Goes (completely) AU in 1x20 "Fortysomething"...

"Thank you so much for giving me a lift, Dr. Crane. Your brother doesn't like it when I use his car. I am still getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, you know." She giggled. Niles could merely nod; not that he would ever tell her this, but if she asked him, he would take her everywhere, every day. He was beginning to fear she thought of him as mentally slow. So often he couldn't give quick answers when she talked directly at him. Sometimes he just stared. Niles tried to get a grip on himself constantly. It wasn't easy when confronted with Venus herself.

"I need the night out," she went on, apparently realizing Niles was incapable of speaking, "your brother is getting worked up because of his getting older. Asking me if I think of him as old! Do I look that daft to you, Dr. Crane? I bet he is just looking for an excuse to fire me. Luckily your father appreciates me work."

"You're not daft, Daphne. I think you're quite smart. I am the first to admit that my brother can be quite a nuisance."

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane. Sometimes I forget you two are brothers." Niles decided to take this as a compliment and couldn't help but smile. It was true too; after all, did his brother appreciate Daphne like he did? Of course not. Not even his father did. Niles was the only Crane man who knew how important Daphne had become to them in this short time. He hardly remembered the time before she entered their lives; his life had been dull, dark and cursed with comfortable routines. No more. He could still go home, to his wife, and bathe himself clean in the safety and innocence his marriage provided. When he was at Frasier's apartment, however, he felt much more alive. And as much as he enjoyed having his brother, even his father, back in his life, he knew it was all because of this woman.

"And I do love your brother. Most of the time anyway." Niles startled when she used that word. Love. He doubted she meant it in any way romantically. Clearly she couldn't fall in love with Frasier, could she? But what if she had a crush on him? Niles gripped the steering wheel tightly; his knuckles turned as white as sheet, as white as his face. He waited for Daphne to continue and tell him that she loved Frasier like she loved their father. Like maybe she loved him, too. She didn't say it. And the question he wanted to ask burnt Niles' tongue.

"You know, darts is a very popular sport in Britain."

"What?" The sudden change of subject threw Niles off and his suspicions worsened. Clearly she didn't want to talk about Frasier and that could only mean one thing… while Daphne talked about darts, Niles couldn't help but imagine this bleak future: Daphne and Frasier would eventually realize their feelings for each other, maybe someone blurted it out, the other would feel confused and before they knew it, they would be a couple. There would be a wedding, there would be children. And Niles would still go home every night to a distant wife, who hardly acknowledged his existence. Deep down he knew that his crush on Daphne had no future. He was a married man. Being around her like this, being her friend was all he would ever get. The mere possibility of his brother receiving Daphne's love almost drove him mad.

"You know?" She asked in a dreamy voice and it was only then that Niles realized he hadn't been listening to her at all.

"Hmm." He merely answered hoping it fit. After all he had no idea what he was agreeing with.

"I hope you giving me a lift is not too inconvenient for you."

"Not at all." It was a detour of about an hour; she didn't need to know that, because he didn't think of it as an inconvenience. For him it was an extra hour he got to spend with her.

"You're always so nice to me, Dr. Crane." Daphne touched his hand and Niles tried not to let his excitement show. "Your wife is a lucky woman." She sighed and took her hand away. Niles felt the loss immediately. And he needed to get it back; he turned to her automatically. All he ever wanted was to look at her, revel in all her beauty that was so mesmerizing to him. The way her hair fell around her shoulders. It always looked a bit messy, Niles thought, but in a way that fit her so well. Her eyes! Such sparkly little drops of heaven where he wanted to hide when life seemed too much to bear. A delicate nose, a luscious mouth… was she speaking to him? Why were her eyes so big all of a sudden?

Niles realized what was happening a moment too late. His head snapped back quickly, yet not fast enough. He saw the lights from the on-coming traffic as they blinded and deafened him. Like a child afraid of the dark he closed his eyes, hoping to shut out the horror that way. He felt the moment of the impact before he drifted off into nothingness.

tbc

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