This is my answer to Jeannie Marie's Thanksgiving challenge that was
posted to the Closet mailing list   

This is my answer to Jeannie Marie's Thanksgiving challenge that was
posted to the Closet mailing list.  

In this story, I tend to refer to Ray Kowalski as Stan. I do so for two
simple reasons. First and foremost, I happen to think that Stan is a
perfectly lovely name. Secondly, if I don't, the resulting confusion makes
my head want to explode.  Rated PG for mild m/m content, and huge amounts
of sap. You have been warned.  

In one of life's greater injustices, not only Benton Fraser, but both of
the Rays are owned by Alliance. But thankfully, we can sometimes set them
free to have the kind of fun they so richly deserve. No copyright
infringement, harm, offense or any other bad thing is intended by this
story, and no profit will be made.  

Even though it will probably disconcert her horribly, I am dedicating this
story to my wonderful and amazing friend Stephanie, for whom I am thankful
every day. (Gee, that wasn't too sappy, was it?)  A FAMILY THANKSGIVING  

In his career as a police officer, particularly as a detective, Ray
Kowalski had found himself in many situations that were highly unusual and
required him keeping his wits about himself, and that training and
experience were coming in handy now. It was the night before Thanksgiving
and he was in the Vecchio kitchen.  

When Rosa had found out that Ray's parents would not be in town for the
holiday, she had invited him to spend Thanksgiving with her family, and
also insisted he spend the night before.  

So, here he sat at the kitchen table with Rosa and Ray Vecchio, tearing up
bread for the stuffing while Frannie and Maria chopped vegetables at the
counter. Every few minutes one of the children would come tearing into the
kitchen to see how things were going, only to be chased back out by Tony,
who was attempting to keep an eye on the children while the adults worked.
 

Ray Vecchio looked up at the clock for at least the tenth time that hour
and let out a huge sigh. Stan ducked his head to hide the grin on his
face. Fraser was working late at the Consulate- again. Ben had told them
he would be there between 7:00 and 7:30. It was now 7:22 by the kitchen
clock, and Vecchio was all but fidgeting in his chair.	

Suddenly they heard the sound of happy barking and Diefenbaker ran into
the kitchen and over to Rosa, where he sat wagging his tail and looking up
at her expectantly. Ray's head snapped up and he looked at the kitchen
door in much the same way Dief was eyeing Rosa.  

After a moment, Ray's eyes lit up, and a huge, somewhat dopey smile spread
across his face as Ben entered the kitchen.  

"Hello, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving." Ben smiled.  

"Hey, Frase." Replied Stan.  

Rosa smiled at him warmly. "Hello, Caro. I'm glad you are here. Did you
have a safe trip over?"  

"Of course." Ben nodded and smiled.  

Ray got up from the table and crossed over to Fraser. "Hey, Benny." He
said, taking Fraser's knapsack. "Come on, let's get you settled in."  

Ben gazed at Ray for a long moment. "All right."  

Taking Ben by the hand, Ray led him from the room.  

Frannie stared after them, then shook her head. "Maria, can you finish
chopping the vegetables?"  

"Sure." Maria nodded.  

Fran moved over to the table and sat down in the seat her brother had
vacated. "I'd better help with the bread. We won't be seeing those two
again for a while."  

"Francessca." Rosa said warningly.  

"Ma, is there still any pasta left from dinner?" Maria asked.  

"Of course, Cara, quite a bit."  

"That's good. Ray and Benton are going to need it to build their strength
back up."  

Fran laughed, and Rosa shook her head. "You children are terrible." She
said, but she was smiling slightly.  

Stan looked at the three women and shook his head. This family definitely
took some getting used to.  

 

By 9:00 things had calmed down considerably. All the dinner preparations
that could be taken care of that evening had been done, and Rosa had
retired to her bedroom for the night. Maria and Tony had herded their
protesting children upstairs to get ready for bed; and all was quiet on
the first floor.  

Stan and Frannie finished washing up the last of the dishes, and headed
into the living room. When they got to the door, they stopped short.  

Ray was sitting in the big armchair with Fraser in his lap, and the two
men were very busily and happily kissing each other.  

"Oh. Umm..." Faltered Stan. "Look, we could come back later..."  

Ben started and turned. When he saw Stan and Frannie standing in the door,
he turned bright red and tried to stand up.  

Ray grinned and tightened his arms around Ben, preventing him from moving.
 

"Ray." Ben whispered.  

Ray gave him a huge grin, then turned to face the doorway. "Is there
something you two needed?"  

"Oh my God, would you two give it a rest?" Snapped Frannie. "You barely
got back from your pre-dinner boink fest."  

Impossibly, Ben turned even redder, and Ray laughed. "We were just giving
Thanks, little sister."  

Stan shook his head. He had known about Fraser and Vecchio's relationship,
of course, but he had never really seen it up close.  

For obvious reasons, they did not flaunt it at the station house or the
consulate, although a few times he had seen them exchanging looks that
were not strictly professional.  

But here at home, both men let their guard down and were very relaxed with
each other. Stan had noticed that it was hard for the two men to be in the
same room without touching each other. It wasn't always in a sexual way;
in fact, most of the time it wasn't. Just a touch on the hand, or a brief
squeeze on the arm or shoulder. But if they were anywhere near each other,
there was usually some kind of physical contact.  

And now, they had just been caught making out, and Vecchio, at least, was
completely unconcerned about it. It was a lot to absorb for one night.	

"Ray," said Ben. "Perhaps we should..."  

"What, Benny?" Asked Ray, still enjoying himself immensely. "You ready to
go to bed?"  

He gave Ben a long, considering look. "You do look kinda sleepy. Come on,
I'll tuck you in. Maybe even tell you a bedtime story."  

"Yeah." Said Stan before he could stop himself. "Tell him the one about
how a Mountie always gets his man."  

Without a word, Ben stood up and hurried from the room. Ray followed at a
more leisurely pace, stopping in the doorway. "You're catching on,
Stanley." He said approvingly, before following his lover upstairs.  

 

Thanksgiving morning found most of the family in front of the television,
watching the parade. Rosa had kicked everyone out of the kitchen,
insisting that she neither needed or desired any help.	

Stan looked around the crowded living room and shook his head. Fraser had
tried to tell him what it would be like, but his description had failed to
completely convey the experience.  

Not that it was bad, just... different than what he had been used to.
Kowalski holidays had not involved nearly this many people. Or the amount
of arguing, no matter how good-natured.  

Suddenly feeling like he needed to be alone, Stan stood up and left the
room. When he got to the hallway, however, he stopped and cursed silently.
For the second time in about twelve hours, he had stumbled upon Vecchio
and Fraser in a highly personal moment.  

Fraser was leaning back against the wall, and Vecchio was pressed up
against Fraser. Stan knew he should walk away, but found himself frozen in
place.	

Vecchio sighed. "God, Benny. I miss you."  

Ben smiled. "What do you mean, Ray? I'm right here. We had all of last
night and all day today together."  

"I know, Benny, but it's not the same. You finally get a day off and I
have to share you with my family? It sucks."  

Ben laughed softly. "You know I love spending time with your family, Ray;
especially holidays. But I wish we could be alone, as well. Maybe we could
leave early."  

"Yeah, right. Like Ma will let that happen." Ray heaved a huge sigh. "When
will you get some more time off, Benny? Christmas?"  

"I'm sorry, Ray. I know we haven't seen that much of each other lately,
but with these end of the year reports and everything..."  

"I know, I know. Someone's got to keep Canada running. But these long,
long workdays and six day workweeks are ridiculous, Benny. You need some
time to yourself."  

"Ray."	

"No, Benny. I really think they're working you too hard." Ray pulled away
slightly to get a better look at his lover's face. "You look tired, Benny.
Are you sure you're okay?"  

Ben sounded amused as he answered. "Yes, Ray. I'm fine."  

Ray reached up and cupped Ben's face in his hand. "I don't know, Benny.
You look so tired. Maybe..."  

"Ray, I am perfectly fine." Ben took Ray's hand into his own and drew him
into a kiss.  

Ray tried to say something else, but the words were lost against Benny's
mouth. Ben pulled away. "Ray, if it's all the same to you, I really don't
feel like talking right now."  

He pulled Ray into another kiss, even closer, and this time Ray didn't
protest at all. He reached up to touch Benny's face again, and Ben brought
his hands around to hold Ray's ass and pull him even closer.  

One of the men moaned softly, and it occurred to Stan that he really
shouldn't be standing here watching this. He turned around and went out to
the front porch and sat on the steps, thinking.  

Holidays sucked. He should have gone with his original plan and stayed
holed up in his apartment by himself all day. What was Rosa thinking,
inviting him to spend the day with family and friends?	

Stan sighed. Sometimes it was brought home to him what he was missing in
his life. He found himself actually envious of Vecchio and Fraser. Not
that he wanted either one of them, of course; but he did want what they
had. Romance. A relationship. Someone who actually cared about him and
worried if he was late from work. Someone who cared if he was eating and
sleeping enough and taking care of himself. Only he wanted that with a
woman. Was that too much to ask?  

He wanted a nice relationship with a nice woman. On the surface, that
didn't seem like such a difficult concept. He didn't want a relationship
with Stella anymore. That ship had long since sailed, and at the end she
hadn't been that nice anyway.  

Stan heard the front door open behind him and sighed. If that was Vecchio
and Fraser coming outside to continue their little love-fest in the great
outdoors he was going to punch them both right in the head. But it was
Frannie who crossed the porch and sat down next to him.  

"Are you okay?" She asked, and Stan looked at her in surprise.	

"Yeah, I'm fine."  

"Well, you didn't bring your jacket, and it's freezing outside. Here." She
handed him his coat, and as he took it and put it on, a slow smile spread
over his face.	

"Thanks, Fran."  

"You're welcome. Don't worry, Ray. We can be an overwhelming group at
first. But you'll get used to us."  

"Yeah? After how long?"  

"Oh, give it about a decade, and if it's not working out, we'll talk
again."  

Stan laughed, and Frannie took his hand into hers and squeezed it. They
sat on the porch in comfortable silence until dinner was ready.  

 

The family was sitting around a table loaded down with more food than Stan
had ever seen in one place in his life.  

From her seat at the head of the table, Rosa beamed at everyone. "All
right, children. Grandchildren. It is time to honor our yearly tradition
where we go around the table and tell what we are thankful for."  

Stan started. Oh, shit. He had to talk? This holiday kept getting better
and better. When his turn came, Stan cleared his throat, uncomfortably
aware that everyone's eyes were on him. "I guess most of all I'm thankful
that Mrs. Vecchio has a thing for taking in strays."  

A wave of laughter rippled around the table, and Ben smiled at him
knowingly.  

Rosa smiled at him. "I am very glad you are here with us today, Stan, and
you are not a stray. You are part of this family now."	

"Yeah." Stan nodded. "That's what else I'm thankful for. To kind of have a
permanent family here in Chicago. And friends. Frannie, Maria, Frase.
Hell, even you, Vecchio."  

Ray smiled at him. "Aw, cut it out, Stanley. I'm getting teary-eyed over
here."	

Rosa smiled at her son. "All right, Raimondo. Your turn."  

Ray took a deep breath. "Well, most of all, I'm glad to be home with my
family this Thanksgiving."  

Everyone else at the table voiced their agreement, and Ray continued. "I'm
thankful that you were here while I was gone, Stan. To cover my ass. To
take care of my family. To keep an eye on Benny; keep him out of trouble."
 

Stan laughed. "Yeah. Like that's ever going to happen."  

Ray grinned. "Well, as much as any human being could, anyway."	

"Excuse me," Said Ben. "But you two are aware that I'm in the room,
right?"  

"Well, it's hard to tell sometimes without that bright red uniform." Stan
said.  

Ray's expression had turned serious. "Of course I'm aware that you're in
the room, Benny. God, how could I not be? You are what I'm most thankful
for. Every day. I love you, Benny; and I'm thankful..." Ray's voice broke,
and he cleared his throat vigorously.  

Ben smiled softly. "I'm thankful for that too, Ray. And I am very glad
that I met you, Stan, and that you became my friend. And I am more
thankful than I could say to have a family again."  

Ben was suddenly having trouble with his own voice, and he sought to
lighten the mood. "And I am glad for the enormous amount of food on this
table. Shall we eat?"  

The rest of the family agreed, and before long everyone's plate was loaded
down with food, and the only sounds in the dining room were of people
enjoying their meal, and a wolf waiting not so patiently in the corner for
leftovers.  THE END 

Comments Welcome. ShannonK@webtv.net