Mountie Not On The Bounty	Mountie Not On The Bounty by Iris Gray

 Author's webpage: http://victoria.tc.ca/~wy236/fic.html

  

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 Mountie Not On The Bounty
 by Iris Gray 

 

 Benton Fraser looked around at the tiny office that had been his home for
the past year. He supposed he should feel something, but he wasn't sure
what, exactly. Two days ago, he and Ray Kowalski had ended their
partnership. Ray had struck him, then he had insisted that Fraser strike
him in return. So he had done so, then Ray had driven him back here, and
said "Nice workin' with ya." Then he had driven away, out of Fraser's life
for good. He was also going to transfer, to a different precinct, where he
no longer had to pretend to be Ray Vecchio. 

 Fraser had said his goodbyes to everyone at the precinct, even searching
for Elaine and finding her at her new post at another precinct. Francesca
had cried, and Diefenbaker had licked her face. He had asked her to give a
message to her brother - her *real* brother - when he returned, telling
him where Fraser could be contacted in Canada. He had said goodbye to Jack
Huey, telling him once more how sorry he was that he had been unable to
reach Louis Gardino in time to prevent his being caught in the explosion
that had killed him. He didn't know Tom Dewey well, but wished him luck in
his new position. Finally, he had said goodbye to Lt. Welsh, who had
shaken his hand and thanked him for all the work he had done for the 27th
for the last three years. And all the while that Fraser was saying goodbye
to the people at the 27th precinct, the ones who had been his friends, Ray
Kowalski had just stood there, his arms folded across his chest, staring
into space. Apparently he had refused a 'farewell' party. 

 Ben did not know why Ray was so angry at him. It seemed he had done
*something* to upset his partner, but he had no idea what. That was Benton
Fraser, Mister Clueless. Good at hunting down and apprehending suspects,
but a failure at anything resembling a personal life. He sighed. He had
few possesions - everything he owned had been destroyed in the arson fire
at his old apartment. Some clothes, a spare uniform, a few books. And one
small postcard, his most prized possession - all he had of Ray Vecchio. 

 Turnbull entered the office. "Are you finished packing, sir?" he asked.
"I don't want to rush you, but the Inspector sent me to ask." 

 "Essentially, Turnbull, yes. I will be remaining here one more night and
catching a flight to Ottawa in the morning." 

 "It's been good working with you, sir. I hope I can live up to your
example one day," said Turnbull. 

 "Thank you, Turnbull," said Fraser. "I have enjoyed working with you,
also." 

 Turnbull offered his hand to Fraser. "Bonne chance, mon ami," he said. 

 Ben smiled. Turnbull's French was improving. "Merci, Constable. Au
revoir." 

 Turnbull turned to leave, then hesitated. "Is it really, sir?" he asked. 

 "Really what, Turnbull?" 

 "Really 'au revoir.' You know that means 'till I see you again' - well,
not literally, but - " 

 "I take your meaning, Constable," Ben sighed. "All I can say is, I really
don't know." 

 "Understood, sir," replied the younger Mountie. "A demain." 

 "Until tomorrow, Turnbull," said Fraser,and returned to his packing. He
was unaware that someone else had entered the office until that person
spoke. 

 "So, you really don't know if you're coming back, Fraser?" asked Ray
Kowalski, sarcasm in his voice. Ben turned and saw his ex-partner leaning
on the door frame. He tensed and braced himself. "Hello, Ray. What are you
doing here?" 

 "Came to say goodbye to ya," the detective responded. 

 "I thought we had already said our goodbyes." 

 "Nah, that wasn't goodbye. That was us poppin' each other in the face,"
said Ray. 

 "Oh." Fraser reminded himself not to show any feelings. He had known that
Ray Kowalski would leave, eventually, the way everyone else in his life
had left him. Perhaps he had inadvertently encouraged Ray to leave with
his behaviour - pushing his partner away before he got too close. But it
had turned out the same, in the end. "Well, then, goodbye, Ray. I am glad
we had a chance to work together, however briefly." He offered Ray his
hand, but the detective ignored it. 

 "Fraser, is that all you're going to say? Just, 'nice knowin' ya, Ray,
see ya round.' ? We were partners, Fraser - don't you think that's worth
fighting for ? Or didn't our partnership mean anything to you?" Kowalski
was definitely angry. 

 //Oh Ray, it meant more to me than you will ever know. And that is why I
must leave. You must never know how I truly feel about you.// Ben felt
suddenly drained. The events of the last two days must have caught up with
him. He sat on his cot and put his head in his hands. "What do you want
from me, Ray?" he asked in a tired voice. 

 "The truth, Fraser," Ray replied softly. 

 Benton raised his head and looked at Ray, his expression carefully
neutral. "I am sorry, Ray, but I don't understand what you mean." 

 Ray turned and struck the wall. The walls at the consulate were stronger
than the walls at the precinct, however, and his hand met with more
resistance than it had the times he had punched walls at the 27th. "Ow!"
he exclaimed and swore under his breath. "Dammit, Fraser, stop playing the
innocent with me. You know what I'm talking about. I may be damaged" - he
tapped his head - "but I ain't stupid. I'm talking about us. You an' me.
We were partners. Friends. An' then what happened? Suddenly we're fightin'
all da time. What changed? What aren't you tellin' me?" 

 //What changed is that I fell in love with you, Ray// Fraser said in his
head. "I don't know, Ray," is what he said out loud. 

 Ray sighed. He didn't believe Fraser, but he chose not to pursue it for
the moment. "Listen, it ain't entirely your fault. I tried to push you
away. I could feel us getting close, like when we had that thing with
bodyguardin' Stella, an' when you gave me asylum, even that time in the
crypt when you said I was attractive." He smiled slightly at the memory.
"I started thinkin' that, hey, maybe my life didn't end when Stella left
me. Maybe I could make a new start, even if it is under somebody else's
name. I got this new partner, an' he seems to think somethin' of me. Even
wants to be my friend. An' maybe we could even be more than friends, one
day. An' then I got scared, 'cause ya know, I thought I had it all with
Stella, and then one day, boom! she didn't want me anymore. I was afraid
you would do the same, so I started pushin' you, and I hoped you would
push back, not let me get away with it. But I guess I was right - yer
doin' just what Stella did." 

 Fraser stared at Kowalski. He was at a loss for words. Did Ray really
want to be 'more than friends', as he had put it? Did he have a chance
with Ray after all? Kowalski must have misinterpreted his silence,
however, because he was on his way out of the office. 

 "Ray!" Fraser exclaimed. Ray stopped. He had never heard Fraser put so
much *feeling* into his name before. "Uh...yeah, Frase? What is it?" His
heart was pounding so hard he was certain Fraser must be able to hear it. 

 "Don't go, Ray. Please. I owe you an explanation. Will you listen to me?"


 "All right, " said the detective, a touch of skepticism in his voice. He
perched on the edge of Fraser's desk. "What's yer explanation?" 

 Ben got up and paced around the small room. He rubbed one eyebrow as he
began to speak. "I have walls, Ray. Walls that have been erected over many
years to keep people out so that they do not have a chance to hurt me. The
few times I have allowed someone to get past these walls, it has ended
badly. Everyone I have cared for, it seems, has left me, the latest being
Ray Vecchio. And then when I met you, it was as if you didn't even notice
the walls were there, because you pushed your way right through them as if
they didn't exist. And I found that I was falling in love with you, Ray.
And it frightened me. I was afraid you would leave as well. In fact, I
tried to force you to leave me, and when it did not look as if you were
going to, I chose to leave instead...before you got too close." 

 Suddenly, astonishingly, Ray laughed. "Oh, Fraser, we make a perfect
pair! I tried to force ya to leave me, an' you tried to force me to leave
you. What do ya say we prove each other wrong, an' stay put?" 

 Fraser swallowed the lump in his throat and rubbed his eyebrow again. "I
would like that very much, Ray," he said. 

 Ray crossed the room in a single stride and took his partner into his
arms. Their mouths closed on each other and they were kissing, hard, each
afraid to let the other go for a single second. Then a voice interrupted.
"Constable Fraser!" 

 "Ice Queen," Ray mouthed silently. The two men moved apart. "Yes, sir?"
asked Fraser, as innocently as he could manage. 

 Inspector Meg Thatcher studied her deputy liason officer and his American
partner. "Does this mean you aren't taking that transfer, after all?" she
asked. 

 "Er, yes, sir, I mean, no, sir, I mean - I'm staying in Chicago, sir,"
stammered Fraser. 

 Thatcher smiled. "Good. Carry on, gentlemen. Don't wait up for me,
Fraser, I have a date tonight." Thatcher turned to leave, then added,
"And, Fraser, I suggest that you get a lock for this door." And she
sashayed away, leaving Ray and Ben staring after her, openmouthed. 

 Ray turned to his partner. "Speaking of dates..." he said suggestively. 

 "You have something in mind, Ray?" 

 "I thought we could have dinner, and then maybe we could head back to my
place for....dessert," answered Kowalski. 

 "May I make a suggestion?" asked the Mountie. "Why don't we go to your
place first, and order dinner in." 

 "Best suggestion I've heard all day, Benton-Buddy. Pitter patter, let's
get at 'er." He took Fraser's hand, and they headed out, toward their new
life together. 

 END 

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