FIC: First Day Blues (SFaM7), R
Title: First Day Blues
Series: Scenes From a Marriage
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: R
Characters: Vecchio/Kowalski
Fandom: due South with a soupçon of The Sentinel and a healthy dash of The Dresden Files.
Notes: With the sole exception of the fact that Murphy is at the 27th, I’m working from book canon rather than the television series. As for the timeline, this fic takes place near the beginning of Blood Rites (book six). 2,150 words or so.
Summary: First days suck.
Ray is lost in the woods, only he’s not. He’s just aware enough to realize he’s dreaming that he’s lost in the woods, and it irritates him. There’s no reason for his subconscious to do this to him, because Ray knows full well that Kowalski has him going in circles. The dream is just adding insult to injury.
A flash of white up ahead moves away from him, and Ray thinks he knows that tail. He considers sitting down and waiting to wake up, but finds himself following Dief against his inclination. This isn’t fair. It’s his dream, he should be able to do what he wants, but no. He can’t. He has to follow a deaf wolf through a forest, and never mind that he has to get up in a couple of hours.
Ray sighs and keeps walking, thankful that dream blisters don’t carry over into the real world. Speaking of the real world, maybe he’s not so lost as he thinks he is, because the trees look familiar. When he stumbles into the clearing and sees the wrecked plane, he knows exactly where his - the same place him and Benny crashed.
Benny is sitting at the campfire, and Ray goes to clap him on the shoulder. Only when he turns around, it isn’t Benny, it’s Kowalski.
“Took you long enough,” Kowalski says with a grin.
“What?” Ray is nervous. He refuses to admit he’s nervous because of Kowalski’s grin.
Kowalski stands up and puts his arms around Ray like they’ve been doing this forever. He nuzzles Ray behind the ear, and whispers, “Been waiting for you.”
“Oh yeah?” This is so goddamn unfair! It’s his fucking dream, so he should be able to come up with really great lines. Brilliant ones, even, because this is his head, and in his head, he’s king. Instead, he’s got a breathy hitch in his voice, one he never gets unless he’s with a woman.
Kowalski is not a woman. He’s not a woman, so Ray should be completely cool and in control. What he shouldn’t be is leaning against Kowalski and getting hard, and he sure as hell shouldn’t be grinding his dick against Kowalski and wishing they were both naked.
The next moment, Ray barely notices they’re suddenly naked, because he’s too damn surprised to find himself humping Kowalski like he’ll die if he doesn’t come right that -
“Kowalski!” Ray woke up coming while humping the duvet, and Christ, but that was embarrassing. Wet dreams were bad enough when he was younger, but at least back then, they were about Irene or Angie or any of a half-dozen other girls who turned his crank. They weren’t about a style-challenged Polack.
Kowalski pounded once on the door and asked, “What do you want, Vecchio?” There was a pause, and then, “You know, I’d’ve helped you with that if you’d asked.”
The other thing about his wet dreams when he was a kid was that he’d had them at home, where he was the only one who knew about them, because not a single member of his family had a nose like a bloodhound. Ray dropped his face into his pillow and tried to convince himself that no one, not even Benny, would really be upset over Kowalski dying a slow and painful death.
~*~*~
“Stallings, you piece of shit. Why the hell haven’t they fired you yet?”
Ray might have told Kowalski to shut up and make nice with their new department. Maybe pointed out that it wasn’t in their best interests to call their new detective sergeant a piece of shit, because who knew? The guy might actually evaluate their performance one of these days, and it was helpful not to get off on the wrong foot. Ray might have told Kowalski all these things and more, but he kept his mouth shut. He’d made a vow that morning never to speak to the son-of-a-bitch again, and he wouldn’t, even if it killed him.
“Christ, Kowalski,” Stallings said as he stood up. “They had a chance to retire you on medical and they didn’t? What’s the world coming to?”
At that, Kowalski cackled. “Who the hell knows. You ever meet my partner, Ray Vecchio?”
“I’ve heard the name but never had the pleasure. John Stallings.” He held out his hand, and Ray shook it, pointedly ignoring Kowalski. “You were partnered with that Mountie for a while, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. Benton Fraser,” Ray said.
“Who came to Chicago on the trail of his father’s killers, I believe,” Stallings said.
“But for reasons not worth exploring at this juncture,” Kowalski added, “he remained in Chicago, acting as a liaison.”
The three men looked at each other for half a beat. Ray tried like hell to keep a straight face, but he broke ranks with a small snort and shook his head as he laughed. “Jesus. Tell me you at least met him,” Ray said to Stallings.
“Nah. Kowalski told me about him when you were, uh, elsewhere.” Stallings said the last word in a low voice, and Ray glared at Kowalski.
“Nice way to keep my cover.”
“Thought you weren’t talking to me.”
Ray started to respond, but Stallings held up a hand. “Gentlemen, your little spats have reached the status of legend throughout the CPD, but even so, I really don’t want to witness one.”
“Understood, sir,” Ray said glumly. Bad enough they ended up in the ass end of the police department, and worse that Kowalski had someone here who actually liked him.
“Yeah, whatever.” Kowalski looked around. “So where’s Lieutenant Murphy?”
“Her office is right over there.” Stallings sat down again. “Seeing as how you’re both detectives, I’ll assume you’re capable of finding your way over there on your own.”
“Love you too, Stallings,” Kowalski said, flipping him the bird.
Ray stepped around Kowalski and headed for Murphy’s office, determined that he, at least, would make a good first impression on her. No matter what he thought of Special Investigations, a lieutenant was a lieutenant, and it didn’t pay to irritate them.
He knocked on her door, and when she called out, he answered, “Detectives Vecchio and Kowalski, ma’am.”
“Hold on.” Kowalski joined him just then and got an odd look on his face. “You can come in,” she said.
Kowalski opened the door and muscled his way in before Ray could even blink. And then he just stood in the door.
“Hey!” Ray shoved him forward, and managed to get into the office.
“Close the door,” Murphy said. Kowalski kept staring - at a puppy.
“You’ll have to excuse my partner,” Ray said. He approached the desk with assurance, ignoring the puppy in Murphy’s arms. He also ignored the fact that with her blonde hair, she kind of looked like Stella, only maybe a little shorter. “Ray Vecchio. And may I compliment you on your dog? It looks to be cute and healthy.”
“It’s not my dog. Have a seat, gentlemen.” She put the puppy on the floor then grabbed a stack of paperwork. Kowalski had stopped looking at the animal but was now staring at the top of a file cabinet, and Ray started to worry that maybe he was zoning out again. “Damn. I thought I had your files.” Murphy stood up, and Ray amended her height to a lot shorter than Stella. He didn’t think she was more than five feet tall. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let the dog out.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Ray resisted the urge to slap Kowalski, and instead rubbed his neck. “Hey. Wake up.”
“I’m awake.” Kowalski shrugged Ray’s hand off. “Stop that. It tickles.”
“What the hell are you looking at?”
Kowalski shot a look at Ray. “The bird.”
“What bird?” Jesus. Only Ray could end up with a partner who was batshit insane.
“The one on the file cabinet.”
“There is no bird on the file cabinet,” Ray hissed. “And if you start that shit when Murphy comes back, you will be given the boot for being crazy. Do you understand me?”
“If there’s no bird, then why is the puppy trying to get at it?”
Ray looked at the puppy, and sure enough, it was on its hind legs, pawing at the cabinet. “It’s a puppy for Christ’s sake. You can’t seriously mean to tell me you’re taking its behavior as proof that you’re not seeing things.”
“I’m telling you, there’s -” Kowalski bit off his words, and maybe second later, Murphy came back in.
She sat down and looked at the two of them. “Harding didn’t tell me why he wants the two of you here, only that you’re not being punished. He also assured me that despite any personal reservations you might have regarding Special Investigations, you will uphold your duty as officers of the Chicago Police Department.”
“Yes, we will,” Ray said immediately. He was almost sure he meant it, too.
Murphy nodded then looked Kowalski over. She said to him, “Detective, I’m well aware of your closure rate and commendations. However, neither of those pieces of information will do you the slightest bit of good when you’re at a scene.”
“I’m not sure I follow.” Figured Kowalski didn’t have a clue. Ray thought he might, but he sat back and let Murphy have her say. Maybe she’d have better luck than he’d had over the years.
“Special Investigations has an image problem,” she said. “The public and other cops see us as a joke. The only way to fight back is by being damn good at what we do and dressing professionally while we do it.”
“Ma’am?” Kowalski had a sick look on his face. It made Ray smile.
“Your first assignment with SI is to go out and buy at least three suits. I never want to see you come to work dressed that way again.”
Ray didn’t feel at all guilty about not trying to get Kowalski to dress a little better that morning. The guy was an adult, and if he thought a ratty sweatshirt, jeans and shitkickers were appropriate attire for the first day in a new division, then it was none of Ray’s business.
Also, at the time, he’d been refusing to talk to Kowalski.
“But -” Kowalski sat forward in his chair.
“If you aren’t sure what to get, go to Macy’s. They have personal shoppers who can help you.”
“All due respect, Lieutenant -”
“Detective Kowalski,” she said in a no-nonsense tone, “in my experience, any statement that begins with ‘all due respect’ generally means a complete lack of respect. I understand you’re not used to working with a dress code, and I sympathize. However, I’m serious about the suits.”
Rather than let Kowalski fumble around even more - and possibly destroy Ray’s career along with his own - Ray said, “I can get him suited up, ma’am.”
“Good. I’ll expect you back here at one. Sergeant Stallings will be able to give you a rundown on the kind of cases we handle.”
The puppy chose that moment to turn around and go to Kowalski. It put its paws on Kowalski’s leg and begged to be picked up. Ray was grateful the dog didn’t come over to him; his suit wasn’t built to tolerate that kind of abuse. Kowalski, as usual, didn’t give a shit. He just picked the puppy up and stared into its eyes.
Murphy asked, “Do you like dogs, Kowalski?”
“Yeah. Been a while since I had one.” Kowalski had a dreamy look on his face, so as discreetly as he could, Ray kicked him in the ankle, just in case Kowalski was trying to zone out.
“A friend of mine is looking to place him. Are you interested?”
As soon as Murphy asked the question, both Kowalski and the puppy looked at the top of the file cabinet. In a voice that freaked the hell out of Ray, Kowalski said, “He’s a sentinel in his own right. His duty isn’t to me.” And then Kowalski blinked and gave them a sick-looking smile. “Uh, thanks, but no thanks. The size of his paws, he won’t be happy in my place. Nice dog, though.” He handed the puppy back to Murphy, who was looking at Kowalski like he was a puzzle she needed to solve, and said, “So we’ll go shopping and come back later, okay?”
“Detective -”
“Pitter patter, Vecchio. Time’s a wasting.” With that, Kowalski shot out the door, leaving Ray to clean up the mess.
He shot Murphy an apologetic look. “Fox was running a Buffy marathon most of the time he was off on medical. Between that and the whole kidnapping thing, he’s a little off balance right now.”
Murphy didn’t look like she was buying it.
“I’m not buying it, Vecchio,” she said. “But as long as it doesn’t interfere with his duties, I’ll leave it alone. For now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ray got the hell out and closed the door behind him.
Next
Series: Scenes From a Marriage
Author: Tara Keezer
Rating: R
Characters: Vecchio/Kowalski
Fandom: due South with a soupçon of The Sentinel and a healthy dash of The Dresden Files.
Notes: With the sole exception of the fact that Murphy is at the 27th, I’m working from book canon rather than the television series. As for the timeline, this fic takes place near the beginning of Blood Rites (book six). 2,150 words or so.
Summary: First days suck.
Ray is lost in the woods, only he’s not. He’s just aware enough to realize he’s dreaming that he’s lost in the woods, and it irritates him. There’s no reason for his subconscious to do this to him, because Ray knows full well that Kowalski has him going in circles. The dream is just adding insult to injury.
A flash of white up ahead moves away from him, and Ray thinks he knows that tail. He considers sitting down and waiting to wake up, but finds himself following Dief against his inclination. This isn’t fair. It’s his dream, he should be able to do what he wants, but no. He can’t. He has to follow a deaf wolf through a forest, and never mind that he has to get up in a couple of hours.
Ray sighs and keeps walking, thankful that dream blisters don’t carry over into the real world. Speaking of the real world, maybe he’s not so lost as he thinks he is, because the trees look familiar. When he stumbles into the clearing and sees the wrecked plane, he knows exactly where his - the same place him and Benny crashed.
Benny is sitting at the campfire, and Ray goes to clap him on the shoulder. Only when he turns around, it isn’t Benny, it’s Kowalski.
“Took you long enough,” Kowalski says with a grin.
“What?” Ray is nervous. He refuses to admit he’s nervous because of Kowalski’s grin.
Kowalski stands up and puts his arms around Ray like they’ve been doing this forever. He nuzzles Ray behind the ear, and whispers, “Been waiting for you.”
“Oh yeah?” This is so goddamn unfair! It’s his fucking dream, so he should be able to come up with really great lines. Brilliant ones, even, because this is his head, and in his head, he’s king. Instead, he’s got a breathy hitch in his voice, one he never gets unless he’s with a woman.
Kowalski is not a woman. He’s not a woman, so Ray should be completely cool and in control. What he shouldn’t be is leaning against Kowalski and getting hard, and he sure as hell shouldn’t be grinding his dick against Kowalski and wishing they were both naked.
The next moment, Ray barely notices they’re suddenly naked, because he’s too damn surprised to find himself humping Kowalski like he’ll die if he doesn’t come right that -
“Kowalski!” Ray woke up coming while humping the duvet, and Christ, but that was embarrassing. Wet dreams were bad enough when he was younger, but at least back then, they were about Irene or Angie or any of a half-dozen other girls who turned his crank. They weren’t about a style-challenged Polack.
Kowalski pounded once on the door and asked, “What do you want, Vecchio?” There was a pause, and then, “You know, I’d’ve helped you with that if you’d asked.”
The other thing about his wet dreams when he was a kid was that he’d had them at home, where he was the only one who knew about them, because not a single member of his family had a nose like a bloodhound. Ray dropped his face into his pillow and tried to convince himself that no one, not even Benny, would really be upset over Kowalski dying a slow and painful death.
~*~*~
“Stallings, you piece of shit. Why the hell haven’t they fired you yet?”
Ray might have told Kowalski to shut up and make nice with their new department. Maybe pointed out that it wasn’t in their best interests to call their new detective sergeant a piece of shit, because who knew? The guy might actually evaluate their performance one of these days, and it was helpful not to get off on the wrong foot. Ray might have told Kowalski all these things and more, but he kept his mouth shut. He’d made a vow that morning never to speak to the son-of-a-bitch again, and he wouldn’t, even if it killed him.
“Christ, Kowalski,” Stallings said as he stood up. “They had a chance to retire you on medical and they didn’t? What’s the world coming to?”
At that, Kowalski cackled. “Who the hell knows. You ever meet my partner, Ray Vecchio?”
“I’ve heard the name but never had the pleasure. John Stallings.” He held out his hand, and Ray shook it, pointedly ignoring Kowalski. “You were partnered with that Mountie for a while, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. Benton Fraser,” Ray said.
“Who came to Chicago on the trail of his father’s killers, I believe,” Stallings said.
“But for reasons not worth exploring at this juncture,” Kowalski added, “he remained in Chicago, acting as a liaison.”
The three men looked at each other for half a beat. Ray tried like hell to keep a straight face, but he broke ranks with a small snort and shook his head as he laughed. “Jesus. Tell me you at least met him,” Ray said to Stallings.
“Nah. Kowalski told me about him when you were, uh, elsewhere.” Stallings said the last word in a low voice, and Ray glared at Kowalski.
“Nice way to keep my cover.”
“Thought you weren’t talking to me.”
Ray started to respond, but Stallings held up a hand. “Gentlemen, your little spats have reached the status of legend throughout the CPD, but even so, I really don’t want to witness one.”
“Understood, sir,” Ray said glumly. Bad enough they ended up in the ass end of the police department, and worse that Kowalski had someone here who actually liked him.
“Yeah, whatever.” Kowalski looked around. “So where’s Lieutenant Murphy?”
“Her office is right over there.” Stallings sat down again. “Seeing as how you’re both detectives, I’ll assume you’re capable of finding your way over there on your own.”
“Love you too, Stallings,” Kowalski said, flipping him the bird.
Ray stepped around Kowalski and headed for Murphy’s office, determined that he, at least, would make a good first impression on her. No matter what he thought of Special Investigations, a lieutenant was a lieutenant, and it didn’t pay to irritate them.
He knocked on her door, and when she called out, he answered, “Detectives Vecchio and Kowalski, ma’am.”
“Hold on.” Kowalski joined him just then and got an odd look on his face. “You can come in,” she said.
Kowalski opened the door and muscled his way in before Ray could even blink. And then he just stood in the door.
“Hey!” Ray shoved him forward, and managed to get into the office.
“Close the door,” Murphy said. Kowalski kept staring - at a puppy.
“You’ll have to excuse my partner,” Ray said. He approached the desk with assurance, ignoring the puppy in Murphy’s arms. He also ignored the fact that with her blonde hair, she kind of looked like Stella, only maybe a little shorter. “Ray Vecchio. And may I compliment you on your dog? It looks to be cute and healthy.”
“It’s not my dog. Have a seat, gentlemen.” She put the puppy on the floor then grabbed a stack of paperwork. Kowalski had stopped looking at the animal but was now staring at the top of a file cabinet, and Ray started to worry that maybe he was zoning out again. “Damn. I thought I had your files.” Murphy stood up, and Ray amended her height to a lot shorter than Stella. He didn’t think she was more than five feet tall. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let the dog out.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Ray resisted the urge to slap Kowalski, and instead rubbed his neck. “Hey. Wake up.”
“I’m awake.” Kowalski shrugged Ray’s hand off. “Stop that. It tickles.”
“What the hell are you looking at?”
Kowalski shot a look at Ray. “The bird.”
“What bird?” Jesus. Only Ray could end up with a partner who was batshit insane.
“The one on the file cabinet.”
“There is no bird on the file cabinet,” Ray hissed. “And if you start that shit when Murphy comes back, you will be given the boot for being crazy. Do you understand me?”
“If there’s no bird, then why is the puppy trying to get at it?”
Ray looked at the puppy, and sure enough, it was on its hind legs, pawing at the cabinet. “It’s a puppy for Christ’s sake. You can’t seriously mean to tell me you’re taking its behavior as proof that you’re not seeing things.”
“I’m telling you, there’s -” Kowalski bit off his words, and maybe second later, Murphy came back in.
She sat down and looked at the two of them. “Harding didn’t tell me why he wants the two of you here, only that you’re not being punished. He also assured me that despite any personal reservations you might have regarding Special Investigations, you will uphold your duty as officers of the Chicago Police Department.”
“Yes, we will,” Ray said immediately. He was almost sure he meant it, too.
Murphy nodded then looked Kowalski over. She said to him, “Detective, I’m well aware of your closure rate and commendations. However, neither of those pieces of information will do you the slightest bit of good when you’re at a scene.”
“I’m not sure I follow.” Figured Kowalski didn’t have a clue. Ray thought he might, but he sat back and let Murphy have her say. Maybe she’d have better luck than he’d had over the years.
“Special Investigations has an image problem,” she said. “The public and other cops see us as a joke. The only way to fight back is by being damn good at what we do and dressing professionally while we do it.”
“Ma’am?” Kowalski had a sick look on his face. It made Ray smile.
“Your first assignment with SI is to go out and buy at least three suits. I never want to see you come to work dressed that way again.”
Ray didn’t feel at all guilty about not trying to get Kowalski to dress a little better that morning. The guy was an adult, and if he thought a ratty sweatshirt, jeans and shitkickers were appropriate attire for the first day in a new division, then it was none of Ray’s business.
Also, at the time, he’d been refusing to talk to Kowalski.
“But -” Kowalski sat forward in his chair.
“If you aren’t sure what to get, go to Macy’s. They have personal shoppers who can help you.”
“All due respect, Lieutenant -”
“Detective Kowalski,” she said in a no-nonsense tone, “in my experience, any statement that begins with ‘all due respect’ generally means a complete lack of respect. I understand you’re not used to working with a dress code, and I sympathize. However, I’m serious about the suits.”
Rather than let Kowalski fumble around even more - and possibly destroy Ray’s career along with his own - Ray said, “I can get him suited up, ma’am.”
“Good. I’ll expect you back here at one. Sergeant Stallings will be able to give you a rundown on the kind of cases we handle.”
The puppy chose that moment to turn around and go to Kowalski. It put its paws on Kowalski’s leg and begged to be picked up. Ray was grateful the dog didn’t come over to him; his suit wasn’t built to tolerate that kind of abuse. Kowalski, as usual, didn’t give a shit. He just picked the puppy up and stared into its eyes.
Murphy asked, “Do you like dogs, Kowalski?”
“Yeah. Been a while since I had one.” Kowalski had a dreamy look on his face, so as discreetly as he could, Ray kicked him in the ankle, just in case Kowalski was trying to zone out.
“A friend of mine is looking to place him. Are you interested?”
As soon as Murphy asked the question, both Kowalski and the puppy looked at the top of the file cabinet. In a voice that freaked the hell out of Ray, Kowalski said, “He’s a sentinel in his own right. His duty isn’t to me.” And then Kowalski blinked and gave them a sick-looking smile. “Uh, thanks, but no thanks. The size of his paws, he won’t be happy in my place. Nice dog, though.” He handed the puppy back to Murphy, who was looking at Kowalski like he was a puzzle she needed to solve, and said, “So we’ll go shopping and come back later, okay?”
“Detective -”
“Pitter patter, Vecchio. Time’s a wasting.” With that, Kowalski shot out the door, leaving Ray to clean up the mess.
He shot Murphy an apologetic look. “Fox was running a Buffy marathon most of the time he was off on medical. Between that and the whole kidnapping thing, he’s a little off balance right now.”
Murphy didn’t look like she was buying it.
“I’m not buying it, Vecchio,” she said. “But as long as it doesn’t interfere with his duties, I’ll leave it alone. For now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ray got the hell out and closed the door behind him.
Next