Chapter 40: Daphne
Daphne woke, unsure where she was at first. She turned, and saw Niles asleep next to her, snuggled up against her. He had a small smile on his face and looked utterly content, and it warmed Daphne to know she was the reason he was so happy.
She settled down again into his arms, and Niles stirred slightly, pulling her closer.
She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still dark. Last night had been wonderful. She had worried it would be hard to tell Niles how she felt, but in the end the words came so easily. And even though Daphne knew he would, Niles returned her feelings.
Daphne smiled. It felt a weight had been lifted, and she knew that telling Niles that she loved him was the right thing. That this was right. The minute the words had left her mouth, all her confusion and uncertainty had melted away, and Daphne was left wondering why she didn't just say it weeks ago. Wondering why she had fought it so much, especially now. Everything that had concerned her originally now seemed so small and easily overcome.
The only thing niggling at her now was knowing that he was still technically married. Daphne wondered how long it would take Niles to fully divorce Maris. It sounded like Maris has been stringing him along, but after their talk last night, Niles was adamant that he was going to push back hard to try and get things sorted as soon as he could.
Daphne closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm in Niles' arms, even though the bed was hard and lumpy, she felt so comfortable where she was.
The next time she opened her eyes, it was early morning, and Niles was gazing at her.
"Good morning, Daphne."
"Good morning, Niles."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Niles seemed thrilled at the sound of those words coming from her mouth. And Daphne loved hearing him say them to her. The first time he said 'I love you', he was drunk and half asleep, but the effect those words had on her was similar. Except the first time came with a lot of confused feelings and uncertainty.
Now, Daphne was completely certain with how she felt. Niles leaned forward and kissed her.
"Would you like some coffee? Or some breakfast? I think I've got some pastries from last night left over."
"That sounds lovely, Niles."
"Um... do you have to leave soon?"
Niles was aware she still didn't want people to find out about the two of them before he was divorced. Previously, whenever they had spent the night together, Daphne would leave in the early morning, often before dawn, so she wasn't missed. However, this time Daphne shook her head.
"No. I want to stay and spend the morning with you. I'm in no rush today."
Niles smiled, clearly ecstatic at this idea.
"I would love that."
"I love you, Niles." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and pulled him towards her.
Niles eventually got up and made some coffee for both of them, and brought it and the pastries back to the bed. He seemed a little unsure about the prospect of eating in bed, but seemed happy to do so with Daphne.
Baby had flown over at one point while they were eating, interested in what they were doing. Niles' squawks of pain when she tried to land on his bare shoulder made Daphne laugh. Baby, offended at the rejection, flew to her favourite spot on top of the kitchen cabinets, and started pulling at the paint again. Niles sighed, exasperated.
"I really need to figure out a way to entertain her. This place isn't big enough for her." He thought for a moment, then said to himself. "Maybe I can take her on walks. Some sort of leash or harness to prevent her from flying too far away..."
Daphne laughed at the idea of Niles taking his bird for a walk.
"Please tell me if you do, I would love to join you." Niles blushed, a little embarrassed, but pleased with Daphne's offer.
"Of course, you're always welcome."
Daphne looked back over at the bird.
"I'm surprised you even have a bird. You're usually so particular about cleanliness, I would have thought that she'd be too messy for you."
Niles shrugged.
"Oh, I don't know. She is messy, but I do love her company. Despite her occasional attempts to land on my unprotected shoulder with her sharp claws." He rubbed his shoulder again, and grimaced. "But, the mess she makes isn't that bad - and with the amount I clean anyway it's not that much extra work. Besides, Baby is trained to keep her mess around her perch - most of the time." He shot the bird another look as Baby dropped another strip of paint to the floor.
They finished their breakfast, and Daphne cuddled back up to Niles. He kissed her neck and settled next to her, clearly pleased that they were still together, even though it was now late morning. Daphne knew that she should be going soon, but she didn't want to rush off this morning. It felt nice, just being with Niles. But eventually she knew she had to leave. There were things back home that needed to be done. Niles had some errands to do that day as well, so as much as they both would have loved to spend the day together in bed doing very little, they had to get up.
"When can I see you again?" Niles had showered, and was buttoning his shirt. Daphne was already dressed, and was watching Niles, feeling completely content and relaxed.
"I'm sure I'll see you at your brother's at some point this week, but I could spend next Saturday with you." She was sitting on one of the chairs, scratching Baby under the beak. "I'll be free all day, if you don't have other plans."
"It's a date." He grinned at her, and Daphne grinned back. "I love you, Daphne."
"I love you, Niles."
Daphne arrived home, and Martin was the only one around. He had just made a sandwich, and was settling into his chair when she came in.
"Hello, Mr Crane."
"Morning, Daphne – or should I say, afternoon?" He gave a knowing smirk. "Good date last night, huh?"
Daphne blushed. She had decided to tell Frasier and Martin she was seeing someone, but not tell them it was Niles. As far as they knew, she had just started dating a man her friend introduced her to.
"Yes, it was."
"You'll have to tell us about your new guy, he seems to be making you very happy."
"He does." She smiled at the thought of Niles. "And I will introduce him, soon. I just want to wait a bit longer before then. I don't want to rush things."
Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later.
Martin nodded, not wanting to pry, but pleased that Daphne seemed happy.
"Anyway, don't get too settled, it's time for your exercises. I'll be back in 10 minutes."
Daphne heard Martin groan as she headed to her room. She didn't care. She smiled to herself, humming quietly as she got changed, happier than she had been for months.
