Daphne could hardly believe she was doing this. Quickly she tried to dry the tears from her cheeks and compose herself a bit before knocking on the door. Saying what she had to say would be hard enough without looking like a mess on top of it all. When she had done all she could, she took a deep breath and knocked. Almost immediately, the door was opened.

"Daphne!" Niles said. He was surprised to see her. One look in her eyes, and he could tell she was in pain. "Please, come in," he said, unable to resist reaching out and taking her hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane." Daphne said. She wanted to tell him what was wrong, but she couldn't seem to get the words out.

Niles looked at her. She was definitely hurting, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He would give up every last wine bottle and rare antique he owned to be able to ease whatever pain she was feeling. But without knowing the situation, he was at a loss to help her. "Let's sit down," he said, pointing to his fainting couch.

Daphne obeyed. Almost immediately tears began to slide down her cheeks. She looked down, embarrassed by her inability to control her emotions.

Niles reached over and once again took hold of her hand. "What's the matter?" he asked. "You can tell me."

"Your father is the most unpleasant patient I've ever worked with!" Daphne hadn't meant to blurt it out so quickly, especially not to Mr. Crane's own son. But at least she'd gotten it off her chest. Seeing his surprise at her outburst, she was immidately ashamed of what she'd said. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be saying a thing like that about him. He is your father, after all."

"Dad can be a bit harsh, yes," Niles said. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Well, your father's always been a bit stubborn when it comes to doing his exercises. That's nothing unusual. But lately, all he ever wants to do is watch a bloody baseball game! He won't listen to a word I say! I'm at me wits' end!"

For a split second, Niles wanted to rush over to Elliot Bay Towers and tell his father he had no right to make Daphne cry like this! She was an angel, and she deserved to be treated accordingly. "I know Dad's always been fond of the Seahawks, but I'm told they haven't been making too many baskets lately."

Daphne couldn't help smiling at that. Dr. Crane was a very sweet and caring man, but he knew next to nothing about sports. No one could get him to understand that the Mariners were never going to be headed for the Super Bowl, or that the Seahawks had never played a single World Series game.

Niles could tell by Daphne's smile that he must have mixed up his sports terms. He tried desperately to recall which of Seattle's teams played baseball, but he couldn't be sure. It didn't matter now, anyway. Daphne was here, and she was hurting. That was far more important than how many homeruns the Sonics made at their last game.

An awkward silence came over both of them. Niles continued to hold Daphne's hand, waiting for her to speak again.

"Your father and your brother don't know I'm here," she finally said. "Your brother's at work, and your father decided to get a beer at McGinty's."

"Well, as long as you're here, is there anything I can get you?" Niles asked.

"No, thank you," Daphne replied, smiling. "I can't stay very long. I wouldn't want to impose."

"You're not imposing," Niles said, a bit more quickly than he'd meant to. "I mean...I'm always happy to see you."

Daphne suddenly looked at the floor. Tears once again threatened to overcome her.

"Did I say something wrong?" Niles asked, completely stunned by her reaction.

"N-no," Daphne replied. "It's just...I was coming here to tell you I'm leaving."