To What Was Lost, To What Was Found, To What Will Always Be
An angry rumble of thunder from an early morning thunderstorm awoke her from her slumber.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Momentarily forgetting where she was, her eyes nervously darted about the unfamiliar room searching for some hint of familiarity.
Offering no assistance was the room itself.
The room, draped in dark shadows was only dimly lit because of the overcast morning skies.
Within moments a smile formed on her face, as his soft snores whistled and the air exhaled from the snore ruffled through her hair.
Careful so not to awaken him, she gingerly lifted her left arm that was draped around his thin waist and lifted her head off his chest. Propping her head up with the palm of her right hand and with her right elbow propped on a pillow, she watched him sleep.
She stroked his cheek with the back of her left hand.
She still couldn't believe that she'd found him again. Not only had she found him again, she spent the night with him and woke up in his bed. Though nothing happened between them but a kiss, (but what a kiss it was), it was a new beginning for them both.
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Blind Date
"I don't think I've ever been so nervous," Niles admitted to Frasier as he took in some deep breaths as a preventative measure against an anxiety attack that was on the verge of surfacing.
The elevator chimed twice when it arrived at its final destination.
Once the doors slid apart, Frasier helped Niles step off of the elevator and over to the door that led to the Elliot Bay Towers roof.
"Okay. There are six steps up and the railing is on your left-hand side."
Niles clutched the railing with his left hand with a death like grip.
Stairs (whether going up or down, didn't matter, they still frightened him all the same) were the hardest thing he had to relearn since he lost his sight.
Niles took a couple of unsteady breaths in an unsuccessful attempt to try and calm himself.
"It's okay Niles. I'll be right by your side. We'll start whenever you're ready and we'll take them slowly and one at a time."
Niles slowly raised his foot and slowly set it back down, praying it would meet with a step and not empty air.
Upon reaching the roof, Frasier led Niles to a small table that Daphne was already seated at.
There were candles and flowers all around and on both the table and the ledge.
Upon reaching the table, Daphne pushed back her own chair from the table.
"Please, allow me to do the honors," she went over and pulled out Niles' chair for him and guided him into it.
"If you will allow me." Frasier popped open the champagne bottle that was being iced.
After pouring the champagne, "I see you're both in very good and capable hands, so I will take my leave," Frasier announced but before leaving pulled out Daphne's chair for her.
Daphne sat down and smiled and mouthed the words, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Frasier mouthed back and returned her smile.
"You look quite handsome," Daphne complimented.
"And you look quite stunning," he returned.
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Dancing in the Dark
He pushed his food around his plate with his fork.
"You haven't touched your dinner. Is something wrong with it?"
He shrugged. "Its fine. I guess I'm just not very hungry."
"Usually, I'm such a nervous wreck on a first date that I lose me appetite as well."
Softer and looking into his blue eyes, "But not so tonight."
He nervously cleared his throat.
"From what I can remember, and after cross checking with both Dad and Frasier, I'm not very good at making toasts, that's Frasier's expertise."
Daphne softly chuckled and smiled and for the first time, she couldn't help but notice the little twinkle in his eye when he's about to say something clever.
"But tonight, in honor of our first date, I'm inspired."
Niles held up his champagne glass with a somewhat shaky hand and invited her to raise hers as well.
"To what was lost, to what was found, to what will always be."
She touched his glass with hers and they both took a sip.
"That was lovely." She leaned over the table and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.
She then reached over and turned on the CD player and a soft instrumental song filled the air.
"Where are my manners…?" he nervously asked. "Would you like to dance?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
Again he got that twinkle.
"I think it would be best if you lead."
They both chuckled and before long, they were both lost in each other.
Niles thought he had lost her forever.
He still couldn't believe that he'd found her again. Not only had he found her again, he was on a date with her and he was actually dancing with her. Though nothing had happened between them but a kiss, (but what a kiss it was) so far, this date was a new beginning for them both.
Moons and Stars and Dream Men
A chilly wind blew across the roof. Without hesitation, he removed his own jacket and draped it around her slightly trembling and not expecting shoulders.
"Thank you."
It was getting late and they were resting on a blanket. Niles was holding her in his arms.
She looked over her shoulder at him. He slightly shivered and he looked tired. After his thoughtful and chivalrous gift, she wanted to return the favor.
"Niles. Why don't you lay your head down on my lap."
He took her up on her suggestion.
He cuddled up into the fetal position, and placed his hands under his arms. She stroked his hair as she looked up at the nighttime sky and the stars, which dotted the sky, like a gigantic dot-to-dot activity page. There was also a full moon. It was a carbon copy of the night they first met.
"When I told you about me family, did I tell you what Daddy told me about the stars and the man of me dreams?"
"No, you didn't."
"When I was a little girl me dad and I used to sit on the step every evening after dinner and before he'd head off to the pub. Being his only girl, I was naturally his 'little girl'. We would look up at the sky and he would always tell me that the only man good enough for me would 'scoop the stars out of the sky with his hat and lay them at my feet.' I know, I know, it's sappy, but..."
"No, I think it's very sweet."
"Oh Niles!" she exclaimed, excitedly. "Look! Did you see that?" She pointed high in the sky.
He loved her too much to say anything, and sadly, felt nothing, except pain and disappointment that he couldn't share the moment with her.
What she said hadn't sunken in yet and her zealousness continued.
"A meteor! It was beautiful! It just appeared out of nowhere!" she prattled on.
"Oh, I just saw another one! Oh, they're so breathtaking! It..." She stopped, as the realization hit her.
"Oh Niles, I'm…"
He knew what was coming next and he loved Daphne too much to make her feel bad and didn't want to make her apologize.
"It what?" he interrupted.
Daphne knew what Niles was doing and she loved him for it. Sparing his feelings for hers. She never loved him more.
"It just streaked from one end of the sky to the other."
They both got very quiet.
"Oh Niles, I wish you could see this," she confessed in a soft whisper.
"So do I, my love," he whispered back.
"What did you just call me?" She doubled checked. "Did you just call me 'my love'?"
"I'm so sorry." He profusely apologized. "I didn't mean to..."
"No, I-I like it…'My love.' "
She leaned down and kissed him on his lips.
"And I love you Niles Crane. Oh, I just saw another one!"
"What's it look like?" he implored for her to give him a full description.
"Well, let's see, it's got a long, glittering tail. It reminds me of the time me father drove home from the pub with a trashcan stuck underneath his car. Sparks were flying everywhere! Would you like to hear that story?"
"Yes, my love," he said, as he fought off sleep.
"Well, me father stopped in at the pub on his way home from work..."
Niles continued to rest his head on her lap has she continued to stroke his hair and tell her story. And as sleep slowly overtook him, he smiled. At long last, he finally found everything he needed.
To be continued…