As soon as Niles opened the door to his apartment, and saw her standing there, he knew something was wrong. "Daphne! Are you all right?"
Daphne could only shake her head. "I was out running errands for your brother, and all of a sudden, I started to feel a bit ill."
Immediately, Niles reached for her hand. "Well, come in. What's wrong?"
"Well, me stomach's a bit sick. And I'm so dizzy."
Niles helped her to sit on the fainting couch. "I can't believe Frasier or Dad would let you go out when you're obviously not well."
"Oh, I was fine when I left the house, Dr. Crane. But now..." She trailed off as her stomach began to feel worse.
Niles could see what was going on. "Let me get you some ginger ale for your stomach." Before Daphne could protest, he was off to the kitchen. He returned almost at once, a can of ginger ale in his hand, already opened. "Drink this slowly," he said.
Daphne gave him a weak, grateful smile. She obediently took a sip. "Thank you," she said, when she felt a bit better.
"You're welcome. Is there anything else I can get you?"
"No," Daphne replied. "But I wish this room would stop bloody spinning."
Niles felt his heart break, seeing the woman he loved in such distress. "Well, if your stomach's feeling better, perhaps you should try to rest and see if the dizziness goes away."
After a couple more sips of the ginger ale, Daphne did find that her stomach felt much better. But that did nothing to help her head.
Niles watched her intently, looking for any signs that her sickness was getting worse. "Do you want to lie down?" he finally asked.
Going to sleep sounded wonderful to Daphne. Anything to make this dizziness go away. But to do so here...no, she couldn't make Dr. Crane go to any more trouble than he already had. "I think I should be getting back to your brother's." Carefully, she tried to stand up. She saw at once that was a bad idea, as the room began to spin even more.
"Daphne, I'll be glad to take you back to Frasier's if you really think that's best. But I should tell you that I have a lovely guest room right here that you're more than welcome to lie down in."
Daphne smiled. "That's very sweet of you, Dr. Crane. But I'm sure your father and brother will be wondering where I am. And I really shouldn't be imposing on you like this."
"This is no imposition, believe me," Niles replied. "Something's obviously wrong with you, and as a doctor, I think it's my duty to take care of you until you're well." He ignored the thoughts that came along with that. After all, the idea of having Daphne under his roof was what he'd dreamed of for years now.
Daphne couldn't help smiling. Of course Dr. Crane was being nice to her. He treated everyone with the same kindness. It was one of the things she loved about him. "Well, all right." Daphne smiled at him again. She supposed it didn't make sense to move now, when she was feeling like this.
Niles couldn't help feeling a little thrill when she agreed. "You just make yourself comfortable here while I go get the guestroom prepared for you."
All Daphne could do was nod at him. When Niles left the room, Daphne leaned back on the fainting couch. It was surprisingly comfortable. She closed her eyes, and found that she almost felt better.
Luckily for Niles, the guestroom was already as neat as could be. It didn't take long to double-check that everything was perfect for his angel. He walked back out into the living room and found Daphne asleep on the couch. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Daphne?"
Daphne awoke with a start. "Oh, Dr. Crane. I'm so sorry, I must've fallen asleep here on your couch."
"That's quite all right," Niles replied. "I'll help you to the guestroom now. You should be more comfortable in there."
Daphne nodded at him uncertainly. The way the room seemed to spin, she wasn't sure if she could walk at the moment. But Niles sensed her feelings and gently helped her up, offering an arm to steady her as they both slowly made their way toward the downstairs guestroom.
Niles carefully guided Daphne to the guestroom and helped her sit on the bed. "Well, here you are, Daphne. Make yourself at home. Is there anything you need?"
"No," Daphne said. She still couldn't believe how sweet he was being.
"Well, I'll leave you alone so you can get some rest, then." For a moment, Niles imagined himself kissing Daphne goodnight, but he knew he could never do that. She was sick, and to do such a thing now would only leave her confused on top of everything else she was feeling.
"Thank you," Daphne said.
"You're welcome. I'll call Dad and Frasier so that they know where you are." Niles stood there for a moment, tempted to watch her as she slept. But he knew how she valued her privacy. It was better to leave her alone, no matter how much he wanted to stand guard.
Reluctantly, Niles went to his study. There was always paperwork to do.
In the guestroom, Daphne leaned back on the bed. For a room that wasn't used much, this was certainly lovely. It was so like Dr. Crane to put such care into decorating a room that would belong to no one. Daphne sighed, feeling her eyes grow heavy. In no time, she was sound asleep.
Niles found it hard to concentrate, knowing that Daphne was just a few feet away. He wanted so badly to see if his angel was feeling any better. But he knew it was better to let her sleep.
Half an hour later, he could stand it no more. He went to the guestroom and knocked on the door softly. He received no answer, which meant she was probably asleep. But even so, he had to see with her own eyes that she was all right. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Just as he thought, Daphne lay on the bed, sound asleep. She truly did look like an angel. Niles could only stand there in awe.
As she slept, Daphne became aware that someone was watching her. She opened her eyes to find Dr. Crane standing in the doorway, staring at her. "Hello," she said.
Niles wasn't sure he could speak after seeing her look so beautiful. All he could do was smile in response.
Daphne began to feel embarrassed. "Thank you for letting me sleep here. I feel much better now. Perhaps I should get out of your way and go back to your brother's now."
"You don't have to leave," Niles said immediately. "I mean, if you don't want to. I spoke to Dad earlier on the phone. I convinced him that you'd be fine here." He took a step into the room.
Suddenly, Daphne remembered what she'd been dreaming about while she slept. She had been re-living the Snow Ball. It was such a magical night. Even now, she could picture Dr. Crane in his tuxedo. The thought made her smile a bit. "You're being so sweet," Daphne said.
Niles sat down on the bed beside her. "Well, I just want to make sure you're OK."
"I think the rest did the trick. Me dizziness is gone." Daphne breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the room had stopped spinning.
"That's good to hear, Daphne. But really, you're more than welcome to stay here."
Daphne began to sense why he was so desperate for her to stay. He was lonely. She reached for his hand. "You know, I was just having a dream about us. We were at the Snow Ball."
"You were beautiful that night."
"You were pretty handsome yourself."
Niles felt his heart pound at Daphne's words. "Thank you." He remembered that night. But he couldn't help feeling sad when he recalled how Daphne had thought his words were an act. "That night was rather memorable for me as well. But I have a small confession to make."
Daphne felt her heart go out to him. Dr. Crane was such a nice man, and she could only imagine what he might have to tell her. Had one of his so-called friends talked about her behind her back? Those gossips weren't the kind of people Dr. Crane should bother wasting his time with. "What is it?" she finally asked.
"Well, when I said that I adored you, you thought I was demonstrating my acting skills. But the truth is, those words were coming straight from my heart."
All Daphne could do was blink in surprise. "You meant that?"
Niles nodded. "I loved you that night, and nothing's changed since then. I've just been so scared to say anything."
"You mean you've been in love with me all this time?"
Once again, Niles nodded.
Suddenly, as Daphne looked into his eyes, she couldn't help noticing how blue they were, especially up close. She began to realize just how handsome he was. She hadn't noticed before, because he was her boss' brother. Why bother thinking about him that way, when she could never have him? But now, everything seemed different. She could tell he was watching her, waiting for some sort of response. But, rather than tell him how she felt, she decided to do something. Before Niles knew what was happening, Daphne was leaning forward, and her lips were on his.
The feeling of Daphne's lips on his was even better than Niles had imagined. The kiss lasted far longer than he expected. Clearly, Daphne was enjoying it as much as he was.
As Daphne reluctantly pulled back from the kiss, she couldn't help smiling at the shock on Niles' face. Despite this surprising turn of events, she couldn't be happier. Whatever had made her feel so ill earlier, it seemed that kissing Niles had made it go away for good.
The End