She rose from the bed and stared at him, lightly stroking his hair and bruised cheeks until suddenly his eyes opened. It was the most wonderful sight imaginable. He blinked several times as though trying to focus and when their eyes met, he smiled weakly.
"Daph-… ne."
His voice was weak, but hearing her name was the most amazing gift she could have ever received. She took his hand and began kissing it fervently, laughing through her tears. "Yes, Sweetheart. I'm here." It was the first time she'd ever called him anything other than "Dr. Crane" but it felt so right.
"Daph-ne."
"Yes, I'm here." She repeated. "
"Wh…where?"
She smiled and stroked his soft blonde hair, relishing the feeling beneath her fingertips. "You're in the hospital." She whispered, as tears fell once more.
"What… happened?"
She swallowed hard as memories of the horrific television footage replayed itself in her mind. To the average viewer there seemed to be no way that anyone could have survived such a terrible crash. But as soon as the thought came, she pushed it away.
"…happened? H-hurts…" He moaned.
Her fingers laced through his and she kissed his hand once more, content to rub his masculine skin against her cheek. "I know, my darling. I know it hurts... Just rest."
"Daph… ne?"
"You had accident, your car… a bad one, I'm afraid. We-."
"Yes?" He prompted. If it weren't for the fact that her chest was heavy with pain, she might have laughed for no reason other than pure relief. . And then the words rushed out of her. "We… we thought we might lose you."
"No…"
"A-and I can't … Dr. Crane. I can't lose you… I love you!"
"Love you… Daphne."
A sob escaped and she kissed his lips. "I know, Sweetheart. I know, and I'm so sorry that I didn't…"
"My…fault."
"No. Dr. Crane, don't blame yourself for any of this. It's my fault! I-." When the sobs tore her apart, she felt him attempt to draw her closer, allowing her to rest her head on his chest once more. But when she put her arm around him, he winced, causing her to recoil in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"Hurts… s-shoulder…leg." He moaned.
Like a cat, she sprang away from him. "Bloody hell, what was I thinking?"
"Oohhh."
But as she paced the room, painfully aware of how quickly her heart was beating. "No… It's not okay! I-I should have called the doctors … your doctors! Not to mention your brother and father!"
"Daph…ne."
She walked to the bed and kissed him once more. "I'll be right back."
As fast as she could, she ran into the hallway, crying for help until an orderly came rushing toward her. "What's wrong, ma'am?"
At that moment, all coherent thought vanished and she couldn't even remember her name. "M-me friend… is in there. "Dr. Crane was…. He's awake."
"Okay, hang on. I'll get his doctor. Just stay right here."
She nodded at the man, barely aware of his presence and within seconds several staff members rushed toward her and pushed the door to Niles' room open. The orderly whispered something to the intern and he nodded before leaving the room. Daphne entered the room just before the door closed and watched intently as the orderly tended to Niles, reassuring him that everything would be okay, and not worry.
Minutes later she heard the page over head for Dr. Watson, and to her amazement, he arrived in record time. He opened the door and smiled. "Some good news here I see. Welcome back, Dr. Crane. It's nice to see you awake. As he went to examine Niles, he turned to Daphne and nodded. "Hello, Ms. Moon. It's nice to see you again. How long has he been awake?"
Guilt consumed her as she thought of the blissful moments they'd spent alone when he opened his eyes for the first time, and she couldn't bring herself to look at either man.
"Ms. Moon?"
She whirled around to face Dr. Watson. "Oh… well, it's been about a half hour." Noting the way Dr. Watson's expression changed, she quickly tried to make amends. "I-I'm sorry, Dr. Watson. I know I should have said something right away, but-."
Dr. Watson smiled and put a reassuring hand on her forearm. "It's all right, Ms. Moon. You did the right thing. Has he spoken much?"
Daphne sighed. "Um… He said that he's hurting. Please… Dr. Watson. Can you do something?"
"Don't worry, Ms. Moon. He's out of the coma and that's the best news we could have hoped for. As for his other injuries-."
"Wait, this isn't right." Daphne said. "Dr. Crane's father and brother should be here. I mean, they don't even know..."
"Would you like to call them? You can use the phone in the lobby."
The question, although expected, caught her off-guard and she looked up in surprise. "What? Oh… I don't know what I would say. I…"
"Perhaps it's best if you stay with Dr. Crane while I call them?"
She sighed with relief and gave him a grateful smile. "That would be wonderful. Thank you."
"All right then. I'll call and let them know about his condition. I'm sure they will be thrilled. Why don't you keep Dr. Crane company while I'm gone?"
Daphne turned to the man she loved and smiled. "I'd be happy to."