Chapter Four
"I'll be on the next flight to Boston. Hopefully I'll see you this afternoon," Frasier said comfortingly into the phone. He was genuinely concerned about Lilith. He had to see her. "Goodbye, Lilith," he said before he hung up the phone.
Martin lingered near the doorway between the hallway leading to his room and the main room of the apartment. "Everything ok?" he asked.
"Yes, I hung up with her," Frasier snapped irritably. "Could you be any more immature?"
Martin shrugged as he walked over to his chair. "I meant with Lilith. You just offered to go to Boston and see her in the middle of the week. Is everything ok over there? Frederick ok?"
Frasier sighed heavily as he sat down at the dining room table. "I'm not entirely sure. I couldn't make sense with much of what she was saying. She was speaking way too fast and between tears."
"Anything you could make sense out of?" Martin asked.
Frasier recalled the bits of Lilith's words he could understand clearly. "Something about a test and how her world is ending. She sounded frightened, and frankly I am, too," Frasier stated.
At that moment the door to the apartment opened slowly. Niles cautiously stuck his head in before entering with the same amount of caution.
"For God's sake, Niles, what is it?" Frasier asked.
"Roz left one of Alice's booties here," Niles stated honestly as he walked over to where Roz had been sitting.
"So she hasn't left yet?" Frasier asked curiously.
Niles nodded his head. "She's trying to get Alice in the car without swearing. When I left, she was unsuccessful," he informed Frasier as he knelt down on the floor to check under the couch.
Frasier did not hear him. He was already out the door waiting for the elevator. He tapped his foot impatiently before finally giving up and deciding to take the stairs. He rushed down all nineteen flights of stairs until he was in the garage. He scanned it quickly while catching his breath. Upon spotting Roz's car, he began walking over to her while calling out her name.
"Frasier, what is it?" Roz asked as she stood up from the car. She had finally managed to secure Alice in the car. "Did you find the bootie?" she asked.
Frasier shook his head as he held up one finger and tried to catch his breath. "Niles has that," he told her.
"Then what are you doing here?" she asked. "Everything ok with Lilith?"
Frasier shook his head again. "Something's wrong. I couldn't exactly make out what, but it sounded serious. I'm going to Boston," he informed her. "I just wanted to tell you that so you wouldn't have to worry about coming into work tomorrow or Friday."
"Are you going to call the station?" Roz asked curiously.
"Could you?" Frasier asked. "I have no idea when my plane is going to leave."
Roz nodded sympathetically. "Sure, no problem. Do you know how long you'll be gone?"
Frasier shook his head. "I couldn't make much sense from what she was saying. I'll call you from Boston," he promised. "If it really gets that bad, ask Niles to fill in for me."
"Ok," Roz said as she nodded. "I hope everything works out for you," she added sincerely as Frasier began walking back towards the stairs.
"Thank you," Frasier called back as he decided against taking the stairs. He walked over towards the elevator and pushed the 'up' button. Seconds later, the door opened. Niles walked out, but before he could say anything, Frasier rushed into the elevator and pushed the 'Door close' button.
The elevator ride up to his floor seemed like the longest thing in his life. He was concerned about Lilith. From the way she was talking, it sounded like something serious. He knew it had to be serious. He could not imagine what was so serious that she would call at close to two in the morning her time. "Ok," he told himself. "I don't know what's going on. For all I know, it could be something pretty minor. I won't think about anything until I get to Boston and talk to Lilith."
Frasier sighed heavily as the doors opened. He walked over into his apartment and picked up the phone again. He glanced over at Martin for a second before dialing. "Hello," he said once someone answered on the other end. "At what time does the next flight for Boston leave?" he asked. "Emergency's an understatement…Six-thirty in the morning, ok, I'll take it…Frasier Crane…"
