Author's Note: This story idea came about as I was looking around for an old story whose title and author I no longer remember. In doing so, I found the story "What Are You Doing for the Rest of My Life?" by Designated Writer. At first, I thought it was too depressing to even consider continuing. But suddenly, wheels began turning. I tried to contact the author, but he/she does not have private messages enabled. The idea wouldn't go away, and so I decided just to do it. Hopefully I've included enough backstory here that it isn't necessary to read that story first. But I highly recommend it, b/c it is beautiful, if heartbreaking. I can only hope I've done justice to it.
"Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you, Daphne?" Donny asked.
Daphne smiled at her husband of almost two months. "This is something I've got to do by meself." She kissed him for a long moment before knocking on the door of apartment 1901 of Elliot Bay Towers. It felt so strange to be here now, as she hadn't come back since she and Donny were married. She wasn't sure how Dr. or Mr. Crane would react to her. Niles had lost his battle with brain cancer just before she'd gotten married to Donny.
Many times, Donny had offered to postpone the wedding, to allow her time to heal, but Daphne had insisted that Niles would've wanted her to go ahead with it. He had written in his final journal entry that he was glad that Daphne had at least found someone who loved her. Of course, the honeymoon had been difficult. Daphne had been plagued by nightmares in which Niles was calling her name over and over, and she was unable to find him. But gradually, Daphne had made herself put Niles' death out of her mind, and they'd enjoyed the rest of their blissful honeymoon.
Now she and Donny had returned to Seattle, and Daphne knew it was time to go and see the Cranes. She had been dreading this visit, but she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. She took a deep breath and knocked once more.
Frasier answered the door. "Daphne!" When her bottom lip began to tremble, Frasier took her in his arms, holding her tightly and rubbing her back as she sobbed.
When she finally stopped crying, Daphne pulled out of the embrace. "I miss him so."
Frasier nodded. "We do, too. But we can't thank you enough for the way you took care of him. No one could've given Niles more comfort in his final days."
"I wish I could've done more, Dr. Crane!" Tears once again filled her eyes.
With a small sigh, Frasier took her by the hand and led her into the apartment. "No, Daphne, you musn't be so hard on yourself. There was nothing you could've done. My brother often said that you were an angel. Seeing the way you cared for him, I see now that he was right. Dad and I have something we want to give you. It's sort of a late wedding present."
"You've both been much too kind to me already. I can't accept -" She gasped in surprise when Frasier handed her a check. "Ten thousand dollars? Where did you ever get this kind of money? And why give it to me, of all people?"
Martin stood up from his place in his famous green chair. It was then that Daphne noticed that this apartment wasn't in its usual immaculate state. She knew that Frasier typically kept the place clean in her absence, so this must have been a side-effect of grief. "Daph, Frase and I realize that what you did for Niles wasn't easy. Seeing him like that, it killed us. And you saw him more than we did, so we just wanted to do something for you, so you and Donny could have a life together, without all of this hanging over you." He gestured around the room, referring to the tragedy they had all been through.
"But I can't keep something like this! It's simply too much money."
Frasier smiled at her. "We insist. Use it toward a new house, or for when you decide to start a family. It's yours, Daphne."
Tears once again formed in Daphne's eyes. "We've already decided." She placed a hand on her abdomen. "I know it's soon, but somehow, it happened anyway. The doctors tell us it's a boy. We're going to call him Niles."
"Donny's OK with that?" Martin asked in disbelief.
Daphne nodded. "I put me foot down. It was the right thing to do. And I suppose now the right thing to do would be to start a college fund. Thank you." She hugged them each in turn, first Frasier, then his father.
"I know this is a lot to ask, Daph, but could we...see the baby? I mean, after he's born?"
Once more she nodded. "Of course. You remember that I haven't got any family in the States. Even though I know this baby doesn't belong to you, I'd like him to know you just the same."
Frasier and Martin stood there in shock. Nothing could fill the void left by Niles' passing. The only comfort they had found was in thinking that at least mother and son had been reunited. Before his death, Niles had spoken of going home to his mother. No one in the room could doubt that Niles would want Daphne to be happy, so perhaps this baby was his doing, a gift of sorts, to comfort his grieving family.
Daphne smiled as she thought of the little boy she was carrying. He would have big shoes to fill, between his father, a respected Seattle attorney, and his namesake, the brilliant, kind Dr. Niles Crane. Even her psychic powers could not tell her what lay in store for her son's future. But one thing was for sure: he would be loved. Nothing else mattered.
The End