It had been a very long night. Unable to sleep for thinking of Niles, she'd read an entire romance novel, looked out the window at the stars, even went into the living room and watched an old romantic movie on the classic movie station. But nothing seemed to work and when she saw daylight begin to appear, she finally gave up on trying to sleep. No matter what she did, she just couldn't stop thinking about Niles.
She rose much earlier than normal and took a quick shower. She chose her clothing carefully, finally deciding on a new purple and blue print dress that she'd purchased just days before. It was one that Niles had never seen before, and although it seemed silly, she knew it would be perfect. A touch of makeup and a spritz of perfume on her brush that she ran through her hair and her ensemble was complete. She knew that the way she looked was a bit extravagant but somehow it felt right.
When she entered the living room, she was greeted with smiles of approval. And even Eddie seemed to approve, judging from the way he began jumping up and down barking was certainly odd, for she knew that they were hardly ever awake at such an early hour. Something was definilyte going on.
"What are you two doing up so early?"
Martin grinned sheepishly, giving her the answer that she knew he would never say out loud. They had been waiting up on her.
"Oh, we were just… You look great, Daph."
"You look better than great, actually. You look beautiful." Frasier beamed.
Overcome with love for the men, she hugged and kissed them both. "Thank you so much. I really can't thank you all enough." Suddenly she glanced at the clock and gasped. "Oh my, look at the time! Dr. Crane, what time did you say that Dr. Crane's meeting is?"
"It was supposed to start at 7, but I have a feeling that it won't last too long."
"Well, I have some time, so I'll just get your breakfast started right away. I'll fix you anything you like. And that goes for you, too Mr. Crane. Anything at all."
"Don't worry about that, Daphne." Frasier said. "Dad and I will take care of it."
"But-"
"Niles will probably be finished with his meeting soon, so if you hurry-."
She only hesitated for a moment before hugging Frasier tightly as she brushed away a few tears. "I love you and Mr. Crane so much."
"We love you too, Daphne." This, from Martin, which surprised her even further.
She picked up her purse and headed for the foyer but before she opened the door, she picked up the tissue paper covered rose from the credenza. She wasn't sure what made her want to bring it, but the feeling of it in her hand seemed to give her courage.
For her life as she knew it was about to change.