A short continuation of "The Candidate". How would people in Frasier's life react to what he accidentally revealed about Phil Patterson? I've been playing around with this idea following a related post in a Frasier fan group on Facebook.

Frasier dreaded returning to the station the day after he'd accidentally revealed to all of Seattle that the candidate he'd endorsed claimed he'd been abducted by aliens. Senator Patterson had accepted Frasier's profuse apologies with dignity, but Frasier knew the public would not let it go so easily. Dr. Frasier Crane, noted psychologist, campaigning for a conspiracy theorist who insisted that he'd been visited by extraterrestrial life? How humiliating!

As he entered the hall that led to his recording room, Frasier hid around the corner and scanned the hall to see if the coast was clear.

Empty. That was good. All he had to do was get in and start his show before any of his coworkers could-

"Morning, doc! Ready for the Nutcase Hour?"

Frasier startled as Bulldog burst out of the break room.

"Bulldog, they're not nutcases. They're people who need my help!" Frasier snapped. "Must you always be so dismissive of my show?"

Bulldog held up his hands in mock surrender.

"All right, all right, your callers aren't nutcases."

"Thank you," Frasier said primly.

"But that senator?" Bulldog hooted. "Abducted by aliens? I thought shrinks

were supposed to fix crazy people like that, but you support him? I haven't heard anything so stupid since a caller said that the Cowboys could beat the Patriots at the Superbowl!"

"Yes, well, as fascinating as your opinion of the senator is, I have a show to do."

He slipped into the recording studio, where he was greeted by Roz.

"Bulldog again?" she asked, studying Frasier's expression. "You really need to stop letting him bother you."

Frasier glared at her.

"This was no routine ragging me on my show or insulting me for not knowing about sports. He was mocking my intelligence because I stood up for Senator Patterson!"

"Aw, that's not nice. Patterson's not that bad," Roz said.

Frasier relaxed a little, though he was slightly surprised by her support.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, he's at least nicer than that stuffy Holden Thorpe. And he's different, too. You might say he's...out of this world."

At this Roz could no longer feign sincerity. As Frasier gave her a venomous glare, her serious facade broke and she collapsed into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, very funny," Frasier muttered. "Shouldn't you be doing your job? We're on in one minute."

"All right, I'm going, I'm going. Take a joke, why don't you?" Roz said, leaving a very annoyed Frasier behind.

The next hour took Frasier's mind off of his humiliation as he helped his callers through their varied trials and tribulations, from Sarah, who was panicking because she wasn't sure she wanted to marry her fiance, to Chris, who was having problems with his neighbor. Everything seemed back to normal, with the comfortable routine of his job and the anticipation of going to an opera with Niles later that night.

And then…

"Our last caller is on the line," Roz said. "This is Tyler, who says he's a compulsive shopper."

"All right, Tyler. I'm listening."

"It's like this, Dr. Crane," Tyler began. "I just can't seem to stop buying things that I don't need. Like, last time I was shopping, I bought an entire tub of cheese puffs. And I don't even like cheese puffs!"

"I would suggest looking at your current finances and consulting a financial planner who has experience with clients who struggle with overspending," Frasier said, but Tyler was rambling on.

"And just yesterday, I made a really stupid purchase…"

"What was that, Tyler? If we can get a summary of what you spend your money on, we could discover a pattern."

"I bought a couple of tickets for a ride in a spaceship with aliens! But maybe I can give them to you and Phil Patterson!"

Tyler hooted with laughter. Roz cut the call quickly, but he'd had already said too much. Frasier sat there, stewing, and barely heard her apology when she stepped back into the recording room. The show now finished, Frasier stalked down the hall, avoiding eye contact with anyone he came across, knowing at least one of them had heard his broadcast. Unfortunately, when he rounded a corner, he walked right into Gil Chesterton.

"Oof! Sorry, Gil," Frasier apologized, stepping back quickly.

"T'is no problem, Frasier," Seattle's top restaurant critic said in that prim voice that always made the resident psychiatrist seethe. "Nothing can upset me today! I'm reviewing a new Japanese steakhouse and sushi bar tonight!"

"I didn't know you liked sushi," Frasier said, curious despite himself.

"I decided to expand my horizons," Gil proclaimed pompously. "I think it's a good idea to experience a variety of different cuisines, even the ones that are rather-" here he paused and looked directly at Frasier with a smirk-"...alien to me."

Frasier stormed away from the studio, promising himself to never get involved in politics again.