From her bedroom window, Daphne could hear the drone of the traffic below. It was a comforting sound and one that she'd grown accustomed to hearing in the year since she'd moved to New York City. But it was also a painful reminder that she was here. And he was there... far away.
He being Niles Crane.
His name brought a new wave of tears that ran in tiny rivers down her cheeks. As she'd done so many times before, she clutched her pillow in a lame effort to find solace. But she knew that it would never come.
She turned onto her side, holding her pillow to her chest as though it was a warm body; his warm body.
She'd only known him for one day; mere hours, really. But the love that she felt for him made it seem like they had known each other for a lifetime.
Finally after several hours of sleeplessness, she rose from her bed and stared out the window. But the sight of the street below only made her cry harder.
For it was here that she'd said goodbye to the kindest, sweetest, most handsome man she'd ever known. Was it possible that it had been six months ago?
She sighed deeply and stared at the phone as though willing it to ring. But it was hardly worth the effort, for she knew it would never happen.
She'd even given him her phone number, in the hopes that one day he'd be thinking of her and try to get in touch with her.
She could have called him. And oh, how she wanted to.
She'd dreamed of it so many times. Her cordless phone in hand, she'd dial his number and after a few rings, she'd hear his sweet voice, telling her how much he loved her and how much he missed her, but that he'd dreamed of her every night.
But after what he'd told her about his wife (or soon to be ex-wife) she found that she was apprehensive about doing so.
She didn't know much about his life, other than what he'd told her and although she knew that he was completely honest with her, she couldn't help but worry.
What if the woman answered the phone? What would she say? She couldn't very well say that she was a friend of Dr. Crane's, although it was true.
And so, she did nothing.
It would have been so easy to sit down and pour out her heart in a love letter, using paper and pen. But every time she tried, she began to cry, leaving teardrops on the stationery. There were simply no words in her heart to begin to describe how much she loved him and missed him. There were nights that she missed him so terribly that her chest began to ache.
And one night the pain proved to be completely unbearable.
At first she feared that she was having a heart attack, and she rushed to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. But when she arrived, they did a thorough exam and found absolutely nothing wrong with her. As she walked home; her surroundings blurred by her tears, she concluded that the only possible diagnosis was a broken heart.
She had no idea it was possible to miss someone this much, let alone love them. It was such a wonderful feeling, and yet it hurt so deeply.
Why hadn't he contacted her? He meant those things he'd said to her that night, she was sure of it. Was it possible that when he'd gotten back to Seattle, he'd changed his mind?
The thought made her chest ache more than ever, and she clutched her heart, willing the pain to leave.
But it simply grew stronger.
"Oh God, it hurts!" She cried, staggering across the room. An irrational thought occurred just then. If she could only pick up the phone and call him, she could tell him about the pain she was experiencing. He was a doctor, after all.
Perhaps...
No, it was completely ridiculous. If he hadn't forgotten about her by now, he surely would if she were to do something so irrational.
He was a well-educated, sophisticated successful man and what was she? Just a poor immigrant from Manchester whose heart had been broken far too many times.
She forced herself to lie down and once more clutched the pillow crying into the soft fabric.
Finally, mercifully the pain subsided a bit, leaving in its wake a dull throb that somehow managed to lull her to sleep.
Her dreams, when they came, were filled with images of the man she'd loved for so long, but had only seen for a short time. He'd showed her kindness that she had no idea could exist. His absence left a gap in her heart that she feared would never be filled.
When morning came she awoke, wondering how she'd managed to sleep at all. Reluctantly she rose and dressed for work, determined to get through another day. After all, she had a life here and she had to make a living, no matter how much her heart was hurting.
She left her apartment in a rush, not realizing until she was halfway to her office that she'd forgotten to eat breakfast. Truth be told, she hadn't eaten much recently and it definitely showed.
Her clothes were bigger and baggier and she'd begun to feel much more exhaustion and fatigue than before. Her mother would be livid if she knew, and Daphne could only imagine the lecture she would receive.
But it didn't matter anyway. She had no one to look good for, and she was lonelier than ever before. However, food was essential and she certainly couldn't risk getting sick. So she walked into the nearest restaurant, hoping to quickly find a table and eat her meal in silence.
But as soon as she ordered her food, she knew she'd made a big mistake.