It was the soft sound of his breathing that lulled her awake. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the sunlit room. His room. Her heart beat faster and she sat up, turning to look at him. He was sound asleep beside her in the bed… his bed.

The room was stifling but she couldn't help but notice the fan that stood at the foot of the bed. It blew a gentle breeze across her as it oscillated from side to side. She had no recollection of how the fan had gotten there, or even when but she had a general idea. The thought brought tears to her eyes. Niles Crane was, despite the things that drove her crazy, an incredibly sweet man.

Then she had another thought, one that caused her to bolt upright. Oh God, what had she done? A horrible feeling came over her. She climbed out of bed, doing her best not to wake the man sleeping beside her. One by one she picked up the articles of clothing that had been strewn on the floor and began to dress. Her panties, the lacy bra, the white t-shirt, her jeans and finally her shoes.

She had to leave; she had to come to terms with what she had done. She couldn't think, could hardly breathe. Niles was her friend, her best friend. She'd never told him as much or until that moment even though of him as her best friend, but truthfully he knew and understood her better than most. And she'd ruined their friendship and their relationship by showing up unannounced at his home. Because of her ridiculous need for him, she'd seduced him into bed and made love to him.

There was no denying that making love to him was wonderful. No man had ever been so gentle and sweet or made her feel so beautiful. He touched her in all the right places and did things to her that she couldn't imagine being real. She only hoped that she'd made him feel the same. Still, even those wonderful memoires, did little to ease the guilt she was feeling.
She had to leave immediately, before he awakened. She had no idea what she would say or how she could possibly explain her actions. There were simply no words.

As quickly as possible, she walked out of his bedroom, but the moment she stepped into the hallway, she turned around. After staring at him for a moment, she crept back into the room.

He was still sleeping, oblivious to her presence. The comforter had fallen to the floor, a casualty of their lovemaking and the warm temperature. She could see the outline of his beautiful body beneath the thin sheet. He looked incredibly sexy.

Something, she wasn't certain what, made her move closer until she was standing beside him. And then for reasons she would never understand, her trembling fingers pulled back the sheet, revealing his bare body. He was lying on his side, facing away from her. Her eyes traveled from his shoulders down the length of his lean body to the curve of his hip. The sight of his naked body brought back even more memories of their lovemaking and it took all the strength inside of her not to remove her clothes and join him in bed, coaxing him to make love to her once more.

No…. It was wrong, it was so wrong on so many levels. She'd already shattered their relationship beyond words. She had to leave. Gently she covered him with the sheet once more, surprised that he did not stir. She leaned to kiss his cheek but then thought better of it as the guilt came yet again. The feeling stayed with her as she walked out of the room.

When she reached the living room, she wanted to run out of the apartment, but she knew that she couldn't just leave without a goodbye. His prescription pad lay on the table, a reminder of the night that he'd risked his career to make sure that she had her pills. The memory made her heart ache.

Grabbing the pad and a nearby pen she scribbled a note. It said simply:

Niles,

Thank you for last night.

Love, Daphne