Ballads, Chocolate & Parachutes "Ballads, Chocolate & Parachutes" A Closet Story Challenge by Red Skye *~~~)oO0Oo(~~~* On The Closet Mail List Elaine issued a challenge, that was to write a story that included everything on a list she supplied. The List: Page - Item or Event [06] Turnbull getting hit by a Truck [15 to 19] Ray and Fraser in the wilderness [10 to 14] Sex [14 & 18]A bad guy [08]Nicotine gum [15]A statue of Madonna or Madonna [08/14]a condom [09]A red car [08/16]A Map [19]An Inuit Story. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser lay on his cot within the office that had become his temporary quarters after his apartment, along with all other's in the block had been burned out due to a performance arsonist. Somewhere in the distance, someone was obviously tuned into the Love Songs by request program. Or as he'd come to think of it, Songs to Cry by, as opposed to those song's by Enya that he quite liked, that Ray always called Songs to die by. The strange thing was that it seemed to Fraser that they always seemed to be the same songs, in the same order every night. This was the third night in a row he'd heard the same songs. As the wailing warbler finished his lament, Fraser flipped onto his back and looked at looked at the roof and listened to the next song, thinking how it summed up the way he'd felt when he returned to Chicago to learn Ray, his Ray, the light of his life, his darktime Romeo, his lover, friend and best partner in the world a Mountie could have was gone. How do I Get through one night without you If I had to live without you What kind of life would that be Oh and I I need you in my arms Need you to hold You're my world My heart, My soul If you ever leave Baby you would take away Everything good in my life Without you There'd be no sun in my sky There would be no love in my life There'd be no world left for me And I Baby I don't know what I would do.. Well he did know, he'd count the days, and pray Ray returned, alive, and not in a pine box. As the song drew to a close, Fraser rolled over and again and pulled the pillow over his head as Toni Braxton started wailing on that Radio in the distance. Uncry these tears I've cried so many nights Unbreak my heart. Don't leave me in all this pain Don't leave me out in the rain Bring back those nights When I held you beside me Say that you'll love me Undo this hurt you caused When you walked out of the Door and out of my life Undo these tears That I cried so many many nights Unbreak my heart come back and say you love me. Say that you love me Tell me you love me Unbreak my Say that you love me Say that you love me Unbreak my He just wanted to load his revolver, stomp out and find the culprit and blast that radio to smithereens. Either that, or put the gun to his own head and blow his own brains out. A man could only take so much. Every single song he heard reminded him of Ray, reminded him that his Ray was gone, replaced by that in need of serious therapy replacement, who's name was really Stanley, but hey call me Ray any way, imposter. =Oh, no, Not Mariah Carey again= As he heard her start wailing away. Living without you Living alone This empty house Seems so cold Wanting to hold you Wanting you near How much I wanted you home But now that you've come back Turned night into day I need you to stay So now I come to you With open arms Nothing to hide Believe what I say So Here I am With open arms Hoping you'll see What you're love means to me Open arms. =There ought to be a law against torture by Love Songs by request shows that keep playing the same songs night after night = He thought and then he heard the thumping bass line that he knew so well. =Oh no.. Not that song.. Not again= I believe in miracles Where you from You sexy thing. Sexy thing you I believe in miracles Since you came along You sexy thing. Where did you come from Baby How did you know that I needed you How did you know I needed you so badly How did you know I'd give my heart Gladly Yesterday I was one of the lonely people Now you're lying close to me Making love to me. He screamed into the pillow. Frustration and a desire to drown out that song, the song he'd gone to so much trouble to get a copy of to play for Ray soon after they'd crossed the line between friends and lovers. Out of all the songs, that one reminded him most of what he was missing. He desperately missed Ray, Sex, company in his tiny cot. He'd almost fallen for the charms of that bounty hunting Mama, how desperate was that. He wondered how many people killed themselves after being depressed to death by those wailing ballads and let's go to bed and make out like the end of the world is coming songs which were played all night long on those request shows. Then a miracle happened, a new song he didn't recognise started. Curiously he put the pillow behind his head and listened to that drum beat, so like a pulsating heart. You let me violate you You let me desecrate you Fraser's eyes widened. You let me penetrate you You let me complicate you Help me I broke apart my insides I've got no soul to sell Help me The only thing that works for me Help me get away from myself I want to Fuck you like an animal I want to feel you from the inside I want to Fuck you like an animal My whole existence is gone You get me closer to god. Fraser groaned. Now he was worse than miserable, he was miserable and aroused. The music if anything, became louder and as the song stopped and he heard a new one take its place, he bolted upright. Lalalalalala-lah Lalalalalala Walking through my mind I am close behind an image of you I begin to fall Wondering what it is I'm supposed to do He realised that radio, if it was even a radio, was not as distant as he'd first thought. Throwing the blanket aside, he rose and padded through the room in his red long johns. Easing the door open, he looked both ways up the darkened corridor. By listening closely he worked out the music was coming from upstairs. When you went away Here I had to stay Thought we'd never meet again Now you're here by me It was meant to be The master plan When your dreams fall through I'll be there for you In the Master plan I want you to feel That this love is real In the master plan Slipping out of the room, he stealthy approached the stairs and started climbing the stairs, avoiding all the ones that creaked. Dreaming of a place in time or space Where the love is new Bodies that entwine A love so fine Is oh so few When you left my side Felt that I would die Thought we'd never meet again There that room, that's where the demented and sadistic member of the human race who used sappy love ballads and lets make out songs to torture him was lurking. Stealthily he moved across the hall and then kicked the door open and charged into the room. He almost fainted when he saw Ray, his Ray, his lithe Italian Amoroso, sprawled on the bed that was supposed to be reserved for the Queen should she visit Chicago and chose to stay at the consulate. Now you're here by me. It was meant to be The masterplan When your dreams fall through I'll be there for you In the Master plan... Ray wiggled his fingers at Fraser. "What kept you?" Fraser just gapped at him in shock, taking in his thin frame that seemed even thinner, he was in need of some sun, and he had bags, no suitcases under his eyes. He also had a teasing smile on his face, and he'd never looked more glorious to Fraser than he did at that particular moment in time. Ray rolled over stretching out an arm to hit the stop and eject button, and flipped the tape over, hitting play. Then he rolled back to the center of the bed and smiled wickedly at Fraser. Come to me My Darling Come to me Then you'll see How great my love can be Let me hold you in my arms Till the storm within you comes Come to me My Darling Come to me. Fraser started crawling over the bed, to leap on Ray and kissed him passionately. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Sex, sleep, more sex, and a mad scramble out the door to get into his uniform before Thatcher arrived, lead to Fraser having to wait till lunch time for an explanation. That was when he crept up to the queen's suite with some food for Ray. "I have to hide for another week. That guy who's been pretending to be me will take a break, and make a big deal about it, then I'll come back in his place, after taking the holiday I've got all lined up." "I have plenty of leave time." "I know.. I already got the Dragon Lady to agree to let you go for a fortnight, so you can come along with me, cause we got a lot of catching up to do." Fraser smiled. "Oh, by the way, before you so delightfully distract me again, I gotta question for you." *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Turnbull watched Fraser walking down the corridor, or more accurately enjoyed the back view of Fraser walking down the corridor. It was such a pity he and Vecchio were so close, he wouldn't mind getting a lot closer to Fraser. But any chance of that had gone from not very likely to when Hell freezes over when the Italian Detective had returned, and taken residence up in the Queen's suite, apparently with the Inspectors full permission. He'd like to know how Vecchio had managed that. It didn't take a genius to work out why Fraser now smiled his way through the day and had a little spring in his step that had been missing while his unofficial partner in crime busting was away. Turnbull's musings were cut short as a Mack truck ran straight into his ankle and gave a tiny toot-toot of it's miniature air horn. Leaning down he picked up the radio controlled miniature and looked around for the culprit. There he was hiding just under the stair case, with the control, his brother at his side, and his brother's radio controlled mini Humvee was heading right for him. They were the children of visiting VIP who was talking to Inspector Thatcher in her office. They were, apart from their propensity to play tag with their radio controlled vehicles, quite well behaved. The miniature Humvee turned in a wide circle and raced back to the stairs as Turnbull began marching toward them. "I do believe the rules of Tag are that once you are tagged, you're it," Turnbull said as he reached the two little not so little angels and wiggled his fingers at the elder of the two. The boy handed over the controls and then went running down the corridor. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* "He's up stairs, packing Benton," Mrs Vecchio informed the Denim and flannel clad Mountie as she held a spoon covered in fragrant Italian Pasta sauce up. He tasted the sauce. "It needs more Oregano," He said. She clicked her fingers and bustled off. "I knew there was something missing." Fraser left her to her cooking and went in search of his "unofficial Partner" leaving Deif in the kitchen to try and mooch some of Mrs Vecchio's fine Italian Cooking. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser peeked around Ray's bedroom door to see him sitting on a large steel case, while trying to close the locks. "You are not taking that with you," he said in disbelief as he slipped into the room. "Damn right I am. If our plane falls out the sky, at least my luggage will have a fair chance of surviving. If Fraser hadn't been such a polite member of the human race, he would have rolled his eyes. "And don't spout statistics about plane crashes to me, and go on about how that plane was deliberately sabotaged, O.K." "If you say so," Fraser said, and kicked the locks. They clicked into place and Ray gave a satisfied nod. "What did you pack?" Ray started ticking off on his fingers. "I got, two thermal blankets, a pup tent, hiking boots, good thick socks, gloves, fishing line, hooks, Two boxes of fire starters, waterproof matches, windproof matches, soap, chamois, 6 ration packs, 12 high energy snack foods, two bags of Hiker's nibblies, that's nuts, seeds and dried fruit, two packets of Jerky, coffee, condensed milk, tea, cups, plates, cutlery, Two sets of each, a bow pipe, ball bearings, a sling shot, and steel balls, maps of the place, a compass, binoculars..." Fraser was impressed. "Two Swiss army knives, a Bowie knife, a fillet knife, reconstituted vegetables, spices, a billy can, and an old pot I scrounged from the back of the cupboard, plus a first aide kit, with bandages, inflatable casts, gauze, hydrogen peroxide, antiseptic, disinfectant, three types of cream, safety pins, a razor, a scalpel, tweezers - two types, slings, elastic braces, a solar powered radio, and a mobile phone with a solar battery recharger. And I've been saving up all those Canadian dollar's you pay me back with and I've got a hundred dollars packed away in there. Just in case." "I'm impressed." "And it's all individually wrapped in plastic bags, inside my clothes." "You forgot something." "What?" "A sleeping bag." "It's over there." Fraser looked around, to see a sleeping bag neatly rolled with two strap's belted around it right next to a hardshell suitcase with wheels. "It fits two. Comfortably and is lined with lambs wool." Fraser smiled at him. "It can be strapped to my backpack frame. And the whole kit and caboodle is packed into my backpack, inside this case which will stop it getting wrecked if the plane takes a nose dive." "Well it certainly sounds like you're prepared for just about anything." "There are one or two other items we'll have to pick up on the way to the airport." "Oh, What?" "Lube, condoms and cigarettes." "*Raaaay*." "It's not my fault they forget to mention Armando smoked like a chimney. I had to take it up or blow my cover." "You promised you'd give up." "I tried." "Well, if you're going to insist on buying those cancer sticks, you can forget about the other items, I do not find smoking the least bit attractive." "Oh, so it's the cigs or sex." "Yes." "Ok.. I'll grab some nicotine gum, and one packet, just for really stressful moments. Or I'll get really antsy and grumpy, and trust me, you don't want to know how Antsy I can get if I don't have a cigarette at really stressful moments." "I heard they have nicotine patches which work very well." "Tried those, I have an allergy to the sticky stuff, it makes me itch. Within an hour or two I scratch the damned things right off. I've got two left, that I've been saving for this trip.. One for each plane trip." "Oh. Well, nicotine gum it is, but don't expect me to kiss you after you've been chewing it." Ray pulled out his note pad and pen. "Nicotine gum and chewing gum, what do you prefer, spearmint or cinnamon?" "A Nicotine free lover." "You can't have it both ways, Benni." "Cinnamon." Ray scratched that in. "Alright, I got my passport and wallet, you got the tickets?" Fraser patted his pocket. "Right here." "Did you pack something nice to wear to the ceremony." "I thought my uniform.." Ray rolled his eyes. "No Uniform, until we hit Canada. That's the rule." "But.." "Take it or leave it. You wear the uniform, and I'm gonna be the one saying, not tonight Caro, I gotta headache." "I did purchase something special to wear to the ceremony if you objected to the uniform." Ray smiled. "But I give you fair warning, if I wear that, you may wish I'd worn the uniform instead." "Why? What is it?" "It's a surprise." "I can't wait." Frannie pounded on the door and opened it. "Are you ready yet? I've got everything packed." *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* "And if any one can give just cause why these two people should not be so bound, speak now, or forever hold your peace.." The celebrant said. Mrs Vecchio clamped a hand over her youngest daughter's mouth to keep her silent. Ray looked over the small cluster of guests, who had joined them on the charter flight to Hawaii, which included, his mother, Frannie, Maria and Tony, minus the kids, Elaine, Huey, Turnbull and Welsh. He gave a satisfied nod when he saw his mother had made sure Frannie didn't interrupt. Then he looked back at Fraser and once again a smile touched his face. "I now pronounce you, Husband and Spouse. You may kiss the spouse." Fraser pecked Ray on the cheek, but only because he'd seen Ray pacing around smoking cigarette after cigarette while waiting for the celebrant to arrive. There was a light smattering of applause and they turned to step down from the small stage to be surrounded by their friends, who slapped their backs, or shook their hands. "That dress is wonderful," Elaine said to Fraser, who tweaked the skirt of his silk wedding dress, which was the exact same shade of white as his platinum blonde wig. "I was afraid the dress maker wouldn't have it finished in time.. But she completed it at the last minute." "I thought Ray was going to fall off the stage laughing when you stepped out of the car in that." *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Ray rolled his eyes when he stepped out of the reception center to find the nice shiny red M.G he'd hired had been defaced with streamers, cans, and chimes, not to mention at least two down Lei's. Fraser turned as the women reminded him, he'd forgotten something, still in his Miss (now Mrs) Fraser role, he was dressed in the same ensemble he'd worn for his stint as an undercover mountie at the Catholic girls school. He raised the bouquet and then lowered it, before hurling it up in the air. Ray unlocked the car behind his new spouse, and turned to see the bouquet coming down, directly over Elaine and Francesca. "Cat fight alert," he said in a soft aside to Fraser. Frannie tried an elbow to the rib's, but Elaine, dodged it and went one better, kicking Frannie's stiletto clad feet out from under her. Luckily the reception area was surrounded by lush green lawns and landscaped gardens, the only thing injured was Frannie's dignity as she dropped and Elaine stretched out an arm to try catch the bouquet. Frannie, the veteran of many a bouquet scramble, karate chopped Elaine's knee and the dark skinned cop hit the lawn too. The bouquet hit the lawn just out of reach of both women and there was a mad scramble to be the one who got to it first, and the cat fight Ray predicted broke out. "Sheesh, Wimen," Ray muttered. Fraser cleared his throat and Ray looked at him. Fraser gave him, where have your manners gone look, and Ray opened the door for him. Fraser gave a nod and slipped into his seat, buckling up as Ray closed the door and hurried around the car. A victorious Elaine held up the bouquet and was declared the Winnah by a silent majority. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser lay on the bed, under the blankets, of the huge bed that occupied the honeymoon suite in the hotel with it's breath taking view's of the lush green landscape and it's surrounding ocean. He listened to the bathroom door open and looked around as Ray stepped back into the room, clad in silk pyjama's so big they looked liked they'd slither right off his still too thin frame. He patted the bed, and Ray stopped by the bedside cabinet to open the drawer he'd slipped a few bedtime surprises into before he crawled onto the bed and let Fraser sniff him. "Mhhm.. You smell like chocolate." "I should hope so.. Or I wasted 5 bucks buying that chocolate flavoured soap." Fraser's nose travelled up Ray's throat, and over his face, and he gave Ray's breath a sniff. "Mhmm.. Dark chocolate. Chocolate flavoured toothpaste?" Ray reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil wrapped chocolate sliver. Fraser watched him unwrap it, then his lips were being teased with it. He opened up and Ray slid it past his teeth, withdrawing his hand and letting his fingers play across Fraser's face as the Mountie let that dark substance melt on his tongue. "Chocolate is an energy food." "So I've heard," Fraser agreed. Ray sat back on his heels and started slowly popping the buttons on his night shirt open. Fraser watched those slim fingers moving down ward, and then sat up, and pushed Ray's hands away and took over himself. Kissing the newly exposed and chocolate scented skin of his new spouse. "Mhhhmm. You smell good enough to eat," he said as he gave Ray's belly a little nibble. Ray gave him a light push away and then turned away, his pants sliding down his hips. As he scrambled back to the drawer on hands and knees, Fraser grabbed the ankle of those silky pants and gave a good tug. As he expected, they slithered right off Ray, leaving his lover naked as the day he was born. Fraser bundled up the pants and tucked them under the pillow while Ray reached in to the drawer pull out a bottle with a thick dark liquid and a brush. He turned back to Fraser who's eyes widened slightly when he saw the jaw. Ray held the brush in his teeth and opened the jar before he pulled the brush out from his teeth and used it to scoop out a dollop of the chocolate body paint and began painting himself with it. First each nipped was coated with it, then a line between them, Fraser started licking his lips, eyes dilating as that brush was redipped preparatory to Ray sliding it slowly up his chest, over his collar bone, and up his neck. He touched it to his lips coating them in the thick substance and redipped the brush. He created another trail of the gooey liquid from the other side of his neck to intersect in the center of his chest. Fraser's groin started throbbing as he watched Ray use a newly loaded brush load of paint to paint a line of the thick body paint the center of his rib cage, to circle his belly button, and then stopped. Ray licked the paint of his lips, looking right at Fraser as he tossed the brush and then poured the paint straight onto his hand and started stoking it onto his sex. Then his hand travelled onwards, to coat his inner thighs. Fraser looked up as he rose to his feet, then using a finger traced waving designs down his legs, prior to using the last of the chocolate paint to slather his feet with it. The jar dropped back into the draw, and Ray stood on one foot and extended the other toward Fraser, wiggled his toes and waited. With alacrity Fraser took up the invitation scrambling out from under the blankets revealing that all he wore was a pair of bring red silk pants. Crawling to Ray's position, he reached out to cup Ray's ankle, and lowered his mouth to that extended foot. Slowly he licked a path through the chocolate on the sole of Ray's foot, then he nibbled of the rest, except for a layer on Ray's big toe. As he sucked on that toe and swirled his tongue around it, he looked up to see Ray's chocolate coated sex was rigid and pulsing, and Ray's neck arched as he let out a moan of pure pleasure. Ray's moans of pleasure continued and grew in volume as Fraser licked and nibbled his way up that chocolate coated leg, and then skipped over his genitals, brushing them with his breath before he worked his way back down the other leg, to repeat the process on Ray's other foot. "Oh yeah... Don't stop," Ray murmured as Fraser sucked the last of the chocolate paint from his toes. Fraser though had other plans, and they meant stopping that particular activity. Ray jumped as Fraser released his foot and let his fingers do the walking up the back of his legs, to cup his butt. Then his hands flew to Fraser's head, tangling in his hair as Fraser's tongue started slowly licking the chocolate off his now rampant sex. Italian endearment's, peppered with French encouragement poured from Ray's lips, as Fraser's lips closed over the head of his sex. His voice rose, becoming huskier, and louder as Fraser's tongue swirled over that most sensitive of places and his tongue darted in and out of the slit occasionally. Fraser's hands were equally active, caressing his thighs, buttocks and stomach. Words were forgotten as Fraser went on, to run his tongue over the under side of his sex, then licked his testes clean before sucking each one into his mouth. What came out of Ray's mouth was unintelligible. Fraser stopped as Ray's fingers dug into his scalp and the curls tangled around them were tugged on. He simply breathed on Ray's unbearably aroused sex, till Ray slowly relaxed a little and untangled his fingers. With a little nod, Fraser let his hands wander back up Ray's legs, to cup his buttocks and play over them, then made Ray's legs turn to Jelly as he took his sex into his mouth again, and gave him the other kind of French kiss. "Oh-mi-god!" Ray cried as Fraser took him in up to the throat, and one of his hands slid between his butt cheeks, a finger sliding inside, to seek out and stimulate his prostate gland. Ray's whole body arched, and he started yelling, "Yes, Yes, Yes," as Fraser used oral and digital stimulation to bring him to a mind shattering orgasm. When he came back from that plateau of pleasure, it was to find himself on his knee's held in Fraser's arms, while Fraser lazily licked the chocolate from his throat. "Mhhmm.. Now that's my idea of wedding present." Fraser giggled against his throat and pulled back, to look down at himself. "Oh dear, I seem to be coated in chocolate now," he said and looked up at Ray with a mischievous smile. "We can't have that, now, can we," Ray returned, and lightly shoved him down on his back to pounce on him. He kissed Fraser deeply and rubbed his body against Fraser's making sure he well and truly smeared with the dark aphrodisiac of his choosing. His hands skittered over Fraser's body, till he found the waist band of those soft silky pants. Fingers slid under the waist band, till they met near Fraser's belly button. Finding the draw string, he tugged it loose, then sat back on his knees and started shuffling back to slide the sensual fabric free. Fraser wiggled back across the bed, and Ray tossed the pants, letting them flutter to the floor. He caught one of Fraser's feet, to nuzzle the sole. "Hmm, no chocolate here," He said, giving it a lick, before he nuzzled his way up that long leg, paying attention to Fraser's inner thigh. Fraser propped himself up on his arms, and watched as Ray mouth's hovered over his sex. His head fell back as Ray reached out and touched it, letting his fingers move over it in slow circular motions. "Hmm, no chocolate here either," Ray commented, before moving on ward. "Aha, what do we have here?" He asked before his mouth descended on Fraser's belly button. His tongue circled the depression, then dipped into the center and wiggled with a little pressure, while his hands moved, up his hips, gliding over the skin, to his waist, and then slid under his back, to begin playing over his back like a pianist playing a keyboard. Up and down his spine those hands played as Ray's mouth moved onwards up and down, side to side, around and round, it's mission, to seek out and lick, nibble and suck away every trace of chocolate body paint over Fraser's body. Of course, this was a task made all the more lengthy by the fact that every time his body came into contact with Fraser's a fresh coat was left in a contrasting smear over his pale skin. Then Ray slid back down Fraser's body, to seek out and devour the chocolate over Fraser's body, and surprise, his torso slid over Fraser's rampant sex and left a long dark smear behind. "Oh, what's this.. I missed a spot." Fraser arched off the bed, clawing the sheets, as Rays tounge began to flick over his highly sensitised sex. Ray's hands began gently teasing his testes and scrotum, and Fraser gave a low animalistic groan dropping back, his hands flying out to slay over Ray's head, fingers sliding over that soft fuzz. Ray's hands moved up to the shaft of his sex, and began moving over it, in gentle circular motions while his tongue flicked over the head of his sex, before his lips closed over it and gently sucked. The pressure of Ray's fingers grew, a finger skittered up and down the underside of his shaft then as his hips started bucking rhythmically, a hand closed over it. Sliding up and down the shaft, in perfect sync to the rhythm Fraser's hips moved in, squeezing gently, then building up to greater speed squeezing just a little harder as he sucked on and swirled his tongue around the head of Fraser's sex. "Ray, oh, yes.. I love you so much," Fraser panted. Ray's hand and mouth worked more insistently, and Fraser arched off the bed, as the man he'd sworn to love honour and cherish for the rest of his days brought him to the brink of ecstasy and pushed him over. When the last tingle of pleasure faded away, Fraser looked around with a languorous smile to see Ray propped up against the pillow a chocolate cigarette in his finger's he laughed as he watched Ray bring it to his lips and take a mock drag and give a long exhalation. Rolling over to rise on hands and knees, Fraser crawled up to lie next to him. "What other little surprises do you have in that drawer?" Ray stretched out a hand and drew out a foil packet and dangled it before Fraser's eyes. Fraser laughed when he saw the printing on the label, which claimed it was a chocolate flavoured condom. The next item Ray pulled out was a dark chocolate brown tube, which claimed to be chocolate flavoured lubricant gel. "I think you're trying to turn me into a choco-holic." "Is it working?" Fraser leaned over him to lick a path over Ray's thoroughly chocolate smeared stomach. "Absolutely." *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser and Ray were billing and cooing at each other quietly as the small charter plane flew over the Canadian wilderness. Their billing and cooing came to an abrupt end when they heard the pilot's cabin door open and looked around to see a bad guy with a gun step out and smirk at them. =Oh shit, That's Louis "The Silencer" Vincenzo= Ray realised. "Enjoying yourself, *Armando*." "I was till you showed up." "Enjoy it while it lasts, pervert," Louis growled. "Either shoot us now, or keep your opinion's to yourself." Louis smirked. "You don't escape your fate so easily, Cop. The Don's instructions were pretty specific.. You're going to suffer the most agonising tortures I can conjure up for you while your cement shoes are setting." =How original.= "Does that include making me die with my own excrement in my pants, Louis or what? If not, Nature calls." "Do what you like, Cop, The moment this plane lands your ass is mine," Louis said, before he stepped back into the cockpit. The door closed and Ray and Fraser both leaned forward and ripped parachutes out from under the seats. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Ray jumped with his steel case firmly clutched in his arms, Fraser followed, with the sleeping bag, and box he'd snatched off the wall of the cargo bag. Ray saw the trees coming and closed his eyes praying. The case was torn from his arms, and they flew up to protect his face as he descended through the tree tops. He was left dangling a few feet from the ground and when he opened his eyes he saw his case, in one piece on the ground and smiled. Fumbling with the straps he tried to escape the parachute's harness and was still attempting to do so when Fraser wandered into the area, and looked up at him. "Would you like some help." "What do you think?" "Well I'd hate to infer that you didn't know that if you just pressed that button in the middle it would come free." Ray looked over the harness and saw the button and gave it a vicious poke. "Arrgh" He fell to the ground with a thump. Fraser looked down at him. "Before I help you up, I have only one thing to say, If you say I told you so, you're on your own." Ray snickered and took the proffered hand and let Fraser pull him up to his feet. Fraser pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed him hard. "What was that for?" Ray asked when Fraser released him. "Adrenalin always gets my blood pumping." With a little chuckle Ray moved away to kneel by his case. Bashing the locks open with a rock, he opened the case, and laughed. Fraser moved up behind him and looked over his shoulder as Ray reached in and pulled out a tiny statuette of The Madonna. He turned the statuette over and saw a Canadian coin taped to the base. "I thought a little blessed protection wouldn't go astray." Ray dragged his back pack out and opened it. The Madonna was shoved into the pack and his thick socks and hiking boots were pulled out. While he pulled them on, Fraser searched the pack, finding the package of maps and the compass. Sorting through the maps, Fraser found the one that mapped the area of wilderness they were now stranded in, and studied it. Using the compass, he worked out where the prominent land mark he'd seen as he'd plummeted to Earth dangling in the Parachutes straps, and waited. The last lace strongly tied, Ray looked at him. Fraser showed him the map and the land mark. "I saw that as I came down, if we hike 25k's West we will find a village, here," he said tapping the map. "Any short cuts?" "Well there is this river, 5k's away." "Rapids or waterfalls?" Fraser studied the map closely again. "Both." "We walk." Fraser folded the map up and tucked the compass away as Ray rooted through the pack and found, A:] His hiking coat, B:] his Bowie knife, in it's ankle sheath, which he strapped on, C:] The blow pipe and ball bearings, which he passed to Fraser, and D:] The sling shot and steel balls. Then the bag was strapped closed and Fraser took it, slinging it over his back. Ray didn't argue, and told Fraser to turn around so he could hook the sleeping bag to the frame. "We should hide that case." "Why bother, if they come after us, they'll see the chute." "Yes, but that won't tell them that we jumped with supplies, the case will." "Good point." The case was thrown into the center of an out of control bramble and Fraser lead Ray to the point where he came down and pointed to the case he'd dropped. Ray picked it up and opened it, to find two flare guns and a mirror. Smiling, he pulled the guns out and tucked one into a side pocket of the backpack, and the other into the waist band of his trousers. The flares, six in all were spread out, one in Fraser's pocket, one into the bag, and one into the rolled up sleeping bag. The other three were spread through Ray's pockets, and the mirror was slid into the backpack before Ray carried the box back to the bramble and it joined his case hidden from prying eyes. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser watched Ray shake out the camouflage printed pop tent and smiled. "Where should we set it up?" Fraser joined him, to scoop up the bag. "Give it to me, I'll set it up and camouflage it, while you get water." Ray hit himself in the head. "I knew I forget to pack something.. Canteens." "Fill one of those resealable plastic bags." Ray scrabbled through the back pack, finding the largest bag and emptied it's contents in a neat heap and rewrapped them in his flannel shirt before he strode off in search of the River who's path they'd been following ever since they'd come across it. By the time he returned with the bag almost full to bursting point, Fraser had the tent set up and hidden away, a fire set up, and was searching the back pack for the food Ray had mentioned packing away. Ray handed him the water bag and took care of finding the food. Fraser grabbed a shirt and after pouring some of the water into the billy and pot, he carried the rest off. He tied the shirts sleeves over a branch, and buttoned up the tail over the branch, then slipped the bag into the makeshift sling. Reconstituted Vegetables and spices chosen by Fraser were thrown into the pot, along with snake meat after Fraser used the blow pipe to kill one that was slithering up behind Ray. "That'll teach you to sneak up on me," Ray said as he handed Fraser the Fillet knife to skin and fillet the snake. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* As Ray lay snuggled comfortably in Fraser's arms, in the comfort of the lovers sleeping bag, he put a smile on the sleepy Mountie's face. "I just thought of something, Louis obviously knew who I was, so I guess you win." "Win what?" "The disagreement about who's surname our married name would be. The day after we get back, I'm going to the registry office, to change my surname, to Fraser." Fraser smiled, and gave him a peck on the back of the neck. "By the way, did I mention how much I loved your surprise. That dress was a big one." "I liked your surprise too." "What surprise." "The bottle of Chocolate body paint." Ray chuckled. "Did I mention what Elaine's other wedding gift was?" "She supplied the chocolate body paint??" "No.. I brought that, I meant apart from that gift voucher." "She had another gift." "Mhmm.. Another voucher.. Two actually, That said, this voucher can be exchanged in return for the services of Elaine Briss-Briss as a surrogate Mama." "How thoughtful." "She was dead serious too.. She said, they're redeemable up until she gets married. If she gets married." "I must remember to thank her for the thought, when we get back," Fraser said. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Fraser was setting up the night camp while Ray was fishing on the edge of the river, when Louis caught up with him and got the drop on him. "I gotta admit, jumping out of the plane like that was a pretty smart move on your part. But leaving that chute up in the tree's was a pretty dumb one." Ray looked around at him and saw Fraser approaching to stop dead over his shoulder. "And so's thinking you can get away with ex-ing me, Louis." "But I can, this is the perfect place to hide a body. They'll never find what's left when I'm finished, this time, your ass is mine." Fraser pulled out the flare gun that was tucked in his coat pocket and popped a flare in, and aimed it at Louis. "Wrong," Fraser declared. Louis spun, and Fraser fired before he could take aim. "He's mine all mine, ass and all included." Louis was struck in the center of the chest by the flare, and Ray hit the dirt as on hands and knees. Louis staggered back with a scream as his highly flammable shirt burst into flames. He tripped over Ray and fell, tumbling into the fast flowing river to be carried away by the rapid current. Ray scrambled to collect his fallen weapon while Fraser rushed to the bank to follow Louis' passage through the river. He give a little wince as he saw Louis slam into the huge sharp rocks that were dotted all through the rapids downstream. Ray tucked the gun into the waistband of his pants and joined Fraser to watch Louis' body being tumbled in the rapids. "I s'pose we should fish him out." "We'd never catch up with his body, besides, it will reach the village before nightfall, and they will send someone out to investigate." "Good point." "Besides which.. The adrenalin is pumping through my veins right now. And I have more enjoyable things in mind." Ray grinned. *=====*~~~)oO0Oo(~~~*=====* Sitting, in Fraser's embrace beside the fire, Ray reached out to stroke Fraser's thigh. "You know.. Apart from Louis popping up, I've enjoyed this time with you here." "As have I." "Maybe we should scrap those plans we had, and just pick up a few supplies in that village and camp out till it's time to go home." "That sounds like a fine idea to me." "I thought you'd say that." Fraser nuzzled his ear, but after Fraser's rather passionate love making earlier in the day, in the aftermath of Louis' dispatchment, Ray was a little on the tender side and all for a night of cuddling over sex. "You know.. While I was undercover.. I knew I'd go nuts if I didn't get out soon when I found myself thinking, if Fraser was here, he'd start telling these guy's an Inuit story right about now, and found myself, coming up with one.. Boy did that distract them." Fraser chuckled. "I knew it was time to come home, when I found myself missing those stories of yours." "Do you want me to tell you one?" Ray nodded, and settled back in his arms as Fraser drew in a deep breath and launched into a story about the Inuit hunter who went to a great shaman to learn how to know when he met his soul mate. "And he found the shaman sitting on his blanket, watching the clouds in the sky above. And knelt before him, but before he could open his mouth, to ask the shaman his question, the shaman looked at him, and deep into his eyes, and said, I've been waiting for you. And the Hunter knew he'd found what he'd been searching for." *~~~~~~~~~~*ooOO0=@=0OOoo*~~~~~~~~~~* The End Copyright April 16, 1998 Red Skye Standard disclaimers apply, Alliance owns the copyright of all Due South Characters that I didn't invent for this story, and I just borrowed their toys to play with them a little. They are action figures, aren't they? {:>D Return to Due South Fiction Archive