His heart was still pounding as he walked out onto the balcony with his father. He tried to keep his mind free and clear of the assumption that bad news was coming but it was nearly impossible. And by the time his father cleared his throat to speak, Niles' own throat was tight with tears.
"Niles, I need to talk to you about-."
Niles held up his hand and prayed that his voice would remain steady with no indication of how scared he was. "Dad, whatever it is that you're going to tell me, I just want you to know that…. I'm here for you. And so is Frasier."
His father looked at him blankly and then uncharacteristically patted Niles' hand. "Thanks, Son. I appreciate it. But this isn't about me. Well, not entirely. You see, something happened last night. Something that made me realize just how special life really is. Now I don't say it nearly as much as I should but life is short, so what the hell, right?
Niles nodded the tears now dangerously close to the surface and he boldly reached for his father's large hand. "I know Dad. And you're right. I-I love you and I don't say it often enough either. But you know I do, right?"
Amazingly his father showed a rare form of sentiment by squeezing Niles's hand. "I love you too. And that's why I'm telling you this. Now don't mention this to Fras because he'd never understand and he's liable to do something drastic. But like I said before, something happened last night."
"Dad, just say it, all right?"
"Okay. Well, Daphne and I got into a fight."
Niles froze, staring at his father in disbelief. This was not at all what he had expected to hear. "A-a fight? But what could you possibly-."
His father shrugged, worrying Niles even further.
"Beat's the hell out of me."
Still Niles was dumbfounded by this news. "But how-."
"It doesn't matter how or even what we were arguing about. That's not the point. My point is about what happened afterward."
"A-afterward?" Niles repeated.
"Yeah, it was the damndest thing. I was sitting in my chair, barely awake watching God knows what on TV when I heard her come in."
"After your fight."
"Yes, Niles! After our fight! Geez, who's telling this story anyway?"
"Sorry Dad. Go on."
"Actually it wasn't right after the fight. It was late… really late. I have no idea what the hell time it was but she told me that she couldn't sleep. I was still pretty ticked at her."
"But she apologized." Niles said, wanting so much for it to be true.
"Of course she apologized, but she was still mad at me. Can't really blame her."
"But she apologized." Niles repeated.
"Of course she apologized!" His dad snapped. "She always apologizes… eventually. But that's not the point!"
Niles could no longer hide his irritation. "What is the point?"
"The point is… well, she did something that I didn't even know that she had done until this morning."
Niles eyebrows rose. "Really…"
"Yeah."
The unexpected silence that fell between them was nothing short of unnerving. "Dad, what happened? Tell me!" Niles asked, his voice rising with each word and he could take the silence no longer.
"Remember that quilt that your mother made?"
Niles chuckled. "Which one?"
His father laughed too. "You're right. She did make more than one, didn't she?"
"Several as I recall." Niles said, still chuckling at the memory. "Although I have no idea how she had time, what with the way she was always working, seeing patients and so forth."
"Well, in case you've forgotten, she did have a hell of a lot of free time on her hands for several months as I recall."
Niles blinked. "She did?"
He watched his father shake his head. "Oh for God's sake, Niles, you and Frasier! You don't think she worked on homicide cases all the way through both pregnancies, do you?"
Immediately Niles felt like a fool. "No, of course not. What was I thinking? But what does that have to do with-."
"With Daphne? Well I woke up this morning and the first thing I noticed, other than the fact that I was burning up was that quilt around my shoulders. I know damn well that
I didn't get up in the middle of the night and drag it out of the closet. Actually I had forgotten it was even there. She must have dug in there pretty deep to find it."
Niles heart warmed, suddenly realizing where this much-too long story was going, but he tried to hide his smile. "Daphne did that?"
"Well it sure as hell wasn't Frasier or Eddie so that only leaves one person."
"Daphne." Niles repeated content to say her name again and again.
"Damn right it was Daphne."
His heart warmed even further and it wasn't hard at all to imagine his angel doing such a wonderful thing for his father. "That doesn't surprise me at all." He said. "She is an angel, but-."
"My point?"
Niles was taken aback by his father's perceptiveness. It was almost as though he'd inherited so-called psychic powers from Daphne.
"Um… yes, actually. What is the point?"
"My point, Niles is this. When I woke up and saw that quilt around me, for a split second I thought that your mother had put it there. She's done that you know… all those nights when I'd come home and sit in front of the television in my car after dinner and fall asleep? I'd wake up in the middle of the night to find that she'd come in and put a blanket or quilt around my shoulders. But then when I remembered where I was last night, I couldn't help but think about your mother and how much I loved her."
Niles tried to blink back unforeseen tears but he was no longer embarrassed by them as they landed on his cheeks. He knew that his father would understand.
"I loved her too."
"I know you did. And you still do, right?"
"O-of course. I'll always-"
"You love Daphne too and that's what got me thinking. She reminds me a lot of Hester."
Niles was taken aback, for he never dreamed his father would say something so wonderfully unexpected. "O-of Mom?"
"Surely you've noticed it too. I know they don't look anything alike, but they both have huge hearts filled with love."
Niles smile came easily and his heart felt as though it would burst with love for his father… and for Daphne. "You're right, Dad. But-."
"Go to her Son. Tell her that you love her."