This is not exactly a cliché in The Nanny fanfiction, but I really like the idea…
DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own any of this. But I love them as they were mine…
Story: Parallel Universes
By AllTheSnakes
Chapter 1: The Wish
Niles was taking out his tie, nervously. From time to time he would look at his wife, who was seated at the bed, visibly annoyed, observing her own feet with that frown all over her face. He was damned, and he knew it.
'Darling…', he started, clearing his throat. 'I can see you're distressed, but…'
'Oh, you can see? Congratulations. You have amazing observing skills'. A look through the blonde hair. Oh-oh.
'You don't need to act like this. I still want to discuss the matter'.
'We have been discussing this for a while, and same things keep happening'.
Niles seated by her side in the enourmous bed of the penthouse. 'Maxwell is like a brother to me. His father paid my studies so I could be by his side in the business world, and I've been honoring this promise till today'. He said and waited for her answer, massaging her shoulders lightly, making her turn to him.
Her tone was something between impacient and soft, when she answered, looking him straight in the eye. 'I know all of this. And I know how lucky the Sheffields are for having such a brilliant man willing to help them. But you could have been a succesfull lawyer even if you had to stablish on your own'.
'I could never have done anything without their money and support'.
'I don't think so, but there's no way we can be sure. What matters now – and I see you're trying to make me forget what we are really talking about, with this hands on me – is that you're interfering again on Maxwell's life'.
'I'm just trying to make sure he doesn't pass a wonderful opportunity'.
'You have introduced him to Sarah; you have been there to take care of his children when she had that terrible accident; we never had our own children because you thought Maxwell needed us…'
'I thought we had an agreement on that'.
'I accepted that because I thought it was temporary. But now Sarah is dead for five years, and you chose Fran Fine to marry him, and you're obsessed again with a new mission'.
'I'm not obsessed. Can't you see? It was fate! I was in the mansion to fetch some contracts, and I opened the door for her. I had to be there to meet her and make them find each other!'
'Niles, please! She was selling make up! What makes you think she can be the nanny for his children and his personal secretary?'
'I decided not to be his butler. This way, he lost a potential right arm. It's fair that I can provide him someone to fill the void'. He opened his arms in a boyish way, smiling at her tentatively.
She never answered, just kept munching her bottom lip.
'Whatever it is you have to say', Niles pleaded 'just say it. I can take it'.
'Ok', she breathed deeply. 'I think you're just pretending to feel guilty about studying with the help of their money. Maybe you just feel good about bossing Maxwell around. You tried to make him your partner, even if he was bored to death helping you, and God only knows what could have happened if I hadn't made the proposal of the theater business. You already decided who he should marry, as you're trying to do now. This is not about guilty, Niles, it is about reversing roles and being the boss when you started as the servant'.
She stopped talking and kept looking at him. He seemed to be shocked beyond words.
'You said you could take it', she reminded him.
He nodded gravely, looked away and got up from the bed. 'I'm sorry you have this kind of idea about me. All I wanted was to help the guy, and now you talk like I was en evil entity, trying to force people into things'. He was visibly hurt, in a way she thought she would never see him. 'I'm taking a shower. Maybe you need some time to think about it, once it is clear you don't really know your husband'.
He disappeared in the bathroom door of the suite, and CC felt annoying tears come to her eyes. 'Yeah, Mr Know-it-all!', she yelled after him.
CC let her body fall on the bed and the years rolled on her cheeks.
She noticed there was a thunderstorm starting out there. What a horrible night!
They rarely argued, and it was always terrible when it happened. Right now it seemed she was in the wrong place, married to the wrong guy. A bossy, arrogant, obsessive and over-protective guy.
'I wish he was a different person…', she murmured, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness… and she fell asleep.
######################
CC was driving home. Niles had managed to disturb her night and make things even more terrible than usual.
To complete her utter disgrace, there was a thunderstorm forming quickly.
She barely could pay any attention to the streets she was passing by. All she could think was of Niles making her go to Maxwell and tell him how much she thought he should 'rethink Nanny Fine's position'.
CC couldn't believe how naïve she was, believing Niles would give her some precious information about the nanny. In fact, Maxwell had been planning to put Fran Fine in care of just the younger children – Brandon and Gretta – and the nanny had asked for the butler's help. The brunette thought Niles could convince their boss about the importance of her influence over the older one.
Of course, the tramp just wanted more time at the mansion.
With CC's interference, Maxwell decided to maintain things as they were. The socialite understood what had happened when her partner came to her to thank her for the advice, babbling about how Fran was awesome and other stupid things.
She went flying to the kitchen, leaving the producer talking to the walls; she had more important things to do.
And by that, she meant to stand there, desiring that her stare could kill Niles.
'Oh, look who came to say hello', he aknowledged her, a smirk on his face.
'You used me', she hissed.
'I don't know what you're talking about', he almost sing-songed.
'How can you act like this? How can you use me to make her stay here longer?'
He became serious, putting the plate he had in his left hand on the island. 'She is the best for him'.
'How do you know?'
'I know him enough to understand he needs someone shiny as her, not cold as you'.
'I'm not talking about me!'
'It's a first'.
She aproached the island to be closer to where he was standing. 'You know I hate her, and you didn't even had the consideration of leaving me out of this'.
'I thought you wanted the best for him, too, Babs'.
'I want. But I don't think you know what is the best for him. You're just a domestic, anyway. How could you understand things like marriage, partnership and money – when you never had any of this? All you want is to prove to yourself how brilliant you are, even if you're just a servant'.
He was shocked beyond words, and just looked silently at her.
'You asked for it', she told him coldly.
He nodded, looking away.
She kept looking at him, till he decided to talk.
He decided. 'Sometimes, miss Babcock, I can't understand you. We were not talking about you, and we were not talking about me, but you managed to turn things against me, as making me seem a looser was the best thing you could achieve'. He closed his mouth and seemed deeply hurt.
CC thought it was the beginning of an epic argument, but he just turned and started to get out by the back stairs.
'You can't say things like this and run away, you coward!', she yelled after him.
He just looked at her sadly for a moment, then resumed his exit.
The scene replayed on her head over and over, till she reached her parking lot, got out of the car and reached the elevator.
She kept muttering to herself a lot of things about how Niles could be so annoying and get under her skin, while fumbling with the keys. She noticed her hands were shaking.
CC entered the penthouse, poured a drink to herself and started to sip it slowly, trying to calm down.
Why was she feeling so bad about him today? What was different today?
She went to her bedroom and stood next to the window, observing the thunderstorm starting.
Maybe it was the fact that he was making everything to save Nanny Fine's ass, even if he knew the woman was not elegant, not refined, not responsible or even mature… and she, CC Babcock, was the one with elegance, knowledge, business trait… But to her, he never made anything! On the contrary, he used her to help Nanny Fine!
Why couldn't he see her as someone worthy his consideration? What was wrong with her?
Maybe things were not wrong with her, after all, but with him. Maybe she should face the fact that he was not as good as she thought he was – maybe he was just an excessively sweet guy without the special sense required to apreciate her.
CC put her drink on the bedside table, laying down and feeling infinitely tired.
'I wish he was a different person…', she murmured, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. And she fell asleep.
#################
What both women didn't knew was that sometimes, just sometimes, Destiny can be touchy about people who dislike the universe they live. And, if the wish is strong enough and the circunstances are favorable, astonishing things can happen.