A Different Kind of Moon Dance

A/N: Thanks to Brit-mancer85, whose story, "An Evening With Niles" was the inspiration for what you are about to read. Never had I imagined writing a mature version of one of my favorite episodes ("Moon Dance" of course), but there were so many possibilities that I couldn't resist!

It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

It was just a friendly gesture on her part, helping someone she cared about; her friend… her best friend. He had been so excited when he boldly asked a woman, Marjorie Nash, to be his date at his club's winter dance that Daphne didn't even notice the tinge of jealousy that besieged her.

She had absolutely no reason to be jealous. It wasn't like she would ever be able to attend such a dance herself and she chided herself. She was happy for Dr. Crane. He deserved to go out and have some fun. However, his enthusiasm was short-lived when only days later, he informed her that Marjorie had canceled, leaving him without a date for the Snow Ball. She couldn't hide her disappointment and boldly asked if she could be his date. After all, there was no sense in letting those wonderful dance lessons go to waste. And he was becoming quite a good dancer, if she did say so herself. And somehow, during those hours of dancing with him, holding him close as he twirled her around, their friendship had deepened. He no longer seemed nervous about being in close proximity to her and she had to admit that it was nice.

It wasn't as though she was attracted to him romantically, although she couldn't deny that Dr. Niles Crane was very handsome. How his date (or any woman for that matter) could have broken a date with him to something as exciting and wondrous as the Snow Ball (or any place) was beyond her. Certainly Niles was pretentious, just like his older brother and there were plenty of things about him that drove her absolutely mad. But deep down, he was the sweetest man; never failing to pay her a compliment at any given moment. So when he announced that their lessons had come to an end because of his broken date, he looked so forlorn that she didn't hesitate to offer to accompany him. He accepted quickly, which made her incredibly happy, because he deserved every happiness in the world.

She could hardly wait to go shopping for the perfect dress. It took more time than she was used to and she went from store to store, searching for appropriate to wear for such an extravagant evening. She knew little to nothing about the event they would be attending but she knew Niles Crane. And Niles Crane only attended the best and most lavish functions in Seattle. So the dress she chose could be nothing less than perfect.

As the sun began to set, she was tired and hungry, having been in more dress shops in one day than she'd been in during her entire life. Nothing she tried on seemed right and although she told herself again and again that she would know exactly which dress to buy as soon as she spotted it, she was beginning to lose hope. She considered telling Niles that she had to cancel. It would be easy to make up an excuse. But she wouldn't dare fathom the thought. He was a sweet and wonderful man and she wasn't going to see him heartbroken twice. But time was running out for her to find a dress and she couldn't resort to wearing one from her closet. Everything she owned seemed dull and she'd worn them far too many times.
Like a sign from the heavens above, she saw it and her heart sang.

The red dress hung rather inconspicuously on a rack where it was certain to be overlooked. She herself would have missed it had she not taken interest in a lovely seafoam green gown hanging directly in front of it. But the silky red fabric and its vibrant color peeked out from behind the green dress, beckoning to her. And when she removed the red dress from the rack, her breath was taken away. It was absolutely stunning.

Without hesitation she rushed to the fitting room, eager to try it on. Her heart raced as she removed her jeans and t-shirt and then slipped the dress over her head. One look in the three-way mirror caused her to gasp in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The woman in the mirror stared back at her, wearing the same disbelieving expression.

The dress hugged her body; accentuating curves that she had no idea were there. And the slit on one side of the gown gave it a bit of sex-appeal. Looking sexy wasn't her intention and the suggestive slit on the side of the dress might have been too revealing but somehow it made the dress that much more pleasing. Perhaps Niles wouldn't' notice her attempt to look sexy. But a small part of her hoped that he might.
She was eager to purchase it, but when she changed into her clothes and glanced at the price tag, her heart sank. Quickly she returned it to the hanger.

It was far beyond what she could comfortably afford and it would take her months to pay it off. But after having worn the dress, even for a moment, she found that she couldn't bear to part with it. She had to have it. In fact, never in her life had she wanted anything more.

On the way home she felt her heart skip a beat in anticipation for the evening and the days seemed to pass much too slowly. But finally the day had arrived.

She'd told no one about her date, save for Mr. Crane, who already knew since he was at Café Nervosa with the younger Dr. Crane when she'd asked to accompany him to the Snow Ball. She hadn't even told Frasier about her date with his brother, knowing full well that he would try to forbid it. She would never understand why he was so insistent on keeping Niles away from her, when clearly they were nothing more than friends. She would never tell a soul that the dance lessons had changed her feelings about Niles if only in the slightest and from time to time she had begun to think of him differently. It was a secret best kept inside.
Who wouldn't' feel some sort of romantic attraction to a handsome man when so much of their time recently had been spent in each other's arms, dancing to romantic music? And she was grateful to Mr. Crane, who didn't hesitate to remind Frasier that he had vowed to be considered invisible for the next few days.

She still remembered the look on Frasier's face when she'd opened the door and saw Niles' standing there. He was clearly taken aback. But even more so, it was the look on Niles face that she'd remember all of her life. His mouth fell open and he looked her up and down.
"Wow!"

She laughed at the boyish look on his face, feeling a bit nervous. "Thank you, Dr. Crane. You look quite handsome yourself." And then to her surprise, he handed her a red rose; the sweetest, most romantic gesture she could have ever imagined. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word. And she knew that tonight anyway, she was the luckiest woman in all of Seattle.

Soon they were on their way to the Snow Ball, which was certain to be an event that neither of them would ever forget. Little did she realize that it was going to be a night that changed them both forever.