Niles couldn't sleep.

He'd suffered from occasional bouts of insomnia for years, presumably from stress or anxiety. Niles had been lying in bed for nearly two hours now, seemingly without any hope of falling asleep. He finally gave up and rose, pulling on a bathrobe before heading out to the kitchen. Turning on the light, Niles blinked in the sudden bright, his eyes taking a minute to adjust. Opening a cupboard that was now full of different teas, Niles rummaged for a second before pulling one out.

Chamomile and Lavender tea; the label written in a now familiar hand.

Daphne had given this jar to Niles a couple of weeks ago, when she had noticed that he had seemed tired. Niles explained that he had trouble sleeping sometimes, and Daphne had turned up at his store the following day with this tea; saying it helped with insomnia. He hadn't had a chance to try it yet, but now seemed like the perfect time.

Niles brewed a cup, enjoying the scent of the lavender released by the hot water, and took the cup to the living room. He sipped the tea, pleased with the taste, before he placed the cup down next to his chair - a big, plush leather armchair, one of the few pieces of furniture that he had kept from his old life before the divorce. Niles walked over to the bookcase that crowded one corner of the small room, and took a moment to select something to read.

He was about to pull out a novel that looked sufficiently long and tedious, when his eye caught the title of something else, nestled in amongst the books he had bought when he first delved into floristry.

When the idea to purchase Persephone had gripped him, Niles had bought several books about plants - their names, genus, and care instructions; books about flower arrangements; books about small business - anything that he thought he had needed to run a flower shop. This book was a little older and had caught his eye when he had bought it, but he had not yet read it.

Floriography - the language of flowers.

Niles took the book back to his chair and reclined, throwing a blanket over his legs. He sipped at the tea some more, the light from the reading lamp bright enough to see by, but still low and warm enough to be cozy. Niles didn't know if the tea would work, or if he would even be able to sleep, but he felt pretty content.

He cracked open the book. Floriography, it explained in the intro, was a means of cryptological communication through flowers. Different flowers had different meanings - and even different colors and arrangements could change the emotions and sentiment of the message. Niles turned through the pages; the flowers discussed were intricately illustrated, with detailed information behind what each flower could mean. He found the entry on peonies - one of the flowers in Daphne's bouquets - and discovered that blooms that were deep red represented wealth and good fortune. Bright pinks were romantic love. And whites symbolized bashfulness or shame.

Intrigued, Niles found himself flipping through the pages as he sipped his tea. Red roses meant love, something everyone seemed to know. But white roses meant innocence; and yellow, wisdom. Purple lilacs represented spiritually, and yellow gerberas signified cheerfulness.

Niles wasn't sure how long he spent reading, but the next thing he knew he was waking up in his chair; the book having slipped to the floor and the first fingers of dawn peeking through the crack in the curtain.


That afternoon, Niles had told Daphne the success her tea had with his insomnia. She had looked rather pleased to hear it worked. "I'm so glad it helped, Niles! There's nothing worse than not being able to fall asleep."

He'd nodded in agreement. "It worked better than I expected - I thought I'd start to get drowsy, but I ended up falling asleep in my armchair without even realizing it." And it was true. Niles had pulled himself out of the chair just before five am, stumbling to the shower still feeling groggy. Not the most ideal place to sleep, but it had been restful.

On Wednesday, Niles had a booking for a wedding flowers consultation. He was nervous - so far his business had only been singular bouquets, despite listing wedding flowers as an option. He spent the majority of the morning quietly panicking, but things seemed to go fine once they arrived.

The bride-to-be and her mother seemed pleased with what Niles had to offer. And, they complimented the tea he served them during their consult. Niles handed them over one of the business cards Daphne had given him, feeling somewhat pleased that he was able to potentially give her more business.

Friday, Daphne had another new tea blend for him to try that she had just put together. A Jasmine and Pear green tea, it was pretty much perfect and didn't need anything added to it. Niles enjoyed being the person sampling her teas before she sold them in store officially. It made him feel important, respected.

The Friday was slow, so Daphne ended up sitting with Niles most of the afternoon. He told her about the wedding flower consult, and their interest in her tea.

"You know," he added as he sipped his tea, "I gave them some of your tea to drink during our appointment. They seemed to really like it, so I also gave them one of your business cards."

"Really?" She blushed, pleased.

"Hopefully it creates some more business for you."

"I've had people ask about your flowers too. I've told them about your store - maybe I should get some of your business cards to hand out as well."

They chatted about this a little more, realizing that they could promote each other's businesses, and how easy it would be to include this information into their current self promotion. Daphne had clapped her hands excitedly at the prospect. Niles couldn't help grinning either. It seemed like the perfect complement to his own business. And to Daphne's.

Daphne started cleaning the store well before 4pm; business was that quiet. Niles offered to help, and despite her protests that he was a paying customer, Daphne relented and let him wipe down the counter and tables while she mopped the floors.

She turned on the radio to a classic hits station. Niles wasn't someone who listened to contemporary music, preferring Vivaldi over the Verve, but said nothing as he wiped down the tables and chairs meticulously. Turning, he saw Daphne mopping in time to the music. He paused, watching for a minute, smiling. Daphne caught him staring, and stopped, looking a bit embarrassed. Niles averted his gaze for a moment, before looking back.

"Sorry, forgot I wasn't cleaning alone." She went to switch off the radio.

"Oh, no, don't stop on my account - I'm sorry, I didn't..." He trailed off, unsure what he didn't mean. To watch? Stare? "Sorry."

Daphne glanced up again, a small smile on her face. "It makes cleaning more fun if I can be a bit silly and dance about, you know?"

Niles nodded, almost too enthusiastically, trying to make up for inadvertently embarrassing Daphne. "I do something similar when I'm alone in my store - playing music. I don't dance about much, but it does help make the time go quicker."

Daphne turned the radio down so it was barely audible and resumed mopping. Niles finished the tables, mentally scolding himself. I shouldn't have been watching her. I've made her self conscious. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He moved to the counter, and commenced wiping it down. Daphne had finished mopping, and was now closing down the till. She frowned slightly as she noted the amounts down in a small accounts book and tallied receipts. Niles knew that frown. It was one he wore on the days the store didn't make many sales. Which was fairly often, unfortunately.

Daphne was humming the current song on the radio as she finalized the receipts and disappeared into the back with the till. Niles had finished cleaning, and stood there for a moment, waiting for Daphne to come back. The store was quiet, apart from a song on the radio. It sounded familiar.

Where have I heard that song before?

Niles felt like he knew it, but couldn't quite name it. Not surprising, given his knowledge of rock songs. He'd probably heard it while out shopping.

Daphne returned, smiling. "Thanks for your help, Niles. We got that done in no time."

"Happy to help, Daphne."

She leaned forward on the counter. "Got any plans for tonight?"

Niles nodded. "I've got dinner with my father and brother. I promised I'd visit more often, I've been a bit lax the past few months, since opening the store."

"Do you get along with your family?"

"I do, but we aren't as close as I'd like us to be." He thought back to the number of times he'd tried to forge some bond with his father, stymied each time by Niles' own rigidity and Martin's stubbornness. "But they were a great support for me during my divorce, and we are closer than we have been for years."

"I'm glad to hear that." Daphne smiled warmly.

"What about your family?"

Daphne waved her hand. "I get along all right with my brothers, but Dad's checked out of the marriage, and my mother is... difficult at times. I miss them, but I'm not super close to any of them." She sighed wistfully.

Niles knew what she meant. He loved his family dearly, but they were nowhere near as close as they could be. Niles and Frasier were closer as children; both bullied relentlessly at school and with few other friends, they found a rivalry and kinship in each other. But the age difference between the two brothers was apparent, and they all but lost touch when Frasier left for college in Boston. He nodded in sympathetic acknowledgement of the struggles of familial relationships.

Niles glanced around the store again. "Would you like me to help with anything else?" He didn't want to be in the way or overstay his welcome, but any excuse to spend a little more time with Daphne.

"No, I'm all set, I think. Don't want to keep you from your family dinner."

"Right. And I suppose you've got a date with Joe to get ready for." Niles hated saying it, but decided to try and get used to the idea. He didn't want to fall into a panic every time he thought of them together.

"Not tonight, Joe's busy. Exam stuff for his architecture degree or something." Daphne shrugged. "So I'll probably just spend the evening in at home by myself."

"Oh." Niles was surprised she was spending the night by herself.

Daphne misinterpreted his meaning. "I mean, when I was back home in London, I would usually go out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night, but I've only been here a few months, and I don't know too many people yet." She pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe I will go out... Won't meet new friends sitting at home by yourself, right?"

"Right." The thought stuck with Niles. He'd been spending way too much time at home himself lately.

Daphne took a small takeaway box, and popped a few of her pastries into it. "This is to thank you for your help." She waved away Niles' protests as she handed it to him. "I insist."

"Thank you, Daphne."

Leaving the store and heading to dinner at Frasier's, Niles felt slightly relieved Daphne wasn't seeing Joe that evening, but something niggled at the back of his mind from their conversation.

Won't meet new friends sitting at home by yourself, right?

Including the one that he was done hiding from the world.