When I got back to the Winnebago and found Daphne gone, I was concerned. All right, all right, I was more than concerned, I was frantic. I'd already spent an hour, the previous day, wondering what dangers might lurk in these surroundings for a lone female. Those dangers were magnified tenfold at night.

I actually found myself angry with her, for wandering off on her own in the dark; at least until I remembered that I hadn't been present when she'd left, and there was every likelihood that she was, in fact, looking for me.

I had to find her.

I considered waking Maggie to help, but decided against it. I couldn't let her go off on her own as well, so I scribbled a quick note telling her to stay put if she woke, and then I headed out again, leaning on my branch, trying not to think of the state my sock was in.

The sensible option was to ask those people who were still enjoying their conflagration. I hobbled over and addressed them.

"Hi there," I began, hiding my unease with an easy nonchalance, guaranteed to open all sorts of social doors, even the ones decked out in tie-dye T-shirts.

"Hello again," a young lady said back. "Did you find your friend?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your friend," the man who had the young lady trapped intimately between his legs insisted. "She was just here, looking for you."

I recognised them then; it was the smirking couple I'd passed on the pathway. "How long ago?" I asked.

"Five minutes at the most. We told her we'd seen you heading for the river. You okay, man? You look white as a sheet!"

"He looks whiter than your sheets, dude," another young man from the group chimed in, adding a generous sprinkling of distaste to my already distressed palate.

When I realised they expected a reply, I told them, "I twisted my ankle." Then I immediately regretted doing so. The leopard will always take down the wounded gazelle, after all.

"Shit, that's rough. Need some help?"

I declined the offer of assistance, certain that ulterior motives were being indulged, and hobbled away, back towards the path. I was remembering the wild animal sounds which had driven me from my moonlit contemplations, and suddenly had a new vision in my head, of Daphne trying to fight off a pack of snarling beasts with only her fingernails and her angry stare as weapons.

Not that most things breathing ever stood a chance against one of those stares ...

Wincing and gasping frequently in pain, I stumbled my way back down to the river's edge. Hungry eyes watched me from the shadows, blinking shut as soon as I shot a nervous glance through the trees. When I arrived at the clearing, I immediately saw Daphne kneeling on the wooden jetty, crumpled with weeping, her head bent forwards so far that her hair spilled out over the planks.

"Daphne?" I called as I approached, my relief at finding her intact lasting only the briefest of moments. I made the best speed I could, hating to see her so upset, wondering whether it was my fault this time, as well.

She lifted her head up at the sound with a startled yelp, looked at me almost uncomprehendingly for a few seconds, then sprang to her feet. I saw she had my boot, but it was dropped as soon as she was upright, because she was running towards me with an enthusiasm which was both flattering and disconcerting.

Of course, as soon as she reached me and threw her arms around me, I fell over. I was standing on one leg, how could I do otherwise? Daphne hardly seemed to notice, and I'll confess that having her warm body in my arms was ample reward for suffering the wet ground and having the wind knocked out of me.

When her sobs became more coherent, I found myself the victim of some stern admonishments.

"Don't you ever do that again, you impossible bloody man!" she berated me, leaning over me as I lay on my back, her face only inches above my own. "Have you any idea what I've just been through?"

I was utterly confused. I couldn't think. All I knew was that my ankle throbbed and my backside was getting soaked from damp ground, and Daphne was lying on top of me in an incredibly intimate position, and my heart was still breaking because I loved her and she loved me and it was crazy that we should be ignoring those feelings.

"Not really," I confessed.

"I thought you were dead!" she railed.

How she'd managed to work that one out, I had no idea. "I fell over and sprained my ankle," I explained. "I went back, looking for you to help, but you weren't there when I ..."

I trailed off, because Daphne was suddenly snorting with laughter, and the snorts rapidly turned into howls. I found myself chuckling too, because her release was infectious and it felt good to be laughing instead of crying.

"Niles Crane, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you are an accident waiting to happen!" she finally decided between the huffed chuckles.

"It wasn't my fault!" I complained indignantly. "I tripped!"

"Of course you did," she soothed. And she smiled so warmly that my toes curled; at least, they did on my remaining good foot. She sighed heavily, then closed her eyes. "Oh, thank god thank god thank god ..."

"I never meant to put you through this," I added, as the mirth finally dissipated. "I never wanted to put you through anything."

"Oh Niles, I know that."

"And I'm sorry."

"So am I."

And then words were too much, so we just looked at each other. I loved the way we were generating heat together. I loved the weight of her body on top of mine, and the way my hands rested naturally at her waist, and the faintest tickle of her hair as it hung down, between us.

My heart was suddenly in my mouth.

"Daphne," I finally whispered.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"If I don't kiss you right now, I think I might just lose the ability to breathe."

Her body actually trembled. I *think* it was hers, anyway. Either way, it felt damned good.

"You'd better kiss me, then," she offered, trying to sound casual, but failing beautifully.

I hesitated, wondering whether she had really just said what I thought she said. Then I decided that retaining the ability to take in oxygen was more important than risking a slap on the face.

So I kissed her.