Cautiously Daphne returned to his bedroom, painfully aware of how angry he might be. She shouldn't have answered his phone against his wishes, but she just couldn't help herself. What if the call had been urgent? But come to think of it, it was.

Mrs. Woodson was so worried about Niles and with good reason. Niles loved his assistant dearly and Daphne couldn't help but love her as well. She was glad that he ahead Mrs. Woodson in his life. She'd been working for him for years and in that time, her relationship with Niles had grown from employer/employee to friendship and had evolved into something much deeper. Mrs. Woodson was, in many ways a mother to Niles, always looking after him and making sure that he was all right. For that, Daphne was grateful.

Now Daphne stood in Niles' bedroom doorway, noticing how dark it was. She could see his lean body covered by the blankets, curled up like a child. And if she listened carefully she could hear the unmistakable, but soft sounds of crying. But that was impossible. Dr. Crane never cried. No wonder he was facing the other way. He didn't want her to see him like this, but never in a million years would she judge or ridicule him, for he had always treated her with respect. He was hurting and it was obvious that the hurt he was feeling was much deeper than she realized. Her heart went out to him in tenfold.

Risking his inevitable burst of anger for going against his request, she entered the room and sat down on the bed beside him. The weight of her body caused the mattress to shift and she expected him to wake up and turn to her, but he remained as he was. Gently she put her hand on his back, unable to resist stroking his hair. She couldn't believe how soft it was.

"That was Mrs. Woodson on the phone." She said quietly. She called to see if you were okay. She's worried about you, Dr. Crane. And contrarey to what you might think..." Her voice quivered and then broke. "… so am I. Oh Dr. Crane, I'm so sorry you're going through this! It's not fair! You're such a sweet man and you don't deserve… I'm sorry to be carrying on like this. I just…. I love you so much. Oh, not in the romantic sense of course, because that would be…"

She could feel her cheeks begin to burn as she forced herself to go on. He was sleeping and would never know what she was saying, but if she didn't get the words out, she never would.

"Well, that's completely daft, isn't it? I would never…. I mean, you're Dr. Crane's brother and it just wouldn't be right to…"

She sighed deeply, brushing the tears from her burning cheeks. "It's… awfully warm in here, isn't it? I'll just go turn down the thermostat." She walked into the living room, disheartened to see how run-down his apartment seemed. The Shangri-La wasn't what he was accustomed to at all. She lowered the thermostat just a bit and then jumped at the unexpected ringing of her cell phone. One glance at the screen made her cringe and she took a deep breath before answering it.

"Hello, Mr. Crane."

"Daphne, where in the hell are you?" Martin yelled. "You've been gone for hours! I'm starving!"

"Pipe down, old man!" she yelled back. "I'm not through with me shopping, and besides, you can make your own lunch!"

"With what? There's nothing to eat in this house!" Martin protested. "Now hurry up and finish! It's almost lunch time!"

"I'll be home when I'm ready to be home!" Daphne shot back, once again oblivious to why she was being so cruel for no reason. She really should have left a note and prepared something for lunch before she left for Niles' apartment. But she was just so worried….

"Fine, Daphne. Have it your way!" Martin replied, clearly angry with her. And unexpectedly, her tears returned. She hadn't meant to hurt him and yet she had, the way his youngest son was hurting so badly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crane. I'll be home as soon as I…" but it was only a matter of minutes before she realized that she was talking to the dial tone.

With a trembling hand she returned to phone to its cradle and sighed. It wasn't right, lying to Mr. Crane like this, but she couldn't tell him that she had come over to check on Niles. What excuse would she give? He was bound to think….

The mere idea made her heart skip a beat and she almost laughed because it simply wasn't true. Why was she thinking about this again now? The idea was ludicrous to begin with. She wasn't in love with Niles, although she did love him. He was part of her family, so how could she not?

She rose from the bed and returned to his living room, keeping herself busy by straightening up Niles apartment. He was bound to be angry, because he hated depending on people, but she was happy to do it. Besides it took her mind off of… other things.

The newspapers were folded neatly and stacked in the recycle bin, the dishes were washed and put away and the clothes were put in the hamper for washing. If need be, she could take them to Frasier's and wash them, returning them to him as soon as she could. Yes, that's what she would do. There were quite a few, much more than she expected, but it would keep her busy. When the apartment was spotless, she stood back and admired her work. She had to admit that it was a miraculous change. She just hoped that Niles thought so too.

With a smile on her face, she returned to Niles bedroom and sat down in his bed. But still he wouldn't look at her. And as before, she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Dr. Crane…" She whispered. "I hope you don't mind but I cleaned your apartment and did your dishes. I know you don't like being waited on… by your family anyway, but I want to help you."

And then to her surprise, she'd barely reached the door when she heard his voice. "Go home, Daphne."

The words stung and she blinked back tears as "A-all right. I suppose it is getting late and you need your rest. Call us if you need anything, okay?"

"I'm fine, Daphne. I don't need anything at all. Just leave!" He yelled, startling her with his outburst.

It took all she had within her not to let him see her cry. But in fact, he had. His expression softened and he took her hand in his.

"Daphne I'm sorry I…"

She sighed deeply and leaned to kiss his cheek, letting her lips linger on his soft skin. "Get some rest." She whispered. Without looking back, she rose from the bed and walked out of the room. And it wasn't until she reached her car that she began to cry.