Café Nervosa

"You won't believe the day I've had!" Frasier groaned as he signaled to the barista to bring him another latte.

"I got call after call from people with the most outlandish problems!" he continued.

"Ah, so it was no different than any other day." Niles quipped.

Frasier rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Niles! It just goes to show you how-."

"Hey boys!" Martin said, interrupting what was sure to become a complex conversation within minutes.

"Dad..."

"Hey Dad!"

"I was just wondering if you kids would mind taking a ride with me."

Niles and Frasier exchanged surprised glances.

"You mean now?"

"No, Niles! In the 23rd century! Of course now! What do I look like, a damn fool?" Martin snapped.

"Where did you have in mind?"

"Someplace that's really special." Martin said proudly.

"Well, that sounds wonderful Dad but I don't really have time to visit the place where you had your first beer!"

Martin glared at Frasier, clearly not amused by his humor.

"To hell with the beer! I'm talking about life! Or rather... death." Martin explained.

Immediately Niles and Frasier grew quiet; lines of worry replacing the grins on their faces.

"Dad, what are you saying?" Niles asked cautiously.

"Well, the other day when we were talking about how I hadn't taken care of my final arrangements, I decided that I'd better take matters into my own hands!"

Frasier leaned in to hear more.

"Meaning..."

Martin smiled at his eldest son. "I bought myself a plot!"

Once more, Frasier and Niles looked at each other in disbelief.

"Well... that's... great, Dad." Frasier said hesitantly.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Martin rose from his chair and headed for the door a bit too enthusiastically.

Reluctantly, Frasier and Niles followed their father out of the café where they immediately ran into Daphne.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Crane. Dr. Crane, Dr. Crane!" Daphne said cheerfully.

"Here, let me help you with those, Daphne." Niles said, taking the shopping bags from her arms.

Daphne smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Crane. You're always so thoughtful."

When Niles blushed, Martin rolled his eyes. "Well come on! I don't have all day!"

"All day for what?" Daphne asked.

"Um... I need you to drive us somewhere." Martin said.

Daphne sighed, making no attempt to hide her annoyance. "Oh, all right. Where are we going?"

"I"ll tell you when we get there." Martin said as he ushered her to the car.

Twenty minutes later they were driving through Seattle as Martin gave turn by turn directions.

"Where are we going?" Daphne asked once more.

"Well you see Daphne... Dad-."

"Frasier, shut your big bazoo, okay? You too, Daphne!"

"But Mr. Crane, I didn't say any-."

"Ah geez, can't you just drive in peace?"

"Dad, don't talk to her like that!" Niles said from the backseat. He was blissfully aware of the heartwarming smile that Daphne flashed him in the rear view mirror.

"You kids better learn to respect me! I'm not gonna be around forever you know!"

At Martin's comment, Daphne rolled her eyes. "We can only hope!" She mumbled, ignoring his glare.

"Turn here and it'll be on your left!" Martin ordered.

Daphne slowed the car as they approached the large sign posted on the iron gates and swallowed hard.

"Well, here we are!" Martin said proudly.

"Stonehenge Cemetery?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

"W-what are we doing here?"

"I have a little present for Niles and Frasier."

They followed Martin to the cemetery where they stopped just short of Hester's grave site.

Daphne turned to Martin and put her hand on her heart. "Oh, Mr. Crane why didn't you tell me that you wanted to come and see your wife?"

"Hester has nothing to do with this!" Martin said. "We're here because of my own final wishes."

Daphne gasped lightly. "F-final wishes?"

Frasier looked up in surprise. "Dad, what are you saying?"

"Fras, take two steps to your right." Martin ordered.

Frasier did as he was told.

"There you are, Frasier. You're right across from me and right beside your brother for all eternity."

"Dear God!" Niles yelled, shuddering as he jumped off his own burial plot.

"Dad, what in the hell is this?" Frasier demanded.

"Well... I got such a good deal on my own plot that I bought one for each of you kids!"

Niles smiled through clinched teeth.

"Did you hear that Frasier? Dad bought us burial plots! Thanks, Dad!"

Martin smiled. "You're welcome, Son! And... Merry Christmas!"

"Th-that's very generous of you, Dad." Frasier said, grinning uneasily at his little brother. "And it's a beautiful site, but perhaps we should be heading home now."

"Yeah, you're right." Martin said. "Come on, kids!"

They followed Martin to the car and climbed inside.

"Niles, what are you doing?" Frasier asked, noticing that his brother was still standing on the curb.

Niles looked around frantically. "Where's Daphne?"

"What do you mean?"

Niles heart began to race with worry. "She was right behind us, Frasier! How could she possibly-."

He stopped suddenly when he saw her, still standing near the burial plots. But something was horribly wrong;

His angel... the woman whom he loved deeper than he thought possible... was crying, blotting her eyes with a tissue.

The mere sight shattered his heart.

"Daphne..."

Paying no attention to his father and brother, he walked back to the cemetery to where she stood. As quietly as possible, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Daphne, what's wrong?" he asked soothingly.

When she turned to him with tear filled eyes, he took her in his arms.

"Oh Dr. Crane..." She sobbed into his suit.

Alarmed at how fragile she was, he drew her closer and rubbed her back while she cried onto his chest.

"What's going on?" Martin asked when he joined them. "I want to get the hell out of here!"

"Dad, hold on." Frasier said, watching Daphne with concern. "Daphne, what's gotten you so upset?"

Daphne sniffled and blotted her eyes with the handkerchief that Niles handed her.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. I was listening to Mr. Crane talk about his final restin' place and then when he said he bought plots for you and your brother, I just..."

Frasier placed a soothing hand on Daphne's back. "You just what?"

"I just kept thinkin' about what would happen if I lost you, your brother or Mr. Crane. I'd be all alone!"

Niles heart broke once more and he moved to hold her. Unfortunately Frasier got there first, clearly annoyed when Daphne began crying onto his expensive designer suit.

"Oh Daphne... You're not alone." Frasier said as Daphne clung to him. "We're here for you and we love you."

She drew back and her voice quivered when she spoke. "I know, and it's awfully silly of me to be so upset over this but I can't help myself! When me Grammy Moon died, I felt so alone. But then I came to Seattle if the agency hadn't sent me to the Elliot Bay Towers, I would never have met you or Mr. Crane."

Slowly she turned to Niles and took his hands in hers. "Or You, Dr. Crane. I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Oh Daphne, you're not going to lose us." Frasier said. "We're not going anywhere."

She smiled and nodded sadly. "I know... I just can't help thinking about it. I mean, I love you all so much and I-."

Her voice broke and she dissolved into tears once more.

"Oh geez..."

At a loss for what to do, Martin hugged Daphne in his slow, awkward way.

"If I had known that visiting this cemetery would get this kind of reaction I would have never suggested it."

"It's me own fault." Daphne said. "I don't know why I'm gettin' so emotional."

"Death is a scary thing." Frasier said. "And we'd hate to lose you, Daphne. I hope you know how much we love you."

"Thank you." She said tearfully when Frasier kissed her cheek.

"Well, I think we should be going." Martin said. "To tell you the truth, it hurts like hell knowing that Hester is buried right over there. I sure do miss her."

Frasier put his hand on Martin's back and Daphne took his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Crane." She said quietly. "I know you loved her."

Martin sighed. "I'll never stop loving her."

As she followed Frasier and Martin to the car, Daphne turned to see Niles staring at the grave site.

"You two go ahead and I'll be right there."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Mr. Crane. I'll only be a minute."

Daphne walked over to Niles who was staring at the concrete headstone that bared his mother's name.

"You miss her don't you?"

She laid her hand on his arm, prompting him to turn to her with tear-filled eyes.

The sight brought tears to her eyes as well.

"This is my fault, gettin' everyone so emotional. Oh, Dr. Crane, I'm so sorry. I know you loved her so much. I wish I could have been there with you when she died. I-."

When she brushed a tear from his cheek, he took her in his arms and hugged her fiercely; her cheek resting against his suit.

"Thank you, Daphne." He said.

She drew back and stared into his eyes. "For what?"

"You're an absolute angel."

"Oh, Dr. Crane... Thank you."

When she kissed his cheek, he felt the warmth run through his body and he blushed deeply.

"We should probably go."

Daphne slipped her hand in his and they walked back to the car where they found Frasier in the driver's seat next to Martin.

"You okay, Niles?" He asked quietly.

Niles turned to Daphne and smiled as he squeezed her hand.

"Yeah. I'll be just fine."

As they drove home, Niles and Daphne sat in the backseat. He could tell that Daphne was exhausted because she had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

His arm around her, he held her close; blissfully aware of her perfume that had floated under his nose.

When Frasier and Martin became engrossed in a conversation about a television show, Niles looked at Daphne. Even asleep in his arms, she was breathtaking.

Unable to stop staring at her, he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek.

And when he was sure that his father and brother weren't looking, he kissed Daphne's forehead, letting his lips linger on her porcelain skin for several glorious seconds.

"You'll never be alone, Daphne. I promise." He whispered into her hair. "You'll always be right here in my heart."

THE END