"Come on now, don't you want to see
This thing that's happening to me
Like Moses had power over sea
So you've got power over me"
Coldplay, Moses
Bob Vila didn't prove to be an adequate distraction for Niles. He ended up turning the tape off after barely ten minutes, and tried to content himself with attempting to decipher phrases in his notes, such as "Clip wire X, take pole A and insert into slot L" or "Righty tighty, lefty loosey".
Try as he might, he couldn't comprehend them, or anything else that sat on the top sheet of his legal pad. Daphne eased back into his train of thought.
This, of course, was not a surprise to him. She had been occupying his thoughts during his free time from the day they met to the one he was living. No mater what he was doing or who he was talking to, she was always at the back of his mind recalling some incident from her teenage years as she folded the laundry. He was being smitten with the tale of how Nigel and Simon had once filled the bathtub to the brim, and all the water leaked through the floorboard into Billy's room. Billy of course, had thrown a bit of a diva fit, because he was that way when it came to his personal space and his clothing... And then there was a knock at the door.
It was her.
At first, Niles couldn't believe it -- his English Angel standing in front of him in her pajamas, her eyes simply begging that he invite her in and agree to speak with her.
With Daphne pleading, how could he say no? How could he ever say no?
...Did he ever say no?
She came in and sat on the sofa, looking uncharacteristically high-strung. Whether it be fingers or feet, part of her always seemed to be moving. Squirming. Fidgeting. "I really hate to bother you," she said. "Especially so late at night but... Y -- someone told me that I should come and speak with you."
Frasier, Niles thought. But then, he was positive his brother would use his psychiatric abilities to help Daphne the best way he could. She was like family to Frasier and to Dad. And to Niles she was... Perfect.
"Well, it's not as though I was doing something of extreme importance," he replied. Why listen to the Daphne in my head when I could be conversing with the real one? "Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" He knew what she wanted to talk about, but he figured he had better get her started. No need stammering through a subject they were both at least somewhat familiar with.
She looked at him as if to say Here it goes... "Dr. Crane... I want to know when it started." She made a face that reminded Niles of the one he had made after Frasier and he had first gone to watch their father shoot a gun. He had been so afraid of a ricochet...
And what was he to say? "Oh, well I'd say since the moment I met you, but that would seem shallow, and I'd like to put my best appearance forward."? Somehow, he thought not. Answering questions was supposed to be easy... Then again, this was Daphne he was answering. He had to be very careful with what he said -- one word out of place and she could end up never wanting to look at him again...
"Well," he said. "Assuming that you want at least a small amount of detail to my answer... It was the day Frasier had Martha Paxton over for dinner. Before that, I was entranced -- but not in love." He sighed, remembering the night. "You were standing with a group of people explaining your theory on death: 'Well, my theory on death is: first you're whisked down a long dark tunnel towards a beautiful white light; you suddenly get all the jokes you never got before, you let out a little chuckle, and then you die!' "
He smiled. He had never heard anyone that thought like that before -- everyone he knew, the well-bred and educated, thought death was a disturbingly serious matter. And then this simple, everyday -- and yet complicated and extraordinary -- girl thought it was just another obstacle to go through.
It had always made Niles want to ask her if she believed in heaven...
"So, all this time..." she said, her voice very low. "All the mistaken wording, all the -- everything..."
"Yes," Yes, and I'm so sorry I wasn't ever brave enough to tell you. Yes, and I feel awful that you found out the way you did. Yes, and I still lie awake at night, thinking of nothing but you...
She sighed -- an ethereal sound that filled Niles with excessive amounts of giddiness. He wished she were sitting next to him so that he could lean over, very slowly, and catch even the slightest puff of her otherworldly fragrance... And he wished she returned his feelings. He prayed that one day he'd wake up with a wedding band on his finger and Daphne in the kitchen making breakfast.
Every night he went to bed hopeful...
"Well then, I suppose I just have one more question for you, Dr. Crane," she said, taking a very deep breath.
"Go right ahead,"
She giggled -- Niles becoming more intoxicated with every sound she emitted. "This is going to sound ridiculous," she laughed. "But... what does my hair smell like?"