It took some effort to try to calm her rapidly beating heart as she crossed the lobby and headed for the elevator which would whisk her up nineteen floors to her home. But when the doors parted, her heart rate seemed to skyrocket and she could hardly breathe. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been more nervous to come home to a place where she spent most of her time.
A glance at her watch indicated that it was still early. Not even an hour had passed since she'd left Niles' home. Perhaps it was a sign. If she entered the condo as quietly as possible, maybe she could avoid what she was sure to be a rush of questions regarding her disappearance from the night before. She could, in theory, enter the apartment and head straight for her bedroom without a sound and then casually walk into the living room uttering a cheerful "Good morning!", provided that she did so in a relaxed manner, doing her best to give no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. Frasier and Martin would be none the wiser.
She smiled at the thought. It was a perfect plan, to pretend as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Instantly all of the anxiety and apprehension that filled her began to melt away. Yes, this would work out perfectly, hopefully even better than she anticipated. It was a sign; a gift from God (as ridiculous as it sounded) and the next time that Niles paid his brother a visit, she would casually take Niles aside and thank him for the lovely evening; for taking her in for the night and for being her best friend.
Yes, things were definitely looking up.
Her heart was filled with a sudden, unexplained happiness and she even considered having a heart to heart talk with Sherry. Not to apologize of course (she had nothing to apologize for) but to come to an understanding. Sherry was, after all, Mr. Crane's girlfriend and she had just as much right to be in the condo as anyone. So it was best if she and Sherry were to put their differences aside and learned to get along. Dare she think that they might even one day become friends? It was bound to happen, even in the worst of circumstances and the thought of being friends with the woman who had said so many hurtful things was strange to say the least. But since she'd moved into Dr. Crane's home, her life had been turned upside down and truthfully she wasn't in a hurry to turn it right-side up anytime soon.
Starting at the beginning, making amends with Sherry... well, it wasn't going to be easy and in fact it would be one of the hardest things that she'd ever had to do. In fact, the mere thought of it made her shudder. But it had to happen sooner or later. Might as well face the music now.
With a renewed sense of optimism, Daphne inserted her key into the lock and gently turned the knob. She pushed the door open… and froze in her tracks.
For there, standing in the foyer, wearing their robes and angry faces, were Frasier and Martin.