Author's Note: Many thanks to Leigh Ann (leighnn415) for writing "Kiss The Girl." I saw pretty quickly that I could do something more with it, and this resulted. This is also a late birthday gift for Aria (crazysockmonkeys), since the original story was dedicated to her, and obviously wouldn't have been written if not for her. :)
A week had passed, and Daphne still hadn't gotten over David being "a little prince." Of course, David rolled his eyes every time she mentioned it, but, deep down, he was glad his parents were proud of what he'd done. Kissing a girl wasn't easy, but it was all over with, and David could get on with his regular life.
But there was still the matter of David's co-star, Julia. He'd been over to her house a couple of times now, and Daphne had "hinted" that it was time David returned the favor. He didn't want his parents to see him with a girl, but he finally got tired of his mother bringing it up, so he gave in. Daphne knew her son was nervous about being around a girl, so she suggested that they invite Martin and Ronee over to watch the video of the class play.
Much to David's disappointment, Julia readily accepted the invitation. "Grandpa's not going to tease me about hanging out with a girl, is he?" David asked his mother.
Daphne smiled. "No. Your grandfather wouldn't do something like that. But you know, there may come a day when being friends with a girl isn't such a bad thing."
Even though Julia was nice enough, David doubted he would ever fall in love the way his parents did. But he resisted the urge to tell his mother this, knowing she would never understand.
Soon, the day came, and David almost found himself feeling stage fright all over again. Luckily, his parents greeted Julia when she arrived, which meant David didn't need to talk much.
"Well, this is exciting. We get to see The Little Mermaid, and two stars of the show are right here!" Daphne exclaimed. David's face turned bright red. Luckily, before his mom could embarrass him further, the doorbell rang.
"That'll be my grandpa," David said to Julia. "He wasn't here when we did the play. I can't wait for him to see me!" He ran to get the door.
"Look, Ronee, I told you he wasn't too much of a star to answer the door," Martin said to his wife when David opened the door.
"Grandpa!" David said.
"Martin, don't embarrass me son in front of his friend," Daphne said, nodding toward Julia.
"Oh, sorry! Well, I guess you don't take after your old man as much as I thought. When he was your age, he could barely even talk to a girl."
"Very funny, Dad," Niles replied. "Thankfully, I got over my fears of the opposite sex." He reached for Daphne's hand.
Now it was Daphne's turn to blush. "Well, shall we watch the movie, then?" she asked when she recovered.
David nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait for you to see this, Grandpa! Mom said I was the best Prince Eric ever!"
"I'm sure you were great," Martin agreed. "You know, your dad did his share of school plays, too."
David nodded. He knew that already.
"Didn't you and Frasier try to put on Hamlet in the backyard once?" Ronee asked Niles.
Niles laughed, remembering the skull he and Frasier had buried under the floorboards of their old house. "Yeah, we did." Sometimes it was still a bit odd to think that the same person who used to be his babysitter was now his stepmother. But Niles was glad that Ronee seemed to make his father happy.
"Can we start the movie now?" David asked.
The adults all laughed, and Daphne put the tape in the VCR. David and Julia quickly took seats on the floor. They sat right next to each other. The four grown-ups took seats on the fainting couch.
Soon, the play started, and they were all transported "under the sea." For such a young age, Julia did a wonderful job as Ariel. Daphne felt tears in her eyes when the mermaid began to sing "Part of Your World," because she could certainly understand what it was like to grow up with dreams of living somewhere else.
Niles sensed Daphne's feelings, and he held her close as the song ended. Her childhood might not have been perfect, but, just like the little mermaid, she got her handsome prince in the end.
The story progressed, and they reached the kissing scene. Though Niles and Daphne could've easily allowed themselves to be swept up in the romance, they were both determined to see David's big moment this time. He leaned forward in the small canoe, and Ariel did the same. Their lips only met for a fraction of a second, but it didn't matter.
The movie ended. David noticed Julia looking at him, and it made him a bit nervous. "You were a great prince, David."
"Thanks. You were good, too."
Niles and Daphne exchanged a glance. This was their son's first experience with a girl. He was growing up before their eyes.
"Well, I think you both did a great job," Martin said. "And it was better than the plays Frase and Niles used to do, 'cause I could at least understand what was happening!"
Ronee gave her husband a playful shove. "Give it a rest," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You really liked it, Grandpa?" David asked.
"Yup. And I agree with your mom. I don't think anyone else could've done a better job as the prince."
"I told him he takes after his father," Daphne said, looking at Niles.
Niles kissed his wife. "Thank you, my love."
David wasn't quite sure what to do, as the adults suddenly seemed more interested in each other. He turned to Julia. "Hey, why don't we go upstairs to my room?"
"OK," Julia replied.
Without another word, the two kids went up the stairs.
"David's really growing up," Ronee remarked. "Wasn't it just yesterday that he was born?"
"You know very well we've been married for seven years now, which means that's how old David is!" Martin said in mock exasperation.
Daphne sighed. "It is a bit hard to believe that the same baby I once carried right inside here might have himself a girlfriend soon." She placed a hand on her expanding stomach. "But I suppose that's how it's supposed to be. At least we still have this little one."
"Yeah," Martin said. "And if you think I spoiled David, just wait till you see what I buy for my next grandchild."
"I'll try to keep him in check, but you guys might want to look into a bigger place just in case," Ronee said.
Niles and Daphne chuckled. They already knew Martin planned to go way overboard with toys for the new baby. Suddenly, Daphne felt a strong kick from the child within her. "Oh! This happened last week during the play, too. I think maybe our son or daughter likes The Little Mermaid."
"I'm sure he or she does," Niles said. "Our son has inherited the Crane acting genes."
Daphne couldn't resist kissing Niles once again. David was certainly more like Niles than her. She hoped the next baby would be more of a Moon. But as soon as she thought that, she remembered the most important thing. Whoever the child ended up taking after, there was no doubt that he or she would be surrounded by love. And that was a happy ending worthy of a fairytale.
The End