When she arrived at the Shagri-La, Daphne shuddered at the sight. She'd been here before, several times in fact, most recently with Frasier and Martin when they'd helped Niles move in. Niles had been so upset, complaining the entire time about how his new home was beneath him. But despite Martin and Frasier's annoyance, Daphne had done her best to reassure Niles that the change was just for a little while and that with a little decorating, it could be a nice place to call home. She knew that he didn't believe her, but he thanked her just the same. Now she regretted the white lies. Even from the outside, this place was just awful. If the words The Shangri-La Apartments hadn't been prominently displayed on the crumbling facade of the two-story building, she might have mistaken the place for a prison.
With a heavy sigh, she pulled into the small parking space and turned off the ignition. It took virtually no time at all to remove the bags from the backseat of the car and close the door. She turned and took a good look at the building in front of her It was, as Niles had mentioned earlier, far beneath the type of place he deserved to live.
But she shouldn't be thinking about that now. She had to find him, to make certain that he was all right. She just needed a sign, any sign...
And unbelievably, one came.
Her eyes landed on the copper-hued Lexus that sat in the parking lot, looking completely out of place among the other cars, most of which had seen better days. It was a sign of epic proportions.
He'd made it home.
Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks, but she quickly brushed them away. She couldn't let him see her like this. Swallowing hard, she she walked into the building, feeling strange not to be greeted by a doorman. Even more apprehension followed when she saw just how simple it was just to walk through the lobby to the elevator without a care in the world. After living at the Elliott Bay Towers for so long, she certainly wouldn't feel safe living here and she knew that Niles felt the same way.
She headed through the sparse lobby to the elevator, which moved painfully slow until it reached the second floor with a clamor, causing her to to hold onto the metal bar around the elevator to steady herself. And when the doors finally opened she made her way to Apartment 5G. Her hand trembled when she knocked on his door, the worry creeping into her chest. The building, as she'd almost immediately noticed, was absolutely freezing and she pulled her coat closer to her body, shivering. she wished that he had stayed at his brother's instead of insisting on coming home on this cold Thanksgiving night.
She knocked again, harder this time. "Dr. Crane, are you there?"
After a silence that was much too long, she heard the faint sounds of footsteps and then a chain rattling. And then he was standing before her, his hair slightly disheveled, still wearing the clothes he'd been wearing at dinner. But he was also wearing a look of surprise.