A Dance with my Daddy
Niles sighed. He had no patients scheduled for today, but his day off wasn't anything special. The Montana was completely empty. David was off at school, Daphne was off at Martin and Ronee's, and Katherine was off with Roz. He had forgotten that Roz had agreed to watch her for the day. That was when Niles had at least two patients for today, but they both canceled. Now, he was alone. He knew it wouldn't last long, though. Roz was supposed to only have Katherine until about noon, and as Niles glanced at the clock, he could clearly see that it was just about noon now.
A smiled graced his face when there was a knock at the door. He bounded off the fainting couch to answer it.
"Hello, Roz," he said. "Hello, Katherine!" he grinned at his four year old daughter who held out her arms at the sight of him. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for watching her. Turns out my patients both canceled, but thanks for keeping her."
"You should have called me," Roz said. "I would have brought her back."
"Oh, no. She loves her special time with Aunt Roz, don't you, Kathy?"
Katherine smiled and nodded. "Yep!"
"Well, I loved having her. She was the perfect angel. Okay, I'm over exaggerating," she added when Niles raised his eyebrows at her. He loved his daughter more than life itself, but even he knew she could be a handful. "She was a bit hyper, but we had a fun time. Oh, and before I forget." Roz reached into her bag and handed Katherine a video tape.
"What's this?" Niles asked.
"Alice and I decided to upgrade our Disney collection to DVDs, so I thought Katherine might enjoy the tapes. I'll bring over the others later this week."
Niles smiled. "Well, that's very kind of you, Roz. Thank you. What do you say, Kathy?"
She grinned, her missing teeth showing. "Thank you, Auntie Roz!"
"Awww…" Roz kissed her cheek. "You're welcome. Well, I'd better get going. Gotta go to the station. See ya, Niles, Kathy."
"Bye, Roz."
Niles shut the door and put Katherine on the ground. She was staring at the video tape in amazement. "Can I see it?" She handed the tape to her father. "'Beauty and the Beast.' Ah, yes, your mother showed me this a few times. Cute movie."
"Can we watch it, Daddy?" Katherine asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her blonde pigtails bounced with her. Whereas David got Daphne's hair, Katherine was graced with her father's. She also had his eyes, while David had brown ones.
"I don't see why not. I don't have any plans for the rest of the day, and your mother and brother will be out for a bit. What do you say to a little daddy/daughter time?"
"Yay!"
Niles picked Katherine up again and took her to the back of the living room, where the tv was. He and Daphne had upgraded since their last television, but they had opted for one that was not like the one Martin had. Martin and Ronee had one of those huge ones that could be considered an eyesore. Niles and Daphne bought one that was large, but still practical.
He put the tape into the VCR, happy to see that it had been rewinded. He sat with Katherine on the couch, and pulled her into his lap. He kissed the top of her head, and she giggled.
Niles couldn't help but smile at the joy and amazement on his daughter's face. She was bitten by the Disney bug.
"Look, Daddy, look!" she cheered when Belle and the Beast were beginning to fall in love.
When it came time for the big ballroom dance, Katherine squirmed out of Niles's lap and held out her hand to him.
"Katherine?" he asked.
"Daddy, dance!"
He was proud to say that he could dance way better than he could years ago, but he was still nervous. When Katherine looked at him with those big blue eyes, so like his own, how could he refuse her?
Niles got off the couch and took her hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes!"
They danced as the characters did, both of them smiling as the music played. He would have believed he would be so lucky to have two wonderful children with the love of his life. His heart could burst with the amount of love he held for the three of them. If he was with Maris or Mel, he was sure he would not be graced with children.
As they danced, the door opened, and Daphne let out a small laugh. Niles and Katherine stopped dancing.
"Mommy!" Katherine ran into her mother's arms.
"Hello, darling! You and Daddy dancing, just like Belle and the Beast?"
"Uh-huh!"
She laughed and kissed her forehead. When Katherine yawned, Daphne said, "Why don't you take a nap? You can finish your movie later."
Katherine pouted, but when her eyelids began to droop she knew better than to argue with her mother. Before she left to go upstairs, she hugged Niles hard.
He smiled as he watched her go up the stairs. "How're Dad and Ronee?"
"They're fine. His hip is doing better. Moose is a bit of handful. He was being a little distracting during exercises."
"I didn't expect Dad to get another Jack Russell, but I suppose it has been a good while since Eddie's death."
"It's nice to see a smile on his face at another dog. But, enough about what's going on in other households." She stepped toward him. "That dance was magnificent.."
Niles felt his face flush. "Couldn't say no to her."
"You are such a wonderful father." She wrapped her arms around his neck
and kissed him.
He could never get over kissing her. It always felt like something forbidden, but that only made the kisses more exciting, more passionate. He smiled against her lips. "I love you.."
"I love you, too."
He cleared his throat. "Why don't we… uh… Well, why don't we get some privacy?"
Daphne's eyes glittered with amusement. "Just for a short while."
Niles took her hand and led her upstairs. They peeked into Katherine's bedroom as they went. She was soundly asleep underneath her pink blankets.
Niles and Daphne laid next to each other on their bed, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, beckoning her closer. He pressed her lips to hers in a brief and soft kiss before Daphne rested her head on his chest.
"Daphne, my love… You know what? I am so lucky," he murmured to her, pushing hair behind her ear.
She nuzzled closer to him. "So am I."