Birthday story for iloveromance! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I struggled with the worst writer's block EVER (thanks to work). So this is sort of experimental in nature. Well, maybe.

The rain pattered down in its very own dull melody. Inside the atmosphere was just as subdued; Frasier read a book and only occasionally made an approving noise – or a disapproving one. Niles sat at the piano, his hands poised over the keys. He didn't have the concentration to play. His mind was with Daphne, who was busy in the kitchen. Her own little sounds added to the strange music of which they were all a part.

In the kitchen Daphne couldn't help but smile. She knew the rain oftentimes brought one or both Dr. Cranes down. Weirdly enough, she thought, as they had both grown up with it. Just like she had. A good rain shower reminded her of home. The scent here in Seattle was a different one, the shades the puddles left almost prettier and clearer than the ones she'd know. Sometimes the same rain would make her feel homesick, too. Just a little bit. But then Dr. Crane would say something or his younger brother would smile at her and she knew this was her home. They, too, were her family. Listening to the rain, she continued to prepare dinner; the smile never leaving her face.

Without warning their silently agreed upon quietness came to an abrupt end when the phone rang. Frasier almost let his book fall, simply out of shock. Niles pressed down a high key and only Daphne seemed unfazed. She came out of the kitchen, but Frasier had already answered the phone.

"Dad, no, it's raining!" He complained. Daphne knew that Mr. Crane had met up with some friends he hadn't seen in a while at some bar. He probably needed someone to pick him up.

"But dad!"

"Maybe Niles- but it's my day off!"

"Bloody hell." Daphne mumbled and walked back into the kitchen.

"Fine," Frasier said finally, "I'll come pick you up."

"Stop grinning, Niles."

"I'm not grinning!" Niles complained. The amusement in his voice however betrayed his words. Frasier just gave him an angry glare, grabbed his coat and left. For a moment neither Daphne nor Niles made a sound. They both relaxed when they could be sure Frasier really had gone.

"Well, dinner should be just about ready when your brother and father come back." Daphne sat down on the couch and eyed Frasier's book. She raised a brow – couldn't that man read something light-hearted for once? – and paid it no more attention. Daphne was aware of the younger Dr. Crane looking at her. He seemed almost lost there on his own at the piano. And suddenly she felt like nature's music was no longer enough. She loved it when he played something on the piano. Daphne herself couldn't play at all; as much as she had practiced as a child, it never would work. She thought of Dr. Crane's fingers, how long and lean they were and how easily they flew over the keys.

"Could you play something… for me?" Daphne blushed when she asked. And had she looked at him, she would have seen his face change colors as well for a short moment. When she dared to look at him again all she saw was a smile that melted her heart. Daphne didn't always understand why his smiles cut so deep; but she knew he reserved them for her only and while that was unnerving sometimes, it was mostly flattering. It made her feel special.

"Of course. I'd love to. What do you want me to play?" Daphne looked outside the window where the sun hiding behind the clouds was ready to settle down for sleep. She didn't know many classical pieces and she didn't know any of their names.

"I-I don't know." She admitted sheepishly.

"I'll just," his fingers twitched nervously, "I'll play something that reminds me of you."

Soon soft music filled the room. Daphne listened intensely, let the music consume her. She knew this piece, she thought. It felt heavy in her heart and filled her eyes with tears.

"Stop." She said, but Dr. Crane didn't stop. Daphne realized she hadn't said it loud enough.

"Please stop." She said louder. The music ceased immediately. A moment later Dr. Crane was by her side, having seen her red teary eyes.

"I'm sorry, Daphne. I haven't played it in so long it probably sounded-"

"No, that's not it. It's so sad! How can that remind you of me?"

"Oh." Was all Niles answered. He looked everywhere but her face. Outside the rain picked up again, at least preventing the silence.

"It's Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", Niles said and looked at her as if that would explain everything; he could tell from her expression that it wasn't the case, "Unlike with many other pieces, the first movement is the slowest. It makes me feel… dreamy." Again, his face reddened. Daphne, however, seemed fascinated by his explanations.

"Beethoven himself described it as quasi una fantasie, almost a fantasy. I-I guess that's why it reminds me of you."

"A fantasy?" Daphne tried to sound calm.

"Not-not like that! I mean it's not that I- I just…" Niles sighed in frustration; there was no way he could put it into words. Not without telling her how he really felt about her.

"You think of me as a fantasy," Daphne said and her voice sounded dreamy as well as shy, "like I'm…something special?" She felt like a young girl suddenly.

"You are special, Daphne." For a moment they just looked at each other. Neither was sure what to say or do, because neither wanted to say something that came too early. They were both scared of a possibility that hung in the room and if they reached for it… they didn't dare. The sound of rain that was so dear to Daphne brought the smile back to her face – and it made Niles relax as well.

"Can you play it again?"

"I thought you said it was too sad."

"Well, it does sound sad. I want to try to see it - hear it - like you do. As a fantasy." Niles didn't trust his voice so he just went back to the piano and started playing again. Just like Beethoven had instructed it back in his day, Niles played it with a delicacy that, too, reminded him of Daphne. It would have been too soon to tell her that, he thought as his eyes closed. He could play this piece by heart. And as he played it he saw Daphne in that red dress she once wore for him and she was dancing slowly, carefully with a smile on her face. In his fantasy she walked towards him, holding out her hand and silently asking him to join her. His fantasy allowed him to be led by her and together they danced and danced and danced under the moonlit sky with the rain softly falling at their feet.

"It really is beautiful." Niles heard Daphne – the real one, not the fantasy – whisper into his ear. Her voice was soft and warm against his ear, but he didn't miss one note. He hadn't heard her come to him and just as he was about to lose himself there was a noise. Something loud, something that didn't belong. Daphne, too, heard it. Soon there were voices and Niles recognized his father's and his brother's. His fingers stopped, Daphne stepped away. When their family entered bickering and bantering with a breath of fresh air, there were no remnants left of the music and their emotions.

But just as Niles felt the same sadness wash over him again, Daphne gave him a small smile. One that was only reserved for him. He returned the secret smile; a memory made of a promise to be kept. Sometime in the future with music, dance and... the last step taken.

THE END