She'd barely drifted off to sleep when she felt the cab slow to a stop and she opened her eyes to reveal the most beautiful apartment building that she'd ever seen. And for a moment she felt as though she was staring at a castle. A castle that was home to her prince.

Once more her heart warmed at the thought of him. Without hesitation, she climbed out of the cab and grabbed her luggage, thanking the kind taxi driver with a handshake and a handsome tip.

"Good luck, Miss." The cab driver said with a smile. As he drove way, she knew without a doubt that Seattle was a special city. No cab driver in New York City would ever be so friendly.

She smiled, determined to rid herself of the nervousness that consumed her. She was taking a huge risk, moving across the country and her mother would be livid if she knew. But Daphne had no intention of telling her-until the time was right of course.

And if things didn't work out...

The thought made her shudder.

Oh God...

A million things ran through her head. What if her surprise visit angered him? What if he'd decided not to divorce after all and had reconciled with his wife? What if he was in love with someone else, or married to someone else? What if when he saw her, he was so angry that he blurted out that he never wanted to see her again? What if...

"Can I help you, miss?"

She looked up to find a dark haired man wearing a doorman's uniform smiling at her. And suddenly she wished that she hadn't come.

"Oh... I..."

He waited patiently for her to continue.

"I was looking for N-Niles... I-I mean, Dr Crane. I think he lives in this building."

"Sure does. Hell of a nice guy. Kind of pretentious, really loves his wi-."

Daphne's head began to ache and she held up her hand to silence him. "Please... I don't want to hear about Dr. Crane's wife. I guess I should have known..." Tears filled her eyes but she fought to keep them at bay. She looked at the man, feeling her emotions clog in her throat. And then she prepared herself for the man's next words; the words that would shatter her heart.

A lone tear escaped and she quickly brushed it away, hoping the man hadn't seen. But it was clear from his concerned expression that he had.

"Actually, I was going to say... Dr. Crane really loves his wine. He's not married."

Relief flooded her and she glanced at the man in surprise. "H-he's not?"

"He was for a long time, from what he told me. But the divorce finally came through last week. Dr. Crane was pretty depressed for a while when he first moved here. Apparently the apartment he had before this was a real dump. Damn shame. His wife took him to the cleaners and really put him through hell. Boy...that must have been rough. And through it all, he was still the same, friendly guy."

"I-I didn't know." Daphne said quietly.

The doorman's expression changed and his voice lowered to a hushed whisper.

"Look, I don't want you to think that I go around gossiping about tenants. I probably told you way too much. So if you don't mind-."

"Oh, I won't tell a soul." Daphne said. "Your secrets are safe with me."

"So how do you know Dr. Crane?"

"W-we met in..." Her voice trailed away, leaving behind tiny rivers of tears that slid down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away. "I'm sorry... I wanted to... surprise him."

The doorman smiled. "Well, that's great. I'm sure he'll love to have the company. He's seemed so lonely, even though it's not my place to say so. Now, I guess I should show you to his apartment."

"No... I... I'll just go. I shouldn't have come. I'll only upset him." She turned to leave but stopped when she felt his hand on her forearm.

"Please... don't leave, Ms..."

"Moon. Daphne Moon."

The man smiled and extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Moon. Name's Rick Thrower. I'm the doorman here at The Montana. If you don't mind my saying so, you'd be making a big mistake by leaving. I know Dr. Crane would be disappointed."

"I doubt it." She said quietly, staring at her feet.

"Dr. Crane would be crazy not to be happy with a visit from such a beautiful woman."

Daphne blushed deeply at the compliment. "Well... Thank you, but-."

Rick picked up her bags and nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to see Dr. Crane. You came all this way."

He had no idea...

"But..."

"But nothing. Guy's been lonely. Damn lonely from what I can tell and it isn't fair. He's got a successful career in psychiatry and his family is nice enough. His brother is almost exactly like him. Same tastes and everything, but his dad... Wow! If I didn't know any better I would never believe that they are father and son. Like night and day. I don't think the guy has any real friends except for that brother of his. I've hardly ever seen him with a woman, and believe me; I see a lot of women in this building. Just once I'd like to see him on the arm of a beautiful woman, looking happy again. The only woman I've ever seen him with was his wife; or ex-wife as it was. Man, is she scary looking!"

"Please!" Daphne said, unable to think of Niles with another woman, even his ex-wife. Her heart simply couldn't take it. "Just... where is he?"

Her last words were but a whisper.

Rick smiled and picked up her luggage. "Come on..."