A/N: This was meant to be a short one-shot but because I started where "A Treasured Life" left off, but in the process it turned out to be much longer. If you haven't read the original, it may help to do so or to at least read the author's note about the story.

The living room was so silent that the sound of Eddie's panting seemed to drown everything else out. Daphne sat on the sofa with her hands folded in her lap, not at all sure how to begin this conversation. But she knew that it had to be done. Frasier and Martin had a right to know. Still, it was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

"Can we get this over with?" Frasier asked, clearly annoyed at the fact that she refused to let him speak to Niles until she explained everything.

But she had to approach this carefully. To say the wrong thing could be devastating to her friend, and she cared about Niles too much to see him get hurt even further. He'd been through more than enough.

"Daphne, have you been listening to me?" Frasier snapped.

Startled by the sound of his voice, she looked up. "What?"

"That's what I thought. You weren't listening to me at all, were you?"

"I-."

"Fras-." Martin warned. "Daphne, what's going on with Niles?"

She sighed deeply, praying for guidance from some unknown source. She needed something, anything to get her through this, but now the moment had come and there was no going back. "All right, I'll tell you. But you have to promise me that you will not ridicule Niles for this! It's not his fault! None of it is! He-." She paused as a wave of emotion hit her. She wanted to be so strong for him, but now she was finding it increasingly difficult. Luckily Frasier and Martin seemed sympathetic to her weakness.

God bless them both.

"What's this about, Daphne?" Martin asked in an unusually quiet tone. "We love Niles and we're just concerned about him."

"He's hurting." Daphne said as the tears fell from her eyes. "He's hurting badly."

"But I just can't understand!" Frasier said, standing to pace the room. "He's a successful psychiatrist, he's free from Maris and -."

"I'm afraid that Maris is part of the problem." Daphne said. "And with all due respect, so are we."

He turned to her, appalled at what she had just accused him of. "What? That's ridiculous! You think this is my fault! I've never done anything to Niles to cause him to-."

"Fras!" Martin warned again. "Let her finish!"

At his father's stern glare, Frasier quieted at once. "I'm sorry, Daphne. Go on, Dad."

"Daphne, what's going on? What did Niles tell you?" Martin asked.

New tears fell from Daphne's eyes as she remembered how frightened and ashamed he looked, even recoiling from her touch. And she'd never forget the horror she'd felt when she saw what he'd done to his body. The gashes and cuts that made him look as though he'd been in a terrible fight. Injures that were sure to leave scars, both physical and emotional. She was certain that the physical scars would soon fade, but the emotional scars might never go away.

"Here."

She looked up to find Martin standing next to her, holding a box of Kleenex. It was the most selfless gesture she'd ever encountered from him, and she had never loved him more.