Taken Back by Patrick Councilor
Niles stood in front of the bathroom mirror in his hospital room. Water dripped from a face that he almost didn't recognize. His head bandage had been replaced and was much smaller than when he first woke up in the hospital bed. His right eye had been blackened and his left arm was still in a sling. He placed the safety razor down on the back of the sink. He took a closer look at the man in the mirror. What type of person could do this to another?
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Doctor Crane, are you alright?" the nurse asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." He took the towel from the rack and dried his jaw.
He was going to be released today. He would do the rest of his healing back home. It had been a long week and he was ready to have a few choice words with Mel about why she refused to come see him in the hospital. His anger turned to confusion as he continued to stare at the "injured Niles" in the mirror. The doctor had explained that he had a memory laps of about five years. What did he miss? What condition was his relationship with Mel now? Had he said something? Offended her? Whatever the cause, it appears quite shallow for her to hold a grudge over a situation like this.
It was almost as if he didn't know the person staring back at him. Not because of the bruising and the bandages, but he had lost five years of his life. What trials and tribulations has he gone through? And an even better question: what type of man have those events and encounters made him? Rather, who he was before the attack? Psychologically, he had a five year do over. No matter how long he stared at the man in the reflective glass, he couldn't convince himself that it was a fresh start. No, to him it was a stale one indeed. Surely, there were people needing him to remember… needing him to be the man that he was before the accident. Perhaps not Mel. Maybe not now. Why else would she be keeping her distance? Perhaps the only ones who cared would be his family.
He looked deep into the eyes that stared back at him with coldness. It's been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but not in this case. The Niles Crane that stared back at him had an insensitivity about him. It was almost like his reflection just didn't care about him. No empathy. Like his stare was saying, "I don't know. You're completely on your own."
He turned and reached for his walker. It was the kind with wheels. He felt like he really didn't need it, but honored the doctor's wishes for him to use it. Furthermore, he didn't want to fall and land on his left side where his arm was in a sling and he wouldn't be able to use that arm very well to break any type of fall.
The nurse was there to assist him back to bed. "It's a big day today, Doctor Crane. Are you excited to get back home?"
What a silly question, he thought. Yet, he answered it politely. "Oh yes. I'm looking forward to it."
At the Montana in Niles and Daphne's living room, everyone was gathered. Frasier spoke up. "Now I wanted to get everyone together this morning to ensure that we're on the same page. We all know that I'll be picking up Niles to bring him home soon. Although we don't want to be hiding anything from Niles, it is important that we don't hit him with the blunt truth right away. Think of it as 'letting Niles come to you'. Obviously certain facts outweigh others. Let's not deny him of the truth, but let's not broadside him with it either. Now, we have moved Daphne's belongings into the guest room. It may be implied that we moved Daphne in here to help him with his physical therapy, but we don't want to strengthen that theory by continuously confirming that." He stopped short. Seeing Daphne almost in tears, she held David in her arms so tightly like she had missed him for days. "Daphne? Are you alright?"
"What about David?" She fought to get the words out without blubbering uncontrollably. "What do I tell him when it comes to David?"
"Now Daphne, I know you're going through hell, but try to let Niles tell you. Try to be short with him. Tell him, 'This is David'. Niles needs you to be strong. I will be here to help him settle in before I go to work at his office and Charlotte will be at the hotel just around the corner."
Roz spoke up. "Call me night or day, it doesn't matter. I can leave work if I have to."
"Thank you Roz." Daphne said as she continued to hug David.
"We're all here for you Daphne," Martin said.
"Of course," Ronee chimed in.
"Any time you need me," Charlotte said, "even if it's just to watch David for a while, pick up groceries… what have you."
"Thank you," she said before giving David a kiss.
"Now, I'll call Mel and Donny this afternoon just in case Niles decides to contact them in any way." Frasier said. "That way as least they will be aware of the situation."
Niles was sitting up in his hospital bed when Frasier, Martin and Daphne arrived. The nurse had him sign the release papers, made sure he had his pain meds ready to go and had a wheelchair waiting by his bedside.
"Good morning Niles." Frasier said. "We're here to take you home. And by the looks of it, you are certainly ready to go."
"Absolutely."
The nurse was there to help him get into the wheelchair. Daphne was there to assist. "Everything is going to be alright. You'll see. We'll just get you back home and as comfy as can be."
"Thank you Daphne. You have always been there for me."
His comment made her smile so strongly, it almost brought tears.