The moment he arrived and saw Frasier and Daphne, he knew something was gravely wrong. Maybe it was intuition, or maybe it was Daphne's small, soft cries as she buried her head into Frasier's shoulder.

"How is he?" Martin asked, even though he didn't want to hear the answer.

"It went up," Frasier responded softly as if to keep Niles from hearing even though he was asleep and behind the large, wooden door Martin was resting his back on.

"...to 105. They're not sure he's gonna make it," Frasier finished, even quieter this time. It felt like the whole hospital was overbearingly silent, creating an eerie feeling inside. But soon, that feeling was eaten by overwhelming fear and grief.

Without another word, Martin quietly slipped into Niles' hospital room.

It was even quieter in here. Other than the whirrs and occasional beeps from machines. He looked so peaceful, as if he was in a whole different world, one with the same fulfilling happiness he obtained out of this one. Martin pulled up a chair beside his son's hospital bed and looked up at one of the monitors. Frasier wasn't lying; under "Temperature", it read 105.

105.

105.

"Son…" Martin started, breaking the silence. His voice almost sounded foreign to him.

"Son… I know this is hard.

But you have to pull through. For all of us. For the girl you've always wanted. For the brother who always shared your tastes. For… for the father who has loved you and will never stop loving you.

But if you…

If you…

That's something you can't change. That's something that will change everyone's lives forever. And that's something that I can't live through."

Beep.

104.

He didn't know what that beep was, but he didn't care. He pressed on.

"Listen… we got 'em, okay? The guy… he's locked up. It's over. My work is over. And, funny thing, you're not… here because you, or I did anything wrong… you're here because of your crazy ancestor.

So… for this to be over… for this whole case to be over… finally over… I need you to stay strong, ok? I got em, I did my part. But you… you gotta do yours. You can do it. You can prove all those doctors wrong."

Beep.

103.

"Ya know… remember when we were in the alleyway, and the guy was explaining to us why he wanted to shoot me? He said that since I shattered his life, he'd shatter mine.

And that's when I realized.

You… do… that. Not shatter people's lives, no… but…

People whose lives are shattered come to you… and you… you pick up the pieces. You pick up the puzzle pieces and put them back together again. Your brother? Oh, he might be high and mighty sometimes, but him? He takes a second, picks up one piece and sloppily puts it back in place. Sometimes even in the wrong place. But you? No… you take every single piece… it might take a month, it might take years… but you make sure you put in every piece, and you make sure they fit. And then you add some glue so they stick together and that they don't go toppling down again.

The patience, the skill…

That takes real talent.

Because no matter how hard the task, no matter how hard the puzzle… you always fix it."

Beep.

102.

Well, now, I'm that way. My life is on the brink of shattering into a million pieces. And if that's because of you… because you… then I'll have no one to help me, because you're the only one.

Or at least the only one I know who can do what you can do.

See, if you… die..." Martin was finally able to spit out the word, "it will send a shockwave throughout the world. We'll all… lose… something… someone that we can't get back. You… as yourself are so… special, so special that the shockwave will be so great that it will slice so many people's lives in two, just create more people who you were trying to fix…" Martin could feel his voice breaking. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a few agonizing seconds to try to prevent tears.

Beep.

101.

"Prove him wrong, Niles! Prove that guy wrong, I might've caught him but only you can destroy his mission… you know… to shatter my life. Because if you go… I don't know what I'm gonna do." He was openly crying now, his tears leaving stains on the white sheets. "Please don't go… not yet… I know it's cliche but you have so much more to do… so much more life to live…"

Beep.

100.

Composing himself, Martin slowly lifted his head up. But something on the monitor caught his eye. Under "Temperature", it read 100. What? He thought incredulously as he wiped the tears off his face.

He alerted the doctor, and after ten minutes of silent hope, he came to tell them that Niles had broken his fever.

He was going to be okay.

The three of them, overcome with joy, collapsed into a huge hug, tears streaming down their faces, each of them trying to find a way to express their extreme relief from this miracle.

Well, would you look at that? Martin thought as he laughed.

Guess my little pep talk worked after all.

A/N: Alright, here we are! The home stretch! Just one more chapter to go!