Chapter Three
Lilith stood there in shock. She did not know what to think. So many questions raced through her mind. Should she have the child? Should she keep it for herself, or give it up for adoption? If she did keep it, when should she tell Frederick about it? When should she tell the father about it?
"Oh god," she muttered as she moved over and sat down on the closed toilet. It was Niles. It had to be Niles. Even before Brian left her, the two of them had not even come near one another in almost six months. The only man she has had sexual contact with in the past several months was Niles. Niles had to be the father.
Large tears filled in her dark eyes. She knew she had to tell him. How would he take it? Or worse, she thought. How would Frasier take it? Frasier meant everything to her. Even though the two of them were no longer married, or even in love with each other for that matter, she still cared deeply about him. She knew his anger about her and Niles sleeping together. The thought of telling him it was more than that pained her.
She glanced down again at the pregnancy test. It was still positive. Lilith was still pregnant. She probably had been for a month and a half at least. She would remain that way for the next thirty-some weeks. At some point in those weeks, she had to call Seattle.
How should I tell him? Which one of them do I tell first? Niles has the right to know, but Frasier…She groaned slightly to herself. There were too many things she had to do. She had never expected this to happen. She had already gotten rid of most of the baby things she had when Frederick was that young.
God, I still have to tell Frederick. Not yet. He's only nine, and I'm definitely not. I should at least make sure that I won't have a miscarriage before telling my son that he will have a brother or sister. Niles should be the first to know.
She frowned slightly, thinking that over.
Or should he? He never really liked me. The only person over there who did was Frasier. Niles and I only got together that night because we were upset and filled with tequila. If anyone is to blame for this incident, it's Maris and Brian.
No, that does not make any sense. It was the bartender's fault for allowing us to drink so much. Or maybe it was Frasier's fault. He was the one I came to be with anyway. Had he just given in, there would be no baby in question.
She stopped right there. No matter how many times she would try to look at it, the facts still remained the same. She and Niles had slept together about six or seven weeks ago. Despite how careful they were, she conceived that night. Now she was pregnant with a baby, and Niles has no idea.
She looked down at the test again. She had to tell him. She slowly stood up and walked over towards the bathroom door. It was still locked. She drew in a deep breath before unlocking it and exiting the bathroom. Once outside, she glanced at the clock. 1:45 A.M, which would make it 10:45 over in Seattle. Frasier and Niles were likely to still be awake, and they were likely to be together.
Ok, she thought to herself as she began walking towards the kitchen. The two of them are probably at Frasier's. I'll just call his apartment, and whoever answers will be the one I tell, unless of course the one who answers turns out to be Daphne or Martin. They do not deserve to know first.
She finally got over towards the phone. She picked it up and balanced it between her shoulder and her head. She drew in another deep breath before dialing the number she knew by heart.
She could hear it ringing once on the other end. Twice. Thoughts began racing through her head again. What if they were not home? Should she leave a message? Is this the kind of thing that can be left on a message? She had never had to call the father to tell him she was pregnant before. She had told Frasier in person that night after watching Carla's son. That was almost ten years ago. Things were different. She was alone this time.
Why isn't someone answering? Lilith thought to herself. She was about to hang up before she heard Frasier's voice announcing his name. He still sounded the same, Lilith noted. He had no idea that anything out of the ordinary was going on.
"Oh god, Frasier, my world is ending. I just saw the test results today. I'm scared, Frasier. I don't know what to do," she said very quickly. Tears shortly followed her words.
"Slow down," Frasier's voice on the other end said gently. "Lilith, is that you?" he asked a moment later. At that instant, Lilith could vaguely hear voices of people claiming they had to leave or go to bed. She tried not to let it get to her.
She swallowed hard. "Yes, it's me," she said softly. "I need help. I don't know what to do. I can't believe this is actually happening."
She heard the slamming of a door from the other end of the line. Right after that, the sound of Frasier's comforting voice came through. She could not hear what he was saying at first as she was occupied with trying to control her tears. Once she had calmed down a little bit, she could hear his soothing voice. "I'm listening. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
Lilith tried to gather herself together long enough to say something, but the words would not form in her mouth. Another sob escaped from her.
"Do you want me to come to Boston?" Frasier asked in that same caring voice.
Lilith nodded and choked out, "Yes, please."
"Ok," Frasier soothed her. "I'll be on the next flight to Boston. Hopefully I'll see you this afternoon," he said. "Goodbye, Lilith." With that, Frasier hung up.
Lilith let out a small sigh of relief. At least with Frasier coming to her, she would have more time to prepare what exactly she was going to say. She sighed heavily as she wiped her eyes gently.
