I don't own Frasier nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.
When Frasier arrived at work, he paid no attention to the fact Roz hadn't showed up yet - it was nothing unusual, after all. But when she entered the booth with reddened eyes and looked upset, he immediately began worrying. He opened the door to her booth and eyed her in concern. "Roz, is something wrong?" he pressed.
She wanted to wait until after work - she'd planned to go over to his place later and tell him - but the news came spilling out. Roz bit her lip and choked back a sob. "You could say that," she answered, her voice cracking.
"Tell me," Frasier pleaded, clapping a hand on her shoulder. The show started in less than ten minutes but he didn't care at that moment. They could run iThe Best of Frasier Crane/i if this was something serious.
"I'm pregnant," Roz confessed in a rush.
"Again?" he asked.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Roz smiled a bit before it faded. "It's yours."
Frasier's world shuddered to a standstill. His mind whirred as he struggled to process everything that had just been dropped on his lap. "It's mine? I'm going to be a father again?"
She nodded and let out a sob. "You don't have to be involved. I don't want to do this on my own again but I can if I have to." The thought of raising two children by herself absolutely terrified Roz but she was determined to stand on her own.
Despite the shock he was still in, Frasier shook his head. "Roz, I will be involved. This is my child too, and I will take responsibility for my actions. We are both at fault for your pregnancy. I'll be there every step of the way," he vowed.
"Really?" Roz knew she was acting irrationally but she had been terrified to face reality ever since she started to recognize pregnancy symptoms - she had put off taking a test and going to her doctor for a solid week.
"Yes. And I love this baby already." He then checked his watch and realized how close it was to show time. "Why don't you put on the Best of Frasier Crane and we can go somewhere to talk?"
"Fine with me." She quickly set it up and then she and Frasier headed back to his apartment. Fortunately for them, Martin wasn't home so they could talk privately.
Frasier grabbed Roz a glass of water and sat down next to her. He felt even guiltier about their encounter now that their actions resulted in pregnancy. "I love this baby already," he confessed.
Roz's head snapped up. "Really?"
"Yes. And I believe that Frederick and Alice will be excited about their sibling. Frederick's been bothering Lilith and I - separately - for a little brother for many years."
"What are we going to do, Frasier? My best friend knocked me up. This is my second unplanned pregnancy! I promised I'd be more careful after I had Alice and look how well that turned out." Already tired of crying (Roz would blame it on hormones but she knew she was reacting this way because of the situation they were in), she dreaded the rest of the pregnancy. Damn mood swings.
"You could move in with me," Frasier impulsively suggested. There was an extra room now that Daphne had moved out.
Roz's mouth dropped open. "I come with a four year old and a dog," she pointed out.
"I love Alice, and Eddie will be glad to have the company. We'll figure everything out later."
"Let me think about it." She was leaning towards rejecting his offer but she'd at least consider it.
Frasier pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Roz."
"I love you too, Frasier."
They pulled apart after a minute or so and then Frasier's gaze dropped down towards her stomach. "Can I?" he questioned.
"Sure," Roz replied and grinned when his hand wandered to her abdomen.
"That's our child in there," Frasier whispered in awe.
"Yeah, it is." His excitement was infectious and for the first time since she started feeling off a few weeks earlier, a genuine grin lit up Roz's face. They were actually having a baby together and it wasn't the end of the world.
When Martin arrived home with Niles and Daphne in tow three hours later (Roz had gone back to her apartment about an hour and a half earlier), Frasier wondered how he'd break the news to his family. "You okay, Fras? You look lost tonight," Martin observed after they finished eating dinner.
"You have been awfully quiet tonight," Niles realized.
"Did something happen?" asked a curious Daphne.
Frasier sighed. "Roz is pregnant."
"Again?" Niles felt bad that Roz was going through yet another unplanned pregnancy.
"I'm the father."
Niles spat his Sherry and stared at his brother. "I'm going over there," Daphne decided. She figured Roz needed a supportive shoulder to lean on.
As excited as he was about the thought of another grandchild, Martin still had to scold his son. "How could you be so irresponsible, Frasier? You're the last person I expected this to happen to. You know better than this!"
"Dad, I'm taking responsibility for my actions. Yes, this was unplanned, but Roz and I are both adults. We'll raise this baby together."
Niles finally recovered and stood up to hug his brother. "Congratulations, Frasier. Despite the circumstances, this is rather exciting news."
"Thank you, Niles." Frasier was glad to have his brother's support.
Now that he had gotten the rant out of his system, Martin beamed. "I'm going to be a grandpa again! This is fantastic news."
Daphne pulled Frasier in for a half hug and congratulated him. "I'll be home later. Don't wait up for me," she told Niles before fleeing to Roz's apartment to talk to her.
"How are you feeling?" Niles pressed, knowing his brother wasn't telling them everything.
"Nervous. Guilty. Excited. I'm running the whole gamut of emotions."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Leave your brother alone," Martin ordered as he made his way over to his chair.
"Maybe later but thank you for the kind offer."
Roz felt a lot better about her pregnancy after a long talk with Daphne, and her friend even helped her see that moving in with Frasier (and Martin) was likely the best decision. Three weeks later, when her lease was up, the Doyles (and Ariel) moved in with the Cranes. Frasier gave Alice the spare bedroom (the one that Frederick used when he visited, but the two could just share) and it was decided the baby would sleep in Roz's room with her for the time being. Martin tried to move out to give them more room but they both shot his idea down. "Are you sure?" he asked yet again.
"Dad, we're sure!" Frasier snapped.
"Uncle Frasier, you need to be nice to Uncle Martin," Alice told him as she sat down on the couch to watch TV.
"Thank you, Alice. I'll try to be nice from now on," he promised with a smile. She didn't know the truth yet but they planned to tell her and Frederick once the second trimester started.
"'Kay." And then she turned her attention back to the cartoon currently on.
When Alice asked Frasier to tuck her in when it came time to sleep, he happily accepted and even read her a story. Roz watched from the doorway with a smile on her face, trying to resist the urge to cry. She was thrilled the two of them were so close.
Frasier kissed Roz on the forehead as he left Alice's room and then went out to the living room to pour himself a glass of Sherry. "I miss alcohol," she told him after grabbing some water.
"I know you do. Sorry?" he apologized.
She laughed. "Keep the apologies up, Crane. You have a lot to make up for, especially when I have to push your kid out of my body."
Frasier winced. "I'm never going to live that one down, am I?" he teased.
"Nope!" Roz cheerfully answered as she sat down next to him.
They locked eyes and caught up in the moment, Frasier leaned forward to kiss her. She threw caution to the wind and kissed him back before reality came crashing down on them. "We can't do this, Roz," he regretfully said after he pulled away.
She bobbed her head in agreement. "We can't ruin our friendship or our kids' lives. This baby is the most important thing in the world right now, and we cannot fuck this up."
"Crude but true." But God, he wanted to kiss her and he couldn't think about what that meant right now. It'd ruin everything. They were best friends raising a child together and that was that. That was all they could be.
She laughed. "Never change, Frasier Crane." And the two of them went right back to ignoring whatever was happening between them.
As expected, Frederick and Alice were thrilled about the baby - and shocked. "You're having a baby with Roz?" Frederick clarified, looking back and forth between the two.
"Yes, I am. Frederick, you're fine with this?" Frasier checked.
"Of course I am! This is awesome!" Frederick fist-pumped and then went to call his friends.
"I can't wait for my baby sister," Alice told them.
"What makes you so sure it's a girl?" Roz teased.
"Because," Alice answered. Then she went to bother Frederick.
"We need to come up with some names." The thought occurred to Frasier later as they were watching TV.
"You could name him after me," Martin tried.
Roz laughed. "Nice try but no. Maybe as a middle name," she conceded.
Martin shrugged. "Works for me."
"I know we both want the baby's sex to be a surprise but we probably should find out so we can narrow down our list. It'd make this a lot easier." Frasier kept going back and forth on whether or not he wanted to know, and it was driving his family up the wall.
"No. Nice try to you too but we both agreed that we'll find out when this kid is born." Roz rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Fine."
It wouldn't be the last time they had this argument.
In Roz's seventh month of pregnancy, a scare landed her in the hospital - both she and the baby were fine but she had to take it easy after being discharged. "Stop hovering, Frasier." He wouldn't leave her alone and she couldn't take it anymore.
"I just want to make sure both of you are alright," he protested.
"I know you're worried - it's sweet - but leave me the hell alone. I need my space, okay?" She wanted the last two months to go smoothly so they could meet their baby but his hovering just irritated her.
"We both need to relax. Why don't we dance?" he suggested. It was something to do and could take their minds off the terrifying situation they had just been in.
"I'm not listening to any of your shit so don't even think about it."
Frasier glared at her even as he laughed. "Why don't you put something you like on then?"
"I will." She waddled over to the stereo, found a CD, and popped it into the stereo, turning to a song she loved.
"Honestly, Roz?" he questioned as Bob Seger began playing.
"Shut up and deal with it. You listened to this kind of music at that bar in Boston, didn't you?"
"Yes, but I complained about it every step of the way!"
Roz shook her head in amusement and held her arms out. They began swaying to the music. Daphne, just finishing up some laundry, watched the interaction with one of her hands over her mouth. She wondered if they knew how they felt about one another and if they would ever going to do something about it. Maybe the baby would force their hands. After the song finished, Frasier kissed Roz's cheek and headed to his bedroom so he could get ready to go the opera with Niles (much to his protests - all of them insisted he needed to get out of the house and leave Roz alone).
As soon as he left, Roz backed up to the wall and burst into sobs. Daphne immediately ran to her side. "I know it's hard but that's why we're all here."
"You're a good friend, Daphne."
"I try. Everything will work out for the best. I know that for a fact," Daphne confidently told her best friend.
"You sure about that?"
"Of course I am!" Daphne winked at her, checked on Martin, and then left the apartment.
It took three weeks but Roz finally broke and decided to be honest with Frasier about her feelings for him. She knew she was taking a risk and this could ruin everything but it was hurting her to keep her feelings bottled up. So when Martin took Alice out for a few hours, she spotted an opportunity. "Sit down. I need to talk to you."
He sized her up in concern. "Are you hurting? Are you and the baby okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, will you? Fuck, this is hard enough already."
"Roz, is something the matter? Something not baby related?" He wondered if they were finally going to have the conversation he had been trying to ignore for several months now. He didn't want to cause an uproar so he had pushed his feelings aside to focus on the baby. It hadn't been working that well.
Roz sat down on the couch and kicked her feet up on the table. "Come here," she told him, patting the couch.
Frasier's hands went clammy but he sat down next to her. "Hello."
"Hi back." She exhaled and then decided to just go for it. "I don't want to ruin our friendship. You know that right?" At his nod, Roz continued. "I can't wait to raise this baby with you. And you're my best friend. I don't want anything to come between us."
"Neither do I," he answered, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
"I'm in love with you." She closed her eyes and a tear slid down her cheek.
He wiped it away with his thumb. "Open your eyes, Roz." When she stubbornly kept them closed, he cajoled her until she did open them a minute or two later. The look in Frasier's eyes took her breath away. "I've been ignoring the truth about my feelings for you for years, Roz. We came so close to having sex a few times and then finally did, and conceived a baby. So much has changed in the past eight months. But I am head over heels in love with you, Rozalinda Doyle."
She laughed. "Oh my God. Fuck." She couldn't believe they had both been ignoring their feelings for each other for months (years).
He laughed along with her before kissing her. The baby chose that moment to kick and he could only shake his head. "You're interrupting Mommy and Daddy already? Nice timing, little one."
Frasier and Roz were finally on the same page and that was all that mattered.
Their little girl came into the world kicking and screaming nine days later after an agonizing eleven hours of labor. "Alice will be thrilled to know she was right," Frasier told his girlfriend.
"How do you feel about having a girl this time?" a curious Roz questioned.
"Excited. It's a whole new world but I've got some practice in with Alice." He shushed the baby when she started fussing.
The door opened and the rest of the family filed in. "Baby sister!" Alice shrieked.
"You have to be quiet. She's just a little one and you'll upset her," Martin gently told her.
"Sorry," Alice whispered.
"What is my new granddaughter's name?" Martin tapped his cane impatiently.
"You were acting pretty cagey about her name. What is it?" Niles pressed.
Daphne, impatient to hold her niece, gently grabbed her out of Frasier's arms. "Hello, baby," she cooed.
Frasier glared at her but immediately softened - he couldn't stay mad when he was this happy. "Meet Rose Luna Crane."
Martin flinched in shock and turned away to wipe a traitorous tear off his face, hoping they hadn't noticed. "It's a wonderful name," he told them.
"I can't wait to have one of our own," Niles whispered to his wife.
"Neither can I," Daphne told him.
"Frederick, Alice, and Rose. At least the names work well together." Martin definitely approved of their choices.
"When did you decide on the name?" Daphne questioned as she tried to soothe Rose. Once she realized that wasn't happening, she handed the newborn over to Roz.
"We settled on Rose a while ago but Luna took just a bit longer," Roz answered over Rose's crying. Her middle name name had come to them just a few days earlier, and they thought both choices were perfect.
Frasier couldn't help the love that swelled up within him as he watched his family interact with his daughter. He was so damn happy he didn't know what to do, and this was certainly unusual. His love life had been a mess for years and now everything was finally working out, which was surreal.
When Rose came home from the hospital, she was settled into Roz's old room (she had moved into Frasier's room with him after they finally admitted their feelings for each other) and life quickly became chaotic (but that was okay with them).
Rose was six months old when Frasier and Roz flew out to Boston to introduce their daughter to his friends from Cheers. Frederick had already met her when he flew to Seattle with Lilith just weeks after Rose's birth but he still refused to leave his sister's side. They had a wonderful time (Roz adored all his friends and got along well with them, especially Sam) and came back with an unexpected souvenir - nine months later, they welcomed Willa Josephine into the family (just weeks after Daphne gave birth to her and Niles' first child, David). With Martin out of the house after marrying Ronee, they were happy to have the extra room. Roz and Frasier married just weeks later in a small civil ceremony with only Martin, Ronee, Niles, Daphne, and their children in attendance. Conceiving a baby during a one night stand had worked out surprisingly well for them, and they were more in love than ever. It was pretty damn amazing.