"Of a sort," Fraser agreed, though now he was a bit preoccupied. It took him a moment for Ray's words to fully register, but then he blinked and pulled back a bit to look at Ray with a curious, crooked grin. "Ah, so this is all to... to 'loosen me up,' then, is it? I see." There was loose for you, Ray Kowalski -- he was making jokes. And not, he decided firmly, thinking about Chicago, which was thousands of miles and a long time away.