RATINGS: G
TEASER: Not a fixit, really. More of an addendum. I just felt something was missing from COTW. Now I feel much better.
SPOILER: COTW
DISCLAIMER: Yeah, like I could make any money off of this. Obviously, these are not my original characters. I just love them and want to borrow them to suit my own needs.
ARCHIVE: Sure
Many thanks to Brigitt and Melanie for their fine beta reading.
The Phone Call
by Mimi
The sky outside the large picture window was pink and blue with the twilight of the coming night. The soft bulb under the wide-brimmed lamp shade cast a cozy, comfortable glow around the small table cluttered with picture frames in a variety of sizes. Each photograph told a story of friendship and family.
With a grimace, the man gingerly lowered himself down into the comfortable, overstuffed cushions of the lounge-chair, smiling at last as he sunk into the soft leather. He gazed around the familiar, cluttered den, looking to see if everything was still where he had remembered it should be. Well, of course it was not. The wall had obviously been painted and things had been moved. Some things were missing, and new things took their place. He sighed, taking comfort in the fact that someone had taken great care to restore the room, after fire and smoke had damaged the well-loved house.
Searching the room, he found more pictures of family gracing the four walls. Books with worn spines and frayed edges lined the bookcase, the titles as familiar to him as the names of his family. A large, cedar crucifix occupied the center spot on the wall opposite him. Colorful Afghans draped a love seat underneath the crucifix. The man slowly sipped at his highball as he surveyed his surroundings, feeling relaxed and content. It was good to be home.
The shrill beeping of a cell phone lying on the small table startled him out of his reverie. He grimaced as he shifted his weight to turn towards the table. Setting down his drink, he quickly picked up the cell and flipped it open. He was momentarily stumped as his mind searched for the proper greeting. Realization dawned and he spoke into the phone with his most charming voice.
"Vecchio, here."
"Hello, Ray"
"Fraser?" Ray Vecchio smiled broadly as he recognized the voice of his friend.
"Yes, Ray." At hearing Fraser's voice, Ray's mind conjured up their last meeting, regrettably, in a hospital room.
"It's good to hear your voice, Ray."
"It's good to hear yours, too, Benny." And it was. It was ironic to think how much he had missed the voice of the most annoying man in the world all these months undercover. He had missed the friendly greetings, the banter, the Inuit stories, the 'Thank you kindlys', the warmth. At a time when a friendly voice may have been the voice of an enemy bent on double crossing him, Ray had longed to hear the musical tones of his Canadian friend, a man he trusted implicitly.
"How is your recovery going, Ray?"
"Aw, Benny, you know, taking it easy. Ma's beside herself getting me under her roof again so she's spoiling me rotten. Cooking up a storm. I'm drowning in pasta."
"Well, I do hope you're getting your rest, Ray."
"Hey, the family's being real good. They're quiet and always asking if I need anything...Don't know how long that'll last. Even Frannie's being nice to me," chuckled Ray.
There was a pause and then Fraser's voice returned with a warmth and affection that caught Ray off guard. "Francesca is a good woman, Ray. You would have been proud at the way she's lived her life and gained respect since you've been away."
Ray raised his eyebrows. He had noticed something different about Frannie. She had grown, it seemed, and with that, her constant pursuit of Fraser had cooled. Could it be that they had come to an understanding of sorts? Respect and affection? He marveled at all the changes he would have to discover about the lives of his family and friends while he was gone.
"So, what can I do for you, Benny?"
There was a pause and Ray could almost hear the smile in Fraser's voice as he replied. "Well you see, Ray, I don't know about America, but here in Canada we have this thing called friendship..."
Ray smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, Benny, we have that too. Man, it really is good to hear your voice."
Both voices silenced, immersed in memories of the past and uncertain visions of the future.
" You really are all right?" a concerned inquiry from Fraser.
"Yeah, It's good to be, well, to be *me* again. I, uh, it's going to take a while, I think, to, you know, get Langostini out of my head. I gotta get used to not being so careful of every thing I say, who I say it too, all of that stuff." Ray's voice fell to a whisper as he sighed. "I...I haven't felt safe in a long time. I haven't been me. It'll take some getting used to."
"I'm sorry that I...well in the hospital...I wish I could've..."
"Aw, Benny, don't worry about it. You had to get your man. It's what you do."
"Did I thank you, Ray?"
"Thank me?"
"Yes, thank you. For once again coming between me and a bullet."
"Yeah, well, I seem to have 'Alternate target for Fraser' stamped across my forehead. Besides, believe it or not, that's what partners do, and that's what we are. "
"Yes, Ray. We are partners. I do hope you know that will always be the case. Partners, that is. No matter what different directions people go in, or the distances that are traveled, partnership still remains."
Ray smiled softly at the warmth building inside. "Thanks, Benny. That means a lot."
Ray shifted in his chair. "Benny, I heard you're going off to the frozen north with Kowalski to search for The Foot of Benjamin?"
"That's the 'Hand of Franklin', Ray, and yes, we are going on quite an adventure."
"I have to admire him. I love you like a brother, Benny, but you won't catch me riding off onto the tundra with you on one of those bumpy, hard, dog sleds, freezing my butt of. Been there, done that."
"I remember," Fraser replied with a chuckle. "Ray, er, Stanley really needs this. Having to leave his cover so suddenly really, um, put him in disarray. I think he needs to, er, find himself, so to speak."
A heaviness of jealousy settled in on Ray where comfort was only a moment ago. He could not erase the lingering shadow of resentment as he thought of the life, his life, which this stranger had stepped into. Somewhere inside, he knew he was being irrational, but he could not deny the pain he felt, the feeling of being cheated out of so much. This 'other' Ray had stepped into his family, his job and his friends so easily. Too easily. Ray mourned the time lost being just 'Ray Vecchio'. Was he even that same man anymore? He wasn't sure. He was a man who had to deny his very self to do the job given him. Denying himself made him lose himself, and Ray was very worried that he would never find that man again. Ray knew that Stanley Ray Kowalski was not a 'replacement' for him, and that he was only doing his job as well. Stanley, Ray figured, was probably suffering from the same aftershocks as he was. It would take some time, Ray rationalized, to put it all into perspective.
Seeming to sense Ray's discomfort, Fraser broke the silence that had befallen Ray, his voice smooth with compassion and caution. "It's been hard for him too, Ray. He wasn't prepared for your return and he hadn't had the time to work it all out." Fraser took a deep breath. "He's a good police officer, Ray. He's a good man, too."
"I know," whispered Ray, knowing in his heart that it was the truth. "You just tell him...tell him he'd better watch your back, or...or he'll have me to deal with."
"He will. And thank you, Ray."
There was a pause between them, letting Ray's mind wander again. Some things change. Relationships change. Situations change. Even the weather will change. But throughout the changes in life, he could take comfort in the things that will always stay the same.
"Ray," Fraser interrupted the silence, his voice renewing with a brightness which Ray had longed to hear during his dark days as a dark man. "What are you planning to do? Will you be taking retirement?"
"Well," he drawled, "I'm thinking about it, Benny. What I really want to do is take a long vacation. Maybe finally get down to Florida. God knows I've tried enough times. I mean I got plenty of sun in Vegas, believe me. But Florida's not Vegas," he stated with a slight shudder.
"Ah, that sounds like a capital idea, Ray."
"A capital idea? Nobody says that, Benny."
"Nobody says that, Ray?"
"No, no one, Benny," Ray remarked with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
"Why not, Ray?"
"Well, it's just...it's kind of, snooty. Upper crust. Canadian."
"Now Ray, I don't believe that this particular phrase is unique to the Canadian vernacular. For instance, I believe if you were to study the phraseologies of the various regions in the United States and compare the use of idioms..."
"Fraser," Ray cut in, " whatever. No one says, 'capital idea'. No one. Period."
"No one says that?"
"Exactly."
"Ah."
"Ah, what?"
"Nothing, Ray"
"What nothing?"
"It's really nothing, Ray"
"No, I know you too well to know that when you say 'ah', and then say 'it was nothing', it's *not* nothing and haven't you learned to stand up for yourself yet Benny? Didn't I teach you anything?"
"Ah...I mean, yes, I do see your point, Ray. Regarding certain phrases which I do use yet you say are not in the current colloquial usage, such as 'that is a capital idea', you stated that no one uses that phrase any more, correct, Ray?"
"Correct, Fraser."
"Well, I do."
Ray paused before responding, quickly deciding that maybe Fraser could make it without him, and with a laugh replied, "So you do, Benny. So you do."
"Well, now, I really should be going. Ray...er, Stanley and I have provisions to buy, trails to plan, dogs to harness, all of that. I will be in touch, though."
"Yeah, OK, Benny. Listen, I really appreciate your call. You two go and have a real adventure."
"We will, Ray. Er...You do understand that I, uh, I *will* be in touch."
Ray's eyes stung. He listened to the warmth in Fraser's voice, and locked the memory of that in a safe, secure place. "As a friend?" he whispered.
"Yes, Ray, as a friend."
Ray heard the click of disconnection then slowly flipped shut his cell, replacing it on the side table. He reveled in the moment, savoring all the various emotions from the past week. Surprise, fear, anger, and elation all at once as Fraser broke his cover; relief at knowing that his days as a mobster were over and he could get his life back; jealousy and resentment toward the man who had replaced him; appreciation and finally sympathy for the man who had replaced him; great sadness at the realization that his best friend was really gone; and warmth and happiness that this friendship *would* go on, no matter how far the distances were.
He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. As he reached for his drink, one of the many, small, framed pictures which covered the table caught his eye. Picking it up, he smiled at the image. Benny, ramrod straight, so serious in his official red serge. Ray, with a goofy grin, leaning against the solid frame of his friend.
"Hey. It's awfully quiet in here. Everything all right ?"
Ray looked up at the lovely Stella Kowalski, cautiously stepping into the room. His heart flip-flopped at the genuine concern in her voice--a concern which had caused her to spend all free time assisting his mother in fussing over him. He suddenly had a vision of himself walking hand-in-hand with Stella, along the sandy shores of Miami Beach, and that vision gave him great comfort.
"Yeah, everything is gonna be fine," he gazed down again at the picture, burning it into his memory. "Everything is going to be really fine."
The End
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