As she entered her home, gone was the feeling of comfort, replaced by what could only be described as nervousness. But she was immediately relieved at the sight of Niles, who, always a gentleman, rose and smiled at her in greeting.
"Hello, Daphne."
His warm and friendly voice made her smile and she removed her coat, touched once more when he quickly moved to take it from her. "Hello, Dr. Crane what a nice surprise! I didn't expect to see you here."
"Surprise is right!" Martin grumbled. "He's been here for a half hour and not only did he interrupt my ball game but he and Fras have talked non-stop about some psychotic nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense, Dad!" Frasier's voice bellowed as he appeared in the living room. "It's a well-known fact that Freud's theory on relationships-."
"Is a bunch of hooey!" Martin finished.
"It is not!" Niles said harshly, emphasizing each word.
Frasier smiled at his little brother. "Thank you, Niles. It's nice to see you taking an interest in Freud! I always knew that you were more of a Freud person."
"Well that's where you're wrong, because what I was going to say is that Freud's theory is poppycock!"
"I resent that! You take that back!" Frasier yelled.
"Not until you take back what you said about Jung's theory of introversion!"
"Never! I meant every word!"
The bickering went back and forth until Daphne simply couldn't take it anymore. Wordlessly she crossed the living room to the kitchen strangely comforted by its existence. In record time she'd brewed a pot of tea and poured a cup, letting the warm liquid calm her as it trickled down her throat. After making herself comfortable on the bar stool, she allowed herself to relax. But to her dismay, her rest was but a short lived dream.
"Oh, Daphne! I didn't know you were home."
She jumped at the sound of Frasier's voice. The tea in her cup sloshed back and forth, sending drops of hot liquid onto her hand, but she willed the pain away.
"H-hello, Dr. Crane."
"How did the shopping go?"
She swallowed hard. "Oh, well it was…"
"I hope you found the Alba White Truffles and the Epoisses de Bourgogne that were on the list."
"Well, actually…"
"My, you work quickly, don't you? "
The compliment surprised her. "What?"
"Well you couldn't have been home for more than a few minutes and there's no sign at all of any groceries. You put them away quickly."
"Oh that… right. I guess I did."
"I'd certainly say so. How you managed to put away so many groceries in such a short time is beyond me. There must have been over a hundred items on that list."
"Y-yes, it was quite a long list."
"Well, let's see how you did "
"What?"
To her horror, he began opening the cabinets, obviously looking for evidence that she'd been telling the truth.
"Dr. Crane?"
It was becoming painfully noticeably that the cupboards were just as empty as when she'd left. And when he turned to her, his face was grim with disappointment.
"Daphne…"
"L-look, I can explain… You see… I…."
He was working faster now, opening cabinets, slamming the doors, moving the boxes and bottles and cans of food. And Daphne remained stagnant, her heart thundering with unwanted anxiety. Hadn't she been through enough in one day?
"Daphne…"
"Dr. Crane, I…"
When he'd returned every cabinet door to its closed position, he turned to her, his stare as cold as ice.
"Daphne, I specifically sent you to the store not two hours ago with two hundred dollars and a long list and I'm seeing no evidence that you did as I asked."
"O-of course I did!" she protested, appalled that he would accuse her of lying. "I did go to the store! But when I got there-."
"Oh Daphne, don't tell me that you had another one of your ridiculous visions! Honestly I am getting sick and tired of your constant psychic visions and-."
"But it wasn't a vision, Dr. Crane! Honestly, I did go to the store and I bought everything, just as you asked! I have the receipt right here in me purse!" Her hand trembled when she had a flash of a memory. In her haste to leave the store, she had shoved the receipt in one of the grocery bags; the bag that held the receipt with her credit card number on it, the one that the incoherent and frightening man had stolen from her along with all of the groceries that she'd so carefully shopped for.
"Well, where is it?" His tone was different now, accusing, angry and demanding, much like her father's tone when he would scold her as a young girl.
"I-I don't have it!" she replied, as her voice broke.
In a move that was completely uncharacteristic, his hand slammed down on the counter, causing her to jump once more.
"Damn it, Daphne! I gave you one simple instruction and you can't even follow it! Get out of here! And pack your bags!"
She was sobbing uncontrollably now, her entire body trembling from the painful memories of the encounter in the parking lot and the way Frasier was speaking to her. "I'm sorry, Dr. Crane! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and she cried as though she would never stop. But she didn't care. She'd made a huge mistake and she feared that nothing would ever be the same.
And when she caught a glimpse of Niles and Martin in the doorway, their horrified glances told her all she needed to know.
