Niles drove down Interstate 90 in silence, ignoring the beautiful snow-covered mountains that he passed along the way.
How had things gone so wrong?
All he'd wanted was to show Daphne what he'd accomplished. Making that touchdown at the Sonics game was truly the most amazing thing he'd ever experienced.
He just knew that Daphne would be proud of him.
But he never expected her to be so unreasonable about the whole thing!
Well, obviously she just didn't understand what fame was.
And he didn't either, until that fateful moment when the ball went into the round basket for the perfect touchdown.
Oh, the cheering that followed!
Now he knew how the Sonics felt, holding their World Series trophy! Of course that was a very long time ago, when the Sonics had actually won a World Series.
At least that's what his dad had told him.
Come to think of it, Frasier mentioned it a few times as well. That must have been Bulldog's influence. If there's one thing the Crane boys knew nothing about, it was sports.
But there was one big difference. Niles knew what it felt like to score a touchdown in a basketball game.
There was one thing he didn't understand. Why was Daphne so angry with him? She didn't seem so emotional on his last visit.
In fact, she seemed happy; talking endlessly about her new friends and about how she was learning to like herself again.
To which Niles had kissed her and told her that he'd always love her, no matter what.
As he turned onto the exit that would take him to Interstate 5, panic set in.
Dear God, he'd driven all this way to pickup Daphne and take her home to Frasier's. If he arrived at the Elliot Bay Towers alone, what would Frasier think?
How would he even explain this to his father and brother...
when he really didn't understand it himself?