A/N: Many, many thanks to my readers and to those who have posted reviews or helped me tremendously in this journey to my 500th story.
He pressed his lips against hers, amazed at the feeling that it brought. It was a feeling that even as a skilled psychiatrist he could not put into words. But one thing was certain. He hoped to hold on to the feeling for as long as he possibly could.
Truth be told, Mel Karnofsky was not the woman of his dreams. Nor was she the woman that he'd envisioned as someone with whom he could fall in love. But, as he'd learned time and time again, life had a funny way of leading him down unexpected paths. And this path, this journey that he had embarked upon with Mel was a journey that he was more than willing to take.
It was a journey that started with an unforeseen event.
His trip to the University of Washington Medical Center wasn't planned. He'd certainly never expected to be involved in a minor car accident that left Frasier with a slight injury. Niles had every right to be annoyed and angry, but Frasier's injury involved blood and the sight of it was not something that Niles had ever handled very well. Even so it was hard to ignore his feelings of guilt when he reluctantly left Frasier sitting in the waiting room surrounded by people who had community college written all over them. The memory made Niles shudder. He knew that he should have stayed with Frasier until a doctor was able to treat him, but when it came to matters of money, he knew that his older brother would understand his sudden need to leave.
He took a deep breath and walked out of the emergency room waiting room, headed for the Center for Reconstructive Surgery. Silently he cursed his domineering ex-wife for leaving him with a waterfall of medical bills for her endless plastic surgery procedures. The idea that she had been so selfish and heartless to assume that Niles would simply offer to pay the bills no questions asked... Why, he could feel his heart rate increase with each footfall on the hard tiled floor. Suddenly he was livid. How dare she!
The stack of bills pressed firmly between his fingers, he marched into the office prepared to give this Mel Karnofsky person a piece of his mind. Seeing that Maris was out of his life forever, he was bound and determined to put an end to the madness. Mel Karnofsky was not going to get away with taking any more of his money. Maris had already taken enough to leave him financially and embarrassingly unstable.
He shook off the thought and the second he made eye contact with the almost-too-perfect (in appearance anyway) receptionist, he demanded to speak to Mel Karnofksy, refusing to take no for an answer. He might have been a coward (in many respects) but when it came to matters of money, he was the bravest man alive. The statement might not have been at all true, but at that moment he came face to face with the plastic surgeon, he knew that his life would never be the same.
He'd been expecting a man. A man with whom Niles would have been forced to bargain his way to his freedom from Maris' medical bills. And he was prepared for a fight, if necessary. He was not, however, prepared to find that Mel Karnofksy was not a man, but a woman. And a very beautiful woman at that. At the sight of her, his heart sang (albeit softly) and she was striking. She was different than any woman that he'd ever seen in his life. Her short dark hair and perfect milky white complexion, combined with her sweet smile made the song in his heart become a symphony.
Instantly what little courage he'd summoned up dissolved and the familiar shyness took its place. But to his relief and amazement, the shyness didn't last long and he found it easy to strike up a conversation with the attractive woman. Even more amazing was realizing that they had much in common. It was more than just a physical attraction. He was completely mesmerized by her. Mel was different than any other person he'd ever come into contact with.
He stared at her in awe, watching her open the closet door of her office, where a row of crisp, white lab coats hung neatly in a row. And he was even more astonished, when, upon discovering a small imperfection, she simply removed her lab coat, tossed it away and reached into the closet for a new one. It was, by all accounts, a brilliant system and he wondered if perhaps he should consider adopting the same practice in his office. After all, he had an abundance of blazers and he was forever worried about staining one of them. At that moment he vowed to change his routine the minute he returned to work.
He was seconds away from approaching her to ask about her theory on such a system when something else caught his eye. She had a hepa filter used to filter out unsightly germs! It was completely remarkable, but it wasn't just any hepa filter. It was a Svenson!
He had a similar brand that he was very proud of. But a Svenson! Why, it was completely remarkable! It was much more impressive than the one he used at home and he was immediately green with envy.
Once he brought up the subject there was no stopping him. One topic led to another and then another. and just when he was sure that he was all talked out, he glanced at his watch, alarmed to find that quite a bit of time had passed. Knowing that Frasier was most likely finished with his office visit, Niles reluctantly bade Mel goodbye, but at the moment he paid no attention to the fact that she seemed irritated; almost angry.
If only he had known what it meant.
She seemed pleased when he left with the promise of calling her that evening. Perhaps she had merely been disappointed that their first encounter was drawing to a close. But he looked forward to spending as much time with her as possible.
Because finally he was happier than he'd been in a very long time.