Sighing contentedly, Niles closed his eyes. This was absolute heaven...
A far cry from the hell he'd experienced just hours before.
The day had gone perfectly; until an unfortunate mishap with a Christmas tree ended with a nasty fall from the elevator shaft.
His entire body ached.
Or at least it did...
The gentle hands caressed his aching calf muscles with such care that he'd all but forgotten about the argument that preceded this moment.
"I can't tell you how good that feels. I've never had a massage quite like this before."
"Well, I'm glad." The sweet voice replied. "As long as you're so relaxed, maybe I should give you your Christmas present now."
Dressed in a nurses' uniform, the goddess smiled at him and climbed on the massage table, kissing him deeply.
His hands splayed through her hair and the scent of her perfume was even more intoxicating than a glass of wine.
"Oh... Daphne..."
"Niles..."
The kisses grew deeper and deeper until-
"OW!"
His eyes flew open and he raised his head, wincing at the pain.
"You woke me up!"
"Sorry Dr. Crane." The massage therapist said. "This ankle seems to be a bit tender."
Niles laid his head against the pillow and sighed. "Not as tender as my heart."
"Sounds serious. Want to talk about it?"
Niles looked at the man in disbelief. "Well, I hardly think a massage therapist is a person with whom I'd want to discuss such a delicate subject. No offense, you understand."
The massage therapist resumed his work on Niles' ankle. "Come on, try me."
With a roll of his eyes, Niles groaned. "Fine. Well, for starters, you woke me up from the most wonderful dream."
"I did?"
"Yes, and it was blissful." Niles replied, feeling his heart warm at the memory.
"Let me guess. You were dreaming about a woman."
"More like a goddess." Niles replied. "The most perfect angel I've ever seen."
"Wow! Must be some dame!"
Once more Niles raised his head in exasperation. "Daphne's not a dame! She's the most exquisite creature I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"Daphne? You mean the woman who lives here? The one with the Australian accent?"
"English." Niles corrected. "Manchester to be exact."
"Oh, it's so much more than love." Niles said, feeling himself sinking into a state of euphoria when her image came to mind. "I absolutely adore her. In fact, I worship her."
"Does Daphne know all of this?"
"Well of course she doesn't know!" Niles said. "I'm no fool!"
"You sound pretty serious about her. You should probably tell her."
The reality of the massage therapist's words stung worse than the pain in his ankle.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Tiring quickly of this conversation, Niles sighed irritably and closed his eyes.
"If you must know... I'm... Well... I'm afraid."
"Afraid? Of what?"
"Look. This conversation has gone on for far too long and-."
"I'm just trying to help you Dr. Crane."
"You've done enough for one evening, thank you. But since it is Christmas... I suppose I'll enlighten you."
"I'm listening."
Niles rolled his eyes and made a mental note never to acquire this massage therapist's services again.
"All right. Daphne's an angel. She's beautiful and kind, she cares about everyone and I've never once seen her show even the slightest amount of disrespect. She's so much more than I'll ever be, and there's very little chance that she'd ever be attracted to me."
"Oh I don't know about that. You're a nice guy. Well-educated. And just between you and I-you're not as half as stuffy as that brother of yours. But please don't tell him I told you that. I was lucky to get this job and if he knew that I was saying things about his character-."
"Don't worry. I won't say a word. I have the utmost respect for doctor/patient confidentiality." Niles replied.
"Well, I think we're finished here, Dr. Crane. That ankle feel better?"
"Yes, thank you." Niles lied, grateful that the lights were dimmed so that the massage therapist couldn't see his bleeding nose.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Crane."
"Likewise." Niles said, shaking the man's hand.
"I'll let you get dressed and then I'll be out of here. Still have some time to spend Christmas with my family." The massage therapist said.
When the door closed behind him, Niles got dressed; wrapping the soft terrycloth robe around him, cinching the belt tightly.
He bent down to retrieve his slippers when a soft knock on the door surprised him.
"Ah! You forgot something, didn't you? Well, fortunately you caught me at a good time. I'm dressed and completely-."
As he opened the door, he froze.
"Daphne?"
She stood before him in a white robe, almost identical to the one he was wearing; looking like an angel sent from Heaven.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Dr. Crane but you sounded like you were in a great deal of pain and I wanted to make sure that you were all right."
The kind words warmed his heart.
"That's very nice of you Daphne, but I'm... OW!"
"Oh, Dr. Crane what's wrong?"
He shivered when she touched the sleeve of his robe, but he knew it had nothing to do with the cold.
"It's nothing, really. I'm fi-ouch!"
"You're not fine at all! What happened?"
He tried to walk and bit back another cry of pain.
"Oh, your poor ankle, Dr. Crane! Come on; let's go take care of it."
Supporting his waist, Daphne guided him into the living room and led him to the sofa.
"Now, just sit right here and relax. I'll be right back."
Niles sat on the couch massaging his ankle with his hands, wishing he'd never climbed that dammed Christmas tree. Not only was his brand new Italian silk suit completely ruined, but he'd just confessed his deepest feelings-which he considered to be extremely personal: to a masseur of all people!
He was so deep in thought that he was completely unaware of the figure standing next to him.
"Here you are, Dr. Crane."
The sound of her voice made him jump in surprise.
"Dear God!"
His heart was racing as he looked up and found himself staring into her beautiful brown eyes.
"I-I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane! I didn't mean to startle you! I just came to bring you these!" She held out an ice pack. "Now here's a towel to put over your foot so that you won't experience any chills from the ice."
"I appreciate that, Daphne. Thank you."
"Oh! And one more thing. Some aspirin for the pain."
Dutifully, Niles took the aspirin and touched her hand in gratitude.
"Thank you Daphne... Really."
"May I ask what happened to your foot?"
He sighed, remembering the embarrassing scenario. It was a moment that he'd much rather forget.
"Well... to be honest..."
"Oh. I'm sorry, Dr. Crane."
He looked up in surprise. "What on earth for?"
"I can see you're upset and I don't mean to pry. I was just... worried."
He smiled, touched by her concern.
"I was involved in a terrible incident in the elevator. You see, the car became stuck in between floors and I tried to be a hero. Unfortunately, as I was crawling around the elevator shaft, I slipped and-."
When Daphne gasped, he immediately regretted his words.
"Oh! You poor man! That must have been so painful!"
Niles sighed deeply as he stared at her. "You're an angel."
She looked up; her lip trembling. "W-what?"
The words of the massage therapist resounded in Niles' head...
You should probably tell her.
He swallowed hard and took her hand. "Daphne? There's something I need to tell you. I-."
"Dr. Crane?"
"Yes?"
She averted her eyes a little too quickly, as though reluctant to look at him.
"I-I'm afraid I was eavesdropping on you before, Dr. Crane. I'm so sorry. I'm ashamed to even say it. I-."
"You can tell me anything."
She smiled and stared at the floor.
"All right. Well, when I heard you yell, I was about to go in and check on you. But then I heard you talking to the mass-age therapist. I-I know I should have walked away, but then I heard me name and-."
He swallowed hard and looked at her. "Y-you did?"
"Yes."
"I-I'm sorry about that. I didn't-."
"Did you mean what you said? That I'm beautiful and kind?"
He looked at her with such love that her beautiful image seemed to melt before him.
"Oh yes... Of course."
Her eyes filled with tears and he quickly looked away, cursing under his breath. What was he thinking, telling his deepest thoughts to that horrible massage therapist?
When his eyes met hers once more, he sighed.
"Daphne, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to upset you."
"You didn't. I just..."
He stared into her eyes.
"What is it?"
There was an uncomfortable silence before she continued.
"Were you really dreaming about me?"
Oh... that. Well, I..."
Tears slid down her cheeks, making him feel even worse.
"Daphne, please don't cry. I never-."
"I-I'm sorry." She whispered.
"It's my fault. I've upset you and-."
"No. It's lovely."
"I-it is?"
She nodded. "I'm so flattered, Dr. Crane."
His face reddened. "Well... You're welcome."
There was an awkward silence that was broken only by the sound of Daphne's soft sigh.
"Dr Crane? Can I ask you something else?"
"Of course you can, Daphne. Anything. Anything at all."
He could hear the quivering in her voice, even before she spoke.
"H-how could you possibly think that I'd never be attracted to you?"
His cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"Daphne, I-."
His words were stopped by her fingers on his lips.
"Because nothing could be further from the truth."
He gasped in stunned amazement, forgetting all about his ankle.
"A-are you saying..."
She gave him a smile that made his heart soar.
"Dr. Crane, how could I not be attracted to you? You're sweet, smart, and handsome and you're the kindest, most wonderful man I've ever known."
He felt tears sting his eyes and he blinked them away.
"Oh Daphne... that was..."
"The truth."
Her lips were warm and soft on his as she kissed him deeply; her arms wrapped around his neck. He could feel his entire body trembling at her touch.
He gave into the kiss completely, never expecting it to feel like this.
But she pulled away and smiled at him as she gently caressed his cheek.
"Niles! You're shaking. Are you cold?"
The sound of his own name; once annoying, now astonished him.
His dream had finally come true.
"Niles? Are you okay?" she was asking as she vigorously rubbed his back.
"I love you, Daphne." He said.
Then as though realizing what he'd done, he flinched.
"Oh..."
"I'm so sorry. I-."
To his amazement, she kissed him again. "I'm not sorry. In fact... I love you, too. But you never answered my question. You're shiverin!"
She picked up a blanket that lay on the back of the sofa and draped it around his trembling shoulders.
"There. Is that better?"
"I-It's w-wonderful."
"But Niles... you're still trembling! If you're not cold, then what's wrong?"
He took her in his arms and kissed her once more.
"Nothing's wrong, my angel. Because I'm happier than I ever dreamed."
THE END