Wednesday afternoon

It was a call that he wished he'd never taken, and a subject that he wished he'd never brought up.

The moment that he announced the topic of the day (Family Relationships) the phone lines lit up like a Christmas tree. Roz frantically tried to keep up with the chaos, pushing buttons like crazy and somehow managing to screen each and every call as they came in. Frasier watched her with admiration, making a mental note to get her a raise as soon as humanly possible. God knew she deserved it. She was not only his producer and friend but she was an absolute godsend in more ways than one.

For the first hour, he was delighted to have the opportunity to help his callers with their family problems and even more delighted when they thanked him profusely. It was the part of his job that he loved the most; the satisfaction of knowing that he'd helped someone. It was why he had followed in his mother's footsteps and had become a psychiatrist.

He listened to stories about sibling rivalry, estranged parent relationships, broken homes, untold secrets and a host of other problems, finding genuine interest in each and every one. He gave the best advice that he could; hoping that the things he said would make a difference in some small way.

But the mood began to change at the turn of the second hour, when his show hit the halfway mark. He briefly changed the subject, turning the focus on himself. He spoke of his father and the way their relationship changed dramatically when he'd taken him into his home. He spoke of Niles and how they had been best friends for years in school but had drifted apart when Frasier moved to Boston and started his family. Although he and Lilith were no longer married and hadn't been for some time, Frasier wouldn't trade one moment of his life. For meeting her turned his life around and gave him the greatest gift imaginable; his adoring son Frederick.

When he returned to Seattle more than eleven years after Frederick's birth in the back of a taxi cab, he missed his son terribly. And when he lost his freedom after his father moved in, Frasier felt even more alone.

"Feel free to call in with any thoughts you might have." He offered with a smile. He was eager to know if anyone in the KACL listening area had lived a similar life and faced the same challenges. He loved being connected to his callers, even if in a very small, rather insignificant way.

Seconds later the phone rang and the lines lit up once again. He glanced into the booth and smiled, giving Roz a thumbs-up. "Okay Roz, who do we have on the line?"

"We have Bernard from Richland, Washington on Line 2. But he won't tell me what his problem is."

Frasier chuckled at Roz's choice of words. "Ah, a surprise topic! This should be interesting. Hello Bernard, I'm listening."

"Yeah? Well that brother of yours sure doesn't!"

Frasier sat upright, glancing at Roz with a wide-eyed expression that mirrored her own. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You should be, you lowlife jerk!"

"I beg your pardon? I have no idea what you're talking about but I can assure you, Bernard, that neither I nor my brother have done anything at all that warrants this kind of treatment! Now tell me what your problem is or get off my line!"

"Your brother has some nerve charging me the outlandish fees that he's charging me and then when I go into his office, he just sits there, pretending to listen, writing on that stupid little pad of his!"

"Well Bernard, sometimes it's necessary to take notes when patients are-."

"I'm not a damn patient, all right? I don't need a damn shrink! And I sure as hell don't know why I'm talking to you!"

"I-I see… Well, then-."

"I know damn well that he doesn't care about my problem… if I had any that is! All I wanted was for someone to listen to me while I spilled my guts about my ex-wife. See, I have no one to talk to and I figured what the hell, I'll just take a chance on this guy because his last name is Crane, like yours, right?"

"Um… yes that is correct. My brother and I have the same last name."

Frasier glanced at Roz who was shaking her head in disbelief, giving Frasier a look of sympathy. God bless her. She deserved two raises.

"What are you, an idiot? I know he has the same last name! That's why I called his office and made an appointment! I spoke to some broad who didn't know up from down, but somehow she managed to make the appointment. And I couldn't believe it when she got the information right!"

Frasier rubbed his aching forehead, wishing that he'd called in sick. "I believe you're speaking of his secretary, Mrs. Woodson. She's a lovely woman, so kind and-."

"She's a kook!"

The word brought Frasier back to when he'd first met Daphne and had referred to her in the very same manner. And he made a mental note to find a way to apologize as soon as he could. For now he regretted using that word more than ever before.