Daphne's Bathroom
Daphne yelps in pain as she feels a sharp tugging sensation on her scalp. Blast it. She's done it again. Somehow she has managed to tangle her hair in her hairdryer.
Quickly, she flicks the switch on the hairdryer and turns it off. Keeping the hairdryer in right hand raised, she closes her eyes and sighs, flinching slightly when she accidentally pulls on her hair.
It smells terrible. Burnt hair. Lovely. How on earth did she manage to do this? Again?
Right. Her hair isn't going to untangle itself with her standing here in nothing.
She looks in the mirror and immediately shuts her eyes again. She looks like a mess. She's standing in the middle of her bathroom, wearing nothing but her pink towel, and her hair is a disaster. It's not as damp as it had been when she had stepped out of the shower, but it was starting to frizz and stand in every direction possible and that is just what one want to deal with. Especially after untangling it from her hairdryer. Her hair could be such a joy.
Maybe she should cut it. It's getting pretty long. Maybe it'll be easier to have it slightly shorter, somewhere around the shoulders perhaps? It would still long enough to put up, but not long enough to keep getting in the way. Besides, lately it's been up in a scrunchie, at least partially, most days as it's become quite the nuisance. She can't help Mr Crane with his exercises without it tied up, otherwise it hits him in the face. The two Doctor Cranes don't ever notice, and Eddie doesn't care. The only time she had been making an effort has been for dates. And those have been few and far between.
Well that's a thought. Maybe she'll cut it. It'll make for a nice change.
Daphne leans onto the counter with her right elbow because her arm is starting to cramp up. This isn't the most comfortable position in the world – she's hunching and leaning to the side trying to accommodate her height. Her back won't thank her, but at least her arm isn't cramping.
With her free hand she carefully starts to pick at the tangled knots and hisses when she pulls too hard. Oh dear. The last time only a few hairs had gotten stuck. This was a more than a few hairs; it was a large chunk of hair. It is definitely much worse than she had thought.
She shifts her weight onto her other foot. In doing so, she manages to knock all of her hair product bottles that had been lined carefully on the counter, into the sink. She groans as they clammer against the ceramic and each other. Wonderful.
She takes a step back, keeping her elbows on the counter, the hairdryer still in hand, and leans back on her heels, stretching her back. She rests her forehead on the edge of the counter and sighs in is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. So much for cleaning herself up.
And that is how Niles finds her. Head on the sink and bent over in a ninety degree angle in a pink towel that was barely covering her backside.
"Daphne are you al – oh good God!" he exclaims as he comes blazing into her bathroom.
Daphne immediately jumps and straightens at his voice. She turns around to find the flustered younger Doctor Crane hastily covering his eyes with one hand. "Doctor Crane!" she shrieks. Her voice seemingly reaching new pitches. "What on earth are you doing here? GET OUT." She is bristling.
He doesn't move right away. "I let myself in, and then I heard something fall so I knocked on your bedroom door," he rushes the explanation, his hand still covering his eyes. "When I didn't hear anything, I opened it a crack, and that's when I heard a yell, and then a groan. I couldn't help but –"
Her annoyance shines through. "You couldn't help but rush into my private bedroom to see if I was all right?"
He nods. "It was a very loud crash, you see. You could have fallen in the shower, you could have been concussed, you could have died."
"Oh," She pulls at her towel to keep it in place. He was only looking out for her best interests. "Thank you, Dr Crane."
He continues to ramble. "I know I'm breaching your privacy, and we have just been through this – wait what?" His hand drops from his face.
"Thank you for coming to check on me," Daphne elaborates. "Now can you please get out and let me finish here in peace."
Confusion soon turns back to a fluster. "Oh yes of course, I'll do that. Anything you say."
Daphne watches him leave. He's halfway out the door when she calls out. "Wait."
He quickly turns around. "Yes, Daphne?"
"Can you help me with this?" she asks, gesturing to the hairdryer.
"Oh yes, of course!" in a few quick steps, he crosses the room and is standing next to her. He takes the hairdryer from her and inspects the damage. "Oh dear. You did quite a number on this."
"You might as well go find a pair of scissors," she sighs.
"Never! It would be a crime to cut such gorgeous hair."
"It might save the the pain of split ends," she points out.
Niles brings a hand up and gently runs his fingers down the tangled chunk of hair. He never thought he would see that day, it really is a mess. He lets the scent of it waft over, and he briefly contemplates running his finger through the rest of her luscious hair.
"Do you think you can untangle it?" her voice broke him from his reverie. His hand drops.
"I'm sorry Daphne," he finally says. "You're right. It would do more harm than good." Such a shame.
"Don't look so upset, Dr Crane. It's only hair," she smiles. "I've been thinking about getting it cut anyways. Oh, I suppose I can get some new layers! What do you think?"
Niles is amazed at her optimism. Maris would have fainted three times by now. "I'm sure that no matter what you do, it'll be lovely," he assured her.
"Oh, I'm sure you say that to all the ladies," she laughs. "Now, I think I left scissors on the kitchen table earlier. Can you be a dear and get them?"
Niles hands her the hairdryer. "Of course."
He heads to the kitchen, and sure enough there they were. He isn't expecting Frasier to be sitting there, with shock clearly written across his features.
"Hey Frasier," he says casually as he practically jogs to the table and grabs the scissors.
"Niles," he starts slowly, "What were you doing in Daphne's bedroom?"
"I'm helping her with something," Niles says dismissively.
Frasier nods slowly, menacingly. It's obvious that his brother isn't telling him the full story. "I hope you know what you're doing," he warns Niles. "And don't run with scissors!"
Niles slows down, but he still walks at a very brisk pace towards Daphne's room.
Oh God help him.