(Niles' POV)

When he heard her gasp, he turned immediately, his face registering concern at her distraught expression. "Daphne, is something wrong?"

Her hand was in her hair, her eyes searching the floor. "Oh no! I've lost one of me earrings!"

Immediately the three Crane men began searching the condo, starting with the plush carpet. "Oh! I found it!" Frasier said, but then retracted his comment. "No, sorry… it was just a piece of lint."

When Niles glanced at Daphne again, his heart ached. She looked as though she might cry. And suddenly he was more determined than ever to make her happy. He searched every inch of his brother's Harvest Wheat carpet.

"This is terrible!" Daphne was saying. "The one nice thing that anyone's ever brought me in my whole life and I lose it!"

And suddenly, like a sign from above, Niles spotted the small shiny object, lying next to his father's chair. Slowly he went to pick it up. "Daphne, I found it!"

Her eyes glistened in surprise and she gasped, running toward him. "Oh, Dr. Crane, I could kiss you!"

He grinned, feeling strangely shy, his heart beating like mad. "Okay." He said sheepishly.

To his utter delight, she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. He was completely euphoric and he held her close, unable to let go. He simply didn't want to.

But suddenly she drew back, staring at the object in her hand. "What's this?"

"Nothing." He said, quickly pulling out of her arms.

She stared at her hand a little closer. "The setting's come loose!" She exclaimed, speaking of the sapphire earring. "It's only blue on the top!"

Niles' eyes widened as he looked at Daphne more carefully. Something wasn't right. "Daphne, your earlobe is turning green!"

Her hand flew to her ear. "What?"

"Your ear, it's…"

"Probably infected." Martin finished. "Any idiot can see that!" And then he glanced at Niles and Frasier.

"Well, maybe not any idiot, but most. You should probably put something on it."

Daphne looked horrified. "But I don't have any-."

"I'll get you something, Daphne." Niles said, giving no concern to what his brother thought of the matter. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Niles, what do you think you're doing?" Frasier demanded.

"Fixing your mistake, Frasier!" Niles snapped, making his annoyance clear.

At Daphne's terrified look he took her hand. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll take care of it."

She nodded wordlessly. "All right. I trust you. Thank you, Dr. Crane. And thank you too, Dr. Crane." She said, speaking to his brother. "They're beautiful earrings."

Niles tried not to let his annoyance show as he walked out the door. It was completely against his ethics to use his position as a psychiatrist who could write prescriptions for those who weren't his patients. But this was Daphne. If he felt guilty later, so be it. However, he wasn't about to let Daphne suffer. He pushed the button for the elevator and stood rather impatiently in the hallway for the doors to open. But a different door opened instead.

"Dr. Crane?"

He whirled around to find her standing in front of Frasier's closed door. "Daphne…"

"I'm sorry to be such an imposition. You don't have to do this. I can just take some aspirin or something."

"Nonsense. It's not an imposition at all. And besides, Dad was right. Your ear looks infected and you don't want it to get worse. An antibiotic should clear it up in a few days."

Her eyes widened and she looked like she might cry. "A few days? But…"

Without hesitation, he went to hug her. "Don't worry, Daphne. Everything will be all right. I promise. You'll be fine."

She gave him a gentle squeeze and then drew back. "Thank you, Dr. Crane for such a wonderful gift."

He blushed, not really knowing why. "Don't thank me, thank Frasier. Although I think I should have a word with him for-."

"I meant for what you're doing for me now." She said quietly. "That's an even better gift than the earrings."

At that moment, fate took an unfortunate turn and the elevators opened. "Well… I should go. I'll be back soon, Daphne."

She nodded. "All right. And thank you again. This means so much to me."

He stepped into the elevator and as the doors closed, he could feel his heart beating madly.

You mean a lot to me too, Daphne.