As Frasier droned on with his opera-loving friends, Roz masterfully put on a façade of interest, but internally she felt so bored that she wanted to scream. To keep her mind occupied, Roz mulled over how she had gotten into this mess.

Frasier was back in Seattle to stay. Charlotte had rejected him, and his new TV show in San Francisco had required of him things that would have compromised his ethics. Despite Bebe's wrath, Frasier had quit, and there was nowhere else to go but home.

Due to Roz's influence, Frasier had gotten his time slot back, but returning to Seattle society wasn't as simple. When La Traviata premiered in Seattle, Frasier asked Roz to come with him. Integrating back into the society set would be easier with a friend along.

"Normally I'd ask Niles," Frasier had explained to Roz, "but of course he's busy with his family."

Frasier had once done Roz an enormous favor, traveling out of state with her and pretending to be her boyfriend to spare her embarrassment in front of the whole Doyle clan. Roz felt that she owed him.

"I hope he appreciates this," Roz muttered under her breath that night.

She looked longingly into her empty wine flute. A few more glasses would have made this bearable.

"Roz, what did you think of the opera?" asked Alistair—the very same Alistair who had an attraction to Frasier.

"Oh, it's…very fascinating," Roz invented, caught off-guard. "There's so much authenticity to it. I don't know if I could sing in the same opera night after night and still do it so enthusiastically."

"It was a fantastic premiere," Alistair agreed.

"Sure was," Roz said wondering how much longer she could keep up this charade.

"What other operas do you like?" asked a thin young woman, with a condescending sniff.

"Actually, this was my first, but Frasier raved about it so much that I just had to come," Roz said, lying through her teeth.

Frasier gave her a look of amused approval.

Ice Queen (as Roz called internally called her) looked narrowly at Roz.

"Why did you like this so much? La Traviata is a very multilayered work. It's a bit difficult for someone new to opera to appreciate."

"Might as well start in the deep end," Roz chirped.

Ice Queen raised an eyebrow, but Roz looked steadily back. Frasier had turned to someone else to discuss an actress in the opera and thus did not see a building enmity between Ice Queen and Roz. There was a certain amount of tension, though Roz couldn't understand why this woman was being so antagonistic.

"You don't really like opera, do you?" Ice Queen asked.

"Ah…" Roz fumbled for something to say.

A triumphant smirk grew on Ice Queen's face and Roz was strongly reminded of Mel. Bewildered, Roz backed away, but her antagonist wouldn't let up. Roz wasn't sure how much more she could take.

"You didn't really like it at all," Ice Queen said, cornering her. "You were just Frasier's arm candy for the night, weren't you?"

"He's my date," Roz said furiously. "Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I'm his accessory!"

Roz looked desperately around for Frasier, but he had moved on and was talking to Alistair.

What had she done to antagonize this woman, besides fake an interest in opera?

"You're a fake!" this woman hissed, as if she could read Roz's mind. "Frasier dumped me, a true opera fan, for some pretty flash in the pan!"

The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at the scene. A hurt and bewildered Roz was staring in disbelief, but Frasier rushed to her and stood protectively by her side.

"Lydia, you're being completely out of line. Don't take it out on Roz just because it didn't work out for us. It's been a year since we broke up. Let it go."

Roz smile gratefully at Frasier; as she spoke, Lydia gave her a look of puzzlement. It looked as if Lydia was trying to remember something.

A moment later, her eyes turned steely and she went on the attack again with harsh words that cut deep. Lydia, like Mel, was of that vindictive type that relished hurting people.

"Why, you're his producer!" Lydia said with a sneering laugh. "Asking out the help. That's new."

"Actually, I'm station manager now," Roz said coldly.

"Oh, please. Just another glorified title," Lydia sneered. "You have no talent. KACL just put you there because having a female station manager would look good. You're not nearly good enough for Frasier."

Both Roz and Frasier were stunned, but the latter was the first one to speak up. Roz had never seen him so angry and watching him confront Lydia was something she could never have imagined. Frasier was usually so fixated on keeping up appearances, no matter what.

That Frasier Crane had disappeared.

"Leave her alone, Lydia!" he almost snarled, giving no mind to the shocked audience. "She's my friend and one of the sweetest women I've ever known! And don't look down on her profession. My show would have been in the tank time after time if it wasn't for her. Back off."

Roz was amazed and touched by Frasier's defense, but Lydia looked as if she had swallowed a lemon.

"I bet she's just a tramp and you picked her up because you were desperate," she sneered.

Roz felt her confidence shatter, and she barely heard Frasier valiantly defending her due to the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She had to get away from the humiliation. Snatching up her purse, Roz bolted from the opera house cocktail lounge.

"Common, nasty, cheap bitch," Roz muttered as she blew through the lobby. "No wonder Frasier dumped her."

It was a relief to say those words, but the pain Roz felt was not lessened by it. She was dangerously near tears and all she could think about was hailing a taxi and getting back to her apartment, where she could lick her wounds in peace.

"Roz! Wait!"

Turning, she saw Frasier racing toward her. Taking a deep breath, she paused at the front door. As eager as she was to leave the scene of her humiliation behind, Roz did not want her friend and defender to worry about her all night.

"Don't mind that awful woman's words," Frasier said soothingly. "I'm sorry about how she acted. If I'd known she'd be so spiteful I wouldn't have gone to the after party."

"I wouldn't want you to stay away just for me," Roz said, sniffling. "I know it's important to you to get back together with your fellow opera lovers. Even if I can't understand what all the fuss is about."

She tried and failed to laugh, and the tears rose to the surface again. Noticing that they were getting strange looks from many people, Frasier took Roz's hand and gently steered her out the doors. Pausing for a moment, he gestured toward a park across the street.

"Why don't we go have a talk? Not as a psychiatrist but a friend."

"W-why not?" Roz answered chokingly, touched by how empathetic Frasier was.

They sat down on a secluded bench in the park. The rich colors of the setting sun cast a pink light, and birds sleepily chirped in the trees. Roz hardly noticed the beauty of the early evening, however.

Frasier slipped his arm around Roz and gave her a friendly hug. At this caring gesture, Roz could no longer hold back her tears and began to weep weakly.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "I just…why do women have to tear each other down? What did I do to incur her wrath?"

"You didn't," Frasier said gently. "She just can't let go of us breaking up. When I told her off just now, she acted like I was some monster."

"Thank you for defending me," Roz said gratefully. "Maybe her words hit too close to home. I've always felt overshadowed by my family. They think I'm a freak because I haven't gotten married—and I'm sure they'd call me a tramp if they knew how many men I've dated! They weren't even glad when I became station manager! They wanted me to have some lofty, prominent job! I couldn't even convince everyone that I was your date tonight!"

"Roz, you're not a tramp," Frasier said firmly. "You're a consenting adult who enjoys having relationships with multiple partners, but you know boundaries and respect them. Remember when you found out one of your dates was actually married and you beat him up with the flowers he gave you?"

Roz laughed, shaking her head at that memory.

"That jerk! I wish I'd had more than flowers to hit him with!"

"There's the Roz I know," Frasier said approvingly. "Roz, you're the best thing to happen to KACL. You run a tight ship, and you had always been a fantastic producer, too. You were great at screening callers who might have ruined my show. More importantly, you've been a good friend. Even Niles liked you...eventually."

Roz laughed at his last words and a comfortable silence fell over them for a few moments as she processed what Frasier had said. A warm feeling of gratitude and satisfaction was flowing through her. Nobody had ever said such nice things to her or been so reassuring.

As she thought more about it, Roz reflected that Frasier had been her main support for almost a dozen years. What had started out as a strictly professional partnership had turned into a deep friendship. A friendship she felt so passionately about that it was almost as if—

Like a flash of lightning in the night, an undeniable realization stunned her. It had been lying deep in her subconscious ever since Frasier had left for San Francisco. At the time, Roz thought her grief over his leaving was just due to knowing that they would no longer have their coffee dates and other outings; she had no friends as close to her as he was.

Now Roz knew just how blind she'd been. The revelation was like the sun coming up at dawn; it changed everything. She knew now that it had been far more than missing a friend that had affected her so much.

I'm in love with Frasier, she thought, trying to grasp the reality of her feelings. I was devastated when he left because…I care so deeply about him that he's far more than just a friend.

"By the way, I think you were doing quite well pretending to be an opera fan," Frasier said lightly. "Lydia's just an interrogator. Listen…why don't I take you to dinner? There's a nice place a little distance from here."

"Sure," Roz said, brightening. "It sounds a lot better than spending a Saturday night in my apartment like some old fuddy-duddy."

Frasier smiled fondly at her.

"You? A fuddy-duddy? Not the woman who has dated almost every red-blooded heterosexual man in Washington state?"

"Oh, shut up, you dope," Roz said, grinning. Oh, how she had missed their playful sniping. "Your schedule was pretty busy, too!"

"Only because I'm so irresistible," Frasier pretended to boast as they crossed the street and headed to his car.

Half an hour later, Roz looked queerly at Frasier; they were still driving and were headed out of the greater Seattle area. Eventually they were making their through the pine-covered foothills; the light from the setting sun was fading fast, and the headlight beams were almost the only illumination on the winding road. Roz knew Frasier would never put her in danger, so she tried to dispel her nervousness with humor.

"Have you had a few wines too many, Frasier?" she inquired mischievously.

"That swill?" Frasier said with a laugh. "That wine was overrated. Flat, no distinct notes, and overly sweet. I'll have to tell Niles—he'd get a laugh."

"Oh, please," Roz answered bemusedly. "It's free wine! What more do you want? I wanted to drink a whole bottle while that awful woman was talking!"

"We're almost at the restaurant," Frasier said as a means of distraction, not wanting Roz's mind turning back to those horrible moments.

He turned onto a road that followed a low crest of land; a moment later they saw a quaint stone building. Light slanted through the arched windows and lanterns glowed softly over a balcony.

"Whoa, fancy," Roz said as Frasier parked the car.

"This is The Vinery, one of Seattle's best-kept secrets," Frasier said, helping her out of the car.

"Of course, it's a secret, it's in the woods," Roz observed with a tolerant laugh. "Dump a dead body and have dinner on the way out."

"Very funny," Frasier said.

Roz gave him a friendly hug.

"You know I have to annoy you," she replied. "This looks great, Frasier, honestly."

When they entered the cozy restaurant, Frasier requested a table on the balcony. The host honored his request readily and led Frasier and Roz out into the pine-scented, cool air again. Frasier gestured toward the distance. Roz looked where he was pointing and drew an amazed breath.

Against the dark line of mountains on the opposite site of the city, the lights of Seattle stretched out like a bright galaxy over the land. They could just make out those mountains silhouetted against a moonless sky, standing like sentries around the city. Roz was stunned. No wonder that Frasier had been so mysterious about the restaurant. This was an unimaginable surprise.

"This is spectacular," she gasped as the waiter guided them to a table close to the balcony railing.

Frasier pulled out a chair for Roz, one that allowed her a full view of the beautiful landscape ahead.

"Would either of you care for some wine?" the waiter inquired.

Roz grinned at Frasier before answering saucily:

"I know he will. My friend needs wine as much as he needs air and water."

"We'll have the Chateau Blanc pinot grigio," Frasier said effortlessly.

"I see what you mean," the waiter said mischievously, winking at Roz before disappearing with the wine order.

Over wine, delicious Italian dishes and heavenly cannolis, the two friends talked and reminisced over anything and everything, even reminiscing over some of Frasier's oddest callers.

As the night went on, however, Roz was finding it harder to concentrate on the conversation. She gazed across the table and had to force herself not to stare at Frasier. The subtle glow of the intimate candlelight did not dim that pleasant smile, those blue eyes…

The revelation that Roz had had in the park swept through her again. The sight of him was making her shiver inwardly and the slightly dazed feeling she had was not due to the wine.

"Roz?" Frasier said almost sharply, bringing her out of her trance.

"Hmm?" Roz said distractedly.

"I-I had an ulterior motive in inviting you to the opera. You see, I actually had planned on taking you to dinner…it wasn't impromptu."

"You couldn't have just taken me to dinner?" Roz returned, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "I didn't have to be bored to death?"

"I didn't want you to get suspicious…"

"About what?"

"About me taking you out just to The Vinery. I had to make it seem like a 'spur of the moment' thing so I'd surprise you…"

Now Roz was completely confused, staring at Frasier, who was compulsively picking at a piece of cannoli. He gave her an odd look—and then he strode over to her and looked deep into her shining brown eyes.

"Roz, I thought Charlotte's rejection and the disaster in San Francisco driving me back to Seattle was a bad thing…I had so wanted it all to work out. It was blessing, really. It showed me how important family is—I never should have left Dad and the rest."

There was a pause, and Frasier suddenly looked nervous.

"But it wasn't until my plane landed in Seattle that it suddenly came to me that something—or, rather, someone—was also calling me back to Seattle."

"So, who did you come back for? Claire? Cassandra? Faye?" Roz asked humorously.

There was another pause.

"You," Frasier finally said.

"…Me?" Roz said blankly.

Frasier's hand slipped into the pocket of his blazer and he drew out a small velvet box. Roz stared at him, knowing what he was going to ask but not quite comprehending. Dimly she heard Frasier speaking to her.

"Roz Doyle, do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?

Roz wondered if she was dreaming. Just two hours after that sudden realization as they'd sat together in that quiet, peaceful park, Frasier was asking her to marry him!

A sudden warmth on her face made Roz realize it wasn't a dream. Frasier's hand was lingering on her cheek in an affectionate gesture.

The words she spoke sounded far away but were full of sincerity.

"Yes…definitely yes…"

A moment later, Roz felt something cool slip onto her ring finger, and she looked down to see a plain but beautiful silver ring with an inset of pearls. It was so subtle and unique; Frasier had obviously put a lot into thought into selecting it.

At once, two warm, secure arms went around her waist and drew her out of her chair, holding her close. A moment later Roz felt Frasier's lips on hers. He was kissing her like no man had ever kissed her—passionate and sensual but also tender and reassuring.

"Oh, Frasier," Roz gasped when she had caught her breath. "This is so strange…when you were comforting me in the park…it hit me out of nowhere that I cared for you as far more than a friend. And just hours later, I find out that you feel the same way—very, very much the same way…"

"Are you sure about this? We've never been on a 'real' date before," Frasier said.

"We've known each other for almost a dozen years, you idiot," Roz teased affectionately. "I know more about you than I do about anyone in my family. Besides…Niles and Daphne took a leap of faith and look how it turned out. Why shouldn't we?"

"Just wanted to make sure," Frasier answered with a grateful smile.

A moment later, the waiter approached and broke their reverie.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir and madam, but the restaurant is closing."

"Of course. And don't worry, we'll be back," Frasier answered. "The food was excellent—and the wine list is exquisite. Few restaurants offer such a discerning lineup."

"I'm glad it passed the test," the waiter joked. "I see your lady was not exaggerating when she told me how much you love wine."

Roz snickered knowingly as Frasier gave her a playful shove. They left the restaurant and stepped out into the night once more.

As they took in the sound of the breeze in the pines and the distant hoot of an owl, Roz was somehow compelled to look up. When she did so, she gasped softly.

"Darling? Is everything all right?" Frasier asked worriedly.

Hearing Frasier calling her 'darling', especially in that tone she had never heard before, nearly made her look away. Unable to speak for fear she would cry from happiness, she pointed straight up at the sky.

Above them, far away from the city lights that hid them from human eyes, more stars than either of them had seen in their lives blazed in the sky, glittering more brilliantly than the clearest diamond. Roz did not need to look away to know that Frasier was as equally stunned by the dance of light and darkness above them.

"'If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning,'" Frasier intoned dreamily. "'Just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.'"

"Huh?" Roz said blankly.

"It's from C.S Lewis's book, Mere Christianity," Frasier explained.

"All right, college boy," Roz said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you feel better now that you've worked that into a conversation."

"Okay, so I have been waiting for an opportunity to use that," Frasier admitted with a smile. "Oh, the last of the restaurant staff is leaving. I suppose we should, too. They'll be turning off the lights in the parking lot soon."

"Not yet," Roz said softly, putting her arms around his neck. "Just one moment…"

Under the firmament of brilliant stars, Roz kissed her fiancé, and the sensation she felt as he gave in to her kiss was deeper and more fulfilling than she had ever imagined.

For so many years Roz had jumped from one relationship to another, trying to convince herself that she had found love at last—only to realize that it was just an illusion.

But this time it was not an illusion.

"I love you, Frasier."

"I love you too, Roz."

Their lives had changed within a few dizzying moments, but now Roz and Frasier knew that it had been inevitable. A friendship had deepened into something as pure and beautiful as the stars that looked down upon them.

Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here suddenly I see
Standing here it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be

A/N: I was so disappointed that Roz and Frasier didn't end up with each other at the end of the series, so here is my take.

I took some artistic license with the geography and layout of Seattle and the surrounding mountains. :)

The song lyrics at the end (as well as in the last chapter) are from 'I See the Light' which is from the Disney movie, 'Tangled'. I think it really fits the mood of my story.