"Dr Crane?"
She looked so beautiful there on the landing of his staircase, that she took his breath away. But oddly enough, he couldn't bring himself to look at her. The humiliation he felt was simply too great.
"Dr. Crane?" She said again.
He cleared his throat and poured another glass of champagne while feigning interest in Baby who was sitting on his perch, oblivious to what was happening around her. And at that moment he wished he could trade places with her. Because even a bird with such a tiny brain would be able to handle this situation better than he.
Still staring at the white cockatoo, he heard soft movement, and then Daphne was beside him, her hand on his shoulder. He simply didn't deserve to be touched by such a delicate and beautiful creature.
"Are you... all right?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He blinked; horrified when he felt tears on his cheeks and it was one of the few times that he found himself at a loss for words. And then he felt her hand on his chin, gently turning him to look at her.
After a brief silence, they both spoke at once;
"Daphne-."
"Dr. Crane-."
Amazingly the coincidence made him chuckle. "Go ahead, Daphne."
She took his hand in both of hers and guided him to the fainting couch. And still he couldn't look at her.
"Dr. Crane, I'm so sorry for yelling at you. I was..."
"Daphne, you had every right to yell at me and even call me horrible names if you wished. I deserve each and every one of them."
Again she turned his face toward hers and it was hard to hold back the tears in his eyes as well as the ones paining his heart.
"This is my fault."
Before he could respond, he was pulled into her arms, the scent of her damp hair wafting under his nose as it mingled with the scent of the bubble bath. If ever there was a more heavenly aroma, Niles doubted it could have existed.
"Daphne, no. I-."
Her fingers went to his mouth and he shuddered aroma her touch. "I'm so sorry for me horrible outburst. I know you were just worried about me and wanted to see if I was all right. It was very sweet of you. I suppose I was just enjoying that heavenly bath a little too much and I drifted right off to sleep. Thank God you were there to check on me, Dr. Crane. I might have drowned!"
He stared at her in disbelief. It was the most perfect excuse he'd ever heard.
"Daphne, I-."
"You saved me life!" She said, leaning to kiss him on the lips. "I don't know how I can ever repay you. Please, tell me what I can do!"
The wheels in his head were spinning out of control as he desperately tried to think of a suitable repayment. And then he was in her arms once more.