Niles looked down at his son. He had just put the boy to bed and was about to leave. But before he could do so, David looked up at him. "Dad, can I ask you something?"
Niles couldn't resist chuckling. "You just did," he said. "But you can ask another." One of the things he loved most about David was his curiosity. He was only in the first grade, but already he was showing signs of having inherited his father and Uncle Frasier's high intelligence.
David could feel his heart pounding. He hoped his dad wouldn't get mad at him, but he had to know. "Have you ever been...scared?" He didn't want to seem like a baby, but the idea of being all alone in the dark gave him goosebumps. He wanted to get over it, but every time he tried, he wound up going to his parents' room and sleeping in their bed.
A millon thoughts raced through Niles' mind as he heard the question. Yes, he'd been scared plenty of times. Of bullies, of germs, and numerous insects. But hands down, the scariest thing he'd ever faced was the thought of losing the love of his life. "You know I love Mom a lot, right?" Niles asked as he sat back down on the bed.
David rolled his eyes. "Duh, Dad! You only say it, like, twenty times a day!" He could never imagine looking at a girl the way his dad looked at his mom sometimes. "What does that have to do with you being scared?"
Niles smiled. There were times that he almost forgot his son was only six. He was very verbal for his age, a fact in which Niles took great pride. But, for all his maturity in other areas, his ideas on girls were still in the "yuck" stage. "Well, there was a time when I was afraid I might lose your mom if I didn't let her know how I felt. I thought my heart was going to break." Even now, the memories were painful.
David sat up in bed, now much more interested. "So...what'd you do?"
Niles replayed the story in his mind. He could still see it all. The balcony, the kiss he and Daphne had shared, and the sight of her walking away, deciding she couldn't call off her wedding. But he knew those details were more than he could share with his son now. He decided to tell a very condensed version of the story. "I just took a deep breath, and told your mom exactly how I felt. It was scary, because I had no idea how she felt about me."
David thought about that for a moment, then made a face. "Did she kiss you?"
"Yes. And, after I gave her some time to think, she decided she loved me, too. But you see, if I hadn't told her how I felt, we would never have gotten married, and we wouldn't have you."
"So I guess everything worked out then, huh?" David asked.
Just then, Daphne stuck her head in the doorway. "What's going on in here?"
Niles turned to her and smiled immediately. "David was just asking me if I've ever been scared, and I told him about the night I first confessed my feelings to you."
Without a word, Daphne walked into the room, headed straight for her husband. Niles rose as she entered. When they met, Daphne kissed him deeply. David immediately covered his eyes with his hands, not wanting to watch.
When the kiss finally ended, Daphne looked at her son and laughed. "It's OK, you can look now."
"Oh, good," David said, looking relieved.
Daphne couldn't help smiling at her son's reaction. "You're so much like your grandfather," she said.
"Really?" David asked. He loved visiting his grandfather and Ronee. He loved watching his mom and his grandfather argue over doing his excercises. Plus Ronee had lots of great stories to tell about when his dad and Uncle Frasier were kids and she used to babysit.
"Yes," Daphne said. "He's not much for hugging and kissing. But he loves his family."
David smiled. It was sometimes hard to tell what his grandfather was thinking. "Was Grandpa ever scared?" he asked.
"I think he was, sometimes," Niles said. "Especially when he was out catching criminals. But he did it so everyone else could be safe."
David considered this. Seeing the way his grandfather acted sometimes when the Mariners lost, or when his mom insisted on doing the excercises, it seemed like his grandfather couldn't be scared of anything.
"And of course there was the night he got shot. Scared me quite a bit, too," Niles said with a slightly nervous laugh. Daphne silently slipped her hand inside her husband's, giving it a sympathetic squeeze. After having known each other for so long, Niles and Daphne often did not need words to communicate. It was yet another sign of just how strong their bond really was.
After an awkward silence, Niles spoke again. "At least something good did come of it. Right, my love?" He looked at Daphne, kissing her on the cheek.
Daphne smiled and blushed slightly. "Well, I think it's past someone's bedtime," she said, giving her son a mock angry glare.
"Aw, do I have to go to bed?" David asked, a bit of a whine in his voice.
"You're sounding more and more like your grandfather by the minute," Daphne said, coming over to kiss her son goodnight.
Niles did the same. "You think you'll be OK in here if I turn the light out?"
David nodded hesitiantly. "Grandpa was brave when he was a cop, wasn't he?"
"Oh, yes," Daphne replied. "Very brave."
"OK, turn out the light," David said with a very determined look on his face. This time, he was going to face his fear, no matter what. Because he wanted to be brave, just like his Grandpa.