Chapter 14: Daphne


Daphne looked at the clock. It was only 5:36pm.

She didn't want to leave too early, nor did she want to leave too late. Daphne had decided to tell Frasier and Martin that she was going on a date with someone her friend introduced her to. It wasn't that far from the truth, and easier than any other excuse. She had dressed nicely for the evening. Originally she wasn't sure how much to dress up. Should she go all out? Or, keep it more like a casual dinner with a friend? Daphne ended up opting for something in between.

She looked at the clock again. 5:37pm. Daphne frowned at how slow time seemed to be moving.

Why am I so bloody nervous?

Daphne wondered if it was because she knew Niles had lunch with Maris today. She was a little worried that Niles would tell her that the lunch went well, that he was getting back together with his wife, and what they had was to end and be forgotten like it never happened. She knew that wasn't likely, but it might happen. Another possible reason was that she didn't know what to expect tonight. Life had been so much easier before they started sleeping together. They were friends, but there was a wall of professionalism between them that kept things in place. But now, who knows?

Are we going to make small talk? What on earth will we talk about?

Daphne found herself glancing at the clock again. Frustrated, she decided just to leave. She walked out to the living room. Martin was sitting in his chair, watching the sports highlights.

"I'm about to head off, Mr Crane. I'm not sure what time I'll be back tonight." Martin glanced over.
"Looking good, Daph. Your date is a lucky guy."

Daphne blushed.

"Oh, thank you, Mr Crane." She noticed several plates that had collected around Martin's chair, and let out an annoyed sigh. "You really need to get better at clearing up your dishes."

Daphne started picking them up.

"Oh, sorry Daphne, I meant to take them next time I went to the kitchen." Daphne rolled her eyes.
"I've heard that one before, old man."

Daphne walked into the kitchen, scraped the plates and placed them on the counter next to the sink. As she did so, Daphne heard the door open, and Martin's voice greeting Frasier. Daphne walked back out to the living room.

"Hello, Dr Crane."
"Oh, hi Daphne. My, you look nice."
"Thank you. I've got a date this evening. My friend Holly introduced me to this bloke she knows."

Frasier nodded, distracted.

"Well, have a good time."
"Is something wrong Fraz?" Martin noticed his son was preoccupied.

Daphne had started to the door, but paused when Frasier started to speak.

"Well, I'm okay. But I had coffee with Niles a bit earlier today. He saw Maris at lunch."
"Ugh, that would have been an ordeal on its own." Martin grimaced at the thought of Maris. "What did she want?"

Daphne stood with her hand on the doorknob, waiting to hear how this lunch went. Unfortunately she couldn't tell just from Frasier's tone. It could have gone either way, the tone could equally mean 'Terrible news, they're getting back together', just as much as it could mean 'Terrible news, they're still separated'.

Or even just 'Terrible news, Maris is still Maris'. Frasier continued.

"Niles told Maris today that he thought they were at an impasse with their marriage, and they either needed to go to counselling, or else the marriage would need to end. And... Maris served Niles with divorce papers this afternoon while we were getting coffee."

Daphne's breath caught in her chest.

"Ah, geez. Poor Niles. How's he holding up?" Despite his opinion on Maris, Martin didn't like the thought of his son unhappy.

Frasier shrugged, pouring himself a sherry.

"He seemed to be handling it well enough. But you know Niles. It's probably eating him up inside."
"Well, why did ya let him go home to stew on this alone?" Martin chided. Frasier looked affronted.
"Well, I offered him refuge here and dinner to get his mind off it, but he turned me down." He walked over and stood next to Martin's chair. "Maybe I should check up on him, find out whether he's changed his mind."

Daphne panicked slightly. She didn't want to run the risk of Frasier or Martin turning up while she was there tonight.

"Maybe Dr Crane just needs some time alone to process everything? I'd leave him be for tonight, he may be ready to talk more tomorrow."

Frasier considered what she was saying.

"Perhaps you're right, Daphne. Niles did seem like he just needed some time to work through things, and like I said, he seemed to be coping okay." He pondered a moment, before picking up the phone. "I might just call him. Let him know we're here if he needs us."

Daphne nodded, satisfied that they weren't going to try running off to rescue Niles tonight.

"Well, I better go. I'll see you all later." She opened the door and left, Frasier and Martin still discussing Niles as Frasier called his brother.

Daphne thought about it on the drive to the Montana.

Divorce. Maris wants to divorce Niles. But what does Niles want?

Daphne wondered how this would change things between them currently. Wondered how Niles was coping. She hoped that tonight wouldn't be too awkward, but she felt a sudden surge of sympathy and affection for him. Despite everything, Niles was her friend, and she wanted to make sure that he was okay.

Daphne arrived at the apartment a little after 6pm, and rang the doorbell. When Niles answered, he looked tired and lost, as if his mind was elsewhere. He stared at Daphne for a moment, taking her in. Almost as if Niles was surprised at seeing her standing in his doorway tonight. Daphne suddenly felt nervous, as if she was intruding on something that was too personal, too private for her to be involved with.

But then Niles smiled weakly at her, and Daphne's doubts faded away. She wanted to be here, with Niles. And he wanted her here too.