Authors Note: I am by no means an expert in the legal field or courtroom procedure. So please forgive any courtroom improprieties and chalk it up to creative license :)
Before it seemed possible the first day of the hearing had arrived. At one table sat Laura with Roz and Frasier, with Niles, Daphne and Martin seated right behind them for support. And at the other table sat Rick and Heather, an oily looking man they assumed to be Holloway, and Rick's parents as well as Vince were seated in the row behind them. After opening statements it was clear that they were in for quite a battle, especially after Holloway had made the statement that he would prove Roz to be an unfit Mother. Roz wasn't sure how he intended to do so, but she shuddered at just knowing his intentions.
Judge Louise Bryce was on the bench, Laura had told them that it could be very much in their favor to have a female judge who might be more inclined to lean towards the mother, though she was known as being a no nonsense judge. Looking at the stern faced fifty-ish woman on the bench, Roz did not doubt that statement one bit.
"Relax Roz, you're as stiff as a board." Frasier whispered softly in her ear as he took and held her hand under the table for support. Roz realized at that moment how incredibly fortunate she was to have Frasier there with her. Though he could be so excitable at times he could remain so calm when needed for support.
Soon the preliminaries were over and Holloway began his barrage. "Your owner, we intend to show that the mother of the child in question is not stable enough to continue caring for this child. The following witnesses will all show a pattern of instability and irresponsibility in Mrs. Crane and make it clear to the court that the proper verdict would be to allow my clients to attain full custody of the minor in question."
Roz squeezed Frasier's hand hard under the table, almost making him wince, it was all she could do to keep from leaping up and tearing into the sleezy lawyer oozing charm all over the courtroom.
"Our first witness is Jerry Landis." Holloway called as a nice looking man in his early 40's approached the bench. The strategy soon became obvious as the whole day was spent as a never-ending string of men that Roz had previously dated came up to testify as to her flightiness and unwillingness to commit to a solid relationship. This was a mere sampling of the men she had been involved with and even Roz had to admit that they were doing a good job of making her look like the town slut.
Frasier was amazed at how stoic she was being, he could tell though by the tight grasp she held on his hand that this was tearing her up inside. How he longed to leap up in her defense and say that she had not been like that since Alice. Laura did her best to contain the damage as she cross-examined the men, trying to level the playing field instead of making Roz look like the only problem in the relationships. By the time court adjourned everyone was emotionally drained from just watching the beating Roz had just been put through. The ride home was a silent one, and no one was surprised when she took Alice straight to the nursery and then afterwards shut herself in the bedroom.
"That just wasn't fair." Daphne sniffled as the four sat quietly at the table eating supper, which consisted of chinese takeout since no one had the energy to cook. Frasier had tried to get Roz to come out but she declined. "They made her seem so terrible, what does this have to do with Alice."
"I can't imagine being maligned like that in a public courtroom." Niles agreed.
"Gotta watch those lawyers like Holloway, I've seen them by the dozen, they can twist the truth as easily as Daphne twists Niles around her little finger." Martin added.
"I hope you all don't mind, but I don't have much of an appetite, I've got to go see how Roz is doing." Frasier rose to go.
"Wait Frasier, you might need this." Daphne quickly grabbed a couple of the cartons of food, a couple pairs of chopsticks and a couple napkins for him to take with him. "She'll be hungry later and so will you."
Frasier nodded his thanks and said goodnight to everyone as he carried his burden to the door and after quietly knocking entered the room.
He was not surprised to see Roz curled up with a pillow, quietly crying. The scene was enough to make him want to cry himself at seeing how hurt she was. Setting the food on the dresser he made his way over to her and sat beside her on the bed. As he did so Roz instinctively sat up to curl against him so that he could hold her while she cried.
LATER
They had remained that way forever it seemed, no one talking, just clinging to each other as Roz alternated between crying and sniffling. Frasier could feel the front of his t-shirt getting damp but said nothing as he continued to pass her tissues when needed. Finally she blew her nose, wiped her eyes and straightened up to talk.
"Thank you Fras, I feel better now. So I guess we should talk about today huh?" Her tone was quiet.
"They were pretty rough on you weren't they?" Frasier agreed still holding her loosely for comfort.
"Am I really that terrible? Maybe I should give Alice up...." Roz began.
"Now you stop that!" Frasier admonished, "You are a good mother, this guy is just trying to divert everyone's attention to your not so virtuous past."
"You really think so?" Her tone was hopeful.
"Of course, this was just the first day, we just need to hang in there, show a united front and wait for the tide to change." Frasier assured her.
"I appreciate it Frasier, but you know as well as I do that this is far from the end of the attack on me, you know the attack is one thing, but it's so embarrassing for the rest of the family, and my coworkers to hear all this about me as well." Roz said mournfully.
"Oh Roz, you know we all love you. And we understand about mistakes made in the past. But for the last 3 years you've been an excellent mother, you've really changed, it's just going to take a little time to get to where we can get that out for the judge to see." Frasier consoled her, "now we've got a full day of court again tomorrow, so we should get some sleep."
"Yeah you're right, I'm going to go check the kitchen though, all this crying makes a person hungry." Roz said trying to sound cheerful.
"In that case" Frasier said as he rose and went to the dresser, bringing the chinese food cartons and utensils back to the bed.
"Frasier, I thought you said eating in bed was uncivilized"
"This is an exception," Frasier winked as he opened the containers and handed Roz a pair of chopsticks.
"Oh sure, torture me by dangling food under my face and then give me these useless sticks." Roz rolled her eyes.
"You don't know how to use chopsticks? It's not that hard, I'll teach you." Frasier offered.
Over 15 minutes later both were giggling as Roz, despite all of Frasier's attempts at instruction had managed to get no more than one piece of chicken captured and consumed. "This would be a good idea for a diet." She laughed. "I have never seen anyone have such a hard time learning to use them," Frasier was laughing also.
"Well they're fine for you but I'm going to go get a fork," Roz rose and opened the bedroom door, only gone a second before returning with a blush on her face.
"What, no forks?"
"Apparently Niles and Daphne stayed over and they're sleeping in the living room." Roz clarified as she sat back down on the bed.
"So, surely you could get to the kitchen without waking them up," Frasier started to get up also to go to the kitchen.
"If they were asleep yes I could, but I didn't think they would appreciate me invading on their private moment." Roz said the innuendo clear.
"Oh my, don't those two ever slow down?" Frasier sat back down with the containers trying to figure a way out of the mess.
"Forget this, I'm not dying of hunger here, I'll just use my hands." Roz sighed deeply as she reached for the containers.
"Roz you cannot eat chicken lo mein and rice with your fingers, not to mention I want some to and I don't want you digging in it." Frasier sighed, "Here give me those." He took them from her and took out the chopsticks and began to expertly capture the food and eat.
"I can't believe you're going to sit there and eat while I'm starving." Roz dropped her jaw trying to look horrified, but she was instead surprised as Frasier popped a bite of lo mein into her gaping mouth. "Mmmm... that's good, but..." She began.
"But nothing, we're tired and hungry and trapped in the room by the lovebirds. So unless you want to undergo another half hour or more of chopstick instruction, open wide." Frasier interrupted her.
Roz gave him a strange look but cooperated in letting him feed her as they alternated between bites and ate in silence. Roz could not remember ever being fed like that in her adult life, no man had ever been quite that considerate, though this was a unique situation, and for some reason she was finding it to be a turn on. "Last bite, open up." Frasier prompted her as he popped the last few grains of rice into her mouth. "That was good, and very sweet of you, thanks Fras." Roz sat back somewhat embarrassed, yet feeling contented. "You're more than welcome, now let's get some rest and gain some strength for another day of being run through the gauntlet."
"I want to thank you for today Frasier, I would never have made it through all that without your support." Roz said as she turned to flip the light off.
"You're more than welcome, I only wish I could do more." Frasier
sighed feeling helpless as he automatically took Roz in his arms, instinctively
knowing she needed the extra security and comfort tonight. He hated
to admit it but she was right, the attack had just begun.