He stared at his father, unable to believe what he was hearing. But from the look on the eldest Crane man's face, there was no mistaking that the words had been spoken.
Nervously Niles ran his hand through his hair and he was certain that his father could hear his pounding heart.
"Dad, are you serious? You think I should tell Daphne-."
"That you love her. Yes, Niles."
"But-."
No but's Niles, just do it! Now this infatuation of yours has gone on too damn long and I can see that it's gone way beyond a crush, no matter what Frasier says! Now I know it seems strange for me to be saying this but Frasier is always trying to discourage you. I never said anything and I should have because he has no right to tell you who you should and shouldn't pursue."
Niles opened his mother to speak but no words came out.
"I know it's a shock, my telling you this, but I guess you could say that I've come to my senses. Thanks to Daphne. Look. You're right. She's single, you're single… why the hell not?"
Niles had dreamed of this moment so many times but now that it had finally arrived he was terrified and he stared at his father once again, his face filled with terror.
"What's the matter now, Niles? Don't tell me you're scared! Geez, you've tried to tell her a hundred times already and you would have done it a long time ago if Frasier hadn't stopped you! Now he's not home and he can't object. If he does, I'll put my foot down. I may be living under his roof but I'm still his father and yours!"
Niles' heart was pounding so rapidly that his breathing changed without warning. It was a feeling that he had experienced many times before.
"Niles, calm down, okay?" His father said as Niles moved around the balcony his arms outstretched in front of him like a zombie. "Look, I know you're scared about what
Daphne will say, but don't. Niles! Calm down!"
He felt himself being held in his father's arms, his father's hand on his back until suddenly his breathing calmed.
"I'm not some big shot psychiatrist like you and your brother but I've seen the way you and Daphne look at each other. Hell, it's the same way that your mother and I used to look at each other. It may not happen right away, but keep trying."
"But what if she-."
"She won't."
"H-how can you be so sure?"
"I don't know. A gut feeling I guess. Now don't analyze it to death, okay? You deserve to be happy and so does she. Now just go in there and talk to her."
Overcome with emotion, Niles embraced his father tightly, surprised when the old man didn't draw back. "I love you, Dad. Thank you."
"You're welcome Niles." His father glanced into the living room window. "Now, it looks like she's just sitting there watching TV, probably one of those sappy movies, so why don't you go in there and-."
"Dad, wait…"
"What is it?"
"Is-is Frasier home?"
"No of course not. Why?"
Amazingly Niles' good mood began to fade. As euphoric with anticipation as he was about the idea of talking to Daphne, he'd blown his chance to share his good news. In fact, he'd almost completely forgotten about it. "Damn…"
"What's wrong?"
"I had something to tell him. Something important."
"Well what is it?"
"Something happened to me at work this morning and I wanted to tell him about it. But I'll just wait until he returns. Do you know when that will be?"
"No clue. He had a date tonight so probably not for a while if he's lucky."
Niles nodded, feeling strangely jealous of his older brother. "Right… Well…"
"So what happened?"
"What?"
"At work. What happened?"
"Oh, I'll just wait to talk to him later."
"What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you Dad. It's just… You wouldn't understand."
His father folded his arms in front of his chest. "Try me."
A deep sigh came from within. "All right. Well, I have this patient that I've been seeing for years. And I know virtually nothing about him. Our sessions have consisted on one or two words with never any improvement."
"Really? What in the hell was wrong with him?"
"I don't know. Or I didn't know until today. You see, he came in this morning and I expected our usual few opening questions and then silence while I made notes for the rest of the hour. But something happened.
"What?"
"He started to cry… I mean really cry. I couldn't believe it. It was the first time he'd ever showed any emption whatsoever."
"What was he crying about?"
"Well it took much longer than I anticipated and I had other patients, so I got Mrs. Woodson to reschedule and-."
"Niles what the hell happened?"
"I started talking to him, just asking him a question or two and suddenly he been telling me about this woman named Genevieve. He described her so vividly that I can practically see her. Turns out that he was in love with her for years and she recently passed away."
His father shook his head. "Damn..."
"Exactly. But the worst part was that he never got the chance to tell her how he felt about her. And he thinks that she probably loved him too."
Niles ran his hand through his hair, completely exhausted from telling the story.
"Then you see my point, don't you?"
"Your point?"
"Life is too damn short. You don't want to go through the rest of your life wondering what might have happened if you never said anything at all. And I bet she doesn't either."
Niles nodded and smiled, trying to force away the nervousness that was creeping into his chest. "You're right, Dad. Thanks." His heart pounding even more, he turned to open the door that led to the living room and go to his angel, but he was stopped by the sound of his father's voice.
"Niles?"
He turned to face his father, surprised to see the smile on his face. "Yeah, Dad?"
The elder Crane man smiled even brighter. "I'm proud of you son. I've always been proud of you. And I always will."
This time it was impossible to hold back his tears. Niles embraced his father, surprised when the hug was not only accepted, but returned. A tight hug, the way his mother used to hug him.
"I love you, Niles. Now go and tell Daphne that you love her, okay?"
Niles peered into the living room just as Daphne emerged from the kitchen carrying a cup of tea and his heart skipped a beat. It was time.