Author's Note:I've been wanting to do a David/Easter story for a while now, but I wasn't sure where to go with it. Once I figured that out, the rest was easy. I hope people enjoy this little one-shot! :)
Daphne walked around the clothing store in disbelief. It was the Friday before Easter, and she couldn't get over how many dresses there were for little girls. Everywhere she looked, she saw adorable dresses in the most beautiful pastel colors. Growing up as the only girl with eight brothers in a poor family, Daphne had never been able to dress up for Easter. Seeing these dresses nearly made her wish David had been a girl. It would be such fun to have a little girl who could wear one of these outfits. But, with a defeated sigh, she left the store.
As she walked back out into the mall, she saw a poster with a picture of huge bunny. "The Easter Bunny hops in for a visit this Saturday! Bring the kids! Free photographing!"
Daphne smiled. Suddenly, she knew she had to bring David here. He was just a baby, but she wanted him to do this, at least so that there would be pictures to show him later. But he couldn't go see the Easter Bunny in just any little onesie. No, he would have to look special. Daphne marched back into the children's clothing store. This time she visited the boys' section. There she saw little suits, just made for babies. She could see David looking so handsome in his first suit. Just like a miniature version of his father.
She purchased the suit and returned home, grateful that Niles had been more than willing to babysit. He needed to catch up on some paperwork, but he'd promised to keep an eye on David through the baby monitor. She entered the house and saw Niles just emerging from his office. Daphne felt a wave of panic when she saw him start up the stairs.
"What's wrong with David?"
Niles smiled when he heard his wife's sweet voice. "Nothing, my love. But he just woke up, so I was going to check on him. You can go see him if you like. While David slept, I finished up most of my work, so now I'm all yours for the rest of the day.
Daphne walked toward the stairs, stopping to give Niles a warm embrace. "Thank you for looking after him."
Niles inhaled the scent of her shampoo, which sent his senses reeling. "My pleasure. Now, go. I'm sure David's as anxious to see you as you are to see him." He smiled at her, touched by the way she constantly worried over David's well-being, no matter who was taking care of him.
Daphne kissed her husband. She knew she sometimes went a bit overboard when it came to David, but she couldn't help it. He was just so tiny and helpless. She hurried up the stairs and straight toward the nursery. Her heart melted at the sight of her little boy sitting up in his crib. She picked him up immediately. David seemed glad to see her, smiling and cooing at her the moment he was in her arms. Daphne hadn't realized until now just how much she'd missed his sweet face. She kissed his forehead. "I bought you your very first suit," she whispered to him. "And tomorrow we're going to sneak out to see the Easter Bunny." She knew David didn't really understand what she was saying, but he seemed to like it when she talked.
Niles and Daphne stayed in the rest of the day. They took turns tending to David's needs, and spent the rest of the time in each other's arms. Daphne was careful not to mention what she'd bought at the mall, or her plans for tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Daphne got out of bed, trying her best to be quiet. She dressed in the bathroom to avoid waking Niles. Then she went to the nursery to get David ready. Just as she'd imagined, he looked perfect in his suit. "Just like Daddy," she said. Once they were downstairs, Daphne quickly wrote a note to Niles. "David and I had a few errands to run. Be back soon!" She left the note on the coffee table where Niles would be sure to find it.
Daphne made the drive to the mall with no trouble. She got there and found that there wasn't even a line yet to see the Easter Bunny. "Who is this handsome little fellow?" a mall employee asked as Daphne approached.
"This is David. It's his first Easter, so we wanted to surprise his dad with a picture of him with the Easter Bunny."
"Well, then, you should be our first customer," the employee replied. According to her nametag, her name was Joy, and it seemed to fit her perfectly.
David seemed bewildered as Daphne put him into the Easter Bunny's arms. Daphne stood off to the side, so as not to interrupt this monumental moment in her son's life. But before Joy took the picture, she directed Daphne to stand next to the the bunny. "I think David wants his mommy in the picture," Joy said. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Daphne squeezed into the photo. She said "cheese" at the appropriate moment, and was rewarded with an immediate printout of the picture Joy had taken. Daphne thanked Joy profusely.
"Oh, you're welcome," Joy said. "It's a pleasure to take a picture of such an adorable little boy. I'm sure his dad will be proud."
"I hope so," Daphne replied.
Joy smiled at her understandingly. "Here," she said. "Take this." She offered Daphne and David a small stuffed bunny rabbit. When Daphne took it, David immediately began to reach out for it. This was quite possibly the softest stuffed animal Daphne had ever seen. She left the mall feeling even more excited about David's first Easter. She could hardly wait to get home and show Niles the photograph.
By the time Daphne reached the apartment, David had fallen asleep, still wearing his new suit. At least he'd stayed awake when it counted.
"Where have you been, all dressed up?" Niles said, walking toward David when he saw them enter.
"We went down to the mall," Daphne replied. "David wanted to meet the Easter Bunny. I thought he should look his best so we could surprise you with a picture."
Niles gasped when he saw the photo. "He's a Crane already. He looks like he's been wearing suits his whole life."
Daphne laughed. The outfit was certainly a far cry from what her brothers had usually worn growing up.
Niles kissed Daphne. "While you were out, I ran a few errands myself. I stopped by that specialty wine shop to see if they had any new bottles in. I saw they were selling these, and I just had to buy you one." He picked up a basket from the coffee table. It was filled with chocolate eggs and other assorted candy. Daphne gasped. She'd never expected anything like this. Niles hadn't even said anything about doing anything special for Easter this year. "Oh, Darling, I love them. Thank you!" Daphne hugged him tightly. Though it had been years since she'd lost all the weight she gained during her compulsive-eating phase, she was still careful about eating sweets. But looking at all of these gourmet chocolates all wrapped in pastel-colored foil, it was difficult to resist the temptation.
Before Daphne had even finished admiring all of the candy, Niles picked up another bag, grinning mischievously. "I also purchased this. I thought we could put it to use later on," he explained. In his hand was a bottle of champagne.
Daphne felt tears in her eyes. Though David took up a lot of her time, and his patients also demanded his attention, he still somehow managed to make sure Daphne felt loved. She looked into Niles' blue eyes, and felt her psychic powers kick in. From somewhere deep in her heart, she knew that it wouldn't be long before she would be purchasing a beautiful Easter dress like the ones she'd seen at the mall.
Daphne couldn't help smiling as the meaning of the vision sank in. It only made sense. After all, isn't Easter supposed to be about creating new life?
The End