He couldn't breathe; couldn't even think. He felt as though he was drowring and there was no one to rescue him. It was only when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder that he remembered where he was.
"Niles? Niles, are you all right?"
Niles blinked, suddenly feeling wobbly. "I-I-."
"Damn it, Frasier! I told you not to tell him!" His father yelled.
"He was going to find out anyway!" Frasier snapped.
The room began to spin. "I-I don't…"
His father's hands were on his shoulders, guiding him across the room. He was lowered onto the sofa and then looked around in a daze.
"Sit there, all right? Frasier will make you a drink."
"Dad, I don't think that a drink is the best thing for him right now."
"Like hell it's not! Just do it, all right?"
While Frasier headed for the bar, Niles heard his father speaking to him. But quite honestly, he had no idea what was being said.
"Niles, look. Now that you know, just… don't go doing anything stupid, all right? Don't-."
Like a bullet, Niles shot to his feet. "I-I need to go to Daphne's room."
Frasier looked at him in alarm and his father gave him a look that meant business. Niles knew that look well. And although it had often terrified him as a boy, it now left him unfazed.
"Whatever for?" Frasier asked. "Niles, you know that you aren't allowed-."
"Like hell I'm not!" Niles shouted, his words echoing his father's. He pushed past his brother, wishing that the apartment had been empty when he'd arrived. However,
Fraser's hand went to his arm, preventing him from going any further.
"Wait a minute, what did you mean by that?"
"Just what I said. I have complete authorization to enter Daphne's room."
"Oh and I suppose she is the one who gave you such authorization?"
"As a matter of fact, she's the one who asked me to come over here. She specifically requested that I grab something from her room. That's precisely why I'm here."
"But that's impossible. Daphne is-."
"With me." Niles admitted. "Or at least she was. For some reason, the confession did not make him feel better. And he was all too aware of the stunned expressions of the two older Crane men who were staring at him in disbelief. He was left with no choice but to tell them the truth.
"That's right. Daphne's with me. She's at the cabin."
"And you weren't going to say a damn thing?" his father yelled. "You were just going to let us worry about her?"
"No, no, I-."
"You'd better have a good explanation for this, Niles! What in the hell is Daphne doing with you?" Frasier demanded.
"All right, look. I didn't plan it this way, I swear it! I-I just came over to get the keys-you know, to the cabin. That's all! They were right where you said they would be; on the sideboard."
"Why didn't you just get the damn keys and leave?"
"Dad, I was going to, I swear!"
"Go on." Frasier said; his arms crossed in front of his body.
"When I got her, I let myself in. I had no idea that anyone else would be here. But then I saw Daphne and she-."
"She what, Niles?"
"She was upset."
"Of course she was."
"No, I mean extremely upset! Frasier, she was more upset than I'd ever seen her. She looked like she'd been crying for hours!"
"She most likely was."
"It scared me. I didn't know what to do."
"Oh for God's sake, Niles. You're a psychiatrist! Of course you knew what to do! You… give her a hug and move on!"
Niles was appalled. He should have known that Fraser would downplay Daphne's emotions. He swallowed hard. "Perhaps that what you would have done. But I for one happen to care about Daphne!"
"If you care about her so much, you would have called us right away and told us-."
"I know, Dad. I know. I just…. I'm sorry. I know I should have called you. O-or Daphne should have. But I-I swear, this wasn't planned!"
"You mentioned that already."
"Well I'm saying it again, all right? I-I was comforting her and the next thing I knew I was asking her to come to the cabin with me. I never dreamed that she'd say yes!"
Frasier shook his head, muttering a swear word that startled Niles. Never before had he ever heard his brother utter such a crass word. And it was especially disturbing that it was said in conjunction with Daphne. But he chose to ignore it. There were far more important things to discuss.
"Niles what in the hell were you thinking?" Frasier continued, as though Niles had never opened his mouth. "Daphne is… well, she's fragile and to drag her away from her home-."
Niles almost laughed. "You think I forced her to come with me?"
"No, I'm not saying that. I just-."
Niles held up his hand. "Look, just let me get her bag and I'll be on my way, all right?"
"Suit yourself. But you're making a big mistake, son."
Niles frowned at his father. "Then it will be my mistake to make." His heart clinched in his chest when his father turned around and walked out of the room, leaving him and his brother alone.
He and Frasier glared at one another and after a long, uncomfortable silence, Niles said. "H-how did you find out? About Daphne and Donny?"
"Oh, um… Donny stopped by the other day. He'd left his cell phone here. He's the one who told us."
"I see."
"Now Niles, just because you and Daphne are both free doesn't mean that you can just-."
The anger inside of Niles began to grow and this time he successfully pushed his way past his brother. "I'll just get Daphne's things and be on my way."
"Niles-."
But he kept on moving. Nothing was going to stop him this time; absolutely nothing.
The moment Niles opened the door to her room, a rush of feelings came over him; anger, love, need, guilt and even sympathy. But he ignored them all and quickly entered the room, grateful when he found the bag sitting on the floor, must where she said it would be. He picked it up in one fluid motion, surprised at how heavy it was. At the door, he glanced around the room, wishing that he hadn't seen the wedding bands that lay on her dresser. The sight caused his anger to ignite once again.
He took a deep breath and returned to the living room. It was not Frasier's fault; none of it was. Nor was the fault of his father. But Niles was furious just the same. He headed for the front door just as Frasier re-entered the living room.
"Niles, I think we need to talk about-."
He slammed the door shut.
Alone in the hallway, he could hear the muffled sounds of his brother's voice. He knew that he should have taken Frasier's advice. The truth was that he needed to talk to someone; desperately. But at the moment all he wanted to do was drive.