Brushing away tears, Daphne pushed open the door. Her heart ached at the way her husband sat at his desk, his head cradled in his folded arms. She took quiet steps toward him but he remained in the same position, seemingly unaware of her presence. She approached him carefully and laid a gentle hand on his back.

"Sweetheart?"

At the sound of his name, Niles lifted his head and looked at her. He looked completely distraught, a sight that broke her heart even further. "Daphne?"

She did her best to smile, despite the heartache she felt for him. "Yes sweetheart. It's me."

"Daphne, I-."

"Oh sweetheart, let me hold you."

He hesitated only for a moment before rising to his feet in one fluid motion. With the most gentle touch imaginable, he brushed a lock of hair from her tear-streaked face. And when their eyes met, he began to sob once more.

"Daphne, I'm sorry. I'm so-."

At once she took him into her arms, stroking his back as he cried against her. She didn't judge or discourage him. She simply held him while whispering words of comfort into his ear. And then she gently moved him back and forth. Perhaps it was a maternal instinct, for whenever she held David in her arms, she moved like this; slowly and gently in an effort to calm him. But this felt different; like two lost souls comforting one another while engaged in a sad, slow dance. And it was the most wonderful dance imaginable.

He cried for a long, long time, holding onto her as though he was afraid to let go. And she wouldn't ever dream of letting him go, not ever again. She moved her head only for a moment to kiss his tear-stained cheeks, the sexy cleft in his chin that she loved so much, his forehead and his mouth. But it was the kisses that she placed on his cheeks that led to many more.

"I'm so sorry." He said again as the wonderful kisses ended. "I-I ruined everything, Daphne! I-."

But Daphne wasn't about to let him take the blame so easily. Not this time. She pulled him closer and kissed his temple. "Shhh… Its' all right, sweetheart. I promise you that everything will be all right. Darling, I'm sorry for intruding but I was worried about you so I searched the apartment. And when I heard you talking down here, I-."

He looked up, his face registering surprise. And for a moment she feared that he might be angry. She stared to explain, to make up an excuse. But then he smiled sadly and took her hand.

"It's all right. I suppose I should have come to you instead of acting like a jackass. I just-."

She stopped his words with a kiss and her hands cradled his face. "You can always come to me, sweetheart. I hope you know that."

"I do, Daphne, but-."

She stopped him yet again with more soft kisses on his lips. "Darling, please don't blame yourself. I know you don't like to talk about your patients but if I had known that something was wrong, I-."

"Well at last I made amends with Dad. O-or tried to, anyway."

"Oh sweetheart, what happened? It sounded like everything was going so well. I'm sorry that I eavesdropped on your conversation but I was so relieved when I found you that I didn't want to disturb you."

"It's all right, Daphne. But I'm afraid that my efforts to make amends with Dad didn't do much good. He'll never feel the same way about me again."'

His words broke her heart even further.