Hey! Here we bring you another fic, written by yours truly and TheCrownedLioness. We've actually written this one a while ago but we weren't going to upload it, but thanks to WhatAboutThoseChickenNuggets, who PM'd me and suggested that I write it, we decided to give it a go! We hope you like it and please do leave your reviews!

Prologue

"'Ere she eez, my boy," announced Marie Brightmore – Niles' mother – delicately passing over the small bundle. "Your little girl...!"

Niles took the baby in his arms in a mixture of both awe and sadness. Yes, this was his little girl – Charlotte, he'd already decided, would be her name.

But she was one of two, the other of which it had been agreed he'd never see. That was the arrangement that he and C.C. had come to, after finding out that their one night stand had resulted in an accident; one so large it could only be beaten into second place by the reigning champion of mistakes. The mistake he'd made before he even knew they were having the twins.

And that, of course, was his disastrous series of proposals.

The argument that had followed had led to him dragging his lead-heavy heart out of the Sheffield mansion to never return. It had only been after that that C.C. had told him she was pregnant. But he hadn't been allowed to help with her pregnancy, at any stage, hence his mother Marie having had to go into the delivery room to fetch the only daughter of his that he'd ever be allowed to hold.

He got little Lottie, twenty-five million dollars for her upkeep and happiness (courtesy of Babcock herself), and a threat as to what C.C. would do to him if she ever saw his stupid face again. He'd agreed to all of it, and swore to never contact either her or their other daughter for as long as he lived.

Already, agreeing to it felt like a mistake. He was a father to both girls – shouldn't he see the other twin at least once?!

Shouldn't he see C.C. again, at least once...?

In his heart he knew the answer was yes.

But as it was, he had no other option but to accept things as they currently were. He'd be moving back to the UK as soon as his and C.C.'s lawyers finished drawing up the custody agreement. It was mostly ready, but a few minor details remained to be seen to. They'd agreed that each parent would have custody of one twin, relinquishing the custody of the other one.

His other little girl...

He didn't know her or her name, he'd never held her or seen her, but he missed her already.

And Marie knew it. She'd been the only member of his family to see C.C. during her pregnancy – the two women, oddly enough got along rather well. His mother was trying to make the plan work more easily, and had been acting as a conduit for messages throughout the entire time, but she'd also enjoyed spending all the hours that she could with C.C..

She'd also allowed Niles to keep tabs – he might not have been able to see, but he could ask. And each and every day that she went, he'd ask about how the twins were, how their mother was doing, if everything seemed to be going according to plan.

It always was, and then they found themselves where they were – a hospital corridor, far enough away from the room so C.C. didn't have to see him, and close enough that he hadn't had to wait too long to see Charlotte.

His Lottie, who was so small in her big warm blanket!

"She eez very like you," Marie gave him a nudge and a smile.

Niles tried to smile back, but found he couldn't entirely. He was overjoyed to be a father and for someone to say she looked like him, but...all the features he saw in the little one's face belonged to C.C..

"Eet iz the eyez," Marie said, looking down at the new born child. "She 'az your eyez..."

And indeed, the little child had a pair of the brightest sky-blue eyes, a trait she had inherited from her father, who in turn had gotten it from Marie. Still, unbeknownst to Niles and Marie, there was another little person in that hospital that had eyes the same shade of blue: Amelia Babcock.

Charlotte's twin, like Charlotte herself, was the spitting image of her mother, but she had her father's eyes.

And said mother, who was holding her to her chest and letting her eat in peace (she'd breastfed Charlotte moments ago, before Marie took her away), was painfully aware of this.

It was like Niles were looking at her.

She thought about the irony of the whole situation. She'd spent the past months actively avoiding seeing or speaking to Niles, and yet she'd given birth to and found herself with two little replicas!

Well, one replica. The other was going with the man she found it even painful to think about.

Part of her had wanted to ask Marie how he was doing, but she'd squashed it down before it saw the light of day. He'd been a part of her life and now he wasn't – it was as simple as that.

She kept telling herself that over and over to help it sink in. And probably to convince herself that she was right, but she wasn't going to examine that path too quickly.

Not when the man in question was going away, and she'd never see him again.

"Well, sweetie," she addressed her daughter. The only little one she'd been able to keep. "I guess it's just you and me from now on..."

Amelia – her little girl's name was Amelia – was obviously too young to respond. But eventually she'd grow, and she'd learn. She'd walk and run. She'd laugh and shout. She'd live the happy life C.C. had made sure would also be provided for Charlotte.

But she'd never know she had a sister. And her father would always remain a mystery.

Not to C.C., though. She thought about it as the nurse helped her burp the baby and got them both settled into bed (well, C.C. in her bed, Amelia in her hospital bassinet). C.C. turned towards the window, watching the world go by, and knowing every second that passed took her other little girl further away, until there'd be an entire ocean between them.

An entire ocean felt far too far, but she knew it was for the best.

And with that thought, and the image of a bright blue pair of eyes floating in her mind, C.C. drifted off into an uneasy sleep.