A/N: This is yet another story based on a dream.
"Daphne where are the recycle bins? The trash goes out tomorrow!"
Daphne looked around the garage, suddenly a bit disoriented.
"What? They were right here! I just brought them in from the house."
"No you didn't! If you had, they'd be here, along with all of the other trash cans!"
"Oh... Well, I thought..."
Her husband sighed irritably. "No, you didn't! You never do! And you thought wrong, okay?"
She gasped in surprise at her husband's harsh tone.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Um, nothing. Just... go back into the house and get them, all right? I have a lot of work to do and I wanted to get this taken care of before it's too late."
She swallowed hard, fighting the tears that came so easily these days.
"I could have sworn I brought them into the garage. How strange. Oh... I remember now... I meant to bring them out but I got a bit distracted by something on the television. I guess my mind was somewhere else."
Then in an attempt to make him smile, she walked toward him and slid her arms around his neck.
"Perhaps my mind was on the wonderful time I'm going to show you tonight..."
He softened then, but only a little; his mouth curving into a smile that disappeared almost the moment it surfaced. And then like a slap in the face, he lifted her hands from around his neck and took a step backwards.
"Fine. I have stuff to take care of anyway. It will probably take me hours to finish."
She turned away, hoping he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. These arguments were happening more and more often and she wished she knew why.
They'd barely been married three months but they fought as though they'd been married for years.
She was staring into space when she heard him calling her.
"Daphne?"
Slowly she turned to face him in exasperation.
"Yes?"
"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to get the damn bins? I don't have all day you know!"
"Look, if you'll give me a few minutes I'll bring out the bloody bins! I told you before, I've had a lot on me mind and I just wasn't thinking clearly. I'm not perfect, you know!"
Her voice was trembling now and tears spilled down her cheeks but she no longer cared.
And it was then that she noticed that he was staring at her.
"What?"
But he continued to stare.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you going to wear your hair that way?"
Self consciously her hand went to her hair. "What? I don't- what's wrong with me hair?"
"Um, nothing... It's just..."
"What?"
He sighed deeply. "Well, it just doesn't look good. You're growing it out, aren't you?"
"What? How could you say such a horrible thing to me? I thought you loved me!"
"Look, I'm just being honest, okay? Just a little constructive criticism. Don't freak out!"
"Don't 'freak out'?" She yelled, making imaginary quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "How can you expect me to be calm after you said that cruel and hurtful thing to me?"
"Come on, I was just-."
"What's wrong with me hair?"
"Well..."
"You obviously meant something so what is it?"
"Look, just forget about it, okay? It's not a big deal."
"I don't think I can forget it! What did you mean?"
But instead of answering, he walked past her and into the house. "I'll get the damn bins myself, since you're obviously not going to do it!"
"I'm talking to you! Don't walk out on me!"
The door slammed behind her, causing her to flinch.
This wasn't the way she pictured married life to be and now she wondered if she'd made a huge mistake.
Daphne jolted awake, her breathing rapid and her heart pounding beneath her chest. It was the fourth night in a row that she'd awoken to a disturbing nightmare involving her future husband, but this was by far the worst.
Could the dreams have been visions?
The thought was completely ridiculous but the more she willed it away, the more it returned, beckoning her to believe it.
She glanced at the clock, somewhat annoyed to find that it was too late to resume sleeping. But even if she could, she doubted that sleep would come.
It was only supposed to be a short afternoon nap, but now she realized she'd been asleep for hours.
Dr. Crane was a dear man for letting her sleep when there was so much work to do. Lately it was as though he'd had a sixth sense when it came to her stress level and he'd eased off considerably on her duties. But she liked working hard. It kept her mind off of things... her upcoming wedding for one.
However she had obligations today and the thought made her smile.
The younger Dr. Crane had invited her over to help him with a recipe that he wanted to try out and she was more than willing to do so.
After all, he was her best friend.
Reluctantly (but eagerly) she climbed off of her bed and jumped into the shower. It was just a casual meeting but she felt like she should look as nice as possible. So she searched through her closet for the perfect item of clothing.
But it wasn't hard to choose. For there before her was the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen.
In a beautiful shade of mauve, the sleeveless dress fit her like no other dress ever had. It was by far her favorite and although Donny never commented on it, she knew that the younger Dr. Crane surely would. He was always doing that; saying the smallest things to make her feel so special.
She had no idea why she was so anxious to get to the Montana but she had a feeling that this was going to be a wonderful evening.
Her trepidation increased as she neared his building and she willed the feeling away. Why was she so bloody nervous? It was just a casual meeting between friends, nothing more.
She'd been surprised when he called but she didn't hesitate to offer her help. After all, he'd helped her more times than she cared to admit so she owed him this favor.
But why sticky toffee pudding?
And why her? He'd never expressed interest in her cooking before.
The whole thing was completely strange. Strange and wonderful at the same time. She couldn't help thinking that perhaps he had invited her over for a different reason all together. And the thought made her even more nervous than she cared to admit.
But as much as she tried to push the nervousness away, it was still there when she arrived at his doorstep.
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door and seconds later it was answered. He smiled at the sight of her and she was momentarily taken aback. He was so handsome, and she couldn't quite believe that he had been in love with her for all of these years.
Could what his brother said actually be true? It was like something out of a fairy tale.
"Daphne, right on time!" Niles said cheerfully. "I'm glad you're here. Come in. let me take your coat."
She smiled as he slipped her coat off of her shoulders and hung it on the coat rack. And it was hard not to notice the way his eyes moved up and down her body, as though admiring her new dress.
"I brought the recipe."
"Hmmm? Oh, for sticky toffee pudding... mmmm."
She moved just a bit closer to him. "Well, that's why I'm here, isn't it? To teach you how to make it?" she asked, unable to hide the suggestiveness in her voice.
"Yes."
Daphne smiled, knowing full well that he could have cared less about any silly old pudding.
"You're not buying it, are you?"
She laughed at the way he always seemed to read her mind and followed him to the fainting couch.
"Daphne do you know why I asked you here tonight?"
The heat crept into her cheeks and caused her face to flush with color. "I think I do. I mean, when a man asks you to his house to make pudding on a Saturday night..."
"A pretty flimsy excuse, wasn't it?" Niles laughed.
"Well, it got me here."
"I'm glad."
He touched her arm causing her to shiver, and her heart began to race.
"Just make yourself comfortable and I'll be right back."
"All right."
She could hardly believe this was happening. In mere seconds the man she'd come to love would say the words that she secretly longed to hear...