Title: Love Comes In Blue
Author: Denigoddess2001
Rating: T (for content)
Disclaimer: I do not own Due South. The series is owned by Alliance/ Atlantis. No infringement is intended. Any characters are beloved creations (and property) of their benevolent deity, me! Denigoddess2001.
There were a few things Fraser, Sr. didn't like about the afterlife. Too many good people died young, that some men lived good lives only to have to wander through the Afterlife while others raised hell and received keys to the Pearly Gates. But most of all, his son had fallen in love with Ray Kowalski.
Oh, yes. He didn't care for that unavoidable fact permeating his afterlife.
Fraser Sr. didn't regret Kowalski saving his son's life on numerous occasions and vice versa. In fact, he wanted Benton to have a long and prosperous life and was in no hurry to have his son join him in the hereafter. His dedication and devotion to Kowalski highlighted Benton's capacity for love, showing Fraser Sr. that Benton was very much his mother's son. He only wished his son kept his heart more protected and not out on his sleeve like his marksman's badge.
Fraser Sr. could have handled it if Kowalski hadn't been so oblivious about Benton's growing affections. However, for all the talents that Benton possessed, he possessed complete cluelessness when it to things of a romantic nature. He didn't notice love unless it hit him upside the head like a moose charging into a pine tree.
Then came the subtle hints Benton dropped, the innate shyness that came followed by invitations to spend time together in masculine pursuits. Kowalski seemingly ignored his son and Fraser, Sr. was fine with that. While he thought such things were strange, neith did he want his son's heart broken thanks to Ray Kowalski.
Kowalski became embedded in Ben's life by degrees. First, he and Benton started talking in addition to solving cases together. They became buddies, camping and watching sports events. Fraser Sr. bore his disdain for the relationship in silence since his son never brought it up in conversation; it was irrelevant to their father/ son relationship. Mostly because Diefenbaker asked him for Benton's benefit, but still. He dealt.
Fraser, Sr. didn't see everything that went on between the two but Diefenbaker gladly filled in the blanks. The half-wolf saw how the men grew closer nor could he count all the hours they spent in Ray's GTO on stakeouts and chasing criminals. He watched as the GTO go from being Ray's car to almost being their second home. He couldn't remember the last time Benton had mentioned his old friend, Ray Vecchio, or pined for Victoria.
Fraser, Sr. worried about his son more often that not when he spent time with Kowalski. Benton was falling more in love ,with that scrawny little runt. Fraser,Sr. refused to permit his son to be hurt and abandoned, vowing to haunt Kowalski until he the day he died if he broke Fraser's heart. Fraser was a survivor in the wilderness, but a novice in the realm of love and relationships.
Romantic bumbling was the curse of the Fraser men, the dead Mountie mused. He hoped that Benton would one day see Kowalski for what he really was: thoughtless, oblivious, emotionally stunted. He held on to that faint possibility, even when he saw their friendship strengthen their deepening bond.
One day while checking in on his son, all Fraser, Sr.'s patience imploded. Walking through a wall at the wrong time, he caught the two in a compromising position. He knew he spent too much time away from home when Benton was a child and now it manifested in Ben having feelings for a man rather than a woman. Now, Fraser, Sr. saw his son immersed in an act of passion that he dare not name.
Benton lay beneath Ray Kowalski, their mouths locked in a deep kiss. Benton never noticed his father's presence, staring mutely as the two men touched one another as lovers. Fraser, Sr. concluded that he had just been sentenced to eternity in Hell.
He finally gathered the nerve to broach the subject with his son shortly after he saw them in love's throws. Benton told his father quite diplomatically to mind his own business. Over the course of several months, the subject was a source of contention between father and son. During that time, Fraser, Sr. believed that Benton would come to his senses about the Chicago cop. Kowalski would be unfaithful, cruel and crush his son's heart like used tissue and simply discard it. He would understand.
Fraser, Sr. Did not relish the thought of his son's heart being broke, but when he fell for Kowalski, he knew that his son's innocence would break beyond repair.
One day, Kowalski showed up on the cabin's doorstep while Benton had been on vacation. He looked earnest, downright, nervous, with longing written plainly on his face. Diefenbaker had been gracious, welcoming him inside, warmly greeting him with a warm yowl and wagging tail. Fraser Sr. couldn't help but be intrigued by the cop's sudden, unexplained appearance.
Fraser, Sr. finally admitted it: he hated Ray Kowalski for stealing his son and making him into someone... something... else. He was infuriated to the point of meltdown and decided the both needed a proverbial brick upside both their heads. He planned to give them a piece of his mind,
Benton and Ray were started to see the dead Mountie standing there in front of them.
"Uh, Ray," Benton said quietly, trying to figure out how to best proceed. "This is my father, Benton Fraser, Sr."
"Yeah, but Frase," Ray's brow furrowed in confusion. "You told me your that father was dead.
"And right you are, Ray," Benton confirmed. "More accurately, this is my father's ghost."
"Ghost?" Ray's voice cracked an octave.
"Yes, Ray."
"You're kiddin' me, right?"
"No, Ray." Benton contritely answered. "I would never joke about such a thing.
After a long shouting match between the three of them, they awkwardly stood in the small living room of the cabin, Ray blurted out his reason for his long trek north.
"I'm in love with your son."
Fraser, Sr.'s gaze traveled from Ray to Benton and then to Diefenbaker, who merely whined and started chewing on some tallow. He had no ally there in the wolf, he realized, and that brought about his resignation. He knew Kowalski wanted his blessing of the relationship, but fully intended to pursue Benton, no holds barred. He knew Benton felt something deep for the scappy blond runt. He knew once his son made up his mind, there was no changing it.
Diefenbaker yipped his approval, walking over to Ray and sat before him, wagging his tail and waiting to be petted. He looked soulfully at Frasier, Sr., wordlessly asking him to accept that Benton had found happiness with Ray.
It had been years since Benton had been on vacation. He and Kowalski were occupied for the remainder of said vacation.
Diefenbaker was happy to have someone else to talk to besides a ghost or an overly uptight Mountie. Fraser, Sr. remained taciturn, promising reluctantly to give Ray a chance.
One night, while shining his boots before his return to Chicago, Benton asked Diefenbaker why his father was so abject to the entire matter. He had always been an open-minded man for the most part.
"He doesn't understand," Diefenbaker stated bluntly. "that when love comes however it comes, be smart enough to welcome it."
Fraser, Sr. hadn't understood until that moment when he saw Benton and Ray lying in front of the fireplace, just talking. His son was happy. That all any father truly wanted for his son, even if he didn't understand.
Benton's hand moved to Ray's blonde hair, his fingers stroking idly through the short spikes. Fraser thought of how his wife had done that to him when they had been young. He understood that Benton gave the same affectionate gesture without realizing it. Or maybe he did. Benton had always been his mother's son.
"I love you, Ray."
"Yeah, I know, Frase. I love you, too." There was something in Ray's voice that rang with devotion and affection. Fraser, Sr. finally saw what Benton had been seeing all that time in Ray Kowalski. Sincerity and love.
Coughing loudly, Fraser Sr. let the two know he was in the room. Benton stammered, "Dad… um, how long have you have been there?"
"Long enough."
Benton smiled and nodded. "I see."
"Are we still on for some ice fishing?"
"Of course, Dad," Benton answered matter-of-factly. He rose to his feet and gathered up the equipment needed to bring home that evening's dinner for two.
Ray cleared out of the way, keeping his hands shoved in his pockets as he watched them make their way for the front door.
Fraser called over his shoulder, "Ray? Come on, son. Don't drag your feet or you won't be eating tonight."
Ray's head snapped up, a grin growing on his lips. Benton found that he was speechless with astonishment. Fraser, Sr. said nothing, but offered his hand to Ray. Ray said nothing as he took it and give it a firm shake. Then, Fraser, Sr. vanished.
Ray looked over at him, amazed at what just transpired. "Ben, whoa, man! What was that?"
Benton shrugged, "Dad disappears like that all the time, Ray. It's nothing unusual. One gets accustomed to it."
"No, not that!" Ray waved his hand, disregarding Benton's answer. He gave the Mountie a big shrug. "You heard him call me, 'son,' right?"
Fraser, Sr., unseen to the human eye, watched the two men walk to the frozen pond, with backpacks loaded and fishing poles in hand. He nodded in grudging satisfaction. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. The rest would in it's own accord.
"Dad just gave us his blessing, Ray."
No, Fraser, Sr. Wasn't at peace with his son loving Ray Kowalski. But, he found it easier to know that Benton was happier because he was happier doing it.