Author's Note: I must dedicate this fic to the one and only Andrea (iloveromance) for being so supportive and enthusiastic of this story before a word of it was even written! Hope you like it! :) Also thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415) for reading drafts of this as I wrote!
Daphne walked out of her doctor's office, grateful her appointment was now over with. She hadn't been feeling well lately, and she wanted to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her. Thankfully, the doctor had told her there wasn't. She would just need to remember to rest a bit more and not try to overdo it. As she walked back out to the car, she heard her cellphone ring. The caller ID told her it was Niles. She smiled immediately. Niles had gone with their son, David, to his very first Little League practice. Daphne had wanted to go, too, but this was the only time the doctor had been able to see her. No doubt Niles was calling to ask how the appointment had gone, and to let her know whether or not thier son took after the Crane boys' legendary lack of athetic ability. "Hello, my darling," Daphne said as she answered the call.
"Daphne, I - I don't know how to tell you this, but David's been injured."
Daphne laughed. "Oh, I'm sure it isn't that bad. You told me you and Frasier got hurt playing sports all the time. And me own brothers were forever breaking bones in some sport or another!"
"No, Daphne, I'm serious. There was a group of bigger kids playing on the next field, and someone hit the ball way over into the field where David's team was praticing. It hit him in the head. The coach just called 911. He says David needs to go the emergency room just to make sure it's nothing serious."
Daphne stopped in her tracks. How could this be happening? Their precious son, who'd been so excited about playing baseball and making his Grandpa proud, was now on the way to the emergency room? No, it couldn't be. Things like this weren't supposed to happen to her. She and Niles had a perfect life together. Their love seemed to get stronger by the day. Daphne reminded herself to breathe. Above all, she needed to stay calm. Being a healthcare worker, she knew that the best thing to do in a crisis is to not panic. So she forced herself to take a deep breath. Then she asked her husband, "What hospital are they taking him to?"
"Seattle General," Niles replied. He and his father were already on their way to the hospital now, following the ambulance.
Daphne felt her heart stop when she heard those words. She tried her best not to think about the last time she'd been to Seattle General. That time, she had nearly lost Niles when he needed emergency open-heart surgery. And it seemed that, now, another person she loved dearly might be put in jeopardy at that same hospital.