Niles stood on the top of his hotel building, watching the sun rise, letting the cool morning breeze cool down his body and thought about what happened in the last hours. After Daphne had left, he couldn't catch his sleep anymore and he had put his pants back on and taken the elevator to the rooftop. He couldn't believe what happened... he couldn't believe she loved him, and he had never been so confused, so frightened before in his life. He felt inside his pocket and remembered another thing he wanted to do up here. He extracted his wedding ring and held it in his hand. He thought about the night his marriage to Maris had ended for good and he had stood on the balcony with his father and brother. He had thrown his ring off the Elliot Bay Towers and even though it had damaged his own Mercedes that was parked on the street, he had felt liberated.

He looked at the ring that he had bought with Mel and couldn't help but wish that Daphne was with him to complete his ritual. This ring had brought him nothing but misfortune, and he would only be glad to get rid of it. As he closed his hand around it and threw it off the rooftop, he whispered:

"Goodbye, Mel"

As he stood there, standing on the railing and looking out over the city that was slowly awakening beneath him, he felt a familiar presence and smelled a hint of cherry bark and almonds in the air.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and he could hear her walk up to him from behind.

"I couldn't go back...I came here to think. I was hoping you would turn up sooner or later...Rooftops will always remind me of you, you know? How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't" he said, still not turning around. "I could smell you."

"You can? Oh well, remind me to take a shower then. You know, it's partly your fault that.."

"I meant it as a compliment. I love the way you smell. Whenever you are not looking, I sneak up behind you and secretly smell your hair, did you know that?"

"I didn't, but I'm beginning to develop a similar habit meself" she said, now standing right behind him and taking in his scent. He smiled at this. She then moved beside him, taking her hand in his and together, they watched over the city.

"Daphne.." he said after some time, still looking ahead of him. "why can't you decide what you want?"

"I want you Niles, I'll always want you. But I don't know if I can leave Donny." she answered sadly.

"Even though it upsets me to even think about it...I wouldn't want you to turn your life around in a 180 degree twist, unless you really want to." he said.

"If I stay with you, it won't be a 180 degree twist. More like a 90. Or even 45...I've been thinking of it for a very long time"

"So why the hell do you stay with him if you where uncertain about your marriage to begin with..."

"Because I've made my bed and now I have to lay in it"

"Can I lay in it?" he asked, half jokingly

"Can I get back to you about that?" she smirked

Niles finally turned to face her. He smiled sadly. "It's not funny. Seriously, why can't you leave him? Do you really have to stick with all the bad mistakes you have made in your life? Mel was a mistake, I told you that. I could crawl back to her and try and patch things up, but I decided it would make things worse. I'm filing for divorce as soon as I get back to Seattle. Because I don't love her, I love you, and it's no use pretending any longer. People make mistakes. So what are you afraid of? That you'll hurt him? Because I'm sure you will, but you'll hurt him more if you stay with him, pretending you love him. So what else? Are you afraid that he'll sue you? Because he might do that either way, he's a lawyer and in case you haven't noticed, he must know by now that something is going on between us. Feeling intimidated is a wrong reason to stay with someone and you should know that. Don't do this to me, don't do this to us! Let me love you, and I will do anything in my power to help you, I swear. I will always be by your side"

They stood facing each other, looking at one another intensely. Daphne stayed quiet.

"And one more thing: You said yourself that you love me more than you love Donny. Whenever I see you, my heart screams that you are the true love of my life. I truly believe that we belong together. I've waited for you to realize this for the last seven years. When I try to imagine my own future, all I see is you. Last night was the best night of my life, but it will always leave a bitter taste if you leave me now. I thought I had finally won you over. So why are you resisting? The only person you are truly hurting is yourself right now, and you are taking me down with you. What kind of masochist are you? Aren't we supposed to marry the person we love the most? Follow your heart, Daphne..."

His last sentence came out like a desperate plea, like one last attempt to reach her. She looked at him with big eyes and her jaw dropped open in awe. It was so logical, and suddenly it all made sense. Niles had just spoken the words that would be the most important thing she would ever hear, words that would change her life forever.

"wow.." she replied, dumbstruck. "You really are a good psychiatrist" and with that, she fell into his arms. He held her tightly, reluctant to let go.

"Does this mean...You're staying?"

"Yes it does.." she answered with tears in her eyes. "I love you, Niles Crane, and I want to be yours forever. I'll divorce Donny. No more running, I swear."

Niles thought that his heart was going to beat out of his ribcage. He had never been this happy in his entire life. He held her, feeling like a king. For the first time in his life, he felt completely and utterly content.

When they slowly parted from the embrace they where in, Niles realized something. It was quite windy up here.

"Daphne...it's 7AM and you are standing on the rooftop of a 25 story building...wearing THAT? You must be freezing..."

"Oh, right. You should be talking, coming out here without as much as a shirt..."

"The heat that my love for you radiates burns with the heat of a thousand suns" He smiled "But I suppose it is time to go back inside. We could sleep for a little while if you feel like it, and then we can go over to Donny's together before I have to go to the congress, to which you are welcome to join me as my date."

She smiled. "I'd love that" and they turned around and headed back to the elevator. Suddenly, she held back.

"Wait.. there's one more thing I have to do." and she walked back towards the railing. Looking over the edge, she took her wedding ring off, looked at it for a few moments, and threw it off the roof.

"Goodbye, Donny"

And with that she turned around and ran towards Niles' welcoming arms and they kissed each other tenderly and headed back inside. Back in the hotel room, they collapsed on the bed and fell asleep in each others comforting embrace, convinced that everything would turn out alright for them.

They woke up early in the afternoon as Niles' alarm-clock went off. As Niles padded into the bathroom to freshen up, Daphne looked at him in awe. She was in love, for the first time in her life she was truly in love. She sat on the edge of the bed and was completely content in watching him undress. She wanted to learn all about his little rituals, because from now on, she'd be part of them.

"Aren't you going to join me?" He asked as he pulled down his boxers.

She still had her eyes fixed on him. "I'll be there in a minute, love.." she said, absentmindedly.

"You know I kind of making me feel like an animal in the zoo with you staring at me like that.." he smirked

"Oh, I'm sorry I was just telling meself you look even more gorgeous naked than you do with your clothes on.." She said flirtatiously. And with that, she got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. She undressed as he turned on the faucet and as she joined him in the shower, she pulled him into a long and passionate kiss.