Niles froze in the doorway and turned around. He couldn't have heard her correctly.
"What was that, my love?"
She was thrashing about in the bed, but not in an angry way. He had a mind to go to her, but he worried about frightening her. And so he stayed put.
"Wh-what was that?" he asked again; his voice becoming unsteady.
"Oh Eric, you're so kind and sweet. I never thought anyone like you could ever love someone like me."
He swallowed hard, his body slowly turning cold. "Daphne..."
"We can't tell Niles, okay? He'd never understand."
A chill ran through his body and this time he didn't hesitate before going to her.
She was having a dream; that much was certain. But the way she was speaking... even in her sleep...
He'd encountered this problem before in his line of work; people sleepwalking, saying things they didn't mean; and then having no recollection afterwards. But in most cases they were saying things that directly involved some part of their life.
And that's what scared the hell out of him.
It's only a dream. He told himself. But her words haunted him just the same.
"Daphne, you can tell me anything." He whispered, brushing the hair from her face. "I hope you know that."
"I love you... Eric."
His chest felt heavy and he found himself fighting back tears.
"I'll just... go and check on David now." He said hoarsely.
He closed the bedroom door and walked into the hallway, grateful to be alone, for even a moment.
From the nearby room, he could hear movement, and he quickly entered his son's room.
"It's okay, Daddy's here." He said, hoping to comfort his young son. But David wasn't crying.
Thank God, no more nightmares.
Perhaps he was wrong to tell David the real story of The Little Mermaid. But he vowed to watch the movie with him; as many times as he would like. After all, he was just a child and, god willing, his love for the classics would come later.
Still, he relished the opportunity to spend time alone with his son. Carefully he sat on the bed next to David and stroked his soft hair in an effort to lull him back to sleep. Just for good measure, he grabbed David's beloved teddy bear and placed it in his arm.
And after several minutes, he could hear his son sleeping soundly; the soft rise and fall of his chest.
"I love you, David. S-so much. A-and your mom... she-"
Unable to continue for fear of his voice breaking any further, Niles leaned down and kissed his son's cheek, brushing away a tear.
He couldn't think about what he'd heard from his wife's lips; he just couldn't.
"Goodnight."
As he walked out of David's room and closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar, he knew that he should return to his wife. He wanted to hold her; to feel her breathing as she slept in his arms.
But right now he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.
He headed downstairs to the seclusion of his study. And minutes later, with a sherry in one hand and a favorite book in another, he settled himself into his plush chair and began to read.
However, the book didn't hold his interest for long. His mind constantly went back to the subconscious conversation he'd had with his wife; the conversation that she had no idea had taken place. But he would remember it always.
Who was this Eric she kept referring to? He certainly didn't know any-
And suddenly he had a revelation... one that tore his heart in two.