Note: I changed the rating before posting this chapter due to some mildly foul language in this chapter. Hope it doesn't scare anyone away ;)

Niles had decided to go straight home after dinner, as the day had been draining enough that not even a hard mattress on a pull-out bed could keep him from getting some much-needed sleep.

He was just hanging his coat up in the shelf-sized closet of his miserable Shangri-La apartment when his cell phone rang.

"Niles Crane,"

"Niles, Donny. How was dinner?"

Quite a late hour for Donny to be calling. Still, Niles replied, "Exquisite. I can't thank you enough. You made a good suggestion."

"Glad to know you took me up on it."

Then, a hesitation. Niles was in no mood for small talk. "Donny, you didn't call me at nine o'clock at night to ask me how dinner went."

"No, I didn't. I wanted to go over some particulars regarding the case. First of all, I wanted to let you know... I've made the call to Daphne."

There it is. "..and how did she take it?"

"Well, I think, all things considered. We've set up a private meeting tomorrow afternoon at my office to prepare for her deposition."

"Sounds good."

"I'll need to meet with the three of you as well, individually. Since I have Daphne tomorrow, why don't I start with you the day after? Say, nine in the morning?"

"I'll be there. Frasier and dad are waiting for your call."

"Good. I'll make that call tomorrow morning to schedule their meetings. We'll try and knock them all out the same day."

"Alright. Has there... been any progress on any other fronts?" Niles asked with a somewhat hopeful, if desperate tone.

"Nothing concrete yet. I did manage to get Whalen to release Maris's bank statements from the last three years, and I've got one of my paralegals going over them. Nothing to get our hopes up over as of yet, but if she finds something, I'll let you know."

"Thank you. Good luck."

"Will do, although hopefully I won't need it. One other thing Niles,"

"Yes?"

"Just for the sake of extra diligence... you're absolutely certain that Daphne doesn't know?"

Hadn't we already been through this? "...Yes. one hundred percent. Why do you ask?"

"Like I said, just diligence. I'll keep in touch."

"Thank you, Donny. Good night."

"Good night, Niles."

If Niles hadn't been so dog tired, he might've found that last question peculiar. As it was, he was ready for bed and ready to crash.

The three girlfriends had made their way to the rooftop deck at Anthony's, their second destination of the night, when Clare excused herself to the ladies' room. Once Daphne had ordered their round, Annie started the conversation rather oddly, "Daph, what's been buggerin' you tonight?"

"What are you talking about?" Daphne tried to be coy, not really wanting to drag down the evening with her problems.

"Oh come now, you were all chuffed to take us out tonight, but from the moment we met up, you've been acting all careworn, like something's got ya hot and bothered."

For someone as dense as Annie, she sensed Daphne's distraction fairly easily.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Daphne tried to sound cheery, "It's not a big deal. Even if it was, I'm not even sure I can legally talk about it."

"Legally? You're not in a pinch with the bizzies, are you?"

Daphne laughed, "No, I'm not in any trouble. Just..."

"Ohhhh..." Annie gaped, "then it must be about Niles's divorce case."

Daphne suddenly froze. Annie sure had a knack tonight for cutting through the crap. "Alright, yes. But I already told you..."

"Oh come off it Daphne, if you couldn't talk about it, wouldn't you have been told so?"

"I suppose you're right," Daphne replied with a forlorn sigh, realizing that this was what friends were for.

And with that, Daphne spilled the pitiful details. About Maris's alienation claim, about how she was accusing Dr. Crane of being in love with her, and about how she was going to be deposed over it.

With the matter finally off her chest, she looked expectantly at her friend, awaiting her sympathy and words of comfort.

Instead, she got an incredulous gasp, then a sly grin, and finally...

"I KNEW IT!" Annie squealed in delight.

"Knew what?!" Daphne asked defiantly.

"You DO want Niles for yourself!"

Daphne was beside herself. Not THIS again! "Excuse me, but that is NOT what I said! I said his wife is CLAIMING that HE'S in love with ME! Which he most certainly is NOT!"

"Well... there must be some reason that SHE thinks so!"

"SHE doesn't think anything! SHE's just being the same spiteful bitch she's always been!"

"Ooh, strong words there, Daph."

"Strong words that she deserves!"

"Okay, you're right, I'm sorry. I'm totally out of line here." Annie had seemingly calmed down. But then, she grinned mischievously yet again, "I'd have pretty strong words for the woman whose husband I'm trying to steal away, too!" And she broke out laughing again.

"That's it, I'm going to find Clare." Daphne moved to get up, only for Annie to put her hand on her arm to stop her.

"Clare's fine. Let her have her alone time in the loo."

Daphne sat down again in a huff.

And Annie continued, "Look, if you're not going to let me have me fun, at least let me make a point."

"Which is?"

"If it's such a completely harmless thing, this...alien claim, and there really is nothing to it, why is it bothering you so much?"

Daphne took a long sigh, admittedly tempted to think long and hard about this question, but still denying that it was actually worth such a long thought. "It's a matter of principle, Annie. You haven't been there to see first hand the hell that she's been putting him through, cutting off his finances, his social life, his ENTIRE livelihood, just because she CAN. It's bad enough that she's been dragging him through the mud, now she wants to do the same to me!"

"But Daph, if there's positively nothing to it, then that's all you need to tell the judge."

"It's not that simple! You know how lawyers are! Twisting the truth around..."

"Daphne, if it really is the truth, and if there's nothing to give away, then you or Niles shouldn't be worried about giving it away!"

"We're not! And we won't!"

"So you say."

Daphne was getting flustered again. "I'm telling you, Annie, the man is NOT in love with me. And as I made very clear at that lodge, I am NOT in love with him either!"

"Fine. If you want to keep denying it..."

"I DO deny it! We are very good friends, nothing more!"

"Well, in that case, I have a question."

"What?"

"WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL NOT?"

"Excuse me?"

"Daphne, the man is gorgeous! And sophisticated, and charming, and worth a few bobs..."

"Now Annie, just because YOU were willing to pitch ya knickers at him the first chance ya got..."

"And," Annie continued unabated, "outside of his brotha and fatha, he's probably the one man you've spent more time with than anyone since you've lived here. And you're going to sit there and keep telling me that it's not even possible?"

"Annie, ya daft little sod, he's still part of the family I work for! It's not appropriate! And, even if it was, don't you think if he really felt that way about me, that he would have left that bat wife of his a lot sooner than he did?"

"Daph, you don't know why he didn't leave her sooner. From everything you tell me, he had plenty of other reasons, and yet he never budged."

"That's right, he didn't!"

"And why do you think..."

"Because he loved her! Don't ask me why, but he did! Or at least he thought he did."

At that, Annie gave Daphne a raised eyebrow and a wry smile. It was clear that she didn't believe what Daphne had just said any more than Daphne herself did.

"Look, you can toss about your theories all you want, but he was devoted to that marriage to the bitter end, and if I know one thing about Dr. Niles Crane, he is NOT one to break a promise, and he is not the type to have affairs. If he really felt that strongly about me, he wouldn't have been so hellbent on saving it!"

Annie was silent for a moment, then replied, "Alright then. If you don't believe it, then fine. If you want to completely dismiss the possibility, then fine. But I know what I saw at that ski lodge. You care about him, you're very protective of him, and you'd go out of your way for his happiness. That much was plain, even to a daft sod like me. And judging from the look I saw in his eyes that weekend, it's pretty obvious that at the very least he'd do the same for you. It's worth thinking about, is all I'm saying."

Some friend, Daphne thought. Instead of comforting me and easing my nerves, you have to go and plant even MORE thoughts into my head.

"Now drink up ya white lady so that Clare has to buy the next round."

Note: I admit I made out Annie to be a little sharper than she was in canon, but hey, that's what fanfic is for, no? Awaiting feedback as always :)