For Aingeal (2) by andeincascade

Comfort and Joy

"Vecchio!"

Lt. Welsh's voice carried over the chaos that could only be the Detective Division on Christmas Eve.  Ray was only on his second cup of coffee and already the bull pen was teeming with every nut and crazy in the city of Chicago, all clamoring for attention.  The twinkle lights Frannie had wrapped around the tree seemed to be set to a techno beat, each flash hitting Ray's retina like the stab of a knife.  And, over it all, an endless loop of Alvin and the Chipmunks was playing at Dewey's desk.  At least, Ray thought, they weren't overrun with Elvis impersonators this year. Welsh gestured toward his office with a jerk of his head and Ray got up with a sigh and followed, standing at attention in front of Welsh's desk.

"Are we expecting Constable Fraser today, Detective?"

"No, sir," Ray replied, with a sinking feeling, wondering what bizarre case he was about to be sent out to solve.  "He said he'd be tied up all day preparing for the consular reception this evening." 

Welsh frowned.  "I just had a call from Inspector Thatcher.  The constable was due at the consulate over an hour ago and she hasn't heard from him.  She thought we might have him."

Ray considered the range of distractions that could have delayed Fraser:   purse snatchers, nuclear terrorists, lost kitten; it could be anything.  "You want me to check it out, sir?" 

"Please, Vecchio," Welsh said and dismissed Ray with a nod of his head.  "And call the Inspector as soon as you find him."

Ray grabbed his keys from his desk and, after not-so-gently dislodging the dozing wino huddled up against the soft cashmere, his overcoat from the coat rack.  He narrowed his eyes, checking for any errant drool and, finding none, headed out to the Riv.

**

Ray stamped the snow off his feet in the lobby of Benny's apartment building and hoped this wasn't the start of a wild goose chase.  He'd had a plan for this Christmas, a careful, thought-out plan:  finish his paperwork in time for supper with the family, then midnight Mass with Ma and Maria.  Then tomorrow he'd drag Benny to yet another Vecchio Christmas dinner (sparing him the morning present madness) and, after his family was done mauling their favorite Mountie, take Benny home and maybe, just maybe, see if the vibe he'd been getting from Benny lately meant what Ray hoped it did. 

"Benny!" Ray called as he knocked on Fraser's door.  Heads popped out of doorways up and down the hallway and popped back in just as quickly as they saw Ray.  "Benny, you in there?"

No answer.  Ray thought he heard something but, since the hallway of Benny's apartment building was only marginally quieter than the bullpen (in an eclectic multi-lingual way), he couldn't be sure.  He knocked again and pressed his ear to the door.  There; a moan and the sound of Dief whining.  Oh, Jesus.  "I'm coming in," he yelled and, expecting the worst, he opened the door.  Dief yipped when he saw Ray but didn't move from where he'd been standing guard by the bed.  And on the bed was a moaning, writhing Benton Fraser.

"Oh God, Benny!  Benny, are you hurt?"  He seemed to be in pain or maybe stuck in a really, really bad dream.  Ray crossed to bed and reached out a hand to shake Fraser's shoulder but stopped short before he touched him.  Heat was rolling off Fraser's body in waves.  He was sick.

Benton Fraser, RCMP, iron man of the frozen north, had the flu. 

Ray adjusted his world view and actually touched Fraser this time, gently shaking his shoulder.

"C'mon, Benny, wake up," he said softly.  "When did this start?"

Fraser snorted, flailed, and opened his eyes blearily.  He was shivering and seemed to take a long time to focus. 

"Ray!" he said in surprise and struggled to sit up.  "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you.  The Dragon Lady missed her errand boy."

"What time is it?"  Fraser flailed some more and tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed.  Ray shook his head and, with a hand to his chest, pressed Fraser back onto his pillows.  Benny's weakness was obvious; he put up only a token resistance.

"Uh-uh, Benny, no way.  You're in no condition to go anywhere.  You take anything for this fever?"

Fraser shook his head and a small painful moan escaped him.  Ray got up and rummaged in the kitchen.  He couldn't find aspirin but there was juice in the fridge and Ray poured Benny a large glassful. 

"C'mon, Fraser, you need to drink this," Ray said and tried to help him sit up.

"Cold," Fraser objected with a miserable shudder but obediently took a sip when Ray pressed the glass to his lips.  It took several minutes and lots of encouragement from Ray but eventually the glass was empty and Fraser lay back down.  He was asleep before Ray finished tucking the covers around his shivering body.  Ray sat with him and stroked his fingers along the angles of Benny's flushed cheeks.

**

Ray closed his cell phone and slipped it back into the pocket of his overcoat.  Thatcher was irritated but resigned to carrying on without Benny attending her every need.  Welsh had excused him for the day on the grounds that any virus could lay low Big Red was worth paying attention to.  Ray rubbed his hands together, warming them.  Benny's apartment was, as usual, chilly and drafty as hell, almost as if ...

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" he exploded.  He got up and closed with window next to the fire escape with an impatient slam and fixed Dief with a pointed glare.  "You can ask to go out like other dogs."  Dief barked in response to that but it seemed to be more mournful than defiant and Ray wasn't sure if he was objecting to the inconvenience or being lumped in with ordinary city dogs.  He touched his fingers to the nearby radiator.  There was heat but nowhere near what was needed to make the room cozy.  Ray wandered around the apartment considering what he could do to make Benny more comfortable.  He was sleeping but restless, shivering and mumbling words Ray couldn't understand.  Then, with a silent a-ha, he dug out his cell phone again and dialed.

"Frannie, listen, I need you to bring me a few things."

Frannie snorted.  "Ray, do the words 'Christmas Eve' have any meaning for you?  I'm busy!  Ma has me rolling cannolli shells and then I have to -"

"See, I'm at Benny's and he's sick -"

"Oh!  What do you need?"

Ray rolled his eyes.  "Write this down.  You know that space heater I use in the garage?  It's freezing in here.  Bring that and ..." Ray gave her the list and had Frannie read it back to him.  When he was satisfied she had it all he hung up and put the phone away.  He checked on Benny and found him unchanged.  Picking a well-thumbed western from Fraser's bookshelves, he loosened his tie and sat down on the hard kitchen chair to wait.

**

In less time than Ray thought possible, even with sick and helpless Fraser as an inducement, Frannie was at Benny's door, the portable space heater dangling from one hand and a big paper shopping bag in the other.  Maria followed her in, clutching a large, filled plastic garbage bag.

"You're lucky I'm not in Traffic, I'd have to arrest you for speeding," Ray said as he took the heater from her.  Sending up a small prayer to the gods of inadequate wiring, he plugged it in near the bed and flipped it on high.  When the building wasn't immediately plunged in darkness he felt it was safe to help Frannie unpack the grocery bag.  At the bottom was a large sealed jar.

"Ma's chicken minestrone," Frannie said.  "And that small container is some zabaglione."

"Italian comfort food," Ray smiled and nodded at Maria.  "What's in the bag?"

Maria handed it to Ray.  "Ma sent the sick quilt."

Ray's heart beat faster and his cheeks flamed as he untied the bag.  If he had ever doubted Benny's 'adoption' as a Vecchio, this old comforter was proof Fraser was one of the family.  It had graced every Vecchio sick bed for as long as Ray could remember, pulled specially from the closet each time and tucked around the sufferer with Ma's tender hands.  The pale blue flowers had long since faded into the white background from repeated washings but it was still soft and warm as he settled it over Benny's Hudson blanket.  Then Ray frowned.

"Frannie, where's the Tylenol?"

She clapped her hand over her mouth.  "Oh crap, I knew I forgot something!"

Ray groaned.  "You got anything in your purse?"

"Lemme see."  She scrabbled through her handbag and triumphantly came up with a small white bottle.  "I've got -" she stopped, blushed, "um, Midol."

"That'll work," Ray snorted, not even breaking stride.   He took the bottle from her, and then kissed her cheek.  "Now, scoot!  I'm going to stay with Fraser tonight.  Make sure Ma gets to Mass, okay?  I'll see you in the morning." 

Frannie looked as if she wanted to object, then sighed resignedly and hugged her brother.  "Okay.  Call if you need anything."

"I will," he promised, hugging Maria and closing the door firmly behind them.

**

Ray shook out two white pills and refilled Fraser's juice glass.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ray thought Benny seemed even hotter than before.  He was definitely more restless.  He gently shook him awake.  Benny shuddered, then sat up like a shot.

"Ray!"  Even Benny's eyes looked feverish.  "My father says we are fraternizing entirely too much!" 

Oh God, thought Ray, Benny's delirious.

Ray coaxed Fraser to swallow the pills and finish the glass of juice.

"I told him," he mumbled as Ray settled him back onto the pillows, "that my feelings for you were not brotherly in the slightest."

"That's good news, Benny," Ray said, trying to not be too elated.  Maybe Benny would say that again when he was in his right mind.  "Go to sleep." 

Once Fraser had settled Dief let it be known that it was high time to see to the needs of the half-wolves.  Ray filled his bowl with kibble, earning a look of deep disappointment.  He cleaned his bowl, though, rooting in the corner for stray kibble, and then trotted over to the window.  Ray grabbed his muzzle, forcing Dief to meet his eyes.

"You've got ten minutes," Ray told him and held Dief's gaze until Ray was sure he understood and then let Dief out.  It was probably a measure of Dief's concern for Fraser that he was scrambling up the fire escape well within the time limit.  He shook snow all over the kitchen floor, trotted over to the bed, circled three times and flopped.

**

Ray's head was nodding over the book when Fraser groaned.  Ray hurried to the bedside to find Benny with his eyes clear and his forehead plastered with sweat.  Ray ran his hand down Fraser's chest; his long-johns were soaked.  The fever was broken. 

"Hey, Benny, how're you feeling?" Ray asked.

Fraser considered for a moment.  "Better, I think."  He looked up at Ray.  "I need to urinate, Ray."

Ray grinned.  "I bet you do.  And you need to get out of those wet long-johns.  How about I run you a warm bath and then maybe heat up some soup for after?"

Benny nodded and Ray helped him to stand.  "What time is it?"

"Just after eight."  Ray put his arm around Fraser's waist and led him down to the communal bathroom, which was thankfully empty.  He settled Fraser near the toilet.  "You need help with that?"

Fraser shook his head.  Ray turned to give him some privacy and started running the bath water.  When Fraser was finished Ray helped him peel out of the sodden underwear and into the tub.  Fraser slid down in the tub until the water was nearly at his chin and sighed happily.

"This feels wonderful, Ray.  How long have you been here?" 

"Since about ten."

Fraser looked stricken.  "You're missing Christmas Eve with your family."  His eyes widened.  "Not to mention your job and - oh dear - the reception.  Inspector Thatcher -"

"Shhhh, Benny," Ray soothed.  "Inspector Thatcher can count her own spoons for a change.  And Welsh told me to stay with you.  And as for my family," Ray swallowed hard, "well, I've come to consider you my family, Benny." 

Benny met his eyes, and the warmth in them made Ray's heart beat faster.  "I'm honored, Ray," he said quietly.  Soon, Ray thought, when Benny's well again...

"I'm gonna go change your bedding.  You just wallow."  Ray went back down the hall and stripped the bed efficiently, remaking it with sheets he found folded neatly in the closet.  He put a pan of soup to simmer on the stove then went to the dresser to get a fresh pair of long-johns and a pair of warm socks.  He stopped, about to slide the drawer closed, realizing he'd forgotten to ask Frannie to bring him pajamas.  He grinned, pulled out second pair of everything and changed out of his suit, hanging it in the closet next to the brown uniform.  He grabbed some fresh towels and padded back down the hall.

Fraser smiled at the sight of Ray in red from his ankle to his collar bone.  "You look very fetching, Ray.  Not to mention seasonal."

Ray snorted.  "Yeah, well, your apartment is a little too frigid for me in my skivvies so I had to borrow some of yours.  You about done?"

Fraser nodded.  "You're very welcome, Ray."  Ray helped him step out of the tub and handed him a towel.  He took another towel and rubbed briskly across Benny's pale shoulders, down his spine, over the swell of that perfect ass, and chased the water from the back of his legs. 

"Let's get you dressed, Benny.  Then you need to eat something."

**

Fraser rested against freshly fluffed pillows and Ray put a tray over his knees.  On the tray were a steaming bowl of minestrone and a hunk of crusty bread. 

"This is your mother's soup, Ray," Fraser observed and dug in. 

"Of course.  No way Ma was going to let you have something out of a can."

"It's very kind of her.  And this comforter?"

"It's the sick quilt, Benny.  Every time any of us were sick we got this quilt to snuggle under, ever since I was a little kid.  You know I consider you family; well I guess that Ma does too.  How about some tea?  Any of your funny tea have medicinal properties?"

Benny looked visibly moved.  "The bark tea would be nice, Ray.  Thank you kindly.  Are you going to eat?"

"I ate just before you woke up.  C'mon, finish your soup."

**

Fraser was snuggled back down and Dief had been out and was curled at the end of the bed.   Ray had turned out the lights and was unrolling Fraser's bedroll.

"Ray, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready for bed, Fraser."

"You hate the bedroll."

"Naw, it's fun.  It's Christmas camping."

Fraser wiggled towards the edge of the bed and lifted the covers.  "Ray, there's room.  Don't sleep on the floor."

Ray looked at Benny and saw a hope that matched his own.  Ray slid in next to him and curled around his back, throwing his arm around Fraser's waist.

"This okay, Benny?" he asked.

"More than okay.  Merry Christmas, Ray."

"Merry Christmas, Benny."

Ray pressed his face into the hollow of Fraser's shoulder blade, happy and content and thinking this had been the best Christmas ever.   And as he drifted off to sleep he heard Benny singing softly to himself.

"Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.  Comfort and joy.  Oh, tidings of comfort and joy."

End