Chapter Two: "Four's a Crowd"
Story Notes: I want to do sort of a virtual season twelve but I couldn't do that unless I got all the characters back in the same city, that's why I wrote chapter one the way that I did. The rest of the chapters should be slightly longer in length.
Disclaimer: The characters still belong to someone else.
Dr. and Mrs. Frasier Crane walked in the Elliott Bay Towers, just twelve hours after their wedding. Neither had told their family of their marriage and both were still very giddy. Frasier was sure that his apartment would still be available, after all he had only been gone for two days.
"What do you mean, it's already been sold!"
"I'm sorry Dr. Crane but another couple has already taken up residence in your apartment."
"Well, what about any other vacancies?"
"I'm sorry sir, we just don't have anything available right now."
Frasier sulked away from the counter. Charlotte patted him on the back, "It's okay honey, we'll find somewhere else to stay."
"But this is my apartment!"
"You did move."
"I know, but at the time I didn't think I'd be coming back."
"Well, I'm glad we did," Charlotte tried to kiss him but he was still mad.
"I know, we'll just go up to my apartment and offer the new owners double what they paid for it!"
"Fraiser, we can't do that, we're both unemployed, remember?"
"Well, getting my old job back shouldn't be any problem, I'm sure Roz will hire me."
"It's still a little silly to pay twice as much for your old apartment when we can find something else just as nice."
"Let's try to talk to them, maybe they'll have pity of us."
"Hey Ronee, will you get the door!" Martin screamed as he adjusted his picture of dogs playing poker that he was hanging ont he wall of their new place. Ronee opened the door, "Frasier, what are you doing here!"
"What are you doing here?" Frasier yelled.
"I live here."
"Since when?"
"Since this morning, I thought you moved to San Francisco?"
"What's going on," Martin walked over to the door, "Frasier, what are you doing back?"
"Charlotte and I decided to move back to Seattle together."
"Well, that's great."
"You and Ronee bought my apartment?"
"Well, Ronee's place was a little cramped for the two of us, and we knew this place was on the market, so…."
"But this doesn't really seem like your kind of place."
"Well I wouldn't think so either, but I guess you've rubbed off on me a little bit, besides we've added our own little 'touches'."
Frasier took his first good look around his Dad's "new" home. The couch matched the chair, the TV had rabbit ears and the art work was a combination of hideous prints and family photos.
"But I want it back!"
"I'm sorry son but where are we suppose to stay?"
"Wait a minute boys, Frasier just came in, announced he was moving back home, and you two are fighting instead of celebrating. We can all stay here together until we figure something out."
"You're right Ronee, we can all stay together for now," Charlotte agreed.
"Oh, you're going to stay too?"
"Did we forget to mention we got married?" Frasier said as he spun around to view the rest of the damage to his apartment.
Frasier and Charlotte had spent the last three weeks living in Martin's "new" apartment. Frasier loved his father and Ronee, and everyone thought Charlotte was terrific, but both sets of newlyweds being under the same roof just wasn't working out.
Frasier walked into Café Nervosa and spotted his brother sitting at a corner table. He ordered himself a latte and then sit down with Niles, "I can't take it anymore."
"What? Living with Dad? I would've thought you'd be used to that by now."
"So would I, but it's different now."
"You're both married now."
"I'm not sure that's it. I think it has more to do with the fact that it's his apartment now. "
"Why don't you just move out?"
"I can't."
"Frasier, we both know perfectly well why you won't move."
"And why is that?"
"You're stubborn. You think that if you stay underfoot long enough that Dad will back down and find a new place to live."
"What's so wrong with that?"
"Never mind. Well, if you're set on making him back down first, I'm afraid you're going to be putting up with them for a while longer."
"I just don't know how much more I can take. Have you saw the furniture Ronee brought over from her place?"
"Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to sit on it though."
"How about that bedroom suite?"
"I didn't get that far."
"And their taste in art! Niles, my apartment looks like it was decorated by a refugee from the seventies."
"It's not your apartment anymore."
"I know," Frasier tried not to cry at the thought of his once marvelous apartment. "I know this is going to sound awful Niles, but how did they even afford it?"
"I've thought that myself. I suppose Ronee may have more money than we think, and it's hard to tell what Dad has tucked away in his sock drawer."
"Well it's obviously not his socks, I keep finding them in the oddest places."
"Have you thought about finding them another apartment?"
"Do you think he'd go for it?"
"He might."
Frasier slowly opened the door to Apartment 1915 and let his father in.
"Well, what do you think?"
"It looks just like our apartment across the hall."
"I know, that's the idea. Dad, if I bought this apartment, would you and Ronee consider living here and letting Charlotte and I live in my old apartment?"
"Son, I, why don't you just stay here?"
"I can't, Dad, it's…. I need my old apartment back. Please, I'm begging you."
"Well, Fras, it just seems complicated for us to move again, and…"
"I'll help you, please, I have to have my apartment, there's a psychological principle known as…"
"Ok, ok, I'll trade you apartments if you promise not to finish that sentence. But, why did you find us a place so close to you?"
"I looked everywhere, this is the only thing I could find. I was lucky to get this, it just became available this morning. And besides, it'll be nice for us all to be this close, but not technically living together."
"You're a good son. I guess that's why we bought the old place anyway, I just couldn't stand the thought of someone else living there. That apartment has meant so much to all of us these past eleven years."
"I know Dad, I feel the same way."
"Well, let's go tell your Mom."
"And your daughter-in-law."
Martin seemed to be deep in thought and then a huge grin spread across his face.
"What is it, Dad?"
"I was just thinking about my daughters-in-law, after your Mom died, I never thought I'd look forward to the holidays again. But, I think we'll have a Happy Thanksgiving this year."
"It has been a while since all three of us were happily married, hasn't it?"
"We might want to hold up on the celebrations until after we tell Ronee she has to move again."