As he held her in his arms she had no idea how much time had passed, nor did she care. The breeze that floated around them was damp and cool and she shivered but she knew it wasn't because of the air. To her dismay, she sniffled sighing at the relentless tears that fell onto her cheeks. And as she expected, he gently drew back pausing to look at her in concern.

"Daphne, are you sure you're all right?"

The sweet words had the opposite effect of what they were intended to do and she raised her head to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, Niles. I-."

"You're crying." He observed. "What happened? Was it Dad or Frasier? I admit I was hurt by their somewhat cruel response to my embarrassing display of nausea and dizziness but I suppose I should be used to it by now. I love them both very much, but sometimes…"

"Niles…"
He turned to her, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "There's no reason for them to upset you like this and I plan to have a talk with them when they come home!"

"It's not your father or your brother." She said quietly. "Although I can't really blame them the way I've been carrying on since yesterday."

He sighed deeply and took her hand bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "Daphne, I'm so sorry. I knew I should have stopped by sooner and to be honest, I wasn't going to stop by today. It's just -."

"Why did you come? Not that I mind of course. To be honest, I missed you terribly. Isn't that silly?"

The kiss he placed on her lips made her heart soar and he smiled. "It's not silly. I couldn't be more flattered. I missed you too and I wanted to come and see you of course, but I've been busy with patients and paperwork. I know it's not an excuse and it's not meant to be but perhaps this is fate. When I left work today the weather had changed dramatically and in all honesty, I was afraid of driving in this weather alone. I couldn't see two feet in front of my face and somehow, by some miracle, I suppose… I ended up here."

She nodded, unable to rid herself of the ache in her chest. Bloody hell, what was wrong with her? Why was she still feeling this way when Niles was here? Wasn't he enough? Once more she sniffled, turning away from him to avoid further embarrassment. But he put his hand on her shoulder, turning her gently to face him.

"Daphne…"

"I'm sorry Niles… I don't know why I'm so upset. I mean, you're here and you're all I've ever needed, so…"

"Daphne, this isn't like you. Are you sure there's nothing else going on?"

"No, I-." She turned and stared at the non-existent Seattle skyline. "Oh Niles, look at all of this bloody fog! It's horrible! You can't even see the Space Needle, let alone the rest of the skyline. It's as though the whole city has vanished, leaving us here alone!"

His hand went to her face, caressing it gently and he grinned. "Actually I think it's romantic. You and I…all alone, surrounded by fog?"

"NO!" She yelled, startling him as she forcefully drew back. "It's not supposed to be this way! It's supposed to be sunny and warm! Or at least clear with blue skies and those feathery clouds that I love so much, the ones that look like they were painted onto the sky with a paintbrush. I used to love those clouds in Manchester when I was a little girl. Me mum and I would-."

"Daphne…"

"What?" she snapped, painfully aware of his concerned glance.

"What's wrong?"

"This is wrong!" She yelled, unable to stop her hysterical rambling. "Don't you see, Niles? Can't you see it?"

"Daphne, Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"

Tears streamed down her cheeks while the fog drifted around them and she had no idea why she was acting this way. "I-I'm sorry. I-."

He kissed her softly, stroking her forehead as she sobbed. "Daphne, please… tell me what's happened. I love you."

"I-." the words caught in her throat, making it hard to swallow. "M-me girlfriend Laura called yesterday. Sh-she said… She and me friend Sheryl and me other friend Melissa were supposed to go on a lovely cruise around Puget Sound tonight and-." More sobs escaped and he led her into the apartment closing the door behind them.

Somehow he managed to coax her onto the sofa and sat down beside her. "Just take your time… what happened?"

"I-I guess I was looking forward to it more than I thought, not only because I'd get to see me girlfriends but I thought if I went, it would make me forget about how lonely I've been feeling without you… since you left the other day."

He kissed her again, and her lips quivered beneath his touch. But the tears did not stop. "What happened?" He asked quietly.

"Sheryl called a little while ago and said that the cruise had been canceled due to the bloody fog! It's not that bad outside. The boats have bloody fog lights don't they? I mean, I just wanted to spend time with people who care about me and love me and forget about me loneliness and-.:"

He was kissing her now, soft sweet kisses that she felt in the very depths of her soul. And when the kisses ended, she covered his hand with hers as it rested on her cheek. "Niles, I-."

He smiled and let go of her hand rising to his feet before crossing the living room to retrieve her rain coat from its hook.

"Come on."

Her eyebrows rose in confusion as she took her rain coat from him. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where I can show you how much you mean to me."

"What?"

"Just come on."

With his arm around her, she leaned against him and together they made their way out of the Elliott Bay Towers , headed for who-knows where. But she didn't care because she was with the man she loved.