Trails and Tribulations

Trails…

"I do," she replied, a bit hesitant and very reluctantly to the question that was purposed to her only seconds earlier.

"You may be seated Ms. Moon," she was instructed.

She took her seat as her eyes nervously darted about the room and inadvertently locked onto his.

She shivered and instinctively reached for her necklace that was draped around her neck and that Niles had given to her last night over dinner. She groped for the crescent moon charm. Upon locating it, she swung it back and forth with her hand like a pendulum.

"Can you tell us what happened on the evening of November 3 Ms. Moon…"

"I was coming home from a job interview across town that was set up by my employment agency…"

"Hey doll," the voice, slurred, came from behind her.

Instinctively, she quickened her step.

"Hey doll," he called out to her again, and staggered up along side her, shadowing her steps, stride by stride.

She recognized the scent as it waffled out from his mouth.

"I don't recall seeing you around here before, new to town?"

Scent confirmed. It was the hard stuff, just like Daddy drinks, she thought.

"Perhaps I could buy you a drink and show you some of the sights, if you know what I mean," he suggested.

"And what did you say?" the prosecutor asked.

"Maybe some other time," she lied. "I'm already late for an appointment."

"Let me drive you. My car is right at the end of this alley."

"That won't be necessary…"

He grabbed her tightly by her wrist.

"Damn it doll, what's your problem? I'm trying to do a good deed here and you're treating me like dirt. What's up with that?"

"You're hurting me," she yelped and struggled to free herself from his grasp. She took in her surroundings.

The flashing neon glow from the nearby pubs and clubs told her she was not exactly in the safest part of Seattle.

She also knew it was now or never.

If she didn't try and yell and somehow draw attention to herself she was going to be raped, or even worse, end up as a statistic with a little card tied to her toe.

She opened her mouth, but another voice came out.

"Let her go…" the voice demanded.

"And did he let you go?"

She looked over at Niles, her knight.

He was donning what others jokingly (perhaps because of their own uneasiness of Niles' recent impairment and not being quite sure how to react or treat Niles) referred to as his 'trademark sunglasses'.

Though it (the jokes about Niles' sunglasses) was light-hearted and good-natured, it still bothered Daphne (especially whenever Niles joined in, more than likely to hide his own pain and hurt). What others failed to realize, (perhaps it was because she was the reason he now had to wear them) his sunglasses represented who Niles Crane was and his moment of unselfishness and of his bravery and courage.

But most importantly, it symbolized how much he sacrificed for her.

She stopped swinging her necklace but still clutched the charm. Gaining courage through the charm and Niles, and in a steadier voice, "No. Instead he taunted and mocked Niles."

"Who's going to make me? You?"

"Don't push me. For I should warn you, I am not in the best of moods tonight."

"The defendant threw me roughly to the ground and told Niles that he could

'Have the bitch.' Niles extended his hand out to me and asked me..."

"Are you alright?"

"And were you?"

"What do you think? I was terrified. But before I could give him an answer, he was struck in the back of the head with a tire iron and crumpled to his knees and fell-unconscious-in my lap, face first."

Daphne started to cry as she relived the moment in her mind.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as the judge requested a box of tissues be brought to her by the bailiff.

The bailiff laid the box in front of her.

Daphne grabbed a couple of tissues and quietly blew her nose and wiped her eyes before continuing.

"That was when I saw the other two men for the first time. They each took an arm and held Niles up and then he was relentlessly beaten right before my eyes. Though it was hardly a contest, three-against-one. "

-------

"At any time during the beating did you scream to get someone's attention or leave to try and get some help?" she was asked during cross-examination.

"Yes, many a time I attempted to get up and run for help, but my fear paralyzed me. Thankfully, sirens, screaming and wailing from a few alleys away made the two men holding Niles retreat and scatter in different directions. But the man who had grabbed my wrist had some unfinished business to take care of-all of which was personal…"

"Objection your honor," the defense interrupted, "speculation. She had no way of knowing that."

"Sustained, the jury is instructed to erase that last comment from Ms. Moon. Ms. Moon please start again, but don't say what you think the defendant was thinking."

"Yes your honor. He bent down on one knee to Niles, who was now nothing more than a crumpled, bloodied heap and picked Niles up by his hair and taunted and teased in a hiss: 'I'm not through with you,' and then he slammed Niles' face down onto the pavement. "

"He then let out a bone-chilling laugh and before running off, he gave Niles another couple swift kicks in the ribs and warned, 'Hey doll, don't even think about calling the cops.' "

He Says…

"I can't," Niles mumbled, inaudible, even in the deathly quiet room.

"Could you please repeat that again so that the men and women of jury could hear?"

Niles cleared his voice and repeated, "I can't."

"And could you please tell the men and women of the jury why you can't point out your attacker?"

"Because I can't see."

"And could you please tell the men and women of the jury how you lost your sight," the prosecutor further pressed.

"As I alluded to earlier," Niles reminded and reinforced to the jury, just like Donny (who had offered his advice for free when he and Roz came over for dinner the other night) suggested when they were going over the case. "I am unable to recall the specifics of my beating, but I know for a fact that I lost my sight because of the beating I received that night."

"Could you share with the jury about some of the other injuries you received that night?"

"I had numerous scrapes and bruises all over my body. I also had several deeper cuts, which required stitches. My chest was severely bruised and I had half a dozen extremely bruised ribs, one of which was actually cracked. It was very difficult for me to breathe for several weeks…"

As his voiced trailed off, the prosecutor went over to the table to pick up a file and picked up where Niles' had left off.

"But those were injuries were relatively minor compared to Dr. Crane's other injuries." While picking up the file and holding it up for the jury to see. "I'd like to submit into evidence the police report the emergency room doctor filled out shortly after Dr. Crane left the hospital that evening."

Opening up the folder, "It reads in part, and I quote, 'patient has received a serious head injury and concussion, most likely due to trauma by a blunt instrument. It is in my opinion that the savageness and trauma of the beating itself, coupled with the severity of his head trauma, has caused both his amnesia and blindness.' "

He closed the file and then directed a question to Niles.

"Could you please tell the jury how long it took for your memory to return?"

"It still hasn't fully returned. There are still many blank pages in my life that I just can't or don't remember."

Tribulations…

"Niles?" she asked, slightly muffled since her mouth was slightly full with her club sandwich, "Is there something wrong with your cobb salad?"

Niles picked at it some more and shrugged. "I just don't like bacon because of the nitrates, and this one seems to have a lot in it and I can't see to…" his voice faded and was lost amid the sea of other voices at the busy courtroom cafeteria.

"Why didn't you say something earlier you silly sod?" she lovingly poked fun at him, "I'll pick out the bacon for you." She then began to pick out the chunks of bacon from his salad for him.

A few seconds later, she smiled and declared his salad to be "bacon and nitrate free."

He sighed deeply and looked away. By the warmth of the sun hitting his face, he had deduced they had a window seat.

Her smile now evaporated as the man she loved was a thousand miles away from her, and was drifting. She gently laid her reassuring hand on top of his.

She couldn't help but notice his slight flinch at her touch.

"Niles? Talk to me. What is it?"

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this. You don't deserve this."

"And what?" she snapped. "You do?" Then softer, "I'm sorry Niles. But truth be told, I am grateful that I do have to go through all of this."

"Excuse me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Niles. Love. If you hadn't come along when you did, who knows where I would be right now? I could very well be six feet under."

"Don't say such things."

"I'm serious Niles. We have no idea what that monster had in store for me. Even if he didn't kill me, I'm sure he would have raped me. But he didn't do anything, because of you, my love."

Neither spoke for a long moment, letting everything that they had been through, and what could have been, sink in.

Finally, in a low whisper, she confessed.

"Niles, look at me, please."

He did as requested of him and she carefully removed his sunglasses.

Even though they were now squinting and bloodshot due to lack of sleep and stress, she never grew tired of gazing into those beautiful blue eyes of his.

"There was another positive that happened out of this nightmare."

"And just what might that be?" He weakly smiled at her.

"Us."

To be continued…