The waiting room at Seattle General was cold and unfriendly-or at least it seemed that way. Niles shuddered, remembering the last time he was here; undergoing
heart surgery-one of the scariest things he could imagine. But nothing was as terrifying as the thought of never seeing Daphne again. His mended heart warmed as he
remembered the many times she told him about how frightened she'd been while he was in surgery; how she'd broken down into sobs when she was doing her best to remain strong.
It was only one of a million reasons that he loved her so much.
Daphne was so much stronger than he'd ever be. Sure, he put up a brave front for his patients, and he could hold his own against Frasier or his dad. But when it came
to matters of the heart, Daphne far exceeded him.
He winced, remembering how she'd looked lying in that horrible warehouse; in the worst imaginable area of Seattle. God only knows how long she'd been there... and
how much pain she'd endured. It was a wonder she hadn't...
Tears filled his eyes at the thought.
Damn it, Daphne. What were you doing there anyway?
Suddenly he felt two gentle hands on his back and he turned to find his brother smiling at him.
"How are you holding up?" Frasier asked.
Niles sighed, his voice breaking as he spoke. "I can't lose her, Frasier! I just can't!"
"I know, Niles." Frasier said patting his brother's back. "But Daphne's strong. She's not going anywhere."
"Then why haven't we heard anything? It's been hours!" Niles yelled, pulling away from his brother's attempted embrace.
"I'll go check with the doctor, find out when we can see her, okay?" Frasier asked. "Dad should be back soon and then we can all go in and see her."
"Where is Dad?" Niles asked, feeling slightly guilty that he hadn't noticed that his father wasn't around.
"He went to make some phone calls... to try and find out... how this happened." Frasier said quietly.
Niles began to pace the waiting room floor, his hands on his head.
"Niles, just... try to relax, okay?" Frasier said softly.
"How can I possibly relax when my wife-."
"Excuse me, Dr. Crane?"
Niles and Frasier both turned to find the doctor walking toward them, and they both spoke at once.
"How is she, Dr. Ruston?How is my wife?"
"She'll be just fine." Dr. Ruston said with a smile. "She had a pretty bad blow to the head so we're going to keep her overnight for observation. We've stitched up the
wound and she should be better within a few weeks."
Overcome with relief and gratitude, he threw his arms around the doctor.
"Oh, thank you Dr. Ruston!" Niles said.
"Niles!" Frasier said, quickly pulling his brother away.
"Can we see her?" Niles asked.
"Of course, but she needs her rest." Dr. Ruston said.
"You go ahead, Niles. I'll wait here for Dad." Frasier said.
"Thanks, Frasier." Niles said with a smile.
"Right this way, Dr. Crane." Dr. Ruston said.
Niles felt his chest tighten as he followed Dr. Ruston down the desolate hallway and turned the corner.
"Here we are."
"I cannot thank you enough for all that you've done." Niles said. "Perhaps I could make a size-able donation to Seattle General to show my gratitude."
Dr. Ruston laughed. "Well, that's very generous; Dr. Crane! We'll keep that in mind!"
Niles heart beat madly as he pushed open the door and walked into the room. When he reached the bed, he gasped at how pale his angel was. How could someone
have done this to her; a woman whose caring nature was one of the most beautiful things he had ever experienced? His eyes filled with tears as he kissed her hand
and caressed it against his cheek.
"Oh Daphne... I'm so sorry..."
He reached over and ever so gently brushed the hair from her forehead, revealing the white bandage. Her perfect cheeks, once the color of porcelain,
were now stained with blue bruises. The tears that filled his eyes were now streaming down his cheeks and he made no effort to brush them away. He leaned over
and kissed each bruise as gently as possible before his lips lingered on her mouth. And to his amazement, her eyes fluttered open.
She looked around in alarm and tried to sit up.
"Niles, what-."
Gently he put his hands on her shoulders and eased her back against the pillows.
"W-where am I?"
"You're in the hospital, Sweetheart. You... had an accident. B-but everything will be okay."
"Oh God..." She said as she started to cry. "Me head hurts something horrific, and I-."
"I'll be right back." He said pulling away from her.
"NO!" Don't leave me, please!" She cried, reaching for him.
"I'm just going to call the nurse to get you something for the pain." He said, pressing the call button.
"Yes Mrs. Crane?" came the nurse's muffled voice.
"This is her husband, Niles Crane. My wife is in terrible pain. Can you bring some aspirin please?"
"Right away, Dr. Crane." The nurse replied. Within seconds she appeared at the door with some water and two aspirin.
"Thank you." Niles said taking the aspirin from the nurse.
"Anything else?"
"No, this is fine. Thank you." Niles said.
When the nurse was gone, he handed Daphne the aspirin and cup of water.
"Take this Sweetheart, and you'll feel better in a few minutes."
Dutifully she took the aspirin but when she leaned against the pillows she stared to cry again, to his dismay.
"Oh my love..." He said gently taking her in his arms.
"Niles, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-." Her voice broke as she sobbed into his chest.
He held her close and stroked her back. "Shh... Don't say that. None of this is your fault. I love you, Daphne."
She smiled through her tears. "I love you too, Niles." She said as they shared a kiss.
The door opened and they looked up to see Frasier and Martin standing before them. When Daphne held out her arms, the two men walked into the
room and greeted her warmly.
"Hey Daph, how's it goin'?" Martin asked, kissing her cheek.
"Daphne... Thank God you're all right." Frasier said hugging her tightly.
Touched by the sentiment, Daphne started to cry again. "I-I'm so sorry for what I did! I was stupid and-."
"It wasn't stupid and neither were you." Frasier said hugging her again. "In fact, it was incredibly brave and we're all proud of you."
"Thank you." Daphne said giving him a sad smile.
"Um, Niles, can we talk to you for a minute?" Frasier asked.
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
Martin looked around worriedly. "Maybe we'd better go out into the hallway."
"But what about-."
"This won't take long." Martin said.
"I'll be right back." Niles said, kissing the top of Daphne's head.
Out in the hallway, Niles couldn't help but notice the somber expression of his father and brother. "What's going on?"
Martin sighed. "I made some phone calls and pulled some strings at the Seattle PD and I found out a few things about what happened in that
warehouse."
Immediately Niles' interest was peaked and his heart began to race.
"Niles, I don't know quite how to say this, but your patient Mrs. Thompkins is a big fat phoney!" Martin said.
"Dad!"
Noticing Niles' shocked expression, Frasier led him to a nearby chair and coaxed him to sit down. "Niles, what Dad's trying to say-and badly I might
add-is that we found out that this Mrs. Thompkins who's being treated by you is doing so strictly as a fraud."
"Frasier, what are you saying? I would never take on a patient who-."
"She's very clever Niles. She planned this whole thing." Frasier said.
"She's been wanted by the police, along with her accomplice. They're notorious for posing as patients in order to gain access to prescription
medications." Martin explained.
"And when you told her that you couldn't prescribe any more drugs, she... well..."
"Asked me to meet her in Pioneer Square." Niles finished.
"If Daphne hadn't gone to that warehouse..." Frasier continued.
"It'd be you in that hospital bed instead of Daphne." Martin finished. "She saved your life, Niles."