Sweet Surrender   
 Sweet Surrender
 by Adia
 
 Stanley Raymond Kowalski sat with his feet perched upon the
 desk top. Francesca Vecchio was making her way through the
 station, high heels, skinny shoulders, bare midriff and all.
 She rounded the corner to find the spiky blond hared detective
 sitting in her swivel chair watching the screen saver decorate
 her computer screen. He suddenly took notice of her and jumped
 up out of her chair, "Hey, Frannie, glad yer here." He was
 speaking so fast again she could hardly understand him. She
 gritted her teeth. His non-stop sugar-highish super-energy was
 wearing really thin. It was too early in the morning for this.
 She lost every thread of patients and snapped at him, "What
 do you want Ray?" She looked over at him just in time to see
 his eyebrows dance. Winking them up and down wearing a suggestive
 half smile. Francesca rolled her eyes and shook her head.
 He spoke in a slow soft tone that made her skin hot, "You know
 what I want." He looked her straight in the eye and his smile
 grew more wicked. 
 Frannie flung the back of her hand at him and managed to lightly 
 slap his leather sleeved shoulder, "Stop it!" her pale cheeks flushed 
 a bright pink, "You're gonna blow Ray's cover! If you keep acting 
 like that, no one's ever gonna believe we're brother and sister." She 
 sounded annoyed. 
 He was mid word in saying, "So?" when a red-clad Mountie turned the
 corner, "Ah Ray, I was looking for you." The Mountie stopped
 and took his index finger and pointed it to the side of his
 forehead, "I was wondering if you recall a certain, Mr.
 Cahill?" Stanley was staring at Francesca. Fraser impatiently
 sought Stan's attention, "Ray... Ray!... RAY!" Stanley shook
 his head quickly as if to shake the thoughts occupying his brain
 right off. 
 He soon picked up on the conversation and was once
 again mid sentence, "Yeah, Fraser what about h-." 
 Francesca slipped in between them and pressed herself close to the 
 Mountie,
 "Hi Frase." She tossed her head back ever so slightly making
 her brown hair bounce, "How'd you sleep last night?" She coyly
 placed her index finger upon his chest and drew an invisible
 heart on his red serge. 
 Fraser who looked hardly even phased by this attractive woman throwing
 herself at him spoke calmly, "Just fine, Francesca, I find sleeping on 
 the 
 floor very refreshing." She looked puzzled. Stan stepped to the side and
 nodded to Fraser to follow him to another part of the station.
 Fraser picked up on the cue. 
 Francesca looked at him confused, "Refreshing?" 
 He turned around and covered his heart with his
 Stetson, "Oh, yes, you should try it sometime." He nodded several
 quick nods then turned on his heels and continued on his way.
 Francesca exhaled and flopped down in her chair. She picked
 up an emery board and brushed away at her nails. How could this
 be happening? If Kowalski didn't shape up and start hiding things
 better she didn't know what she was going to do. Things had
 been so much easier before. When she flirted with Fraser because
 she wanted to, not just to make everything look normal like it
 had been only weeks ago. Her silent contemplation as abruptly
 interrupted by her name being roared out, "Francesca!" Uh-oh.
 She quickly shoved the emery board into the sliding desk drawer
 where she kept various other cosmetics and useless things like
 pencils and paper clips. She wasn't watching too carefully and
 in a rush to appease the angry sounding voice she accidentally
 slammed her finger in the desk drawer with a crunch. A sharp
 high pitched yelp left her lips and her wounded finger immediately
 flew to her mouth trying to ease the pain of her bruised finger.
 "Yes sir?" she composed herself and asked weakly. 
 Lieutenant Welsh passed by her in a rush, "I want the file on that clown 
 Cahill.
 Pronto!" He had only paused as her passed her desk heading down
 the hall and into one of the interrogation rooms. Frannie's
 shoulders slumped and she set off tiredly to fetch the file.
 She passed by Huey and Dewey who were practicing their
 one-liners. Sometimes working here just wasn't worth it.
 She brought the file over to the interrogation room finding the
 bounce in her step once again. Remembering to knock on the door
 as the Lieutenant had always been pounding into her brain. She
 quickly used her knuckles to tap on the door twice before
 entering. In the room stood Kowalski, Fraser and Welsh all
 surrounding the suspect. Kowalski looked especially antsy and
 Fraser was looking as collected as ever. Behind her Huey and
 Dewey followed in, "Yes Sir?" Dewey asked the Lieutenant. 
 Untill Welsh turned to them Frannie hadn't noticed the man in a suit
 standing in the corner. "This is agent Spender from the FBI."
 The man moved forward into the room and looked Fraser up and
 down very questionably, "What's a Mountie doing here?" Fraser stood
 up even straighter and Kowalski rolled his eyes knowing exactly
 what was coming. 
 Fraser had started in that well known tone
 as he motioned his hand in a rolling way as if to say, "Well,
 sir," which he did say to start the sentence, "I first came
 to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father and..."
 As his words drifted on Francesca slapped the file down on the
 table and headed out of the room. How many times could she hear
 that? She used to think she could have listened to that forever.
 But that was before.
 She was only seconds outside of the door when Kowalski slyly
 slipped out of the interrogation room. In one fell swoop Stanley
 managed to snatch Frannie by the arm and yank open the door
 to the observation room. He pulled her into the dark vacant
 space and closed the door firmly behind him. As she was being
 pulled in she almost screamed shocked, "What the he-" Before
 she could finish the words her mouth was silenced by his full
 lips covering hers. 
 Frannie was a little surprised, but thoroughly enjoying it.
 Stan showered kisses on her lips, quick soft kisses. Kisses
 that she knew well, kisses that worked their way through her.
 One's that she knew would deepen given the moments opportunity.
 But this was at work. He hadn't done this since, well, since
 two months ago when they had run into eachother after hours
 in the station. Alone. Just the two of them...
 *******************************
 Francesca had been kind enough to invite him back to her mother's
 house for dinner. Her mother truly adored him and felt like
 the skinny boy could always use a good meal. Frannie hadn't been
 terribly fond of Stanley in the first place, she was so blind
 that she had programmed herself so that her eyes only saw Fraser.
 However, things had changed in her life and for one small tiny
 fraction of a second, she opened her eyes. Stan just happened
 to be standing right in front of her that night. It was late
 and he offered her a ride home since he was going there for
 dinner anyway. A friend had dropped her off at work in the
 morning. She was in need of transportation home so she figured,
 "Why not?" which lead to the both of them in the station after
 hours with the lights out. Even Welsh had gone home. Scattered
 lights were on in other parts of the station due to other city
 cops, but for the most part they were alone as Frannie searched
 through her desk for her house keys.
 Before Stanley even knew it he was watching the way her skirt
 shifted when she leaned across her desk, the way her hair
 glittered with goldish highlights, the way she spoke softly
 when they were alone. Suddenly it occurred to him that he really
 wasn't as irritated by Frannie as he once thought. No, it wasn't
 that he didn't like her, it was that he did like her. And
 it was confusing the hell out of him.
 It had only been two weeks since Stella had been dating a local
 Alderman and through a wild twist of events Stan and Stella
 had ended up at her place with his heart poured into her soul.
 Once again. He had said those words that seemed so easy to say
 with her. As easy as breathing, "Stella, I love you." At one
 time those words had been all that sustained him. His love for
 her. Despite her lack of love for him. But he couldn't see
 it, and never did. He knew it wasn't the brightest thing to
 try to get back with his ex-wife, but he felt like he had nothing
 left. In fact, this had been the first time in his entire life
 where he had felt completely alone. He had never felt lonely,
 but now he felt nothing else. Just loneliness and emptiness.
 The problem wasn't his lack of Stella, it was the lack of 
 himself. He truly, even at 37, didn't know who he was yet and
 he felt lost. Like a child wandering too far from safety.
 Honestly, lost.
 Stella was all he'd ever known, she was everything to him but
 the night after the incident with the Alderman and the man who
 tried to kill Stella, Stanley finally realized, it was over.
 Stella would never again feel the way she once had, and by far,
 she would never again love him. Which blew his fragile heart
 into a million shattered splinters of glass. So of course he jumped 
 at the chance for a little real conversation and human contact with 
 people who enjoyed his company. The only thing that bothered him 
 was that he was still confused as to weather the Vecchio family 
 lavished attention on him because they liked him, or because he 
 was just a replacement for their long lost Ray. And what scared 
 him the most was the idea of the latter. That it was only part of 
 the cover. He was getting sick of pretending to be someone else 
 and it was starting to confuse him. He wasn't sure he even had a 
 friend in the world. Yeah, Fraser was great, but maybe he was just
 like everyone else, pretending to befriend him. Pretending.
 Despite all his doubts he had tried to keep it all inside. All
 his fear. All his worries. He had learned how to live behind
 a mask, and never let his guard drop. He had accidentally made
 himself vulnerable once before, and she had nearly killed him.
 But, hiding was safe. If he just acted like he didn't care,
 like nothing mattered. If he turned away quick enough to avoid
 anyone seeing the sadness in his eyes. If he just kept pretending
 to be his hyper-active, instinctive self then no one would know.
 It wasn't just an accident that Frannie had opened her eyes when
 Stanley happened to be standing in front of her. It wasn't a
 mistake. It wasn't just chance. There was a reason they were
 alone in that station that night. A purpose. Two lonely people
 with their hearts out on silver plates for other people who
 only spit on them. Frannie wasn't new to the concept that Fraser
 was having nothing to do with her. Frankly, she was getting
 quite sick of it. It was hurting too much to spend the eternity
 of her life chasing after a man who didn't even acknowledge
 her presence. And the worst part was, she knew it. And she knew
 it was never gonna happen. Fraser was never going to feel
 anything for her. She had realized this a few weeks after she
 started working at the station. It was obvious how oblivious
 of her he was. It was then that she knew and it was then that
 she admitted it to herself.
 She had to accept the fact. It was a lot harder than she had
 expected. Every last glimmer of hope had been sucked from her
 over the course of the last week. Fraser was not worth her
 energy, but she couldn't bring herself to stop her behavior,
 she didn't really know how else to act around him anymore. All
 she knew was, she was deeply disappointed. She started to notice
 that Stan wasn't quite as obnoxious as usual and he hadn't been
 correcting her every statement, no matter how weirdly she'd
 screwed it up. Suddenly things were starting to become very
 bizarre and she was starting to feel really strange.
 Once she had located her keys and slipped them into her purse
 she turned to Stan to find him perched on the edge of his desk,
 arms folded, eyes focused, eyebrows climbing further up his
 forehead. 
 "What's wrong?" This time the words left her lips significantly
 gentler than ever. Ordinarily she would have snapped out her
 reaction to him, but for some strange reason she didn't feel
 the need to fight tonight.
 He slid off the desk, "Nuthin', why?"
 "No reason." She flashed a quick smile that disappeared as she
 turned from him. Tossing her head back she quickly changed the
 subject, "We gonna airplane?"
 Stan almost let the comment slide due to how distracted he was by the
 way her hair shimmered and bounced above her shoulders. And
 how much he wanted to lean forward and just lightly touch it.
 Touch her. Still, he couldn't waste the opportunity. Not to
 mention the fact that his over active brain was causing a thick
 fog of discomforted to roll in, "You mean 'jet', Frannie. We're
 going to jet. Not airplane."
 Francesca sighed in exasperation, "Airplane, jet, helicopter,
 who cares!?" She waved her hands in the air dismissively. There
 she was. Back again. Good old Frannie. Maybe it had just been
 a passing mood. Nothing more. Just an amusing thought. That
 had to be it.
 Stan had spent the entire drive to the Vecchio household trying
 to convince himself of that. Desperately trying to convince
 himself that it was just a figment of his imagination. And it
 had almost worked. Almost.
 After dinner was finished. Francesca was in the kitchen
 standing at the sink with her mother. Stan was a good man, he
 hadn't been raised to be rude. He had good manners and enjoyed
 using them. Especially in the company of women when his manners
 became quite skilled and almost, dare to compare, Mountie-like.
 He had been picking up the dishes from the table and carefully
 carrying them over to the kitchen counter offering to wash them,
 though Ma Vecchio would have none of that, "Ray, you are such
 a nice young man. Such good manners and such sweet face." Her
 accent was thick and she placed her hands on his cheeks and
 kissed his forehead, "Ray, you make wonderful company. Francesca
 should be so lucky to work with a boy like you." She turned
 to her daughter whom she loved more than life, "But, you
 Francesca, walking around with your head in the clouds." She
 mildly scolded her, "Open you eyes, child. Your a good girl,
 Francesca and I love you, but I'm not the only one. Open your
 heart my dear." She then kissed Frannie's wrinkled forehead in
 the identical manner she had just kissed Stan's. After giving
 Stanley a smile she quietly left the room.
 They both stood. In silence. For a long, long moment. Finally
 the block of ice that surrounded them suspending them in mid
 air was broken by Stan, "Are you sure I can't wash these for
 ya?"
 "Nah, you're our guest." She shrugged, "Sorry, about that. Ma's
 a little strange sometimes."
 Stan shook his head and quickly threw in, "No, actually I'd
 say she's very perceptive." 
 He immediately regretted that. He knew all too well that he had 
 just given too much away. He knew that when he did stupid things 
 like that only bad and painful situations resulted.
 Frannie stood there for a moment, "Perceptive?" Her words were
 barely muttered under her breath as she moved closer to him.
 Filling in the empty space between them. He could feel his
 world growing smaller and smaller, like a force field of static
 electricity that was drawing them nearer to one another. Right
 on cue as she was leaning closer to Stanley she felt a little
 tug at the bottom of her mini-skirt. She silently cursed her
 families habit of bad timing under her breath. She looked down to find
 an adorable little girl who was teetering around, barely able
 to walk with curly dark hair and a nose almost identical to
 her own. 
 Her niece. She sighed inwardly then turned to the child, "Yes?"
 Stan took a long step back and cleared his throat nervously.
 Finding a clean fork on the table, he picked it up and busied
 his hands with it. Anything to avoid anyone actually knowing
 how nervous he truly was. The little girl whined, "Aunt Fran,
 I can't sleep." She could barely form intelligible words.
 Francesca bent down and scooped her up turning to search for
 Stan who had disappeared further into the dining room. When
 she spotted him she smiled, "Um... I'm gonna go get her mom
 to put her back to bed."
 He was just standing there. His eyes soft with an almost 
 tangible warmth. Why hadn't she ever seen this before? He hadn't
 moved a muscle and after she'd finished her sentence she hadn't
 taken a breath either. She was terrified to. Afraid if she
 somehow moved, breathed, let her heart take a beat that it would
 ruin this. This moment she had stumbled into. When for the first
 time ever she was seeing him. Who he was. On the inside. All
 the fear, love, disappointment, hope, and redemption that he
 held within himself. In the furthest deepest ocean of his heart.
 Trapped inside for so long.
 "I could take her?" He offered quietly. His voice was soothing
 and warm to her now and all she wanted to do was close her eyes
 and listen to the sound of his voice forever. He stretched his
 arms out and Frannie passed the child onto him, wishing in a
 tiny corner of her mind that she could be the one being held.
 Wrapped, close to his heart, in his arms. Quickly she left the
 room looking for her sister while trying her best to keep those
 thoughts out of her mind. What had gotten into her lately? Could
 it be Ma was right? Nah!
 On her way back to the dinning room she could hear a whisper
 of a voice. A smooth tone, not talking. Humming. The closer
 she came to the room the more she recognized who was humming
 the soft tune. She found Stanley cradling the sleeping baby
 in his arms. Swaying side to side, his feet moving in a slow
 subtle pattern. Dancing. He was gently patting her back in a slow 
 rhythm while dancing invisible circles around the room which 
 had soothed her enough for her to fall asleep. Frannie wished that 
 for once in her life she could have just a little of that security back. 
 That
 snugly feeling that surrounded her when she was that young.
 Something she'd lost long ago and never recovered. 
 When he turned and sensed her presence he stopped dead in his
 tracks, meeting her eyes directly. A slow blush spread up his
 cheeks, "Sorry."
 She couldn't stop herself from grinning at the peaceful image
 in front of her. "Don't be." She cautiously stepped closer and
 placed her hand out and onto her nieces back then took her other
 arm and carefully wrapped it around the back of Stan. Pausing
 a moment reminding himself not to let his own guard slip again he
 actually leaned in slightly towards Frannie. Right then he felt
 as though time stopped. He shifted so that he could move his
 hand around to bring Frannie closer to him. She felt him pull
 her into the circle and wrap her in his warmth. A little pocket
 of pure indescribable soul-filling bliss he had just created.
 As though the world beyond them simply did no longer exist.
 As they swayed together he managed to bring his head down and
 lay upon Francesca shoulder. He sweetly let his lips brush past
 the soft skin on her neck just under her jawline. She closed
 her eyes. Terrified that if she opened them she would wake
 up from this dream. Wake up alone. As always. She wasn't sure
 she could handle that, so she sealed her eyes shut even tighter.
 She could feel a heat start to smoke from her pulse points.
 Her heart certainly was racing for being as relaxed as she was
 at this moment. She had never felt such a sensation as that.
 That of being totally secure and calm yet completely intensely
 alive. Her heart was racing so rapidly she worried it might
 just burst from her chest. Oh what a mess that would make, not
 to mention what a way to kill a mood. 
 Speaking of ways to kill a mood, there was Maria, right
 on time. Mood killer number one, "Gee, I didn't know the party
 was in here." Once again Stan stopped dead in his tracks.
 Frannie's sister slipped the baby from his arms and carried
 her off to bed, "Thanks for watching her, Ray." 
 He shrugged and shook his head, "Aw, no prob." 
 Frannie had released her hold on him. As her niece and her sister exited
 the room and made their way upstairs she turned back to Stan.
 "Thanks for coming for dinner, Ray."
 "Thank you. I mean, this is the most fun I've had in a long
 time."
 Frannie frowned slightly, "Really?"
 He looked down and stared at the carpeted floor then slipped
 his hands in his pockets, "I don't really do much since Stella
 and I split, ya know?" He shrugged. 
 With great concern seeping into her voice, "Sounds lonely."
 she whispered. 
 "You have no idea." he nearly choked the words out the same
 way he had that night in the car with Fraser after they dropped
 the Alderman and, non-intentionally, Stella off. He'd had to
 explain it to Fraser, and that was hard enough in itself that
 he nearly caved in. This was impossible. How could he stand
 here beside a woman he so deeply cared about, and cared about
 impressing and then do this? Let it all crumble in front of her. What
 would she do? Run screaming in the opposite direction he feared.
 Instead her reaction surprised him, she was still here. Planted
 solidly in front of him. No wavering. No intention of leaving.
 "No, actually, you know, I do know how it feels to be empty."
 though she had kept her tone low, he had heard her loud and
 clear. Not so much what she said, but what she hadn't spoken.
 All the meaning she had let her eyes bring to him. 
 "It sucks doesn't it Frannie?" Was all his nervous mind could
 think to say.
 "Yeah, it does." She nodded in agreement, "Um, why don't I walk
 you to your car?" He had been shifting his weight from one leg
 to the other as he conversed with Frannie. She could sense there
 might be something more he wanted to say, but this wasn't the
 place to discuss it. 
 She slipped her hand into his and walked him out the door and
 down the drive way. They were standing beside his GTO under
 the orange glowing light of a street lamp. 
 "Your family is really nice Frannie, real nice." He had taken
 her other hand in his and leaned against the hood of his car
 bringing her to stand closer in front of him.
 "Are you kidding me? You don't have to live with them everyday."
 They both chuckled a little at her remark. 
 "I would love to have one of those." What he had just said didn't
 make a whole lot of sense to Frannie so she gave him a look
 expressing her misunderstanding. He finished his last statement,
 "I just mean that I want a family like that. You guys seem to
 get along so well, even though ya might fight or argue, deep
 down ya guys still love eachother and you can see that. I never
 did have a great relationship with my dad or any of my family
 for that matter. It just looks like a wonderful place to be.
 Everyone is so warm and affectionate. Meanwhile I feel like
 I was raised in a museum compared to you." He was rambling again
 like he always did when he touched upon a subject that was
 layered with meaning so deep he could never tackle it all. 
 Frannie felt herself freeze for a moment. She just realized
 something about Stanley that seemed so obvious that she almost
 hated herself for not realizing it in the first place. This
 man was starved. Not food starved, like Ma had always insisted
 he was, but love starved. Affection starved. Warmth starved.
 And it was killing him. Slowly and steadily. Like he had said
 his home was never a place where warmth ran freely, then when
 he thought he had found what he needed in Stella, she completely
 rejected him. Tossing him aside for her career, not realizing
 she could have had both. But she didn't want both, which made
 her cold and caused Stanley to give up completely. Had he even
 been on a date since the divorce? He had worshipped her, believing
 with all of him that she was going to be the one. The one he
 would love for the rest of his life. And up untill this moment,
 he had still believed it too. 
 Frannie felt an overwhelming need to say this, even though it
 didn't really fit into their current topic of conversation,
 "Ray, I am so proud of you." 
 He quickly shifted his eyes to meet hers, wanting to know if
 she was telling the truth, "Me?"
 "Yes you." She had released her hands from his and moved them
 freely to his face. 
 "Why me?"
 She placed one hand delicately on this face. Tracing her
 fingertips along his skin. From his temple to the crease on
 his cheek that deepened when he smiled. She adored it when he
 smiled, the way the his face changed form and the entire
 universe lit up. She wished he did it more often. Wishing
 he had cause to. She hoped after this he would. "I'm proud of
 you for being you." For enduring, for not giving up. If you
 had given up where would I be? Though she didn't say what she
 wanted to, what she said next made up for it, "For being the
 one I could love for the rest of my life." 
 Stan's eyes grew daringly wide. A million questions were racing
 through his mind, most of which had to do with, "What about
 Fraser, I thought he was the one you'd gladly die for." But
 he couldn't bring himself to say any of that. For he had already
 surrendered. 
 Her hand was soft and a certain heat radiated from it making
 him feel something more than just her warmth that she shared
 with him. He closed his eyes and let his head fall into her
 hands. Drifting far away from what was the present. Trying his
 damnedest to hold onto this moment. To grasp it and possess it
 with all his might. In his soul he was feeling something
 completely different than he ever had before. Something so foreign
 to him that he didn't recognize it. One of those amazing feelings
 he couldn't find words for. He couldn't put into words how she
 was making him feel and probably never could. the closest he
 came to describing this feeling was, "I belong. For the first
 time in my life, I finally feel like this is where I'm ment
 to be. With her. Near her... I belong." Ordinarily he would
 have chuckled at himself for having such a foolish thought,
 and of Frannie no less. Of all the people in the world Frannie.
 Why Frannie? He didn't care why really, he was too busy being
 content. Marveling in the idea, Frannie. The truth, a
 realization. All this time. He had finally found his angel.
 And it was Frannie.
 That had been what had done it for him. She had pulled him off
 the ledge when he was about to fall, jump, be engulfed in a
 never-ending night of darkness and an endless bone chilling,
 freezing coldness. It had scared him beyond emotion. And it
 delighted him beyond words to realize there was actually someone
 who cared about him. Someone who loved him, and more importantly,
 someone who liked him. He was afraid that might be impossible.
 He had been reminded by Stella and eventually himself of all
 his bad qualities and traits that he feared deep into his soul,
 filling his mind everyday with an indescribable panic and fear
 that no one, no one would ever love him. The way he had loved
 before. The way he needed to feel complete. The way Frannie
 had made him feel.
 *******************************
 His kisses were intoxicating, but Frannie knew she had to break
 free and get back to work. Though she wanted to spend the entire
 remainder of the day right here trapped with him. Wrapped in
 his arm. The feel of his hands on the bare skin of the back
 of her waist made her so glad she had decided to wear the bare-
 midriffed shirt she had. She was also grateful for the fact
 that Kowalski wasn't one of those starched and pressed snappy
 dressers. She loved the way his shirts remained casually half
 tucked in, it made it a whole lot less suspicious when they
 would both emerge from a room together. 
 "Frannie?" He managed to ask between gulps of air before coming
 back for more. 
 Instead of removing her lips from his, which would have been like 
 trying to breath without air right now, she made a soft sound 
 resembling, "Hmmm?" Then continued enjoying the taste of his kisses. 
 Cinnamon.
 "Hey, Frannie," he slowly peeled his lips off hers for a brief
 moment but left himself pressed against her, craving and devouring
 her warmth. As if it were a form of much needed nourishment.
 Which in reality it was. Having her so close to him only made
 him want to be closer. Closer untill there would be nothing
 left as interference between them. Closer untill he could feel
 her heart through his own chest. He knew he was getting off
 track, "I was thinking."
 "And?" She asked in a suggestive tone then slipped her fingers
 through the belt loops of his jeans pulling him against her
 
 with a sharp tug. 
 He grinned, "And, I was just thinkin' that, ya know, if we get
 married now you won't even have to change your last name."
 Frannie abruptly grimaced at the idea. He laughed quietly, "What?
 You don't like the idea?"
 "No!" Francesca defend her behavior, "It's just that I got
 this horrible picture of the Priest saying, "Do you Ray Vecchio
 take Francesca Vecchio to be you lawfully wedded wife?" She shook
 her head.
 "Yeah," Stan had to agree, "I guess that, uh, would be a little
 weird." Over the time that they had been together Frannie started
 noticing more and more that Stanley had stopped stuttering so
 much. Especially when they were alone together. She seemed to
 have an automatic and significant calming effect on him. 
 Enough talk. Though rational thoughts were bouncing themselves off
 the inside of Kowalski's brain he paid them no attention. Even
 the feeling he was getting that he and Frannie should take this
 somewhere a little more private. He shrugged it off to instinct.
 Even though when he and Frannie did get together he told himself
 to never again shrug off his instincts. His first instinct with
 Frannie was one of great attraction. He could still remember
 how he felt the day she first arrived to work at the station.
 He knew he was in trouble. Of course he had tried briefly
 explaining that to Fraser, but like a lot of other things
 concerning woman, he sometimes really just, didn't get it.
 Still, Stanley had been trying to train himself to ignore his
 instincts and just flow with things. Besides things were going
 so smoothly why would he want to interrupt?
 Before either of them knew why, Francesca was tumbling over on top
 of Stanley and they both ended up landing on the floor with a
 loud crashing thud. Kowalski was lying spread eagle on his back
 on the floor of the observation room. And wouldn't you know
 it, guess who was lying flat on top of him... Frannie. Who else?
 Standing above him Stan recognized the face that owned those
 blushing cheeks and apologetic look, "Oh! Ray. Francesca." He
 nodded at both of them, "I'm sorry to intrude."
 "No prob. Frase." Frannie got up quickly, dusted herself off
 and flashed Stan a suggestive grin before scurrying out of the
 room quicker than lightning. 
 Kowalski sighed heavily and propped himself up in his elbows, 
 not quite ready to leave his position apparently, "What it is Fraser?" 
 He asked the grinning Mountie whose cheeks matched the same 
 shade as his red serge coat.
 "Well, Ray, it's just that Leftenate Welsh was mentioning that
 he needed Observation Room number 1 today for a witness to
 identify a suspect. I was aware that you and Francesca were
 here so I thought it might be in your best interest that I
 provide a warning to you both."
 Stanley took care of the most important matter first and lifted
 himself up off the floor and regained his composure. Moving
 onto the second order of business, "How'd ya know 'bout me and
 Frannie?"
 "I could sense things had changed between the two of you. Even
 though Frannie does an excellent job of trying to cover it up
 by continuing to argue with you, that spark of distaste just
 isn't there anymore. Also, Ray, I have noticed that while she
 pretends to be interested in me there is a certain... hunger,
 if you will, missing. I knew something must have filled that
 void. Also the look on your face was a dead give away that you
 were unhappy when she behaves that way. Plus, Ray, you must
 remember I do have sharp senses that I have spent developing
 in order to see the truth in any given situation..." Fraser
 spiraled out of control. As he often did while telling Inuit
 stories. His words picking up speed and were not giving a moments
 hesitation towards stopping. Ray shook his head as Fraser
 muttered on about... something. He wasn't really listening.
 That is untill he heard one sentence come from Fraser that
 reached out and grabbed his attention, "You know Ray, you're
 not the only person to ever fall in love with a Vecchio."
 His immediate response was a double take, "Huh?"
 Fraser said nothing only raised his eyebrows and popped his
 eyes open wide. Giving Stan a look he had never seen before.
 At first he was unsure of how to interpret it but before a moment
 could pass the realization dawned on him, "Oh man. Fraser, I'm
 so sorry, buddy."
 Fraser looked stunned, "Why Ray? It's nothing you need be sorry
 for."
 Stan barreled on, the last comment not yet reaching his ears,
 "Look, Fraser. I didn't know. You gotta believe me. If I had
 known I wouldn't have gone near her."
 "Her?" Fraser's brow wrinkled, he looked even more confused.
 Stanley finished his thoughts, "If you want me to I'll lay off,
 if it really bothers you, it might kill me but if I've caused
 any hard feelings then I'll call it off, if she means that much
 to you." Now Stan was the one spinning out of control. No pausing
 to let Fraser get one word in edgewise.
 When he finally did stop he noticed the Mountie's perplexed look.
 Fraser asked quietly, "Do you think I like Francesca?"
 Kowalski stopped for a moment, "You don't?" There was a clear
 expression of surprise, coupled with great relief.
 Fraser shook his head. Whew! Stan wiped his brow internally.
 "Good, Fraser, good." Slowly Stanley was becoming the one 
 confused, "Then who?"
 Fraser sighed, putting his hand up to his face and started rubbing 
 the bridge of his nose between this thumb and index finger.
 "Aaaaw, Fraser that's sick!" Stanley was stunned and a bit 
 horrified.
 "Gee, Ray, I really wasn't expecting such a poor reaction from
 you. I've always considered you a rather opened minded person."
 Fraser opened the door and started to walk out.
 Stanley grabbed the door and held it open as he made his way
 out, "How'd ya think I was gonna react? I mean, come on Fraser,
 Ma Vecchio? That's just gross!"
 "Not that Vecchio." Fraser whispered while rolling his eyes.
 He kept walking down the hall shaking his head sadly at Stanley's
 lack of grasping the obvious.
 Huey was leaning over the water fountain in the hallway. He
 abruptly stood up and turned to Kowalski, "Are you ever gonna
 get it?"
 "Get what?" Stan shot Huey his puzzled look.
 Huey in return rolled his eyes and walked off in the opposite
 direction down the hall.
 Fraser had taken off way ahead of Kowalski and was nearing the
 end of the hall, "Wait up Fraser!" He hurried to catch up, but
 Fraser ignored him and kept walking with Dief by his side. Just as
 Fraser turned the corner it suddenly struck Kowalski, like a
 2 by 4 to the head. Hello!?
 Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up from staring
 at the floor. He slowly whispered, "Oh." Nodding slowly in
 recognition, all of the pieces of the puzzle slowly starting
 to make sense to him. He finally got it.
 Picking up speed he turned the corner. A combination of shock 
 and surprise flooded him, "What the-" He was quickly cut off by 
 something being suddenly pressed against him before he came 
 tumbling down onto the floor. Flat on his back once again staring 
 up into a pair of beautiful eyes. File folders were flying everywhere 
 and papers were floating to the ground all around them. But the outside
 world slowly disappeared as he found the familiarness of those
 eyes. A warmth spreading through him... Francesca. He knew with
 all the certainty of the world. She truly was the one. The one he 
 wanted to surrender to. His Frannie.
 
 The End
 (~MDK~)
 October 1998
 Standard Disclaimer Applies