A/N: For Pat2Trivia4Me with many, many thanks for your advice, guidance and support.

Niles Crane, it seemed, was everywhere.

From the moment she awakened until the moment she fell asleep, he consumed her every thought. Not a second went by that she didn't envision his face, even when engaged in conversations with other people or doing things that required her full attention. And yet it only took a moment to conjure up his image, lest she'd forgotten it.

She'd become quite good at hearing his soothing voice in her head. But the intrusion, as it was, had become so frequent, that even speaking to Frasier was difficult, for she barely heard him anymore as he barked orders to her as though he were a drill sergeant. And miraculously, most of the time her boss didn't even notice that mentally she was a million miles away.

She'd learned over the years what Frasier Crane expected and it made it easy to please him. But when she'd done something wrong, he didn't hesitate to make her aware of it. Such was the case just a few days ago when Frasier sent her into Café Nervosa for a beverage. Why he refused to go in and get the drink himself was beyond her but she didn't feel like arguing with him. And so, she left him at his favorite men's clothing store (the over-priced one) while she went into the café and ordered his drink.

Feeling proud (for no other reason than the fact that she had managed to order the drinks without complications, thanks to Taylor, the long-time Nervosa barista), she carried the steaming drink in the red and green paper cup out of the cafe and handed it to him. "There you are, Dr. Crane. Just the way you like it. And for you, Mr. Crane, one black coffee."

Martin smiled and took the cup from her. "Hey, thanks Daph! You're all right! But Fras, I still don't see why we can't just go inside like normal people!"

"Because, Dad, there's someone in there that I'm trying to avoid!"

Martin shook his head in disbelief. "Oh geez, not this again! You mean you're still obsessed with that woman Vicki who dumped you last week? What are the chances that she'll even be in there?"

"A very good chance! This is a public place! Now let's just get out of here, all right?"

Frasier took a sip of his drink and then gasped, spewing it out as though he'd been poisoned. "Dear God, Daphne, what is this?"

Daphne's eyes narrowed. "What do you think it is? It's your drink, just the way you wanted it!"

"This is not at all what I asked for!" he snapped.

"Of course it is! I'm not stupid! I think after working for you all of these years I know what your favorite drink is!"

"This is Niles favorite drink, Daphne! A half-caf, non-fat latte with the faintest hint of cinnamon! And incidentally, this is more of a shout, as Niles would say! It's hardly a… Oh, what difference does it make? The point is that I specifically gave you an order and I expected you to follow through! But apparently you chose to ignore my wishes!"

Realizing the horror of what she had done, Daphne swallowed hard, forcing her tears to remain hidden. "Don't speak to me in that sort of manner! I'm not a bloody child! It was an honest mistake!"

"How, Daphne?"

"Well, you and your brother are so much alike that it's only natural-."

"Fras, just leave her alone, all right?" Martin yelled. "She's not your damn slave! She's my therapist who happens to work for you! You're the one who insists on giving her all of these other duties because you're too damn lazy to do them yourself! It's just a cup of coffee and if you don't like it, get your own damn coffee! And another thing... shut your big bazoos! I'm tired of hearing the two of you arguing!"

Daphne turned away and began to cry quietly, no longer caring about the reactions of Frasier or Martin. But when she turned around she felt the wrath of Frasier Crane bearing down on her. "I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. I-."

He smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to lean against him and cry as he rubbed her back. "It's all right, Daphne. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just a little apprehensive about this meeting with the new station manager tomorrow."

Martin looked surprised. "But why? I thought you said that the meeting was no big deal."

"Well, I thought so too, Dad but now I'm not so sure."

"What's changed?"

She lifted her head and the Crane men's conversation suddenly dissolved in her ears, replaced once again by the sound of Niles' voice. She could hear the youngest Crane man loud and clear, reprimanding his older brother for speaking to her so harshly. After all, as she had said before, it was just an honest mistake.

She was certain that Niles would have spent his own money to buy Frasier the correct drink, taking the original one for his own and then thanking Daphne profusely for remembering such a small but important detail. And then he would pause to compliment her hair, her clothes or her perfume, making her heart dance with happiness as it was doing now, just thinking about it.

But it wasn't just happiness she was feeling inside. It was something more. She just wasn't quite sure what it was.