Daphne was glad the date was over. She breathed a sigh of relief as she entered Dr. Crane's apartment. To her surprise, the living room light was on, and the younger Dr. Crane sat on the couch. "I thought your brother's friends had left by now."
Niles smiled at the sight of her. "They had. But I wanted to hear how your date with Joe went."
A deep sigh escaped from Daphne. "He took me to a club to hear some rock group play. The place was loud as can be. I could barely hear meself think! I kept telling him I wanted to go home, but he was having too good a time to even notice." She winced, feeling the beginnings of a headache. She sat down beside him.
"I'm sorry. I know how badly you wanted to go out with him. This is all my fault, I set you up with him."
"Nonsense." Daphne reached out to squeeze his hand. "It was me own fault. I let meself get carried away just because he was handsome. That's the last time I'll make that mistake. Next time, I'll make sure to get to know a man before I get involved."
"That's good to hear, Daphne. I know if I'd known Maris a little better before we got married, I might've thought twice about it."
Daphne nodded. "It's always better to get to know someone first. Once you're sure you get along as friends, then you can decide if you want to go further. There's so much more to a man than just his looks. Like you. I mean, I could never sit here and talk to Joe like I'm talking to you."
"Thank you. Friendship is important. Unfortunately, I never had much luck with making friends. But I do have one friend."
"Me Grammy Moon used to say that one friend is really all a person needs."
"She must've been a wise woman." For a moment, Niles was quiet. But he noticed the way Daphne seemed to be in pain. "Are you all right?" he finally asked.
Daphne shook her head. "I'm afraid I've got a bit of a headache from listening to Joe's music."
Immediately, Niles got up. "Let me get you some aspirin. You just stay there." He rushed off to the kitchen, returning a moment later, with pills and a glass of water.
"Thank you, Dr. Crane," Daphne replied, taking the pills quickly. "When you said you had a friend, you were talking about your brother, right?" She nodded toward the elder Dr. Crane's room before setting the glass on the coffee table.
"Of course not, Daphne. I was talking about you." Niles remembered the incident earlier tonight, and was glad this was a question he could answer honestly.
"Oh! Well, aren't you sweet!" She couldn't help blushing. "Thank you. You're me friend, too." She stood up, hugging him tightly.
Niles thought there could be nothing better in this world than to be in her arms. He sighed as the embrace finally ended.
Daphne looked into his eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked.
The idea that Daphne could be so concerned about him despite her own pain was nearly overwhelming to Niles. "Well..." He didn't want to finish the sentence, not wanting to worry her.
"You were sitting here waiting up for me, weren't you? You must be exhausted! There's no way you're driving home in this condition. I'm going to make up the couch for you." When he began to protest, she cut him off. "Don't worry about your brother. I'll explain it all to him in the morning. I'll be right back." Before Niles could say another word, she was gone. She returned a minute later, carrying a pillow and a blanket, as well as some clothing. "I stole some of your brother's pajamas from the laundry. You can go change into them while I get the couch ready."
Left with no alternative, Niles went into the bathroom to change. He could hardly believe Daphne was taking care of him this way. He emerged to find her fixing the blankets on the couch, making sure they were just right. "There you go, Dr. Crane. You should be comfortable enough."
"Thank you," was all Niles was able to say in reply.
"You're welcome. And thanks for waiting up for me. It means a lot to know that someone cares about me the way you do." She hugged him again, more quickly. "Now, you get some rest, all right?"
Niles nodded, and she began to walk off toward her room. "Daphne?" She turned when she heard her name. "I'm sorry about Joe. I was hoping he'd make you happy."
Daphne shrugged. "So was I. But it's all right. Just because Joe didn't work out doesn't mean me handsome prince isn't out there. I just need to look a little harder next time. Goodnight, Dr. Crane."
Niles watched her go. He couldn't help praying that, next time, maybe she'd look in his direction.
The End