"Dr. Crane, are you all right?"

Surprised, he returned his attention to Taylor. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I was asking what I could get you."

"Oh, right. A large cup of cinnamon tea for Daphne and I'll have my usual."

"Right away, Dr. Crane." Taylor replied. She quickly made his drink and then handed them to Niles. "Here you are."

"Thank you, Taylor."

"Dr. Crane? Is Daphne all right? She looks so upset."

He sighed deeply. "I know. I mean, I wish I knew what happened."

"Is that why she rushed out of here?"

"Well, I …"

"I hope she feels better."

He smiled warmly. "Thank you Taylor. That's very kind of you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to bring this to Daphne."

"Oh, how's your girlfriend?"

"My-my what?"

"The woman with the short dark hair that I've seen you with. I know that it's none of my business but I couldn't help noticing how much happier you seem these days."

"Thank you, Taylor. And Mel is fine. I am very happy with her. I'll tell her you asked about her."

With a sigh he carried the piping hot drinks to the table and sat down beside Daphne. "Here you are, Daphne. You prefer cinnamon tea, right?"

She looked up and smiled through her tears. "I do. You're always so kind, Dr. Crane. You always know what I need, unlike-."

When she began to sob, he put his drink down and moved closer to her, his hand on her back. "Daphne, what happened?" He asked quietly. "Please tell me. I'm here for you."

"It's Donny." She sobbed, smiling only for a second when he handed her his handkerchief.

He said nothing, and instead waited for her to continue when she was ready.

"We-we had a fight. But it was my fault! I just couldn't stand our dates always being interrupted by his damn cell phone! It's like he loves his job more than he loves me!"

"Daphne, that's…"

"But I shouldn't have said anything, Dr. Crane! I should have kept me mouth shut! But no… stupid me had to say something in the middle of our dinner! I would have known that when he said Daphne, I need to ask you something that it wasn't at all what I'd hoped he would ask! H-he wanted to know how long it would take to drive from Seattle to Minnesota! Who bloody cares about Minnesota?"

Niles blinked in surprise. "Well, that's strange. What does Minnesota have to do with anything?"

"Because he was working on a bloody case! In the middle of our romantic dinner!" she cried. "And when we got into the car to go home I was so angry that I lashed out at him!"

"But Daphne, you were hurt and angry. It's perfectly normal to-."

"He was furious with me, Dr. Crane! He… I've never seen him so angry!"

Niles put his hand on her trembling shoulders, unable to stop himself from reaching out and touching her cheek. "Did he hurt you?"

To his relief, she shook her head. "Not physically, but… I feel so bloody stupid! Why did I think that he was going to ask me to-."

"What, Daphne? What did you want him to ask you?"

"I-I thought he was going to ask me to marry him! I feel so stupid!"

"Daphne, you're not stupid." He said quietly. "Far from it. Please don't ever think that. You're wonderful. You're kind, beautiful, and the most generous person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And if Donny can't see that, then he has no idea what he's lost and… wait… is that why you were standing outside in the cold?"

"Yes." She said the word so soft he had to strain to hear it. "He… he threw me out of his car and I didn't know what to do! I-."

"Dear God, no wonder you were so scared. The nerve of him! Why, I'm going to go over to his office and give him a piece of my mind!"

But she put her hand on his forearm. "Dr. Crane, don't… please. It will only cause trouble. I don't want you to get hurt. There's no telling what Donny is capable of!"

He took her into his arms once more, content to hold her for as long as she wanted. And it turned out that she needed to be held for a long while. But they couldn't stay there forever, much to his dismay.

"Daphne let me take you home. You've been through a terrible ordeal and I'm so sorry I introduced you to Donny. I can't believe that I-."

Her fingertips touched his lips, making him shiver at the contact.

"Hush. It's not your fault. It's mine. But I'll be all right. I just… need some time."

"Of course you do. Now come on."