Saturday morning, Niles kept the store closed. His dinner with Frasier and Martin the night before went mostly as he thought it would, starting with some enquiries from the both of them about his friendship with Daphne, although Frasier seemed less interested in it this week. Their conversation then drifted more towards general topics - Martin's physiotherapy; Frasier's radio show; Niles' contract to provide flowers for a wedding in early July.

Niles mentioned that he was thinking of going out more, and Frasier immediately invited him to a fundraising brunch at the art gallery the next day. Niles hesitated, not sure if he was ready so soon, but decided that it was clearly a sign - Frasier had a spare ticket as his date had cancelled.

So he kept the closed sign up on Persephone's door, and spent the morning getting ready.

He met Frasier at 10 at the gallery. Milling about, a glass of champagne in one hand, Niles was struck at how silly his fears had been. Certainly there had been more gossip when he has first left Maris, but now, he felt like one of the crowd. Of course, it might not be the kind of event Maris and her ilk would generally attend, but it was nice.

"Lovely piece, isn't it?" A tall, blonde woman approached, and gestured to the sculpture Niles was currently looking at. "I'm quite partial to this one, it reminds me of Leiko Ikemura's works."

"Oh yes, I was just thinking the same." Niles nodded. "I attended a showcase of Ikemura's works in Zurich several years ago. Stunning pieces. There's an ethereal, otherworldly quality to her sculptures and paintings."

"I agree." The blonde woman turned and held out her hand. "Sabrina Locklin. I'm one of the directors for the Hemmant Foundation."

"Niles Crane. You've put on a wonderful event."

"Thank you. It's always pleasing to see people enjoying our events. The way I see it, you can donate money and have a good time, it doesn't have to be one or the other."

She shared a chuckle with Niles as they continued to converse about the art. He was struck by how easy this seemed. Talking to other people. And not once did he felt panicked or nervous. She was pulled away after a few minutes, but handed Niles her card before she left. He took it, stunned by the almost casualness of the gesture.

Frasier took no time to sidle up to his brother the moment Sabrina had left. "Well, Niles. Looks like you had an interesting conversation."

"Er, yes. That was Sabrina Locklin. She's a director for the Hemmant Foundation, and on the board for the Seattle Art Gallery."

"My, rubbing elbows with rarefied company indeed. And did I see her give you her card?"

Niles held it out, still baffled. "She wants to do drinks one evening. Was she... Is she asking me out?"

"No, Niles, she needs an extra person for her bowling league and you seemed perfect. Of course she's asking you out!"

Niles rolled his eyes. "Very amusing. This is still new for me, Frasier. I'm recently divorced."

"You've been divorced for nearly a year. There isn't anything recent about it anymore."

"Well, it still feels recent."

They walked around the gallery, stopping in front of the artwork every now and then as they talked.

"Have you even been on a date since you and Maris separated?" Frasier looked at his brother, unsure what to make of his meekness.

"Not really. There was a short lived fling last year..." He thought back to that. It was a month at the most, when he had hit his lowest point. Disillusioned and dissatisfied, Niles had started frequenting a small piano bar near his apartment. That was where he met Adelle, and they had conversed briefly before going to dinner. Things moved quickly, and they started sleeping together almost immediately.

Niles didn't want to say he allowed himself to fall for Adelle -he certainly didn't love her - but it felt like he was starting to get his feet back on solid ground. And he and Adelle seemed compatible enough.

Then she told him that she couldn't see him anymore. She had started seeing someone else. They weren't exclusive, and Adelle said she saw their relationship as a bit of a fling. Fun. But the sting of betrayal hit Niles again, and even though this hurt less than the pain Maris caused, it reinforced his current mood. That was the moment he decided to close his practice and move away.

Until he saw and bought Persephone.

"You never mentioned that." Frasier was looking at his brother, wondering how much information he could extract.

Niles saved him the probing questions. "It was a brief fling. We weren't exclusive. We went out a few times, slept together a few times. She ended it when she met someone else."

That was as much as Niles was going to tell Frasier about Adelle Child. Luckily it was enough.

Later that evening, after a couple of glasses of wine, Niles took Sabrina's card out, turning it over in his fingers.

She seemed nice. Sabrina was attractive, well connected, educated. She also seemed to have a quick wit and they were able to converse easily for several minutes. In fact, it was the easiest conversation Niles had with a woman since...

Daphne.

He sighed. Daphne. The woman he had a crush on. He fell for her so quickly, in a way that stunned him. Niles had known Daphne a month at this point, and already he was wanting to spend all his time with her.

She was also in a relationship. A new relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. So he had two options.

One - keep sitting here, alone, waiting for Daphne and Joe to break up so he could ask her out. If they break up. If they didn't...

Option two - go out with Sabrina. It didn't have to be serious. He could do what Adelle did. Keep it casual, fun. Maybe something more could happen. But there was no harm in exercising his dating muscles. Especially when they were so unused as to still be in the original packaging.

Another glass of wine later, Niles called the number on Sabrina's business card.

Option 2 it is.

Monday brought Daphne to Persephone later than usual, but still with the usual gaiety and light she brought with her wherever she went. "Hello, Niles! How was your weekend?"

"Pretty good, actually. How was yours? Busy?"

"As a bee, Niles. As. A. Bee." She plonked down on the stool that had automatically become her spot. Daphne put a bag on the counter, pulling out a couple of boxes. "I thought we could have lunch together, seeing as I'm here a little later than usual."

Niles glanced at the clock, confirming it was nearly midday. Joe had already been and gone. Niles had made passable small talk, his anxiety over the idea of Joe and Daphne dating had abated somewhat now he'd forced himself to get used to the idea. Daphne herself had called the store phone Sunday, letting him know she would be in a bit late on Monday with his tea - she had a tarot appointment. Something she didn't usually do on Mondays, but it was easy money so she didn't mind doing it as a one off.

Daphne also pulled out a tea blend for Niles, no new creations this week, but a green tea Niles particularly favored and was close to running out of. He brewed them both a cup to go with the sandwiches Daphne had brought.

"I took Saturday off - Frasier invited me to a fundraiser at the art gallery that he had a spare ticket to."

"Oh, that sounds fun. You never seem to take time off - I'm glad you allowed yourself a day." She bit into one of the sandwiches. "What were they raising money for?"

"Well, it was actually run by a foundation that raises money for smaller galleries to help them afford to expand their collections. They also look at promoting local or lesser known artists to encourage galleries to showcase their works."

"Sounds interesting. Was there much local art there?"

Niles found himself launching into the topic. He had called Sabrina on Saturday evening to take her up on her offer for drinks (he didn't want to tell himself it was a date, yet) and they ended up spending almost an hour continuing their interrupted conversation from the brunch. One of the topics they had talked about extensively was a lesser known sculptor from Oregon, whose pieces were being showcased at the Seattle Art Museum currently.

Niles was rehashing what he had said about this piece now when he noticed Daphne was just smiling and nodding along. He stopped mid-sentence. "Sorry, you're not interested in all that."

"No no, it's not that - I just don't know much about art. But, I really am enjoying hearing you talk about it!"

She tried to look interested, but Niles was sure she was just humoring him. "Really, it's fine. I don't mean to bore you, Daphne."

Daphne shook her head. "I'm not bored. I'm enjoying just... listening to you talk. It's the most passionate I've ever heard you talk about something before."

Niles blinked. He tried to think back on what they'd discussed in the past, and he realized that Daphne did a lot of the talking. He was happy to listen to her for hours. And while he did converse and respond, she was taking the lead in those conversations. Niles had to admit he'd been ignoring a lot of his past hobbies and haunts.

"It's something that I am interested in," he admitted. "I guess I've been neglecting that side for a few months."

"I know what that's like. For months, before I finally had the nerve to end things with Clive, I found myself just going through the motions. If it wasn't directly linked to survival - job, chores, food - I wasn't making time for it."

They'd touched on each other's relationships in the past, but neither of them had gone into it too much. Sore wounds and what not. But it sounded eerily familiar to how Niles had been coping. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Daphne."

She smiled, any trace of sadness gone. "Oh, it's all right. I was a mess a year ago, but I've adapted. Besides, all things happen for a reason." She stood, and balled up her napkin, clearing away the food containers she brought. "I've got to go run my errands. My tarot appointment this morning threw out my entire schedule."

Niles started to help her clean, when his phone buzzed. He glanced down at his cell, as Daphne spoke again. "That reminds me - I was going to get your number, so I don't have to call the store phone if I need you."

She pulled her own phone out, and Niles gave his cell number to her. She entered it, and Niles' phone buzzed again. He looked at the text message Daphne sent.

Hi :)

Niles smiled, amused.

"Now you've got my number too. Anyway, I really have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Niles!" And just like that, Daphne was gone.

Niles looked back down at his phone. Sabrina had messaged him just before Daphne asked for his number.

Just checking we're still on for drinks tonight?

He flicked back the reply.

Absolutely. I'll see you at 7.