The Elevator
Frasier was struggling to put his shoe on when the doorbell rang. "Daphne, can you get that?" he yelled. "That'll be Niles coming to get me for dinner."
Martin came in from the kitchen. "Daphne's not here. She's out with Donny, remember?"
"Oh, never mind, I'll get it myself," Frasier grumbled as he got up from the couch and went to the door, his shoelaces dragging on the floor.
Niles was dressed in a navy blue suit, looking impeccably dressed, as usual. "Good heavens, Frasier, I hope you're not planning on going to dinner with your shoes untied. Auguste will throw us out before we even set foot in the restaurant."
Frasier sat back down on the couch and tied his shoes. "There, are you happy now?"
Niles was about to make a snide reply when Daphne came in, looking radiant. "I have the most wonderful news," she exclaimed. "Donny asked me to marry him!"
Niles had to sit down before he fell over. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Thoughts spun around in his head, making him dizzy. Daphne's happy chatter was gibberish to his ears, until she added, in a sadder tone of voice, "but I'll be moving to New York. Donny's been offered a job there, and he's leaving in two weeks. We'll be stopping in Las Vegas on the way there to get married. I'll miss all of you so much, but it's such a great opportunity for him, I can't let him pass it up on account of me."
"Excuse me," Niles mumbled. "I have to get home. Congratulations, Daphne. I wish you every happiness." He stumbled out the door, and managed to hold back his tears until he was safely in the elevator where Daphne couldn't see him cry.
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Frasier came over to the Montana later that night. He found his brother lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling and looking so miserable that his annoyance at Niles dissolved into sympathy.
"Oh, Niles, I'm sorry. I know how hard this must be for you," Frasier said quietly. "But you can't trouble yourself with what might have happened. Daphne loves Donny, they're going to be married soon, and there's nothing you can say or do to change that. I think you'll find it easiest to just be happy for her."
"You're right, Frasier," Niles replied. "And if Daphne loved me she would have said something by now. But still…I never knew how much I loved her until tonight. This is even worse than when Maris and I divorced. I hope you'll understand if I don't come over much for the next two weeks, because I don't think I can deal with it."
"I understand," Frasier told his brother. "But you'd better come to say goodbye before Daphne and Donny leave for New York."
"I suppose," Niles sighed. "It's the only proper thing to do."
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True to his word, Niles came over to Frasier's apartment the day Daphne moved out to say goodbye. As he stepped out of the elevator, he met up with Frasier, Martin, and Donny, who were carrying large boxes of Daphne's things.
Frasier nodded towards the apartment. "Daphne's in there, getting a few last things together before Dad and I drive her and Donny to the airport. Why don't you go in and say goodbye?"
Niles stepped into Frasier's apartment and shut the door. Daphne came out of the kitchen, carrying another large box. She stopped when she saw Niles.
"Dr. Crane! I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up! But I told myself, 'Dr. Crane's such a gentleman. He'd never let me leave without seeing me off properly.'"
"Oh, here," Niles stuttered. "Let me carry that for you." He took the box from Daphne and winced. It really was heavy.
"Are you sure you're all right with that?" Daphne asked. "I don't want you to hurt yourself on my account."
"Fine, fine," Niles reassured her. "I'll be OK." Daphne opened the door for him, and when she pushed the button to go down, the elevator doors opened right away. Niles set the box down with a sigh. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. I hope you and Donny will be happy together, because no one deserves it more than you."
"Oh, Dr. Crane, that's so sweet of you," Daphne said. "You've always been so good to--" She was interrupted by the lights blinking off and the elevator screeching to a halt.
Niles stumbled over to the control panel and frantically began to push all the buttons. Nothing worked. In the darkness, Daphne was banging at the doors.
"I hate the dark!" Her voice trembled. "When I was six my brothers shut me in a closet for a joke, but I was so scared and I've been terrified of small places ever since!"
Niles wanted more than anything to take her in his arms and comfort her, but his conscience told him not to. He settled for putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's just a power outage. The lights will probably come back on any minute now."
Daphne began to relax, and for the next hour, she and Niles relived memories of Daphne's time in Seattle: the time the Crane family rented an RV and traveled to Yellowstone, the trip to the ski lodge, the night of Niles' Halloween party when Roz found out she was pregnant.
"What I remember most about your party, Dr. Crane," Daphne said, "apart from finding out about Roz, is how surprised I was to see you dressed as Cyrano de Bergerac. I had no idea you loved that play too. Everyone else I've known either hasn't read it, or didn't like it. I wish it wasn't so sad though. Every time I read it, I always wonder what it would have been like if Roxane had realized she'd loved Cyrano all along. If only she'd known…"
"If only he'd told her…" Niles said quietly. "He could have had a lifetime of happiness if he'd only professed his love for Daphne."
Daphne gasped, and Niles realized what he'd said. It was too dark for him to read the expression on her face, but his secret had slipped out, and the only thing he could think of was to tell her everything.
"I love you, Daphne," he said, his heart pounding. "I've loved you for so long, ever since I saw you. You make me feel like someone new and wonderful every time I'm around you. I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even Maris, and I don't think I ever will again. I don't want to lose you, Daphne, because I'll never find anyone like you again."
Daphne was silent for a long time, and Niles was beginning to feel like an idiot when she suddenly spoke. "You don't know how I've longed to hear those words, Dr. Crane…Niles. I never thought you could love anyone like me. It was only a dream of mine, that you could love me like I've loved you."
"Oh, Daphne…" Niles touched her face and brought it to his. Their lips brushed together just as the lights suddenly came on and the elevator began its downward descent once more. They pulled away from each other as the doors opened. Frasier, Donny, and Martin stood outside with looks of astonishment on their faces.
Daphne took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Donny, but I can't marry you. I love some one else. I hope you understand. Donny nodded. He was obviously disappointed, but he knew the right thing was to let Daphne go.
Martin and Frasier were too surprised at the sight of Niles and Daphne together to say anything. Martin finally managed to speak. "I guess you'll be wanting your stuff moved back in, Daphne. Frasier, can you get the other boxes out of the car?"
"Let me give you a hand with that," Donny offered. He followed Frasier out to the car.
Martin stepped into the elevator. "You two coming?"
Niles and Daphne exchanged looks, and realized that this was the beginning of a long, happy life together, a fulfillment of their wildest hopes and dreams.
"No thanks, Dad," Niles replied. "We'll take the stairs."
Disclaimer
I do not own Frasier, Niles, Daphne, Roz, Martin, Donny, or any other characters listed. I do not own Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano, Roxane, or any other characters from the play. This is for entertainment only, and I do not accept responsibility for what anyone does with this.
If you'd like to give me some feedback, please email me at
Dulcineah1@hotmail.com