December brings heavy rains and winds, and Daphne is entering her third month of pregnancy. So far, everything is going quite smoothly. She's just had some morning sickness for a few weeks, but apart from that, she feels fine. Her body is going through the normal changes; her breasts are slightly bigger (what Niles loves) and very sensitive, and though her belly isn't visibly swollen yet, her clothes feel tighter and she's started to acquire maternity clothing for when her trousers and most of her other garments won't fit her anymore.
The appointment for the first sonogram is scheduled for two weeks from now, and she and Niles are eager to have a view of the tiny baby. It's too soon yet to find out the gender, but they look forward to watching the little one in her womb for the first time.
Needless to say, Niles is elated, practically on cloud nine, and if he was invariably solicitous toward her before, now his attentions border on the absurd, but Daphne just rolls her eyes and allows him to pamper her without restrictions or complaints. Taking care of her is very important to him, his first priority indeed, and she likes and respects that trait. No one has ever looked out for her the way Niles does, and she loves him even more for that.
As for Martin and Frasier, they are happy about the prospect of becoming a grandpa for the second time, and an uncle for the first. They confessed that they'd lost all hope that Niles would have offspring if he remained married to Maris. She was too self-centered to deign to consider carrying and giving birth to a child, what she would have abhorred due to her obsession with staying in shape, or raising a kid.
At present, after Daphne and Niles delivered the news of the baby, not even Frasier allows her to perform hard tasks or lift heavy loads. For that purpose, he's bought a dolly to make her work easier. Daphne rolled her eyes when he showed it to her, but not because she thinks it's an unnecessary tool, but because he might have had that same idea years before, when he hired her. She hasn't protested up until now because she's a strong person, but a dolly would have been a welcome aid from the start.
Of course, Niles had also made it clear that Daphne wouldn't be used as a drone, what had been an added push for the purchase of the dolly, and she would only be submitted to light chores.
The announcement had been received by the Moon family with varied degrees of enthusiasm, or lack thereof. Her father and his brothers Stephen and Billy, as well as Stephen's wife, had congratulated her effusively, as she expected from them. Her mother, on the other hand, had been another story, just like Daphne was fearing. When being given the news, all she said was: Wonderful, my only daughter remains committed to shaming the family by behaving like a loose woman and getting pregnant out of wedlock. Daphne had seethed at that insult, which had felt like a slap on the face, and had retorted something like: Well, I never heard you calling Simon names when he knocked those girls up out of wedlock. Oh, of course, it's not the same, because he's a man and your precious son, how can I have forgotten? She had lashed out with all the bitter sarcasm she had been able to muster, though she knew it was wasted on Gertrude Moon. Daphne had hanged up furiously, with enough force to nearly crush Niles's landline. She hadn't given her family her cell phone number yet, and at the rate things were deteriorating more and more with her mother, she doubted that she ever would.
She ignored why she bothered calling her mother. All she got for her effort were harsh accusations and nasty comments. She should have given up at this point. But she can't. Not completely. Perhaps, like a fool, she still craves Gertrude's approval and affection. Maybe she still hopes that things will change. A stupid hope, but she can't bring herself to get rid of it.
Well, there's very little she can do to please a mother who has condemned her already. She's proud of the life she's built in the States, and happy, and she isn't going to let Gertrude ruin it.
Daphne has been turning a crazy idea around in her head lately, and the more she thinks of it, the more she likes it. That late afternoon, when she arrives home from work, she addresses the subject directly.
"Niles," she starts. "I've been thinking about something these days."
"What is it?," he asks, making her sit down on the couch. She's just hanged her coat and handbag.
She inhales deeply to calm her nerves. "How... How would you feel about a quick and simple wedding?," she blurts out. She's come to realize that she doesn't fancy at all a big wedding, in the high-flown style Frasier favors so much, and the style Niles himself also had until not so long ago. He's tempered that trait lately, most probably due to her influence, but he doesn't look like he misses it very much. He's still the elegant and refined gentleman who loves the finest things and regaling her with them as well, and will always be, but he isn't anymore the out-and-out snob he was before. He's more open to other alternatives not necessarily vulgar for the mere fact of not being expensive or high-quality. And she on her part is more open to accepting a bit of luxury and sophistication in her daily life. It doesn't hurt to dress up from time to time and attend high-class places and events.
Unless Niles wishes a wedding in style, what she would be willing to go through for him, Daphne is more and more keen on the motto: The simpler, the better.
He looks at her in astonishment. "You mean elope and get married in one of those tacky chapels in Las Vegas or Reno?," he asks, amazement patent in his voice.
She nods. "Yes. As simple as that. We just make reservations at a hotel and a chapel and arrange an appointment at the county office to get the marriage license before the ceremony." She hesitates. "Of course, if you would prefer the traditional event, then let's do it your way. But if you truly don't mind, we might spare ourselves a lot of headaches. You know how your brother is. And besides, we'd have to invite my family, and who knows what chain of disasters would come of that," she points out, nearly shuddering at the thought. "To assuage your father, brother, Roz and our other friends, we might arrange a lunch or dinner at home for all of us, to celebrate our marriage with our people. I believe that's a good compromise. But I'd like our wedding ceremony to be just for the two of us. What do you say?"
Niles squeezes her hands with a big smile on his face. "I'm in. It's perfect. When do you want it to be performed?"
"This weekend. Let's make the calls to get everything ready and this Friday we'll just elope. We can take our best outfits to wear during the ceremony and, once married, the rest of the weekend is ours to enjoy," she proposes, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.
Niles chuckles giddily. "I'll buy the rings these days, before we depart." He kisses her effusively. "It's the craziest thing I've ever done. But I absolutely love it."
She giggles in response. "It's the craziest thing for me too. And another secret dream of mine, eloping with the love of my life. It seems you've fulfilled a few of them just this year. You've set the bar very high for next year, baby," she teases, pecking him playfully.
"Then I'll just have to outdo myself next year," he teases back, pecking her in return.
"I have full confidence that you will," she assures, kissing him deeply.
Things between them get as heated as usual, and they move the party to the bedroom for a sizzling quickie before heading for the kitchen to get dinner ready.