"Daphne, what are you trying to say?" the normally eloquent Frasier managed to spit out after a prolonged silence. The doctor joined them, ready to fill in should Daphne be unable to speak. She put her hand in the air. Marty understood where she was coming from. As a cop he'd had this conversation from a hundred times before. As a father it was one nobody should ever have to have. No parent should ever have to outlive their child.
"Dr. Crane… Frasier…"
Frasier looked at her. This couldn't be good. This couldn't be happening. Maybe if he talked fast- he was good at that- maybe if he distracted her then the inevitable would not occur.
"You know Daphne," Frasier began. "I was just thinking the other day how good of you it is to call me Frasier. It seems we've known each other forever- in the most positive sense. I'm glad you decided to call me by my name. We are family now. You are my sister-in-law. Although I don't really like to think of the In-law part. I do think of you as my sister. I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. Would she play squash or chess with me? Would she have gone to Harvard or Yale, perhaps even Princeton? Would she enjoy a half-caf, non-fat, low-foam latte with the faintest whisper of cinnamon? Would she…"
"Oh for Heaven's sake Dr. Crane.." Everyone stared at Daphne. It was all she could do to keep it together. "Niles is gone. He didn't make it."
Now all eyes were on Frasier, waiting for a reaction but finding instead a blank expression on his face. Daphne didn't know if he had heard her.
"Frasier… did you hear me? I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"
"Yes Daphne, I heard you. I just need to be alone right now."
Frasier walked outside to his car and sat in it, thinking. His brother.. gone. It couldn't be. Not Niles. He had so much to live for. He was so… young. He was younger than himself even. If this could happen to Niles this could happen to… anyone. There must be some mistake. Surely nothing could have gone wrong in a simple operation. Procedures like this happened all the time and nothing like this happened. The doctor himself said that there was a ninety-five percent success rate. So Niles was in the bottom five category? No.. something wasn't right. Niles was too good of a person, the best person he knew. And for his life to have been taken over something like this.. well, Frasier knew he wasn't going to stand by and take this, that was for certain.
00000
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Roz asked Marty.
"Sure. He's just got to let it sink in. He's strong. He's a psychiatrist. He sees this kind of thing all the time."
"But that's his brother."
"And that's my husband! Don't stand there talking about him as if I can't here him. I can you know…" Daphne broke down and ran into Roz's arms. Marty was uncomfortable; signs of emotion always made him uneasy. If Niles were here he'd know what to do. Why did this have to happen? Niles didn't deserve this. What was going to happen to his family now?