Although Daphne was a little sad that her free time had come to an end, she couldn't deny that she was happy to have the Crane men back at home. She missed them even if she wouldn't readily admit it.

Her smile was genuine as she opened the door for them, each man proudly displaying their prize, although she couldn't understand for the life of her what they found exciting about sitting in the freezing cold staring at a hole in the ice, waiting for a 'catch'. But her heart warmed, for she knew what this trip was really about; father/son bonding.

The thought made her a tiny bit jealous for as the only girl in a family of all boys (except for her mother); she'd never experienced such a thing with her father. He was always too busy visiting his friends at the local pubs instead of spending quality time with his daughter. But she knew that he loved her unconditionally and she loved him. And perhaps that's all that mattered.

Now she stood at the door, kissing each man on the cheek as they entered. Mr. Crane came first, with his impressive catch of several large fish that would surely last them for months.

Then came the elder Dr. Crane with his catch that wasn't quite as large as his father's, but certainly remarkable. And finally the younger Dr Crane who looked so out of place in his plaid shirt and grey and white cap that she found it hard not to laugh.

He was completely adorable and his grin was like that of a little boy. The poor man; his catch was barely enough to feed one person but he seemed proud of it, so she kissed his cheek as well, fully aware of the way he leaned toward her and then blushed deeply.

"Well boys, did you have a nice time?"

"Yeah, great!" Martin grumbled; the sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Niles here managed to drop my keys in the damn fishing hole made of ice and we a hell of a time trying to retrieve them to get into our car, but other than that it was great!"

Daphne couldn't help but notice the hurt in Niles' eyes that stemmed from his father's sarcasm and she quickly changed the subject.

"These sure look wonderful!" She said as cheerfully as possible. " We're going to have a real feast tonight!"

"Only if you use mine and Frasier's." Martin said. "Niles' wouldn't be enough for Eddie!"

"That's enough, Mr. Crane! Now, you've had a long trip and your best friend has been awfully anxious to see you so why don't you change clothes and take a hot shower. He'll be waiting for you as soon as you get out!"

"What the hell is Duke doing here?" Martin asked. "He has some nerve showing up here after bailing out on me the way he did! Instead I had to put up with these two!"

Daphne followed Martin's pointing finger to Frasier and Niles and sighed irritably.

"Oh bloody hell... I can't even believe you, although I shouldn't be surprised, given the way you treat that dog of yours better than your own sons! I wasn't talkin' about Duke! I'm talking about Eddie!"

"Oh Eddie! How could I have forgotten?" Martin exclaimed.

At the sound of his name, the dog appeared out of nowhere bounding into the living room, rushing straight for Martin.

"Eddie! Good boy! Did you miss me?" Martin asked with far too much enthusiasm.

Eddie barked wildly and practically jumped into Martin's arms, licking his face profusely.

Frasier and Niles were not amused. "Well, at least we got an I love you out of him, right Niles?"

Niles sighed deeply. "I guess this father son bonding thing was too good to be true."

Frasier put his arm around Niles' shoulder. "We may not have bonded with Dad the way we had hoped Niles, but dare I say that it brought us just a little closer?"

Niles smiled. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Frasier."