Fic: The First Night (dS; Frannie, Stella)

[butterfly]

Ah, this is actually a story that I wrote a while back for the ds_undercover project. It just took me a bit to remember that I'd never posted it in my own journal.

Title: The First Night
Summary: Frannie decides that she and Stella need a girls' night in. Stella goes along for the ride.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Implied Fraser/Kowalski; Implicit Stella/Vecchio
Timeline: Post-Call of the Wild
Disclaimer: Owned by Alliance Atlantis and not myself.


"And then, he had the nerve to claim that he was trying to teach it to swim!" Miss Vecchio… no, Frannie, finished, her drink spilling slightly as she swept one arm dramatically to the side. Stella put her own glass carefully down on the table, then had to move it when she realized she'd placed it onto the wood.

"And the moral of this story would be?" Stella asked, glancing over at the brandy and wondering if she dared have more.

"That my brother is a lying mink and you deserve to know the sort of man that you're marrying," Frannie said, as if it were the most obvious conclusion in the world.

"Mink?" Stella wondered softly. She reclined against the soft leather of her seat, the corners of her mouth curving up as she studied Frannie. Stella had felt almost commandeered when Frannie had bulled into her office that afternoon and demanded that they go out to dinner to get to know each other, since they were going to be sisters.

She'd been reluctant at the time, but right now, she couldn't remember why. It was such an odd notion, having a sister, but if this is what it was really like, she almost regretted being an only child.

"Right, that rodent," Frannie said with great feeling, baring the satin sheen of her legs as she curled her feet up under her, looking very much at home on Stella's sofa, shoes abandoned long ago. Frannie took another considering swallow of her brandy. "You know, I almost miss having Ray as a brother. It was… I don't know, like a clean slate. Me and Ray were never any good at being friends so it was… nice, to see how that could work."

Stella took the opportunity of Frannie's pause to slip off her own shoes, tossing them over to join Frannie's on the floor. "Are we talking about Ray for a reason?"

"Yeah. Maybe. I don't know." Frannie said. She put her glass down on the table and then looked over at Stella. "I got a postcard today. From Ray and Fraser."

"What's that Mountie dragged my… dragged Ray into this time?" Stella asked, feeling herself losing her smile. Frannie bit her lip, still meeting Stella's gaze. Stella couldn't possible begin to categorize everything that she saw in Frannie's eyes, though she was a bit horrified when she spied something akin to pity. She shook her head lightly, reaching out to touch Frannie's arm. "I just worry. Ray was always such a city boy. I don't see how he can stand being up there, in the cold and the dark."

Frannie shrugged, the thin strap of her dress falling down her shoulder again. She pushed it up casually, her eyes falling to Stella's hand on her arm. "He's having an adventure. Lots of adventures. He sounds happy. And Frase won't let anything happen to him. Fraser takes care of people."

After a long moment, Stella pulled her hand away, feeling somehow as if one of them had missed the point. Maybe they both had. Frannie was only one of many women that Stella knew who fawned over Benton Fraser. "I know that. I may not like the man much, but he'll take care of Ray. They're wonderful friends, even I can admit that."

"Yeah. Great friends, " Frannie said, the dark pink curve of her mouth twisting slightly.

"Great friends," Stella said. She rested her arm against the back of the sofa, where it almost touched Frannie's back. "Was there something interesting in the postcard?"

Frannie laughed, her voice high-pitched, but still somehow charming. "Yeah, actually."

"Were you planning on telling me?" Stella asked, her own voice sounding sharp and surprisingly shrill in comparison. She shifted slightly on the sofa, her arm brushing up against Frannie's skin. "You are the one who brought it up."

"I wasn't planning on saying anything," Frannie said. She bit her lower lip, tongue and teeth wearing away more of her lipstick. "It just came in the mail today. And I've been planning on doing this sisterly bonding for at least a week, now."

"Is it going to interfere?" Stella asked, feeling an odd ache at the thought.

"No… it's just…" Frannie stopped again, looking away from Stella. "I don't know what you'll think. I know what I think, but what I think isn't usually what most people think. And I think that you'll think sorta the way that I think, but I can't be sure. Plus, maybe it's not something that you should be thinking, only I think that it is. But that's me."

Stella licked her lips, trying to sort out just what Frannie had actually said. "You could just tell me and then we could figure it out?"

"I don't know," Frannie said. "I don't think that I should, when I think about it."

Stella scooted closer to Frannie, reaching out to touch Frannie's chin. Frannie looked over at Stella, brown eyes dark with worry. "Just tell me. Please. You can't say all that and not tell me what it's about."

"I don't think that it's a good idea, but if I have to…" Frannie trailed off. Stella kept staring straight into Frannie's eyes. Frannie took a breath, lips parting slightly on the exhale. "Okay. Yeah. You're dragging it out of me. If they ask, it took wild horses." One corner of Frannie's lip curled up, but it didn't really look like a smile to Stella. "It's not that far from the truth."

Stella let out a soft sigh. Finally.

Frannie glanced down, obviously building up courage, then lifted her eyes to Stella again. "They're coming to Chicago for a trip." Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. "No, that's not it. They're coming to Chicago, well, to get Ray's things."

"His things?" Stella asked, her hand dropping from Frannie's face.

Frannie took a deep breath, lips turning up in an uncertain smile. "As of last week, Ray's a Canadian citizen."

~fade to black~