The phone rang in the Canadian Consulate. Fraser rolled out of his cot and
stumbled his way through the darkened room to answer it. "Canadian
Consulate, Constable Benton Fraser speaking." 

"Fraser? It's Ray. Are you all right?" 

Why was Ray Kowalski calling him in the middle of the night? "Yes, Ray,
I'm fine. Are *you* all right?" 

"Yeah Fraser, I'm good. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,"
answered Ray. 

"It's the middle of the night, Ray. Are you certain that everything is all
right? You don't normally call me in the middle night to inquire about my
health." 

A sigh came from the other end of the telephone line. "Look, I had a
dream, okay? It was not good." 

"You're calling me because you had a bad dream?" Fraser was confused. 

"Not just a dream, a premonition. A premonition that something bad was
gonna happen to you." 

"Do you often have precognitive dreams, Ray?" Ben asked.

"Not often. Once in awhile."

"And have they ever come true?"

There was a long pause before Ray answered. "Once. A long time ago." 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

"Nah, like you said, it's the middle of the night. I'm sorry I bothered
you. It was just a stupid dream." 

"Ray, the dream has obviously upset you. That isn't stupid. You are
concerned about me. Are you sure that you'll be all right? Do you want to
come over here? Or do you want me to go over there?" 

"No, that's all right, Fraser. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.
Go back to sleep. " 

"All right, Ray. Goodnight."

"Night, Fraser."

Fraser and Ray didn't see each other for a few days. Each had his own work
to do. Then, one night, the phone at the Consulate rang again. 

"Canadian Consulate, Constable Benton Fraser -"

"Yeah, I know it's you, Fraser." The voice on the other end of the line
sounded relieved. 

"Ah, Ray. I thought it might be you calling. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Fraser. Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I am quite well, Ray. Did you have another dream?"

There was a sigh from Ray's end. "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Fraser asked.

"No."

Fraser made a 'tsk' noise. "Ray, perhaps it would help you to talk about
your dreams." 

"What, are you some kind of shrink now, Fraser?" Ray inquired.

"No, but since I seem to be the subject of your premonitions, it might
help if I knew what I should be wary of." 

"I don't know, Fraser. I don't know what you should be wary of. I just
know that I woke up in the middle of the night because I had a
premonition." 

"Ah."

"What does 'ah' mean, Fraser?" asked Ray.

Fraser shrugged, then realized that his partner wouldn't be able to see
him through the phone.  "Nothing. Are you sure you're all right?" 

"I'm okay. Well ... I'm a little freaked, is all."

"Do you want me to come over?" Fraser offered.

"No. I'll be okay."

Ben sighed at his friend's stubbornness. "Very well. But if you need me,
you know where to find me." 

"Yeah. I know. Thanks, Fraser."

"For what?" the Mountie asked, but Ray had already hung up.

The next time the two men saw each other, Fraser could tell that his
partner hadn't been sleeping well. 

"Ray, I wish you would tell me what your dream is about."

Ray sighed. "Not here," he stated.

"Have dinner with me tonight, and tell me then," Fraser suggested.

"Are you asking me for a date, Fraser?"

Ben was just about to deny it, but something made him reconsider. "Would
it bother you if I were?" he asked. 

Ray shrugged. "No," he admitted.

"Very well, then. I am asking you for a date. Will you have dinner with me
tonight?" 

"Where?" Ray asked.

"At the Consulate. I'll cook, and we can talk."

So that was how Ray Kowalski found himself at the Canadian Consulate at
approximately seven o'clock that evening, after Inspector Thatcher and
Constable Turnbull had gone home. 

Fraser turned out to be a good cook. The detective hadn't really known
what to expect - moose steak, maybe, but it turned out that Fraser cooked
a great vegetarian lasagna. Maybe he'd learned how to make Italian food
from the Real Ray Vecchio. Dinner couldn't last forever, though, and he
knew that after dinner the Canadian would expect him to talk. 

Sure enough, once he had polished off his apple pie, the interrogation
started. "Tell me about your dream, Ray," Fraser prompted. 

He'd known he would have to talk about it eventually. "There's not much to
tell. It's the middle of the night, I'm in bed, asleep, and the phone
rings. It's Welsh, and he tells me that you're dead." 

"Does he say how I die?" Fraser asked. Easy enough for him to be calm, he
wasn't the one dreaming about his partner getting killed. 

"No - at least, I wake up before he tells me. What's scary is that when I
wake up I don't know for sure that it was just a dream. The phone's right
there and I can't remember at first if I just hung up or if I only dreamed
I was talking to Welsh." 

"You said you've had precognitive dreams before - including one that came
true?" 

The blonde man shuddered slightly. "Yeah, that was really weird. I was in
high school and there was this really popular girl, cheerleader,
Homecoming Queen, everything. And I dreamed about her, dreamed that
something bad happened to her and everyone at school was talking about it,
but nobody actually said what it was that happened to her. After I had the
dream, I got this real creepy feeling every time I saw her. And then one
night she was with her boyfriend and he was drinking and he ran his car
into a telephone poll and she died." 

Fraser reached out and lay a hand on his friend's shoulder. "That must
have been terribly upsetting for you, Ray." 

"Upsetting doesn't even begin to describe it, Fraser."

"Have you talked to anyone about your dreams? A therapist?"

"Like I need someone to tell me I'm nuts for having crazy dreams? I don't
think so." 

"It could help," the Mountie suggested.

"I don't need a shrink, Fraser," Ray insisted.

"All right. But if you have any of those dreams about me again - "

"Don't worry, I won't bother you with them."

"It's all right, Ray. I don't mind if you bother me, if it will help set
your mind at ease." 

"Really?" Ray asked almost hopefully.

"Really, Ray."

Sure enough, later that night the phone rang. Fraser had moved it into his
office, next to his cot, so that he would be able to answer it promptly. 

"Hi, Fraser," came the rather sheepish voice from the other end.

"Hello, Ray."

"Guess you're okay, huh?"

"I'm fine, Ray."

"Good. Uh, thanks for dinner tonight, and everything."

"You're welcome."

"Could we - uh, could we do it again sometime? Maybe go out?"

"Are you asking me for a date, Ray?" Fraser asked.

"Would it bother ya if I did?" the detective asked.

"Not at all," answered his partner.

"Okay, then, I'm asking. Will you go on a date with me?"

"I'd like that very much," Ben told him.

So the two of them made arrangements to go out for dinner and then to a
hockey game. Ray couldn't find any curling matches to take the Canadian
to, but he figured hockey was Canadian enough for him. 

When he dropped Fraser off after their date, he had a sudden attack of
shyness. "Um, I had a good time," he mumbled. 

"As did I," responded Fraser.

"If I have another dream - ?"

"Call me."

Ray was about to leave when he suddenly leaned forward and gave his
partner a very brief kiss.  Then he turned and ran. 

As Ben had expected, his phone rang in the middle of the night.

"Another dream?" he asked as he picked up the receiver.

"No," his partner replied.

Surprised, the Canadian asked, "Then why are you calling me?"

"Well, I kind of like talking to you."

"I enjoy talking to you also, Ray, but it is the middle of the night."

A sigh came from the other end of the line. "Yeah, okay, I guess I should
try to get some sleep. I just - I'm afraid that I'll have the dream again
if I do." 

"I understand your fear, Ray, but you can't go without sleep
indefinitely." 

"I know. Goodnight, Fraser."

"Goodnight, Ray."

It didn't take long for the Mountie to fall asleep again, but his sleep
was interrupted again approximately an hour later. "Fraser?" came a shaky
voice. 

"Ray? Are you all right?"

"I'm scared shitless, Fraser."

"Talk to me," Ben encouraged. He had an idea. "Let's talk about something
completely unrelated to your dream. Let's talk about your car." 

Ray chuckled, which Fraser took as a good sign, They talked about the GTO
for about half an hour, until Fraser judged Ray had calmed down enough to
go back to sleep. "Do you think you can sleep now, Ray?" he asked to make
sure. 

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks again, Fraser."

"You're welcome. Good night."

"Night, Fraser. Um, Fraser?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"And I love you, Ray."

"Good night."

"Good night."

The next time the phone rang was early in the morning, just as Fraser was
about to start work. It was Ray again. 

"Is everything all right?" Fraser asked him. Ray sounded troubled.

"I'm not sure. Did I tell you last night that I love you?"

"Yes, you did."

"And did you say that you love me?"

"Yes," Ben replied.

"Did you mean it?" Ray asked, still troubled.

"Yes."

A relieved sigh. "Thank God. I was afraid it was another dream."

"No, it most definitely was not a dream," his partner assured him.

"Will you come over tonight? To my place? I - I want to see you."

"Of course.  I'll come as soon as I finish work. But speaking of work, I
really must be going." 

"All right. I'll see you tonight. I love you."

"And I you, Ray."

Late that night as Ray and Fraser were lying in Ray's bed, the phone rang.
Instantly awake, Ray answered. 

"Detective, this is Lieutenant Welsh."

Ray sat bolt upright, checking to make certain that Fraser really was
there with him. 

"Yes, sir? What can I do for you?" Ray asked in a slightly shaky voice. 

"Have you seen Constable Fraser at all this evening?" asked the
Lieutenant. 

"Yes, I've seen him - why?"

In a somber tone, Welsh informed Ray that there had been a bad fire at the
Canadian Consulate, and no one knew whether Fraser had been in the
building or not. Neither Thatcher nor Turnbull knew where he would be if
he weren't at the Consulate, and the firefighters were combing the
building's wreckage for bodies. 

"Sir, it's all right. Fraser is here with me. He wasn't at the Consulate
tonight." 

"Constable Fraser is with you?"

"Yes, sir, he's right here beside me."

Welsh decided not to ask his detective why the Mountie was spending the
night with him.  "Thank you for informing me, Detective. I'll tell
Inspector Thatcher. I'm sure she'll be relieved that her Liaison Officer
is unhurt." 

"Goodnight, Sir," said Ray.

"Goodnight, Detective."

Fraser had woken when the phone rang. "What was that about?" he asked Ray. 

"There was a fire at the Consulate. They thought you were in there ...
Welsh was calling me to tell me you were dead." 

"Like in your dream?"

Ray nodded. "Like in my dream."

"But it didn't come true. I'm not dead."

Ray smiled and took his lover in his arms. "But another one of my dreams
came true tonight." 

END