A/N: This is probably set in the fourth season, near the end when CC had her long-ish blonde hair. This was co-written with EspoirDio, you can tell because some of the CC spellings have the two dots in them...anyway, on with the show m'dears!
Chapter One
This was not a good idea. CC Babcock thought as she walked down one of the many sidewalks in New York City. She hadn't been able to catch a cab and Niles had told her flat out that he was not driving her home, she was obviously forced to walk. She put a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and clutched her coat. She hated going through this particular neighborhood She wished she had just stayed there, being out in the city during the day was bad, but being out at night was just fruitless.
She clutched her purse closer to her as she walked past a homeless man that was sleeping against a trashcan and she began to look around. Something just didn't feel right. She stopped dead in her tracks and was just about to turn and run, when someone grabbed her from out of the alley and shoved her against the wall. He had his hand covering her mouth and she was trying her hardest to get free, but it was no use, this man, whoever he was, had a tight grip on her and he refused to let her go.
"Aren't you a pretty one?" He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. She mumbled against his hand and kept struggling. "Stop it!" He shouted as he slammed her harder against the wall. The impact almost caused her to faint, but he shook her a little when he noticed her head was sagging. "Now you listen to me girlie, you're going to do exactly as I tell you and maybe I won't hurt you. Do you understand?" He asked. She nodded and he did the same. "Good, I'm glad we understand one another." He threw her to the ground and again, the impact almost caused her to faint, but before she got her bearings, he flipped her over on her back and was straddling her. He then began kissing her and when he pulled away to catch his breath, she spit in his face and in return, he slapped her. "What did I tell you!" He shouted and tears began to form in her eyes.
"Hel-" She started, but his hand covered her mouth again before she could finish.
With his free hand, he ripped open her blouse and tore her bra off. Her bare chest was now exposed to him and he was looking hungrily at her.
"Well, look at what we got here. Girlie's got some nice ones." He released her mouth and then began kissing her chest. When he felt her struggling, he bit down hard on her left breast and she let out a high pitched scream, something she was famous for. He punched her so hard that it knocked her unconscious, but the last thing she remembered before blacking out completely was the feel of his hands pushing up her skirt...
"Oh my God! Look at her! She looks so helpless!" Fran exclaimed as she wiped tears away from her eyes with a handkerchief.
CC's eyes fluttered open slowly, her sight was a bit blurry, but she could make out two people were standing on either side of her, looking down at her. One was a woman with humongous brown, curly hair, the other was a man with dark hair and that was all she could make of them. She blinked a few times before she could totally see them.
"Wh-who are you?" She asked as she looked at them both.
"Miss Babcock! It's me! Nanny Fine!" The female screeched and CC immediately clutched her head in pain. "Oh my goodness, do you have a headache?" She asked as she touched her hand.
"Yeah, from you talking." She replied honestly and Maxwell secretly grinned. "And you are?" She asked looking at him.
"I'm Maxwell Sheffield, you're my business partner." He said and she nodded.
"Business partner of what?" She asked as she sat up slowly, but a sharp pain ran through her back and she flopped back down on the bed.
"You and I produce plays together, do you remember anything, C.C?" He asked.
"I remember my name is Chastity Claire Babcock, and I'm thirty-five years old and that I was...I was..." Tears brimmed in her bright blue eyes as she realized what had happened to her. She placed her hand across her eyes and began to sob. She jumped when she felt someone touch her hand gently and when she moved it away, she saw another man, one she hadn't noticed before. "Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Niles, Miss Babcock. Do you remember me? The butler for Mr. Sheffield?" He asked and she furrowed her eyebrows together.
"You call me Chicken and Brunette sometimes, don't you?" She asked and Niles' eyes widened as Maxwell put his hands on his hips and gave him a stern look.
"She must be delusional still, Sir." He lied, looking at him.
"Uh-huh. Sure old man." He replied and Niles shrugged.
"Yeah! You call me Chicken and Brunette and a bunch of other things! You pick on me nonstop!" She said as she folded her arms across her chest.
"To be fair, you're not exactly the sweetest person alive." He shot back.
"Well excuse me! But,"
"Alright you two! Enough! Niles, I think you should leave. You're going to make Miss Babcock upset." He said.
"No, let him stay." CC said as she touched Niles' jacket, who had turned to walk away. "He's actually not bothering me, it's her that is." She said pointing her thumb at Fran, whose mouth had dropped open.
"I haven't said a word for the past few minutes! How is that possible?" She asked.
"Just your presence. It annoys me." She said and Fran shook her head.
"You try to be nice to someone and this is what you get."
"Miss Fine, don't take it personally, C.C.'s been through quite an ordeal. I mean, wouldn't you be a tad irritable after being unconscious for three days?" Maxwell inquired.
"How long?" C.C. asked.
"Three days Miss Babcock, I was even beginning to get worried about you." Niles said.
"I meant to ask Miss Babcock, how are ya feeling?" Fran asked. C.C. felt a wave of nausea overcome her and she covered her mouth. She swallowed hard but it didn't help much. She threw the covers back and ran into the bathroom where she let out heaves and threw up bile, which was rather painful.
"Are you ok, C.C?" Maxwell asked as the three of them stood outside of the small bathroom. C.C.'s reply was more heaving and gagging, she let out a few more coughs before standing to her feet and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I'll be fine, when can I go home?" She asked as she clutched her stomach.
"Soon I think, let me call Doctor Russel, he'll give us an idea." He said and she nodded slowly.
"Niles, will you help me to the bed please?" She asked.
"Of course Miss Babcock." He wrapped his arm around her waist and she shivered a little from his touch. "You sure you're alright?" He asked.
"I am, it's just that my side hurts, must be from where that bastard slammed me against the wall." She shook her head and looked at the floor angrily as he helped her the rest of the way to the bed. He helped her lay down and covered her back up where she'd be warm enough and she gave him a small smile to show her thanks.
It turned out Maxwell had been only half right, CC was let out of the hospital soon, but it wasn't as soon as she would have liked. It was two more days before the doctor had cleared her and said she could go home. He had done a few more tests on her that she couldn't figure out why he would, but she just did as she was told and when she was released, she was shocked to discover that Maxwell had invited her to stay with them for a few days, he was worried about her, but not as much as some other people were.
"Miss Babcock, are you comfortable?" Niles asked when he walked into the guest room where she was staying.
"Yes, very much so, thanks." CC said. He placed his hands behind his back and bowed his head to her before he turned to go back out. "Wait! You don't have to leave so soon! I want some company! This house is absolutely dreary at this time of night." She said.
"It's ten-thirty." He said as he checked his watch.
"Then why are you still up?" She asked as she patted the bed for him to come sit down beside her.
"Mr. Sheffield told me to watch out for you, it sounds strange coming from my mouth, but I actually am worried about you too." He admitted as he sat down beside her.
"Oh I know that. I'm surprised though that you haven't been up to your normal tricks and schemes." She said raising an eyebrow.
"Oh believe me, Babs, don't get used to this. I have a plan for when you get better." He smirked and she laughed a little.
"Babs? When did you start calling me that?" She asked criss-crossing her legs like a small child would do.
"I've called you that for years, I think though was when I first met you. CC just sounded so ridiculous that I had to call you something else. So "Babs" it was, but I often just call you Miss Babcock to show "respect." He did the air quotation marks to prove his point.
"Ah-h-h. I see, well "Babs" is kind of cool, I mean, who else calls me that other than you?" She asked.
"I believe Miss Fine does every once in a while, but she doesn't say it when you're around." He replied.
"She's the nanny, right? Who sounds like she is coming down with the world's worst cold?" It was his turn to laugh.
"She does, but Miss Babcock, she is worried about you as well. You've been throwing up more so than any normal human being, I think you should call the doctor and see what's taking so long with the tests." He suggested.
"Can I confess something to you Niles?" He nodded. "The doctor did two tests on me, the second one I don't know what it was, I was asleep during it, but he did the HIV/AIDS test and I am absolutely terrified."
"Oh." It was all he could say.
"I know, but I hope I don't have it. I've heard about what happens to people with it. They're treated like if they touched somebody, the person they touch will get it, so most of them are in hospitals, just waiting to die and I don't want that to happen to me." Tears began to roll down her cheeks and Niles reached out and hugged her close to him. He stroked her hair slowly and let her sob into his chest. He had noticed she'd also been going through mood swings recently, but this one was sincere.
"It's alright, Babs. I promise you don't have that." He said.
"How do you know? I was raped! By some lunatic off the street!" She cried.
"I just know. I have a way with things like this." He said.
"I sure hope you're right." She sighed and he kissed her hair, something he'd never done before.
"I'm hardly ever wrong, just ask Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine." He added and he then noticed that she had drifted off to sleep, he couldn't really blame her. She'd been through a lot and no telling how much sleep she got. He had heard her having a nightmare earlier that day, it was the strangest thing. She was screaming and crying for help and when he'd rushed in there, she began to writhe and kick at him, but he just grabbed her arms and shook her awake. She had looked up at him with her big blue eyes and turned away from him, like she was ashamed. She hadn't said anything to him or anyone for that matter until this point. "Just go to sleep Miss Babcock, it'll all be alright in the morning."
The phone ringing made CC's eyes shoot open. She looked and saw that she was alone now, Niles must have left sometime during the night. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head and yawned. After the third ring, she could hear Niles' voice answering.
"Miss Babcock! It's for you!" Niles shouted and CC furrowed her eyebrows. A call for her? She hadn't informed anyone that she knew of where she was, but she guessed she'd better see who it was.
She went to the closet and grabbed her robe that Maxwell had brought over from her apartment and she slipped it on. She padded down the hall in her bare feet and when she reached Niles, he was holding the phone out for her.
"Hello?" She said into the phone.
"Miss Babcock, it's Doctor Russel, how are you feeling today?" He asked cheerfully.
"A little better, I'm still not feeling too well." She replied.
"Miss Babcock, I must ask you a question before I tell you the results of your tests." He said and she clutched the phone with both of her hands, preparing for the worst.
"Go on sir." She said.
"Did you have a boyfriend before your incident? Or any type of sexual activity beforehand?" He asked.
"N-no sir." She was shaking and Niles had his hands on her shoulders, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Do I have AIDS?"
"Oh no, no. You came back a negative on that, but the other test I took turned out positive." He said.
"What other test did you perform, Doctor?" She asked.
"Miss Babcock, as a result of your incident, it seems you're pregnant."