Author's Notes: If
you haven't read "Crescendo," please do before reading this one. This
is part 2 of a trilogy, as I have stated, and, don't worry, I won't keep you
all waiting too long, I promise.
For those of you curious, I did get the $20.00 my friend bet me for
writing "Crescendo." Also, thanks to all of your nice things you said
to me about that story, I really hadn't expected it to go over so well.
Uhh..this one's a bit different, I guess, from its predecessor...but not too
different. Okay now I' ll shut up and let you read the darn thing.
"Finale"
(Part 2 of
"The Niles and Daphne Trilogy)
By
Tim Shaw (aka EvilTim)
Niles reluctantly rose from bed,
putting on a robe and heading towards the kitchen for a cup of coffee when the
doorbell rang. Looking through the spy-hole, he saw it was Roz, and needless to
say, he was a bit surprised. Nevertheless, he let her in, hoping she would not
notice anything as he tried to act normal.
"Hello, Roz."
"Oh, hello, Niles. Sleeping
late this morning, are we?"
"Yes...I was up...late
doing...work, yes, work, lots of work, very busy. Is there something I can do
for you?"
"Well, Frasier and I have to
go to a dinner tomorrow evening with the other people at the station, and I was
wondering if you could look after Alice for me, if it wouldn't be much trouble.
My usual babysitter isn't able to do it and I tried Donny, but he has to work
late, and you have done this for me before..."
"Why, Roz, that wouldn't be an
inconvenience at all. I'd be delighted."
Roz noticed that he seemed to have
an abnormal cheerfulness about him this morning, very odd indeed considering
Daphne's engagement. She noticed the familiar spring in his step and look in
his eye and it seemed almost as if...
And then she saw it, on the floor,
out of the corner of her eye, a high-heeled woman's shoe. And near the couch,
also on the floor, the other shoe, and nearby, a tie.
"Niles," she asked with a
knowing expression on her face, "it looks like you WERE 'busy' last
night."
He followed her gaze over to the
scene on the floor and began to panic. If Roz knew, she would tell Martin, or
worse, Frasier, and his brother would probably try to interfere, and his
relationship with Daphne might be ended as abruptly as it had begun.
"Well no WONDER you're in such
a good mood this morning. So who is she?" Roz pressed, ever the gossip.
"Well...Roz..." Niles
stammered, knowing he wasn't going to explain his way out of THIS, and searched
for a cover story, when he was mercifully interrupted.
"Oh, hello, Roz," said
Daphne, emerging from the bedroom and walking down the stairs, wearing an
obviously burrowed robe and slippers.
Roz was dumbstruck. "NILES??
DAPHNE?? You two...??" she said, incredulous.
"Yes," said Daphne,
"we did," also obviously in a good mood.
"Well, how did
it...happen?" Roz asked them. "I never thought he had it in
him," she thought.
Niles and Daphne sat down on the
couch and Roz sat in a chair nearby, facing them, as they began explaining.
Daphne started telling Roz about the breakup with Donny.
"...so, that's how it
happened." Daphne said, finishing, and taking Niles' hand.
"Wow," Roz said, still
stunned.
"Roz, it is imperative Frasier
and Martin don't hear about this yet. We don't want to shock them and
jeopardize things. We'll tell them ourselves when we're ready," Niles
added.
"OK, you guys, I won't say
anything, I promise. Besides, you DO look awful cute together."
"Oh, thank you Roz," said
Daphne, "you're a great friend."
"Well, you two, I gotta run.
Niles, you can come over tomorrow evening at 7:00 to watch Alice. And don't
have TOO much fun, you two," she said, winking, and left.
"So," began Daphne,
"How are we going to hide this from Dr. Crane and your father?"
"Well, Daphne, here's what
I've been thinking. We can't be together around them, obviously. It would be
too hard to hide, so I guess I'll have to keep avoiding Frasiers' as much as
possible."
"And I'll tell them Donny and
I broke it off, and have to pretend I am still sad about it," she said.
"But this isn't going to be easy, since we won't get to spend much time
together. I want to see you again, soon. We'll find a way."
"No, it won't be easy,
Daphne."
"Well, Niles,. I'd better get
changed and comehome...I'll tell them I spent the night at a girlfriend's
house, and I'll have to leave now to avoid suspicion. I'm sorry, though, I'd
really like to stay here with you."
"Me too, Daphne."
"Well, I just hope we can keep
this a secret from a psychiatrist and a former undercover police
detective." They both laughed, somewhat uneasily.
Shortly afterwards, Daphne had
showered and changed back into her clothes, and was ready to leave. Niles
opened the door to let her out.
"Good-bye, Daphne." he
said, and they kissed, each one not wanting to part company.
"I'll call you tomorrow, all right?"
she said, leaving.
"That would be fine," he
answered, and watched her walk down the hallway, glance back at him, and
disappear down the corner, heading for the elevator.
--------------------
Luckily, they managed to avoid
Frasier and Martin except for a couple of times , although they had a few close
calls when Daphne said "Niles...I mean, Dr. Crane" a few times, but
they didn't seem to notice. She told them about the breakup with Donny and they
seemed quite understanding and supportive.
--------------------
On Wednesday, Niles returned from
lunch when his secretary said "Dr. Crane, a Miss Daphne Moon dropped this
by for you about 20 minutes ago," handing him a letter.
"Thanks," he said, and went into his office, opening the letter.
It read:
Dear Niles
How are you? It has been
almost unbearable for me, being unable to spend any time with you lately, and
I'm sure it has been hard for you as well. I really must see you again, I can't
hardly think about anything else.
However, I have good news.
Frasier and Martin are going away for the weekend. They leave Friday afternoon,
so perhaps you could come over around 7:00? I just can't wait to be with you
again.
Love,
Daphne
Niles sat back in his chair,
holding the paper and reading it again, hearing her voice in his head and
noticed the paper smelled of her perfume. He inhaled deeply of the scent and
put the letter in a desk drawer. He reached for his phone and dialed. Daphne
answered.
"Umm...see you Friday at 7!'
he said simply, and hung up, wanting to limit their conversation in case
Frasier and Martin were in earshot. She told Martin it was just a wrong number.
--------------------
Daphne hurried Martin and Frasier
out of the house Friday afternoon, looking forward to Niles' arrival. He showed
up at the door precisely at 7:00, nothing if not punctual, dressed casually and
carrying a dozen roses in one hand and a small shopping bag in the other.
Finally, he thought. He couldn't even send her flowers during the week for fear
of Frasier and Martin finding out who sent them. He was even more amused when
he remembered Maris would have been allergic to the roses.
Daphne opened the door and kissed
him, thanking him for the flowers and putting them in a vase. She asked him what
was in the bag, but he only answered "a surprise."
"I've cooked us a nice,
romantic dinner," she told him.
"Well, I'm famished,"
Niles answered, taking in the sight of her.
They spent most of dinner talking
quietly but mostly gazing across the table at each other in a whole new way
(well, new for Daphne, at least).
"Oh, dinner was
delightful," Niles complimented, finishing.
"Now, if you don't mind, I'm
going to get a shower and change into something a bit more...comfortable. I
promise I won't be too long," she said, smiling.
"Oh, as if you aren't worth
the wait," he answered, and she found herself blushing again.
"Oh, and you can go ahead and
wait in me room if you like," she added. "Go ahead and make yourself
comfortable."
After she had gotten in the shower,
Niles went to the kitchen, searching for a bottle of champagne, glasses, and a
bucket of ice. He brought these items back to her bedroom and set them on the
nightstand. Then, he reached into the shopping bag he had brought and extracted
a smaller bag and several candles. He began to strategically place the candles
in the room and dimmed the lights. He opened the smaller bag, which contained
several rose petals, and sprinkled them liberally on and around the bed.
Finally, he went over to her stereo and found a radio station playing some soft
music. Done, he unbuttoned his shirt partway (the room seemed hot but he
thought it might also be due to anticipation) and lay down on the bed, waiting.
Each minute he lay waiting seemed
like an eternity, and he passed the time thinking of his many memories of
Daphne, still not quite believing what all had happened. Then, in what seemed
like hours later, she emerged from the bathroom, robe drawn up tight.
"Surprise!" she said,
letting the robe fall.
"Oh my GOD!! Daphne...you
look...divine," he said breathless, seeing she was wearing the same red
gown from when they went dancing together 2 years ago.
"I knew you'd like it,"
she said, "I knew you weren't just 'acting' that night...and I'm not so
sure I was either."
"Oh, Daphne," he said,
remembering what he had said that night, "I adore you!"
She held out a hand, and he rose
from the bed and took it, embracing her, and kissed her once again, this time
not the least bit nervous. She released him, and slowly laid back down on the
bed, gently pulling him with her outstretched hand, and he eagerly followed.
--------------------
They spent the weekend inseparable.
Saturday night he took her out to dinner at the top of the space needle, his
fear of heights unaffected because he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from
her long enough to really look at the ground. Then they spent awhile taking a
long walk through the city before finally heading home.
He left Sunday morning before
Frasier and Martin arrived. Once again, they were not suspicious when Daphne
said she had "not done anything interesting" over the weekend, and
she had carefully removed from the apartment any trace of Niles' presence.
--------------------
The next day, Daphne had gone out
for lunch at the Cafe Nervosa when she spotted Donny seated alone at a nearby
table, reading a newspaper.
"Hello," she said.
"Oh, hey Daph," he
replied, somewhat surprised.
She felt a little awkward to be
getting a conversation with him, but she didn't want to be rude and not wanting
him to have to sit there alone, she grabbed a seat across from him.
"I was just having coffee with
Roz. She...told me about you and Niles.
"Oh."
(Sensing her discomfort)
"No...it doesn't bother me, not at all...he's a good guy. A bit strange,
but from what I hear he's been crazy about you for quite some time, and it's
good to see you two happy."
"Donny, I just want to say
that I didn't leave you for Niles. I felt so bad that night and I needed
someone to talk to, and he was there for me. I had no idea until he confessed
to me and that was when I realized he was the man of me visions.
"Well, perhaps it was fate,
then," he said. "Oh, and, Daphne, don't worry, your secret is safe
with me. Roz told me to keep quiet about it."
"Oh, thank you so much."
She left, leaving him with his
thoughts. Yes, he saw the break-up coming, but he still had feelings for her.
And he also gained a new respect for Niles, being in love with her the whole
time of their relationship and not trying to steal her from him. "Guess I
underestimated the little guy," he muttered to himself.
--------------------
Then, the day after, was when all
hell broke loose. It all started at the Cafe Nervosa, where Niles met Daphne on
his lunch break. Unbeknownst to either, Cassandra sat watching them.
--------------------
"Frasier, you wont BELIEVE
what I saw today at the Cafe Nervosa," Cassandra said. "Your brother
and Daphne, together and being VERY affectionate."
"Oh my GOD..." he said,
simply. After his show, he told Roz he needed to talk.
"Roz?"
"Yes, Frasier?"
"It seems that hell has frozen
over."
"Oh, you got a date for the
weekend?"
"Ha, ha, Roz. No, Cassandra
said she saw Niles and Daphne at the Nervosa today and they were clearly...more
than friends."
"And why, may I ask, does that
bother you?"
"Well-think, Roz! She just
broke up with Donny and he's moved in for the kill when she was highly
vulnerable. I just think he is making a big mistake."
"Oh, come on, Frasier, ever
hear of the concept of being HAPPY for Niles? Let me tell you something
Frasier, I knew about it but this is precisely why they didn't want you to find
out before they were ready to tell you."
"WHAT?? You KNEW about this
and didn't tell me?"
"It wasn't any of your
business."
"Niles is my BROTHER,
Roz."
"Oh, and I suppose all his
relationships need the 'Frasier Crane Seal of Approval?"
"And how long has this been
going on?"
"2 weeks, on Friday."
"You mean they've been going
behind my back all this time...so the weekend Dad and I were gone they..."
"Yep, Frasier, they did."
"2 weeks from tomorrow...Oh my
God... you mean it started the SAME NIGHT she broke up with Donny? Good
God!"
"Frasier," she said,
annoyed, "they're in love, stay out of it."
"Well, I am going to have a word with the two of them!" and he
stormed out of the studio.
TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 3:
"ENCORE"