Ever so carefully he rose to his feet, feeling slightly guilty for removing his hand from her back. But it was of some comfort that she seemed calmer than before. He moved away from the sofa and went to the luggage that sat on the floor. Carefully, he opened the zipper on his bag and removed the treasure inside. He'd spotted the object while he was in Seattle and had stopped by his home to gather a few things. It was completely spur of the moment; placing it in his bag, but now he was glad that he had found it.

"Hey, I brought you something." He did his best to keep his voice quiet and to his relief the subtle change of subject did wonders to improve Daphne's mood. The sight made him sight and Daphne smiled as well when he returned to the sofa with the box in his hands.

She glanced at the oblong box with the colorful picture on the front and gasped in obvious delight, warming his heart. "It's London!"

"I know. I thought you'd like it."

"Good Lord, this puzzle is ten thousand pieces!" She exclaimed.

"Yes it is. And I think that we should stay put until it's done."

She looked at him in surprise. "Y-you do?"

"Absolutely."

The sofa cushion shifted beneath her weight as she moved to a more comfortable position. He watched her gaze at the puzzle box in awe.

"It's mostly rooftops." He pointed out.

"So it is." She sighed as though she was disappointed. "This will take forever."

He felt the familiar increase in his heart rate. "Then we'll stay forever." He wondered if she realized that he meant it in an entirely different way. Of course he would stay with her forever; puzzle or no puzzle. He was certain that he'd never be able to leave her again.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane."

He looked at her beautiful smile. His arms ached to hold her, to hug her and let her know that he was there for her and always would be there for her, no matter what. The tears in her eyes told him that she was still thinking about Donny and he couldn't very well blame her. He wanted to say something that would hopefully be of some comfort, but he wasn't about to bring up the subject of her former fiancé. He wouldn't dare.

"Look Daphne… About the puzzle…"

"Yes?"

"Well, I was just thinking…" He paused, regarding her carefully. "We have quite a big task ahead of us, so why don't we both try to get a good night's sleep and start on the puzzle in the morning, all right?"

She looked disappointed, and he considered giving in. They could start on the puzzle and continue working on it until the wee small hours of the morning. But he couldn't bring himself to suggest it. She needed her rest and frankly, so did he.

"All right." She said, as though agreeing with his silent explanation.

When she rose from the sofa and climbed the staircase, Niles followed her, pausing only to switch off the light before continuing on. Suddenly there were no more steps to climb and he found that, once again, they were face to face. They were standing in front of the guest room door; the room that he should have given her, but instead kept for himself. They gazed at one another, which made him feel a bit self-conscious. He often felt that way around her, even after all of this time.

"Dr. Crane…"

The unexpected sound of her voice surprised him and he was suddenly aware of just how tired he really was. She waited patiently while he stifled a yawn. He knew that he looked exactly how he felt; exhausted.

"I-I just wanted to say…" She continued. "… that I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, about Donny and I."

"Daphne, you didn't do anything wrong. I was the one-." He stopped, doing his best to find the right words.

"Dr. Crane…"

He held up his hand. "Please, Daphne. I know that your relationship with Donny is none of my business, but I care about you. I care about you so very much. I-."

She blinked and swallowed hard. And then she gave him the look that he knew all too well. She was going to cry again. He had no idea if his words were the cruelest or the kindest words that he could have said, but by God he hoped it was the former. But before he could say anything more, he heard her mumbled a soft

"Goodnight."

And then she was gone.