Despite Niles' reassuring squeeze of her hand, Daphne felt a twinge of anxiety when they reached the front door.

At first glimpse of his brother, Daphne felt remorse consume her.

"H-hello, Dr. Crane..."

Frasier sighed with relief and went to hug her.

"Daphne...Thank God you're okay."

She saw his eyes meet Niles'.

"I trust everything is okay?"

Daphne smiled as Niles drew her into a hug and leaned against his chest; sighing when he kissed her forehead.

"Everything is perfect, Dr. Crane."

"Well, this is certainly cause for celebration." Frasier said, surprising Daphne with how easily he was accepting her new found relationship with his brother.

"You know, I never did get to enjoy my birthday cake, nor did I get to open my gifts!"

"Who said anything about gifts?"

"Very funny, Niles." Frasier said, catching a glimpse of his little brother's grin.

They sat down at the table to resume their party and after they finished their cake, it was time to open the presents.

"Here you are, Frasier." Niles said, handing him the box wrapped in black and silver paper.

Frasier took the box and admired its shape. "Oh my... What could this be?"

"Well why don't you open it and find out?" Martin snapped.

As Frasier unwrapped the immaculate package, Daphne couldn't ignore her feelings of inadequacy. She ran her hands over the book she'd so carefully wrapped in

brightly colored paper.

The gift wrap looked so cheerful in the store, but now it seemed like something fit for a child rather than a man of Frasier's stature.

Her eyes darted back to Frasier who had removed the wrapping and was now gaping in delight at the red box he held in his hand.

"Oh Niles..."

Niles smiled proudly watching his brother admire the exquisite gold Cartier watch that

lay inside.

"This is... absolutely stunning. How did you ever acquire such a gem?"

"Oh, it was no trouble really. I merely went to Chrono's Timepieces on Fifth Avenue and struck up a conversation with a very knowledgeable associate named Sean. I

had no idea what I was looking for but after a few simple questions, I found myself the proud owner of a limited edition Cartier Classic! Only one hundred of them are

in existence and even fewer are available in the United States."

Frasier continued to stare at the watch, much to Martin's annoyance.

"Well? Are you going to gawk at it all night or do other people get to see it?"

"All right, Dad. Just... Be careful with it."

When Martin attempted to take the red watch box from his son's hand, Frasier hesitated, causing Martin to pry Frasier's fingers away.

At Frasier and Niles' apprehensive expressions, Martin rolled his eyes.

"Oh geez, don't worry boys. I'm not going to hurt your precious watch. I'll just treat it as though it were something I found in a crime scene."

"That's comforting." Niles said, exerting a breath.

The Crane boys watched as Martin opened the box, giving a look of absolute amazement.

"Whoa! Look at this! Boy, I've never had anything this fancy in my life!"

"You see, Dad? That's exactly why-."

"Hands off, Birthday boy! It's my turn to gawk! No, I've always been content with my $35 Casio. Bought it ten years ago at Pat's World of Watches and it still works like new!"

He held up his arm, flashing the worn, digital watch with the black rubber strap for Niles and Frasier to admire.

When Niles and Frasier cringed, Daphne forced a smile

"That's lovely, Mr. Crane."

"Hey Fras..." Martin said reaching to hand Frasier a large box. "Happy birthday, Son."

"Well... Dad... This is... so unexpected!"

"Why would you say something stupid like that? It's your birthday! Can't a father buy his son a nice gift?"

"Of course, Dad... but-."

"But nothing! Stop staring at the damn thing and open it!"

Frasier carefully unwrapped the mauve paper (which had obviously been professionally wrapped) and opened the box.

"Oh Dad... I'm speechless!"

He reached into the box and pulled out a dark brown sport coat.

"Where on earth did you get the money for this? Do you have any idea how long I've wanted this? And how-."

"Well I wanted to do something special for you, so Roz told me that you'd been talking about that damn coat for months. And don't even bother asking me about the

cost because it's none of your damn business!"

"Now Dad, I wasn't-."

Martin held up his hand. "No... I'm not telling you where the money came from either! Just know that I did it because... Well... because I love you."

Frasier smiled at the rare expression of sentiment and he rose to embrace his father.

"Thank you Dad."

"You're welcome, Son."

"Oh Dear God, what was I thinking?"

Frasier walked over to Niles and coaxed him out of the chair, startling him with a hug.

"Thank you so much, Niles. I'm just... completely overwhelmed by your much too generous gift."

Niles grinned. "If you feel that strongly about it, perhaps I can take it back and-."

"You'll do nothing of the sort!"

Niles laughed at his brother's retort. "I thought you might say that."

"Daphne, didn't you say that you have something for Frasier too?"

Daphne swallowed hard and looked at Martin. "Oh... right.. I-I left it in me room. I'll be right back."

Frasier smiled. "I can't possibly imagine what could top this glorious birthday celebration!"

As Daphne moved past Martin and into the hallway her chest tightened. The comment was meant to be a compliment of sorts, but the words stung.

She knew that he was bound to be disappointed in her gift. She could never afford extravagant gifts like the ones Martin and Niles had given him and the all-too

familiar feeling of unworthiness surfaced once more.