In the stillness that surrounded them, they sat down the gently moving porch swing with their arms around each other.
"Daphne, I hope that I didn't upset you earlier." He said quietly.
"No, of course not. And I'm sorry for reacting the way that I did. I was just… surprised."
"If I've made you feel uncomfortable in any way, please let me know. If you would feel better leaving the sleeping arrangements the way they are, I completely understand."
"No." She whispered, snuggling closer to him. "I want to spend the night with you, sleeping in your arms."
"Well, I'm glad. After all, this is our last night together and I want it to be special."
She sighed deeply. "It is our last night together, isn't it?"
He could feel her body trembling and hear the quivering in her voice and for a moment he was afraid to say anything more. He knew that his voice would most certainly break. His fingers touched her silky hair, releasing the heavenly scent of her perfume and shampoo that he loved so much.
"It's hard to believe." He admitted. "So many things have happened this week.
She moved her face toward his until their lips met. "You're right. It feels like we arrived here a lifetime ago."
Niles chuckled. "It seems surreal, doesn't it? You make one spontaneous decision, having no thought of how it might turn out. But never in my life did I imagine this."
"Me either. After Donny ended things between us, I was afraid that I would be alone and unhappy forever. But now-."
He pulled her closer and stroked her back, brushing his lips against her neck. Even though Donny was no longer in her life, Niles still ached at the thought of her hurting.
"I know, but that's in the past now. Still, I'm so sorry that you were hurting so badly."
"Thank you, Niles."
"For what?"
"For making me happy again."
They kissed again.
"I don't want to go home." Daphne sighed. "I love it here. I absolutely love it."
"Then let's stay." The suggestion surprised him, but he meant it whole heartedly. The thought of leaving her was-
Daphne pulled out of his arms. "I can't believe that I forgot!"
Alarmed he sat up. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"The phone call. I really need to use your phone."
He could have kicked himself for not remembering. "Oh Daphne, I'm sorry."
Her lips met his once again and he shivered. She drew back and smiled. "No apologizes, all right? I hate to leave y our arms but I really need to do this. I promise I won't be long."
"All right."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
He watched her hurry into the cabin and then rose to his feet. His shoes crunched softly on the ground as he made his way to the lake. In the moonlight the water glistened. He shoved his hand into his pocket, twisting the ring around in his fingers. For a moment he imagined the ring on his left hand. But in his dream it was a different ring. It was the ring he'd purchased when Daphne agreed to become his wife. He never imagined that such a dream would even be possible of coming true.
But he and Daphne were both free… and they were in love.
A pair of soft lips pressed against his cheek. "Hello, Sweetheart." His dream vanished, replaced with a wonderful reality and he turned around.
"Daphne…"
"I hope that I didn't take too long."
"Not at all." It wasn't a lie, for her had no idea how much time had passed since Daphne had gone inside to make her phone call.
She brushed away tears and then carefully handed him a steaming mug.
"What's this?"
"I thought you might fancy some hot chocolate. It seems to have grown colder since I've been gone."
He took the mug from her and smiled. "It's warmer now that you're here. Did you get everything taken care of?"
She glanced at him blankly. "Taken care of?"
"Your phone call."
"Oh yes, it was lovely. I should have taken care of it sooner. I don't know why I didn't."
"May I ask who you were calling?"
"Your brother."
Niles swallowed hard. "Oh, I see."
"Niles, he wasn't angry, I promise."
"So you told him."
"Just that I was staying here with you. I told him that you asked me to come and I accepted. That's all they really need to know, isn't it?"
Niles could only imagine what his brother must have been thinking. And Daphne seemed to be reading his mind.
"I promise that everything will be all right. I'll explain everything to him when the time comes." She took the mug from his hands, set it down and then wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't want the time to come, to be honest. I don't want this to end." Her voice was muffled against his chest.
"Neither do I, Daphne. I've waited so long for this. But we can return anytime you'd like."
She lifted her face and smiled at him. "Oh yes, I want to come back here as often as possible. It's so beautiful and-." She gasped. "Oh!"
Again he was alarmed. "Daphne?"
She drew out of his arms and looked around in amazement. "Oh!"
"What is it?"
"Niles, look!"
He looked around, but saw nothing but darkness.
"What is it?"
"Over there, it's snowing."
The flakes were small, but he finally noticed them. "So it is. Wow, it seems so strange to have snow so soon, but we are in the mountains so of course any type of weather is possible, I suppose. If this were back home, the city would be going crazy, right?"
She sighed deeply and returned to his arms. "I don't want to think about that place."
"What place?"
"Home."
"You mean Manchester?"
"No, our home. Well, I mean-."
"I knew what you meant. Seattle."
"Yes. I love your father and your brother, but the thought of going home-."
He watched her carefully, waiting for her to finish.
"Going home means leaving you and I don't know if I can do that. I'm sorry, Niles."
"Oh Daphne.." He cradled her chin in his hand and tilted her face toward his. "Hey, I thought we said no apologizes."
"You're right. We did say that. It's just hard to think about leaving here."
"Then let's not think about it."
He brought his lips to hers and kissed her gently and deeply. It was a promise of many more kisses to come.