"Who wants apple pie?"

Ronee's question received an enthusiastic response from the Crane family and she happily began dishing out slices of the homemade desert.

"Oh, this is wonderful, Ronee." Daphne said between mouthfuls of pie. "I was starving!"

Martin glanced at his daughter in law in disbelief. "How can you possibly be that hungry? We just ate dinner not three hours ago! And you ate like a horse!"

"Leave her alone, Dad! She's pregnant!" Niles said. Daphne's smile disappeared, prompting him to kiss her cheek in an effort to make it return.

"This pie is quite good, Ronee." Frasier agreed, taking another bite.

Ronee beamed with pride. "Well, thank you everyone. I guess I'm more domesticated than I thought."

"Actually we should be thanking you." Niles said. "It was so thoughtful of you to invite us to your boss's cabin for the weekend."

"Wasn't it though?" Ronee said; her voice dripping with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes in Martin's direction.

Finally Daphne pushed herself away from the table. "Well, I'm full. I think I can finally sleep now."

Martin feigned shock. "You're full already? I think there's still some food in the kitchen that you haven't eaten."

"Martin, leave Daphne alone!" Ronee warned, which instantly seemed to do the trick.

"Goodnight, all!" Niles said as he dutifully followed Daphne; holding her hand as she led him toward the bedroom.

"Goodnight Niles! Goodnight Daphne!" came the reply.

Niles and Daphne smiled at each other mischievously as they closed the door of their bedroom.

Within seconds, Niles pulled Daphne into his arms and kissed her deeply.

"Finally, we're alone and I have you all to myself." He said; his voice almost breathless.

But to his distress, Daphne pushed him away.

"I'm not in the mood." She said flatly.

The rejection stung, but seeing the hurt look on her face pained him even more. Still he should be used to her mood swings by now.

He'd seen enough patients who were expecting to understand that women could be extremely emotional during the last stages of pregnancy. And so right then and there, he vowed to be more receptive to his wife's feelings.

After all, he loved her more than he thought possible; even more so than when he first saw her in Frasier's condo, doing the laundry.

"I'm sorry, my love." He began quietly. "But perhaps my advances were the indirect result of how beautiful you look."

He half expected her to smile and kiss him deeply before initiating an evening of passion (albeit carefully) that they wouldn't soon forget. But instead she turned away and began to cry.

"Oh my angel..."

Just as he suspected, his gentle hand on her shoulder did nothing to ease her sadness.

It was then that his professional side kicked in. "Daphne, is this because of what Dad said to you earlier?"

"No..." She replied; her voice almost a whisper.

He sighed deeply, trying to remind himself that the mood swings were temporary, but that the end result was worth it; a son or daughter that he would love more than life itself.

It was still so hard to believe that he'd created a life with the woman of his dreams.

He'd imagined having children with Daphne a million times before and it was finally becoming a reality.

He turned to find his angel lying in bed reading one of her romance novels and he grinned, thinking of ways to make her forget all about the romantic love scenes that surely filled the pages.

But as soon as he climbed into bed, she accepted his kiss and turned out the light.

The moonlight cut through the darkness, illuminating her face with a soft glow that almost took his breath way.

He reached over and ran his fingers through her hair, releasing the scent of lavender and rose petals.

"My love, please don't let what Dad said about your appetite upset you." He said into her hair. "After all, our son or daughter needs nourishment to come into this world strong and healthy. I'm sorry he spoke to you in that manner, and I hope you'll accept my apology. You see... I'm feeling a bit lonely on this side of the bed."

His hand moved to her stomach and he smiled when he felt his child move.

"See Daphne? Even our unborn child says that you should forgive me. So what do you say?"

But she said nothing.

And it was with a slightly broken heart that he realized that she had fallen asleep.