From that night onward, Niles' life was different, a little strange, and of course, sad. He could barely wrap his mind around the fact that Daphne knew about what he had been feeling for her, mostly because she treated him no differently when they saw each other. He supposed it was best this way, but it seemed as if she didn't think anything of it that Niles loved her with a burning passion.

Daphne and Joshua continued dating and Niles' life looked as it always had on the outside, but inside, he felt lonely and hopeless. There was nothing he could do now. He had used the one thing he had to get her, telling her about his feelings, at the wrong time and it had ruined his life. He'd have to learn to be happy without her, but was that even possible? It certainly did not seem that way.

Niles had buried himself alive in work because his thoughts of Daphne had exhausted him, and he rarely saw Frasier or Martin. He was doing his best now to speed away from the topic of the woman that he loved so dearly, but no matter how hard he worked, he could always see her face, he could always feel the pain.

When is this going to end? He asked himself. When am I going to get over her?

It was one warm evening three months after the ski trip that Niles got his answer.

He was reading an old work of fiction when the doorbell rang, and when he answered it Daphne stood before him.

"Daphne," he said softly, realizing that he hadn't seen her in person in weeks. She was even more beautiful than any his mind, he remembered.

"Hello, Dr. Crane," she said in a misty tone. "May I come in? There's something I need to talk to you about. It's sort of important."
"Of course, Daphne, make yourself comfortable."

She sat down on the fainting couch and he joined her. She looked uneasy and troubled.

"Are you all right?" He asked her.

"Yes. I'm just a little...nervous about what I have to say. I don't know if you'll even listen to it. Before I start, let me just tell you that I don't mean to make you mad."

"All right. What do you need to tell me?"

She took a deep breath. "Three weeks ago, Joshua decided to...end things with me."

"He did?"

"Yes. He was really very sweet about it. He told me that there's a girl that he fell in love with years ago and lost, and no matter how many other girls he dates, he can't seem to find one that makes him feel like she does. He didn't realize that until right before he broke it off with me. He said that he was sorry, but that he had to make things right with her."

"I'm sorry, Daphne. As sorry as I am, I can sympathize with Joshua. There's a woman whom I lost due to my foolish actions, and I've never loved any woman as much as I love her."

"Really? Who-" She stopped herself. "Oh." Daphne paused for a moment. "That's sort of why I'm here. You see, ever since our ski trip, I've been thinking about what you told me that evening. The more I thought about it the more I thought, maybe you wouldn't be so bad to...date. I guess I'd just never seen you that way until you told me. After that thought popped into me head the first time I brushed it off because I had Josh, but then...after we broke up I started thinking again. I won't blame you if you're angry with me for saying this, but...if you still want to, maybe you and I are worth a try."

"Why would you think I'd be angry with you?"

"Because, I made such a big deal about how I wanted to date Josh and..."

"Daphne, this is the best thing I've ever heard in my life."

She smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way. I overheard your father and brother talking and they said that you had been miserable ever since the trip, and I wanted to wait to tell you until after I was completely over Josh, but I didn't want you to feel bad anymore. Could we wait before we start dating?"
"Of course, Daphne. I'd wait a thousand years if I had to."

Niles was nervous, but he took her hands and planted kisses on them. "Daphne, I'm so sorry about what I did to you that evening."

"Hush, don't worry. If that hadn't happened, we wouldn't be here now, would we? And you're a wonderful man. You just made a mistake, and I forgive you. We can forget that it ever happened."

Daphne leaned in and put her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him, smiling, and closing her eyes. Niles felt light headed with happiness as he pulled her closer, bringing in his nose and smelling her hair. He was so captivated and so far gone that he muttered, "I love you."

She sat up again and squeezed his hand. They both sat in a comfortable silence until Daphne said goodbye and left. She hadn't said that she loved him back, but Niles didn't expect her to and he had a feeling that in time she would. Suddenly he loved the world. For the first time in a long time he didn't feel jealous, hurt, or lonely. All of those feelings, all of those terrible, terrible things, had caused something wonderful, something he'd have for the rest of his life.

The End