"Oh, no," Daphne said as she hung up her cellphone.
"What is it?" Martin asked, alarmed by the look on her face. Normally, he was grateful when a phone call interrupted his therapy, but he could tell this call hadn't been good.
"That was David's teacher. He fell out on the playground at recess, and they're rushing him to the hospital!"
"What?" Martin asked. "Do you want Ronee and me to go with you?"
"No," Daphne said at once. "I think it should be just Niles and me for now. Until we know what's going on."
"Are you sure?" Ronee asked. She'd been in the kitchen, but she came in when she heard the commotion.
"Yes. I just want to get to the hospital now." Daphne grabbed her keys and her purse, barely even aware of what she was doing. "Niles and I'll call as soon as…..as soon as we know what's going on."
"OK, Daph, if that's the way you want it," Martin said as she left. He and Ronee could only look at each other in surprise, and hope that David would be OK.
Daphne made the drive to the hospital faster than she ever had before. In the back of her mind was the last time she'd been here. When Niles had open-heart surgery, and she had been frightened she'd lose her husband, months after finally marrying him.
But she forced those thoughts aside as she rushed into the emergency room. "Where's David Crane?" she demanded of the first employee she saw.
The poor orderly shook his head. Daphne became frantic, until, thankfully, Niles walked up. "Daphne, David is fine. He fell off the monkey bars and broke his arm in a couple of places. The doctor is setting the bones right now. We can go in and see our son as soon as he is finished."
Nothing less than Niles' words and calm demeanor could have made Daphne get control over herself. "Oh, Niles, how can they do anything to him without us? He's so little…."
Niles pulled her close. "It's OK, my love. It seems the break was pretty bad, so they didn't want him to be awake while they set it. They're going to give him some drugs so he won't feel a thing. I already gave them the OK."
Daphne pulled out of the embrace, confused. How could he not have consulted her on a matter concerning their son?
Niles saw her confusion. "David was in quite a bit of pain. They wanted to do something as soon as possible. I said I'd like to wait till you got here, but they didn't want to."
Daphne swallowed hard. It would do no good to get angry with him now. "You're right. I'm sure these doctors know what they're doing. After all, a broken arm is hardly life-threatening." Suddenly, Daphne remembered growing up in Manchester. Hardly a week passed without one of her brothers breaking a bone or getting a black eye. Usually it was at the hands of one of the other Moon boys. To everyone's great surprise, Simon and the others were all still alive. That had to count for something.
Seeing that his wife was now calm, or as much as one could expect in these circumstances, Niles gently led her back to the waiting area. There was nothing do now but wait until a doctor updated them on David's progress.
Almost before they'd sat down, a young man in a white lab coat approached. "Dr. and Mrs. Crane?"
"Yes?" Daphne answered.
"Your son is awake now. We've put a cast on his arm, and hopefully he won't have to keep it on more than a few weeks. He should be out of here by tonight, if all goes well."
"Thank you, doctor," Niles said, shaking the young man's hand. He and Daphne followed the doctor to the room where David was. Before they entered, Niles pulled his wife aside. "Now, we don't want to alarm him, do we?"
"No," Daphne said, hearing her voice break. She tried her best to control her emotions, but it wasn't easy. Her little boy was in the very next room.
Niles kissed her. He knew no one could love their son more. He couldn't blame her for being upset. He remembered his own mother's reaction when he and Frasier were inevitably injured growing up. "I love you both," he whispered. He took a moment to kiss her hand once more, before slipping it into his. He silently prayed that he and Daphne could show David there was nothing to be afraid of, and he'd be home soon.