2nd Badfic Challenge, by mergatrude
Title: Lord Ray
Prompt: So, Ray suddenly discovers that he's actually the heir-apparent to some English noble family's estates - and that they apparently come with an arranged marriage attached. He's been sitting on his ass in Chicago, pining for Fraser and the NWT, so he doesn't actually fight it as much ashemight've otherwise and in short order is packed off to England to see just what he's had handed to him. Unfortunately, the estates are in terrible shape, he's not exactly in funds, and while there's nothing exactly wrong with his prospective fiancee, there's nothing actually right about her either. Plus, he doesn't appear to have any of the skills necessary to the job, apart from the ability to cut a mighty fine rug. But he's the only heir available and Fraser's instilled a major sense of responsibility in him, so he figures he'll give it a go anyway.
So, will Ray manage to restore his estates to their former glory? Will he escape the fate of a loveless marriage? Will he manage to get his man? Find out in the following 350 CHAPTERS!!!!
Prompt written by: kinetikatrue
rating/warnings/etc: A for awful? TA for thesaurus abuse?
Disclaimer: Ray and Ben do not belong to me, they belong to each other. *g* This story is written for the private entertainment of fans. No infringement of any copyrights held by Due South creators and Alliance is intended. No money is being made from this, nor is any reimbursement being sought. Post CoTW, set in England, but I've never been there so I'm sorry if I get something wrong. If you've been reading along, you probably figured out that I don't have a beta reader. I try to edit my own work, but after reading the same story six million times, it's had to notice mistakes if you didn't catch them the first time. I tried my best with this one, but there mostly likely will be some errors. I suck, I know. So, I apologize.
Lord Ray
Author's notes: Than you to everyone who has read and commented on the story so far. I wouldn't be able to keep going if it wasn't for your kindness and encouragement. &hearts
Chapter 127 - The Changing of the Guard
"Oh no!" Ray sighed, his blue eyes welled with tears, turning them the color of the mist that rolled off the hills. He dropped the cold, dead hand of his butler. "How can I go on, now? How'm I gonna pull this off without you, Alfred?" In the short time Ray had been Lord of the Manner, Alfred had been the one person who didn't treat him like an ignorant yank. The crusty butler had taken his job of making Ray into the perfect embodiment of and English Lord seriously and his commitment to the Fauntwhistle name had made the lean former detective start to take his new job seriously as well.
And now Ray's one true alley was dead - felled by the very castle he loved and served. The butler's sad demise highlighted the blond's other problem: the castle was falling to bits and needed urgent repairs before more staff were killed by falling chunks of masonry. But his first problem was more pressing. How the hell am I gonna get through the big shindig tomorrow night? I can't do it without the old man at my elbow. he thought to himself. Ray was in a pickle. The Grand Ball tomorrow night was when he was supposed to announce his upcoming marriage to Lady Susan Winston. He had to marry her and get her father's money if he had any hope of fixing the decrepit old buildings and the rambling estates. And she was nice enough, he supposed, even if she was always riding horses. And this time at least he knew that kids would be part of the deal because they had to have heirs to leave the estate to, unlike the last Lord Fauntwhistle , which is how Ray ended up with the job. Kids were something he'd always wanted, but Stella kept putting him off and then they got divorced and his cold, beautiful wife had ripped out his heart, and he thought then that he'd never get a chance to have kids. But he found that in spite of his new opportunity to procreate, the English chick didn't really do it for him. No one had really revved his motor since Fraser. Since he'd left him happily settled back in the Northwest Territories.
Fraser. The blond sighed deeply as he recalled their parting in the tiny shed that served as Inuvik airport. He wished he'd had the courage to speak his heart and tell the Mountie how he really felt, even if he had no hope that the beautiful Canadian returned his feelings. Instead, he'd given him a manly slap on the back and wished him all the best, and tried not to cry all the way back to Chicago. "I suck!" he whispered to himself. Then he recalled that Fraser's last words to him. "If you ever need me, Ray Kowalski , I will come. Who else could he trust to help him now? The former Chicago detective-turned English Lord pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number he had memorized but never before used. His hands were shaking as he waited for the call to be connected. I gotta keep my cool! he thought to himself.
"RCMP, Inuvik Branch. This is Sargeant Fraser speaking." His voice sounded like he was standing right next to him. Ray's mouth went dry and he was unable to speak, gasping like a fish on dry land. "Hello? We seem to have a bad connection," the Mountie said. "Frase," whispered the blond man. "Ray? Is that you? Where are you?" the blue-eyed man of his dreams replied.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm in England, and I really need your help Benton-buddy," Ray said. He had to restrain himself from bursting into tears of relief at the the sound of the familiar dulcet tones of his best friend in all the world. So much for keeping my cool! I really suck! he thought. "Of course, Ray my friend. I will put in for emergency leave and leave straight away. I can be at London airport by tomorrow morning," the Mountie said. The lanky blond smiled at that. Of course Fraser would have the flight timetables to everywhere memorized.
"I'll send George with the Rolls Royce to pick you up," he said. The weight of the world felt like it was lifting off his shoulders for the first time since he'd been summoned to that swanky solicitor's office back in Chi-Town all those months ago. "I've missed you,Frase," He said. "And I you," his Mountie replied.
* * * * *
Coming up in chapter 128... Fraser suspects foul play is at hand. Who is trying to ruin Ray? Lady Susan makes a play for the gorgeous Mountie - will he succumb to her feminine whiles? Will Deif eat all the roast pheasant? Will Ray get to dance with the one person he really, really wants to? There is a sex scene coming up, but not for a couple more chapters. Muahahahaha!
Prompt: So, Ray suddenly discovers that he's actually the heir-apparent to some English noble family's estates - and that they apparently come with an arranged marriage attached. He's been sitting on his ass in Chicago, pining for Fraser and the NWT, so he doesn't actually fight it as much ashemight've otherwise and in short order is packed off to England to see just what he's had handed to him. Unfortunately, the estates are in terrible shape, he's not exactly in funds, and while there's nothing exactly wrong with his prospective fiancee, there's nothing actually right about her either. Plus, he doesn't appear to have any of the skills necessary to the job, apart from the ability to cut a mighty fine rug. But he's the only heir available and Fraser's instilled a major sense of responsibility in him, so he figures he'll give it a go anyway.
So, will Ray manage to restore his estates to their former glory? Will he escape the fate of a loveless marriage? Will he manage to get his man? Find out in the following 350 CHAPTERS!!!!
Prompt written by: kinetikatrue
rating/warnings/etc: A for awful? TA for thesaurus abuse?
Disclaimer: Ray and Ben do not belong to me, they belong to each other. *g* This story is written for the private entertainment of fans. No infringement of any copyrights held by Due South creators and Alliance is intended. No money is being made from this, nor is any reimbursement being sought. Post CoTW, set in England, but I've never been there so I'm sorry if I get something wrong. If you've been reading along, you probably figured out that I don't have a beta reader. I try to edit my own work, but after reading the same story six million times, it's had to notice mistakes if you didn't catch them the first time. I tried my best with this one, but there mostly likely will be some errors. I suck, I know. So, I apologize.
Lord Ray
Author's notes: Than you to everyone who has read and commented on the story so far. I wouldn't be able to keep going if it wasn't for your kindness and encouragement. &hearts
Chapter 127 - The Changing of the Guard
"Oh no!" Ray sighed, his blue eyes welled with tears, turning them the color of the mist that rolled off the hills. He dropped the cold, dead hand of his butler. "How can I go on, now? How'm I gonna pull this off without you, Alfred?" In the short time Ray had been Lord of the Manner, Alfred had been the one person who didn't treat him like an ignorant yank. The crusty butler had taken his job of making Ray into the perfect embodiment of and English Lord seriously and his commitment to the Fauntwhistle name had made the lean former detective start to take his new job seriously as well.
And now Ray's one true alley was dead - felled by the very castle he loved and served. The butler's sad demise highlighted the blond's other problem: the castle was falling to bits and needed urgent repairs before more staff were killed by falling chunks of masonry. But his first problem was more pressing. How the hell am I gonna get through the big shindig tomorrow night? I can't do it without the old man at my elbow. he thought to himself. Ray was in a pickle. The Grand Ball tomorrow night was when he was supposed to announce his upcoming marriage to Lady Susan Winston. He had to marry her and get her father's money if he had any hope of fixing the decrepit old buildings and the rambling estates. And she was nice enough, he supposed, even if she was always riding horses. And this time at least he knew that kids would be part of the deal because they had to have heirs to leave the estate to, unlike the last Lord Fauntwhistle , which is how Ray ended up with the job. Kids were something he'd always wanted, but Stella kept putting him off and then they got divorced and his cold, beautiful wife had ripped out his heart, and he thought then that he'd never get a chance to have kids. But he found that in spite of his new opportunity to procreate, the English chick didn't really do it for him. No one had really revved his motor since Fraser. Since he'd left him happily settled back in the Northwest Territories.
Fraser. The blond sighed deeply as he recalled their parting in the tiny shed that served as Inuvik airport. He wished he'd had the courage to speak his heart and tell the Mountie how he really felt, even if he had no hope that the beautiful Canadian returned his feelings. Instead, he'd given him a manly slap on the back and wished him all the best, and tried not to cry all the way back to Chicago. "I suck!" he whispered to himself. Then he recalled that Fraser's last words to him. "If you ever need me, Ray Kowalski , I will come. Who else could he trust to help him now? The former Chicago detective-turned English Lord pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number he had memorized but never before used. His hands were shaking as he waited for the call to be connected. I gotta keep my cool! he thought to himself.
"RCMP, Inuvik Branch. This is Sargeant Fraser speaking." His voice sounded like he was standing right next to him. Ray's mouth went dry and he was unable to speak, gasping like a fish on dry land. "Hello? We seem to have a bad connection," the Mountie said. "Frase," whispered the blond man. "Ray? Is that you? Where are you?" the blue-eyed man of his dreams replied.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm in England, and I really need your help Benton-buddy," Ray said. He had to restrain himself from bursting into tears of relief at the the sound of the familiar dulcet tones of his best friend in all the world. So much for keeping my cool! I really suck! he thought. "Of course, Ray my friend. I will put in for emergency leave and leave straight away. I can be at London airport by tomorrow morning," the Mountie said. The lanky blond smiled at that. Of course Fraser would have the flight timetables to everywhere memorized.
"I'll send George with the Rolls Royce to pick you up," he said. The weight of the world felt like it was lifting off his shoulders for the first time since he'd been summoned to that swanky solicitor's office back in Chi-Town all those months ago. "I've missed you,Frase," He said. "And I you," his Mountie replied.
* * * * *
Coming up in chapter 128... Fraser suspects foul play is at hand. Who is trying to ruin Ray? Lady Susan makes a play for the gorgeous Mountie - will he succumb to her feminine whiles? Will Deif eat all the roast pheasant? Will Ray get to dance with the one person he really, really wants to? There is a sex scene coming up, but not for a couple more chapters. Muahahahaha!