B: The Graduates    The Due South Fiction Archive Entry     Home

 Quicksearch
 Search Engine
 Random Story

 Upload Story

      	  B: The Graduates 
 by Dee Gilles	

 

 Benny & Ray 74 The Graduates Dee Gilles Rated R

 Ray watched as class 2002-2B of the Chicago Police Academy, eighty-seven
members strong, prepared to take the stage. 

 Ma sat on his left, beaming proudly, and his brother Paul sat on the
right. Maria, Tony, David, Raphy, Donny, and Rosanna were right of Paul.
Marissa sat on her mother's lap, already calling out for her "Uncle Benny"
and her oldest brother. She occasionally stood on Maria's lap and craned
her neck as she searched the crowd of blue uniforms for them. Tony
occasionally shushed the kids as Commissioner Rice, almost an hour into
his speech, droned on and on about duty, responsibility, and honor. The
audience shifted restlessly. People were just eager to see their loved
ones graduate, to become one of the elite in blue. The Fraternal Order of
Police. What a family. Ray hated to think where he'd be if he'd not become
a cop. Even on bad days, he couldn't imagine another life for himself. 

 Commissioner Rice lectured on while Ray's mind wandered. Didn't seem like
that long ago when he himself had sat among the graduating class almost
put to sleep by the commissioner's dry speech. He and his buddies had
stayed out all night the night before and partied, and Ray, a little hung
over, had barely kept one eye open during the commencement exercises. But
he managed to strut across the stage, his proud family looking on. Ma,
Maria, his uncles and some cousins had taken up the entire row of the
audience. Pop had boycotted to show his disdain for Ray's career choice. 

 And Frannie was at some stupid Donny Osmond concert that she just had to
go to, so she'd been absent. She swore when she was a little kid that she
was going to grow up and marry Osmond, and this was her big chance to meet
him. So she had put on her shortest micro miniskirt, stuffed her bra, and
snuck out before Ma and Pop got a good look at her. Frannie's fantasy was
that he would see her in the audience, pick her out to come on stage, and
they'd dance together. Then he'd fall madly in love with her. Ray
suppressed a smile as he remembered how Frannie would kiss the TV screen
when "The Donny and Marie Show" came on. She even had a Donny and Marie
lunchbox for a little while. 

 So long ago. Christ. How had twenty-two years slipped by?

 Now his nephew Paul was due to take the stage soon. Kid hadn't even been
conceived when Ray graduated. And then there was Ben Fraser. He was still
in high school when Ray took his walk across the stage. Ray tried to
imagine what Benny had been like back then, growing up in the hinterlands
of the NWT. A part of him desperately wished he had known him back then.
So many more years they could have had together. 

 The commissioner finally wrapped up to thunderous applause. To Ray, it
sounded more like applause of relief than appreciation. He clapped loudly,
and restlessly, nervously squirmed in his seat. He wasn't sure what he was
feeling nervous about. He didn't know if he was more worried for Benny or
for Paul. Paul was a smart kid, but the first year or so was hairy for
anybody. There was a big difference between academy training and real
life. One just never know what to expect, despite all the training. And
Benny, well, he was too trusting and nave, still. And this go-round, Ray
wasn't around to protect Benny from the bad guys. What Benny failed to
understand was that these scumbags on the street thought no more of
killing a cop than they did of stepping on a bug on the sidewalk. And the
streets were only getting uglier, the criminals even more hardened.

 Police officials filed onto the stage as others already present stood.
The cadets were directed to stand. And the names began, in alphabetical
order.

 Robert Black. He was a short, swarthy man, a little older with a buzz
cut. Looked like ex-military. Thomas Daniels. Younger man, tall. Then
Decker, Delaney, Deleon. Then another name was called, and then another,
and another, until the faces began to blend together.

 A couple of rows behind the Vecchios and Morettis were the rest of the
extended family and friends. Ren Turnbull and Ursula Dudek sat directly
behind Ray. He could hear Turnbull sniffling, and Ursula command him to
button it up already; nobody wanted to hear him cry. Ray still didn't know
what those two saw in one another. He still suspected that Turnbull was
too terrified of her to break up with her. 

 Mac and Chick were back there somewhere, too, up in the bleachers. Ray
hadn't realized that Ben still kept up with his old employees from the
consulate. Of course, he would have. Ben was a loyal friend with a long
memory. Frannie had chosen to sit in the back next to Mac, so they two of
them could chat and gossip about all the hot and hopefully available cops.
At least Frannie showed up for Ben and Paul's graduation. Donny Osmond
wasn't in town.

 Elaine and Ike were in attendance, somewhere in the far corner. It was
their first time away from baby Evan and Elaine had told them that she had
nearly declined coming this morning because she was so nervous about
leaving the baby, even though he was in the perfectly good hands of Ike's
sister. But, in the end, Elaine had come. Ben had been there for her, and
she for him.

 The first row emptied slowly, as each cadet in turn rose to take their
trip across the stage. The second row filed out and up to the stage. 

 Rick Diaz. Patrick Dillon. Stan Dotson. Stan Dotson, Ray instantly
recalled. So that's him. Good. Dotson was a big man, six-three, maybe
six-four. He was going to be one of Ray's trainees. He had already been
following his courses and monitoring his test scores. Sharp kid. He had a
nice look to him- authoritative but approachable.

 Ray found that he really, really liked his new position as Field Training
Officer. It was a little strange at first, being back in a uniform, riding
a beat, but hey, it was like riding a bike really. It all came back to Ray
quickly. He got used to the rhythm pretty fast after completing his own
crash training course and then hitting the mean streets. Yeah, Chicago
Southside was pretty tough, but as long as Ray kept his wits about him, he
felt pretty safe. He actually was starting to learn some faces on his
beat. The old ladies and the little kids loved the cops, and always waved,
or stopped to say hello. It was only the dirt bags out there breaking the
law who had every reason to fear and despise the sight of a police
cruiser. But most of those folks were law-abiding citizens.

 And the weirdest thing about this new job is that it was forcing Ray into
becoming a model cop. The new kids listened and watched him carefully and
he had to make sure he did everything right. For the first time in his
career, he did everything textbook. He followed police procedure to the
letter. He was courteous and respectful to his peers, civilians and the
other rookies. Good thing he had Benny as a role model; he simply had to
copy him. Hell, he'd even thrown around a couple of `thank you kindly's at
a couple of folks. 

 The stage was a sea of blue, and tartan. More names. Future cops. Jason
Edwards. Justina Elliot. Michael Espinoza.

 Ben's row stood. Ray and Ma craned their necks to spot Ben. "Do you see
him?" Ma whispered. Ray knew his Benny from any angle. He was the fifth in
the row. "There!" he said. He pointed.

 Emily Estes, the first in Ben's row, slowly paced to the stage, exactly
three steps behind John Evans. Then, Joe Farmer was called. And then
William Ferguson.

 It had been a whirlwind few months for both Benny and Ray. Each
successive week of Benny's training got longer and harder, and since going
back to work himself, he hadn't seen Benny that much; Ray was working the
swing shift now, which he actually would prefer if he was a single man,
because he always was a night owl. But he hated not seeing Benny. By the
time he got home at midnight, Benny had been asleep for hours, and was
long gone by the time Ray awakened around nine the next morning. In the
mornings before work, Ray did the housekeeping, the grocery shopping and
other errands for them, or went to therapy or checked in with Dr. Taddeo.

 It was only on the weekends that they got to catch up with one another.
Ben told Ray about his classes in CPR, Defensive Tactics, Survival
Tactics, HAZMAT, Domestic Violence. Told him about some of his more
colorful classmates. Benny was excited. He was excited to get back out
there, get on a horse again, do some good. His enthusiasm was contagious.
Ray found himself looking forward to his shifts also. The pace was so
different from detective work. Ray felt less stressed, and actually, it
felt pretty damned fulfilling to show these young turks the way. 

 There Benny was. His heart hammered in his chest like he had a schoolboy
crush. God, what a good-looking man. He looked stunning in his dress
blues, crisp white gloves, and Sillitoe Tartan cap. Ray was so proud that
Benny was his. He was still in love with Benny, even having know him for
close to a decade. Ray thought that was remarkable.

 "Benton Fraser," the sergeant finally called. 

 A thunderous applause erupted throughout the audience. Ray jumped to his
feet and snapped as many unobstructed pictures as he could. Maria, Tony,
and the kids went wild. Marissa chanted "Ben-ton Fra-ser! Ben-ton
Fra-ser!" Ma grabbed Ray's elbow and squeezed. They looked at each other
and beamed. Some lady in the back screamed, "Benton, marry me!" which got
a few laughs. Ray could see Benton Fraser blushing from here. He accepted
his diploma, shook the captain's hand, and smoothly walked off. 

 Poor girl didn't know that Benny was already married. To him, of all
people. To him. Ray touched his wedding band in wonder. 

 He and Benny had gone out to the firing range for the first time together
last month and gotten in some shooting practice. Ray had amassed a small
collection of guns and had plenty of revolvers for Benny to use. Benny was
a loyal S man. He employed Ray's old .357 Magnum or his .38 Chiefs
Special. He hadn't fired a gun in almost a decade and was understandably
rusty. And Ray was a little rusty, too, having been out of action for
several months. He couldn't imagine being in Benny's boat and being out of
practice by ten years. The two of them practiced together for a couple of
hours, until Ray started to feel his hand go numb with fatigue from all
the kickback. For some reason, it really turned Ray on, shooting with
Benny. Ray had taken Ben home later and delivered one of the most intense
fucks of his life, right there on the living room floor. Something about
the power, he guessed. He grinned to himself, and quickly wiped the smile
away before his Ma or Paul asked him what he was smiling about all of a
sudden.

 Benny took his seat again, as the names kept coming. Next, they waited
for Paul to be called. Looked like he was four rows back from Benny, so
they had a while to wait. Gibbs. Goodwin. Hawkins. Holmes. Hunt...

 The cadets had already received their assignments. Benny was reporting to
the CPD stables at 6 a.m. on Monday morning, as they had all expected. He
was going to be covering Area 5, dubbed `Grand Central' which encompassed
the north and west sides of the city. The Canadian Consulate was within
his beat. Paul got wait-listed for the K-9 division. He was going to be
riding a beat that covered Area 1 `Wentworth', and he'd be in the safe
hands of one of Ray's counterparts. 

 The sergeant continued to read off the names as the captain passed out
the diplomas and shook hands. "Knight. Lane, Larson...."

 The next row stood as the cadets in the row in front of them began to
fill up their seats again. Manning was the first in the row, then McCray,
McDonald, McGuire, then Melendez, Mills. 

 Paul climbed the stage as Tony and Maria jumped to their feet and clapped
and yelled for their son. Tony tapped the guy in front of him, and said,
"That's my boy! That's my kid up there!" 

 Marissa ran to Ray, freed from her mother's lap. "Hey, little girl!" Ray
said, and scooped the three-year-old up. 

 "Paul Moretti!" 

 "Paul Moretti!" Marissa screamed.

 Ma screeched gleefully. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard such a joyous
sound come from his mother. She grabbed Ray's elbow again. Ray leaned over
and gave her a kiss.

 His brother Paul let out a loud whoop for his namesake.

 This was something. This was really a trip. Only yesterday, it seemed,
Paul was a babe in arms like Marissa. Ray remembered taking him to the
state fair that fall, and Paul cried because he was scared of the cows. 

 Now, the kid was an officer of the law. Did the CPD really know what they
were in for? This was a kid who used to lick the powder off of powdered
donuts and put them back in the box; a kid who once almost jumped off the
roof holding a towel over his head, thinking he'd float slowly to the
ground as if he were strapped into a parachute. Luckily Ray saw him in
time and screamed at him to get the hell off the roof. What are you,
crazy? This was the kid who gave his little sister Rosanna away to a crazy
homeless lady when she was a baby. It was the only time Maria ever spanked
any of her kids. She had been livid and scared out of her mind when
Rosanna was missing. 

 And now little Paul Moretti was walking tall in his dress blues.
Unbelievable. 

 Ray sat back down, placing Marissa on his lap as Paul returned to his
seat. He couldn't stop smiling.

 The rest of the day was thoroughly planned. After the ceremony, the
graduates were going back to Octavia Ave and they were having a huge
double party, filled with Ben's friends, associates, and former
co-workers, and Paul's younger set of friends. There would be tons of
Vecchios, Morettis, Russos and Espositos present. Ray couldn't help think
of absent friends and family. Valerie should have lived to see this day.
And Darcy was missing a great party.

 Ray looked forward to spending time with his brother Paul who had taken
up residence in his and Benny's guest room. Since next Thursday was
Thanksgiving, he was remaining the entire week. 

 The party would go on until late into the night and he and Benny would go
home, and after Paul settled in for the night, they'd tumble into bed
together, and make love to one another in the quiet, restful dark.

 And they would spend a quiet weekend close to home, family and friends.
And on Monday morning, they'd get up, these two Chicago flatfoots, and
start life anew. 

 FINIS	
  

End B: The Graduates by Dee Gilles 

Author and story notes above.  

Please post a comment on this story.