He couldn't bear to see her cry, not after she'd poured her heart and soul out to him in what had to be the most difficult conversation she'd ever had. He rose from the fainting couch and reached for her but as he expected she moved away.

"No..."

"Daphne.."

"Oh God, I should have known this would happen!" She sobbed. "Don't you see? This is why I was so afraid to get close to you! I knew that if I did, all of those feelings would come rushing back and I'd want nothing more than to make love to you again. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about that night. My romance novels don't do any good in fulfilling me ridiculous fantasies; not the way they used to. But you... You made all of my dreams come true, even though what we did wasn't based on love. Well, not at the time anyway. And now that I understand me feelings, you don't want me. I-I guess I'll have to live with that, won't I? I just... I mean, I hoped that somehow... You'd forgive me and want to be with me."

She cried even harder and despite her resistance, he took her in his arms, trying desperately to calm the huge sobs that were racking her body. How could she think for even one second that he didn't want her? Once more he'd completely managed to screw things up and he almost wished that they hadn't gotten things out into the open. Perhaps it would have been better if they had gone their separate ways. But he knew that he couldn't live without her, no matter how hard he tried. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Nothing seemed appropriate and he feared hurting her even further, and so he simply held her tightly, letting her cry as she pressed her face against his chest; the tears dampening his skin.

He didn't dare move, and instead stroked her back, kissing her cheek, her neck and her hair in random intervals; anything to calm her. But nothing seemed to work. And just as he began to worry about her state of mind, her sobs became shudders and he moved slowly holding her in a slow, sad dance to which there was no music.

"Daphne..." He whispered as gently as possible. "I've ruined things between us over and over again and I suppose it's pointless to say that I'm sorry. I even manage to ruin my apologies. But I need to rephrase what I said before. I will never regret making love to you. Please believe me when I say that. You made me so happy that I was able to please you in a sensual way and the feeling is mutual if not more so. When I woke and saw that you were gone, I was terrified that I had done something wrong and I wanted to do anything I could to make it right. But no one has ever made me feel the way you did and no one ever will."

She raised her face toward him and he kissed the tears that were still streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh my sweet angel... I love you so much... even more now than I did five minutes ago... And I want nothing more than to make love to you again, over and over until we are both exhausted before falling asleep and waking up to do it all over."

Her smile warmed his heart and the kiss she gave him was nothing short of blissful.

"But Daphne, making love like this... on impulse, despite our feelings, seems wrong. I know it wouldn't be our first time but when we make love again, I want it to be special so that there is no doubt in your mind of the magnitude of my love for you."

"Niles..." She said tearfully, kissing him once more. "I love you." She continued to kiss him, giving him little opportunity to finish what he was saying. But finally he was able to speak.

"I love you too, my angel. And that's why I want this to be perfect. Not that the night we shared wasn't perfect enough but you deserve to know that you're loved. And so, that being said, will you allow me the honor of adding to our lovemaking to make it the most romantic night of your life? Dinner, champagne, dancing to soft romantic music and then we'll make our way to my bedroom where the atmosphere will be nothing short of spectacular. Flickering candles, delicate rose petals, and the moon and stars outside of the window."

She sighed beneath his arms. "That sounds wonderful. I love you so much."

They kissed once more and then held each other close. "I love you too."

When they drew apart, he was surprised to see how fragile she looked. "Oh Daphne, you're exhausted! It's late, so why don't you stay here and I'll take you back to Frasier's in the morning."

"I am rather tired."

"I'm afraid I'm to blame for your exhaustion, be it emotional or otherwise. I'm so sorry, Daphne."

She kissed him again. "Don't be sorry. I think some sleep would do us a world of good. I'm sure you haven't gotten much sleep either."

"You're right. Why don't you go upstairs to my room and change into a pair of my pajamas and crawl into bed. I'll be up shortly. I'm just going to call Frasier and explain the situation."

Her face held a worried look and he brushed the hair from her forehead. "I promise I'll only tell him what I think he needs to know; that you're safe. The rest will fall as it may."

She held his hand, letting it drop to her side as she made her way upstairs and soon thereafter, he'd finished his tasks at hand; most importantly a brief and meaningful conversation with his father.

As he cleaned the kitchen and the living room, he thought about his father and Frasier and how they had chided him for his selfish behavior. Their advice was perhaps the best he'd ever received and he planned on properly thanking them when he had the opportunity.

But right now he needed to explore his second chance with his angel, his soul mate, the woman who made him happier than anyone ever could.

As he turned out the lights and made his way upstairs, he crept into the bedroom where he quickly showered and changed into his pajamas. He smiled at the sight of his angel, who was snuggled under his goose down comforter sound asleep, while the oscillating fan provided just the right amount of cool breeze across the bed. He turned off the bedroom lights and climbed into bed careful not to wake her. But as soon as he gathered her into his arms, she kissed him willingly, letting him know that she was no longer asleep. "I'm sorry I woke you my love."

"It's all right." She said sleepily. "I was just thinking... about what you said earlier. This may sound silly... but did you mean it?"

He kissed her deeply, inhaling the scent of her hair. Surprisingly the masculine scent of his shampoo made her hair smell wonderful, but he made a mental note to buy some of her favorite brand in case she needed it while at his apartment.

"Of course I meant it, Daphne. I meant every word. I love you more than life itself."

"I love you too. But can I ask you something else?"

"Am I still fired?"

He laughed out loud, for he hadn't expected such a question and he was torn between the humor and the sadness of it. In response he pulled her even closer, fitting his body against hers as he felt the beating of her heart.

"No, my sweet angel... I could never let you go... as an employee or as someone who loves you."

"That's good... Dr. Crane." She said in a dreamlike state as he kissed her cheek.

"But Daphne, I must insist on one thing. That you call me Niles."

He smiled and waited for what was sure to be a witty response but none came.

Curious, he leaned over and glanced at her smiling when he realized that she was sound asleep. And then he turned out his bedroom light and held her through the night... dreaming of the night when his deepest desires would become a reality once more.

THE END

A/N: This is a story that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing and as sad as I am to have this story come to an end, I cannot thank my readers enough for your encouragement and for the wonderful reviews. Again thanks to Anika (BaronessBlixen) for writing "The Greatest Mistake" which was the inspiration for this story. And I am so honored that "The Heat of Desire" was my first story to obtain over 100 reviews, despite only being 25 chapters long. That truly means a lot to me.