m/m relationship, sequel to "Better Than Money" and "It's All Right, Isn't It?"

Thanks very much to those who emailed with comments and suggestions. It was nice of you. Thanks especially to the person (you know who you are) who sent the very useful website info., I'm still reading :)

Disclaimer: they are borrowed, no harm intended.

Ray pulled the Riv in front of the Canadian Consulate and stopped. He looked at Fraser and quickly removed his hand from Benny's leg. Fraser grabbed his fingers before Ray could get away and squeezed briefly, then let their hands drop.

"I'll pick you up for lunch, Benny?"

"Yes, please, R." He sighed. "But, I seem to have quite a few files. Would one-thirty be too late?"

"No, that's fine." Ray smiled as Fraser opened the door, got out, and stood waiting for Dief.

"Let's go Diefenbaker." Fraser gave the wolf a look of frustration as Dief sat in the backseat, motionless staring back at him. "Diefenbaker! You're going to make me late. Let's go." Dief snorted, then jumped into the passenger seat and curled up. Obviously he intended to stay.

Ray smothered a laugh. "It's okay, Benny. Unless you think the Consulate can't do without him this morning, he can come with me and you can take custody after lunch."

"Are you sure, Ray? Not that his absence from the Consulate will be a problem, it won't." He gave the wolf a disgusted look. "Of late, all he does when he is here is beg Turnbull for food and that . . . well . . . let's just say it doesn't go well and leave it at that." Fraser frowned at the thought.

"Yes, Benny, I'm sure." Ray was laughing openly now.

"Thank you, Ray. I'll see you later." He smiled.

After he pulled away from the curb, Ray reached over and scratched the wolf behind the ears. "What's wrong, Dief? Don't like what Turnbull feeds you?" Dief whined softly and moved closer to Ray, putting his head in Ray's lap. "Yeah, I guess it is a disturbing thought. Can't say I blame you. I'll get you some donuts on the way to the precinct, just don't tell Benny. Deal?" Dief whiffed and wriggled closer to Ray. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Dief looked at him. "What? Don't give me that look. I told you it was an accident. I'm sorry, okay? It's not bad enough I've got Benny and Ma watching my every move, now you're gonna do it too? It won't happen again, alright. Jeez, you and Benny, you never let anything go." He ruffled Dief's fur affectionately.

Fraser jumped out of his chair and banged his knee on his desk as Thatcher walked into his office.

"Fraser, do you think you might manage to avoid injuring yourself every time I come in here?" She frowned.

"Yes sir. Sorry, Inspector."

She stared at him and shook her head, apparently confused by his response.

"May I help you, Inspector?"

"Yes, Fraser, I'm sending you to Ottawa." she paused. "I realize sending you might not be . . . ah . . . expedient, but you're better than Turnbull." She immediately realized how that had sounded and felt a need to correct it. "What I meant was, you will be attending the conference in Ottawa at the end of this week rather than Turnbull. The reservations are already made, you will leave Thursday and return next Monday. I realize this is short notice and I do apologize. I hope that won't be a problem?" She clearly did not plan on getting an argument.

"Ah. Me, sir?"

"Yes, Fraser. Have I been ambiguous?" She was becoming annoyed, he noticed the frown she always got before she completely lost her patience.

"No, Inspector. It's just that I . . . ah . . . would prefer not to." He couldn't believe he had said that. He had startled himself. Ray must have been influencing him more than he'd realized, he thought. He had just come very near standing up to the Inspector. But, she was asking quite a lot on very short notice. Besides, he had other things he wanted to do this weekend, all of them in Chicago.

"You would prefer not to? Why, Fraser? Do you have some sort of commitment which will prevent you from attending?"

"No, sir. Well, yes sir. Not one specific commitment, exactly. I mean . . . ah . . . it's . . . ah . . . personal." He didn't want to tell her he had no specific plans, apart from spending the weekend with Ray.

"Personal? You don't exactly have a commitment and it's personal?" She was definitely annoyed.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then you can change it?" The frown was rapidly deepening.

He almost sighed, but caught himself. "Yes, Inspector."

"Good, I'll inform Turnbull. He can give you the scheduling details later." She paused. "You might need to remind him." He thought her voice indicated sentence indicated deep frustration. Whatever had happened with Turnbull must have been highly unpleasant, Fraser felt a sudden surge of sympathy for him.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Without further comment she left and closed the door behind her.

Fraser let out the sigh he had been saving and dropped into his chair. "Damn." He smiled suddenly despite his irritation, Ray was definitely influencing him.

They bought lunch and took it to a park near the Consulate, so Dief could run. Neither of the conspirators had mentioned the donuts, but Fraser was suspicious. Dief ran some distance from them, but stayed in sight. They took their sandwiches to a table with attached benches and sat to eat.

"What, Benny?" Ray looked at him, obviously curious.

"What do you mean, Ray?"

"I mean, you've been squirming ever since you left the Consulate. What? Why, Fraser?"

Fraser looked at the table and sighed again. "I have to go to Ottawa to a conference this weekend, Ray. I'll leave on Thursday and return on Monday. Turnbull was going, but the Inspector decided to send me at the last minute. I had the distinct impression there was some unpleasantness involving Turnbull which led to the change." He looked at Ray, who showed little response. "I told her I would prefer not to go, but she insisted. Well, politely demanded, really."

"Benny?" Ray raised his eyebrows and stared at Fraser as if he had seen something new. "You told her you would prefer not to go?"

Fraser was puzzled by the question. "Yes, Ray. I'd, um, rather stay here."

"Thanks, Benny." Ray smiled. A remarkably sweet, appealing smile, Fraser thought. Ray never smiled like that when someone might notice. Sometimes Fraser was surprised by how unintentionally innocent Ray could look at those moments.

Ray paused, then continued, sounding simultaneously impressed and entertained, "I can't believe you told her that. Good job, Frasier. She shouldn't have done that to you. She should've told you last week, at least."

"I'm sorry, Ray. I can't get out of it."

"That's okay, Benny. It's not a problem. I'll miss you. A lot. But, if you need to go do Mountie stuff, I understand." Ray smiled again. "It's only for a few days. Besides, Franny is car shopping this weekend and I promised I'd go with her. She's dragging Maria along too, I don't know why she feels the need to do this by committee. But now you can get out of going, at least. You know what it's like to go shopping with Franny, for anything." Ray rolled his eyes for emphasis. "I'll stay with the family over the weekend and do the dinner thing. Ma will like that." Then Ray laughed. "And I promise I'll wait till you get back to lock myself in the trunk of whatever Franny buys, Benny. Maybe I inspired her to get a Riv."

Fraser smiled. He still wasn't happy about going, but Ray was being very understanding about it. They sat quietly. He watched Ray take a few bites of his sandwich and put it down. He also noticed Ray glancing around carefully for Dief. Fraser reached for Ray's hand, which was resting on top of the table, and laced his fingers between Ray's.

"Ray, please eat your lunch."

"I don't like it, Ma." Ray caught the look on Fraser's face before he could hide it and frowned, wondering why Benny was so interested in what his lunch. This wasn't the first comment Fraser had made about his food in the past three weeks. Considering the things Fraser was willing to put in his mouth, he shouldn't say anything about what he ate, Ray thought.

"You're overfeeding Dief. I suspect you gave him something sweet and unhealthy this morning, but I won't ask." Fraser smiled, but rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb. "Eat your sandwich, Ray."

Ray took a few more bites, then put it down and covered it with his napkin. Fraser saw it, but said nothing. He decided to wait until he returned from his trip and if Ray's eating habits had not improved by then, he would force the issue. Even if it led to an argument. For now, he decided to change the subject.

"Ray? I thought we might take Dief for a walk."

"Why, Benny? What's wrong with sitting here? He can walk by himself and we can call him when we're ready to leave." Ray sighed, wishing the bench had a back to lean against. He was tired and he had a headache, but if he mentioned it to Fraser, he'd get more guestions than he wanted to answer. Besides, he was in a good mood and he didn't want to break it.

"Ray, I thought if you don't have to go back to work immediately, we might find a less public spot to . . . ah . . . visit."

"Visit? Oh, you want to visit." He laughed. "You do have your own way of expressing things, Frasier. Okay, Benny, let's go find a less populated place."

Ray sat at his desk that afternoon doing what he hated, reading through files. Dief had decided to join him again, rather than going with Benny.

"Yes, Elaine?" Ray leaned forward, putting his elbow on his desk and resting his chin on his hand and watched her as she sat down in the chair by his desk."

"So, where's Fraser? Dief is here. Where is Benton?"

"He's busy this week, Elaine. I'll ask him to come by next week so you can harass him." He didn't smile, but he was inexplicably amused.

Elaine stood to leave, the apparently remembered something. "Oh, your mother called while you were at lunch. She wants you and Fraser to have dinner at her house tonight." She hesitated, looking confused. "Since when does your mother invite you to dinner, you live there?" Ray shifted uncomfortably, he hadn't planned to offer that explanation yet. But, almost immediately she answered her own question. "I guess, she meant you should invite Fraser."

Ray thought he saw an opportunity to end the conversation. He picked up the phone on his desk. "Thanks, Elaine, I'll call . . . "

Before he could finish she asked, "Is Fraser seeing Francesca? He is, isn't he?"

"No, Elaine." He wondered for a moment what she would do if he told her who had moved in with Fraser.

"Are you sure?" She was persistent, he thought, he was still amused.

"Elaine, Fraser is my best friend and Francesca is my sister. Don't you think I'd know if they were an item? And if they were, don't you think Franny would be here sharing every detail with anyone she could trap into listening?" Ray stopped for a moment, then added. "Ma likes to feed Fraser. It's a mother thing."

Elaine looked convinced. "I suppose your sister would have told us by now if, well you know."

As she left, Ray finally laughed. He picked up the phone to let his mother know they would be there for dinner, that he wanted to spend the weekend, and to warn her to be more careful with Elaine.

It hadn't been difficult to convince Benny to have dinner with Ray's family. Ray realized Fraser could feel overwhelmed by them, in volume alone, and he was beginning to appreciate Benny's tolerance. Maybe Benny needed to feel part of something, Ray thought. His mother had seemed to understand that all along. Ray had sometimes envied Fraser's independence, but he also knew Fraser had spent too much time alone and being trapped in a house full of Vecchios was probably good for him.

Dinner had been fairly peaceful, considering it was a Vecchio dinner, and Ray had almost thought they could get out the door without receiving any of the usual containers of food his mother tended thrust upon them. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it, but Benny's refrigerator couldn't hold much more and they'd been eating with his family at least twice a week.

"Raimundo, Benton, take these with you." Ray groaned inwardly, but smiled at his mother.

"But, Ma, we still have . . ."

"Raimundo, you will take something with you." She looked at him more closely and then at Benton, who had been standing behind Ray near the door. Fraser nodded in response to Mrs. Vecchio's look. Ray hadn't noticed the exchange, he had been trying not to drop the containers his mother had suddenly shoved into his hands. She looked at Ray again and put her hand on his face. "Raimundo, you didn't eat very much of your dinner. Take something with you, you'll eat later."

He kissed her on the cheek and gave in. "All right, Ma."

She smiled at both of them. "I'll see you this weekend, caro. Benton, be careful on your trip."

"Yes, ma'am." She tapped her cheek for a kiss. Fraser blushed, but complied.

On the way back to Fraser's apartment, Ray decided to bring up the question he had wanted to ask all day.

"Benny, I don't want to be pushy and ask you to make changes to your apartment, or anything. But, you wouldn't mind a television, would you?"

"No, Ray. And I don't mind if you make changes."

He looked at Ray and thought he appeared relieved. "I'm glad you feel that way, Benny. 'Cause I already bought it."

Fraser looked at him again, curious why Ray had brought it up since it was already done. He didn't mind, but it was interesting. "Then, why did you ask if I minded, Ray?"

"I didn't want to be rude. I planned to return it if you had strong philosophical objections to having a television."

"There's no need to do that, Ray. I have no philosophical objections." He laughed.

"Uh, would you mind locks on the door to keep the television from wandering the streets when we aren't there?" He smiled at Fraser. "I haven't bought those yet."

Fraser sighed, but he understood. He'd been a little concerned about the contents of the closet anyway. He didn't want to think about the replacement value of even one of Ray's suits. "I guess not, since you put it that way, Ray."

The television arrived on Tuesday and that night Ray set it up in the bedroom area, then quickly installed locks on the doors and windows.

"Benny?"

Fraser sat at the table pretending to read, but watching Ray's activities with some amusement. "Yes?"

"Wanna stay here tonight and play with the television? Maybe we can eat part of the stuff Ma sent before she sends more this weekend."

Fraser smiled at him and put his book down. "All right, Ray."

After dinner, Ray and Dief curled up on the bed, with Ray holding the remote. Fraser joined them and Ray leaned against him while he played with the television's functions and menu."

"See, Benny, I told you having a television would be a good thing."

"Yes, Ray." Fraser had to admit to himself, it was more entertaining than he had expected and watching television this way had potential.

Ray was in the shower and Fraser had put the last items in the suitcase he had borrowed from his partner. He noticed the blue tee shirt lying on the bed, the one he had recently learned Ray liked to wear at home when he wasn't dressed in something expensive. He looked at the door and then quickly put the shirt under the top layer of clothes in the suitcase and zipped the top closed. As he put the suitcase on the floor, the door opened and Dief and Ray walked into the apartment.

Fraser watched as Ray collected several pieces of clothing and shoved them into a laundry bag. Ray looked at the bed, then on the floor before asking, "Benny, have you seen my shirt?"

"Which one, Ray?" He used his perfected innocent look.

"The blue one I thought I left on the bed."

"Can't you wear another one, Ray. We can look for it later."

Why was he being so evasive? Ray was becoming curious. "I don't want to wear it, Benny. It's dirty. I was going to take it with me this weekend and wash it. Ma won't care if I do laundry there."

"But, you have lots of other shirts, Ray."

Maybe Benny was playing. He decided to go along with it, for a few minutes. "I want that one, Benny. It's my favorite."

Fraser looked at the floor and blushed. Ray leaned in and tilted his head, so he could peer into Fraser's face. "Benny?" He reached up and lifted Fraser's chin, leaving his hand on Benny's cheek. "What have you done with my shirt?"

"Ah, it's . . . it's in my . . . I mean your suitcase, Ray. Do you want it back?"

Ray's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He wanted to laugh, but thought better of it. "No, Fraser, that's fine. You'll bring it back when you're done with it, I assume?"

Fraser looked at him, all innocence again. "Of course, Ray."

"Whatever you want, Benny." Ray moved forward and put his arms around Fraser's waist. They kissed for several seconds, before Ray pulled away a little. "I'll miss you, Benny."

Fraser pulled him in again, sliding his hand up the back of Ray's head and deepening the kiss. after some time, they both released for a breath. Fraser looked at Ray and thought about the trip. He didn't want to go. It wasn't just the bad timing, he didn't want to go.

"Ray?" He ran his finger across Ray's lips and then down his neck. He kissed Ray lightly on the cheek before moving across to his ear.

"Yeah, Benny?"

He didn't answer. He pulled Ray toward the bed.

Fraser woke on Thursday morning to find Ray propped up on one elbow watching him. Ray kissed him on the forehead, then stretched out and put his arm around him. All the blankets were piled on Ray's side of the bed. Fraser was beginning to wonder how he could stand sleeping under all of them, Ray even liked to being under them during sex. It must be one of those habits he would have to get used to, he thought. Baking in bed wasn't quite as painful as tripping over expensive Italian shoes left lying on the floor, especially when the owner noticed the scratches. But, he had found that he liked the changes, even the ones that might have seemed a little uncomfortable at first.

"Good morning, Ray."

"Hi, Benny."

Ray remained quiet for several seconds, moving a finger in small circles on Fraser's chest. Then he dumped half the blankets on Fraser. "What's wrong with you, Frasier? It's cold in here. It's always cold in here. Even Dief needs a blanket and he has fur."

Fraser turned, put his arms around Ray and hugged him tightly. After a few moments, Ray said, "It's okay, Benny."

"What, Ray?"

"You've never done this before, have you Benny? I mean, lived with someone like this. You know?"

"No, I haven't." He was uncertain why Ray had mentioned it.

Ray pushed away from Fraser enough to look at him, but he didn't let go. "It's okay, Fraser. I'll explain how it works. You go to Ottawa, you come back, and everything is just the way it was before you left. Nothing changes, except we have a really good time the night you get back." Ray smiled. "People have to travel sometimes, Benny. It isn't a permanent separation, it's just a trip. Okay? I mean, I just wanted to make sure you understood nothing changes. And you'd better bring my shirt back."

"Thank you, Ray. It is all a little new for me."

"Well, look at it this way, Benny, you may not be the first person I've lived with, but you're the only guy. So, it's sort of new for me too."

Fraser rolled on top of him and pushed himself up so his hands were on either side of Ray's head, allowing him to stare at Ray's face. He kissed him on the tip of the nose and Ray laughed.

"Benny, what are you doing?"

"Looking at your eyes, Ray. I've always thought they were very colorful."

"They're green, Fraser." Ray seemed startled that he would find that interesting.

"Yes, Ray, sometimes they are green. But not always the same green. Sometimes they look almost brown. When you look very closely at them, you can see tiny gold streaks."

Ray laughed again. "Is this another inspection? Are you going to taste me now?"

"No, Ray, I'm saving that for later. And this is not an inspection. I think you are fascinating and I looking at you. Does that bother you?"

"No, Benny. I just don't understand it."

"Now, Ray. That's just silly." Ray sighed and rolled his colorful eyes in response. Fraser moved his gaze downward lifting the covers slightly.

"Hey, Frasier, it's cold."

"It is not cold." He hesitated when he noticed several dark bruises on Ray's arm and leg. "How did you get the bruises, Ray?"

"I thought you weren't inspecting me." Dief barked and Ray looked in his direction. "I tripped over your wolf." He'd always been good at explaining bruises. Now that he thought about it, he had spent much of his childhood telling people he had run into a door. He didn't like being evasive with Benny, though. It felt dishonest, even though it wasn't a total lie.

"I'm sorry, Ray, I think I misunderstood. You tripped over Dief?"

"Yeah, I guess I didn't see him in front of me. I fell and hit a chair on the way down. You seem to trip on my shoes a lot, Benny." Ray looked away and then back. He spoke quickly, "Did everything fit in the suitcase, Benny? I have bigger ones if you need."

Fraser frowned a little at the shift in conversation. "No, thank you, Ray. Everything fit."

He leaned down and kissed Ray on the nose again, then moved to his lips. Ray put his arms around Fraser and pulled him down on top of him. Fraser moved to Ray's ear, following the outer edge with his tongue. "Now, what was that about the night I get back, Ray? Do you think we have time to practice, so it won't be entirely new?" Fraser ran his fingers slowly up Ray's arm.

"Practice is good. We can do that, Frasier."

Fraser was not enjoying his trip and it was only Friday morning. He had begun to believe one of the reasons for his reluctance was the trip itself. So far, he had seen only a few people he knew, but those meetings had been awkward. And everyone, it seemed, knew who he was whether he had seen them before or not. Perhaps exile in Chicago had several benefits, he thought. Fortunately, the conference was being held in his hotel so he could hide in his room whenever possible. That should help him avoid some of the discomfort. He missed Ray too. He'd felt a little odd pulling Ray's shirt out of his suitcase last night, but there was no one else in his hotel room so it wasn't as if anyone could see him. It had helped. It reminded him of Ray and it had the comfortable Ray scent, he'd rapidly become attached to that.

He walked into the hall away from one of the meeting rooms and saw a hotel employee approaching him. He had vaguely noticed someone at the end of the hall pointing him out.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Fraser?"

"Yes. May I help you?"

"We were asked by a member of your family to give you a message. She said it was urgent and requested you return her call as soon as possible. She informed us you were with the RCMP group and asked someone to find you." He handed Fraser a small card.

"Thank you."

"Certainly. If we can be of further assistance, please let us know." With that he returned to the lobby.

Maria's name and the Vecchio's number were written on the card, but no other information. The sense of dread which had been difficult to define for weeks suddenly seemed to drop on top of him like a physical presence. He felt disconnected from his surroundings for a few moments. He was aware of walking to the elevator. He felt himself enter his room and dial the phone. Maria's voice answered.

"Maria?"

"Benton?"

"What happened?"

She sounded strained. "Benton, I'm sorry to bother you. Ray doesn't know I've called, he wasn't going to call, but that was before . . . Ma thought we should contact you. Ray wasn't feeling well earlier and then he had an accident. He was fine last night, but his morning . . . Someone from the precinct called and asked us to pick him up because he was ill and they didn't think he should drive. Franny brought him home and he went to his room to lie down. He'd promised Ma he would go to the doctor so she made an appointment. Then a few minutes later, she went up to check on him and we think he fainted and bumped his head on the dresser when he fell because he had a small cut on his forehead. He was unconscious when Ma found him, but he was only out a few minutes and he said he'd fainted. Ma took him to the hospital. It might just be the flu or something, there's probably no reason to worry. Just the bump on the head made it seem worse, you know? But, Ma thought you'd want to know. She seemed to think you might want to come home."

"Yes. Thank you, Maria." He thought he would suffocate.

"Are you sure, Benton? If you'd rather wait, I can call you later. There's probably nothing to worry about. I mean, he seemed okay when he got home, he was tired and he said he felt achy, so Ma thought it might be the flu until he hurt himself. Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait till we know what's wrong, Benton?" He could not decide which one of them she was trying to reassure. He wondered if she had left something out. She seemed unusually stressed for someone who wasn't worried. Mrs. Vecchio must have thought there was reason to worry, or she wouldn't have asked Maria to call.

"I'm sure, Maria."

She waited a moment, then added, "There is a flight this afternoon. I called to check, just in case. You'll have to be there in three hours. Can you make it?"

"Yes."

She gave him the information. "Ill pick you up at the airport, Benton. I'm sorry I don't have more to tell you now." She hesitated. "Try not to worry, Benton. He'll be fine. He'll probably be almost over it when you get here."

"Thank you, Maria. I . . . I'll see you at the airport."

He called the airlines and then the Consulate. "Inspector, I'm coming back to Chicago today." He had no idea what else to say, but he realized he hadn't taken the best approach.

"What, Fraser?" She was angry, and also confused, he thought.

"I'm coming back today. I . . . I have a family emergency and I need to be in Chicago. I'm sorry."

"Family?" She was obviously surprised by that, but partial understanding followed. "I assume this has something to do with Detective Vecchio?"

"Yes ma'am. He is . . . ill."

There was a pause. "All right, Fraser. I'll take care of the conference." Another pause. "When you have an opportunity, contact me and let me know if you will need a few days off. There's no hurry, whenever you have the opportunity."

He hadn't expected that. "Thank you, Inspector."

He put the phone down and pulled the suitcase onto the bed to pack. He saw Ray's shirt on the pillow where he had left it and picked it up. He noticed his partner's scent. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. It wasn't working. Maria said it would be all right, she said not to worry. Just the flu, or something like that, and a bump on his head. What if it wasn't all right? Something was wrong and he'd tried to ignore it. What if Maria was wrong? What was he going to do? He sat on the bed and tried to clear his mind. It wasn't working. The suffocating feeling was back. His hands were shaking. He couldn't do this now, he had to finish packing and leave. He put everything in the suicase, Ray's shirt last, and checked out of the hotel.