Standard Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I'm just
using them for my own nefarious purposes.
Rating: PG, slash, m/m, h/c
Yup, this is about a same-sex love affair, so if you don't
like it, don't read it!
Spoilers for "Asylum."


This is a companion piece to "Ray Loves Fraser."


                             Fraser Loves Ray

Benton Fraser, RCMP, liason at the Canadian Consulate in
Chicago, USA, sat at his desk and sighed to himself. He hadn't
seen his partner, Ray Kowalski, in what seemed like a very
long time, though it had probably only been a few days. Was
Ray avoiding him? *Don't be ridiculous, Benton* he said to
himself. No, Ray probably had just had enough of Mountie
company after spending a couple of days in "asylum" at the
Consulate until Fraser had been able to clear him of murder
charges. 

Fraser smiled as he thought of his partner. Ray was such a
bundle of energy. Fraser had just about had to use force to
stop Ray from leaving the Consulate to pursue his case himself
- likely getting himself arrested in the process. "How do you
know I didn't kill Volpe, Fraser?" Ray had asked him. "Because
I know you, Ray," had been Fraser's reply. "You're my
partner. You're my friend." Ray had looked so surprised
at that. Why was it so hard for the detective to believe in
himself? Was it because his ex-wife had hurt him so badly? At
least Ray had known where to come for help. It seemed that
Kowalski had just automatically headed straight for the
Consulate when he was being pursued by that rather high-strung
patrol officer. He had come to Fraser for help, and Fraser had
provided it. Because he loved Ray.

Yes, love. That was how he felt about Ray. It wasn't the same
as the love he had felt for his other Ray, Ray Vecchio, the
man Kowalski was now pretending to be. Fraser loved that Ray
also, but as a brother. He was *in love* with Ray Kowalski.
That was why he was a little bit afraid that Kowalski was
avoiding him - perhaps he had realized how Fraser felt about
him. But Benton didn't think so. He had always been good at
hiding his feelings. He had spent all that time in very close
quarters with Ray while giving him asylum, and he hadn't
betrayed himself, though he'd come close once. Ray had been
upset about Fraser's going alone to question a suspect in the
Volpe murder, and Fraser had found himself squeezing Ray's
shoulder in reassurance, and he'd come very close to not
letting go of his partner, until Turnbull had interrupted. 

How had this happened? How had he fallen for this man? It was
not so surprising that he'd fallen in love with a man - he'd
not been raised with any prejudices toward homosexuality, and
he had encountered, and befriended, many Two-Spirited people
in the native communities in the North. But why had he fallen
for *this* man? They were so different, the two of them. Where
Benton was calm, Ray was hyperactive. Benton always thought
before he acted, while Ray was impulsive. Perhaps that was it
- they complemented each other.  

Fraser heard a sound at the door to his office. Without
looking up, he said, "Ah, Turnbull, what can I do for you?"

"Shut up, Mountie," said a voice that was definitely not
Turnbull's.  A man with a gun stood in front of Fraser's desk.
He was holding a gun to Turnbull's head. 

"Oh, dear," said Fraser.

The gunman indicated the telephone on Fraser's desk. "Call the
police and tell them that I have you two Mounties as hostages,
and that I want your government to cancel the softwood lumber
deal they just made with my government."

Fraser automatically dialed the 27th Precinct, but Ray wasn't
there, and Francesca became so hysterical when he told her
what was happening that Fraser gave up trying to talk to her
and hung up. He lifted the receiver again to call 911, but the
gunman said, "No more phone calls, Mountie." 

Fraser said to the man, "Look, why don't you release Constable
Turnbull, and we'll talk about this. Why don't you tell me
what it is about the softwood lumber deal you object to?"

The gunman threw Turnbull to one side and pointed the gun at
Fraser. "You, blondie," he said to Turnbull, "go guard the
door, and don't let anyone in unless you're sure they don't
have a weapon. After all, you can't bring guns into Canada,
har har!" He turned back to Fraser. "You Canucks are taking
away all our good American jobs with that stupid NAFTA thingy,
and now this. Why don't you keep your lumber on *your* side of
the border and stop under-selling us Americans?"

"I don't think you fully understand the nature of trade
between our two countries, sir..." Fraser began, slowly
approaching the American. He could hear sirens. Ah. Apparently
he got through to Francesca after all. If only he'd been able
to talk to Ray. Oh no, Ray! He'd be certain to try to get in
to the Consulate, and Turnbull was under specific orders not
to admit anyone with a gun. Knowing Ray, he would come in
unarmed, and face down this obviously deeply disturbed and
well-armed individual. Fraser was not a very religious man,
though his grandparents had raised him in the United Church of
Canada. Now, he prayed, as he continued approaching the
gunman. He had to end this before Ray got here. "Please, sir,
why don't you give me your weapon. Surely we can come to some
kind of amicable resolution. We are surrounded by Chicago
police, as you no doubt can tell by the sirens. You will not
escape, even if you kill me." 

The man's hand wavered. Fraser grabbed for his arm, trying to
reach the gun. In a swift movement the American swung his arm
up to his head and blew his own brains out, splattering
Fraser's uniform with blood and gore. 

Turnbull heard the shots and came running in. "Constable
Fraser, are you all....oh, I see." Turnbull turned slightly
green. 

"Turnbull, go back to the door and keep an eye out for
Detective Vecchio," Fraser ordered. "Don't let anyone else
in." Fraser knew he would eventually have to let in the
coroner and probably several other police officers besides
Ray, but right now he didn't want to see anyone else but his
partner. 

Fraser went in to the bathroom, thankful that it was now
functional once more. He tried vainly to clean some of the
blood from his uniform. *Ray will be concerned if he sees all
of this blood on me* he thought.  But it was no use, so he
returned to his office. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice
yelling "WHERE IS FRASER?" Oh, my, what was Ray so upset
about? He left his office and went in to the foyer. "Ray?"

"Fraser!" Ray lunged forward and threw his arms around Fraser.
Fraser was so surprised he simply stood and patted Ray's back
for a few moments, then he realized Turnbull was staring at
the two of them. "Please, Ray, not in front of Turnbull," he
said, and led his partner in to his office. 

"This is - ?" asked Ray, indicating the corpse on the carpet.

"Apparently he was upset about a trade deal between Canada and
the United States, and he chose to express his displeasure
with a loaded weapon," explained Fraser.

"What happened?"

"I first attempted to talk him in to giving up his weapon, and
when that didn't work, I was going to disarm him by force, but
he chose to end his life rather than give himself up."

"The blood...you're covered in it," Ray said softly. "It's all
his?"

"Yes, Ray." 

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine, Ray."

The next thing Fraser knew, Ray was sitting on the floor
sobbing. *Ray must not have known that the shot was this
unfortunate man shooting himself* Fraser realized. *He saw
Turnbull at the door, and he didn't know where I was.* He
knelt beside his friend and put his arms around him. 

"I'm all right, Ray," he whispered. "I'm all right."

"Fraser...I thought I'd lost you," Ray said with a sob.

"You haven't lost me, Ray. I'm right here." 

"I can't lose you, Fraser," said Ray between sobs. "I love
you."

Ray loved him? He hardly dared believe it, but here was Ray,
sobbing in his arms, obviously terrified of losing him.

"I love you too, Ray."

"You...you do?" asked Ray, looking up at him with tear-filled
eyes.

"Yes, Ray. You don't know how afraid I was that when you heard
about the gunman, you would attempt to come in here unarmed to
take him down." 

"So you tried to do it yourself," stated Ray.

"Yes, Ray."

"Fraser?"

"Yes, Ray?"

"You're nuts."

He was nuts for trying to take down a gunman when he himself
was unarmed? What had Ray been intending to do? "No more than
you are, Ray," he said.

"So we're both nuts," said Ray.

"Yes, I believe we are. Is that a bad thing?" Fraser asked. 

Fraser watched as Ray thought for a moment. He was pleased to
see Ray smile through the remains of his tears. Ray kissed him
gently. "Nah," his partner said. "It means we're perfect for
each other."

End