Author's Note:I'm dedicating this to the wonderful and extremely talented Andrea (iloveromance), since it was her story "The Trusting Soul" which helped plant the seed for this. It snowballed considerably, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! Thanks to Leigh Ann (leighann415) for reading drafts of this and also suggesting a title!

"Thanks so much for coming with me, Dr. Crane," Daphne said, as the lights in the theater came back on. Movie-goers were already beginning to exit.

"It was my pleasure, Daphne. I don't think I realized how much I needed this. I'm used to challenging foreign films, but it seems a romantic comedy is exactly what I needed to get my mind off my troubled marriage."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Crane is treating you so badly." She squeezed his hand as they exited the theater.

"I'm used to it by now," Niles replied, with an embarrassed shrug. They were both quiet for a moment. "Well, I suppose we should go home now, unless there's something else you'd like to do." He hoped she would want to do something. Anything. He could never get tired of spending time with her.

"No, I know you're busy, so I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you again. I had a lovely time." She hugged him quickly. By now, they were back outside. It was much darker than when they'd gone into the movies.

Niles was just about to say his goodbyes, but before he could, a man marched right up to them. He was stunned to notice he had a gun in his hand, pointed right at them. "Give me all your money."

Daphne turned to Dr. Crane, suddenly frightened. She'd never seen a gun this close-up before. She tried to remember everything she'd learned about self-defense, but her mind was a blank.

Trying desperately not to show his fear, Niles reached into his wallet and removed a wad of cash. "Is this enough?" he asked. Perhaps the thief would just take the money and run. Better that than losing all of his credit cards and ID.

Desperate, the man nodded, taking the bills Niles offered. He was gone a moment later, having disappeared into a crowd.

"Oh, my God. What do we do?" Daphne asked.

Instinctively, Niles pulled her close, rubbing her back to calm her. "First, we go home to Dad. We'll tell him what happened, and he'll call his buddies. Don't worry, Daphne. You're safe now."

Daphne was grateful he was there. Her fear began to subside as she saw him staying calm. Of course Mr. Crane would make sure the police knew about this, and that they made it their top priority. Sometimes it really was handy to know someone on the Seattle police force.

A few minutes later, Niles and Daphne were seated in Frasier's living room. "So, that's what happened," Niles said, after relating the story to his father.

"And you couldn't see where he went after you gave him the money?" Martin asked.

"There was a big crowd, and we lost him," Daphne replied. "I still can't believe it happened. I know I should've said something, tried to fight back, but I just couldn't."

Martin stood up from his green chair, walking over to where Daphne sat on the couch. "No, Daph, you two did exactly the right thing. If a guy's got a gun pointed at you, you do what he says. Let the cops worry about catching him."

Daphne gave him a small, grateful smile. She knew he meant well, but the experience had left her shaken. "I think I'm going to bed now. I don't know how I'll ever get to sleep." She stood up.

Niles considered following her, but thought better of it. Right now, the best thing to do was give her space. "I think I'll get going too," he finally said to his father. "Let Daphne sleep. If anything happens with the police, give me a call, OK?"

Martin nodded at his son as he walked over to the phone.