(Daphne's POV)

As Daphne polished the dining table, her mind wasn't on the task at hand, but of Niles. He seemed to be in her mind quite a bit lately. But now she wasn't thinking of how wonderful he was, although that certainly was the case. She was thinking about what had happened earlier when he'd come over to see his father.

She'd never seen Niles so distraught and it truly broke her heart. It was bad enough that he'd been led to believe that his father had had an affair with the very married Marian Lawler, but when he learned that it was actually his mother who had had the affair, with another man, it completely devastated him. Daphne would never have the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Crane, but the revealing startled her as well.

And so when Niles arrived, only to find that his father was out for the evening, he'd stayed, pouring his heart out to Daphne. And in return, she offered as much comfort as she could, holding him while he cried, tears that he seemed embarrassed to be shedding. She loved the feeling of holding him in her arms, although she couldn't think of him in the romantic sense, the way she often did. It was wrong. He was married and… well, she simply wasn't about to take advantage of his vulnerability.

The doorbell rang and she smiled, grateful to have a break from her cleaning. And when she opened the door, her breath was taken away. Dressed in a dark suit and blue and grey dotted tie, he looked so handsome.

"Hello, Dr. Crane."

"Hello, Daphne." He said, smiling when she showed him into the condo.

She stared at him awkwardly, not knowing what to say. It was as though hearing this news about his mother had caused a part of him to die and to say the wrong thing would be disastrous. So instead she simply took his soft hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's so nice to see you again."

"Thank you, Daphne. It's always nice to see you." He replied.

She blushed as she always did when he said such sweet things, and she could see why he wasn't single. What woman wouldn't want a handsome and charming man like Niles Crane? It was then that she noticed that he was holding a small shopping bag from one of her favorite stores, Crabtree and Evelyn.

"Ah, I see you've been doing some shopping." She remarked casually. "That always seems to take me mind off of me troubles. It's none of my business what's in the bag, but I'm sure that Mrs. Crane is going to love whatever you bought her."

He grinned like a little boy and handed her the bag. "Actually Daphne, this is for you."
She looked at him in surprise as she took the bag from him. "For me? But it's not me birthday, so what possible reason is there for you to-."

"It's a thank-you gift."

His words warmed her heart and she squeezed his hand once more. "Dr. Crane you don't need to thank me. I've done nothing to be thanked for."

"Actually Daphne you have. You've done more than you know."

She couldn't help but smile. "That's sweet of you Dr. Crane but I don't understand how-."

To her surprise, he took her free hand and smiled. "Come, sit with me."

In a daze, she let him lead her to the sofa and sat down beside him, staring into his beautiful eyes of blue. And after an awkward silence they both spoke at once.

"Dr. Crane I know-."

"Look Daphne, I-."

The coincidence made them laugh and she smiled, feeling suddenly shy. "Why don't you start, Dr. Crane?"

"All right. Daphne I just wanted to thank you. When Frasier told me that Mom was the one who had the affair, I was beside myself with grief. I couldn't believe that-."

She smiled sympathetically, rubbing her thumb across his hand. "I know…"

"I've done a lot of thinking about this and if it hadn't been for your kind and reassuring words, I don't know what I would have done. I know we haven't been friends for very long, but I hope you'll accept this token of my appreciation."

"It's very generous of you but I can't possibly-"

"Please, Daphne. Please take it. It would mean so much to me."

"Well, all right." She opened the bag and removed the pink and purple tissue paper, setting it aside on the coffee table. Her fingers trembled as she reached into the bag and removed the gifts. "Oh Dr. Crane! Lavender soap! And lotion and bubble bath!"

"Also in lavender." He replied.

Daphne hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek unable to believe that this was really happening. This man, this wonderful man had given her the best present ever. And it wasn't from Crabtree and Evelyn. He'd given her his friendship and that meant more than anything in the world to her.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Crane!" she said repeatedly as she hugged him as tight as possible. She didn't want to hurt him, but she found that she couldn't let go. And from the way he was holding onto her, he didn't seem to mind. Tears spilled onto her cheeks and then splashed onto his suit. "I'll never forget this." She said before letting go of him.

And she couldn't be sure but she thought she heard him respond.

"Neither will I, Daphne. Neither will I."