Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, I just play with 'em and hand 'em back, none the worse for wear.

Author's Notes: I briefly OD'd on Geometry, here's a few other bits to read while I get back into the swing of it. This story is basically just an excuse to send my favorite bunch of characters on the vacation I can't take right now.

Story Notes: A due South/Hellboy/Angel crossover.
I've messed with the timeline a bit, 'Mojo Rising' is taking place after 'Hunting Season', and the zombies involved were real, hence the assignment of Agent Marina Murray of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense in working the case with Fraser and Ray.
In addition, Spike and Angel of Joss Whedon's 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel' have joined the BPRD as Agents after being rejected by Buffy as happens in both TV series. They will be making guest appearances eventually.

"I'm taking a fragging vacation," Marina muttered, dropping onto the couch. "I am taking two weeks and not even thinking about zombies, or revenants, or the undead in any way, shape or form. Okay, except for writing 'wish you were here' postcards to my vamps."

But the case was over, complete, doneski, as Ray would say. Thank whatever gods there might be in heaven above or hell below. Zombies- what a pain in the ass they always were! When you hacked something to pieces, it should have the courtesy to quit moaning and trying to bludgeon you to death in slow motion, damn it.

Peeling off her jacket would just hurt too much so Mina left it on, reflecting it hardly mattered... and it covered up most of the bruises and cuts. Ray and Fraser were as exhausted as she was, like they'd care if she left it on. Diefenbaker jumped up on the couch and nudged her arm, and she patted her leg in encouragement. He needed no further urging and flopped right down in her lap, lovely and warm and cuddly. God, she was nuts about this wolf. Absolutely, completely, totally, head-over-heels in love.

Ray groaned approvingly as he flopped down on the couch on Dief's other side and toed off his boots and socks. "What a rockin' idea. Fuck it, I got a bucketload of vacation time, I'm gonna play copy-cat and take one too."

Fraser opened his mouth to protest his partner's language... and decided he was too tired and let it slide as he hung up his Stetson and coat in Ray's closet. A monstrous yawn caught him unaware and nearly split his jaw.

"That does sound delightfully appealing, Ray. Might I be a 'copy-cat' as well?"

"Sure thing, Frase. Heck, pick someplace you wanna go, an' we'll go. Take Dief along an' everything. Pick a spot. Any spot. Dealer's choice."

Fraser tried to concentrate on where he might like go... and couldn't manage to collect his thoughts enough to think logically. "Might I think it over, that is, once I am capable of abstract cerebration again?"

"Sure, Frase. Cerebrate on it all ya like. And in the meantime, what do we want for dinner? Pizza? Chinese? Thai?"

Fraser settled himself onto the couch on Ray's other side stiffly, his back was aching and the muscles were spasming periodically. "Perhaps Marina would like to choose?"

"Who, me?"

Ray grinned. "Sure, you. Whatcha want?"

She yawned tremendously. "There a decent Mexican place in this town that delivers?"

Ray picked up his cell phone off the coffee table with his toes and managed to drop it in his lap. Sitting up was way too much effort. "Ya like Mexican?"

"I'm from southern California, Ray, loving Mexican is practically written on my driver's license."

"Hey, you want Mexican, you got Mexican, babe."

"Thanks, Ray. I'll even buy, how's that for an offer?"

"Sold."

"That hardly seems fair, Ray," Fraser objected, vaguely aware it was un-chivalrous to let the lady pay.

Marina quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hey, Ray paid for pizza last time, and you paid for Chinese before that, it's my turn, isn't it? Unless its Dief's turn, and I can't see where a wolf could carry money. Even a Canadian one. He doesn't even have a big hat."

That surprised a chuckle out of Fraser. Ray must have been telling her stories. "I'm quite sure there's a flaw in that logic, Marina."

"Whatever. Just let me feel like I'm contributing here, okay? Humor me."

"Like you're not contributing? Hey, you're the one who got shafted on this assigned-partnership deal," Ray objected. "We got the good end of it."

Turning her head to look at Ray was a monumental effort, but Mina managed. "How do you figure that, Ray?"

"Are you kidding? Cripes, Mina, I dunno how you stood us weirdos all through this case. Heck, we got a hot blond babe who can throw spells, an' you got a deaf wolf, a Canadian with a Hamlet complex, and a Chicago flatfoot wi' a haunted car."

Mina chuckled. "Weirdos? Ray, you are talking to a girl whose best friends are a demon a.w.o.l. from Hell, a fish-man, and a pair of reformed vampires. No offense, but you three are barely a blip on my weirdness radar."

Ray laughed, hard, so hard he nearly dropped his cell phone. "Damn, girl, never thought I'd meet anybody freakier than Fraser an' me, but you sure are."

She grinned, pleased. "Thank you, Ray. What a nice compliment." She regarded them thoughtfully, but something about her manner was hesitant, almost shy. "Ask ya something?"

"Sure, fire away," Ray said- his attention caught by the odd change in from her normal insouciant manner.

"Can we be friends? Would that be okay?"

Ray frowned, obviously at a loss. "What, we're not friends now? After everythin' we went through? Heck, I'm hurt here."

She chuckled. "You're not getting it, Ray. After what we went through- that's more than friends, we're comrades. Brothers in arms. I'd die for you Ray; I'd kill for you... for Fraser and Dief, too. That's a given. That's buddies, as you're so fond of saying. But that wasn't what I meant."

Ray sat up and gaped at her, absolutely blown away by that calm admission. Even Fraser was speechless. Dief didn't look too surprised, though. Ray managed to close his gaping mouth and stutter, "Wha... wha' didja mean?"

"I meant can we be friends? You know, hang out together, go to movies and concerts and stuff? Order pizza on the weekends and watch the late show? Go to ball games if that's what floats your boat, or hockey games if that's what floats Fraser's? I'll rub your back when it hurts? We'll get drunk together when you've had a really bad case? I'll bandage your wounds when you get dinged up and you'll patch up mine? When you need to spill your guts I'll listen and won't judge? When I've had the flu for a week you'll come over and bring me chicken soup? I do the same for you guys? You know, friends?"

Ray and Fraser exchanged massively startled glances but Fraser fielded the question as Ray was beyond coherent speech by this point.

"It would be an honor, Marina, but might it be a bit difficult to maintain a friendship, since you'll be leaving now that the case is over?"

"That would be the point, Fraser. I won't be leaving."

Fraser ran a knuckle over his eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Marina sighed, a huge, long exhalation, followed Ray's example and toed off her high-tops. "The B.P.R.D. will assign me here to Chicago, Fraser. The Director won't have any choice. Somebody's gotta keep an eye on the developing dimensional rift, and we only have half a dozen field agents capable of handling this threat level. Of those six, Angel and Spike can't work in daylight; Hellboy and Abe can't pass for human; and Liz... Liz isn't stable enough to work on her own and probably never will be. I can pass for human and a techno-mage is one of our most all-around useful agents. I'll hate it, and the Prof will hate having to do it, but they'll post me here."

"You'll hate it?" Ray looked puzzled and a little pissed. "Wha' for? What's wrong with Chicago?"

"The climate." Marina shuddered and she snuggled closer to Diefenbaker. "I hate cold weather. Hate, loathe and despise it. This place is going to be the ninth circle of Hell for me six months outta the year. I'm a tropical girl, Ray. Give me ninety degrees in the shade, the trade winds blowing, sandy beaches that stretch forever, ocean water that's warm as toast and I'm happy. I spend half of every day in the ocean, given the chance. But Chicago? Landlocked? Icy cold? No salt water for how many hundreds of miles? Hell on Earth, guys. At least for me."

"So why do it?" Ray asked, weirdly fascinated despite his exhaustion.

Marina shrugged. "Somebody's gotta make sure the citizens can sleep nights without getting devoured by monsters, and that would be my job. Three to one the Bureau has the State Department and the Canadian government assign you two as my local contacts because you already have knowledge of what's going on. That way they don't have to bring anyone new into the information loop." She looked at her temporary partners, startled and staring and stunned, and a rueful grin twisted her mouth as her hands came up and tried to rub her eyes back into focus. "Gods, I shouldn't talk when I'm this tired, I babble. Forget I said anything, guys. Please."

"No." Ray sat up, right in her face and urgent, that vibrant energy he'd displayed over the last manic fourteen days suddenly back full-bore and focused exclusively on her. "No way. You meant that, didn't you? All of it. About bein' friends, about bein' buddies?"

She turned pink and ruffled Dief's ears in embarrassment, taking comfort from the wolf's warmth and quiet acceptance. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry, Ray. You too, Ben. I didn't mean to be pushy... I'm used to having a whole team around me twenty-four seven... used to having friends in my mind every minute of every day. I don't do so good... with the whole loneliness thing. I really don't."

"No apologies. Didja mean it?"

Mina laid her head back on the couch -how odd; Ray's intensity abruptly reminded her of her beloved Spike- then met his gaze squarely. "Yes, Ray. I meant it. All of it."

Ray sat back and nailed his best friend by eye. "Whadda ya say, Frase? We got room in our pack fer one more?"

Fraser pursed his lips and that thoughtful little wrinkle creased his forehead as he settled his elbows on his knees. "I hardly think it's solely my decision, Ray. We are a family -a pack, as you say- I would suggest we vote on it."

"Awright. Hey, Dief." Ray leaned over and cupped the wolf's head in his hands and spoke clearly. "Do you want Mina in our pack?"

Diefenbaker howled in delight and plastered Ray's face with slobber, his tail wagging so furiously it was only a blur.

Ray choked on a laugh and pushed Dief back into Marina's lap, wiping wolf spit off his face with his sleeve. "That's a yes, right, Frase?"

Fraser was trying valiantly to stifle his laughter and failing. "That would be essentially correct, Ray."

"That's one yes. An' I vote yes, so that's two. Whadda ya say, Frase?"

Fraser ran a finger around his tunic collar, so Ray knew his partner was nervous, but answered readily. "I vote yes as well, Ray. Indubitably."

"It's unanimous. Yer in. Welcome to the family." Ray's face went uncertain. "You're sure you want in? I mean, ya know, we're a buncha freaks, Mina."

"I'm sure, Ray." She reached out and touched his cheek gently, a caress that made him flush. "I want in because you're freaks. I'm one too, in case you hadn't noticed." She chuckled as she leaned back against the couch cushions. "Abe said once when it came right down to it, all we freaks had was each other. He was right."

That comment troubled Fraser, and yet he couldn't deny the essential truth of it. How much more difficult must it be for her other friends, who could not even, as she said, 'pass for human'? What must it be like to have even your very appearance cause terror, fear? And what a telling comment that was about her. Marina obviously did not think of herself as human at the most elemental level, if she was talking about 'passing for' human.

Ray was rummaging in his desk for menus, and Mina had closed her eyes and was, to all appearances, just drifting in a fog of exhaustion. Working magic drained her energies, she'd said. And she'd been throwing fireballs left, right and center at the last; Fraser was never getting the singe marks out of this tunic from where she'd picked that last zombie right off his chest when it got through his guard. He'd salvage the buttons, patches and hardware off it and dispose of the rest... later...

After half an hour the buzzer roused all three of them from a fog of exhaustion and Marina moaned and dragged herself to her feet, rummaging in her back pockets for money. Ray struggled up off the couch too and stumbled to the door after her, pressing the buzzer to let the delivery in. The tab came to thirty-two fifty and Ray noticed Mina peeled off two twenties and waved away the change with a tired grin. The delivery kid grinned and took off with thanks. Marina didn't skimp on tips; Ray liked that about a person. Stella's habit of always tipping strictly fifteen percent, no more, no less, drove him crazy. It was so... nit-picky.

Eh, whatever. They had nachos, two kinds of tacos, burritos and enchiladas, rice and refried beans and it all smelled great. Ray handed out paper napkins and they dove in. After her third soft taco with extra hot sauce Marina flopped back on the couch and yawned fit to crack her face.

"I feel so much better," she murmured. "Like I might actually have some interest in seeing tomorrow after about sixteen hours of sleep."

"Ya ken keep crashin' here if ya want," Ray mumbled around a mouthful of burrito.

"Thanks, Ray. You're a prince." She yawned and stretched, cracking her shoulders and neck. The muffled pops were loud in the silence. "Vacation, here I come."

"Figured out where ya gonna go, Frase?"

Fraser finished chewing and focused on his partner. "Camping?" he suggested. "The state park is only a few hours' drive away."

"Drive," Mina said aloud, dawning realization in her voice. "Oh, hell, yeah, I've always wanted to do that. And that's what I'm gonna to do. Vacation, decided. America, here I come."

Ray looked over and realized to his surprise energy was actually coming back into Mina's face. She looked excited. Happy. Well, fuck, like he could leave a comment like that alone! The inability to leave comments like that alone was why he became a detective.

"Do what?"

She stretched again and wiggled on the couch in anticipation, eyes glittering in delight. "I'm gonna take a road trip. The classic road trip. Ooh, it's gonna be great. Hey, can I borrow Dief? It's not right without a dog, and a wolf is weird enough to be really me."

That jolted Fraser hard, Ray could tell, the Mountie nearly dropped his taco and stared at Mina like he'd stare holes through her head if that's what it took to see what was going on in there.

Fraser cleared his throat. "Diefenbaker is his own person, Marina, if he wishes to accompany you, it's his decision."

She wrinkled up her nose. "Jeez, Frase, way to look like I just ripped your heart out. I won't ask if it's going to upset you."

Fraser's face locked up, and Ray could see this going bad in minutes -Mina's irresistible force, meet Fraser's immovable object- so he headed that train wreck off fast. "Whadda ya mean, the classic road trip? And whadda ya need a wolf for?"

Mina grinned at him. "What, you don't know? Shame on you, Ray! The classic road trip. Route 66!" She chewed her lip. "I'll need to rent a car, though. Something classic, like a red Mustang convertible... Throw my duffel and a sleeping bag in the trunk, and drive across the whole country. Stop all along the way whenever I want. See Yellowstone at dawn. Get high in the Great Smoky Mountains. Visit the Hot Springs in... Arkansas, or whatever state its' in. Visit that diamond mine down south and hunt for a diamond. Hike the Grand Canyon. Wander around the Painted Desert. Watch a prairie thunderstorm light up the whole sky. Drive across the Rockies. See the redwoods and the giant sequoias. Sit on the beach at Santa Monica and soak up the sunset."

She ruffled Dief's ears fondly. "But ya gotta have a dog, to hang his head out the window and chase crows in the parks and keep you company. Having a trusty companion along is vital, ya know. A friend to share the adventure with makes it better."

Ray's eyebrows went up and he scratched the stubble at his jawline as he thought that over. And the more he thought, the more it sounded absolutely fucking great. Get the hell outta Dodge with his best buddy, his car, his wolf -and wow, did it feel weird to think this- his girl buddy. He glanced over at Fraser to see what his partner thought about the idea and had to stifle a laugh.

Because Fraser was already staring back with that silently begging look in his eyes he wore when Frase wanted something so bad he could taste it and would never, ever ask for it. But Ray would ask. Asking would be the least of what Ray would do. Ray would bully, would demand, would kick someone in the head, would move heaven and earth to get Frase whatever the hell he wanted. Because that's what Ray did. And since, as always, he and Frase were right on the same page, it was road trip, ho!

"Hey, Mina."

"Yeah, Ray?" Distracted from her reverie, she picked up another taco and doused it with hot sauce, salsa and sour cream. Ray grinned. The girl was a condiment freak. Something else he liked about her. She had quirks. Lots of 'em. Good. Perfection a la Stella got so damn boring after a while.

"Try this on fer size. You got the idea, I got the car, and Fraser's got Dief. How's a black '67 GTO, a wolf and two friends fer yer road trip sound to ya?"

Her face lit right up and she laughed out loud. "It sounds perfect, Ray. Absolutely perfect!"

"Rockin'. We're good, then. I'll ask Welsh for vacation, Frase'll ask the Ice-Queen fer leave, and..." Ray paused. "What da you do?"

Mina chuckled. "I call the Prof and tell him I'm splitting for a bit, and if Armageddon's happening, call somebody else."

Fraser's brow wrinkled and Mina sighed. "I was being facetious, Ben. If Armageddon was coming I'd be the front line."

Ray's brow furrowed. "Why?"

Gods, Mina realized, they were partners right down to facial tics.

"That's my job, Ray. That's what the B.P.R.D. does. When things go bump in the night, we're what bumps back."

"Sounds rough."

Pain flashed across her face and she was too weary to hide it. "You have no idea, Ray."

Now was not the time to push, but Ray was gonna get to the bottom of that cryptic comment before this trip was over. "Ya ken tell me about it on the ride."

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Mina said, around a monstrous yawn. She finished her taco, licked her fingers, laid her head down on Dief's furry shoulder and was instantly asleep.

Ray glanced over at the clock. "Midnight. Jeez, Frase, we ain't slept in three days! Let's sack out..."

Mina didn't even stir when Ray picked her up, cradling her in his arms for the few minutes it took Fraser to make up the couch. He laid her back down, eased her out of her jacket, covered her with his Grandmother's quilt and Dief jumped up without prompting, circled once on the end of the couch and curled up with his head draped over her legs.

Fraser sighed. "Diefenbaker..."

"Leave 'em be, Frase," Ray mumbled, heading for the bedroom. He could hear the bed calling and he wanted to crash so hard he was practically drooling at the thought of sleep. This case had ridden him right over the edge of exhaustion and into some blurry-edged waking dream. "Ya know she hates sleeping alone. Jes' between you an' me, I think it gives her nightmares."

Fraser was simply too exhausted to argue and stumbled after Ray towards his bed.

"As you wish, Ray."

Really, Fraser thought dazedly, it was very thoughtful of Ray to share his bed so readily, even if it was king-sized and quite large enough for two grown men to share in comfort. Fraser stripped off his jeans, socks and flannel shirt in a fog and tumbled between the sheets. It was bliss. Sheer unadulterated bliss.

Ray was already sprawled out on the other side, and under the covers his toes brushed against Fraser's calf, then slid down as Ray locked his foot around Fraser's ankle.

"'Night, Frase," he mumbled into the pillow.

That little bit of contact was marvelously soothing. Fraser refused to consider why that might be so and let oblivion swallow him whole.

* * *

Early the next afternoon, they were packed and hauling ass out of town. Ray couldn't believe it. Welsh all but railroaded him out of Chicago the second he started talking about a road trip vacation; and was fucking thrilled to hear Ray was taking Marina and Fraser along.

Turned out every paper, every reporter, every photographer in the whole freakin' city would sell off a kidney to get an interview with 'em, and everyone from the Governor's office on down did not want the press getting any kinda clue of what really happened during the last two weeks. Inspector Thatcher was sweating bullets to get Fraser out of range of any paparazzi before he could display his complete and total inability to lie, plus reporters were besieging the Consulate with calls and the news vans were double and triple-parked all the way up and down the street. Even Turnbull was starting to look frazzled.

That morning in Welsh's office, Ray hadn't argued a minute when Welsh approved him for three -three!- weeks of vacation time, and after ten minutes on the phone with Thatcher got Fraser the same. Ray breezed through the bullpen, flipped off Dewey with a cocky grin and told Frannie not to expect a postcard. Then he went home, threw clothes in a duffel bag and dumped the contents of his shower shelf into freezer bags while filling Mina in on what happened. She hadn't ever unpacked from the two weeks she'd been living on Ray's couch, and it took her approximately five minutes to throw her stuff together and be ready. Ray tossed the two duffel bags in the GTO's trunk and scrammed for the Consulate by noon.

Fraser and Dief met them in the alley two blocks over from the Consulate, and Fraser threw his backpack and bedroll into the trunk, let Dief hop into the back with Mina and got into the GTO with un-Mountie-like haste. And for once didn't protest when Ray broke every speed limit getting the hell out of town.

"Thank you kindly, Ray." Fraser rubbed his eyebrow with a knuckle. Dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, his leather jacket, Stetson and hiking boots, he still looked tense as hell.

"I guess ya got out okay, buddy?" Ray asked sympathetically. "We caught the media circus at yer front door."

Fraser sighed, some of the tension bleeding out of his rigid posture. "To be honest, Ray, they remind me of vultures circling a dying caribou, waiting for it to be too weak to move so they might feast on its still-breathing carcass. I was forced to utilize the rear fire escape to effect my departure while Constable Turnbull was kind enough to provide a diversion."

Mina reached forward and patted Fraser's shoulder comfortingly.

"Forget it, Frase. We've got three weeks before you have to worry about it again, and by then some new fifteen-minute wonder will have made them forget all about us. The American public has a very short attention span."

Fraser appeared marginally cheered by this comment, Ray noticed. Nice going, Mina! Time for the one-two punch.

"Hey, ya had lunch?" Ray offered, 'cause if he'd learned one thing it was Mounties almost never turned down an offer of food. It even worked on the Ice Queen nine times out of ten.

"I do feel a bit peckish," Fraser admitted, scratching his ear thoughtfully.

Success. "Whadda ya feel like?" Belatedly remembering Mina and Dief, Ray glanced back over his shoulder and had to swallow hard. "You two got an opinion?"

Mina was sprawled back in the seat with Dief's head in her lap, one arm tucked behind her head and the other stroking the wolf's ears. In the rush to blow his apartment, she hadn't tied her hair back in that tight ponytail she always wore on the job, and all that long blond hair was spilling over the GTO's leather seat. Made Ray think of how she'd look spread out on that same seat, how her body would feel spread out under his...

"Ray, Ray, Ray, Ray!"

Ray jerked his attention back to the road. "Yeah, Fraser?" Fuck! Where had that come from? Sure, Mina was a stunner, but she was his partn... aw, damn, fuck, and shit! He'd already fallen way too hard for Fraser, what the hell was he doing getting feelings for Mina? What, was he getting a freakin' partner fetish? God, if Dewey started to look good he was chucking the whole damn cop thing and begging Fraser to move them both to the Yukon Territory or whatever. Then again, going anywhere with Fraser sounded great...

"Figured out what ya want for lunch, buddy?"

Fraser smiled slightly. "Given the appalling proliferation of irresponsible media personnel in and around the city, might I suggest a drive-thru restaurant would be preferable until we are out of the state?"

"Good call, Frase," Mina chuckled.

One quick exit and onramp later they were back on the road munching burgers, fries, onion rings and sucking down milkshakes, Fraser's vanilla, Ray's chocolate, and Mina's strawberry. To Fraser's dismay, Mina proved defenseless against Diefenbaker's mournful, starving puppy-face, and the wolf ended up eating half her burger as well as his and most of her fries, too. Mina didn't care, she slouched down comfortably and fed the rest of her fries to Ray over his shoulder. Fraser was quite impressed with that trick, she managed to slip them neatly into his mouth without dropping any or getting salt or crumbs on Ray's shirt. He wondered if he could do it so tidily.

Ray was gleefully happy at the attention but as they passed another highway sign he realized he'd headed south out of habit, not necessarily the direction they wanted to be goin'. He slurped down the rest of his milkshake and Fraser took the empty cup and stowed it neatly in the paper sack with the rest of the trash.

"Hey, we got any idea where the hell we're goin'?" Ray quizzed.

Nonplussed, Fraser shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Ray. I'm relatively unfamiliar with the national highway system outside the greater Chicago metropolitan area."

"No sweat," Mina said cheerfully. "I got it covered. You done with your lunch, Frase?"

"Yes, Mina," Fraser replied, a trifle perplexed.

"Hang on a sec," Marina rooted through her backpack and hauled out a small laptop computer and a couple of attachments with dangling cords. "Hold these, wouldja please, Ray?" She handed them over his shoulder.

"Sure." Ray plunked them into his lap agreeably while driving one-handed.

"Brace yourself, Frase," Mina warned him, "this might be a little unpleasant."

Fraser blinked in confusion but nodded. "Very well, Mina," and to his surprise she braced both hands on the seat backs and slithered over into his lap quick and agile as a cat. He shifted uncertainly but put a hand on the small of Mina's back to steady her. She was not heavy and her nearness and warmth were a trifle disconcerting, true, but surprisingly... pleasant. His usual discomfort with women was muted by her complete lack of flirtatiousness. Marina was treating him like a friend, not a prize or an attractive piece of meat, and Fraser was finding to his surprise he rather liked it. She might be the first true female friend he'd had since his childhood companion June, Innusiq's sister.

"Unroll your window please, Frase; and Ray, hand me those back?" Mina asked.

Ray handed them over and watched curiously as she plugged the first attachment into the back of the laptop and leaning out the window, carefully clipped a tiny alligator clamp onto the base of the radio antenna. Her hair rippled and snapped in the wind and Fraser reached up and gathered the billowing mass into his hands gently and held it. It was very silky and fine and he resisted the urge to lift a lock to his mouth and taste the strands.

"Roll up the window slowly, Fraser?"

Fraser complied, his lively interest in her activities making the uneasiness he felt being this close to a woman recede. She settled the cord into the soft rubber seal around the window while he rolled it up. Leaning back against Fraser's shoulder, she plugged the second cord into the back of the laptop and pulling out the GTO's lighter, inserted the other end of the cord in its place.

"Viola," Mina pronounced, her grin merry with mischief as she booted up the computer. "Instant wireless uplink to the Bureau's spy satellite." Her fingers danced over the keys as Fraser watched, fascinated, several windows of various maps popped up on the screen. "United States, Illinois, Chicago road system... here we go." She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully and turned the laptop screen a little so Ray could see too. "Can you get on 80/90 east from here, Ray?"

"Sure," Ray said carelessly, "There's an exit 'nother twenty minutes down th' road that'll link us up w' it." Mina expanded the map she was looking at to include the entire east coast. "You guys got any yen to see the Big Apple? I don't care for it myself, but we can divert that way."

"Not me," Ray told her, leaning over to check out the map and tapped the screen with a finger. "Whole city smells worse'n the South side durin' a heat wave. How 'bout Philadelphia? I ken try one a' those authentic Philly cheese steaks."

"Philadelphia sounds good to me," Mina remarked. "I've always wanted to see the Liberty Bell." She looked back over her shoulder at Fraser. "What do you think, Frase?"

Distracted by the delightful floral scent of her soap and the chemical taint underneath, leftover from the stench of the zombie bits she'd been pelted with as she fought, Fraser focused on the map. "Why are we heading east? Isn't Route 66 south of Chicago?"

"Yep," Mina agreed. "But look here." She skimmed the arrow pointer over the screen with a flick of her finger over the touch-plate. "Old Route 66 is US 40 now. It starts just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, so if we head east from Chicago to Philadelphia, we can work our way all the way down the East Coast and pick up Route 66 where it begins. We can hit Baltimore, Washington DC -anybody wanna go to the Smithsonian?- Richmond, Virginia Beach... a couple days at the beach would be nice, we could rent a cottage and let Dief run around. Do you guys like the ocean? Then we pick up Route 66 and it's westward ho... unless you wanna go south and try Key West or New Orleans first?"

A little overwhelmed by her rambling itinerary, Fraser ran a knuckle over his eyebrow. "I would like to see the Smithsonian," he admitted. "The National Aerospace Museum..."

"Hey, I wanna go see that one," Ray butted in. "They got actual spaceships there."

Dief yelped and pawed at Ray's shoulder urgently.

Ray ruffled his ears. "Da wolf's w' me, he wants to see th' spaceships too."

"Diefenbaker is developing an avid interest in aeronautics," Fraser admitted. "But I'm fairly sure wolves are prohibited within the environs of the museum."

Mina reached over and her hand joined Ray's in petting the wolf. "Don't sweat it, Dief, my security clearance can get you into the Pentagon, if you want. Nobody's gonna snub you when I'm around," she chuckled. "Okay, that's a start. We can decide where we want to go next once we're tired of DC."

"Can we make Philadelphia by tomorrow?" Ray quizzed. "If we drive straight through?"

Mina shrugged. "We might have to drive in shifts, but sure. How long are you good for on a straight shot?"

Ray looked scandalized. "In my baby? Ten hours, easy."

Marina nodded. "Sure thing then. Get us on 80 east and we're good 'til..." her fingers danced over the keys again, "...about 120 miles past the Pennsylvania border. Then we'll need to head southeast. Should I book us a hotel room in Philly or do you just wanna look for one when we get there? It'll be pretty late and not many places take dogs, much less wolves."

Ray scratched his stubble. "Ken you get us directions to the hotel off that thing?"

"No sweat," Mina assured him.

Ray jerked his chin at the laptop. "Do it then, I don't wanna be driving around Philly at three inna mornin' looking fer a hotel that takes wolves."

"I'm on it," Marina replied, popping up another search window. "What kind of a room do you want? I hate staying by myself, but if you guys aren't comfortable with that I don't mind."

Ray shrugged, indicating his lack of opinion either way. "Nah, get us a room with two double beds. Frase an' I'll share an' you and Dief ken have the other one. Sound good to you, Frase? I know you got that Mountie propriety thing goin' on."

Fraser jerked. "Hummn? No, no, Ray, that sounds fine. I'd be delighted to share accommodations with you and Marina." He glanced over his shoulder at the wolf sprawled out on the backseat. "And Diefenbaker is displaying a marked preference for," he turned red and cracked his neck nervously, "sharing a bed with you, Marina."

"Yeah, Dief's real good company at night," Mina said absently, clicking through pages of hotel listings. "Nice and warm. He snores something fierce when he sleeps on his back, though." She nibbled on her lower lip again. "How about if I reserve the room for two nights so we can look around the city a little and if we wanna stay longer, we can just tell the desk clerk?"

"Greatness!" Ray grinned, reaching over and ruffling Mina's hair affectionately. "Yer cool ta have onna road trip, Mina."

She grinned back and leaned into the caress. "We aim to please."

Fraser shifted a little under her and settled Mina more comfortably in his lap as she kept working. To his surprise, she cuddled down into his shoulder and rested her head against his with every appearance of contentment. Ray was humming and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove and Dief was snoring softly in the back seat. To Fraser's further surprise, he realized he was very happy.

That was such a strange occurrence it deserved further consideration. Why was he so happy? Granted, he had been quite content with his life lately. Meeting Maggie and finding out she was his sister was an unexpected but unparalleled joy and they were writing and calling back and forth regularly. That was a pleasure he had never expected to feel, the delight of getting to know his sister, of having family again.

Inspector Thatcher was pleased with his work performance and had Turnbull taking over the more onerous duties of the Consulate, freeing him for liaising with Ray, which was immensely more satisfying than clerical or administrative work, certainly. His partner, Ray...

Fraser had to take a deep breath to control his body's usual reaction to thoughts of Ray, given Mina was sitting in his lap! Ray Kowalski was the center of his life. When he'd come to that realization, Fraser agonized over it for weeks before realizing it really didn't change anything except his internal landscape. Ray was still his partner, his best friend, in many ways his alter ego. They were a perfect complement to each other and the best detective team in Chicago. When it came to emotions, Ray -being Ray- had simply told Fraser on more than one occasion he loved him. Fraser always wondered if the only reason Ray qualified the statement the first time he made it was because they were walking through a station full of cops, the most notoriously homophobic profession left on the planet. The words rang in his head the way they always did when he recalled that moment.

The slow slap of Ray's applause, sweeter than any plaudits or commendation the R.C.M.P. ever offered. Ray's voice saying, "I love you, Fraser!"

It still made him proud in spite of the tsunami of roiling emotions those words caused, his response was immediate and utterly honest. "And I you, Ray."

"No, not literally. I mean, symbolically or something."

The fact he was in love with Ray, in addition to loving him as his best friend, only mattered to Benton Fraser. But it was everything to him, made Chicago a home instead of an exile.

"Fraser. Fraser? Fraser!"

Fraser snapped to attention instinctively, realizing Ray had been repeating his name. Mina was regarding him, her expression not exactly worried, but puzzled.

"Yes, Ray?" He replied, covering his momentary disassociation with his usual politeness.

"Mina's got the directions and the hotel reservations, ya got yer notepad on ya so we ken write 'em down?"

Fraser flushed. How unconscionably rude of him, to drift off in such a fashion!

"Of course, Ray." He dug into the pocket of his leather jacket and retrieved the items in question.

"S'okay, buddy, yer on vacation. It's awright ta daydream."

Mina turned the laptop screen towards him and shifted in his lap so he could write. Fraser copied them down in his customary neat script, listening with only half an ear at Mina and Ray's teasing about his old-fashioned copperplate handwriting.

"Wow, if I ever get married, I know who I want to do my invitations. That's gorgeous, Frase."

"Ya should see him draw," Ray commented, and a grin flashed over his face. "Hey, Fraser, draw her picture!"

Nonplussed, Fraser tucked his pen back into the small leather loop on the side of his notebook and set it on the dashboard. "Right now, Ray?"

Ray grinned. "Not right this second, Frase, but we're on vacation. Instead of snapping photos, how 'bout we pick up a sketchbook and you draw pics instead? Ya know, like yer dad's journals?"

To Fraser's surprise Mina's hands stilled as she was shutting down her laptop and coiling up the patch cables.

"That'd be great, Frase."

There was something so wistful and sad about her comment Fraser forced his customary reserve aside and put his arm back around her waist. Marina was as tactile a creature as Ray, thriving on contact and closeness; and while it had taken Fraser a long time to realize how much his reticence and standoffishness hurt Ray, he had no intention of repeating his mistake with Mina now that he knew better. She did not deserve to be snubbed so. And if Fraser was totally honest with himself, touching her was... almost disturbingly pleasurable. He would like to do it... more.

"What makes you say that, Marina?"

Mina smiled sadly and Fraser's pulse accelerated a beat. He wanted to stroke her hair the way he stroked Dief's fur.

"Photographs of Bureau personnel are strictly monitored. Any taken are immediately classified. If you drew my portrait, I could send a copy back to the Professor and the rest of the team without having to worry about them confiscating the original. They'd love it."

Fraser stiffened. And he thought having his family's photographs destroyed by vindictive arson hurt. How much worse must it be to never even be allowed to have any?

"An excellent idea, Ray. We'll do that."

"You'd do that for me?" Mina's cheeks pinked and her hands fumbled pulling the power input from the GTO's lighter.

Fraser blinked, surprised. He'd startled her. Very much so. "Of course." He reached out and detached the input for her, glad for the excuse to brush his hand over hers. "We are friends, are we not?"

"Are we?"

She wanted reassurance, Fraser realized abruptly. Needed it. Dear heaven, but she and Ray were two of a kind. Stella had eroded away Ray's self worth to near-nothing, he wondered who had similarly destroyed Marina's to the point she could truly not conceive someone would voluntarily want to be near her. Would consider her friendship a gift, a prized treasure to be held in his heart and encouraged to flourish. Well, he would be pleased to convince Mina and Ray they were both wrong. He put his hand over Mina's.

"Yes, I am your friend, Mina," Fraser said gently. "Ray is too."

Ray reached over and laid his hand over Fraser's and the tense, unhappy lines around her mouth eased.

"Buddies, Mina."

That got a sheepish smile as Mina's fingers squeezed theirs before she slithered back into the back seat and stowed her laptop back in the padded compartment of her pack.

"Throw a tape in, Frase," Ray suggested. "Now that we know where we're goin', I need some drivin' tunes."

"Very well, Ray." Fraser reached down and extracted Ray's tape case from under the seat. "Do you have a preference?"

Ray reached over, flipped through the unlabeled tapes and snagged his copy of the Top Gun soundtrack.

"Pop this one in, Frase." Ray grinned as the bass beat rolled out and he nudged the accelerator a little. Traffic had thinned out and they could make better time on the highway now. Dief whined and crawled back into Mina's lap as the music rolled out and Ray sent them flying down the highway heading east.

* * *