Title: Anniversaries and Other Disasters

By: lbc

Pairing: The beautiful Golli and the handsome ex-merc

Note: This is part of the anniversary challenge.

Four years! Today was the fourth anniversary of their pairing, and Raymond Doyle was doing it up big. He was preparing all of Bodie's favourite foods. His friend and partner had been out of town on an undercover assignment, but he had never forgotten "their day". Ray Doyle had been surprised the first time that Bodie insisted they celebrate their anniversary, but it had become a tradition that both men thoroughly enjoyed, especially since it gave Ray a chance to create a jumbo-sized Swiss roll with the appropriate amount of candles to mark the occasion.

Ray Doyle smiled lovingly at his creation. This was going to be an extra special celebration. They had been partners for four years, and he, Ray Doyle, had realized how much he loved his partner, exactly two years ago to the day.

The memory was still fresh in his mind. They had just blown out the candles on the Swiss roll when their two heads had accidentally bumped each other. Bodie had scarcely seemed to notice the incident - - no doubt in lust over the moist delicacy of the Swiss roll, but for Ray Doyle, it was one of those defining moments in life that shake us to the very core of ourselves and leave us forever changed.

He had known in that moment that he loved William Andrew Philip Bodie, and the feeling went well beyond mere lust and friendship; it was a lifelong emotion. But, nothing . . . nothing had been done about it . . . that is until now. Today . . . today, William Bodie was going to hear the truth. The curly-haired man knew it might be dangerous to declare his feelings, but surely today of all days, his partner would be receptive to a "new idea"?

So confident that Bodie would not forget, Doyle had gone ahead and made the usual preparations for the anniversary food marathon. Somehow, every year the two men had been together on the day of the anniversary. This year had been different, but Cowley had informed Doyle earlier that Bodie was on his way home since the undercover case had been satisfactorily wrapped up. Now all Ray Doyle had to do was wait.

For what had to be the thousandth time, Ray Doyle checked that everything was perfect. It was. The two men usually bought each other a small gift as a token of their partnership. The first year had been links from a chain; the second year had been a padlock . . . fun things like that, but this year . . . this year Ray Doyle had splurged and bought a special bottle of wine with which to celebrate and had a special picture of the two men framed so that Bodie could display it in his flat.

The picture reminded Doyle of that wonderful day. Cowley had given the men two weeks leave after Doyle's departure from the hospital. They had done very little because Doyle wasn't back to 100 yet, but they had had the picture taken.

I looked so skinny then, Doyle thought as he held the wrapped package. Bodie had been such a Mother Hen. They both had to bend in those days to keep from killing each other, but they had come out of it, even better friends.

Doyle smiled, looking at his watch, wondering where Bodie was. Doyle shook his chestnut curls, wondering if Bodie had left the buying of his present so late that he was busy shopping even now. Then the phone rang.

"Allo. 7453."

"Ray, it's me."

"Well, hello, me. So you are back."

"Yeah, the Cow mentioned that he told you, so I thought I'd say hello. I'll see you tomorrow; I've got a rendezvous with the luscious Linda, and I still haven't had a shower so I can't talk."

Ray Doyle was stunned. Bodie had forgotten! Doyle's insides churned as he fought to keep the bile from coming up. "Uh, Bodie, isn't there . . ."

"Sorry, Ray, I really can't talk. I have exactly 10 minutes to pick up Linda and while this gorgeous body doesn't need it, I thought I would make some contact with the shower. So long, see ya tomorrow."

A loud click was followed by silence. The slender figure stood staring at the phone; then Doyle hurled it across the room. For the next 10 minutes or so, rampage ensued. The Swiss roll went first, flying across the small flat. The casserole went next and the salad made a lovely design on the kitchen wall.

Through it all, Doyle knew that he was acting childish; that he would have to clean up his decimation, but he didn't care. His legendary temper knew no bounds as he tore through the flat. Finally, he remembered THE PICTURE - - the gift that would declare his love to the thoughtless, ex-merc whose libido was always turned on high. The supposed partner who couldn't even remember . . . remember.

Doyle collapsed onto the settee, panting over his exertions. It wasn't Bodie's fault that little things like an anniversary were so easily forgotten. Not everybody was emotional or romantic like Doyle was. Nevertheless, as Doyle made his way into his bedroom, he clutched the now shredded package containing the framed picture. Doyle felt numb. He knew that this night; he had lost something, but what it was, he couldn't decide.

BDBDBDBD

Several hours later, William Bodie carefully opened the door to Ray Doyle's flat. His date with Linda had proved a disaster. He had not really wanted to be with her. She was a lot of fun, but Bodie had been deprived of his partner's company for almost a month, and he was hot . . . too hot to be with him, fearing that he would reveal his true feelings, for the scrawny, curly-haired urchin who dominated his life. So William Bodie had called Linda.

The date had been a mistake, but it wasn't Linda's fault. Bodie was spending most of his time dreaming that he was with a certain green-eyed Golli when something Linda said destroyed Bodie's reverie and his boredom.

Shaking his head slightly, Bodie asked, "What'd you just say – the concert is tomorrow the 26th?"

By now Linda was less than enthusiastic about Bodie, but she held her temper and replied, "That's right, Bodie. I've been waitin' months for the 26th. Love ABBA, and these tickets were hard to come by."

"But today's the 24th so you don't mean tomorrow, love."

The look that Linda gave Bodie said volumes, such as, Why am I datin' this moron?

"Bodie, today is the 25th, TOMORROW is the 26th."

Suddenly, the whole date went down the w/c. Bodie closed his eyes as he realized that he had forgotten he and Doyle's anniversary - - no, he hadn't forgotten; he had just been confused what with the undercover op. Now he would have to go and face that chestnut- haired hurricane named Ray and try to explain.

After dropping Linda off at her flat and hearing the words of "never want to see you again" as the door slammed, William Bodie sneaked into his friend's flat after ringing the entrance buzzer and receiving no answer. Bodie's stomach was tied in knots as he remembered another occasion when Doyle hadn't answered the buzz. Ray Doyle had died on that occasion, and had had to be revived.

The first thing Bodie noticed was that the lights were on in almost every room; then the chaos of the rooms. Doyle was a slob, but not that bad. Racing to the kitchen, Bodie saw the remains of the Swiss roll and other garbage strewn around the room. Fear gripped the ex-merc. Doyle must have put up a hell of a fight.

Racing to the bedroom, Bodie slammed on the anchor as he saw the slender body of his partner curled up in a foetal position on top of the covers of the bed. There was no blood, but Bodie's heart was racing anyway. As he approached the bed, he noticed the frame in Doyle's right hand. Bodie briefly noted that it was a picture of Doyle and himself that had been taken a few months before. Knowing better than to touch Doyle without warning, Bodie briefly looked around and determined that Doyle seemed to be sleeping, not injured. Bodie closed his eyes in gratitude. His knees felt weak as the scene had brought back all the memories of Doyle's shooting almost a year ago now. William Bodie had watched his friend die. Never had he felt so lost, and for a moment, it seemed to have happened all over again.

Carefully, Bodie leaned by the bed, gently caressing the curls that were damp with sweat. Bodie knew that he was going to be on the receiving end of Doyle's formidable temper when he awakened. How could I have been such a berk? I've been planning this anniversary for months.

Watching his friend struggle to recover from the two bullets delivered into that slender body by Mayli Kuolo had not been easy for Bodie, but it had woken him to his love for the older man. Everything was going to be special; that's why Bodie had not wanted to see Doyle before the big day . . . and then he had ruined the whole thing.

As he crouched there by Doyle's exhausted body, Bodie continued to gently caress the curls, hoping that Ray Doyle would forgive him.

TBC?