No warnings -- none of the characters are mine.
Lilguppee did the beta on this but any mistakes are mine.
Crowswork
Frasier Crane and his brother Niles were guest speakers at a psychiatric conference in Boston, and their father, Martin had, at the last minute, elected to accompany them. Of course, he insisted on paying his own way and that included flying coach. No fancy-shmancy first class for him.
When Frasier walked to the back of the plane and checked on him, he was deep into conversation with an unlikely looking young man with long curly hair (who bore an unusual resemblance to his radio station's weirdest engineer). He'd been introduced to the man, who it turned out, worked with the police. Martin then dismissed Frasier and went back to his conversation.
As they neared Cascade, the brothers had heard a commotion from the rear of the plane, followed by orders from the Captain to stay in their seats. Both brothers informed the flight attendant that they were doctors -- which they were -- and had their offer of assistance refused. After a nerve-wracking landing and a seemingly interminable wait on the tarmac, they discovered the cause of the commotion.
"I tell ya' guys, you shoulda' seen this kid here." Once inside the airport, Martin caught Blair Sandburg's head in the crook of his arm and ruffled his long hair. "This crazy big guy -- sitting across the aisle -- drunk out of his mind -- tries to open the exit door. We're sitting in the next row back and before I know it, Blair is in the aisle and has this creep by the seat of the pants -- dragging him away from the door."
"Hey... Martin. If you hadn't climbed over and got him in that chokehold, I don't think I could have held him." Blair looked over and grinned at the older man.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot my aches and pains there for a while." Martin smiled wryly at his horrified sons. "We didn't have any cuffs so we hog-tied the creep with our belts, a couple of purse straps and the bra that one girl gave us."
"She was nice," Blair nodded. "And brave, too."
"Get her number, kid?"
"Heck, yes." Blair answered Martin's whisper with one of his own.
Frasier, Niles and their father were escorted to a private waiting area along with Blair Sandburg and the rest of the passengers. They would have to be interviewed by the police and investigators from the FAA. Only then, could they continue their journey.
"Hey... Frage... we're stuck here so we might as well accept it." Martin Crane was looking far too pleased with himself as he took a seat.
"Honestly. He looks 20 years younger." Niles muttered wistfully as they watched their father hold court as the hero of the hour. "How he must miss being a detective."
"He risked his life." Frasier was still shaken. "Good lord, Niles. We could all have been killed if not for them."
"Oh!" Niles turned an interesting shade of green. "I really hadn't though of that."
There was a commotion as a tall man slammed through the doors ahead of several police officers. "Sandburg!" the tall man snarled, his frown fading as he spied Blair sitting next to Martin. Blair stood and smiled at the fierce looking fellow. The man stalked forward and with a quick look at the crowd, caught the young man by the scruff of his neck and squeezed gently. "I can't let you go anywhere alone."
"Jeez, Jim." Blair punched his arm. "I have someone you have to meet. Martin Crane, this is Jim Ellison, my partner."
"Hey, Jim." Martin shook hands with the large, predatory looking man and introduced him to his sons. "This is Jim Ellison -- Blair told me all about him on the flight. Cop of the Year."
Blair was called to give his statement and Jim and Martin exchanged cop-talk for the better part of a half-hour. When Blair returned, Martin greeted him with a big smile. "Man, you guys have closed some wild cases."
"Couldn't have done it without Darwin." Jim looked self-conscious. "Dr. Sandburg here is the brains of the team."
"Doctor?" Niles looked surprised. "Criminology?"
"Anthropology." Blair corrected.
"Fascinating." Niles perked up for the first time since hearing they were stranded in Cascade for the next few hours. "Is the thrust of your studies the structure of the police department or criminal behavior?"
"Police sub-cultures functioning as tribal acculturation in a modern setting." Blair answered almost absently. "I also act as a profiler and consultant."
"For a scientist the kid's as tough as nails," Martin assured them all. "And I know all about scientists cause I was married to one."
"Our mother was a researcher," Niles offered. "Primarily clinical behavior and the underlying genetic causes of...."
"She was a shrink," Martin interrupted dryly. "Just like both of them. In fact she was here in Cascade when she had Frasier. I had to drive here from Seattle, in the middle of the night, through the worst storm in a hundred years. All cause he couldn't wait another month to be born."
"I'm sorry I inconvenienced you, Dad." Frasier added with equally arid humor, before adding. "At least I ended up having a forehead."
Blair and Jim looked instantly at Frasier's rather high, patrician forehead, the inside family joke lost on them.
"Dad was afraid I might be a Cro-Magnon." Frasier took pity on the confused men. "It seems that the scientists in mother's group were trying to tap into the genes that endowed pre-civilized man with superior strength and senses."
Niles chuckled and chimed in. "Dad was convinced that mother had turned Frasier into some sort of in-utero caveman. It's always been quite the family in-joke."
Frasier saw young Sandburg go pale, bounce and grab Ellison's arm. Nerves setting in -- the psychiatrist diagnosed automatically -- delayed reaction to a close call.
Jim shot his friend a look, (almost a glare) and squeezed the fingers bruising his arm. "You said you were born during Typhoon Cindy?" Jim met Frasier's gaze and smiled tightly as he rattled off the exact date of Frasier's birth.
"Yes." Actually, Frasier didn't remember mentioning the date or the storm's name. "It was apparently a nightmare. Storm victims and power failures and several women besides mom who all needed C-sections."
"Jim! That's... that's..." The young man next to Ellison was definitely suffering from posttraumatic stress. Frasier congratulated himself on his correct diagnosis. Blair was absolutely waxen and looked to be going into shock as he seemed to fight the urge to speak. Ellison took him by the shoulders and almost seemed ready to shake him, but instead, simply looked into his wide, distressed eyes for a long moment. As if some silent communication had taken place, Sandburg calmed and nodded.
Niles noticed and stepped closer to the long-haired man. "You seem anxious, Blair. Are you all right?"
"Just a delayed reaction." Blair held up his hands and laughed nervously. "It always happens."
The officials called for Martin to give his statement and he stood with a grimace, leaning on his cane. "It's been a pleasure to meet you guys." He suffered an impulsive hug from the puppyish Sandburg and held out his hand to Jim.
Jim shook hands solemnly with the two brothers and then took their father's hand in both of his. "It's been a real honor, sir. What you did on that plane proves that you are still a great cop."
"Aww..." Martin seemed to search for words. "I'm just glad I was there to look after my boys... couldn't stand it, if anything happened to them, you know."
"It's important to protect your family, sir."
"Always." Frasier was almost shaken at the rare look of affection his father gave him.
Jim Ellison watched until Martin disappeared into the office and then put his arm over Blair's shoulders. "Come on, Chief. Let's go home."
Frasier watched them leave, with an oddly sad feeling. He wondered if his dad wished he'd been a police officer like Jim. Then he remembered the look Martin had given them and knew (although the man hated to say it out loud) that his dad loved them more than anyone.
The End
This one was born when I was watching both shows with Jim's snotty dad and Frasier's pragmatic, cop dad, in them (One was about Frasier's mom being an intense if not actually mad scientist) and I thought "holy mix-up at the nursery" and then -- being me -- I thought... hummm?