Niles woke earlier than usual, grateful to have finally gotten a restful night's sleep. It was definitely a rare occurrence and one that he longed for often. His patient load
was heavier than normal and he was definitely feeling the stress. But thank God for Daphne. She was the only one keeping him grounded these days.
He rose from the bed and dressed for work, wishing that he could stay right here, holding her in his arms. What a blissful way to spend the day. Ten years ago, he would
never have believed that he'd end up married to the woman of his dreams. It was certainly love at first sight. He could still remember the first time he saw her; strikingly
beautiful and completely adorable standing in his brother's condo, folding the laundry. As he watched her now, sleeping like an angel she was even more beautiful than
the day he'd first laid eyes on her.
A glance at his watch told him he'd better hurry. There was nothing worse than being late for a session with a patient.
He smiled as he leaned over and planted a feather-light kiss on Daphne's cheek. "I love you, Sweetheart." He whispered.
Downstairs, he made a quick breakfast and reached into his briefcase for his patient schedule.
"Mrs. Thomkins" he read with a sigh. She was by far his most difficult patient; demanding and insecure with mood swings that startled him at times. He shuddered when
he realized how similar her actions were to his ex-wives'. He opened the bright orange folder, horrified to find that Mrs. Thompkins' personal files were gone. His heart
beat quickened as he ran up the stairs,resolving to be more conscientious about sensitive patient information. How could he have been so careless?
He entered the bedroom; panic filling him as he searched frantically for the paperwork. He looked in drawers, under the bed and even the closet with no luck. Finally he
sat down in the plush corner chair, just moments from hyperventilating when he spotted what he was looking for. But how in the world had it ended up here?
A horrible thought occurred to him then; one that sent a hot flame followed by a cold chill through his body. He swallowed hard as he reached for the paperwork that
lay scattered across Daphne's nightstand-and still more papers at the foot of the bed.
This was crazy. Daphne would never...
Unable to think clearly, he gathered the papers and returned them to the bright orange folder. Then he glanced back at his wife as he headed off to work; his heart
heavy beneath his chest.