NOTE- I do NOT own any of the characters or media from Frasier. All rights go to NBC, Paramount, and anyone else associated with it. I am not making money off of these stories.

I had written most of this a few months ago and completely forgot about it. Hope you enjoy! ~markaleen

It was a cold, dark, rainy, windy, and stormy winter night. For Dr. Niles Crane, it was a cold, dark, rainy, windy, and stormy night in a gothic mansion with a goddess. That goddess happened to be Daphne Moon. How he adored her! She was beautiful, funny, enchanting, warm-hearted, kind, and so many other wonderful things! She seemed to have a permanent place in his mind. There was no leaving it. He wanted her more than anything. There was only one problem…

Maris.

His wife.

Of course he loved Maris, but there was something about her. Actually, there were many things about her. She was extremely moody, demanding, stubborn, self-centered, he could go on and on for hours. With Daphne, it was much different. She cared. She cared about him, which was not something he was used to with Maris. Daphne didn't care just about herself; it wasn't always all about her. She was kind, thoughtful, sweet, he could still go on and on forever. As much as he admired and adored Daphne, he couldn't get himself to leave Maris. Even after all the horrid things she had done to him in the past. She had just kicked him out over a miss understanding involving their upstairs maid and himself naked in a closet. As usual, he had to beg for forgiveness. That's why Daphne was with him tonight. Maris had flown to her favorite spa in Arizona to sort out the misunderstanding, so Daphne was going to help him prepare a special 'forgiveness' dinner. Unfortunately (well, it could be), Maris' flight was canceled due to the storm. Martin had told Daphne to stay the night at Niles' because he didn't want her driving in the terrible weather. So she said that she would.

She had just broken up with her boyfriend, Eric. Actually he had dumped her. She was extremely upset about it. She had thought that he was the one. She tried her best not to let Niles know what had happened or how she was feeling but when he had mentioned the date she had planned, she broke down in tears. Niles did his best to comfort her; it seemed to be working until the phone rang. He was actually glad that it was Maris. Daphne was leaning on him and he was a bit worried that he wouldn't be able to control himself. He wasn't really sure what was going on with the feelings that Daphne caused him. All he knew was that he felt good around her. He was able to be himself. Another thing he wasn't used to with Maris.

Was he willing to risk losing the friendship that he was building with Daphne though? He didn't know. They were building a good friendship. Actually a great one… He didn't want to do a thing that would ruin all that. Why did she have to be so beautiful? That didn't make anything easier.

Then the power went out. Still not helping. At all…

Daphne went upstairs to dry off. Her car had stalled from the rain and had to walk in the awful weather. After Niles lit some candles for light and put more logs on the fire for heat, he went over to the piano and started playing. Maybe that would get his mind off of Daphne. That was working wonderfully until she came back down stairs wearing a white, silky nighty. Apparently none of Maris' clothes fit her. Not even anything from her wool collection. Were all these things a sign? Or were they a test? Could he tell Daphne how he felt? Or would he have to use every bit of power he had in him to not give in?

As the night went on they got to talking. Daphne was telling Niles how she felt like she fell in love to quickly. Niles was glad that she trusted him enough to confide in him. Niles reassured her that what she saw as a fault was one of her greatest qualities. Daphne had closed her eyes, that's when he lost control. He slowly leaned into kiss her. Just before their lips touched, the glockenspiel started playing music that hadn't played in years. He took that as a sign. It wasn't meant to be. Hearing the clock made his mind return to Maris. Even though she had many, many faults, he couldn't help but love her. He told Daphne about his love for Maris, which she found very sweet. She kissed him lightly on the cheek. Maybe he would grow to love Daphne as a friend. Maybe he would get over this strong attraction to her. Maybe in a few years from now he would look back on this night and laugh.

Little did he know that his love would grow…

The End.