"         Huey moved in to scoop her up and carry her through to the lounge room with the clucking Ray on his heels. After checking her pulse and loosening her clothing Huey told him to calm down and get her a glass of brandy or something. Then he left Ray to tend to his mother, and went out to sit on the porch steps and wait.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "You're not gonna faint on me again, are you, Ma? I don't have to call a doctor do I?"         She slapped his face.         "Get out, right."         He rose to his feet and stepped away.         "I already packed my bags. I'll be back tomorrow to pack up and.."         "Did I tell you to leave your own home."         "It's my house, in name only. It's your *home* you made it the Family *home*. Tell me to get out, and I will."         "Did it have to be *him*. Why couldn't you fall for a nice boy, like Benton. Or Gordon, he was a nice Catholic boy.. And he comes from such a good family.. And no one would say anything if you came out of the closet with Benton or Gordon, they'd just nod and say.. I knew it all the time.."         -Ooooh soooo this isn't about me being gay, it's about me being with a black guy.-         "You don't have a problem, with me being Gay?"         "Of course I have a problem with it!"         "I talked to someone at the church about it Ma.. They won't tell me to never darken their door step again. It's *men* who say it's wrong, there's nothing in the bible that say's thou shall not be homosexual. Ok.. So I took love your fellow man a little too literally, but that don't make it a sin ma. It's a sin when you sleep around.. I'm not sleeping around.. We're monogamous. Jack's the only guy I ever made love to that way."         -I won't call what Goldie did to me making love, that was rape-         "Why *him*.. I suspected you were gay. Like you're father...when you.."         "What?!" Ray shrieked.         He almost fainted in pure shock. His father was *gay*!         "That's why he became an alcoholic. He fell in love with someone else.. another man.. he couldn't handle it.. It was different then.. He couldn't face the shame or destroy the family..and he tried to find his solace in the bottle."         "Ohgod."         She pulled him down onto the couch.         "I am glad that you didn't let it destroy you like it destroyed him.. I started to suspect it when you brought Benton here.. You don't normally bring people home like that. And you keep giving your sister the evil eye when she tries to get his attention, when you should be happy that your sister is in love with a nice boy like that. If he was just your friend you wouldn't care, you would be happy to see your sister Marry him.. Because then he would be your brother in law. But you don't like that idea."         "God, Ma.. I *do* love Benton.."         "Then why are you with that man?"         "Cause Benni's straight ma."         "I thought you were. How do you know he's not like you? Maybe all you need to do is.."         "Forget it Ma. I hit on Benni and he outright rejected me, and he's been slamming doors in my face ever since. He won't even talk to me. You just gotta get used to me and Jack being an item."         "But he's *Black*."         "I never figured you for a racist ma."         "I'm not but other people are. Do you know what they'll do to you for being with a Black Man. Ie yi, yi. They'll say it's because you're gay.. But it won't be that.. So many men and women are coming out of the closet.. Important people. People are more open about it now.. But dating someone of another race."         "He's American and so am I.. What does it matter where our ancestor's come from, and what colour our skins are."         "To some people it does. And those people get violent about it.. Other black people will call you whitey and I-tie and tell you to stick to your own kind. And then others, like us.. The men who think they have so much Machismo, they will try to prove it.."         "I've already been given the KKK warning Ma."         Her hand flew to her mouth.         "And I didn't let that scare me off. If I spent my life caring what people think, and let other people do my thinking for me, I wouldn't be much of a man, now, would I. Pop always said I was good for nothing. But I didn't let what he thought about me bother me.. I got on with my life."         She sighed.         "He knows.. How I feel about Benni.. He feels the same way about someone else.. Instead of torturing ourselves over men we can't have.. and turning to the bottle and into surly drunkards, we turned to each other. He's not Benni.. But he's the next best thing. Can't you try.. to accept him.. *us* as a couple.. To ignore what people will say or think.. We'll try not to flaunt it.. He's nervous about the KKK element at the station so I'm not coming out about our relationship till I've flushed that son of a bitch out and its safe to let everyone know he's mine."         With another little sigh, she gave him a hug, he hugged her back.         "I'll try.. I don't have to like it.. But I'll try."         "Can he move in?"         She gave another little sigh and then nodded. He gave her a good strong bear hug, and she batted at him.         "Alright already, you're happy, now let me breath," she said.         He let her go and rose to draw her up to her feet.         "We got something for you. Something you can show off to all your friends."         She was curious and let him draw her through the house. Huey looked around and rose when the door opened. Ray gave Huey a smile.         "Ma say's you can move in."         "But no more necking in my kitchen."         "Yes Ma."         "Yes, Mrs Vecchio."         "Oh, don't call me that," she said, inviting him to call her by her given name, making Ray give her another bear hug.         -*sigh* It's so good to see him happy again that I can put up with all the talk-         "Now where is this present my Raimondo say's you brought me?"         "Right this way," Huey said, and lead the way to the car."         "In the car of course."         Huey pulled the keys from his pocket, opened the car, and then opened the glove compartment and pulled out the registration papers. Then he handed them to Ray. His mother looked at him and Ray handed them to her with a grin. She looked at them, and saw her own name there. She spun and Huey dangled the keys in her face.         "You brought me a Mercedes Benz!" She shrieked.         "It's all your's ma.. Second hand. But it's an ex- diplomatic Corp car and only two years old and comes with the same warranty as a new one and it got taken care of real good. *Jack* paid for it."         His mother looked at Jack amazed.         "A car like this, you should give to your own mother."         "You haven't seen the car my mother drives, besides, I owed the money that paid for it to Ray. He told me what to buy with it."         "He didn't have to pay me back.. It wasn't like we had a deal or anything. He chose to buy the car for me to pay me back," Ray added.         "You can call me Ma," she invited Huey, then she spun and gave Ray a bear hug and spun him around making Huey laugh as Ray batted at her shoulders, laughing too.         Frannie arrived at that time and scrambled out of the car very curious. Her date didn't even bother hanging around in hopes of a good night kiss. He pulled her door closed and drove away.         "What's happening?"         Her mother stopped hugging the life out of Ray and spinning him around, letting him go. He reeled into Jack who caught him and wrapped his arms around him.         "Look what your brother and Jack brought for me."         Frannie didn't now what to stare at, Jack Huey hugging her smiling brother, or the shiny Merc.         "My own Mercedes Benz.. Ha I can say, does you ever so straight son buy you a Merc. At least my Boy knows how to treat his mother right."         "Ohgod, you *really* are *gay*."         "In both the literal and colloquial sense, right now," Ray said with a laugh.         Her face was just so classic.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey waited in the closet, Ray ran in, closing the door and threw himself at Huey. Ray was back in his I'm so gay and I'm so hot outfit. The day's choice, sky blue and a vest of sky blue with fluffy white clouds just for a change.         They were in a passionate lip lock when Welsh walked in holding his coat. The coat fell from his fingers and his jaw hit the floor. Rumours or no rumours, he never believed Ray was Gay till that moment. Huey well that was another thing.         Francesca closed the door behind Welsh's back, then stood in front of it, rocking back and forth on her heels trying to look nonchalant as she stood guard.         Ray and Huey didn't break off their mutual toungesilectomy till Welsh stepped back and into the door with a thud. Then they stopped and looked around and did a good I'm *Sooooo* embarrassed act.         "And here I was thinking it was all just an act when you said you were coming out of the closet," Welsh said when he finally found his voice.         "Well, I'm literally and figuratively in the closet when it comes to my relationship with Huey. I was just trying to take the heat off when I denied it.. And we don't want everyone to know it. We'll be discrete around the station.. At least until we catch that Homophobic KKK man."         "Of course," said Welsh "And that little show you put on for everyone yesterday. That was also in aide of drawing him out, without drawing attention to your relationship with Huey."         It took a great deal of effort not to blush. Ray just nodded not trusting his voice.         "And the fact you started wearing the most sinful clothes you could find and stay just short of being indecent at the same time as Huey apparently shot your baby has nothing to do with the fact he shot it."         Ray did blush at that.         "Mea Culpa.. I did it to torture him, but I'm still wearing them because it could bring that KKK man out into the open."         "And they'll never be seen again after you achieve that goal."         "God, I hope not," Huey muttered.         Welsh glared at him.         "So sue me if I think he looks great in it."         "Don't worry sir, I'll ditch the tight jeans when I flush out our KKK man."         "And you *will* accept your new partner."         Ray gritted his teeth, then nodded. Welsh smiled ever so sweetly.         "Then you can stay in the closet with Huey," Welsh said, and spun, opening the door.         Frannie bolted. Welsh walked away, hardly sparing the fleeing Vecchio a second glance.         Mean while, Ray draped his arms around Huey.         "How nice.. Official permission to be in the closet with you, my second favourite place to be with you."         "Oh and what's your most favourite?" Huey asked wrapping his arms around Ray and pulling him close.         "I don' know what it is.. But.. Your incredible shower does it for me *every* time."         Huey chuckled and kissed him.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Fraser bumped into Welsh.         "Sorry."         "Looking for Ray?"         "Yes, sir."         Welsh pointed down the hall.         "He's in the closet."         "Oh, really. I thought he came out of that."         Welsh snickered and walked away. Fraser headed for the closet Welsh indicated.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey pulled a silver packet from his pocket and slipped it into Ray's hand.         "Oh.. Who's feeling Frisky."         "I'd rather be feeling you frisk me."         Ray rubbed noses with Huey just as Fraser opened the door. They jumped apart and the packet fell from Ray's hands as he dropped it in surprise. It fell to the floor with a little slap and Fraser looked down. Then he looked at the two men. Ray turned as Red as Fraser's coat and Huey turned a darker shade of black. Fraser started to match the colour of his coat, then he spun. Huey dived for him, grabbing his arm, and spun him around and pushed him deeper in.         "Work it out."         Then he stepped out of the closet and went in search of a cold shower.         Fraser backed up as did Ray. Ray wrapped his arms around himself at the look of pure fury on Fraser's face.         "I came to give you one last chance. You just blew it."         Then he spun on his heels.         "Benni, please," it was such a heart wrenching plea that Fraser stopped, but he didn't turn back to look at him.         "You *lied* to my *face*. I gave you a chance to tell me the truth. In relative privacy and you *lied* to me."         "Frannie was coming up the corridor.. I didn't know how you'd react.. I just had..to put on the act I've been putting on for everyone."         Fraser spun his heel and faced Ray.         "Two words, Ray. Frannie's coming. That's all you had to say. I would have taken the hint and waited."         "She woulda hung around like a bad smell while you were there and you know it."         Fraser gave him a shove and Ray staggered into the back wall and put a dent in the plasterboard.         "You call yourself my *Friend* Friends trust each other! You didn't trust me enough to tell me you were Gay. You didn't trust me enough to turn to me for help when that deviate raped you and don't *lie* to me again."         Ray's head fell to his chest.         "I know what happened. The neighbours asked me to turn my non existent TV down, and when I told them I didn't have one, they told me they heard you screaming and thought it was the TV Is this payback for Victoria.. If it is you couldn't have chosen a better way to rub my face in it."         Ray's head shot up.         "Oh god, no Benni, its not like that."         "Then what is it? Friends trust each other, Ray and you didn't trust me. At the time you needed me most, you figuratively shoved me away and you've been doing it ever since. Why do you push me away when you need a friend most?"         "Because I love you, you moron."         Fraser backed into the door wide eyed.         "What you think of me matters. More than what anyone else in the world thinks. I was ashamed, that I let that happen to me in your place after I told you I could handle it.. I didn't want you to see me.. I was in pieces.. I was falling apart.. I was in shock.. I didn't wanna see you.. I couldn't handle you seeing me like that.. I couldn't handle the idea of anyone finding out.. I got blotto.. I just wanted to die.. Benni.. I honest to god didn't care if I lived or die.. once it really sunk in.. after Huey made me face what happened to me.. I had a very quite nervous breakdown."         Fraser took a half step forward.         "It wasn't just.. Being.. raped.. It was.. being so wrong.. Being so damned scared.. all I could think was.. I took that guy to your place.. He called you my little stud.. threatened to rape you next and make me watch..unless I stopped fighting and it kept going round in my head.. and I went to pieces. But I got help.. Huey took care of me.. You did the right thing trusting him to take care of me. He took me to a good counsellor.. who made me look at everything.. made me face everything.. And what scared me the most was Goldie's threat to do it to you.."         Fraser took another half step forward.         "That's why I wasn't there when you got back.. I was so terrified that I wouldn't be able to get him out of there before you got back.. That I didn't think of anything else but getting him out of there.. and making sure I sent him so far away he could never *ever* carry out that threat against you.. I didn't think about anything else till he was on the plane and outta my life. I didn't care that he'd get away with what he did to me.. I just wanted to make damn sure he could never do it to you."         Fraser didn't stop moving till Ray was in his arms and being hugged. Ray's arms went around him, and hugged him tightly back.         "What did I do right to deserve a friend like you?" Fraser asked.         The door opened and Dewey stepped in with his coat, and almost dropped it.         "Get out of here," Ray growled, not caring if the man saw the tears in his eyes. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a nervous break down."         Dewey decided to hang his coat over the back of a chair instead and backed out closing the door.         "Where was I?"         "In the middle of your nervous breakdown."         "Oh right.. That whole thing screwed me up.. I'm a detective.. I'm supposed to be able to judge people's character and all that.. I lost my confidence.. I almost lost it when a kid pulled a toy gun on me for gods sake."         "That's why you're stuck behind a desk."         "Yeah.. That's me, glorified paper pusher."         "They don't know.. do they?"         "No.. Huey made up a good story that covered it all."         "Good."         "Good?"         "I'm glad you sent him away.. I might have killed him.."         Ray gave him another hug.         "Er.. Ray.. I hope it was *brotherly* love you were talking about when you said you love me."         -*sigh*-         "Because I love you like the brother I always wished I had.. But.."         Ray stopped hugging him and Fraser stepped back tugging at his coat. Ray tugged his closed and buttoned it.         "I'm sorry.. I *never* thought of you the other way."         "S'o.k.. It's like I told Huey.. I never really thought of you that way either till the Counsellor made me face it."         "Oh dear."         Ray gave him a tremulous smile.         "Don't worry, Benni.. I got Huey.. I ain't gonna pounce on you.. Him and me, we're in the same boat."         "What boat is that?"         "We're both desperately in love with straight guys. And like the song goes.. If you can't love the one you want love the one you're with.. And don't worry.. I don't fantasise about you when I'm with him.. When I'm with him, I'm with him, all the way."         "Does he make you happy?"         "We're still working out the bugs... But yeah.. where it counts he makes me happy.. I almost blew it with him.. over reacting.. to something.. but he made me feel so special.. and so wanted.. When he said he'd do anything for me.. And he introduced me to his parents.. That means a lot.. Oh..and I told ma.. She was a little upset.. but she's getting over it.. We brought her a Merc.. She told him to call her Ma.."          "Well I'm happy you were able to work things out without a family conflict."         "She coulda knocked me down with a feather when she told me she always suspected it.. cause Pop was Gay."         "That's why he became an alcoholic."         "Yeah. It's so strange.."         The door opened and someone else walked in with a coat.         Ray threw up his arms.         "Can't a man have a quiet conversation in a closet around here without everyone in the station walking in on him."         Fraser checked his watch.         "I will be late for work if I don't leave soon, and the inspector said she'd put me on Sentry Duty for life if I was late."         "Oh.. Well, then you get going and say hello to the Dragon Lady for me."         Fraser didn't even bother to tell him off for it. The interloper hung their coat and departed.         "If you can bring yourself to come near my apartment.."         "Saaay... Do you think you can wait just a few minutes.. Go call the Dragon Lady and tell her you'll be a few minutes late. I wanna talk to Huey about an idea I just had that will suit all three of us."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Fraser waited by Ray's desk wondering who the tall dark handsome man with kid gloves looking him up and down was. Ray bounded up all smiles and he forget about the man.         "You never liked that apartment anyway, did you Fraser?"         "You were the one who was most enthusiastic about it."         "Huey doesn't feel right, about leaving his place with all that stuff in it. But there's no room at my place. If you promise to keep the wolf off the furniture, his words, you can have it rent free. Then ya can save your money towards getting your cabin rebuilt."         "Are you sure he's fine with the idea?"         "Hey, the rent free idea was his idea. It's called house sitting, only this is an apartment. He owns it outright. Now, here's the keys. Garbage night is Wednesday. Have it out by 7."         Fraser nodded taking the keys and pocketing them. Ray told him the address and Fraser smiled faintly.         "I do know where it is, Ray."         "Do you need help moving in?"         "No.. I don't have that much."         "Well there's a lock up garage down below where you can store anything you don't wanna keep in the apartment. I'll drop in around eight. To make sure you're all settled in. If there's anything you want, just give me a call and I'll bring it around.. Oh, almost forget you pay for the phone and utilities."         "That's fair."         "All settled?"         Fraser nodded.         "Good now, shoo.. I've got work to do.. Welsh said I can go back on active duty he's got the perfect assignment for me.. Some corporate crime to solve. He told me to go distract a few secretaries for a change."         Fraser chuckled as he walked away.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "You have a *what?!*"         "A partner, an old friend of Huey's who just made Detective and was transferred in the other day. Huey raved about him, reckons he saved his life once or twice when they were kids. Hasn't seem him in years. Thought he was dead till he turned up at the precinct. The damn man is always smiling at me."         "Who Huey or your new partner?"         "His name is *Hiram* Westbourne. *Hiram* what a name."         "He can't help it if his parents gave him a name like Hiram."         "I told Welsh I didn't want no partner, but, it's like talking to a brick wall. Huey told me to give the guy a chance, that he'd grow on me. But he would say that, Hiram's the guy he is sooo in love with."         "It is unusual for a detective to be without an official partner for so long."         "I got you I don't need an official partner. I clear more cases than any other team in the precinct. You think they'd be happy with that and leave well enough alone, but no, some paper pusher up high thinks here's a cop without a partner let's send the new boy his way to baby sit."         "I'm sure you'll get used to having an official partner again."         "He raved about my car. Can you believe that.. On and on he went. My folks had a car like this.. Only Green.. I lost my virginity in the back of that car, rave, rave, rave. Vecchio.. Isn't that an Italian name.. I love Italian's.. My grandfather was Italian.. I make a great tortellini.."         Fraser was finding it harder to keep a straight face.         "And he takes stick to your partner's tail a little *too* literally for my liking."         "What do you mean?"         "He keeps breathing down my neck. Literally."         -I'm not even going to touch that one.-         "And I don't even wanna talk about what happened in the Elevator."         "What happened in the Elevator?"         "It was crowded."         "So."         "I said.. We'll wait for the next one. He walks in anyway, so I got to get in. And I swear he was deliberately rubbing against me."         "Well you did say it was crowded."         "He was sniffing my neck and hair.. And taking guesses at what my cologne and shampoo were after we got outta the lift. When I said he was wrong, he leaned close and sniffed up my neck, took another guess and got it right."         "I did that to Inspector Thatcher once."         "That's different. She's a woman."         "I couldn't guess what it was. It turned out she wasn't wearing anything."         "Fraser.. Please.. I don't need mental images of the Dragon Lady not wearing anything running through my head."         "Sexual frustration."         "What?!"         "You've got sex on the mind, because you couldn't get Huey alone in the closet," Fraser said leaning toward him. "Or at home either, I'm sure. You probably worry too much about them hearing you to do anything."         Ray blushed. Fraser was spot on about that much.         "I don't suggest there's anything strange when you follow me closely, or breath on my neck, or bump against me in a crowded lift. If all those things are *strange* in a partner, then you are *strange*."         Then Fraser sat back.         "But then again, you're gay. It's probably just your imagination running wild now that your eyes have been opened to the possible sexual connotations of what were more than likely completely innocent things."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray didn't talk to Fraser for a week.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray promised to help Fraser take Dief to the vet for a check up, and a promise is a promise, besides he wanted to talk to someone about his creepy new partner. So he drove Fraser and the Wolf to the Vet, and then to the apartment and followed Ray up. Fraser made him coffee while he settled down on the futon and tried not to think about the things he did with Huey on that futon.         "God, Benni.. He did it to me again."         "Did what?"         "The lift thing. It wasn't my imagination.. The lift got stuck between floors and people were moving about and I felt him rubbing up against me and breathing on my neck again."         Fraser rolled his eyes.         "Don't roll your eyes at me.. He keeps doing it to me. I'd rather take the stairs, even if that mean's climbing 40 flights, than get caught in a crowded lift with him again.. He was getting off it."         "I'm sure it's your imagination."         "My imagination huh.."         Ray moved into the kitchen area.         "Stand over there, next to the wall."         After a moment, Fraser moved to the wall, and Ray followed to stand behind him then started rubbing his groin against Fraser's tush and deliberately blew air onto the back of Fraser's neck. Fraser's eyes widened, and he stepped into the wall and Ray followed and began moving his hips with rhythmic thrusts against Fraser, Fraser started going cross eyed and felt a stirring in his groin that brought a flush to his face.         He could almost feel Ray's lips on his neck, every hair there stood on end. He could feel Ray's sex through the layer's of cloth rubbing against his crotch. Ray's breath moved then he started breathing out Italian suggestions. Hot and naughty suggestions. That made him squirm and bring his hands up to the wall.         Then Ray's body was pressing him into that wall and his movements became hard and aggressive.                 "I wanna fuck you so hard you see stars, I want to fuck you so hard that you pass out," came Ray's husky voice, a bare whisper, his variation's on the theme like his breath on Fraser's throat getting hotter by the second.         Then he licked Fraser's ear.         "Stop!" Fraser croaked.         "Now tell me it's my imagination. That's exactly what he did to me today," Ray said, husky voiced and not moving an inch.         Fraser could feel him, hot and throbbing against him.         "What else.. Did he do?" Fraser asked after a deep shuddering breath.         Ray's hand snaked over his back, following the waist band of his pants, then over his crotch and stroked him.         "God, you are you so hot. You know that, don't you, machismo, you got in spades." Ray huskily continued, then his nose ran up Fraser's neck.         "You smell so good, I just want to sniff and taste you all over. I bet you taste as good as you smell."         "Rrrray.."         "You're turned on aren't you."         Benni nodded.         "Whaddya know, you're human after all."         "Rrrray."         "Yes, Benni?"         "Iiii h-aaave never.. th..thought of myself.. as.. being.. gay.. before.. but..right now.. I could.. be.. very..easily persuaded.. to.. explore.. the possibility."         Ray backed up enough for Fraser to turn around and they looked down at each other. As one they looked up and were in each other's arms getting down to some serious kissing and hip movement within a few seconds.         Who unbuttoned and unzipped who was a moot point. Clothes hit the floor and so did they. Hands and mouths exploring. Ray's hand flailed around, found his pants and while Fraser was exploring his lower region's he found his wallet and pulled it out. A foil packet was withdrawn and he tossed the wallet then let out a delighted moan arching his back as Fraser's mouth moved over his sex. He tossed the packet toward Fraser.         A one word inquiry, his name, a breathless yes and then their exploration's took another turn.         "Ohhh Miiii."         "Oh!"         "Did I hurt you?"         "Now he asks."         *grunt*         "Oh!"         "Ray?"         "Do you *Have* to."         *wiggle, squirm, thrust*         "OOHH!"         "I think I must have died."         "Wwwwhhhy?"         "Because.. this feels.. like heaven."         *giggle*         *smooch, moan, nip, thrust*         "ohyeah"         "Say those things again.."         "What things?"         "Those things.. In Italian."         Ray started speaking Italian, interspersed with little gasps, cries, and curtailed with a long drawn out moan of pleasure as Fraser's hand moved over him, while their bodies moved in that age old Rhythm.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  Lying on the floor, snuggled up together, Ray looked around when Fraser started breathing on his neck and rubbing against him.         "*Again!*."         Fraser stopped.         "Oh don't give me the big eyed mountie look.."         "Obviously you don't think we should.. explore anymore."         Ray wondered if Huey had cleared out the supplies, then and only then remembered the lover he'd virtually promised to be faithful for life too. He curled up in a little ball of guilt.         "Ray??"         "Oh god.. What did I just do? I can't believe I did that with you."         Fraser reached out stroking him.         "I can't believe we did that either."         Ray scrambled up and dashed around gathering his scattered clothing and dressed hurriedly. Fraser pulled his pants back on and watched him.         "Oh god, that was so stupid.. I should never have done that."         "I don't regret it," Fraser said.         Ray stomped his shoes on.         "You're just high on hormones right now.. Later you're gonna hate me for that as much as I hate myself.."         "I could never hate you."         "That's the straight man's version of Gay sex.. And I know how wonderful it feels.. I love it when Huey lets me Fuck him, it feels so good.. But the other kind.. God Benni.. I could never do that to you.. It's too easy to get carried away and hurt your partner.. And I got carried away with you and this is gonna hurt my partner like hell."         Fraser blushed when reminded of Huey.         "It's not gonna happen again.."         "Are you going to tell him?"         "Like I could get away with not telling him with you making like a vampire.. I'm gonna smell of sex.. He is gonna freak. And so much for telling Ma I'm monogamous.."         "I'm sorry."         Ray stopped ranting, and moved to take his face in his hands and looked him in the eye.         "I'm not sorry that it happened, Benni, I love you.. It was wonderful.. But it just happened at the wrong time. Huey.. He asked me all romantic like to be his life partner the other day and I said yes.. cause I thought nothing like this could ever happen.. He hasn't stopped smiling since I said it.. His mother is planning a nice gay wedding and everything.. and my mother thinks its a wonderful idea.. I can't mess things up now.."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray made it home in time to shower and change. He was in the bedroom, standing at the end of the bed, a foot on the bed end while he tied his shoes, when Huey crept in. Ray almost jumped right out of his skin when Huey's arms wrapped around him, and his dark affianced lover nuzzled his neck.         "Did I do that.. I must have bitten you harder than I thought."         -Ohmigod, he thinks he did it. I could get away with it. I gotta talk to Fraser.. -         He turned in Huey's arms to be kissed passionately and pounced on. Guilt washed over him as Huey got frisky words of love and affection pouring from his lips. His hands flew up to Huey's face. Huey looked at him with passion fogged eyes.         "God. I love you," Huey said huskily.         Ray started crying, and Huey kissed away his tears. He'd said I love you and Fraser had never said I love you back. He hugged Huey tight and whispered the magic words.         Huey reared up.         "Are you sure?"         Ray nodded.         Huey kissed him with a passion and thing's just got more passionate from there. Sliding over the bed, bodies tangling, Huey's touch then his gentle love making. Ray started crying again. He was being so careful. He'd been so wrapt in the moment with Fraser he hadn't cared that it hurt. Huey stilled.         "No.." Ray said and encouraged him to start again, to thrust harder, faster.         It hurt, it hurt like hell, it made him feel the way he felt he deserved to be hurt for doing something that would break this man's heart if he found out about it.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Benni."         "Ray,"         "We gotta talk."         "Did you tell him?"         "No. He thought he gave me that bite without realising it.. I can't tell him. Do you still feel the same way? No regrets?"         "I regret that it.. causes you so much pain."         "We gotta talk."         "I have masses of paper work today."         "S'o.k, I've got a stake out with *Hiram* God I hate that man.. I am really not looking forward to this.. I'll probably be fending him off all night."         "I'm sure if you tell him.. you're with Huey he'll stop. You said he was Huey's friend. If he's a true friend he'll stop."         -Is that a hint-         "I'll see you tomorrow.. we really need to talk about this.. Uh-Oh, here comes Detective gush.. Gotta go."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Hiram.. You must be joking, Ray."         "Look I know he's your friend, and probably saved your life, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I'm telling you the man is *gay*."         "No way, he's a straight as they come."         "Yeah, right, that's why he keeps popping up behind me, and breathing down my neck."         "You used to do that to Fraser all the time. It didn't mean you were gay."         "Well it would if I had a raging hard on when I was doing it, like your ever so straight friend."         Huey stared at him.         "And I sure as hell don't follow him into a crowded elevator just to get a chance to rub up against him and get off on it. Like your ever so straight friend."         Huey's dark skin turned darker as blood rushed to his face.         "And I don't start touching him up in the middle of a crowded elevator and make him get a hard on very much against his will. Where he can't do anything about it unless he wants to draw everyone's attention to the fact it's happening and be totally humiliated. And I'm supposed to be joining him on a stake out.. the idea of being all alone with that man makes me want to hurl."         "That is a pretty sick way to get rid of a partner you don't want, Ray."         "Damnit, I am sick of everyone rolling their eyes and telling me it's my imagination, or that it's a pack of lies I made up," Ray said. "What is it gonna take before someone listens to me?" He snapped and stormed off.           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray was about to walk past the closet when the bane of his existence, Hiram Westbourne bounded up, grabbing his arm.         "Ray I got.."         Ray ripped his arm free.         "Keep your hands off me! & I didn't give you permission to call me Ray. It's Vecchio to you."         "I found an informant with information on the Lubbok case."         "What?! Who?! I haven't been able too.."         Westbourne looked around then indicated the closet as someone walked past. He threw the door open and walked in and in his eagerness to get some break on that until now thought dead case, he walked right in. With a soft click of the door being closed, the trap snapped shut.         Westbourne moved to toward the back of the closet and Ray stepped after him.         "I've been trying to find someone with dirt on Lubbok ever since I took that case. I can't believe you.."         Westbourne spun grabbed him by the coat lapels and swung him around to slam him into the wall.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Francesca was reaching for the closest handle when the door opened and Hiram stepped out, adjusting his tie. She looked at him startled and he kicked the door closed.         "Francesca. Did you get that file I wanted?"         "What file?"         "From Forensics.." He said, quoting a case number.         "I don't remember picking up a file with your name on it when I was there."         "Go and double check."         "I have to get something from the clos...."         "Double check it now, your brother is breathing down my neck about it," he cut in, tugging on his black kid leather gloves.         "Well that must be a change for you," she said snidely before she turned and walked away.         He watched her walking away, his eye's falling to her long legs and oh so short skirt. He was going to enjoy the next stage of his little plan. Even if he wasn't there to see it. He was sure it would put that little slut in her place.         When she left the corridor, it was empty. Out of his pocket came Ray's lock pick kit, and he went to work fast, to pick the lock, not to open, but to lock the door, then jam the lock.         That task complete he tucked the kit into his pocket and walked away, whistling cheerfully. Out of his inside pocket came an envelope and he passed through the bull pen, dropping it on Huey's desk, before moving onto Ray's.         Pulling the draw open he pulled out Ray's gun, car key's and cel phone. A sly glance around revealed the coast was clear and he tucked them into his pockets, closed the drawer and looked through the files on the desk. He smiled when he saw the file he was after. He'd forged Ray's signature and writing to get the file pulled. He picked up the file before walking away, looking through it as he went.         Next step, the evidence locker.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey sank down into his seat, foot sore and very grumpy. Tracking down Hiram or Ray seemed to be impossible. Ray had seemed to just disappear. He'd probably gone off somewhere to sulk. He'd been able to track Hiram through the station, doing work on a case, but he hadn't been able to catch up with him. The closest he'd gotten was to be told someone had seen him heading for the street.         He reached the street just in time to see Ray's distinctive Riv moving off in the distance. Giving it up as a lost cause for the day he strode back through the station. He'd catch up with Hiram tomorrow and get him and Ray into a room together and make them hash out their differences.         He noticed an envelope marked URGENT in Francesca's writing and picked it up, turning it over to open it. He saw the back of a photograph and reached in to extract it and realised it was three. Turning them over his eyes widened.         The top photograph was a through the window shot of Fraser and Ray. Fraser was half naked, and pushing Ray's shirt off while they were in what looked like a rather passionate lip lock.         -What the hell?!!!- was his first thought.         He dropped the photo to the desk and looked at the next photo and reared up. It was of a completely naked Fraser and Ray on the floor together, their clothes scattered all around them, another through the window shot. They were lying in each other's arms looking quite content, Fraser cuddling up to Ray, spoon fashion. In *his* apartment.         -Ohmigod!-         Morbid curiosity made him flip to the next photo and his eyes almost bugged out and the next through the window shot, this one filling most of the photo, of Ray lying on the floor his back arched, his legs wrapped around Fraser's back as the Mountie was kneeling at his butt arms spread either side of Ray, Back arched, neck arched, a look of ecstasy on his face, and it was extremely clear he was in the act of fucking Ray. The photo was absolutely perfectly focused.         Huey dropped it jumping up with an involuntary cry of pain. That's why Ray was so strangely passive and broke into tears at the drop of a hat. He'd finally gotten the man he wanted, but at what price.         Huey didn't know if he wanted to strangle Ray for cheating on him, or kiss him to death for turning his back on his hearts desire to chose to honour his promise to be his life partner.         People looked around. He looked around then scooped up the photo's and shoved them into his pocket and looked at that envelope again. It was definitely Francesca's writing.         Huey started moving around the pen showing it to his fellow officers seeing if anyone else had received one. The sure's he got resulted in being shown the usual assortment of urgent messages Frannie left in those envelopes.         He went in search of Frannie. And wondered if Welsh had gotten any. He glanced around, there was someone with Welsh in the office, he'd check later.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         It was a grumpy Francesca who returned to her desk. Ray and Westbourne had both vanished. The folder joined the others on the desk and she sat down to get to work.         She saw Huey approach and looked over the desk. There was one there with Huey on it and she picked it up and held it out as he arrived. He snatched it and tucked it under his arm and pulled out the photo's from his pocket.         "What's the meaning of leaving these on my desk?" He demanded tossing them down.         Frannie looked down, here pupils dilated, her eyes bugged out and she jumped up with a shriek that could be heard through the half the station. Her hands flew to her mouth and she backed up. People came running at that scream and Huey quickly scooped the photos up and realised he'd just been a pawn in someone's extremely sick piece of revenge against Ray.         There were questions being fired at him and Frannie from all sides. She just looked at him wide eyed, then a hand fell to her stomach.         "Gangway, Sick Vecchio coming through!" He called out.         They parted like the red sea and Frannie raced from the room.         Dewey grabbed Huey's arm and he looked around.         "Welsh want's you, in the office, now."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Frank Zuko walked through the alley behind the restaurant he'd just eaten in and reached his car. He was pulling his key's from his pocket when he heard a click and Ray's voice.         "I knew I'd get you alone one day."         Zuko started to spin and a bullet struck him. He fell against the car, and another bullet struck him. Then he heard running footsteps as he slid down the car. He heard something clatter to the alley way and bounce, then he heard a car door open and close. With an effort he raised his head, in time to see Ray's Riv, tire's spinning and swinging around, to speed away. Then he passed out.         When the first police unit on the scene arrived and the cops scoured the area, they found a cel phone, which was marked out and later photographed before being bagged.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*                  "What was that about?" Welsh demanded.         "Sir?" Huey inquired.         "I saw you throw something on Francesca's desk that made her scream blue murder."                 "S'cuse me, sir." Dewey cut in.         Welsh looked at him, but Dewey was looking at the file tucked under Huey's arm.         "Is that the Forensics report?"         Huey had forgotten about it and pulled it out handing it to Dewey as he looked at Welsh.         "I didn't mean to do that to her. I thought.. Someone dropped an envelope on my desk. One of hers, it was marked urgent, in her writing.. I opened it and got as much as a shock as she did.. Only I wasn't as loud about it. I want to know what was going on.. I had no idea she'd react that way."         While they talked Dewey perused the contents of the file, a report on the last of unidentified skeletal remains found in the Rooks Diabolo Street graveyard.         "What did you..?"         "Photographs, don't ask me for them. I'm going to burn them."         "May I asked what the photo's were of?"         Huey reached into his pocket then stepped back and turned away. He found the least offensive photo and separated it. The other two went into his inside coat pocket. He turned and held the photo out to Welsh. Welsh let out an oath and looked at Huey wide eyed.         "Now you know why she screeched."         "I'm surprised you didn't."         "Someone else is going to be screeching when I get my hands on him."         Welsh opened his mouth.         "Fraser."         Welsh relaxed a tad, Fraser could definitely hold his own in a fight with Huey.         "Taking advantage of my Ray."         "What was that," Dewey said looking up.         -uh-oh-         "Surprise. I really am Gay and we really are an item."         -Were- thought Welsh, -After those photo's I doubt you will be much longer-         "I proposed and he said yes."         Welsh's jaw almost hit the floor.         -Proposed as in Marry me!-         "*I knew it!* He only denied it because of those KKK pictures."         A horrible thought occurred to Huey at that moment and he looked at Welsh.         "That's who's behind it.. I have a feeling.. They're may be more of them floating around. I asked around, no one else received an envelope from her full of pictures."         "Let me guess they just get more graphic after that."         Huey nodded.         "Get out there and start searching desks, they could be hidden among paper work in files, places they'll drop out of or be noticed. It ends right here."         Huey nodded spinning on his heels and took a step toward the door. Dewey looked back at his file, before preparing to join him, and then forget everything as the name of the recently identified skeleton leapt out at him.         "OHMIGOD!" Dewey cried.         Welsh and Huey spun and looked at him. He looked up wide eyed.         "That skeleton we found.. It's been identified by the dental records.. DNA samples from the parents of the young man he was initially identified as confirmed it.."         "Who was it?"         "Hiram Westbourne!"         "WHAT?!"         "What's more they dated it..It's been there for *at least* 20 years."         "Show me that!"         Huey snatched the file. He blanched, the parents names were his friends parent's name, the birth date, the picture attached.         "It's him, Huey."         "Then who the hell is Ray's partner?"         "The same person who left those picture's on my desk no doubt.."         Then his head reared up.         "Oh no."         "What?"         "The evidence locker.. He was in the evidence locker. Alone. Just before I found those pictures.. Whatever he pulled this off for, he's already gotten what he wants that's his last laugh."         "Find Vecchio," Welsh ordered Huey. "Find out what cases he was working on, what files Ray or Westbourne have requested, anything he's been into, I want to know about it," He ordered Dewey.         They nodded, spun and headed for the door. The door burst open.         "Someone just shot Frank Zuko! And half a dozen witnesses say they saw Vecchio's car speeding from the scene. At least one claims they saw Ray on the scene and described what he was wearing today perfectly."         Huey and Dewey looked at Welsh.         "He wouldn't be that stupid. It's got to be our chameleon cop. You've got your assignments, carry them out. I'll handle this *personally*. Call me the moment you find Vecchio."         Huey nodded, he and Dewey rushed out going separate ways. Dewey to find records, Huey to start pouncing on people to find out when and were people saw Ray last. He took names, times and places down on his note pad as he moved through the precinct. He also looked for photograph's while he was at it. Asking each person to do a quick check of their desk. Six more photographs came to light and he managed to snatch them up before the recipients saw them.         He personally searched Frannie's work area and found more than a dozen hidden around in places where she was sure to find them sooner or later. Each photo he found was more graphic than the rest.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         His plans for the evening cancelled, and completely oblivious to what was happening at the precinct, Fraser had decided to work back late to get some paper work cleared away and get his mind off Ray. He moved through the consulate's corridor's the last of the paper work in his hands. It was destined for Inspector Thatchers desk. It didn't get that far.         No sooner had he passed into her darkened office and reached for the light switch than a gloved hand fell on his wrist. He had just enough time to register it when another came down and he was being spun around, and slammed into the wall. The files went flying paper scattering everywhere.         He was stunned, and unable to fight as his arm, then both were shoved up his back and then pinned there by one hand. He heard a click and Ray's voice. His dazed mind couldn't make sense of what he was saying. But he soon discovered there was another kind of language as his arms were cuffed his wrists, to the point just above his elbow with two sets of cuffs.         "You had your fun.. Now it's my turn," he heard Ray's voice say.         Then he was being pushed and shoved to Thatchers desk and forced over it. Hands encased in soft black kid leather moved over his clothes and his pants were tugged down.         "Why are you doing this?!"         He kneed right into the nuts and cried out in pain. Then his shorts were being tugged down and those gloved hands travelled over his bare behind, then he heard a zip being lowered, the rustle of cloth among other things.         *click*         Ray's voice talking dirty, making naughty suggestions, reached his ears. Then he felt those hands on him again and the analytical part of his mind told him to relax or it would be worse for him. He felt it against his skin first and his pain narrowed eyes widened.         Then there were police lights flashing through the window and a loud slamming of doors. He heard a muttered curse, and running feet and he was alone. He slid off the desk, pain or no pain he wasn't going to be caught in that position.         He heard hard fists pounding on the door of the consulate. Squirming and wiggling, sliding his body across the carpeted floor he managed to get his pants at least back up. Not in a particularly comfortable fashion.         He heard a voice calling out his name. He knew wether or not he yelled to let them know where he was, the door would be kicked in. So he saved his breath.         As predicted, he heard the front door being kicked open. Then movement through the halls.         "Violent Intruder in the consulate! Possibly armed!"         "It's me, Lieutenant Welsh."         "It's not you I'm talking about," Fraser called out. "It's the one who just attacked me."         "Where are you?"         "The Inspector's office. He fled when he saw the lights. You came not a second too late."         Welsh was soon turning the lights on and cursing. Then he was being rolled over and raised to a sitting position. Welsh gave another curse when he saw the state of his pants.         "Did you see him?" Welsh asked as he adjusted Fraser's pants for him, while the Mountie blushed.         "No.. I kept hearing Ray's voice... But it wasn't Ray."         "You're absolutely sure of that."         "To put it crudely.. Ray's not hung like a horse. And whoever it was who was about to rape me *was*."         "He didn't.."         "As I said.. You couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time."         A handkerchief was applied to his bleeding nose and Welsh was looking around, yelling orders. Then he was helping Fraser up to his feet. Fraser winced and hissed.         "Fraser.."         "I was.. dazed.. I kept hearing Ray's voice.. I could smell his cologne.. When I asked why he was doing that to me, he gave me a knee to the nuts."         "Ouch."         "That's an understatement.. From that angle..it was far more agonising.."         "We'll take it nice and slow."         And they did, Welsh supporting Fraser across the room.         "What made you come?"         "Ray's Partner is impersonating a dead man.. Photos of you with Ray in.. very compromising circumstances were distributed through the precinct."   "How compromising?"         "If you're lucky, Huey won't kill you."         "Oh dear."         "You're lucky he's the only person who's seen them and intends hurling the lot in the incinerator. Well.. Actually it was two people.. Apparently Francesca saw some and let out a shriek fit to wake the dead."         "Ohno.."         "What's more.. Someone shot Frank Zuko, twice in the back.. Witness claim they say Ray's car, one claim's to have seen a man dressed like him.. Dressed *exactly* the way he was dressed at the station earlier. The slugs they pulled from Zuko are a match for the type Ray uses. And they found his cel phone at the scene."         "And Ray?"         "Is missing.. His car has been seen, someone dressed like him has been seen.. But strangely enough.. No one saw Ray leave the Precinct today. Though they did see that Chameleon Partner of his leaving. The last time anyone at the station saw Ray was four hours ago. And that person saw him in the corridor with Westbourne.. And says Ray body language was hostile. That was the *last* verifiable sighting."         "He must be somewhere inside the precinct."         "We can use bolt cutters on those cuffs there."         "Sir.. Ray complained of being sexually harassed by his partner."         Welsh felt sick.         "And it was more than a few touches and sexual advances.. It started out that way, but he told me he was.. virtually molested in a crowded lift. His partner chose a place where Ray couldn't react to it out of risk of being humiliated in front of other people."         "How was he molested?"         "Those photo's you mentioned.. Could only have been taken last night.. I was passing it off as his imagination again, and he .. demonstrated what his partner did to him in the lift.. Which is what lead to the.. compromising situation we were no doubt photographed in. It was not light harassment.. It was molestation. I am amazed Ray didn't do something violent to him."         "He probably wanted to get it handled *quietly* Fraser."   Fraser looked at the door hanging on it's hinges.         "Oh dear."         "Don't worry.. I've arranged for someone to stand guard here till the door can be repaired. They're searching the consulate for that intruder now."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         The only way Fraser could travel comfortably on the way to the station was to curl up on the back seat of the Patrol car Welsh had commandeered. He was helped out, and up the stairs. Welsh was met on the stairs, Fraser was picked up in a fireman's lift and carried through to the bull pen. He was set down to straddle a chair and saw Huey headed for him.         -Oh no-         Huey struck him, once, setting his nose bleeding again, before Welsh had him pulled away.         "It will never happen again. He made that decision," Fraser yelled.         "He will honour his promise to you."         Huey tugged free of his handlers and tugged his coat down. Everyone watched, as he moved closer, ready to pounce if he raised a hand. Instead he leaned toward Fraser.         "You had your chance. And you blew it."         "I assure you it was not my intention for that to happen I never *ever* thought of him that way. But he was demonstrating what his par.. Hiram Westbourne did to him in a lift.."         Huey turned his head and pointed to his ear. Fraser whispered everything into his ear. While he did so, bolt cutters were brought into play and the cuff were cut away. Fraser's arms fell limply to his side and he hissed and grimaced in pain as circulation cut off by the cuffs returned and the pins and needles hit.         "And that's what happened," he finished when he could find his voice again.         "I'll kill him."         "If you want to rearrange my face, I understand, but could you wait till I get some feeling back in my arms."         Huey leaned down to whisper something in Fraser's ear that made his eyes widen slight, then he nodded.         "Yes.. I can do that."         "Fine, so I won't rearrange your face."         His arms were massaged and he listened to Welsh talking with his officer's. Dewey had three lists for him to look at, then was sent to find 4 files. Huey reported that he had hopefully found all the photographs and destroyed them, and that he'd double checked. Ray had not been seen leaving the station. If he was anywhere, it was somewhere inside the station.         Fraser kindly thanked his arm massagers and looked around.         "Would somebody please fetch Diefenbaker he's at my apartment."         "No.. He's not."         Fraser looked at Welsh.         "He's already here."         "He's being lead around the precinct, we got one of Ray's shoes out of his locker and told him to track Ray."         "An excellent idea."         "Go and find him."         Huey and Fraser moved off and Welsh went after Dewey.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         They found Dief with Francesca who blushed when she saw Fraser. He remembered what Welsh had said about the photographs and blushed too. Huey ignored them. Dief was scratching at the door of a closet. Whipping out his note book Huey checked it.         "This is the very last place Ray was seen. Right here, in front of this closet."         "I saw him here."         "Ray?"         "No, Weatherbourne. He told me to get a file that Ray was breathing down his neck about.. A Forensics file."         "What?! Ray was only handling corporate crime. There was no reason for him to ask for a Forensics file. What file did he ask for?"         She thought about it and quoted the number.         "Did you get it for him?"         "Yes, but I couldn't find him to give it to him.. And I looked everywhere for Ray but I couldn't find him either.."         Then she frowned.         "Wait a minute.. That file had your name on it."         "He didn't see it.. He doesn't know."         "Know what?"         "Or perhaps he does.. Maybe that's why he wanted the file.. To stop us finding out who the skeleton under the floor boards belonged too."         "Skeleton?"         Fraser tried the door. It was locked.         "Can someone get a key for this door?"         Frannie held up a key ring.         Fraser took it and tried every key but none would slip into the lock. He looked at Frannie, opening his mouth.         "It should be on that key ring," she said not needing to be a mind reader to know what he was going to say.         Fraser closed his mouth and leaned toward the lock to peer at it.         Then he made them step aside and stepped back to the other side of the hall and ran at the door and slammed into it with his shoulder. It sent agonising pins and needles through his arm. The lock broke and he leaned on the door clutching his arm.         "Francesca.. Leave, please."         "He's in there."         "And I don't think you want to see the condition he may have been left in. He is more than likely naked, since someone has been seen wearing his clothes since he was locked in here."         She scuttled off but not far. Fraser moved away from the door and Huey opened it. Fraser poked his head in, then stepped into the closet. Huey stepped in. There was blood on the floor but no Ray. Fraser slapped his leg and Dief came to his side. Fraser squatted down taking hold of Dief's snout and made the wolf look at him.         "Find Ray. Ray has a Jelly Doughnut in a plastic bag for you in his pocket."         Dief started sniffing the air, then the floor and moved to the wall and started scratching it. Huey and Fraser watched him. Then Fraser frowned and stared at the wall.         "When was this wall repaired?"         "Repaired."         "I was angry with Ray.. I shoved him into the wall.. It broke. This wall isn't broken and there's no blood or scuffs on this wall.. And this stain here is cut in half."         Huey's elbow slammed into the wall and punched a hole through it. Then he started ripping the wall apart. Fraser wasted no time copying his example and between them they started ripping out the false back wall. Fraser's hand slipped behind an unbroken section and he heard plastic rattle and Fraser. So did Huey.         "Frannie!" They both cried out.         She appeared in the door way.         "Get an ambulance," Huey said.         "Oxygen!" Fraser said. "Remember (shellac man)."         He punched a hole in the wall above head height and Francesca ran.         Huey punched another hole in the wall and they heard more plastic rattling. Together they reached up and then put everything into Ripping out the center of the wall in one piece. It crumbled and broke away to waist height. Ray was revealed in the cavity left behind. Arm's spread eagled, hands out of sight. Contrary to Fraser's suspicion, Ray wasn't naked. He was dressed, in a clowns suit, his face made up like a clowns a dunce cap on his head. A Plastic sheet was stretched taunt from one end of the cavity to the other.                  Out came Fraser's knife and he ripped it away. The dunce cap tumbled away. Ray reached in to touch Ray's neck. Huey watched him, waiting to see Ray's chest rise and fall.         "He has a pulse, but it is extremely weak."         "If he's breathing, I can't tell."         They worked fast to break away all the remaining sheeting.         "Huey!" Welsh called out.         "In here, Sir. We found Ray!"         Welsh was in the door way a few seconds later.         "Ohmigod! Not Again!"         Huey and Fraser looked at him.         "Again?"         "Don't touch anything else. Not even him," Welsh ordered, then spun.         "Get a photographer in here *now*!! Double time!! And someone find those Bolt cutters at get them in here," Welsh bellowed.         They heard people scattering. Fraser picked up the Dunce cap and though he didn't like it, put it back on Ray's head, then he stood to the side.         "You've seen something like this before?"         "It happened to a cop at a Precinct I was at.. 10 years ago.. He was long dead when we found him."         "How?"         "I was nailing something to the wall.. And missed the nail.. The hammer went right through the plaster board and got stuck, when I ripped it out, a huge chunk of plaster came with it, and a I saw a withered hand...I ripped the rest of the wall down.. And there he was.. Just like Vecchio... Dunce hat and all."         "His name wasn't Fordam was it?"         "No. It was Samuel Cetera. He was a detective there, but he'd vanished during a murder investigation. He found some kid who was involved.. The kid vanished along with all his records on the case too."         Huey and Welsh moved as the Photographer arrived, let out a startled exclamation and was told to gawk later, and take the damned pictures already.         As soon as the photo's were taken the Photographer was sent on his way. The bolt cutters arrived as he left and were passed in and Huey and Fraser used them to cut the cuff's that had been used to stretch Ray's arms out and attach them to hooks in the wall, the real wall. Then the cuffs around his ankle were being cut away and he was being gently lifted down.         Huey pulled his coat off and wadded it up behind Ray's head and Welsh reached out and scrapped his nails over Ray's jaw, the edge of a piece of tape came up and he ripped it away. Ray's head moved. Huey and Fraser watched Welsh repeat the performance on Ray's brow and rip hidden strips of tape away from brow to cheek. They winced in sympathy when it ripped away his eyebrows.         "Sorry, Ray."         The naked skin revealed was bruised and moulted. Fraser tipped his head back, and Huey started heart massage while Fraser breathed for him. He reared back after the first one, wide eyed then took a deep breath.         "His stomach should be pumped."         Welsh nodded and Fraser resumed Mouth to Mouth till the paramedic's arrived and took over. Welsh and Fraser followed them out and Huey began searching the closet and wall cavity. He felt his blood run cold when found a black chess piece hidden behind a fragment of the panel.         He looked at the Rook in his hand then turned it over to look at the base. His name was on it. He searched the rest of the cavity and found a red checker piece. Flipping it over he saw Ray's name on it."         "What did you find?" Dewey asked and Huey jumped, his hand folding into a fist.         "A message," he said rising to his feet again.         "What was it?"         Huey flipped the checker at him. Dewey snatched it out of the air and looked at it. Huey stuffed the rook into his pocket while Dewey's attention was off him.         "What does this mean?" Dewey asked.         "He took out the leader of the rooks. They have the crown checkers. A Red one means the King Pin's have sentenced someone to death."         "What?!"         "The Rooks were behind this," Huey clarified. "Either that, or someone wants us to believe that."         "Hiram Westbourne was a member of the Rooks..."         "How did you.. I only just got that information myself."         "You have to ask? "         "Why didn't you say something earlier?"         "I thought he got out.. That he was one of the lucky ones. I was sooo wrong."         -They found him and killed him to pay me back.-         His hand closed over the piece in his pocket.         -Once a rook.. Always a rook.-         "There's only one Rook who could have pulled off that impersonation so well.. Giordi Franetello."         "Franetello.. Black guy with an Italian Grandfather. Went down for killing some Chef."         "Apprentice Chef.. An Italian," Huey said with a nod.         "That's the guy. He was a Rook?"         "This whole thing scream's Giordi to me.. He knew Hiram was dead and no one had ever been able to prove or deny it.. He put fake records into place to get in here.. He made sure he was assigned to Ray.. By forging order's to leave Welsh with no choice. He's as Gay as the Day is long.. He's got a thing for Italian Men and Buick Riv's.. Particularly the 1971 model. All though I never knew why. Ray said, he said, He lost his virginity in the back of one. And he knew Hiram was my friend. That he used to look out for me and he knew about something only two people knew.. Giordi and Hiram."         "I hate to tell you this, but... Someone else knows that deep dark secret of yours."         Huey looked at him.         "Because it wasn't Giordi.. He's dead."         "What?!"         "He was up for the death sentence."         "It couldn't happen to a more deserving bastard."         "He busted out of prison, back in..95' He was caught on a boat, on Michigan.. There was a fire fight.. A stray shot ignited a fire.. The boat he was on blew up. It didn't burn.. It exploded.. He's dead. A TV crew shooting on the lake saw the water police moving in, and captured all the action.. it was all over the news at the time."         Huey's mind supplied him with a vision of Giordi impersonating Hiram. Tugging on the black kid gloves he never removed.         "I've got news for you, Dewey. He survived it."         Dewey backed up as the Huey's face became murderous.         "And he's not going to live to regret the day he decided to take me on."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Huey found Fraser at the hospital, his wolf at his heels. Fraser rose from his chair.         "How is he?"         "They pumped his stomach, and revived him. He opened his eyes for a few seconds. They said, that until he regains total consciousness they can't tell us wether or not.. he suffered any brain damage."         Huey's eyes closed. He didn't want to think of his lovely vibrant and passionate Ray as a brain damaged moron.         "Doctor Morton was handling him, he knows me.. He told me.. What they found when they examined him after resuscitation."         "And.."         "He wasn't Raped."         Huey sagged into a chair in pure relief.         "But he was sexually molested.. there are bruises and bites everywhere. And..they found evidence he was forced to preform oral sex when they pumped his stomach."         Huey felt his guts twist.         "I knew that they would.. That's why I told them to do it. We now have the means to identify his attacker."         "Giordi Franetello."         Fraser was surprised.         "It's his MO all over. And I need your help to find him.. I know where he'll go .. but finding him *specifically* in that rats warren is something I need Diefenbaker to do."           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Two black clad figure's slipped through the maze of streets that was the Devil's triangle, following a wolf who's normally snowy coat was dyed black. One of those people carried a sub machine gun, several belts of ammo and a sting ray on his back, that and a large bulging bag at his hip. The other carried a belt slung around his body with the mini rockets that would if necessary be fired from that Sting Ray. He also carried a knife, a bolo, a blow pipe with special darts, and an interesting variety of nasty surprises that they left in their wake.         Huey told Fraser to duck, and he did, so did Huey. Dief growled. Fraser's bolo was detached from his belt. He peeked over his shelter and his special services black matt face paint kept his face from being seen, the infra red goggles he wore helped him to see the man patrolling a roof top with a sub machine gun of his own.         When the man turned his back Fraser's bolo came into its own. Huey watched the man drop off the roof to land in rubbish.         "Good throw."         "Can we retrieve it?"         "We'd make too much noise going over that rubbish."         He headed off again with Fraser on his heels. Dief lead them to a sewer pipe and they entered it and Fraser was glad Huey had told him to wear a mask over his mouth and nose. The things floating in the six inch deep sludge made him feel sorry for Dief.         Every time the pipe met an interconnecting tunnel Dief sniffed around, then moved on. Fraser left nasty little surprises behind. Then Huey pulled something out of his bag and tossed it to Fraser. Fraser looked at it, then gave a nod and at the next tunnel Fraser began leaving the extra nasty little surprises Huey handed him behind in every connecting tunnel.         Then Dief found the scent again, and they followed him into the connecting tunnel.       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Raimondo, Tesoro.. Cara Mia, open your eyes."         Ray opened eyes that felt like they had lead weights attached. He saw Huey leaning over him, then felt his lips touch his brow.         "The rooks gave everyone pieces like these," Huey told Ray holding up a piece.         "With numbers on the bottom. I was 132, Hiram was 131, Giordi Franettelli was 130. Hiram was killed 20 years ago.. Giordi impersonated him.. It was never Hiram it was Giordi."         He turned the rook over, holding it up so Ray could see the number on the bottom.         "Can you read that?"         "130."         "Giordi's Rook."         "Dead?"         "Yes."         "Kill him?"         "Yes."         "Slow?"         "Very."         "Talk?"         "Sang like a bird.. I got the names of the *four* kings, and all the knights.. The *leaders*. I know who each and every one of them is now. Now you concentrate on getting better, Caro.. Hmm.. I'm going to sit on that information till you're back on feet, then we're going to start kicking in doors and hauling in Rooks left right and center."         "Zat's nice."         "And we stirred them up a little."         "We?"         "Fraser and I.. We went in after Giordi.. and left some little surprises behind in our wake. They tripped all of Fraser's and we hauled in around 50 rooks this morning. As they started showing up at doctor's and here at the hospital. Nothing lethal of course, just *very* nasty surprises. Fraser can be quite vicious when he wants to be. Whatever he had in his little surprise packages made them break out in the nastiest rash you ever saw once they tripped the wires.. Made me glad I took him along.. Half of them were just kids.."         "Hiram..Giordi...whatever.."         "You want details?"         "Yes."         "It was Dief."         "Wha.."         "He got ahead of us.. Then we heard screaming.. By the time we got there he'd well and truly savaged Giordi. Fraser held him back while I told him if he wanted me to arrest him and carry him off to the hospital, so you could have the pleasure of being the one who carries out the death sentence he earned, then he better start talking. He sang like a bird. Whenever he clammed up, Fraser let Dief go again. We did bring him out and bring him here.. and oh dear.. if you'd just arrived a little sooner they might have saved him."         Ray snickered.         "The sweetest touch was Fraser's.. He told me to hold Dief and then reached down, just before Giordi passed out, and said, Remember me, I'm the Mountie, So called because I'm a mounted police officer.. Then he pulled a hypo out of his pants and held it up and said it was loaded with Equine Oestrogen, Horse sex hormones and that he was going to shoot Giordi up with it and introduce him to his stallion and see how he liked being raped by something hung like a horse because it was one."         Ray stared at him.         "Honest to god. Giordi let out a little whimper and passed out. He died thinking Fraser was going to carry out that threat."         "Kiss for me."         "Oh no.. You can kiss him for yourself."         "Kiss you."         Huey leaned close enough for Ray to raise his head slightly and kiss him. Then he patted Ray's arm.         "That's enough of that, the Doctor will toss me out if we start setting off your monitor alarms."         Ray's hand rose shaking like nothing Huey had ever seen before. Huey took it and kissed it.         "Didn' get.. a piece of me."   "So the doctor said.. I'm amazed. I thought he had."         "Zed.. too late.. bastard.. got beat.. by.. some other.. rapist.. with aids.. but.. go right.. ahead.. I'll get the last laugh when it kills you."         Huey laughed.         "He decided.. oral sex was the way to go after that.. Damn near chocked me.. Never ask you to do that for me again."         Huey stroked his face.         "He shot Frank Zuko tried to frame you for it."         "What?!"         "Witness placed you there.. We can prove it wasn't you.. But we don't need to. Zuko's such a slippery son of a bitch, that he even beat Death. Once he was up to questions, Welsh questioned him.. He said he heard your voice.. And a click first.. Fraser heard the same thing when Giordi came after him."         "Hurt Fraser."         "No Welsh arrived just in the nick of time to save him from a fate worse than death."         "That's.. why he threatened to introduce him.. to his stallion."         "Yes, love."         Ray squeezed his hand weakly.         "Zuko said he managed to get a look at the guy who shot him. Getting into your car. Dressed in a way you'd never dress."         "Doz'n know how I drez now dayz.."         "He also said the guy didn't have your big beak."         "Loverly."         Huey chuckled.         "You're in the clear."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         "Hey Frankie."         Zuko looked around to see Ray wheel himself in, in a wheel chair.         "I heard you were here.. What were you in for?"         "Being sealed up alive in a wall."         "Ah.. You alway's gotta try to take out the big guy's dontcha. Didn't anyone ever tell you going up against the Rooks is a fast way to end up dead? Every cop who tries ends up really dead.. and in a wall.. or a floor somewhere.. Gotta say though, you're the first I ever heard who got out alive."         "Yeah well.. It was a pretty near thing. You and me, we could have an argument about who was closer to death when they got us here.."         "Me.. No contest. I had two slugs in me."         "Irene say's hi. And thank you for stopping the feud.. Oh and that watch you've been going nuts looking for is behind the drawers."         "You win."         Ray smiled faintly.         "Did she tell you to go back?"         "Said I still had work to do.. Boy did I get surprise when I woke up.. And found out what Fraser and Huey had been up to while I was comatose. The Rooks never knew what hit em. Literally.. We're gonna go after them in a big way after I get outta here."         "More the fool you."         "Dintcha hear."         "Hear what?"         "Between em, Fraser and Huey nabbed 53 rooks.. From kids up."         "Impressive.."         "Huey's been grilling em.. He say's they got all the kids.. all the ones that are left are long term Rooks.. Only reason he's held off finishing what he started a long time ago was the kids.. Now he knows he got all of them in one fell swoop, he's planning a big raid.. It's gonna be really something.. Police from *Five* precincts, Military back up.. Choppers.. Weapons.. They're gonna clean up the Devil's Triangle once and for all.. and once they flush everyone out.. They're gonna blow it sky high.. Got permission from the Mayor to do it."         "Tell em to do a sweep for bodies first.. Heard stories.."         "Probably all in walls and floors around the place."         "Exactly. Though I hear the sewers around there have the biggest rats."         "Yeah, the two legged type. Huey and Fraser planted explosives in it."         "Luck.. Pure luck."         "Skill Zuko. There's a difference. That skill saved you from going down for Louis' murder.. And don't you forget it."         "Like I could."         Ray didn't pretend to not to know what he meant, but didn't acknowledge it either.         "Now we're even."         "What do you mean?"         "That.. guy.. the one who shot me."         "His name was Giordi."         "Was?"         "He's dead.. Dief tracked him and got stuck into him."         Zuko gave an evil grin.         "Yeah.. I did the same thing when I heard.. So what about him?"         "He looked like you."         "But his nose was wrong."         "No.."         Ray's eyes widened.         "He looked *Exactly* like you."         Ray touched his own face.         "I covered your ass."         "That's what he was doing."         Zuko just looked at him.         "He smeared something all over my face..while I was still dazed from his first move.. He pulled it off before he got stuck into my face. Must have been making a mask of my face.. Fraser said he was the ugliest son of a bitch you ever saw.. Burn scars everywhere."         "Now he's a dead son of a bitch.. Give that Wolf an extra big piece of steak for me.. No wait.. It's addicted to junk food isn't it.. Or so I heard."         "Yeah. That's right."         "What's its favourite thing?"         "It's a toss up between my Jelly doughnuts and milk duds."         "Give him both."         "Don't worry.. I intend to give him the biggest bag of milk duds you ever did see when I get outta here. They said he helped them find me."         Then he leaned closer.         "If you thought it was me, why did you lie?"         "Who said I thought it was you.. Knew it wasn't you."         "The click.."         "That was a clue. The biggest one was that he shot me in the back.. If you were going to take me down, you wouldn't do it with a bullet in the back. You'd make sure your face was the last thing I saw before I died."         Ray reached out to touch his arm.         "Irene gave me another message for you."         "What was it?"         "Give up the cigars, or you're gonna be joining her. And it'll be lung cancer that gets you."         "Message received. Did she say anything else?"         "Just a message for me."         "About what?"         Ray looked at nothing or at least that's how it seemed to him. He could see Louis across the room. The apparition vanished as soon as he focused on it.         "Someone's gonna die soon.. And she doesn't wan me doing anything stupid when it happens."       *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray's return to duty was cause for a double celebration. Huey announced the next day at 5am sharp the raid on Devil's triangle was going down and with *full* military back up.         "How'd you swing that?"         "Well it seems they're rather irritated about weapons that have been going missing. And were most appreciative when I told them who the Rook in their ranks was."         "Aha. I s'pose there's no point in asking you to *not* attend."         "I won't be there."         "You won't? Where are you going to be?"         "You and I are going to be kicking in doors in another part of town taking down the king pins, while their rats nest is being raided."         Ray ran a hand up Huey's chest.         "Not here."         "Who gives a shit what some KKK guy thinks.. If I wanna touch you I will.. in fact.."         He moved away to climb onto a desk and got himself some attention by announcing he had an announcement to make.         "Now that I've got some attention here I just thought I'd tell the whole world.."         He looked down at Huey.         "I love Jack Huey.. And we're gonna get married.. In Hawaii just as soon as our mother's get over arguing about the nitty gritty of all those things mother's get excited about at weddings.."         There was a smattering of applause and congratulations and Ray jumped down to give Huey a hard kiss.         "When you're close to death you learn a few things Huey and one of those things is to live your life to the fullest while you've still got it."         Huey smiled at him, then Ray was staring past him. Huey looked around, but couldn't see anything but colleagues sipping drinks and chatting. But Ray could see something and what he saw was Louis standing behind a man waving his arms around. Ray gave a little nod and Louis pointed emphatically at the man. Then Louis arms went out and he let his head lolled, like Christ on the crucifix, before he vanished.         "Ray?"         Huey waved a hand in Ray's face.         "Cara Mia?"         Ray worked it out and pushed Huey out of his way and went striding across the room.         "Yo Brubaker.. I want a word with you."         Brubaker looked at him and there was no mistaking the loathing on his face. Ray strode right up to him, planting his hands in the mans chest and shoved him back.         "You gotta problem with my announcement - Redneck?"         "Touch me again, faggot and I'll lay you out so fast."         Huey started moving in as did Welsh from the other side of the room. Ray shoved him again, and Brubaker threw a punch. Ray ducked, throwing one of his own right into his gut. When Brubaker was folding up, Ray was moving, his arm going out, then he heard Huey scream his name and looked around before Huey's hand's slammed into him and he went flying. He heard a gun go off and hit the wall.         He pushed himself up shaking his head a little dazed and looked around. Three people were right on top of Brubaker, and Huey he couldn't see Huey. But he did see Louis again. Right in front of him.         "Now he'll go down for it."         "Down for what?"         Louis looked around and down. Ray looked down and forgot all about Louis rushing to the fallen Huey's side. There were already a number of people there, one who moved and let him take their place. He wrapped an arm around Huey's back half lifting him. Huey looked at him wide eyed.         The tear's poured down Ray's face as he kissed Huey on the top of the head and stroked his face, ignoring the spreading stain of blood across his shirt front under Huey's hand.         "I love and adore you, Tesoro."         "Till death do us part."         "You know it, Cara Mia."         "I can see Louis... Why can I see Louis? Louis is dead."         Ray touched his brow to Huey's         "He's here for you.."         Huey looked at him.         "Take them down for me."         "Me and Fraser.. We'll be there.. Kicking in doors, 5am sharp."         "I never..got.. to borrow.. his uniform.. had.. it all.. planned..too.." Huey said, then his eyes rolled back and he went limp in Ray's arms, breathing his last.           *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         At 5am on the dot. Ray gave the especially deputised Fraser the order to kick in the door of the head king pin of the Rooks. With a mighty kick the door collapsed inward and they were soon hauling out a cuffed and indignant city council man who made lots of threats about taking badges.         Ray shoved him into the paddy wagon.         "Jack Huey says hi," he said before he slammed the door closed.         Across town the raid began.                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         3 days later, Ray stood before the assemblage in the church where Huey's memorial service was being held, he was dressed not in his uniform or black, but white, his spray on jeans, white silk shirt, and vest, the only touch of black was the band around his arm.         "When I was messed up and needed someone to take care of me, Jack was there. He always seemed to find the right thing to say to make me feel better. I don't know what the right thing to say is.. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Jack.. I'd be in his place. But that's the kind of man he was. Always putting others first."         He took a deep breath.         "I'm sure you all know what happened 3 days ago."   There were murmurs and nods.         "I suppose a lot of you were wondering how he knew so damn much about the Rooks.. He knew because he was once inducted into the Rooks. He told me about it once. Breaking away from that gang was the hardest thing he ever did.. The bravest thing he ever did was to return.. To go back for a friend who was being held by them.. He went back knowing what could happen.. That they'd kill him if they worked out he cut a deal with a cop. But he did what he set out to do.. he got out.. And he got his friend out too.. And a cop called Vincent Fordam gave him a chance to do something with his life. An opportunity he embraced whole heartedly."         He took a sip of the water left on the stand before he could continue.         "When he told me.. he knew enough to take down the Rooks I asked him why he hadn't done it.. He said it was the kids, like him, the innocents who'd be put in the front line. Well before that raid went down. Jack and..a friend went into the heart of the Devil's Triangle. No back up, no support. And used non lethal means of driving them out of that rats nest in a way that would make it easy to identify them. The next day they rounded up 53 rooks, half of them were just kids. Kids who will have a chance to live a normal life now. And once they were all out of the front line, he planned with military precision, and assistance, the raid on Devil's Triangle and did we kick butt or what?"         There was a murmur of assent.         "The Rooks are history. All because of one man, Jack Huey."         He looked up.         "Wherever you are Jack.. We took em down but good for ya."                *~~~~~~~~~~)(~~~~~~~~~~~*         Ray stood alone by the fresh grave of Huey, hugging himself. He was dressed in a rather bright ensemble, skin tight jeans, bright silk shirt, vest and coat, black band around his sleeve. Fraser almost blended in with a tree in his brown uniform. His hat went around and around in his hands as he wondered wether or not to approach. Then Dief slunk over to nudge Ray's leg. Ray looked down and jumped at the sight of the still black wolf.         That did it. Fraser stepped into view.         "It's just Dief, we had to dye his fur before we moved in on the Devil's triangle."         Ray looked around then, acknowledging his presence before he gave his attention to Dief. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a box of milk duds and opened it. Dief sat at his heel looking up at him while Ray ripped the plastic packet inside open. Then the squatted down pouring some onto his hand to offer them to the wolf.         Dief's snout went under his hand and pushed it up toward his face. Ray tucked away the box and gave him a scratch behind the ears.         "These are for you, for all your help. You'll make me happy eating them."         He offered them to the wolf again. This time Dief inhaled them up and gave him a wolfy grin and his tail thumped the fresh dirt a time or two.         Fraser approached while Ray fed the wolf the whole box of milk duds, one handful at a time. Out of Habit he almost told Ray off for pandering to Dief's junk food addiction. He managed to prevent himself.         "A huge carton of Milk dud's arrived on my doorstep this morning."         "Did it? Was there a tag on it?"         "Yes. It said, Ask Ray, FZ."         "Zuko."         "Why?"         "Cause I told him what Dief did to the guy who put two slugs in his back and almost killed him."         "Ah."         Ray looked over at the grave.         "It shouldna happened. I shoulda kept my mouth shut.. Like I agreed to."         "It would have happened, Ray. In a far worse way.. I was investigating.. And I finally got the answers I needed.. Brubaker was a card carrying member of the KKK, he was born in their heart land and his father, grandfather, brothers and uncles are all in the KKK, he was raised believing that their way was right. If you hadn't confronted him, he would have simply bided his time, and killed Huey in the way the KKK usually do, and decorated your lawn with a burning cross to make it clear why Huey died that way. Instead, Huey died a quick death doing something meaningful, saving your life. That's a much better way of dying than being degraded, and beaten to death in a way that gives the KKK a foot hold in this city, which a KKK murder of a black police officer would give them."         Dief rested his snout in Ray's lap, and Ray gave his fur a ruffle.         "Ma was against it."         "I thought you said.."         "Because he was black.. She knew it would only lead to trouble. She said it to my face. Even Huey said we should end it.. After the incident in the car park. But I was too stubborn.. I wasn't going to let anyone tell me how to live my life.. And look what it got me."         "I think there was more to it than just plain stubbornness Ray. You'd be doing the customary thing, wearing black, and saying all the right things, but it wouldn't hurt as much as it does if there was nothing more to it. Instead you dress the way he loved seeing you dressed. Just because it was the way he loved to see you dressed. And it eats you up that he died that way. At the hands of that man, because you announced to everyone your intentions to marry him. And I have no doubt you would have carried out those intentions. If all it was, was stubbornness, you would have ended it the night we had sex."         Ray hung his head.         "It shouldn't have happened."         "He knew about it."         Ray's head snapped up and around, eyes wide.         "He knew and we talked about it.. He would have let you go, he was planning to have one last night with you before he told you he knew.. and give you his blessing to follow your heart."         "He never told me he knew."         "At the time we were more concerned that you recover your health and didn't want to put you under stress."         Ray looked away and pulled a small foil packet from his coat and ripped it open with his teeth. Fraser was curious, but not for long. Ray rose and bent over the grave scattering the seeds from the packet all over the freshly turned soil. Another packet came from his pocket, and the act was repeated, thrice over. Then Ray went down on his hands and knee's and made sure all the scattered seeds and fertiliser pellets were covered with soil.         Dusting off his hands he rose and stepped back.         "What did you plant?" The curious Fraser asked as he followed, Dief on his heels.         "Forget me nots."         ===============================================         The End.         Copyright Red Skye, May 16th, 1998         All the usual disclaimers apply. All characters that I didn't invent for this story belong to Alliance. I just borrowed your toys to play with them a little. Return to Due South Fiction Archive