In the days that followed, Daphne went about her daily routine trying not to think about Niles. But he was never far from her mind. She worried that she might have to explain her new (and completely unexpected) relationship with Niles to Frasier and Martin but the elder Crane men were clueless as usual. It was, she supposed, cruel to think such things, but it served them right for being so insensitive toward Niles. He certainly wasn't the first person to get sick at the Space Needle and she knew that he wouldn't be the last… not by a long shot.
But truth be told she was glad that it had happened. Even that sounded cruel, but had he not gotten sick, she wouldn't have had the chance to take care of him. Her heart fluttered at the thought and she found that she missed him terribly. But she couldn't stand around here daydreaming. She had work to do. As she tackled the chores at hand, she found that she was working harder than normal, putting her nervous energy into the laundry and the cleaning. The effort was rewarded when she realized that she had completed her tasks in record time, and even had a few moments to spare before cajoling Mr. Crane into doing his exercises. But even as she worked diligently to make sure he did his exercises that would hopefully one day heal his damaged hip, she found that her mind was on other things… or more precisely, someone else.
"What's wrong with you?"
Startled out of her thoughts she froze and raised her gaze to meet his. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.
"Sure you do!" He retorted. "You can't fool me! You're acting really weird. Have you been reading those stupid romance novels again?"
Her heart fluttered and she smiled wistfully, for her budding relationship with his youngest son was much better than a romance novel. But try as she might, she couldn't hide the flush of her cheeks. "Let's just… finish these exercises, all right?"
As she resumed the exercise regimen, the words were spoken so quietly that she doubted he heard her, because she barely heard them herself.
For the rest of the session she worked diligently but gently, surprised when he didn't object or resist. The silence that fell between them was welcome, if not a bit comforting but it was soon broken.
"You know Daph, you're all right." He said, surprising her. "This isn't bad at all. In fact, I can definitely feel a difference. Not as much pain in my pelvic bone."
Once again the heat rushed to her cheeks and the resentment that she'd felt toward him earlier for the way he'd treated his youngest son simply melted away.
"Well… Thank you, Mr. Crane. Thank you very much."
As she put way her belongings and folded Martin's exercise table, she couldn't' help but smile at how lucky she was to have such a wonderful job. Or perhaps it was because of the wonderful change that come to her so suddenly. She wasn't quite sure what the reason was, but she knew that she'd never felt more loved.