Once Donny left, Niles immediately felt more at ease, as was always the case. If he had to listen to Donny say Daphne's name one more time he would have to scream.

"Excuse me, sir." He asked the bartender. "How much longer will you be open?"

"About an hour, sir. Can I get you anything else to drink?"

Niles pushed his empty glass in front of him. "I think I'd like one more glass, please."

He then pulled out his cell phone. Four missed calls? His heart nearly stopped as he saw that it was Daphne who had called him. Dare he call her back?

I have to. She wanted to talk to me. She called me at this late hour- it must mean that she's changed her mind! Of course I have to call her!

And so he did. He would never have dreamt of calling anyone at this ungodly hour unless it was an emergency. And this certainly qualified!

There was hope, but he dared not allow himself to feel it.

As luck would have it, his call went straight to voice mail.

No need to leave a message, he sighed. There is nothing I can do. It seems as if her mind is truly made up.

He pulled out his phone again, and this time he dialed his brother's room. Undoubtedly he would have his cell phone turned off at this late hour.

"Frasier, it's Niles. I have to see you. Yes, I realize what time is it… I mean what time it is. No. No Yes. Yes. I am in the lounge. Could you please meet me here? I wouldn't ask…yes Frasier, I do know you have a big day ahead of you…I know you didn't mean anything…Okay I will see you in a couple of minutes."

Finally Frasier made his way down to the bar, where he quickly observed his brother having what appeared to be one too many drinks. His heart ached for his brother, as he could only guess that the evening ended in heartbreak.

"Niles, look at you. " He said warmly, taking his brother's glass as he sat down beside him. "I think you've had quite enough, don't you?"

Niles stared incredulously at his brother. "Had enough? Had enough? You have no clue of what I've had tonight…"

His poor brother looked absolutely heartbroken, Frasier frowned. "I don't know what I can say right now. No words can erase what you've been through…"

"You were right, Frasier. She loves me." Niles blurted out. "She loves me, but she can't be with me. I would have almost rather heard her say that she didn't have any feelings for me at all. But to know that I could have been with her if I hadn't been so…" He drifted off, not really sure of what to say.

"If you hadn't been so what, Niles? Honorable? Respectful? There was no way you could have known how she felt. I live with the woman and I had no clue that she shared your feelings. When she confessed her feelings to me I was completely blown away. You couldn't have known, Niles. Please don't beat yourself up for something that you had no control over. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. After all, Daphne does have a part in this…"

"Are you blaming Daphne? You must be crazy if you think I'm going to just sit here and listen to this. Why I could…" He stood up, but Frasier put his hand on his brother's shoulder and gently pushed him back down.

"Calm down. I'm not blaming Daphne. I'm not sure that there is any blame for anyone in this situation. It's tragic, and I know you're hurting right now. But the reality is…"

"The reality is that I've been living in a dream world for the past six years!" He cried out in frustration. "I just thought…I always promised myself that the minute that I thought the time was right I would take her in my arms and tell her how I feel about her. But did I? No. I sat back and watched her fall in love with another man. I should have told her how I felt, Donny be damned. But I didn't. And now here I am…..here I am." His voice lowered, reality continuing to sink in. "Here I am, talking with you, avoiding a wife who I'm not so sure I should be with…Frasier I think that I made yet another mistake. Now my inability to face my feelings have gotten me into a situation that frankly, I'm not sure is the best decision of my life. I can't believe I just said that."

Frasier waited a minute to speak. He had prayed for his brother to be happy, even though he himself disapproved of his choice for a wife.

"Niles, you know that Dad and I will support you no matter what you decide to do."

"Are you thinking that I should leave Mel?" Niles asked earnestly. "Because I just don't know if I can go through another painful divorce. I know that I can't. Daphne made the decision to go on with her life, and I should do the same. What should I do, Frasier?"

"That's something only you can decide. I just hate for you to live your life in yet another unhappy marriage. It may be too late for you and Daphne. But it's not too late for you to do the next right thing. You were ready to end your marriage just a few hours ago. Perhaps you should take that as some kind of message. I think that you know what the answer is."

"I know that no matter what I do, I'm being completely unfair to Mel. I do love her. I'm sure that I could be happy with her. It's just that…well…it's just that she's not Daphne."

Frasier patted his brother's shoulder. "I know, Niles. I know." He paused.

Neither of them could speak for a few minutes.

"Remember when I burned my hand? I told you that I thought she had feelings for me. Then there was the time she told me that I had beautiful eyes…why couldn't I have told her how I feel then?"

"Niles, you're just torturing yourself now. I think that you need a good night's sleep. Especially…"

"Especially since I have to witness Daphne marrying Donny. I know. You're right. It's time I get back to Mel. What if she is awake? What if she suspects…"

"You'll know what to do. Now I think you should go back to your room."

Both men stood up.

"Good night. And Niles….." he said before leaving the room. "Take care of yourself."