So I wrote this fic for myself so that I could read another Frasier/Roz fic. :) Disclaimer: I do not own Frasier or any of its characters. This fic is complete and will be updated every week. There are 3 parts.
Roz rushed through the lobby of the KPXY studio, clutching her work tote in one hand and smoothing out her new dress with the other as her heels quickly clattered along the marble floor. Located in a newer building, the studio felt more opulent than her old stomping grounds at KACL. Frasier would approve, Roz thought as she glanced at the grandiose chandelier hanging in the entryway with a smirk.
The joy was fleeting, as Roz inwardly groaned as soon as she realized what she had done. She did not need to be thinking about him right now. What she needed was this new job to distract her from the humiliation she had endured at Frasier's apartment last night. Giving Frasier an ultimatum, forcing him to choose between herself and Julia, was a total train wreck that she still had not recovered from. It was all so predictable. Of course he was going to pick that master manipulator over her.
But still, it stung more than she thought it would. Roz didn't know when it happened, but Frasier had become such an important part of her life, so much so that the thought of owning up to her word and never walking through his front door again made her heart sink.
And he had said things that were just so…infuriating. Accusing her of using him as an excuse not to move on to a better job? That was so off base. Roz had never considered Frasier an "excuse." He was her friend. Her best friend, she could admit to herself. Even his elitist antics had quietly shifted from being annoying to endearing to Roz over the years. He was one of the few men who valued her for who she was, not for what she could potentially offer in bed. Contrary to what Frasier may have thought, working at KACL was never a sacrifice to Roz. It was a part of her life that she treasured. True, she hadn't put much thought into advancing her career outside of KACL in the past, largely because of how much she enjoyed working with Frasier. Which she didn't see as a bad thing. But that was over now.
"Roz, welcome to the station!" Woody Wiswell's voice boomed from across the room. "Let me walk you to your office and get you settled in." Roz smiled broadly, feeling relieved again at the knowledge that despite her initial belief, she had not slept with this man in the past. His father was another story, but she could get beyond that awkwardness.
"Good morning, Mr. Wiswell," Roz walked in stride with him, grimacing when he placed his hand on the small of her back, a little too low for her liking.
"Call me Woody," he drawled, leaning in closely. Roz could admit that he was a good-looking guy, but something about the way he assumed that she would welcome him invading her personal space unnerved her. Frasier would never. And the few times he did it was more than welcomed, she thought, thinking back to their encounter at the conference years ago, and then their night together at his place. Why were her thoughts going there, she questioned as she and Mr. Wiswell arrived at her office.
The man finally removed his hands from Roz's back, only to grab her hand. "Take your time getting settled in, your assistant should be in momentarily. Oh, and let me know what your favorite cuisine is. I'd like to take you out to dinner to help you get better acquainted with the position."
Roz fought back an eye roll. "Actually, I need to get back to my daughter tonight, I only have a sitter until 5pm." Once again, Alice saves the day, she thought.
"I guess that's fine for tonight," Mr. Wiswell looked concerned. "But you do know that we will need you working around the clock in order to raise us back to first place in the ratings."
Roz yanked her hand away from his grasp and placed her hands on her hips, gearing for a battle. "I was planning on doing that within the confines of a normal work day."
"We have programming 24/7 Roz, so we will need you on-call 24/7. I'm hoping that won't be an issue. Ah, Clara, there you are," Mr. Wiswell called out to a 20-something year old woman with blonde streaked hair who was taking her time consuming a container of yogurt while ambling about the hallway.
"Bonjour Boss!" Clara put a pep in her step and made her way into Roz's office. She then proceeded to speak to Mr. Wiswell in no less than three languages, their conversation littered with mutual laughs. Roz watched in tepid amusement, hoping to God this was not her assistant. She did not have the patience to train someone barely out of high school. Mr. Wiswell did the introductions, explaining that Clara was part German, French, and Italian, and fluent in all of the above, although her English was a little spotty. And she was Roz's assistant.
Great, Roz thought. "Nice to meet you. Maybe you can start by compiling our analytics on the morning slate of programming."
"Analytics?" Clara repeated the word as if it were the first time she had heard it.
"Our ratings, average number of call-ins for each hour, advertising revenue," Roz listed, hoping a lightbulb would go off at some point. Clara stared blankly for a minute and then announced she would be going on break. Roz looked at Mr. Wiswell beseechingly.
He just shrugged his shoulders. "She's more of a coffee run kind of assistant. But she makes a mean cup of coffee."
"I already have a place that makes my coffee," Roz responded dryly, suddenly tired and uninspired by this place.
Something was missing. And it became more apparent as the day dragged on. Clara proved to be completely useless, and Roz quickly learned that it was more of a laziness problem than a language problem after the young woman spent the better part of the afternoon painting her nails instead of organizing the different guest requests from each program producer.
But beyond that, Roz felt lonely, and she had never felt lonely at KACL. As much as she wanted to avoid ruminating about Frasier, she found her thoughts drifting to him and wondering how he was acclimating with a new producer in the booth. In her booth. Was he missing her at all? She thought back to Frasier saying that he wished she could stay with him at the station forever. But if that's how he felt then why did he pick Julia over her?
Roz rubbed her temples. This had to stop. Julia was his girlfriend, that's why he picked her. You can't compete with that, she thought ruefully. Roz had never really been competitive by nature. She didn't need to be. But something about this entire Julia situation was gnawing at her.
It doesn't matter, Roz thought sadly. Frasier doesn't want to see me anymore. Before she knew it, her eyes started welling up at the profound loss she was experiencing. The thought of not confiding in him, not listening to his musings on high-society nonsense, not hugging him, not being able to look into his eyes again…and the idea that Julia of all people would get to do those things. Roz shuddered. It wasn't right. But she didn't know how to fix it.
After work, Roz stealthily entered Café Nervosa, hoping to find Daphne there but preparing to make a quick escape if she saw Frasier. She did not want to face him until she could get a better handle on her emotions.
No sign of Daphne, but there was Niles, sitting alone. Roz made a beeline over to him. Although her interactions with Niles could at times be contentious, she knew she could rely on him for sound advice, which was exactly what she needed right now. Professional help, she thought desperately.
"Niles, I need to talk to you. You're not with Frasier, are you?"
Acting offended, Niles responded, "Why does everybody treat us like we're joined at the hip? I do have coffee with people other than my brother, you know."
Roz relaxed a little at that. "Good. 'Cause I'm avoiding him."
"Oh, then talk fast. He's meeting me in five minutes."
Naturally, thought Roz as she took a seat in the chair across from Niles. "It's about my new job. It's a nightmare!"
"Didn't you just start today?" Niles asked.
"Yes. My boss already hit on me, I'm supposed to work nights and weekends, and my assistant is an idiot and I can't fire her 'cause she's like three minorities rolled into one. I can't believe I left KACL over some stupid snit."
"Oh yes, yes, your ultimatum. Frasier told me about that. Listen, this isn't an easy subject to broach, but is it possible you're in love with Frasier?"
"Absolutely not," Roz replied automatically. First Julia and now Niles, why was everyone asking her that?
"You sound sure," Niles noted, studying her like one of his patients.
"I am sure," Roz quickly answered. Niles lifted an eyebrow, questioning if she was trying to convince him or herself. Roz faltered a bit, looking down at the table. "I mean, I can't be. We work together —"
"Not anymore," Niles gently interrupted.
"Right, and he moved on from me before I was even gone. Julia has taken all of his attention at the station. And outside of it too apparently" Roz added bitterly.
"Which one of those bothers you more?" Niles asked.
Roz paused, considering her answer. "I don't know." She ran her hand through her head, absentmindedly pulling her tight bun loose and allowing the hair to fall to her side as she became more distraught with where this was headed. "Seeing him with her is just so hard, you know?"
"I can imagine," Niles replied, placing his napkin on his lap and remembering those dark days of having to suffer through watching Daphne date other men.
"She's all wrong for him, Niles. But he won't listen to me, so I don't know what else I can do. And I can't stop obsessing over it." Roz balled her hands in frustration.
Niles tilted his head thoughtfully. "Frasier has dated women who were clearly wrong for him in the past. Why do you think this one is netting such a strong reaction from you?"
"I guess because she's pure evil," Roz countered with a slight smile. "I just…didn't think that was the kind of woman Frasier was looking for. I mean, I get that she's pretty and successful, and there's a toughness to her that I can…respect," she added begrudgingly.
"Yet," Niles prodded.
"Yet," Roz continued, "She's pure evil."
Niles chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. "Let me ask you this: what type of woman do you think Frasier should be looking for?"
"Someone who gets him, you know? Who respects the pride he takes in his work and admires the love he has for his family. Someone willing to dress up and participate in his terribly-themed dinner parties, someone who will bring him down to earth when he is getting carried away with a hoity-toity desire for Seattle's most coveted opera seats," Roz smiled reverently as she continued. "Someone who will listen to him after he's done listening to everyone else. Someone who sees him as family" Roz finished with her voice cracking with emotion as she looked down in despair.
Niles had never seen his usually composed and confident bantering partner in such a state. This is about more than Julia, Niles concluded as he watched Roz sniffle quietly, feeling a need to protect her. He swiftly moved his chair next to hers and offered her a handkerchief from his jacket pocket.
"Thanks, Niles," Roz took it, blowing her nose freely while Niles looked on in mild disgust. "I don't know what's come over me, I'm such a mess lately."
"It's quite alright Roz. I agree with your summation, by the way. Although I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you omitted some important qualities that will best match my brother."
"I did?" Roz asked, curious as to Niles' insight and resisting the urge to take out a pen and jot down notes.
"Yes. I think Frasier should be looking for someone who has spent years building a solid foundation of friendship with him. Someone who gets along seamlessly with his family. Maybe someone with a little girl who is just as crazy about him as her mom is…" Niles trailed off.
Roz drew a sharp intake of breath. Alice was besotted by Frasier, that was the truth. She had globbed onto him since she was a baby and had never really let go. For a split second, Roz allowed herself to imagine leaving KACL for the day with Frasier in the same car, heading back to his apartment together and finding Martin playing with Alice once they arrived home from work. She shook her head. That's Julia's domain now, Roz thought, remembering how dismayed she was at the woman making herself comfortable at Frasier's place, buying Martin off with fancy restaurant cake.
Threatened, jealous, in love, the words she had buried down were rising to the surface and hitting her full-force as realization was starting to take hold. She found herself struggling to speak.
"Niles, I think I might feel . . . more towards Frasier than I've let on," she started slowly, using her finger to trace circles on the table as she finally started acknowledging the depth of her desire not to just rid Frasier of Julia, but to step in as his partner in life – not just in work. Roz could understand now why she considered leaving KACL. Being his producer just isn't enough anymore. "But I can't…I'm not…Frasier would never —"
"Have you asked him?" Niles cut her off with a sudden sense of urgency.
"No, and there's no point in doing so now, with the way things currently stand," Roz waved her hand dismissively, unwilling to utter Julia's name again.
Niles took hold of Roz's hand with his own and looked into her eyes. "There is a point in talking to him now versus waiting, oh I don't know, until the eve of his wedding. It could be the best risk you ever took."
Roz squeezed Niles' hand back, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude that he had been the one at Nervosa today. "Thanks, Niles. I think you're right. I've seen firsthand how taking that leap can be worth it in the end," she smiled and hugged him. "I'm going to rip the Band-Aid off," she stood with newfound determination. Roz made her way to exit the café but then saw Frasier heading for the entrance from outside. She doubled-back in the opposite direction, hastily making her way to the back-exit.
"Eventually!" she shouted back at Niles, who was shaking his head at the spectacle.
