Niles nodded slowly, in shock over what he was agreeing to. Before he knew it, Roz had him signing paperwork to offiically make him KACL's new temporary host. All the while, he thought about the money that was being offered to him. Frasier had always been well-paid, obviously. And, since Roz knew about Niles' situation, she made sure he was treated fairly as well.
As he drove back home, he tried to think how to break the news to Daphne. Though she had repeatedly assured him that he could never be a disappointment to her, Niles still wondered what she would think of him now. It was almost as if he were no longer really practicing medicine. He was merely offering advice after a brief phone conversation. It wasn't much different from a disc jockey who took caller requests. This was definitely not what Niles had worked so hard for.
With a defeated sigh, Niles got out of his Mercedes and walked into the building. As he rode in the elevator, he tried to get his mind off the current state of his career. After all, he was about to see his wife and child, the two most important people in the world. He hadn't seen either of them in hours, and he missed them both terribly. It wouldn't be right to be gone for so long, and come home in a bad mood. Not after all Daphne did to take care of the house and the baby.
When Niles opened the door to his sanctuary, he was greeted by Daphne. Immediately she put her arms around him and kissed him, causing all thoughts of his new radio career to vanish from his mind. When the kiss ended, Daphne continued to hold him. It was clear that their separation had been as hard on her as it was on him. Niles sighed as he caught a whiff of her perfume. This moment was perfect. Being with Daphne like this was pure heaven, everything Niles had known it would be since they'd first met.
The spell was broken by Daphne's words. "How did your meeting with Roz go?"
"Oh, not quite as I'd hoped," Niles said sadly.
Daphne looked at him in surprise. "You mean she wouldn't let you advertise on the station?"
"Well, not exactly," Niles replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it seems she's had some difficulty in finding someone to replace Frasier..."
Daphne smiled for a moment. Of course Frasier was irreplaceable. He was one of KACL's most popular personalities. But as the words sank in, she began to understand what Niles was saying. "You mean she wants you to..."
Niles nodded. "Just temporarily. I didn't want to do it, but then she told me what the salary would be." Niles told her the figure Roz had mentioned.
"Wow," Daphne said. "I guess things worked out even better than we'd hoped!" Niles frowned slightly at her reaction. "Darling, aren't you happy? You said you wanted to have enough money to keep David and me comfortable. And you've done that. I'm sure this job will bring you even more patients than you had before!"
Niles kissed her then. "My love, I am happy to have helped our financial situation. But I can't help being a bit disappointed by the idea of turning my skills and training into a form of entertainment for lonely housewives. I went into this profession because I wanted to help people. But now I'll be doing the very thing I used to ridicule Frasier about - pandering to the lowest common denominator."
Daphne touched his cheek gently, hoping the gesture would help soothe his frustration. "Think of it this way," she said. "A lot of people would be afraid to go and see a psychiatrist in person. But they might be willing to seek help from someone on the radio, where they wouldn't even need to give their name if they didn't want to. You would be helping people who may have nowhere else to turn."
Niles considered this for a moment. He hadn't thought of that. But it made sense. A truly desperate person wouldn't be able to wait for an appointment with a doctor. He would be able to give help at the very moment it was needed. And wasn't that what his what his goal had been all along?