CHAPTER 12.
"You know, Dief, I'm totally exhausted. I might just go to bed early."
Dippy rubbed Diefenbaker's ears as she spoke. She felt emotionally drained and was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Fraser and Ray were still at the station processing McGarratt.
Dief yapped a reply and Dippy smiled at him.
"I know," she said. "And you're, like, totally right, I think everything has just hit me now it's all over. I mean, oh my god, I never thought I'd get mixed up in something like this. It's so boring back home. But I guess I wanted to come here to the big city because I thought it would be exciting, so I kinda got what I wanted."
Dief yapped again and pawed at her leg.
"No, I'm OK," she reassured him. "Really I am. I just want to sleep for, like, a whole week or something."
Dief barked and jumped up to rest both front paws on her lap.
"I'm going to miss you, Dief," she said. "Fraser and Ray are so nice and kind and everything, but, like, I think you're the only one who really gets me." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on the top of his head. His fur tickled her nose and she giggled, but the giggle soon turned into a yawn.
Dief barked again.
"OK, bossy boots!" she exclaimed. "I already said I was going to bed, didn't I? When Fraser gets home just tell him I'm, like, totally OK. I think he was kinda worried about me this morning."
Dippy kissed Dief again and headed out into the hall, but before she had got as far as the stairs there was a knock at the door. She glanced down at Dief. Even though she knew McGarratt was in jail, she was still nervous about opening the door to a stranger.
Diefenbaker made a low, growling noise in his throat.
"I can't just ignore it," replied Dippy with her hands on her hips. "It might be important. Like, a visiting diplomat, or someone who needs help." She walked over to the door, just as the knocking came again. Dief stayed protectively close as she opened the door a tiny crack and peered out.
"Um, the Consulate is, like, closed right now," she began, but then she saw who was standing there and flung the door open in surprise. "Mum! Dad!" she exclaimed. "You made it!"
Dippy flung her arms around her parents and hugged them tightly. She finally released them and stepped aside as they dragged their bags into the hall.
"Oh Serendipity," smiled Dippy's mother. "What a journey! I can't believe we're finally here, can you, David?" She began removing layers of clothing from her tall, slender, frame.
Dippy's father shook his head. "How's Renfield?" he asked. "Is he alright?"
"He's OK now," replied Dippy. "He's coming home tomorrow." She looked down at Diefenbaker. "This is Dief," she said. "He's Fraser's wolf. Fraser lives here; he's a Mountie, he works with Ren…oh my god I'm so glad you're here at last!" She clapped her hands with delight, but then her smile suddenly faded and her hands fell to her sides. "Where the hell have you been?" she asked.
"Mind your language, Serendipity," scolded her father, his bushy, grey eyebrows almost covering his eyes as he frowned.
"No," replied Dippy defiantly. She put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. "I am not a child and you totally cannot tell me what to do."
Dippy's parents were shocked at her sudden outburst.
"The journey was awful," her mother began to explain. "We hitched a lift on a transport flight, but then a storm hit and we got redirected to…where was it again, David?"
"Saskatoon," replied Dippy's father.
"Saskatoon? Isn't that…" began Dippy, but she was interrupted by the front door opening again. "Oh, Inspector Thatcher!" Dippy exclaimed, dropping into a curtsey. "I wasn't expecting you. What can I get you? Coffee, perhaps?"
"Please, you don't need to…" began the Inspector, wishing that Dippy would stop treating her like royalty. Then she suddenly became aware of the presence of two rather bedraggled looking strangers. She looked at Dippy for an explanation.
Please tell me Fraser hasn't offered shelter to more homeless people…
"Oh, these are my parents," said Dippy. "Mine and Renfield's," she added, as if that needed explaining. "Mum, Dad, this is Inspector Thatcher. She's Ren's commanding officer here."
"Inspector, we've heard so much about you," said David Turnbull and he bowed his head respectfully. "I'm David and this is my wife, Deanna," he said and Deanna curtseyed beside him.
Meg rolled her eyes. "Please, don't…" she said.
"Renfield often writes about how proud he is to be working here with you," Deanna explained. "He has so much respect for you, Inspector."
"He…he does?" Meg felt suddenly awkward. "I…I don't think…" She couldn't get any words out. Turnbull had told his parents that he respected her, but she didn't feel like she deserved his respect. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your son," she said.
"He was just doing his duty," replied David. "He's always known the risks that come with serving as an officer of the RCMP. You have no need to be sorry."
"But…but you don't understand," began Meg, but Mr and Mrs Turnbull weren't listening.
"Did you say something about coffee, Serendipity?" asked Deanna. "I don't usually drink it, but after the journey we've had I could certainly use a cup."
"Inspector, have you ever seen the vulpes lagopus giving birth?" asked David. "That's an arctic fox," he added at the Inspector's puzzled look.
"No, but…" began Meg.
"Well it's the most wonderful sight," smiled David. "When we got the message about our son we'd been observing a large den. They're beautiful creatures and we'd earned their trust, so they let us get closer than we ever have before."
"That's…um, that's fascinating, but I'm not sure that this is the time…" Meg tried again, but she couldn't stop Dippy's father once he was in full flow.
I can see where the girl gets it from now.
"Deanna, where are the photos?" asked David. "Show the photographs to the Inspector. You'll be amazed at how close we got. The mother was wary of us, of course, but we knew if we were patient she would allow us to observe."
"Here they are!" exclaimed Deanna as she pulled a crumpled packet of photos from her bag. "We got them developed at the airport in Vancouver while we were waiting for our connecting flight."
"What were you doing in Vancouver?" asked Meg, trying to envisage how their journey to Chicago could have taken them all the way to the west coast of Canada.
"Oh look, here's the first time we saw the male," smiled Deanna, ignoring Meg's question as she shoved a photograph under her nose. "And here's the hideout we built. David dug into the den so we could observe the births."
Meg tried to think of something polite to say, but nothing came to mind and she was having trouble getting a word in edgeways anyway. She glanced over at Dippy, who appeared to be close to tears. Dippy caught her eye and turned away.
"Um, perhaps we could…" began the Inspector. She was concerned about Dippy, but she didn't get chance to finish her sentence.
"Of course, what was I thinking?" David interrupted her.
"Well, it's not that I'm not interested, but…"
"Is there somewhere we can sit down?" asked David. "We can't expect you to stand while you look at over three hundred photos."
"Three hundred?" Meg almost physically balked at the idea.
"Yes, we were so lucky to be able to document the births of all seven kits," smiled Deanna proudly.
Meg glanced at Dippy again, but the younger woman just shrugged in resignation and turned towards the kitchen.
Meg was helpless as she was ushered into the other room to look at more photographs.
In the kitchen, Dippy tried desperately to hold herself together as she set some coffee mugs on the worktop. Dief trotted up behind her and whined sympathetically.
Dippy turned to look at the wolf and tears began streaming down her face. "Oh Dief, I know they, like, love me and Renfield, but…but…" She crouched down and wrapped her arms around the wolf, burying her face into his fur as she sobbed. "They haven't even, like, asked anything about what happened? Just… just if he was OK and that was all."
Dief gently licked the tears from her face and yapped quietly in her ear.
"I can't do that!" she exclaimed, pulling away from him slightly. "Not in front of the Inspector."
She sighed and got to her feet. Dief watched her with some concern as she finished assembling a tray of drinks and snacks to take to her parents.
It was almost an hour later before Inspector Thatcher was finally able to announce that she had a lot of paperwork to do and had only stopped by the Consulate briefly to pick up some documents from her office. The Turnbulls were very apologetic when they realised they'd kept her from important RCMP work.
"Well, it was lovely meeting you both," the Inspector said through gritted teeth as she backed away towards the door. "And again, I'm so sorry about what happened to Constable Turnbull."
Dippy watched the Inspector leave the room as her parents packed away the photos and maps that they'd been boring the Inspector with for the past hour. Dippy had sat in virtual silence the whole time. She realised all the emotion of the past few days was about to come to a head and she didn't want Inspector Thatcher of all people to witness the fallout. She knew she couldn't keep it all inside forever though.
"What a wonderful lady," smiled David as they finally heard the front door click as Meg left the Consulate. "No wonder Renfield is so honoured to be working with her."
Dippy nodded silently.
Deanna frowned at her. "Is something wrong, dear?" she asked.
Dippy bit her lip hard until she tasted blood. She didn't want to fight with her parents, not now, but there were things that needed to be said. She'd grown up a lot during her short time in Chicago had she was not at all happy with the way her parents had simply breezed into her new life as if nothing had changed.
Everything's changed…Ren nearly died…I could have died…and they don't even understand…
"They have, like, phones in Vancouver, right?" she said quietly. It wasn't how she'd hoped to start this conversation. Sarcasm wasn't one of her most appealing traits, but sometimes it came too easily.
"Yes, of course," replied David, puzzled.
"I mean, I know you, like, went all over the damn country trying to get here," Dippy continued, "but you could've just phoned back again to see if Ren was OK…to see if I was OK…because…because…I was totally not OK! OK?"
David and Deanna looked at each other in stunned silence.
"But you said Renfield was being discharged from the hospital tomorrow," said Deanna.
"He's OK now," replied Dippy raising her voice. "But he nearly died and I got on, like, the first plane down here, by myself and I was scared, but I did it anyway."
"I'm sure Renfield was pleased to see you," replied David, cautiously. He had no idea what had got into his daughter.
"He was in a coma!" exclaimed Dippy. "Don't you get it? He needed you here too. I needed you! And you weren't here," continued Dippy, unable to hold back her tears any more. "I went totally crazy when I got here," she sobbed. "I have no idea what I was thinking. I just couldn't get my head straight. I thought I wanted to, like, take drugs and I nearly got raped and then I was so mixed up I kissed Ray!"
"Who's Ray?" asked David in shock. His little baby girl did all those things? He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Ray is a friend," replied Dippy. "We're cool now. If it wasn't for Ray and Fraser I don't know what might have happened. The guy that shot Ren nearly killed me and I had to, like, protect Katy because her uncle has got this PT, er, PTS, er, well anyway he didn't really know what he was doing, but I thought I'd gone blind!"
"Who's Katy?" asked Deanna, looking at her husband who was none the wiser.
"You don't know because you weren't here!" exclaimed Dippy. "You're never around when we need you…like, ever! Stupid vulpes lagopus, or purple saxifrage, or…or…lepus arcticus…you love all those things more than me and Ren!"
Deanna's mouth fell open. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "Serendipity, that's…that's just not true," she began. "Your father and I…we…we love you and your brother. We love you more than anything in the world."
Dippy couldn't speak any more as the tears fell. Her mother stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. Her father just stood and stared silently at his wife and daughter.
Diefenbaker began to bark and Dippy pulled away from her mother and spun round. "Oh…Fraser!" she exclaimed when she saw the Mountie in the doorway. "You're back already."
Fraser rubbed at his eyebrow with his thumb. "I'm…I'm so sorry to interrupt," he began, awkwardly.
"How long have you been standing there?" asked Dippy, her face flushing red as she thought back over all the things she'd just said.
"Er, um…" Fraser stammered. "I arrived just as Inspector Thatcher left."
"Oh," replied Dippy, hanging her head in shame. She took a deep breath and looked up at her mother. "Mum, I'm sorry," she said, fighting back more tears. "I didn't mean….I didn't mean to…"
"It's alright," Deanna replied, struggling with her own emotions. "I think your father and I are the ones who should be apologising. We had no idea you felt like this."
"So you're Fraser," said David, cautiously. "I think we spoke on the telephone."
Fraser nodded and shook David's hand.
"And is this, er, Ray here too?" asked David. "I think I'd like to meet him."
"Not at this juncture," replied Fraser.
"Dad, don't freak out!" exclaimed Dippy. "It was just a kiss. Like, a misunderstanding. I was being really weird and dumb, but we're soooo over it now."
"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" asked Fraser, deliberately changing the subject.
"Yes, a nice man in Halifax called ahead and booked us into a hotel," explained Deanna.
"What were you doing in Halifax?" asked Fraser in surprise.
"It's a long story," replied Dippy. "And you don't have to go to a hotel; you can stay here, right Fraser?"
"No, no, it's quite alright," insisted David. "We don't want to cause any more trouble."
"And I think we'd like to start afresh tomorrow," continued Deanna, glancing nervously at her husband. "It appears that tomorrow we have a lot of talking to do."
Fraser called a taxi and Dippy's parents were soon on their way to their hotel. As Fraser closed the door behind them he realised that Dippy was crying again.
"Sshhh," he soothed. He was surprised she had any more tears left.
"I didn't mean to say all those things," Dippy sobbed, falling against his chest. "Now I've ruined everything."
"But you simply told them how you feel," replied Fraser, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. "It has been my experience that bottling up one's feelings can be rather unhealthy."
"But you never, like, yell at people, or cry like a baby," replied Dippy. "You don't lose it like I just did.
"You'd be surprised," replied Fraser, the corners of his mouth twitching into a knowing smile. "You know, your parents appear to be very reasonable people. They seemed quite alarmed to discover how you feel. I'm sure once you've talked it through you'll be able to find a resolution and move forward."
"Do you really think so?" asked Dippy with a sniff.
Fraser nodded and smiled.
"I hope so," said Dippy. "I never meant to hurt them with the things I said."
"But they needed to be said," replied Fraser.
Dippy nodded and sighed. "Yes," she agreed. "Yes, they did."
xXxXxXx
"It's…it's good to have you back, Constable."
Inspector Thatcher smiled a genuine smile at her young officer. Constable Turnbull was reclining on the sofa propped up by several pillows and cushions. Meg was relieved that he was alive; she was still struggling with the guilt of knowing that she was the one who had put him in the firing line.
"Thank you, sir," replied Turnbull. "It's good to be back. I shall resume light duties this afternoon."
"No you will not," replied the Inspector sternly. "You are to rest until the doctor confirms you're fit to work. And tell me again…you've only been back from the hospital for an hour, so how exactly did you manage to accidentally remove the entire bandage?"
Fraser tore open a packet of gauze and placed it carefully over the site of Turnbull's bullet wound. The hospital had supplied spare dressings, but he hadn't anticipated needing any of them already so he was curious to hear his young colleague's explanation again.
"Well you see, sir," began Turnbull. "I'm not entirely sure myself. I was…well, I was…um…"
"Using the restroom," prompted Thatcher. That much she knew already.
"Yes, exactly," nodded Turnbull, his cheeks blushing slightly. "Somehow I got my belt caught in the end of the adhesive tape and, as I was trying to detach it, the tape became wound around my finger and in the ensuing confusion the entire bandage somehow came off completely. I do apologise most sincerely for my incompetence. I will submit a full report at the earliest opportunity."
"That won't be necessary," replied the Inspector, rolling her eyes. If she asked Turnbull for a report on every occasion of his incompetence she would need a bigger filing cabinet, she thought.
"There," said Fraser, pressing the last strip of surgical tape over the dressing. It was a huge relief to have Turnbull back, alive and well. The Consulate hadn't been the same without him, although Fraser started to wonder if that was actually a good thing.
"Thank you," nodded Turnbull appreciatively.
Just then Ray came bounding into the room, full of excited energy. Diefenbaker, who had been snoozing on the rug, opened one eye, but then quickly shut it again once he realised Ray hadn't brought doughnuts.
"Detective Vecchio!" exclaimed Inspector Thatcher. "How did you get in?"
"Oh, er, I, er…" Ray stuttered. He hadn't expected the Inspector to be there. She was still unaware of Ray's little credit card door opening trick. He looked at Fraser for help, but Fraser was silent.
Ray rolled his eyes. You can explain this one to the Ice Queen later, buddy…
"Hey Turnbull," he grinned, deliberately sidestepping the subject. "You look good. Wanna know somethin' interesting?"
"Interesting in what sense?" asked Fraser as he peeled off the sterile gloves he'd been wearing to tend to Turnbull.
"In the sense of it being interesting!" exclaimed Ray. "McGarratt's gun, the one he was using yesterday when we busted him, guess what ballistics turned up."
"That the gun was used in the homicide in Saskatchewan several years ago for which McGarratt's brother was arrested and subsequently cleared?" offered Fraser. "Which suggests that it was Andrew McGarratt who committed that murder, although he allowed his brother to take the rap, to use the colloquial, leading to the younger McGarratt's incarceration and subsequent accidental death while in custody awaiting trial?"
"Er…er…well, yeah," replied Ray. His shoulders slumped as he realised Fraser had taken away his opportunity to explain everything.
"No wonder the man wanted to use Jonathan Bell's gun to shoot Mounties," noted Thatcher. "He didn't want anything to tie him into the murder in Saskathchewan."
"Exactly," noted Ray, still deflated that his big revelation had been usurped. Suddenly he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "So, er, Turnbull, I picked up a few videos for ya to watch while you're convoluting."
"Convalescing, Ray," Fraser corrected him as Ray handed Turnbull a bag.
Turnbull pulled out the videos and frowned at the covers. "The Terminator…" he read. "Aliens…Die Hard…oh dear."
"What's up?" asked Ray.
Turnbull tried to smile. "These movies look somewhat…violent."
"Yeah," nodded Ray. "And?" He looked from Turnbull to Fraser and back again before he realised his mistake. "Oh, right, not your kinda thing. Sorry."
"Thank you for the kind thought," smiled Turnbull, graciously.
"I'll take 'em back to the video store," shrugged Ray. "What exactly do you Canadians watch when ya need cheerin' up anyway?" he asked.
Fraser and Turnbull glanced at each other before replying in unison. "Curling!"
Ray rolled his eyes.
"I really have to go," announced Inspector Thatcher, glancing at her watch. The last thing she wanted was to get into a discussion about curling. "I have a meeting with the Swedish Ambassador this morning that I have been putting off for days."
"I spoke to Stella," said Ray as the Inspector turned to go. "She's onto it. McGarratt's goin' down for the Mountie shootings, no doubt about it, and she's gonna liaise with the Canadian lawyers about the old case and, er…er…" Ray completely lost his train of thought as he spoke about his ex-wife. He quickly glanced at Fraser hoping no one had noticed, but Fraser had, of course, and he gave his friend a small, supportive smile.
Turnbull let out a slow breath as he thought about the man who had shot him. "Justice will prevail," he said and Fraser nodded sincerely.
Inspector Thatcher left the room and Fraser followed her. "Constable Turnbull will be fine, sir," he said as she reached for the door handle.
Meg spun round and stared at him. "I am aware of that, Fraser," she snapped.
"Well, yes, of course," replied Fraser, looking at the floor uncomfortably. "It's just that, what I mean is that…I was concerned about certain feelings you mentioned just after the incident."
"I got over it," Meg interrupted him abruptly. "My feelings are none of your concern." As soon as the words had left her lips she regretted them. He's just making sure I'm alright because he cares about me…
"Yes, sir. I mean, no sir." Fraser cleared his throat, wishing he'd never mentioned it.
Meg sighed. "I'm…sorry," she said almost under her breath.
Fraser lifted his head and his gaze locked with hers. He nodded slowly, trying desperately to convey understanding without words. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to open herself up to him because she was afraid of what might happen if she did. Fraser understood completely. He knew exactly what might happen and neither of them could afford to make that mistake. Would it be a mistake? Probably…
Meg tried to speak, but she didn't know what to say. Thank you, Ben…
Then a sudden knock at the door broke into the silence and shattered the moment. Fraser opened it and Dippy and her parents strode into the Consulate.
"Hi Fraser," smiled Dippy. "Inspector," she added, bending her knee to curtsy. Her mother copied the gesture, while her father bowed his head.
Fraser was pleased to see Dippy's mood had improved vastly since first thing this morning. She had been terribly nervous about seeing her parents again. They'd agreed to meet at the hotel and talk over breakfast and Dippy had hoped that she could make them understand how she felt. From the looks on their faces it appeared the talk had gone well.
"I was just leaving," said Meg and rushed out of the door. Dippy and her parents didn't seem to mind her sudden departure.
"Constable Fraser, it seems I owe you a debt of gratitude for taking care of my daughter," said David Turnbull.
"Not at all," replied Fraser. "Serendipity is quite the independent young woman, perfectly capable of taking care of herself."
"Kind of," added Dippy with a grin.
"Constable Turnbull is waiting to see you," said Fraser, indicating towards the reception room.
"He's here?" asked Deanna Turnbull and Fraser nodded. Deanna and David rushed into the room to see their son, but Dippy hung back.
When her parents were out of earshot she spoke to Fraser. "It went OK," she said in a low voice. "I love them so much. They promised me we're gonna spend more time together when they can and, like, things are gonna change at home. They get so wrapped up in their research and they totally didn't realise how I felt. I kinda wish we'd talked about it all years ago, but we've talked now and, like, I'm so happy and they were, like, totally cool about me going to college."
"College?" This was the first Fraser had heard of it.
"Yes, silly," grinned Dippy. "So I can get a diploma and work with pre-school kids. I know I'll probably be, like, the oldest student there, but I don't care. I can do this, I know I can."
Fraser smiled proudly. "I believe you can," he said.
Dippy hugged him tightly and ran into the room to join her family. "Hi Ray," she said as Ray walked out into the hall.
"Jeez, do those Turnbull's ever shut up?" asked Ray under his breath. A few minutes with David and Deanna had been exhausting.
Fraser shrugged.
"Has the Ice Queen left already?" asked Ray. "I forgot to tell her about that creep Bernard Wilson. He was in deeper than he let on. Turns out he was the one who found all the details of the, er, parade in Cincinnati."
"I see," replied Fraser. "I'll be sure to let the Inspector know."
"And he has previous for, y'know, bein' a pervert," added Ray. "So if the Ice Queen wants to reconsider filing charges…"
"She won't," replied Fraser, firmly.
"OK, buddy," shrugged Ray. "She seemed pretty freaked out by the whole thing, though. I've never seen anyone get under her skin like that before."
"Well…" began Fraser, but he trailed off. "The Inspector, um…" he tried again.
"It's OK," said Ray, putting him out of his misery. "I get it. It's none of my business. At least she's got you, right?"
"Me? Inspector, er, Inspector Thatcher does not…that is, er, um…" stammered Fraser, tugging at the tight collar of his red tunic.
"To talk to," clarified Ray, with a wink, but he wasn't going to get anything more out of Fraser on the subject so he gave up. "So, er, how the hell did you know all that about McGarratt anyway, Fraser?"
"I'm sorry if I stole your thunder, as it were," began Fraser. "But it came to me last night while I was rereading the old case report. There were several things noted from the time of the original investigation that just didn't add up, the most obvious of which being Andrew McGarratt's alibi. You see…"
"Y'know, Fraser," Ray interrupted him. "Tell me later. Right now I need coffee."
"Of course, Ray," nodded Fraser and they walked to the kitchen.
"Do you figure Dippy and her parents are gonna be OK?" asked Ray as he opened a biscuit barrel looking for the remains of Dippy's baking endeavours.
"I hope so," replied Fraser. "Feelings have been kept hidden for a long time and that breeds discontent, but now they are talking about it I believe they will be fine."
"And if there's one thing the Turnbulls are all good at it's talkin'," noted Ray.
"Indeed."
"Wish I could be like Dippy with my folks," sighed Ray. "I mean, I know we're doin' OK now, but we've never talked about the past. It's like my Dad has just, er, drawn a line under it and we're never gonna speak about it. I still want to know why he cut me out of his life."
"Sometimes the past can hold painful memories that are best kept supressed," replied Fraser. A sudden flash of memory from his own childhood came into his head and he closed his eyes as he forced it away.
Ray shrugged. "Maybe," he replied. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked at Fraser. "You OK?" he asked.
"Yes, Ray," lied Fraser, opening his eyes. He couldn't make sense of the images he saw in his mind and that scared him more than he could put into words.
Ray instantly knew his buddy was not OK at all, but figured, as was so often the case, he didn't want to talk about it. He gave Fraser a friendly slap on the back. "So who'd have bet on Turnbull having parents and a sister?" he asked with a grin.
"Serendipity's visit has been quite a revelation," agreed Fraser, handing Ray a cup of hot coffee.
"He's a lucky guy," noted Ray. "I mean, he's a moron, but he's a lucky guy. I've always wanted a kid sister. Stupid, really."
"Not at all," replied Fraser, quietly. "A sibling would certainly…" he paused before finishing, "fill a void."
"Might've made bein' a kid less lonely," noted Ray as he dropped a handful of coloured candies into his coffee.
"Not just childhood," added Fraser, wistfully. "Constable Turnbull is, indeed, very fortuitous."
"Sorry," said Ray, suddenly aware that the conversation was turning maudlin again. "Hey, you've got me for a buddy now," he said with a grin, "what more could a Canadian need?"
"Indeed," replied Fraser. He'd had childhood friends, but none – not Mark Smithbaur, or even Innusiq – had been as good a friend to him as Ray, or the real Ray Vecchio had become; he felt as close as any brother to both of them."
"And I guess we've got the Vecchios too," continued Ray.
Fraser laughed. "Or, perhaps more accurately," he began with a dry smile. "The Vecchios have got us."
Ray grinned and sipped his hot coffee. "Think you're right there, buddy," he said. He lifted his coffee mug in a toast. "To family," he offered. "Even, er, even dysfunctional ones."
Fraser glanced up to see the ghost of his father standing silently in the corner. He smiled and nodded. "To family."
THE END.