He slept much later than he'd intended to (if tossing and turning all night could be considered sleeping) and when he finally woke for good, he called in sick and canceled his appointments for the day. In his state of distress, he simply wasn't able to deal with the disturbed patients; even those who had made great strides in their sessions. Ultimately the subject of love would come up and he feared that his reactions to such questions about the subject would not fare well with his patients.
Yes, he was much better off staying at home and Mrs. Woodson seemed silently pleased to have an unexpected day off (with pay of course) to spent with her grandchildren. She was an absolute godsend.
He'd planned to stay in bed all day but he knew that his plan would be met with rasied eyebrows and lots of questions. Questions that he really did not want to answer. But he had to face reality. If he deliberately avoided visiting his brother, even for a day, it was sure to bring up even more questions and Frasier wouldn't stop badgering him until he had all of the answers.
And so he'd wearily climbed out of bed and dressed normally (a suit and tie, naturally... to give the appearance that he'd been at work) and made the short but familar drive to his brother's. Within minutes he was standing at Frasier's door, torn between the anticipation of seeing his angel (signaled by his rapidly beating heart) and hoping to avoid her due to his anger and frustration. No, it was more than that. It was hurt and humilation.
With a deep, shuddering sigh, he rang the doorbell and waited. But his patience quickly wore thin when the door wasn't answered right away. He tried again and again until finally he heard footsteps and the clicking of the lock.
The door opened and he was met by his brother's annoyed frustration. "Niles, what are you doing here at this hour?" Frasier demanded.
Instantly Niles realized what a mistake coming over here had been. He scowled at his uncaring brother. "Well, good morning to you too, Frasier."
Niles' own irritation was even more pronounced when he saw Daphne enter the room. She looked so beautiful, even in her jeans and blouse. But he couldn't bring himself to look at her.
"Hey Niles, good to see you!" His father said.
Niles' eyebrows rose. Well, this was certainly strange. Martin Crane wasn't always this pleasant this early in the morning. However since the moment that Daphne had agreed to be his date for the Snow Ball, Seattle (and the world as a whole) had turned on its axis after all.
"Hey Dad!"Niles replied as cheerfully as possible. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Daphne staring at him. It was a sight that would normally make his heart sing. For dare he hope that she was attracted to him, if only in the slightest?
But no more. His days of dreaming of the possibility that she could ever love him were over. And the pain was excruciating.
Suddenly she was standing beside him, the scent of her wafting under his nose. "Hello, Dr. Crane."
He wanted to cry. Already she'd resumed using his formal name, like a wonderful dream that had suddenly vanished due to a rude awakening. And when his eyes dared to meet hers, his smile disappeared.
"Daphne."
Just the sound of her name (said curtly) on his lips hurt. It was a sure sign that they were never meant to be.
The silence that followed was almost unbearable and he was eternally grateful when his father spoke again. "So, I hear that you two had a pretty good time last night."
"We certainly did, didn't we, Dr. Crane?" Daphne's voice quivered but Niles pretended not to notice.
"Sure. It was... nice." he snapped, taking note of the way her expression changed. Had he not been so angry with her, he might have felt an overwhelming sense of remorse for speaking so harshly to her. But now his heart felt nothing.
He could feel his brother and father watching him but he didn't dare make eye contact. And oddely enough, Daphne averted her gaze as well. He considered leaving but then he rememered why he'd been so eager to come over in the first place.
"Frasier, I've come to beg a favor." he said as casually as possible. And then his mind began to wander... and imagine... if only...
"So Niles, what's this favor you need?" Frasiser asked, breaking the silence once more.
Finally Niles was able to smile, if only for a moment. "Oh right. Well, Frasier, I need to borrow some CD's."
"Of course, Niles. I'd be happy to make you some copies of my newest Pavarotti or Placidio Domingo."
Niles was euphoric and made a mental note to take Frasier up on his offer. But not tonight. He had something much bigger in mind.
"I need something more upbeat. I want to practice my dancing and I'm determined to master the samba and the tango."
Daphne gasped in delight as a beautiful smile graced her face. "That's wonderful, Dr. Crane! I'd be happy to-."
"No." he said harshly.
The room fell silent once more and he glanced at his father and brother who wore looks of unease. And when his eyes moved back to Daphne he saw her blink back tears before returning her gaze to his.
"All right." she finally said. The words were barely a whisper.
And still he felt no remorse. Only bitterness and heartache.