Her heart fluttered in her chest as she slipped the red dress over her head. It wasn't at all sexy (like the one she'd worn to the Snow Ball), but there was no denying that it was stunningly beautiful. She knew that Niles had plenty of other things on his mind, but she wanted to look absolutely perfect. She carefully applied her makeup (a lot more than she normal wore. It was, after all, a costume ball) and then the silly false eyelashes. She had to admit that they looked terrible but they went with the costume and, well, Frasier insisted.
The evening, however, as it turned out, didn't go as well as planned. Everyone came dressed in costume and Niles, of course was the most handsome of all, even with his elongated nose. He was the perfect Cyrano de Bergerac. Leave it to Niles to throw a party in which the guests were asked to come as their favorite literary character. She almost wished that she'd chosen someone else.
But when Niles greeted her at the door, she felt an overwhelming sense of self-consciousness. After all, she knew that he was thinking about their horrible fight, even though they had long since made up. And she was thinking about it too. She knew that he must have been harboring some bad feelings and even anger toward her. and she wouldn't have been at all surprised had he turned her away. However, he looked her up and down and smiled. It was clearly a sign of approval. and he had no idea how much it meant to her.
"Thank you, Dr. Crane." She said, grateful for the makeup that hid her flushed cheeks.
"It's my pleasure, Daphne. Where are my manners? Please, come in."
"Thank you." She said again.
They walked inside where Martin, dressed in his Sherlock Holmes outfit (That Daphne later discovered wasn't Sherlock Holmes at all, but rather someone named Lord Peter Wimsey), went straight for Niles' kitchen in search of a beer.
Frasier's eyes widened at the sight of his producer. "Roz, what on earth are you supposed to be dressed as?"
Roz looked down at her sexy leather outfit; the one with the plunging neckline that looked like something out of a racy movie and smiled. "I'm O, from The Story of O." she explained.
The guests seemed to stop in their tracks, admiring her. "Oh." They said in unison. It would have been funny had things been different.
But the evening took a different turn when Frasier confided in Daphne that Roz suspected that she was pregnant. However, that wasn't the half of it. Why was everyone coming up to Daphne, asking her what was wrong? She was perfectly fine, but no one seemed to believe that.
Even Niles repeatedly asked her what was wrong. She cared for him of course, but the fact that even he didn't seem to believe her when she told him that she wasn't crying-.
"Dr. Crane, I'm fine I promise!" She said for what felt like the hundredth time. "It's these damn lashes, they make my eyes water so. I really wish I hadn't worn them."
"Nonsense, you look absolutely beautiful."
Her heart warmed at his words and she found that she simply couldn't stay mad at him. "Dr. Crane…"
He simply smiled and took her hand. "Look at you, being so brave after all you've gone through. Why don't I make you some tea?"
"Well, that's very sweet of you, but really I don't…"
"I'll be right back."
"Dr. Crane, wait!" She called to him running as fast as she could toward the kitchen. But she quickly found that she was out of breath. And her eyes were killing her.
Oh how she wanted to go home and forget this night ever existed. She paused at the door, feeling guilty when she heard Niles and Frasier arguing. She should have gone in and broken up their fight; whatever they were fighting about. But she was simply too exhausted. How could a bloody Halloween party take so much out of a person? The party had barely begun!
Oh, she needed a drink and needed one badly. And she wasted no time in grabbing a flute of champagne, gulping it down before pouring another. It was turning out to be the longest Halloween ever.
