Ray assumes the low readership in the last couple of days is due to the site being down. In spite of only two people making it to the last chapter, we're going ahead with this one. ~B. Fraser

It starts in this world...

Chapter Thirty-seven: There Oughtta Be a Law

January, 2018.

All of us alters tend to sleep in the same room, often in very close quarters. As has become our custom, Ray fell asleep beside me last night. He has been the character Mairead has felt closest to of late, so he has spent the most time "in front." As such, they often share dreams and other experiences. One night, or rather in the wee hours of the morning, Mairead awoke with a start and a gasp. She had had a brief, but disturbing, nightmare. Since Ray was the most readily available to help her cope, it became his nightmare.

"Ray?" I whispered, not wanting to wake the others.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"Are you all right?"

He sighed. "Yeah... it was just a stupid nightmare. A body coming to life in a coffin. It wasn't you, though. Well..." he chuckled quietly, "if it was you, I couldn't tell. It was... more... decomposed."

"I see. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? It's not your fault. Well... maybe indirectly because of that self-induced coma thing, but..."

"So, you're okay?"

"Mhm."

But he let me put an arm around him and moved closer to me so he could feel my warmth. I don't think he went back to sleep before it was time to get up. We had a long day and Mairead's two part-time jobs to deal with ahead of us. It's a good thing we have coffee and sweet things to mix into it.

1990's.

I tried to use up my perishables when I made dinner the night before our departure. I had a little milk and a couple of eggs left, so I decided to make French toast in the morning. After dinner I walked Dief, double-checked that I had packed everything I would need, and turned in early.

I was up with the sun and had Dief fed and walked by 5:30. I set about making breakfast and ate my fill. Diefenbaker watched like a bird of prey, hoping I would drop something, but I didn't. I had a few leftover pieces of toast, but I set them aside in case Ray would want them. I doubted he would have time to make himself a proper breakfast. His parents would be arriving before seven.

As I had said I would, I waited until 6:15 before going across to Ray's apartment. He didn't answer my knock, so I used the spare key and let myself in. Dief suddenly became very excited, running for Ray's bedroom. I could hear Ray stirring, and realized he was in the throes of yet another nightmare. I wondered why Dief hadn't alerted me sooner, and supposed the smell of the French toast in my apartment and coffee in Ray's had possibly masked whatever normally tipped him off.

Ray was still asleep when I reached his room, moving in restless twitches, with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"Ray," I said softly, sitting on the edge of his bed.

Dief began licking Ray's face.

"Ray," I repeated, louder. "Ray. Ray."

He seemed to be coming to.

"Ray?"

"Yeah," Ray answered, opening his eyes.

"It's time to wake up. Are you all right?"

He groaned and rolled onto his side, facing me. He looked exhausted. "I'm tired. And my face has slobber on it."

"The sun's been up for an hour."

"The sun doesn't need sleep. I do." He pulled the covers over his face.

"The coffee's ready," I said, hoping to coax him out.

He pulled the edge of the covers down far enough to see me. "Bring me a cup?"

I knew he was tired, but that was all the more reason to get up and moving. If he drank his coffee in bed, I thought it would merely delay his getting ready to go. "I think you can get it yourself."

"Please? I'll get up. I promise."

I glanced at Dief, who said seemed to be offering to hold Ray to his promise. "Very well." I went to the kitchen and fixed Ray a cup of coffee, stirring in a few chocolate chips to make him happy.

He did get up before he finished his coffee, and ate the leftover French toast I brought over for him. Then his parents arrived while he was taking a shower.

Barbara had brought some warm clothes for Ray to take with him. I was glad to know he would be well prepared for the cooler temperatures. He offered to take my key to Ms. Tate, and while he did that, his parents and I made sure all his appliances and lights were turned off and the heat turned down low. Then we locked the two apartments and took our bags down to the Kowalskis' car.

Barbara and I shared a smile when Damian hugged Ray goodbye. I had always shaken my father's hand when we parted, and though it was nice to feel that he respected me as a man, part of me knew that I was still a child who wanted a hug from his dad. Damian wasn't going to leave Ray with the same feeling.

Ray chose the aisle seat on the plane and dozed off for a bit. The first part of the trip went quickly and smoothly—until I had to explain to Ray about our connecting flights. He did some shouting and went so far as to call me a "bastard," which I found quite offensive for more than one reason, but I reminded myself that Ray rarely took such terms literally, and was just letting out his surprise and annoyance in his habitual way. I saw that some of the other passengers looked ruffled as well, and I did my best to quiet him.

Once he settled down, I was able to enjoy the rest of the trip. We had lunch on one of the longer flights and I enjoyed looking at the sunset and mountain ranges until it got dark. Then my view was of inky blackness and clusters of lights like stationary fireflies in the distance. I slept a while on the flight to Yellowknife, and again on the way to Inuvik. But when I woke up with about 45 minutes left to our flight, I was too excited to fall asleep again.

I watched the lights of the airport getting bigger and heard Ray sit up beside me as the captain announced that we were about to land. "We're in luck, Ray. We're actually twenty minutes early," I told him.

He mumbled, "You... something-or-other."

"What was that?"

"I said, 'You don't say.'"

Maggie was waiting for us when we disembarked. She and I exchanged a familial caress and then she shook Ray's hand, telling him she was glad to see him again.

"Good to see you, too," he said earnestly.

Knowing of his interest in Francesca, I worried a little about my sister's feelings. He might hurt her if he wasn't careful.

Ray pulled his coat tightly around himself when we got outside with our bags. "Holy crap, it's cold," he said. "I knew I should have layered up more, but I didn't want to be hot on the plane."

"Well, don't worry; it's plenty warm at the cabin," Maggie assured him.

We got into a taxi and talked a bit sleepily until we arrived at my sister's home.

I was pleased to see she had a solid, comfortable dwelling. It was a bit small, but more than large enough for her needs.

While Maggie changed into her RCMP uniform, Ray and I revived the dying fire in her fireplace. I thought she must have brought the wood in from south of Inuvik or along the MacKenzie River. Trees were not a common resource so far north, but the relatively warm river made favorable conditions for their growth along its banks.

"You haven't said how things went with Francesca," I said quietly as Ray handed sticks of firewood to me. "I know you're not obligated to..."

"It, um... it went," he said vaguely.

I held out my hand. "Split piece, please. What does that mean?"

"It means a piece that's been cut, not a round log."

"No, what does 'it went' mean," I clarified. Ray was clearly too tired to follow more than one thread of conversation at once.

"It means... she didn't turn me down flat."

"Mm."

"But she didn't say she'd go out with me, either."

"Hm."

"So... I basically said she could think about it while I was gone."

"I see." I had banked up the coals in the middle of a firewood outline and the large pieces of wood were already smoking, but I asked Ray for kindling to build up the middle of the fire with.

He handed it over slowly, all motion at the mercy of his sleepiness. "Yeah. It's kinda... not much to go on."

"And Maggie?" I asked, carefully piling the kindling from small to large.

He smiled a little. "Maggie," he repeated.

"You seem to still find her attractive. Split pieces, please."

He passed me more cut firewood. "Yeah... she's... she's nice."

"What if the two of you become enamored of one another and then you return to Chicago to find that Francesca is ready to entertain your advances? Large log, please."

He stared at the box of firewood for a moment before grabbing a log and handing it to me. "Wait... what?" he asked.

I sighed. "Never mind. We'll talk about it after you've slept."

"Okay."

I set the last piece of wood on top of my structure and moved away from it. "Here you go," I said, gesturing toward the smoking pile of wood.

Ray scooted up in front of the fireplace and stared at the glowing coals.

"Blow on it," I prompted.

"Right." He leaned forward and blew a long steady breath at the coals, as I had taught him on our previous journey. He had proven a more apt student for fire-building than Ray Vecchio had when the two of us were stranded in the wilderness.

The small kindling at the bottom of the pile went up in a flash of yellow and orange. Then the larger tinder caught fire, and soon the whole pile was encompassed by sharp, greedy flames.

Ray moved back a little and held his hands out toward the fire, smiling. "Forgot how nice a fire can be. This is a good one, Fraser."

"We had good wood to work with," I answered, moving closer to him.

"And we didn't have to build it on snow or ice," Ray added. He yawned and leaned his head on my shoulder.

Maggie opened her bedroom door then, and Ray sat up to look around at her.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Maggie said. "I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't need anything else from my room before I left. I didn't want to disturb you."

"No problem," Ray told her. He looked a little unsteady as he started to get up, so I stood and offered him a hand. "Thanks," he said. "I'm gonna hit the sack. Good night."

"Good morning, to be precise," I answered.

He waved his hand at me dismissively as he walked to the bedroom door. He shut the door behind him.

I smiled at Maggie. "When do you have to go?"

She checked her watch. "Not for a little while, but you probably want to go right to sleep, too."

"I wouldn't mind talking awhile if you have the time."

She nodded and we sat on the bedroll she had laid out for me, facing the fire.

"Poor Ray," she said. "He seems completely worn out."

"Yes. He slept on the way here, but not enough. And the airplane seats aren't very comfortable for sleeping."

"If he's sore when he wakes up, you can give him some liniment. You'll find that and anything else you need for minor ailments in the bathroom cupboard."

"I'll be sure to tell him."

"And you're welcome to anything in the kitchen, as well. There's pemmican in the cupboard and a pizza in the freezer, and a lot of other things in the refrigerator for sandwiches and so forth."

"Sounds like you have everything from Inuvik to Chicago."

"I'm sure a frozen pizza doesn't do Chicago justice, but I like them pretty well."

"We're not too choosy. Now, if my other friend Ray were here, he might have a complaint or two."

"I hope I get to meet him sometime." She changed position, watching the fire appreciatively. "You laid a good fire."

"Thank you. Ray helped me with it, though he may have no memory of it by the time he wakes up."

"Half asleep, was he?"

I nodded, smiling. It was nice finally being able to sit and talk like this. It didn't make up for not getting to know her when we were children, but it was a step in the right direction. "I wish we could have met sooner," I said.

"So do I. But I think we met when I needed you most."

"Mm. It's good to have family again."

"Yes. I, um... I'm sorry I didn't get to see our father more recently. I saw him a couple of weeks after I last left Chicago, but that was it."

I had written to Maggie about what happened in the mine shaft. "I wish you could have had more time with him," I said, "but once my mother was ready to take her last journey with him... even we weren't enough to keep him here."

"She was his first love. Will you tell me about her sometime? I know you were very young when she died, but you must have some stories."

"Yes. I actually brought one of Dad's earliest journals. You can keep it while Ray and I are on King William's Island if you like."

"I would love that.

"Well, I should probably go," she said, pulling her knees up.

I turned toward her, mimicking her position, and held out my crossed hands to her. She smiled and clasped hands with me. We pulled each other up in perfect counterbalance to one another.

"Thank you," she said.

"Be careful out there." I told her.

"I will. Oh, and the dog shed is around back. You can have five of them for your trip."

"Only five?"

"Star is on maternity leave."

I felt my face light up. "I thought she was pregnant. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"How many?"

"Six. I'm honestly not sure who the father is. Only two of them look like her. There might even be more than one father to the litter. I suspect Nanouk, due to some color and marking similarities, but I'd like to hear your theory once you've seen them."

"Of course. I look forward to it."

I saw Maggie off and then quickly retired to my bedroll. It was nearly five AM, local time, and I knew dawn wasn't far off, so I slept with a stocking hat pulled down over my eyes to keep the daylight from waking me. I slept until after eleven.

Here I will let Ray resume his narrative. ~B. Fraser

I don't remember much about building the fire with Fraser, though I do remember seeing how bright it was and warming up my hands. I can hardly believe I was about to fall asleep leaning on him, and yet... yeah, I can see it. I was so tired. I definitely don't remember him asking me about Franny and Maggie. It's a wonder I could walk straight on my way to the bedroom.

I didn't bother getting ready for bed; just pulled my boots off, dropped my shirt on the floor and crawled under the covers. A minute later I wrestled my belt off because it was uncomfortable and dropped that on the floor, too.

What our hostess had called a cot was actually a pretty comfy double bed. She had flannel sheets on it, a wool blanket and a quilt over the top. I shouldn't have trouble keeping warm.

I could hear Fraser and Maggie talking quietly, and thought I heard my name at some point, but I was too tired to try to listen in. They were still talking when I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the room was still dark, but there was a white glow coming through at the edges of the dark curtains. I tried to go back to sleep, but I could hear someone moving around in the main part of the cabin. I think I did finally doze off again, waking back up when I heard a weird squeaking sound and then almost silence.

I crawled out of bed and found my shirt in the dark, pulling it on over my undershirt. I went to the window and peeked out. The sun was kinda low in the sky, but I remembered that was how it looked a lot of the time in the North. It could be any time of day. I looked at my watch. It said it was almost two o'clock. No way... really? Then I remembered that Fraser had said we would be on mountain time. I had forgotten to set my watch back. It was almost noon, local time.

I pulled the curtains wide open so I could see and threaded my belt back through my jeans. Then I grabbed my boots and left the room.

I spotted Fraser in front of the fireplace. "Hey, where's the..." I started, but I stopped because I realized Fraser was holding a puppy. "Where'd you get that?"

"There are five more in the shed out back," he answered. "You want one?"

I laughed. "After I pee. Where's the bathroom?"

He held the wriggling puppy in one hand so he could point with the other.

"Be right back."

When I came out of the bathroom, Fraser was coming in from outside. "I decided to take that one back and pick out two more," he explained. "Their eyes haven't been open long. This young, I don't want to keep them away from their mother for long."

I took one of the puppies from him and looked at its adorable, wrinkled face. "Oh my god, Fraser, they're so damn cute. There oughtta be a law."

"A law?"

"You've never heard anyone use that expression?"

"Not about puppies."

I grinned. "I'm saying they're so cute, there should be a law against it."

"Against their being so cute?"

"Yeah. It's just a joke."

"I see."

We sat in front of the fire again, petting the silky-soft little warm bundles.

"This one looks like Star," I said. "So, she was pregnant when we were up here before?"

He nodded, and I thought I saw something like an actual twinkle in his eye. As if I were holding his baby instead of a puppy, he looked so proud. "Cool. We were right."

"She doesn't seem any the worse for wear, but obviously we won't be taking her with us, since the pups need her."

"So, who's the dad? Could it have been Dief?"

He shook his head. "Not likely. Even if he sired them our first day on the trail, their eyes probably wouldn't be open yet. Canine pregnancies average about nine weeks, and it takes another week or two for their eyes to open."

I went over the math. "Oh, yeah. Probably not."

"Maggie thinks it might be Nanouk."

I looked at the black and white puppy in Fraser's hands. "Yeah, that one does look like him."

"But there are a couple of mavericks in the litter that make us wonder if there might have been more than one father."

"More than one? How does that work?"

Fraser suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Never mind," I said. "I'll take your word for it."

That's it for now. Feel free to leave a comment squeeing over puppies or whatever else you wanna say. ~Ray K.