Author's Note: Thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415) for putting this idea in my head. I wasn't sure where to go with it at first, but I finally figured it out! :D
Daphne sighed. She had to admit, she loved the quiet in this house. It had taken a while to get used to the idea that there were no children in the house, but once she got over the pain of letting her children go, Daphne saw that she got so much more done during the day. David was in school, and proving to be every bit as smart as his father. Little Ella had started kindergarten not long ago.
She was busy folding laundry and thinking how grateful she was that the children were old enough now to not need her 24/7when the phone rang. It was rare to get calls during the day, but Daphne answered, hoping perhaps it was her husband. "Crane residence."
But the voice on the other end wasn't Niles'. "This is the principal's office at Seattle Elementary. Is this David Crane's mother?"
"Yes, I'm his mum. Has David won another award?" Daphne couldn't help smiling. Her son was always amazing his parents with the way he won over teachers and classmates. They'd nearly run out of room for all of his awards and ribbons.
"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Crane. You'd better come down to the school. Your son's been in a fight."
"What?!" This wasn't like David at all. He was a good boy. He got into trouble now and then at home, but he'd never done anything like this at school.
"Well, we were pretty surprised, too. Since this is his first offense, we're not going to be hard on him, but we do think you should come down here and hear all the details."
"All right, then," Daphne replied, still in disbelief. She pushed the laundry aside. She had thought she'd never have to do this. David took after his father so much, it had never even crossed her mind. Ella could be a handful, but she was years away from actual fighting. Daphne drove to the school, not even bothering to call Niles. She had to find out why her boy had done something like this.
A few minutes later, Daphne entered the school principal's office. There sat both her children. David was slumped in his chair, and Ella said beside him, not quite sure what to do. "Ella?" Daphne asked. "What are you doing here?"
The principal rose and approached Daphne. "Mrs. Crane, it's nice to see you. David here was just about to punch another boy out on the playground. He says that the fight started when he saw your daughter being picked on."
"Is this true?" Daphne asked her son.
David nodded. "I know you and Dad always told me not to fight, but a bigger kid was calling Ella names, and I just lost control."
"David protected me!" Ella said proudly. "He's the best big brother ever!"
Daphne couldn't help smiling at her daughter. "I'm glad you weren't hurt," she said, bending down to give her daughter a kiss on the cheek.
The principal watched the two interact, then spoke up. "Perhaps Ella should return to her class, so that we can deal with David in private." The principal gestured for her secretary to come in. "It's time for Ella to return to class," the principal explained.
The secretary nodded, then walked over to Ella. "Come on, I'll walk you back."
The little girl stood up at once, taking the hand offered to her. "Bye, Mommy."
Daphne watched her daughter go, feeling a rush of love for the little girl.
"Well, now that we got that out of the way, we can focus on you, young man." The principal looked straight at David. "You know better than to do something like this."
"I know," David sighed. "So, can I just go back to class now?" He smiled, hoping the adults would be won over.
"I'm afraid not," the principal replied. "Our school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence. We do have to punish you." Just then, she looked up and saw that Daphne was looking similarly angry. Suddenly, the principal knew what to do with David. "Since this is your first offense, and there were...extenuating circumstances, we can let you off easy. You won't have to do detention. We'll send you home for the day. When you come back tomorrow, I trust that you'll have thought this over and realized there are better ways to handle your anger."
David looked over at his mother, seeing her eyes narrowed at him in anger. Suddenly, he thought he'd rather have detention. But he knew better than try to argue with her. With yet another sigh, he got up. "I'm sorry, Mom," was all he could think of to say.
"Let's go," Daphne replied, her tone making it clear that she wasn't happy.
There was nothing for David to do but follow his mother out of the school. "Mom, I'm sorry," he said again.
"We'll discuss this when your father gets home," was all Daphne could say in response.
"Look, I know you and Dad always taught me to use my words whenever I have a problem, but you weren't there. If you saw how the other kid was treating Ella, you'd have been mad, too!"
Daphne didn't respond. She made the drive home without saying a word. When they arrived at their apartment, David announced he was going upstairs.
Now back to doing the laundry, Daphne still couldn't believe this had happened. Her gentle, sweet son had gotten into trouble. For having a fight. It gave Daphne flashbacks to her own childhood. Her brothers had gotten into so many fights back then, her mother stopped counting. It was a trait of her family's she'd hoped her children wouldn't inherit.
David wisely chose to stay in his room. There didn't seem to be much reason to go downstairs, when his mother was so angry with him. He knew he was in trouble, but there was nothing to do but wait for whatever punishment was in store.
Soon, Ella returned from school, and as Daphne gave her an afternoon snack, the little girl talked of nothing but her brother rushing to her defense. Daphne merely nodded along with the story, all the while thinking of how her son had disobeyed everything he'd been taught. Daphne had just sent her daughter off to play in her room for a while when the door opened. "My love!"
Daphne smiled. Niles was home. Though she loved her children, it was always a relief to have her husband by her side again.
"What's wrong?" Niles asked, approaching her. He could see in her smile that something was off. He held his wife close.
"I got a call today from the school principal. David got into trouble." She paused, unsure if she could continue. "He got into a fight." She said the words quietly, not liking how they sounded or felt.
"David did what?" Niles was shocked.
"Well, he says he did it because another boy was making fun of Ella, but-" She suddenly stopped short, thinking of her brothers. They always had their reasons for fighting, too.
"Daphne, what's wrong?" Niles asked again. "I hate seeing you so upset."
Suddenly, Daphne found herself smiling as Niles gently wiped a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Me brothers were always getting themselves into fights. Mum had to bandage up their cuts and scrapes. It was ridiculous. I never wanted it to happen to me own children."
"David is nothing like your brothers," Niles said immediately. "He's a good boy. I know that fighting is wrong. But I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud of him."
Daphne looked at him in astonishment. "What?"
Niles couldn't help laughing at the surprise on her face. "Most of the time, in these situations, I was Ella. The child being picked on. I wished I could've had a brother who'd come to my rescue. But Frasier was always in the same boat."
Daphne hadn't considered this. David was no bully, but she knew her son. He was the kind of boy who'd gladly look out for someone in need. Of course he'd jump in when he saw his sister in trouble. Why hadn't she seen it? "I'm sorry," she said, kissing Niles.
Niles sighed as the kiss ended. "What do you have to be sorry for?"
"For what you went through in school. I forgot all about that. All I could think about was what I saw, with Simon, and -"
Niles cut her off with another kiss. "It was years ago. I won't say it was easy, but things have changed. I think they worked out pretty well."
"Yes," Daphne breathed. "They certainly have." This feeling of being in Niles' arms could never get old. She and her husband couldn't be more different in many ways. There were constant reminders, in their tastes, their disagreements over how best to raise the children, and so on. But right now, Daphne couldn't be anything but grateful for Niles. Thanks to him, she'd been able to see what a wonderful boy her son was. David couldn't have asked for a better father. And Daphne herself couldn't have asked for a better husband, either.
The End