Author's Note: Many thanks to Anika (BaronessBlixen) for writing "Shadows from the Moon" and allowing me to continue it here. I hope my story lives up to the original!

Niles put the car into park and turned to Daphne. "I know I should walk you back up to Frasier's, but I'm afraid all that dancing has left me exhausted." There was no nosebleed. He was indeed tired, but not so much physically. Heartache left him emotionally drained.

"Oh. All right," Daphne said, surprised. She had hoped that this 'pretend date' would continue, at least until she got back to Dr. Crane's. She knew it would have to end at some point. After all, she was just a poor girl from Manchester. She nearly wanted to laugh. All her life, she'd loved Cinderella, and here she was living it. Somehow, reality didn't quite live up to the fairytale.

Niles could barely look at her. As much as he loved Daphne, he wished she would leave. He just wanted to go home. He would be miserable and lonely, but at least he wouldn't have to face people anymore. Right now he didn't think he could handle that. Still, he couldn't just end things like this. "Thank you again for coming, and for the...dance lessons." He tried not to dwell on those memories. Moving as one with Daphne had been the most thrilling experience of his life. Admittedly, he hadn't had very many thrills, but it didn't matter.

"I had a lovely time," Daphne said awkwardly. Her heart ached at the hurt in his expression. She had thought she was doing the right thing by letting him down gently. But he was her friend, her sweet, caring friend. She just couldn't stand to see him hurting like this. She reached out to cover his hand with hers. "I'm sorry."

Niles looked up. "What could you have to apologize for? You were wonderful." He meant it. She was unquestionably the best dancer at the ball.

Daphne smiled. "Me powers have told me that you weren't really acting tonight." One look at his eyes, and she knew she was right.

"What do you mean, when I said I loved you?" Niles tried to act as if the idea were ridiculous. "Of course I was -" A nosebleed hit, and he reached for a handkerchief in his pocket.

Daphne took it from him. "Here, let me do that." She gently wiped the blood away. As suddenly as it had started, the bleeding stopped. She handed back the handkerchief.

"Thank you," Niles said. "Oh, Daphne, it's obvious I can't hide my feelings. I've been trying to do it for the past three years, and it hasn't worked very well."

Daphne smiled. "It worked better than you think. I didn't even know for sure until tonight. I'm very flattered."

Niles sighed. "Why do I get the feeling there's a 'but' coming?"

"You're a very sweet man," Daphne said. "But this could never work out. I don't know the first thing about wine or opera. I'm not used to your fancy foods and gourmet dinner parties. You'd probably get tired of me." She laughed.

Niles reached out to caress her cheek. "I could never get tired of you. You're right, we don't have very much in common. But, Daphne, those women at the ball tonight could never make me feel the way you do. All they care about is money and gossip. But you...you're warm and caring."

Daphne's heart melted at his words. She kept trying to remind herself that this was crazy. But she couldn't quite convince her heart. There was something about the gentle way he touched her cheek.

Even in the dim light, Niles could see her smile. "You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Daphne blushed. "I'm certainly glad I bought this dress, even if it did cost me a fortune!"

"I'm not talking about that. I mean, in here." He placed his hand on her chest, where he could feel her heart beating.

"Oh, Niles. You say such wonderful things. But I just don't know. This is all rather overwhelming. I'm just so confused."

Niles saw that he'd gone a bit too far. He'd been admiring her beauty for years, but she had only been aware of it for a few hours. He took a couple of deep breaths. "Let's make this simple, then," he said. "Kiss me again. This time, there's no one watching. It's just you and me. And if you don't feel anything, we can just forget all of this ever happened. I promise I will never speak of this again."

Daphne thought about it for a moment. It did seem the easiest thing to do. "All right."

Slowly, Niles leaned forward. Their lips met in a gentle kiss. The kiss made Daphne's heart race. Suddenly, all her doubts faded. When the kisses ended, she looked at him. They still had a long way to go. It would take some time for her feelings to finally become clear. Everything had happened so quickly, she hadn't had time to make sense of it. There was no need to rush, because neither of them was going anywhere.

Daphne thought again of Cinderella. She had thought fairytales couldn't come true, but she'd just been proven wrong. Maybe in real life, happy endings don't happen all at once. Maybe there are risks involved. As she looked into Niles' eyes, she knew one thing for certain: the risk would be more than worth it.

The End