(Daphne's POV)
They were standing side by side as she concentrated on grating the carrots. It had been a long day and she couldn't wait to get dinner started and over with so that she could crawl into bed. But making dinner wasn't so easy now.
While she enjoyed the younger Dr. Crane's company immensely, she couldn't help but feel annoyed by his endless questions;
"That's interesting." He was saying now. "You're grating those at a 45 degree angle. Is that to enhance the flavor?"
"No, it's just an old habit." She replied.
"Why are you grating carrots?"
"Because we have carrots." She snapped. Why was he asking so many questions? He'd never seemed so meddlesome before. But when he spoke again, it was as though he'd read her mind.
"I'm sorry for asking all the questions. Now that I'm separated, I have to learn to cook for myself."
Her heart went out to him, for she knew he was hurting over the rift in his marriage and having to move out of his home. Luckily his brother was there for him, offering him a place to stay. And Daphne had to admit that she liked having Niles living under the same roof. But at the present time, she wished he was somewhere else; even another room would do.
"It's quite all right." She said. "Look, why don't you grate the carrots, while I get the chicken ready to put into the oven?" Relief came over her as she turned her back and began dusting the chicken lightly with flower before placing them on the foil-lined baking tray.
This seemed to improve his mood. "All right. I can do that. Oh, thousands of sharp teeth on this grater, aren't there?"
Just as Daphne picked up the tray, she heard him yelp in pain.
"Dr. Crane!" She turned in horror to see him staring at the blood on his fingers. It wasn't much but she knew from experience that even a small amount of blood was enough to cause him discomfort. And as she had feared, his face drained of all color.
At once she forgot all about the chicken and set the tray down, rummaging in the cabinet for the first aid kit. She took his hand and he swayed slightly as she guided him to the sink. "Let's run some cold water on this, all right?"
Her hand still in his she turned the water on as the trickle of blood joined with the water and swirled down the sink. And then she turned off the water. As gently as possible, she dried off his hand with a clean dish towel.
Their hands were still joined as she guided him over to the bar stool. "Have a seat and we'll get you all fixed up, okay?"
"Th-thank you Daphne. This is very nice of you."
"Oh, what are friends for, right? Now let me just clean this blood up a bit and-." She heard him gasp; realizing immediately that she'd said the wrong thing. "Why don't
you look at something more interesting and I'll be finished in no time. Doesn't your brother have some lovely things in his home?"
When she was finished, his fingers were clean and she'd wrapped a bandage around them. "Now, I'm all finished. I know that's going to be a bit uncomfortable, but I think you'll be all right in a day or two. I don't want any infection to set in and-." She looked up to find him smiling at her and her heart skipped a beat. "Why are you looking at me that way?"
"You mentioned Frasier having lovely things in his apartment."
"He certainly does. Sometimes it makes me feel even luckier that I live here. Almost like I came into good fortune and… Dr. Crane, are you all right?"
"Yes, Frasier does have some lovely things in his apartment. But nothing could be lovelier than the angel I'm looking at right now."
She gasped, almost finding herself in the same disillusioned state as he. Perhaps he was still affected by the sight of the blood on his hand. But she couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes. They were the sweetest words that anyone had ever said to her. She looked away, brushing away a few tears that had made their way to her cheeks.
"Why don't I leave you alone? I can see that I'm nothing but a nuisance here."
Her heart ached and she turned to hug him tightly. "You're wonderful, Dr. Crane, completely wonderful. And don't ever forget that."