My Friend and Brother   My Friend and Brother by Maria Pullella. 

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 The usual disclaimers apply, I didn't invent the Due South
 characters, Alliance did .. I just abuse them. I rate this
 a G, unless you count 'hell' as a swear word.
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The first thing Ben became aware of was the darkness ... the absolute
darkness. Then the pain made itself known, it moved over his being like a
wave. Far off and distant at first then building til it crashed over him,
choking and smothering him. Slowly the pain receded, leaving him in a grey
fog ... Shadowy images began to move in the mist ... he remembered.  

There had been a cry for help ... he was running ... chasing someone ...
down an alley. The alley ended, his quarry stopped and turned to face him
... a gun in his hand. At the look of desperation and madness in the
mugger's eyes Benton knew he had made a mistake, the man was trapped and
there is just no reasoning with trapped desperation. He'd watched in
horror as the gun had lifted. He'd felt the shot before he had heard it
... he was certain of that.  

Ray stood by the bed, it had been hours and the man laying before him had
not moved. He looked down at the pale face of his friend ... the guy was a
freak! What the hell had he been thinking, to chase that nut down a blind
alley like that! He had yelled at him to stop but Fraser never stopped,
ever. Yeah, Benton Fraser was a definitely a freak but Ray cared a great
deal about this freak. He hadn't known Fraser all that long, but he was
already sure they were becoming friends. Ray didn't have many friends, his
life had not been the greatest. No one ever seemed able to look past his
smart attitude and see what was beneath ... no one but the man on the bed
before him. He gently reached out and took one of Fraser's cold hands in
his.  

The warmth spread like fire through Ben's hand, banishing the cold
numbness. He was aware of his body now and he began to catalogue the
sensations. He was tired and there was a deep, raw ache in his right
shoulder ... the bullet. He was on his back and something soft was beneath
him ... a bed? It was cool, he could feel the chill throughout him, except
his hand, his left hand was warm ... someone was holding his hand.  

The door to Fraser's room opened and an orderly came in, at first Ray
didn't notice and didn't look up. Then he realised the man was wasn't
leaving, he had crossed the room to stand on the other side of the bed.
Ray looked up at him, into his slate green eyes ... Vecchio! It was Ray
Vecchio who stood on the other side of the bed staring at him, pain and
anger in his eyes. Vecchio looked down at the unconscious form. "I told
you to watch out for him ... to take care of him" he said softly. Ray
looked down too, staring at the hand he held "I'm sorry Ray ... I try but
it isn't easy ... the guy is a freak, he never listens and he never stops
... I sometimes think he can't be human." "No, you're wrong" came the
quiet reply "He is very much human." "Yes, ... I know" was all Ray could
think to say.  

Ben had the company of sound in the gloom now ... voices close and quiet.
He couldn't make out the words. He struggled, fighting to reach the
voices. As he did he became aware of other sounds, and smells... a
hospital. Benton had woken up in a hospital room enough times to recognise
this as one. The gloom finally parted and light filled Ben's world.  

The body on the bed moved for the first time and groaned softly. Vecchio
held Fraser's other hand and both men called to him, encouraging him to
wake up. Slowly the pure blue eyes slitted open, then opened wider. At
first they stared up at nothing, then slowly the glazed look faded from
his friend's eyes and focused on Ray ... "Ray?" came Fraser's shaky voice
and a faint smile crossed the lips. After a moment the blue eyes left
Ray's face, shifting over to lock onto Vecchio ... "Ray!" There was
surprise and joy in the voice now. Ray felt a twinge of envy which faded
as he looked across the bed at Vecchio and down to the smiling Fraser. He
knew the two men had been through a lot together, their's was a friendship
tempered by fires of love and loss. It was because of the strength of this
friendship that Ray had first met and then become friends with Fraser
himself.  

There was light everywhere now, bright stinging light and shapes, blurry,
indistinct shapes. Ben chose one of the shapes and concentrated on it,
willing it to clear. The shape gradually coalesced, it was Ray. He tried
to smile and heard himself say Ray's name, his own voice sounding weak in
his ears. He moved his eyes to see the other shape beside him RAY! He
looked into his friend's green eyes ... no, 'friend' wasn't right. Ray,
the new Ray, was his friend. This man meant more to him than 'friend',
much more, this man was his ... brother.  

He was tired, sleep beckoned, offering him its comforts. He looked, a last
time, at the two men standing over him. He had said, not so long ago, that
'people were not interchangeable like snowmobile parts' but it seemed to
him now that names were. 'Friend' was a name, 'brother' was a name. He'd
had a good friend named Ray who had become his brother. That 'missing
part' in his life had been replaced by a new friend named Ray. Now, he had
a friend and a brother ... both named Ray.  

Finita. immap@jcu.edu.au