"What do we do now?" Frederick asked his wife.
"I have no idea."
"Let's just reject it and pretend we didn't get the house."
The two heard someone clear their throat and turned around to see Frasier and Nora by the kitchen table. The two heads of the family sat and waved over their son and daughter-in-law. "Do you want this house?" Nora asked.
"I don't know. Do we?" Frederick asked the woman.
"Why are you asking me?"
"We're just trying to avoid upsetting you," Meg said.
"The six of you need to live your own lives as your own family. If you want the house then I want you to take it," Nora said.
"I agree," Frasier added.
"Why don't we talk to the kids and see what they think?" Frederick suggested.
"Let's go," Meg and Frederick got up and went to the living room to talk to their daughters.
Moments later the two little girls walked into the kitchen. Lina sat next to Frasier and Elie next to Nora, "we're staying," Elie announced.
"What?" Nora was stunned. She thought for sure the family would want to move out.
"We are going to live here as one big family," Lina said.
"We don't want to leave our grandparents," Elie added.
Meg and Frederick walked back in, "you two are really going to let your teenagers decide whether or not you take a house?" Frasier asked.
"Well, we didn't want to move either, but we figured they would work you both better," Frederick answered.
"Is it alright if we stay?" Meg asked unsurely.
"It's more than alright," Nora smiled.
"To tell you the truth, we were both depressed after you left last time. We missed having you all here."
"You mean you missed having your grandchildren here," Frederick corrected.
"Yes, but I was trying to be nice."
"We missed having all of you here, and I mean our children and grandchildren," Nora said.
Over the next two years, the Crane family had to deal with their share of loss. The first member they lost was Martin. Nine months later, John passed away followed by Elka four months later. It was very difficult for everyone. Even though they hadn't all been blood, they still considered one another family and grieved for each one of them. Sam and Nora had only had their parents for a short time and their loss more difficult.
Elie and Lina were now twenty-three and in graduate school, Finn was a sophomore in college, and Enzo was a freshman in college. Five months after Enzo left for college, Frasier began feeling a bit under the weather.
"Frasier, you should make a doctor's appointment," Nora told her husband one morning.
"I'm fine darling."
"Now you sound like me." Frasier started coughing, so Nora got out of bed and went to get him a glass of water.
"Darling, I don't want you trying to take care of me."
"I got you a glass of water. It's not as if I carried you to the bathroom."
"You are 82 years old and have a TBI."
"That doesn't mean I can't take care of you."
"But you shouldn't?"
"Frasier, you have been taking care of me for forty-eight years. Just shut up and let me help you. I promise to let Frederick do all the heavy lifting."
"Fine, but I still think you shouldn't."
Over the next few days, Frasier became more ill.
"Dad, maybe you should go to the hospital?" Frederick suggested.
"Give it a couple more days."
"You're 84!"
"I know," Frasier responded.
Nora had become a bit more exhausted helping her son take care of Frasier. Frederick tried to do as much as possible, but sometimes Nora did beat him to it.
"Do you need anything?" Frederick asked his father.
"Will you go and check on your mama? She's been gone a while."
Frederick walked down the hall and found the woman sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. "Mama," Frederick put his hand on her back and she jumped, "sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's alright," Nora replied.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm just tired."
"I can finish the soup. Why don't you go lie down?"
"Thank you," Frederick helped the woman up and made sure that she at least made it to the bedroom alright.
"There you are," Frasier said when he saw his wife, "I was beginning to worry about you."
Nora walked over to her husband and noticed his breathing was worse, "I was making soup and decided to take a break. I guess I sat longer than I thought."
"Climb into bed and rest some."
"That's what Frederick sent me here for. He's going to finish the soup."
"Darling, you really should be using your walker."
"It's easier for me to do things with my cane."
"I know, but you can't use your cane anymore. It doesn't support you enough. Look at how badly your arm is shaking. I just don't want you to fall and get hurt."
"I love how you're telling me what I should do for my own health and wellbeing, but you won't listen to anyone about yours."
"That's different," Frasier argued.
"How?" Nora noticed her husband was gasping for air, "Frasier? Frasier?" Nora began to panic, "Frederick! Help!" Nora held her husband's hand and tried to calm him. Frederick rushed into the room and called for the paramedics. Once they left with Frasier, Nora wanted to follow.
"Mama, I think you should stay here."
Nora was in tears, "I can't," she said, "what if something happens to him and I'm not there? Look, I'll take my walker or wheelchair. I'll do whatever you say, but I have to go to him."
Frederick took the woman into his arms, "okay, okay, shh." Frederick and Nora went to the hospital and Nora used her wheelchair without argument. Frederick figured that would be the easier choice in case they had to walk far to the hospital room. The doctor came out and told them that Frasier had pneumonia and coded in the ambulance en route to the hospital. He was stable now but was sedated for the time being. They wanted to give his antibiotics some time to start working before waking him up.
"You're going to make me go home and sleep, aren't you?"
"The doctor said he would let us know when they start waking dad up." Frederick saw his mama start to crumble, "but seeing as how this is a hospital, I don't see the harm in you being here during visitor hours."
"Thank you," Nora told her son.
"If I were in your position and that was Meg, I'd want the same thing. I'm going to stay with you, though. You aren't a patient, but this is a safe place to be when you decided to start doing too much."
Nora smiled, "you know me so well."
That night when Nora went home, she couldn't sleep. She grabbed her walker and wandered out to the kitchen where she sat at the table. The stress from the past few hours was causing Nora's entire body to shake. "What are you doing up?" Elie asked as she walked into the kitchen. She had moved back in when she started going to medical school nearby.
"I can't fall asleep unless grandpa is holding me," Nora said with her voice a bit shaky.
"I'm not grandpa, but I'm willing to give it a try."
Nora smiled and moved to stand. Elie supported her grandmother by placing one arm around her waist and the other held her arm as she slowly stood. "Why is that getting more exhausting?"
"Well, I hate to break it to you grandma, but you are getting older."
Nora softly laughed, "thank you for doing this."
"You don't have to thank me." Elie felt her grandmother running out of energy, "are you alright?"
Nora put her head down, "I think I'm just very tired."
"Can you make it the rest of the way? We're almost there."
"I think so," Nora began walking again and made it to the bedroom. However, she stopped unable to make it to the bed.
"Put your arm around me," Elie told her grandmother as she placed an arm around Nora's waist. Nora didn't know why the girl told her to do that, but she did. Elie lifted her petite grandmother and carried her the remaining way to the bed. Once Nora was tucked in, Elie climbed in on her grandfather's side.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"You're welcome, grandma. Now, let's try and help you fall asleep." Elie took the woman into her arms and both easily fell asleep within minutes.
The next day when Frederick and Nora went to the hospital, the doctor told them they were going to start turning the sedation down. Just before visiting hours ended, Frasier woke up.
"Thank God," Nora said when she saw her husband open his eyes.
"How long have I been out?"
"Since yesterday," Nora answered. "Before you ask I will tell you that I came here yesterday with Frederick in my wheelchair," she gestured to her wheelchair, "and left when visiting hours were over. I told him I would do whatever he said, but that I had to be here with you."
"That makes me happy, but why can't you do that with me?"
"It's different when the person who makes my life worth living is on the brink of dying."
"I'm sorry I scared you, darling."
"I guess payback really is a bitch."
"You call this payback? This is one visit compared to how many with you?"
Nora chuckled, "I don't know. I lost track after a while."
"I understand your wanting to be here. There's nothing that would have kept me from sitting by your bedside any of those times." Frasier could tell that the stress of the past two days was taking its toll on his wife, "you need to get some rest."
"I know," Nora said, "I'm not shaking as badly as I was yesterday. Elie helped me to fall asleep."
"It's amazing how dependant we've become on one another to sleep at night. Both of us can fall asleep fine during the day if we take a nap, but not at night."
Nora held onto her husband's hand and bed railing as she slowly stood and leaned in, kissing her husband, and then placing her forehead on his, "I love you so much," she whispered.
"I love you too."
Elie was in her second year of medical school when she discovered that she was two months pregnant. She found out a few months after her grandfather had recovered from his pneumonia and her grandmother had recovered from the bout of stress she had been dealing with. She honestly didn't know what to do. She met her sister for lunch to see if she could help.
"Who's the father?"
"I don't really want to talk about him."
"Why not?"
"It was a horrible experience and I'd rather not."
"He hit it and quit it?"
"Really?" Elie stared at her sister who shrugged, "if you are suggesting that it was a one night stand and he wants nothing more to do with me or the baby then, he hit it and quit it. I don't know what to do."
"I'm here whatever you decide."