Author's Note: This is a little belated birthday story for Kristen3…I know her birthday's long since passed, but I promised her another story or two. And this idea came the other day when my mom had to dodge a lot of squirrels in the zoo parking lot. And she's run over a squirrel before, but not the other day. I hope you like the result! :) *hugs*

Daphne was in a hurry. Martin was his usual, stubborn, self when it came to his exercises. But today, he was even more so. And she had just a few minutes before she had to be at David's school to pick him up. David was in 3rd grade now, and so like a mini Niles, that she wouldn't put it past him to just walk home if Daphne didn't show up. And the fears of him doing that made Daphne even more rushed. But this was all a part of being a mom, and Daphne loved it. She wouldn't trade anything for it.

She was halfway to David's school, when suddenly, she saw something on the road. She didn't pay any mind to it, thinking about her life with Niles. But when she came up close to it, she realized, it was a squirrel. The squirrel was just standing there in the road, without moving to get out of the way.

"Oh, bloody hell!" She whispered. She hated to kill anything, even an annoying squirrel. But she had no choice. She had to get to David. The squirrel was unmoving. She pressed on the gas, and suddenly, heard a big thump. She had killed the squirrel.

Daphne gasped. What had she done? She hated herself. She wasn't a killer! That poor squirrel had everything to live for, and now it was nothing.

Daphne didn't know if she could possibly make it to David's school now. But thankfully, she wasn't that far away.

She turned in the school parking lot, and David was right out front, waiting for her. He ran up to the car and climbed in. "Hey, Mom."

Daphne couldn't reply. She couldn't get that poor squirrel off her mind.

David seemed to sense something was wrong. His mom was normally cheerful and thrilled to see him after school. He hoped he wasn't in trouble.

Suddenly, he noticed his mom was crying. She never did that!

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Daphne had to keep her cool, especially now, behind the wheel. Or something else could happen again. She shook her head. "Nothing, sweetie. Everything's fine. How was school?"

As David launched in telling her about his school day, Daphne was only half paying attention. She knew Niles would make her feel better, and she suddenly couldn't wait to see him.

They arrived in the Montana parking garage, and David almost but ran out of the car. Daphne couldn't believe this amazing child was a perfect combination of her and Niles.

"David, slow down!" She called, but she knew he wouldn't pay attention to her.

Sure enough, he beat her to their apartment. Life at the Montana with a three-year-old had its moments. She was always worried about David falling down on the stairs, or some other incident. But she knew it was normal, a part of being a parent. It was better now that David wasn't a baby anymore, but safety concerns would always be there.

Niles came walking from his study. He had early days off from work a few times a week, when patient load was small. Thankfully, today was one of those days.

David ran off to his room as Niles came walking to greet Daphne. This never got old, the feeling of coming home after being apart, even for a little while.

Niles sensed something was off with Daphne. She hardly stayed in his arms for more than a minute. And when she looked away, she had tears in her eyes.

"Daphne, my love, what is it?"

"Oh Niles! Something dreadful happened on the road today as I was picking David up. I saw a squirrel on the road, just sitting there, not moving. And it wouldn't get out of the way in time. I killed it, Niles! I killed a squirrel."

Daphne was so shaken, Niles was concerned. She shouldn't be that upset over something trivial. Sure, she killed a living creature, but things like that happened every day.

He rubbed her back to soothe her. "Shh, Daphne. It was just a squirrel, right? It wasn't like killing a human being."

That only made more tears come. "But Niles, I killed it! One minute it was alive as you and me, and the next, it was gone."

"I know, Darling. But think about it, that happens practically every day. I don't like killing either, but it's a part of life, unfortunately; and you can't escape it."

"You're right, of course. But it was just sitting there on the road, not moving. I couldn't help but think of your father when I'm trying to get him to exercise. I love that old man, I really do. But that squirrel had its life to risk when he doesn't move."

Daphne realized she couldn't spend all night going over this. She hugged Niles. "Thank you, Niles. You always know what to do to make me feel better. No wonder you're an award-winning psychiatrist."

Daphne thought about what she went through today, and she knew without a doubt, that she would be telling Martin that she loved him really soon. She was thankful for a little squirrel that caused her to appreciate what she had even more.

The End