Poor Niles. He was just staring after Maggie, pale and helpless and completely aghast. I wondered whether he was just reacting to the idea of having to eat junk food, but from the way his frown deepened as Maggie groaned pleasurably behind us at her feast, I figured the symbolism had got to him.

I suppose you could say I saw the funny side.

Niles looked even more shocked when he heard me laughing. He watched me for a few seconds and then lowered his head to look at his lunch. After an instant's contemplation, he joined in the frivolity and shook his head, smiling.

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" I called to Maggie.

"Niles, I think Daphne's talking to you," she batted back.

"That's enough, you!" I told her. "Next time, I think a night in a jail cell might be the preferable option."

"I did that when I was sixteen, too," observed Maggie. I waited for Niles to do his, 'Well, colour me amazed!' routine, but for once he seemed to have decided on the prudent course, and kept his mouth shut. I started my lunch.

"Maggie!" I called again, after I'd polished off half my hot-dog. Joke or no joke, I wasn't about to let food go to waste.

"What?"

"You still hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

I stood up and moved over to Niles, then took his untouched hot-dog from his unprotesting hand. There was hardly any reason to ask him if he wanted it, given the way he was studying it as though he expected it to grow arms and legs. I passed it over to Maggie, who had known Niles for several days by that time, and learned enough not to ask. Then I grabbed the chocolatine pastry left over from breakfast and took it back to my co-pilot.

"You should eat something," I insisted. "I don't want you taking painkillers on an empty stomach."

"Okay," he agreed, and accepted the pastry.

Twenty minutes later we were on the road again, with a full tank of petrol and, for a change, Indigo Haze playing from the stereo. Maggie reclined in the back, hidden from my view.

"So what did you have planned, for this evening?" I asked again, over the hum of the engine.

"Oh, I was just wondering whether you'd like to have dinner at the Montana, with me."

I played at being suspicious. "Does this idea by any chance include necking on the couch?"

"Well ... all right then, but you have to promise to take your shoes off first," retorted Niles.

My mouth opened, then closed, as I reached unsuccessfully for a comeback. He'd got me. I had to smile.

Everything was going to be all right.

We arrived at the tourist office car park at Lake Chelan with a quarter of an hour to spare. We were all relieved, as we piled out to stretch our legs (the five of them that functioned, any road). The place was quite busy, reflecting the clement weather we'd had over the last couple of days. Maggie went to peruse the souvenir shop, and Niles sat down on the steps of the motor home, enjoying the fresh air.

All we had to do now was wait for my boss. Whilst I couldn't *imagine* that anything untoward might happen to him between Seattle and the lake, my thoughts kept returning to the regularity with which fate blows raspberries at the Crane clan. It was a tense ten minutes that I spent, watching out for my car. When it finally pulled around the corner of the car park, I would have yelped in relief, were it not for the fact that Niles had decided to work himself into a panic over whether or not to call his brother while he was driving, to let him know we'd arrived, and I was trying very hard to provide my patented 'calming-influence'.

Dr Crane parked up close to the Winnebago and got out. He stretched his back theatrically, and Niles muttered, "Oh no you don't, you big phony!" before letting me help him up, so we could move across to meet his brother.

"Hello, Dr Crane!" I greeted cheerfully. "Thanks ever so much for this."

"Hi Daphne," he smiled back, then he looked at Niles. "What are brothers for, if not to provide the odd *favour*?" He emphasised that last word.

"Quite right," I agreed, feeling Niles tense against me. "You know, I originally thought we'd have to ask you to drive all the way up to the mountains, but Niles very sensibly suggested that this was a much more convenient arrangement. He was determined not to put you to any more trouble than was absolutely necessary."

"Was he?" Dr Crane frowned, and narrowed his eyes as his chance to use this little adventure as leverage slipped away.

"Oh, he was. I told him, I said, 'It's not as though your brother's going to be angry. It's hardly like you injured yourself deliberately!'" I snorted with laughter. "Like he'd put himself through that on purpose, the poor man's been in agony since yesterday evening."

"Yes, he was agonising on the phone," Dr Crane put in.

"Well, then you understand," I decided, pointedly ignoring the comment. I smiled winningly. My employer looked at me for a moment, before he cracked a grin.

"Is this what I've got to look forward to?" he asked. "You two ganging up on me?"

Niles quietly said, "Frasier," and conveyed a thousand words. Dr Crane melted, and accepted a brotherly hug. When my boss looked back at me, I felt suddenly nervous.

"So am I fired, or what?" I asked.

"For ganging up on me?" Dr Crane grinned. "Well, we'll have to see."

"I mean, for fraternising with the management."

"Fraternising?" He smirked at his brother. "Niles, you old dog!"

"Excuse me, but there's an injured man, here. Would someone please help me into Daphne's car before I fall over?"

Which gave me something else to do, besides feel awkward. We installed Niles in the front of my convertible, then Dr Crane grasped my arm. He smiled warmly at me; it's the smile he can always fall back on when he's driven me to distraction, the one which reminds me that I really am ridiculously fond of him.

"No, you're not fired," he said. "I can't imagine why you thought you might be, even in jest. And Daphne - I couldn't be happier for you and Niles. I know how long he's ... well, anyway. Congratulations." And he leaned in and kissed my cheek affectionately, and that was another hurdle crossed.

Maggie came marching up, then. "Hello, Dr Crane!" she greeted.

"Maggie," my boss returned. "How did you enjoy the ... umm ...?"

"Festival? Oh, it was lots of fun. Incident-packed, but lots of fun."

"Good, good. So, do you want to drive back to town with me, or with Daphne?"

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. No, scrub that. No bookie on the planet would have given odds on Maggie choosing to ride with me and Niles ...