Mere seconds after Niles rang the doorbell; Niles heard footsteps and then the rattling of the doorknob.
"Oh... Hello, Dr. Crane." She said in that sweet voice he loved so much.
"Hello, Daphne. I..."
He stopped mid-sentence, unable to believe what he was seeing. Because standing before him was the most beautiful sight imaginable.
With a smile on her face, Daphne stood like a vision of exquisite loveliness wearing a brand new dress.
The soft and silky fabric draped nicely against her figure and the soft shade of pink made her look like an angel. And if he stared at the dress, he could just barely make out the tiny blue lines that were placed sporadically across the material to form a unique pattern.
He was so mesmerized by her appearance that the plastic bag he held in his hand fell to the floor. And true to her nature, Daphne immediately reached down to pick it up.
"Here you are, Dr. Crane."
His face reddened at her warm smile. "Thank you, Daphne. But actually..." He reached into the bag and removed the bouquet of flowers. "These are for you."
Daphne's mouth fell open and her hand went to her chest. "For me? Why Dr. Crane, they're lovely but I can't imagine what I've done to deserve these. I'm hardly worth such beautiful flowers."
"Nonsense, Daphne. You're worth so much more."
She wiped away a tear and kissed his cheek. "I don't know how to thank you, Dr. Crane. This is the sweetest thing you could have done, bringing me flowers for no reason at all."
He swallowed hard. "A-actually there is a reason, Daphne; a big one. But you might want to sit down on the sofa."
"Oh... All right."
She moved to sit down on the sofa. "Can I get you something to drink, Dr. Crane?"
He sighed at her thoughtfulness.
"That's very sweet of you but I'm fine right now."
"Well, what did you want to tell me?"
Boldly he reached for her hand, unable to resist rubbing his thumb against her soft skin.
"Daphne, I am mortified by my actions from yesterday and I cannot apologize enough. I know it means little, when I hurt you the way I did but I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to. I just want you to know how deeply sorry I am because you mean so much to me and I would never hurt you. I hope you know that."
Amazingly she smiled, unfazed by his pleading and she squeezed his hand.
"Of course I forgive you. It was an accident and I still think that you're being much too generous with your apology. This dress and these flowers are much too generous. And in all honesty, perhaps I should be the one worried about you. That was a terrible fall you took at Café Nervosa yesterday. Are you all right, Dr. Crane?"
Her kindness overwhelmed him and he felt his heart soar to new heights.
This angel... this incredible woman whom he loved deeper than a man could possibly love a woman...was worried about his well being after he'd nearly scalded her with burning liquid.
It just didn't seem possible for someone to be so perfect. And yet, here she sat just inches in front of him, holding his hand.
And that's when he realized that he'd wasted too much of his life by keeping quiet.
He had to say something.
They were alone now and there was nothing stopping him, except for the nervousness that began to grow. How would he even begin to tell her what was in his heart? And what would her reaction be?She was bound to be shocked; angry even.
After all they'd shared nothing more than friendship for so many years and in just a few minutes it could all change. But looking at her now, he saw nothing but compassion and love in her beautiful brown eyes.
This was his chance; and he didn't want to lose it.
"Daphne, can I tell you something?"
"Of course you can, Dr. Crane. You can tell me anything."
He smiled, feeling more nervous than ever before.
"Thank you. That's nice to know. Um... Well... Th-the reason I brought you those flowers is because..."
His eyes fell to the neckline of her dress and then back to her face. And in one quick movement, he shot to his feet.
"What's wrong?"
He looked around the living room, feeling a sense of relief when he saw the plastic bag lying on the coffee table.
"Oh, here it is."
He could feel her watching him as he picked up the bag and returned to the sofa.
"Forget something?"
"A-actually yes. This is for you as well."
Daphne took the bag from him and reached inside. "Dr. Crane, another gift? This is much too-."
His heart pounded in his chest as he watched her remove the small purple box.
"What's this?"
Suddenly he felt foolish. "Oh... Well when I was buying the flowers I thought..."
"Aloe cream?"
"Um... yes... I just... Well the coffee I so carelessly spilled on you was hot and your skin is so..."
Once more her hand flew to her chest and she began to cry. The sight nearly broke his heart.
"Oh... Daphne, I know you're still upset over what happened and I don't blame you at all. I only came over to apologize. It was never my intention to hurt you, but it appears that I have... so I guess I'll just be going now. You look beautiful by the way. That dress is stunning."
"Thank you, Dr. Crane. That's very sweet of you to say. You didn't upset me at all. In fact, I'm touched by the things you said. And the gifts... I can't thank you enough."
"You're welcome Daphne. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed the plastic bag and moved toward the door. "Goodbye Daphne..."
"Dr. Crane, wait..."
His hand on the doorknob, he turned to face her, once again mesmerized by her beauty.
"Please don't leave."
With a deep sigh, he allowed her to take his hand.
"Daphne..."
"You never told me why you brought me those beautiful flowers. And the aloe cream... No one has ever done anything so thoughtful for me. I didn't mean to cry. I was just... so touched."
And to his surprise, she kissed him gently on the lips.
The gesture made him drop the plastic bag he was holding and he had to fight with every fiber of his being not to deepen the kiss. When she drew back and touched his cheek, he could still feel her lips on his.
It was just a kiss between friends and nothing more; even less than the kiss they had shared the night of the Snow Ball... but it meant so much to him.
"Daphne, there's something I need to tell you..."
"All right. Shall we sit down?"
"No, I have to do this now, right here. Because if I don't, I might never get another chance. You see, Daphne I-"
The door opened suddenly, startling him.
"Niles! What are you doing here?"
"Oh... I came to see..."
Frasier chuckled. "That's right. I promised I'd let you borrow that book on Shakespeare and those CD's you wanted are right over-."
When he saw Niles staring at Daphne he put down the book and returned to the foyer.
"Niles, what are you doing?"
"N-nothing, why?"
Niles looked at Daphne in horror. Leave it to his brother to ruin what was sure to be a perfect moment.
"It certainly didn't look like nothing."
"Your brother had something he wanted to tell me." Daphne said. "Go ahead Dr. Crane. I'm listening."
The use of Frasier's radio phrase made her laugh, and the sound was music to Niles' ears.
"Well, Daphne... The thing I wanted to say is-."
Frasier rushed over to Niles and grabbed his jacket. "Daphne will you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak with Niles."
"Certainly Dr. Crane. I'll just busy meself in the kitchen and put these beautiful flowers in some water." Daphne turned to Niles. "Dr. Crane, are you sure you don't want a drink?"
"Niles was just leaving." Frasier said, escorting Niles out the door.