Disclaimer: I don't own Due South in any way, shape or form. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just for fun. I think that fanfic is a good way to explore what happens in between, and as a result of, the episodes. So, on with the exploration.

Pairing: Gen - Ray, Vecchio family
Rating: K+
Length: 299
Prompt: spout, sprout, Zorro, honey, I stayed awake for hours again last night, Searching for a reason to keep up the fight. I've made choices I don't regret. I've got problems I don't get. (Great Big Sea, "Buying Time")

Christmas At Vecchio's

By the time they've finished gouging themselves on the multiple courses of the Christmas feast, including the mandatory, but inadvisable, large quantities of sprouts, two things have happened; Maria's irritation at Tony's unceasing spouting of bad Christmas cracker jokes has finally boiled over into yet another argument; and Ray's annoyance at Fraser turning down his invitation to join the family festivities has reached dramatic levels.

Fraser is off being good and dutiful somewhere. "Helping people," he calls it. Ray calls it "interfering."

And besides, what about helping Ray? He was being abandoned to his fate here! The Mountie was good back-up in these situations.

The chaos follows him through into the sitting room, and Ray slumps in a chair with a sigh, weary and suffering from a recent lack of sleep. Worries he can't quite identify or understand have been keeping him awake again, and it's a situation he could really do without.

His carefully cultivated façade of seasonal happiness, that has been steadily weakening throughout the dinner, crumbles quicker than the mixed fruit Pavlova as he unwraps three gifts of socks. One. After. The other. The ingrained sense of duty the kept Fraser from accepting the invitation suddenly seems almost enviable. It's a scary and unexpected thought.

He must be looking like a grumpy goose, because Francesca thumps him half-heartedly on the shoulder, with a slurred "Where's your Christmas spirit Ray?" She sounds like she's had a little too much of the Christmas spirit already, and it's about as much as Ray can take.

Snagging a generous portion of honeyed ham and some mince pies, he leaves them watching an old Zorro movie that's playing on TV, volume raised to drown out the argument, and heads out in search of Fraser. He'll try the 6th Street Shelter first.

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