In her darkened room, her eyes flew open and she sighed deeply. She turned on her side, making one more attempt to sleep. But what was the point? Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his handsome face. His lips moved closer to hers, and when they kissed for the first time, the feeling was nothing short of amazing. And when she opened her eyes, she could almost feel his mouth against hers.

Bloody hell, why was she thinking such things? She laid her head on the pillow, determined to get some sleep. But sleep was impossible.

Swinging her feet to the floor, she put on her slippers and robe, cinching the belt tightly. Almost as though moved by an inexplicable force, she made her way into the living room, pausing to check on Frasier. As expected, he was sleeping soundly on the sofa. Careful not to disturb him, she attempted to adjust his blanket, stepping back when he began to stir.

When she was certain that he was sleeping soundly, she softly draped the blanket over him and smiled. He may have made her mad on more occasions than she could count, but knowing how much he loved his brother warmed her heart. And her warming heart returned to its increased pace as she made her way down the hallway to Frasier's bedroom.

The door was closed, just as she had left it, and when she opened it the slightest amount, the tiniest bit of guilt came over here. She'd gone bloody crazy, waking up in the middle of the night to talk to Niles. It was completely ridiculous. What would he think? He needed his rest.

No… She'd just wait until tomorrow. Or perhaps she wouldn't say anything at all. It was quite possible that she'd imagined the words.
"I mean it, Daphne. You're the most beautiful angel that I've ever seen."

But if she really had imagined them, then why did his sweet voice keep coming back?

With a sigh she closed the door and turned on her heel. But no sooner had she done so, she faced the room once more. And with yet another deep breath, she opened the door and boldly walked inside.

She tried her best to keep quiet but in the darkness she bumped into Frasier's dresser cursing under her breath at the pain that followed. And then she saw movement from the bed, followed by a sudden brightness as Niles turned on the light.

She froze in place, preparing a hasty explanation in her head, but none came. He squinted as his eyes adjusted in the light and when their gazes met, she was strangely nervous.

"Daphne?"

"H-hello, Dr. Crane."

"What are you doing here?"

She moved slowly and sat down on the bed beside him. "I'm sorry I woke you. I just wanted to… oh…" She winced at the throbbing of her arm, a motion which caused him to sit up in concern.

"Daphne, are you all right?"

At that moment, she wanted to crawl under the bed in embarrassment. "Oh… I…"

He slid closer to her, and the touch of his body next to hers made her shiver. "What happened?"

"I'm a bloody klutz." She admitted. "I bumped me arm when I came in. I should have known better than to go sneaking around in the dark, but I didn't want to wake you. I guess I didn't do a very good job of that, did I? Well… I'll let you go back to sleep."

She tried to leave but she felt his hand in hers. The softness made her heart melt but she forced herself not to think about it.

"Daphne, are you sure you're all right? You must have come in here for a reason."
"I just...I wanted to see how you were doing. Are you feeling better? How's your hand? Do you need anything?"

Amazingly he smiled at her ridiculous rambling. "I'm feeling much better. Those pain pills worked wonders, although I'm sure they'll be wearing off soon."
"Then I'll be right back in with some more." She blurted out.

When he chuckled softly, she realized that she had spoken aloud. Oh God, where had that come from? She was like school girl talking to a boy that she had a crush on. What was happening?

"I-I'm sorry." She stammered. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She admitted.

He smiled and covered her hand with his. "There's nothing wrong with you, Daphne. You're an angel."
Those words again…

She swallowed hard, fighting the unfathomable urge to brush her fingertips against his cheek, the way she had done at the hospital. Earlier she had done so to calm him, but now….

"Dr. Crane, may I ask you something?"
"Of course, Daphne. You can ask me anything."
"Oh… all right."

She felt his hand caressing hers and her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes met his and she forced herself to speak. "Dr. Crane, when we were at the hospital and you said that I was the most beautiful angel you'd ever seen… Did you mean it?"

When he sighed and looked away, her heart sank and it was hard to keep her eyes from filling with tears. Unexpectedly their eyes met and she saw the deep concern.

Damn… why was this so confusing?

"Daphne…"

And then she knew….

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you. Goodnight, Dr. Crane."
When she turned to leave, she didn't stop and headed for the hallway. The relentless tears unleashed themselves and the pain in her chest was completely agonizing.

Her back against the smooth painted wall, she closed her eyes, and slumped to the floor, sobbing into her hands.