Disclaimer: This story is written for the private entertainment of fans. The author makes no claims to the series' characters by the creation of this story. Fraser, Vecchio, Kowalski et.al. belong to Alliance, Paul Haggis and all the creative genius who made this show so special. No infringement of any copyrights held by CBS, Alliance, CTV, TNT or any other copyright holders of due SOUTH is intended. No money being made here.
Note to the Readers: Okay, we had an interesting little discussion on one of my fic lists about 'Pizza and Promises', and specifically what happened to the keys Frannie couldn't find. Was Frannie supposed to have them? Should Ben have had them? Anyway, in answer, I wrote a little SNAPSHOT--okay, not a snapshot. I guess it would be more correctly termed a vignette (sp) Whatever! It's short. It's sweet.
Okay, Frannie bought the car, she drove the car, they go to the car wash where Ray gets in the trunk. She drives--where? Was that home? I couldn't tell. Anyway, if she was being followed, I'd assume she'd go right inside--not go to Fraser and hand him the keys! So, where does that leave the keys if they're not in her purse?
What do you think happened to them?
due SOUTH:
Frannie and the Keys
By: Janice R. Sager
E-Mail Me
Frannie was not a morning person--but given the nature of the Vecchio house getting up with the dawn--and the nieces and nephews--was impossible to avoid. Only Ray seemed to have mastered the ability to ignore the shouts and stomping feet as Maria fought to get the kids ready and off to school and daycare, and Ma deftly packed lunches for everyone, supervising the entire chaotic mess.
Frannie just tried to stay out of the way.
She grabbed the paper from Tony as he zipped by out to the car, and spun out of the way as Carlos chased Brianna through the hall on their way to the bus stop, Maria following with the baby as she screamed for them to stop running!
They never stopped running.
The door slammed and Frannie turned back to the kitchen.
The door slammed and Frannie smiled at Ma.
The door slammed and Frannie turned for the coffee pot.
Relative silence suddenly descended and she heaved a small sigh of relief. Part two of the morning was begun and she could actually enjoy it. She poured herself a cup of coffee and laced it liberally with the hazel nut creamer she kept in the fridge door. Nobody else like hazel nut, so it was safe. Relatively safe. Unless they ran out of milk.
She smiled to herself as she listened to Ma humming some tune or other, busy cleaning up the mess from packing the lunches. There were no such things a bologna sandwiches for the Vecchio kids. She turned and reached for her paper on the counter--and froze.
The keys.
Something suddenly crashed to the ground and hot liquid splashed her legs. It barely registered. The keys! My God! She'd left the keys here last night!
"Mi Caro! Frannie! Are you all right?!" Her mother was suddenly at her side, fussing and worried, pulling Frannie away from the spill and broken glass, forcing her to sit in a kitchen chair. Frannie was in shock. She couldn't believe she'd left the keys on the counter top last night.
Everything that had happened the previous night, suddenly hit her. The car wash, the picnic, Benton diving into the lake with a crow bar because she couldn't find --
My God! She could have killed Ray!
"What the hell is going on down here!" Ray suddenly burst into the kitchen. The normal shouts and fuss of getting the kids off to school didn't touch his beauty rest, but breaking glass and his mother's concerned and worried voice had sent a surge of adrenaline through his system.
Frannie couldn't speak. She lifted a shaking hand and pointed.
Ray frowned, taking in her very pale face and the absence of blood, and turned to the countertop. There was the coffee pot, the morning paper and a set of keys. No giant spider or rat waiting to pounce-- He did a sudden double take on the keys and instantly knew what the problem was.
"Oh God!" he hissed and turned back to Frannie. He quickly went over to her and knelt at her side. Ma straightened and stepped away, wringing her hands as she allowed her Raymundo to take charge. She didn't know what was wrong but apparently, he did.
"You left them there when you made up that picnic basket, didn't you?"
Frannie stared at him with wide and haunted eyes, and any thought that he might have still harbored about balling her out for being such a ditz last night vanished. She was tearing herself apart far better than he ever could--or ever wanted to. Instead he sighed and gathered her close, holding her tightly as the tears started to fall and her small frame started to shake.
"It's okay!" he whispered, jerking his head at his mother and asking her to leave. He offered her a small reassuring smile. Ma Vecchio would have the truth out of him by the end of the day, he was sure, but for now her children needed some privacy.
She patted him on the shoulder, trusting him to take care of his sister as he had so many times in the past, and left him to it.
"It's okay," he whispered again. "I'm here! Nothing happened. It's okay!"
***
The End....