The phone still in his hand, Niles woodenly walked to his desk and sank into his plush leather chair.
"Dear God..."
"Dr. Crane? Did you hear what I said? He's resting now in room..."
Barely comprehending what the woman was saying, Niles wrote down the information and muttered a polite thank you. When he hung up the phone, he wasn't sure if the conversation had been real or a dream.
And suddenly he was overcome with memories. Memories of long ago when he'd come dangerously close to losing his father after a shooting incident in a convenience store.
His father had been the only man who truly believed in him and yet, he'd taken advantage of him so many times.
His throat was so tight he could barely swallow and he was only vaguely aware that his patient had begun to emit a string of rants and blatant untruths about Niles and his practice. And the relapse could only mean one thing. Years of hard work had unraveled before his eyes, perhaps never to be regained.
But at that moment, Niles could think of nothing else except his father. He couldn't lose him; for if he did, he wasn't sure how he would survive.
And then he thought of Daphne. He loved her deeply; almost more than a person was capable of. At that moment he needed her more than air. He picked up the phone to call her but then returned it to its base. This wasn't something she needed to hear over the phone. She needed to hear it from him in person.
Blinking back tears, he turned to his patient who had begun a new round of rants; this time more complex than before. The man's head thrashed about in a back and forth motion, indicating just how disturbed he really was.
"I'll be there as fast as I can." He said in a voice that he didn't recognize. It was only then that he realized that he'd hung up the phone and was now talking to himself.
His hand trembled as he tried with little success to push the intercom button. "Mrs. Woodson, could you please show Mr. Burns out? And try to reassure him that I'll..."
The door opened and he found himself looking into her concerned and caring eyes.
Mrs. Woodson smiled sympathetically, and motioned for the security guard to gently escort Niles' patient out, against the man's wishes.
When they were alone, she laid a gentle hand on Niles' forearm.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your father, Dr. Crane. But don't you worry. I know he'll be fine. But keep me updated, okay?"
Niles nodded, unable to speak and suddenly found himself wrapped in her warm embrace.
"Everything will be all right." She said, rubbing his back the way his mother did when he was a boy. "I'm sure of it."
He sighed and leaned against her, fighting the tears that were dangerously close to falling.
"Thank you." He managed to say, but the word came out in a whisper.
With a heavy heart he drove carefully to the hospital thinking of all the things he wanted to tell his father, but wasn't sure if he'd get the chance.
And the tears he'd so bravely held in fell, like the raindrops on his windshield.