Author's Note:Thanks for all the great reviews. Here's the final chapter. Enjoy! :)
True to Daphne's word, she and Niles arrived early the next morning to retrieve their son. Martin could tell as soon as he opened the door that they both had enjoyed their night to themselves, but they were now anxious to return to parenthood. Seeing the looks on their faces, he couldn't resist asking, "So, did you two have a nice time last night?"
"We did," Daphne said with a knowing smile. "We can't thank you enough for baby-sitting."
Martin shrugged. "That's what grandparents are for."
"So where is he?" Niles asked. Before Martin could answer the question, David came running in at top speed and hugged both his parents as if they'd been gone for months.
"Did you have fun?" Daphne asked.
David nodded. "Know what Grandpa and I watched on TV?" When neither of his parents answered, he added, "Antiques Roadshow! Grandpa said he used to watch it with you and Uncle Frasier."
Niles nodded, remembering. "That was a long time ago." He did not like thinking back to the days when Daphne had been engaged to another man.
"Really?" David replied, still not quite able to imagine it.
Daphne couldn't help smiling. "Don't worry, I saw it with me own eyes, and I still have a hard time believing it."
David laughed and hugged Daphne again. After they separated, Daphne asked, "Is your grandmother around?"
Just then, Ronee walked in. "Marty, remind me to get my hearing checked. Because I could swear I just heard somebody refer to me as a grandmother."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "I would've thought by now you'd get used to the fact that marrying Martin makes you a grandmother."
Ronee shook her head. "When I start looking like a grandmother, I'll accept the title. Until then, it's strictly Ronee."
"Well, then, Ronee," Daphne said, "Thanks for watching David for us last night. We really do appreciate it." She felt she should thank Ronee too, since taking care of David was always more fun for Martin than it was for her.
"He was no trouble," Ronee replied. "Besides, I've got plenty of experience baby-sitting the Crane boys. Right, Niles?"
Niles laughed nervously, remembering how she used to scare him as a child. "Yes. I just hope you didn't traumatize my son like you did me."
"Give me a little credit, Niles. I'm an adult now," Ronee said. "Besides, your father spent more time with David than I did last night. So if he's traumatized, blame him." She pointed to where Martin stood.
"Thanks a lot," Martin teased. "Now they'll never bring David back."
Daphne laughed. "No chance of that. It looks like I'm going to be even busier, now that I've got to help plan a wedding." She couldn't help smiling at the thought of Frasier finally settling down. "I promised Frasier I'd make sure he doesn't go too overboard with all the planning. I'm glad to do it, but I know I've got me work cut out for me."
Martin nodding, knowing Daphne was thinking back to the days when Frasier had gone overboard trying to plan her wedding. "Maybe he won't be that bad. I think he's grown up a lot since then."
"I hope you're right," Daphne replied. Turning to David, she added, "Well, we'd better be running along. Say good-bye to Grandpa and Ronee now." She gave a knowing glance in Ronee's direction.
"Bye," David said, going over and hugging them both.
A few minutes later, the three of them were in the car, headed back to the Montana. Without warning, David piped up from the back seat, "What did Grandpa mean when he said Uncle Frasier's grown up since then?"
Niles and Daphne exchanged a look in the front seat. They had both been hoping that David hadn't been paying attention to that part of the conversation. But since he had inherited most of the Crane genes, he didn't often miss things like that. Still, neither of them felt ready to re-live the story of their prolonged courtship with him now.
Daphne chose her words carefully, hoping to answer his question without going into too much detail. "Your Uncle Frasier once tried to help plan a friend's wedding. He meant well, but he drove the poor bride crazy."
"Oh," David said, seemingly satisfied by the answer. Just when Daphne was breathing a sigh of relief, he added, "Whose wedding was it?"
Niles looked over at Daphne and saw that she was at a loss for words. He decided to try to help. "Hey, you know what we should do when we get home?" He tried to sound excited, hoping it would distract David from his questions.
"What?" David replied, still wondering why his question hadn't been answered.
"We can watch that new opera DVD Uncle Frasier just got you," Niles said. Now that Frasier was finally an uncle, he seemed to think it was his job to spoil David, and, of course, encourage his love for opera.
When they arrived home, Niles watched his son race toward the cabinet where the family's movies were stored. Once again, Niles was amazed at how much more coordinated his son was than either he or Frasier ever were. That should save him some humiliation during gym class, he thought, remembering his own school days. David immediately began going through the DVD's Niles had carefully arranged in alphabetical order. "Remember to keep them all in their places," Niles said.
"I know, Dad," David said, a bit impatiently.
"Oh, Niles, lighten up," Daphne said as she walked over to him. "The world won't come to an end if all those movies aren't in precise order."
"Yes, but having them all organized like this saves us time when we decide to watch something," Niles replied.
Daphne was just about to say something when David walked over, carrying a VHS tape. "What's this?" he asked.
Niles took the tape from his son and saw the label on it. "Antiques Roadshow – Nov 11, 1999." "That's when Frasier and I were on TV with Grandpa," Niles said.
"Wow!" David said, clearly amazed. "Can we watch it now?"
Niles didn't really want to think back on those days right now. "But what about the DVD you just got from Uncle Frasier?" he said.
Daphne saw how uncomfortable Niles was, and couldn't resist teasing him a bit. "Oh, he can watch that any time. But how often does he get to see his old man on TV?"
David ran to the VCR and put the tape in. He then sat on the floor, mesmerized. Niles, meanwhile, couldn't seem to stop staring at the carpet instead of the TV. Seeing this, Daphne whispered, "What's wrong?"
Niles sighed. "I just don't like thinking back on those days. You know, when you were with -" He looked at her, and knew she didn't need him to finish the sentence.
Daphne smiled. "I know. But that's all over now." She wished Niles could learn to stop beating himself up over all the what-ifs in their relationship.
Niles kissed her. "I know that, my love. But I just keep remembering how close I came to missing my chance with you."
She squeezed his hand. "But you didn't miss your chance. And look what we ended up with." She gestured toward their son, who apparently was too engrossed in watching the tape to even be aware of the conversation going on right behind him.
Niles looked at his son and felt a familiar sense of pride. Maybe he and Daphne had taken the long way to get there, but they'd ended up exactly where they belonged.