Daphne entered the room just as Frasier opened the front door, revealing his brother. "Hello, Niles. My… look at you! What's the occasion?"

Niles smiled and shook his brother's hand. "Hello Frasier. I'm headed for the Seattle Society Ball at the Regent Hotel. I just thought I'd stop by for a few minutes. You know… before…"

Frasier chuckled. "Right… Before your next stop. You're not fooling me Niles. I know where you're headed. This is getting serious isn't it?"

Niles tried to hide his grin, but even Daphne could tell that he was having difficulty. He looked so happy, and that made her glad.

"I think so, Frasier. At least I hope it is. But I really want this to work out so we're taking things slowly. I don't want to ruin this. I haven't been this happy in a very, very long time."

"I know and I'm happy for you, Niles. So when…"

"Soon, I promise." Niles said. "Say, have you heard the news? That's really why I stopped by. I just found out today and I couldn't wait to tell you."

"What news?"

"Well, you didn't hear this from me, but I just saw in the paper that our favorite brand of wine…"

Niles' voice trailed away in Daphne's mind as she stood in her place in the kitchen doorway, unable to take her eyes off of him. In his black tuxedo, Niles Crane was more handsome than she'd ever seen him. Just the sight of him made her heart flutter. But it was completely ridiculous. She'd seen him in a tuxedo hundreds of times before; the most memorable being the night that she'd accompanied him to the Snow Ball.

He'd been a perfect gentleman and the sweet compliments that he'd paid her were, of course flattering but she knew that he was just being kind. He was, by all accounts, a very good actor, pretending to be in love with her. But lately the complements had ceased and although he was still sweet to her (a trait that she was certain that he would never lose), it just wasn't the same.

No. That wasn't right at all. He was exactly the same wonderful, caring man that he'd always been. It was she who had changed. She was different. She was in love; deeply in love.

He had no idea of her love for him (other than the close friendship that they shared) and she wasn't sure how that friendship blossomed into feelings of love but she had a pretty good idea. It began the moment that his brother had blurted out something during a massage that Niles obviously hadn't wanted her to know or was too afraid to tell her.

How was it possible that this man, whom she'd come to think of as nothing more than a friend, had fallen in love with her?

She certainly wasn't his type. She wasn't someone who went to operas or knew anything at all about things like classical music and wine and the finer things of life; faraway places (other than Manchester) and living in mansions. But somehow Niles saw past all of that and had seen something in Daphne that captivated him. The idea that a man like Niles Crane could have fallen in love with her was the most flattering compliment she could have ever received.

However, after that moment, something happened. She simply couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard she tried. Time and time again she'd tried to put him out of her mind but it proved to be completely impossible. He was in her every thought; the subject of her every dream.

Now she watched him as he looked around the condo. Normally it would have been the easiest thing in the world to go to them and say those five simple words;

"Dr. Crane we need to talk."

But she'd only taken one step out of the kitchen when she realized that she simply couldn't do it. Damn what was wrong with her? When had she become so scared and shy? Niles had always been the shy one and she the strong one. She was once a woman who could speak her mind to anyone no matter what the consequences.

Is this what love did to a person; made them weak? She certainly hoped not, but it was beginning to seem that way. And so when she heard Niles asking Frasier about her (in passing curiosity, she was certain); she moved further into the kitchen, hidden from the Crane men's view.

"She's fine, Niles. I think she's in her room reading. But thanks for stopping by and don't worry. Everything will work out. I'm sure of it."

Niles smiled. "Thanks Frasier, I appreciate it."

The Crane brothers hugged, warming Daphne's heart, and at that moment, Daphne realized that she had no idea what they had been discussing. But then again, it was none of her business anyway. They were so engaged in conversation that she attempted to rush to her room, with little chance of being seen. But nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

The doorbell rang, surprising all three of them.

"Who on earth could that be at this time of night?" Frasier asked.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Niles quipped.

Frasier shot Niles a look. "Just open the door, all right?"

Niles scoffed and did as his brother asked, but stood frozen at the figure on the other side. She was an attractive woman; petite, short dark hair with fair skin and Daphne had never seen the woman before. And she wore a black tea-length evening dress that complemented Niles' tuxedo. Perhaps she was a friend of Frasier's. Daphne's ingenuousness was confirmed when Niles smiled and took the woman into his arms for a series of passionate kisses, Daphne's heart sank.

"Mel, sweetheart, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, this must be…"

Niles drew back from this Mel woman and turned to his brother. "Frasier this is Mel, the woman I've been telling you about. Mel Karnofksy."

Frasier extended his hand. "Enchanted."

"Same here. Niles didn't tell me that his brother was so… sophisticated."

Frasier's eyebrows rose. "And that surprises you?"

"Well, you know how brothers and sisters are; always competing."

Frasier and Niles exchanged a look. "Right… Well-."

Niles turned to the woman with whom he seemed so mesmerized. "Mel, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet at the hotel."

She laughed, the tone of it almost mocking. "Oh come Niles, you didn't really expect me to show up there alone, did you? I know you would have been at least fifteen minutes late. You always are."

"Mel, I-."

"Look, I don't want to get into a big wicked fight about this, not in front of your brother and certainly not in front of that maid of yours, what did you say her name was?"

Daphne flinched at the intentional (or unintentional, she wasn't certain) insult to her place in the Crane household.

"Um, Daphne." Niles said, emphasizing Daphne's name. "And she's not my… she's not a maid. She's Dad's physical therapist."

"Oh right… My mistake." Mel said in a tone that told Daphne that it hadn't been a mistake at all. "Well, whatever she is, I don't want us fighting here. We can do that at home or in the car."

Frasier's eyebrows rose, as did Daphne's. This was certainly unusual.

"Niles-."

Niles laughed nervously. "She's just…. It's all right Frasier. You know how it is, couples getting to know one another are bound to have their little differences."

"Or in our case, lots of differences. Big ones."

Niles reached for Mel's hand and squeezed. "Right… but we're working through them, aren't we Darling?"

"Of course."

"Well, we should go." Niles said. "Thanks Frasier for… well, you know."

"Of course. Nice to meet you, Mel."

"You too." Mel replied. "Come on, Niles. We can't be late."

Niles sighed deeply. "Of course not. Goodnight, Frasier."

"Goodnight Niles. Nice meeting you, Mel. " Frasier moved to close the door but Mel stopped him. "Wait a minute, Frasier."

"Oh, all right. Sorry Mel. I thought-"

"There's something I forgot to do."

"What is it, Mel?"

Daphne gasped lightly as Mel took Niles into her arms and kissed him with more passion than she could have ever imagined. The kiss seemed to go on forever and a day, paining her with each passing second. And just when she was positive that she couldn't take anymore, Mel drew back and smiled at Niles "There. That should hold you until we get to the ball!"

"Um, right." Niles said, rather dizzily.

As soon as the couple was gone, Daphne swallowed hard and made a beeline for her room. She quietly closed the door and then sank down on her bed. Almost immediately the tears began, starting out hot and silent but soon the ache in her chest was so great that she curled up on her bed, clutching her pillow in her hands. She cried onto it until her sobs became shudders. She was in such a state that she didn't hear the knock on the door.

"Daphne, I'm ordering take-out from Mario's, did you want any-."

He entered the room and was at her side in an instant. "Dear God! Daphne, what is it, what's wrong?"

She looked up, no longer able to hide the truth from herself or from anyone. "I'm in love with your brother!"

The shocked expression was expected and she began to cry again. "What? Daphne…"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true! I can't help meself!"

"But when did this happen?"

"Well, if you hadn't asked for that mas-sage, I would never have known about how Niles felt about me. But I guess it doesn't matter now because he's obviously forgotten all about me and is in love with Mel!"

"Massage? I don't remember any-."

"Well you should because you said something that you probably were sworn to secrecy about. And I never told another soul. But my heart won't let me forget about it. In fact, my heart is what's making this so difficult."

"How so?"

She started to cry even harder, prompting Frasier to sit down on the bed next to her and put his arm around her. "Daphne…"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Crane… I'll be all right. It'll just take some time to get used to the fact that your brother is in love with someone else."

"I think you need to talk to Niles. Tell him how you feel."

"But I can't!" She cried. "What could I possibly say? He doesn't love me. He loves Mel!"

"You don't know that. He's barely been seeing her for a week now and to be honest, they don't seem very compatible."

"I'm not his type. Not at all. What could he possibly see in me?"

"Probably the same things I see in you. Your beauty, your charm, your sense of humor… Why don't you at least think about it? The sooner you talk to him the easier it will be." Frasier urged.

Daphne smiled. "All right. I suppose it's worth getting me heart crushed over."

Frasier hugged her warmly and smiled. "You don't know that will happen, Daphne. You might be surprised what love will do to a person. Now go on."

She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Frasier."

After she'd changed her clothes and gotten dressed, she took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. She was dressed rather plainly, in a baggy red shirt and blue jeans; her hair pulled away from her face in a ponytail. She looked hideous, but it was the best that she could do under the circumstances. She didn't have any time to waste.

She arrived at his apartment (aptly named "The Montana") and slipped into the lobby, finding a seat in a plush chair in the corner. She didn't want to seem inconspicuous and to her good fortune, the doorman had fallen asleep. No doubt someone would report him and ultimately have him removed from his position but she wasn't going to be that person. The man was probably exhausted from greeting people all day.

She quickly looked up Niles' apartment number on the directory and entered the elevator that whisked her to the top floor. When she got out she came to his apartment number and stood before it, feeling a bit lost. She was just about to ring the doorbell, when she heard a voice grumbling behind her. The elevator doors closed and she found herself face to face with the man she'd come to love.

"Dr. Crane…"

His face registered complete shock and rightly so. It wasn't every day that she stood on his doorstep, feeling like a lost puppy.

"Daphne… what are you doing here?"

She flinched, for the words were the exact words he'd said to Mel. But he deserved an explanation. And so she took a deep breath. "Dr. Crane, we need to talk."

His eyebrows rose and he hurried past her to unlock his door "Oh, well… come in."

She smiled and entered his lovely apartment. "Thank you. I'm sorry to barge in like this so late, but-."

"It's all right. I was just… Well, I had a date."

She swallowed hard at the news she already knew, but wasn't about to reveal that she'd essentially been eavesdropping. "Oh… I see."

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, helping her remove her coat.

"May I?" She asked, gesturing to the fainting couch.

"Oh, of course. By all means." He said. "Would you like some champagne?"

"I'd love some."

She sat down on the fainting couch and he emerged from the kitchen, carrying two champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne. She watched, her heart fluttering once again as he popped the cork on the champagne and poured them each a glass.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but-."

"Daphne, you're never a bother. You're welcome here any time, day or night."

His sweet words stirred something inside of her and she could no longer contain herself. She moved closer to him on the sofa and kissed his lips. The feather-light touch made her shiver and seconds later she drew back as they stared at one another in astonishment. And then she realized just what she'd done. "I'm sorry-I…"

"Y-you kissed me."

She swallowed hard. "Yes, and I'm sorry about that. I just…"

"Daphne…"

Unexpectedly she began to cry. "Oh Dr. Crane, I'm completely daft!"

"No, no you're not. Daphne, please don't cry. Whatever it is..."

"But I am daft, Dr. Crane! I come over here to tell you that I've fallen in love with you, but I can't even manage-."

He looked so stunned that she wondered if he'd forgotten that he was supposed to be breathing.

"Y-you're in love with me?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes, very much so."

He sat for a moment, as though trying to let her words sink in. "Daphne…"

"I'm sorry. I don't know how it happened, but when your brother told me…"

"Wait, Frasier told you? What… what did he say?"

"It doesn't matter, Dr. Crane. It's not his fault. I can't… I can't help meself. You're always so sweet and kind and you look so handsome in your tuxedo. But I know you love Mel, so-."

"I don't."

"What?"

"Love Mel. I don't love her at all. In fact, we got into a huge argument right before the ball began so I've just been driving around for hours, thinking. I'm positive that I won't be seeing her anymore after tonight."

She wanted to jump for joy, but she knew it wasn't right. He was obviously hurt by what had happened. And so she reached for his hand and squeezed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. You probably want to be alone."

"Actually no. I could use the company. We can talk."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled and leaned to kiss her softly. "Yes." He said, making her heart flutter once more. "I'd love to spend the evening with you, talking. But first I need to confess something. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

"But your brother already…"

"I love you, Daphne. I've loved you from the moment I first saw you."

She laughed as new tears streamed down her cheeks and she kissed him again and again. "And I love you, Niles Crane."

"So what should we do about this?"

"How about a dance? You do have music, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Niles said. "What would you like to hear?"

She drew him into her arms and held him. "Something romantic."

"Romance coming right up." He said, rising from the fainting couch. He went to his CD player and inserted a CD. Instantly beautiful strands of music filled the living room. She was in his arms in an instant, his arm around her waist, her hand in his.

"You look very handsome in your tuxedo." She commented as they moved slowly back and forth to the music.

"Thank you, Daphne. And you're absolutely stunning."

She laughed at the absurdity of his comment. "Dr. Crane, that's ridiculous. I'm hardly..."

"You're beautiful, Daphne Moon. And I should tell you that more often. I'm sorry."

His compliment brought her hands to cradle his face and she kissed his sweet lips. "I love you, Niles Crane. Is it all right if I call you Niles?"

He smiled. "It's better than all right. It's absolutely wonderful."

"Just like tonight. And to think that earlier I was incredibly lonely." Daphne said, snuggling against his chest.

He kissed her cheek, her chin and then her lips. "Never again, Daphne. I want this relationship to be absolutely perfect. I thought that what I had with Mel was perfect but I couldn't have been more wrong. You're perfect. All I want; all I've ever wanted is you. I love you, Daphne. And I'm sorry I was too cowardly to tell you."

She kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair. It was even softer than she'd imagined. "You're not cowardly. I am. I heard you talking to your brother and was standing in the kitchen when Mel came over."

"Oh Daphne…"

She smiled and held him closer. "It's all right. I was hurt at first but then I talked to your brother and he said-."

"Wait, Frasier knows about this? But-."

"Yes, he's the one who told me to come and see you. So I did."

"Wow, that's…"

"Hard to believe?" she quipped.

"The most wonderful thing that he's ever done for me. I owe him the world for this."

"So do I." Daphne said.

"We'll thank him tomorrow. But in the meantime, let's enjoy this romantic evening. We have a lot of time to make up for. Is that all right with you?"

Daphne kissed him again and again. "I think I can manage."

They sat their champagne glasses down on the coffee table and returned to their places on the fainting couch, kissing, holding, caressing and loving each other, making up for lost time. It was the most blissful moment of Daphne's life. Sometime later, she awakened, having fallen asleep in his arms. He was still sleeping but she saw his bow tie on the coffee table. She picked it up and ran her fingers over the smooth black fabric and then kissed Niles' cheek, smiling at the way he was sleeping quietly, like an angel.

He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

From that moment on, she knew that back would be her favorite color. For black was the color of love.

THE END