"I hope that your happiness will last forever, Dr. Crane."
Her words warmed his heart and he wanted so much to reply; "It will, if you will only say that you love me the way that I love you." but of course she did not, prompting him to go the safe route, as he always did. Why was he such a coward?
"Thank you, Daphne. That means a lot to me."
As he stared at her, she turned her head until she was facing away from him and then returned her attention to the puzzle pieces. A single piece remained unturned. Niles reached for it at the same time that Daphne did. Their fingers touched and a familiar sensation went through him. Daphne let out a small gasp. "Did you feel that?"
He nodded. "We made a spark."
"We made a spark." She whispered in echo. Her fingers were still on the puzzle piece, still touching. And then their fingers moved closer. And suddenly he realized that they were holding hands. Slowly they gazed up at one another, neither of them daring to speak.
Oh God, he was going to kiss her. To hell with his ethics and whatever anyone thought. He was going to kiss Daphne Moon. From the look in her eyes it seemed that she sensed his next move as well. But she didn't move away. He moved even closer, close enough to feel her warm breath on his lips and then-
She was on her feet in one fluid motion. "It's time for me pills. Excuse me."
He rose from the sofa and took a few steps in an attempt to follow her, but then slowed his pace until he was standing still. Why should he even bother? She was obviously upset and most likely feeling guilty about what had almost happened between them. Where he once had felt optimistic, he was now numb inside. Finally, after denying it for so long, he was beginning to face reality. Daphne was with Donny, he was with Mel. Friendship aside, whatever he had with Daphne was over. And the hell of it was that whatever it was had never even begun.
He sat down on the sofa and took a long drink of wine. As he picked up the leaflet that accompanied the puzzle, he felt better. The Super Sleuth puzzle would keep his mind occupied for the remainder of the weekend. When Daphne returned from taking her pills, they would continue working on the puzzle. But until then he would concentrate fully on task at hand; solving the mystery.
Silently he began to read; "His Last Term as Governor; A Crime Scene Mystery. It was on an early autumn morning at the-."
He dropped the leaflet and rose to his feet. Daphne would need water for her pills. He hurried into the kitchen to get her a glass of water and then carried it upstairs. He stopped at her room (his room) and was about to knock when he froze at the muffled sound coming from the other side of the door, inside the room. It was the sound of muffled sobs.
His eyes burned with tears. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take this, knowing that she was hurting so. The hand that was poised to knock on the door opened, and he slid his fingers gently across the wood grain. "Tell me for God's sake." He pleaded desperately. "Tell me what's wrong. Please… talk to me."
The crying continued, painfully and sorrowfully. Touching the door again, he went into the guest room and opened the nightstand, retrieving a pen and a piece of paper. In rather messy handwriting, he wrote;
For your pills
He returned to the hallway and sat the glass on the credenza, along with the note before he headed downstairs, painfully at a loss for how to help her. If only she would let him.
If only…