A strong sense of déjà vu enveloped Fraser as he opened one eye against the bright sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window. His head protested the intrusion of light and he squeezed both eyes closed against the lingering headache that sent him to bed early. He turned from the sunlight towards the center of the bed. With knowing fingers, he reached out to pull Ray closer to him. He could use a few moments of comfort from the man he loved. He fingers fell instead on smooth, cool blankets. He flattened out his palm and ran it across the blankets searching for any sign of Ray being in bed. There was none. Fraser bolted upright, his headache coming to the forefront of his brain with a vengeance. Forcing both eyes open, his gaze fell on the neatly made bed where Ray should have still been sleeping.

"Ray…" he called, a touch of fear coming out with his lover's name.

He scanned the room for any signs of Ray. His bag was still pushed neatly against the far wall, where Ben had moved it the night before.

"Maybe Ray had gone to replace the doughnuts the Dief and Liaison had eaten." Fraser told himself in an attempt at calming his nerves. "No need to over-react."

Pushing the blankets back and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Fraser stopped when he spotted the jar of fireflies. He noticed it had been moved. All of the elongated bugs were busy walking up the glass walls, eager to escape. Fraser knew Ray would have released the bugs if he had gotten up before him, but it didn't appear that Ray ever made it into bed.

Fraser wondered if his Rays even made it back from the ball game, but then decided that Stella would surely have come and woken him had there been any kind of trouble. Perplexed, the Mountie got dressed and went in search of the half-wolves. Both Diefenbaker and Liaison were nosing around in the kitchen, ignoring the dog food Fraser had left in a bowl for them. He rubbed each one behind the ears as he walked by them.

"Have either of you seen Ray this morning?" Fraser asked the two canines as they resumed sniffing around the pantry door in the kitchen. He pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured himself some orange juice. Dief looked up and let out a short bark, different than his usual cheerful sounding yip. Startled, Fraser turned and stared at the wolf.

"No, I assure you, Ray isn't going to leave you here for eating his doughnuts. Although it may be some time before he buys you anymore once we get home." Fraser returned the juice container to the fridge and leaned against the counter, trying to figure out where Ray could be. He wasn't on the couch or in the bathroom when he checked. Maybe he made the bed when he got up and Fraser was so tired that he slept through it.

Ben laughed at that thought. 'Ray make the bed on his own? Fat chance of that ever happening.' He had to bribe Ray to make the bed back home and that usually involved unmaking it later in the day. Fraser smiled at the numerous memories of Ray laying him down, covering his sturdy body with Ray's own slender one and then pulling the sheets and blankets up over their heads, effectively concealing them from the world around them.

"See Ben, I know how to make a bed." Ray would whisper smugly in his ear.

"You certainly do, Ray. Stellar job as always." Fraser sighed with content. He was eager to find his partner and crawl back into bed with him and hold him close, perhaps make a few more memories.

Dief barked again, bringing the Mountie's attention back to the present. He nudged Fraser in the thigh and sat on his hind legs, staring at Ben.

"What do you mean he left us?" Fraser glanced around the kitchen for traces of Ray activity. Again, he found nothing to indicate the blond had ever come back from the ball game. No morning coffee cup, no doughnut crumbs littering the counter, no newspaper opened to the sports section folded semi-neatly on the table. It was as if Fraser inhabited the guest house by himself, well, save the two half-wolves. Liaison gave up investigating the door and joined Dief.

Fraser placed his forgotten glass of orange juice on the counter and pushed Liaison's inquisitive nose away from the glass and its contents.

"No, stay down," he warned the pup. Liaison sulked back to where Dief was still sitting patiently in front of Ben. "I think you two could use a trip outdoors, while I look for Ray."

Both wolves followed Fraser into the expansive yard. Fraser called for Ray again with no answering reply, except for a sharp bark from Diefenbaker.

"I heard you the first time Dief. I just don't understand." Fraser was trying to interpret what Dief meant. "Why would he leave? Where would he go without us? Are you sure you understood him correctly? You are deaf…"

Dief stopped and gave Fraser a low growl.

"I'm sorry… I don't mean to undermine your understanding of the spoken language, but you do realize how absurd it sounds. Ray wouldn't leave us." Fraser continued towards Vecchio's back door, muttering to himself. "He just wouldn't."

Fraser knocked twice on the back door and entered at the sound of Stella's cheerful morning greeting. The scents of a well-rounded breakfast invaded Fraser's nose and he fought down the overwhelming nausea of food combined with his uncertainty about Ray's where-abouts.

Vecchio sat at the kitchen table nursing a cup of very black coffee while rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. Without looking up, he held up one flattened palm in Fraser's direction.

"Don't even start with me, Benny. I was only matching Kowalski drink for drink. I hope his head is pounding just as bad as mine."

"Well, if you would kindly tell me where he is, I will ask him for you." A slight tremor filled Fraser's voice as he tried to hide his growing concern for his partner.

"Well, if he's smart and lucky, he's still curled up under the blankets in bed." Vecchio turned his glare towards Stella who was chuckling while rinsing breakfast dishes. "My lovely wife here thought she would teach me some sort of lesson by forcing me to get up and have breakfast with her."

"And what a delightful breakfast it was, Ben." Stella stepped close behind her husband and wrapped her arms around his chest. She leaned forward and placed her mouth near Ray's ear. "Ray here cooked me an omelet, squeezed me fresh orange juice, fried some bacon and get this…" Stella stood up and squeezed Ray's shoulders. "He baked some biscuits, from scratch. And I just wanted a bowl of cereal, but he insisted on doing all of that for me since he had such a great night out with Ray. Didn't you, hon?" She squeezed his shoulders again and went back to the dishes in the sink. "Help yourself, Ben. There is fresh coffee or tea in the canister by the stove. There's plenty there for you and Ray. My Ray was kind enough to cook for us all. You should send him out with your Ray more often."

"Enough Stella… I accepted your punishment with a little grace and dignity… no need to rub it in anymore." Vecchio cracked his neck and graciously received another dose of Advil for his pounding headache from his wife. "It was only the one time. How often are these two in town? Kowalski and I had a good time and after last night… I imagine neither one of us will be drinking anything other than coffee for a while."

"About Ray," Fraser interrupted the lover's spat between his two friends. "Have you seen him this morning?" Fraser inquired, a small amount of hope hanging in the air.

"What do you mean?" Vecchio's head spun around. He was suddenly focused.

"I mean, I can't find him. There's no indication that he even came home."

"You lost Kowalski? How is that possible Benny?"

"Well, Diefenbaker keeps insisting that he's left us."

"Shit…" Vecchio stood up abruptly, pushing his chair backwards with some force.

"What? Do you know where he is?" Fraser was perplexed, growing more anxious with each passing minute.

"No… he was fine yesterday. We talked, we laughed, we shared stories and he was fine. A little homesick, maybe… but enough to leave you? No way… Kowalski wouldn't do that to you."

"What makes you say he's homesick? What did he tell you?"

"Benny… maybe he just went out for doughnuts. The dogs did eat them all."

"Ray…what did he say?" Determined blue eyes searched green one for answers.

Not wanting to break his friend's confidence, Ray had a hard time meeting Fraser's intense gaze. "Look, we got back late, we promised to make this a yearly tradition, just the two of us bonding over drinks, we said goodnight and he went inside."

"Ray… he never came to bed. Was he drunk?"

"He might have been…" Ray admitted sheepishly.

"Might have been? Either he was or he wasn't."

"We both drank more than we probably should have but we hailed a cab and neither one of us drove." Vecchio glanced towards Stella. "Which reminds me, we need to go retrieve my car at some point today."

"Oh my God…" Fraser breathed in deeply, dropped his head forward and leaned heavily against the wooden chair in front of him. "You have to help me find him."

"Are you sure you aren't over reacting, Ben? Maybe Ray did just leave to get more doughnuts. You know how impulsive he can be. He sets his mind to something, he just goes and does it." Stella was trying to keep everyone optimistic but was failing miserably. Fraser had begun pacing and Vecchio had gone to retrieve the phone.

"That's what worries me, Stella," Fraser stopped and addressed the blond. "He is impulsive. God, where could he have gone? His bags are still here, they weren't touched since yesterday. His wallet was still on the dresser."

"Did you know he has an American wallet Benny?" Vecchio asked his friend with a touch of amusement lingering on his face.

"That's hardly relevant at this particular moment, Ray."

"Well, for once, you are wrong, my friend." Ray walked by Fraser and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"How's that?" Fraser turned to face his friend who was busy thumbing through the phone book.

Vecchio looked up and smiled. "Last night he had his Canadian wallet on him, said he forgot to swap them out when we left. Bartender wouldn't take any of his funny money."

"And that helps us how?" Stella forgot the dishes and joined the conversation.

"It means he wouldn't have any money for a cab, no money for a ticket anywhere, unless he had credit cards in his Canadian wallet. He couldn't have gone far."

"Well, then how did he buy doughnuts yesterday morning? If he left his other wallet here?" Stella inquired of her husband.

"I wondered that too yesterday after he told me he forgot it and he said that doughnut guy said it was on the house before he even attempted to pay. A welcome home kind of gift."

Fraser looked at Ray, a sick feeling washing over him and Vecchio read his expression clearly.

"A welcome back gift, Benny. Kowalski's home is in Canada with you now."

"What if that's not what he wants anymore?"

"Would you listen to yourself? We'll find him… okay?" Vecchio handed his friend the phone book and his phone. "You call the airports and train stations. I will call the station and some people I know."

"And I will call the hospitals, just to be sure." Stella offered Fraser a warm smile and hug. "We'll find him Ben."

After three hours of following dead end leads, there was still no word on Kowalski's where-abouts. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. Fraser had retreated to the guest house to clear his head and think. He asked himself how he had not seen that Ray was unhappy. He sat down on the bed and picked up the forgotten jar of lightening bugs.

"He does love you. You know that… right, Son?" Bob Fraser's voice broke the silence and Ben for once wasn't startled. He continued to turn the jar of fireflies in his hands.

"Then why would he leave? Why would he run away?" Ben turned to his father. "Why does everyone I love… leave?"

"He's scared. Scared that he's losing a part of himself, not by being with you, no my dear boy… he loves you more than anything. He scared that living up in Canada away from everything that he knows, everything he is great at, is eating at his soul." Bob offered a small smile. "The Yank, the balding one, was right. Your Ray is homesick. Where did you go when you were homesick, Ben?"

Ben stared at his father's ghost. "You called him Ray."

"And you know where to find him. He's good for you, Ben."

Standing up, Ben placed the fireflies back on the bedside table and went to Ray's bag on the floor. Digging through it, he located the object he was looking for and stashed it securely in his jean's pocket. He grabbed Ray's American wallet off the dresser and placed it in his back pocket. Making his way through the house, Dief and Liaison followed close behind. Ben turned and faced them, his father standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Dad… will you watch your grandkids for a while?" Tossing a tennis ball towards his dad, Fraser grinned.

Fraser returned to the Vecchio home and told his friends he had a feeling he knew where Ray was and they would be back in a few hours. He knew where Ray was and he was going to bring him home, but he had a very important stop to make first.

Fraser carefully pushed open the already ajar door and stepped foot into his partner's old apartment… their old… home. He glanced around the empty living room and across the breakfast bar into the small kitchen. Ray was nowhere to be found. The land lady said she had let Ray in the night before. Their apartment had never been rented and was still sitting vacant. Fraser prayed his instincts were correct and Ray was still there, somewhere.

He turned his attention towards the bedroom and noted the slightly ajar door there as well.

"Ray…" he called with a hint of trepidation in his voice. He reached the door and pushed it open with the palm of his hand. Sitting there against the far edge of the wall where their bed used to rest, was Ray. His knees pulled up to his chest, elbows on his knees, hands splayed across his face. Fraser couldn't read his body language, he was so still. And then he heard the faint sob and saw the shoulders shake.

"I finally found a place your dad couldn't find me… our bedroom."

"Well… I was always the better tracker. He just would never admit it." Fraser shrugged his shoulders and stepped closer to his partner. "Ray…"

Kowalski cut him off. "Do you remember the first time I kissed you?" He removed his hands from his face and exposed his soul to Ben. His blood-shot eyes moist and zeroed in on the man before him. The man he loved with his whole being, the man he walked away from the night before.

"Yes." Fraser admitted and let his memories take him back in time. "I had just come over with a pizza as a sort of… peace offering. We had had a rather heated discussion earlier in the day about being partners and what that meant and I had walked away before you could finish whatever it was you were saying. I had always found it rather difficult to trust anyone other than myself. You showed me that I could trust you. You told me I was stubborn, I didn't deny it. You pushed your fingers into my chest and told me I had some sort of death wish, that I never listen to anyone, especially you. And you were right. And then… oh God, Ray… you pushed me up against the kitchen wall and kissed me until I had to beg you to buddy-breathe some air back into me."

"We both needed buddy-breathing after that kiss." A small chuckle escaped Ray's mouth before he grew serious again. "I love kissing you, Ben."

"Ray… what's…"

"What about when I first told you I loved you?" The blond cut his partner off once again. "Do you remember that?"

"Of course." Fraser stepped further into the room. "It was a Thursday night. Weather forecasters had mentioned approaching storms all day, but you had a hunch about a case. We staked out recreational park in your car for ten hours. We apprehended the drug dealers, turned them over to the authorities, got in your car to head back into the city and it wouldn't start." Ben knuckle swiped his eye brow and his lips turned into a crooked smile. He tugged on his left ear, his face blushing. "The skies opened up and it rained harder than I had ever experienced in all my life. For many hours the rains fell and we were essentially stuck. We talked about work, your cases… us. And then the most beautiful sentence rolled so freely off your tongue."

Ben leaned up against the wall and slid down to sit beside his lover. "Ray, what's going on?"

"And our first time together?"

Taking his hand and turning Ray's face to meet his, Ben answered his partner. "It was that same night. First in your car, which I might add has not been the same since, and later in your bed… right here where we are sitting."

"All of those memories, Ben… all of us. They're here, they're in this apartment, they're in my car, they're at the station. Everything that I love about you is here. Working with you is one of those things and it's not there and I'm lost up there without that. Our duet… what was so great about us together is gone."

"Ray, we have memories in Canada as well. But if you're not happy…"

"It's not that I'm not happy. I'm with you, I'm as happy as I can be… but…"

"But what? I don't understand?"

Ray stood abruptly and began pacing the empty room. His steps echoing against the bare walls. Throwing his arms out to either side he erupted. "I'm losing who I am up there. I'm a cop, I'm a detective, I detect things and I can't do that up there with you anymore. We were a great team, the best and I miss that and because of your stupid laws up there, I can't detect with you anymore and that's killing me. I have to send you off to work every day knowing that I won't have your back, that I have to rely on someone else to keep you safe. I hate giving up that part of us, I hate it and I can't get it back. I'm lost without you being my partner Ben. I'm not a fucking mechanic. I just do that because the people need my help and I'm good at it, but it's not what I'm great at. I'm great at us… our duet." Ray shook his head and dropped his expressive arms. "Lousy time to drop this on you I know."

"Ray… I just… I just want you to be happy. Why didn't you say something before now if you were so upset?"

"I don't know. I was hoping one day it would just suddenly click and I wouldn't mind being the town mechanic. I don't mind that… I love helping the people up there. But Ben… it's not me… I need to work with you. I need our duet back. How do I get that back and not lose you?"

Fraser leaned his head against the wall and sighed, staring up at his lover. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"May I offer you two some advice?" Bob Fraser's ghost stood in the doorway of their bedroom and stared at his boys. Ben groaned and Ray whipped his head around. Bob held up his hand to silence both men before they could speak. "I see you found him… you always were a better tracker than me, Son."

"Ha, he does admit it, Frase." Ray beamed at his partner. He went over to where Fraser was still seated on the floor and offered him his hand to help pull him to his feet. "Hear your dad out for once."

"I have a suggestion that maybe will help you both. Benton, your Ray needs to be a detective again. He needs to be able to do what he loves and he needs you to be a part of that, to form what he calls 'a duet' with you once again, a working partnership that extends outside of the home. You have that 'duet' down just fine. A better duet than I ever had with your mother, but that's neither here nor there. And Ray, Ben needs the openness of the wilderness. City life just isn't for him… it's suffocates him, takes away a certain part of his soul. If you were just a regular couple, I would say that we have a stalemate on our hands. But you two are about partnership, and partners compromise."

"That doesn't help Bob…" Ray said defeated. He was hoping for a cure-all answer from the ghost.

"You're a detective son, use those detecting skills you claim to be so great at. Did you not receive a letter from your Lieutenant Welsh a few months back? Asking you to come back to work for him and to bring Ben with you?" Bob looked from Ray to his son, who stared in shock at his lover.

"You never told me."

"I wasn't going to leave you."

"Take the offer son… take Ben with you."

"You just said the city suffocates him." Ray was confused, Fraser even more.

"Who said anything about living in the city? You have a car don't you? Ben loves the cabin and he loves the wilderness, build a home outside of the city. Your own form of the Borderlands if you will." Bob smiled at his son and knew he had found the solution. "Use the money son."

Ray turned his head towards Ben, confused. "What money?"

"Absolutely not." Ben shook his head profusely.

"Benton Fraser, listen to me for once. Let something good come from my death. That money is just sitting in an account. You and I both know the truth, Son. Nothing is being gained from just letting it sit there. Use it to build you and Ray a home of your own. You love him, he loves you equally. Your home is together. If he can't be who he needs to be in Canada, but you can still be who you need to be in Chicago, build your home together here. There's enough money in that account by now to put down on a nice piece of land, with plenty of space so you're not suffocated by the city."

"Dad…" Fraser began but stopped. He looked at his partner and knew in his heart that his father was right. "Okay… we'll do it."

Fraser pulled Ray close and wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck. "Is that what you want? Is that what you need?"

Blue eyes searched bluer one for an answer to his own questions. "I need you, Ben… but yes, I need that as well. What about you?"

"Ray…" Fraser pulled his head forward and kissed him. When they broke for air, he whispered into his ear. "You are all I will ever need." He kissed him again then pressed their foreheads together and gave his lover a small content smile. I have something for you outside."

Pulling the door closed on their old home, Fraser and Ray walked down the steps and pushed the door open and stepped into the fresh, crisp mid-morning air. Parked in their old parking spot was Ray's beloved GTO.

"I thought maybe you would want to take it for a spin."

Ray pulled Ben into a fierce hug. "How did you know?"

"I had a hunch. Look, it may take a while, but if you want, we could drive it home, to Canada… get things in order up there, and then drive it back here, back home."

"I love you, you know that, right?" Ray asked his partner.

"Very much so. Let's go tell Ray and Stella the good news." Ben pulled Ray in for another kiss as his father faded in the background.

"You do realize your dad is going to expect a room of his own, right?"

"He wouldn't have it any other way. Come on… let's go get Ray and Stella and find the perfect place for our home."