Taken Back by Patrick Councilor
Daphne,
Thank you so much for staying with me and for all that you have done for me. I know you didn't want me meddling with this, but I am going to pay Mel a visit. For all that we've been through, I think I owe it that much. If nothing else, at least I will have some answers.
Niles.
Daphne must have read it four times. She held onto David as she cried. "Oh Niles come back to us." She wanted to call him several times, but she felt like this is something he needed to do.
"Doctor Karnofsky, Doctor Crane is on his way…" Before her secretary could finish over the inner calm, Niles was standing in her office.
"Mel I'm sorry, but you weren't returning my calls."
She shot him a look of horror. "How DARE you come to my place of work."
"I know I don't have much time between your patients or the time it will take you to have me thrown out by security. I just wanted to give you this…"
"A yellow rose."
"Yes… and my sincerest apology. I don't know what happened between us, but whatever happened, we were in love enough to get married. I think we owe it to each other to give it another try."
"Niles, Frasier called about your condition. I can imagine what you're going through, but this isn't a good idea…"
He approached her and handed her the rose. "I also brought you these." He took a box of candy that was under his sling and placed it on her desk. "Truuuuuffles."
She reluctantly picked up the box. She smiled. "Covered in chocolate and rolled in assorted nuts. My favorites. You remembered."
"I may have lost many of my memories, but I remember everything about you. Mel I miss you."
She shot him a glancing look. "You don't recall anything about why we broke up?"
"The last thing I remember before my accident is marrying you. We went on a trip to the county side where your friend had a cabin. We started talking over dinner about how compatible we are and decided to get married. We asked the waitress for a phone book to look up a justice of the peace. After we made the call, we drove right over. I also recall the babbling brook on the night of our wedding."
She smiled. "I do recall we had some favorable times Niles, but…"
He pulled her close and brought their lips together in a savoring moment.
She didn't know how to react. Her arms went from defensive to slowly moving to his chest where her hands caressed his face.
"Look into my eyes and try to deny that you don't see the love I have for you."
She started to blush. "Niles."
He gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes. "Come on. I dare you." He caught the look in her eyes. He could tell that deep down inside, she still had feelings for him.
She started to believe that maybe they could pick up from their happy moments. Seeing that Niles was still in love with her, she started to consider the possibilities. She shook her head. "Niles, things have changed. Things that you don't know about…"
"I know I have lost many of the last years, but believe me, whatever it is, we can get through it. If it's something done, we can undo it. Believe me Mel, we can move mountains. I can't rewrite history, but I sure can spend the rest of my life making it right."
"Niles, you say that now…"
"And I'll say it tomorrow too. And day after day, year after year."
"I don't know… Niles, I…"
"Don't answer me now. Please, just think about it." He gave her another kiss on the cheek. "Take your time."
She straightened his tie. "If I'm going to seriously consider this, I have to know that you are truly speaking from the heart."
He dipped her and kissed her boldly. Finally, he brought her up for air. "I think you know the answer to that."
She couldn't stop looking deeply into his eyes.