Author's Note: Again, I have to thank Kristen3 for giving me the idea for this chapter!
Frasier sat on his bed and took a deep breath. Relief overcame him and he knew that no one could possibly ridicule him here. He liked school as a whole, but middle school was tough on him, mostly because of the rough, athletic boys who thought that they were so much better than him. Of course, he knew that he had way more class than they did, and therefore he needn't worry himself about what they thought.
Still, he wasn't about to pretend their words didn't hurt him.
He grabbed his book from his bedside table and began to read. It was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Perhaps it was a bit mature for eleven-year-old, but Frasier knew that one could never be too young to learn great literature.
It was at that precise moment with his brother Niles entered the room. "Hello Frasier," he said. "What are you reading?"
Frasier rolled his eyes. "It's none of your business," he said, annoyed at his nosy little brother.
Niles crouched down to see the cover of the book. "To…Kill…a…Mockingbird," he read.
"Stop it, Niles!" Frasier stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the book face down on his bed. He paced down the stairs, Niles following closely behind.
"What seems to be troubling you?" he said, trying to catch up with him.
"Leave me alone, Niles!"
"Is it those pests in your grade again?"
"Shut up, Niles!"
Their squabble was interrupted by their father's sudden interjection.
"Hey, boys, shut yer yaps! I'm tryin' to read here!"
They turned to see Martin sitting at the table, trying to read the sports section of the newspaper.
"Sorry Dad," said Frasier. He knew that in the brief hours his father was home, it was all they could do to give him some peace and quiet.
With haste, Frasier moved out the front door and sat in one of the wicker chairs that stood on the porch. Niles, of course, did the same.
"What did they do this time?" he asked.
Frasier sighed, not wanting to tell him but wondering if it might do him some good.
"The usual. Name calling, taunting…"
"And what else?"
"They grabbed my briefcase…and began to play a merciless game of keep-away with it."
"Good heavens! No wonder you're upset. I must admit I knew something was wrong when I discovered your reading about the hunting of mockingbirds."
"Niles, you are so juvenile! To Kill a Mockingbird is about…well, I don't know yet, but it's one of the great American novels of our time!"
The two were silent for a few moments, then Niles told him, "They're nothing but immature fools, Frasier. Why, I'm sure they don't own calfskin anything…not just a briefcase."
Frasier was surprised that Niles was willing to help him like this. Usually, he only showed interest in things like this when he could give Frasier a hard time about them. "What's going on, Niles? Why are you helping me all of a sudden?"
Niles looked down at his feet and they began to move slightly.
"Last week the same thing happened to me," he answered.
"In elementary school?" asked Frasier. "I didn't think it started until junior high."
"Well, apparently the rules have changed." Niles sighed and began telling him the story. "Last Wednesday I noticed that some of the more intelligent girls were reading the much overrated Nancy Drew books. I told them they were most unrealistic and that it was a waste of their time to be reading such literature, and then that imbecile Stephen Lapel came over and asked me if I had read them. I was well aware that if I lied and told him no my nose would start to bleed, so I-"
"Wait a second. You read the Nancy Drew books?"
"Yes, but only to get better acquainted with today's society! So anyways, I didn't say anything, and of course he saw right through me. Before I knew it, he had called his friends over and all of them started calling me "Nancy"! And it was during recess, so my teacher Mrs. March saw nothing."
Frasier knew all too well his brother's pain, but didn't know how to comfort him. All he managed to say was, "I'm sorry, Niles. That's terrible."
Niles leaned his head against the back of the chair. "I supposed I should get used to answering to Nancy now."
"Don't be silly. They'll forget it in due time."
"But what if it's like a recurring joke I get teased about for the rest of my school career?"
"I doubt that, Niles."
Niles sighed yet again. "Thank you, Frasier. I think I need a little time to myself, so if you'll kindly stay out of our bedroom for awhile…"
"No problem. I think I'll take a walk around the neighborhood."
The two parted ways. Niles went back inside the house and Frasier descended the porch steps and began to walk down the sidewalk.
He felt strange about the conversation he had just shared with his brother. Most of the time the only serious thing they ever talked about were items they both enjoyed, such as books or opera recordings. But this, this was about life.
Not only that, it had actually helped him.
He couldn't help but wonder how many other conversations like that they would have.
Frasier softly played his piano while his mind was about a thousand miles away. He was going to visit his family in Seattle for a few days, and as excited as he was something still troubled him.
Lately his co-workers had been teasing him about still being single and without a family. He knew that soon he would be with his brother who had a pretty wife and an intelligent son. His own son, Freddy, was as good as grown now, and he had not found another wife since Lilith.
On the plane ride from Chicago to Seattle, he thought long and hard about this and tried to make himself forget about it as he landed, but it didn't exactly work.
When he finally walked through the gate doors, he spotted Daphne and David right away.
"Frasier!" Daphne cried. Her long, dark hair was bound in a braid down her left shoulder. He had mostly seen the style on younger women, but it looked good on her. Frasier drew her in for a hug and then looked at David. The shy boy only smiled as Frasier threw his arms around him.
On the way to Niles' apartment, Daphne updated him on everything Niles hadn't told him over the phone. "He's had more patients now than he's had in years. It's wonderful, but David and I see less and less of him," she told him.
"Niles told me he had been busy lately, but I had no idea his office was thriving so much."
"Oh, yes. Isn't that right, David?" Daphne asked. He only nodded, and Frasier wasn't surprised.
When they got there, Frasier took his bags up to the guest room and took a deep breath. It seemed Niles had everything now, a family, a successful business, a beautiful home…
He reasoned that perhaps it was about time things worked out for Niles. After all, for years he had served an ungrateful wife while working long and hard. Then, she had cheated on him and they had divorced. He had had to live out his life loving a woman from a distance, and then watch her almost get married…
It was indeed time Niles had a stroke of luck. A very long stroke of luck.
But what about Frasier? Wasn't it time he was blessed, too?
Sure, he had a good job, a good home, and some good friends, but sometimes he was surprised by how lonely he got.
He brushed away the thought and went back to join Daphne and David downstairs.
Later, Niles joined them and they all had dinner together.
"David," he told his son, "tell Frasier what happened last week."
A small grin forced itself across his face. "I got all A-pluses on my report card," he said softly.
"A-pluses," said Daphne. She smiled at David. "He's as sharp as a tack."
David blushed.
"How exciting for you, David!" Frasier said. "You know, I think you're taking after your father on the academic side. I don't think Niles ever received one B in his entire life."
"Oh, Frasier, you didn't either," Niles said. "Well, there was that one time…"
"Yes, but let's not talk about that right now," Frasier said quickly, then he changed the subject. He wasn't really in the mood to discuss his shortcomings at the moment.
The evening went on and Martin, Ronee, Roz, and Alice came over later to see Frasier.
All of them stayed for about two hours and then left, and David said goodnight and was sent off to bed.
Frasier, Niles, and Daphne stayed up for hours just talking, mostly about when Frasier had lived in Seattle.
It was about 1 AM when Daphne finally said, "Well, I'm getting sleepy. It's probably about time I got to bed anyways, I've got to take David to school tomorrow." She stood up. "Are you coming, Niles?"
"I'll be there soon, my love, I have to speak with Frasier about something," he replied.
"Alright," she said, and she went up the stairs.
As soon as Daphne was out of earshot, Niles said, "Alright, Frasier, what's the matter?"
"What do you mean, Niles?" Frasier asked.
"You know quite well what I mean. Something's bothering you. What is it?"
"Niles…" Frasier knew that it would be no use lying to him. It would be ten times more effective just to tell him the truth.
"Alright. I'm feeling lonely." Frasier sighed. "Lately, at work, people have been giving me a hard time about still being single. Seeing you and how blessed you are…I guess sort of made me jealous."
"I know exactly what you mean. I used to feel that way all the time before Daphne and I started dating. There you were, with your own radio show, with scads of women just dying to go out with you, with a goddess living under your roof… But that's beside the point. I learned that it was just a dry spell, and that everyone has them. But in time, things get better." He stood up and began to walk towards the staircase. "It will be the same for you, Frasier. Goodnight."
He ascended the staircase and was gone.
Niles has done it again, thought Frasier. He's made me feel better simply by talking to me. It had been that way for years and he wondered why he hadn't gone to him more often when they had lived near each other.
He's a good brother, he thought as he got up, switched off the lights, and began to head towards the guest room.
