Disclaimer-I don't own "Frasier," or anything else involved with television, movies, etc.
A/N-Thanks for all of the reviews, guys! This chapter is from Frasier's POV (hey, I told you that I love "brotherly stuff"). Enjoy!
Chapter Five-Life Goes On...
One Month Later...
"It seems that ever since Niles's passing, I've been distracted from my work. Not just with the fact that he's gone, but I can't stop thinking about someone else I love dying. I know that Daphne and Roz are many years away from passing away, but I'm getting nervous about Dad; he's getting older, although he won't admit it...
"I suppose there's nothing I can do about it, except cherish the moments we have together, as hard as that can be at times.
"Daphne is doing much better than she was before; she must have found closure in some way; I just wish that I could find closure. She doesn't like sleeping in her apartment alone, however, so she has stayed at my apartment for the past few weeks.
"She misses him dreadfully, and who can blame her? Even Maris called her a few days ago to pay her regrets; Daphne said that it sounded like Maris was crying! Whether or not that is true, we're not sure about.
"And the funeral...I've never felt such a pain as when I was in the church, looking down at my little brother in the casket. He looked peaceful, as most do when they die. The scars were still vivid, and looked even brighter over his pale skin...I still can't shake off the memory of seeing his wrecked car for the first time, seeing him after the accident, and being in the room when he passed away...it's been in my mind for the past month.
"When Daphne asked me to read a small speech at his funeral, I worked for the limited number of days I had to get it perfect, and memorize it; reading it meant a lot to me. I didn't go to work two of the days, and I know Kenny's furious with me, but I wanted it to be perfect..."
-Flashback-The Funeral-
"And now, Dr. Frasier Crane has a few words that he'd like to say about his brother." The priest stepped down from the podium, and Frasier walked slowly up the stairs. His vision was blurry, but was clearing up a little.
He stood at the podium, and looked around at all of the heartbroken people. Some he knew, some were only vaguely familiar. He spotted two of Niles's exes, Maris and Mel, sitting in the second to last row; they appeared to be just as upset as anyone else, aside from Daphne, and the rest of the Crane family.
Frasier snapped back into reality. He cleared his throat, and began. "A year after my arrival in Seattle, my brother, Niles, told me that he had never felt pure happiness. Since that day, I am sure that he has felt pure happiness many, many times. Whether if it was marrying the love of his life, Daphne Moon..." He paused, looking at Daphne, who gave him a sad smile. "...or making the half-court shot at a basketball game. I only hope that he knew that he was as happy as we knew he was. I will always miss my little brother, but I will try to only remember the good times, and not obsess over what could have been done. Thank you."
He stepped down from the podium, tears filling his eyes. He sat down next to his father, and zoned out as the priest continued to talk...
-Reality-
"...and that's the way it went. I never want to experience the feeling of being at a funeral ever again, although I know I'll have to soon. I think the hardest part was watching the casket being closed, and then it lowered into the ground. He was buried right next to Mom, even though it was supposed to be where I was going to be buried, but it doesn't matter too much; the headstones simply had to be switched."
I take a deep breath and look at the ceiling before continuing. "After everyone, except for Dad and I, had left, the two of us stood in front of two of our family member's graves for what seemed like a lifetime, without a word, reading them over and over…."
Hester Rachelle Crane
1926-1986
Niles Crane
1957-2003
"Something didn't seem right about it; two of our family members being taken from us, I mean." A sigh escapes from me. "Sometimes I wonder if we did something wrong early on, but my thoughts always end the same: No, we did fine. Some force greater than us felt the need to take them away."
The phone rings, so I get up off of the couch, stretching my back. "Thanks for listening; I've needed to get all of that off of my chest for awhile."
As I turn away from the brown eyes that were staring at me all while I was talking, I feel slightly foolish, but at the same time, I feel a great weight lift off of my shoulders.
The phone continues to ring, but I decide not to answer it. I walk towards the kitchen, smiling to my "psychiatrist" at the time; the one Niles had tricked me into talking to when I had hurt my back: Eddie.
I smile and shake my head in remembrance, and continue on my way to the kitchen.
In the words of Laura Swenson, "For some, life lasts a short while, but the memories it holds last forever."
Finis
A/N-I know, it was short, but this seemed to sum it up. Okay, review please.