The Moon Dances and the Tide Changes
Chapter Three
…
Author's Note:
While the rest of this story has been and will continue to be from Daphne's perspective, I wanted to include a snippet in Niles' POV because I really felt that it was important to show that he did feel a bit guilty for misleading Daphne. Also this is where the story starts to become a bit more AU.
…
-Niles' POV-
They had been having lessons for the past two days. His dancing had improved dramatically.
"Of course, with a teacher as wonderful as Daphne, how could it not," he thought to himself.
But the guilt was really starting to wear away at him. There was no need to learn to dance now that Marjorie had cancelled their date but the temptation of being allowed to be that close to Daphne and hold her in his arms was too great. He was only human after all. But still, he didn't feel right about lying to her. She deserved better than that. He decided that he had to tell her the truth.
He arrived at Frasier's apartment at 2:00PM for his lesson, just as he had the day before and the day before that. Only this time when she answered the door, he wasn't smiling.
She however, greeted him with her usual smile that made even the Seven Wonders seem ordinary, and a cheery,
"Good afternoon, Dr. Crane!"
Before he responded, he took a moment to look at her. She was so beautiful that he momentarily forgot what he had come there to do. She was wearing a navy blue V-neck t-shirt, light-wash jeans, and white low-top converse and her hair was pulled into a ponytail at the crown of her head. He marveled at how she managed to make this simple look seem worthy of walk down the red carpet.
"Good afternoon, Daphne and don't you look lovely," he said.
"Oh, go on," she replied chuckling.
She never believed his sincerity when he said those kinds of things to her. Which he supposed was for the best – he would never want to make her uncomfortable – but still; he wished that she could see herself the way that he did. She was truly the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen and every piece of clothing and every accessory that she wore was only made more beautiful simply because she was wearing it. And that wasn't even taking into account her inner beauty – the virtues of which he could write novels about.
He realized that they were both now sitting on the sofa and that she was waiting for him to say something. Then he remembered what he had come there to do. He took a deep breath and began,
"Daphne, there's something that I have to tell you."
Her smile faded and she replied,
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I just have a bit of bad news. Unfortunately, something has come up and Marjorie has had to cancel our date so I guess I won't really be needing this last dance lesson."
As he looked at her, he could swear that he saw something shift in her eyes and she almost looked a bit sad. He had certainly spent enough time studying the wonders of her beautiful face to catch even the most subtle change. He continued,
"I just wanted to come over today and tell you in person how much I've appreciated everything you've done for me; spending all this time teaching me. I know I wasn't the easiest pupil at times, but you were so patient and kind and I've really enjoyed our time together."
She was still staring at him with that strange look in her eye and he began to wonder what exactly she was thinking…
…
-Daphne's POV-
"Oh poor Dr. Crane! How could she cancel on him? The poor thing was just starting to get his confidence back," she thought to herself.
She could barely hear him over her thoughts but then she registered that he was saying something about appreciating what she'd done for him and that he'd enjoyed it. To be honest, she'd been enjoying it as well. It was a bit rocky in the beginning but once he'd stopped stepping on her feet, it had really become quite enjoyable.
"Oh, Dr. Crane, I'm awfully sorry about Ms. Nash. And I'm awfully sorry we won't get to have our lesson. Truth be told, I was quite enjoying our time together, too. It was nice to have someone to dance with again."
As she spoke an idea popped into her head and she said,
"Dr. Crane, do you think it would be alright if I went to the ball with you? You've worked so hard and I'd hate to see it all go to waste."
His eyes widened and he stuttered, "Oh, oh, d-Daphne, that's so kind of you to offer, but you don't have to do that. I'm sure you have something better to do -"
"Better than go to get dressed up and go to a fancy ball with one of me best friends," she interrupted. "I don't think it gets much better than that."
"If you're really serious that you would like to go, then I would love to. It would be my great honor to accompany the most beautiful woman in all of Seattle to the Snow Ball," he replied.
She felt herself begin to blush a bit. She was fully aware that he had feelings for her. He was always saying those lovely things to her; and she always played it off like she didn't take him too seriously. It was easier that way. It made it less awkward for everyone. Although to be completely honest, when she really thought about it, it did annoy her just a tad that everyone really thought she was so daft. She'd have to be, not to see it. Bless his heart, but he was not exactly subtle. She saw the looks he gave her when he thought she wasn't looking – as well as the looks everyone else gave him when he was being too obvious. She noticed the way he noticed things about her; everything about her, actually.
She also knew that the elder Dr. Crane and Mr. Crane were so worried about her finding out because they were afraid that it would make her uncomfortable. But nothing could have been further from the truth. She knew that his feelings were genuine and she would be lying if she said that she had never allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone as wonderful as Dr. Crane. But she also knew that as wonderful and fairy-tale-like as it seemed in theory, the reality was that it would never work. They were much too different. He was a wealthy psychiatrist and a prominent member of Seattle society and she was a glorified housekeeper from a working class family in Manchester.
It wasn't that she didn't think highly of herself or that she didn't know her worth, it was just a fact. The same way the sky was blue and the grass was green, Niles Crane was out of her league. And now, she cherished their friendship so deeply that the risk of losing it was one she was not willing to take anyway. So she pretended not to notice the looks or understand the double-entendres that everyone seemed so giddy to make around them. She took in his compliments and let them warm her heart but then she tucked them away because she knew that allowing herself to revel in them completely would be going down a path that led to dangerous territory.
It was then that she was pulled out of her thoughts by the deafening silence and she realized that he was still waiting for an answer so she put on her biggest smile and said,
"Well, then it's a date!"
