When Frasier was gone, Niles breathed a sigh of relief. He was sure that he looked horrible and his face still throbbed from where Rupert had punched him, but at that moment his mind was on something else.

He staggered into the nearby gift shop, ignoring the stunned look of the sales associate.

"I-I need... a... football shirt." He slurred.

"Um... Sir, this is a basketball arena. We only have Sonics' merchandise."

"Oh fine, whatever! Just give me one!"

"Help yourself. We have plenty to choose from." The sales associate said.

Niles looked around the tiny store, amazed that so many shirts, jackets and hates could fit inside. His vision was still blurry but he finally decided on a rather large shirt in a pleasing shade of red with the green and gold Sonics logo on the front. It was far cry from what he would normally buy-and far less expensive- but desperate times called for desperate measures.

His purchase in hand, he hurried back to the foyer where he searched to no avail for any sign of his angel. He was just about to give up and call security when he saw her walking out of the women's room.

She was soaked to the skin and her hair was in complete disarray. But it was the pained look on her face that broke his heart.

Without giving it another though, he pushed his way through the sparse crowd and went to her. Gently he put his hand on her shoulder, trying not to startle her.

"Daphne?"

She whirled around to face him, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Dr Crane... What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were all right."

"Oh... Well I was perfectly fine before I came to this bloody ball game!"

"Daphne, I'm so sorry, this is my fault. I should have never bought Dad those tickets!"

"Nonsense, Dr. Crane! Your father loved those tickets and you know it! It was that bloody bloke who insisted on coming onto to me! Oh, I knew I should have resisted him because now me new outfit is completely ruined! It'll take ten washings to get this dreadful smell out and by then the color will be all faded, and-."

She stopped speaking when she noticed his swollen jaw and black eye. And as lightly as possible she reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Oh, Dr. Crane! What happened?"

"It's nothing Daphne, I-." he sighed deeply and handed her the bag from the store.

"This is for you."

Her mouth fell open in surprise. "For me? But it's not me birthday or any-."

His heart raced as he watched her pull the shirt out of the bag.

"What on earth..."

He blushed deeply, suddenly unable to speak.

"Dr. Crane, what is this?"

"It's a Sonics t-shirt." He replied, knowing full well what she meant.

"But why-."

He let out a breath and laughed nervously. "Well, you can't very well go around in soaking wet clothes, so-."

"You did this for me?"

"Yes, but-."

She returned the shirt to the bag and kissed his cheek. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. Thank you, Dr. Crane."

"You're welcome Daphne."

"I'll be right back." She whispered.

Niles waited patiently as she disappeared into the ladies room and when she returned a few moments later, he couldn't help but smile. The shirt was much too big for her and fell almost to her knees. But she'd never looked more beautiful.

"I guess I bought the wrong size." He stammered. "I'm sorry, Daphne. I wasn't sure-."

She smiled and wrapped him a hug.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane. This was so thoughtful of you. It's perfect."

When she let go, he missed the warmth of her touch.

"Daphne I-."

She gasped and touched his cheek again. "Oh, Dr. Crane! Your face! What happened?"

"I'm all right. I was just-."

"You're not all right. You look like you're in such pain! Come on."

His heart beat faster when she slipped her hand into his and led him to a surprisingly secluded area of the arena and gestured to a plastic chair. "Now just sit down and I'll be right back."

"But Daphne-."

She smiled and touched his cheek once more. "I'll be fine." And then despite his protests, she disappeared into the crowd.