Discoveries	  Discoveries by Adalisa

 Author's webpage: http://members.tripod.com/luxshine/

 Author's notes: English Version of Descubrimientos.

  

 Discoveries
 (Benton Fraser)
 By: Adalisa Zrate 

 -Then, since my legs weren't responding, Ray loaded Dief with our bags
and kept walking with me over his bag... It was curious, since I couldn't
see, and I hadn't any means to locate our position since the compass had
fallen from a hill some hours before... but Ray seemed very sure of
himself as we walked without direction. Of course, I couldn't argue or
protest since it was because of me that we were chasing that man. Ray only
wanted to stay on the plane to wait the rescue, but as my duty as
Condestable of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police forced me to capture the
killer, I was ready to do it even when I was... incapacitated, to put it
that way. I would have died trying to capture him, possibly. But Ray,
being my friend, didn't leave me alone and risked his life to help me. We
would have died if it wasn't for him, I never finished thanking him for
it. 

 -And the point is?- Stanley Raymond Kowalsky looked at Benton Fraser with
complete boredom. They had been together for two months, in the middle of
the tundra, searching 'the hand of Franklin pointing to the Beamount sea',
and, even when it had been a nice trip from his point of view, he was
getting tired of one little detail.- I don't know if you have noted it
Fraser, but you have just spend an hour talking and I still don't get the
sense of this story... One thing is solve cases in Chicago with Inuit
stories and other, very different, is to pass time in the middle of the
Yukon with Chicago tales. 

 -This didn't happen in Chicago, Ray- assured Fraser, as he stoke the fire
in their camp - We were going to rebuild my father's cabin... Which is
what we're going to do as soon as we get there. You see, after he shoot
me, Ray proposed that we rebuild it together. I think it was his way of
asking for forgiveness... But thanks to the accident we couldn't get
there... Ray never liked coming to Canada, and I can understand him, since
the first time he came... well, it was when Gerard's men tried to kill us,
and after that, when he helped me to bring a prisoner to canadian soil, in
order to save our lives he had to blow up his car... 

 Ray Kowalsky sighed, since he knew perfectly well that once Fraser
started to talk about his old cases with Vecchio, he wouldn't shut up in a
while... That usually confused him, since Fraser called Vecchio Ray, and
the Mountie also called Kowalsky Ray, and sometimes, Kowalsky wondered if
Fraser wouldn't prefer to be with Vecchio in the middle of nowhere.   Of
course Canada can't be blamed of those situations, since, after all, our
life was in danger many times in American soil... For example, there was
that time in which, helping Mrs. Gomez we ended up closed in a meat
locker, due to a slight miscalculation from Ray's part, or the time when,
helping me to find a car thief, Ray almost drown in the trunk of a Comet,
or that time in the bank bonus case when we meet Willie, when Ray was held
hostage by one of the robbers...Thinking about it, Ray risked his life
more times than necessary listening to my plans, but I know he trusted me.
 

 -Sure... That's why he kept helping you- insisted Ray, praying that it
would be the end of that subject. His mind was starting to show him many
reasons why Vecchio would follow the crazed Mountie, and really, he didn't
want to consider any of them, not when in that same moment, Vecchio had to
be enjoying life in arms of Stella, his own ex-wife. 

 -I never asked him... -continued Fraser, ignoring the pleading tone of
his friend, immersed in his own thoughts.- But... if he didn't want to
help, to do his duty... he wouldn't have helped me. At the end, all our
cases ended up as important cases for him at the Precint... 

 -And he knew that before he helped? I think he was using you. 

 Fraser turned to see Ray, shocked... In all the times Ray Vecchio had
followed him, complaining about everything, but never refusing anything...
Fraser never had thought that Ray was using him. After all, only in
clothing, Fraser had cost Ray thousands of dollars... Welsh had threatened
Ray with his job every time they were together on a case. No, it was
impossible that Ray was using Fraser, and he say it so to Ray. 

 -The only time when his help could have been with a secret agenda, was
when I lost my memory. I was the only one who had seen the license plate
in a car used in a kidnapping... But even then, it wasn't at all necessary
that Ray spent all his time with me... I remember that Welsh ordered to
use normal police procedures. But Ray ignored him and continued helping me
to remember everything. He was patient with me, he had a lot of tact when
he told me my father was dead... Like when he shot me... 

 Kowalsky turned his eyes to Diefenbaker, as his mutual friend returned to
his memories. The wolf only looked at him, with something close to pity.
Although judging by Stan's knowledge on lupine behavior, Dief could be
missing the precint donuts. That was too much for Ray, an ex-cop from
Chicago who had only got himself in Ray Vecchio's life because his own was
a disaster. He hadn't counted with the fact that said life wasn't exactly
a bed of roses. 

 -And then he put his newly found Riviera between the mobsters, Mark and
myself, even when he had just bought it to replace the one I had destroyed
before.... 

 Fraser's voice was even and calm, in the tone that Ray could identify as
'this story is never going to end', which made him look at his watch. 

 -Fraser... Fraser... Fraser!- Finally, Ray Kowalsky lift his voice enough
to interrupt the endless flow of words from his friend mouth. 

 -Is there a problem, Ray?- Fraser looked at his partner, frankly puzzled
to see him angry. 

 -Problem? No buddy, no problems here...But, I don't know if you have
noted that you just reached two hours talking only about Ray Vecchio and
your life in Chicago. 

 -Oh dear... Two hours, Ray? It didn't seem that long... 

 -That you got right. If we add all the time I spent the last two months
listening about your old pal, I have a week doing just that. 

 -A week? I think you're exaggerating, Ray. 

 -Stop calling me that. -The words where out from Stan's mouth with
difficulty. It was impossible that Fraser hadn't realized that he spend
all his time talking, it was impossible that he didn't noted how his voice
changed when he mentioned Ray Vecchio... It was impossible that he didn't
realize his own feelings. And at that thought, Stan stopped... What did
the Mountie feel for Vecchio? 

 -You told me that everybody called you Ray, Stan...- Fraser was very
surprised, but that didn't stop Stan from noticing the change of name. Oh,
and if that wasn't a clue to note that the thoughts of the Mountie were
very confused, Stan hadn't seen one. But it was obvious that the Mountie
didn't know what went through his own head. Sighing deeply, Stan began
speaking. 

 -Yeah, I know Fraser. Everybody calls me Ray... But when I'm with you I
don't know if you mean me or Ray Vecchio... So it's less confusing if you
just call me Stan. 

 -Ray is not here, Stan... How could I confuse him with you? 

 -Fraser, I'll just say it one more time... Every time we have some free
time, you know, doing nothing, you start talking about Ray Vecchio. Last
week you congratulate me for his birthday! You think about him all the
time, and you can't admit it! I just one to know one thing... Exactly what
you feel for him? 

 Fraser looked at Stan with a surprised look. He opened his mouth to tell
him that he and Ray were only good friends, but nothing came out if his
vocal cords. He remembered the question Ray had made to him a long time
ago 'And how many best friends do you have, eh?' and he smiled. And just
then, Fraser realized that Stan was telling the truth... He couldn't stop
thinking about Ray Vecchio, the Italian cop he had met four years ago in a
holding cell of the 27th Precinct. 

 Stan just watched his partner, as his friend reached a conclusion. It
wasn't easy to know what Fraser was thinking, but with some practice one
could get lucky and guess it. So the American began packing the things in
the camp, convinced that anyway, given the circumstances, he wouldn't
sleep anyway. 

 -What are you doing, Stan? -Fraser had a strange expression in his face.
Now, his eyes had the same sad gleam that Stan had noted the first time
they met, when the Mountie expected to find Vecchio and had found only
ashes...'So, even then your heart knew' Stan thought, closing one of the
bags. 

 -What does it looks like? For what you have told me, every time you
needed to talk with Vecchio, he appeared at your door, didn't he? -Fraser
just nodded, remembering Ray, still hurt because of an explosion, at his
father's cabin door, thinking about Ray, wounded by Muldoon's bullet, as
he returned to Canada.- But this time that ain't going to happen. You have
a lot of things to talk with Vecchio, and you can't wait for him to think
about coming him when he is enjoying life in Florida.- That sounded full
of rancor. After all, Stan still loved Stella.- So we're going to go to
the nearest airport, you'll take the first plane that takes you to Florida
and... well, you'll think about the rest in your way. 

 Two days later, Fraser was in the waiting room in Ottawa's airport, ready
to take the flight which would take him to Chicago, before going to
Florida. As Stan made the arrangements, he pulled out his wallet from his
pocket, the same wallet that Ray had given him when Fraser needed money to
pay Willy and that he had never returned. Inside it, he had a magazine
clipping, a little crumpled due to it's age, from the Bolt trial. In it,
Ray smiled at his side, with one arm resting over Fraser's shoulder, who
had a tiny smile, knowing he had done his duty. It wouldn't be long before
he saw his old friend again, and his heart knew it, since it seemed to
beat with more energy than before.- You're my best friend, Ray.- he
whispered, putting the clipping in it's place as Stan returned.- And no
one can replace you in my heart. 

 End 

 E-mail me: marioz@spin.com.mx