Daphne looked around the living room and smiled with satisfaction. Dr. Crane's living room was absolutely transformed. She never considered herself a decorator, but she had to admit that the place looked amazing.
Candles of every shape and size flickered in the darkness, giving the room almost a romantic feel. The younger Dr. Crane was sure to love it, although she could just imagine his older brother having a fit due the fire hazard she'd created.
She loved her boss but sometimes he was a little too good at dampening her spirits on something she'd worked so hard at.
She just hoped it wasn't too romantic, for that certainly wasn't the reason she'd put out so many candles. It was merely her way of saying thank you to Niles for his thoughtfulness. To assume anything else would be completely outlandish.
After all, he was her friend and it was wrong to even hint at romance.
But her beating heart was fighting her every step of the way.
Perhaps this was a bad idea.
But before she could start rearranging things, the doorbell rang.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed the room and opened the door.
In his purple sweater, khaki pants and heartwarming smile, Niles looked even more handsome than he had last night.
"H-hello, Dr. Crane. Don't you look nice?"
His cheeks flushed.
"Thank you, Daphne. You look-."
He stopped suddenly and then rushed into the apartment.
"Dear God, why didn't you say anything?"
"About what?"
He sighed deeply. "I should have known that something was wrong. You sounded so upset on the phone, but I never dreamed... Are you all right?"
Daphne shivered at the touch of his hand on her cheek, and as though he realized he was touching her, his hand fell to his side.
"Daphne, why didn't you tell me that there was another power outage? I would have been here a lot sooner."
She opened her mouth to explain but he wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, rendering her speechless.
"Thank you, Dr. Crane. But I'm fine, really. I just-."
He let go of her and walked around the living room, taking in the candles that filled every corner.
"Wow..."
"Dr. Crane, I know what this looks like, but I was only trying to-."
He took her hand and led her to the sofa, and then sat down beside her.
"I'm so proud of you, Daphne."
The compliment was so sweet and unexpected that it brought tears to her eyes, and she found herself grateful for the darkness.
"Thank you for saying that, Dr. Crane, but I'm afraid I don't understand."
"The power outage. The first thing you should do is light candles in order to find your way around in the darkness. I'm glad you remembered, because I'd hate for something to happen to you."
It was the second time he'd said such sweet words and she could feel her heart begin to warm. His brother and father had never told her that they were proud of her, not once.
But Niles was her friend and he deserved to know the real reason she'd put out the candles and darkened the room.
She just prayed that he wouldn't be angry. He was married and it might upset him if he saw what she'd done. She couldn't risk losing his friendship now.
Not when she needed him so badly.