Daphne raced up the stairs as fast as she could, not wanting to have to face Niles. She needed to change out of the dress she was wearing, but when she opened the door to her bedroom, she remembered the huge hole directly in the middle of it where the bed she and her husband of just a few months shared had fallen through the ceiling.

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

She made her way around the edge of the room until she reached the walk-in closet. This would have to serve as her changing room. Ever so carefully, she took off the beautiful dress she had bought just for tonight.

You better not wreck that too, just like you did with everything else that happened tonight.

The tears found her eyes soon after that, and through blurred vision she found a pair of jeans and a comfortable shirt to put on, then went into the bathroom and took off her makeup. After tying her hair back, she changed into her walking shoes and headed downstairs.

Please God, don't let me run into Niles.

When she reached the living room, the only person in sight was Frasier, which was a relief to Daphne.

"Daphne, you're not still crying, are you?" Frasier asked.

"I…no, I'm not," she said, trying to convince herself as well as him.

"Good. Niles is in the kitchen helping clean up, and I'm sure he could use some help. He recruited me to work here, which is no small task." He chuckled, raising his eyebrows at the gigantic mess that had been made by a king-size bed smashing down on a cultured living room.

"Listen Frasier, can you please tell Niles I went out for a walk and that I'll be back soon? And also, if you see my mother, tell her that her only daughter is not very happy with her at the moment."

"Will do, Daphne."

With that, she walked to the door as quickly as she could without looking suspicious. Once she was outside in the shelter of the hallway, she cried softly.

This was terrible. How could she have let this whole thing happen? She had told her husband that she could handle everything on her own, and how deeply she had thought she had that ability, but everything had fallen right before her eyes.

She remember all of the times she had watched Frasier and Niles throw dinner parties, each one being a failure. All she had wanted was to fix that, but this was perhaps the worst party in the history of the Crane family.

Walking as fast as she could, Daphne strolled into the elevator and pressed the ground floor button, trying once more to stop her tears.

These things being so, she tried to imagine how Niles must have felt.

He entrusts his wife with a small task, however important, and she brings in his brother to help her out at the last minute because everything blew up in her face. Not only that, the chandelier she had ordered to be installed in a timely manner fell and so did the bed directly above it. Everything is a mess, and she leaves the house without even staying to help. Yes Daphne, he must be very happy with you right now.

When she had arrived on the main floor, she waved and smiled at the doorman, then released herself into the cold evening. At the last minute she had remembered her jacket, which she was very grateful for.

Deciding to take this walk had been out of mostly fear, but she did think that maybe leaving Niles alone for a little while would give him time to cool off, if indeed he was mad at her. Maybe he was just let down, and that was even worse.

Daphne began to wonder if the Crane family would be throwing any more parties. Niles and Frasier had lost accountability, Daphne would never try again, and Martin's sons would never let him throw any sort of event.

This was not the only thing that was bothering her. Another was how she had treated nearly everyone tonight.

Perhaps the pressure had pushed her over the edge a bit, but in her mind that was no excuse. It had always been her goal to be kind and understanding towards other people no matter what occurred, but that hadn't happened tonight. She had once screamed at Niles even, though he had not really taken offense to it.

She did not know how long she walked, but she went in circles, each time passing her building and not wanting to go back. Finally, after she began to get cold and tired, the voice inside of her spoke up.

You can't walk forever. Now is as good of a time as any to go inside and see him.

Daphne began to move towards the building, and as she did she recalled the last time she and Niles had fought, and how much she had hated it.

Within minutes, she was face to face with the door. With a shaking hand, she grabbed her keys and unlocked it, holding her breath as she went in.

"Daphne!" she heard as Niles came in from the kitchen. "Thank God, I was getting worried."

Niles gave his wife a quick hug, then held both of her hands.

"Why? How long was I gone?" she asked.

"Close to two hours. What took you so long? My love, you're cold…"

He eased one hand on her face and Daphne began to cry. "Oh Niles, I'm so sorry!"

"Why? What are you sorry for?" Niles said, pulling her into another hug.

"For what I did tonight! I ruined everything, Niles, and I made you and I both look like idiots in front of those art collectors. I can understand if you're upset with me now, because now our bed is in the living room with a bunch of flat furniture underneath it, and it's me own fault."

"I… Come here, Daphne, sit with me."

He brushed off the top of the bedspread for her to sit on, then sat down himself.

"I really am not upset. At least, not at you. Frasier and I have hosted so many bad parties and they all end the same way- everyone leaving in a huff or earlier than they should."

"Our guests did that too."

"But for a different reason. They were all going to stay, remember? You asked them to give us a second chance, which Frasier and I never did in ten years. All we could do was plead and beg with them to stay."

She smiled. "I know. I was there for most all of them."

"Sometimes that was the only reason I came."

Daphne smiled again. "I used to think the reason you were around me so often at those things was because you didn't know anyone else."

"I knew other people at every single one of them, just not anyone so beautiful."

"You know just what to say, Niles. So, you're not mad that out ceiling caved in?"

"Yes, actually, but that isn't your fault, it's the people who installed that chandelier. They will be hearing from our lawyers, by the way."

"But what about all those people I made us look so stupid in front of?"

"I don't know those people! I've really only met them one or two times. Other than that, it's just Frasier and Dad."

"Any word from Roz about the painting?"

"Yes, she and Alice brought it back a little while ago."

"I was so rude to her on the phone. Not just to her, to you and a lot of other people."

"You were under pressure. Daphne, we all understand. We've all been like that."

"I suppose. I guess I was getting a little worked up over nothing. I was so afraid that you were going to be mad or upset that I just kept circling the building, and that lasted longer than I had planned. But you've made me feel so much better. Still I don't think I'll be volunteering to handle any parties in the future."

She leaned over to kiss Niles, and what was supposed to last a second lasted about thirty.

"That reminds me," Daphne asked, "where are we going to sleep?"

Niles chuckled. "I don't know. I would say right here, but…"

"My mother…"

"Yes."

"Where is she, anyways?"

"In the guest room, hiding from us."

"I'd better go talk to her."

"Right."

Niles hugged Daphne tightly, then released her to go to the guest room.

"I love you," Niles said to her back.

"I love you," said Daphne, turning around briefly, then walking on.

The words still made him feel better than anything else could.

The End