To Catch a Falling Star
Marrying the Woman of his Dreams
"Thank you Daphne, Niles. With the exchanging of the rings, Daphne and Niles have pledged their fidelity to one another. I understand Daphne and Niles have composed vows that are especially significant to them. Niles."
Niles reached both of his hands out to her and she met them, and cupped them into hers as they pledged their feelings and their undying love for one another.
"I, Niles Crane, do take thee, Daphne Moon, as my wife. I vow to you my
fidelity and my support, my honor and my respect, my honesty and my
protection. You are my comfort, my joy, and my one true love. I will
cherish you all the days of my life and treasure the journey that has
brought us to this most wonderful perfect place."
"I, Daphne Moon, do take thee, Niles Crane, as my husband. I promise you my
fidelity and my support, my laughter and my tears, my constant friendship
and my unending love as long as we both shall live."
"With the vows you have just exchanged with each other, you have promised your love and support to one another. With the powers invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
With her steady hands now guiding his trembling ones, she assisted him in slowing lifting her veil. As the veil gradually inched its way up, he briefly drifted back to his wedding day to Maris.
Much like he did today, he was standing at the altar and once again, he felt faint, was trembling and sweating and his heart was racing. He distinctly remembered how distraught Maris was, thinking he had cold feet and how relieved she was to learn that it was just a congenital heart murmur that would plague him for the rest of his life.
But this time, (though his murmur couldn't totally be ruled out), it was because of nerves.
This time he also had tears of happiness rolling down his face.
For he still couldn't believe it.
He was actually marrying the woman of his dreams…
"Niles? Love? What is it?" Daphne asked, concerned.
Niles still had his eyes tightly closed, afraid to open them. He was also sitting upright in bed and was breathing very hard and had tears streaming down his face.
She soothed his back with the palm of her hand an attempt to calm him.
"Niles?" she called out to him again.
He turned his face to the sound of her voice.
Her voice.
He could always find solace in it.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Like in his dreams when he lifted her veil, he only saw darkness.
She enveloped him in her arms and held him close to her.
He laid his head on her shoulder and she stroked his hair, comforting him.
Like in his dreams, Niles made no attempt to stop them, so the tears continued to fall.
Only this time, and unlike in his dreams, they fell much harder.
The Star
"Do you see anything to your like---" the salesman on the other side of the glass counter stopped and upon seeing the red tipped cane in his prospective buyer's left hand, quickly apologized.
"I'm very sorry sir, I didn't mean…I mean I didn't see…" he awkwardly apologized.
"Its all right. I was wondering if you make any custom made cuts?"
"What kind of cut did you have in mind sir?"
"A star."
"Niles," Frasier interrupted and couldn't resist putting in his big brother and two cents worth of advice, "are you sure you want to do this without Daphne? You probably don't remember, but when Lilith and I got engaged, she insisted on being involved with the ring selection process."
"And so did Maris," Martin chimed in. "She even gave you a specific price minimum you had to spend."
"That's right."
"Frasier, Dad. I appreciate both your reminders and concerns, because I don't remember, but one, Daphne is not Maris and two, I want to surprise her."
"That's very romantic Niles, but you haven't known each other for very long, do you even know her ring size?" Frasier asked.
"You won't believe this, but can you believe her ring finger is exactly the same size as mine?"
"Sir," the salesman returned. "We can make the custom cut you requested and it should be ready in a couple of weeks."
To Catch a Falling Star
Niles, dressed in a tux with top hat and tails, with Daphne's (dressed in a long, black sequined evening gown with long gloves) assistance, walked over to the piano.
"I thought we would start this evening off with a song."
Niles slid onto the bench and patted a spot next to him.
"Join me?" he invited.
"Love to," she accepted.
She smiled. There was that sparkle in his eyes again.
Fittingly, he said something witty and clever to accompany the sparkle.
"Please bear in mind, from what I can recall, Frasier is the singer in the family, not me. He got his voice from Mom, while I got mine from Dad."
He closed his eyes and played the opening chords from the Billy Joel song She's Got A Way.
"The other day I remembered, not visually of course, sitting in your apartment and you telling me how much you loved Billy Joel. So, Daphne Moon, this song, is dedicated to you."
Niles sang and opened his heart and soul out to her.
"Oh Niles," she sniffed when he was finished.
He fished into his tux jacket pocket and pulled out one of his handkerchiefs and held it out to her.
"Thank you," she gladly accepted it and dabbed at her tears. "That was lovely."
He held out the crook of his arm and requested that she join him out on the terrace.
She led them both onto the terrace, where upon and always the gentleman, Niles removed his jacket and with Daphne's support, laid it loosely over her shoulders.
"Remember our first date? There was that meteor shower and you described all the meteors for me? And you told me how you and your dad used to do the same thing when you were a kid?"
Daphne smiled. He remembered.
Niles then went down on bent knee and took her left hand into his.
"He also said…" Niles then removed his top hat with his right hand and while making a scooping motion with his top hat above his head and across the nighttime sky, he continued as he "scooped",
"…that the only man good enough for his only little girl would 'scoop the stars out of the sky with his hat and lay them at your feet.' "
Niles laid his hat at Daphne's feet and she knelt down by the hat.
As he took the ring out of the hat, "I've only caught this one so far. But if you'll accept it, I'll spend my life chasing down the rest of them for you."
He started to slide the ring on her finger.
"Daphne Moon, will you take my dreams and fantasies for tomorrow and turn them into today's realities? Will you marry me?"