A/N: Foreseeing that this is going to be a very long story, I considered ending it at the first episode which is "The Good Son." Many thanks to SailboatsandSand, who encouraged me to continue to the story to the end of the series.
Niles hung his head low after yet another berating from his wife. He loved Maris dearly and would do absolutely anything for her. He'd walk through fire, go to the ends of the earth and swim the deepest oceans. He loved her that much. But it seemed that Maris' temper had gotten the best of her… again. It certainly wasn't his fault that she'd parked too close to a fire hydrant. However, it was the worst luck of all that, according to Maris, his father had booted her car, leaving her stranded outside of Seattle's most famous downtown department store, Frederick and Nelson.
She'd called him at work, demanding that he cancel his appointments and come pick her up. He considered refusing her demands, but he knew better. She'd threaten him with divorce, upsetting him so much that he'd race around Seattle buying jewelry, chocolates and other expensive gifts in order to win back her trust and love. It seemed easy enough, but Maris was terribly hard to please. And so he reluctantly canceled his appointments and sent his secretary Mrs. Woodson home with pay. The only consolation in doing so was that it gave her a chance to spend time with her son, her daughter in law and her grandchildren.
He jumped into his car and was at the store's location on Pine Street within minutes. Through his car window, he could see Maris standing on the sidewalk, screaming at nearly every person in sight. Embarrassed, he hurried out of his Mercedes and went to her, taking her into his arms. "Maris honey, are you all right?"
As expected, she began to rant on and on, describing the turmoil that she'd been through. And it wasn't until he'd called his father using the phone in his Mercedes that he realized what had happened.
Damn it…
On the drive home, he and Maris did not speak; not directly anyway. Instead he was forced to listen once more to Maris's shouting and ranting about what a horrible person his father was. This, after they'd had him over for dinner only a few nights before. He'd hoped that the dinner might have persuaded her to see that his father wasn't horrible at all, but of course, Maris' opinions of people, even ones she was related to by marriage, were not easily changed. Niles attempted to defend his dad at first, for his father was certainly not horrible and was still hurting over the death of his wife, which was understandable. Niles was still deeply hurt over the fact that his mother had passed so suddenly. He couldn't believe that he'd never see her again. He loved her so much. Tears stung his eyes and he quickly looked away. Now was not the time to be crying over a loss that Maris found to be insignificant. The image of his mother vanished quickly, replaced with another memory; one that was all too recent. And the more he thought about what his father had done to Maris' car, the angrier he became.
It was no secret that his dad didn't like Maris and Niles couldn't begin to understand why. Maris was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him and he loved her so much, even if his family did not approve. They simply couldn't understand why he loved Maris so much and there was nothing he could do or say to make them understand how he felt about her. But he hoped that in time his family would grow to love her as much as he loved her.
Oh how he wished it would happen.
