The Four Seasons Boston was a welcome sight and Daphne entwined her fingers with Niles' as they walked into the lobby. Apparantly Niles had already made quite an impression as the staff greeted them by name. She smiled warmly and led him to the elevator.

"Enjoying your stay in Boston, Mrs. Crane?" The bell attendant called to her.

She smiled and squeezed Niles' hand. "Yes. We're having a lovely time."

When they reached the elevator, she pushed the call button, willing the doors to open. And when they did, she ushered Niles inside once again praying that the elevator would hurry as it whisked them to the top floor.

As quickly as possible, they made their way to the room and within seconds they were walking through the door.

"Here we are, darling." Daphne said. "Now, just make yourself comfortable."

Dutifully he sat on the bed and attempted to loosen his tie, but his trembling hands made it impossible. Sensing his distress, Daphne slipped off her shoes and walked to the bed, kneeling in front of him, smiling. "

Here... Let me help you with that." In an almost suggestive way, she began loosening his tie, slowly pulling it away from his collar. "There... does that feel better?"

He nodded wordlessly, his eyes on the floor.

"I thought so." She said with a smile. "Now... Let's get that jacket off of you." In the same manner, she slid the jacket off of his shoulders, lifting his arms to remove the sleeves as though he were a child.

"And now... for this shirt." she whispered, her voice soft and breathy. Her desire for him escalated as she reached for his chest and began to unbutton the buttons on his designer shirt, made all the more difficult by the trembling of her fingers. And when she reached the last button, it was all she could do not to slide the shirt away from his chest and kiss him passionatlely, making her intentions clear.

But as she looked into his tear filled eyes, she found that she couldn't take advantage of him, despite the fact that they were married and she was certain that he wouldn't object. Instead she kissed his neck, letting her lips linger above his collar bone.

"I love you, sweetheart." she whispered. "I'm so sorry you're hurting."

And it was her words that caused her composure to falter.

Tears filled her eyes and she drew him close, gently stroking his back. But to her dismay, he quickly pulled out of her arms.

"Niles, sweetheart? Are you all right?"

He nodded wordlessly and she rose to her feet. "I'll get you some ice water."

Fighting the tears that were dangerously close to falling, she crossed the room and filled a glass with ice water.
"Here, darling. Drink this." She said, as she handed him the glass.

But he admantly shook his head. "I-I can't..."

"All right. I'll just put it here for later."

"It was a medical condition, Daphne!"

His pain-filled words made her spin around and go to him once more. And suddenly she felt guilty for leaving him, even for the short time it had taken her to retrieve and return the glass of ice water. She knelt in front of him and took his hands, lacing his fingers through hers.

"It was a medical condition." He said again, his voice quivering. Tears slid down his cheeks and she softly stroked his face.

"I... outgrew it." he continued. "Y-years ago, but..."

When he began to sob, she rose to her feet and sat on the bed beside him. "Come here, sweetheart." She held him close, her hand moving up and down his back. "It's all right." she whispered, her words making him cry even harder. She could feel his rapid heartbeat and his staggared breathing as he clung to her.

She didn't say a word, but waited for him to speak. But the silence lasted far too long. And finally she felt that she had to say something.

"Sweetheart, I know it hurts, and I'm so sorry." She whispered against his neck. "But if you don't want to talk about it, I completely understand."

He drew back slightly and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. "I'm so sorry, Daphne... that I never told you."

She brushed a tear from his cheek. "Hush now. That's nonsense. You have every right to keep something like this to yourself. But I love you and I'm here for you, always. I would never judge you or make you feel ashamed."

"But Frasier-."

"Niles, I'm so sorry that he humiliated you. I love your brother but he had no right to-"
When her words were stopped with a kiss, she gasped in surprise.

"He had every right. He didn't mention my name, but it wasn't fair of me to blame him."
"But how on earth did-"
"Carla, Norm and Cliff find out?"

She couldn't help but smile at the way he'd finished her sentence. They really were soulmates.

"Yes..." She whispered.

"Well it seems that Cliff has some kind of contraption that allows him to get any radio station in the country. I can understand them wanting to hear Frasier's show. They just... picked an unfortunate time to listen."

Daphne's tears trickled down her cheeks and the anger rushed through her.

"But that's no excuse, Niles! Frasier upset you and those... horrible friends of his hurt you deeply! If I never see those idiots again, it'll be too late! The way they were laughing..."

Niles looked into her eyes with the utmost concern. "Daphne, they didn't-"

"They were horrible, Niles! The way Carla was carrying on about your visits to the men's room and her advice about not letting you drink too much water! And I had no idea what she meant until..."

"I'm sorry." he whispered, lowering his head. "I guess you think less of me now."

She took his face into her hands, squeezing gently as she turned his gaze toward her.

"Niles Crane, you listen to me. I love you with all me heart and there is nothing you could ever say or do to make me stop. You're the most wonderful man in the world and you've made me happier than I've ever dreamed. Please don't be ashamed of something that happened to you so long ago. It happens to a lot of people; even adults. Please believe me when I say that I love you more than anything or anyone on earth and nothing will ever change that."

He began to sob and she held him close, rubbing his back as he cried relentlessly against her shoulder. "It's all right..." She whispered. "Daphne's here. Just let it out. I've got you."

He cried for a long time, unleashing years of pain that he'd kept inside. And not once did she let go. She couldn't.

Finally his tears subsided and he slowly drew back. "I love you, Daphne."

She kissed him tenderly. "I love you too, sweetheart."

The kisses deepened, becoming more and more passionate and her hands made their way to his shirt. She slid the white material off of his shoulders, and her fingers massaged his strong back. She arched her neck, sighing as his lips moved downward from her mouth to her chin, making their way into the hollow of her throat. His hands moved to her back, and she felt him slowly unzipping her material fell away from her shoulders and she eased it off of her body, letting it fall to the floor.

Soon they were entangled in the sheets, making love as they never had before.