He was so angry that he could barely meet his brother's eyes as they finished straightening up the sound booth at the KACL studios. The entire evening, the one that was surprisingly filled with such potential, had been one disaster after another. Niles thought he was merely doing his older brother a favor by agreeing to take part in his production of "Nightmare Inn." It was a promising radio show; one that Niles had truly and honestly hoped would be a success. But now he was livid.

Instead of getting a chance to showcase his voice talents, he had been subjected to making a complete jackass out of himself. Who in the world had ever heard of one person playing multiple parts in a radio production? Instead of reading what he'd practiced, Niles had been instructed-no, forced, to provide voices for so many characters that he'd lost track of them and then out of pure frustration, ended up killing them (with a balloon and a straight pin), putting them out of their (and the audience's) misery.

It was not at all what he'd agreed to. But as usual, Frasier didn't bother asking his opinion. He just assumed that his little brother would play along with anything, no matter how ridiculous. Well, this was the last straw; the final straw. And so they drove home with the same heavy silence between them. And Niles would rather be anywhere than in the car with his demeaning older brother. He would have driven to his own home had it not been for the fact that he'd left his car at Frasier's. Well, he wouldn't make that mistake again.

The closer they came to the Elliot Bay Towers, the more apprehensive he felt. The only consolation was the hope that his father and Daphne weren't home. And then he shuddered. Dear God, had he actually thought such a thought?
For the first time I his existence he wished that his angel wouldn't be around. The thought was unbearable. Still, if she were there when they arrived, he didn't think that he could bear the humiliation.

But as Frasier inserted his key into the lock, Niles could hear their unmistakable voices.

Damn.

Reluctantly he followed his brother into the condo, wincing at the sound of his father's voice and the voice of his angel.

"Hey Fras!"
"Hello, Dr. Crane."

Frasier held up his hand to silence them. "Look, I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it!"

"What are you talking about Fras?"

"Dad, you know very well what I'm talking about! Don't tell me that you weren't listening. I mean, you usually don't and I'm always perturbed by the fact that you refuse to listen to my work, but in this case it would be a blessing!"

"Yeah, we heard it!" His father replied. But then he fell silent. Niles didn't have to hear anymore. The fact that his father and Daphne weren't saying anything… that was the blessing. Frasier however was not satisfied at all.

"AND?" Frasier prompted.

"You gave it a good try." Their father said.

"It was a disaster, NO THANKS TO YOU!" Frasier yelled, turning around. And it was then that Niles realized that the comment was meant for him. His brother was glaring at him. GLARING!

"HOW DARE YOU!" Niles spat. "You're blaming ME for this?"

"Niles, just calm down, okay?" Their father yelled.

"No I won't calm down, Dad! I can't believe you, Frasier!"

"It's your fault you know!" Frasier shot back sending a death ray vision directly to Niles.

"How can it be my fault?" Niles yelled. "This radio broadcast was YOUR idea! YOU wrote it, YOU casted it and YOU…. Are the biggest ego-maniac I've ever met!"

"ME? What about YOU, you pompous-."

"EVERYBODY JUST CALM DOWN!" their father yelled. "JUST SHUT UP, THE BOTH OF YOU!"

"But Dad-."

"ENOUGH! Now, knock it off! I've had more than enough of you two!"

"So have I!" Frasier yelled. "Niles, get out of my house!"

"FRASIER!"

"Dr. Crane, how could you?"

The painful sting of his brother's words (that so eerily echoed the words of his estranged wife, Maris, who was forever throwing him out of their home) was lessened by the sound of Daphne's sweet voice.

"Get out, Niles!" Frasier was yelling. "Get out NOW!"

"You don't have to leave, Niles." His father yelled. "Now this is my house too and I say you can stay!"

Niles nodded. "Thank you, Dad but I think its best that I go."

"Dr. Crane, stay… please."

His heart rejoiced. His angel was actually asking (dare he think, begging?) him to stay! But he couldn't do it. The humiliation far outweighed the pleasure of Daphne's company. And suddenly he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes. "I-I can't. I really need to go. I'm sorry, Daphne."

"But Dr. Crane-."

"Niles, don't go!" his father was saying. "It's not your fault."

Niles swallowed hard and eyed his father. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Dad; Daphne."

He walked out of the condo and closed the door. As he waited for the elevator, tears welled in his eyes. Dear God, he might start crying. All the more reason to leave as quickly as possible.

But just as the elevator doors opened, he heard-

"Dr. Crane?"

He whirled around, mesmerized by the sight of her. "Daphne..."

She moved toward him, making his heart beat faster. "Please don't leave. Your father and I don't want you to leave."

"But Frasier-."

"How dare he treat you so deplorably! He has no right!"

"I'm afraid he had every right, Daphne. I ruined-."

Her fingers went to his mouth and he shuddered at the touch of her soft skin.

"I heard the show. Your father and I were listening."

He groaned. This was even worse than he imagined. "Daphne…"

Again her fingers went to his lips, silencing him.

"It's not your fault." She repeated. "Now I know that it didn't go at all the way your brother had planned and there was Mr. Wang who was mute… but he wasn't mute last night, was he?"

Niles almost laughed remembering how Bulldog, who seemed cool and confident about playing Mr. Wang, suddenly developed a severe case of stage fright. And as it were, he absolutely refused to say a word. "Um, no… he wasn't."

"That's what I thought. But anyway, Dr. Crane, if it's any consolation, I was impressed with the way you were able to do so many voices in such a short amount of time! It was brilliant!"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was astonishing enough when she'd told him that she was proud of him and even more astonishing when she chose him to role-play as her husband (a role that he would gladly play for the rest of his life), even if it was to shoo away an old fiancé. But now… to hear that she was not only impressed with him but that she found him brilliant… it was like a dream come true. Or one of them anyway.

And finally he smiled.

Her smile grew wider and she drew him into her arms. "Now that's what I like to see… I love your smile, Dr. Crane. It's much nicer than seeing you so upset. Now I'm going to go and get your brother and demand that he apologize. And then you're going to come in and enjoy some biscuits with us."

"But-."

"No!" she said firmly, making his eyebrows rise in surprise.

"What?"

"No, you're not getting away with leaving again! I insist that you stay here, do you understand?"

"Um… yes…"

"All right. Now come here and let me give you another hug. Oh, I love you, Dr. Crane, even if your brother doesn't appreciate you."

He felt tears spring to his eyes and he was grateful that she couldn't see them. He needed this so badly, the feel of her arms around him, the scent of her perfume wafting around his nose. "I love you too, Daphne. I love you so much."

The minute the words were out of his mouth, he could hardly believe that he'd said them. Had he really…

And then she drew back staring at him in disbelief. "Did you say something, Dr. Crane?"

"What? I-."

"Oh, silly me. I must be hearing things again. I guess I'm just so angry at your father still that I imagined the two of you saying that you loved each other. But it doesn't have to be me imagination. Come inside with me and I'll go get him."

"But Daphne-."

His hand was in hers and she was pulling him into the condo, where he found his brother waiting for him.

"Frasier…"

"Niles, we need to talk. Dad, Daphne… can we have a few moments alone, please?"

"Of course." Daphne said. "I'll just be in me room reading."

"Yeah, and I'm beat. I'm just going to hit the sack early. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dr. Crane."

"Goodnight… Daphne."

Frasier began talking, apologizing for what had happened. But Nile wasn't listening. He was staring at his angel, who disappeared into the hallway, wondering if she'd ever hear the words that he so desperately wanted her to hear.

Because as it stood, it didn't seem that it was meant to be.