{"id":2579,"date":"2016-01-27T03:17:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T03:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/?p=2579"},"modified":"2016-01-27T04:19:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T04:19:15","slug":"fic-a-change-would-do-you-good-ds-gen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/?p=2579","title":{"rendered":"Fic: A Change Would Do You Good (dS\/DW, gen)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Author&#8217;s note:<\/strong> Inspired by this post on Tumblr:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"tumblr-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/embed.tumblr.com\/embed\/post\/rSjWDwjjThXzrELas62iZw\/125985251520\" data-did=\"2e982949b96740b38155644ac3f7c0ddca813267\"  ><a href=\"http:\/\/animate-mush.tumblr.com\/post\/125985251520\/i-was-joking-that-ray-was-going-to-regenerate\">http:\/\/animate-mush.tumblr.com\/post\/125985251520\/i-was-joking-that-ray-was-going-to-regenerate<\/a><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/secure.assets.tumblr.com\/post.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Title is from the Sheryl Crow song. It may still be going around on Tumblr as &#8220;Raygeneration&#8221; though because I posted it in a hurry before I actually THOUGHT of a good title. *g*<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Ma\u2019d always told him he\u2019d know the difference when it happened.<\/p>\n<p>Ray hadn\u2019t quite believed her. He\u2019d had more than his fair share of brushes with death\u2014most of them since he\u2019d taken up with one Benton Fraser\u2014and he\u2019d been just as clueless every time whether this was it or not.<\/p>\n<p>This was definitely it.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it was the way he could feel his heart slowing down even though it should be speeding up, as panicked as he was. Damn it, he wasn\u2019t ready for this. Maybe he\u2019d pushed his luck successfully one too many times and somehow had convinced himself it was never gonna happen.<\/p>\n<p>Ray\u2019s veins started to sing. Oh, this was definitely happening, all right.<\/p>\n<p>Dimly he could hear Fraser shouting for an ambulance. He sounded terrified, frightened in a way that Fraser just didn\u2019t get. Crap. Benny. He hadn\u2019t warned Benny. Fumbling with a hand that was rapidly losing feeling, he nevertheless managed to get a grip on the sleeve of Fraser\u2019s uniform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBenny, no. No ambulance. Not this time.\u201d His voice sounded weirdly calm. Maybe to make up for how calm he really didn\u2019t feel.<\/p>\n<p>Fraser\u2019s face swam into his view and the distress on it made him feel mildly ill. \u201cRay, you need to save your strength,\u201d he insisted urgently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. No, listen to me, Benny&#8230;\u201d Damn it. It was gonna happen before he got a chance to explain if Fraser kept interrupting. \u201cThis is important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser looked stricken, but nodded.<\/p>\n<p>A little bit of the tension ebbed out of Ray\u2019s body. \u201cMy family&#8230;my family\u2019s not exactly from around here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser frowned, bewildered by the apparent non sequitir. \u201cYes, I\u2019m aware your grandparents were immigrants from Italy\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Italy,\u201d Ray interrupted. Okay, so it was rude, but he could already feel an unfamiliar warmth starting to spread through him. He had to get this out first. \u201cLittle further away. Like a few billion miles further.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d Fraser said helplessly. With his free hand, he was still trying to staunch the bleeding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know how I joke that you\u2019re from another planet?\u201d He coughed, and tasted more than blood in his mouth. Shit, he was almost out of time. \u201cWell, so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRay, I hardly think this is the time or place for a joke. You may be dying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was definitely dying, but he didn\u2019t have time to explain why that wasn\u2019t a bad thing. Instead Ray just squeezed Fraser\u2019s hand hard. \u201cIt\u2019s okay, Benny. I\u2019m gonna be okay. I\u2019m just gonna be\u2026different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean, diff\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray didn\u2019t get a chance to answer that. Suddenly every cell in his body was exploding and he was screaming. Jesus, that hurt. It hurt like a son of a bitch. Why hadn\u2019t Ma warned him about that part? About bones shrinking and skin tightening and his skull rearranging itself. And not just his skull, but his brain too. He felt like he was being taken apart and reassembled from the inside out. Probably because he was.<\/p>\n<p>Then, suddenly it was over and Fraser was staring at him like he was a stranger.<\/p>\n<p>Ray sat up, suddenly. His hand flew to the hole in his dress shirt and he stuck his finger through it, marveling at the feel of unmarked skin. \u201cSweet!\u201d he exclaimed. Energy buzzed through him like electricity. Was this seriously what he\u2019d been so freaked out about? Right, because not dying was such a downer. He started patting himself all over, a thrill going through him all over again when he reached his head. \u201cBetter nose, that\u2019s something.\u201d He kept going, and just about crowed when he touched his scalp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey, I\u2019ve got hair!\u201d Grinning, Ray pivoted his head to grin at Fraser. \u201cWhat color is it? Tell me it\u2019s not brown again. Brown\u2019s boring. And if you\u2019re gonna shake things up, you gotta do it right, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The look in Fraser\u2019s eyes was all it took to kill his good mood. Ray\u2019s stomach took a nose dive into his shoes. (And speaking of his shoes, what had he been thinking? What was he, some sort of style pig? The whole outfit was gonna have to go, and not just because of the bullet hole.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are you?\u201d Fraser demanded in a voice that was at once confused, horrified, and worst of all, utterly lost.<\/p>\n<p>Ray forced a smile onto his face. \u201cWhat do you mean, who am I? I\u2019m Ray. I told you things were gonna be a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser sounded like he was choking on something. \u201cAll I know is that a moment ago, I was speaking to Ray Vecchio&#8211;who was very near to death, I might add. And then there was this burst of golden light and you appeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray nodded. Fuck, he hadn\u2019t considered that. What if Fraser didn\u2019t like the new him? He didn\u2019t think he could handle that. \u201cRight. That\u2019s what I meant by different. I regenerated. See, my folks were from this planet called Gallifrey, see? Only they did something, broke the law or something, and they got exiled here. To Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever you are, you\u2019re not making any sense,\u201d Fraser answered reproachfully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, well, I learned from the best.\u201d Ray gave him a cheeky grin that was only a little bit fake. \u201cLook, I\u2019ll prove it to you. Take me back to the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think that would be wise, under the circumstances\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Geez, Fraser was really not getting this. \u201cLook, I\u2019m not gonna hurt anybody. They\u2019re my family.\u201d On an impulse, he pulled his gun out of its holster and offered it to Fraser. \u201cTake that, if it makes you feel better. But I guarantee you, you take me back to the house and they\u2019ll tell you the same thing I\u2019m telling you. That it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser still looked dubious, but nodded. He tucked Ray\u2019s gun into the empty browning holster at the waist of his uniform, then looked down and held out a hand. \u201cIn that case, I\u2019ll require Ray\u2019s backup weapon as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray shrugged and bent down to empty his ankle holster. \u201cSatisfied?\u201d he asked once the gun was in Fraser\u2019s hands. He dug in his pocket for his keys and clambered to his feet, heading for the Riv. Funny how it didn\u2019t look quite as appealing as it had an hour ago. Huh. \u201cYou coming?\u201d he hollered over his shoulder to Fraser.<\/p>\n<p>+<\/p>\n<p>The first thing Frannie did when she answered the door was frown at him. \u201cCan I help you?\u201d she asked. She moved instinctively to block the door, folding her arms and casting a suspicious glance in Fraser\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n<p>Great, not her too. At least she\u2019d be easier to convince. \u201cC\u2019mon, Frannie, it\u2019s me. Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes widened. \u201cOh my God. You did it, didn\u2019t you?\u201d She smacked him on the arm, and Ray was pleasantly surprised to discover he felt no compulsion to whine about it. \u201cJeez, Ray, did you not listen to a word Ma said about trying to stay in one piece for at least the first century?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray snorted. \u201cI\u2019m a cop. It\u2019s a dangerous line of work. Especially with this guy around.\u201d He jerked a thumb in Fraser\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcuse me, Francesca,\u201d Fraser interjected, stepping up to Ray\u2019s side. \u201cForgive me for interrupting, but are you saying that this man is, indeed, your brother, Ray Vecchio?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frannie shrugged. \u201cWell, I suppose I could be wrong, but&#8230;\u201d She gestured for Ray to come closer. He obeyed, and she laid her hand first on one side of his chest, then the other. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s him,\u201d she answered in a dry voice. \u201cUnless there\u2019s some other Gallifreyan running around impersonating him for God only knows what reason. Ma always said the second heart shows up with the first regeneration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser made a startled movement with his head that was sort of the reverse of a pigeon: jerking it suddenly back instead of forward. \u201cSecond heart?\u201d he echoed.<\/p>\n<p>Frannie shoved Ray towards him. \u201cFeel it for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser did as directed, only not with his palm. Instead, he placed his ear against Ray\u2019s chest. When he straightened up, he didn\u2019t look any less confused. \u201cRay, you have two hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray could feel his face light up like a Christmas tree. \u201cHey, you called me Ray!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser shook his head, still looking lost. \u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d he confessed, and the strain in his voice showed just how much he meant that.<\/p>\n<p>Frannie rolled her eyes. \u201cWhat\u2019d you do, just spring it on him?\u201d She hit Ray again and he scowled back at her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Stop that!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Frannie turned her attention fully back to Fraser. \u201cOkay, so were you actually there for the change?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8230;suppose I was,\u201d Fraser answered helplessly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen there you go,\u201d she answered with satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>Fraser blinked.<\/p>\n<p>Ray groaned. \u201cFrannie, somehow I don\u2019t think that\u2019s very helpful.\u201d He turned to Fraser. \u201cOkay, look, here\u2019s the deal. Like I started to say before, Ma and Pop were from this planet called Gallifrey, which is like, a bunch of light years away. Now, Gallifrey\u2019s kind of super advanced, but they\u2019re also kinda super uptight, you get me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser frowned. Okay, so maybe uptight might not\u2019ve been the best choice of words. \u201cNot entirely, but go on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray grimaced. \u201cOkay, so the folks in charge have a bunch of rules. And not like laws-rules, just rules for the heck of it. Ma and Pop broke a couple of those rules\u2014\u201d If Pop had been the ass on Gallifrey that he\u2019d been on Earth, it was probably more than a couple. Thank God Pop had been on his last regeneration when he\u2019d kicked it five years ago. \u201c\u2014so they got kicked out. And dumped here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis still doesn\u2019t explain how you&#8230;\u2018regenerated,\u2019 as you described it,\u201d Fraser objected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, it does,\u201d Ray insisted. \u201cBecause it\u2019s this trick, y\u2019see. Way back a bunch of centuries ago, a bunch of Gallifreyans\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTime Lords,\u201d Frannie corrected.<\/p>\n<p>Ray glared at her. \u201cJust \u2018cause they call themselves that, don\u2019t mean I gotta. Anyway, these guys decided that if they were ever gonna accomplish all the crazy stuff they wanted to do, they\u2019d have to be immortal. Or damn near to it, anyway. So they genetically engineered this code or something and implanted it into their DNA. And what this code does, is every time a Gallifreyan gets real close to dying, it kinda, what\u2019s the word for it? Reboots the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser looked pained. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it have been simpler to create some sort of healing mechanism, such as when a lizard loses its tail?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray shrugged. \u201cYeah, well, apparently they aren\u2019t big on simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll right, let me see if I begin to understand.\u201d The confusion was beginning to fade from Fraser\u2019s face, but not the disappointment. \u201cYour parents are from another planet, and thus you have alien DNA. This alien DNA was at some point in its history programmed so that, in the event you come close to death, it restores you by essentially transforming you into a whole new person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray nodded. \u201cBasically, yeah. Only I got all the memories of the old me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser hesitated a moment before asking the next question. \u201cAnd there is no way to reverse the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray flinched, stung. \u201cNo. You could kill me again, I guess, but it wouldn\u2019t bring the old me back. You\u2019d just wind up with another new one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frannie sighed. \u201cY\u2019know, it might be a little late to be thinking of this, but we probably shouldn\u2019t be having this conversation on the front stoop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray flushed again and Fraser nodded, grimacing. \u201cYes, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frannie shepherded them both into the house and into the living room with thankfully minimal incident. The closest they came to trouble was when Maria walked by and raised an eyebrow. \u201cWho\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRay regenerated,\u201d Frannie answered, resigned.<\/p>\n<p>Maria rolled her eyes. \u201cFigures. Always knew he\u2019d never make it to his hundredth birthday.\u201d Then, thankfully, she left them alone.<\/p>\n<p>Pretty soon, Ray found himself perched on the edge of the sofa while Fraser stood awkwardly across from him, looking from him to Frannie as if hoping to wake up. It only took a few minutes before Ray couldn\u2019t take it. \u201cLook, just say it, okay? You want the old me back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say that,\u201d Fraser disagreed with another grimace. \u201cI simply&#8230;haven\u2019t had time to become accustomed to the new you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray wondered if that sounded as fake to Fraser as it did to him.<\/p>\n<p>Frannie threw her hands up. \u201cLook, I\u2019m gonna go tell Ma so she doesn\u2019t freak out when she comes down and finds a blond Polish guy in her living room. You two work out&#8230;whatever it is you have to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI look Polish?\u201d Ray bounced up from his seat and almost ran to the mirror to stare at his new face for the first time. \u201cHuh. Not bad. Kinda an improvement, if you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser made a noise that almost certainly wasn\u2019t intentional.<\/p>\n<p>Ray turned back to him. \u201cLook, Frase, I\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t die back there, and I\u2019m really sorry I didn\u2019t tell you sooner what was gonna happen instead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time Fraser\u2019s voice was quietly horrified. \u201cPlease don\u2019t ever apologize for not dying, Ray. I\u2019m sorry if anything I said led you to believe I would feel otherwise. It\u2019s merely&#8230;a lot to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, well you should try it from my end, sometime,\u201d he retorted. He was still mesmerized by the face in the mirror. Not just the face, either. He\u2019d lost at least a couple of inches, based on where that face was hanging in the glass, and based on the way his pants were bunching up around his ankles. But he\u2019d gained&#8230;bulk wasn\u2019t quite the right word. He was still skinny, but he was more wiry now.<\/p>\n<p>Fraser raised both eyebrows. \u201cFair enough,\u201d he conceded. \u201cWhat do you intend to do now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That finally dragged Ray\u2019s attention away from his new reflection. \u201cHow do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, it seems logical to assume you would not wish to entrust your secret to the entirety of the 27th Division,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cI\u2019m honored that you chose to trust me with it.\u201d He didn\u2019t point out that Ray hadn\u2019t exactly had a whole lot of choice at the time. But hey, at least it\u2019d happened in front of Fraser and not the entire 2-7.<\/p>\n<p>Ray winced again. Yeah, that was a pretty logical assumption. It was a good thing Fraser\u2019d thought of it, because he hadn\u2019t. \u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, do you intend to apply for employment elsewhere? Perhaps even leave Chicago?\u201d At least Fraser didn\u2019t sound thrilled by either prospect; that was something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI, uh, hadn\u2019t really thought about it,\u201d Ray admitted. \u201cCouldn\u2019t I just go back to work and pretend to be somebody else? I know a buncha guys who could work up a new ID for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser nodded slowly. \u201cVery well. Only how do you intend to explain Ray Vecchio\u2019s apparent absence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray shrugged. \u201cWe can, uh, I dunno, say I got reassigned to some hot shot undercover deal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser pursed his lips and tapped them thoughtfully with one finger. \u201cIt just may work,\u201d he admitted. \u201cYou\u2019re confident in the ability of these \u2018guys\u2019 you know to create an impenetrable backstory for you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded. \u201cYeah, these guys could make like I was the Queen of England and people would buy it. They\u2019re that good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser sighed and tugged at his ear. \u201cWell. As much as I don\u2019t find the idea of you utilizing less than legal means to create a new identity particularly appealing, I suppose it is preferable to the alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou mean that?\u201d Ray asked, trying not to sound too eager. \u201cI mean\u2026you wanna keep working with me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time Fraser\u2019s smile, though weak, seemed a lot more genuine. \u201cWell, as I said; it may take some getting used to. But it appears that you are, in fact, still my partner. And my best friend. I would be a poor friend indeed if I allowed the circumstances, however bizarre, to alter that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray crossed the room to him in a few short steps, beaming. He pulled Fraser into a hug, then let go and slapped him on the back. \u201cGreat. So now we just gotta think of a new name for me. Frannie says I look Polish; know any Polish names?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fraser pursed his lips and clasped his hands behind his back. \u201cWell, there is the rather infamous Stanley Kowalski, from the play, <em>A Streetcar Named Desire<\/em>&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ray grinned. \u201cAwesome! I love Brando.\u201d It looked like everything was gonna be okay after all.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><strong>End note:<\/strong> I may have played a little fast and loose with regeneration canon, but then so does Doctor Who, so I think I&#8217;m good. \ud83d\ude09 I got the &#8220;the second heart shows up after the first regeneration&#8221; thing from somewhere, but I don&#8217;t remember if it was canon or another fic. I used it because I figured otherwise Ray would&#8217;ve gotten found out one of the many times he wound up in the hospital in S1-2. \ud83d\ude09<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author&#8217;s note: Inspired by this post on Tumblr: http:\/\/animate-mush.tumblr.com\/post\/125985251520\/i-was-joking-that-ray-was-going-to-regenerate Title is from the Sheryl Crow song. It may still be going around on Tumblr as &#8220;Raygeneration&#8221; though because I posted it in a hurry before I actually THOUGHT of a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/?p=2579\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[759,159],"tags":[113,914,124,120,929,761,764,204,112,923,913,762],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2579"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2584,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579\/revisions\/2584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azar.ink-and-quill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}