Girl Talk Pt 4

Niles and Daphne stared at each other neither of them wanting to be the first one to speak , in the end Niles broke their silence

"Well" he said "it looks like we've been set up"

"Yeah" Daphne said with a resigned sigh as she sank into the couch "I can't believe Roz has done this to me , I am going to kill her when I get my hands on her!"

Niles sat at the other end and looked at her "Did you mean what you said ? Do you love me?" his question was neither demanding nor emotional , it was to him a simple request for clarification . He had been disappointed so often in the past he found it impossible to get excited until she told him to his face and of her own free will.

Daphne stared at the floor , she was finding it impossible to met his gaze. "Yes it's true" she said finally looking up at him "I love you , I think I always have"

"and Donny?"

"Oh god...... he's such a good man , I just don't want to hurt him"

"Why did you agree to marry him if you didn't love him?" Niles couldn't believe he was hearing himself say the things he was . All he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and kiss her like he'd wanted to for seven years , but he wanted answers as well.

She fidgeted again , how could she tell him she was going to marry a man she didn't love because she thought the one she did love didn't love her and it was her last chance . What would he think of her. She stood up and began pacing around the room.

"I thought he was my last chance" she said "I thought for a while that you might have feelings for me and you just weren't telling me because of Mrs Crane I think I'd always been waiting , every relationship I was in , even with Joe was just a stop gap until you told me . Then when you told Donny you didn't have feelings for me when Mrs Crane accused you I panicked . I suddenly thought I'd wasted all those years waiting when all the time I'd been kidding myself . Then when Donny asked me to dinner later that day I just sort of fell into it . Even then I was still sort of hoping that once your divorce was final you'd tell me you loved me and I held Donny at arms length for a while . Then there was the weekend at the cabin , when I saw you with Roz I didn't see any point anymore , Donny treated me so well and obviously had strong feelings for me so I decided to stop kidding myself and just try to be content with him. When I knew he was going to propose I didn't want to do anything until I sure there was no hope for us and when you as good as told me to say yes I finally gave up hope."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Niles asked aware of the irony of the situation

"I don't know , I don't know what else to say , I can honestly say I never actually considered that I might be able to tell you , I just got on with it and thought if you loved me you'd tell me. Why did you never tell me ? I mean we've wasted years if you loved me why not tell me?"

Niles sighed , she was sitting beside him now and he reached out his hand and took hers , she didn't pull away .

"In a way you were right" He said " To start with I didn't tell you because of Maris, I was married and I had to live with that , no matter how strong my feelings for you she was my wife and that was it . Then when we split up at first I felt I had to do everything I could to save the marriage , I didn't see it working but at least I could say I tried .Once I knew there was no hope I tried to tell you but there were times when you said things that made me back off , not that I'm using that as an excuse because I still should have told you , but when you would say things like you would date a man who was separated or going through a divorce I was the one who panicked. Then when Maris said the things she did my immediate reaction was that it wasn't the way I had wanted you to find out. I was going to tell Donny that Maris was right when he told me about the information on he background and suddenly I had another chance , a chance to tell you in the most romantic perfect way. I was devastated when I saw you with Donny and realised I was too late. Nothing happened between me and Roz , I'm sure she's told you that and as for you asking my advice about whether or not to accept Donny's proposal I thought you loved him , and I believed if I loved you enough I would have to let you go , to let you be happy and just be content with being your friend."

"I've missed you so much these last months" Daphne said tears welling in her eyes , "you seemed so different toward me , I tried to dismiss it as just you trying not to make Donny jealous. The thought of losing you , of not seeing you when I was married and had moved out was breaking my heart. That's how Roz and I got talking about you last night."

They were so close now Niles could smell her perfume and feel the heat from her body "I couldn't handle seeing you together , and when he did things that hurt you like tonight I wanted to kill him. It was frightening to me I've never wanted to protect someone the way I do you so it was easier to stay away."

"So were do we go from here?"

"I don't know that's entirely up to you , what do you want to do about Donny?"

"Well I can't marry him , I'll have to tell him . Oh this is awful everything will have to be cancelled and I'll have to tell my Family"

"What will you tell him?" Niles moved still closer toward her he was gripping her hand so tightly Daphne thought he might crush it altogether

"The truth" she said looking into his eyes " That I can't marry him because I'm in love with someone else , that I'm in love with you."

"Then what?" Niles asked

"Then we stop wasting time and start planning our future" She smiled at him and behind it Niles saw the slightest hint of sadness . Sadness for all the years they'd lost and sadness that for them to be happy they would be making someone else unhappy . Now he knew it was up to him to make sure she was never unhappy again.

"Daphne" he said "can I kiss you?" somehow it felt right for him to ask permission. She gave the briefest of nods as response and when their lips met and they sank into the soft cushions of the couch it was like the world dissolved around them.

They didn't notice as Roz quietly opened the door and then seeing the scene closed it again joining Frasier and Martin

"Well? What's happening" Martin asked

"Lets give them a minute" she said with a broad grin " We have a result"