He stared at her for so long that he thought he might not have heard her.
"Dr. Crane?"
"What? Oh… you asked me something?"
"Well yes, but you don't look so well. Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"
"No, I… What were you asking me? Before?"
She smiled and squeezed his hand, taking note of the way he seemed to be trying to breathe slower. "Well, under the circumstances, I was wondering if it would be all right if I spent the night here."
"Y-You want to spend the night with me?"
"I hope it's not an imposition, but with your head injury, I thought it would be best if you weren't alone. I don't want to leave you by yourself. Something terrible might…
I'm sorry…"
When her emotions overcame her, she felt his hands on her forearms. "Oh Daphne, come here."
She cried softly into his shirt and she hated herself for doing so. It was silly, crying over something that would most lately never happen. But she couldn't help the way she was feeling.
"Daphne, please don't cry. You've been an absolute angel and I can't thank you enough."
"I was so scared!" she cried, her voice muffled against the soft material of his shirt. "When your father told me that your brother had sent you home, I had these visions…."
She expected him to laugh, for his brother and father certainly would have, but instead he drew back slowly and looked into her eyes. "What sort of vision?"
"It was horrible… You were in your car driving home abut your head injury caused your vision to blur and then you couldn't see the oncoming car and-." He embraced her once more, stroking her back as she cried even harder. "I'm sorry I'm being so daft."
"You're not daft, at all. Daphne you're wonderful. You care so much about others and you have such a warm heart. I know I keep saying this but the kindness you've shown throughout this whole ordeal has been-."
Her lips brushed against his, softly at first but then quickly turned into something more. He froze but for a moment, returning the kiss with the same amount of passion. She could hardly believe that this moment was real. She was kissing the man whom she'd loved for so long. And she could only hope that he felt the same way.