For a moment he was at a complete loss. Dear God, he'd made her cry. He'd upset her. He felt like a complete jackass. What could he possibly say or do to apologize? Cautiously he moved closer.
"Daphne-."
"I'm not ill!" She sobbed, her voice rising as she turned away from him. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane!"
He had no idea how to respond. If she wasn't ill, than she must have been hurting. And it was a thought that pained his heart. She was engaged; she was supposed to be happy.
He wanted so much to help her, but he wasn't sure what to do. Trying to get her to talk about it, when she was in such a state of distress, was impossible; at least at that moment. And so he settled on the next best thing.
His arms went around her for a soothing hug. He could feel her trembling as he gently rubbed her back, doing his best to calm her.
"I'm so sorry!" She said again.
He held her for a second longer but truth be told, he couldn't bear to let her go. "Don't be silly, Daphne. I'm relieved to know that you're not ill, so there's no need to apologize. But something has upset you and I want you to tell me what it is."
His words, spoken as gently as possible, only served to make her cry harder. He wished that she would open up to him, if only in the slightest and talk to him. He wanted so badly to help her. If only she would let him. But to his dismay she said nothing, leaving him to guess for himself.
"Does this have to do with Donny?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. But there was no way he could take them back.
"No." She replied, the sharpness in her voice indicating that he'd indeed said the wrong thing. "Please, Dr. Crane. I don't want to-."
"I'm sorry." He made certain to soften his voice. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you, always."
Her smile, although it was a small one, tugged at his heart. "Thanks."
He needed to say something else. Something… "So, how are the wedding plans coming along?"
"Could we just have one day of not talking about bloody weddings?" Her reply, although not quite a yell, startled him and he moved his hand from her arm.
"Yes, of course. In fact, I welcome that suggestion." The words could not have been truer. The less said about weddings, his or hers, the better. Discreetly he put his left hand behind him and slid the ring off, letting it drop into his picket. But he remembered a second too late that he'd dropped the keys into his pocket as well. He coughed, as though doing so would cover up the sound of clinking metal.
"It's nothing." She replied, breaking yet another awkward silence.
He nodded, accepting the fact that she wasn't going to tell him what was wrong. It really wasn't his business anyway. He just wanted to help her. He'd do anything for her.
"So you're going to the cabin." Her voice was steadier now.
"Um, yes."
"It must be good to get away."
He smiled at her tone, which was almost wistful. "Yes, it's beautiful this time of year at the cabin."
Her face held a look that matched her voice; a faraway look as though she was trying to picture the scenery. "I remember."
Their eyes met and he smiled. "Very beautiful. Very quiet and far away from every-Daphne, would you like to come with me?"
His words stunned him even more than proposing to Mel had. But unlike the proposal, he didn't regret his asking Daphne to the cabin at all.
She gasped in disbelief. "What?"
"Would you-."
"Yes."
He could not believe what he was hearing. Suddenly he couldn't tear his gaze away from her. Even in her state of distress, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
"Do you mind waiting a few minutes while I pack?"
He smiled. "Of course I'll wait, Daphne. Take all the time you need."
When she fled to her bedroom, he stared out of the window, taking in the picturesque view. What had he been thinking, asking her to come to the cabin with him? Had he completely lost his senses? Or had he, oddly enough, come to them?
She was hurting, that much was evident. And until she opened up to him, there wasn't much that he could do to help her; except to be her friend. So perhaps this impromptu invitation was a start. At the very least he hoped that being away from Frasier and the pressures of wedding planning would help to ease her pain, if only for a little while.
He didn't have long to ponder the notion for she was back in the living room sooner than he'd expected. He glanced at his watch, surprised to find that only a few minutes had passed.
"I'm ready."
Her cheerful voice caught him off guard and he tried to smile but for some reason, found it impossible to do so. Nervousness had once again gotten the better of him.
His eyes moved to the window and he was suddenly reminded of the chill in the air. "Daphne…" He began slowly. "You can't possibly come with me…"
Her shoulders slumped and the overnight bag fell from her hand, landing on the carpet with a soft thud. She sighed deeply and he feared that she might start to cry once again.
"Without your coat." He finished, wishing that he had uttered the thought in one breath.
As before she looked at him in disbelief and it hurt him. How could she possibly think that he would change his mind? But he decided not to read too much into it. After all, she was hurting and when people were in a state of distress, they often weren't thinking clearly.
"It will be freezing up there at the cabin." He said, as though clarifying his earlier statement.
Without giving her a chance to speak, he crossed the living room and removed her red pea coat from the hook, taking a moment to discreetly inhale the scent. When he moved closer to her, he saw her eyes flutter and then close. "Allow me." He placed the coat gently around her shoulders. It was a gesture that instantly brought memories of Frasier's Christmas party when they'd stood on the balcony alone.
He'd never forgive himself for letting her standing there, in that beautiful sleeveless red dress, shivering in the December air. And even after he'd draped his jacket around her shoulders, he'd found himself wishing that he'd done it much sooner. That party had been months ago and he still wondered what she'd been trying to say to him that night. However, it no longer mattered. What mattered was the immediate future. The time that they would spend together at the cabin alone.
He gazed at her, taking in her beauty and even when their eyes locked, he could not bring himself to look away. And so, without taking his eyes off of her, he leaned to pick up her overnight bag. "Well then. I think we both deserve some time away."
As they walked out of the condo, he felt her hand slip into his and the warmth was reminiscent of the way her friendship was wrapped around his heart.