For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor
Niles Crane sat behind his office desk with all intentions of not working late this evening. He had buried himself deep within his copy of the Fourth Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Professor Williams was under extreme stress and it seemed to be coming to a head. Niles knew he was missing something… something that could help… something that could bring peace and harmony… he was holding the key, but the key seemed to be buried… lost somewhere in his subconscious from all of the sessions he had had with this patient and somewhere in the strongholds of the science of mental disorders. He felt that there was something substantial in the session notes that he had reviewed two dozen times, but he couldn't seem to draw out the red flag that of which was what his subconscious continued to tug at him. His head throbbed. He rubbed his head with his left hand as if it were going to magically rub the splitting headache out of his head. When he stood to retrieve the desk keys from his pocket, the headache responded with a pounding that almost caused him to lose his balance. Heavily blinking his eyes, he braced his stance and managed to get the key into the drawer keyhole and open it to get a bottle of ibuprofen. He downed one of the 800 milligram pills. At this point, he didn't care that he didn't have any water readily by to take it with.
He glanced over at the picture on his desk in a dark mahogany frame. It was his beloved wife with their child cradled in her arms. A smile emerged through the pain of his head. He knew just how blessed he was. He had such a beautiful family. With all of the bad luck in relationships he had had in his life, it was times like these that he often wondered what he had done that put such blessings in his life like Daphne and David.
His head began to swim in this pain of a headache and he managed to lower himself back into this soft leather seat. Perhaps he should call it a night. He glanced at the clock at the edge of his desk and closed his eyes when he realized what time it was. He had made a promise to himself that he would never work this late… never be so long away from the family that he cherished so.
He rubbed his hands over his face. He had to make a pot of coffee to stay wake long enough to crawl into bed with his wife. The caffeine would just increase the level of pain in his head, but he had to do what he had to do to get home safely.
Carefully, he walked around his desk and through his office doorway to the reception area. At the coffee station, he started a pot of coffee.
His cell phone sounded off. "Oh, why didn't she call the office rather than my cell?" He walked back into the office with his arms swaying as if he was in a sleep-state. At the coat rack, he dipped his hand into is jacket pocket and retrieved the phone. "Hello…" he stopped short as if he was cut off. "Oh my God," his posture stiffened. "Are you okay?" He listened. "My dear, I'm always here for you. How did this happen… When did this happen?... Now calm down. Take a deep breath. Is the baby okay?... Call the police right now… No, I don't see how that is possible. Be strong love. I need you to be strong. Please listen to me very carefully. Take a moment to think this over. Your adrenaline is pumping, so you might not be fully aware of this. Are you hurt?... How badly are you bleeding?... What is your location?... DON'T DO THIS TO ME! Can you get to a safe place and call the police?... No, that's a bad idea. Listen to me… listen to me… I'm on my way. I am on my way." With that, Niles yanked his jacket free from the coat rack and spun toward the door.
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