Chapter Six

The flight ride down to Las Vegas was uneventful. All Martin and Niles could think about was Frasier. Daphne was not able to get much out of him in their one phone conversation. Every other time she had tried calling, the call went directly to voice mail. The four of them were clueless as to what actually had happened.

Daphne and Roz had remained behind to look after the apartment. Niles had insisted that he come along with Martin to find his insane brother. Now they had successfully landed in Vegas and were standing outside the hospital.

It looked as a hospital should. Niles drew in a breath and decided to make the first move. He headed into the hospital. As soon as he reached the receptionist, he asked for Frasier Crane.

The receptionist frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, you must be confused or late. Frasier Crane was discharged hours ago," she noted.

"That's in the whole hospital?" Niles asked curiously. "Not just the emergency room?"

The receptionist nodded. "Entire hospital."

Niles turned back to Martin. "Are we really that late?" he whispered.

Martin stepped up to the desk. This did not seem right. Frasier would have called someone if he changed his location. He knew how worried everyone was about him. "How about Lilith Sternin?" he asked the receptionist curiously. As the receptionist typed, Martin turned to Niles. "Someone had to mention the Wicked Witch."

"She's in recovery on the third floor," the receptionist informed the two of them. "Visiting hours end at eight." She stood up, leaned over the desk and pointed down the hallway. "Elevators are down this hall to the left."

Martin smiled weakly and thanked her. He and Niles began walking down the hallway towards that elevator. "Frasier's up there, isn't he?" Niles asked. It was not really a question. He knew his brother. For better or worse, his brother always managed to remain attracted to Lilith. He could not imagine why, but then again his brother always did have a slightly worse taste than he did.

The elevator ride was short. Martin and Niles were alone, which was good. They knew what they had to do. They could not predict Frasier's condition. They did not even know Lilith's. At the moment, they had to be supportive. They could set Frasier straight later.

"Hey," Martin said as he saw Frasier looming in the hallway. The two of them embraced. Niles also hugged Frasier. The three of them stared back into the small hospital room. The curtain was not pulled. Lilith was plainly visible through the window. She was asleep. "How is she?" Martin ventured.

"No jokes?" Frasier asked.

"No jokes," Martin promised.

"She's asleep again," Frasier stated. "I suppose that's a good thing. If she was awake, she'd be having the hangover from Hell, and would most likely be taking it out on me."

"In all seriousness, how drunk were the two of you?" Niles asked.

"After sleeping it off for a night, her blood-alcohol concentration was still point one nine," Frasier stated. "Right now I'm just relieved I didn't lose her." He exhaled deeply and gazed through that window. "Though I feel like I might again," he said softly.

"Come again?" Niles asked. "She looks fine now. Save for the IV, she's not hooked up to anything. I think she'll pull through."

"That's not what I meant, Niles," Frasier explained. "We were really drunk last night. We actually…I'm embarrassed to say, but we actually got married. I just don't know what it means for us," he said. "She just wants to forget about the whole thing."

"Well, do you love her?" Niles asked simply.

Frasier looked back through the window. His Lilith. His beautiful, angelic Lilith. He was truly lucky to have her. "I do."

Lilith began stirring again. At first, it was simple. She rolled over in her bed. Frasier knew that she did that in her sleep anyway. Then she stretched out her arms and yawned. She was waking up.

Martin pat Frasier's back. "Tell her," he said.