A/N: Because of a comment in a review that Jessie33 left on "When Niles Met Daphne Part 1" I've written this expansion story of Chapter 17 in honor of her birthday with many thanks for her friendship and reviews.
The rain outside was coming down hard, as it often did in Seattle, but despite the seemingly predictable weather, Niles could hardly believe that this moment was real. It was as though he had died and gone to heaven. Here he was in his mansion's living room, illuminated only by candlelight staring into the angelic face of the woman he loved.
His head propped on his hand, he could have listened to her all night and into the next morning. Funny how just a short while ago, he'd been livid with his wife for calling to say that she couldn't return home from her trip to Arizona. So what if there was a terrible storm outside? If she'd really wanted to come home to him, she would have found a way.
If it hadn't been for Daphne's kindness and selflessness, this night would have been a complete disaster. He'd be alone in this monstrosity of a house, listening to the rain pelting the windows. After what Daphne had done for him, he was even more convinced that she was an angel.
When Niles had expressed an interest at Frasier's on ways to make Maris happy, Daphne didn't hesitate in her offer to make Niles and Maris a romantic dinner. Shed' driven herself over braving the stormy weather and had arrived at his home wet, cold and shivering. He was touched by her kindness and generosity and he couldn't help but feel compassion for her when he'd broken down into tears in his living room over her breakup with Eric. That community college barista who worked at Café Nervosa was all wrong for her of course. Few men were worthy of her and those who were hadn't been created yet.
Niles suspected that the man knew little to nothing about Psychology, sticking to the most basic topics that were found in the simplest high school textbooks. Niles had to admit that he felt guilty for yelling at Daphne when, one morning at breakfast at Frasier's, she'd mentioned Eric once too often. But it was hard not to notice the way her eyes sparkled when she mentioned his name. Niles was no fool. He could see how much she liked him, but the fact that the man-or any man- could break the heart of a goddess was simply unfathomable.
Now he stared at her as she lay on the floor, her head resting against one of his plush throw pillows and looked up at him, telling him her wishes and dreams. Wearing Maris' silk nightgown, Daphne had never looked more angelic. He watched her, listening intently to her every word. And as he listened to her words from the heart, he knew that fate had certainly played a role in this moment.
Never did he dream he'd be sitting here amid flickering candlelight, alone with an angel who was wearing his wife's most revealing pieces of clothing. And he wished he could find a way to thank the heavens above for the storm which caused the power outage. He'd sent his staff home hours ago when the wind and rain had shown signs of becoming worse, leaving him alone in the monstrous house.
Alone with the goddess of his dreams.