She couldn't get it out of her mind. The argument began unexpectedly and escalated into something that nearly shattered her friendship with the man whom she'd grown to care about very deeply. The things that she'd yelled at him burned in her mind. Angry, hurtful words that she would never dream of saying to anyone else on earth. But once the words were out of her mouth, there was no taking them back. And worst of all, she couldn't stop. She kept on, painfully aware of how deeply she was wounding him.
Niles, never one to let anyone walk all over him (especially after his divorce from Maris became final), shot back, saying things that he'd never said to her before. The words stung of course but she knew that she fully deserved them.
When the shouting match came to an end, Niles stormed out of the condo, slamming the door so hard that the walls shook. And in the deafening silence that followed, it only took seconds for her to sink into Martin's chair, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.
She cried for everything. The things that she'd said, the things that she'd done, the hurt look on Niles' face, the deep remorse that followed and the fear that things would never be the same.
Niles would never speak to her again. Of that she was certain. And he had every right to shut her out of his life completely. But the thought of never seeing him again, never hearing his voice, feeling his arms around her when he hugged her, and the fear that things would never be the same nearly tore her apart.
Soon thereafter when Martin and Frasier returned from wherever they had been, she tried to pretend that things were all right, that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But it only took one look from Frasier for her emotions to break yet again. She collapsed into his arms and after she'd calmed down some, she told Frasier and Martin (albeit reluctantly) all of the painful details of her argument with Niles.
She feared that one or both men might be angry with her-and, like their younger counterpart, they had every right to be, but to her surprise they were quite understanding about the whole thing. Frasier, being Frasier insisted on talking it out even further and even Martin offered some well-intended (and even helpful) advice on mending her friendship with his youngest son.
Afterward, she felt much better, for talking about it with the two people who were closest to him was a tremendous help. But the pain, although dull, was still there.
Just as she'd feared, days turned into weeks, and weeks into months without a sign of her friend. The phone calls and impromptu visits stopped altogether, which only brought her further into despair. She feared that without Niles in her life, she might never be the same.
