A/N: The premise for this story originated from a scene in an episode of Kelsey Grammar's short-lived (and entertaining) show "Partners". Turns out that it fit perfectly as a "Frasier" story. No prior knowledge of "Partners" is needed before reading this but I used some of the details of his character's background in "Partners" to write this story, so it won't be entirely accurate when applied to "Frasier Crane".

He was thinking about it when he returned to his hotel room. He thought about it while he tossed and turned in the luxurious hotel bed, listening to the drone of the Boston city traffic twenty five stories below. He was thinking about it the next morning as he checked out of the hotel as quickly as possible and hailed a cab to take him to Logan International Airport. He thought about it during the entire six-hour multi-time zone flight across the country to Seattle. He thought about it as the plane touched down in the Emerald City. He thought about it while he climbed into his black BMW and drove to his home at the Elliott Bay Towers. And he was still thinking about it when he waved in greeting to Morrie, the doorman who had in the years that he'd lived in the Elliott Bay Towers, become his friend, before entering the elevator that would take him to his home on the nineteenth floor.

Home.

Never had such a small word had such a profound meaning.

Boston used to be his home, many years ago. He'd lived there for years, even before he'd met Lilith, fell in love with her and produced a beautiful son; Frederick. But daringly in his mind he put his family aside. Because the truth was that the time he'd spent at Harvard Medical School was his proudest accomplishment.

He thought he could go back. When he received the invitation in the mail he was overjoyed and he immediately called up the person who meant the most to him; not his father (although he loved his father dearly), but Niles. He was the only person who would truly understand what it meant. And as Frasier had expected, Niles had been almost as enthusiastic about the Harvard reunion as Frasier had, encouraging him to make the trip.

After he RSVP'd, he found that he was looking foreword to his trip to Boston, seeing his colleagues, professors and his fraternity brothers. He was so enthusiastic about it that he'd succeeded in almost driving Daphne and his father crazy for the past three weeks telling story after story about his days as a student and proud member of the prestigious Delta Beta fraternity.

Of course, Niles had been the only one who wasn't annoyed by the endless praise on the esteemed Harvard Medical School. In fact, the more stories Frasier told, the more Niles wanted to hear; a circumstance that surprised Frasier immensely, for it was the first time Niles had taken such an interest in Frasier's life. Perhaps Niles was just being kind, making up for years of bickering and competition to see who could be more successful. Or perhaps he was taking an interest because he truly cared about his older brother. At least that's what Frasier liked to think.

Now he wished (oh, how he wished) that he had considered asking Niles to come along on the journey. With Niles there, Frasier could have possibly avoided the ridicule, the shame and the hurt. Or at least he would have had someone there who understood. However, asking Niles to come along would have been a huge imposition. He'd already posed an imposition on the station, shuffling things around in order to accommodate his absence. In order for his show to air at its regular time, he was grateful that there was a surplus of tapes containing "The Best of the Dr. Frasier Crane" show readily available at Roz's highly capable fingertips. And to his surprise, she was very encouraging when it came to his dilemma. But in the end, he'd carefully made his decision about his Harvard reunion. Frasier had gone alone, determined to make this trip his most memorable ever.

It turned out to be the worst mistake he'd ever made.