My Coffee With Niles

Frasier rushed into Café Nervosa. After spending two hours comforting Roz, Frasier had driven her home. The poor thing went right to sleep. Frasier immediately called Niles and told him to meet him at the café. It was urgent.

"Urgent's an understatement," Frasier muttered as he snatched a table. He waited impatiently for Niles. After what seemed like ages, but was probably only a few minutes, his younger brother did show up. Frasier waved at him and motioned for him to sit down. "Niles, disaster," he said.

"Nice to see you, too," Niles commented as he began wiping off his seat. After he was satisfied, he sat down. "My usual," he informed the passing waiter.

"Niles, this is really urgent, and I really need your help," Frasier began irritably.

"Make that a size larger," Niles told the waiter before devoting his attention to Frasier. "All right. What is it?"

"Well before I tell you that, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone before," he began. He sighed. He had to choose his words carefully for both his sake and Roz's. "About six weeks ago after Daphne's party, Roz and I…had a thing. A mistake, but it happened. We slept together," Frasier said as the waiter came up with Niles' coffee.

"Aren't you two brothers?" the waiter asked with a confused expression on his face.

Frasier looked at him. "Does this concern you?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"It might," the waiter said as he began walking away.

Niles rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Frasier. I won't give him a tip," he assured his brother. "But you were saying that you and Roz slept together," he reminded him calmly. "Wait, what! You slept with Roz! Why?"

"I'm not really sure why. I just know that it happened," Frasier said. He wished he knew why it happened. All along he had been blaming hormones and the fact that they were both lonely…

"Do you love her?" Niles asked simply as he blew at his coffee.

"What?" Frasier asked. "Don't be ridiculous. We just work together." His voice hinted at denial.

"Clearly," Niles pointed out as he took a sip of his drink. "But do you love her?" he repeated.

Frasier thought about that for a moment. It was a question he himself had been wondering for a long time. His talk with Roz only further pushed him. "I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "I think I do. She's a great woman."

"If you say so," Niles began as he kept his focus on his coffee.

Frasier rolled his eyes and took the cup away from him. "Would you stop that?" he asked angrily. "Look, that's not even the point. Just this afternoon, Roz told me that she was pregnant."

"Again?" Niles asked. He was hardly shocked. "And she's keeping it?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, but you won't let me finish," Frasier started. "As far as I know, she's keeping my child," he continued.

Niles dropped his mouth open. "Your child?" he asked. "Did I hear you properly?"

"Yes. Roz and I are having a baby," Frasier answered. "I just don't know what to do." He sighed and shook his head slightly before resting his head in his hand.

"Well, back to my earlier question: Do you love her?" Niles asked simply. He looked over at his brother as he waited for the answer. "Think about it first."

Frasier thought about it. He and Roz have been friends for the past nine years. She has been an invaluable part of his life, and he would not let her go for anything. He felt what she felt. "I think I do," he said finally. "They say most relationships started out as friendships, right?"

"And you're sure that you love her?" Niles asked inquisitively.

"Of course I'm sure!" Frasier said. "It's Roz we're talking about, not some random woman."

"You don't just feel obligated to love her now that you've fathered her child?" Niles asked.

"That is correct, Niles," Frasier snapped. "I love her for who she is, not for whose child she's carrying."

Niles nodded as he stole his cup of coffee back. "Then I think it's obvious what you have to do," he said.

Frasier nodded back. "Thank you, Niles," he said sincerely. "As usual, you make things so much easier. I don't know what I'd do without you," he said as he stood up. "I have to find Roz," he announced.

"And do what exactly?" Niles asked.

"At least tell her how I feel," Frasier answered. "See if we can figure something out."