"Daphne…."

"I'm not ill!" She confessed. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane." Anything else she could have said was lost in the flood of tears that followed. She hated lying to him and she hated it even more that he believed the lie so immediately and without question. But he was at a loss only for a moment before offering a soothing hug.

In his arms, her damp cheek against his soft blue sweater, she cried softly as he gently rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry." She apologized again.

"Don't be silly, Daphne. I'm glad you don't have the flu. But something is bothering you and I want you to tell me what it is."

She cried harder. Of course he wanted her to tell him. As usual he wanted to help. But what was she supposed to say?

"Well, Dr. Crane I know that you've been in love with me for six years but I was too stupid to see it. And now, just when you found someone else, I've started to fall in love with you."

As before she said nothing and he nodded, as though accepting that fact. "Does this have to do with Donny?"

"No." she replied, sharper than she intended. "Please, Dr. Crane. I don't want to-."

"I'm sorry." His voice was softer now. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Always."

The words touched her heart, even though she knew they weren't true. The wedding ring was hidden in his pocket. He was married. To someone else. And that meant that he wasn't there, would not be there. But she tried to smile at him. "Thanks."

"So…" he said casually in the soft tone that one uses to change the subject. "How are the wedding plans coming along?"

"Could we just have one day of not talking about weddings?" Her unreasonable tone brought a look of concern, but he said nothing. Instead his right hand fell from her arm.

"Yes, of course. In fact I welcome that suggestion." He must have forgotten that he'd already put the keys into his pocket because he coughed, as though to cover up the sound of metal clinking on metal. And sure enough when she looked at his hand, the left one was now bare. It pained her deeply that he was keeping this secret from her but perhaps it meant that she indeed fit into the category of family and friend.

"It's nothing." The words she formed were broken but at least she was able to speak. Both of them knew that she was lying, but it was the kind of lie she simply didn't want to talk about.

Niles nodded. He'd been in such a hurry to leave earlier, but now he seemed like he wanted to stay. Part of her wished he would leave, so that she could stop lying and stop pretending that everything was fine. But it was a very small part.

"So you're going to the cabin." This time her voice remained steady, a feat that made her a terrific actress. If only she hadn't called him an actor on the night of the Snow Ball, he wouldn't be married right now. To someone else.

If only.

"Um… yes." He replied as though he was no longer sure. Silence fell between them again as though his revealing such information deserved long pondering.

"It must be good to get away." She hadn't meant to say the words out loud in such a wistful fashion. But they made him smile just the same.

"It's beautiful this time of year."

Memories came back to her then. He'd invited her up to the cabin last February, but she ran into Donny and left shortly after. And once again she spoke wistfully. "I remember." She gazed up at him. "Very beautiful."

"Very beautiful." Niles agreed, his eyes meeting hers. "Very quiet and far away from every- Daphne, would you like to come with me?"

She gasped in disbelief. "What?"

"Would you-."

"Yes."

Their gazes turned into stares. She had no time to recover from the shock of his invitation when she was hit with the shock of her answer. Niles looked similarly stunned by what had just happened. What could she possibly have been thinking? Most likely the invitation wasn't a serious one, so she'd best set things right.

"Do you mind waiting a few minutes while I pack?"

It was the last thing she expected to hear herself say and she wasn't entirely certain that she'd said the words out loud. But then she heard his reply.

"Of course I'll wait for you, Daphne. Take all the time you need."

Her heart fluttering, she fled to her room, not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind. She no longer cared that she might be putting him in an awkward situation and she might as well think about something that felt strangely right.

In her room, she hurriedly stuffed random items of clothing into her overnight bag and then gathered things from her bathroom, stuffing them into her cosmetics case.

She was about to leave when she had a flash… a memory and she hurried back into the bathroom to retrieve a small brown bottle. With trembling fingers she tossed it into the bag. But in the doorway of her room she stopped, her eyes moving toward the snow globe. Slowly she walked over to the bed and picked it up, returning it to its box before placing it carefully in with her clothing where it would remain safe.

In less than five minutes she was back in the living room. "I'm ready." She announced, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. But Niles wore the same expression that he wore when she accepted his offer of going to the cabin. He must have thought she was daft.

"Daphne…" She turned to find that he was now wearing a different expression. The one that he'd worn on the balcony the night of Frasier's Christmas party when she was certain that he was going to say the words that she wanted so badly to hear, but he said something else entirely different.

"You can't possibly go…"

Her shoulders slumped under the weight of her overnight bag and it fell to the floor, along with her heart. She sighed deeply, unable to even cry.

"… Without your coat." He finished.

She stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

"It will be freezing up there… at the cabin."

She looked at him, barely daring to hope. He was already crossing the room lifting her red pea coat from its hook. As he moved closer to her, she closed her eyes.

"Allow me."

For once it was not just a memory, but a new reality. She felt the light touch on her shoulders and then the comforting weight of a coat, placed there tenderly by someone who cared enough to keep her warm.

She turned to look at him and he looked back at her as though he was taking in the sight of her. But that was silly. It was just her over-active imagination, her wishful thinking. The old cliché resounded in her head; the one that for years she'd ignored, for it was completely absurd;

When you are in love, you won't have to question it. You'll know.

Their eyes still locked, he bent over and picked up her overnight bag. "Well then." He said softly. "I think we both deserve to get away from it all."

He might have been the one to say the words but it was she who slipped her hand around his as they walked out together. She no longer had to question her feelings for Dr. Niles Crane.

She was in love.