Chapter 2
"Let's go Roz," Frasier suggested again several minutes later, his cultural sensibilities hardly able to take the loud and smoky atmosphere any longer.
"Mmmm...." was all she could respond, barely standing due to the alcohol and offering no resistance when he began supporting her and leading her out of the bar.
"Hey buddy, wait, she owes us $80" the bartender called out as they passed the bar.
"I can't believe she drank that much," Frasier muttered pulling out his wallet. "Are you Hank?"
"Yeah, I'm the one that called ya."
"Thanks, and keep the change." Frasier dropped a hundred dollar bill on the bar as he continued to lead Roz out, noticing that he got "lucky dog" stares from the onlookers.
The ride back to Roz's apartment was pretty uneventful as she passed out the minute he got her into the car. Frasier couldn't figure out for the life of him what had happened to cause this behavior, but he was sure going to find when she got over this.
They pulled up in her driveway and he woke her up enough to try and help her into the house.
"Come on.. just a few steps."
"I think I'm going to be..." and with that Roz threw up all over the front of him, effectively coating them both in the slimy substance. By the time they had reached the front door she had managed to do it twice more. Frasier wrinkled his nose in disgust but tried to refrain from passing out at the unpleasant odor that was assaulting his nostrils.
By the time they reached the house he was feeling nauseous himself and knew that something had to be done. Considering Roz lapsed back into unconsciousness as soon as he laid her on the sofa, he figured that it wouldn't be to ungentlemanly to clean himself first before he lost the gourmet dinner he had enjoyed just hours before. He hastily peeled off his jacket and black t-shirt, and then his pants also since he could feel the moisture seeping through them. He stopped for a moment feeling extremely out of place in Roz's living room with so little clothing, even if she was completely unconscious.
He still smelled the strong odor and decided to quickly jump in the shower, pretty sure Roz was going to stay out of it for quite a while longer after consuming so much alcohol. After the shower he went searching for clothing, determined to wear something a little more masculine than the silky robes he was finding, he was no Tewksbury in that respect. Most of the clothes he found were obviously to small. Just as he was about to give up he found a black t-shirt in a drawer. "I had forgotten about that," He recalled as the memory flooded back of a time a year or so ago that Roz had spilled something on her at the station and he had loaned her a radio t-shirt he had just been given by the station that day. "It certainly looks well worn," he noticed. But wasn't going to quibble, at least it fit and he could still maintain some dignity.
Roz was still passed out on the couch just as he had left her and the stench was still overpowering. Knowing he couldn't very well leave her like this, and yet he couldn't exactly give her a bath either so he did the only thing he could think of which was pick up the phone.
"Daphne, I know it's really late, but...." Frasier begged Daphne, knowing that he would be hearing it from Niles later for dragging away his wife at practically midnight. Just as he knew she would Daphne agreed to help and was on her way within minutes of his call.
LATER
"So you see why I had to call..." Frasier finished explaining the situation to a tired Daphne.
"Yes you did the right thing. I just wonder what happened to cause this. Probably a man." Daphne sighed sympathetically as she examined Roz, trying to shake her awake to no avail.
"Oh please, everytime a woman get's upset it has to be a man!" Frasier grumbled, "maybe she just had a bad uhhh....... oh alright in this case it's probably a man." He gave in sourly.
"I told you, now help me out here." Daphne grunted as she tried to move Roz.
"Help, how?" Frasier was perplexed, not sure what to do as he had been thinking Daphne could take care of it all.
"I'm 4 months pregnant remember, I can't be doing to much lifting." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh right," the light dawned and Frasier went over to help. He easily picked Roz up and carried her to the bathroom, holding his breath and being careful not to get any vomit back on him.
"Just lay her in the tub and I'll do the rest." Daphne advised behind him since they both couldn't fit in the small bathroom. Frasier followed her instructions and gently laid Roz in the empty tub before removing himself from the bathroom. "Anything else?"
"You go find something for her to wear and I'll take care of the rest." Daphne assured him as she took over.
Even though they were best friends Frasier still felt a little weird going through her clothes. But finally carried the necessary garments, and undergarments to the bathroom and reached his arm in enough for Daphne to take them.
While waiting for Daphne to finish he couldn't help compulsively cleaning the sofa and the few spots on the floor, throwing their clothes in the washer, and even spraying a little air freshener in the room to make it seem as if nothing was amiss.
Finally after Daphne announced that it was OK, Frasier re-entered the bathroom to transport Roz to the bedroom. Now all clean and fresh she looked more like she was just sleeping peacefully instead of passed out, Frasier noted as he carried her into the bedroom and laid her down.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help Daphne." Frasier smiled gratefully as he walked Daphne to the door.
"Glad I could help, and you did the right thing by calling me. Roz is lucky to have a friend like you to watch out for her. I'd better be getting back to Niles but tell her she can call me if she needs to talk." Daphne said as she left.
Frasier was thoughtful for a moment before going back into the bedroom to check on Roz. He studied her for a moment, wondering what in the world could have happened to cause her to act so irresponsibly as to go to that part of town and lose control like that. She could have been in real trouble he realized if the bartender had not called him considering the people she had been flirting with.
He felt very tired as he realized it was already 1 am and the events of the day had really taken their toll. Making sure Roz was comfortable he reached over to turn off the light before taking a pillow to lay on the couch.
