All the Comforts of Home

Fraser/Kowalski Fanfiction
Title:	All the Comforts of Home
Author(s):	Denise Raymond
Date(s):	circa 2000
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	due South
External Links:	link at dueSlash, link at DSA, link at AO3
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All the Comforts of Home is a F/K story by Denise Raymond.

One of the most influential F/K stories of all time, this epic novel spawned a long-awaited sequel, Chicago Tales, and a prequel, Ray Saved From Drowning. There had long been rumors of a third story in the works.

All the Comforts of Home has a brilliant plot device: Fraser and Ray K, who are planning to be married in the Northwestern Territories in a Salish ceremony, are in the middle of a pre-wedding sacrificial task: they must not meet or talk about each other for a month. Enter Ray V, who must figure out what's going on, and whose presence is almost destined to provide a disruption.

The author frequently referred to the story as the "DM"/ Damn Masterpiece, and she was besieged for a sequel until she produced Chicago Tales. The story was widely recced in the F/K side of Due South fandom and was considered a must-read.

In 2012 the story was podficced as part of Podfic Big Bang by seussian, with cover art drawn by weepingrockrock.

Series

• All the Comforts of Home
• Chicago Tales
• Ray Saved from Drowning

Reactions and Reviews

A massive post-CotW story. Ray Vecchio goes North to find Fraser because he needs time to think about his sinking relationship with Stella. He finds a lot more than just Fraser. The first guy he runs into is Ray Kowalski and things are not as he thought they would be

It's a long tale about Fraser and Kowalski undergoing a ceremony where they can't see each other for month and at the same time dealing with Vecchio who's not thrilled about his best friend turning out to be gay -- it's a rocky road that leads to a better understanding of himself, his own marriage, and his willingness to accept Fraser's happiness, even if it clashes with his own look on life.

The sequel Chicago Tales is just as wonderful and deals with the accept or in some cases the lack of it, from their friends in Chicago. They both have great character voices, especially the Vecchio parts.

ximeria 

This is probably my absolute DS favorite. I swear Denise was channeling these guys to get their characterizations so right. In this one Ray Vecchio is having problems in his marriage to Stella, so he goes to visit his best friend Fraser. From there it unfolds into a beautiful story that revolves around a marriage ritual that he disrupts involving Ray Kowalski. The beauty of this story is how it unfolds, so I'm not telling you any more would spoil it.

Vecchio comes up to Canada to ask Fraser's advice about his failing marriage to Stella. He is shocked to discover that Fraser and RayK are lovers - but why are they behaving so oddly and why won't they even mention the other one's name?

"Y'know, Loomis, that joke just gets funnier every goddamned time," a voice said, and my gut turned to ice. Oh, no. Oh, no no no no, I prayed, this has to be a coincidence, some sort of hallucination. Maybe I dropped acid some time and never knew it. Please let it be that, Holy Mother, please let it not be a scrawny rat bag named –

"Stanley Kowalski?" I croaked, rounding the corner to the front of the store.

This is a fascinating story. I love the intensity of the relationship between Kowalski and Fraser is gradually revealed and the OC's that populate this small Canadian town are wonderfully well drawn.

Highlights: Ray moves up to Canada. Coming out, marriage, family etc. Low Points: OOC Ray scenes.

I just love this story. The characterizations in this are so good you could swear that Denise must have just been channeling the boys. In this one RayV comes to Canada because his marriage to Stella (the ex Mrs. Kowalski) is on the rocks and he needs the advice of his best friend to help him. When he gets there he finds out that RayK is still around and that Fraser is out on patrol, but will be back soon. He finds that RayK is getting married, want to make any guesses as to who to? Hmmm? He then has to deal with his issues of homophobia and that his best friend is in love with a man. I love the difference in the way he talks to RayK about his feelings about this and how he softens up his language when talking to Ben. The points of view vary in this one and the story unfolds slowly where you learn what is going on piece by piece. I fell in love with this story the first time I read it and have been recommending it to everyone I can. It is a must read. New to the fandom and totally fabulous.

You know, I don't recommend novel-length stories very often, probably because I have the attention span of a gnat, but this one is so, so good. Three different perspectives, three different and distinct voices - Vecchio, Kowalski, and Fraser - tell this lovely story of change, and acceptance, friendship and love. I was absolutely enthralled - terrific dialogue, and what a story. Yum.

I have a special fondness for long, involved, post-Call of the Wild stories, particularly when they deal with established relationship issues - hence my first rec, Busted and Tapestry by anonymous co. The All the Comforts of Home series by Denise Raymond is another of the stars of this genre, and certainly it's one of the most original.

First, it's a completely unique premise. Ray Vecchio, whose marriage to Stella Kowalski is on the rocks, comes to Canada looking for Fraser, and who should he find but Ray Kowalski - who's less than happy to see him, and not just for the reasons you'd expect. I'll leave it at that so as not to give too much of the story away, but it's definitely an original and intriguing premise. In addition, it's written from three different points of view: Ray Vecchio's, Ray Kowalski's, and Fraser's. This could be a setup for disaster, but it works because Denise has a great command of the voices - each is distinct and true - and the emotions. And the portrayal of Ray Vecchio is particularly well done, especially for a Fraser/Kowalski story.

The story is engrossing and well written, with great dialogue and depth of feeling, perfect pacing, an interesting and beautiful setting, and wonderfully developed secondary characters. There are occasional flashes of humor and many moments of great tenderness, sweetness, and sensitivity - in particular, in both this and the sequel, the author deals unusually well and thoroughly (for a fanfic) with some of the issues that men who enter m/m relationships later in life might actually face - like homophobia, intolerance, and the acceptance (or lack thereof) of family and friends. All the Comforts also manages to be hot, hot, hot, even though Ray K and Fraser spend most of the story separated. The scene with a shirtless, frustrated Ray K violently chopping wood has become a classic in the fandom!

I know some people think slashing the mountie with anyone is like sacriledge or something. I thought that too, at first, then I thought hell he's human. He's not some superman with no feelings, soul, or desires. That was well proved with the Victoria incident. So why the hell not. I don't think Fraser really has a prejudicial bone in his body, so I don't think he would be freaked by the guy/guy thing. Besides Paul Gross is the coolest. I read some article somewhere where he talked about not caring about slash, understanding why we would want to do it, and basically giving consent to write whatever we wanted. What a guy. So that said.

I don't find alot of Due South stories I absolutely love, though I keep trying. But, I was checking my e-mail today and came across a story announcement and link to this one. I knew part way through that I was gonna love it and saved it for my own personal reading right then.

I loved it so much I just had to rec it here.

The story is called *All the Comforts of Home* by Denise Raymond. It is NC-17 rated and the BF/RK pairing. No real warnings.

I only read BF/RK stuff, I'm a one true pairing kindof girl and this is my prefered one for DS fic. I just don't think Vecchio, David Marciano is that cute, though I do admit he has some amazing green eyes, mentions that in this story briefly too. Might not be much to look at, but he does have nice eyes. I think Callum Keith Rennie is gorgeous, however, and better suited for Benny and his weirdness.

This wonderful story starts out with Ray V coming to Canada seeking some help with problems in his marriage to Stella. He's looking for an ear to listen to him and a shoulder to cry on. What he finds is something completely not within the spectrum of what he anticipates. He has to find a way to deal with finding out Benny and Ray are a couple and a few other surprises. Ray and Benny also have to come to terms with the surprise that he is married to Stella. The characterizations in this are wonderful. You can just see each of them so clearly, I swear Denice must have been channeling the guys. The story is enthralling and deals so believably with Ray V trying to deal with finding out his best friend is in love with another guy. I really couldn't say enough to describe it, it is just too good. The story unfolds beautifully and at a great pace, where you get pieces of it and the characters revealed to you each step along the way and all revelations to what is going on are timed perfectly.

Has a great ending to. The sex takes a while before you get to it and it is more loving than anything. Once you get there, you don't even care it took so long, or how graphic it is. The relationship set up is so good, you just want to read more about it. Definitely more romance than smut. Not sappy either, a true genuine feeling of true love and happiness is between the boys. It's wonderful, give it a try.

Why You Should Read This: Okay, it’s a well established fact that I have rather a fixation on happy endings and curtain fics. This is charming, entertaining, and deliciously long. Better still, it has a sequel, – the sequel has a bit more smut and the very best sort of hurt/comfort.

I'm a child of the instant gratification generation. (First time, shmirst time - I want them to fuck *now*). But every once in a while a really special story comes along, and I can groove to the tune of slow-burn. Like True North, AtCoH is one of those onces. (Of course, any fic with a shirtless Ray chopping wood is a good fic to my mind).

This is one of those fics that stuck with me over time. One I thought about again and again. Guys, I’m notoriously bad with leaving comments, but here it is: ALKJFOI4TOIJEIFJOIWEJF’EIJ[QOWJINF. Let’s get into that, shall we? Ray Vecchio (the real Ray Vecchio) flys up north sometime after the events of the last episode, and is shocked to find his best friend to be in a relationship with Ray Kowalski. Meanwhile, Ray K and Fraser are knee deep in a engagement ritual. the UST that becomes RST is AMAZEBALLS. If you enjoy pining, give this a go. It’s got a wigged out homophobic Ray V, but like any gentleman, he gets over it for his very best friend.