When Niles woke next, he believed it to be an ordinary morning. However, for a moment he was quite uncertain what day it was; he would have to check his calendar. Then he opened his eyes fully and realized where he was. Or rather where he wasn't. This wasn't his bedroom; this wasn't even Maris' bedroom. Niles panicked and he knew he had to get up and see what all of this was about.
It was easy enough to tell that he was in a hospital, he just didn't know why. There was no reason for him to be there. He had a headache, but that clearly couldn't be it. As he looked down, he saw his foot bandaged. Niles stared at it for a moment, because he didn't feel any pain. None whatsoever. Was this a strange dream? Frasier would probably make fun of him. Except that none of it felt like a dream. There was a clock on the wall and he watched the seconds tick by. According to the clock it was shortly after nine a.m. Niles sat up slowly and touched his head, which felt like it was twice its size. If only he could remember what had happened. How long had he been here?
"Niles!" The door opened and his brother and his father walked in. Both wore worried expressions.
"You're awake." His father said and touched his arm. Niles knew how much his father hated hospitals. It was written clearly across his face. The dark look in his eyes gave him chills.
"I am," Niles said slowly, trying out his voice, "but why am I here? What happened?"
"You don't remember?" Frasier asked.
"No!"
"What is the last thing you remember?" Frasier's reluctance to tell him why he was in the hospital scared Niles. His head thudded so violently, he wanted to close his eyes again.
"I don't…", Niles tried to grasp his last memory. There was something; a little flicker that didn't make sense. The last thing he remembered was looking at Daphne.
"Leave him alone, Fras. They said he hit his head." Despite his father's attempts to whisper these words, Niles heard them. That at least explained the headache. But how had he hit his head? He needed to know.
"What did happen?"
"We called Maris," Frasier changed the subject, "but since you weren't in danger of dying, she saw no reason to actually come here."
"Did Maris and I have a fight? Is that how I hit my head?" Niles found he didn't even miss Maris here at his hospital bed. She'd never been particularly caring and his headache was bad enough without her disapproving attitude.
"You were in a car accident." His father finally said.
"Dad! The doctor said we shouldn't say anything." Frasier grumbled.
"And let him wonder what happened?"
"Is… was it my fault?" Something was nagging at him, he just couldn't put his finger on it just yet. He was reaching into the dark and found nothing there. And they didn't even need to answer him because he could read it in their eyes.
"How is the other driver?" Panic took over in Niles' voice.
"Actually you crashed into a street lamp."
"I didn't hurt anyone? Well, that is a relief." Niles took a deep breath to control his heartbeat. His family's silence weighted too heavy to be discarded, though. Another flicker appeared before him: Daphne's hair in the wind. Again, it made no sense. None of this made any sense.
"It' not exactly… Niles, you weren't the only injured party."
'Dr. Crane! Watch out!' Daphne's voice echoed in his mind, yet it sounded as if she were standing right here with his brother and his father. Daphne wasn't family, not really, but he was certain she would want to check up on him. But she wasn't here with them. A horrendous idea formed in his mind.
"Where- where is Daphne?" The silence that followed said more than words ever could. And the pain overwhelmed him; returned him to the place of complete and utter oblivion. For a short moment anyway. An explosion followed and it was only heard by him, only seen by his inner eye.
'Dr. Crane! Watch out!' There was her voice again played by his memory. Only this time it was accompanied by a picture. They were both sitting in the car. His eyes were on her and his mind playing tricks on him made Daphne look magnified. He couldn't look away and when he finally did – Niles opened his eyes and stared right into his brother's. For all this time they'd been apart these last few years, the fear in Frasier's own eyes spoke of a deep bond between the two of them. A wave of love overwhelmed Niles, but there was a question he needed to ask. He just needed to know.
"Daphne… is she… did I…?"
"What? No!" His father spoke quickly. "You didn't kill her, geez. She's sleeping."
"She's sleeping?" Niles repeated what he'd just heard mainly because he couldn't believe it.
"Yes, sleeping. She has a concussion. Well, and a broken leg."
"A broken leg? A concussion?"
"You don't have to repeat everything, Niles."
"She is fine? She will be fine?"
"She'll be fine." Frasier told him honestly and even attempted a smile.
"I need to see her." Niles tried to get up. His head protested, but he didn't care. He needed to see her right away. See for himself that she was fine.
"You need to rest." His father tried to push him back down, but Niles was a man with a plan now.
"Dad, I can't rest. I need to see her first."
"Let me at least get a wheelchair." Niles nodded and waited anxiously for his brother to return.
No one stopped them when Frasier wheeled his brother into Daphne's room. He wasn't prepared for what he saw there; they had mentioned the leg, but not the bruises on her face. Red joined purple in a hideous combination around her forehead and on her cheek.
"I did this to her."
"Don't blame yourself, son. It was an accident." Niles kept quiet, because he knew the truth.
"I'd like to be alone with Daphne for a moment."
"Is that a good idea?" Frasier asked.
"Let's go get a coffee, Fras." His brother was reluctant, but eventually followed his father outside. Niles wheeled himself closer to Daphne's bed. Her breathing was even and to his ears it sounded heavenly. She really was fine – if he ignored her leg and the right side of her face. Hesitantly, he took her hand into his. It felt warm and soft against his skin.
"Daphne… I am so sorry. I don't – there are no words to adequately tell you how terrified I am of what has happened. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. All of this is my fault. It's because I was – " Niles stopped. He meant to say he was distracted by her beauty, by all of her. Her face, her hair, her eyes and her scent! It felt like putting the blame on her. His thumb gently stroked her hand and he decided that maybe he'd said enough for now. For a while he watched her chest rise and fall evenly; just watched her sleep. Her peacefulness lulled him to sleep as well.
Tbc
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