A mixture of hot and cold filled Daphne all at once. She swallowed hard, and within seconds, Niles and Amy were blurred by the tears that filled her eyes. She watched

as they embraced again, the pain searing through her broken heart.

How could she have been so stupid?

At a loss for what to do, she slipped out of the café unnoticed and headed for the sidewalk. It was best to just go home, but there was nothing to do there but sulk in

her room. She'd done enough of that to last a lifetime. Instead she walked down the street, ignoring the glances of passersby. Her makeup was surely ruined and her

face was streaked with tears. But who cared what she looked like?

She crossed the street and continued walking until she found herself staring at the familiar building. How in the world had she ended up here? It shouldn't have been

a surprise. Her premonitions told her that she'd find comfort here. She only wished the premonition had told her why.

As she made her way to the familiar office, her throat felt dry. Finally she reached the KACL studio. Just as she was about to open the door, she noticed the indicator

on the wall, telling her that a show was in progress. She'd been here enough times to know that she should just wait.

With a sigh, she sank into a nearby chair, wanting desperately to release the tears that she held inside. On the other side of the window, Dr. Crane was using his

gentle, soothing voice to ease his distressed caller's problems. But she doubted anything he said right now could soothe her broken heart.

After what seemed like forever, she rose from the chair and peered into the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dr. Crane.

But it wasn't Dr. Crane at all...

It was Bulldog! Why was he doing his show now, when Dr. Crane's show was supposed to be on?

At that moment Kenny, the station manager appeared. "Oh. Hey, Daphne. What brings you here?"

Daphne avoided Kenny's gaze, hoping he hadn't seen her tear streaked face.

"Hi Kenny. I'm just waiting for Dr. Crane. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by and see if he wanted me to pick up anything from the market for dinner."

"Well, I'm afraid he won't be home for dinner." Kenny said.

Daphne's eyes widened. "What on earth are you talkin' about?"

Noticing her panic-stricken look, Kenny smiled. "He's perfectly fine, but the station meeting had to be moved to Tacoma and now there's a fifteen car pile-up on I-5.

Chopper Dave said he's never seen anything like it! Don't worry, they'll be all right, but it'll be a while before they can make it home. So it'll just be you and Mr. Crane

tonight."

Crestfallen, Daphne tried to smile, but the tears rose dangerously close to the surface. And she absolutely refused to let Kenny see her cry.

"Thanks for the warning, Kenny, but I think Mr. Crane and I can manage."

"Well, my wife's waiting for me." Kenny said. "Take care, Daphne."

"Bye, Kenny."

Once again, she was alone in the hallway. She tried not to think about Niles and Amy, but it was impossible. Everywhere she looked, she saw pictures of Niles' older

brother, reminding her of how his younger brother had broken her heart. The door of the studio opened and she looked up to see Bulldog standing in front of her. "Hey

Daphne." He said, hitting her with his folded up Seattle Times sports page. "Gotten any visits from the queen lately? I hear she's wild about tea and crumpets." He

laughed hysterically at his own joke. "Hey, I'm just messin with you. But seriously, tell the doc's brother that I may need his help. I have this listener who is completely

deranged; possibly psychotic. Won't stop callin' me and I think it may be my fault. I mean, geez, I had no idea that the guy's daughter was a Sonics' cheerleader .If I

had known that, I would have never made that crack about putting the retired cheerleaders in a rest home! So will you have Niles call me?"

Niles...

At the sound of his name, the tears she'd worked so hard to hold inside began to fall and she threw herself into Bulldog's arms; sobbing.