A/N: A belated birthday present for BaronessBlixen in thanks for her friendship and support.

"Leaving so soon, Dr. Crane?"
Niles sighed and gathered his papers, shoving them haphazardly into his briefcase. "I'm afraid so, Mrs. Woodson. I'm not feeling well this morning. Would you please call my patients and reschedule? And then you are free to leave. Oh and could you apologize for me as well?"
"Oh Dr. Crane, there's no need to apologize. You're human. Everyone goes through feelings of not feeling well. They're bound to understand."
"Well, I don't understand." He said with more annoyance than he intended.

"Dr. Crane, what happened? I'm sure it can't be that bad."
Niles smiled and took her hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Woodson, but I really don't want to talk about it. I think I'll just be going home."
"All right but if you need anything don't hesitate to call."
"What would I do without you?" Niles asked, impulsively hugging his beloved assistant.
"Go and try to enjoy the rest of your day." Mrs. Woodson said, patting his hand reassuringly. "I'll take care of things here."
Niles smiled. "Thanks again. This really means a lot to me." The smile remained on his face as he walked out of his office and headed to his car. But he'd no sooner pulled onto the street when it started all over again.

He stared straight ahead, keeping his eyes on the road. But the gesture was more than just for safety. For the past two days he'd encountered nothing but stares and laughs from almost everyone in Seattle, all of them aware of his disastrous dinner party at the Montana.

All he'd ever wanted was to fit in and he could hardly believe that he'd obtained an apartment at the luxurious Montana. Even Maris didn't have that kind of prestige. It was like a dream come true. Well one of them anyway. The other was virtually unattainable, even now that he was single. But that didn't stop him from dreaming.

And so it was with much enthusiasm that he put together a dinner party that was certain to win him the admiration of his esteemed neighbors at the most sought after living quarters in the entire Puget Sound region.

What a disaster that turned out to be.

Baby, his pet bird experienced a moment of trauma that sent her flying to his head, her claws clutching his hair. Now he rubbed his sensitive scalp, wincing as he remembered that humiliating night. He had to get away, go somewhere to be alone.

The familiar green and red sign was a welcome sight and although he certainly wouldn't be alone, Café Nervosa was a comforting sort of place. Perhaps he could slip inside and find a secluded spot where he could be alone with his thoughts, even if those thoughts were nothing but thoughts about how he'd made a complete fool of himself.

He exited his car and walked toward the café. But as soon as he went inside, he knew it was a mistake. Almost every head turned as he made his way to the counter where even the baristas seemed to snicker.

"Hello Taylor. I'll have my usual please, with the faintest hint of cinnamon."
"Right away Dr. Crane." Taylor said, barely getting the words out before she laughed.

"What's funny?"
"Oh… nothing. I'm sorry." She replied, still giggling.

Niles hung his head low and sighed. "I suppose you heard about my dinner party on Saturday night. Seems that everyone else has."
She grinned but said nothing, handing him his beverage. "Enjoy."
He removed some bills from his wallet and handed them to her with a smile. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, Dr. Crane. Enjoy your latte."
Her kind words, although tinged with a hint of ridicule, put him at ease. But when he turned to find a seat, he could hear her burst of laughter, mixed with the laughter of several others in the café. By the time he found a seat in the back, the snickers and hushed comments were floating around him.

Without even bothering to remove his handkerchief, he sat on the germy wooden chair and reached for his briefcase grateful to have something to take his mind off of his troubles. He retrieved his patient files and began sorting though them, doing his best to tune out the laughter around him. But as he did so, the comments resurfaced.

From the top of his stack of papers, he could see, them pointing fingers and laughing amid comments like "bird brain" and "fly home where you belong" along with other cruel comments. And then to his horror, he was approached by a woman he'd never seen before. But judging from the way she was smiling at him, she had definitely seen him. With her jet black hair and green eyes, she was beautiful, there was no refuting that fact. But it was her words that cut through his soul.

"So Dr. Crane, I'm Elizabeth and I was wondering if I could get some advice."

"Oh… Well, actually m-my brother is the one who gives advice to the people of Seattle… on the radio. I have my own psychiatry practice but if you'd like to make an appointment, my assistant, Mrs. Woodson would be happy to-."

"Actually, I needed an opinion on something." Elizabeth said.

He smiled, feeling useful for the first time in a long while. "Oh. I'd be happy to help. What's on your mind?"
She reached into her purse and removed two pictures of birds, a cardinal and a blue bird. And then to his utter confusion she held the pictures above her head.
"I don't understand. What-."

Elizabeth smiled sweetly and glanced at the crowd behind her before returning her attention to him. "Dr. Crane, which one of these goes with this outfit? Because I'm really leaning toward the blue jay."

Appalled his mouth fell open and to his horror, the laughter around him grew until nearly every patron in the café was pointing at him. At that moment the café door opened and he shielded his face from view with his paperwork. But there was no mistaking who had entered. He could hear the familiar voice clearly above the laughter and hurtful comments.

"Bloody hell, what is wrong with you people? How can you say such horrible things about Dr. Crane? He's a kind and wonderful man and… I have no idea what you people are even talking about but I know Dr. Crane and he doesn't deserve to be treated so horribly!"

Her outburst brought scattered applause and hushed whispers and then he felt her approach him. He swallowed hard, moving the papers closer to his face.

"Hello, Dr. Crane."

Her sweet voice made his heart sing and he wanted so much to look at her. There was no doubt in his mind that she looked absolutely beautiful. But he didn't dare show his face. If she only knew what he had done, she wouldn't be so happy to see him. Or perhaps she did know and was only being kind. But even that didn't soothe the pain. When he felt her hand on his arm, he slowed lowered his papers and smiled at her.

"Oh… Daphne. I didn't know you were here."
The lie came easily but the smile on her face disappeared and she gasped lightly. "Dr. Crane, your nose!"

He sniffled and stared at her blankly. "M-my…"
She reached into her purse and removed a tissue. "Just hold still and I'll take care of you. Are you all right?"
"I'm…" He hesitated, knowing that a lie would produce another nosebleed. But the truth would simply humiliate him even further. And then to his amazement she moved closer and took his hand in both of hers. "I'm sorry those people were so rude to you. How could they say such horrible things? I mean, certainly you're well known in Seattle, but you're a good man and you don't deserve-."

He hung his head low and sighed. "I've disgraced myself."

She smiled and gently touched his cheek, a gesture that made him shiver. "Now how could you possibly say that? What on earth could you have done that would make people say such horrible things?"

"You mean Frasier didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"About the lavish dinner party I planned at the Montana. Frasier graciously offered to help me and all I wanted to do was impress my new neighbors. But unfortunately Baby had other ideas."
She blinked in surprise. "Baby?"
"My bird."
"Oh right. What happened?"
"Well, the sound of the doorbell traumatized her and she flew from her perch, attaching herself to my head. I spent the entire ending with a cloth over my head. I'm sure that Baby didn't appreciate being in the dark, but unfortunately I had no choice. I tried everything I could think of and my only salvation was that I was able to hide in the kitchen. But then I realized that I couldn't keep my predicament a secret any longer. I just wish my new neighbors hadn't been there to witness it."
"I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane. That must have been horrible. But if you ask me, your neighbors are a bunch of twits! How dare they judge you over something that you had no control over?"

Niles sighed and squeezed her hand. "Well, thank you Daphne. But unfortunately there's more."

She said nothing and instead waited for him to continue. When he didn't respond right away, she smiled. "It's all right. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Niles smiled and nodded. "No… It's all right. I suppose I should talk about it. "We finally managed to get Baby untangled from my hair and she flew across the room, landing on Frasier where she attached herself to his head. It took me nearly all night and several phone calls to the on call veterinarian to coax her off of his head and into her cage."
Daphne shook her head. "That poor little bird." When Niles frowned she touched his shoulder. "Oh, Dr. Crane, I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect. I'm sure that it was traumatizing for Frasier. I had no idea. But he has been awfully quiet lately and I noticed that his radio show hasn't been quite as popular."

"Well, it's over now, but I'm afraid that my reputation is at The Montana is tarnished forever."

To his surprise, she took his face in her hands, turning his eyes toward hers. "You listen to me, Dr. Crane. This isn't your fault or your brother's! And if those snobby neighbors of yours can't understand that, then they aren't worth your time! You're a wonderful person and it's very admirable that you want to get to know them. But if you don't mind my saying so, I don't think they're worth knowing at all!"

For the first time since his dinner party, he smiled. A real smile. And before he realized what he was doing, he hugged her warmly. "Thank you Daphne. I hope you know how much you mean to me. I don't say this often enough, but I'm glad that Frasier hired you because you're an absolute angel."

She hugged him tighter and kissed his cheek. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Now I know that you and your brother don't like my cooking but I hope you'll come over for dinner tomorrow night. I'll make sure to have something special on the table to show you both how much I care about you and how much you and your family mean to me."

"That sounds wonderful, Daphne. Thank you."
She rose from the table and smiled. "I should be getting home, but it was nice seeing you. Dr. Crane. So you'll come tomorrow night?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He watched as she walked out the door and returned his papers to his briefcase. Around him he could still hear the whispers and hushed laughter as he walked out of the café, but he no longer cared. They could laugh all they wanted. He had better things to do with his time than listen to them.

Minutes later he arrived at the pet store, determined to buy some very special treats. Baby deserved nothing less.

He really loved that little bird.
THE END