See part 1 for header info.

He woke a short while before he had to, tangled up in bed with Ray. This kind of intimate proximity had begun to become familiar to him, but the juxtaposition of Ray and his ordinary life was captivating. He could get used to this. He could wake every morning like this, with Ray’s head on his shoulder, Ray’s hand on his biceps, Ray’s--he blushed even to think the word--Ray’s cock pressed against his hip.

#


They made a slightly later start that morning than usual--the morning’s activities, while delightful, left him with an uncharacteristic lassitude that kept him abed with Ray until the dogs’ demands for breakfast became too frenzied to ignore. Their day progressed, by unspoken agreement and in deference to the demands of the environment, with no change except the occasional moment of heated eye contact that went straight to Fraser’s groin. In the evening, sex and physical affection replaced singing and storytelling--a pastime that was, at least, equally enjoyable.

In the morning, Charlie urged them to consider staying in town another night so that they could attend Sunday services the next day. A quick discussion with Ray led to an agreement to push on--although a cradle Catholic, Ray was not a regular churchgoer, so Fraser was not surprised.

That night he wrote in his journal:

See 1A for notes, warnings, etc. 

#

Fraser looked up from his journal when Ray began shuffling a deck of cards loudly and clumsily, with his thin inner gloves on. “C’mon, finish up. I want to win back some of that air I owe you.”

 See part one for warnings, notes, etc

Most of the course Fraser plotted went right over the lakes, to take advantage of the smooth ice. On land, Fraser explained, there would be rocks and trees and logs in the way. The feeling of ice under the sled rails was familiar, but they were in sight of shore most of the time. The tall pines blocked out the horizon. The first hour or so felt almost claustrophobic.

The Reaching Out One, part 1B
See part 1A for summay, warnings, notes, etc. 

The box was an oddly comforting weight in the inside pocket of his parka. Heavy for its size, it pressed against his ribs, and, if he wasn’t careful, one corner jabbed him in the elbow when he put his hand back on the wheel after shifting gears. The box was heavy, but he felt lighter. Ray had come, and he’d brought Diefenbaker back with him.

Title:  The Reaching Out One
Fandom:  Due South
Pairing:  Fraser/Ray K.
Rating:  NC-17 for the sex
Genre:  Angst, drama, humor, fluff, tent!sex, case!fic--it's a long story.  There are a lot of genres.  
Length:  Huge.  about 52,000 words total. 
Warnings:  Sex, death, happy ending.  (The death is the one mentioned in the summary; there aren't any surprise ones.)


Summary:  It's ten years after the events of CoTW (in other words, the present day).  After the Quest, Fraser and Ray went back to their regular lives--Fraser as a Mountie in Deline, NWT and Ray as a detective in Chicago, IL.  Every year they take their vacation time together and look for the hand of Franklin, the reaching out one, and when they run out of time they put a pin in the map and the next year they pick up where they left off.  The story begins with Diefenbaker dies and the whole house of cards crumbles.  Ray and Fraser have an adventure, confront their feelings, and rebuild their lives on a more solid foundation. 

Note:  The story is in four major parts, which had to be further divided because of LJ's posting limit.  Story is complete except for some editing of the later parts, and will be going up over the course of the week.  Research notes are here.  (Tons of juicy links.)

Edit: Oh, and I almost forgot to say, thanks to primroseburrowsand j_s_cavalcante for beta!

Notes: I did a lot of research for this story. A lot of what I found didn’t make its way into the story, but it was worthwhile, and a little bit of fun. Here are some of the sites I looked at.

“Ray.” Fraser rushed out to the car to meet him. “I’ve just made a rather startling discovery.”

Ray closed his eyes for a second. From Fraser, that could mean anything from “Turnbull wears a leather corset under his uniform at all times” to “a rare species of dust mite is living in the Consulate drapes.”

Once Fraser had gotten into the car, he said, “What discovery?” He’d have to find out sooner or later. Even if it was the Turnbull thing, which it better not be.