This is my first attempt in writing a fic. Note that English is not my mother tongue, so I'm sorry for the grammatical mistakes. Reviews welcomed!! And hope you like it

1 How and when he met her

Dr. Niles Crane opened his eyes and there he was. He knew that place, so warm and comfortable. It was idyllic, like a paradise. And it was his haven.

He had everything he needed there: a small wooden cabin, next to a small lake. It had a small waterfall. And finally, a vast forest surrounded this entire place.

He couldn't see the end of it and there was no road that led there, but he knew that place like home. He had been there several times. There, he met his mothers and they could talk for hours.

In that place he could be the man he couldn't be where he lived. He was a famous psychiatrist form Seattle who frequented the high class people. Professionally, he was very successful.

But his personal life… He felt miserable. Trapped in an unhappy marriage for almost 15 years, he had started to feel that he couldn't put up with it anymore. In order to struggle against a deep depression, he came back to that PLACE.

In his PLACE, he could be a kid again: free, happy and relaxed.

It was a perfect day (well, everyday was perfect); warm and sunny, so he decided to swim for a while in the lake. He climbed the rocks next to the waterfall. The breeze surrounded his body and he felt the impulse to get rid of all his clothes. Completely naked, he dove in the cold waters. He felt al peace and could spend there for hours.

When he was about to get out of the water, he saw her. Fortunately, she wasn't witness of his indecency. He swam towards where he had left his swimsuit.

Hidden among the rocks, he couldn't stop looking at her. Who was her? He had been there hundreds of times, since he was a boy, and never saw anyone, except his mother. For a moment, the presence of that woman annoyed him. It was as if she wanted to disturb the peace of his PLACE. He needed to find out how she had got there.

She didn't see him coming. He started studying her features. She was a tall, thin woman, with brown hair and white skin. He couldn't see her face because she was covering it with her hands.

He didn't know why, but his anger vanished.

- Hi – He said to her.

The woman uncovered her face y Niles was speechless. She was really beautiful. She had brown and expressive eyes.

She looked at him.

- Hi – he repeated.

- Hi – she said. She looked scared. As he got near her, she stood up and back away a little.

- Hey, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. – He smiled lightly at her, trying to reassure her. – Are you ok? –

She was still a little bit confused.

- Yeah. I'm OK, I guess. – She said

- You guess?

- No, I mean I'm fine, but… how did I get here?

Now Niles was confused. – You don't know? –

She looked around and shook her head.

She looked a little bit frightened, so he tried his best to help her.

- What's the last thing you remember? – He asked

She thought for a couple of minutes and he waited in silence not wanting to put pressure on her.

- I was at home and then, I opened my eyes and I was here… with you. Where are we?

That was odd. She had come there the same way he had. Something like that had never happened before. He looked at her and found that she had been looking at him intently. He blushed.

- Hmmm, don't worry. It's a safe place. I come here often. –

She relaxed a bit, but she had still questions in her head. Before asking she frowned. The psychiatrist in him studied that expression.

I think she's quite a quite character.

- Am I going to come back home? –

- Yes -he assured. He wasn't lying.

- Are you sure? –

- Positive – And he smiled at her.

For the first time she smiled at him. He looked like a decent man and the place was nice.

- Are we OK now? - He asked.

- Positive – And they laughed.

She came to him and both sit on the grass in the shade of the trees. Suddenly he said.

- Where are my manners? Here we are, sitting together and we didn't know each other's names – and holding out his hand to her, added – I'm Niles –

She smiled broadly at him and shook it – and I'm Daphne –

And out of the blue, he woke up from his dream.