Summary: See part I. Also, unless you are a detective, or even if you are, you might want to read the first section before beginning this one for the sake of my writing making sense. For those that are like me and too lazy to refresh their memory there will be a "what has gone before" below.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to the brilliant minds of Paramount and Grub St. This story is merely for the enjoyment of those who read it and nothing more. Enjoy!

Just A Stare
Part II

       By Laura Brown



**Bryce**

Sometimes it's friendship that can help a person through a potentially difficult time. I know I should be crushed by the fact that my fiancée is in love with another man. And I am in my own way. But it's not like she's done anything to me. Heck, she doesn't even know that she's in love with him. It's really hard to be angry with your friend for something they have no control over and are not even aware of. What she's got here is true love; I'm not going to stand in the way of that.

After I told the Crane's that Daphne was in love with Niles it took both of them a few moments to process this. Finally Martin spoke.

"And all those years you thought Niles was foolish to chase Daphne," he's gloating; yes, he will make a wonderful father-in-law.

"You saw how foolish he acted, while married of all things!" I think I was witnessing a father-son fight here, maybe I can find a way around it.

"Lads, must I remind you that that's past. We have more pressing issues here."

"Like what?" Frasier asked me.

"Well, like my upcoming move to London. I'm not leaving here without Daphne unless she is in Niles' arms. Which means we have one and a half months to get them together."

"That should be easy," Martin said.

"Easy for Niles maybe, but not Daphne. We have to make her aware of the fact that she is in love with him, while pushing me out of the picture. In order for her to fall I need to be gone but if I hurt her that will make things worse."

"So what do you suggest?" Martin asked.

"Well, I'm going to need all your help, plus some. And I've got a plan that just might work."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Roz~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My phone rang at eleven that night, waking up my daughter who had just fallen back to sleep.

"This better be good!" I shouted into the phone while rocking Alice.

"Oh, it is!" Frasier exclaimed over the other end of the phone. "Remember how Daphne knows about Niles' feelings?" Gee, did I not just tell you that earlier today?

"Yes, Frasier."

"Well Bryce is over here and he says that Daphne feels the same way!" Whoa! Bryce is initiating this?

"Bryce?" I asked.

"Oh, he says that he much rather see his friend happy and think of her as a friend to help him through this situation." Smart man. "Have you noticed anything on Daphne's part in relation to Niles?"

"Only that she is thinking about him, a lot."

"That's good." How is this good?

"Frasier, what is going on here?"

"We're coming up with a scheme to get those two together." Oh, I scheme. I like the sound of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up the next morning I had two Crane's smiling strangely at me. That's not good. One could mean anything but two means that they are both on to something. I nervously watched them during breakfast. They kept glancing back and forth. Bryce had spoken to them last night, what could he have possibly said?

"Alright you two, fess up." I just couldn't take this anymore.

"About what, Daphne?" Don't stare at me like that, Dr. Crane; I'm liable to rip those blinking eyelashes off of that innocent looking face of yours.

"Oh come on, I know something's up, now spill." I turned to Mr. Crane; he's usually a little weaker.

"Now Daph, there is nothing that Frasier or I could tell you, it's all up to Bryce." Bryce? What on Earth was going on here?

"What more surprises could he possibly have after proposing and moving to England?" I stood up at this point, I needed some coffee. "As if I don't have enough going on right now I have a pending surprise?" I went to the kitchen feeling woozy. This was all just too much for me. A sudden relationship and then moving miles away from the place I had made my home. I just needed someone to talk to this about. I couldn't talk to Dr. or Mr. Crane, not with them gloating about something they're not going to tell me. I could call Roz but she would probably think it had something to do with Dr. Crane. Well, I guess that left Dr. Crane. He's always been such a help in the past.

I started to feel better once I decided to go see him. Then I noticed that my hands were shaking a bit. For some reason I was becoming nervous.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Niles~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day I was in a strange mix of heaven and hell. My pending divorce was still a soar point for me and the fact that my goddess was engaged did not make matters any better. Yet there was that stare, that exhilarating moment we shared between the two of us and only the two of us. In my dreams my head had run with the endless possibilities. They ranged from gloriously grand to horribly pathetic. Now I was slowly mastering the ability to drink from the experience without too many expectations.

All steps forward were put on hold when I received a call from Daphne.

"Dr. Niles Crane," I said as I picked up my phone.

"Hi, it's Daphne," her voice shook in such a manner that I almost didn't realize it was her. Only almost. I, as usual, did not need her to speak her name.

"Daphne, is something wrong?" She normally doesn't call me at work.

"Well, I'm not quite sure." He voice trailed off. How can she not be sure whether or not there is a problem? Something deep must be going on, blurring her vision of the situation.

"You're not sure?" I could do nothing until she clarified.

"No, I'm not. Dr. Crane, do you think we could meet sometime and talk? I really could use a friend to talk to right now." She needs a friend and she's coming to me? Well, I'm not going to complain about that.

"Sure Daphne, why don't you stop by my place later, say around five?" My heart started beating faster and my palms grew sweaty.

"That sounds good, see you then, bye." She hung up before I had a chance to respond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had no idea why I was having trouble finding something to wear. I was just going to see Dr. Crane for some help, a little advice, right? There was no reason to be turning my closet inside out over this. No, that's not it, it's because I'm seeing Bryce afterwards. Yes, of course, the looks Dr. and Mr. Crane were giving me, that must be it. My stomach, however, disagreed with that decision.

I continued looking through my closet when the look I had shared with Dr. Crane came back into my mind. I lost sight of the clothes before me and became, once again, entrapped in his eyes. I don't know what it was about them they just stole my breath away that night. It didn't rightly make sense.

I glanced at my watch and realized I was going to be late. I grabbed the dress that was in my hands, a favorite dark blue dress of mine, and got myself ready. I was thankful that Dr. Crane wasn't there when I left but Mr. Crane turned out to be just as bad.

"Hey Daph, where you off to?" he asked from his chair. I hesitated; I didn't want him to read this the wrong. But there wasn't a wrong way to read it, was there?

"Heading out to my date with Bryce," I said casually.

"I thought that wasn't until seven?" Damn that old man and his selective memory!

"I was going to go out for a bit first." I moved towards my purse and coat.

"Where to?" I was getting a bit flustered by his interrogations. Detective or not this is my life and there is not a murder trial going on here until I start poisoning your food.

"If you must know I'm going to see how Dr. Crane is doing." I said at last.

"Oh, have fun." And just like that he turned around and resumed watching his game. I left the apartment feeling more confused about what was going on than ever.


**Niles**

Daphne arrived at my place with a form of jitters that I have never seen before. She stepped in and looked around with wide eyes. I took her coat and we sat down. I noticed that she was fiddling with her engagement ring. My heart leaped to see her in such a state of torment, my dearest Daphne, what on earth is plaguing you?

"Thank you for setting this up on such short notice," she spoke softly.

"Daphne, it is no trouble at all. Please, talk to me." She looked up at me and our eyes met, once again. I caught my breath as she looked at me, into me. It was almost as if she thought the answers to her problems were in me. Eventually she moved her eyes away and began to speak.

"It's just – well – to be perfectly honest I'm not sure why I am here." Daphne there is a reason why you are here you just, perhaps, don't realize it yet.

"I find that hard to believe." She looked back up again, this time looking at me and not into me, thankfully. I love our stares but I don't think I could keep myself composed throughout another one.

"How are you dealing with your divorce?" That's called stalling my dearest; you will get nowhere if you keep hiding from yourself. However I felt that she could benefit from my answers in some way. Oh, whom am I kidding, I did want to talk to someone about it.

"Honestly?" I felt like I was looking at her like a scared child.

"Yes, honestly," she replied, her voice soft and loving.

"I've been better. My unexpected divorce from Maris has been, sudden, to say the least."

"May I ask what happened?"

"Remember how I told you that I had feelings for someone else?" I swear she took a gasp in at that moment, I must be seeing things. She then nodded and I decided to leave that gasp in the meaningless bin of my brain. "Well Maris found out about that."

"Oh Dr. Crane! How awful!" She had a hand on my shoulder. I fought back the urge to do something irrational, like kiss her or tell her to leave Bryce.

"It's for the best. Now, what about you?" I needed to get this conversation back on her and away for me, otherwise the path was going to be very treacherous.

"I'm just rather confused. I mean, I should happy to be engaged, shouldn't I?" Don't plead at me with your eyes, it's sends my heart into a chaotic state. "But I just feel so torn. Truth be told I would love to go back to England, I have missed my homeland. And Bryce is a wonderful lad. But there is something holding me back here. Something that is begging me stay," besides me? "Oh, it might very well be your family, you've always been so good to me and I'd hate to leave to go so far away. I just – just…" Her voice trailed off and I knew that she had no more to say.

"Daphne, it sounds to me like you need to find out what it is that is making you want to stay. There is a reason for this and once you find that out it will make everything seem so much clearer." She looked up at me and really thought about what I had said.

"I think you are right." She stood up. "I should get going, would it be alright if I came back some other time, some other day, if I needed to talk?" She seemed, nervous, again.

"You are always welcome here." She gave me a small smile, then a kiss on my cheek. Then she left as I sunk back down to my couch. How was I going to let her go across the ocean to England? So far away would mean no more meetings like this to brighten up my day. I let out a sigh and decided to get myself a drink.


**Daphne**

I left Dr. Crane's place early and it was beneficial for it gave me time to think. Seeing him had somehow made me feel better. And he was right; there was something specific that was creating the desire to stay in Seattle. The problem was, that something was him.

I wasn't quite sure how and I was certainly not sure why, but Dr. Niles Crane was somehow keeping me in Seattle. I had to work through this but I didn't know how. I didn't feel right talking to Dr. or Mr. Crane about this. I couldn't talk to Niles, he was in love with me the whole thing would be too difficult for him. Perhaps Roz would be able to help. I decided to give her a call that evening.

My date with Bryce was as usual. He talked about work more than usual this time. I assume it was because I was in another world. No matter how I tried I just couldn't bring myself to pay full attention to our conversation.

"Daphne? Daph?" Bryce called out, bringing me back from one of my many mini-vacations.

"Oh, sorry Bryce, I'm just awfully tired tonight." He gave me a smirk, a sad smirk if I ever saw one. I must really be worrying the poor dear.

"Well, you'll have some time to catch up on that sleep." What does that mean?

"What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying that another guy quit today so my workload is increasing." Again? You are already working enough for three people! "I'm so sorry Daph, but we're just not going to be able to see each other as much." It was getting hard to move our relationship forward when we had so much distance. Distance was what our friendship was.

"Can't you get them to go easy on you? Being newly engaged and all?" He shot me a strange glance and then continued.

"I've tried every trick in the hat. It's only for a few months though, and then we'll be able to spend some real time together back home in England." Home, was England really my home anymore?

"Bryce, I'm used to distance with you, but as a friend, not as a lover." I put my hands into his. He swallowed, hard, and then continued.

"Well then maybe that's what we should do, pretend to be friends for this rest of our stay here in America." What? Was I being dumped?

"Bryce, what's going on here?" I started to pull my hands back but he grabbed onto them and looked deeply into my eyes.

"That's not what I mean. We have no real time to see each other right now and that's hard on a relationship. As friends that isn't a problem for us. Maybe if we fall back into friends' mode, just for the next few months, it'll make it easier for us. And you'll have more time to spend with your Seattle friends. Then we can start up again once we get to London." My stomach flipped as he made his suggestion, the problem was it felt like a bad and a good flip. I knew this was for the best though. We couldn't have any problems while pretending to be friends and this did give me more time with the Crane's and Roz.

"Alright Bryce, I guess we could try that." He breathed a bit but didn't release his grip on my hands.

"Remember, Daph, we're friends. That should get you through this difficult time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't believe what was happening. I had never been more confused in my life and now my fiancée wanted to pretend to be friends for over a month. I just felt the floor slipping out from beneath my feet. I needed something stable, something to hold on to, to make things better. I didn't think I'd be able to find anything that could do that for me.

My brain then drifted to Dr. and Mr. Crane's reactions this morning. They were happy about something that Bryce was doing. Why one Earth would they be happy about my fiancée practically dumping me for a month? Something was going on here that I was not aware of. I decided to call give Roz that call.

"Hello?" Roz asked after I called.

"Hi Roz, it's me."

"Hey Daph! What's up?" She sounded happier than normal to hear my voice.

"Oh Roz, everything is falling apart!" I couldn't help myself, I started crying.

"Daphne, what's wrong?" The happiness had faded from her voice and it was replaced with concern.

"You know how I've been so confused about whether or not I want to leave Seattle, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well it just keeps getting worse. Tonight Bryce told me that his work load was increasing and he wanted to pretend to be friends for the last month we're here."

"That seems reasonable." Reasonable? My fiancée has just brushed me off and you think it's reasonable?

"How can that be reasonable?" I practically shouted into the phone.

"Oh, I know it's got to be hard, Daph, but if he doesn't have the time for you at least that allows you to not worry and be able to enjoy your time left here, right?" She did have a point.

"But I don't mind that. I need stability. I need to have Bryce to help remind me why I am moving."

"Really? I thought you didn't want to go?" She's been working with Dr. Crane for far too long, she's starting to psychoanalyze me.

"Roz! You're turning into Dr. Crane!"

"Which one?"

"Frasier!" What was going on here?

"Sorry Daph, you sounded like you needed some help."

"I do, from a friend. If I wanted a shrink I have two I could go to, ok?" It almost sounded like she was stifling a laugh.

"Alright Daph, calm down. I'm sorry." I took a few deep breaths at that.

"I'm sorry Roz, I've just got a lot on my mind. Can I confide in you?"

"Of course you can."

"Promise you won't laugh."

"I promise."

"I don't know why, but I think part of the reason I don't want to go to London is because of Niles."


**Roz**

When Frasier came to me with this crazy idea I thought it was a bunch of baloney. Niles was in love with Daphne but Daphne in love with Niles? Come on! However I was witnessing proof that Bryce was right on the mark. She even called him Niles, no Dr. Crane to try to guess from.

"Why is Niles keeping you here in Seattle?" Come on Daph, if you admit it things will be easy.

"Oh, Roz, I wish I knew!" That's a desperate plea if I ever heard one.

"Well, find out."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Time to put this scheme into affect.

"Spend more time with Niles, see what is really there. Technically you and Bryce are on a break, use that. You've got to find out what's holding you back before you go, Daphne. That's the only way you'll be able to be satisfied about your decision."

"Are you suggesting that I date Dr. Crane?" Well, duh. Brownie points to you for picking that up and making the romantic leap.

"Not exactly date, but hang out with him. I'm sure he could use a friend to help him through his divorce."

"But Roz, he's in love with me, won't that be leading him on?"

"Of course not. He has no idea that you know." Don't be stubborn.

"I guess it could work."

"Good. Oh, and keep me informed on what's happening."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bryce~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sublet was quiet that evening without Daphne around. I dropped her off early claiming that I had an early meeting. A meeting that I did not have. I just knew that if this plan was going to work I was going to have to see her as minimally as possible. This was for two reasons, the first was for her to make some distance between us to let her feelings flourish; the second was for my own sanity. I may be doing this for her but I still loved her. Dinner tonight was almost impossible for me to get through. I had to push her away when I didn't want to.

The friends business was more for me than for her. I just hope it works; I'd hate to be wrong about something this drastic. Who knows, maybe somebody else will quit and I'll get his load, then this next month may not see as detrimental.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Frasier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I met my brother at the café to attempt to put this scheme into action. I wasn't sure it was going to work as well as Bryce hoped. I also wasn't sure it was entirely wise. Niles was in a fragile state at this moment. I didn't want to goad him towards Daphne only to drive the sword deeper into his heart. But on the other hand she might just be the medicine he needs even if they don't end up together.

When Niles finally entered Nervosa he seemed surprisingly stable.

"Hello Frasier," he said to me and then ordered his coffee.

"Hi Niles. You're holding up quite nicely."

"As a matter of fact, I am." He let out a small chuckle at that. It was certainly nice to see my brother in good spirits but I wasn't sure why this was so. I leaned towards him.

"Alright Niles, what's changed?"

"Frasier, you are unveracious. Nothing has changed; I am still a divorced man without Daphne." And yet my brother smiled as he mentioned her name.

"But?"

"Oh, alright. Daphne's been coming to me for advice lately. It's been nice to have her around, to have her company. I know it's only temporary but frankly I'm enjoying what I have." Hhhmm, this makes my job in this conspiracy immensely easier.

"Why don't you spend more time with her then."

"How do you propose I do that?"

"Well, I've heard from Bryce that he has very little time to see Daphne these days. I'm sure this must be hard on her. If you were to do things with her I'm sure it'll keep her from getting lonely and give you a chance to maximize your time with her before she's departed." My brother took a sip of his coffee and really thought about what I was saying.

"Won't Bryce be upset with that?"

"Nonsense, he's already asked Dad and I to spend more time with Daphne."

"You know what Frasier, that might just be a good plan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was having a hard time approaching Dr. Crane. I so wanted to spend more time with him, hoping that it would help clear my clouded head. I just couldn't come up with a way to make my move. And that by itself was bothering me. I normally have no problems with stuff like this. All of a sudden I'm beginning to feel like a fish out of water, I'm scraping for any sense of reality and permanence. I don't like being out of control.

Turns out I didn't have to be the one to come to him, for he came to me. A few days after my short-term distance with Bryce started Dr. Crane came over to the apartment.

"Hello Dr. Crane." I said as I let him in. "What brings you here."

"Hello Daphne." He seemed to have a skip in his step. "I'm actually here to see you."

"Me?"

"Yes," He seemed confident but his eyes showed that he did have a few jitters. Noticing that my stomach did a flip. Why was he affecting me so? "I know that you are only going to be here for a short time more and decided I wanted to spend some time with my friend." Oh Dr. Crane, but you think of me as more of a friend, don't you?

"That sounds lovely, especially since Bryce doesn't have a whole lot of time to see me these days."

"Oh?" He didn't seem at all surprised.

"Yes, his work loads increased again but you don't seem surprised." His face turned a nice shade of red and he glanced down at the floor.

"Well, umm, Frasier sorta mentioned something about that to me." I had to chuckle at his gullibility.

"It's alright, Dr. Crane, I could use the company." His face perked up at that.

"How does dinner sound?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Martin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I came home from walking Eddie I realized that the plan had already been started. I was faced with a giddy and nervous Niles and Daphne. All right, time to meddle.

"Hi Dad!" my son exclaimed happily.

"Hello Mr. Crane how was your walk." Daphne asked with a curious smile on her face.

"It was fine, what's going on here?"

"What makes you think something's going on here?" Daphne said while moving to fix some of Frasier's pillows.

"Well, for starters, conversation halted as soon as I entered the room." Niles and Daphne looked to each other and then Niles spoke.

"I'm just taking Daphne out for a friendly dinner," you think it's going to remain friendly? "That's all."

"That's great." I said and sat down in my chair.

"You really think so?" Daphne asked. "You don't think Bryce would mind?" Oh Daph, yeah, he would but he's expecting you to do just this.

"Bryce has asked us to keep you busy and I'd prefer it if that wasn't accomplished through Frasier making you clean." That got her to relax and laugh. Niles got up to leave.

"I must be going, I'll see you later?"

"Yes, see you then, bye." And then Daphne closed the door behind Niles and let out a small sigh.

"It's gotta feel good to get out, huh Daph?" I asked, but she didn't seem to hear me. Her eyes were lost somewhere else.

"What was that Mr. Crane?"

"I was just saying that it must feel good to be getting out."

"Yes, it does. I was afraid I'd turn into a recluse this next month. Although I do have packing to do. It's strange, though. I just can't seem to bring myself to start." Well, you're not leaving so maybe that has something to do with it.

"Big changes are hard sometimes."

"Oh, it's not that." And then she stopped suddenly and glanced up at me nervously. "I mean, it's just hard to leave here not so much the change." Come on Daph, who are you fooling?

"Uh-huh." She glared at me.

"Old man, do you have something to say?"

"Nope."

"Good." And then she got up and left to her room.


**Daphne**

I went to my room and lay down on my bed. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on here. I knew that Mr. Crane knows about Niles' feelings for me and yet he didn't seemed concerned at all about us going out to dinner. Well, I guess two friends can just go out and have a good time, right?

Who am I kidding; it's more than just friends, for both of us. He's managing to captivate me in ways that no one else has. But just because I see him as more than a friend doesn't mean it goes much father beyond that, does it?

Oh dear, my head was starting to spin. The worst part was that I knew I had the answers inside me, I was just too darn afraid to look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Niles~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the rest of the afternoon I debated on whether or not to get Daphne flowers for our "date" that evening. I did want to do something nice, to make her feel special. I omitted the idea of roses, which has every right to scare her. I decided on something simple and picked up a single lily for her. Nice but not romantic, a perfect fusion.

I arrived at my brother's place in high spirits. I was finally able to do something truly nice for Daphne without compromising my own integrity in the process. My father answered the door.

"Hey Niles, Daph's still getting ready." He said as he let me in.

"No problem, I can wait." My father noticed the flower and gave me a smirk; I didn't wait for him to make a comment. "I thought it would be a nice gesture, it's not roses." He just shook his head and sat down.

"It is a nice gesture Niles." What did that mean, I could have sworn he was condemning me for the flower just two short seconds ago.

"Dad?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows as high as I could.

"It just surprised me, that's all." I didn't get a chance to interrogate my father any further for Daphne then entered the room. She was wearing a gorgeous black dress. It was very elegant, not meant to be sexy but still had that affect when it was placed on her. I stood up and handed her the lily.

"I thought you could use some cheering up." I explained as she looked at me questioningly.

"Dr. Crane, this is beautiful, thank you." She gave me a kiss on the cheek then went to put the flower in some water. Frasier then entered the living room.

"Ahh, about to take our Cinderella to the ball?" he asked. I glared.

"If that's the way you chose to think about it, then yes." Daphne returned from the kitchen.

"Shall we?" she asked me.

"We shall, bye Dad, bye Frasier." And then we left for the restaurant.



I was amazed at how much Daphne and I had to talk about. We didn't seem to have a dull moment. Around the time our main course arrived Daphne looked up at me with a quizzical expression.

"Dr. Crane, don't you find it quite ironic that the two of us are here, at this nice restaurant, as friends and yet I'm still calling you by your last name?"

"I've been trying to get you to drop that act with me for years." She seemed to think for a moment, almost as if it took courage to say what she was going to say.

"Then would it be ok if we dropped formalities?" She asked that question as if she really thought I would mind.

"Daphne, that is more than acceptable. I've hated having you call me Dr. Crane all these years. Niles would be so greatly appreciated." She smiled at me but I sensed that she was nervous. Why on earth would this make her nervous?

"Alright then, Niles it is." We ate in silence for a bit as I drank in the sensation of her referring to me by my given name. Once I began to resort back to reality I noticed that she appeared timid, that won't do.

"Daphne, is everything alright?" She looked at me, almost startled.

"It's just that I always had me rules about how to deal with my clients family. Part of that was to always keep formalities so that no lines accidentally got crossed."

"Daphne you are only here for a few short months more, and you know that we all think of you as part of our family. So please, don't let this bother you. Are you going to keep calling us all Crane's when you visit or call from England?" That got a chuckled out of her.

"No, I suppose not. But until then I am still your father's physical therapist first and foremost."

"No, you're our friend first and foremost." I reached across the table and laid my hand on top of hers, gave her a quick squeeze and then returned to my meal.


**Daphne**

This wasn't going well at all. I mean, it was going well but it wasn't going well. I don't know what possessed me to want to call him Niles instead of Dr. Crane but that was not my best move at all. I soon realized more about this whole situation than I thought I rightly should.

I had always set up the formalities as a way to keep myself in my place. The main reason, which I didn't mention, was to prevent any romances. I knew that it would be a bad occurrence to get involved with a client or a client's family member. I was sitting here, breaking all my rules.

Well, of course I hadn't broken anything in reality, just on the inside. By dropping the Dr. Crane I dropped the formality, the barrier between us. As soon as I did so I unlocked the trapped door inside my heart. A tidal wave full of emotions hit me all at once, making me quite dizzy. When I finally looked up at him, at Niles, I realized what exactly it was that was keeping me here in Seattle.

I was in love with Niles Crane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Frasier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dad and I took turns being in the living room to wait for Daphne to arrive home. We knew that two of us to talk to might be a bit much for Daphne and decided that one might get her to talk, which was exactly what we needed. I happened to be sitting on the couch when Daphne arrived home.

At first she didn't see me, she came in and leaned against the door, lost in her own little world. Then she moved towards the coat rack, that's when she saw me.

"Dr. Crane!" She exclaimed, one hand over heart. "I didn't see you sitting there."

"Well, one does blend in without the sound of Dad's TV playing in the background." I laughed and she gave me a weak smile. "So, how was dinner?"

"Dinner was alright." She spoke as she made her way to her room.

"Just alright? It must have been nice to get out of this apartment." She stopped and turned towards me.

"Yes and no." She was twirling her engagement ring.

"How is that?" I asked in my best 'talk to me' voice.

"Dr. Crane, I – oh, I can't talk to you about this!" She turned around and started for her room again.

"Daphne, what's wrong?" She stopped but did not turn around. "Please, something is obviously troubling you, let me help." She turned and faced me.

"I don't know if you can."

"I can try, can't I?"

"Well, is it wrong for someone to set up formalities in relation to those whom she works with?" Daphne took a few steps towards me.

"I don't feel there is anything wrong with that, it's a personal choice." She glanced down at her hands and didn't glance up again until after she had started speaking.

"What if – what if these formalities are set up as a precaution, to keep distance between the client and the worker and then later there is a – desire – to reduce this distance." Oh, this scheme was working after all. It sounds like our Daphne is falling for Niles. But she has her reservations, I better be careful with this.

"Oh, Daphne. You know that we all see you as a friend, as part of this family. For god sakes you've been an honorary Crane for years." She finally gave me a small smile.

"So it's not wrong to have feelings for you lot?"

"No, of course it isn't. You told us to call you Daphne from day one but never allowed us to tell you to call us by our first names. Please, do so now. You are a friend and that friendship is more important than anything you do around this apartment." She gave me a bigger smile at that.

"Oh, Dr. Crane," she said while coming towards to give me a hug, I stopped her.

"Please, call me Frasier." She stopped, suddenly. I realized that she was, in fact, only talking about Niles. I had managed to help her without stepping on her toes. I smiled inwardly to myself. Daphne only paused for a moment, then she moved in to give me a hug.

"Of course, Frasier. Thank you so much." I hugged her back.

"I'm here for you Daph, anytime you need me."


**Daphne**

My conversation with Frasier was a bit unexpected. I never thought about dropping formalities with Frasier and Mr. Crane – I should refer to him as Martin now, shouldn't I? The thought just never occurred to me. With Niles it was always a conscious move. Calling Frasier by his first name didn't alter anything, but it did when it pertained to Niles.

That meant I was deeper into him then I had previously thought. But none of this mattered, right? I was engaged now and I loved Bryce. I did love him, didn't I?

Yes, of course I did love him, but it just wasn't the same as the feelings I had for Niles. And how could I leave him to run off with someone that might not end up being the right person for me? What if Niles and I didn't work well together at all? Then I'd ruin my relationship with Bryce for no reason.

I simply had to see Niles more. Perhaps date him without dating him. Oh dear, isn't that what Roz had suggested in the first place?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Roz~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was taking my break from work at Nervosa when Daphne came in. I watched how she was behaving, it was a different Daphne then I had ever seen. Her confidence seemed to be shot and it was obvious that something was going on. She didn't even notice me at first.

"Daphne!" I called out. She turned towards me startled.

"Oh Roz! I didn't see you there." She sat down and gave the waiter her order.

"So, how are things going?" I asked, hoping she'd get the hint that I wanted to know about Niles.

"Things are just getting more screwed up by the second," she exclaimed, throwing her hands on the table. "I went out with Niles the other night and it's just made things worse."

"Worse, how so?"

"Roz, I…" Her voice trailed off and she simply stared at me. I could tell she was thinking. Finally she opened her mouth again. "I really can't talk about this."

"Why, did he say something to you?"

"No, it has nothing to do with him. It has to do with me." With her? What is it Daph! Tell me!!

"Come on Daph, you said you'd talk to me."

"I know, I did. I just, can't talk about this right now. I'll get back to you, ok?" And then her coffee to go arrived and she departed. I put my head in my hands. I couldn't tell whether this plan was working or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stopped by Niles' place that evening. I needed to see him again, to see how I would react. I was nervous as all hell but I knew it was something I needed to do.

"Daphne!" He moved back to let me in. "What brings you here?" I stepped inside.

"Well, you did say I could stop by if I needed to, right?" I turned to face him and had to restrain myself from staring into his eyes.

"Of course, what's the problem?" Oh dear, I forgot to come up with a reason.

"Can't I just come by to hang out?" He looked at me questioningly and then motioned towards the couch.

"Of course, you always can." We sat down in silence as I fidgeted with my ring. I thought I was just twirling it around until I realized that I had taken it off and placed it on my right hand. I quickly placed it back on my left where it was supposed to be. I needed to talk but could I really to talk to Niles about this?

"Daphne, are you sure nothing's the matter?" I glanced up to see the concern written all across his face. Oh dear, in trying to help myself I was putting him through such torment. But would telling him what's wrong really help?

"Well, Niles," a shiver went down my spine when I said his name, "I'd be lying if I said that nothing was wrong. However, I'm just not sure that I can talk about this right now." He placed a hand on mine. Oh dear, could he tell I was shaking? Or was part of that him?

"Daphne, you need to do what is right for you. Sometimes company is enough. I've had plenty of patients were it takes them time to be able to speak, be it with me or with a specific loved one." I moved my hand so that it was holding his and we sat in silence. Eventually I placed my head on his shoulder.

"You are such a dear, you know that, don't you?" I could feel him nod his head. He brushed a strand of hair away from my face and my eyes closed involuntarily. This man could do so much better than Maris. "You could have any woman you wanted if you just gave her a try. Don't sell yourself short, you're too good for that." What was I saying? I knew whom he wanted.

"As nice as those sentiments are, Daphne, I don't really think I can." I turned to face him and found myself inches from his face. My brain, which has been working on over drive for weeks, suddenly shut off. I was not aware of a conscious thought in my head; only how close Niles was to me.

"Yes, you can…" my voice trailed off as my eyes met his. I no longer had the control to keep from staring into his eyes. At such a short distance our contact was in a lock. Neither one of us had the power, control, or the will to pull away. Pulling closer was an all too different story.

My brain began to slowly come back to its senses when it realized that I was slowly moving closer to Niles. Of course, he was also moving slowly closer to me. My brain, ironically, had nothing to say. My heart, however, was the force pulling me forward. In a few short moments our lips met sending an exhilarating chill down my spine. My brain suddenly decided that it had something to say and told me that I should stop, that this was wrong. That I was leading him on and that I was engaged. I, however, could not listen. The feel of his lips against mine was enough to counteract all the yelling that was going on in my head. I started to dread the moment when we would part. Partly because I liked the sensation and partly because I would probably have some explaining to do. I knew that moment could not be avoided for long.

As slowly as we moved together we began to move apart. We moved apart to a greater distance then we had been at first. Our eyes locked again, this time asking questions that were not being answered. I tried to think of what I could say to make this situation right but I couldn't come up with an answer. I knew I had to get out of there and I hated myself for it.

I broke our stare and struggled to conjure words to come to my mouth. Finally a few came.

"I'm – I'm sorry." I said while rising. "I really must be going." I turned to look him in the eyes. "Please forgive me." And then I left.


**Niles**

I was more confused then I ever have been in my life. I know that Daphne has been having some problems of her own but I never expected her to kiss me. I had no idea how to interpret that. It could mean that I was involved in her problems some how or I could simply be a crutch, a release from the issue at hand.

That kiss was wonderful though. It was a real kiss, filled with passion. I couldn't imagine someone kissing like that for false pretences but I have heard of it to happen. I was trying so hard to keep myself levelheaded and I knew I was going to fail.

I needed to talk to someone, someone who could snap me back to my senses. I decided that Frasier wasn't enough and called Dad. I got my brother instead. He told me that Dad was at McGinty's. I remembered that I still owed Dad a trip there and decided to see if I could find him. I did so but not before warning Frasier that Daphne would be in a state when she arrived home. I successfully avoided all questions, though I am not sure how, and left for McGinty's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Martin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was at my bar, having a beer and watching the game when something completely unexpected happened, my son showed up. One of my friends noticed him first.

"Hey Marty, isn't that your son?" I turned around.

"Which one?"

"Niles." I looked harder, sure enough, there he was. Standing at the door. I waved and he came over to me. I noticed that he looked pale and became worried.

"Hi Dad," he said meekly.

"Niles, what's wrong?" He glanced at me while getting on the free stool beside me.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" He asked in a shaky voice. I glared at him.

"Are you here to see me or do you just need a beer?" I asked.

"Both." Something was definitely wrong. I got him a beer and he took a long sip.

"What happened, son?" I asked him. He looked up.

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself," he said with a slight chuckle.

"Do you want to talk?" He shook his head in affirmation.

"It was to do with Daphne." Oh no! Has the plan backfired?

"What happened?"

"She – we – kissed." That doesn't sound like a backfire to me but that can't be all.

"And?"

"And then she left."

"Why did she kiss you?"

"I – I don't know." Ahh, Daph's still working through this. But what can I tell Niles?

"How do you feel about this?"

"I just wish I knew what was going on here. I thought we were just hanging out, as friends. And perhaps that is all that is really going on. But then why did she kiss me?" He absent-mindedly touched his lip. How can I answer that?

"Maybe she has feelings for you?" He shot me a glance.

"Aren't you supposed to talk some sense into me? Make me realize that this was all just a mistake, a fabrication of my imagination? Yell at me for letting this happen?" I would, if I didn't know that she loves you back.

"No, you're not off the mark this time." He gave me a hard look.

"Dad, what's going on here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrived home in a blur. I was lucky enough to fight off tears for the drive home. Though once I was left alone in the secluded elevator all restraints fell to the side. When I entered the apartment I couldn't even see clearly to tell whether or not I was alone.

"Daphne, are you all right?" Well, turns out I wasn't alone; Frasier was by my side instantly.

"I'm, I'm fine." Like he would actually believe that?

"Come on, sit down and talk to me." We sat down on the couch though I didn't feel like talking.

"I really don't want to talk now, Frasier." I said while sniffling, he handed me his handkerchief.

"Did something happen with Bryce?" At the sound of my fiancée's name a wave of guilt came over me and I burst into tears again.

"Oh god! I am a horrible person!" I shouted.

"Daphne, what happened?" I was wiping away my tears and could finally see a halfway clear image of the concern he had for me.

"I – I'm in love with your brother." Oh dear, did I really just say that?


**Frasier**

It seemed this scheme has just about played itself out. However Daphne's state was not of happy woman in love but of tormented woman. There must be more to this situation.

"Daphne, is that all that's bothering you?" She looked up at me.

"No, it's not."

"Well, if it's Bryce you are worried about –" She cut me off.

"Oh god! I hadn't even thought of Bryce!"

"What happened?"

"I – I kissed your brother." So? "And then I just left, I couldn't talk to him, couldn't say anything." Now she's sobbing again. This was getting out of hand. I needed to get Bryce back into the picture.

"Daphne, I think you need to relax. Go to your room, wash your face and try to clear your head. There's something I need to do." Thankfully the poor dear was too confused to question my actions. As soon as she was gone I called Bryce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bryce~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had had a lonely couple of weeks without Daphne around. I was contemplating calling her up soon and finding out how she was doing, not wanting to push her out of my life completely. That's when I got a call from Frasier.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Bryce? It's Frasier," I could hear in his voice that something was up.

"What's wrong?" He gave me a small chuckle.

"It's that obvious then?"

"Rightly so," I replied.

"Well, it seems our plan has hit the fan, so to speak." I took a few deep breaths; I was either in or out, right or wrong. At least I would win and lose both ways.

"Verdict says?"

"You were right about Daphne, however, it's running the risk of turning into something ugly." I lost. Surprisingly I wasn't as upset as I thought I would be.

"What happened?" Frasier then proceeded to tell me what had transpired. It was difficult to listen to but I knew what needed to be done. I told Frasier I would be right over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Niles~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stared at my father for a long time. He wasn't condemning my actions, like he normally does. In fact, he hasn't condemned my actions for a few weeks now. And now he's telling me that I'm not wrong for having kissed Daphne…

"Dad, what's going on here?" I asked a second time, Dad was shifting in his seat, something was up.

"Now, Niles, don't get mad." Nothing is good when it has to begin with that sentence. "But you've been involved in bit of a scheme." A scheme? What sort of scheme?

"Dad?" He looked at me and took a gulp from his beer before continuing.

"You see, this whole idea of you and Daphne spending more time together has been set up purposefully." What? A rage I never knew existed began to build inside of me.

"You mean none of this was true? Just a pity Niles moment?" Dad opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "What are you doing now, paying Daphne to not only help you out, clean Frasier's apartment, but to kiss me as well?" Anger was the only thing that was keeping me from falling apart.

"No, Niles, you've got this all wrong. Daphne's –"

"Save it!" I shouted as I left the bar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daphne~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I followed Frasier's orders and went to me room to wash my face. Surprisingly it did help a bit. Afterwards I just stared at myself in the mirror. I was trying so hard to make things easier on myself and it was just getting worse.

I heard the doorbell ring and thought it might be Niles. I knew that he deserved an explanation and I thought I could benefit from it as well so I headed out into the living room. I was surprised to see Bryce.

"Bryce," I said while entering the room. What was he doing here? I turned towards Frasier. "You invited him here after what I told you?" Did he really want me to break two hearts in one night?

"Now Daphne, there is something that we need to tell you," Bryce spoke, his hands shook. What was going on?

"What could you possibly have to say?" I asked, he hadn't even seen me in weeks.

"Well, for starters my work load hasn't increased at work." My brain went numb and I collapsed onto one of the dinning room chairs.

"What?" was all I could manage. Bryce looked towards Frasier for help so he began speaking.

"You see Daph, you've been involved in a scheme. In fact, you and Niles have been involved in a scheme." Bloody hell! What was all this?

"I don't understand." Bryce came over to me and sat down.

"Daph, I've known you for a long time, right?" I nodded. "And I know a lot about you, right?" I nodded again. "I noticed that – it was possible that – you might have some feelings for Niles" Wait, he noticed that? "And I just couldn't see making you leave Seattle if he was right for you." But you're my fiancée!

"Why would you do this?"

"Your happiness is what matters most to me. And we knew we were rushing into things here. I couldn't see depriving you of something that might work out better then you and I. But I knew that you didn't know it. So we set this up, to try to get you two to spend more time together, so that if my assumptions were true you would know before I dragged you all the way to England." He stopped and took a few deep breaths. He knew I was in love with Niles. He made sure that I realized it too. Oh dear, but what did I want? I had to talk to Niles now, more than ever.

"So this was all just a scheme?" I asked. He hung his head low.

"Yes. Are you made at me?" He looked up at that.

"Surprisingly no. We need to talk, Bryce, but not now. Now I need to figure out what is really going on here between Niles and I. Excuse me." I grabbed my coat and left the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Part II~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~