Niles tried once again to concentrate on the medical records that he held in his hand but it proved to be an impossible task. The thought entered his mind once more that he should have stuck to his original plan and stayed late at the office. At least there he could have gotten some peace and quiet. However, he loved his wife and son so much and wanted to spend every moment possible with them, even if the only sign of proximity to his son and wife was being under the same roof. For the past several days, Daphne had thrown herself into her new hobby; the beautiful garden she'd planted in their front yard. It seemed strange for her to be so taken by such a peculiar hobby, but it had been a long time since he'd seen her so happy. And so of course he was happy too. He smiled, thinking of her sweet face, her curvy body that he loved to hold, and her soft lips that he kissed every chance he could find.

Crash! Bang! Clang!

Literally jolted out of his thoughts, Niles felt his entire body shake from the disruption. For the past hour, the sounds of banging, crashing and clanging could be heard from directly above his office. And suddenly he couldn't take it anymore.

In a fit of anger, he rose from his desk and threw down the papers, sending them floating around the room. He regretted his actions immediately, for he was going to have one heck of a mess to clean up when he returned. It would take him hours to sort through the mounds of paperwork, much less read through them and try yet again to comprehend. It was something he did daily, reading and reading files on patients to try, even in some small way, to help them though their pain and suffering. Only now he was the one who was suffering.

His head pounded, making him even angrier. He stormed up the stairs and down the hallway until he came to his adolescent son's bedroom. Even though the closed door, Niles could hear the banging, the clanging and the crashing.

Dear God…

The racket was made even more disturbing due to the close proximity. He felt the blood rushing through his body and he pounded loudly on the door. "David, open up! I want to speak with you!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. But the noise did not stop.

Niles might have been able to tolerate it had it been a rhythmic and even soothing noise, but this was just… well, noise. He tried knocking again; harder, this time with the same result. A third attempt had him knocking even harder, bringing a throbbing pain to his hand. But he ignored it, determined to find out what was going on behind that door. He took a deep breath and pounded on the door, channeling his pain and anger into the wood grain. And amazingly it worked. The noise stopped abruptly. He started to walk away, in hopes that he could get back to his work, but instead he pressed his ear to the door and listened.

He heard soft noises coming from the room; a light clang, a small crash, a soft bang. What was going on in there? And then the door opened, revealing his son, who wore a surprised expression.

"Dad…"

At the sight of his handsome son, Niles almost forgave him without question or words. But he prevailed. He thought of how his son's racket had interrupted his work and how it was going to take hours to straighten it out. And even more hours to finish. And that's all it took for his anger to return.

"David I want to talk to you!"

David opened the door wider. "Sure, come in. What's up?"

"You tell me!"

David's eyebrows rose. "I… Have no idea."

"What is going on in here?"

"I'm just practicing."

"Practicing? Practicing what? To be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the loudest kid on the planet?"

David chuckled, but Niles wasn't laughing. "Dad…"

"Do you mind telling me what in the hell is going on in here? I can't hear myself think! Now I want an explanation and I want it now!"

David nodded. "Well, like I said, I was practicing. I know I'm not very good yet but Grandpa said…"

This got Niles' attention. "What does your grandfather have to do with this?"

"Oh, he's the one who bought me the drum set!" David said, waving his arm as though showing a prize on a stage behind a curtain on a game show.

"Drum set? Since when-."

"It was an early birthday present! Isn't it cool? Grandpa says if I practice hard enough I could be a big star some day!"

Niles was appalled. "In a rock band? Dear God, David you can't be serious!"

"Why not?"

"Well, a… a rock band? I-I just… I'm…"

"What, Dad?"

"I-I'm happy to see that you've taken an interest in music but I'd rather hoped it would be the piano or…"

"I like the drums."

"I can see that, but how can you possibly make a living on being a drummer?"

David shrugged. "I don't know and maybe I won't make a living off it. I just want to be good enough to one day make a lot of money!"

"David…"

"I know it's ridiculous and to be honest, I don't want to be the most famous musician on the planet. I'm not cut out for that."

Niles breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. But what got into you to possess you to take up the drums?"

"I figured they'd be easy to learn and I was right. I know I have a long way to go but I can't wait to play in my first concert. I want you and Mom to be in the front row."

Niles smiled. "Well, that's very nice of you David, but I don't-."

Suddenly David appeared frantic, confusing Niles even further. "You have to be there, Dad! You must!"

"David-."

"No, you don't understand!"

"No, I'm afraid I don't, Son. I'm sorry."

"I need you and Mom to be in the front row so that I can thank you in front of hundreds of people."

"Thank us?"

"Well, yeah. You've been the best parents ever and I have a long time before I go off to college. I don't make a lot of money at my part time job and that's okay. But I thought that if I could learn to play the drums I could make even more money to repay you."

"Repay us? But David, you don't have to-."

"I know, but even if I don't make a lot of money, my dream is to play in a band on a stage in some sold out concert, my parents, grandpa and Ronee in the front row. I'd stand up with my microphone and tell everyone in the audience; and maybe the world if the band gets that popular… that I have the best father and mother a guy could ever ask for. And I love him so much."

Niles felt tears fill his eyes and began to make their way down his cheeks. It was all but mortifying, crying in front of his teenaged son, but he didn't care.

"David…"

"Oh geez, Dad, I didn't mean to upset you…"

"Come here, David."

Before David had a chance to react, Niles pulled him into his arms and kissed his cheek, hugging him tighter than he'd ever hugged his son before. "I love you so much. You and your mother are the best things that ever happened to me. And I'm so proud of you and who you've become."

David hugged him tighter. "I love you too, Dad. And I'm sorry I bothered you with my terrible playing. You can go back to your work. I'll just do something else."

Niles was relieved, eager to get back to his work. But then he had a change of heart. "Actually I'll tell you what. I need to finish up something in my office. Give me thirty minutes and I'll be right up."

"You mean here? In my room?"

"Absolutely. I want to be the first to hear your amazing talent."

"Dad, get real. I'm terrible."

"But you won't be after a few lessons. I'll call around and see what I can set up for you."

David looked so surprised that Niles thought that his son might faint. "Oh geez, Dad, really?"

This time there was no hesitation. "Yes."

They hugged once more and Niles ran downstairs to his office where he quickly picked up the scattered piece of paper, stacking them neatly in a pile. He could sort through them later. He had all night.

But now he had more important business to attend to. Work could wait. His son could not.

~FIN/TBC~