"I think that's the last of it," Frasier huffed as he sat down the last box in the room that was soon to be Alice's nursery.
"I didn't realize you had so much stuff Roz," Niles surveyed the several boxes around him.
"Hey it's not all mine, a lot of it is Alice's" Roz defended.
"Well I do wish I had been more help Frasier, but after I strained my back I just couldn't do any more lifting."
"That's alright Niles, I appreciate your help anyway, and you're right, that was a heavy lamp." Frasier sympathized, though Niles thought he detected a note of sarcasm.
"Anyway thanks to you both, we can finish up now." Roz hastily interrupted before the two brothers started arguing again. She had never quite realized before how much they acted like children together.
"Are you sure there's not more we can do?" Daphne offered.
"Oh no, you've done more than enough, really we appreciate it." Frasier assured them both.
"Ok, well we'll take Alice then and be on our way." Daphne said brightly as she started looking about for her.
:"Take Alice, what do you mean," Roz was very obviously alarmed.
"Calm down Roz, we discussed it with Dad, did he not mention it to you?" Niles wasn't sure what nerve he had just hit to cause Roz to be so upset.
"No he didn't? I don't know what I was thinking though, I guess I'm a little stressed right now" Roz hastily apologized.
"Oh don't worry about it, the first few days of marriage can do these things to a person. Especially if you're getting into this family. Niles and I had just thought we'd take Alice for the night to get used to having a child around, and give you and Frasier some much needed time together alone." Daphne gave Roz a quick squeeze on the arm.
"Are you sure, I don't want to impose...." Roz began, wishing that they could tell the truth about the sudden urgency of the marriage. Yet the lawyers words resounded in her mind "It is imperative that everyone believes this is legitimate."
"Oh no bother whatsoever." Niles assured Roz as Alice toddled into the room, following Eddie. "Alice, how would you like to go home with your Aunt Daphne and Uncle Niles for a night," he cooed at her while reaching down. Without hesitation Alice giggled and reached up for Niles to take her. She had been babysat often enough by the entire Crane family to not be afraid of them, and also knew that they often provided her with much fun and entertainment.
Roz quietly helped Niles and Daphne get what they needed and gave a big hug and kiss to Alice, but all to soon she was gone and Roz was left standing in the box filled room. "They'll be back tomorrow, this is Niles and Daphne, not Rick and that little society wife of his." Frasier assured her calmly as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"I know, it's just that I suddenly feel like I should be with her every minute, to enjoy every second I can so I can have memories when she is taken away from me. Does this sound crazy?"
"Not at all, it's perfectly understandable. Just remember this is all the means to an end. You and Alice were already like extended family members, this just makes it more official. No lawyer can attack you for a lack of father figure in her life with three Crane men in the picture." Frasier gave his trademark smile of assured success.
"I guess it's late, I can spend tomorrow unpacking all this stuff." Roz changed the subject as she looked at the stacks of boxes around them.
"I know, I have got to get a shower and change out of these jeans, they always make me feel so uncomfortable." Frasier complained.
"Uncomfortable? You have got to be the only man I know who thinks jeans are uncomfortable." Roz couldn't help but laugh.
"So I'm not your average commoner, just because I wear them when I have to do work that might damage my suits or go to some sports game with Dad doesn't mean I have to enjoy them." Frasier sulked.
"Well it's to bad, they make you look sexier." Roz blurted out before realizing what she had said.
"They make me what?" Frasier's jaw dropped.
"You know, more attractive, more appealing..." Roz began naming alternate definitions
"Really, I never knew that," Frasier suddenly took on a different air, and Roz could almost swear he was strutting as he walked over to look at himself in a mirror. "I may need to experiment and wear these out sometime." He started preening.
"Oh brother, I've created a monster. Well take your shower or whatever, I'm going to go get a glass of milk before showering and calling it a night myself." Roz announced as she headed to the kitchen, leaving Frasier to continue studying himself in the mirror.
KITCHEN
"I'm sorry Martin" Roz apologized as she almost knocked the plate out of Martin Crane's hands when she swung open the kitchen door.
"No harm done, just getting a little bit of a late night snack." Martin shrugged.
"Yeah, well I just came out to get a little milk before turning in." Roz explained as she went to the refrigerator.
"So how's marriage treating you so far." Martin attempted to make conversation with his new daughter-in-law as the two sat at the table to indulge in their respective snacks.
"It's wonderful," Roz tried desperately to sound like a sincere blissful newlywed, though it sounded so fake to her ears she almost wanted to laugh. "I just can't believe it's finally happened, that after all these years of being in love, to find that he returned my feelings, and then to move so quickly, it was a real surprise I tell you."
"I see" Martin paused from his chewing. "One thing I don't understand though," Roz could feel a lump forming in her throat knowing she was about to be busted. "If you've loved Frasier as long as you say you have, how come you never told him before?"
Roz could barely keep from noticeably exhaling in relief, this was an easy question to answer. "Oh Martin, you know how high society your sons are. The thought of Dr. Frasier Crane, connoisseur of opera's, wine, fine food, and art; being interested in me when he had all those high society women about was laughable. I like cold pizza in the morning, shows at the local movie theater, and cranking up the radio when I want to listen to music. Does that make sense to you."
"Perfectly, to be blunt I've always realized that my boys appear to be pretentious society snobs. And I'm glad that they both finally found women like you and Daphne who could look beyond those exteriors and see the gentle caring men inside. You two have and will bring them down to earth a bit, as opposed to Lilith and Maris who encouraged such behavior." Martin paused to laugh. "Daphne has done wonders with Niles, would you believe he actually went to an amusement park with her a few weeks ago instead of the opera?"
"No..." Roz's eyes widened as she laughed right along with Martin, trying to picture Niles hanging on to a roller coaster for dear life.
There was silence for a moment as the laughter died down. "I shouldn't keep you though, I'm sure Frasier is wondering where his bride is" Martin began, "But before you go, there's one more thing I want to say, all joking aside." His tone became serious.
Roz gulped again, suddenly feeling like she did when she had been younger and her father had taken her aside for a serious talk.
"I've thought of you and Frasier getting together several times over
the past few years. You were a good friend to him every time the
chips were down, and you brought out the same qualities in him. And
most people never learn that friendship is a large part of a successful
marriage. I never really thought you two would get to this point,
considering how different you both are. But now that you have,
I'm glad you have joined our family, along with little Alice. I feel
as if I gained another daughter tonight." Martin said, some emotion
showing through his voice, as he paused for a minute.
"But anyway enough of that sappy stuff, I think it's time for this
old man to call it a night." He smiled and rose, as Eddie leapt up
to follow him.
"Martin... wait." Roz couldn't let him go to bed without commenting on what he had said. "I just want to say Thanks, and I just realized a quality that you share with your sons." She smiled as he turned around looking perplexed.
"You all are good at hiding those warm caring sides under either pretentious or gruff exteriors." She stated simply.
"Perhaps you're onto something there, goodnight Roz." Martin smiled as he continued his exit.
Roz was thoughtful for a moment as she finished sipping her milk, then got tired and went to take a shower and prepare for bed.
LATER
It wasn't until she had gotten out of the shower and changed into some pajamas that she suddenly thought about sleeping arrangements and took off to find Frasier. He was in his room, having apparently just finished a shower himself as he was standing in the middle of the room rubbing his head with a towel, also wearing pajama's. Roz watched him for a minute before saying anything, somewhat intrigued by seeing the usual well groomed and composed Frasier Crane like this. He looked different for some reason, or perhaps it was just seeing him in a different light due to the marriage ceremony. She finally cleared her throat to let him know she was there.
"Oh hi Roz," he stopped drying his hair and turned around to face her. "What's up?"
"Actually I just had a question that occurred to me. Where exactly am I supposed to sleep during these weeks of this little charade?"
"Yes, well, I thought of that myself earlier while taking a shower." Frasier said, suddenly a little nervous. And the only logical answer is that we have to share a room. I can only imagine Dad on the stand if that Holloway starts asking him about our marriage. "Oh no sir, I'm sure their marriage is real, just because they sleep in separate rooms...". But don't worry about it, I'll let you have the bed and I'll just camp out on the floor for a few weeks." Frasier grinned reassuringly.
"Are you sure, I hate to throw you out of your bed." Roz was a little unsure as to the arrangement, but didn't want to put up too much of a fight, sleeping on the floor didn't appeal to her either.
"Oh how bad can it be?" Frasier began fussing about as he grabbed a pillow and blanket. "The floor is the same as a mattress, just larger and a little harder."
"Well if you change your mind let me know" Roz didn't argue any more as she pulled back the covers and crawled into the soft warm bed.
"No problem, goodnight Roz," Frasier said as he turned off the
light and then laid down onto the floor.