Daphne hugged David tightly. "Now, you be good for Mrs. Davis. And remember what we talked about, about sharing."
The three-year-old nodded. "I will, Mommy."
Daphne tried to ignore the lump in her throat. It was silly. She was only leaving her son for a couple of hours, and he would be just a few apartments away. But she would miss David terribly no matter what. She stood up, turning to the mother of her son's playmate. "Call me if he gives you any trouble."
Mrs. Davis smiled. "Don't worry. David is an angel."
Daphne nodded and turned to leave. She wiped a tear, hating how ridiculous this was.
She walked back home with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Niles asked, immediately concerned.
"I know I'm being much too dramatic, but I miss David. We've rarely been apart his whole life."
"That's very understandable, my love. But our son needs to go out into the world. He needs to see that he can be OK without us."
"I know you're right," Daphne admitted. "But I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. Weren't we just at the vet's office, holding our little baby?"
Niles smiled at the memory. "Now I understand what Frasier always said about how fast Freddie grew up. There's nothing we can do about that, unfortunately."
Daphne nodded, knowing he was right. "Well, I know I've got about a dozen things to do upstairs. The laundry and such. But I must admit, I think I need a short nap first."
"That's fine. Do you want a cup of tea? I could bring one up."
She kissed him. He was always so considerate. How was she this lucky? "That's awfully sweet of you, but not necessary. I just need to rest me eyes for a bit."
Niles looked at her, slightly uncertain. He hoped she wasn't coming down with something.
Daphne saw his concern. "I'm not sick. It's just that David can be such a handful sometimes..."
"Yes, he certainly can," Niles agreed with a chuckle. As much of a Crane as he was, he also had more than a few Moon-like traits.
Daphne made her way upstairs and quickly changed into some comfortable sweats. She was sound asleep in no time. When she awoke only moments later (so it seemed from her perspective), her hand went to her chest, feeling her heart pound. What she'd seen had seemed so real. Usually, in her dreams, she relived her and Niles' story, their meeting, the fateful encounter on the balcony before her wedding, and a dozen other moments she would never forget. But this had been something entirely different. She'd seen David, lying on the floor with his eyes closed. She felt sure that he wasn't merely asleep. If it were a dream, that would be frightening enough. But this felt more like a vision.
She raced downstairs. "Niles!"
He was reading on the couch. He turned, hearing her panic. "What's wrong, my love?"
"I just had a vision!"
Niles got up, walking to where she stood. "Was it of us winning the lottery?" As soon as he'd made the joke, he regretted it. Daphne was most definitely not in the mood.
"I saw David on the floor, unconscious! I don't think he was just asleep!"
"Calm down," he said, stroking her cheek. "The Davises have our number. I'm sure they'd call if anything was wrong."
"Maybe they don't know. I didn't see anyone with him," Even as she spoke, she was heading for the door. Niles knew there was no stopping her. All he could do was follow her.
Out in the hall, Niles saw her running toward the other apartment. He just managed to catch up to her. She thrust the unlocked door open. "Where's David?!"
Mrs. Davis looked confused. "He's back in Kyle's room, taking a nap….. They were running around like crazy, but I managed to corral them with a snack. After that, I guess they were pretty worn out. Is something wrong?"
Niles smiled nervously. He knew how this must look. "My wife is, uh, psychic." Privately, he wasn't quite sure he agreed with Daphne, but he would never question her. "She had a vision that David was in trouble."
"He's fine, I assure you. I checked on them not five minutes ago." Mrs. Davis still didn't understand the situation. But she definitely knew what a mother's worry could feel like.
Daphne began to accept the reality. "But….I swear I saw..." She turned to Niles, obviously wanting him to believe.
"Well, the boys are taking a nap. Maybe that's what you saw?"
"Yeah...maybe." Daphne sounded very unconvinced.
Niles saw that she was in some distress. He turned to Mrs. Davis. "We're sorry to disturb you. When David wakes up, let us know. We'll come get him. Thanks."
Mrs. Davis nodded. Her heart went out to Daphne. Being a mom to a young child is hard. Luckily, Niles seemed to be a great husband.
Back in their apartment, Daphne turned to Niles. "Do you think I'm crazy?"
"No," he replied. "And I can say that as a qualified professional. You're a mother. You were worried about David. That's not a crime."
Once again, Daphne was reminded how lucky she was. She could still vividly recall when she first met the Cranes. It was painfully clear that her future brother-in-law only tolerated his father's physical therapist. But Niles had always seen her as a person. It took years for her to realize why, but now she saw that he was the best husband she could've ever asked for. There was no one else she'd rather raise a child with.
The End
