He'd barely recovered from fainting at the unexpected sight of her at his doorstep, and the gentle way she was nursing him back to health, when he was dealt another blow. It was bad enough that he found it almost impossible to resist her, but the stifling heat and the way she was using his fan to cool herself by moving her shirt hem up and down as she stood in front of it was bringing his mind to dangerous levels. And suddenly she was sitting beside him.
"What are you… doing here? Not that I… mind of course." He stammered.
"Thank you, Dr. Crane. I'm sorry I barged in but I didn't have anywhere else to go! I was just so upset!"
"Well, I can certainly understand that Daphne, I-" He shivered when he realized that she was now sitting beside him, her hand cradling the back of his head with the gentlest of touches. It was, in essence the touch of an angel.
"Are you all right?" her quiet, sweet voice asked, as she gently adjusted the ice pack against his throbbing head. "I'm so sorry for startling you, Dr. Crane."
He winced and forced himself to sit up; hoping that the aspirin he'd taken would work quickly.
"I'm fine. Thank you… Daphne. What happened? At Frasier's I mean." And then he paused. "Let me guess... Was it Dad's girlfriend?"
"Sherry just makes me so mad!"
He sighed deeply, hating that woman even more. "What did she do this time?"
"She's been giving my number to strange men so that they'll call and ask me out!"
Niles was appalled. "What? How dare she! Why would she do such a thing?"
"Because she says I'm too rigid!"
"Nonsense!"
"And that I'm too picky!"
"Poppycock!"
"And that I'd be much happier if I just went out and had sex with someone!"
He fell silent, having no idea how to respond. But his heart knew. Oh, how it knew. The things he wanted to say to her, the things he wanted to do to her, with her. It was almost too much, and he wouldn't dare reveal the thoughts that were going through his mind. And so he simply said the first thing that came to mind:
"Well, just to play Devil's advocate-"
When he saw her mouth fall open in disbelief, he knew that he'd said he wrong thing; the completely wrong thing.
Damn…
"Don't tell me that you agree with her!" Daphne yelled.
"Um, no… it's much too hot for hell to have frozen over."
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "What?"
Her shout startled him, but he fully deserved it. He'd made yet another wrong move. What in the hell was wrong with him?
"I-um…"
She rose to her feet and grabbed her bag. "Bloody hell, I can't believe this! I-I thought you were me friend, Dr. Crane. But now I see that you're no better than Sherry! I'm sorry that I bothered you!"
When she started toward the door, he could see that her eyes were now bright with soon-to-be-shed tears. Tears that would surely start to fall any second. But even that was an inaccurate estimate. For her tears were already making their way down her cheeks.
Oh dear God, he'd made her cry…
"Daphne, please...wait…"
"No… I have to go. I'll just… get a hotel room or something! There must be somewhere that I can go that doesn't cost a fortune…"
"Daphne, please… don't go!" He begged. He couldn't let her leave. He had no idea what he'd do if she left him this way. But the look she gave him was of pure anger and hurt. There was no other word for it.
"I'm sorry Dr. Crane. I really thought you were different. Goodbye."
Helplessly he moved toward her until the door slammed in his face, rattling the priceless photos and antique pieces in his living room. But had any of them teetered and crashed to the floor, he wouldn't have noticed. For his heart was already shattered beyond words.