The relief that she felt was so great that almost instantaneously, she started to cry. And it was her quiet sobs that brought him out of his deep slumber at last. He sat upright, his eyes filled with concern. "Daphne, what's wrong? What's happened?"

But his question only made her cry harder and she felt him take her into his arms. "Oh Niles…"

Despite the way he was h holding her close, his gentle hand stroking her back did little to calm her sobs.

"What happened?" he asked again.

"I was so scared!" She cried. "I tried to wake you, but I couldn't! I thought-."

He sighed deeply, bringing her even closer to him. "You've had another vision haven't you?"

Surprised by the question, she drew out of his arms and looked at him. "What? No, I-."

But when she saw his worried expression, she knew that she couldn't tell him the truth. To do so would only worry him even further. And so she simply nodded, feeling guilt wash over her at the thought of lying to him. "It was horrible… I-."

"Daphne, I'm so sorry. This is my fault."

"Niles, no." She whispered, kissing his cheek, his jawline, his mouth. "Don't blame yourself. Just rest."

"What about you? I know you must be exhausted."
"I'm fine." She lied. "I'll go downstairs and read for a while."

"Why don't you rest? There's plenty of room here… Um… if you don't mind sharing."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. So many times she'd dreamed of lying in his arms, resting her head against his chest as she listened to the beating of his heart.

But now it felt wrong even though she wanted to be with him, so badly. Instead she kissed him tenderly and smiled. "That's all right. I don't want to disturb you. Just sleep. Goodnight, Darling."

Against his protests for her to stay, she crept out of the room and down the stairs. It was strange being in his home, alone in a sense. She walked into his enormous library, amazed at how beautiful it was. Hundreds of books lined the shelves and it would take her a lifetime to read them all. But Niles had most likely read them so much; he knew the words by heart. She smiled, running her fingertips along the row of bound books, as though doing so would make her feel closer to him. She pulled out a random book from the shelf and curled up in the soft leather burgundy chair with a book about Italy and began to read. But she'd barely reached the third chapter when her eyes could no longer stay hope. She couldn't go to sleep, not now, after what had happened before. … Or almost happened.

Tears filled her eyes and here in the solitude of Niles' library, she could no longer hold in her emotions. She hadn't lost him of course…. Far from it. But it was impossible to push the irrational thoughts away; thoughts that were even more distressing than her visions had been.

Soon she was crying as though she would never stop.