Never in her life had she imagined to find Niles Crane in a place like this. But if she were honest with herself, she'd imagined him here a number of times. She couldn't deny that in the course of the friendship she shared with her boss' brother she'd come to think of Niles in a very different (and perhaps illicit) way. But he was so sweet and handsome, always complimenting her and he always knew the right thing to say. Somehow he could always tell when she was hurting or upset; something that few people understood.

And for that, she loved him.

Suddenly she felt guilty as the memory of her imagination resurfaced. It was wrong, having daydreams (and even more so, dreams at night) about her friend, but they came nonetheless. And now the memory (or was it a vision?) was crystal clear…

She and Niles were in a small hospital room, smiling tearfully as she held their newborn son in her arms. It was amazing that two people in love could create something so beautiful. She was happier than she'd ever been. Finally she had a baby of her own. It was almost as though-

"Daphne!"

At the unexpected sound of his voice, she whirled around, ridiculously afraid that he'd been reading her thoughts. Never before had she felt such embarrassment and she was certain that her cheeks were as red as they felt. To say nothing of her racing heart.

"H-hello, Dr. Crane. What are you doing here?"

"Well, Frasier and I came to-."

"Oh Right. Dr. Crane's colleague. Well, I certainly hope that your brother appreciates what id di for him, considering all the trouble we went to, copying over those signatures. What was he thinking, mistaking the man's get-well card for a birthday card? My hand still aches with writer's cramp and I have a feeling that your brother's forgotten all about what a bloody mess that was!"

When Niles merely smiled, Daphne realized that she'd been babbling. "Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. Listen to me, going on and on about me problems. I didn't mean to interrupt you. You were telling me why you were here?"

"Yes. Well I did accompany Frasier here when he came to visit Clarence but I had some gifts to deliver to the hospital staff who took such good care of Maris when she was here for her plastic surgery."

Daphne smiled, trying not to think about the fact that Niles was newly separated. But there was no getting around that fact or ignoring the impression on his left hand from the gold wedding band he'd worn for so many years. "I'm sure they appreciated the gesture. That was very thoughtful of you, Dr. Crane. I doubt many people would have done the same thing."

To her surprise, he hung his head low. "I wish that Maris felt the same way."

Daphne's heart went out to him and she took his hand. "I'm sorry things didn't work out with your marriage. I know it must hurt."

He nodded his eyes still on the floor. "Thank you, Daphne. That means a lot to me."

"So where is your brother?"

"Oh… He left."

Daphne's mouth fell open in surprise. "Without you?"

"Well, yes but it's okay. He said he had something to take care of. Oh, but just as he was leaving, we had a wonderful surprise!"

She smiled at the way his eyes lit up. "What happened?"

"Arlene came by with her new son, Nathan."

"Arlene? You mean the one from the taxi?"

"That's the one."

"How exciting! Which one is Nathan?"

They peered into the window at the many rows of babies, wrapped in pink or blue blankets. "Over there." Niles replied pointing to a little baby boy. "Third row from the back."

The sight warmed Daphne's heart when she caught a glimpse of the baby's face. "Isn't he sweet?"

"I even got to hold him!" Niles said, sounding very proud of himself. "It was the first time I'd ever done that; held a baby. it was the most incredible thing I'd ever experienced."

"What about Frederick?"

"I wasn't there when Frederick was born and the few times I saw him as a baby, Frasier never let me hold him." Niles explained.

Daphne was appalled. "You mean your brother wouldn't let you hold Frederick? Your own nephew?" That's terrible, Dr. Crane! I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right, Daphne. I'm sure Frasier had his reasons for it. He does have a tendency to be overprotective and I'm sure I'd be the same way if I had a son of my…" His voice trailed away, but she knew exactly what he was thinking and her heart ached for him.

"Dr. Crane…"

"Well… at least I got to hold Nathan." He finished, after a long silence.

"I would have liked to have seen you with a baby in your arms. I bet it was a sight to behold."

But Niles smile disappeared once more. "Oh, it was a sight, all right."

"Did something happen?"

"Yes… Um… No… I can't even say the words."

Gently she put her hand on his back. "Oh Dr. Crane I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand but you can tell me anything. I hope you know that. I promise I won't tell a soul, or ridicule you in any way."

When he sighed and said nothing, she returned her attention to the babies. The last thing she wanted to do was to make him feel worse than he already did. She wanted so much for him to be happy.

But suddenly the silence between them was broken.