As It Always Should Have Been

Fandom: Due South

Rating: PG

Warnings/Categories: Death Story - AU

Episode Related: Victoria's Secret, Season 1.

Main character: Ray Vecchio.

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me and I don't intend to make any money with them. There are no intentions to infringe the rights of the legal owners.

Notes: This is my first story and is addressed to Adalisa with all my gratitude, because she gave me the courage to write.

To my beta-readers: Birgitt and Connie. They gave the courage to continue with the Dark Spirit. Gracias, Ladies of the Sith.

And for Desi. She said the story wasn't that bad, so here it is.

This story was inpired by two great works: "Caroline's Vigil" of Gloria Lancaster and "On the Basement of the Soul" of Desi (one of my favorite writers). But beside that, Adalisa forced me (LOL) to write it, when she told me her idea for a new story.

By Claudia Aranda.

Ray watched the train for what seemed like an eternity, his only tought being that Fraser was gone. Ray couldn't understand, "He left..."

It had been barely a whisper but Welsh could hear it and realized how shocked Ray was. "Come on, Ray... Let's go home. Border Patrol will take care of it all."

*-----*

Ray did not remember the trip home or going upstairs to his room. It was four in the morning and he sat staring into empty space.

*-----*

At eight o'clock in the morning, Ray put himself into motion, by talking with as many people in the legal departament as he could find, even bringing himself to talk with the States Attorney St. Laurent, but all told him there was nothing he could do. The answer was always the same: He had given his house as bail and he had to pay.

Ray believed that he could die right then and there. He didn't know how he'd explain this to his mother. It would kill her! Leaving their home after all their life there and to be left in the streets was unthinkable.

Ray felt if he was being driving insane.

He never again would believe in all that crap, about doing good works and making sacrifices. What good had it done to him? In just one moment, Fraser had destroyed his whole world. From now on he would be another person. He hoped that Fraser would receive his punishment, because he never would forgive him.

*-----*

Ray walked distractedly, trying to come up with a plan to get out of the problem, when a luxurious car stopped next to him.

"Mister Zuko wants to talk you, Vecchio."

Ray knew them. They were Zuko's men. Those mobs guys had attended the same school as himself and Frankie. The car's door opened and with some fear Ray went over to it. Frankie smiled to him, as is they were great friends.

"Ray, I heard you have some problems and... I have a proposal for you."

Ray listened in silence, it was the only thing he could do.

*-----*

When the train stopped, a beautiful woman got down and made her way to the terminal. She had a very specific destination: the lockers. From one of them she extracted a small suitcase and in a private corner checked out its contents.

Victoria was much more than satisfied, happy in fact. Zuko's plan had been risky and when he proposed it, Victoria was near to refusing it, but it was so good... It had to work!

After so much effort it had worked. Frankie had been as good as his word and Victoria had twice the amount of money that the booty from long years ago was worth. She couldn't complain, she had money, freedom, a new ally and she had taken revenge on that bastard.

Victoria left Fraser's corpse in the Honeymoon compartment. Nobody would found him until the train reached its final destination. The stupid man really had believed that she had come back for him. Men! Always thinking that women were fools and sentimentalists. Victoria didn't have those defects.

Revenge had never been in her mind, because Victoria was an intelligent woman, and she knew that there was no sense in risking all just for something like that. But when the revenge was just a bonus within an excellent plan, well, she couldn't refuse.

It was a shame, she had liked Vecchio, but Zuko had plans for him.

*-----*

That night Frankie ended with the necessary arrangements and he was happy. Ray would be an excellent right arm, like his grandfather Enrico Vecchio had been for Don Giuseppe Zuko, his own grandfather. The tradition had jumped a generation, but that didn't matter.

Now that Irene was divorced he would bring her back. Frankie was sure, that Ray and Irene would get together again and they would end up married. That would seal their pact and life would be as it always should have been.

End