He dressed carefully, but tastefully, not wanting to appear out of place, for he had no idea where they were going. But it didn't matter, for wherever he was had to be heavenly as long as Daphne was with him.

He smiled, thinking about their conversation over the phone. He could hear the excitement in her voice as she told him that she was looking foreword to seeing him. And as he drove to Frasier's, he found that he'd barely thought about the horrible mistake he'd made earlier.

Niles parked his car in the Elliot Bay Towers parking garage and retrieved the bouquet of flowers from the passenger seat. Within minutes he was ringing Frasier's doorbell, his heart on his sleeve. The door opened and he was suddenly reminded of how nervous he was.
"Oh, Dr. Crane! Right on time!"
"Hello, Daphne. You look..."
He paused and looked her up and down; the scent of her hair wafting in his direction.

"Is something wrong?"
He swallowed hard. "Not at all. You look... So beautiful."
Daphne glanced down at her blue sweater and matching print skirt, and then smiled as she kissed his cheek.

"Well, aren't you sweet? And you look very handsome as well."
Niles blushed deeply and handed her the flowers. "I-I bought these for you."

"Niles..."
Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly kissed his lips. "Thank you, so much."
He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to kiss her again. "So where would you like to go? I meant what I said. I'll take you anywhere. The opera, the ballet, the finest restaurant..."
Daphne grinned. "Actually this might sound a bit silly but there's a new romantic comedy that I've been dying to see."
"It's not silly at all. I'll be glad to take you."
She hugged him once more. "Thank you, Niles. Shall we go?"
He offered her his arm. "I can hardly wait."

As the lights dimmed, Niles could hardly believe that he was sitting in a movie theatre with the woman he loved. It was like a dream come true. He didn't even care that they were about to see a "chick flick" as they were called.

The movie began and Niles could tell right away he wasn't going to enjoy it. The plot was completely far fetched and the acting was atrocious. It made his and Frasier's high school productions of Hamlet look like Oscar worthy performances.

He looked around the dark theatre wondering how anyone could find such a horrible movie remotely enjoyable. But as he looked at Daphne, his heart melted when he saw that she was crying. He reached into his breast pocket and handed her his handkerchief. His heart beat faster when she smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. Hesitantly his arm went around her and she snuggled against him. If there was a more perfect moment, he doubted that it existed.

He was determined to enjoy the ridiculous movie but he found himself caught up in the storyline involving a woman and her father.

Daphne leaned against him, affording him a whiff of her perfume and her shampoo; a combination that sent his mind reeling. The more the film droned on, the more he began following the romantically sweet storyline more closely.

Not surprisingly the storyline took a tragic turn when the father died unexpectedly. The distraught daughter lashed out at the man she loved and had come to trust, blaming him for her father's death.

"How could you let this happen? How could you not have seen the signs? They were all there, right in front of you!"
Niles froze as an icy chill ran through his body. It was the most unbelievable display of life imitating art that he'd ever seen.

Sandra Murchison's harsh, angry words thundered in his head, along with images of Tony. It was all coming back to him in a giant rush; the phone call, the guilt... it was all becoming too much.

He couldn't stay here. He had to leave; had to go somewhere to breathe. Without a word to Daphne he rose from his seat and quietly slipped out of the theatre. As he suspected she remained fixated at the screen, seemingly unaware of his absence.

In the lobby, he was grateful to be alone as he staggered about, trying to calm himself. Dear God how had he managed to sink so low? He was a disgrace to the psychiatry profession. Frasier would be livid when he heard about what Niles had done. But Frasier's opinion was the least of his worried. He'd become a psychiatrist to make his mother proud, and now he'd tarnished that dream. Feeling more remorse than he thought possible, Niles sat down on a cushioned chair in the middle of the lobby and buried his face in his hands.