A/N: No real plot or advanced planning but rather an exercise in writing therapy.

Alone in the living room, Daphne stared at the closed door as numbness came over her. She had no idea what had happened or what had caused her to get to this point, but she knew that it was her fault. She'd tried to apologize but it seemed that everything that came out of her mouth was wrong and only instead the anger and annoyance of the people she had hurt. She had no idea why she had done it or exactly what she had done. But because of her temper she'd managed to ruin things for herself and the people she loved.

She swallowed hard, her gaze moving around the living room, each object provoking a memory of some sort; and none of them good. Arguments over complete nonsense, voices shouting, doors slamming. They all added up to this horrible moment.

She thought she'd calmed down; thought she'd gotten over the conversation-turned shouting match she'd had with Donny… and another one with Mr. Crane. Neither man had done or said anything to fuel a fire, but she'd lost her temper just the same.

It started like any other day. She and Donny were simply living their lives, having a normal quiet evening at home.

Home…

It was funny how the word came so easily. It was true that the Elliot Bay Towers was no longer her real home and she couldn't deny that the reality hurt a bit. But she'd made a promise to Donny. They were a couple now and she loved him.

He hadn't proposed and she wasn't sure that he ever would. But even so, he'd asked her to move in with him and that was a huge step in her life. She'd never lived with a man before (save for her father and brothers but that was entirely different), and at first she was a bit worried about what Dr. Crane would say. After all, he had been adamant all those years ago about not hiring her, even letting her know in no uncertain terms that the position of Mr. Crane's physical therapist was not a live-in position. It meant that she'd have to find her own living arrangements, which was not easy being in a foreign country. She had no idea how to even go about finding a place to live and it was hard to hide her apprehension. But her worry didn't last long when Mr. Crane made it clear that Daphne was the one he wanted as his physical therapist. And that meant the world to her, although she'd never told him how much it meant to her; how much he meant to her.

Her throat felt tight as the hot tears welled in her eyes. How could she have treated him so cruelly? He was only making conversation and to be completely honest, she couldn't remember exactly what the conversation had been about. But she remembered her snippy response and the hurt look on his face, followed by a retort that she fully deserved. Instead of apologizing, she shot back, saying the first things that came to her mind, seemingly oblivious to how much they might sting. Perhaps that was her intention at the time, although her subconscious really couldn't tell her why.

And then there was Donny, whose incessant need to nag and remind her of things to be done again and again was driving her deeper and deeper into stress-related anger. And finally she simply couldn't take it any longer.

"I heard you, Donny!" She yelled when he reminded her yet again about things to be done. "You don't have to keep saying it over and over!"

"Well, apparently I do!" He shot back. "I've told you I don't know how many times to call them and-."

"I'll call them, okay?" She yelled. "I can't very well do it now because they're bloody closed! I'll do it tomorrow so stop nagging me about it!"

"I'll stop nagging you about it when you finally do it! I'm not an idiot, Daphne! I know that they're closed! I meant call them when they're open! "

She wanted to say something but she knew that anything she said would be completely over the top. And so she kept her mouth shut, for fear of pushing him too far.

But keeping quiet wasn't in the cards.

She wasn't sure what it was that she said to him, but it was enough to start another screaming match, followed by his storming out of their apartment slamming the door so hard that a picture fell off of the wall and shattered into pieces on the hardwood floor. And although she found herself alone, the silence pounding in her ears, she didn't cry.

A glance at her watch told her that it was terribly late and that Donny most likely wasn't coming home… at least not for several hours. She tried to go and lie down in their bed and sleep but she tossed and turned as the conversation replayed itself over and over again.

Finally she packed her bag (albeit a small one) and wrote Donny an apologetic note that would never be sincere enough to tell him how sorry she was for the things she said. She knew that it would do no good at all, but at least he couldn't accuse her of leaving him to worry about her whereabouts; if he worried about her at all that was.

She was certain that by the time she arrived at Frasier's things would be better. It was always better at her friend and boss's home for it was surrounded by love. When she'd tearfully left to move in with Donny, Frasier assured her that she'd always have a home at the Elliot Bay Towers. She gave him a hug and a kiss, following suit with Mr. Crane, and carried her bags to her car to head over to Donny's.

She returned every day of course, to perform her duties working with Mr. Crane on his physical therapy, making meals and cleaning the condo as Frasier deemed necessary, but it wasn't the same as before. Still it was a nice arrangement, being with Mr. Crane and Dr. Crane during the day and then spending time with Donny at night. It was nice being alone with him, sharing romantic dinners and even more romantic moments… when he came home at a decent hour that was.

Most nights she would become so exhausted waiting for him that she ended up going to bed without him, only to hear him come home in the early morning hours; before the sun came up. And then he'd awaken her wanting to talk about his day. She always complied, but just once she wished he would have liked to spend one entire evening with him. But she knew his job was important to him and so she said nothing.
But shortly after she moved in, things began to change. They were no longer just a couple but as a couple living together it meant sharing expenses and other necessary things. And when a problem occurred that needed to be resolved over the phone or by some other means, Donny simply didn't have the time to do it and so it fell on her shoulders.

She was glad to help out, for it was only fair. He was the one who had asked her to move in with him and for that she was flattered and grateful. It meant that he wanted some sort of commitment; even if it wasn't the sort of commitment she had hoped for. Perhaps it was a test leading up to the magical moment. And in exchange for Donny's paying most of the bills and making sure that their finances were in order, she did most of the chores and volunteered to take care of the problem at hand by calling the company at fault.

But when the situation got out of hand, resulting in call after call from company to company with no resolution in sight, her head began to spin. She knew that if she made even one more phone call she was bound to go crazy. And so she lashed out at him, asking him why he couldn't do it himself. This in turn fueled an argument to end all arguments.

And resulted in her being alone.

However, the silence was too much to bear and so with her bag in hand, she locked the apartment door and headed to Frasier's. He was, of course, surprised to see her in the middle of the night but she didn't want to start a lengthy discussion that would turn into a therapy session about her argument with Donny. Instead she lied and told him Donny had gone out of town (which for all she knew could have been, although the business trip part was in fact a lie) and that she didn't want to stay in the apartment by herself.

She offered to do extra chores in exchange for staying at his place for a few days. She was silently relieved when he refused, chuckling as he told her yet again that the Elliot Bay Towers would always be her home. She smiled and hugged him gratefully and the returned to her room. It was with relief that she found it almost exactly the way she'd left it, with several items missing, for those were in her new home with Donny. But at least Frasier hadn't cut her out of his home completely.
For the first time in several nights, she'd gotten a good night's sleep and the next morning she woke refreshed and ready to start the day. But as soon as she found herself alone with Mr. Crane she realized that she wasn't as refreshed as she thought. Nor was she completely over the argument she'd had with Donny. She lashed out at Mr. Crane for some unknown reason and the result was a shouting match that was even more horrible than the one she'd had with Donny. When Martin grabbed his cane and hobbled to the door, with a surprisingly quick pace, he stepped into the hallway and slammed the door, the sound rattling her already shaken nerves.

And now she found herself staring at the walls wondering how she'd gotten to this point. The hot tears filled her eyes and she could no longer contain them. She sat down at the table facing the kitchen letting the hot rivers of salty tears run down her cheeks and she made no attempt to stop them, nor brush them away.

The more she thought about everything that had happened, of all she had said and done, the more she cried. At that moment, all of the stress, guilt and emotional helplessness she was feeling came crashing down on her and didn't know what to do about it. She was so ashamed of what she had done; of whom she had become. And that, in turn made her cry harder.

As she sat there, sobbing into her hands she was only vaguely aware that she was no longer alone. But then she felt someone standing next to her. And then the sound of a familiar voice...

That of her boss' brother- turned-best friend.

"Daphne, are you all right? Dear God what am I saying, of course you're not all right! What's happened?"

Slowly she lifted her head, her brown eyes meeting blue ones. He was kneeling next to her, stroking her back in small circles, providing compassion that she truly didn't deserve.

"Dr. Crane…"

"I'm sorry I came in without knocking but this is when Dad usually takes his nap and I didn't want to disturb him. I foolishly figured that no one would answer the door anyway, but I should have been more considerate. "

"Your father's not here!" She said a little too quickly. "He…"

"Oh right. This is the time when he usually takes Eddie for a walk, isn't it? Well, it was bound to happen that he'd change his schedule on me, and-."

She cried harder, prompting him to rub her shoulders. "Daphne, what's wrong? What's happened?"

"It's my fault…" She sobbed. "All of it!"

"I'm sure that's not true, Daphne. But whatever it is, you can talk to me, if you want. I'm here for you."

"I'm a horrible, insensitive person, Dr. Crane! I'm selfish and cruel and hurtful and-"

"That's nonsense. Now I don't know what happened or what caused you to feel this way but you're not horrible. You're wonderful and you care so much for others. You work hard and I know that life can be stressful at times. And sometimes we take it out on people we care about. Perhaps you just need some time off. I'll see to it that Frasier gives it to you."

"It's not that…" She cried, thinking of the argument she'd started with Donny and with Niles' father. "I just…"
"You what?"

The sight of Niles reaching into his pocket made her smile. For she knew what was coming. And sure enough, the white handkerchief appeared in his hand. She took it willingly making a mental note to thank him properly in the future. But for now simple words would do. "Thank you, Dr. Crane."

When he smiled the sight warmed her heart. He was truly an angel disguised as a friend. For had he not been there, she wasn't sure what she might have done. She blotted her eyes with the soft cloth, smiling at the way he continued to rub her back in small circles. And the soothing touch did wonders for her self-esteem.

"Now, I know I can't act as your therapist but I'm here for you… as a friend. So what can I do for you?"

She smiled and brushed the new tears from her cheeks. "Will you just hold me for a little while?"

He rose to his feet prompting her to do the same. "I'd be glad to. I'm always here for you, Daphne."

The hug was soothing and it so easy to lean her head against his as he held her while her sobs became whimpers and finally quieted even further. When she was certain she had no more tears, she drew back slowly and looked at him. "I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble."

"You didn't cause me any trouble at all. I meant what I said. I'm here for you always."

She stared at his handsome face, pulled in by his eyes of blue and there was only one way she could reply.

She moved toward him and kissed him softly, but the kiss, which was tentative at first, turned into something a bit more. It wasn't her intention, kissing him in the way that she would kiss Donny or some other man she was seeing, but it felt right... She could feel his breath caught in his throat, and when she drew back, she couldn't help smiling at the astonishment on his face.

"Daphne…"

"I love you, Dr. Crane. I love you so much. You're such a wonderful friend and I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there for me. Not just tonight, so many times in the past and even more in the future."

"Well… you're welcome Daphne. I feel the same about you."

For the first time she didn't feel the need to tell him what had happened that day or in the days that had past. She only wanted to live in this moment. She hugged him close, not wanting to let go. And judging by the way he was holding her, she knew without a doubt that he felt the same way.

THE END