Chapter 36: Daphne


Daphne found herself missing Niles. It felt like this huge gap had suddenly opened, and only Niles could fill that void.

Daphne had gotten used to Niles being a part of her life. Long before she knew he had feelings for her, long before they even slept together; Niles was always there – since the day they met. He was always dropping by Frasier's, sometimes up to three or four times a week.

And after they slept together, it amazed Daphne how quickly their lives and actions had become entwined. It was like a whirlwind – their fling, where Daphne would sneak over for lust filled, passionate sex; his divorce, which consumed so much of his emotional energy; the weeks she forced them to spend apart while Daphne tried not to give in and sleep with Niles; the two weeks they lived under the same roof, where Daphne tried, yet again, not to give in and sleep with Niles...

And now, she was thinking of Niles constantly. Daily, hourly. Maybe even every minute. So, it felt like an understatement to say that Niles' absence in her life right now was noticeable.

It's crazy to feel like this. It's been less than a week. Maybe I am crazy…

Niles had moved out last Friday; a week ago today. Daphne saw him when she helped him move. And Daphne saw Niles, briefly that night, when he came over to go to dinner with Frasier. And again the day after – Saturday night, when Niles went with Frasier to the opera. Both nights, Daphne didn't get any time alone with Niles, but she was sure he would drop by eventually, so they could meet privately.

But that hadn't happened yet. She hadn't seen him again all week.

At the moment though, Daphne was trying to decide whether she should drop everything to go see Niles this weekend. The opportunity hadn't come up yet where she could just go out to his new place without needing a plausible excuse. Between Martin's exercises, and other day-to-day chores, Daphne wasn't able to just leave. Not to mention that Niles' new place was further out than the Montana was, meaning it would take more time to get there and back.

Daphne had hoped that she would run into Niles at the café during her visits there with Martin, but no such luck. She didn't dare, not yet anyway, to try and visit Niles at his office, or try calling him on the phone. Daphne wasn't quite at that level of desperation, however if this dragged out much longer, she might be.

I don't know how concerned to be about this…

Daphne would be more worried if she didn't know that Frasier had seen his brother a couple of times already that week. Niles wasn't exactly enthused with his new apartment, but his mood had improved last Friday, when it felt like they had reached a turning point of sorts in their... relationship? She wasn't quite sure what word she wanted to use to describe it yet.

But the Shangri-La was a huge step down from what Niles would have been so accustomed to over the last decade or so. Daphne imagined that it must still be a huge shock regardless of what she could do to boost his spirits, so the concern for Niles still lingered.

Martin was out with Sherry for the evening, so Daphne was alone, folding laundry when Frasier returned home.

"Hello, Dr Crane."
"Hi, Daph."

Frasier hung his coat up and moved to pour himself a drink, falling into his usual after work routine. Daphne watched out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she should wait and see if Frasier would offer up information about Niles unprompted, or if she should ask.

Frasier seemed to be distracted, picking out a book to read, so Daphne decided to broach the subject.

"How's your brother? I don't think I've seen him much since he moved out."
"Hmm? Oh, he seems to be doing all right. We've spoken and had coffee a couple of times this week. Niles has thrown himself into work quite a bit, so it's been difficult to get more than five minutes with him lately. I think he's using it as a way to cope with the change." Frasier looked up at Daphne, lost in thought. "Though, he did used to come by just to see... us."

You mean, he used to come by just to see me…

"But, we have a squash game tomorrow morning; he's meeting me here. And we've got some plans for lunch next week. Oh, and an upcoming gala dinner that I've purchased some tickets for. So, we'll probably see a lot more of Niles soon – we might even get sick of him being around all the time." Frasier chuckled to himself happily at the thought.

Daphne knew Frasier felt bad for Niles, and how Maris' control on his finances had forced him to the Shangri-La. Frasier had been trying to ensure his brother was still able to enjoy the Seattle high society scene, even though Niles couldn't afford it himself. Frasier probably felt a bit of guilt himself, for not being able to shelter his brother from the harder realities of his situation for longer.

Daphne was still worried, but at least she knew that she would see him tomorrow. She checked her watch.

"Oh, I'm going to head off shortly. Roz invited me over for drinks."

Frasier raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Not like Roz to have a vacancy on her Friday night." Daphne shrugged.
"Apparently her date turned out to be married, so she gave him the boot."

Frasier nodded, and returned to perusing the books.


Daphne arrived at Roz's place. She hadn't seen Roz since Niles moved out, and she needed to talk to her about current developments. Roz typically had a date or two Friday nights, but had cleared her schedule immediately for her, keen to hear the latest about Daphne and Niles. It made Daphne roll her eyes a little to hear her dilemma be reduced to just gossip, but knew Roz didn't mean any offence by it.

Besides, Daphne was grateful for someone to talk to.

"So, I hear Niles finally moved out. Frasier hasn't been able to shut up about it all week."

Daphne nodded. She had a glass of red wine in her hand, and there was pizza on its way.

"Yes. Actually, it was easier than I expected to have Niles staying with us. It almost felt like what things were like before everything that happened. He gave me the space I needed..." she trailed off.

Roz stared at her, curious.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

Daphne sighed.

"Before I get to all that, apparently Dr Crane and Mr Crane have known all along that Niles had feelings for me."
"Frasier knew? And never told me?" Roz seemed upset at this revelation.

Daphne looked affronted.

"How do you think I feel? Everyone knew about this the whole time, yet conveniently decided not to tell me!"
"Hey, I didn't know!" Roz protested. "And I'm so mad I was left out. I don't know if I'll forgive Frasier for that."

Daphne sighed.

"It feels somewhat embarrassing; knowing that everyone I'm close to knew about someone pining away for me, and not even letting me know."
"Well, it was probably an awkward subject. It couldn't have been easy to bring up."

Daphne downed the rest of her wine.

"It's still pretty awkward if you ask me. You know, Dr Crane tells Niles off all the time about this."
"About his pining?" Daphne nodded. Roz cocked her head to the side, thinking. "Actually, I think I may have noticed that."

Daphne reached for the wine, and poured her second glass.

"Well, what's done is done I guess. And now, they don't know I know. Only you do."

Roz looked smug, pleased that she was now the one who knew a secret, and Frasier was out of the loop. Daphne continued.

"And technically, I only found out by accident, when Niles let it slip."
"Trust Niles to not be able to hold his liquor." Roz snorted, already on her third glass. She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, oh! You were going to tell me what happened when Niles was staying there."

Daphne looked at Roz, trying to feign ignorance.

"Don't give me that look, Daphne. I could tell from your voice that something happened. You slept with him again, didn't you?"

Daphne looked at her glass, taking a big sip. Roz had a way of knowing these things.

"Yes."
"Niles couldn't resist, huh?"
"Actually, I initiated..."

Roz raised her eyebrows, surprised.

"Two weeks ago, you were saying that Niles was acting the perfect gentleman and making sure the two of you weren't alone. You said that you weren't going to sleep with him again until you sorted you feelings out."
"I know what I said."

Roz put on an English accent, mimicking Daphne.

"Sleeping with 'im will just confuse me. I need to be sure of me feelings. Cor blimey, but 'e is bloody sexy though."
"I've never once, in my entire life, said 'cor blimey', Roz." Daphne frowned at the terrible impression. Roz laughed.
"Hey, I learned that from somewhere, and you're the only English person I know."
"But still-"
"That was pretty much what you said, right?" Roz gave a knowing grin.

Daphne felt frustrated with the conversation.

I know what I said. I know what I felt- What I feel...

"I'm drawn to him. There's something there that I can't resist." Daphne sighed.
"Really? With Niles?" Roz, as usual, was incredulous. "I don't see it myself, but hey, whatever does it for you. And you know, it's not a bad thing if you slept together again, especially if you both enjoy it. It's good to just give in, sometimes. Well, it's more fun, at least."

Daphne was going to reply, but the doorbell announced the arrival of their pizza. Later, after a few slices, and a couple more glasses of wine, Daphne recommenced the topic.

"I think I'm in love with Niles."