Niles blinked, amazed to find that he was still sitting at the same table in Café Nervosa. His head throbbed with the worst headache imaginable.
What in the world just happened?
Oh right... He'd been sitting here drowning his sorrows in a cinnamon saturated latte that was now ice cold.
Just like his heart.
Unable to shake the strange feeling that came over him; he tossed his drink into the trash can and hurried out of the café.
His BMW raced through the streets of Seattle until he arrived at the Elliot Bay Towers. He ran through the lobby and into the elevator, nervously waiting as he was
whisked to the 19th floor.
"Frasier, open up!" Niles said, banging on the door.
"Good God, Niles what's gotten into you?" Frasier said as he opened the door and ushered his brother inside. "The neighbors will complain!"
"Forget the neighbors! I need to talk to you!"
"All right. Have a seat." Frasier said.
Niles removed his coat and went to hang it up, stopping when he looked around the living room.
"Hey Niles!" Martin said.
Niles dropped his coat on the sofa and ran to where his father sat in his favorite beat up chair.
"Dad! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you!" He said.
"Then don't!" Martin snapped. "Can't you see I'm watching the game?"
"Ah yes, football... The national pastime!" Niles said.
Martin looked at him in confusion. "Football? Niles this is a Mariners game, not a Seahawks game! It's baseball!"
"So you're right Dad! Oh, and judging by the lopsided score, they have nary a chance to go to the Super Bowl!"
"The Superbowl? Niles that's for football and-Oh never mind!"
"Eddie's here too!" Niles exclaimed. "Isn't that wonderful Frasier?"
"No, not really." Frasier said, glaring at Eddie just as the dog sat in front of him and began to stare.
"Dad, can't you get that dog to stop staring at me?" Frasier groaned.
"Get over here Eddie!" Martin yelled, as the dog scampered away from Frasier and into Martin's lap.
Niles turned to his brother. "Frasier, about our talk the other day..."
"It's all right Niles. You're entitled to your opinion and when it comes to Shakespearean Opera, you've definitely got the upper hand."
"Oh, no. I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about Lilith."
Niles blinked, amazed that his brother seemed to have no recollection of their conversation just days before.
"Lilith? Dear God, please don't bring up that woman's name right now!"
"Well she is your wife and I just-."
Frasier stared at his little brother in shock. "My wife? Dear God Niles, don't be ridiculous! I wouldn't marry that woman again if she were the last woman on earth!"
"Well thank God for that!" Martin said. "Now look you two, I'm trying to watch the baseball game here!"
Niles couldn't help watching a bit of the game with his father.
"Boy, the Mariners are terrible this year!" Martin said. "They'll be lucky if they get a playoff spot, but believe me, I'm not gonna hold my breath!"
"Niles was overcome with relief. "I can't tell you how happy that makes me! I had an inkling that the Mariners were never Superbowl contenders!"
"World Series, Niles! Not Super-oh never mind!" Martin said. "I know they're bad but you don't have to rub it in! Geez! I can't believe I waited all winter for this!"
As a strange silence filled the condo, Niles swallowed hard and asked the question he'd been dreading and anticipating for days.
"So, Dad... Frasier... Have you... heard from Daphne?"
Frasier looked at Martin and then at Niles. "Um, no Niles. Actually we thought she was with you. Did something happen?"
Niles wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Daphne existed...
Maybe it had all been a bad dream...
Frasier walked over to Niles and put his hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, Niles!" Martin called from his chair. "I almost forgot to tell you! Daphne called earlier, but she sounded pretty upset."
"Well that's just great, Dad!" Frasier snapped. "You could have mentioned that earlier... like the minute he came in the door, but you were too busy watching that
ridiculous game!"
"All right, fine!" Martin yelled. "I'm sorry Niles!"
"Dad can be so irresponsible sometimes!" Frasier added.
"It's all right, Dad, Frasier." Niles said sadly. "She probably doesn't even want to talk to me anyway."
"What happened, Son?" Martin asked.
"Oh, it was my fault." Niles said. "I came home extremely upset and I completely dismissed Daphne, assuming that she didn't care about me or my crises at work. It
turns out she was facing a crisis of her own. I hurt her, Frasier! How could I do that to the woman I love?"
"Sounds like you were hurting, too." Frasier said.
"It was horrible, Frasier! A patient threatened me at work and... well now I'm finished as a professional psychiatrist, that's for sure."
"Dear God, why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, Frasier it's not something I'm proud of. It doesn't matter anyway. I've lost Daphne forever. I -I should go."
"Niles, please!" Frasier said as Niles grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
"Look, let's talk about this. You can't think that this is your fault! I'll call around and see what I can do to help you. I won't let you lose your license. You're a brilliant
psychiatrist and I don't want to see you lose what you worked so hard to earn!"
Niles smiled at his brother from the foyer. "Thanks, Frasier."