"Dad, can we go in there?" David turned to Niles, a pleading look on his face. But it had been a long day at the amusement park, and Niles was tired. They were nearly to the exit, but of course there was a souvenir shop located just before.

Daphne saw the look on Niles' face. "You did promise him he could get something before we left," she reminded him. "I'll go in with him. We'll only be a few minutes." She gave him a quick kiss, knowing that would make him agree.

Niles walked to a nearby bench and sat down as his wife and son entered the gift shop. He hoped his son wouldn't take too long. It was just a few days before school began again, so Daphne had suggested making a few last summer memories here. As David got older, he spent more time with friends from school and less with his parents. Though this was the natural order of things, it was still painful to watch David slowly leaving them and beginning to live his own life.

As Niles continued to sit there, his mind wandered. He could still recall that day at the vet's office as Daphne's water unexpectedly broke. No baby was ever more beautiful, even if Daphne's comment about him having her hair wasn't referring to his physical appearance. Almost from that day on, David had been constantly moving. He might have gotten his father's intelligence, but he had definitely inherited the Moon boys' energy. Luckily, Daphne was more than familiar with her brothers' antics, and David soon learned to behave. Much to Niles' frustration, he had developed an affinity for sports. This was, of course, fully encouraged by his grandfather.

Niles tried hard to remember all the years when he and Frasier wanted nothing to do with any activity that involved balls or throwing. At least now, his father had someone to share those things with. But it still made Niles a bit sad that he couldn't interest his son in chess or classical music. It won't be long before we're talking about colleges, Niles thought. It wouldn't be a question of if David would go, but which Ivy League school he would decide to attend. Niles knew he was getting ahead of himself; David was still in elementary school, after all. But the dreams Niles had for his son would not go away.

The park was now almost near closing time. Niles checked his watch, alarmed to see that his wife and son had been gone for over half an hour. This was ridiculous. Niles marched into the shop, quickly finding his family standing at the very end of a long line of customers. He walked over to his wife. "What is taking so long?" he asked.

Daphne smiled, seeing how anxious her husband was. "We're getting ready to check out now. It won't be much longer," she assured him.

Niles looked at the line. It didn't look like it was moving quickly. He turned back to Daphne, ready to voice a protest.

"If you don't want to wait there, you can meet us at the car, OK?" Daphne suggested. "At least it's cooler in there."

"All right," Niles reluctantly said. He wished he had told David it was too late for a souvenir, but there was no way he could say that now. All he could do was make his way out to the parking area and pray it wouldn't be as long as he feared.

But when Niles reached the parking area, he had another problem. He couldn't remember where they'd parked. He was surrounded by minivans, which he knew weren't his. He began walking through row after row of parked cars. He even tried his remote, hoping he would see lights flash or hear a horn to tell him the vehicle was nearby. But no luck. By now, the heat was really becoming intense. He stopped walking, having run out of energy. Instead, he simply stood and waited. Hopefully Daphne and David would see him as they made their way to their car, wherever it was.

Hours later, or at least it felt that way to Niles, he finally saw a pair of familiar faces coming toward him. "What are you doing all the way over here?" Daphne asked. "We parked over there." She pointed behind him, to the literal other end of the lot.

Niles' heart stopped as he saw how far he was from the car. The thought of walking over there was more than he could bear.

But David was oblivious to his father's obvious exhaustion. "Dad, look," he said, holding out an autograph book, which was filled with signatures. "Just as Mom and I were ready to leave, a bunch of superheroes came out! I got to meet Spider-Man, and Batman, and even Superman! It was so cool!"

Niles forced a smile. Once again, comic book superheroes were yet another interest father and son did not share.

"And look at this, Dad!" David exclaimed, taking something out of a plastic shopping bag. "I got Grandpa a real Mariner's cap, just like the players wear. I bet Grandpa can bring it next time we go to a game!"

Daphne slipped her hand into Niles' as David began running towards their car. "I know this isn't really how you wanted today to go," she said softly. "But we got to spend the day together. Who knows how many more times we'll get to do that?"

"You're right," Niles agreed. Times with his son were something he could not take for granted, especially with David growing up so quickly.

"And David certainly had a good time today. That's all that really matters." Daphne turned to look at him, hoping he would see that she was right.

Niles looked at David, still several feet ahead of them. There was no doubting that David was happier than Niles ever remembered seeing his son. He forced aside thoughts of David's future and the life he'd already picked out for the boy. As hard as it would be, Niles would simply have to remind himself of the most important thing: that David would grow up happy and loved. What more could a father want for his son?

The End